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Showing posts from July, 2018

Those exceptional and influential mentors, then and now

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A younger Bob Timm working on his PhD project at UC Davis. Over time, the number of people you interact with grows and grows.  Your brain registers these interactions.  Superfluous or incidental interactions go into short-term memory (or don't register at all).  Sometimes we remember snippets of conversations, a face, or a situation, but that's enough. On the opposite end, however, are interactions that have profound impacts on you.  Although these impacts could be direct or indirect, and positive or negative, they shape you. They affect your future behavior.   One form of positive interaction is the mentor. The Cambridge Dictionary defines a "mentor" as "an experienced and trusted person who gives another person advice and help, especially related to work or school, over a period of time."  Another way of looking at a mentor is as "a trusted counselor or guide." I received notice last week that Professor Howard Wiegers was

Cache Gran Fondo, 2018

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This is the third year I've participated in the Cache Gran Fondo ride, and the first time I biked it without Caroline.  I was part of Team Utah Public Radio , which meant that I rode with other UPR supporters.  Actually, I rode by myself for the first 30 miles, then joined team members Jason Leiker, Julie Gast, Barbara Farris, and Allen Hoffman for a push to the finish (53 miles total).  A few other team members rode the longer 112 miles.  As you can tell from the photos, we finished looking as good as we started (after 3.75-ish hours)! At the start of the Cache Gran Fondo, with the addition of Brian Evans, who left us in the dust. Finished! I was worried about the weather, which was forecast to have temperatures in the mid-90s.  But the clouds cooperated in keeping us cool, and the 3 rest stops provided plenty of water, donut holes, bananas, and pickle juice to keep us going. I don't have a lot of experience with distance cycling.  Caroline and I ha

Bans on straws and sunscreens... small steps in the right direction

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"This juvenile Laysan Albatross from the Kure Atoll never reached the sea, dying from what a necropsy would reveal as a stomach bulging with 12 ounces of indigestible items, mostly plastic debris, scooped up from the ocean’s surface by the chick’s parents and regurgitated into its gaping beak along with squid and other edibles." Two events happened this week that will probably be overlooked by most people. First, Governor David Ige of Hawaii signed into law Senate Bill 2571 , prohibiting the sale and distribution of many sunscreens containing the ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate. The bill stated that "The legislature finds that two chemicals contained in many sunscreens, oxybenzone and octinoxate, have significant harmful impacts on Hawaii's marine environment and residing e cosystems, including coral reefs that protect Hawaii's shoreline." At the signing, Gov. Ige said , “We are blessed in Hawaii to be home of some of the most beautiful natural