Golf at its best!

The Royal Chiang-Mai Golf Club in the North of Thailand Some friends and I went to play golf yesterday at the Royal Chiang Mai Golf Resort. It is the most beautiful course I have ever seen. The roughs were better than many fairways I have played on and the greens were incredible. I explained to my caddie that I was playing for fun and to not use the "strict rules of golf." She obliged quite well and "assisted" me with some "ball lays". (lies) It was great fun, except for the rain, but it only lasted three or four holes. I would definately like to go back and play another round there.

New House

One Month To Go!

Only one month to go until we move to our new house. Oh, how we dread the packing again.

Micromangagement

Wilipedia.org defines micromangagement as "an example of poor management where the manager over-manages people unnecessarily. Instead of giving people general instructions and then allowing them to do their job, the micromanager monitors and assesses every step. The manager may be motivated by concern for details. The effect, however, may be to de-motivate employees and create resentment."

Don't you just love it when people complain about being micromanaged, then turn around and do it themselves? I have more to say about this, but I am never sure of who it actually is that reads my blog.

'nough said.

Hey Mary!

Thanks for reading my blog!

55 Days

Only 55 more days until I get to see my mom and dad! I am so excited. Of course, before then, I have another trip to China and we have to move. Little details!

I can't wait to go fishing with my dad and to sit on my folks' front porch, overlooking Ft. Gibson Lake and have our morning coffee together. What fun! What bliss!

Please take just a second....

and place a pin on my "guestmap". It will only take a minute and you don't even have to leave your name if you don't want to.

Please, please, please!

The link is on the right hand column, at the bottom of the list of stuff.

New House

This is where we will be moving to. It has a nice big yard! We will move at the end of next month.

Rant

Why can't things just be the way they used to be? What has changed; me or everything else? Or maybe both?

I miss my old house in Sapulpa. I loved the view from the hill where you could see all the way to Tulsa. True, I had a feeling of superiority, but only in the sense that I literally looked down on people. Not figuratively, well, not most of the time, anyway.

I am tired of the way America is portrayed to the world. We used to be this wonderful nation that was admired. Now, they burn our flags and destroy our buildings and kill our soldiers. I am going to blame media on that one.

I am sick of the "native American" casinos and tribal junk taking back over Oklahoma. OK, most of the tribes that are there aren't indigenous to Oklahoma anyway. If their ancestors sold the tribal lands to other white people, there shouldn't be anymore restitution. It's a done deal. Get over it. I don't think it is fair that tribes are issuing their own license plates for their cars. They should not be able to have the authority to do that.

I am weary of hearing people be unkind to others or blaming others for their own problems. That dieting commercial several years ago said "It's not your fault; you're not alone." Poppycock! It is your fault if you keep stuffing Twinkies down that open pie hole!


OK, enough ranting. I'm sick of talking about what makes me sick.

Have a nice day! :-)

Weather Underground: Boyne Photos

Weather Underground: Search Current Weather Related Photos

Here are some other pictures that I have taken. Many are not posted on this blog, but only on this other website accessible at the above link.

3 Continents!

Tim Tillinghast & Rick Boyne

We had a nice visit from my old college buddy, Tim Tillinghast. As we had dinner together at our home last night (I grilled T-Bones!) we realized that we have shared meals together now on three continents. That is quite a feat! Tim currently lives in Bamako, Mali, but was here in Chiang Mai for a conference and is now spending a little time on R&R.

I was glad to see you, Tim! Boomer Sooner!

Some days....

I sure would like some cheese with my whine.

I'm Glad To Be HOME!

But I am "dead dog" tired!

Aztec Carvings at Temple of the Sun outside Mexico City

Mayan Carvings at Tulum, Mexico

Mayan or Yi?

The end is in sight

I only have one more day in China before returning home to Chiang Mai. I have had most enjoyable trip, but I am absolutely exhausted!

We did have quite an adventurous trip to Chuxiong today. We took a bus that traveled on a road that isn't officially opened yet. Once it is done, it will be wonderful, but it is horrible right now. We entered a tunnel that is under construction. It had lights for about the first .5 km, but then went pitch black in smog and thick dust. You literally could not see more than 10 meters in front of you with the headlights on. It was extremely scary.

We had some interesting sights once we entered Chuxiong. There is a park here dedicated to the Yi People (tribe). There are too many similarities to the Mayan and Aztec cultures to simply be coincidence. In fact, some of their artwork even looks similar. I will post a picture above.

Anyway, I will be ready to get back home to my wife and children. I have had enough of the beds that are hard as boards. I have thoroughly enjoyed the sights, the people that I have met, and most of the foods that I have tried. In fact, I might have had the very best jiao zi tonight that I have ever eaten!

