Are all gifts bribes?

Many years ago I was teaching a supply chain course. On the first day the guys (and this was an male class) had had me before in the Fundamentals of Management course. They knew me, they knew my expectations and they were horrible. I got through what I had to get through and then slammed my computer shut and said, "You are not aware, but today is my birthday and you ruined my fricking birthday. I hope you come back on Thursday ready to learn."

The next day, the biggest pain in the ass student came to my office and apologized and sheepishly left a Louis Vuitton gift bag on my desk. 

Inside? A Dh 2300 pair of sunglasses. He was long gone before I saw what he had left me.

I shreaked. My friend Jamie next door heard me so he rushed over. He was like, "Wow, I guess I need to learn to guilt trip my students better." 

For all things Emirati I turn brother Mansour. 

Steve: I can't keep this. If he bought me a cup of coffee that's one thing...

Mansour interrupted me. 

Mansour: You have to accept it. He will never ask anything of you. In our culture this is his way of apologizing. 

I followed Mansour's advice and promptly lost or had the sunglasses stolen shortly after. There is a reason I don't buy expensive sunglasses. 

I did make a note about who gave me the sunglasses in my grading excel sheet but I buried it. After I submitted grades I checked it. The student earned a C- in the class. I'll admit I had a temptation to raise the grade but I didn't.  

Professor Sanford

If I were Catholic this post would begin with, "Forgive me Father for I have sinned." Fortunately, I was raised in Missouri Synod Lutheran (so right wing the Catholics are liberal heretics) so I gave up religion decades ago. 

 In January 1990 I was:

•  Running for Student Body President
• Taking an incredibly easy J-Term class from Dean of Students Brian Austin*
• Working 20 hours per week selling electronics at Montgomery Wards
• Shadow taking a course from Professor Sanford because I thought it was interesting

I wish I had that guy's energy now, but I digress...

My friend Scott was taking Professor Sanford's class and my enjoyment every night was devouring the material from the class. The final assignment for the class was a paper that I was all too eager to write. My mistake? I didn't write it at Scott's level. 

When Professor Sanford handed back the papers he gave it to Scott with something like, "This is one of the best papers I've ever read from a student I know didn't write it." 

Scott got an A- in the class. Had I written at his level he probably would have had an A. My bad.

So this post is my confession: I helped a student cheat. There was no bad intentions. I honestly wished I had taken the class instead of Austin's lame Leadership class. 

*My A in the Leadership class was guaranteed before I walked in the door. The Dean of Students was a lousy Dean but he also knew I was going to be Student Body President and I wanted him fired. He asked me to be his TA for the class, which I happily said yes, because again, you can't give your TA anything less than A. I got my A and got him fired. Win-win. 

PS - the reason I loved Professor Sanford even though I never had a class with him: As a student government geek I served on at least one committee with him... Admissions? Academic Policies?... on that I can't remember... but Professor Sanford was one of the few faculty members who gave a shit what I thought. When he endorsed Bruce Babbit in the 1988 Presidential race I came to that ceremony because I really liked Babbit (but I was already on team Dukakis) and because I respected Professor Sanford. 

As a Professor I have read dozens (hundreds?) of papers I know the student didn't write. In one class of Strategic Management I had two projects that were over the top MBA level good. I called the students in and said, "You have the A so long as you tell me who wrote this and where did you get it from?"  What shocked me was that both groups outsourced to Indians working in a book store in Al Ain. What they paid was just over $100. My reaction? You have to give them a $50 tip and tell them not to do such a good job next time. Both groups assured me they would and by Emirati culture I am sure they did. 

 I've been working on writing eulogies for my parents because, Pastor Rempfer gave horrible eulogies for both and, well, I'm the writer child so I need to give it a go. This is the first draft of what I want to say for Mom:

Oh, where to begin…

There is a saying that parents stop having kids when they reach perfection. As the fifth and final child of Joyce and Merlon Kranz I’d like to think that was true… but my Mom wanted me to know that had abortion been legal in 1968 I probably wouldn’t be here.

If that joke seems harsh, buckle up butterbup.

Mom worked for a lawyer so for her 25^th wedding anniversary she served Dad with divorce papers… very publicly in front of all of his coworkers.

