Does Loyalty Matter Anymore?

Part of "The American Dream" is that by working harder you can get ahead, whatever that means. However, it is a well known fact that switching companies typically leads to a promotion and a raise. I have also been part of many organization that often focus on recruitment, and not retention. While this article is not the recruitment versus retention discussion, it has some of those themes.

This came up a few months ago among some of my friends. The subject came up that people sometimes leave something hanging to go somewhere else to get a bigger paycheck yet those who stayed do not get bigger paychecks at the end of the project. We felt as if loyalty was not rewarded. In hindsight I think that perhaps we were not thinking as long term as we should have. Often times the top management at companies consists of people that have been very loyal to the company for a long time. Additionally people do receive bonuses and raises based on their performance.

Another similar example is coaching a team of "individuals". I do not do much with recruitment because I feel that my time is better spent doing other things. Besides, my coaching salary comes out to about half of minimum wage already. However, I do feel a huge need to be involved in retention of current athletes. I can not coach someone who doesn't show up. Furthermore, I am currently dealing with such a small group of people that losing just one to injury or motivation is a double digit percentage loss. So I regularly ask how everyone is feeling and say thank you to them for showing up and cheer them on not only in running but also in other life events. Part of my job as coach is an attention giver. To some extent all the kids that show up want some sort of attention. Not every day, but at some point they want reinforcement of their perceived success.

In other words, if you can buy gas for $2.99 a gallon at the corporation that funnels money through warlords or buy it for $3.14 next door at the "free-trade" corporation that you have been using for the last three years because the two gas prices used to be the same price, would you still buy the expensive gas?

Loyalty is a finicky thing. Car companies have it, heavy equipment companies have it, Apple has it, Coke and Pepsi have it, cigarettes have it and so do a number of smaller companies, like my family's greenhouse. One of the interesting questions that has come up as a contract employee is, 'does the company that I am at have any loyalty toward me?' They are not providing health or retirement benefits and my timesheet and pay are on a weekly basis. It is quite obvious that if there would be a downturn severe enough, the contract employees would be "let-go" before the actual employees. The contract labor system is becoming more and more common at all levels of pay at a company. It is especially difficult for unskilled and low-skilled workers, the demographic that I feel would benefit the most from enhanced corporate loyalty.

I am learning so much as I grow up and experience life. It is not necessarily that my perceptions of the world are turned upside down, it is simply that a secret door seems to open in one room after another and provide me with a whole new set of ideas and experiences. I wasn't really looking for these doors, but since I now know they are there, I want to see what exists on the other side.

Leave a comment. Does loyalty still matter?

Success Expedites Improvement

On my runs I often see the same people. One of those people I happened to see Friday night and we were headed the same direction going the same pace so we ran together for about five miles. He was talking about his kids in high school how one had success early and achieved greater success later while the other had difficulty early and achieved less success later, but a more valuable success because it was such hard work.

When I explain my running career thus far I mention that I had a breakthrough season in high school and then another one in college. Specifically after the one in college I wondered, if I did X amount of work to achieve A, then if I can do Y amount of work I can probably achieve B! I have not really clearly communicated the fact that I only stuck with running because I had a little success at an early stage. Specifically, my sophomore year of high school cross country. At the regional meet that year I ran 11:54 through two miles breaking my two mile PR by about 10 seconds and getting under 12 for the first time. I went on to run 18:54 for the 5k breaking 19 for the first time, I think, my memory is not prefect.

That was a huge race for me. It was a huge break through after running a couple of 20s at the beginning of the year and then mid 19s most of the season. Plus, our team placed third at that meet by I think one or two points and we went to state (I was 4th on the team and thus a scoring member). I got the flu or something the week of state and ran terribly, but the break through was accomplished.

That was the first season that things clicked. Until that season I was regularly beaten by the girls and lapped by most of the boys. In other words, a pretty typical start to a running career. I just happened to have a little bit of success fairly early, which not everybody has. I will not say that that season catapulted to me to serious training, I still thought that pre-season training meant easy running two weeks before the season started. However, I did enjoy running enough to run my first half marathon that winter and do some running in the off season and further improve over the next two and a half years of high school. If I had not had that success at that point, perhaps I would have quit the next year to do something else. We shall never know.

In America we often are chided for rewarding every young kid for participating and not for any actual accomplishment. I must admit I have soccer and baseball trophies and I have no idea if I won or lost. We just played the game. Growing up through the system of rewarded participation I am not sure wether it is good or bad. It worked out for me, I ended up doing the activities I enjoy the most and have a few skills that are applicable. Brain Sell is another example. The guy ran 15:30s 5ks his freshman and sophomore years of college at a D3 school. His marathon pace eight years later was 15:30s for all eight and a half 5ks. Had he not run those races early in college, he might have never transfered to a D1 school and never ran a 28 10k as a senior and never ran professionally. A little success at the right time goes a long way.

Distractions

It is frustrating how often distractions get in the way of our goals. Admittedly, sometimes we need "distractions" to remind us what is really important or what our more important goals are, so not all distractions are bad. I had the opportunity to witness a distraction progress recently and it was educating. To be honest I am not sure what I learned as it happened within the last 24 hours, but I know that I learned something.

One of the nice things about moving is that you start at the new location as a new person. I am very fortunate to have moved to Dubuque at a time when my life is going as well as it ever has. What I mean is that I hit the ground running, figuratively (and actually). I have noticed that with time distractions tend to build in any location. When I am new in town I have no requests of myself from others, which allows me to be very focused and thus effective in the things that I do.

