The Guth's have updated the Blog

I have finally put some updated photo's of the girls up on our blog www.theguthlife.blogspot.com if anyone is interested. Hopefully, I will be a little more consistent in the updates in the future.

Asia Trip Day Two: A Memorial Day to Remember

May 28, 2007 Memorial Day.

Today was our first visit to a business on this trip. First we boarded a bullet train that took us to Toyota city. The bullet train got up as high as 169 mph and rides extremely smooth. We forty Americans took up the majority of one car on the train. I was sitting right at the front of the car where the entrance was. I got a great laugh when one Japanese businessman stepped through the door (all the doors on the train opened the way the doors do on Star Trek) and then seeing all these Americans stepped back out the door and doubled check that he had the right car. I think he was wondering if he had stepped through some kind of a space warp or something. Pretty funny!
The Toyota tour was just amazing. We have often discussed over the past two years the efficiencies of the Toyota Production System. Seeing it up close and in person was really something. They run a production line for 16 hours a day and yet they never have more than two hours of inventory on hand at one time. The true definition of Just In Time Inventory controls. The facility we toured manufactures approximately 600 vehicles a day and is equipped to produce 8 different models. The plant we toured was used for Japanese domestic cars only.

One thing that I really thought was amazing was the empowerment given the individual line workers. At any time, if a worker has a concern of any kind he can pull on a white cord that will stop the line until the problem is fixed. The important aspect is that if an employee goes to long without stopping the line it is seen as a greater concern than if the line gets stopped. They really want to ensure that each vehicle produced meets specifications. In fact, the vehicles undergo over a thousand different inspection tests prior to leaving the plant.

Along the line of employee empowerment…in order to continually improve, the workers are given incentives to make suggestions on improving the facility. Last year the workers at the facility came up with over 600,000 new ideas for improving the process. Makes me think about whether the companies I have worked for really value imput from the individual workers the way they should. Ever implemented idea also results in a bonus for the employee.

My favorite part was the welding section. The Robots were straight out of Star Wars! Very difficult to describe (and we were not allowed to take pictures in the factory) but the robots that did the welding were just awesome! They were long arm like mechanical beasts that would sit still as the welding sheet came to their section...then the whole line of welders would go crazy welding and shooting sparks into the air. Then they would switch to vacuum mode and vacuum all over the frames of the current sheet. At this point, the machines all along the line go back to sleep and the line shifts. The process then begins all over for the next phase. In all, each car has over 4,500 welding spots. What I hadn't realized before watching this process (besides the fact that apparantly the "Jetsons" was as much fact as fiction) was that the lines (both welding and production) were made up of different cars and that they were not made in batches. In other words, a worker or a welding machine goes from say a Corolla to a Minivan to a Camry to a Highlander etc. On the bottom of the cars is placed a data chip that tells the welding machine what spots to weld.

We then went to the Toyota exhibition hall and museum. Not being a major car lover myself, I was mostly intrigued by some of the goofy robotics they had on hand. One melodramatic performance introduced something called the i-Unit which is an individual motor vehicle that is pretty funny looking. I can’t imagine trying to explain it so I will have to rely on the photo. The most fun was watching the outer lighting change colors based on the color of the necklace of the driver. It really was top notch Asian melodrama at its finest showing off this futuristic mobile unit. The picture shows the i-unit upright but it can also become a four wheeler so you can take it out on the highways and really show everyone just how cool you are with your color coded robotic arm chair.

We had lunch and a Q & A at the Toyota Headquarters. The food was a little different than I personally would have ordered, but it was interesting hearing from the business executives at Toyota. I was surprised at how some of the questions from our group seemed to be rather confrontational in nature. I hope that along the way we don't offend any of these executives we have come to pay homage to.

After Toyota we took a bullet train from there up to Tokyo. Tokyo is absolutely amazing. It has the tall buildings of somewhere like New York but is also completely clean and has next to no crime. Tokyo was fairly well destroyed back at the end of the war and so everything is pretty new.

Right after checking into the hotel a few of us went looking for food. I felt extremely fortunate when I saw a sign for a Taiwan restaurant. I really enjoyed the food, having not eaten Taiwanese food for many years. The group I was with also really enjoyed the food and one of the other guys was also a returned missionary from Taiwan. He served in Taipei about the same time I did. We have already begun plotting the fun we will be able to have speaking Chinese to the people we run into in Beijing.

