Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Pretty Smart Dude

11/29/2011

I ran across a couple of emails from Kurt back in 2002. He was very much into economics and politics and studied both quite a bit. [For that matter, he knew a heck of a lot about a huge number of topics—from religion to quantum physics.] He told me that economics was interesting to him because it was a pseudo-scientific study. Much math and analytics but even more dependent on psychology, or mass hysteria as the case may be.

In any case, the following summaries of his thoughts on the economy in 2002 were quite prescient. He hits on concerns about debts and derivatives and housing 6 years before the big unraveling of 2008. Read these and wish he was around now to provide insight.

I love you Bro.
Greg

Subject: DET - DET
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2002 05:19:50 +0000
From: “Kurt Harms” <kurtsharms@hotmail.com>
To:

Hi Greg,

I recently got a phone call from Art saying that he and Joan will be visiting you.  I think he said in November.  Can you tell me when exactly he is coming, and also, do you know how to contact him? (phone#, email, etc).

Also, I thought I would show you a little way I have of summarizing the current state of the economy.  I do it with the letters “DET DET” (that’s “DET” repeated twice).  It helps keeps me from being brainwashed by the media into being too optimistic.  I don’t trust the media because at the very least they are bought through advertising.

I summarized it with the letters DET DET.  It stands for the following:

D:  Debt.
The debt levels in ALL four sectors that make up our economy are horrendous.  The banking, corporate, public (national debt), and private (credit cards, etc) debts total more than$ 25 trillion!  This is more than the worth of the planet! It is a far worse condition than it was the summer of 1929.

E: Earnings.
P/E’s should go to the average (which has been about 16 on the S&P500 for the last 70 years).  The current average P/E of the S&P500 varies widely depending on who you talk to (e.g. 25) because these numbers are using EXPECTED earnings numbers (and they are expecting radically higher, 20% or more, earnings).  To expect such an increase in earnings, or for earnings to even stay constant, in the current environment is ridiculous.  Therefore, it is better to use the earnings from last year.  BUT, that will give you an average P/E for the S&P500 close to a whopping 40!!!  (others say 60!) And that is not even considering the falsified earnings that have yet to be uncovered, and even the non-illegal book cooking like failure to expense options.

T:  Trade.
The balance of trade in the U.S. is horrendous.  We are bleeding about $500 billion a year now; a record.  This can only lead to a massive decline in the overvalued US dollar, and that will in tum force the Fed to RAISE interest rates; very bad for stocks AND real estate.

D: Derivatives.
This is the market that joe average investor doesn’t even know about.  It is far, far bigger than all the stock markets of the world.  The problem is that it is so widely leveraged, that it is a massive, high stakes casino.  What makes it bad is that all the friendly banks that help us store our savings, and “generously” giving us our 1% interest, are turning around and gambling it away in the derivatives market.  Case in point, two banks, JPMorgan/Chase and Citigroup have leveraged an unbelievable $40 trillion (estimated)!!! This basically means that if their positions go against them, they will bring the world banking system down with them.  If you’ve been following financial news both those banks are under major investigation for a multitude of possible illegalities.  They both were involved in Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and even Argentina.  The big problem is that the US government MUST keep them afloat at ALL costs, including a bailout by US taxpayers.

E: Ethics.
We all know of the scandals that have been revealed.  But it is anticipated that MANY other companies are also involved and will be revealed.  Accounting manipulation may be like steroids; the players can’t compete unless they all do it.

T:Terrorism.
We all know how bad the 9/11 events hit the US economy.  What would happen if a dirty bomb (fairly easy to make) went off in one of our cities and rendered a large part of it uninhabitable for 100,000 years!
I don’t even mention the possible disaster looming in Latin America where close to a $ trillion may be defaulted on, and thereby triggering defaults across all emerging markets.

I also don’t even mention a possible collapse of the Japanese banking system which recently had its debt rating dropped below Botswana in Africa.  A collapse would FORCE the sale of their good investments, including $500 billion in US treasury debt (which may soon not be so good).

Well, that’s it.  It’s just a summary of what I found.  But, it still is only the fundamentals.  The TECHNICAL indicators right now are extremely bearish.  In the S&P500 they show one of the largest topping formations of all time ! A 3 year top to a 20 year bull that had a geometric progression in prices!