I was thinking about high school, college, and post-collegiate life on one of my runs recently and the difference between focus and distractions. In high school, I did everything. Not actually everything, but I was involved in so many different groups that for my grade I had the most pictures in the year book twice and I was second in my class once. As I get older I realize the difference focusing on a specific goal makes versus floating between a number of different activities. For example, I guarantee that you will not find one person that is a professional athlete, concert quality orchestra musician, and CFO of a company with 100+ million in sales annually all at the same time. Each one of those requires so much work to get to that point of capability that along the way other pursuits are typically sacrificed.

In the world of literature no narrative about running has influenced my own training as much as Chris Lear's Running with the Buffaloes. The book follows the Colorado University cross country team as it tries to win the national championship. As far as seasons to follow this has to be one of the most eventful seasons that any team of any sport has ever had. Of course along the way there is a fair amount of talk about training, but the emotional human aspect is very strong due to the events and mainly the one event that occurs part of the way through the season. One of the take away ideas from the book for me what that universities are not looking for well rounded people, they are looking for people that are really good at something. In terms of running, universities want the fastest runner, not the 700th fastest who does other things moderately well too.

I read that book when I was about 20, which was a big year for me in terms of maturing. I realized I was not a kid and I had to get serious about my life. It was time to avoid distractions. Attempting to avoid distractions is a significant aspect of my life. It's part of the reason I've been single so long. It is part of the reason my mountaineering and climbing career has occurred with a number of leaps of commitment. I was (and in many respects still am) too inexperienced to be in Pakistan climbing 8000 meter mountains, but as part of the process toward a goal of mine I feel the need to avoid distractions and give myself the opportunity to excel. One way to do that is put myself out there and cut the distractions also known as camp on a glacier in Pakistan for a month.

Sometimes distractions can build over time. For example, last year about this time I was bumming around summer camp after the season was over doing some interesting things in my routine, but not much. I felt that I needed to do something "big" to progress. While I failed at climbing just about everything, I ended up running the Wonderland Trail, which was a fantastic experience. I also met and reconnected with a number of my friends, which by itself made the trip worth it.

What I am trying to say, if you did not get it yet, is that you have to keep your eyes on the prize, the important goals of your life. There are many distractions in life. I think that trying just about everything is a great idea, but I feel succeeding at even one long term goal is worth more than dozens, perhaps hundreds of distraction experiences.

Writers note: Just so that you know where my head is at, I've been "struggling" since my marathon. I've done so many of the things that I want to that the thought of attacking running again is giving me some apprehension. I've been bicycling (a distraction), working more hours (a distraction from running although an interesting and fulfilling one that pays well, 50 hours a week versus 40 really cuts into my running time), and spending more time reading and consuming media. The excitement to do 100+ (I'm hoping for some consistent 120 mile weeks this fall) mile weeks is coming back but I can't just go out and do it, it takes a few weeks to get there pushing myself every day. Long term motivation for me has never been a problem, but short term I can be super lazy and apathetic. Hence, I feel I've been distracted.

Fixing the National Debt

Half a year ago when I started writing my unemployment book I looked into the national debt so that I could include several pages about it in my book. With the current battle in Washington I have to say it is no surprise we are where we are. Of everything I have listened to, seen, and read the most educational was a podcast segment of NPR Money. If you listen to one podcast this year, make it this one. The speaker/professor/author they have on is great! He is seriously the most educated person I have ever heard from on national debts.

While I highly recommend you listen to the podcast I'll summarize it using words they are too afraid to use in the show: the US is in a mess of trouble and there are going to be unhappy people for years and probably decades because of it. What demographic suffers more is left to be seen, but rest assured, there will be suffering. He gives several example including Romania in the 1980s and I think France in the early 1800s. I especially like how he refers to an event 200 years ago as if it is relevant and the hosts laugh. We like to think we are the smartest people that have ever existed and as soon as you think you are smart you are admitting that you are dumb. I despise the words smart and dumb for reasons too lengthy for this article. Suffice to say we are no greater than our ancestors although we have probably complicated things so it will take more of us to figure out how to fix things, job security for some I guess.

So in the interest of solving a problem I came up with my solution to the national debt:

1. Raise the debt ceiling. I don't care what the number is but give us one or two years to pass the bills necessary to make a permanent fix.

2. Raise taxes. How? Create another tax bracket for million or two million dollar earners and give then a higher tax rate yet. For the rest us raise the percentages, except for 10% earners because seriously those people have no money anyway.

3. Cut spending. This is the hard part because it will involve extremely detailed organization to do correctly otherwise we will end up with tens of thousands more lay off and the same inefficiencies. Possible areas for improvement: education because we spend more on students and score worse on tests than most of the rest of the developed world, military because we are overseas so much that it becomes a burden on Americans, and especially social security. The goverment needs to raise the minimum and maximum age limits in a hurry. People can start collecting when they are only what 62? That is ridiculous! I get beat on the bicycle every Wednesday by a 55 year old theology professor. I have trouble believing that in the younger 60s people are no longer physically or mentally capable of contributing. On the contrary, many of the best professors and one boss of mine were in that range and they were extremely good because they have a story and example for every situation. We young people are missing out on that experienced insight because people retire early. However, after all that I say I'll probably retire with my millions in my 50s as a hypocrite.

4. Put Americans back to work. How? For starters, log all the dead pine trees in Colorado and throughout the west, including Canada. We have something like more than 50 million acres of dead beetle kill trees waiting to burn and cost us hundreds of millions of dollars. Or we could be proactive and cut them down because the wood is beautiful and we will save millions of acres of topsoil and tens of thousands of homes from destruction. Plus, logger jobs can employ the less educated, who are hurt more by the recession than most. How else to employ Americans? Agriculture is key. The US has much of the best farm land in the world. We will probably never have to worry about food the way than Somolia and Rwanda have. I also think we should raise the price of food but that's a more lengthy topic. A third way to put Americans to work is offer them jobs at minimum wage instead of outsourcing factories to Asia.

So those are my thoughts in a nutshell. I don't have many answers so please leave a comment below if you have a better idea.

