Snow!

As has been reported on many national news channels Denver got a big early season snowstorm. Here is a picture of my back deck yesterday. I think that I got about 10-12" out there. Today it's about 60 degrees in town so it's melting fast here, but hopefully that snow is sticking in the mountains and will give us a good base for the ski season.

Garden of the Gods & Red Rocks

Lauren's Mom and her boyfriend Bob visited this past weekend. It was a good opportunity to spend some time with family and gave us an excuse to go see some of the sites around Colorado. A couple of the highlights for our sight seeing are captured in pictures above first from the Garden of the Gods park and second from the Red Rocks concert venue. Every time I head out to these places I'm reminded of what a beautiful place Colorado is to live and how lucky I am to be able to reside here.

Homecoming 2006

I headed back to Bozeman, MT the weekend of 10/6 for the Montana State University homecoming game. It was a great opportunity to be able to get back into town and see friends from college, although I'm definitely starting to get too old for these types of weekends. It was fun to visit the bookstore and get some Cats gear which I was able to wear it to the game they won! When I was in school hardly anybody went to these games, now the student section is packed. It's good to see that the football team is getting the support of the students. It was also great to see the fraternity house where I lived although when you go back it's never quite the same as when you lived there. I'll certainly always remember those college years as some of the best times of my life.

Daring Greatly

I came across this quote again today and have always enjoyed it so I thought I would post it.

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood: Who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause: Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and, who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while Daring Greatly: So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither defeat nor victory.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Horizons Session 3 - Lone Star 06

I was lucky enough to be able to attend Horizon's this year as a facilitator. It was easily one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I formed an unbelievable bond with 8 outstanding men from across the country and Canada. They taught me far more about myself and leadership then I taught them. My Sigma Chi family has grown yet again. I'll continue to work with these men over then next two years as they complete their college experience. I'm excited and privileged to take this journey with them as I'm sure they will all do some amazing things. Horizon's is designed to develop the type of values based leaders that our fraternity, country and world are in desperate need of and these men will not disappoint.

Pictured above in back:
Erik Bostrom - Montana State University - Alumnus
Brett Lyon - University of Southern California
Pete Steger - University of Illinois
Jordan Quaglia - University of Richmond
Ed Beckmann - Southeast Missouri State University
Andrew Zamojc - University of Waterloo
In front:
Andrew Bianchi - University of California, Davis
Adam Gevarter - American University
Chris Pennington - University of Memphis

July 4th Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend. We headed up to Frisco on Friday night. On Saturday we went on an ATV tour with Continental Divide ATV Tours. This was a really cool way to see Summit County. We followed that up with a white water rafting trip with The Adventure Company on Sunday. We rafted down the Arkansas river through the Royal Gorge. It was really neat to be able to look up 2000 feet to the bridge overhead. On Sunday night we then headed back down to Denver. Monday evening we headed to the Rockie's game vs. San Francisco with some friends of Erik's from college. Unfortunately the Rockies were chasing the Giants the whole time and ended up loosing the game. However they followed up the game with a fantastic fireworks display.

Car Show

There was a free car show in Highlands Ranch this last weekend so we decided to go by and check it out. It was pretty cool to see all the cars and it was just about the right size for me. They had ~150 cars and it took us about 1.5 hours to look at all of them. They had everything from the 1920 to 2006, although I much prefer looking at the cars that are older then I am :)

Body Worlds 2

Last weekend we went to see Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. If any of the Body Worlds exhibits are in a city near you I would highly recommend that you go and check it out. It was very interesting to see all the different systems within the human body. The plastination process results in the body's having no odor at all and all the fluids are removed from the body so the exhibit is easy to view, while still allowing the opportunity to view real humans.

Horizons Facilitator Training 2006

I attended Horizons guide training this past week. Horizon's is a leadership development program for the Sigma Chi fraternity. During this week I was able to experience much of what the undergraduates will when they attend as well as learned how to facilitate a small group at Horizons so that the undergraduates are able to gain the most possible from their time on the mountain. It was a really great time to re-examine what is important to me as well as learn more about how others perceive me. With these two pieces of information I will be able to be more successful in all facets of my life. It's astounding to me how much Sigma Chi has given me in my life. I can't wait to get back up to Snowbird next year and work with a group of undergraduates.

Rockies Game

We attended our second Rockies game of the season last weekend. During the game I was able to capture this picture of an amazing sunset behind the mountains. The Rockies beat the Blue Jays and actually swept them during the series. However they were still a 0.5 game out of first last time I checked. After the game we headed to Sing Sing, this was a fun end to the evening.