Regan and Kent in Asia: Day One

March 27, 2007

We lost a full day in travel because of the international date line, so essentially I was dropped off at the SLC airport around 6:30am on Friday and crashed in Kyoto Japan at around 9pm on Saturday. We awoke for breakfast at the hotel and had a sacrament meeting as a group. It was neat to hear from a couple of the members of the group about the history of the church in Japan and Asia.

We then set off for a day of visiting the ancient sites. Our first stop was called Ni Jou Castle. We learned something pretty cool about the way the old Shogun castles were protected. The wooden floor joints were structured in such a way that when you walked on any board it would squeak. As we toured the castle (we were not allowed to take pictures inside, only outside) we made quite the ruckus. I guess the idea in the day was that this would be an effective alarm against intruders. I bet it made it hard for the teen age kids to sneak out for a night on the town as well.

As this was our first stop, I was struck by both the similarities and the differences between Japan (first time here) and China or Taiwan. The people here seem much more used to having an American in their presence. The city overall is much more clean that either China or Taiwan as well. One thing I am getting a kick out of is watching those students who have never been to Asia (Regan for example) and the way they are reacting to things. For example, Dustin Smith was taking pictures of the children in their school uniforms so he could show his children how cushy life in American’s schools can be. Bearing in mind that this is a Sunday it was interesting to see how many school groups were touring the castle.

Our next stop for the day, the Golden Pavilion. This is a 22kt gold plated Buddhist temple set in the middle of a small pond. The gold bird on the top of the temple is made of over 40 lbs of gold! It is amazing how glowing the temple looks without any direct lights aimed at it. This is perhaps the best example I’ve seen in my life as to why Gold has always carried such value. The place literally glows in the middle of the day.

It is at this stop that I first realize the “flag” our tour guide is using to hold up so we can try to find her in a crowd. It is basically a pink shower loofa on a stick. Of course, I couldn’t help but craft a verse of “Follow the Loofa” to the tune of “Follow the Prophet.” I think Tyler would have enjoyed marching with me as we sang: Loofa on a stick for everyone to see, if you lose your way be sure to look for me….follow the loofa, follow the loofa, follow the loofa it knows the way!”

Next up…a traditional Japanese style lunch. Several students hit their heads on the walls as they looked for their seats; fortunately, I didn’t have this problem. The food was fairly good; however, I was far from filled up. Combined with the lack of sufficient airline food and I thought my stomach was going to start rioting if it wasn’t filled soon. Most of the dishes at the restaurant were chicken dishes. Here’s hoping I don’t come down with the bird flu.

Following lunch our group drove to the HeiAn Shinto Shrine. The Shrine itself was a green and orange structure that was similar to other shrines I had seen in both Taiwan and China. While at the shrine were able to tour some very beautiful gardens. We also really enjoyed some rather creative translations on signs. My personal favorite read “It is closed to the public besides a point, the person concerned than this.” I think if I was trying to translate this sign I’d have stuck with the traditional “no unauthorized personal beyond this point.” But that isn’t nearly as creative is it.

At the gardens I have a chance to practice my Karate Kid Swan kick while we crossed a little pond on a stone path. We also were able to talk to a couple of locals. And by talk of course I mean make silly gestures to one another without a clue what the other person means.

I am struck with the natural beauty of Japan. Perhaps even more I am impressed with the city’s cleanliness. There seems to be little smog and no litter anywhere. The people are also EXTREMELY polite and service oriented. They do not seem to be as surprised to see an American as I remember the Chinese people in both Taiwan and China. However, when we gave them attention they did seem to enjoy it.

Our second to the last stop was the “SanJuSanGen Do” Buddhist Temple. The Japanese take on Buddhism is different from the Chinese. However, the temple’s over 1,000 statues and methods of worship loked the same to my untrained eye.

Our last stop was to a place called “KyoMidZa.” According to the our “Loofa Lady” this Buddhist temple came about when a monk had a dream that he should travel to the land of clear water and there build a temple. When the monk came upon this spot he found a beautiful spring geyser and then built the temple up and around the mountainside. I think this was my favorite stop of the day because of the beauty of the trees and mountainside around the temple.