Opportunity?

Memory is terrible isn't it? We remember our mistakes and missed opportunities. I am pretty sure that I had an opportunity recently, that I completely let go. That's not to say it will not present itself again, but still, opportunity missed.

I spent a decent amount of time thinking about it, and the way it happened is probably for the better. Regardless, if I knew what I was doing I would not have anything to learn, and this way the story becomes more entertaining. If I can't laugh at myself, who can I laugh at?

If you didn't follow, it's because the story is in the process of being written and as I don't know how it ends I don't want to give away what I do know, lest it ruins my chances.

Goals for My Debut Marathon

I am all about the goals. With my first ever marathon race coming up, I of course have some goals. Here they are in order:

1. Enjoy the race and enjoy the day. I have known for almost four years that the marathon was in my competitive future not just my recreational future. I have had a number of setbacks over the last three years that have prevented me from having the kind of performance at shorter distances that I would have liked before my debut. That being said, I am happy to be where I am going into this marathon.
2. Don't screw it up. If I go out in 1:11 or something I am pretty sure that I will hit the wall. I can easily see myself getting convinced into running with a pack at low 5:30s pace, which is too fast for me now. I have to take it easy and relax for as long as I can, even though that means I'll probably be running alone most of the race. I would like to even split or negative split.
3. Finish sub 2:30. That's what I'm training for, that's what I think I'm capable of.
4. Finish sub 2:27. There is a marathon, the Fukouka Marathon, in Japan, with an A and a B standard. The B standard is 2:45 and the A standard is 2:27. It is the most prestigious marathon to qualify for in the world with the exception of national and international championships. Anyway, I would like to get the A standard so that I have the option of entering in December. Every serious road racer has the desire to run in Japan at some point. The Japanese are huge distance running fans and the atmosphere is supposed to be legendary. 
5. There is prize money for the top 5. Based on past results I am looking to finish around 10th place, but you just don't know. The reason that we run races is because you can not tell by training and past results what the results will be. If you could we would not run races. 

Those are my goals, in order. Whatever happens I plan to enjoy being fit and mostly uninjured on race day, which is an accomplishment in itself. Life is good.  I feel refusal to realize my gifts  is ignorant. 

The Power of One

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

I am a firm believer in the power of one. Making one thing so important that it is the basis for thousands of hours of your time, perhaps even your entire life. Many people have trouble being that committed to something. It makes people nervous when a person is so incredibly committed to something that seemingly no obstacle will get in the way.

Now that I am sitting down to write this I feel that it can all be said in one paragraph. I have spent hours thinking about this while I was running, but there is really not much to say. When you can say, "that one thing is the most important to me" it will blow people away. In the 2008 presidential election I had a moment like that. I was discussing the upcoming election with my friends and I mentioned that one particular issue was so important to me that despite one candidate doing everything else well I could not vote for him. My friends were all a little shocked to see that one issue, and a relatively minor issue by political standards, was so important to me.

My running career is along the same lines. I get great joy from it continuously, but the goal is really one race. A race that would probably go unnoticed, even by the running community. It is the same for mountain climbing. I have been after Mt. Everest for years now, and when I do get up it my name will be just one in a list of other names. Yet, when nonclimbers learn of my passion I can tell that they do not know what to make of it. Only a few thousand people in the world are in a similar position to myself regarding Everest.

Finally, when I tell people my career goals, I can tell that they do not know what to make of it. No one has ever done the thing I want to do. Yet I say it and lay it out there as if it will be as simple as a two hour long car drive.

Unemployment, was a huge help to me, because it required that I re-prioritize my life. Not much at the top really changed, but things that were further down on the list, fell off the list. Would you prefer to get second place ten times or first place once? For me it depends on the competition, but to know that I pushed myself to the very peak of what I could accomplish mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually is more rewarding than leaving something in the tank and wondering if I might have done it had I tried harder. One thing, above all the distractions. It is going to happen.

My 7 Year Old PowerBook G4 Computer

April marks seven years that I have owned my nice little laptop. In April 2004 I bought it as a graduation/college gift to myself. It was a good investment. For about $1,600 I have managed to get 84 months of use out of it, minus a few months I was away from electricity in the mountains. That comes to less than $20 a month. Considering that this little machine helped get me two engineering degrees including a master's degree, I think it did alright.

Seven Years Strong! (...and vainly checking my website stats)

The world has accelerated in that time so that programs are larger and my 768 megabytes of RAM is no longer able to speed through applications. The 1.33 gigahertz single core processor is quite slow and a 1x DVD burner leaves something to be desired. The little 12.1 inch screen reminds my back every so often that leaning over a tiny screen is not ideal.

Seven years and hardly any scratches!

I have gone through two hard drives as I toted my computer around campus in sleep mode. A mistake that I will never make again, fortunately we have flash memory available with no moving parts so we can bounce and twist without damaging new computers. I've taken this thing with me everywhere. In the fall of 2007 the battery kind of gave up and I have been limited to about 10 minutes since then, which is usually enough to find an outlet.

A year ago I was planning on getting rid of it, selling it to a friend. However, as I near it's end, I am having some trouble thinking about letting it totally go. I still have the box. I mean such a large portion of my life has been spent behind this thing. It is strange to think of not being able to open it and find a file of mine from four years ago that suddenly seems important. There is also the matter of computer software that I have that might not be transferable, thanks to engineering school.

Now that I am gainfully employed I am saving a little bit of money from each paycheck so that in four to six months I will be able to afford a new computer. I have already decided on the Macbook Air. Although, the processor is too slow now to last another seven years I am hoping that in the next few months they will come out with a refresh, which is likely considering that Intel recently released a new 17 watt sandy-bridge processor.

