Duane's thoughts Feb 25 2016

Hi All,

It’s been a great week for me, but that’s because I haven’t been at work. I’m in Phoenix, Arizona hanging out while Adele is at a conference for her company. Not too bad - she work, I play. Monday I went to see friends (Fernando and Alicia) who live west of Phoenix. They are graduates of Grand Canyon University and Alicia is currently working on her master’s degree there.

Then yesterday I went to the Phoenix Zoo. It’s not the largest zoo that I have been to but it takes a good half day to see all the animals. Along with the usual lions and tigers and bears (two lions, two tigers and one bear) they had a section on native animals. There they had mountain lions, coyotes, mountain goats, a bunch of birds and other critters and they had lots and lots of reptile - lizards and snakes. Now, I happen to like reptiles so that part was really great for me. They had geckos, lizards, iguanas and lots of snakes. Lots and lots of snakes. Mostly rattlesnakes. They also had king snakes, rat snakes, garter snakes and several other types. The only ones that are dangerous to humans are the rattlers.

Just to give you a quick lesson in identifying venomous snakes in California and Arizona: Most all poisonous snakes including rattle snakes have a arrowhead type head. That is, their head and jaws are much wider that their neck so that their head looks like a lot like a “spades” symbol in a deck of cards. Most other snakes, like all others in California and Arizona, are non-poisonous and have spear shaped heads where their head and jaw is the same size as their neck and it’s pretty hard to tell where the head ends and the neck begins. There are some exceptions to that rule like boas and pythons which aren’t poisonous but have large jaws, but you don’t see many of those except in private collections, pet stores and sewers. And then there the coral snakes which are extremely poisonous and have jaws the same width as their neck. And forget about all that “red on white” and “red on black” stuff - there are’t any coral snakes in California or Arizona except in zoos and private licensed collections. (but if you must know: Red touch white or yellow stripes is a coral snake. Red touching black snakes is a scarlet kingsnake and is native to California including the Santa Cruz Mountains and completely harmless to people)

Although I have a healthy respect for rattlesnakes I don’t have a phobia for them or any other Californian reptile. The reason is that I am pretty familiar with them. I know which ones can’t hurt me and which ones can. I’m not going to pick up a rattlesnake and show off by kissing it (which one guy did in a final display of stupidity), but I’m not going to run away from one, or worse, try to kill it because it chose to crowd a path in front of me. And I certainly wouldn’t be put off by a ring neck snake because they are actually kind of pretty and have a mouth so small that it would have a hard time biting my fingernail. But that’s because I am familiar with them.

The things that scare me the most are the things I am not familiar with. That’s why people are afraid of the dark - because they can’t see what’s there. That’s also why people are afraid of other people - because they are different, they don’t know them, they things they do are strange. I really hate parties where I don’t know anyone because I never know what to do or say to people. I would rather be in a room full of snakes than at a reception. At least with snakes, no matter what I say they all they do is smile and stick their tongues out at me.

The worst thing for me is when I see someone I know I should talk to about God. That’s my phobia. If I talk to them, what are they going to think of me? What are they going to think of God? Am I going to say the right thing? 1 John 4:18-19 says: "There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us.” Maybe I should think about that - that God loved me even before I knew he even existed. And that someone else loved me enough to share God’s message with me, even though I might have rejected both God and them. And maybe I should let God’s perfect love drive out the fear that I somehow always feel. And even though it might be easier to talk to them if I imagine them as snakes, I really need to see them as God’s cherished creations whom he loves, just like me.

Cheers!

Duane

When:

7:15pm on Friday, February 26

Where:

Grace Community Covenant Church

Foothill Covenant Church

1555 Oak Avenue

Los Altos, CA 94024

P.S. Which one of these is poisonous and which one is not? I took both photos with my iPhone. 

Duane's thoughts Feb 17 2016

Hi! It’s another week and things just never stop. How did your Valentine’s Day turn out? Adele and I spent a romantic day weeding the yard. After all the rain we had in November,  December and January, my back yard was looking like a jungle. It’s her to believe that it was so cold and we then when I am sitting at home right now in a short sleeve shirt at 11pm. Last year we thought it would be fun to go to San Francisco for the day and got stuck in traffic on 19th Avenue and later on Geary. On the way home we were stuck again on 101 and 280. I think weed pulling was actually more fun…

Don’t get me wrong though, this has actually been quite a week for me. Today I was invited to a reception with the CEO of my company, Tim Cook. You see, January 19th marked the 35th anniversary of my employment at Apple and Mr. Cook was hosting a reception for all the employees who had been with Apple for 35 years or more. Any guesses on how many people were there? Currently there are about 115,000 people employed at Apple. But the badge numbers are up to over 650,000. That’s because they don’t reuse numbers so if you ever work there and leave, that number is still yours. If you come back later, it’s still yours and you get it back. So that means that almost 650,000 people have worked for or are still working for Apple. Wow!

