Considering the fact that Mary Ann was gone for much of the week and Ralph was gone for all of the week, I managed to find quite a few things to do. One of the charities that Betty and I give to is the Salvation Army. They have a facility out in East San Diego called the Door of Hope. This is primarily for unwed, teen-aged mothers. We spent several hours on Monday touring the facilities and having lunch with the staff. I was truly impressed how much they can do on a small budget. Of all the charities we support, they are probably the most efficient.

On Wednesday Robert Craig and I spent most of the day together working on our computers, filing in my office, and planning my next adventure. We scheduled a boat trip on Friday. Catalina was booked solid for moorings, so we were unable to go there. We therefore tried a new place in Mission Bay called Paradise Point and had lunch at the Barefoot Bar and Grill. I’m looking forward to the fall, which starts within a month and all the kids are back to school. Catalina won’t be so busy. However, the way it looks, it seems like we might be successful getting into Catalina tomorrow. At least that’s the plan for now.

I have been following with interest — as I’m sure you have — the events in Georgia and observing how easy it is for a tinderbox to ignite without a lot of provocation. This seems to be concerning the United Nations — is Russia going to behave itself in the future and should they be given favored trading status with the West? We should all be keeping a close eye on this — don’t hesitate to make your thoughts known.

– Bob

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On Friday my daughter Mary Ann and son Jim took off for a hiking trip to Scotland , so it’s mighty lonely around the house on some nights and weekends. We went out on the boat on Friday and decided to go to Oceanside, where we had lunch at the Jolly Roger, which is our tradition. On Sunday Betty and I went to the movie Mamma Mia! which was being shown here. I highly recommend it.

I have been in contact with Andrew Allen at the Venter Institute about conducting a better organized program of ocean sampling in the Southern California area using my boat. I’m very steamed up about doing that and feel I’m learning a lot — both about oceanographic sampling techniques and genomics. This also brings some excitement into my life because I will be involved in a research project. If we find anything unique, we will publish a paper on it. There’s still much to be learned about the ocean and its creatures.

– Bob

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Last week was a good one for me. On Tuesday my daughter Mary Ann and I met with Sedra Shapiro from the San Diego Foundation and Mary Maxon from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The Moore Foundation has funded many studies conducted by Craig Venter including considerable sponsorship of his oceanographic sampling tours. I mentioned to Mary that we are planning to sponsor part of the next tour, which goes from San Diego down through the Panama Canal and ends up in Europe — sampling places there that they had not sampled before. In the afternoon, I went to the Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI) at the Torrey Pines Science Park in La Jolla. We heard some very interesting lectures and toured the extensive facilities as much as we had time to. I was particularly interested in seeing how they processed the algae they had in some containers and in viewing their extensive microscope lab. All in all, I’m excited about trying to play some role in the experiments they’re conducting where the payoff could be so great for our country.

On Wednesday, we went to the Venter Institute, which is at a different location just off Genesee Avenue in La Jolla. It’s a nonprofit, whereas SGI is a profit-making operation. They told us how they are doing the basic research to enable product development at Synthetic Genomics, although the information would be in the public domain for anyone to use. The Venter Institute and SGI are a perfect complement to one another.

Friday we took the boat Solutions to Catalina. We had five of my close friends, each of whom had been sailors but not motorboat people. We also invited two young scientists from the Venter Institute to join us and to take samples off Catalina, looking at diatoms and other wiggly creatures. Catalina is very busy this time of year, so the logistics of getting around were a little bit difficult. But I think I had one of the best times on a boat excursion I’ve ever experienced. On returning, the two young scientists from the Venter Institute took their samples to the lab. We haven’t heard yet how the experiments came out. I must say our sampling techniques were quite crude and we mainly sampled the surface water, not the water at lower depths. Before we do this again, we need to install a sampling system to take samples at known depths. I have been hoping to find such a thing on the Internet but have not yet. I appreciate any advice from oceanographers who may be reading this blog.

Saturday was my birthday and I turned 84 years old. The five of us went to the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club and had a good time. I hope my next 84 years are as enjoyable as my first 84 years.

