Another Ultrasound

So we are now almost positive we are having a baby girl! We had another ultrasound today so the radiologist can get a better view of the spine, to rule out spinabifida. The Ultrasound Tech said all looked good to her.

Our little girl was moving around like crazy and we got a few more good snap shots. It does not do her justice though. We also dropped in on Barbara to update her. Womancare is offering a hypnobirthing Class with Pat which will will do in July.

Anyway just a quick report as I am busy with about a million different things!

Duplex looking better

So we took a drive out to see the progress on the Duplex. I am upset that it is not finished, however it does look amazing. It has been almost two months since the project was suppose to be started. Anyway hopefully it is done in the next couple of weeks.

Announcing A Baby Girl

Well finally we can publish our blog entries about being pregnant again! We saw Grandpa George and Grandma Betty on the weekend, letting them know first about the baby. Last time someone blabbed it to him, which to be quite frank, really pissed me off as it was not their place to do so.

So Grandpa George is not doing so well. The news made him very happy! We even told him the full name, although it is a secret to everyone else.

We then went off to Walla Walla for a very productive and fun meeting! I even got to play a little pitch and putt golf at a winery!

More flooring and financing

I got a lot more flooring done today. I think one more day then I will swap to painting the trim and getting that done.

We also started work with a new finance guy to see what he can do to help us with our plans for world domination. Well at least expanding the Inn.

My Wife has a scary past.

Sometimes Casey is scary. I have seen the photos. In her past she went through a punk or gothic phase. It is funny. She also had the big hair in the early 90s.

Now we are watching Dancing with the Stars and Def Leppard is playing some old old hit. She is singing along. It is hilarious. I think she might be a head-banger in hiding.

A great weekend in Olympia!

What a great weekend to live in Olympia! we had a full house at the Inn with three of the couples going to the infamous Procession of the Species. None had been before but all had relatives who were somehow involved with it.

It was a beautiful day and we walked downtown and watched with Abby, Katie and Beckett. It was a long well put together procession. A lot of interesting and creative entries.

We then walked home picked up our items for a potluck at Jody and Andy’s place. We knew most of the people and Casey’s potato salad and baked apple crisp were big hits. There were lots of little kids running around and good friends to talk to.

Andy even grows his own hops and makes his own beer. It was great! Our neighbor Mark said we should do the same and use it as a gimmick for our guests. I think it would be easier to grow the hops and make Andy our official brew master!

Sunday was equally as busy with guests and wedding tours. Casey’s mum dropped down too which was very nice.

Working

Today was a great day! We had some great guests, two of which are staying for 4 nights. A nice couple of older ladies from Colorado, who appreciate the weather, the food, the conversation and all the work we are doing here.

We ran off to Costco and picked up the bare essentials. If we were not broke we would pick up some more goodies!

Then we came home finished off two rooms, then got stuck in to the attic. Casey grouted the tile, so tomorrow we may be able to move in the vanity and toilet. That will make one room almost finished! Just trim after that.

I got stuck in to the flooring, getting a good chuck of the relaxation room done. When I had just about had enough the ladies came back for a nap anyway. We also have everything for the foot soak tubs, and they are going to look fantastic. They will really add to the old world charm of the place.

I needed to mow the lawn so I got that done. Then I hung a bird feeder and put another together. I set up the fountain and it is almost ready to go, but I needed Casey’s help and she was inside napping. So I planted the Jasmine vines we got for the front of the wedding structure.

I even got some of the back area cleaned up a little. I can envisage another garden bed under the nursery window.

Anyway Casey is making that yummy Risotto for dinner! Then tomorrow we will do a little work until around 2pm and then head downtown for Arts Walk and the Procession of the Species. This year we have everyone on board to check in early so they can go and enjoy it too!

I play LOTRO with Mithril Crowns Kinship

Some of you already know I play Lord of the Rings Online, as part of the Mithril Crowns kinship, now everyone does.

My friend Janice got me in to playing online games. LOTRO is great because I paid a one off subscription fee, so it doesn’t matter that I am broke now, I can still play! It also doesn’t matter if I cannot play for a month, as I am not paying monthly fees that go to waste.

So LOTRO follows the story lines of the Lord of Rings books. I watched the movies and read the books when I was younger. The Kinship is a group of 30+ gamers that understand we can’t all be power players, don’t all have the same reflexes we once did, and are generally polite and helpful compared to all ages kinships.

Anyway if you like this sort of thing there is even a free trial I believe!