Kurt

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Subject: More investment info + what to do NOW
Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2002 23:11:27 +0000
From: “Kurt Harms” <kurtsharms@hotmail.com>
To:

Hi Greg and Dawn,

Thanks for Art & Joan’s info. I’ll definitely plan to visit; I’ll give you the details once I finish the reservations etc. l can fit whatever plan you recommend (I’m flexible). If you think 12 Nov to 15 Nov works then I’ll go for that.

YES, NPOESS was a biggy!  Boy, that really breathed life into Denver Raytheon. Our commercial stuff was drying up pretty bad. One big additional benefit from the NPOESS win (which I heard at our celebration luncheon) is that all the R&D that is now possible via the NPOESS work can be used to improve our entire technical base. This will inevitably lead to more program wins. NPOESS thus has a multiplier effect. The $ billion we get on NPOESS may translate into $5billion or more later.

As for me, it is great news. Currently I am working the Telemetry and Command satellite ground software warranty. It is what I know best, but it is kindofboring.

I really would like to move on to learn more advanced things. The NPOESS win greatly increases the chance of that; whether I get a job with NPOESS directly, or I take the place of someone who left an interesting job to go to NPOESS.

I’m glad you like my “DET-DET” thing.I was worried you would totally dismiss it. In the past my track record on investments has sucked pretty bad, so I thought to myself that I really have no credibility.  However, I am only passing on and summarizing general knowledge that can be verified independently from other sources; even government websites.

Not to deny that I lost big time on investments in the late 1990’s, there is a lot of evidence corning out that the great stock boom of the late 1990’s was fueled by dramatic increases in the money supply by the Fed and treasury during the same time frame. Any system will look good temporarily if it is handed $trillions of cash out of thin air. However, now, the market correction that should have happened back in 1997, is happening now, but far more violently.

I think it is great that you are selling your townhouse. There are even people who are selling their primary house and renting (however that is really extreme). If I owned a house I would probably not sell it because I get kind of sentimental about those things.

However, I tell my friends that even if you have a big sentimental feeling for your house, you can sell anyway and then in a year or two you probably will be able to buy it back, pennies on the dollar!

I laughed at Dad’s response.  Although I agree, the way he words things is funny. It is almost like he says “The world is now ending. Love, Dad.”

I actually believe that it will be worse than a mere recession. In my last email I mentioned the “technical indication” of a topping formation. Most small investors don’t follow technical analysis; they usually do “fundamental analysis” (however, I doubt they even did that the last 5 years).Technical analysis is basically where you look at chart patterns and compare what is now with what has happened in the past and try to make predictions based on that. It has become evident that certain patterns can reveal with HIGH PROBABILITY what will happen next in the price chart. Many of the big players (banks, funds, etc) use supercomputers to watch things like “moving averages”, “oscillators”, “Fibonacci sequence fits”, etc. to automatically predict the best time to buy and sell. Tech trading is used very heavily in the commodity and derivatives markets, which are far, far larger than all the world’s stock markets.

If you look at a basic book on Technical Analysis (Tech Anal 101), THE MOST BASIC predictor pattern is the “head and shoulder” formation. If this formation appears in a chart pattern, it indicates a general change in direction of the trend of the pattern. There is an old adage “the trend is your friend”, but that is only true if no change formations have appeared. The head and shoulder formation may appear upside down (i.e. the head and shoulders are inverted) in which case a chart pattern BOTTOM is indicated. If the head and shoulders are right side up, they indicate a TOPPING formation.

The reason I bring this up is that the S&P500 has just completed a picture perfect 3 year topping formation! Most of the time you can barely see the head and shoulders in price charts for commodities, etc., but the S&P500 made a one so perfect looking, it doesn’t look real! Also, this is a MASSIVE topping formation because market tops are more like 3 MONTHS. Only recently (a few weeks ago) did the S&P5OO indices BREAK THE SHOULDER LINE which was about 950.This indicates that the S&P500 has a very high probability of falling to around 500! And this is still simply following the “50% retracement rule” which says that EVEN A BULL MARKET will experience a 50% retracement in prices if a topping formation is hit. God help us if we are truly in a bear market!

