Stone In The Surf Press

June 18, 2007

OK Who writes this drivel?  I have Yahoo as my homepage and every morning it's filled with bits of wisdom as tasty and fulfilling as rice cakes.  Not too long ago they posted a bit on how to write a TV Show and get it produced.  Sounded like a Miss Arkansas contestant speech on how to promote Whirled Peas.  Here's an excerpt from today's fluffy wisdom snacks.    

 

To make your case to a hiring manager, follow these tips.

1. Show your commitment.

You'll be more convincing if you take classes, join industry organizations or moonlight (even on a volunteer basis) within the field you're exploring before you try to go full time -- and you'll also have a much better idea if this really is the right move for you.

2. Quantify your skills.

It may not be obvious how what you know translates into what they do. So focus on your transferable skills -- not your experience -- in interviews and on your resume.

Quantify your accomplishments: Show that you increased sales X percent or managed Y number of people. "It helps provide the scope and breadth of your accomplishments," says Bishop, "and it shows you very clearly understand what you've done."

Also highlight areas in your background that give you an advantage. When interviewing for an IT position, Randy Jensen, 36, of Riverton, Utah, pointed out that after 15 years in radio, he has good communication skills. "I can string two sentences together," he says. "I'm not going to be a hermit in a cubicle."

3. Talk the talk.

Learning industry lingo is critical.

4. Take a two-step approach.

So if you're a lawyer itching to become a travel writer, work as a writer for a legal publication first (new title) and then eventually move into travel writing (new industry).

Or do legal work for a travel publication and contribute pieces until you're able to pick up a writing position.

5. Give yourself enough time.

Quitting on a whim often results in a frantic scramble for a paycheck. Plus, you need to think through logistics. If you have to take a salary cut, how will you cover it? Are you willing to relocate?

 

Hiring managers don't give a rat's fuzzy backside what you want to do.  They want 10 years of intense industry and position experience.  Would you take a risk on a wanna-be when in front of you is a stack of proven performers?  Have these people EVER tried to change their career !?!  I've been working on this for three decades!  It's a life commitment that requires potentially giving up everything in your life.  Without a supporting S.O. it can mean far more sacrifice than you'd expect.  After all of these years I still can't get a recruiter (like the one who wrote the above nonsense) to see past my years of accounting and look at the rest of my broad spectrum of skill sets.  We are raising a nation of people who think all family issues can be resolved in 23 minutes with two commercial breaks and you can change your life in five easy steps.  I would hazard to guess that changing your career is akin to a chain smoker going cold turkey after 40 years of smoking.

To the people who write this fluff - get real.  Your information has the cranial nutritional value of a Hostess Twinkie.

I'll go put my soap box away now.

 

June 17, 2007

Except for the fact that the next time around I want to be able to spell and have a half way decent command of the English language,  When The Force Isn't With You seems to be doing well - fingers crossed.   Web traffic is up and I need to update my charts on the Radio Gigs page. 

But, today is fathers day.  I had no clue what impact that would have on my life when they handed me that wet lizard of a creature and said, "You're a father."  His mom had severe problems and they rushed me and this little thing out of the delivery room and left me alone with it.  I was afraid that something horrible would happen to his mother and that I would be left alone with Kyle.  I was certain that some child protection agent would find me unworthy of being a father and take Kyle from me.  I swore at that moment that I would be the best dad a kid could ever have.    For the next 20 years I tried to do my best.  Not sure how well I did.  I probably could have done better if the employment and marriage side of my life had worked out.  The again, with luck those adversities will be life lessons he can draw from.

My son and I have a saying, "This is a Hammer thing."  Not an MC Hammer thing, but a construction worker, tool belt hammer thing.  When Kyle was very young I took him down to our barn and put a big nasty hammer on the work bench.  I told him that in life he will want to try many things and take many different paths.  I promised I would warn him if he would get hurt, but I wouldn't stop him unless it would permanently damage or kill him.  I then told him that with all of the construction work I have done in my life, I have managed to hit my thumb with a hammer a few times.  It hurts a lot.  And, if he didn't believe me, he was welcome to put his hand on the work bench, take the hammer and hit his thumb as hard as he could.  "No!" he shouted, "It'll hurt!"  "Exactly." I replied.  "So when I tell you this is a Hammer thing, you'll understand."

I thank my father for doing the best that he knew how to teach me and to create a childhood and now adult life where I could try different paths and fall down.  In many ways he and my mother helped me to be able to keep my home for my son until Kyle went off to college.  And in the year or so since then, my father has been incredibly supportive during a very difficult time in my life.  I hope I have been able to be supportive and a teacher to my son.  As my friend John-Michael used to say, "We are all products of our parents experimentations."  I can only hope that I have been able to strike a balance between "Cool" and a healthy does of reality.  To all of the fathers out there - congratulations.  And now it's

Hammer Time!

June 6, 2007

Off and running with When The Force Isn't With You.  Many thanks to The Force Net for getting the word out around the World and my guess Universe as well.  I went with a short print run so copies are limited so get yours before they are all gone.  About 1/2 are spoken for already.  I'll obviously go for a second printing if this one is successful, but a first addition!  That'll be a collectors item.

Word to the wise.  Read distribution contracts carefully.  After almost 2 years I'm ending my distribution arrangement with Book Masters / Atlas Books.  I have a sinking feeling I'm in for more cancellation costs and headaches than I envisioned up front.  READ THE FINE PRINT.  This is important so I'll keep you apprised of my progress.

I've created a section under the Marketing page for the Radio Gigs since they are important, yet taking up some blog space. 

 

April 21, 2007

GREAT NEWS!

Today I received one of the best letters I could have hoped for.  Just before we left for Guatemala, I sent out a half dozen marketing packages for Charlie's Treasures.  Like bottles tossed into an angry sea, you hope that someone finds them, but after being told "NO" hundreds of times, I don't hold my breath.  It paid off.  All of that passion and persistence has finally paid off.  Barnes & Noble has placed an order for a case of Charlie's Treasures AND they want to see any new works I publish.  It may not seem like much to the rest of the world, but it is an affirmation that my story is good and that my efforts are finally gaining traction. 