Seven years! When I say it like that I am astonished that I have been out of high school that long. High school was so influential on my personality. As I think about the future I think, where will I be when I am close to turning 32? Will I live that long? I must say, the last seven years have been amazing! If the next seven increase in excitement, as I feel they will, I can only dream of how well they will go.

One piece of advice for everyone, there is a reason I am using a seven year old computer and most people are not. I bought high quality with the goal of this computer lasting at least five years. Generally speaking, when you go with quality, you only have to shop once. That might apply to other aspects of life as well... Anyway, I am big on quality. I like things that last because I am unfortunately hard on most of my stuff. Plus, much of the energy cost of a computer is in the initial construction so a computer that lasts longer is more energy efficient and less damaging to the environment.

Everest vs. Lohtse

Well, the votes are in. The better value between Mt. Everest at $44k and Lohtse at $20k is Everest. It was a close vote seven to six. Interestingly that result mirrors my own feelings at this point very well.

The tallest is the tallest. Is that simple fact worth an extra $24,000? I happen to think so. That being said, I don't have the kind of money right now so perhaps my opinion will be different when I do have that kind of money. Everest and Lohtse share the same basecamp and camps 1, 2, and 3 along the route, at least on the Nepal side. In other words, for a 60 day expedition the difference between the two is probably about 30 hours.

The reason I ask is that when I was a little 18 year old I decided that I liked climbing mountains. I  had more or less taught myself how to use crampons and an ice axe. I had started reading climbing lore through some of the classics, such as Into Thin Air. One of the questions that often came up during my formative high school summers in the mountains was, "would you climb Mt. Everest?" I decided in the summer after I graduated high school 'yes, I would like to climb Mt. Everest.' Being a goal-orientated person who likes timelines because it allows me to break the project into smaller pieces I set the arbitrary date of ten years from then for me to go to Everest. That is 2014. This is 2011 and I have already missed out on the spring season this year, that leaves three chances for the spring season on Everest to meet my goal.

What is stopping me from doing it as low budget as possible, go-into-more-debt, and used climbing equipment? I want to give myself all reasonable safety advantages. I'm not planning on getting any frostbite and I will gladly pay another $160 for another pair of mittens if it means I get to keep my fingers. Additionally, mountaineering is a hobby of mine. I am an engineer. As long as my brain is intact I can do that. Mountaineering is dependent on my body as much as my mind. In other words, I want to engineer now. I also want to run because I can only run to my potential for about the next ten years in distances of a marathon or less while I can climb mountains well into my 50s and be competitive in ultra races into my 40s.

I do not think I have been quite as bold with my plans on the blog before, but this has been in my mind for some time and well, I'm shopping around right now. If I live that long (age 28) you can be assured that I will show up at Everest basecamp with my gear sometime between now and then.

To the question about oxygen some of you might be wondering. I plan to go without. I have a huge aerobic capacity and an incredibly efficient metabolism which should greatly help my ability at altitudes from 23,050-29,035 ft. Up to 23,050 ft. I know that I operate decently well. That being said, after spending more than 40 grand I will spend the extra 1-2 grand to ensure that high altitude porters (typically Sherpas) carry a few bottles high on the mountain so that if I hit the wall on summit day or even the day before I can start sucking Os from a bottle. Honestly, above 23,100 ft I am not sure what to expect. At 23,500 ft would I be a useless pile of bones, muscles, water, and down feathers? I don't think so, but I don't know for sure.

To the other question that some of you might be wondering, 'am I qualified?' Yes I totally am. I am relatively light on time spent at high altitude, but I have a night spent above 23,000 ft, which is more than is required by most outfitters. I also have more technical experience than many commercial climbers.

Finally, to the question a few of you might be thinking, 'how am I going to willfully take two months of work off and re-enter unemployment?' I have a few ideas, like leave of absence, going back to school, contract work, a second book, a speaking tour, or a new job. In other words, I'm not going until I am confident that I have an income source lined up for my return or at least half a year after my return.

I can read about what others have done, but I want to do it! Reading is not the same as doing it. Do you want to know what it is like to run the Wonderland Trail? Go run it! Go be adventurous! Yes, it will hurt sometimes, but you can handle it because you had what it takes to take the first step.

The Ideal [Apple] Computing System

In 2004 as I headed off to college I bought a laptop and a cell phone. It was my first personal computer and personal phone. When I was trying to make the decision of what phone I wanted, I took the phone that was free with the cheapest nationwide phone plan. Why buy something with an mp3 player or camera when I already had an iPod and a digital video camera? Buying a computer was still a somewhat geeky proposition. There was really only the choice between a desktop and a laptop. The details of processor speed, memory, graphics cards, and hard drives were the type of thing that we geeks discussed, because we were all geeky future engineers and scientists. The Internet was accessed on a computer. A small computer was a 4.6 pound laptop.

My how times have changed in seven years. Wednesday Apple introduced a 1.3 pound iPad 2 with a dual core 1 GHz processor. That is faster than my current computer. Something that doesn't even pretend to be a computer is better than a computer that is not even seven years old. Now the Internet is accessed on millions of phones, tablets, gaming consoles, and of course, wicked fast computers.

My six a half year old computer is getting ready to move to another owner. It still works fine. I create and edit documents, surf the internet, stream videos, and listen to music. Yet, it encodes video really slow, has all of an eight minute battery life, and is not capable of running some complex new programs due to a slow processor speed. On a similar note, I am on my third cell phone, an iPhone, whose contract ended a few months ago. The battery life is not as great as it once was, and I would like a better camera. So I am in the market for another piece of technology.

So as I examine the options, within the context that I am hopelessly sold on Apple products, I wonder what is my ideal system? Starting with a phone, I want to upgrade to the iPhone 5. Mostly because of the  video capability and higher resolution screen. Having a new battery will also be a plus. Apple has not released it yet so it might be called the iPhone 4G, but regardless I am sure it will be amazing.

