Last week, we packed up the Subaru and made our way to eastern Oregon where we experienced three days/two nights of wonderful eastern Oregon beauty. Personally, I find eastern Oregon to be more enriching and exciting than western Oregon. Laura is more keen to the coast and Ethan just goes with the flow.

Prior to our departure, we purchased our first family tent; the Sierra Design Bedouin Annex 4+2. This tent proved to be a great tent that allowed Ethan to roll around without getting too dirty. In addition, we bought a Coleman queen size air mattress. Oh yeah! I love my backpacking air mattress pads, but we’re car camping. If we have the room then throw it on in.

We camped at Strawberry Campground on the Malheur National Forest. The trailhead to Strawberry Lake is located here. The lake lies in the Strawberry Wilderness and is a beautiful sight. We did a 5-mile hike to the lake and base of Strawberry Falls where Laura and I enjoyed them, but Ethan slept the entire time we were there.

Overall, it was a great trip for the family. We look forward to going out again, but perhaps when Ethan is walking around. Enjoy the photos.

Hendricks Hall: Brett’s home away from home for the last two years. His department is located on the first floor and the Career Center where he did his Peace Corps job is on the second floor.

We want everyone to feel included as we wind down this chapter of our lives. Here is the official evite for Brett’s defense next week. I’ll put a PDF of the project on the website when I finish all the edits in a few weeks. Also, here is the link to the invitation on the PPPM website. Thanks!

You are invited to attend Brett Holt’s exit project defense
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 9:00am
University of Oregon EMU Coquille Room

Perception to Inception: Assessing Contractor Capacity to Utilize Woody Biomass for Energy Production in Lane County, Oregon

Brett W. Holt

Master of Community and Regional Planning, June 2008

Abstract

Events such as global warming, peak oil, and catastrophic wildfires are bringing government officials, community members, conservation organizations, timber industry officials, and other stakeholders together to explore sustainable long-term solutions to create healthy and vibrant communities. The utilization of woody biomass is being explored as a solution because of its ability to minimize the effects of these events, as well as meet economic development, renewable energy, and ecological objectives. On the front lines to promoting woody biomass is the timber industry. Though they stand to benefit economically, there are challenges they face before fully committing to utilizing woody biomass.

To better understand the opportunities and challenges the timber industry faces in the Southern Willamette Valley, this study accomplished two main objectives. The first objective was to understand the capacity of firms either engaged in or have the potential to engage in woody biomass collecting, processing and transportation services. The second objective was to determine the willingness and interest of firms to participate in biomass utilization efforts and what barriers prevent them from engaging in or supporting woody biomass utilization.

As part of the study, we interviewed key individuals involved in the collection, transportation, and/or utilization of timber in the Southern Willamette Valley. The results of the study provide a better understanding of the competition surrounding the region’s existing supply of woody biomass and the perceived challenges and limitations of increasing specific woody biomass opportunities. Findings suggest opportunities are limited due to supply availability, firms have an inconsistent definition of what woody biomass is and its uses, and the industry may benefit from increased government subsidies.

I enjoy working with computers. More importantly, I enjoy using computer programs that improve productivity, improve efficiency, and expand creativity. I’d say over the last couple years, I’ve been able to add an arsenal of programs and internet browser add-ons that have improved my computing experience for social, school, and work uses.

By no means will you need or even want all of these, but they are useful. These programs have worked well for my needs and my computer capabilities. Also, many of these programs have a paid version, but I have yet to pay for them and have still been happy with the functionality of each free version.

Here are some of my favorite FREE programs. Some are open-source, some are just freeware. Enjoy.

One day Google, like Costco, will rule the world, so let’s start learning how to work together now.

• Picasa - easy to use photo organizer, editor and more. Laura is able to use it which is saying something.
• Gmail/Google Calendar - all of our email first goes through our Gmail account. It creates a back up and allows us to email from anywhere in the world. If you set up your Gmail account today, they have a great program to upload your contacts and email into your account so you won’t miss a beat. If you get the Gmail account, then you’ll have access to Calendar. Calendar can sync with Outlook. Laura and I use Calendar to sync our two Outlook calendars together.
• Google Earth - update maps, features, integration for your web browser. I love this program.
• SketchUp - who needs Autocad when you have this program. It offers some wonderful design functionality and integrates into Google Earth nicely.