Computer Troubles

I'm an idiot. A couple of weeks ago I was poking around on the web and I ended up on a website with a video that I was trying to watch. I'm not quite sure how I ended up there or where I went from a legitimate site to this one but it was really all downhill from there. A box popped up telling me that I needed a new codec, I wasn't careful enough to determine that this was actually a window pushed by the website rather then my browser. Anyway once that button was clicked there was no stopping the horrible programs that rendered my computer unusable. This crippling spyware also was nice enough to come along with an advertisement for a spyware removal program that could solve all my problems. Interesting little trick, I'm sure had I gone further with this game and actually tried to purchase this software online all sorts of crazy things would have happened with my credit card, luckily I'm only an idiot and not a moron. Anyway after a quick format of the partition which holds the OS and a reinstall of all my software I'm off and running again. It's a good thing that I setup my computer such that this would be an easy thing to do without losing any data.

Rockies Game

We went to the Rockies game this Sunday. They played the Giants. It was a great game. Barry Bonds didn't play but he did pinch hit in the top of the 9th and they struck him out to end the inning. He didn't receive a very warm welcome and it amazes me how passionate people are about him these days. I find the whole situation very interesting but it's pretty obvious to me that he's not the only guy in the major leagues using steroids. The Rockies scored in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game. I'm still a Twins fan at heart but it's fun to go to the games and Coors Field is a great place to see a baseball game.

NYC

Lauren and I spent a long weekend in NYC this past weekend. We were able to visit a friend of mine from high school and we also saw the sites. The highlights were probably seeing Avenue Q and attending a comedy show at The Comic Strip Live. The best comic by far was a guy by the name of Ben Bailey. There is something about seeing live performances (both the musical and comedy shows) that made them more entertaining then they would have been had they been recorded on TV, a live audience really does enhance the experience.

Last Day At Copper

I spent my last day at Copper for the year April 8th. It was an awesome day. Powder days are great but there is something really nice about spring skiing as well. It's nice to be able to spend some time outdoors in the sun and enjoy the weather. Copper is closing down on 4/16 and I haven't yet decided what type of pass I'm going to get next year so this was a good end to the season and possibly my last time at Copper for awhile.

Where has Erik been?

It's been awhile since I've created some postings here and I apologize for the lack of updates. It seems I've just gotten busy with life and haven't made the time to update the page. After Christmas I spent a bunch of time traveling for work and educating our internal folks about a new product which we were launching that I'm working on called Global Instant Capacity (GiCAP). We were able to successfully launch GiCAP on 3/20 and we'll start shipping it on 6/1. It allows for folks to utilize there server resources more efficiently thus reducing costs without affecting the performance of the machines. In any case I really enjoyed taking the time to educate people about what we have been working on in the product development labs. There is something about being part of creating something that helps people that's really exciting for me. So in short that is where my time has gone and why you haven't heard from me.

Christmas

Here are some pictures of our Christmas decorations this year. Much of these things are new as we have a new house. It's always interesting putting up the lights especially on a new house but this house turned out to be a lot easier to put lights up on then the old house. The Christmas tree is also new and our village grew considerably this year. We've already just about run out of space on the mantle, we'll have to get creative next year. We both really enjoy the season and decorating the house.

Halloween

This year we decided to do pumpkin inside a pumpkin jack-o-lanterns. I think that they turned out pretty good. I didn't get any pictures that are too good but this is the best one that I have.

Gallinger - Helgeson Wedding

On the weekend between being at the HP Technology Forum and being in Dallas for work a good friend from the fraternity was married in Billings, MT. So rather then heading home I made the trek up to Bozeman and then drove to Billings with some friends for the event. It was a very nice ceremony and a great opportunity to see everybody again. The groom is the third from the right in front in the picture below. He and his wife have since moved to Denver so we're hoping to be able to see them frequently.

HP Technology Forum 2005

I've gotten a bit behind with posting so I'll try to get a couple done tonight and get caught up. Unfortunately I haven't done a very good job of keeping my camera near by and getting things recorded here but hopefully that will change soon. If you follow the blog you know that it goes in spurts.

I had the opportunity as part of me job with Hewlett Packard as an engineering program manager this past October to teach a hands on lab course at the HP Technology Forum 2005. It was a really a lot of fun and a rewarding experience. I really like teaching folks about all of the great products that we have been working on and how it can help them to run their IT organizations more effectively. It's really awesome that HP provides opportunities to get out of the labs and out on the front lines with our customers. This event was initially scheduled for New Orleans just weeks after hurricane Katrina, given these unfortunate circumstances it's very fortunate that they were able to pull the event together a few short weeks later in Orlando. I had a lot of fun at this conference and hope that I'll be able to participate again next year. I've included a photo of the equipment that was flown in for my lab.