Some say we are at the beginning of a SECULAR bear market. If the bear market was CYCLICAL, then it would be in the context of the normal up’s and down’s of a multiyear business cycle, and “buy and hold” probably would be an OK thing to do. However, a SECULAR bear is a once-in-a-lifetime event. There are indications that the current situation could even be a once-in-history event. Regardless of how well protected you are, NONE OF US should rest easy if this is a secular bear. When you have a crash of these proportions it is very possible that our social system will collapse and lead to anarchy or some kind of dictatorship, or some kind of world war.

Whatever happens, it would REALLY suck, even if you saved a lot of money. Hopefully Dad is right and it is ONLY a severe recession.

You mentioned that Bush may have economic reasons for attacking Iraq. I can’t help but think that the taking of lraq’s oil fields (which are the highest quality in the world) would help to prevent our economic collapse. Iraq has “Light Sweet Crude”, the best oil in the world. With light sweet crude you don’t need a “cracking tower” to refine it. Cracking towers are VERY high tech and very expensive. Most of the world can’t get them easily. One night, when I was living in Hermosa Beach, I saw an amazing sight. It was about 3 AM and what looked like the entire police department of all the beach cities closed off PCH completely. The reason was that a cracking tower was being transported to the Chevron refinery in El Segundo. I swear that the thing looked just like an ICBM! It was huge, and it took up the entire PCH! Apparently they could not disassemble it for transportation; it could only be moved in one piece. I have photos of it and I’ll see if I can find them.

Also, it is interesting that last June (this past summer), I made a post onto the internet bulletin board at CBSMarketWatch, and CBS made it the post of the week! I titled it, “Iraq in October?”. I gave 3 reasons for why the U.S. would attack Iraq in October of this year.

1. I said that Iraq will probably get a conventional dirty bomb ready for use in one year.
2. I said that we must fight in the winter because our troops will have to wear heavy duty NBC (NukeBacteriaChem) suits and that would be impossible in 125 degree heat.
3. Biggest reason of all, the Republicans must do something big before the November elections because the people are blaming the economy on them out of ignorance (the bubble was created during the Clinton years). If the Republicans may lose both houses in November, and if that happens, they will probably lose the presidency in 2004.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NEXT

I really think Martin Weiss (the guy that Dad advocates) is the most correct analyst of all in terms of predictions and what people should do. I signed up for 3 years of his website access so I can pass stuff on to you (http://www.safemoneyreport.com).

Weiss has two categories of investors he addresses; he calls them “Mr. Conservative” and “Mr. Speculator”. The recommendation to “Mr. Conservative” (which also applies to “Mr. Speculator") is

1. Get out of ALL stocks, except select gold mining stocks
2. Get out of any bond funds that deal with junk bonds
3. Get rid of “any unnecessary real estate”
4. Buy U.S. Treasury securities (short-term treasury bills, medium-term treasury notes, long-term treasury bonds)
5. Verify that the bank holding your bank account is solid.

I can add to that, don’t buy anything big right now (cars, etc), you may later be able to buy it pennies on the dollar.

Weiss also has “Mr. Speculator”. Here Weiss recommends a variety of ways of making HUGE profits on the expected crash.  These methods fall into the following categories:

1. PUT options on individual stocks
2. PUT options on stock indices futures (LEAPS etc)
3. Reverse Index Mutual Funds (Rydex, etc)
4. Shorting EMINI futures.

Personally, I still have some gold mining stocks but I have cashed out a lot of it. It went up so high that I only sold about ¼ of it and I still doubled my money in ALL of it (I was using per-diem I got in UAE (don’t tell Raytheon)). I plan to let the rest ride. The reason I like gold is that it can do well in BOTH severe inflation and depression. During the ‘29-’32 depression some big gold stocks quadrupled (e.g. Homestead Mining). However, gold does best in inflation. One way governments try to avert economic collapse is to madly print money. However, this causes the dollars you have in hand (and in savings/money markets) to lose value. It is like a secret tax. 

There are a lot of indications that the US government is madly printing money (increasing the money supply) as we speak! Whatever bad happens, massive inflation or depression, gold does well in both environments. At the very least gold is a HEDGE, insurance if you will, against a highly probable economic problem. The common thought is that in a depression, “cash is king”. But that is only if the cash is solid. There are indications that the US dollar is extremely overvalued and may possibly fall at least 30% (according to George Soros). Foreign investors have piled into the US dollar for the last 5 years because they were made to believe our economy was the world’s strongest.  It is now being revealed that much of that apparent strength was the result of massive increases in the money supply for the last 5 years. Already the US dollar had some major drops in the last 2 months and it looks like both the US and Japan may be madly trying to keep it afloat. However, historically, artificial controls on markets ultimately fail. The market perceives that if something is being helped, it probably NEEDS the help.

