MOSS GROVE

What's The Bright Idea?

2011-03-04T20:21:00.000-08:00

I like experimenting with my camera in an attempt to get the best Straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) shots I can. A lot of my motivation behind pursuing good SOOC pictures is to avoid so much time editing them to my satisfaction. Unfortunately my pictures almost always require at least a little bit of editing. I do have to say though, when time is available for it, editing pictures is a fun way to experiment with your creativity.

Spending many hours 'gimping' my pictures in not uncommon. When that much time is invested in creating a visual 'masterpiece' (granted "eye of the beholder"), nothing blows the wind out of your sail like finding out bad your picture looks on another computer.

Case in point, below are some pictures I edited to have a visually-pleasing contrast to brightness ratio...not too bright, not too dark and not too washed out. I originally edited the pictures on my LCD laptop screen.

Feeling pretty satisfied with how the pictures looked, I was disappointed when I saw them on my CRT desktop monitor.

So I decided to edit them on my CRT monitor, compare them side by side.

Which edit looks better on your screen and what type of screen do you have?

If the pictures look so much different of different computers, how can I be sure they look the same when I get them printed on photo paper? My wallet certainly isn't willing to find out the answer.

CRT monitors, my preference, probably have a more consistent picture, but are often dark. LCD screens are nice and bright; maybe even too bright causing whites to glare and textures to disappear--even if they are high definition screens. One of my pet peeves with LCD monitors is that their picture quality varies depending on one's view-angle to the screen.

So here is the picture editor's dilemma: how can you guarantee a good-looking picture on various viewer's computer screens? More importantly, how can you know your edits will look good when the picture is developed?

I'm not sure there is a guarantee, but I have learned a few tricks.

1. Trust the photo-editing software's 'judgment' of a good edit as a reference point. More than likely your picture-editing software has buttons that automatically balance the contrast/brightness and colors. I also use the histogram to help me know how to trim the brightness and the contrast. Sometimes I use Gimp's Levels eye-droppers to make whites white or grays gray. Unfortunately, relying on the software is no guarantee you will have a good-looking picture. Relying solely on the software can also dampen creativity. Although I've learned to trust the software, I only use it as a reference point--not an end-all solution.

2. Calibrate your monitor's contrast, brightness and color to a standard reference. Many Disney and other DVDs contain a monitor optimization tool in their setup menu. This tools walks you through a step by step process to change your TV and monitor settings to optimize the picture quality. Especially for LCD screens you may need to use the advanced display settings to get a decent configuration.

I recently found a free software program, Calibrize (http://www.calibrize.com/), that walks you through a screen configuration wizard then saves the settings allowing you to simply click a button re-optimize your configuration. This program recommends recalibrating your monitor every two weeks. I am planning to recalibrate every time I edit pictures on my laptop to compensate for whatever angle it has when I open it up for that session. Some non-free software, to justify a consumer's financial sacrifice, may do a better job of optimizing your screen. In any case, free or not, I strongly recommend researching a product before investing in it.

3. Purchase a monitor built to provide true color and light balance. Using one of these screens is probably the closest thing you will get to a guarantee that what you see on the screen will also come out on a print. Of course these are priced for professionals who see it as a necessary investment.

Maybe you have some tricks you've learned to make sure your pictures look great on a wide variety of monitors and, for certain, look good after printing.

Stationary Motion Picture

2011-01-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

In light of the Cinematography merit badge I've been doing with the Scouts I decided to look at the Indiana Jones and the Shark Treasure story the kids and I did.

Basically, the kids created the scenes with their Legos and told me the story element; I took the pictures and tried to tie the story together in a PowerPoint presentation. Then I used AuthorPOINT Lite (the free version) to turn it into a web presentation. It was pretty fun.

While reviewing the story, I could identify a few cinematography techniques we used to tell the story. Can you identify some of them?

Indiana Jones and the Shark Treasure

I strongly recommend giving this method of story-telling a shot. Its fun to harness the creativity of your kids while practicing photography and movie-making techniques.

Cinematography Test and Follow-up

2010-12-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here is the test we took for the Cinematography Merit Badge:

1. What is Visual Story Telling

2. What is the Cinematographer's Role in the Movie-making Process?

3. Draw a diagram illustrating four-point lighting
– Bonus: label the light sources

4. What is the 180-axis rule?

5. Draw a diagram of a Zoom lens

6. Draw a simple picture illustrating proper use of the Rule of thirds.

7. Describe four framing techniques.

8. Describe four motion techniques.

9. How does a wide angle lens differ from a telephoto lens?

10. How does rhythm affect a movie?

11. What role does viewer perspective play in movie-making?

12. How does a treatment differ from a script?

13. Why is Story Boarding used in Cinematography?

14. Label the functions of a tripod. (Official names of parts are not required.)

Here is a list of things to do to finish the Merit Badge:

Treatment & Story Board

Shoot a Short Film
Demonstrating techniques discussed in class including proper use of:
– Tripod, hand-held, angle, panning, framing, and lighting

Identify Three Cinematography Careers (hint: Cinematographer, or Director of Photography, is an actual career title, search for motion picture careers that do work with cameras or lighting or other jobs related to camera-work. You might try looking at the Credits of a movie for ideas. Also, you can search the Career Guide to Industries: http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/)
– Pick one and explain education, training and experience needed.
– Why might this career be interesting to you?

Cinematography

2010-12-03T00:06:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to start helping our local Scout Troop earn the Cinematography Merit Badge. I'm having a lot of fun.

For the Scouts, here is a sample treatment, Story board and the video to go with it.

Treatment:

Puzzled

The figure of a young boy sits in a spacious room with his back to the audience. Out of all the activities a young boy could do in the room, he sits still. Drawing closer the boy appears to be focused, with his face down, on something on a small table. Coming in close finally reveals the boy looking earnestly at puzzle pieces scattered about the table.

The boy's face reveals his tight, serious concentration as he tests different puzzle pieces to find a fit. Sometimes the fit, but often times they don't fit. A bit of anxiety can be seen on the boys face with every failed match.

The boy's countenance changes as the pieces start coming together. He appears to be filled with hope and encouragement. Perhaps he speeds up his pace as each successful puzzle match feeds his motivation. Finally the puzzle is complete, almost glistening in the brilliance of success! The boy looks up with a look of humble satisfaction on his face.

