I'm in Hong Kong en route to China.  It's my second trip to China in the last year.  Of the many aspects of my work with Evergreen IP and its offshoot, TrashCo Inc., the opportunity to travel to this part of the world has been among the most interesting.

I've come to understand the capacity to get work done a function of capability and resources.  Capability, in turn, might be thought of as a function of skill and attitude.  When it comes to doing the iterative, hard work of developing the multiple innovations required to bring a new consumer product to market, the people we've worked with in China have a positive attitude that overshadows any immediate shortcomings (relative to American or European counterparts) in skill and technology.  Funny thing--actually doing innovative work tends to increase skill.  We all read about it, but my colleagues and I have been able to observe the increase in the capabilities and capacities of Chinese manufacturers.

On the one hand, I'm thrilled, because our success depends upon having access to such capacities.  On the other hand, it's annoying--because we've interacted with many American manufacturing firms that have relatively high skills and resources, but their effective capacity is limited because they have an overly conservative attitude that is excacerbated by confusion between uncertainty and risk.

Sean had his first ski races of the season this past weekend in Red Lodge, Montana.  Here's a clip of his GS runs on Saturday:

 

It's a real kick to see how Sean and the rest of the kids on his team improve from week to week.

Sylvie, as most of you know, is a dancer.  In addition to dancing in this year's edition of The Nutcracker Ballet, Sylvie and a couple of our friends tried their hand (feet?) at a little country dancing:

 

Sylvie (almost 14) and Sean (pushing 12) are busier than ever with middle school, Science Olympics, ski racing, taekwondo, violin, drums, bass guitar, double bass, Honors Orchestra, Jazz Band, and ballet.  Shelley and I spend our time driving them to and from their various activities.

Business took me on a whirlwind trip to China last week.  With a Mandarin-speaking colleague, we swept up and down the coast from Hong Kong to Shanghai and back.  I was on nine plane flights in seven days plus an untold number of taxis, subways, buses, and trains (including the Maglev in Shanghai).  I'm still buzzing.

Sylvie is at ski race camp on Blackcomb Glacier in Whistler, British Columbia.  Shelley, Sean, and I didn't want to be left out, so we've been touring BC while Sylvie is at camp.  Our travels to date have included stops in Castlegar, Osoyoos, Vancouver, Whistler, Nanaimo, Victoria, and Burnaby.  If you haven't visited BC, you should.  It's as spectacular as it is immense.  (BC is two and a half times larger than Montana.)  Check out the snapshots elsewhere on this site.

Last week, my partner John Funk and I had the opportunity to speak at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.  Shelley, Sylvie, and Sean were able to join me for a somewhat extended trip.  The itinerary included a limo ride, a stay at the InterContinental Hotel, shopping along Michigan Avenue, a visit to the Shedd Aquarium, a tour of the Art Institute, a ride to the top of the Sears Tower, good food, and lots of walking.  We had a blast!

Sean took third place in forms and second place in his class (11-12 year old red belts) in sparring at the Montana Taekwondo Championships in Bozeman this weekend.  The highlight of his competition was a 6-5 win in his first round against a young lady who doesn't lose very often.  Sean is in the red:

 

 

 

This is the first year Sylvie is eligible to participate in the Red Lodge Music Festival.  In order to be placed in one of the camp's orchestras, she'll be submitting a recorded version of this piece:

 

Sylvie and Sean's ski racing season has ended.  Members of the Big Sky Ski Team, Sylvie competed in Junior racing, and Sean competed on the Youth Ski League circuit in the Northern Division of the USSA.  While competing in Super-G, Sylvie discovered her love of speed, and Sean made big strides in slalom.  In addition to driving all over the Northern Rockies, Shelley put in a lot of time slopeside as a gate judge, and I served as Chief of Timing for the races our club hosted at Big Sky.  We're already looking forward to next season!

Sylvie became a teenager on December 18th (which makes her, most probably, the youngest J3 skier in the Northern Division).

 

It's been busy around here:

 

Missoula hosted the first taekwondo tournament of the season yesterday.  Sean placed 5th in his class (12 and under Red Belts) in forms in the morning.  Late in the afternoon, Sean staged a comeback in the third period of the championship sparring match to force sudden-death overtime, which he won.  Sean was helped by a penalty that resulted in a point being deducted from his opponent in the last second of the third round.

Good news: Sylvie made the All-District Honors Orchestra for the second year.  Playing the double bass has its disadvantages: the instrument is huge; basses are very expensive; and you rarely get to play the melody.  On the other hand, just about every band and orchestra on the planet needs a bass player, and there are (relatively speaking) few bass players.

This afternoon, I recorded Sylvie playing the bass part from Barcarolle, from Tchaikovksy's The Seasons, Op. 37b No. 6.  Sylvie plays the solo, and her teacher, Suzanne Ford, joins for a duet.  This is Sylvie's audition piece for the Bozeman Middle School Honors Orchestra, which she was a member of last year as a sixth grader.

Last Sunday, we awoke expecting to travel to Seeley Lake for our annual stay at the Tamaracks Resort with family and friends.  Unfortunately, the Jocko fire blew up overnight, and we were waved off by the proprietors.  However, we re-grouped, purchased camping supplies, and joined the Cole, Smithgall, and Tronson families at Hauser Lake.

 

The kids got to do a lot of waterskiing.  Sean learned how to cross the wake, and Sylvie was able to do a deep water start on a slalom ski for the first time!

Sylvie and Sean have wrapped up their summer camp season.  Sean spent a week at a classic summer camp and had an absolute blast.  Sylvie was a bit more eclectic in her approach to summer.  She started with the week-long Peaks & Potentials program at Montana State University, followed with four weeks of improvisation and theater at Camp Equinox, and finished with a week of ski race camp in British Columbia.

Sylvie is finishing her orchestra and dance seasons.  Last week, she played in her final 6th Grade and All-District Honors Orchestra concerts (double bass) and was named "Outstanding Contributor" by per 6th grade peers.  This weekend, she is dancing in the Main Street Dance Theater recital (ballet, jazz, and lyrical).