Nyk's Knacks

Josiah goofing

2011-05-21T15:01:00.001-07:00

Josiah insisted on taking a close up of his eyes and posting it on my blog.

Spring Cultivation

2011-04-06T19:01:00.001-07:00

Spring cultivation of the putting surfaces was completed today. This is by far the best product we have had yet. David's team did an amazing job and should be proud of their labors. The proces is a lot of work. They broadcast sand and solid tine it in. They then brush it and roll it. If any tine void isn't filled they hand drop sand and use a push broom to work it in. The photos below show the finished product on hole 18.

Hello world!

2009-04-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was tasked with researching social media for work and I am now seeing the benefits. Communication has become so instantaneous in the connected world. This month I will be providing one of the online voices for Chambers Bay. We will be providing Twitter updates about the facility. I look forward to starting conversation.

Today

2008-10-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

I got quite a lot done today. One of the biggest tasks was working on suggestions for fairway mowing lines. This was a big chore. I think my suggestions were pretty good in balancing the test that we wish to have and still maintaining the course as playable for the daily guest. I will try to post some graphics on Sunday.
Created certificates for vendor trade.
Sent the latest MindShare experience survey. I also explored the survey myself and found out some interesting things. I will be sure to add a longer post about that.
Met with a vendor to discuss product. Ordered some stuff for the holidays.
Contacted a vendor about getting access to the online B2B part of their website. I got access, and while reviewing the orders found a few questions.
Completed BZ's weekly One-on-One. I have found this to be an amazing tool for communication and plan on talking up the Manager Tools website in a future post.

Good night.

Today at work

2008-10-27T18:30:00.001-07:00

Just a quick rundown of todays items:
Replenished ATM with cash which involves running to the bank and getting the cash as well as loading the machine.
Met with a sales rep for 1/2 hour or so.
Coded an item to F&B uniforms as well as completed the corresponding paperwork to remove from inventory.
Worked on finishing an FAQ for the facility.
Worked on compiling salaries from the latest compensation survey.
Receive and process a couple of invoices that arrived.

Not much I guess.

Starting tomorrow

2008-10-26T16:38:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow I plan on writing a daily journal of what I do. I really don't give myself enough credit for all of the stuff I do. I will try to keep it brief but thorough. I know I do stuff but a lot of times I just do it then forget it.

Write thank you notes

2008-01-12T12:40:00.001-08:00

I want to show people that I appreciate knowing them. I am challenging myself to write these to personal and professional acquaintances.

I bought myself a nice fountain pen and some elegant stationary. There is something about the ink flowing from the pen that puts me in the proper mood and mindframe.

See more progress on: write 5 thank you notes each week

Josiah and Buzz

2007-12-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

For two years now Josiah has been wanting a Buzz Lightyear. Before opening any present, whether it was his birthday, Christmas or Easter, Josiah would say "I hope it's a Buzz Lightyear." Missy and I would explain to him that Toy Story came out about 10 years ago and they don't make the toys anymore. He was insistent on finding one and and never gave up hope. Missy and I always looked for Buzz and couldn't find one. My searches on eBay would usually show a few Buzz Lightyear MIP but the prices were always ridiculous.

Well this year I found myself at Target and while walking down the toy aisle I spotted Woody from Toy Story. I immediately grabbed Woody and said, "Woody, where's Buzz?" Scanning the shelves I could not see the space ranger. I looked up and down each aisle and eventually found Buzz tucked way back on the bottom shelf. Eureka, a Festivus Miracle. I called Missy and we were both elated that we finally found a Buzz for Josiah. We could hardly wait to see his reaction when opening our gift to him.

Christmas morning comes and we saved Buzz for his last present. He sarted to unwrap it and began shaking in excitement as he revealed what was there. His first reaction was amazing. He immediately grabbed the packag and held it up to Missy and said, "See Mom they do still make them. Santa was able to find it." Missy and I just about bust a gut laughing. Wacky kid. Well anyways that's the story of Josiah and Buzz.

Adorable

2007-08-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

The most adorable thing I've seen in a long while. My little princess being bashful.

2007-04-04T21:01:00.001-07:00

How do I start a mobile component to existig blog

The Honor Box and Golf

2006-10-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

The Honor Box

The Honor or Honesty Box is a collection device that is used by golf courses, mostly in rural or sparsely inhabited locals. The advantages in using an Honor Box collection device are in the savings in labor cost over a dedicated staff position. Though not as prevalent in the United States, the Honor Box system is very much alive and in practice in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The Honor Box, in a way, is a throw back to the way golf was and the true spirit of integrity that is found in the game. Former Technical director for the USGA, Frank Thomas was kind enough to reflect on the Honor Box and golf and contributed the following thoughts.

The “Honesty Box” concept is what life is all about and in fact what golf is all about. Only you know why you play and even though you can’t express it very well it is truly a self-evaluation process and you only cheat yourself if this is what you choose to do.

Man has a subconscious urge to evaluate himself and only really recognizes this, when offered a club which will hit the ball straight and 270 down the middle every time AND he rejects it knowing that this reward should only come from hard work and skill.