It may be “cash is king” will be true, but the cash would have to be gold or gold based. I don’t know a lot about US treasuries so you may want to ask someone else about that. I CAN help you with analyzing how solid you bank and/or investment company is. Just tell me the name and I will check it on the Weiss ratings list.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Here's One for Kurt

03/16/2009

I miss Kurt tremendously and his loss makes me sad.  But one thing I’ll always remember and be thankful for about Kurt was his great sense of humor.  He could find humor in the silliest circumstances or even with the most serious of things.  His favorite jokes involved a play on words or some type of “pun”.  And he sure did have a great laugh.

So in remembrance of Kurt on this solemn anniversary and with appreciation of his humor and Norwegian heritage, here is a silly joke he would have loved.

I Love you Bro,
Greg

WHY ST. PATRICK’S DAY IS CELEBRATED EACH YEAR IN AMERICA

The real reason the Irish celebrate St.  Patrick’s Day is because this is when St. Patrick drove the Norwegians out of Ireland.

It seems that some centuries ago, many Norwegians came to Ireland to escape the bitterness of the Norwegian winter. Ireland was having a famine at the time, and food was scarce.  The Norwegians were eating almost all the fish caught in the area, leaving the Irish with nothing to eat but potatoes. St. Patrick, taking matters into his own hands, as most Irishmen do, decided the Norwegians had to go. Secretly, he organized the Irish IRATRION (Irish Republican Army to Rid Ireland of Norwegians). Irish members of IRATRION passed a law in Ireland that
prohibited merchants from selling ice boxes or ice to the Norwegians, in hopes that their fish would spoil. This would force the Norwegians to flee to a colder climate where their fish would keep.

Well, the fish spoiled, all right, but the Norwegians, as every one knows today, thrive on spoiled fish.  So, faced with failure, the desperate Irishmen sneaked into the Norwegian fish storage caves in the dead of night and sprinkled the rotten fish with lye, hoping to poison the Norwegian invaders.

But, as everyone knows, the Norwegians thought this only added to the flavor of the fish, and they liked it so much they decided to call it “lutefisk”, which is Norwegian for “luscious fish”.

Matters became even worse for the Irishmen when the Norwegians started taking over the Irish potato crop and making something called “lefse”. Poor St. Patrick was at his wit’s end, and finally on March 17th, he blew his top and told all the Norwegians to “GO TO HELL”.

So they all got in their boats and emigrated to Minnesota or Wisconsin ---- the only other paradise on earth where smelly fish, old potatoes and plenty of cold weather can be found in abundance.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Remembering Kurt

03/14/2009

This Monday will be the four year since Kurt’s tragic accident. I think of him every day but especially on the 16th of March. I will never pretend to understand why this happened and will never stop missing him, but throughout it all I (and hopefully the readers of Kurt’s memorial website) will not lose hope for good things to happen. When bad things happen it is really important not to let them tarnish or taint one’s perspective on life. Kurt, I know, would have wanted us to keep our faith, trust God, and look forward with optimism.

As always, I bring tulips and spring flowers to his grave on this day. I find myself reminiscing looking at pictures, reading post-cards & letters he sent, touching all the things he had brought back from far-away places, and of course every time I go to his memorial web-site.

This is my first entry to the website. I wanted to renew it in order to renew memories about Kurt:

Kurt was my confidante, ally, friend, brother and wonderful Uncle to my two sons.  He was that and more, touching more lives than I will ever know. He made all people feel welcome in his life. Even if he wasn’t my brother, I truly believe the world is a better place because of him and the “gifts” he shared. He was gentle, understanding and very easy to talk to. His vast knowledge and intelligence always gave his advice credibility. His humor made you want to come back for more. His stories, however fantastic, were true. He had the integrity of a saint and loyalty some would never find in their lifetime. He helped me through some difficult times, I could always trust Kurt and felt I could tell him anything and it wouldn’t go any further. I miss him. I love him…..
He was our Indiana Jones. He loved adventure and adventure loved him. From traveling the world to trying new “dishes”, Kurt lived life to the fullest.