Well, now, lets get back to the original question: How many people were at the reception? Apple was formed in 1976 and this was a reception for everyone who had worked there for at least 35 years this month - or in other words, had started at Apple in February 1981 or earlier. Well, there was one person there with the badge number 8, and another with the number 22. Then there was a guy with number 324 an someone with a number in the 500s. I didn’t bother memorizing everyone’s. But I probably could have without a lot of effort. There were 16 people there (there was actually a 17th invited but couldn’t make it). And with my employee number of 1881, I am the 17th most senior employee at Apple out of 115,000, and have stuck around longer than another half million or so.

So what does this all say about me? Have been at Apple a long time? Yep. Do I like working at Apple? Most days, but not every day. Has Apple become part of my identity? Well, yeah, I guess so. Do I brag about working at Apple? See above. When my daughter was in high school, she came home one day complaining that other people knew her not for who she was but as the girl “who’s dad worked at Apple.” I though that was kind of funny. She didn’t.

But you know what? I have been a Christian for a lot longer. I asked Jesus into my life when I was 13 years old. That means it was 44 years ago last August. And while being a Christian is certainly part of my identity, it’s probably a safe bet to say that more people know me as an Apple employee than as a Christian. And I don’t think Julia ever told me that any of the kids asked her if she was the girl “who’s dad was a Christian.” Probably not as cool as working at Apple, but when people ask me what defines me, it’s the first thing that comes to mind, and Apple is probably third. Some day, I plan to leave Apple, and at pretty much any time they can dump me if they want. But I never plan on leaving God and I am confident that he would never leave me. (Check out Romans 8:38-39)

Well, just a couple of other things. First, Veronica and I will not be at New light this Friday. She and her family and Adele and I with our daughter are going to Disneyland. Seems that Adele and Veronica want to find out who knows Disneyland best, Roy or me. Personally, I think it’s me because I’ve been going there a lot longer. Allen and Sudeep will be heading up New Light this Friday and Allen has promised an awesome game. Actually, I won’t be there for two Fridays because Adele and I are heading out to Phoenix directly from Disneyland. Adele has a conference there and I am going along to carry stuff for her and otherwise kick back for a week. And then the first week in March we will be having another movie night.

Well, that’s my week. I really hope yours is going well too.

Cheers,

Duane

Duane's thoughts Feb 10 2016

Hi!

Wow, what a week. there is so much going on this week, and I’m just talking about the calendar!

Today (Wednesday) is Ash Wednesday which marks the start of the Lenten Season which ends with the Last Supper on the Thursday before Easter although some churches count Lent as ending on the Saturday before Easter and others start it on either the Monday before Ash Wednesday of the Sunday after. So, take you pick. But this also means that yesterday was Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday or in many parts of the world and especially in Louisiana, Mardi Gras (which interestingly enough in colloquial French translates as “Fat Tuesday”). Since one is expected to give up something during Lent, Mardi Gras is the festival to make up for whatever you’re giving up before the fact. Hmm, don’t think that’s anywhere in the Bible, though.

On the serious side, although Lent does not actually appear in the Bible is a period traditionally set aside to to allow Christians to prepare for Easter though prayer and self examination. The forty day period commemorates the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before the start of his ministry and so many traditions suggest that believers give up something during that time to help them focus on Jesus and relate to his experience. The culmination of all that was what was originally seen as a much bigger feast and holiday than Christmas and that is Easter - the sacrifice on the cross and the resurrection. Whereas Christmas is the celebration of the gift given, Easter is the celebration the promise fulfilled.

Well, besides the Christian calendar, Friday, April 12th is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. If he were alive today he would be 206 years old this Friday. And you thought he looked old on the penny and five dollar bill! (I hate to say it, but he was actually younger than I am now when he was president). And then this Sunday is Valentine’s Day! How many of you remembered? This is a heads up for everyone that needs to rush out to get a card and flowers.