April 2, 2007

Before I delve into my Aventura Grande, I’d like to announce that literally minutes before we left for Guatemala, I signed a publicity agreement with EMSI.  It was a difficult process.  I first had to come to the conclusion that my own efforts in promoting Charlie’s Treasures were resulting in zip – nada.  A bit of an ego shock to someone who sees himself as the ultimate DIY’er.  I had to come to the realization that, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do the things I have to and do the kind of promoting I need.  Time to call in the pros from Dover.  I searched half a dozen firms, sent out packages, noted their responses, checked references and in the end, Steve Friedman at EMSI won out.  With luck, and their skill I am now embarking on a nation wide radio interview campaign.   I will update the “Where’s Rich?” section as the schedules develop. 

One might ask, after 40 years of searching, and all of the cost and effort in arranging the trip, was it worth it?  First we had to get there.  An adventure I never could have undertaken without Mary.  She developed skills that she had and added a few new ones.  Mary was the ultimate in Navigator, Translator, Spotter and Photojournalist.  As we raced through Guatemala City then across the high Central Plains of the country she honed her skills, “Izquierdo, derecho, aiyee, rock, hole, cliff, dog, CHICKEN BUS!”  To give you a brief itinerary, it was Seth’s 6^th anniversary so we didn’t want to intrude on his weekend and decided to take the long route to Coban.  First stop was Antigua, then Lake Atitlan and finally the long northern route to Coban.  A route most people told us would take a day, possibly more and time and time again we were told not to take.  And so, our aventura begins… (note the pics below are the Reader’s Digest condensed version)

After all of these years was the trip worth it?  Simply, yes.  I had so many fears, so much anticipation, trepidation and concerns leading up to the trip.  Just plain life seemed to continuously get in the way.  Then there were the typical concerns, would Seth and I get along, what about Wicha, his mom, the kids.  Turns out Seth and I have more in common than we thought, Mary and Wicha seemed to hit it off well and his mom, Leslie, it was like meeting Princess Grace - what an amazing woman.  Despite traffic, village mazes and blown tires, the trip was fantastic!  I'd love to chronicle their family history.  Their story and the three amigos (Seth, Michael and I) would make for great reading!  Also for those who know me, the mind races at the opportunities!  We will return.

I've been asked several times why I searched for Seth for all of those years and not my other childhood friends I had.  I don't know.  I guess like the swallows of Capistrano, it was something I had to do.  I find when life calls you in a particular direction, it's best not to question it too much and roll with it.  I'll be curious to see where this fork in the road leads.  I hope back to Coban soon.

A side note, for those of your visiting Guatemala, Charlie's Treasures is now available in Antigua!

Many thanks to Seth and Wicha and Leslie for their amazing hospitality.  And thanks to everyone who supported our Grand Adventure.  And I can't close this blog without thanking Mary.  What a wonderful friend I have.  I have the best collection of marbles anyone has ever seen. 

Saludos

	We arrive on the only flight in from the US at 4:30am.  Thank God Seth met us at the airport, but not sure why he and Mary took off and left me standing on the curb.
	Picking up the little 4WD was a pain, a mere fore shadowing of the return.
	The road to Antigua, yes those are cows in that truck.
	Antigua a city of history and beauty.
	The classic post card shot.
	A few things take a bit of getting used to.
	Antigua's active volcano.
	Atitlan, Aldus Huxley was right, this is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
	Sunset from ... the Sunset Cafe.
	Sunrise touches the tops of Atitlan's Volcanos.
	Deep in thought.
	In Guatemala it seems everything is an excuse to celebrate life.
	The main market place.
	One of the many amazing local people.
	"Ya-mon" Some of the local bohemians of Atitlan.
	Princessa, my new found friend.
	Isn't there a song about "The Long and Winding Road"?
	Two thirds of the way to Coban, the pavement suddenly stopped.  The rest of the trip was on dirt roads, with rocks and holes as big as our suv.
	Being a spotter and navigator became an intense job for Mary.  "Aiyee - TRUCK!"
	"Hole!"
	Think this bridge looks scary – there’s more.
	The progress of road work is slow when it's done by a few guys with picks and shovels.
	Many kilometers left to go through the rain forests.
	A well deserved place to stretch our legs next to a water fall.
	We arrive in Coban exhausted, but relieved, what should have taken 12 hours we did in six and a half.  Thanks to a few years of G-Prodified racing and thousands of miles of off roading with John Michael.  Mary takes a well deserved nap.
	Hotel La Posada - Coban
	That's Seth's impressive casa across the road.
	Leslie, Mary and Seth discuss the morning's politics.  The King and Queen of Spain arrive for a visit.
	A scene from Out Of Africa or in the case Out Of Guatemala.  What you can't see are the white Arabian horses running on the green pasture across the valley behind Mary.
	From the dining room into the court yard.
	Wicha snuggles with Milka the very happy chocolate lab.
	Seth and I solve the problems of the world on his finca.
	Ricardo, a fine little bull born on the day we arrive - no comments from the peanut gallery.
	Dairy the old fashioned way.
	One of Seth's fleet of high tech Guatemalan milk trucks.
	Coban's ridiculous tortilla maker visitor's center in the town square.
	Mary making a fashion statement in Coban.  It's important to have your blouse, hand bag and building color coordinated.
	Yes, damn it, those are Mickey D arches on the left.
	On the way to Semuc Champey - yes those are rotten boards on the bridge.
	Seth decided to stop and show us some local flora and fauna.  He also decided to teach Mary the traditional Guatemalan ant dance which is performed ceremoniously after placing one's foot in the middle of an ant hill.
	Semuc means place where the river disappears into the rocks.
	Mary and Seth cool off in one of the many pools of Champey.  Beneath them a the river is rushing through the rocks.
	The river emerges almost a mile down stream.
	The road to Semuc Champey is many kilometers of narrow steep dirt road.  The locals get there crammed into trucks.
	All those miles and the bad tire they gave us at the rental place finally gives out 200 meters from the hotel.  Unfortunately the spare was about an inch shorter which made the trip from Coban to Guatemala City rather interesting.
	These are students raising money for their spring break parties?  Scary.
	The 5 hour drive from Coban to Guatemala City was exhausting.  The Princess Hotel was kind enough to have their shuttle driver lead the way back to the rental agency.  We picked up a police escort which made getting through city traffic possible.  Not sure exactly why, but they were a definite help when it came to returning the car.  The entire process took more than two hours and the rental place was less than a mile from the hotel.  Mary kept these young men at bay by explaining she was my esposa.
	We leave at daybreak, destined to return soon.

 

 

March 20, 2007

What possible reason could I have for going to Guatemala?  Why not the Greek Islands or Italy or the Galapagos Islands or even Australia, all places that rank high on my list of places to visit.  It is an unusual tale of childhood friends.  We came into the world on the exact same day, our lives destine to follow a strange parallel path.  Some day I hope to write this story in detail, for now, I'll share the Reader's Digest Condensed version.