Many of us envy this lifestyle because we too want a full life with all the extras, yet we are too cautious. It takes courage to know what you want and go after it.  He knew what he wanted and persevered to get it. Goal driven, yet patient. He could get depressed, yet seemed to always muster up the courage to go on and finish what he started.

I am blessed with several painting he painted too. He and I shared a love for art. For my birthday one year he painted a beautiful seascape which I will treasure forever. He had the amassing ability to be artistic, yet have an engineering/computer science career. Time and time again, I witnessed his competence using these opposite perspectives/skills.

Spencer and Preston had a special relationship with him too. They adored him and always lit up when he called or came for a visit. He would send them postcards from around the world with interesting stories as well as toys unique to the countries he toured. Uncle Kurt would tuck them in at bedtime when he visited us and talk for hours about his experiences or just tell the boys stories he made up. They will miss those stories and the stories he could have told them. His tenderness with children and animals only hinted at his true nature. He was a wonderful role model to our boys and may his teachings and love live in their minds forever.  I only wish his other nephews could have known him too. But he would always ask about Derek and Geoffrey and I know Uncle Kurt loved them. 

God Bless you Kurt…..you are and will be missed terribly. 
Love Always, Your Sister Lucy

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

He maybe gone, but he's not forgotten!

02/04/2009

I really just stopped by because I was thinking about Kurt.  There have been many times lately when I’ve thought yeah, this would be a time we’d have Kurt over… /sigh

Lucy, Greg and the rest of the family… I pray all is going well with you and that you have managed to keep some fond memories of Kurt.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Cut to the Quick

03/21/2008

It’s been many years since I last caught-up with Kurt.  I think it was around 1994.

I was always so proud of Kurt. And, always so thankful for knowing him, and his humble and also matter-of-fact curiosity, generosity, and larger-than-life demeanor. 

I’ll also never forget his lists.  Plebe year he seemed to have a list for everything, even his morning wake-up regimen (Wake-up, turn off alarm, get out of bed, stand on both feet,...).  As one of his roommates, we probably teased him more than we ought to have about those lists, but that never seemed to phase him. It was like water off his back.  I’ll also never forget our ingenious attempts to study past lights-out.  I’m not sure which was more fun, doing it, or our benignly blithe, geeky multi-factor, root-cause analyses of successes and failures.

After Annapolis, I came out to Seattle for Craig Hardin’s wedding. Kurt and Craig were (the) 2 Seattle-ites in the Class of 1982, and trips back to their “motherland” seemed always to be a well-coordinated event between these 2.  But they were also good friends to each other the rest of the year.  I don’t recall when or the circumstances around Kurt’s 1st introducing us, but I do recall how thoroughly I enjoyed the week I spent with Kurt, his family, as well as Craig, his family, and the rest of the bridal party.  Besides, I got to see these 2 back “in their element.” What a blast.  And, I’ll never forget Kurt’s parents warning me several times that week that “Its not always such beautiful weather here in Seattle.  You’re lucky, maybe too lucky.” The gracious welcome of that week has remained a thanksgiving of mine throughout the years.

Kurt and I kept in touch while I was stationed on a ship out of Japan, again while I was stuck off the coast of Iran-Iraq, and made our plans for our 1st “synch-ups” while I was in the shipyards (on another ship) in Philly.  I’d just gotten orders for a shore billet (back in San Diego). I think we held-3-4 of these “synch-up” meetings between the late 1980’s and 1994. 

Each time we’d catch up on each other.  1993-94 was a little of a rough spot for me.  My 1st post-Navy job had just been eliminated (downsized with lots of corporate politics involved), and I needed to figure out what I would do with myself.  My social (relationship) life was also in a shake up.  Kurt reminded me of my potential and encouraged me to “go for it,” seconding my plans to go back to college and study Classical languages and cultures.

And each time we synch’d-up, Kurt would introduce a new restaurant in the Long Beach, Redondo Beach or even Santa Monica beach area.  This was an aspect of Kurt, as a man, that he seemed to develop and fine-hone.  While we were at Annapolis, Kurt was renowned for how he enjoyed chow-hall food. Now, as man, Kurt had stepped it up.  Every one of the restaurants we ate at prepared “home” food, but each also did it so well that it wasn’t merely “good eats.”