Story Board:

Completed Video: (note: this video was filmed using a point-and-shoot camera that could only shoot 20 seconds of low-quality video at a time...goes to show you don't need fancy equipment to tell a visual story. In fact the camera didn't record sound. On my first sound video, I recorded the sound using a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with a sound recorder and matched the sound to the video. Now cell phones can do both...with better quality.)

The RAW Deal

2010-05-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Most digital SLR cameras record their pictures a jpeg (.jpg) images. However the language the camera uses to understand the image it sees before it translates it to jpeg is called the RAW data. There are differing opinions (among both professional and non-professional photographers) about whether or not it is better to shoot RAW or let the camera just translate it directly to jpeg or other common picture formats.

RAW contains a lot of information about the image so it consumes a lot of file space on the memory card and on the computer. RAW may also require special software and/or codecs so you computer can actually read the picture information. (I use the free UFRaw in conjunction with Gimp.) However, since RAW is how the camera sees the image information, it arguably provides more accurate images. Editing RAW images may also retain its information quality. Before you share RAW images, you have to translate them to jpeg or another format so others can view them. RAW is ideal for pictures to which you are planning to do some sincere quality editing.

Jpeg is a compressed picture format. As such a storage card can hold more pictures (with my Nikon D40, the highest quality .jpg photo is half the size of the RAW data). Conveniently, all computers can already read and edit jpeg files. However, since the jpeg is a translation of the camera information compressed into a smaller file, reduction in quality and loss of picture information may exist. Each time you edit jpeg the quality of the picture degrades. Jpeg format is great for everyday sharing of pictures and if your not really picky about the little intricacies of how the photo looks.

I used to be biased towards jpeg, but I've been playing with RAW a little bit more lately. I'm still torn on which one I like better. The jpegs come out great...and with some minor editing can look pretty nice. However I like the more natural color quality in the RAW images with which I've played. In my experience there editing raw is a little more labor intensive than the pre-adjusted jpeg images, but that is kind of the point with the RAW images. I also notice that RAW reveals a lot more detail and texture than the jpeg translations and its it easier to correct over and underexposed pictures in RAW.

I think the only way to tell which one you like better is to try them both. Below you can see a jpeg simple edit compared to a RAW (Nikon NEF) simple edit to see what you think. (Click the picture if you want to see more detail.)

Jpeg

RAW

Jpeg

RAW

Jpeg

RAW

Jpeg

RAW

But don't just use my experience...find out for yourself.

Fleeing The Tsunami

2010-04-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

We were enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon at home when suddenly we were startled by a heart-stopping disruption. All of us were thrust to the ground and things started flying off of the shelves and walls.

When the reality hit us that we were experiencing a violent earthquake, we all dropped, covered and protected ourselves as best we could. I grabbed baby B, held her close and tried to protect her.

When the shaking stopped, we caught our breath again and made sure everyone was alright. J hurt his arm pretty badly which required some quick first aid and T could barely walk on his right food, but fortunately most of us only sustained a few cuts and bruises.

Our house was in shambles with furniture, books/papers, videos, toys, roof tiles, glass, wood splinters and fallen boards randomly scattered all over the place. We had to watch where we were stepping to make sure we didn't get hurt even more.

Now adrenaline was pumping, we were still in shock and the kids were scared ...I was too. However, we couldn't rest. Not only did we know there might be some aftershocks just as violent, we knew we only had 25-35 minutes to get out of the Tsunami Zone in which we lived...and there would be no time to wait for local authorities to tell us whether or not a Tsunami was coming.

We couldn't just drive to higher ground as the roads were all ripped up from the earthquake and if they weren't, they were blocked by panicked people trying to get out of the danger zone. We have to walk.

Fortunately we were prepared with 72-hour kit backpacks for each of us. We dug the backpacks out of the rubble and started out on our 1.1 mile walk to our local Tsunami meeting place.

This happened to be one of those rare times that the weather was dry here in the Pacific Northwest and it was a warmer spring day. I can't imagine how much more challenging it would have been if it was icy cold and rainy....or rainy, cold and stormy with heavy winds. Regardless of the weather, we had to carry on to outrun the two or three story wall of water that would potential rise out of the little river across the street and crawl graspingly up our street.

The path to the Tsunami meeting place rises up gradually with a few steeper 'steps' along the way. Our goal is to get to the first 'step' as fast as we can and then continue steadily to up to the second step and so on until we reach the meeting place.

We knew, especially with the kids' endurance and T not able to walk well on his foot, we wouldn't be able to make it all the way to the meeting place before the wave hit, but we did know the higher we were, the less impact the wave would have if it did outrun us.

We were already about 10 minutes behind schedule, just from trying to dig out the life-supporting emergency backpacks.

We continued forward, pressing on, fueled by adrenaline, heightened senses and amplified awareness as we pursued our goal towards each 'step' of added safety. As we continued, we listened anxiously for the roar of the destructive wave as a timing guide and tried to not lose ground from looking back at what might be nipping at our heels.

On the way we looked around for places on which to hang on in case we did get inundated by the attacking wave. Hopefully we could hold our position until the wave rolled over us and speedily receded. We knew we would have to hold on as tight as possible against the pressure of the coming wave and the suction of the receding wave. We were forecasting what types of debris to avoid if that situation occured.

We made it to the first 'step' in a little about seven minutes and the second 'step' was within site. With each step we were at a safer height than the previous.

Soon we could hear the faint rumble of the Tsunami tearing down Main street. The sound alone motivated us and fed the adrenaline we needed to make the backpacks lighter and our legs less painful.

Not quite to the second 'step' we could see the rush of water crawling up the shallow hill at an amazing speed...yet at the same time it seemed like slow motion. Fear engulfed us and our legs almost 'rubberized' by the overwhelming terror that overcame us. When we realized the wave was approaching faster than we could out run it, we gathered and held each other tight to brace for impact.

Gratefully we were high enough up the hill that the wave, pushed up the hill only by its momentum, was only a foot deep. Yet the impact of the wave breaking against the back of my legs and exploding around us almost made me loose my balance. The kids were crying and screaming in panic and fear...we held our ground until the water crawled back down the hill.

We were startled, scared, cold and wet, but we were safe! We couldn't hold back our tearful emotions, but we were encompassed by a feeling of relief that we survived the Tsunami!

After coming back to our senses and making sure everyone was alright, we regrouped and carried on up the hill towards the meeting place.

We were anxious about our home and how it faired through the ordeal, but we knew there was a possibility of more waves. We also knew we would be able to get help and instruction from others and local authorities at the meeting location so we continued towards our goal.