 

August 17, 1957

Seth Fairhurst and Richard Neumann enter the world.

1963

We met at Miss Nancy's Nursery school in Tustin, California.  Our parents became good friends and it was only natural that the kids got along as well.  Obviously we graduated with honors.  Seth's family would spend winters in Southern California and summers at their family finca in Guatemala.

1965

In 1964 my father moved us to Northern California to the future home of Silicon Valley.  It was something that I wouldn't full understand for 30 years until finding a job to support my family put me in a similar situation.  The last time I saw Seth was in 1965.  It was a time of boyhood innocence.  It was the in days when a parent could put her 8 year old son alone on an Air Cal plane and send him off.  It was also a time when that boy could return home with a bucket full of frogs and salamanders.  Not long after that, Seth's family returned to Guatemala and we lost contact with them. 

Seth just added this comment:

"It was a box. I remember holding it on my lap the whole way down. At one point I took the rubber band off to check on my pets and the rubber band broke and smacked me on the cheek. And a guy across the aisle laughed at me. I was so pissed I even told the stewardess- excuse me: flight attendant.  Yes, times have changed. "Are we better off" is bound to be a topic of discussion.  And, are there still salamanders around where you used to live? I bet that's changed, too. That's alright, I've still got a good memory for a lot of things. I just worry about what to show Nicholas and Thomas. "
 

For years I searched in vane.  Letters were never returned and no one that I spoke to who had been to Guatemala knew of Seth or his family.  Had I looked under the family name of Hempstead or in San Francisco, that search might have been years shorter.

Then in 2004 while searching aimlessly on the internet I came across a listing on a British website for people trying to find lost friends.  Michael Patton was looking for a Seth Fairhurst.  It didn't take us long to confirm we were searching for the same person.  Combining our bits of information, we were finally able to track Seth down.  Mike's father had worked in Guatemala and like me, they had become friends in school.  His friendship with Seth had picked up where mine had left off. 

As fate would have it, Seth was on his way to San Francisco to meet up with his brother and sister.  We agreed to meet a few days before our birthdays.  39 years after we had last seen each other.  What is amazing to me are the parallels our lives took.  We have both fought very hard to preserve a family farm, a legacy of heritage.  Something that comes at a price that far exceeds any reasonable monetary value.  My father and son and I have delved into the growing of hardwood timber in an effort to find an alternative to the horribly marginal profit that can be squeezed from dry wheat farming.  To find an alternative for the collapsed coffee market, Seth has ventured into timber.  I wound up being the CFO of one of the largest Dairy Cooperatives in California.  Seth has added dairy operations to his ranch in hopes of finding another use for his land.  One similarity would be possible, two less so, but what is the probability that two people would share three?  Then again, we were born on the same day.

For nearly four decades I have searched for my childhood best friend.  And in a few short hours, with my very adventurous friend Mary, we will be off on an aventura grande! 

2004

George Lucas is often mistaken for that guy on the left.  The guy on the right, well Sheryl Crow wants her CD's back.

March 13, 2007

For anyone following this random train of thoughts, you've read my tirades about customer service.  You've read about how disgusted I get with the poor quality of service and if you're one of several companies I've dealt with, including the CEO of Daimler-Chrysler, you've felt the wrath of my acid pen.  I feel that it is only fair, no essential that I take the same enthusiasm and sing the praise of that rare and wonderful customer experience.  Mary and I are preparing to leave for Guatemala in a few short days to find my long lost childhood friend in Coban.  For the trip I decided to pick up a new digital camera.  Most folks would just go down to the local store and snag one.  The one I'm currently using, I got out of a garbage can - seriously.  A friend was moving and tossed it out because she couldn't find the battery charger.  I went down to Radio Shock and picked one up for $19.00 and it has served me well for years.  With this trip forming the basis for Tres Amigos, I needed a camera that would capture the details necessary for use in a book.  I had a few difficult criteria.  First I wanted one that could replicate the quality I got with my father's Canon AE1 with a telephoto lens.  Not easy to find an optical 12-1 zoom on a digital camera.  My Canon has been "adopted" (notice I was kind and didn't use the word "abducted") by my son and I'm not sure I will ever see it again.  Next was price.  This was key for two reasons.  First, I have no money.  Second, there's a distinct possibility the camera may not make it back from the trip.  There are some great cameras out there now in the $3,000 to $4,000 range.  Cut that in half and loose a zero and your into my high side of a budget.  From a functional stand point the best camera I could find is the Kodak Z712.  List is $349 and you can find it as low as $229 at CostCo and places on the web.  Saturday I had some time to kill and I decided to window shop and see if I could find and test a Z612.  I went to the local Target, BestBuy and CostCo.  The prices we're ok, but not good enough to get me to plunk down the old plastic.  Across Santa Rosa Avenue is CompUSA and Circuit City.  I wandered into CompUSA and waited with another poor soul by the camera kiosk.  And we waited, and waited, and waited.  No one ever showed up to help.  This by the way has been my experience at that store.  CompUSA had the lowest price anywhere for the Z612.  I wandered a few doors down to the Circuit City.  Last Christmas, we bought my mother and father a Kodak Easyshare system there and were rather pleased with the experience.  They have great election of cameras, all neatly set up so that you can test them.  I actually tried a number of different ones, but for the price kept coming back to the Z612.  One thing I love about a good zoom lens is the ability to take a portrait and drop out the background.  One of the sales reps was very tolerant of me using her as a test subject.  When she finished with her current customer she asked if she could help.  I told her which camera I was looking at, but price was a bit high.  She checked the "open box" discounted section for me, then check her other stores to see if they had any.  No one had any.  Then she checked her stock to see if she could sell me their floor model.  They had too many left in stock.  I mentioned that CompUSA had the best price I could find, but no one there was willing to help.  She checked and confirmed their price and asked her manager to approve matching their price.  Ding we were done.  Then I needed memory and a spare battery.  The Sandisk 2 gig memory card came with a mail in rebate.  She filled out the rebate form and handed to me in an addressed envelop.  All I had to do was add a stamp!  I must say that was one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had.

Many thanks to Whitney at Circuit City - Santa Rosa!