For my 21^st birthday she took out an advertisement in the college newspaper, “The friends, classmates, and fraternity brothers regret to announce that Steve’s 21^st surprise birthday party has been canceled due to lack of interest.”

Basically, if you know me? You know Joyce.

Now let’s get serious for a moment. Mom grew up dirt poor with alcoholic parents. As a teenager she’d babysit and by the rules of her parents she had to leave the money she was paid on the kitchen table when she got home. Rarely did she get to use it for herself.

Mom did catch a lucky break when she met a tall good looking man named Merlon. While I am 90% of Joyce in personality, I am clone of my father so calling him good looking is self-serving and I’m OK with that.

Mom and Dad eloped on Mom’s 18^th birthday – literally the first day they could get married without parental permission.

Like me, Mom was the extrovert’s extrovert. She worked for a lawyer in the back of the bank by day and bartended on weekends not because we needed the money… mom needed the people.

All parents want a better life for their kids… with Mom it was “I want a better life for you but I also want to keep it real so anytime you think you’re hot stuff I’m gonna take you down a few notches.”

Mom insisted us kids come to the Amana Colonies to celebrate their 59^th wedding anniversary. I was like, “Why? Why not do something big next year?” Mom said, “I won’t be here next year.”  This is the same woman who announced at a family reunion in 2004 that she had less than a year to live. Spoiler alert, she lived 7 more years. After she made that announcement I asked her, “What are you going to say when you’re back here next year?” I was not her favorite child that day.

Anyhow, we all gathered for the 59^th wedding anniversary. Les than 2 weeks later she was hospitalized and Dad and I spent the day with her… My sister Miriam asked, “Do I need to come down?” To which I was like, “Nah, she’s gonna be OK.” The next morning I woke up to a phone call from Dad, “Joyce is dead.”

I am a lucky man. I got my father’s good looks and my mother’s irascible personality. On their 55^th wedding anniversary I was conducting a wedding… I’ve reverend Steve in case you didn’t know…  asked them “What are the keys to a successful marriage?” Dad said, “Have lots of outdoor projects.” Mom said, “Have a good sense of humor.”

Dad’s job was easy, we lived on a farm so there was no shortage of outdoor projects. And for Mom, she kept her sense of humor to the end… literally cracking jokes with the hospital staff less than 24 hours before she died.

Is the world a better place because Joyce Kranz was on this planet? Absolutely… because if it weren’t for her you’d have never met me.

 

Short your employer?

My friend Mike was an early employee at #McLeodUSA. At one point he had stock options worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He participated in the company's stock purchase program so in addition to the shares he received as an employee, he was using his personal funds to buy more. At its peak McLeodUSA was valued over $20 billion and most employees felt like Mike #DrankTheKoolAid that #ClarkMcLeod was serving them.

Unfortunately for Mike, the #telecom boom of the 1990's became a casualty of the #dotcom bubble bursting in 2000. Very quickly share prices fell and very few employees sold in time to make their stock options worth anything and eventually the company filed for #bankruptcy and most employees, including Mike, lost their jobs. 

Mike went on to for #YellowBook. I will spare you the details. Ask a 20 year old what a phone book is... My reason for writing this... What if Mike had chosen to hedge his bets and shorted the company he was working for? If McLeodUSA went to the moon Mike is rich on his stock options. If McLeodUSA goes belly up he gets rich because he was smart enough to short it. 

I'm not sure if shorting your employer is a good strategy but I am equally not sure if it is not a bad strategy. 

#StockOptions #Employer 

What's in a kiss?

I am not into kissing. I was raised in a cold German family. We didn't hug, let alone kiss. My first girlfriend loved kissing and to me it was like an obligation to make her happy... 100% certain I sucked as a kisser and have no idea why she stayed with me.

Well into adulthood I have discussed the fact I am not into kissing... doesn't rock my boat... doesn't make me see stars... doesn't do anything that those who love kissing say it does for them. Sucks for me, I guess.

But honestly I am ok with not kissing. I went to therapy for awhile and the therapist basically told me that my lack of desire to kiss is me having intimacy issues and I'll never be happy so long as I am not comfortable kissing. He may have been right but paying him $150/hour to tell me something I already kinda knew didn't seem like a good investment so I stopped going.