The true golfer will reject this club (if it were ever available) as there would be no point in going to the tee to play the next shot if he knew exactly where it will come to rest. One may as well start the game (that hole) from the 270-yard mark in the middle of the fairway.

Rejecting this 270 yard club, which the golfer may have WANTED, but realizes after a short period of time, he doesn’t NEED positions him as close as he will ever be to a philosophical understanding of the game and its fundamental elements.

The honesty box is only a microcosm of the game. If we violate the rules knowingly we are only cheating ourselves.

A conscience is the strongest mental force man has. Only a clear conscience will allow him to enjoy the rest of his life to the full.

True golfers will not cheat and the success of an “Honesty Box” is a clear exhibit of this.

Hope this gives you an inkling of my thoughts and something to think about.
I wish we could have more “honesty box” concepts around to challenge people’s conscience. I think we would be surprised how well it works when we are left to be our own judge and jury.

Below are some examples of Honor Boxes and their facility.

Scarista Links
Isle of Harris, Sotland

Scarista Links is a 9-hole facility located on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The land is common ground and volunteers and members of the community perform the maintenance. It is the home to Harris Golf Club. Green fees are £5.00 (approx. $10.00 USD). Interesting story to go with this course is that on his way to the Masters one year, Nick Faldo stopped and played the course leaving a signed fiver in the honesty box. The fiver was framed and an annual competition for “The Faldo Fiver” is contested among the members.

The Isle of Seil Golf Club
Argyll, Scotland

The Isle of Seil Golf Club in Argyll, Scotland offers 9 holes and multiple tee markers for full 18-hole play. Green fees are £10 (approx. $19.00 USD) for a day pass. The course was founded by local community members and relies heavily on the use of the Honor Box but is staffed for member competitions and on weekends during the peak tourist season. In email communiqués with founding member Ray Chisolm he noted that collection rates are highest when there is a staff member present and that the Honor Box probably collects 70% of players fees. He also mentioned that fellow players and members often act as unofficial starters as they wait in queue.

Figure 1 Sign at Isle of Seil Golf Club

Figure 2 Frank Thomas at Isle of Seil

Inveraray Golf Club
Argyll, Scotland

Inveraray Golf Club is a parkland course with 9 holes. A single handyman hired for greenskeeping maintains the facilities. There is a starter shack that has a changing room and small common area for scorecards, pencils and social gathering. There is a deposit slot in the exterior of the building for green fee deposits and guests are to attach a day ticket to their bag as proof of payment. The sign at the first tee states, “ Please ensure you have paid before playing. Ticket checks are in operation.”

Figure 3,4,5 Inveraray Golf facility

Spean Bridge Golf Club
Inverness, Scotland

Spean Bridge is a 9-hole course that offers day passes for £12.00 (approx. $23.00 USD). Local veterans of the 2nd World War, who designed and built the original course, formed the club in the 1950’s. All the maintenance and course development is still carried out by the members today.

Children’s Course at North Berwick Golf Club
East Lothian, Scotland

The Children’s Course at North Berwick is a unique facility in that adults are not allowed to play unless accompanied by a junior player. The facility has utilized an Honor Box in the past but according to Managing Secretary John Douglass it has had to be removed due to lack of compliance and vandalism. Mr. Douglas stated that compliance began to drop when tourism increased and vandalism wasn’t an issue until about five years ago.

Assorted “Pasture Golf” facilities in Oregon
Kinzua Hills Golf Club, Fossil
Woodburn Golf Club, Woodburn
Christmas Valley Golf Club, Christmas Valley
Condon Municipal Golf Club, Condon
Bear Valley Golf Club, Seneca

“Pasture Golf” facilities are an association of rudimentary facilities that provide golf opportunities to remote and undeveloped areas. Most facilities are an object of love for the owner of the land and lay no claims to being “championship caliber”. Many courses are dormant or unused pastures with just an area mowed for the green or like at Woodburn employ sand greens. Green fees for a majority of pasture golf facilities range from $5.00 - $10.00 for a day pass.

Figure 4 Condon sign, “Golfers must sign in and pay prior to playing golf or be subject to prosecution for trespassing and/or theft of services”

Figure 5 Condon Municipal Honor Box
Figure 6 Bear Valley Honor Box

Yanchep Golf Course
Yanchep, Australia

Yanchep Golf Course is located within Australia’s Yanchep National Park. With the course operation falling under the government jurisdiction fee collection is operated in the same manner as camping sites. Green fees are $6.00AUD for 9 holes and $9.00AUD for 18 holes (approx. $5.00USD and $7.00USD). Each guest places their fee in a numbered envelope and retains a receipt portion for verification. The envelope is then deposited into an Honor Box for collection.

Figure 7, 8 Yanchep Sign and Deposit envelope

The Honor Box has a place in golf and is in harmony with the traditions of golf. Respect, integrity and honor are key components to golf and the success of an Honor Box system. In conversations with Honor Box facilities, I found out that compliance tends to be between 50 and 90 percent with Yanchep claiming 95 percent capture rate of green fees. They attributed this to the receipt system and the psychological factor this has on guests. All facilities did posses a concern about theft and vandalism. Each stressed the importance of a strong and secure drop box that is emptied nightly.