 

March 9, 2007

An amazing thing happened a few nights ago.  My guess is it happened as most amazing things do in the still of the night or in the wee quiet hours of the morning.  Some where in the depths of The Little Guy Resources webserver a tiny bit of code was dutifully keeping track of unique visits.  It knows not why it does this or even why it has been assigned to watch over my domain.  One might argue that since it is no more that a string of codes, it has no awareness, no consciousness, no passion for what it does.  Perhaps if it did, it would have called me at 1:35am.  It's AI voice filled with excitement, "Rich guess what just happened!"  The frightening thing is, the technology exists for it to have done just that.  Maybe in respect for my limited amount of sleep, it knew that I would check early the next morning.  It knows I visit it at least several times a week.  So, it knew I'd check.  Or maybe it is the cold autonotom that functions emotionlessly, simply adding one more digit, then another and another.  Or maybe, like a loving father it waits quietly in front of the tree on Christmas morning and waits for the child to come down stairs.  He hasn't slept a wink, but the anticipation is worth every moment.  And like that child, I checked my site stats with anticipation.  Somewhere, about the time that February became March, a counter clicked one, then another, and another...   I find it useful to set milestone goals in order to stave off disappointment and discouragement.  I find if I am not careful I will allow the worlds efforts to strike down those of us who have passion overwhelm my hopes and dreams.  And that small bit of code added one more digit,  1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 !  2001 a number worthy of Arthur C Clarke's literary skills and Stanly Kubrick's visionary skills, and Douglas Trumbull's incredible modeling techniques.   For me, the number was a milestone, 2001 unique visitors to my site.  Not bad if you consider we have been able to do little in the way of "advertising" or pushing of the site.  I'm up to a rate of almost 500 per month and the number is climbing steadily.  Why is this important?  It means people are finding my site and with luck are enjoying the content, learning something and yes, I hope becoming intrigued to buy books.  And, it's important for other indies to realize that it will take some time for a new site to be found by spiders, robots and web crawlers and to take on a life of its own.  Patience is a necessary survival skill for any indie.

Thank you HAL

March 8, 2007

Several years ago I came to the end of almost twenty years of marriage.  I had hoped that we could end the process amicably.  So much so, that I offered everything of material value, cash, a home, retirement accounts, everything.  Instead of going with a nasty lawyer, I decided to try the collaborative approach.   "They" tout this as the softer, gentler, kinder process.  Unfortunately it doesn't work.  In the end all that I asked for were my tools, my stories, and an infinitesimally small piece of Kansas that has been in my family for five generations.  The lawyers and the other party were not convinced that this was fair or reasonable (insert a befuddled Homer Simpson sound bite here) "Doah!?!"  The other day I received a valuation of the land by the state of Kansas.  Ready for this?  $300.00  That's it.  One would think that it should have been considered an inheritance and not subject to California's community property laws.  An unfortunate event (I foolishly created and LLC for the property) changed that.  Even though all parties agreed that this seemed silly, we continued to fight over it.  And fight we did, to the tune of more than $6,000 in attorney's fees.  In the end I wound up having to buy my "X" out of the LLC for $3,000!  Toss in some recent events and my total cost over the last two years to keep that property has climbed to over $11,000!  All of that for $300 worth of dirt.  In the end I hope that the other party is happy with her monetary compensation.  I also hope that the lawyers can sleep at night without feeling sick about the job they did.  And I have, for the moment, preserved a piece of family legacy that I can pass down to my son.  How many people do you know who can stand on the very first parcel of land their family owned?  I often tell my clients there is a distinct difference between cost, price, worth and value.  Like the credit card ad states, "Cost to preserve a piece of family heritage, $11,000.  Value of a legacy, priceless."  I can only hope that someday my son's children will be able to stand on that small piece of Kansas, watch the fireflies on a summer's eve, listen to the slow creaking of the windmill on a gentle wind and  appreciate their heritage.

 

February 23, 2007

What If ?

Always a dangerous place to go for self reflection.  There was a famous quote (from whom, I am at a loss to remember) that stated, "Film will never be a creative media until it is as cheap as paper."  I believe that time is now.  When Steve and John, Mark and Bill Buchanan, Alana Addison and I made such fun films as "Cat's End", "The Curse of the Wilkins", "The U.N.C.L.E. - training film" and the unforgettable "Monty Python KQED pledge night" skits,  film was expensive.  We shot in "Super 8".  Here we go with that left brain accountant again.  A cartridge of film cost about $25.00 in 1972.  This was for the raw stock and developing.  It was 50 feet and at 24 fps lasted 3 minutes.  If we got 1-3 ratio of usable footage were we lucky.  A five minute film would cost $125.  Adjust for inflation and today that same film would cost $417 to make.  That's a lot of money for any high school or college student to plunk down.  I won't even belabor the fact that editing was done with a tiny viewer, razor blades and tape.  Sound was run on a thread thin trace of magnetic costing that ran along the sprocket margin of the film.  Maybe 1 out of 20 projectors could even play the sound.  Usually it was a real to real sound track played at the same time.  The numbers and the challenges became exponentially greater for artists like Rick Harper and Gross Gems when they advanced to 16 mm.  What if, the media of film then had been as inexpensive as it is today and the ability to edit as amazingly sophisticated?    What path in life would Steve's life had taken - ok doesn't count - he's an Emmy winning producer.  I'll keep this personal, what path would my life had taken.  It may have looked like....

The films shown last night at Face Dance III.  Face Dance is a film festival in Santa Rosa, California.  It's goal is to give a public venue for high school and college students to share their works.  Judged by a panel of industry experts (Steve being one of them), awards are presented to the best of show.  These awards are more to encourage and incentives the students than it is to set one's achievement apart from the others.  Many of these kids will get stuck in life, become accountants and used software salesmen, encumber their lives with mortgages, 2.5 kids and a dwindling 401(k).  There are a few who's lives will be changed forever by this night.  They will become the story tellers of tomorrow. 

Here are a few of the names you should keep an eye out for the next time you see a film that leaves you breathless;

Matt Baker (the next William Hinds)

Leah McKissock

Sydney Jensen

Jeremy Cutcher

Adina Cohen

Michael Arthur

Alejandra Perez

Adam Weechtel

and

Mike Cox

Mike Cox is both an amazing story teller, director and an amazing editor.  Editing is one of the quiet and under appreciated aspects of film.  Great editing can make a film, mediocre editing can ruin the best of films. 