Over the years I have had countless female friends hear me say this and said to me, "You simply weren't kissing the right woman... Let me make out with you..." Umm, no. (For the record, countless is an exaggeration but more than a dozen is not an exaggeration.) 

It's the conversation with men on this topic I find more interesting. I have Str8 male friends who have said they are with me... solidarity brother... "I make out long enough that my partner is willing to have sex" is their mantra. 

One time I'm with a married male friend... it's just the two of us... he poured his heart out to me about his doubts in his marriage, how he is scared about becoming a dad, etc. Since he made himself emotionally vulnerable I felt the need to reciprocate. Unfortunately for me I am the extrovert's extrovert. I have no secrets. If you are a tech geek I am what is known as WYSIWIG (What you see is what you get)... so I told him about my issues with kissing. A few drinks later I get up for the bathroom and he literally jumps me, pushes me against the wall and starts kissing me. Passionately.

What's going through my mind:

1. Really? Gaydar never went off on you. I am surprised.
2. You are married and have a child on the way. What would your wife think if she walked in now?
3. Yeah, like I said, kissing does nothing for me... so you forcing yourself on me is not changing my mind on this topic.

The events in the story above are about a guy who is still married, their daughter (who was an embryo during the events I am describing) is now a college graduate. Life is weird.

Fast forward to just a few years ago... and it was pretty much a repeat situation. A very close Str8 male friend felt the need to stick his tongue down my throat to convince me that kissing is awesome. 

My thoughts after round 2?

1. I am not, never was, never will be offended. Some would label what they did as assault. It wasn't... it was a drunk/high friend trying to let me know what I was missing out on.
2. I never once was worried for my personal safety... I was not stoned and not really even drunk... if I needed to fight them off I was not worried.
3. If I am 100% honest I'd have to admit I was flattered. Never in a million years would I have expected this from either of them... so I guess that is somehow a win for Steve? (Really not sure about that)
4. It has made me rethink date rape and all I can think about is the awesome Oscar Wilde quote, "Everything is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power." The thing I talk to my Str8 male friends about, "Have you ever worried about being over-powered and forced to have sex against your will?" The answer is always an incredulous, "Of course not." 

My response? "Well, most women have had that worry so consider yourself lucky." 

*****

Today I watched a movie (recommended to me a decade ago)... It's not a great movie so I won't recommend it.. you can pick it up at 1 hour and 3 minute mark. All you need to know is that the protagonist (the guy with dark hair) is a Str8 hustler willing to have sex with any man so long as the money is right. Then he meets a guy who simply wants to kiss him... and that's how the rest of the movie plays out... and for me... with my background... made the movie fascinating. 

 Autobiographies/memoirs are my genre of choice. It started a young age. I was fascinated by #RosalynCarter so I was excited to read her book #FirstLadyFromPlains. #JessicaSavitch was my favorite #TVNews #Anchor so I devoured #Anchorwoman the day it came out. (Tragically, she died very after... before her groundbreaking book had time to make an impact.) 

#LeeIacocca's memoir became one of the best selling business books of all time and heavily influenced my way of thinking about the connection between #business and #society...

#KatieCouric's #GoingThere was one of the best of all time because she had a front row seat to #MeToo movement and she holds no punches back when it comes to talking about #JeffZucker, #MattLauer, #TheTodayShow, #CBSNews, #Yahoo, #MarissaMeyer, #colonoscopies, etc. In other words, "Going there" may be the best titled book of all time.

All that brings me #PrinceHarry's new memoir #Spare. To say he lays it all out there? Umm, yeah. I doubt anyone needed to know he had frostbite on his "todger."
👆 Where the Brits come up with some of their nicknames is something I will never understand

I'm not quite half-way through it... so I reserve the right to change my opinion... but so far his utter takedown of the #Tabloids and #TheHouseOfWindsor is absolutely riveting. If you buy based on my recommendation be sure to get the #audiobook because Prince Harry is a great narrator. 

David Boies is a powerful and well connected attorney. In 2000, he represented Al Gore in the disputed election.. he was one of the attorney's who took on Big Tobacco and won... But in the last few years a case can be made that his impact on entrepreneurship has been less than a positive for the commonwealth. 

