Gabe and Phyllis Caunt

I haven’t posted things here for over a year, and it’s due to a couple of things.  First, social networking sites provide a much better mechanism for sharing things directly with friends.  Indeed, very little that was posted here really ever had any traffic, and I get quite a bit of positive interaction through one of the social networking sites.  Secondly, I’m finding that the conditions of being a public employee are subject to an amazing quantity of scrutiny, and lately it’s been getting just a little scary.  As the economy has worsened, people are increasingly on edge, and looking for somewhere to vent some anger.  The AM radio and the local paper tell them that people like me, paid for from publicly-owned institutions are the enemy, and the cause of their misery, and they believe it.  Although I work hard every day to make the best decisions about how to meet the public’s best long-term interest within the unbelievable myriad of constraints handed to me as a project manager, none of that means a fig to some nutjob looking for a target.

My concern for my family has increased to the point that I really just don’t want all that much searchable content out there on the public search engines, either for the general public or my coworkers to process and use against me in some way I haven’t imagined.  I’m not paranoid enough to take the site down, but sufficiently cautious to watch what I say as there is little benefit to me to share certain things beyond a few close friends, and there is much potential harm that could come from sharing too much.

In any case, don’t expect too many posts here, and best wishes to all as we figure out how to get our economy functioning again such that a most hard working people can again find the opportunity to earn a decent paycheck.  That day is still much too far in the future.

-Gabe

This is great. Now I can explain what’s on the news to my kids.

My family and I missed being part of a deadly tornado in Holly, CO by about 30 hours, while returning from a trip to Kansas aboard Amtrak’s Southwest Chief bound for La Junta, CO. It’s a bit surreal to see footage of the small town devastated after passing by during a train-board breakfast on a calm, foggy morning a day and a half earlier. (Full story is available at KRDO TV)

In the past we have travelled to Kansas in March to get ahead of the severe storms and tornadoes typical later in the spring and summer. This is considered early in the year for a tornado in eastern Colorado, and Wednesday night’s twister was a substantial tornado that appeared with little time to warn residents to prepare. Unfortunately, I expect to see more stories like this throughout 2007.

As the days get shorter, the quality of light in the Canon is always a gift.