a few more of Maya

Yeah I know they are both very cute, and Noah even takes out the trash !!! LOL he's so sweet.

Maya is in the house!!

So we added a new member to the family, it was a tough one because she had brothers and a mom that were also gorgeous but here she is:
She is almost 6 weeks old but the vet said she is so healthy and big she can come home with us already. I also loved her brother a white one with brindle patches on the eyes. If anyone wants a new puppy or a gorgeous brindle boxer mom let me know she is only 10 months old also.

that's all.

Leadville Tunnel disaster imminent

First of all I got this info from Bill (Doc), so thanks for keeping us posted. If there is anything we can do to help people there please let me know.

Here is an article I found and also one other from the paper below...first the info locals got:

LEADVILLE TUNNEL please read this.

Newspaper:

Sen. Salazar weighs in on tunnel threat
By Kirk Mitchell The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/16/2008 05:48:28 PM MST

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar visited the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel today, where officials are striving to stave off a gigantic spill of toxic materials.
Salazar met with Lake County commissioners to discuss a four-point plan for swiftly dealing with a blocked tunnel that threatens to blow out.
"This is a serious issue, and the Bureau of Reclamation needs to act with urgency," Salazar said.
On Friday, Gov. Bill Ritter asked President Bush to take immediate action to "avert a catastrophic event."
Local, state and federal officials agreed Friday to a four-point plan including immediately pumping water out of the mine shaft beginning next week, conducting a risk assessment, creating an incident action plan and testing groundwater for contamination.
Colorado health officials estimate it will cost about $5 million to pump the tunnel out and permanently address safety issues.
Salazar earlier wrote a letter to Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Robert W. Johnson, requesting a report of possible blockage in the drainage tunnel and the likely effects of contaminated water on California Gulch and the Arkansas River if there is a discharge.
The tunnel, which is owned and operated by the bureau, has a major blockage, and behind the blockage is about 1 billion gallons of toxic acid and metal-laden water, now almost 200 feet high.
Because of a buildup of pressure, the blockage could blow, inflicting numerous deaths and the destruction of property, the Lake County commissioners said in a news release on Wednesday.
"As the Bureau moves forward to address the blockage I will monitor their actions closely and provide any assistance that I can," Salazar said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com

Airport hangin...

I am sitting in Charlotte Airport waiting on a connecting flight back to Miami. I had a nice Carolina BBQ sandwich and cornbread. Yes I am bored.

So I am completeing another trip to Scottsdale to visit my new bosses and get a better idea of the systems I will be supporting. I am confident that I can do this easily. I hope they feel the same, but there is an underlying feeling that they are soooo big that I will have to do VERY well to impress them. In Scottsdale they have someone for everything, they have admin people for every detail of daily work, there are managers of managers of managers..etc. It isn't a bad structure, as they would put it a "matrix" instead of hierarchial.

I did what they call a PC or Personal Commitment, which is a doc to state what my goals are for the year, my personal traits etc.. I basically tried to make it a little lofty while using what they already had as an example of some good starter goals.

I just read up to page 88 of the Billy Bragg book, it is an interesting book teaching me about some of Englands history as well as how Billy has been influenced by England and it's history in his music, especially the more political parts of his music and career. He gets into the geneaology of his family that albeit they were fairly normal people, they seem to have had as much interest in social causes as he does.

I guess I need to shut down..running out of battery.

cyall in Miami

My sons...

From Billy Bragg's book "The Progressive Patriot" page 5 of the intro, yes I got that far...:

"My son is a part of me, and I want the best for him; I want him to flourish, to be at ease with himself, to be admired. But I recognize that he is not perfect, and when he makes mistakes I am compelled to speak out and correct him - I can't merely accept and applaud everything he does just because he's my son. Why not? Because I love him and I don't want him to grow up to be a spoiled brat whom others despise - I want him to understand that there are consequences for his actions in the wide world. When he lives up to my expectations, I am immensely proud. And when we're apart, I think of him every day."

That is how I feel, I love you happy Valentines day, you make me very proud because you are an especially good son.
Dad

New Rescue 21 job

It has been hectic to say the least but this new contract and position seems to have been a positive move. I will be running solo but the infrastructure behind me is robust. I will have a call center handling most of the trouble calls and when it is beyond their reach, from Scottsdale, then I will have to go to the sites and resolve whatever is going on.

I think the nature of this position is much more management of the system and subcontracts and less climbing towers or redoing weather proofing of cables. The USCG operators have a lot to learn but I think it is a great step ahead for the USCG.

Here is some info on what Rescue 21 is all about.

Here is a little video of a Rescue 21 case

CO in August

Woohoooo, I guess I am in, I made the lottery cut! I can't wait to be back in CO riding in August.

YIPPEE!!