The second half of the mile-long journey seemed to drag. The adrenaline rush receded like the wave and reality was starting to weigh us down a little bit. But we took this time, knowing we were safe, to try to relax a little and take it easy. There was no need to unwisely rush to the meeting place.

We finally made it to the Tsunami meeting place, found a place to settle and prepared to create a secure and comforting environment. We changed into some dry clothes, pulled out a snack and drank some water. Some of the kids pulled out their books and started reading to help calm their shaken minds.

We were safe...and we were together! It was a blessing that I wasn't at work at the time of the emergency and that the kids were home with us. But even if the scenario had been different, we each knew before hand what we were to do.

________________________________

Although the above experience was fictional, those were some of the thoughts and discussions our family had as we held a family Earthquake/Tsunami drill this past Sunday. We practiced dropping, covering and protecting ourselves in a pretend Earthquake. We all put on our 72-hour kit backpacks and walked 1.1 miles to the Tsunami meeting place. We talked about what we would do in certain situations. It was a great role play to help us be prepared in case we had to live the scenario for real. There is comfort in being prepared.

This Tsunami drill also helped us realize a few holes in our preparations. But now we can fill those holes before a real situation occurs. We do more drills and continue to progress towards better preparation. Hopefully we won't need to experience these scenarios, but if we do, we will be a little more prepared. Besides, it makes for a good opportunity to work together and enjoy each other as a family.

Winter Break

2010-01-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

Had a wonderful break in the weather for a day so we decided to visit the South Jetty.
(Click the picture for a closer view.)

A ship approaches the entrance to the Columbia River

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse looking across the mouth of the Columbia River.

Two more ships skirting the horizon.

Watching, listening, and feeling the giant waves crash against the Jetty renews your respect for the power and beauty of the Ocean.

Reminded of just how incredibly beautiful God's Terrestrial creations are when you throw in a setting sun.

Though the sun fades to sleep, the ocean, wild yet orderly, remains restless under watch of a protective moon (directly above the camera).

Remembering 9/11's Affect

2009-09-11T19:29:00.000-07:00

This video recap of the moments of 9/11 put things back into perspective for me. Since 9/11 I've been reluctant to watch video of the event because it was such a horrible event, but after eight years, I felt it worth the risk to remember the im...pact it had on me--not the dismay that human beings could actually get to a point of intentionally trying to hurt so many people in such well-thought-out malice, rather to remember how fragile life is and how important all people are and to be motivated by the many heroes who survived and died helping others and experiences such an event that no one would ever imagine going through....and to have compassion and empathy for all those forever changed by the experience.

Creatures From Our Garden

2009-08-23T14:30:00.001-07:00

I opened up a pumpkin flower and to my surprise, peering at me from a tiny thing were two great big eyes.

This Cabbage Butterfly weary from play, found rest on a wide, green, corn-leaf runway.

This butterfly mommy looks playful and fun, but unfortunately our cabbage had no where to run.

With a view of the world from this corn up high, perhaps looking for knights, perched this red dragon fly.

Safe in the garden from danger and strife, this Pacific Chorus Frog sits and ponders life.

Enjoying some sun before having to run.

Quickly fly off while you have time to play! As you can see it's already mid-day!

P.S. --I think these pictures turned out pretty neat...thanks to my wife who performed this great feat.

A Bug's Eye View (photos by C--age 6)

2009-08-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

My six-yr-old son wanted to take some pictures, so I challenged him to take pictures of from a bug's perspective. I prompted him on some ideas, but he took the pictures all by himself. We had a lot of fun together. I thought several of the pictures turned out pretty well:

Some bugs crawl on our back steps.

Some bugs climb up on the fence.

Some bugs climb up trees.

Some bugs crawl through a garden forest. This bug is entering the corn forest.

Some bugs crawl sideways along the back fence.

Some bugs run into scary, poking giants.

Some bugs become suddenly acquainted with the tread on some shoes.

Some bugs just congregate.

Tillamook or Umpqua Ice Cream?

2009-08-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

We threw two of Oregon's own popular Ice Cream brands together, side by side, in a Tupperware coliseum to fend for themselves against a pair of sweets-starved Ice Cream lovers and their unrestrained stainless steel spoons.

The Teams:

In the first corner, the heavy-weight, farmer-owned Tillamook County Creamery Association was formed in 1909 when 10 independent Cheese plants joined forces with each other. Celebrating their 100-year anniversary this year, they continue to produce quality cheese and ice cream products. Tillamook recently won the Ice Cream Sweepstakes award in the 2009 Oregon Dairy Industry's dairy products contest after their Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, and Oregon Strawberry Ice Creams won first place. (www.tillamookcheese.com)

In the second corner, Roseburg-based and family-owned and operated Umpqua Dairy was formed in 1931 when Ormond Feldkamp and Herb Sullivan started producing milk, butter and ice cream and selling it to railroad passengers stopped at the Roseburg Railroad Station. Since then generations of family members have maintained the high-quality standards yielding many awards over the years including 2009 Judges Award for best Strawberry Ice Cream in the nation at the Quality Chekd National Convention, 2008 Judges Award for best Chocolate Ice Cream in the nation at the Quality Chekd National Convention, and Oregon Dairy Industry's Ice Cream Sweepstakes award in 2008. (www.umpquadairy.com)

The Contestants:

Tillamook Cookie Dough vs. Umpqua Cookie Dough

Tillamook Chocolate Peanut Butter vs. Umpqua Chocolate Peanut Butter

Round One: Creaminess

The first indicator of each team's creaminess was revealed when we scooped the ice cream about 10 minutes before consumption began and it began to melt. Tillamook, had a smooth, even glaze compared to the textured surface of the Umpqua. Slipping off the spoon into your mouth, the Tillamook Ice Cream melted consistently with a fluffy, creamy, consistent texture and flavor. Umpqua put up a valiant fight with a smooth melt, however, it lacked the fluffy texture and had a hint of graininess. In round one, Tillamook ice cream puts the 'cream' in 'creamery'.

Round Two: Cookie Dough Flavor

Umpqua had a nice rich, full flavor fitting its packaging description, "A touch of golden brown sugar added to our vanilla ice cream..." Tillamook has a light, natural cookie dough flavor. Although I personally prefer Tillamook's cookie dough flavor, we'll give round two to Umpqua because they include little tiny chocolate chip squares to complete the cookie dough characteristic.