Firefox Add-Ons

First, get Firefox 3. I am currently using the final candidate release version of Firefox 3 and it’s stable. The only hang up is that the developers are playing catch up to make sure their add-on is working properly with FF3. This is my list of essential and fun add-ons that worked great with FF2 and, I hope, FF3. You can find most of these add-ons at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/.

• Adblock Plus - block all those annoying ads on websites (thanks for refreshing my mind on this one Matt).
• All-in-One Sidebar - great sidebar for easy viewing of bookmarks, history, downloads, and more.
• Better GCal - improve Google calendar.
• Better Gmail 2 - improve the Gmail interface.
• Better GReader - I love my Google Reader and this improves its functionality for viewing RSS feeds.
• Colorful Tabs - easily sort and view your websites with colored tabs for each site.
• Craigslist Image Preview - clicking on each Craiglist ad to view pictures is yesterday. Now you can view all the photos on one easy to use page. Highly recommended for Craigslist users.
• Download Helper - easy to use application to download images and videos.
• FireFTP - easy to use FTP program built into the browser.
• Flashblock - block annoying flash objects.
• Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer - this is a great way to sync bookmarks between computers you use and an easy way to backup your bookmarks.
• Google Preview - search through Google and Yahoo results with website previews.
• Paste and Go 2 - no need to click “Paste” and then click “Go’, with this button it is all done with one click.
• RealPlayer Browser Record Plugin - this is from Real and needs to be downloaded from their site. It allows you to download almost any song on the internet for free. I use this for songs on MySpace.
• ScrapBook - great way to capture parts or whole website and organize your collection.
• ScribeFire - this blog editor integrates easily into your browser and allows for full functional editing.
• Tab Mix Plus - check it out
• Zotero - this is for all you academics out there. Forget EndNote, Zotero is free and more functional than EndNote will ever be.

Other Programs

• Filehippo - **I love this program. It will look for latest versions of installed programs on your computer (usually freeware) and check if updates are available. Then you just click each update you want. Very useful program because of its one stop updating feature.
• Tweak UI - easy way to change Windows appearance and improve functionality of Windows.
• CCleaner - great program to clean up unnecessary files, shortcuts, and your registry.
• Syncback - all about backing up your files efficiently.
• TeraCopy - not just your normal copy and paste program.
• iTunes Folder Watch - have you added music files to your music folder, but can’t remember which ones you added to iTunes? Use this program to ensure all your music files are added to iTunes and not just sitting around your computer.
• AdAware - protect yourself against adware
• AVG Virus Protection - protect yourself against viruses
• Spybot - no more spyware
• Notepad++ - get more from your text editor / notepad program.
• Power Toy Calculator - get more out of your calculator.
• Filezilla - I know I mentioned FireFTP above, but this is also a great FTP program.
• uTorrent - if you know about torrent files, this is a great program for downloading…oh and sharing of course.
• Object Desktop - redesign, manipulate and improve the functionality of your desktop. If you have a Mac, nothing new here.
• Launchy - no more searching around for a program/file on your computer, now just type and go.
• Skype - I love this program for weekly video calls with my family and to make calls to Armenia (great rates).
• Trillian - this is what I use to manage all my instant messaging accounts.
• Audacity - great program for editing and recording audio. I’ve used it to create podcasts.

There’s my almost complete list of freeware/open source programs that I regularly use. If you are interested in learning about the latest freeware and/or open source programs, I highly recommend checking out the website Lifehacker.com. You can subscribe to their RSS feed for all the latest updates.

I just finished reading the book The Last Season by Eric Blehm and what a great read it is.The story is about Randy Morgenson, a backcountry ranger for twenty-eight seasons at Kings Canyon National Park, who goes missing in July 1996. The book details the search and events surrounding his disappearance, the life Randy lived until he went missing, and historical perspectives about the National Park Service backcountry/wilderness rangers and mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

I bought the book two years ago while browsing through Border’s here in Eugene. I read the front cover and thought to myself, “That sounds like a search I was on in 1996.” Well, I wasn’t wrong. I worked on the Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue team in summer 1996 as a search and rescue intern and we were called out to this search on July 27. We were flown to the backcountry where we spent five days searching for Randy in some of the most beautiful terrain one could imagine. For me, this book provided clarity and truth to questions that were only speculations at the time I was on the search. Though my book sat on the shelf for almost two years, I highly recommend reading this book today

You can learn more about the book here: http://thelastseason.com/.