I am looking forward to the 3 hour train ride to Kunming tomorrow morning. It will be a delightful change from the bad busses!

Sole Sewer

Sole Sewer in Chuxiong, China
This old woman has been sewing soles of handmade women's shoes for 45 years. She is 75 years old.

Leaning House in Old Chuxiong, China

Leaning House in Chuxiong, China. This form of architecture is quickly disappearing due to urban renewal projects.

Changing China

China: It is a changin! This sign in Old Town Chuxiong, China, is advertising new computers for sale.

4th Generation Brother

Old Brother
The only problem is that "it" stopped with him.

Beggar woman in Yuxi, China

Better Bus Ride

I took two buses today; one from Qujing to Kunming and one from Kunming to Yuxi. The QJ-KG bus was the reverse of the one I took the day before, in more ways than one. We bought the tickets early, so we had seats on the second row. That helped immensely. Also, the bus didn't have any wogity wheels, so that helped, too. Finally, since we were sitting at the front, we couldn't see anyone throwing up, so that, obviously, was a bonus!

The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.

We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.

We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.I took two buses today; one from Qujing to Kunming and one from Kunming to Yuxi. The QJ-KG bus was the reverse of the one I took the day before, in more ways than one. We bought the tickets early, so we had seats on the second row. That helped immensely. Also, the bus didn't have any wogity wheels, so that helped, too. Finally, since we were sitting at the front, we couldn't see anyone throwing up, so that, obviously, was a bonus!

The bus from KG to YX was pretty good, too. We had seats 1 & 2. My seat back was broken, that is, it wouldn't stay in the "up" position. The road was new and smooth and it only took 1 hr 15 minutes for the whole trip. The fare was 30 RMB or about $3.75 or so. Not bad, not bad.

We arrived at 5:15 pm in Yuxi and are staying at the nicest hotel in town. (often, that isn't saying much for Chinese hotels!) This hotel is owned by a ciggarette company and there are ashtrays and matches everywhere. I think there are three sets in my room. There are no "non-smoking" rooms and the whole hotel has a faint smell of stale smoke. It isn't bad, but it sure isn't good.

We walked into the towna and toured around a little. We had Chinese dumplings (jiao tse) for dinner tonight. It was pretty good. I took the picture of the old beggar woman asleep on the street not too far from our restaurant. I really hate to see old people begging. It is a dirty rotten shame.

Qujing, China

Southern Gate, Qujing, China

Horrible Bus Ride

Today, I took a bus from Kunming to Qujing, in Yunnan Province, China. It was the worst bus ride of my life! First of all, we had the very back seats in the bus which is always bumpier than the rest of the bus. Then, have you ever been to the supermarket and got the shopping cart with the "wogity-wogity" wheel? Well, we got the bus with the "wogity-wogity" wheel. One (or more) of the back wheels were severely out of balance and the whole back end of the bus shook when we got over 60 kph. I normally don't get car sick, but, to be honest, I did everything I could to not be sick. One little kid in particular "blew chunks" more than once; the second time, all over his mom. Yuck! There were many people who got sick on this bus. Thank goodness it was a non-smoking bus or I really would have been sick. Chinese public buses have "stewardesses" who assist you along the trip. This stewardess passed out bottles of water and plastic 'bus sick' bags. It was pretty gross.

We made it on in to Qujing where we had a wonderful lunch and a great tour of this little city. It is supposedly the second largest city in Yunnan with about 1.5 million people. It has a KFC, but the westernization stops there!

Tomorrow, we are headed back to Kunming to catch another bus to Yuxi. Hopefully, the bus ride tomorrow will be lots better!

Some seed fell on the path

Some seed fell on the path where it was quickly eaten by birds. Matt 13:4
This is wheat that was harvested, but was lost in the collection.

Using passing cars to thrash wheat

Yours Truly with a Russian MiG in the Baoshan Park

China has Changed!

OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe how much China has changed in the past 15 years! I first visitied China in Feb 1988. The things that strike me the most are:
many, many fewer bicycles
many, many more personal cars
huge, beautiful buildings
cell phones everywhere
western items galore
western stores (Wal-Mart, Carrefour)
internet availability
new roads
western restaurants (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC)
not being stared at as much because they have never seen foreigner before
coffee houses everywhere (even in the little cities) Starbucks is only the mega citiesEven though China is changing, it is still CHINA! Today, I had lunch at Pizza Hut in Kunming. It was really good. They were advertising some new things. One of them was e-coupons on their website. The other was an ad for Oolong Chicken Comsume. (Tea Chicken Soup) Ugh!