Part 1: Theranos

When Elizabeth Holmes brought Boies' law firm on to be counsel for Theranos, she knew she was hiring a cut throat legal team that would stop at nothing to defend her company. When Tyler Schultz became a whistleblower, his grandfather, the legendary George Schultz invited Tyler over where attorneys tried to force a fake confession out of Tyler. The story of this is detailed in John Carreyou's Bad Blood: The Secrets and Lies of a Silicon Valley Startup, also in the podcast Bad Blood.

The impact of this has been negative for all medical device startups, particularly those work with diagnostic equipment and anything connected to blood. 

Part 2: Prince Andrew

If you google Pitch at the Palace one of the first images you will see is me standing on stage with Mansour Al Kaabi and Faraj al Faraj. Here is the official press release: http://pitchatpalaceuae.com/en/media/details/article-16

Pitch at the Palace was a truly amazing experience for all who participated. How does this tie back to David Boies? Well, Prince Andrew had some sort of a relationship with a then 17 year old Virginia Guiffre. I have followed this closely and the best account I have read/seen was Australia's 60 minutes. link here: https://youtu.be/1jaFsij5a_A

If you watch the video you will see that Ms. Giuffre was represented by David Boies... and apparently represented very well to reach a settlement of an estimated 10-12 million British Pounds. (Approximately $13-16 million US.) And it means the Queen can enjoy her 70th anniversary celebration this spring without this controversy looming over the Palace.

Anyhow, I do not condone anything Prince Andrew has done. It's not surprising that most sponsors of the Pitch at the Palace have decided to back away, leaving its future very much in limbo.

And somehow one man's law firm has a consequential impact on the world of entrepreneurship. 

Jerome Powell

As the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell is easily one of the five most powerful people in the world. President Joe Biden recently reappointed him... a move that does not make the leftists in my party like #ElizabethWarren very happy.

 #FederalReserve #ChairOfTheFederalReserve #TheFed #JeromePowell #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden #PhraseOfTheDay #SteveXplains #MonetaryPolicy

Off the west coast of the United States sits cargo ships waiting to be offloaded. Sitting inland are truck drivers frustrated that they can’t pick up cargo. Everyone points fingers at who to blame – the greedy transport ships, the truckers, the inept government rules and regulations. Perhaps, some of the blame can be distributed to each party.

Regardless, this is an interesting mix of problems created in the supply chain that reverberates through the economy and, ultimately, politics.

I was very happy to see 60 Minutes give airtime to Ryan Peterson, the CEO of Flexport. I’ve listened to half dozen interviews with him over the past few months. It would be easy to point to his vested interest in his company as his motivation, but if you hear the longer interviews you’ll see he has genuine concern for all parties… and even helped to get changed a rule of stacking containers that helped a bit in alleviating the congestion.

Overall, this 60 Minutes piece is a must-see TV for all who study supply chain, economics, and politics.

Election 2018

I used to make election predictions. In 2008 and 2012 I got all 50 states correct.  That's one state better than the properly worshiped Nate Silver who got Indiana wrong in 2008. I didn't post in 2016. I was confident of Hillary's victory but Nate Silver's warning that a systemic error could be at play made me nervous. In the end that's what it was. The same forces that caused Iowa to go from +6 Obama to +9.5% Trump could sweep across the Midwest. Unfortunately, it did. Trump carried Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania by razor thin pluralities.  Even though Hillary won by 3 million votes in the country, Trump is president by our ridiculous Electoral College.

Now we are at the 2018 midterms. I am just superstitious enough that it is difficult to write this post but for my own sake I want to get this on the record: I believe my side will win the House by gaining 45 seats.

Most pundits, plus 538, plus Politico have reached a consensus of 35 seats.  I am willing to bet anyone the Dem gain will not be 28-40.  To me there are only two options: 

1. Things don't go well. Worst case the House stays with R's with 2-3 seats to a small Dem majority.  In the things don't go well scenario Dems pick up 20-27 seats. (We need 23 to have a majority.)

2. Everything breaks our way. We Dems are shell-shocked by 2016. We got it wrong and so we are scared unbelievably. In this election we have the energy, (unbelievably) the money, and history on our side. A real wave crashing down means we will win districts we have no business even playing in - like Kentucky 6th district very conservative but a female fighter pilot making a hell of a run.  I think that's going to happen.

