Alex Tew, a 21 year old college student from a small town in Wiltshire, England, had an idea. What is the idea? To try and make $1m (US) by selling 1,000,000 pixels for $1 each. Hence, 'The Million Dollar Homepage".
Alex, in a couple of months, has already sold all one million pixels. They are not all up yet, but everything is sold or reserved! Check-out the link at the bottom of this post.
Here is Alex's story.
The main motivation for doing this is to pay for my degree studies, because I don't like the idea of graduating with a huge student debt. I know people who are paying off student loans 15-20 years after they graduated. Not a nice thought!
So, everyone is welcome to buy my pixels, which are available in 100-pixel 'blocks' (each measuring 10x10 pixels). You will see the homepage is divided into 10,000 of these 100-pixel blocks (hence there are 1,000,000 pixels in total). The reason for selling them in 100-pixel blocks is because anything smaller would be too small to display anything meaningful.
You can buy as many pixels as you like, as long as there are some available (see the live stats in the top right corner of the page). When you buy some pixels, you can then display an image/ad/logo of your choice in the space you have purchased. You can also have the image click through to your own website. However, no obscene or offensive images are allowed.
The pixels you buy will be displayed on the homepage permanently. The homepage will not change. Using some of the money I make from the site, I guarantee to keep it online for at least 5 years, but hopefully much longer. I want it to become a kind of internet time capsule. So, in the long run, I believe the pixels will offer good value. You will have a piece of internet history!
Check-out his page: Million Dollar Homepage
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Jeff -- Homeward Bound
Dear All-
I've come to the end of my journey, in a matter of hours I'll be embarking on my epic flight(s) back to the homeland. It's been a while and I can't say I haven't thought about this moment since before I left. A lot of thoughts are in my head about what it will be like to land back in Minnesota after so much time away. What has changed? What is surprising? It will be crazy to see our funny little country again.
My Peace Corps service in Kyrgyzstan (you can say it right: Kir-Giz-Stan) ended on November 9th. I can't even begin to explain what an impact the experience had on my life, in fact I don't even know the extent of the impact. I really miss that little stan and all the wonder and befuddlement it embraced. Adjusting back to American life will probably be boringly easy. When I see you I hope to share some of my experience but please don't let me bore you with "In Kyrgyzstan..." Ask good questions and you will get good answers.
Over the last six weeks me and three of my peace corps buddies have been travelling in South East Asia. This trip has been absolutely rad. We've had a good bout of decompressing from the experience and are all even more ready to repatriate ourselves. I think if I had gone straight home I would have just talked about Kyrgyzstan way too much and made too many comparisons... in short: really annoy my friends and family. Additionally why pass up an opportunity to watch women shoot darts out of their rahrahs, drink till 6am on a beach in Thailand, snorkel amidst naked dutch men, watch your friends and fellow tourists chance death on motorbikes, sleep in chicken coupes, ride angry elephants, gawk at Japanese tourists, drink with the Irish, sweat your balls off in a Cambodian jungle, eat everything from spiders to frogs and from snake to dog, feel the surprise of an extra happy pizza... for 24 hours, brave moped mayhem in Saigon, crawl through tunnels of the Viet Cong, be assaulte!
d by transsexual prostitutes on the beach, shop till you drop for crazy cheap tailor made clothing, enjoy countless nights sleeping on a bus, enjoy 10cent beer squatting on the streets of Hanoi, and most off all: doing it all with your buddies.
So now I'm no longer on my adventure abroad, no longer a peace corps volunteer, a tourist, an expat, no longer employed. So I will be hitting the job search as soon as possible and if anyone can help me out... please do. I'll be in Minneapolis on the 23rd and then down in Wisconsin in the early new year, as for the rest of you... I'll see you when I see you. You've been warned.
P.S. If you want to call me, my home phone is 763.434.8676
Take Care,
Jeffrey James
I've come to the end of my journey, in a matter of hours I'll be embarking on my epic flight(s) back to the homeland. It's been a while and I can't say I haven't thought about this moment since before I left. A lot of thoughts are in my head about what it will be like to land back in Minnesota after so much time away. What has changed? What is surprising? It will be crazy to see our funny little country again.
My Peace Corps service in Kyrgyzstan (you can say it right: Kir-Giz-Stan) ended on November 9th. I can't even begin to explain what an impact the experience had on my life, in fact I don't even know the extent of the impact. I really miss that little stan and all the wonder and befuddlement it embraced. Adjusting back to American life will probably be boringly easy. When I see you I hope to share some of my experience but please don't let me bore you with "In Kyrgyzstan..." Ask good questions and you will get good answers.