Immediately following my completion of The Last Season, I dove into reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book captured my attention so well that, despite trying to finish graduate school in the next three weeks, I read the book in three days. I haven’t read a book this quick since the Peace Corps three years ago.

This is truly an inspirational story on how one person can make a difference in a world filled with unnecessary conflict. Though he didn’t start out to be a spokesperson against the war on terror, he sure has found ground in showing that there is another avenue to create peace in this world than through current U.S. foreign policy. His story of perseverance to build one school in Pakistan has flourished into a highly successful NGO called The Central Asia Institute. It is built on an understanding of cultures and empowering women through education.

This book details Greg’s life and how he went to build schools, clinics, and other necessary institutions in rural areas of north Pakistan and Afghanistan. Through his story you learn about the politics, religions, and cultures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, mountaineering history in Central Asia, and U.S. influence, or lack of, in this region. It is a gripping story that truly inspires one to be a catalyst for peace in a world filled with conflict.

You can learn more about the book at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/. You can learn more the Central Asia Institute at http://www.ikat.org/.

Photographs by Miguel Lisa

A friend tipped me off to these beautiful photos of Osprey in Oregon. I remember writing a research report on Osprey in 1999 for an animal biology course at San Jose State University. They are truly magnificent birds of prey. Visit one of my favorite websites to learn more about Osprey.

In today’s Register-Guard Newspaper, a member of the Willamette Valley Biomass Study Group wrote an op-ed piece about the need to research renewable energy at the local level. This group has three studies on renewable energy potential in the Southern Willamette Valley. If you read the article, I am part of the study, awarded by the U.S. Forest Service, examining the potential of building a cellulosic ethanol facility utilizing woody biomass.

As I am writing this post, I am in the middle of writing my findings from my the interview process. I talked with 17 timber firms about the challenges and opportunities to developing the woody biomass industry. In conjunction with this study, I am using the data to contribute to my exit project for graduate school. I also submitted an abstract for this study to the Annual 14th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management. My abstract was accepted a month ago and I will have an opportunity to sit on a panel with three other professionals conducting research on the utilization of woody biomass. I applied for and received a student scholarship from the conference committee so that I don’t have to pay conference fees, but I am still waiting to secure travel funds. The event is June 10-14 in Burlington, Vermont.

For more information about what woody biomass is and how it is used for renewable energy, visit these links:

• Renewable Energy in Lane County - this is the website for the Willamette Valley Biomass Study Group
• State of Oregon Biomass Energy
  
• Biomass One - this is a facility in Southern Oregon that converts woody into energy
• U.S. Forest Service - information about woody biomass and its purpose

You may also contact me to learn more about woody biomass.

The University of Oregon Daily Emerald just published this article on the Peace Corps. It is a descent article on activities at the Univerity of Oregon and what makes the U of O a top producing university of Peace Corps volunteers.

University of Oregon Highly Ranked On Peace Corps 2008 Volunteer List

7:45pm: So Laura decides she wants to get out of the house this evening since my mom is in town and will be able to watch Ethan. I was in for the evening, having settled into a cozy pair of sweats and sitting on the couch reading the latest issue of Mother Earth News. I decide what the heck since we don’t get out much. We drive around a bit and Laura says she would like to go by the University of Oregon and see how long the line is to hear Obama speak tonight.

This event was the big thing in town tonight, and with the arena having a capacity of 9,000 or so, I knew we would not get in. People had been in line for hours waiting to see him. I am all for it though, even if it meant we just have a nice walk across campus holding hands. Well, we park the car and walk about 10 minutes only to find a line of thousands. We walk past the rec center, the soccer fields, Hayward Field and finally come to the end of the line. We realize we won’t make it in, but let’s just wait until someone says its full. Keep in mind, this event is free. About two minutes later, groups of people are walking past us, saying the arena is full and we should head to the overflow area to hear him speak in 45 minutes. We following the small groups heading to the overflow area (the back of the arena) where we end up standing about 7 or 8 feet from a barricade. Speakers are playing the opening acts for the event. These are state politicians speaking inside the arena, but no one outside is really listening.