So that covers an ultra portable device. What do I do on a computer or larger device that I do not or can not do on a phone? First, the things that I can do either on a phone or a computer. I typically blog, check my email, pay my bills (some I only pay using my computer), surf the Internet, listen to music, watch YouTube videos, and check the weather.

Things that I currently do strictly on my computer include creating and editing documents and presentations, edit videos, burn DVDs, dabble in computer programing, and using various engineering related programs. Wether or not I use those engineering programs on my personal computer in the future remains to be seen. For the most part of my time in the future (90%+ of the time) I will probably only need the capability to create and edit documents, including pdfs and spreadsheets, and edit video. Both of those are possible using the iPad. Although that does not give me the ability to burn DVDs which is a capability that I value.

So requiring the use an an optical drive, more I nearly always burn DVDs at home so a desktop computer with an optical drive would be nice. The capability of a desktop computer also give me the opportunity to use complex programs and enhanced video editing.

In bullets by device:

• iPhone: surf the Internet, use email, listen to music, ultra portable, a camera and video editing, ebooks, weather, banking, games, directions
• iPad: all of the above, very portable instead of ultra portable, and not as capable to give directions. On the plus size, the screen is huge and thus more user friendly and the battery life is great. 
• Macbook Air: very portable, camera, a full opperating system so that advanced programs or programming can be done, a full keyboard, descent battery life
• Macbook/Macbook Pro: all of the above except it is less portable (a little heavier) and has much better battery life as well as an optical drive and phenomenal processors speed
• iMac: not practically portable on a daily basis, very advanced processors and an optical drive, needs to be plugged in

Use and probably best or two best device:

• Hiking, Bicycling, Directions, and short term travel (a few hours): iPhone
• Expedition to Asia: Macbook Air (7 Watts/hr) or iPad (2.5 Watts/hour) (must be able to be charged by my 20 Watt solar panel, necessitating using less than 20 Watts per hour. would typically be used to watch movies, play games, listen to music, and read)
• Coffee shop Internet use: Macbook Air or Macbook/Macbook Pro I really like the use of a key board
• Group homework: Macbook Air or Macbook/Macbook Pro
• Burning DVDs: iMac or Macbook Pro
• Editing and Encoding Video: iMac
• Programming and using complex programs: iMac
• Surfing the Internet on the couch: iPad
• Gaming: depends on what game you are playing. I am perfectly content with the Sudoku on my phone
• Bicycle commuting: Macbook Air
• Cutting food: Macbook Air or iPad 2

What does all of this mean? I will probably buy a new iPhone the week it is released and will probably get a Macbook Air this fall when they will likely release one with a faster processor. Although, I have not played with the new iPad yet and I am very excited about that. I mean, it has a better processor than my computer! I could easily get away with an iMac and iPad instead of a laptop. I want to get the best value and functionality for a system that will last me at least four more years, the phone excluded. I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud. If you have any comments let me know below. 

Two Years?

So I started doing this blog thing in February 2009, and I'm still doing it, as much as ever, two years later. I totally started this on the whim that I was going to start a company with employees. It has turned out to be a more holistic view of my life. I feel that for the most part I am staying true to the title, Learning to DO. I just am learning about far more than business.

January and February were the too highest months I have had for visits yet averaging over 40 unique visits per day for both months. Hopefully those that read this are learning something just as I am continuously learning.

What defined my second year of blogging?

1. Going restricted for a few months. That really cut down on my visits. I am sure that people who would have liked to know more about Abaqus did not get the same kind of help that I have on here. I also did not being restricted. I highly doubt that will happen again. Chances are this blog will continue until either the Internet vanishes or I do. Even if I pass away, my sister could post all of the half finished blog posts I have.
2. Weekly series happened just about every week this past year. That's a trend that in some way will probably stay with me for a long time. The titles and content will change. I suppose that some day I might have a series like "Doing Retirement" or "How a Child Raises a Parent" or Countdown to Wedding Day" although, none of those are even on the radar yet. 
3. Unemployment turned out to be a huge theme of my life. I've said about all that I can say about that. 

Thank you for continuing to read! Without all of your visits I would not be as motivated to keep writing. I keep on keeping on with the hope that something that I write will help other people. If just one person is helped in a positive way, it is worth it.

Finding Your Motivation

What do I think about those 12+ hours a week when I am out running alone? Part of it is finding my motivation. This article may be somewhat haphazardly organized because I thought of most of it while I was running.

Some people get their motivation from "things". From physical things such as owning a really nice car, a house, land, a big bank account, a "man's" room (like a garage or shed or something), and other physical things. Some people get their motivation from the experience. I am in the motivated-by-experience group. I can not think of any "thing" that I would like to have so much that I would quit working for any of my goals. No matter how much you pay me or what I have, if I can't run at the olympic marathon trials or work toward any of my other running goals I won't be satisfied in that area. There will come a day when I am physically getting slower and I have thought about the possibility that I do not accomplish any of my three running goals. The truth is, if my running ended today, I would be fine with that. I have done so much that I consider that aspect of my life a success already. However, since I can still run there is quite a bit more I want to do.

This relates to the question, "why do people do what they do?" "Why?" is a terrible question. There is nothing as ambiguous as the question, "why?"A better way to investigate someone's motivation is a question like, "What is the purpose of that?" or "How is that process and/or that accomplishment going to make your life better?" or "When do you plan to do that?" or "Who is involved in that plan of yours?"

I think I am a little different than most people. I know what I want to do. I wrote down a list and it was in the single digits of things I really want to do. I think most people have trouble condensing their life ambitions into a short list or even knowing what their life ambitions are!

Another way to look at the motivation question is to ask yourself, "who do I want to be?" That verb, be or is, has an enormous amount of power. I am _____. He is _____. She will be _____.