Bathroom Remodel

I recently completed remodeling one of the bathrooms in my home. It was the first time I had done a project like this and as always there are a few things I would do differently the second time around but overall I'm very happy with the results. It was also fun to do something new and a satisfying project to complete. I've included some before and after pictures below.

Tim and Anne's Wedding

Lauren's oldest brother Tim got married a couple weekends ago in St. Louis. It was a beautiful weekend. Since Lauren and I were both in the wedding we were there for 4 days and it was a nice long weekend celebration.

House Pictures

Sorry this took so long to get posted but I'm finally going to get a few pictures of the new house posted.

Bostrom - Bachim Wedding

I was in Madison last weekend for my cousin Matt's wedding. It was a very nice ceremony and reception. It was also a great opportunity to see family that I haven't seen for awhile. I wish Matt & Jody the best for a long and happy marriage.

I've included a picture of Laura's (Matt's sister) children and the capital building in Madison.

New Home

I closed on the sale of my home in Fort Collins and the purchase of my new home in Highlands Ranch (a south western suburb of Denver). The move was a lot of work but all of the stuff is in the new location now. I'll post some pictures of the new home once we are settled in.

2005 Balfour Leadership Training Workshop

This past weekend I was able to attend my third Balfour Leadership training workshop and my 2nd one as a chapter advisor. The event was held at Ball State University. It was a great 2 and a half day event which allowed for chapters to start developing strategic plans for the upcoming school year. The curriculum this year changed from a focus on the fundamentals for each officer to more time with the chapter team and this was a welcome change as the guys got an opportunity to start working rather then just talk theoretically. It was clear throughout the weekend why this is the largest and most effective training effort of it's type in the Greek world and I very much enjoyed and being able to take part in this event.

July 4th

I was able to spend some time at home on the lake with some friends from high school for the 4th of July. We did some jetskiing, fishing, 4 wheeling and fireworking it was a nice break.


The gang

Sigma Chi 150th

I was able to spend the past weekend in Cincinnati for a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sigma Chi. It was a great weekend. There were many events looking at the past, present and future of Sigma Chi. I was able to see the founding site of the fraternity as well as the alpha chapter in addition to attending all the celebrations. I'm looking forward to returning to Cincinnati in 2055 when the fraternity turns 200!


150th Gala

Home

I was home from 6/8 to 6/13. It was nice to be home for a bit and relax. Although I spent much of my time troubleshooting computer issues. One evening we burned up some stuff that had blown down in a recent storm.


Lake Stella

Hong Kong

In the evenings there is a light show. Lights are cast from the buildings on Hong Kong Island. This picture was taken from just across Victoria Harbor on the Kowloon side.


Hong Kong

Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

From Bangalore I flew to Hong Kong on another overnight plane trip. I flew on Singapore airlines and it was one of the nicest flights I have ever been on, it leaves me wondering if all flights on this airline would be as nice. The group that I traveled with from Bangalore went out to see the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. This is a temple in Hong Kong where Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are all practiced.


Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple

Mysore

In Mysore I was able to see many sights. I won't be able to post pictures of them all here but I'll note them all at least. We started off by visiting the Cauvery river. We then moved on to Gumbaz. The burial site of Tipu Sultan. A Indian king who stood up against British rule around 1800. We then moved on to Dariya Daulat Bagh. The summer palace of Tipu Sultan. Next we visited the bird sanctuary. We were able to go out in a row boat and get a close up look at all the birds here, luckily we didn't get too close a look at the crocodiles also swimming in these waters. We then moved on to Chamundi Hills. Then after lunch we finished up our visit at the Mysore Palace.


Mysore Palace

Mysore Trip

On Saturday before leaving Bangalore on a 11:55 PM flight I was able to head out to the town of Mysore. This is a town that is about 120 km away and takes about 3 hours by car to reach. On our way we happened to come up behind this bus. How would you like to ride on the top of this thing for 3 hours?


Bus

MSL India Team

The MSL India Team and I. From left to right.
Back row: Jayanth, Siddhesh, Suresh, Sanjay, Ginu
Middle row: Erik, GRK, Kavita, Raji, Bhuvana, Nagaraj
Front row: Hemanth, HSP, Vasu, Rohini, Anita, Mahesh


MSL India Team

PPU Support Team

The PPU support team and I in Bangalore. From left to right Me, Gireesha, Ram. Not pictured Nath.