– Bob

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Last Monday night I attended a seminar about the economics underlying various forms of energy given by Steve Koonin, chief scientist at British Petroleum. BP has invested a sizable amount of money in renewable energy as a hedge against the eventual disappearance of their fossil fuel reserves. Steve spoke quite objectively on the alternatives. Wind he feels will turn into a reasonable energy resource in remote areas where the need for power, wind speed, and cost of energy delivery are all high. However, wind will not be a big source of energy for the future — maybe only up to 5 percent of the total. Coal he feels could be a more viable contender if the carbon sequestration issue is handled properly. Tests are now ongoing to pipe exhaust gases underground. On nuclear, BP does not build or own any nuclear power plants, but Steve still feels more nuclear power makes sense in a lot of locations around the world. Regarding biomass, BP has a $500 million subsidized program at Berkeley and one other location in the U.S. This program includes new fuels like butanol, but there is currently no distribution system.

Steve’s analysis shows that the proven global oil reserves available today will last us long beyond 2050, and that unproven reserves may be available in an amount equal to proven reserves. Interestingly enough, he talked about fusion energy — probably because there were some fusion researchers in the room — and about the use of algae to create fuel.

All in all, it was an interesting seminar. There seem to be few immediate solutions to our energy dilemma, but many areas of research and opportunities for the future.

– Bob

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On Wednesday Robert Craig and I drove north to see two of my oldest friends and business associates. The first person was Don Hicks in Newport Beach. Don has been a close friend for 30 years and he was on the SAIC board of directors. He is a very sound businessman and technical expert. His wife passed away a couple of weeks ago after a rather long period of cancer treatment. Don is consulting for Northrop Grumman and is active in a small company he formed many years ago with a former scientist from SAIC. The company has been developing a device for soldiers to covertly send a signal to a receiver — on say a Predator drone — indicating where they are. It reminded me of a personal EPIRB. An EPIRB is a device carried in a boat lifejacket so that if someone falls overboard, it sends out a long-range signal for the Coast Guard and other searchers to locate them. The difference in Don’s device is that it only pulses when you tell it to rather than all the time, so it is more suitable for ground troops.

The second person I visited was John Dudzinsky in Santa Monica. John is in the real estate business now, although his formal training was a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. Somehow or other he’s developed a unique approach to purchasing real estate and building condos. I have an existing interest in a condo building in Santa Monica that he allowed me to participate in. It’s done very well. Obviously I’m hoping to be involved in the next one. I’m hoping to see more of John because he and I share an interest in boats. He may come down to visit.

Last Saturday night Betty and I attended an event at the home of Giancarlo Borgonovi and his wife Eunice. His home is in Encinitas, about half an hour away. Giancarlo is one of the scientists I brought over from Italy when I worked at General Atomic. He’s a brilliant guy and pretty much retired now. The event was held in honor of their daughter Veronica, who is going to Kenya in Africa to conduct classes that will train the locals to earn their own living through farming, sewing, and physical labor. The discussion sounded to me like she was going to attempt to put together a self-sustaining group of microbusinesses, along the lines of what Grameen Bank has done.

Yesterday at lunch I had the pleasure to run into Parker Lanning, a young gentleman who is deeply involved in Junior Achievement. He interviewed me last year on my impressions of how important Junior Achievement has been for young people, and its role in the future. He also introduced me to the audience at the Junior Achievement gala last November when I was inducted into their San Diego Business Hall of Fame. I’ll look forward to watching Parker grow up and one day set the world on fire.

One of these times I’ll say something political on the blog, as soon as I figure out what to say.

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Nothing very exciting occurred last week; I was, however, quite busy. On Monday I met with Dean Sullivan to talk about the Rady School’s activities in employee ownership, and to get his ideas on the role that the Beyster Institute can play. I made it clear to the Dean that I want my support to the Rady School be used to promote employee ownership based programs rather than entrepreneurship, which is the primary interest of the Rady School.

I met with Peter Economy on Monday and again today on the topic of putting together a new book on Network Solutions. We are putting together a team to do it. It’s going to be tough and political to successfully trace all the way from the origins of ARPANET, through two owners of NSI in the early days — Griggsby and McHenry — through SAIC and Verisign’s ownership, and then through two different private equity owners. Getting all the facts and figures correct — and getting the key players to agree on the facts — will be a major challenge. I think that we’re up to it, but it makes the effort we put into the SAIC Solution book look like child’s play.

On the 4th of July, we traveled out to Ralph Callaway my assistant’s house and had a very nice time. We returned home and missed the fireworks — we’re too old for that, although last year we had the privilege of watching the fireworks at the Battery in New York City.

– Bob

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