Over the last six weeks me and three of my peace corps buddies have been travelling in South East Asia. This trip has been absolutely rad. We've had a good bout of decompressing from the experience and are all even more ready to repatriate ourselves. I think if I had gone straight home I would have just talked about Kyrgyzstan way too much and made too many comparisons... in short: really annoy my friends and family. Additionally why pass up an opportunity to watch women shoot darts out of their rahrahs, drink till 6am on a beach in Thailand, snorkel amidst naked dutch men, watch your friends and fellow tourists chance death on motorbikes, sleep in chicken coupes, ride angry elephants, gawk at Japanese tourists, drink with the Irish, sweat your balls off in a Cambodian jungle, eat everything from spiders to frogs and from snake to dog, feel the surprise of an extra happy pizza... for 24 hours, brave moped mayhem in Saigon, crawl through tunnels of the Viet Cong, be assaulte!
d by transsexual prostitutes on the beach, shop till you drop for crazy cheap tailor made clothing, enjoy countless nights sleeping on a bus, enjoy 10cent beer squatting on the streets of Hanoi, and most off all: doing it all with your buddies.
So now I'm no longer on my adventure abroad, no longer a peace corps volunteer, a tourist, an expat, no longer employed. So I will be hitting the job search as soon as possible and if anyone can help me out... please do. I'll be in Minneapolis on the 23rd and then down in Wisconsin in the early new year, as for the rest of you... I'll see you when I see you. You've been warned.
P.S. If you want to call me, my home phone is 763.434.8676
Take Care,
Jeffrey James
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Home Team:1 / Visitors:0
Judge rules against Intelligent Design in landmark Pa. case
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled today that teaching Intelligent Design as an alternative to the theory of evolution is unconstitutional. The ruling comes in a closely watched case involving the Dover, Pa., school board's policy to require teaching ID in biology classes. Jones said his decision should not be interpreted as barring the discussion of ID in classrooms, but rather it should be understood as upholding a First Amendment provision prohibiting establishment of religion in public schools. As part of his opinion, Jones said members of the board lied to hide their true religious beliefs, and that their actions were a disservice to the community. Attorneys representing the board did not indicate whether they would appeal. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (12/20), The New York Times/Associated Press (free registration) (12/20), Reuters (12/20)
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled today that teaching Intelligent Design as an alternative to the theory of evolution is unconstitutional. The ruling comes in a closely watched case involving the Dover, Pa., school board's policy to require teaching ID in biology classes. Jones said his decision should not be interpreted as barring the discussion of ID in classrooms, but rather it should be understood as upholding a First Amendment provision prohibiting establishment of religion in public schools. As part of his opinion, Jones said members of the board lied to hide their true religious beliefs, and that their actions were a disservice to the community. Attorneys representing the board did not indicate whether they would appeal. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (12/20), The New York Times/Associated Press (free registration) (12/20), Reuters (12/20)
A different gift list: ALL THE GOOD THINGS
This letter was sent to me by a friend. I hope you get a thought or two from it. I did.
He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy–to–be–alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.
Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving – "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice–teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!"
It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it.
I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room.
As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it!! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!"
At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third.
One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning; frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another.
I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend."
That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone!" "I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, and my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a side–ways glance and simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important.
"The Eklund's called last night," he began. "Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is."
Dad responded quietly, "Mark was killed in Vietnam. The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend."
To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I–494 where Dad told me about Mark. I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, “Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.”
The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one, those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water.
I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as a pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
Mark's classmates started to gather around us.
Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when I finally sat down and cried.
THE END
Written by: Sister Helen P. Mrosla
Spread the message of encouragement to express your good feelings for others –– you never know what the impact can be.
I wish you and your families all the joy of a holiday, and all the health and happiness a new year can offer.
Jeffrey Gitomer
He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, but had that happy–to–be–alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.
Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving – "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice–teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said, "If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!"
It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out, "Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it.
I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room.
As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it!! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, "Thank you for correcting me, Sister!"
At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the "new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third.
One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning; frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another.
I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Mark said, "Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend."
That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" I heard whispered. "I never knew that meant anything to anyone!" "I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, and my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a side–ways glance and simply said, "Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important.
"The Eklund's called last night," he began. "Really?" I said. "I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is."
Dad responded quietly, "Mark was killed in Vietnam. The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend."
To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I–494 where Dad told me about Mark. I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was, “Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.”
The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one, those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water.
I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as a pallbearer came up to me. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin. "Mark talked about you a lot," he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me. "We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
Mark's classmates started to gather around us.
Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash. "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when I finally sat down and cried.
THE END
Written by: Sister Helen P. Mrosla
Spread the message of encouragement to express your good feelings for others –– you never know what the impact can be.
I wish you and your families all the joy of a holiday, and all the health and happiness a new year can offer.
Jeffrey Gitomer
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Favorite pictures of the year
This was from last year....but I still like it.
Oh...by the way.......they found Nemo!
Friday, December 09, 2005
Jeffrey James
Nancy forwarded this e-mail to grandma from Jeff.
Thought you guys would be interested.
Jenny
Corkamama-
I'm very excited to hear that you'll be in Minnesota for Christmas. It's less than three weeks away.
Now I'm in Phnom Phen, the capitol of Cambodia, and just had a great lunch after doing the tourist route of museums, palaces, and gardens. It's all very beautiful and I'm very surprised at how much I like this city.The history of Cambodia is sadly fascinating, yesterday we went to S21 which is the site of the interrogation camp of the Pol Pot regimes and to the Killing Fields where tens of thousands of prisoners (many women and children) were beaten to death and left in graves; brutality even the Nazis weren't capable of.
I left a bit frustrated reading the guest book, many ignorant Europeans comparing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to Bush/Guantanamo/Abu Ghraib; those atrocities don't even come close to what happened here and it's insulting to the Cambodian people. It's unfortunate how blind peoples hatred for America is.
So far I've eaten frogs, crickets, and spiders here in Cambodia. We're on the look out for snakes and eels and anything else. I have some great videos of us eating this stuff. Yesterdays spider left my stomach a
bit upset with me, luckily I've had over two years of training in Kyrgyzstan for weird foods.
Today is a more relaxed day, taking a boat up the river for happy hour. This afternoon might go drive race cars? The weather is hot and i'm actually looking forward to some bone chilling Minnesotan weather.
Tomorrow we're off to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. I am regretting not having read up more on the history of SE Asia prior to coming on this trip. On my India trip I read a lot more about some of the history and the works of prominent Indian authors.
What are you doing with your days in Minneapolis? What restaurants have they been taking you to? I'm sure fish tacos and Vietnamese on Lake St.
Doing well in Cambodia,
Jeffrey James
Thought you guys would be interested.
Jenny
Corkamama-
I'm very excited to hear that you'll be in Minnesota for Christmas. It's less than three weeks away.
Now I'm in Phnom Phen, the capitol of Cambodia, and just had a great lunch after doing the tourist route of museums, palaces, and gardens. It's all very beautiful and I'm very surprised at how much I like this city.The history of Cambodia is sadly fascinating, yesterday we went to S21 which is the site of the interrogation camp of the Pol Pot regimes and to the Killing Fields where tens of thousands of prisoners (many women and children) were beaten to death and left in graves; brutality even the Nazis weren't capable of.
I left a bit frustrated reading the guest book, many ignorant Europeans comparing Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to Bush/Guantanamo/Abu Ghraib; those atrocities don't even come close to what happened here and it's insulting to the Cambodian people. It's unfortunate how blind peoples hatred for America is.
So far I've eaten frogs, crickets, and spiders here in Cambodia. We're on the look out for snakes and eels and anything else. I have some great videos of us eating this stuff. Yesterdays spider left my stomach a
bit upset with me, luckily I've had over two years of training in Kyrgyzstan for weird foods.
Today is a more relaxed day, taking a boat up the river for happy hour. This afternoon might go drive race cars? The weather is hot and i'm actually looking forward to some bone chilling Minnesotan weather.
Tomorrow we're off to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. I am regretting not having read up more on the history of SE Asia prior to coming on this trip. On my India trip I read a lot more about some of the history and the works of prominent Indian authors.
What are you doing with your days in Minneapolis? What restaurants have they been taking you to? I'm sure fish tacos and Vietnamese on Lake St.
Doing well in Cambodia,
Jeffrey James
Uncle Dale -- By Dan Ulmer
Uncle Dale
We recently got back from my Uncle Dale’s funeral in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Dale married my aunt Corky who’s my dad’s sister that mothered most of my crazy Minnesotan cousins with whom we all grew with up at Grandma Cora’s house…which is another story in itself.
At some point during the ‘70s Corky and Don divorced and then set an example of companionship that most divorcees only wish they could emulate. They along with their new spouses, Dale and Jan, have remained life-long friends and care deeply about each other’s fate.