PPU Support Team

Tipu Sultan's Fort

This evening I was able to slip away at the end of the day and go to see Tipu Sultan's Fort. It's quite a small fot. The fort has it's own temple right next to it so that the king could worship easily. The most amazing thing is that this temple is made mostly from wood. This is a far cry from the gold and marble that I would have expected.

Later as I was eating dinner in one of the hotel restaurants, I couldn't help but find some humor in the irony of the situation. I was sitting in an Irish restaurant in India, eating a mutton burger, listening to country music and watching English football (soccer).


Tipu Sultan's Palace

TRAFFIC!

The traffic here is amazing. People drive wherever they want to and if there is any space at all bikes squeeze right in. It makes traffic in cities in the U.S. look like a breeze. It's so bad that people don't go very far during peak traffic times. Words really can not describe what a drive during commute time is like it's truly crazy.


Traffic

ISKCON Temple

Sunday evening I was able to visit the ISKCON temple. This temple does not allow photography inside although the outside of this building I found to be more impressive. This temple was to honor the god Krishna.


ISKCON Temple

Poverty

The poverty here at times is truly amazing for a "Westerner". Many areas are like some of the most poverty stricken places that I have seen in Mexico. During my time out there were two different experiences which really stuck out. In one case a guy followed us all the way back to our cab from quite a ways off and then after we entered the cab started hitting it with a stick to try and get money. The cab driver didn't allow that to go on long and I was glad for that. Also well waiting for our cab to pick us up at the national park two girls followed us around and were tugging at my pant legs in an attempt to get money. At this my host feigned smacking them around and came awfully close yet this didn't seem to deter them. It's sad that I could give these girls a dime and they would have been happy but by doing so I would be mobbed by people so it's not possible. I've taken the strategy of tipping the service folks well. Which by our standards still doesn't mean spending much money but makes these people extremely happy and personally I would rather give the money to the individuals who are working then the ones begging.


Street Market

Bannerghatta National Park

Sunday I met with one of my contacts in Bangalore and headed out for some sight seeing. We went to a number of places. First we visited Vidhana Soudha which is the state government building. Next we saw Attara Kacheri which is the high court of the state of Karnataka. Bangalore is the state capital of Karnataka. We then moved on to Cubbon Park. Next we went to a Shiva Statue, I still haven't figured out if this is technically a temple or not but many people where there praying. This was a giant 65 foot high statue of Shiva. I learned a bit about the Hindu religion although because there are so many gods and each one of them has so many forms I have had a really hard time grasping the religion. It also seems like Hindus typically choose one of the gods to focus there worship on, however there chosen god then has many lings which are different forms and provide different benefits through worship to each of them. Finally we moved on to Bannerghatta Park. This is a lot like a zoo but instead of walking through an area with caged animals you ride in a bus through the park where the animals are roaming. The picture below is the most impressive one from our journey through the park.

NOTE: So later on I learned that only Shiva has lings and the lings you pray to for different benefits but the three gods Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu (creator, destroyer and keeper of balance) just take on different forms and have different stories associted with different forms.


Tiger

Welcome to Bangalore, India

After 30 hours of traveling I arrived at my hotel in Bangalore, India last night at 1:30 AM. As I pulled up this man opened my door and for a moment I thought for sure I was on the Amazing Race as he said "Welcome to Bangalore, India". I checked in and headed to bed for some much needed rest. More to come soon...


Doorman

Flogging Molly

I went to a Flogging Molly concert last Saturday night to start of St. Patrick's day celebrations. Flogging Molly is a Irish punk band. The concert was really good although the two open acts were really bad. We then followed up the concert with Corned Beef and Cabbage some friends cooked for us on Thursday night.

Gravity Games

The Gravity Games where held at Copper this weekend. All though we were not able to check out all of the events we did see some pretty cool stuff. We watched the women's snowboard superpipe and the men's ski superpipe. They were both amazing. These guys were 20 feet up from the lip of the pipe doing 540s and 900s with ease. One guy from Copper did a 1260 but didn't combo it with any other spinning maneuvers so he was not a contender for a medal. They also had a bunch of ski company's there showing off there gear and I was able to demo a pair of 4FRNT skis, the MSP 180s. They were really short and fat but held up a lot nicer than I thought they would on the hardpack. I'm hoping this event returns to Copper soon so that I can see more of the action.


Men's Ski Superpipe


Men's Ski Superpipe 2