I spent this week in Hong Kong as a delegate to the World Statistics Congress. I presented a literature review of the state of the science on applying Structural Equation Modelling to complex survey data. While I am not completely at home in a city this large, this has been a great educational experience beyond what I am learning attending the conference sessions. It has been interesting experiencing a city that intersperses ultra modern business and architecture with traditional open air markets with on site food preparation including butchering. I've ridden subways, trains, and ferry's, none of which are common in the places I have lived though I have finally used enough times to suppress the initial panic of not being in control of the vehicle I am on. Or the realization that the number of people in the subway station exceeds the total population of the town I live in.

I occasionally see small families with children Payge and Quinton's age, usually tourists from mainland China. (How do I know they are tourists? They could pass for locals, but they are holding maps and are as lost as I am trying to find places.)

The pictures below are to some places I've been, including the Hong Kong Conference and Exhibition Center where I've been during the day, the harbor with ferries, and some markets nestled among sky scrapers.

Update: I went with my colleague Marcus to see the big Buddha statue East of the city.

An now for some perspective. Hong Kong has over 7 million people living in 1/4th the geographic area as Cache County's 112,000 people. That is over 6000:1. Assuming an average household of 4 in Cache County, we would have to put 24,000 people on the geographic footprint of each Cache County house to support a population of 7 million. Nothing but sky scrapers here (note that the Buddha statue I visited was ~11 stories high, the Eccles Business School at USU is only 9). This is why the mass transit is so dirt cheap ($2.46 US$ for the longest ride you can take on the subway without changing stations). Also note that half of Hong Kong is uninhabitable mountains, much like Cache County. By comparison, New York City has 8 million is the same square mileage as Hong Kong, but essentially no mountains.

It's all in the way you say it

Yesterday, I asked the children to clean the dining room and they responded with a look that could only be interpreted as "you're nursing home will be an Appalachian coal mine." Today I asked them to defend our plant from crumberian and stickythian invaders from planet highchair using washclothinator technology and it turned into an epic adventure that spread into the kitchen.

When Markers Become Face Paint

When patience pays off

I take no credit for this, but I am excited to watch my children finally set a concrete goal and eschew all other interests to pursue it. Last night they were introduced to the game minecraft and wanted a copy. They found out how much it cost and ASKED for work! I made up a list of jobs last night, and they have been working nearly continuously and generally on task since 9am weeding and cleaning tile grout by hand.

Other highlights from the day:

• Our bees are loving the lavender in the front yard. The have also drawn comb on all but one bar.
• Most tomato plants are up to 2 or 3 vertical supports now
• The lemon tree has several new lemons on it (the first round all fell off but one, and a bird got that one, but we've learned that lemons will bloom relatively continuously 
• Quinton says bunny (he pronounces it baaughly), car (caugh), and truck (cuck)
• We have a few cherries on our Richmonds that are ripe, and even though the birds got them, it's good to see them viable
• We have a few blueberries which hopefully means my acid amendments have been sufficient
• I tore out the remaining butter crisp lettuce (which was bolting) and turned into into mulch for another round of dry beans

Look Mom! An Eye Pad!

Today, Payge put one of her large feathered headbands over her eyes like Jordy from Star Trek

Then proudly exclaimed, "Look!  I've got an eye-pad!" (iPad).

To which Zac replied, "Hey she figured out a way to lie without really lying.  ha!"

June

Hard to see, but there are worker bees chewing their way out of capped cells. Zachary and Chayce watched complete hatchings with me.

Quinton lets the chickens loose, Zachary helps retrieve.

Peas climbing a trellis made of pruned grape vines

We planted 9 Black Hills Spruce behind our back fence.

Quinton helped plant the spruce

Quinton spraying the chickens (the hose was in the chicken run to spray aphids off the plums)

Quinton smiling on the front porch

Chayce cheering on Payge, who taught her self to ride without training wheels

Playing nonchalant prior to a nearly nude front door escape from the house

One step forward and two steps back

Payge wants to grow her hair out after her self cut attempt earlier this year (or was it late last year). Though she had made much progress, she decided her bangs needed a trim and took things into her own hands. Again.