Round Three: Cookie Dough Bits

The cookie dough pieces in the Tillamook ice cream have the consistency of a frozen mini marshmellow and very creamy texture when you bite through them. The flavor of the cookie dough is also very much like homemade cookie dough. Umpqua's cookie dough bits were a bit grainy, as if the sugar grains weren't dissolved into the batter. For leaving the grainy cookie dough bandwagon for its own, unique smooth orchestra, we give round three to Tillamook.

Round Four: Chocolate Flavor

Umpqua had a rich chocolate flavored ice cream. However, it was on the more bitter, chalkier side of the chocolate spectrum for ice cream. Tillamook on the other hand had a sweeter chocolate flavor which, for me, gives Tillamook a sweet victory in Round Four.

Round Five: Peanut Butter

Tillamook's peanut butter ribboning through the chocolate ice cream tasted like natural peanut butter. I liked the stick-to-the -roof-of-your-mouth texture and saltiness of Tillamook's peanut butter. Umpqua's peanut butter ribbons were sweeter than Tillamook's, but still had a natural texture and flavor. In addition to the peanut butter ribbons, Umpqua also had large, thick chunks of peanut butter flavored candy, the consistency of a super-thin chocolate bar. Although the flavor of the peanut butter 'chips' was on the waxy-side for my tastes, it helps Umpqua win round five.

Round Six: Price

At about $.40 less per container, Umpqua wins this round.

The winner: Tillamook Ice Cream

After a strong fight, to mirror the 2009 Oregon Dairy Industries' ice cream contest, Umpqua takes second in this close battle. Tillamook ice cream had the creamiest texture and the best natural flavors in this taste test.

That doesn't mean Umpqua can't make a future come back. In fact in your own showdown, maybe your palette prefers Umpqua.

Both Tillamook and Umpqua are very worthy ice creams from very good local companies with solid Oregon histories.

What's the verdict of your taste challenge?

Through The Hands of Others....

2009-07-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Some of the most powerful stories are the ones told without words.

The music: the lyrics are simple and sweet; with the feel of the arrangement it is very powerful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcPSGJZwHA4

Magnifying Freedom

2009-07-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm convinced the only way to maintain, and maybe even reclaim, true freedom is for each of us, as individuals, to be the best, unselfish, forgiving, caring, loving, [insert admirable quality here] people we can be.

As individuals and society, we often look to other people or organizations (especially government) to solve our problems, give us our 'fair share' of what 'we deserve', or take away the consequences of our own actions. In the end we slowly entrap ourselves into costly (financial or otherwise) commitments and rules from which we can't or won't escape.

On the other hand, the most powerful person in the world is the one who uses their freedom to bless other people. In the first place they control their own actions to not cause problems for others, then they choose to help others with their challenges by willingly sharing their talents and resources with them. After all we are family.

Regardless of how idealistic or impossible it sounds, if every one personally strives to be the best person they can and develop the desire to sincerely want the best for other people, then we will continually make choices that will magnify freedom and help solve social problems far more effectively than social programs or making rules that attempt to force a solution.

It all starts with us exercising the freedom for which our founding father's established protections and the freedom for which many great women and men committed their lives (in life and death) to preserve....choosing to act for ourselves. No sense striving for less than our full potential and seeing the full potential in others.

Start with gratitude for the blessings we have living in this country. Some of the fruits of gratitude are respect and frugality and selflessness...and continues to grow into the desire to help others have the same or better blessings. I'm sure you can think of other fruits of gratitude.

Make your personal commitments now to magnify freedom by being the best person you can be and to bless others. We can start small and continue to improve day to day.

What Animal Is This?

2009-07-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

What animals do you think these are?

Click to find the answer:

Hope: Better Times Will Come

2009-06-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of the greatest messages out there.

We all go through cycles of despair, trial, heart-ache, challenges, or other temptations to give up under the trials. But I know if we keep trying our best with hope of relief, and wade through the depressing times, better times will soon come.

The loving Savior helps bring hope and helps us overcome our challenges with the outcome that we are better when it is over!

2009 Pelican Convention

2009-06-24T00:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not a well-versed in birds...I'm not even sure if I know what they call a bird scientist, but I've grown to really love the variety and often uniqueness of the birds that hangout on the North Oregon Coast.

On Father's Day this past weekend we went to see the sunset at the beach. When we peaked at the large sand dune that borders the beach, we were impressed by a mass of Pelicans. It must have been the 2009 Pelican Convention. I've never seen such a sight...it was amazing.

Anxious to get to the party!

(Click the pictures for an enlarged image)

Usually they caravan in a long line, often flying close to the water.

These pelicans are quite large. I love the shape of their wide wings as they calmly, yet powerfully fly through the air.

Catching up with the latest news. (Its interesting to note that the seagulls sat right behind the massive flock of Pelicans as if they were waiting patiently to pick-up the left-behinds from the party. I was surprised the Pelicans were so nice to the Seagulls, but at the same time the Seagulls were quite respectful of the Pelicans.)

The sunset made a nice backdrop for the Pelican 'dance floor'. There were more Pelicans circling in the air and diving in the water than there were 'wall flowers' waiting on the shore.

First Anniversary of Birth

2009-05-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our daughter celebrated her first Birthday yesterday. It was also the first day of her life that she ever tasted cake!

It was a beautiful sunny day and we played outside.

She loved opening all of the presents...especially the wrapping paper part.

Wide-eyed with all her toys and clothes and stuffed animals.

She likes playing with the flowers in the grass.

A Few Recent Pictures

2009-05-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been in a talkative mood these days, so I thought I'd just say a few thousand words:

Flight Maneuvers

Eye Witness

Make a Wish

Our first somewhat close-ups of a wild Bald Eagle.

Surrounded by Beauty

I love my family.

While Mom's Away, The Boys Play

2009-04-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

My wife went away with baby b for the weekend to spend some time with her mom and sisters. The boys and I decided to camp out in the backyard and have some fun ourselves.

We had fun and plenty of room in our relatively new 3-room tent. There was even room enough for mommy and baby b if they were here. That would have been fun too.

In the morning, I called-in our burn permit and we had a little campfire. We're slowly getting our pile of branches burned down and taking recreational advantage of it when we can. We did have a fire extinguisher nearby per permit rules. (Just in case the Fire Chief reads this. :-) )

We also cooked up some bacon and pancakes on the camp stove. We heated water for Hot Chocolate over the fire. Later we did S'mores.