Please take a moment to view his latest submission to "The Lot" an online film contest who's winners stand a chance of a development contract with Spielberg.

http://films.thelot.com/films/16925

 

February 17, 2007

Today I was able to do something I have only done once before in my life - walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Mind you I have driven over it a zillion times and I'll be the first in line to sign the petition to get the light rail running on the lower deck (yes the bridge was actually designed to have steam locomotives running under the upper deck).  Trust me the bridge may be an icon, but it looses most of its majesty during commute hours.  Mary and I were there to see my eighty-something parents sail off on yet another cruise adventure.  This time to Mexico.  They couldn't have picked a more perfect day.  The cool thing was, while we were waiting a cargo ship passed directly under us.  It was enormous!  Charlie's Treasures arrived on just such a ship bound from Hong Kong in what now seems ages ago.  I missed seeing the ship arrive then, but I had planned and hoped I could have been there.  I think life was giving me an instant replay.  For those of you who remember Mark Twain's famous quote, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.", this is the rare exception to the rule.  Bon Voyage!

To quote Bill & Ted, "Excellent!"

Instant Replay

Trust me.  We could run a light rail ...

Spot the Prima Ballerina and the Rocket Scientist

 

February 13, 2007

I spent a good portion of this morning searching for my notes on submitting works to Costco.  Why they have chosen to disappear like so many things lately, I have no clue.   So, I resorted to a rather frustrating process of re-inventing the wheel.  Several years ago I begun to tier of my rather random habit of storing tools and supplies.  When I finally figured I had spent at least half of the time on a project looking for a tool I had just set down I figured it was time to get organized.  My father on the other hand always built wonderful racks and storage devices for his tools.  The man was nothing if not extremely well organized.  I never met his level of perfection, but I was becoming more orderly.  One of my spoils from California Gold Dairy Products, was several dozen wooden tool boxes that were left over from the creamery store's cheese gift packages.  Each one has a scene of "happy" California cows branded into the end.  These made great containers for plumbing parts, electrical stuff, you name it.  I still have a bunch neatly crammed into my storage facility along with a ratchet/socket rack made from old phew racks, hand saw racks and a pipe wrench rack made from antique plumbing fittings.  Some day I'll have a shop again and it will be one that would make my father proud.   The point of all of this is that I have tried to be very well organized about where I put files and important information regarding my websites, my projects and Stone In The Surf Press.  It's time to get Charlie's Treasures in the lime light for this fall.  When I went looking for my files - nada.  Frustrating to know you had, did all the research and now have to try and find it again.  The best I can do is write it off to last year's hard drive crash and move on.  At least this year I do know where all of the gift box mock ups and marble tubes are.  I think ....  

 

Boy, I can tell when I haven't had my morning pot of coffee.  There was a purpose behind this blog.  While re-researching my Costco and Gift Catalog information (yes gift catalog), I stumbled upon some odd catalogs.  Mind you I haven't found the gift catalog for Daimler SP250's or Moretti Sportiva's, but I did find one for Offshore Oil Riggs.  There is actually a museum and gift store for oil derricks!  Go figure.  Check it at http://www.oceanstaroec.com/giftshop/activity.htm   Now all I have to do is find one that is perfect for Charlie's Treasures and a collection of nifty marbles.

 

February 8, 2007

I was talking with my sister last night, something I wish I had done far more of over the last 20 years.  There are a few things I would have changed in my past, keeping in touch with my sister was one of them.  Another would be, I should have wandered upstairs from The Magic Cellar and introduced myself to that incredible blond woman in Turk Murphy's jazz club, Earthquake Magoons in San Francisco.  Interesting how life will juxtapose you with someone, but leave the actual meeting delayed for two decades.  Rapunzel was right when she told me, "There are no coincidences in life." There is actually a point to this blog.  At 4:30am mind and eyes are still blurry until I down that second cup of coffee.  Anyway, my sister was telling me how so many people that she has given copies of Charlie's Treasures to have loved the book and admired the artwork.  Once more another testament to Dian's incredible talent and the craftsmanship of the gang at Global Ink, Inc.  Everyone loved the book.  Everyone except that is for one couple.  Apparently the question of Charlie's state in this universe (with the living or passed on) was the subject of a rather heated debate.  I love it!  For my story to have provoked such passion means it had an impact on the reader.  For a story teller, what more could I hope for?  For those of you who are wondering, I will tell you that the answer to that question will never be revealed even in the companion book, Finding My Marbles.  That's a book by the way that is based on the journal I have kept about the journey of brining this story into press and sharing it with the world.  Every time I think I'm close to a good place to wrap up the story, more "life" happens.  I know what my vision was when I wrote the story, but that is only my interpretation of an inspired work.  There are enough clues and images to allow you to come to your own conclusion.  However you perceive the reality of the story is correct.  For those of you who must dig deep into the hidden meaning behind everything, I will tell you this, every word and every image was chosen very carefully.  And for those who must, I will give you one hint to my interpretation, "Ask Henry Travers about the bell." 

February 7, 2007

Ever see someone once or twice a week for years and realize you don't really know anything about them.  Then one day you find yourself amazingly surprised?  It happened to me last night.  I stopped in at King's Cleaners to pick up my shirts.  I often will chat with Jong Kim the owner, it's usually just small talk.  He's working on a fund raiser for his church and I recommended that he let Alec Peters at the Kenwood press know about it.  I happened to have just come from the Post Office and had a copy.  On the front cover was a picture of a bald eagle that has been spotted nesting at the Kunde vineyard.  Jong pointed at the picture and said, "I take pictures of birds in Korea."  Then he wandered back into his shop and returned with a small red box.  Inside were some of the most incredibly artistic images of birds, wildlife, people and landscapes I have ever seen!  My God this quiet man behind the counter at the dry cleaners who always greets me with a smile is an artist!  If any of you have the chance to travel to this part of the world.  Stop in at the King's Cleaners on the corner of Malita and Hwy 12 in Santa Rosa.  Ask to see Jong's pictures.  It is well worth the trip.