We stand around from 8:30 until 9:12pm when Obama comes walking down a ramp with secret service in tow. The thousands outside scream and chant “Yes We Can” as he takes a microphone and addresses the crowd. He spoke only for a few minutes and then proceeded to shake hundreds of hands. We had a great location because he was about 7 feet from us. He then made his way inside the arena where 10,000 are waiting to hear him speak for the next 45 minutes. It was a wonderful to be part of history.

Here are a couple blurry photos from my cell phone. Obama is in there.

Here is a video of Obama speaking to the crowd we were in. You can only hear him because of the angle of the person filming.

Here is the video of what he said inside the arena, and what we watched at a local bar with others who didn’t get inside.

In our effort to tire the little guy, we tried our infamous bouncing routine. Unfortunately, or fortunately for our video purposes, he found lots of amusement in being bounced on the exercise ball. He is now 7.5 months and about 21 pounds.

He is sitting up and making “ma ma ma” and “da da da” sounds, though he has yet to associate the sounds with either of us. He enjoys listening to all kinds of music and will sit on our laps as we play the piano for him. He usually tries to grab the sheet music so he can eat it.

A few weeks ago, we made the switch to cloth diapers and, in conjunction, we are using a toilet training seat. Besides the environmental reasons, it economically makes sense. We hadn’t switched earlier because of the frequency of pees and poops and we didn’t want to spend our days hanging out at the laundry machine. This has been proven to be a good time. Unlike disposable diapers, Ethan gets irritated after one pee in his diaper, whereas in disposables he could pee three times and not be irritated. We are practicing with the toilet seat so that he will want to use that instead of peeing in the cloth diaper. So far he uses his toilet 4-6 times a day. We just let him go with the flow and don’t force anything.

He has been eating solid foods since January and now eats two meals a day of solids. Laura is making most of his food, though we buy his rice cereal and a few organic baby foods. He eats apples, squash, pears, and popcorn. So far he has enjoyed everything he has been given. We recently introduced him to an all natural brand of Cheerios cereal that allowed him to work on his hand and eye coordination. He rarely actually eats the cereal. By the way, just kidding about the popcorn.

We left him alone with our neighbors for the first time a couple weeks ago. We were nervous about it, but let’s just say that when Laura came home to pick up, he almost didn’t know she was there because the four year old in the family was entertaining him so well. It was a great experience for all parties involved and hope our little guy will continue to feel at ease with his babysitters.

His sleeping schedule is great, though actually getting him to bed isn’t always easy. Once he is down, he will sleep 9-11 hours a night. In the daytime, he usually does a late morning 2 hour nap and a mid-afternoon 30-60 minute nap.

No children were injured in the making of this video, but there was lots of laughing. We guarantee it!

Ethan is sleeping, not suffocating, with his dog Blue.

Ethan’s first snow hike in the forest.

Our beautiful son!

Duff and Ethan hanging out with the toys.

Ethan galloping on his horse Norm.

Ethan riding on his dog Duff.

We have been staying busy with Ethan time, school, work, and visiting family. Here are a couple recent photos of our little guy.

Future Peace Corps Volunteer!

My favorite line: “The bottom line question for me was: How many additional American lives is Saddam Hussein worth? The answer: not very damn many.”

This past week has found my MP3 player continuously playing the soundtracks to the movies Juno and Into The Wild. I have seen the movie Juno, but only read the book Into the Wild when it first hit the bookshelves in the 90’s. I highly recommend owning both soundtracks. The Juno soundtrack is very catchy and upbeat with some unknown artists such as Kimya Dawson and Antsy Pants. “All I Want Is You” and “Loose Lips” are a couple of my favorites. I also recommend checking out more songs by Kimya Dawson. Into The Wild features music by Eddie Vedder, though the official music score for the movie has many more artists such as Kaki King. The music is relaxing and a bit eerie, though inspiring. If you know the book, then you’ll feel that the music represents it well. “Hard Sun” is a stand out on this album.

