On Sunday we celebrated my 86th birthday at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Since Monday was actually my birthday, I was pleasantly surprised to see in the office some cake that was brought in especially for the occasion. It was quite good. I have included a few photos from the party and from my birthday lunch at the Crab Catcher.

– Bob

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Last week I met with John Evey and Chris Dupont from the J. Craig Venter Institute here in La Jolla. They were here to brief me on the results of the ocean sampling program we have been running with them on my boat Solutions. I was pleased to learn that the Venter team is obtaining good data from the sampling.

There have to date been eight separate ocean sampling trips on board Solutions, and the team has gathered a total of 15 samples. The focus of their current research program is to discover diatoms in the ocean that can be genetically manipulated to produce large quantities of lipids that can be converted into biofuel. They hope to do this by altering the expression of one particular protein in the diatom.

The sampling is conducted at two separate spots during each trip. One is at the easternmost station of the California Current Cooperative Fisheries sampling grid, and the other is about 15 km offshore of Mission Beach. According to the sampling team, these two locations often have very different characteristics, yielding different samples.

This past spring there was a very large red tide (Lingulodinium) bloom offshore of San Diego, the first major dinoflagellate bloom since 2005. We were lucky to be conducting a sampling trip at the very beginning of the bloom, with additional sampling trips in early May and early June, during the height of the bloom. RNA was extracted from the samples and genetic sequencing will be completed by the end of August 2011 — providing researchers with a new dataset of the gene expression of a dinoflagellate bloom. I have included a chart that shows Lingulodinium cell counts over time from samples taken at Scripps Institute Pier, with the Solutions samples marked with arrows. I have also included a photo of dinoflagellates from an early sample, and a photo of a red tide sample in full bloom.

I was also updated on the progress of the Sorcerer II research voyage. The boat is currently conducting sampling projects in Europe. I am supporting this voyage, and preliminary results are promising. For more information, I suggest you visit the Sorcerer II blog.

– Bob

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Many of you have probably seen Monday’s Washington Post article on the current state of our national intelligence infrastructure. Although I have yet to read the entire article, it is my understanding that the authors worked for two years, sifting through mountains of public-source documents to develop their conclusions. The main conclusions are that our country has invested billions of dollars in a huge buildup of intelligence infrastructure in the years since 9/11, but that much of this buildup has been executed inefficiently and ineffectively with much overlap, redundancy, and waste. I will read the complete article before I make my own conclusions, but I am very interested in what you think about it.

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Last Monday a group of us consisting of Paul Kouris, Mark Waldschmidt, our skipper Ron Arnold, Peter Economy, and I motored to Catalina on Solutions. It took us about 2 1/2 hours each way, with an average speed of 30 knots (34 miles per hour) and a top speed of 38 knots (44 miles per hour).
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It was a beautiful day on the island, and summer season is in full swing. It was sunny and warm in Avalon, quite different from cold and cloudy San Diego. We had a seafood lunch at Armstrong’s, then ice cream next door at Big Olaf’s. I went shopping at a store, Buoys and Gulls Menswear, where I bought a new short-sleeve shirt with a sailing design. I have included a YouTube video of the trip from San Diego to Avalon, and some photos. If you watch the video, you’ll see the tip of Point Loma, a submarine being towed by a Coast Guard ship, and our arrival at Avalon.

On Friday we rented a sailboat from Harbor Island Sailing Club. Robert Craig, Mark Waldschmidt, and I sailed in San Diego Bay, then tied up at the Bali Hai restaurant for lunch. I had the ahi, but skipped their mai-tais. It was a perfect day for a sail.

Sunday night’s big event was driving to Leucadia with Betty and others, where we attended a party at Victor Orphan’s house. Victor worked for me at General Atomics and at SAIC, and is an excellent researcher and salesman. Many former SAIC people attended and I had a great time catching up with everyone.

– Bob

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Last week we had an exciting event at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club with Walter Munk, Harold Smith and his wife, Gil Binninger and his wife and son, and Betty and me. Walter Munk is a leading oceanographer with roots at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He told us his views on global warming. Walter thinks it’s real.

I’m inclined to agree with him. I think there’s been mounting evidence over the years that this is a real effect, primarily from increased CO2 and other noxious gases (including SO2) in the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants. China is the main offender. The U.S. has done a lot to attenuate its emissions of CO2.

– Bob

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The big news around here has been the 4th of July celebrations, and we enjoyed two different events this year. The first event was a get together at Ralph Callaway’s house in the Del Cerro area of San Diego. Ralph is quite a cook. He prepared a sumptuous dinner with my favorite Polish sausages.

The second event was at Mary Ann Beyster’s house on Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, where we watched the annual fireworks show over the Cove. They were particularly spectacular this year. I hope all of you had a chance to see the fireworks on the 4th.

Last Friday I couldn’t go out on the boat because my captain Ron Arnold was not available. So instead, Mark Waldschmidt and I drove up to Oceanside and had lunch at the Monterey Bay Canners seafood restaurant. I would have preferred to take the boat to Oceanside, but it was too dangerous to go without our skipper being present.

– Bob

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This week the second Beyster Fellowship Symposium took place here in La Jolla. It involved many sessions, all located at the La Valencia Hotel. The Beyster Fellowships are supported by the Foundation for Enterprise Development to do graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral studies in the area of employee ownership.

Fifty people participated in the proceedings, and there were many group meals. The La Valencia was a very good venue for the event, although the technical program was located on one level of the hotel, and the dining rooms on a different level. Fortunately for me, there were three different elevators to help me get around.

The people involved in the symposium were outstanding. I am especially interested in the dynamic model of employee ownership in product companies developed by one of the students. The model takes a variety of different inputs — including such things as available cash, the desired percentage of employee ownership, sales expectations, and more — and ascertains if the company is going to succeed. The model is not yet set up for service companies, but I hope that it soon will be. I believe the model is available for free to anyone who wants it. Please post a response on this blog if you would like more information.

The proceedings of the symposium will be available for free within the next few months. Keep an eye on the FED website for an announcement. I think you will find it interesting reading.

I have posted some photos from the symposium for your entertainment. I hope everyone has a very happy 4th of July.

– Bob

©Hilde Stephan Photography

©Hilde Stephan Photography

©Hilde Stephan Photography

©Hilde Stephan Photography

©Hilde Stephan Photography

©Hilde Stephan Photography

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