What did you think about the camp out? C: Good. Fun. And Cool. Amazing. And I don't know why it's amazing. And it was....'wicked cooool'.

What was your favorite part of the camp out? K: Uh...the S'mores and the stuff that we did today.

What did you think of the camp out? Eddie Banana Hands: I Loved it!

What's the most memorable part of the camp out for you? S:

What did you like about the camp out? J: It was fun. We should do it more often.

We had a lot of fun hanging together...just us boys.

What's So Important About Jesus Christ?

2009-04-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Many people celebrate Easter in difference ways. Easter, like many other holidays, has origins in the belief of Jesus Christ. Why are there so many holidays and religions founded on the belief of this one individual who lived for a little more than 30 years, 2000 years ago? Were there not other mighty characters of history deserving of such great attention? What is so important about Jesus Christ?

To understand the significance of Jesus Christ, we first must recognize our own eternal potential: --to experience the fullness of joy (referred to as exaltation or eternal life). The fullness of joy is experienced when (1) we have a perfect physical body inseparable from our spirit (or soul), and (2) we continue to progress through eternity in the presence of our Heavenly Father (God). To live in the presence of our Heavenly Father, we must live by His laws...since He knows what must be done in order to receive the fullness of Joy.

The problem we face here on earth is that it is impossible to achieve the fullness of Joy by ourselves for two reasons. (1) We have imperfect, mortal bodies in which our bodies will separate from our spirit (soul) at death. (2) Our behavior is not perfect--we break the laws of God that allow us to achieve the fullness of joy (called sin). No unclean thing can dwell with God.

Heavenly Father's plan for our salvation required a Savior to help us overcome death and sin. Jesus was appointed to be that Savior and executor of the Plan of Salvation from before the earth was created through to the end.

As the only begotten son of our Heavenly Father (Jesus was born with Mary as His mother and God as His father), Jesus had power over death. Jesus also obeyed all of the laws/commandments of God. His behavior was perfect for he committed no sin.

Justice requires punishment for any who break the eternal laws of God--including never being able to live with God and experience the fullness of Joy. Jesus Christ, a perfect man requiring no punishment, took upon himself the punishment for all sins committed by the human family past, present and future. His only ability to live through the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain caused by this atonement was his power to not die.

Immediately after drinking the 'bitter cup' of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was betrayed by a friend, physically tortured, and condemned to death by the Roman technique of crucifixion. He was nailed to the cross and while there suffered the final solitary moments to complete the atonement. When Jesus Christ knew his work at this stage was finished he let his spirit leave his body--he finally chose to die.

Three days later, Jesus Christ reunited his body--now 100% immortal and perfect--with his spirit never to be separated again in all eternity. Being the first to rise from the dead, he set in place the resurrection of all humankind. Anyone who is born on the earth, past, present and future will now be resurrected with a perfect, immortal body, never again to be separated from his/her spirit by death. All of us will receive glorious bodies for the rest of eternity. Christ's gift of the resurrection is given to all.

Through the atonement and resurrection, Jesus Christ became our mediator with our Heavenly Father. We are still required to obey the laws of God if we are to experience the fullness of joy, but Jesus Christ is able to fill-in the gaps of our imperfections and inabilities as we honestly strive to live up to the knowledge we have of those laws of God. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, becomes our merciful judge and is willing to apply his atonement on our behalf. All He asks is that we choose for ourselves to exercise faith in Him ( He has the understanding and ability to help us physically, emotionally, and spiritually with all that we need and want); repent when we come short of what we know we should do; get baptized by those whom He has authorized to perform such ordinances; receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit); and to keep His commandments which will bring us happiness and comfort in this life and throughout eternity.

I am convinced that our loving Heavenly Father does everything in his power to help us come back to Him without taking away our freedom to choose for ourselves. Not only did God provide a Savior to overcome death and sin for us, but as an added help He provided the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit).

The Holy Ghost, among other things, confirms truth, provides comfort and cleansing, and provides guidance to help us follow the path that our Savior laid out for us to return to live with Heavenly Father in the fullness of joy. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that we can know in our heart and mind that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The Holy Ghost communicates to us in such a personal way that we know for ourselves that truth is truth. When the Holy Ghost confirms truth to us we simply act on those feelings to follow the Savior and keep His commandments.

So what is so important about Jesus Christ? Perhaps the unmistakable, good feelings from the Holy Ghost provided that answer to you as you read and thought about our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ lives! Because He lives, we all can be resurrected and forgiven of our imperfections so we can live with Heavenly Father again in the fullness of joy! All we have to do is choose to act on the increasing knowledge we gain of His gospel until little by little we find ourselves full beneficiaries of the atonement of Jesus Christ and experience the fullness of joy with our Father in Heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

May the hope and gratitude of the atonement and resurrection of a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, lift you through all of your good times and challenging times no matter what the circumstances may be. The most hopeful phrase for us now and in all eternity: He Lives!

Happy Easter!

Almost-Spring Sunsets

2009-03-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted pictures for a while. Here are some pacific ocean sunset pictures from the last few months:

Sun's Eyes Half Closed

Crisp, Cool Silhouettes

"C'mon kids come home and get ready for bed."

Come Down to Rest

Venus Watching Over Sleepy Fishing Boat.

Uplifting Teaser Trailer

2009-03-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

The Affect of Ghost Stories

2009-02-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Last night as a few co-workers and I were driving the two-hours home from a field office, we somehow ended up talking about ghost stories. I think that is why I had the following dream last night:

An old building on a College campus was said to be haunted. The yellow-white marble building with the Romanesque pillars lining the front looked old, but it didn't look particularly scary. A friend and I decided to investigate for ourselves.

It was dusk when were ready to check it out. I wasn’t scared at all…more excited, curious, and hopeful to actually see a disembodied spirit.

Most of the building was still being used for classes, so security lights were on, but we still needed our flashlights to see clearly. We explored the hallways on the main floor, but found nothing unusual.

We came to some spiral stairs. We looked down over the railing. Two stories below us was the basement. To avoid duplicating our efforts, we decided to start in the basement and work our way up through the five-story building.

As we reached the first landing on our way down, my flashlight flickered and went out. ‘No big deal,’ I thought. ‘I think I have some spare batteries in my pocket.’ I fumbled through my jacket pocket and found the spare batteries. We started down the stairs again as I tried to free the batteries from their wrapper.