2 more thoughts for now, and then I’ll close…
- As his roommate, Kurt taught me how to “primal vent.” It’s not a scream or a shriek; that’s too shrill.  Nor a grunt or growl; that’s too contrived.  It’s also not a gasp or a sigh; they are both too resigned if not defeated.  And, although it may be in angst, it could also quite eloquently express other emotions.  I use to aliken it to sudden “groan too deep for words”—what St. Paul called “prayer of the Holy Spirit.” Yep, an earthy, deep primal venting.  Whenever I let one of these out, I think of and thank Kurt.  ...Even if my beloved wonders what the heck.
- The other thought I have is total disbelief and the title of this posting.  I really have a hard time believing Kurt, with his huge personality and his utter soul has “left the building,” and done so so early and quietly.  And, because of his magnitude and depth, it cuts me to the quick.

Monday, November 27, 2006

I'm Thankful Kurt was my brother

11/27/2006

Today is Kurt’s 48th birthday.  And although I miss him now and I wish he were here with us, I am tremendously thankful he was with me for so many years.  I only wish....  we were closer than we were; that I did more for him than I did; that I was his chosen friend rather than his brother. He couldn’t choose his brother, but I hope I was the brother he would choose. I wish many things.

I’m posting some pictures of his redwood tree, taken during my visit earlier this year.  Kurt would catch every chance to visit the redwoods and look up toward the sky beyond them.  They were his cathedral he said. He was all about majesty and cathedrals.

I was surprised when I had the opportunity to walk around his tree and really look at it from every angle.  It is the home to so many things.  I was particularly struck by the spider webs forming tiers like a high rise up the backside of the tree as far as the eye can see. A spider sky rise; each floor is a penthouse.  My picture can’t do justice. 

One of my sister’s favorite stories about Kurt involves a spider. Perhaps the spiders on his tree know the story of a certain Kurt and a certain spider in a certain house near Seattle. In cleaning her house Lucy encountered the louse (the arachnid in question); unexpected; unwanted; doomed without question.  Each leg of eight lives might have otherwise been plied to a vacuum’s inside were it not for the insistence of Kurt.  He showed the spider outside, thus saving its hide, and insisted my sister reflect its existence.

He sure was a great guy to talk to.  I’d like to talk with him now.

Monday, April 03, 2006

A Kurtism

04/03/2006

On Wednesday April 5, 2006 , at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning,

the time and date will be 01:02:03 - 04/05/06.

Friday, March 31, 2006

A great friend

03/31/2006

It has been a year since I have learned of Kurt’s tragic death. Having been his roomate at the US Naval Academy for 2 years, Kurt and I along with Steve Johnson have kept in close contact over the past 25 years. Having a reunion every 1-2 years was something we looked forward to. Whether it was hiking Yosemite, water skiing Lake Mead in Las Vegas, Golfing at Pebble Beach, or skiing at Banf Canada, we always had a blast and wished that maybe we should have done it more often.  Kurt always went for the gusto,and I always admired that he was quite the world traveler, suba diving the barrier reef… or running up Napali Coast in Kauai before catching a flight.
Kurt was truely the “American Ambassador” to the world because he treated everyone with respect and utmost consideration. People who would meet him in San Diego would be immediately touched by his generosity and kinderd spirit. I am sure around the world… he embodified the virtues of what a true American represented.
I miss him dearly even after a year since his death and hope that we can somehow carry on his spirit of kindness, consideration and compassion as we encounter people that we meet.
I Love your Kurt

Your Friend
Allan Camaisa

Friday, March 17, 2006

One Year Ago.....

03/17/2006

Lately, I have been listening a lot to a CD by Trisha Yearwood called Jasper County. The first song is: Who Invented The Wheel. The lyrics remind me of Kurt and my feelings surrounding the whole ordeal. If you have the chance, buy a copy.

Today I brought purple and white tulips to Kurt’s grave. It’s been one year since Kurt’s death and to be honest with you, I don’t feel any differently. The shock has worn off, but the surreal and off-balance feel of unexpected death still lingers. Grief is a strange shadow I don’t wish on anyone. In time we will all past through this thing called grief, it just takes time.