Back in the ‘70’s Cork and Dale got together and took their motorcycle to the Sturgis Bike rally, got married, and Dale’s been one of my best Uncle’s ever since. Our families melded and it’s been an amazing journey
As the years pass we’ve seen less and less of each other but whenever when we touch a love that goes to the very core of our beings floods our souls. We always part company with a sense of joyful gratitude that such folks exist in our lives. Mere words can never capture the essence of any mortal but here’s what the folks in Detroit Lakes said about Uncle Dale.
“Dale attended school in Detroit Lakes and in 1949 he graduated form Dunwoody Technical College in Minneapolis in the new field of refrigeration and air conditioning. Upon graduation, Dale joined Star Electric in Detroit Lakes and helped change the business to a residential and commercial refrigeration and home appliance business. Among the various new technologies to come to the doors of Starr electric were the first refrigerators, the first window air conditioners, the first ice machines, the first color television, and the first microwaves.
In the ‘60’s Dale switched to selling Yamaha motorcycles, eventually Starr Electric became Starr Yamaha. Dale was one of the first dealers to offer snowmobiles and numerous off road vehicles in Detroit Lakes.
Dale was Past Admiral of the Detroit Lakes Water Carnival, active in starting the Boys Club, an active Chamber member, longtime Supervisor on the Lakeview Town Board, president of the Church Council, and many other civic organizations (including getting free passes to WE FEST)
In the 1970’s Dale undertook a new profession, which would prove to be his true calling, teaching at Northwest Technical College in Detroit Lakes. His knowledge gave students employable skills. For over twenty years over four hundred students studied under Dale to develop not only their mechanical but also their life skills.
In addition to those hundreds of students his legacy was the confidence he instilled in the people he touched. His principals and his natural gift of communication resulted in many individuals turning their lives around. His sense of humor, fundamental belief that all people are basically good, sound reasoning and always upbeat personality were his enduring qualities.”
I’m gonna miss Dale; but I won’t worry about him because his love will be in in my heart forever. Here’s hoping that folks appreciate the time they get to spend with you too.
We recently got back from my Uncle Dale’s funeral in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Dale married my aunt Corky who’s my dad’s sister that mothered most of my crazy Minnesotan cousins with whom we all grew with up at Grandma Cora’s house…which is another story in itself.
At some point during the ‘70s Corky and Don divorced and then set an example of companionship that most divorcees only wish they could emulate. They along with their new spouses, Dale and Jan, have remained life-long friends and care deeply about each other’s fate.
Back in the ‘70’s Cork and Dale got together and took their motorcycle to the Sturgis Bike rally, got married, and Dale’s been one of my best Uncle’s ever since. Our families melded and it’s been an amazing journey
As the years pass we’ve seen less and less of each other but whenever when we touch a love that goes to the very core of our beings floods our souls. We always part company with a sense of joyful gratitude that such folks exist in our lives. Mere words can never capture the essence of any mortal but here’s what the folks in Detroit Lakes said about Uncle Dale.
“Dale attended school in Detroit Lakes and in 1949 he graduated form Dunwoody Technical College in Minneapolis in the new field of refrigeration and air conditioning. Upon graduation, Dale joined Star Electric in Detroit Lakes and helped change the business to a residential and commercial refrigeration and home appliance business. Among the various new technologies to come to the doors of Starr electric were the first refrigerators, the first window air conditioners, the first ice machines, the first color television, and the first microwaves.
In the ‘60’s Dale switched to selling Yamaha motorcycles, eventually Starr Electric became Starr Yamaha. Dale was one of the first dealers to offer snowmobiles and numerous off road vehicles in Detroit Lakes.
Dale was Past Admiral of the Detroit Lakes Water Carnival, active in starting the Boys Club, an active Chamber member, longtime Supervisor on the Lakeview Town Board, president of the Church Council, and many other civic organizations (including getting free passes to WE FEST)
In the 1970’s Dale undertook a new profession, which would prove to be his true calling, teaching at Northwest Technical College in Detroit Lakes. His knowledge gave students employable skills. For over twenty years over four hundred students studied under Dale to develop not only their mechanical but also their life skills.
In addition to those hundreds of students his legacy was the confidence he instilled in the people he touched. His principals and his natural gift of communication resulted in many individuals turning their lives around. His sense of humor, fundamental belief that all people are basically good, sound reasoning and always upbeat personality were his enduring qualities.”
I’m gonna miss Dale; but I won’t worry about him because his love will be in in my heart forever. Here’s hoping that folks appreciate the time they get to spend with you too.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Welcome
Hey, I set up a blog for the blended Belden, Jorde family. I'm not sure what we can use it for, but it's got potential.
See ya.
BBlebowski
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