I was recently accused of something I thought would never happen.  I was accused of being to chirper in my messages.  Me?  I was told I wasn't real because I only told the up side of everything.  Moi?  So here's my recent bad day.  Unfortunately the sales of Charlie's Treasures hasn't been quiet what I had hoped for - yet.  I changed distribution from Onfulfillment in Newark, California to Book Clearing House.  This meant I had to move the inventory that was in Onfulfillment to my storage facility in Santa Rosa.  It took me awhile (3 months) but I finally managed to get a trucking company to haul the books.  It wasn't an easy request since I required a truck with a lift gate and a pallet jack.  They picked the only day it rained in the driest January in a century.  Not only was it raining, it was bitter cold.  The truck showed up and it wasn't one of those nifty little 20 foot U-Hauls, it was a twin axel 50 foot long semi!  It wasn't going to make the turn in the back of the storage facility, let alone the next block or so to where my storage unit was.  We had to move 14 pallets of books by hand in the rain.  That's somewhere in the vicinity of 7 tons.  It took two hours and I wound up smashing the tailgate of my truck with the pallet jack.  Some of the books were damaged in transit and other didn't survive the pouring rain.  I was soaked, chilled to the bone, and dead tired.  Add to that, the emotional aspect of my labor of love not having turned out quiet as I had hoped.  As I drove home, close to tears, the sun came out.  It will go down in my journal as not one of my better days.  So you see Teresa, I do have my share of bad days.  I have to add one thing, the two guys who drove the truck stayed and helped unload, haul and stack books.  I never could have done it without their help.  They could have just unloaded the truck and left, but instead they too got soaking wet.  To them I owe a very heartfelt "Thank You".

On the up side, David is charging forward in the design of the iPubKit site.  Woooo Hoooo!  We have a few trial authors lined up, but we could use a few more.  Also we are still looking for a few more affiliates to round out our selection of editors, pre-press graphic talent and printers.  Those interested should contact me ASAP.  Do check it out at www.ipubkit.com.  Oh, I'm looking for some quick and easy drop down menus.  If you have any - let me know.

Also, I just finished a rather unusual project, www.richneumann.com.  This site used to be linked to www.charliestreasures.com and was actually the forward account for both.  I split them and created a site that just covers my eclectic background.  It's complicated to explain to someone my right brain / left brain eclectic background.  With luck this site will be a good starting point.  Pay it a visit and let me know what you think.  

In yet another case of "you look like..." Recently the gang at the Starbucks on Lakeville Road in Petaluma, California got together and took a vote.  They agreed that George Lucas is a dead ringer for me.  OK, so maybe it was the other way around.  But one of these days, some one is going to go up to George and say, "Hey, you look a lot like that guy who wrote The Chronicles of Adrian Smith"!  I have to thank the crew at Starbucks for some of the best customer service this side of Tokyo and for always having a copy of Charlie's Treasures for people to read.

On ward and up ward.  Let's see what I can figure out what to do about "it" today!

January 26, 2007

For those of you who are looking for www.charliestreasures.com, my website dedicated to and about  Charlie's Treasures there have been some changes.  It was originally set up under my umbrella domain name www.richneumann.com.  As I progress forward with various new projects like the iPubKit and EasyThanX and expanding my own personal efforts I made the decision to separate them.  This will give Charlie's Treasures their own unique site and allow me to use www.richneumann.com for other works - essentially an online bio.  This turned out to be a little more complicated than I expected.  Isn't everything that is web/internet based?  I think Charlie's Treasures is working - if you find a broken link or a page that isn't working, please let me know at rich@richneumann.com.  I have also fixed all of the links on this site to Charlie's Treasures, I think.  If you happen to stumble onto a broken link, please let me know.  David - thanks for your continued patience with my bulldozer approach to web design.

January 19, 2007

OK I've jumped head first into DreamWeaver.  Where's the Borg when you need them.  What designers like me need is that nifty morph between FrontPage and DreamWeaver, they both do some aspects well, but not everything.....gnnnnnr.  So, you'll find I'll be using a combination of them as I move forward.  You know, I'd rather write stories than code.  I think there's a bumper sticker there someplace. My apologies to anyone who checked out the site yesterday - Susanne's panoramic pic was a little wide and pushed the text way off to the bottom of the page - it should be fixed now.  I also noticed I'm long over due for moving a chunk of this blog to the "past blogs" page.

But, the good news is the initial page for our iPubKit is now up and running - check it out and get the word out!

www.ipubkit.com

 

January 18, 2007

Old Dawg learning new trick.  I finally dove into DreamWeaver, a website creation/editing software.  Almost have it figured out.  You can check out my first bit of work at

www.easythanx.com

EasyThanX is one of those silly ideas that everyone says "Gee Rich you should do that!"  See the 15th for a bit more detail.  With luck and an answer back from the merchant account guys at GoDaddy and I should be well on the way to getting this silly little idea off the ground.

As soon as I get the file linking side of things worked out on DreamWeaver, I'll get the initial pages set up for the iPubKit, Amazing Kids Room and Valley of the Moon Romances.  Yee haw!

Susanne sent me this great pic of her talk at the local library.  For those of you who think you'll start out day one on Oprah, think again.  It all begins in places like this with real people.  This is the annual meeting of the Friends of Sequim Library.  Last year's speaker was Aaron Elkins, published author with over twenty titles.  Susanne felt honored to be chosen as this year's guest speaker.

January 15, 2007

It's been far too long since I've updated this page.  Seems like the year has just started and I'm up to my nose in weasels.  We didn't get the NASE grant to launch the iPubKit, but never fear its coming.  The path I'll chart for it will be one that I can afford to fund out of my own pocket.  Give me a few days and then check out www.ipubkit.com.  And no, I didn't intend the name to resemble iUniverse.  iPubKit is short for the Independent Publisher's Kit.  It's be the rudimentary nuts and bolts you need to become and indie all in one site, one input and we do the rest.  Consider it that niche filler between doing it the hard way and POD.  Also coming soon is fun idea I actually came up with in college and then shelved for, oh a few years.  Oddly enough the simple request of my parents about their two grandson's awoke a sleeping idea.  So again, give me a bit and check out www.easythanx.com.   Next on the list of fun things to start the year out are two ideas for television shows I've been knocking around for awhile.  I figured it was about time to make them legitimate.  So, watch for Amazing Kid's Room and Valley of the Moon Romance coming soon to www.amazingkidsroom.com and www.vmromance.com.  Those of you who have been following my seemingly random creative trek over the last few years will recognize both of these.  Both have a considerable potential and I can't wait to get them out there to the right production company.

As if that wasn't enough, When The Force Isn't With You and the next segment of The Chronicles of Adrian Smith - The Princess and the Parent will go into print this year.  I've decide to use both of them as trial subjects for the iPubKit.  Speaking of Lucasfilm, I was once again mistaken for George.  A wonderful brother of a colleague of mine is a local electrician.  He's worked on numerous projects for George.  Anyway he was kind enough to drop by my son's place last Saturday to help the boys figure out how to get power to their "Boogie Hall" (a long barn perfect for musicians).  This was the first time I had met this guy.  He stepped out of his car, took one look at me and said, "Hey you look like George Lucas.  A little taller and not so gray, but you guys could be brothers."  Ain't life a kick.  I do wonder how many times people tell George he looks like a middle-aged accountant from Burbank?  I've got to boast, Wednesday I'm meeting up with my friend at Skywalker Ranch.  He's retiring and has been for over a year.  I keep figuring it'll be my last trip out there.  I count each visit as a gift.  Sort of an odd couple we make, one person has been trying to work there for three decades and the other has been working equally hard to get out.