There seems to be a paradox playing out here too. Meaning, I feel better as more time passes, yet at the same time I feel worse after more time has passed....since each day is a reminder of more time has elapse since I last saw Kurt.

The end of this month our family will be hosting a gathering in Bellevue, WA in honor of Kurt. Please contact me if you would like more information on this. Everyone will get an embroidered napkin with the following saying:

“We are not Human Beings having spiritual experiences,
We are Spiritual Beings having human experiences.”
….and, as Kurt would have said: “That’s classic!”

Friends & Family Gathering on March 31, 2006
In Honor of Kurt S. Harms
(November 28, 1958 – March 16, 2005)

We were lucky enough to find an Italian restaurant which graciously agreed to prepare the dish which Kurt had as his last meal. In addition, there will be choices of steak and fish.

Kurt certainly was gifted and full of fun; a wonderful spirit. People gravitated to him and he left a lasting impression. What a pleasure to have know him! And, I know he must be in Heaven if there is such a place. Knowing this brings comfort and the hurt becomes less sharp.

God Bless You, Kurt.
Your Sister, Lucy

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Love Hope and Prayers to Kurt, friends and family!

03/12/2006

It’s been almost a year since dad came home from work and said he had bad news, he looked like he had been crying and the last thing I expected was that Kurt had died. Kurt was like an uncle to my sisters and I, he was always supportive of anything we did and always looking out for our safety. When he died I felt like I lost the support that he gave me when I danced, we were struggling with leadership issues and so with him leaving us so suddenly my family and I left the dance group as suddenly as Kurt left. Nobody expected us to leave just like nobody expected Kurt to of all things die in a car accident. Dancing was something I did where I felt beautiful and I could feel graceful gliding across the floor. You see I’m known for tripping over cords and running into low objects (coffee tables are an example). Having left the dance group I was left with not one but two empty spots because even though Kurt was gone from this earth I really know he’s looking down at us and giving everyone the same love and support he gave us while he was here where we could see him, I didn’t open up to let that love in. My second empty spot was me not performing with the dance group, not being able to dance, laugh, and love with friends. So when I realized that I hadn’t lost Kurt really and that I needed to dance at least to do it for Kurt in memory of him. I know it’s almost a year from when he died but if you are going through the same thing as I did (loosing Kurt left you without support and you stopped doing what you loved) please open your hearts to his love it feels different like when you give a new friend a hug but it’s Kurt we just can’t see or feel him physically. And if anyone looses a friend just a close as Kurt was to a lot of us please do the same you never lose that person totally you still always have their love and support.
Love, Hope and Prayers,
Christina Moreland (daughter of Marion and Dana Moreland)

Thursday, February 09, 2006

In Memories of Kurt - from a friend at Thaicom

02/09/2006

Through business relationship with Hughes (now Boeing) and SS/L, it is my honor to have met and become friend of both of the Harms brothers, Greg and Kurt.  I just recently learned from Greg of the sudden departure of Kurt which saddened me.  As I looked through the photo gallery in his memorial, I discovered a picture taken in August 1993 with Kurt teaching a group of would-be satellite engineers / orbital analyst at Thaicom (Shin Satellite Plc).  I had a rush of memories and flashbacks of our time back in those days as I was among those would-be satellite engineer trying to gain as much knowledge as possible to prepare for the launch and the operation of our first communications satellite for Thailand, Thaicom-1.

I would think that Kurt would be pleased to know that Thaicom-1 satellite, the robust HS-376 satellite, is still working well and it will be a few more years before we decommission it.  Kurt would also be pleased to know that his students, although only few remaining with Shin Satellite, are still grateful for his contribution to Thaicom-1 program.  Farewell to a good friend…and a good teacher!

Paiboon

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Kurt's Gathering; March 31, 2006

02/07/2006

The Kurt Harms’ Gathering

Dear Friends & Family,

Please join us in remembrance of Kurt S. Harms on Friday March 31, 2006.  We welcome you to participate with your thoughts or your presence as we gather in his memory. 

If you cannot physically attend dinner with us, please share a brief thought or prayer for Kurt as we toast him at exactly 7:00 pm sharp, PST.  By joining our remembrances of Kurt, may we keep his spirit alive.  He would most certainly smile upon us.