In other news, Ethan is now 6 months and weighing in at a rolling left to right, back to front 19 pounds. He is a little smile bug and learning to grab everything within reach. We can no longer hold him in one arm and carry food in the other without him reaching for a taste. He is eating one meal a day of solid foods. He has eaten rice cereal, oatmeal, and, as of tonight, sweet potatoes. He loves the sweet potatoes, but mommy’s milk is still his favorite. He is sleeping 9-11 hours continuously as of this week. Laura finally decided no more nighttime feedings and it’s worked well. He has two bottom teeth showing now. Of course, this causes some discomfort so we let him suck on a cold, wet towel to take some of the pain away. Tomorrow, he visits his doctor for 6 month shots. It could be a long day and night tomorrow after those shots.

We spoke to our friend Gohar last night. She lives in Armenia, but we have not phoned her in a loooong time. Since our last phone call with her in December 2005, we have only communicated through letters. Letters allow us time to express ourselves a lot better in the Armenian language. It was her birthday yesterday and Nellie, an Armenian friend living in the US, helped us call her via Skype. It was great to speak to her and Zhana, her daughter. Through the conversation, we realize that we really can’t speak Armenian, though we did try. As usual, Laura could understand better than I, though I was able to speak better. Typical marriage. Wife listens, husband talks.

The three of us, along with two graduate students in my planning program, head north to Seattle on Sunday to take an early Monday test for the Presidential Management Fellowship. Each of us, as well as three other graduate students in my department, were nominated for the Fellowship. We now take the test and, if we pass, make it to the applicant pool to compete for coveted jobs working with the Federal Government in mid-manager positions (GS-9 and above) for two years, with hopes of landing permanent positions. The test by no means is easy so we’ll see how this goes. The test will assess our critical thinking skills, life experience, and writing fundamentals.

Ethan enjoys his first good snow of his life. It snowed a few inches in a matter of hours. We had no snow in our area until 7am today. The dogs are having a great time eating and playing in it. Ethan just looked around.

Our little guy has hit another milestone in his life. He is now rolling over from his tummy to his back. Here is a video of him doing it for the second time. Despite all our efforts to capture on film his first rollover, we were not prepared.


View other Ethan videos here.

Lately, I’ve been reading articles and policy briefs arguing the need to increase the number of American volunteers abroad. The argument is basically that volunteers serve a more important role in establishing peace and stability, as well as promoting a positive image of Americans, than the military does with weapons. Additional benefits to volunteering include increased volunteer connections and participation in the community, knowledge of local community challenges and personal growth through strengthened habits of citizenship and service. I am in complete agreement with the authors of these documents because, from my experience, the Peace Corps was a great tool to allow Armenians to understand the altruistic side of Americans, and for me to understand the humanitarian and hospitable side of the Armenians. I am more aware of the community I live in and, when graduate school allows, offer my services to community causes.

Today, we continue with human suffering based on intolerance and misunderstandings. We see images on television or internet displaying the worst acts of human aggression because we choose to remain ignorant, and steadfast in our irrational ideologies rather than listening and trying to understand the differences that make each of us unique. Volunteering your time abroad, even if for a short period, can make a difference in your life and the lives of the host nationals in which you encounter. I would encourage you to read the following articles that offer policy recommendations for Congress to support funding that will expand the number of Peace Corps volunteers, and develop a Global Service Fellowships Program that supports a wide array of non-government organizations, faith-based entities, corporations, and universities seeking to put more American volunteers abroad in the name of global peace and stability.

• To Win The Peace, Restore The Corps
• The Best Diplomats: American Volunteers
• Global Service Fellowships: Building Bridges Through American Volunteers
• International Volunteering: Smart Power
• Reconsidering the Peace Corps
• The Peace Corps in a Turbulent World

Young and old, we all have something to contribute to a more stable and peaceful world! Contact your congressman today and ask them to support increased funding for international volunteer programs.

Great power and great wealth do not necessarily produce greater respect or greater security… [An] effective foreign policy in the age of global politics must combine power and cooperation.

–Daalder and Lindsay in Agenda for the Nation

Putnam privileges primary interpersonal ties above all other forms of social and political activity, because he believes such interactions uniquely foster trust and cooperation. The more face-to-face group interaction a nation has, the healthier its people and the more efficient its government and economy will be.

–Skocpol in Diminished Democracy