My next adventure?  Well I thought I might be returning to Japan, but that looks like it has been scuttled.  So, on to the next destination, Coban, Guatemala.  Mary and I will be heading down there for almost two weeks at the end of March.  The goal is to see some of the beautiful, non-touristy part of the world and spend some time catching up with my long lost childhood friend Seth.  Never fear, it's going to be the basis for another book, Tres Amigos.

These blogs tend to be memory hogs especially the ones with pictures.  For easy of loading the site, I'll be moving all of 2006 to Past Blogs.

Talk about tenacious, check out Susanne Severeid.  She's once again in the news.  Its key to realize that ten years, even five years ago, a bit in the local paper didn't mean much.  Sure your mom or a nosey neighbor might see the article and you can definitely frame it and hang it on your office wall, but that's about as far as it would go.  Today's world is content hungry.  And any publication with a website now has a world wide circulation.  That means, any press is very very positive when trying to get the word out about your book.  Think about it, I've now linked to their site and people around the world are linked to mine.  Its like the old Norman Rockwell painting "Gossip"  Words travel fast these days.  Please check out the article at (you'll find the piece on page 16, just beyond "elks running loose", the police blotter, etc.).  You have to love those small town papers. 

http://www.sequimthisweek.com/currentstw.pdf

Wishing everyone an exciting and prosperous 2007.

Richard Neumann
 

January 5, 2007

Can you believe it, we've rolled into another year!  Looking back on 2006 I have to be a bit amazed at where my life has gone.  I have a very beautiful book in print, no small feat.  That book is in bookstores and in homes across the US in Great Britain, Guatemala and Japan.  I was successful in taking four titles that Over The Wall had been stalled with for two years and in less than three months they were into production and debuted at the LA Times Festival of books.  I've traveled to Hawaii, Tokyo, Manatau Springs and spent some much needed time at Mary's fortress of solitude in Carnelian Bay.  I have met many wonderful people.  I even got a chance to thank my mentor, Dean Morrissey in person.  I finished When The Force Isn't With You and dusted off The Princess and The Parent (I think that title needs some work).  With David's help we've design an incredible new service for indie publishers, the iPubKit.  We hope to launch that in the first quarter of 2007.  I've helped my father through some rather difficult times with his health and grown much closer to my sister than I have been my entire life.  I'm back to my flying weight.  There were some sad times as well.  The Hang Gliding community and I lost a true friend, Dan Murphy to a senseless act of violence.  Rodger Noe, the founder of Over The Wall passed away quiet unexpectedly, leaving Craig with the daunting task of picking up the pieces.  My son is back on the right track with life and college and work AND against some powerful forces trying to pull him off course, he did it all on his own.  A father couldn't be more proud of a son.  And, I have a most wonderful friend in my life.  What more could one hope for in a single year?

So where does one go from here?  I've set myself some rather aggressive goals for the first quarter (notice all this accountant lingo - bad habit).  As far as Stone In The Surf goes, I promise to finish the missing portions of this site; distribution, marketing and success.  If the project doesn't wind up being too complex I hope to open a new website and launch the iPubKit.  For those of you who are considering going independent for publishing, this will be the greatest tool kit you could possibly imagine.  It will basically give you an instant online store front with everything you'll need, including fulfillment and distribution for about 1/3 the cost of any other service.  I hope to publish When The Force Isn't With You and the Princess and The Parent this year, budget willing.  I also have several TV ideas I'll be pushing heavily.

And if that wasn't enough, I'm going to throw myself into the lecture circuit and guest speaker arena.  I might even do birthdays and bah mitzvahs.   My calendar is open.

From a personal stand point, Mary and I are going to Coban, Guatemala to meet up with my childhood friend Seth.  This is an adventure I've been waiting 38 years for.  It will also be a fact finding mission for yet another book I'm working on, Tres Amigos.  I still need to loose a bit more of me.  And, I want to get back into flying.  It's about time to dust off the Wills Wing Super Sport and fly again.

Enough blogging, time to get my nose to the grindstone. 

Off and running,

Richard Neumann

December 26, 2006

T'was the day after Christmas and all through this webpage,

Not a robot was stirring, nor other creation of this modern age.

Then I noticed the pixels were all a scatter,

I went to the Webalizer to see what's the matter.

It happened just once, I' m not sure just when,

And I know in my heart it'll never happen again.

I looked at the counter and what did I see?

A one with three zeros, my heart filled with glee!

Visits to date more than one thousand twenty,

On Christmas day this surely is plenty.

Hits to this site sixteen thousand eight hundred and twenty four.

For three months on line, I could have hoped for no more.

As I log off to enjoy this bright spot of holiday light,

I hope you’ll be back soon to visit my site!

 

Mary Christmas to all

Peace on Earth

And

Wishes for a Prosperous New Year

Richard Neumann

 

December 13, 2006

Nothing goes better for desert with a good lunch from Taco Bell than a hefty serving of Humble Pie.  As I tell my son, learn from my mistakes.  Yesterday morning I write and tell the world, "Always carry books and business cards or post cards or book marks."  I forgot one tiny little item.  Usually my bag is filled with everything I need (see list above).  Only when I went to Tokyo I pared it down to the bare essentials.  In doing so I left one important item on my desk.  What pray tell could that be?  What one item could you possibly need when dashing out for lunch at your local fast food establishment?  Well, yesterday I learned.  On the way to lunch I happened to drop into a wonderful store in down town Petaluma, Jungle Vibes.  If it's unusual, they've got it.  And because they cater to the non-standard of gifts and games and wonderful treasures, they've managed to stay in business for nearly a decade. In their store you will find everything to dress yourself as a pirate, learn to belly dance, find hand made treasures from around the world, seek spiritual peace and pick up a poster of Jimmy Hendricks or Marilyn Monroe.  And, you will find a most amazing collection of marbles for sale.  Hmmmm?  I was also fortunate enough to wander in at the exact moment that Wayne and his lovely assistant were checking out their inventory and ordering new merchandise.  What timing!  I asked Wayne if he would be interested in a book by a local author and artist about marbles.  "Sure, I'll take a half dozen."  Seriously folks it was just about that smooth, site unseen.  "Just drop them off with an invoice."  No problem.  I've got them in my truck.  Off I dashed through the drizzling rain.  When I got to my truck I threw open the back door and opened my trusty bag.  I had, books, marbles, marble bags, business cards in English and Japanese, post cards in both English and Japanese, pens for signing books, even my "MegaBank" cash bag.  But, no where to be found was my pad of "Universal Invoices".  The one thing I had ditched to lighten my load.  OK, think quick.  There's Tuttle's drug store around the corner they're one of those old fashioned stores that has everything.  I grabbed my bag and half ran half slid up the street and around the corner.  Passed the Phoenix theater I ran.  Much to my horror, Tuttle's, an Icon of Petaluma, almost as much a given as the sun rising tomorrow morning and gravity, was gone.  How can that be?  It was here before the redwoods, before cows, even before the chickens came to town.  What now!?!  I vaguely remembered another store one street over that might have an invoice book.  Down between the parking garage and across the ally I ran in the rain.  That store too was long gone.  Up and down Petaluma Avenue I searched in vain.  Finally with time running out, in the pouring rain I plodded back to my truck and went back to work, wilted tacos and soggy burrito in hand. 