Either things don't go well or they go awesome.  The 35 seat pick up assumes things go according to plan. Historically that just doesn't happen.  

For the Senate, my side has an awful map - the worst for an incumbent party in over a hundred years.  We have 10 incumbents (out of 33 up for reelection) in states Trump won. I don't see how we win the Senate given that we are down 2 now and it appears North Dakota is a loss for us.  I am not entirely pessimistic; of R seats in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee I think we will win 2, maybe 3. A 50-50 senate is still an R senate given the VP has the tie-breaking vote... Realistically, I see 51 to 53 seat Republican majority.

My fellow Dems will hopefully fare better in the gubernatorial races with pickups across the Midwest and very hopefully Florida and Georgia. For Iowa, their is one poll that is nearly flawless in reading the Iowa electorate:  The Seltzer poll for the Des Moines Register. Their poll released on Saturday has challenger Dem Hubbell up 46-44 over incumbent R Reynolds.  I don't want to seem overly optimistic but an incumbent at 46 before an election rarely wins. At 45 very rarely. At 44?  I have no memory of any incumbent winning with a pre-election poll at 44. 

Day 4 - Kathmandu to Pokhara

Thanks to a blockade from India, the price of gasoline has tripled and the price for most other items has doubled.  Nepal is a landlocked country with India to the south and China to the north.  Unfortunately, with Himalayas also along the northern border there is really only easy way for goods to reach Nepal - through India.  

Given the embargo people are doing anything to stay warm and cook.  Oil has been replaced by wood or anything that will burn.  The result?  Very polluted air.  Add to that just above freezing lows (with no heated hotel rooms in the city).  To get us to see as much as possible on short visit I planned for us to visit the Hindu temple on our way to the airport on our first morning in Nepal. What is best for time is not always best for morale.  

First stop of the day:  

I hesitate to post this picture; this is a family grieving at a funeral.  The priest(?) is washing the head and feet of the dead.  Near the center of the picture is a block of cement where they will build the funeral pyre.  It is a very solemn ceremony.

Meanwhile, in another part of the temple are guys dressed like this:

This is my sister's very polite yet very, "What the hell did Steve get me into?" look.

 And finally, we are off to Pokhara.

 The guard standing behind them did not appreciate our stopping for a picture.

 I think, just maybe, Miriam began to warm up to Nepal on this walk along Fewa lake with the great Fishtail mountain overlooking us in the background of this picture.  This mountain is higher than any mountain in North America... why it has no snow is a mystery to me.

Day 3 - Abu Dhabi and travel to Nepal

Day 3 started early with a trip to Abu Dhabi before catching a flight to Nepal.

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is an amazing structure.  I wanted to take M & G inside but we didn't have time. Next up was Emirates Palace: 

Quite simply, this picture doesn't do it justice.  

Here's a giant Christmas tree inside the hotel and... and...

A gold ATM machine.

My friend Youssef was our driver for the day.

Although Dubai has more skyscrapers, Abu Dhabi has some of the most amazing architecture.  

On the flight to Nepal we were able to see the Palm Jumeirah - man-made islands.  

 Once in Nepal we were greeted by my friend Vikram.

 A toast:  Here's to travelling to the other side of the planet!

Day 2 - Christmas in the UAE

Traveling 10 time zones can be a bitch.  Day 2 is always the hardest for me so we kept the day - Christmas day - pretty calm. The term "Ain" in my home city of Al Ain means "spring" or "oasis."  Back in the day before roads Bedouins traveled across the desert to reach this oasis where water and dates basic vegetables were grown.

Miriam with the guy wearing an interesting shirt in a Muslim country...

After the Oasis we stopped by the camel market.

Miriam with a rare black camel.  So here's the story:  We were only in the camel market for a short time - 10 minutes.  A guy volunteered to be our "guide."  The Pakistani was very helpful and showed us the cool things to see very quickly.  Meanwhile an entire group of Pakistanis joined in.  All were trying to be our guide.  As we were leaving I should have given our guide a 10 dirham ($2.70) but I gave him 40 dirhams ($11).  By the time we made it back to the car a fight had broken out.  The other guys wanted a cut. In 8 years in the Emirates I have been to the camel market many times.  Normally I blow off the guys offering to be guides and there's no problem.  In this case it was just sad to see fist-fight break out over $11... on Christmas day.

