Lucky is gone...

For their eighth birthdays, our twins Heather and Heidi received a little Dachshund. He was a full grown stray, found and sheltered by a friend before he was given to the girls. They named him "Lucky" because "he was lucky to have a family like ours". Today, just over six years later, Lucky has died. He died under the watchful care of two 14 year girls who loved and cherished him. He lived a good long life, and he brought joy and fun to those two girls. They are teenagers now, full of life and vigor. They have loved animals for years, and Lucky was one of the fortunate recipients of their love. In those 6 years, we've sent a son on a full time mission, we've seen two daughters married, and we've been privileged to add three grandchildren to the family. Lucky was especially good with our first grandchild, Eliza. She would toddle around the house, laughing and calling out "dog, dog". Sometimes she would laugh at him, sometimes she would scold him, and sometimes she would chase him. He was even tempered through the whole experience. I don't know how Eliza will ever understand the absence of her dear friend and playmate, "dog, dog". We're going to miss you Lucky. We were lucky to have a dog like you...

Impassioned Learning - Buccaneer Scholars

Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success by James Marcus Bach

My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed the book enough that I filled it with my scribbles on various pages as I noted topics for discussion, things I should consider in my own educational journey. Thanks, James! View all my reviews >>

Hailey Sommerfeldt!

Hailey
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

I'm a grandfather for the third time! Rachel and Bruce had a beautiful baby girl last Wednesday evening. Mommy and baby are both doing fine, and Coleen is visiting to assist with household chores and child care for a week.

Congratulations to Bruce and Rachel!

Tire Split - Ugh

While looking at my bike a week or two ago, I noticed that there was a gouge in one section of the front tire. I told myself it needed to be replaced, but then one thing lead to another, and it was not replaced. I suspect I've put 3000 - 4000 miles on the tires, so it is not fair to complain that they may be a little worn.

While riding to work today I noticed a creepy little rhythmic bumping as the wheels turned. The rear tire had split and part of the tube is now visible.

Time to replace both tires...

New Segment on Loveland Bike Trail

The newest segment of the Loveland recreation trail has opened! This afternoon while riding home from work I was delighted to see that the newest segment of the Loveland bike trail is ready for riders. The new segment lets me avoid a major portion of the ride along 57th street for a much less busy street, and provides a beautiful rural trail ride among the cows, corn, and fences. A rancher was herding the last cow into a holding pen, ready to load into his trailer. His dog was running beside, helping with the herding, and I was riding a bicycle. Thanks very much to the city of Loveland, and to the county for inserting the crossing signal at the busy street which the trail intersects!

Commuting By Bike

CommutingByBike
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

I rode home from work on the bicycle again today and was reminded how considerate, kind, and decent the drivers have been along the corridor I ride.

I was riding south on Timberline, just south of the Harmony road intersection. On the right was a right turn lane which opens to the local restaurants, shops, and movie theatre. Traffic was heavy, yet the driver just ahead of me made sure he slowed and allowed me to pass on his right (in the bike lane).

He would have been completely within his rights to make the turn in front of me, and it would have been safe for him to do so. However, he chose to let me pass and then make his turn.

That sort of courtesy seems to be a very regular occurrence on the work commute. One stretch of road has the white line painted right on the edge of the blacktop. The drivers are very conscious of me pedaling on that edge, and give me plenty of space as they pass.

Even better, most of the ride has wide shoulders and plenty of room for bikes and cars. The infrastructure is great, and the drivers are patient and considerate in those areas where the roads are less than perfect

Thanks Fort Collins drivers, and thanks Loveland drivers!

New Representative for Colorado House District 51

The Larimer County Republican Party had the responsibility to select a replacement for the remaining portion of the term previously served by Don Marostica. At the end of July, Don accepted an economic development position with Governor Ritter's office. The meeting of the vacancy committee was interesting for a political neophyte like me, and the result fit my choice very well. On the second balloting round, Brian Del Grosso of Loveland was selected to fill the seat previously occupied by Don. Brian came to my house, talked with me, answered my questions, and generally impressed me with his energy, enthusiasm, values, and his objectives. I look forward to helping him retain the seat in the 2010 elections.

Garden of the Gods - 22

Garden of the Gods - 22
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

On the closing day of the presentation portions of the 2009 Conference of the Association for Software Testing, I rode my bike through the "Garden of the Gods" rock formation. It was absolutely beautiful!

The set of pictures are visible at http://www.flickr.com/photos/markewaite/sets/72157621422783499/

Shelly: Gone But Not Forgotten

Shelly-Headstone
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

It is with some sadness that we note Shelly's passing. Heather and Heidi worked together with two friends from the Lee family, dug a grave, painted a box, painted a tombstone, and buried Shelly in the box.

Shelly is one of the hens they've been raised for a few months. Shelly was the victim of a fox attack Friday.

Kids are amazing. They show us completely different ways to see things. I saw the bird as a source of eggs, an interesting critter to watch, and as a possible source of meat if we were in real difficulty.

Heather and Heidi saw the bird as a pet for caring, nurturing, and monitoring. A wonderful alternate perspective.