Figure 8 Oasis brand drop box

Most facilities offered day passes that offered the ability for guests to return later in the day for additional golf. Fees need to reflect the service provided and should not be a deterrent to entice a guest to enjoy the facility.

Holy Face Punch Batman

2006-10-09T10:31:00.000-07:00


Lady Punch meets the world of Batman! This video has been around for awhile but still cracks me up. I don't know but something about it makes me think they are Canadian.

Lists of Bests

2006-03-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Lists of Bests
A great site for lists. Want to know the top 100 movies of all time, or the 100 greatest alternative albums? Lists of the Bests has it. There is also a cool feature to let you build your own list and track your consumption of items. If you are interested in a "Top 100"list check this place out.

Blurb Home

2006-03-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Blurb Home
Awesome and easy way to publish books. I haven't looked into the pricing but have demo'd and am impressed.

digg

2006-03-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

digg
an Amazing web site that incorporates readers interest in creating the front page. Typically tech related items but topics cover mostly unusual.

Lifehacker, the Productivity and Software Guide

2006-03-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Lifehacker, the Productivity and Software Guide
My personal favorite site on the web to help me be productive. This site constantly points me to free apps and life hacking tips that add to productivity. Look into their Lifehacker pack that includes some great free apps.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

2006-03-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
So I'm at home the other night and what should be on back to back channels but "Smokey & the Bandit" and "Blues Brothers". First thought was to contact BL and look for guidance but I decided on Smokey. I have Blues Bros. on DVD so it can be watched unedited and without commercial interuption. Smokey is such a riot and seeing Sally Fields and Burt in their youth and so full of energy is invigorating.

One thing that was funny was that whenever I would tune to Blues Bros., my boy Trayton would ask me. "Are you watching your movie?". There was a period when the boys were very young 12-20 months old when we didn't have cable and I would watch BB almost daily. The funniest part is I don't think we've watched it for about 10 to 12 months, so for him to identify it cracked me up. They sure are sponges.

2005-01-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

The amazing 14th green at Pebble Beach. I find it hard to believe that no one ever told me how crazy this green is. Pebble Beach is great and all but nothing is as cool as this green. This view shows it from the right and you can see the distinct shelves. As you approach this green you think the bunker that guards the left is just high lipped or pushed up. The left side has got to be at least 4 feet higher than the right and transition between the two halves takes place in a spn of less than 3 feet. Why aren't there more greens like this?

A day at the park

2005-01-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

The weather was great yesterday. The boys and I headed over to the park for some afternoon fun and boy is the park great. My wife finishes work around 2:30pm so we gave her a call before going and she met us there. What is it about the park that is so great? Well, first it has some great toys for the boys to play on. There is a tugboat that they love to climb and steer. It has portholes and windows to play peek-a-boo. The stairs help the boys work on their climbing ability. There is also a giant platform structure with tubes, ladders, slides, stairs and a bridge. The boys were just introduced to the slide feature and, man, do they love it. There is such a gleem in their eyes at the end of the slide. They both will occasionally get stuck on the slide but continue to "WHEE!!" and push themselves down it. It can be scary watching them climb and tumble around but thank God kids are made of rubber. If you have kids and haven't been to a local park lately, please take them, who knows maybe you'll get a kick out of it too.

2005-01-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

These are my twin boys. Josiah is on the left and Trayton is in the back. This picture is from Halloween so it is a bit dated. They sure are amazing. Maybe I'll try a weekly recap on their activities. Who knows, there could be an interest in the two-year old twin's antics. I know they make me laugh.

Cypress Point Club #16

2005-01-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing prepares you for that first glimpse of this great hole. I was conflicted when my foursome approached this hole. I couldn't decide if I wanted to hit a shot or not. When you finally get to this tee you don't want to leave it. How can one not want to just stand there and marvel at the beauty of it all. Once you hit a shot you have to go finish the hole. Maybe if I just refuse to play.

Cypress Cathedral

2005-01-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

In June of 2003 I was fortunate to take a trip to the Monterey Pennisula a play a few of the great golf courses there. This photo was taken from within the Cypress cathedral. The Cypress cathedral is the religous walk you take from the 15th green to the 16th tee. As you leave the 15th green you enter a grove of Cypress trees that completely engulf you. Ancient sentinals surround you, branches twisted, gnarled and arching overhead. The sound of the ocean is muffled as you begin this journey. The warm and glow of the sun are blocked. The temperature drops. Progressing deeper, one starts to gain a sense of calm, rays of sunlight occasionally pierce the branches. It is dark and quiet, you have just played a beauty of a hole and know what awaits you. Anticipation builds. Somehow you are at ease and antsy at the same time. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but that will just be the beginning.

Welcome!

2005-01-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Well here's my first post. I'm not sure what I plan on doing with this thing, but I figured I could at least do it for giggles. I plan on posting pictures of my wonderful family, some places I've been and the occasional rant. If you have any suggestions feel free to chime in. Thanks, Nyk