Yesterday my employer was sold by the parent corporation for a paltry sum of money. It was more or less a confirmation of what we've long felt that the parent company's true opinion of our business was. They provided no support, never took an interest in our operations, and never listened to our requests for improvements. Though we were always profitable in Yakima, we were never extremely profitable as a group. The new owners purchased seven manufacturing facilities in North America for $115 million. That's not exactly chump change, but it is also a bargain for what they received. The single building in Yakima WA cost $11 million to build in 1998. The product mix is extremely profitable, and the revenue stream is stable (with exceptions for things like 9/11 or global economic meltdowns...even then we were profitable, just less so). I'd guess that the Yakima site alone is worth $30-40 million for the land, structure, materials and equipment. If you consider that it is an already established, and profitable business, it is probably worth more. That is one site out of seven. Where the heck did they come up with $115 million for the whole ball of wax? If you look at the amount of money generated by the 7 businesses, the deal will likely break even in 2-3 years. That is pretty good ROI for a $115 million investment. The new owners are a consortium of private investors who claim to specifically seek out under performing companies in the $50-$250 million range. They then provide management and capital improvements to grow the businesses. I suspect that at least one of the 7 sites will ultimately be closed, but that should have happened years ago anyway. You'd think that selling the company during the worst recession since the Great Depression would make me nervous, but I actually think that it is an improvement in the situation.

I think that I've been nesting. I've been cleaning, doing yard work, cooking, repairing things around the house, etc. Kodiak doesn't seem to really be doing much of anything out of the ordinary.

Blogs are strange. It is almost like a journal, but you kind of want people to see what you're doing. That is awkward. At any rate, things have changed and things have stayed the same since my last post. Obama is president. Kodiak had a miscarriage, then she became pregnant again, then she had another miscarriage, now she is pregnant again. The economy is in a death spiral and not looking to improve any time soon. eek.

Life as I've known it for the last 30+ years ended a few days ago. Kodiak told me that she is pregnant. The long and winding road just got a bit longer and windy-er. I've already got an architect working on designs for our home. I've changed my 401k plan so that I have more cash available. I'm meeting with a friend to discuss refinancing our home or getting a line of credit. Next I'll start looking for contractors.

Musings on the Female Species


I had an A.P. English teacher in high school (thanks Ted) who spent much time trying to explain to his students why much poetry and other literature is devoted to explaining the close ties of women and the natural world. I realize now that his hands were tied because he couldn't (wasn't allowed to) properly explain much of it. It wasn't until years later that I started to understand. Women's bodies are so much more intertwined with the natural world. It is all about the proper execution of things going into and/or out of their bodies. Male bodies are all about trying to remove the influence of the environment on their existence. Women's bodies are the exact opposite in that respect. They are reminded monthly of their role in the existence of the species. Food is taken into their bodies, while food is also drawn from their bodies in two different ways. They are the vessel that carries the most precious part of the human race...the future. Pregnancy does not end with the cutting of the umbilical cord. The mother's body is designed to be paired to the child for quite some time after birth. She is still carrying the child, just not internally anymore. As my wife and I come closer to the time when we want to start our family these thoughts begin to weigh more heavily upon me.

OK, it is official. Our government has gone completely bonkers. AT&T just bribed their way out of bankruptcy for $500k. They trampled the rights of US citizens by allowing the NSA to eavesdrop on their conversations and then the Bush administration declared the action a national secret after it was disclosed in multiple national newspapers including the USA Today and the NY Times.
AT&T should have been liable for an enormous sum of money from each offense, instead they buy their way out of trouble, admit no guilt, ride off into the sunset.




Edited (7-9-09) to remove dead link to news article.

OK, These are some of the best photos that I took on the hike a few weeks ago.

A couple of weeks ago I went hiking with Dana, Kodiak, Eric, and Mel. There were some really impressive flowers, fields, hills, trees, ticks (didn't know about them until later). I took quite a few shots and I really like them. 

Photo test

Apparently, the photo test didn’t work.

Im trying this blogging thing again

I’m trying this blogging thing again.  This time I’m doing it from with MS Word.

Today, I'm trying to do some laundary. I hope to finish in time to vacuum the floor. I can't vacuum until the laundary is done though.

My first blog post...