I'm not sure this post was helpful in any way, but I spend a lot of time running thinking about myself and things that motivate me, and I am happy to share that with others. As for the question you might be thinking, because I sure thought this, "why does he spend so much time thinking about himself?" Simple, after years of being single I don't have a girlfriend to think about, my relationships are generally pretty simple, I don't listen to music when I run, and it is a great time to dream of greatness as I am out there chasing greatness.

The Purpose of Hard Shell Jackets

I finally bought a hard shell jacket. I've been in the market for about six years and I finally found a jacket that fits, is in my price range (less than $100 for actual quality), is light enough, has features I like and none that I don't.

For those that don't know, a hard shell is a dense fabric or coating such as Gor-Tex that is designed to be water proof. In the last 30 years as "breathable" fabrics and coatings have emerged this now typically means waterproof and breathable. In other words, expensive, barely breathable and and uninsulated. I took a pictures of myself in my new jacket below.

As I contemplated my purchase on the hour long drive home I thought, 'after everything I have done the last six years why am I buying a hard shell at all? I got along just fine without it.'

So I came up with a list of reasons to own a hard shell.

1. Ice climbing in the rain
2. Rock climbing in the snow
3. When you are no longer having fun outside because of the weather but are still hours away from lattes and heaters

That is about it. In total that accounts for about 10% of the time that I spend playing in the outdoors. Typically when any of those scenarios happens the trips is nearing completion but it will be nice to stay dry a little longer than I do with my three ounce wind shells. 

Quality Matters

My computer is an Apple 12.1 inch Powerbook G4 1.33 GHz, vintage 2004. In other words, it's old and not terribly fast. I bought it in the spring before I went to college and I have owned it ever since, nearly seven years.

As I gaze around my room and see how much junk I have, I also appreciate all of the valuable quality things that I have. Things that could very well last longer than I do. For example, I have a 1930s Royal typewriter that is in almost as good of condition now as when it rolled off the production line over 70 years ago.

I feel that quality stuff is totally the way to go when buying anything that will be used multiple times. For example, I bought and broke several $8-18 watches before I finally bought a $50 watch that does everything I need and it has lasted longer than any of those previous watches. My computer is a prime example. At $1,600 it was a huge expense when I bought it but provided it makes seven years that is an average of $20 per month. Considering that it helped me through two engineering degrees, thousands of hours of work, and that I pay way more than that per month for my cell phone, I can't imagine a much better deal.

Finally, buying quality is environmentally friendly because you buy less. Had I gone through three computers in the time that this one has lasted me how much of those computers would be sitting in a landfill? Similarly, using ceramic plates instead of paper or styrofoam plates entail a little bit of washing but nothing ends up in a landfill.

The same can be said for products as for time. Such as how I spend my time running. Running eight minute miles for 13 hours a week is great and I get into great slow aerobic shape, but seeing as how my goals involve running paces much closer to five minutes per mile, I need to run workouts close to those paces.

Just something to think about.

2010: My Year in Review

January started with me as confident as ever about my career and my running going as well as it ever had gone. I moved out to Colorado to live with some college friends and I have to say that was an amazing three months. I met so many people. I had so many beautiful runs through the mountains. I enjoyed life. I even officially started Janzen Gear in February. However, my running took a hit as I adjusted to the altitude.

However, March came and went and I fell apart. After three months of unemployment I was totally out of money and without any interviews in that whole time, I was depressed. I was so stressed out that things were not going the way I had planned that I gave myself back pain. That was a huge life lesson about the things in my life that I value, and what is really important to me. I am guessing that it will never happen again because I have a better understanding of my own mentality.

Because of the whole money thing I packed up and went to Minnesota and worked for my uncle for six weeks in the family greenhouse. It was tough physical labor. Not what I ever expected my first job out of college would be.

In mid May I headed back west to teach rock climbing at Boy Scout camp again. It was my fourth summer at a Boy Scout camp. I had a fantastic summer. I climbed harder than I ever have before. I ran like crazy until I got a stress reaction. My friends and I had a great time. Again, it's humbling to have a master's degree in engineering and be teaching 13 year olds how to belay for a relatively small paycheck. I also attempted the Grand Teton for the first time and I led two pitches up the Casual Route on the Diamond before it rained and snowed us off. Regardless, this summer was about the relationships I have with my friends, and it was an unequivocal success. I have the best friends in the world!

I followed up the summer with a month long road trip through Utah, California, Washington and Montana and a few other states. In the psychological aspect of life I was able to spend time with two of my American friends who shared the summer of 2009 experience with me in Pakistan. In many ways it was the final chapter in my mental recovery from that experience. I also spent two days trying to climb the Nose on El Capitan solo and a day trying the Regular Northwest Face on Halfdome. The inspiration for the road trip was to do something "big" my climbing just did not pan out, I had a great time, learned a bunch, but I ended up scared and tired. So at the suggestion of my friends, on two days notice I ran the Wonderland Trail, and accomplished something "big".

Once again out of money I had the choice between staying in Colorado and making snow (physical labor) for a few months or going home in the hopes of a job offer and more Internet access to apply for more jobs. I went home, also because my grandma had a stroke this summer and my family is very important to me. I only have one family.

The last three and a half months of the year were, by my standards, uneventful. I gradually began running more miles in hopes of some good races from the 5k to the marathon in 2011. I had an interview at GE and they ended up going with someone more qualified.

By the numbers:

• I estimate from reading my own blog, that I applied to approximately 378 jobs in 2010. 
• I ran 3379.6 miles total including five 4+ hour runs and nine 100+ mile weeks. That is an average of 9.25 miles per day, every day all year. Only one personal record racing this year, 1:36 at 15 miles.
• I slept in 12 states and traveled in 22 states. 
• 11 painting started and 10 paintings finished, a record for me.