Finally, we ended up at my friends' place for Christmas dinner.  Laurie (the pregnant woman in blue) and her husband Chris have been friends for years.  She's British, he's Kiwi (New Zealand) and they are planning to move to Canada in the summer.  Directly in front of me is Caleb and Maura(?).  Caleb is another Kiwi and the brother of Chris' best friend.  Maura is Russian and from the most polluted city in the world.  At Caleb's brother's wedding last summer in Wales I listened to her stories about life back home.  Just be happy you don't live there.

The great Simpson adventure - Day 1

It is a difficult sell to ask anyone to fly to the other side of the planet.  The arduous trip takes at least 24 hours - more than 16 inside one plane or another.  I was pleased Miriam & George agreed to make the trip. 

They were greeted with a nice welcome cake from my Sri Lankan friend Christian.  That evening they met American friends Christine and Dan.  We went to a traditional local restaurant where Miriam decided at the last minute that it might not be a good idea to follow tradition and sit on the floor.

M & G handled the jet lag remarkably well, better than I do on most trips.  My promise is to post each day about the next day of their trip.  Trust me, it gets way more interesting.

Nepal bound!

OK... I am writing this because writing helps me think.

Here's the plan:  On December 27 we will head to Abu Dhabi early in the morning.  We will see Sheikh Zayed mosque, drive along the corniche (Gulf highway) and see the amazing archecture of Abu Dhabi.  We will arrive at the airport at noon and fly off to Kathmandu at 2PM.  We will arrive at 8 and go straight to the hotel after clearing customs.

In the morning we will have Nepali omelette (a reason to go to Nepal all by itself), head to the Hindu temple and see the funeral pyres.

Nepali omelette.

This is the Hindu temple where they wash and burn the dead (not shown).

We will then go to the airport and fly to Pokhara around 11.  In the afternoon in Pokhara we can walk around the street festival or go for the world's longest zip line.

The next day we will also have time to see the street festival and go paragliding.

I hope the weather is this clear when we are in Nepal.  Paragliding and seeing this is the most amazing thing I've ever done.

Eco-Village at night:  This was taken at midnight using a 30 second exposure.  The colors were not visible to my eyes and you can see stars at the top of the picture.

In the after noon of the 29th we will head up to Eco-village.  It's a place designed to help tourists see how to live ecologically friendly.  It's also a place where they grow many vegetables, including Dad's popcorn.  If we are feeling particularly hearty we can spend the night.

On the 30th we will fly back to Kathmandu.  In Kathmandu we will head to the Monkey temple and feed monkeys.  We will also see Durbar Square - a 900 year old(?) temple and Thamel, the touristy area of Kathmandu where we will be staying.

Feeding monkeys never gets old... which reminds me... Miriam... I need you to bring a very large bag of peanuts.  We have learned over the years that monkeys love peanuts. Oranges, bananas and cocunut are OK but they LOVE peanuts in the shell.  Bring 3 pounds.  (At least.)

This is the actual temple at the Monkey temple - it is Buddhist with the Eyes of Nepal.

On the 31st we will fly back to the UAE.  

Trip within the trip

My sister and her husband are coming at Christmas.  They will be in the Emirates long enough to have a trip within a trip.  Here are the places under consideration:

Nepal
Nepal is like a second home to me.  The people are incredibly nice.  I have made friends who have become family.  The scenery is amazing.

 In my favorite place - Pokhara - you can see the Annapurna range.  A mountain range with 8 visible peaks all higher than ANYTHING in North America.

This picture was taken at Christmas time.  It's cool but not cold by Iowa standards.

My two favorite things to do in Nepal is to paraglide and feed monkeys.  This monkey is at a major Hindu temple.  The people in the background are looking down at a river where there are several funeral pyres burning.  While there were tourists snapping pictures standing just feet away from grieving families I could never do that so you just have to trust me.

Nepal

Pro's
It's NEPAL!  I look for any excuse to come here.
The scenery is simply unmatched.  The Annapurna range is stunning.
Paragliding is a blast and I have done it enough times I know the really good pilots for Miriam and George.
There is a street festival at the end of December that is a lot of fun.
The Hindu and Buddhist temples in Kathmandu are very interesting... feeding monkeys is crazy fun.