Where: Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant Bellevue, WA
When: 6:30pm March 31, 2006
Given By:  Kurt’s Loving Family
RSVP: Lucy at or (425) 885-4918
Hotel Reservations: If you need ideas, please let us know.

Hope you can make it… we would love to see you!
And please feel free to post pictures or more stories to his website: http://kurtharms.com

P.S. As you know, in honor of Kurt, we applied all of your Save The Redwood League donations to an Honor Redwood Tree in Kurt’s name. The tree we selected is beautiful and Kurt would certainly be pleased. His tree is located at Butano State Park, CA . The best campsites around this tree are: 26, 28 and 31. If you ever wish to camp in a beautiful Redwood grove, his is a wonderful location next to these sites.

Reservations at:
www/Parks.CA.Gov
Butano State Park (650) 879-2040

Sunday, August 21, 2005

A Long, Long Time Ago

08/21/2005

Kurt Harms’ grandfather, Art Jentoft, and my grandfather, Phil Jentoft, were brothers.  Though we saw Uncle Art and Aunt Jenny frequently enough, Kurt, Greg and Lucy we’d met maybe half a dozen times most over they years.

Despite the fact that we seldom saw the Harms, we got frequent updates via our grandmother, Georgie Jentoft, and of course, the annual Jentoft Christmas newsletter.

Oddly enough, when I saw Kurt’s photograph in the Seattle newpaper and learned of his tragic accident, I had to read the text to be sure the person matched the name.  The photograph was of a man, not the young boy and teenager I had last seen.  In fact, the Navy photograph of Kurt at the periscope is the Kurt I immediately recognized.

The distance created by geography and experience are no match for the bond of family and common history.  Our family and this world have lost a bona fide appreciative participant in the journey of life.  Best wishes in this next adventure, Kurt.

Jay Jentoft

Thursday, August 18, 2005

A Memory of Kurt

08/18/2005

We met Kurt Harms, a member of our extended family, only once. In November of 2002, Greg and Dawn invited us to share an evening in their home with Arthur and Joan Jentoft who were visiting them from the East Coast. It was a memorable evening. We enjoyed seeing Joan and Arthur again after so many years. We met Greg and his lovely family for the first time - and we met Kurt. We were captivated by Kurt’s friendly and earnest manner. He seemed to be totally engaged with his life and was
obviously enjoying all of it. He told us about his professional activities as well as associated adventures. His ascent of Mt. Fuji, alone at night, and then repeated again the next morning with a host of
other climbers, demonstrated his confidence and initiative. He had recently returned from Abu Dhabi and brought small gifts from that exotic place. We were eager to hear more about his adventures, but there was not time for it that evening. Before we parted company Kurt told us that he occasionally traveled between Sunnyvale and the Seattle area and would like to stop by on his way sometime to visit us at our home. We happily invited him to do so, but, with his busy life that so
often took him to far corners of the world, the opportunity never came.

We were dismayed and saddened to learn of Kurt’s untimely death and deeply regret the loss of this charismatic young man.

by:  Ralph and Betty Jentoft
(Ralph is a cousin to Kurt’s Uncle Art)

Saturday, August 06, 2005

My Hero

08/06/2005

My hero is my Uncle Kurt. He is my hero for lots of reasons. He is hilarious, smart and strong. I’m going to tell you why he is all of those things.

First, he is hilarious. He was hilarious because he has the funniest jokes. He also laughed at any joke I told him too or said: “That’s classic!” to something he really liked. He knew a lot of funny stories too. Like, well, it would take too long if I told you because he loved to talk.

Next, he was very smart and I respected that. He was great at math and arithmetic. And, he could spell humongous words like ‘googleplex’! He traveled to different countries on business because his company knew he was smart. He learned different customs and words from the countries he travelled to.

Lastly, he was so strong. He was a great skier too. Once we were sking together with Spencer and Preston and he helped me a lot! I had trouble getting down the hill so he almost carried me down every time. Also, he was a terrific swimmer because he was so strong and fast.

At his funeral we were told by his company that he saved many people fighting for our country so he really was a hero!  He worked on a special program that told you where the bad guys were.

So, now you know why Uncle Kurt was my hero. Go find a hero or go become one yourself like Uncle Kurt.

by: Desi McIntyre (age 10)
(good friend of the Nesse family)