20 Week Ultrasound

We had a great day today! We had the 20 week ultrasound today. All went well. Here is a photo!

More Truth on Michael Hewitt-Gleeson and Edward de Bono.

I was searching around tonight and came across Michael Hewitt-Gleeson’s blog. It was interesting to see he is still having an argument with Edward de Bono. He talks of versions of the truth.

Here is my addition to the truth:

I helped Micheal with his web site for about 5 years, then when I moved overseas he found another non-paid helper to take advantage of and never talked to me again. He demanded the Thinkers.com domain name (which I had let him use during a period I was not actively consulting). The whole quick and instant cut of communication was upsetting, and quite frankly I felt used and abused. Of course he had no valid claim on the domain at all.

Micheal’s ideas (if in fact they are his at all) are quite interesting and useful. There is no rocket science to his theories at all. Really it comes down to brainstorming and then motivating yourself. Apply it to a business, idea, relationship and you should see better results than you did before.

For the record here is Edward’s take on the issue:

MESSAGE FOR WEEK BEGINNING 14th April 2008

TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH

There have been so many false claims by Michael Hewitt Gleeson that it is time to tell the truth.

Michael tells how he met me in Melbourne in 1972 and I told him about my work in thinking. Later in 1979 (his date) he asked me if he could set up the Edward de Bono School of Thinking in New York.

Obviously my work already existed otherwise there would have been no point in setting up such a school. So my work in schools pre-dated the setting up of the School of Thinking by many years. Once the School was set up it taught my work exclusively - at least for most of its life.

Michael also claims that he left New York as the result of a legal dispute because, he claims, I had granted the rights in my work both to Pergamon Press and to the School. If I did not possess those rights how could I have granted them to anyone? This was never the basis of the legal problem which resulted in Michael leaving New York. Those legal problems were to do with something quite different. Pergamon had publishing rights on my work. The School had the right to use the material directly in their teaching.

The work mentioned above is the CoRT programme of tools for perceptual thinking such as PMI, CAF, C&S, OPV, etc. This work had been in use in schools many years before the School of Thinking was set up. In no way was this material developed by the School or by Michael. The School of Thinking asked if they could publish a course book with these tools in it. I agreed and the whole book consisted of these tools. Because there were a few pages at the end of the book authored by Michael, and out of courtesy to him, his name was also on the book. This does not in any way make him the originator or owner of these tools. These remain my intellectual property. Any claims by Michael to the contrary are deliberately false and misleading.

My books on lateral thinking were written in the early 1970’s. Again this was years before the School was ever set up. I am not aware that Michael is an expert in lateral thinking – as he claims.

Michael did write a thesis for a correspondence college. This was almost totally based on my work so as his supervisor I could hardly avoid granting him a Ph.D. To the best of my recollection there was very little that was new and original in the book.

SIX THINKING HATS

Michael also claims that he and the School invented the Six Thinking Hats. This is untrue and complete rubbish. Eric Bienstock was in London and came to see me. I told him that I had worked out the concept of the Six Thinking Hats. This was based on my experience in medicine and the way chemicals in the brain sensitise certain circuits according to different moods.

Eric relayed this to Michael and I may indeed have communicated the concept directly to Michael. It was then used in the Readers’ Digest article. Since the Edward de Bono School of Thinking was set up to teach my work I saw no harm in telling them about my latest work.

In no way whatever was the concept designed by Michael or the School of Thinking. Indeed the manuscript of the book was already with the publishers, who have a long lead time before publication of the book in 1985.

I want to state categorically that the Six Thinking Hats was entirely my intellectual property and claims to the contrary are false and rubbish.

I think it sad and unfortunate that anyone who claims thinking ability should base his work on stolen intellectual property. If Michael wants to use my work he should take out a licence, agree to pay royalties and stop making false claims as to the origin of the work.

It may even be that those who have paid money to take Michael’s courses might have a legal claim for a refund if they were led to believe that the material they were being taught had been developed by Michael.

As regards Michael’s book ‘Software for the Mind’, this was actually a title I had suggested to him.

———————————————————–

If you are reading this I would like you to make these matters known as widely as possible. Michael should teach his own work not steal mine and claim it as his own.

Edward de Bono
21st APRIL 2008

Here is Michael’s take:

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: On the eve of my CHINA X10 lecture tour I see that Peter and Edward de Bono have referred business people in China and elsewhere to their blog version of the origin of ‘Thinking Hats’ and Brain Software” and they have asked people to ’spread their word’ because it is ‘The Truth”.