Con's
It's December.  In seven trips I have experienced all of the seasons of Nepal and December is my least favorite.  It's not super cold - it stays above freezing - but there is no heat at night so it is c-o-l-d.

Four day itinerary:
Arrive in Kathmandu walk to the domestic terminal to hopefully catch a flight to Pokhara.
Day 2 - see the street festival, walk down from the Peace Pagoda (a beautiful view of the city and nice walk down through the jungle to Fewa Lake). Take a jeep to Eco-village.  The picture of me with the mountain in the background is taken from Eco-village.  It has an amazing view of the Annapurna mountain range.
Day 3 - Go paragliding.  Take a flight back to Kathmandu.  Take another flight to see Everest.  Walk around Thamel - the touristy area with shops.
Day 4 - Go to the Hindu temple in the morning.  See the funeral pyres.  Go to the Monkey temple (Buddhist).  Feed monkeys.  Return to hotel and fly out.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka would be the warmest destination we would be considering.  The island nation is one giant tropical forest.  My sister loves plants and this place is a horticulturalist's dream.  Also, there is an elephant sanctuary where you can feed the elephants.

Sri Lanka
Pro's
A lush green tropical jungle that is amazing to see and drive through.
Feeding Elephants is fantastic (monkeys were also available on my trip but not nearly as many as in Nepal).

Con's
None, really.

Four day itinerary
Fly into Colombo - stay at a nice hotel called Galle Face.  Go swimming and relax.
Day 2 see Colombo
Day 3 - take a car up to amazing botanic gardens and to the elephant breeding ground.
Day 4 - relax at the beach and return home.

Jordan

Jordan
Pro's
It's the shortest flight - 3 hours.
Petra - The Treasury and the small canyon you walk through to get to it - is very cool.
Floating in the Dead Sea is just something you have to experience to understand.  You literally float on water.

Con's
When you return to Iowa people will not be excited to hear about Petra and floating in the Dead Sea really is a "you had to be there" experience.

Itinerary:
Day 1 - Fly into Amman and have a driver waiting to take us straight to Petra - a 4(?) hour trip.
Day 2 - See Petra, The Treasury, ancient burials... really interesting canyons.
Day 3 - Travel to Dead Sea
Day 4 - Travel to airport and fly out

Egypt

Not my picture because pics were not allowed in the Cairo museum... but seeing it up close was amazing.

Hot air balloon ride over Luxor (where the Pharaohs are buried).

Abu Simbel - this is in far southern Egypt.  The giant shrine was built to scare away the Sudanese who might consider coming down the Nile to attack.  A picture doesn't do it justice.

Egypt
Pro's
From the pyramids to King Tut's mask, to the pharoah's burial sites to Abu Simbel... Egypt is memorable at every stop.
Back in Iowa everyone will know and want to hear about the pyramids.  Never mind that the pyramids in Mexico are cooler...

Con's
Egypt is just not a great place to visit unless in a tourist group or with an Egyptian guide.  We couldn't do a tourist group because we are too limited on time.

Itinerary
To do what I would want to do in Egypt would be very hard in four days....
Day 1 - arrive and drive straight to the pyramids, see them for a few hours and head directly to the Cairo Museum to see Tut's mask.  Stay overnight in Cairo.
Day 2 - depart on first available flight to Luxor.  See the Karnak temple
Day 3 - Hot air balloon flight, see the burial sites
Day 4 - see more temples, fly back to Cairo and connect to the UAE

Unfortunately, I don't think we could make it to Abu Simbel on this trip.

Each of the four possibilities have pro's and con's.  Which sounds best to you?  If you can't decide what would you like to know to decide?

Dollar vs. Euro

Dear few friends who still read my blog:  Please understand that the following post is my ENTP need to have an interesting discussion.

In SE Asia I was traveling with my friend Lukas.  He's my German friend that helped me see the place my great-great-grandfather came from.