Saint Valentine (or Valeninius as he was known to his family and friends) lived during the third century and apparently was martyred in the year 273 on July 23rd, or July 6th, or February 14th - no one really knows for sure. I wonder if that is how we got the arrow through the heart? I don’t know. In 496 Pope Gelasius I declared that February 14th would be his day. And to be honest, not much more is known about the guy. In fact, there were actually several Valentines around the same time (It was popular name in Rome) so it’s a little difficult to be sure even who it’s really all about. The one thing that is known, though is that they were all martyrs which means that they all suffered unnatural and probably rather gruesome ends that had relatively little to do with roses and chocolates. As to the modern celebration of Valentine’s Day, you can probably thank Geoffrey Chaucer as much as anyone else for making it a celebration of romance when in 1382 he mentioned it in his poem “Parliament of Fools." The flowers and candy and cards came about with the Industrial Revolution in England during the late 1800s. So, all you guys who have to spend so much every year - blame it on the Brits.

So, what will we be talking about this Friday? Love or Sacrifice? Or both? Guess you’ll just have to be there it find out. And even though I really admire the guy and may mention him, I probably won't discuss Abraham Lincoln. OK, I might show the Geico commercial with him which is one of my favorites, but that is far as I’ll go down that path.

Cheers!

Duane

When:

7:15pm on Friday, February 12

Where:

Grace Community Covenant Church

Foothill Covenant Church

1555 Oak Avenue

Los Altos, CA 94024

Duane's thoughts Feb 3 2016

Hi Again! I really hope that things are going well for you this week. I just went to a retirement party for my boss who is retiring this Friday after 33 years at Apple. And, for that entire time I have been working with him because I have been there for 35 years. It is certainly going to be different without him there. He has been there for so long, that I really can’t remember what it was like not having him there. It’s not that I’ve taken him for granted, but it seems that things have always been this way.

It’s kind of the same for me and my brothers. I grew up with three brothers: two older and one twin. And actually, even my twin brother is technically an older brother because he was born 9 minutes before me. And you all know that in family hierarchy, that makes all the difference. People ask me all the time: “What’s it like having a twin brother?” And I have to honestly answer: “I don’t know. What’s it like not having a twin?” I’ve never known anything else - it has always been this way. There are so many things that define who I am that I have had no say over whatsoever:

Some of the things I had no control over:

I was born in Los Angeles, CA in 1958 to a parents of northern European heritage.

I have three brothers and no sisters.

I am the youngest in my family (by nine minutes as mentioned before)

I have a twin brother

I have blue eyes and started with blond hair although it changed to brown and now is going light again. : /

I am just under 6 feet tall (for years I was 6 feet tall but gravity gets you down after a while)

I have weighed between 155 and 160 from the time I was 16 and no matter how much or how little I eat, I have never varied.

I grew up in Saratoga and I went to kindergarten through college in Santa Clara Valley

I was raised in a Christian home and went to church every almost Sunday.

Sometimes it almost seems unfair that so many things that I have had no control over whatsoever have defined my life in such a powerful way. When I travel overseas I am almost immediately picked out as being American (except in Bulgaria where they think I’m Russian) and make lots of judgements based on what they perceive an American is. Actually, I find that it goes a lot better if I tell people I am Californian, rather than American, as they seem to think that everyone in California is a movie star or at least acquainted with someone who is. But since I am American and have a US Passport (for which I did nothing to deserve other than being born here) I can cross most borders without trouble and many without even a visa.

All of these things define me for better or for worse and there is not much I can do to change them. But there are a few things I can do to define myself in ways that perhaps are not obvious to others and yet I know about them. (Oh boy, I’m about to give up a secret here…) Most people may not be aware of it but I almost always wear a T-shirt under a button up shirt. OK, big deal, your thinking. But, the T-shirts that I wear all have things printed on them. Yeah, big deal again. But the things printed on them mean something to me and I select them depending on my mood or what I expect for a particular day. For instance, today, when my boss was retiring after 33 years and I was feeling a little old, I wore my “Old Fort Jackson” shirt. If I am going to a conference or a scientific gathering I will wear my glow in the dark Albert Einstein shirt. If I am going somewhere fun I can wear my “Still plays with trains” shirt. And if I am heading out on a trip I usually wear my “Vancouver, BC, Canada” shirt with a BC flag on it. If they don’t like Americans I can always pose as a Canadian, eh?

There is one other thing that defines my life today which is not necessarily obvious for the outside but I hope becomes obvious once you get to know me and for which I made a conscious decision:

Just before starting 8th grade I heard God calling me and decided to return to church. I accepted Jesus and made a choice to follow him. After that, I looked the same but was completely different on the inside. And today that decision defines me and permeates everything I do.

This Friday I would like each person to bring something, a physical object, that says something about themselves.  Something that illustrates either who you are or how you are perceived.

I hope to see you Friday and find out a little more about you!

Best regards,

Duane

When:

7:15pm on Friday, January 29

Where:

Grace Community Covenant Church

Foothill Covenant Church

1555 Oak Avenue

Los Altos, CA 94024