Also, you should be aware that when I come home I may look much younger and even better looking than when I left. I had a taste of the elixir of youth from the fountain. According to the folklore I am now going to live longer and look better. Life for Jamie back home just keeps getting better huh?

Throughout the trip we have been divided into teams for quick counting of all the group. I am the team captain for ten of us. We have nicknamed ourselves the badgers. We are having a great time. We have even decided that whenever someone does something really cool, we give them a one yen piece. This coin (worth less than a penny) will literally float on water. We have thereby named this coin the “badger buck.” When at the fountain of youth I was playing around with some of the children and making them laugh I earned a “badger buck.”

The evening was pretty uneventful. A large group of us went out to eat but found that no restaurant was prepared to accept so many people at once. In the end, we split into a group of about 4. Only problem was we had no Japanese speaker among us and we got a little turned around. I felt pretty cool when I was able to make just enough out of a few characters and get just enough information out of a local to get us back to the hotel. Are you swooning over my hero status yet?

Nothing Fancy, Just a Few Pictures

If you were directed to this site to see the pictures of the triathlon...don't worry they are in the post just below this one. However, feeling bad that it has been so long since I posted any other pictures of our family, I wanted to make a quick post with just a few pictures, none of my annoying commentary ;-)

As you can see both Marcus and Tyler are getting much bigger and are still both ever so cute!

In this one, look close at Marcus' eyes. He has already mastered the eye roll!


Here is Tyler looking ready to head off to school...too bad he is only 3!

Look what we found in our laundry one morning! He was very hard to fold.

A Tribute to Our Birthday Woman of Steel

SHE DID IT!

We are so proud of our Jamie! On this her 31st birthday she totally rocked the Utah Women of Steel sprint triathlon. She competed with her sisters Dana and Tracy and a couple of neighbors. The race consisted of a 300-meter swim, a 10-mile bike and 3-mile run. Jamie did all of them at a great pace and was smiling when it was all through. The times have not been posted yet, but Jamie felt good about her effort and that is the most important thing. Both sisters also felt very good about the way they raced.

One thing for sure, Jamie looked GOOD in her tri-suit. I obviously need to get out and buy Jamie some new clothes. I didn't realize just how skinny she is looking until I saw her out there without her regular baggy clothes. Jamie says this is as healthy as she has ever felt. Admit it, when you look at these pictures you too are impressed at just how great Jamie is looking.

Tyler loved the event too. I think his favorite part was watching the swim because he could watch his mom the whole time. During the bike and run there were long periods where Jamie was out of sight and that made Tyler just want to play on the nearby park playground. When he did see mom, he proudly held up his sign that said Happy Birthday Mom! You Rock!! Jamie #4516.

Before the race Jamie was mostly worried about the swim. After the race, she was most disappointed in the swim, but for a different reason. Jamie wound up swimming very well and kept getting kicked in the face by the gal who should have allowed Jamie to lap her. The race started swimmers about every ten seconds or so and it only took a lap or two for Jamie to be right up against the swimmer in front of her. Unfortunately, that swimmer did not allow Jamie to pass for several laps and it looked to Tyler in the stands as though "mommy was eating that woman's feet."

As for the bike, unfortunately Jamie forgot to double check her seat and I had ridden the bike easlier in the week. Fortunately, I don't ride with the seat too much shorter than her. However, it was not her ideal riding conditions.

Last but not least, the run! No excuses and no problems as Jamie ran quite well. Tyler was very excited when he saw her coming down the home stretch. He was a great cheerleader. In fact, he now keeps talking about "his race." Apparantly, in his world there is an upcoming race including cousins and neighbors. Pretty fun!

With my graduation coming up soon, I've been talking about the need to start working on getting in better shape. SO...I think I am going to sign-up for the Hobblecreek Half Marathon that is in late August. I'm sure that I am crazy, but I can't let these three tough ladies show me up.

As an aside, sorry for not posting. It does take some effort to keep this up. If you are reading this and its worth my time to keep posting let me know. I may try to blog a time or two while I'm in Asia (I leave a week from yesterday!!!!!)

Would love to hear from you all!

TOUGH LADIES HUH?