I have been advised to post here my version of the origin of ‘Thinking Hats’ and Brain Software”.

Actually, I am pleased that Edward has now committed his version in writing after all these years. The errors, libels and false claims he has posted can be now more easily shown to be at odds with the evidence. While he provides no facts (dates, names, third parties etc) in his version, anyone reading my version will be able to compare and trace timelines and have the facts corroborated.

Why is Edward de Bono so obsessed with me? I don’t know. I do not teach his work. I do not teach his CoRT Thinking. I do not teach his ‘Six Thinking Hats’. I draw no income from any of his works. The School of Thinking is pro bono not de Bono.

The work I teach is original, like ‘Brain Software’ and ‘X10 Thinking’, and I suggest Edward should just mind his own business and let me do the same. If he feels he has a basis for legal action then why does he not take such action himself?

It is mischievous and even bullying to incite other people to rise up and take action against me and SOT for no good reason other than his own personal obsession. It’s also not a good look. It is second-rate ‘lateral thinking’ and sets a poor example to those students and trainees who expect better leadership from their teachers.

I have made plans to be commercially very active in the China market. Accordingly, I have forwarded de Bono’s post to my lawyers in Melbourne, Shanghai and New York with instructions to protect my name, SOT brand and business potential in the China market should Edward de Bono, his representatives, publishers or agents infringe our rights in any way.

April 22, 2008 | Filed Under General | 2 Comments 

Flooring the attic

So today I started flooring the attic. I got most of the hallway done. Casey sat and supervised, and kept me company. The goal is to get most of it done in the next few days.

April 22, 2008 | Filed Under General, The Inn | Leave a Comment 

Shocking News!

Well today I made myself useful while trying to work quietly in the attic. You see we were supposed to be empty this weekend but ended up with two separate single guests who stayed for two nights to find peace and write. So the least I could do is not fire up the drop saw!

Casey and I went to Home Depot to use another 12 months no payments and no interest coupon. We bought cedar shingles galore for the duplex (they are going to go under the windows to add some visual interest), and to take us up to the $299 minimum we thought we could get some finishing touched for the Day Spa. We purchased two light fixtures and three dimmer switches along with most of the decorative switch plates. The dimmer switches are for the two treatment rooms, in order to set mood lighting. While we decided we should go the extra mile with the switch plates, as it makes the room look more finished and higher end.

So what is the shocking news you ask? Well I only managed to electrocute myself a few times. Quick shocks nothing heart stopping! Much more forgiving than the 240 volts back in Australia.

This week while we are not too full, the push will be on to lay the floor, then paint and install the trim. It better get finished soon. We need to make some money to pay down the credit cards.

April 20, 2008 | Filed Under General, The Inn | Leave a Comment 

Snowing in April

It is actually snowing in April. It was a winter wonderland this morning. However as soon as it warmed up it disappeared. Sydney was disappointed! She hates the rain but loves the snow.

April 19, 2008 | Filed Under General | Leave a Comment 

Idea for our Private Garden

After extending and adding a door to our private area of the Inn, we are left with a 100 foot long and 10 foot deep area that needs landscaping. The old bits of plywood and board do not cut it, even if they do help you stop stepping in dog poo and mud!

Casey found this picture in a landscaping catalog we got at the Garden Show. I think it would work well for the space as we need to have a path and we do not particularly want to pave the whole thing.

I can imagine putting it all together in stages too. there is some clean up that needs to be done first of course. Then we could create stairs from our bedroom door. A small paved patio with a couple of chairs to sit under the walnut tree. I think it could be very nice!

April 13, 2008 | Filed Under General, Personal, The Inn | 1 Comment 

Spring has Sprung!

So today was glorious! A wonderful sunny day. After checking out a full house and getting everything done with the Inn, I went around to Luke’s house who is a great web developer. He and his wife Whitney have an absolutely amazing carriage house in progress. A little more modern than we want but a great garage and workshop with an amazing office space above. Luke even used a reclaimed maple hardwood floor.

We then discussed some web projects I am interested in having him work on. It should be fun when we start!

Then it was too nice to work on flooring the attic and the lawn needed a cut anyway. So I cut the lawn, and then I got a bug to be outside, so I replanted three of the Japanese Maples that were in deteriorating terracotta pots.

Tonight Casey is making Mexican for dinner, Skillet Tamalie Pie, it smells great but by her groans it is not working out as it should be.

April 12, 2008 | Filed Under General, Personal, Tech Related, The Inn | Leave a Comment 

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