The stairs ended in the basement just outside the open doors of a small theater. The basement wasn’t used for classes. In fact it is was empty. Inside the theater the cement floors we bare with the exception of some rusty holes where it looked like rows of chairs were bolted to the floor at one time. The floor was quilted with glue residue which, at one time, secured the carpet to the floor.

The stage was still intact and a dark burgundy velvet curtain was closed across the stage. After spanning the room, lit only by our flashlights and faint security lights, we looked up startled to see three figures on the stage just outside the curtain. They were acting as if they were having a barbecue—without Barbecue equipment. They appeared to have a faint glow around them.

One of the figures was going through the actions of tending the grill. He was a young man, tall, confident, and had blondish-brown hair. He seemed very friendly.

I was wondering if this was a residual haunting where the ghosts simply replayed actions they performed while they were alive. While I was settling on a conclusion, the tall blond young man looked at us, smiled and invited, “would you like to join us? It will be fun.” Then he and the others disappeared through the closed curtain.

Contact! We were so excited! That was more than I hoped to experience.

My friend decided to follow them. I started to follow, but remembered I still needed to put the batteries in my flashlight. While I was messing with my flashlight, my friend crawled under the closed curtain in pursuit of these entities that just interacted with us. I could hear his excited, yet un-revealing, exclamations. I could only imagine what amazing things he was discovering. I was getting jealous. I quickly finished securing the battery cover on the flashlight.

That is when I noticed it was dead silent. I could no longer hear my friend’s expressions.

Suddenly the room went completely dark for a few seconds. The lights flickered, then stayed on again. I got a little scared and ran to the stairs to the stage to find my friend. I went through the main curtain and found myself on a dimly-lit section of the stage among layers of hanging black curtains.

I saw the friendly, tall, blondish apparition waiting for me. At first I thought he would try to attack me so I swung my arm out in an attempt to push him away. To my surprise my arm went right through his body.

He remained warm and friendly and for a moment my fear turned to excitement. “You really are a ghost!” He just smiled warmly and nodded.

I attempted to poke him to verify I wasn't imagining things, but he calmly grabbed my wrists. This time I could feel his hands wrapped around my wrists as if they were a tangible substance. I was surprised that he was able to change his density in such a way.

He didn’t speak, yet he still had his warm, friendly smile.

I asked if he knew where my friend was. As I looked at him for the answer, I became startled that his grip on my arms was getting tighter. He still had the same friendly smile, but his eyes! His eyes no longer looked friendly. Fear engulfed me and I realized I was soon going to find out what happened to my friend....

...Instantly my alarm clock pierced the silence, shaking me from my sleep. I was free the grasp of this frightening apparition! I felt my tension release as I realized it was just a dream.

I was never able to find out what happened to my friend.

In a few hours its bed time again and I'm already getting tired...will I learn the conclusion of the mystery tonight?! I don't think I can keep my body awake for too much longer....

Making A Difference

2009-02-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

See more uplifting videos.

Last Summer's Trip To The Beach

2009-02-05T18:17:00.000-08:00

Last summer the kids and I took a trip to the beach. We like listening to waves crash against the rocks.

When the water hits the rocks it sprays high into the air.

The kids enjoy climbing around on the giant rocks.

The kids found a lot of great hiding places among the rocks.

The trees on this beach are fun to climb.

While the kids climb high into the tree, I stand guard to make sure they stay safe.

We also love to meet the crabs, starfish, birds, and other friends that play at the beach.

Watching the wildlife is one of our favorite things to do at the beach.

They usually don't try to hurt us, but I am still cautious around them.

They make funny faces and act all goofy.

I can't help laughing when I hear the sounds they make.

Also, when wildlife are around, we rarely need to bring our own food.

We always have a good time at the beach.

That's My Girl!

2009-01-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Anyone who really knows me knows how important music is in my life. So I was really pleased when I found out my daughter shares my like for music! We enjoy listening to music together.

She really enjoys the earphones. When she sees them, she tries to grab them so she can hear the music.

I know she likes the music, but I also think she is fascinated with the 'now you hear it, now you don't' aspect of earphones when you take them on and off.

Often when she hears music, she will swing her hand like she is keeping the beat. We also enjoy dancing to sleep or just sitting and listening to relaxing music to help us get to sleep.

Hanging out on the sunny day at the beach this year. Unfortunately the day these pictures were taken, she was kind of miserable with her first cold, but she seemed to soak in all the new sensory information she experienced that day anyway.

Well, I'm off to go listen to some music with my daughter!

Polarizing Effect

2009-01-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

I remember playing with polarizing filters in Science class in High School. I thought is was cool how they darkened the sky or removed reflections depending on which way you turned the filter (to allow only certain light waves to pass through).

Since then, whenever I played around with photography, I always wished I had a polarizing filter.

Well, my wish came true this Christmas, and now that the snow, ice, rain, wind and cloudy skies finally took a break, I had the opportunity to experiment a little bit with it.

This is "without" the polarizing filter (actually the filter was on the camera, just not turned to only allow the rich colors to come through).

This is with the polarizing filter. It really brings out the dark blue sky.

Without. Notice how yellow the tree needles are--probably from all of the random light rays reflecting off of them.

The polarizing filter made the colors more rich by filtering out the random reflected light waves.

Although our camera has Auto adjustment features, I like to use the manual settings to help me learn how to control the picture. I learned that the polarizing filter darkens the subject so you have to adjust the speed or aperture to compensate. Our camera has a built-in light meter to help indicate when adjustments need to be made.

This demonstrates how the polarizing filter can reduce reflections. Notice the solid colors of the creek. Without the polarizing filter, the water would have a whitish haze, particularly over the top right corner of the photo, as it reflects the sky.

A polarizing filter is a nice little tool to make colors rich and reduce unwanted reflections.

Short Time, Long Line of Events

2009-01-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since I wrote last.

Christmas. Christmas Eve-day we went over the river(s) and through the woods in our 190 horse open sleigh to Grandma and Grandpas' house. Actually it might as well have been an open sleigh because about 15 minutes into the trip, our Astro Van lost heat and defrost. So we traveled over the the snow-covered coast range wiping the fog off of the windshield every two minutes.

We enjoyed Christmas Eve with my wife's family. We opened a present and my niece started a brand new Christmas Eve tradition: wrapping paper-ball fight!

After a nice evening of food, presents, laughs, and fun, we slid through the several inches of ice and snow to spend Christmas day with my father (a few miles away). That yielded more fun watching the kids get excited about the presents when they woke up in the morning--then making them suffer through breakfast before we opened them.

