16 Jul 2006 #0629.html

Settlers of Zeheremala

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Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to this week's "Thoughtlet."

These words are my personal diary and a weekly review of ideas, beliefs, thoughts, or words that will hopefully be of some benefit to you: my children, my family, and my friends.

"As I start to write this Thoughlet (Only 7 more to where they are written, and I only need to translate them to html!), I discovered something I was going to put in the Nelson Reunion Thoughtlet (0628.html). It is a song Aunt Vanna wrote for a reunion we had many years ago, and which is based on the music 'It's a small world after all!' which is played over and over on one of the DisneyLand rides:

'We're a Great, Great, Family 1. We're all members of a great famiy. And we're proud of the fact, you can plainly see. Roice and Emma showed us how, And just look at us now. We're a great, great, family. Chorus: We're of the Nelson Family, We're of the Nelson Family, We're of the Nelson Family, We've a great, great, name. 2. Perseverance, a trait that we all share Dependability shows that we really care. Talents differ its true, But between me and you, We're a great, great, family. 3. To work together, we've got a lot to learn. But to help each other is our main concern. With the Church as our guid, If we work side by side, We'll be a great, great, family'

I thought it was kind of sappy the first time I heard it. However, over the years it has grown on me, and I quite like it now. What do you kids think?

Sunday, 09 July 2006, I was back at my Primary Class. Wade Hutchings (a) talked in Sacrament Meeting and quoted from the 'Doctrines of Salvation' (b), from which talk I derived two possible stanzas for Prime Words:

'Mistakes: As we exercise agency We will sin Repentance is the escape (a) Allowing us to win' 'Agency: The right to choose Between good and evil (b) When swimming in life's river Avoiding whirlpools of the devil' (a)

Following Roice Krueger's advice, I spent the first part of the week writing and rewriting a detailed description of why I am writing Prime Words. These words are in a document titled http://www.walden3d.com/openmind/WhyWhatWhoHowWhen.html and linked here , are intended to answer the first questions Jan Miller will have about my book, before she asks them. I sent it back and forth with Roice to make sure it made sense. Again, it is now December 12th, and I still haven't heard anything from Jan Miller. Oh well!

Monday was my first Family Home Evening in July without Andrea. Thankfully Rob came over and ate dinner with me and brought a game. I cooked another batch of eggplant sausage. Rob didn't like it very well. The game he brought was wonderful. It is called 'Settlers of Zaharemla.' The game board is made up of hexagons. The dice have 12 sides. The goal is to build the temple, plant crops, build cities, and to do it all with natural resources you earn by shaking the dice and moving your game piece. He had another game called 'Castles,' which is a spatial jig saw puzzle. They are both great games, and we played for quite a while. It was fun, and I hope each of you take time to do things like this. Certainly I hope you take more time to do this time for these types of activities than I did while you were with me.

Tuesday Chris Singfield called. He has four suiters to invest between $7 ½ and $10 million, an agreement on a Technology Alliance with Chevron, and is putting together a business plan which will have a major impact on drilling. He hoped to sell the shares for over $1.00 per share, although he does not anticipate any dividends until 2008, and then there will be big dividends. He is working on the value proposition, which he tells me consists of:

  1. The market segment being addressed.
  2. Target customers.
  3. Breakthrough benefits.
  4. Fundamental and emotional benefits.
Jumping ahead to December, he has signed the Technology Alliance with Chevron, and he has no investment money. In fact I talked to him yesterday, and he was pretty down in the mouth again. I think some of it may be related to being away from his family too long and planning to stay here over Christmas.

Wednesday Carlos Venegas moved with his wife and daughter to their own place in Sugar Land. No more car pool! Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh! Well for the next while I listened to AudioTech Boooks on Tapes, and eventually we got another car pool going with George Schultz and now including Mike Schoemann.

Thursday, 13 July 2006, I wrote another possible stanza for Prime Words based on a 17th of April 2006 Oil & Gas Journal article titled 'Psst! Need a job?' by Warren R. True, Chief Technology Editor -LNG/Gas Processing, while at GDC:

'Environmental and Corporate arrogance The public's preception Of the oil and gas industry'

Friday was a retirement lunch for Mike Bennett, one of the salespeople whom I have enjoyed working with. He and his significant other are moving to Montana, where they can ski any time they want to. On the way home, in the evening, I went by an Mineral Assay office in Park 10, where they agreed to assay a rock I brought home from Red Cove for gold and for uranium. It cost $175 dollars, took three weeks, and I don't know if they really assayed the rock, or if they just typed out a 1 page statement of work. There is some black iron stained Navajo sandstone up Left-Hand Canyon, and around the edges are gold stained red Navajo sandstone rocks. This kind of gold halo is common. However, the assay was negative, and I do not have the resources to pursue it. And besides that I do not own the property.

aturday I worked in the yard in the morning. Rob's rose bush died. I cried. No one was here to cry with me, nor to even care about foolish symbols in my mind. I spent the rest of the day getting a hard copy printed out of 'An Open Mind, including large copies of 'The Matrix,' which ended up costing $400.00. Again we can't afford it, and based on Roice Krueger's comments, I need to get a good quality hardcopy in Jan Miller's hands before she will respond to my request to represent me. I sent the book by Federal Express, and as reported above, I still have not heard anything. Oh well! I remain optimistic.

Sunday, 16 July 2006, Jared Moore, who was visiting from Indonesia, was one of the Nottingham Country Ward Youth Speakers, and I wrote the following possible stanza for Prime Words based on a portion of his talk:

'Guys are like lava lamps Not very bright But fun to look at When their hot.'

I had forgot to go to Austin Beckstrom's wedding reception on Saturday night (how can I function without Andrea). However, I came across the card, with a check enclosed, which had been left for me to take over before going to church, and so I took it, and I met Austin's new wife Tracie Lee McNeil. I was embarrassed. Oh well! It could have been I was called to be a settler of Zeheremala (../0249.html or 0648.html)."

Since the 38th week of 1996 I have written a weekly "Thoughtlet" (little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me). Until the 43rd week of 2004 I sent these out as an e-mail. They were intended to be big thoughts which mean a lot to me. Over time the process evolved into a personal diary. These notes were shared with my family because I know how important the written word can be. Concerned about how easy it is to drift and forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of daily life, I thought this was a good way to reach those I love. It no longer feels right to send out an e-mail and "force" my kids and my family to be aware of my life and struggles.

Everyone has their own life to lead, and their own struggles to work through. I will continue this effort, and will continue to make my notes publicly accessible (unless I learn of misuse by someone who finds out about them, and then will aggressively pursue a legal remedy to copyright infringement and I will put the Thoughtlets behind a password).

The index to download any of these Thoughtlets is at http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets, or you can e-mail me with questions or requests at rnelson@walden3d.com (note if you are not on my e-mail "whitelist" you must send 2 e-mails within 24 hours of each other in order for your e-mail to not be trashed).

With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)

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Copyright © 2006 H. Roice Nelson, Jr.