Dwarf Privets Gone

3952-Waite-Yard
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

The reunion of the descendants of John and JoLean Waite was held from 28 June to 3 July 2009 at Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border, and at the family home in Layton, UT.

Dad is now 87 years old, dementia weighs heavily on him, and prostate cancer is steadily bringing him to the end of this life.

Mom is in her early 80's, is very healthy, and is applying most of her efforts to caring for dad in the end of his life. She has wonderful help from my sister Susann, my brother Kelly, and my brother Paul, all within easy driving distance of the family home.

One of the challenges faced by Mom and Dad is decreasing time and strength available for lawn care. In an attempt to reduce their lawn care load, we removed 6 dwarf privets from the front of the house and replaced them with mulch, a rock border, and low maintenance plantings.

Melissa Warwood, one of their granddaughters, did the landscape design work. Her bachelors degree in Horticulture from Utah State University, and her professional experience in horticulture at the Lagoon theme park were great assets.

The kids pitched in to remove the bushes, install compost, mulch, and rock, and plant the new bushes and the replacement grass.

Braydon Waite climbed the English Walnut and cleared branches from the roof of the house, and Jeff reinstalled the gutter shields in hopes of reducing the maintenance load on Mom and Dad.

They are great parents, wonderful mentors, and marvelous examples of a lifetime together. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Clean Clothes - Again

wonder-washer
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

The new washer has arrived and run its first loads of laundry. It certainly looks more "techno" than the old washer did.

We'll see if the overall electricity bill decreases or increases as a result.

Simple, Elegant Design and 15+ Years of Useful LIfe

Waite-Family-Washer-15-years-worn
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

We purchased a Maytag washer over 15 years ago. We had been surprised by the complexity of other washers, and were impressed with the salesperson's description of the simplicity of the Maytag design. The pump, the motor, the drum, and the timer all seemed easy to understand, well designed, and serviceable.

It was a great purchase. The washer moved to our current house when we made that move over 13 years ago. It has done laundry for all eight of the kids, for Coleen's mom, and for Coleen and me. It has been through 3 teenage girls, 3 teenage boys, and twins.

Thanks Maytag, for design simplicity, years of reliable service, and an excellent investment for our family. We'll hope the new General Electric high efficiency model does as well.

Google Profile

Google has created a "profile" service that they will use in their search engine to help people find the "right" you. My name is not too uncommon (I am not the Mark Waite who writes for a paper in the Las Vegas area, and I am not the Mark Waite who makes knives in Colorado), so their profile service may help. The information in my profile seemed to generally already be available from other publicly visible sources (like my obsolete Yahoo 360 blog).

Eric at the end of 200 yard medley

Eric at the end of 200 yard medley
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

The 200 yard individual medley requires four different strokes, each for 50 yards, the butterfly, breast, back, and free style. Eric beat his personal best time, and dragged out of the pool exhausted.

This is him resting on the deck...

Eric at the meet

Eric at the meet
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

Eric and Alan joined their swimming team in the Front Range League conference finals at Dick Hewson Acquatic Center, attached to Thompson Valley High School in Loveland.

Eric qualified for finals in two events, the 500 yard freestyle and the 200 yard individual medley. He performed great in both of them, achieving personal best times in the preliminary heats, and then beating those times in the finals.

Good job Eric!

Mark Waite as a boy

Mark Waite as a boy
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

This picture is photographic evidence that I was once a child, contrary to the opinions of certain teenage male members of the family.

The First Egg...

The shed has one face with panels painted to match the house, and the interior has been reworked and revised by Andrew Lundmark to host chickens without giving them the entire shed. The chickens moved from the Lundmark's to our house during the week, and Heather and Heidi are now feeding and watering the bird brains. Oh, and they are settled well enough that the first egg has been gathered from the chickens, and the first fight has occurred between the territorial little Dachshund and the territorial rooster. The Dachshund seems to have come off the better of it, and is now living a more restricted lifestyle in the house, with less free wandering of the outdoors.

Gondola - Mark and Coleen

Gondola - Mark and Coleen
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

The kids splurged on their parents and bought us air fare and lodging for 3 nights of "Virtual Venice". We flew from Fort Collins / Loveland airport (about 15 minutes from home) to Las Vegas, and spent 3 nights at the Venetian Hotel.

The food was excellent, it was a great time walking through the various Las Vegas displays, and the 4 kids still at home seemed to do just fine without us watching their every move...

More pictures are posted on my flickr account, with even more pictures to come. Indoors, outdoors, walking, and talking were all great.

The Shed Is In Place

Shed Door
Originally uploaded by Mark Waite

Andrew Lundmark has successfully persuaded the girls that they want chickens. That meant we needed a shed. Andrew then found a fully constructed, nicely painted shed at a local seller in Loveland.

The seller was even willing to haul it to the house, and put it in place. The paint job is a little painful (Bronco Orange and Blue), but it is so well constructed that we can forgive the paint.

Or, more likely, we'll have the kids paint it so it looks more like the house.

Good luck chickens, hope you enjoy your new home...