The wintry weather in our neck of the state mellowed a little bit the following week.

We enjoyed time together as a family on New Year's Eve. Our tradition is to have a bunch of finger foods for dinner and watch movies 'till the New Year. We watched Horton Hears A Who, a few episodes of Teen Titans and a few episodes of Hannah Montana until we turned on the computer for the countdown to 2009. The boys actually stayed up this year without falling asleep before midnight...but it wasn't hard to get them to sleep after that.

The day after New Year's day the family and I took a business drive to Gresham, OR. Once again we hopped in our cold, defrost-less Astro Van and slipped down the road -- literally. After a rainy New Year's Day, the wet roads froze overnight resulting in a miles of prime skating ground. Even in our all-wheel-drive van the trip over the coast range took two hours instead of two. We fish-tailed a few times and stopped to help a couple that slid off the road and landed upside down in a 20 foot ditch. Fortunately, as we stopped, they were crawling up the embankment unharmed--although they were freezing from the freezing cold water at the bottom of the ditch. Fortunately the rest of the trip was uneventful.

This past week the weather continued its attack. However, instead of snow and ice, it delivered several days of warm wind and non-stop heavy rain. The combination of sudden snow melt, constant rain and high tide caused massive flooding throughout Western Washington and Oregon. Fortunately, my neighborhood was fairly safe from major river flooding. Moss Lake was extra large this year and Moss Bog in the backyard came back extra strong. Washington State got the brunt of the flood storms this year.

Friday, a friend of mine was involved in a pretty major accident. In a 45mph section of town, another car crossed the yellow line and smashed into the right front corner of his little pick-up causing the truck to roll. He ended up upside down. After I found out the accident involved him, I walked the short distance from my office to see if he was still there. He was already at the hospital but I saw the truck. The wheel was ripped off, the air bags deployed, the front corner was smashed almost inside out. Looking at the wreck, you would never guess he was released from the hospital after two-hours with nothing other than a pulled shoulder muscle. The Lord was watching out for him and his family.

So far this week looks like it will be less eventfully...at least I'm praying for it to be so.

Christmas Candy Train and other Pictures

2008-12-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Train made out of graham crackers and some of my favorite candies.

Interesting icicle structure. The icicles dripped from the snow on the roof, but the snow started sliding off the roof and curled around.

I haven't posted a 3-D picture for a while. Here is a 3-D picture of the Christmas Train.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-12-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Church got cancelled for today due to snowy/icy weather.

After snowing non-stop all day yesterday, before it started raining at 5:30 pm, we got about five inches of snow!

Granted, that's not much snow, but when church is at the top of Oregon Coast's "Little San Francisco", you can begin to understand.

The other problem is that it’s not practical for small towns like ours to invest in plows and other snow equipment for such rare occurrences.

In fact, the unplowed, un-salted, and un-sanded streets made it all the more special. Driving through downtown, with the snow-packed roads, the Holiday decorations, people crossing the street bundled up in winter coats, made me think I was in a scene from 'It's A Wonderful Life'!

The other problem with this area is the potential for freezing rain (that is the most dangerous winter weather here)--nature's ice rink maker. It’s too warm in the sky to snow, but its freezing on the ground so the rain coats everything and freezes into one giant, clear, smooth ice sheet draped over everything.

Regardless of the potential problems with snow and ice, everyone seems to be playing it safe and careful.

I really enjoyed the snow this weekend. It's been exciting and peaceful. I loved seeing the crystal, white carpet. I enjoyed examining the delicate, complex snowflake designs. I enjoyed playing in the snow. It's just been a real treat for me this year!

Alaska Visits

2008-12-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

The weather has been quite unusual lately. Usually the weather is fairly moderate and uneventful (meaning not much other than rain and occasional moments of sunshine) on the north Oregon coast.

However, last year at this time we nearly blew away and this year the migrating birds are pulling out their maps trying to figure why they still haven't left Alaska. Its been a week of icy, snowy, below-zero weather with more in the forecast for Christmas week as well. Maybe we will have a white Christmas this year!

Even though its quite unusual weather for this area, we are still very blessed. Its enough to make the season a exciting, but mild enough that everyone is pretty safe and able to stay relatively warm. I know there are other places that are much worse...in fact just east over the coastal range, there are several problems with snow and ice. Go even further east and you will find sub-freezing temperatures, snow, and no electricity. We pray that everyone will endure the storms well.

Snow on the Beach (with shipwrecked Peter Iredale in the background)! I had to see the snow on the beach for myself because in my experience, its all but unheard of in this area.

Santa Baby!

'Shrinky-dink' ornament. A five inch drawing on plastic (# 6 plastic) with colored Sharpies, shrunk to about two inches by baking on a paper-sack lined cookie sheet for ten minutes or so at 250-300 degrees.

Love the Lights!

2008-12-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy trying to capture Christmas lights and glowing ornaments on digital 'film'--even though it never comes close to how magical it is live.

If you've been to the Caretaker's Cabin lately, you already saw this dragon and the jaw-dropping alligator (below) from the Oregon Zoo Lights.

The Oregon Zoo Lights were spectacular. In the field in front of the stage they created a whole animal world of lights.

This year we made snowflake ornaments using beads and pipe cleaners. I like how the lights reflect and refract through the clear beads

Each year this house is very-well decorated for the Christmas Holiday--every year it seems to become more and more spectacular. They even play Christmas Carols through loud speakers. (Click to see a bigger picture.)

Gratitude

2008-11-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving like I had. It was nice to take time to think about things I am grateful for such as family, church, friends, and many temporal/spiritual blessings in my life.

I tried to think about the things I usually take for granted and about how significant those blessings really are. All too often I complain about what I don't have and don't respect what I do have.

I've learned that gratitude helps you refocus on what is really important in your life, fills your heart with respect and love for those who blessed your lives (including Heavenly Father, the primary giver of those blessings,) and gives you the desire to help bless others in whatever ways you can. Gratitude also helps immunize you from behavioral blindness caused by selfishness and greed.

I hope I can always be grateful for all of God's blessings in my life large and small.

Happy Thanksgiving...the perfect kick-off into the Christmas Season.

Courtesy Post

2008-11-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I'm not in a blogging mood. Especially on extra tired days. Because I tend analyze everything I write to make sure its really what I want to say and how I want to say it.

But at the same time, I don't want to let my few, periodic viewers down by not having anything new to look at.

Maybe that's why I like pictures so much. They take less word-smith energy and are often more interesting than anything I could write.