2010 was, for me, about valuing the intangible things in my life like relationships, health, freedom, and life itself more than I did when I was younger. The lessons I have learned about saving for a rainy day, starting a company, stress, communication, and other still unknown things are not all clear to me yet. I think that the lessons of 2010 will impact me for the rest of my life. I feel that events of the past year will teach me new things for years to come as I continue to mature and better understand what really happened in many situations.

Thank you all for the comments and the caring in person, on the blog, in letters, on Facebook, and in your prayers. This blog has been a great way to express myself and I plan to keep at it for years to come.

Thank you,

Isaiah Janzen

I am More Feminist than Many Women

I've been thinking about this post for weeks, and in part even months. I was directly inspired because through the grapevine word had it that I said wrote some chauvinistic things in previous posts relating to women. So here I go, on a vain attempt to salvage some integrity, which will likely only portray me as an even more evil person than everyone previously suspected. So what else is new?

Let's talk feminism. I really knew nothing about it until a very close friend of mine went to college a year before me. In the course of her studies she learned about feminism and the subject came up during a phone call once. I really knew nothing about it, so when she said that she was feminist I decided to do some research and see what that meant.

On January, 2nd, 2011 Wikipedia defined Feminism by the following opening sentence: Feminism refers to movements aimed at establishing and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.^[1][2][3]

There is absolutely no question in my mind that feminism, as defined above, is something that should be practiced by everyone. Therefore, I decided as a high school senior that I am a feminist.

As the years went past one of my jobs in college was taking pictures at sporting events, specifically the basketball games. I took pictures for both the men's and women's teams. While I have little interest in the sport itself, I found women's basketball more fascinating than the men's and not because they were women I may have been attracted to. Women's games are often lower scoring than men's games which means that more time and thus effort is put into each goal. Passing, dribbling, turnovers, and other ball handling skills are more important in a low scoring game. Unfortunately, as just about anyone that has gone to a men's game and women's game in the same night has experienced, there are typically far more spectators at the men's game than the women's game. Unfair? I think so.

Next was post-college graduation when many of my friends landed their first salaried jobs. Salaries are not often talked about but they tend to come up every now and then. Also, comments people make are very insightful into how much those people make. One of the things that seems to occur is that women make less money than men. I find that ridiculous! I don't want to get paid more simply because I am a male! I want to earn what I get paid because I am incredibly awesome and productive at my job.

Recently I was riding in a car with a woman and we were listening to music and the song "Sound Track to My Life" by Kid Cudi (a male) came on. The first line is: "I got 99 problems and they all bit*$!&." I said to the woman in the car, "Don't you find that offensive?" Her response was a slightly shocked, should-I-be-offended mumbling, "No..." I find it offensive. Wether any women out there do or not, who knows, but I find it offensive that he refers to women that way.

In another example, someone suggested that when I talk about racing and beating women that my tone and words are very chauvinist. I compare my own race results very often to women's racing results. I compare my results to those of my friends and other male runners as well, so my comparisons are not limited. However, many of my running goals, based on times at various distances I want to run, are probably similar to many of the current famous professional female runners in the world. In that way when I compare myself to the women, it provides one understanding of how well I am doing. I ran a 15 mile race in Colorado this summer and I was beaten by one woman, who had been 13th at the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon. For me it provides a clear understanding of how I am doing. Famous women runners are far more likely to have biographies and race result times listed on the Internet so that I can compare how well she raced at that distance to other distances. This most interests me when it comes to marathoning. I have not run one, and figuring out how I am progressing toward future marathons based on how I race shorter distances against established marathoners is one way that I do that. I could talk about Ryan Meissen, Mark Stenbeck, or Michael Wardian, but it is harder to determine which runners fall into the marathon trials oriented group versus the runners that just enjoy running fast and focusing on the shorter distances. As one of my coaches once said, "Don't compare yourself to others, you are different." Well, I've done a whole lot better about that the last 15 months now that I understand my own training more. Still, I run races to be as fast as possible and I like to know who is beating me. It's self-centered I know, that is part of the reason I'm not in a relationship now.

Finally, I leave with a quote. This quote is very sincere to me. It is not strictly about feminism yet it illustrates one relationship where I stood on an equal footing with this woman and feminism is about equality. The person that said it, and her friends that agreed with her, are so unique among all the friends that I have ever had that I do not anticipate ever hearing this from anyone else. She said, "Isaiah, you are the best guy friend I have ever had, except for my family, that I haven't slept with."

Thank You, Thank You, and Merry Christmas!

2010 has not at all been the year I expected it to be as I considered my future a year ago. My career has been a little lacking. On the up side I have learned and am still learning many important lessons. Here are a few lessons I am thankful for that I learned in 2010:

• My family and friends have so graciously housed me without rent for a sum total of seven to nine months depending on how you count summer camp. I have come to understand that the generosity of others always seems to far exceed my expectations. I hope to extend that courtesy to others in the future.
• There are people who are far far worse off than I. My goals are astronomical, they actually are. When I feel myself failing at those goals because I don't have a job I feel helpless. I worry that I might never "make it" the way I dreamed. That is ridiculous because I have experienced more and done more in ways that many people never will. I have a masters degree in engineering. Done. Millions, if not billions, of people will never get the chance to even attempt that.
• The United States is rich. We have so much money and power, most of it concentrated with a select group. 
• Many people in the United States are ignorant of all sorts of information. Information about starvation, poverty, wealth, oil, and the politics in Pakistan are some of the things that Americans are blissfully unaware of. In one way this troubles me because we have the ability to make a difference but so often we do not because we do not know there is a problem. Another way this troubles me is that if Americans with our volumes of information and nearly unlimited access to information do not know, they what about billions of people around the world? Another way this ignorance troubles me is that often problems could be dealt with before they are problems. An ounce of prevention or a pound of cure?
• Somehow or other I have acquired an amazing group of friends over the years. I'm not sure how that happened but I know some pretty awesome people.