I was very happy to travel with him in SE Asia in late 2014.  He has been everywhere I wanted to go:  Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Before I met up with him in Bangkok I said, "I want to see it all and we are not going by bus."  So we did a series of short trips by plane from Bangkok to Siem Reap (awesome) to Phnom Pen (disgusting) to Saigon (interesting) to Hue (quaint) to Da Nang (awesome) to Hanoi (surprisingly interesting).  I paid for his flights because he would have never made those flights; he would have gone by bus or - because he had already been there - he wouldn't have gone back to those cities.

So....  during the course of the trip I gave him money when he had not already converted it from euros.  I didn't keep track; I didn't care.  At the end of the trip he told me owed me $200.  I was like, "Ok, whatever."

A month passes.

He still doesn't have my IBAN number to send the money to my account (that's my mistake).  I finally gave it to him. He says, "I will send the euros I owe you."  The problem?  During the month the US dollar has appreciated 10% vs. the euro.  Sending me the euros means I lost 10%.

Should he send me $200 which is what I am expecting or should he send me 160 euros which is what he had in his mind when I gave him money?

A strange trip home

I never thought I'd come to the United States without coming to Iowa...

Here's the flight tracker:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ETD103/history/20141001/2311Z/OMAA/KJFK

I will arrive in New York on Thursday morning.  I will meet UAEU graduates and spend a couple of days with my friend Youssef.  On Sunday I will fly to Seattle on Jet Blue arriving in Seattle at Noon.  I will spend a week there flying out late Saturday night to New York and then late Sunday flying back to the UAE.

Seattle

Goal:  Obtain a Ph.D. or  D.B.A. (Doctorate of Business Administration)

Why?  I am a lowly paid instructor compared to my well-compensated colleagues - several of whom  are (cough) not great teachers.  Also, with only a Master's I am relegated to entry level classes.  Ph.D's and D.B.A.'s are referred to as "terminal" degrees for more reasons than one.  But, basically it is something I have to do if I want to retire in this field.

Observation:  Since arriving in this country I have been giving a free test that mirrors the Myers-Briggs test.  I won't bore you with all of the details but one of the categories on this test is whether a person is "judging" or "perceiving."  Judging people see the world as black or white.  They make decisions easily because they see things as right or wrong.  Perceiving people see shades of grey in everything.  They are not great at making decisions because they see good and bad in just about everything.

I am a Perceiving person teaching in a place where (almost) all of my students are Judging.

This is a window to a dissertation and research:  Is the population in the Arab world is vastly different than the western world?  If so, what are the human resources implications?

Step 1 is to become a certified Myers-Briggs examiner.

I explained this to my new Dean and said, "In seven years I have never requested or received University funds for any professional development - until now."  The only places I could find for certification at a reasonable price was in the US.

She approved paying for my flight to Seattle and the training.  Since my beloved airline Etihad doesn't fly directly to Seattle I will book two tickets:  One round trip ticket from Abu Dhabi to New York and another from New York to Seattle. It will be fun to see a group of my former students who are now studying at NYU.

And now the recurring thought I've had many times today:  OMG! OMG! I work for an employer willing to send me 8000 miles for a training session that in no way directly helps them.  Has any employer ever been willing to do anything like this in the past?  Noooo....

A Halloween to remember

So I'm not exactly a new-agey-touchy-feely guy... but I used to get premonitions that were spot-on.  They were literally visions.  I would see a scene that later would happen.  They ended in my early 20's and I long ago dismissed them as coincidences or perhaps wishful thinking.

As I was leaving the US in August I had no premonition but the overwhelming anxiety was something I just  could not rationally explain.  Sadly, the anxiety proved to be justified as settling the farm estate has become a whole lot more complicated due to crashing corn/bean prices and family infighting.  In the summer of 2004 I sat in the kitchen with Mom and Dad and gamed out all of the scenarios of dealing with the estate - what would work well, what wouldn't work, etc. - and I have to give Mom credit:  Ten years ahead of time she was able to see where the problems would lie.  I love my father dearly but he was clueless.  He was literally the Rodney King of our family - "Can't we all get along?"

Our farm land will go on sale on October 31.  The sale price could be stable or down hundreds of thousands of dollars.... talk about a scary Halloween!

Fortunately, a farm near ours will go for sale in late September.  I consider it the canary in the coal mine.  Has the fall in corn prices killed land values?  We shall see soon enough.