I did however dash out an invoice and get back to Jungle Vibes later that day.  Moral of the story, add one more thing to your list of items to never leave home without, blank invoices!  For those of you with a life who have never spent time as an accounts payable clerk or a book keeper (as I) may wonder what is an invoice?  Basically it's a bill.  All it needs to have is your name and address, their name and address, what they bought, how many, and how much. It helps if it also has the date and a unique identifier.  Also in my case, even though I'm Stone In The Surf Press, it help if the checks are made out to me personally.  I'll add a generic sample here soon.  I've now slipped my invoice book back into my bag. 

December 12, 2006

Only 13 shopping days left until Christmas!  Good time to order a few books for friends and family.  I'm not sure about my distributors, but I know any order I receive by the 18th I will ship in time for Christmas delivery.  So much for the mandatory plug.  It dawned on me this morning in the shower, a place where many of us experience those grand epiphanies, that there are two basic drivers in life.  Now mind you I take a slightly more humanitarian approach than a former boss of mine who was a West Point Graduate.  Very short little man who reminded me a lot of Doctor Loveless from the original Wild Wild West TV show.  He used to constantly preach "Rich, there are excuses and then there are results!"  OK, Napoleon off the white horse.  I will adapt that to a more human centered approach.  In life we have a choice in how we react and move forward from every event, good or bad.  From that event it either becomes an excuse or a reason.  For example you might lead a very hectic life and who of us doesn't?  That can either become the excuse, "I'm too busy, I never have time to write." or the reason, "I find writing gives me time away from my crazy life." or better yet, "I've decided to write a book about how not to live a crazy life any more."  You find those people who we admire most are those who have taken life's adversity and turned it into a positive life changing event.  The point of this is to be a reminder to myself to always look for the "reason" not the "excuse".

Speaking of reasons, always keep business cards with you and ALWAYS have copies of your book with you.  As Karl Malden advised us in the old American Express Traveler's Check commercials, "Never leave home without them."  The other night I was invited to attend Mary's company "Winter Holiday Event" (can't say Christmas anymore unless you're Wal-Mart).  It was a nice event filled with about 40 HR professionals and their spouses.  You'd be amazed at how many people are writing a book.  And even more surprised at how many spouses had no clue that their significant other was writing a book. I handed out a number of cards.  Who knows, maybe someday I'll be able to help one of them avoid some of the mistakes I've made and their journey to a published author will be a bit smoother.  The other night I had met up with my son Kyle (insert very proud father smile here).  He needed to talk about some very serious life events.  Interesting that I realize while writing this that he could have used those events as an excuse (to tail spin) or a reason to push forward.  And moving forward he has with a great deal of maturity for a 19 year old kid.  Any way, as we went to leave the parking lot of AppleBee's in Petaluma, we ran into some people we hadn't seen for several years.  Went through the "hi's and hello's" and then Darla mentioned that I was a writer.  Their friends were very curious.  So I snagged a copy of Charlie's Treasures out of my truck and they wound up buying a copy.  There are certain things every indie needs in his or her back pocket at all times.  A copy of your book and either business cards, post cards or book marks.  As you begin your journey of a 1,000 miles (see below) these should be top of your list of essential things to pack.

One last observation.  Since I launched this website in October I've been waiting for a very special mile stone.  I'm not sure if it's significant in the world of web sites, but I am very close.  With luck in a week or so I'll be celebrating reaching an important goal.  Stay tuned!

 

December 5, 2006

December is a good time to reflect on the passing of a year and to look forward towards the new year.  There is a well know proverb that states "The Journey Of A 1,000 Miles Begins With The First Step" 

Oddly enough this has been credited to everyone from Yogi Berra to Mao Tse-Tung to Lao-tzu to Mao Zedong  to Confucius and Mahatma Gandhi.  It just goes to show that the internet can populate a whole bunch of mis-information just as quickly, if not faster than accurate facts. 

Around this time of year what kid isn't thinking about how many days are left until Christmas?  And just like a little kid, I began to wonder, how long does a journey of a 1,000 miles take?  How far have I come and how much longer do I have to wait?  Ah, the accountant in me still lives, tucked away in that dank closet in the back of my mind.  I figure I've taken my first step and many more.  So how many do I have left?  Time for math.  I'll assume a 1,000 mile journey with an average stride of 2.5 feet.  That means I'll need to make 2,112,000 steps before I get to my destination.  At first glance this seems to be an insurmountable challenge.  But, the average person walks between 5,000 and 10,000 steps each day.  Since I've been on a rather aggressive exercise program over the last year or so, I've upped this to 11,000.  Then I factored out the percentage of time that I may be walking, but not towards my goal.  This covered stuff like walking to the bathroom or putting gas in the car, taking out the garbage, etc.  All things essential for daily life, but I didn't count as steps directly associated with moving closer to my end goal, sort of like marching in place.  This brought me to an average daily steps toward my goal of 3,300.  I've been walking for 450 days (since the founding of Stone In The Surf Press) which brought me 1,485,000 steps closer to my goal.  To that I added two unique events, New York and Tokyo where my walking was considerably more dedicated, 149,082 and 25,334 respectively.  That brings my total journey to 1,659,462.  Which leaves 452,574 steps left to take or approximately 137 days.  In 137 days I will have been walking for 587 days or a little more than 1.9 years.