It's Not Rocket Science: Week 38

Applying for jobs it was a weak week on my part. I only applied for a handful again this week. Fortunately, finding a job is not entirely about applying, part of it is about interviews.

Finding a job things were much better this week. I had an interview at a local company. Unfortunately, two of the three people who were supposed to be there had already left for vacation for the remainder or 2010. So I get to have another interview the first week in January. Furthermore, the potential employer said that so far I was the only qualified employee they had found for the position. They are still offering the employment on the Internet and expect to find more people, but as it stands I'm in the lead.

I also confirmed interest in a Ph.D. internship. I was viewing getting a Ph.D. as a failure because it means I was not able to find an engineering job. I have more or less gotten over that in part because the stipend from being a graduate student would be enough for me to live just about anywhere and make more than the minimum payments on my loans.

Running was a delightfully experience this week. It started off Sunday afternoon with a run at the Petit National Ice Center. It is a 400 meter indoor long track speed skating piece of ice. Around the outside of the track is 450 meter two lane rubber track. It is a classic and unique running experience and for the south east Wisconsin runner something that you have to experience at least once. Anyway, it being flat, ice free, and warmer than outside I was able to run nearly two minutes faster per mile than I was out in the Wisconsin December. I did not think I would get 100 miles this week because of how exhausted I was last week and because I gave blood Monday for the first time in about two years. However, I managed to have a good 20 mile run Thursday and with a scant 31 miles remaining and two days to do it I simply went running. 100 or more miles in one week in my running log is a huge mental boost to me for the next few weeks. In a time when so many things in my life do not make me feel good about what I am doing, my running helps greatly.

I made some progress on my airplane design, not terribly much but I thought of a form factor which I think will be critical for stability, cabin size and battery storage.

On a social note my sister was home from college this week so I spent time with her and her friends which was a whole lot of fun. It also provided some humorous moments for me. When I figure out how to blog about them with respectful words so that I don't hurt my new friendships I will.

My sister and I also started painting Irises by Van Gogh. You can check the progress on my sister's Twitter steam.

Christmas was really nice and that warrants a post unto itself tomorrow.

What is the Difference?

With all of the talk about political corruption in Afghanistan I have to ask, how is that any different than the United States?

Many wealthy people donate large amounts of money to political campaigns. Similarly companies and associations have massive lobbying efforts. The difference seems to me that we have laws that restrict and direct the money that any one person can give directly to any politician. However, there is no rule about Company X giving money to charitable or other organization Y run or managed or sincere to politician Z. It buys time for X with Z.

Time is what becomes really important. There is more money in the world than can be used by any one person, but each person only has so much time in life. Dare I say that when it comes to politics a politician's spouse might be the most influential person for that politician. It would be in large part because of the time spent with each other and the trust between the two. The point being that buying time with the people who make decisions that affect you is in your best interests. We do it one way in the United States and they do it differently in Afghanistan. The result appears the same. Sometimes it takes people in other countries to point out facts about us. A fun article about the not-so-rich top 2% middle class. Now I've just been reading too much about taxes and it's late at night...

(Anyway, I was trying to find an article about what I saw on NBC nightly news a few nights ago that 37% of the tax relief of the 2010 tax stimulus bill was going to the top 3% of earners. Yes other money like unemployment goes to those that aren't earning, but for the actual "tax cuts" it was 37%. I couldn't find it, and since I can't cite it I won't say it. Hopefully some professional news agency more diligent than I will find the info and promote it so that I understand what just happened.)

What is Rich?

What defines rich?

As a scientifically trained person I think using numbers. I define things by numbers. I answer questions by using numbers. Here is my attempt to answer this question with numbers. Here we go...

Let us start with monetary value. For the sake of my simplicity we will use the United States Dollar. Does being a millionaire mean you are rich? There were 10 million millionaires in the world in 2008. The same article suggests that there were then 103,320 people worth more than $30 million. Does having over 30 million mean you are rich? Yes. If they do not qualify as rich who does? The same goes for the other 9.9 million regular millionaires. A million dollars is not nearly what it used to be. Many people have that much when they set out to retire, yet out of more than 6 billion people in the world only 10 million have that kind of money. When you can buy a Ferrari, a Lambourgini, and an Austin Martin the same day you are rich. 

If a million dollars makes you rich, how much less makes you rich?

Next, we will look at percentages. Starting with the millionaires, 10 million out of 6.7 billion means you would be in the richest .15% of the world's population. That is one rich person and 669 not so rich people. That is an incredibly exclusive club. Surely being rich is not as exclusive as one out of 670 people. What about the richest one percent of the world?

In 2000 the richest 1% owned 40% of the wealth. The same study says that in that year $500,000 was needed to belong to the richest 1% of the world and $61,000 to belong to the richest 10%. If you just want to beat the Jones' and get into the top 50% that requires $2,200 in assets. 

$2,200. 

Math is incredibly good at breaking down arguments into yes and no, true or false, and right or wrong. In this case let me define people as either rich or poor. Thumbs up or thumbs down. On or off. 0 or 1. The Haves and the Have Nots. With half of the world population on each side that line, at least in the year 2000 broke at $2,200. 

What about the middle class? Well, it's a great ideal and a huge component of modern societies, but how do you define it? The middle 50% or the middle 80%? That I do know know, but for my argument I am suggesting that a person is either rich or poor.

I need only look around my room to know that I am very rich. (Sure assets minus liabilities mean I have a negative net worth, but my assets are certainly in the thousands of dollars.) It's humbling.

I feel guilty just saying that I am rich. People are starving and I own $800 just in mountaineering boots. What makes me worthy of being rich compared to billions of others? I hope I help.