A rare Moss Grove picture.

Rare for two reasons: (1) it was sunny and (2) it was early morning.

Blue Moon

Baby's first taste of cereal in all of her whole eternal life.

Apple-Turkeys to kick-off Thanksgiving week.

What are you thankful for?

Courtesy of our youngest son, this is one of my favorite Apple-Turkeys this year. I call him 'Sputnik'. Can you find his head?

By the way...why is more than one turkey spelled 'turkeys' and not 'turkies'?

A Pet Peeve

2008-11-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually one to complain vocally, and I try to keep my posts positive; but today, I just need to vent a 'tiny cucumber bit' (to borrow a phrase from my 3rd grader.)

Our boys usually walk to school. However, since the rains drenched us this week, resurrecting Moss-lake in the front yard and bringing to life Moss-bog in the back yard, we've been driving the boys to school for the last few days. And that is mainly because we know water and boys instantly pull together faster than even the strongest magnets--and its just as difficult to separate them once they come in contact.

So for this week we open the back door, the kids buzz around and in and out of the van, until they finally get the hint as I turn on the engine. Then we drive around the block to the school parking lot to drop them off.

As we near the entrance, I'm instantly reminded why I hate driving the kids to school. There is a line of cars stretching out from the mouth of the school parking lot going in both directions. "The parking lot must be full," you think, but then notice at least a half-dozen empty parking spaces. The hold-up isn't lack of parking.

I get extremely annoyed when I realize the reason no-one can get into the parking lot is because there is a car stopped just inside the parking lot...just sitting there.

After seemingly an eternity, the back door of that car opens. An eternity later a kid jumps out. Another eternity later another kid pops out--and if you are lucky he/she will remember to close the door before bolting across the parking lot to the school. This whole time everyone else has to sit and wait.

When the car finally moves on you get excited to finally reach your goal, but alas the next person in line does the same thing. You would think they would understand just how disruptive that is because they had to wait for their predecessor. So once again everyone is held up by one car while several spaces in the parking lot starve for someone to occupy them.

I get flustered because I have to get to work and the boys need to get to their classes. I now have to adapt to an unnecessary disruption in my flow of expectations. Granted I know that getting frustrated is a choice I make--no one causes me to get frustrated; but it certainly makes it easier to choose to be content when others aren't tempting me to be frustrated.

Finally I get my hopes up of finally getting through this wait so I can get to where I need to be. I get my turn to go through! I find refuge in one of the parking spaces.

But to my dismay I am forced to wait a few eternities (accompanied by lots of prodding)....and finally my kids get out of the car.

Monster House Lives!!!

2008-10-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

note: click the pictures to see more detail

Every year about this time Monster House rises from the depths.

(The most viewed entry of all time on my blog is last year's picture of Monster House.)

What good is Halloween without real spider webs adorning your house (inside and out.) I love to see the perfection (and the unique, custom imperfections) in a carefully spun web--the details are fascinating to me.

Nothing says, "Where's the fresh Hot Apple-Cinnamon Cider" better than the warm glow a Jack=o=lantern on a crisp, see-your-breath, fall night with leaves crunching under your feet.

Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year: bright new colors spring-up all over the place!

You can't have fall without Candy Corn made with sweet honey!

Preparedness: A S.T.E.P. In the Right Direction

2008-10-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Emergency Preparedness has been close to the forefront on my mind over the past few years--mainly a nagging reminder that I still have stuff to do for the eight of us to be self-reliant and prepared in an Emergency.

Sure, we hear about all the natural disasters that are happening everywhere but 'here:' Tsunamis, Earthquakes, extreme winters, hurricanes, wild fires, mudslides, etc. But my family, personally, has had enough experiences locally on the Oregon Coast (tsunami warnings, major wind storms that wiped out power and communications, unemployment) to keep us reminded that things could get worse at our house too.

Emergencies are not limited to major natural disasters either--it could be unemployment, economic struggle, or house fire, or other accident.

Many resources are available to help you move in the direction of self-reliance and preparedness: 72-hour kits, food/water storage, financial advice, etc. Community Organizations (such as the Red Cross) and local/national governmental agencies (FEMA and NOAA for example) are also a good resources for disaster preparedness information.

Some simple governmental resources I utilize frequently is the Tsunami Watcher email list from NOAA that sends me an email whenever there is an earthquake that could cause worry for an Tsunami; and the Earthquake Email Notification from http://www.usgs.gov/ that sends me an email about earthquakes that fit the parameters I selected. You would be amazed at how many emails I get from these two notification sources. Of course NOAA also gives reliable weather details and storm warnings on their site...for hurricanes as well.

One resource I'm looking forward to is an Emergency Preparedness Workshop sponsored by Warrenton S.T.E.P. (Storm, Tsunami, & Emergency Preparedness.) It looks like they are bringing in several local professionals to give presentations on different aspects of emergency preparedness. Plus it sounds like it will be interactive enough where the community will be able to share good ideas with each other. Since the best truth comes from the source, please check out the official information: http://wstep.blogspot.com/

My Son And The Jazz Ambassadors

2008-10-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

My oldest son developed a love for good quality jazz and orchestra music from an early age...I don't know if that stems from listening to Manhattan Transfer frequently while he was still in the womb, if its hereditary to like good music, or what.

A few days ago he got excited about a FREE! concert his band teacher told him about. Not just any band, but a jazz band--he really likes jazz. Not just any jazz band, but the professional US Army Jazz Ambassadors.

I've always wanted to take my oldest to a live orchestra or other live musical performance, so I got excited to...and my wife, knowing how much I love live music, let me take him even though she wanted to go too!

So last night, with my son practically dragging me out the door with anticipation, we drove to Astoria's Liberty theater. We had to park a few blocks away to find a place to park, even in our small town, and followed several people into the theater.

Most of the audience was a few generations older than myself, which made the experience extra special. Perhaps its the love I have for my late grandparents who were of the same generation. Perhaps its a respect for the history, culture, ethics, and experiences their generation laid as a foundation for future generations . I think its both. Big Band Jazz is the iconic musical representation of their generation.

Not only was the room filled with a generation I respect tremendously, it was also filled with veterans from all branches of the military representing service during World War II to the present. I was surprised and extra touched by how many veterans there were from World War II. I have a lot of respect for soldiers' and veterans' willingness to sacrifice themselves to protect the rest of us and our freedoms. Those who join the military surely realize the risks--and knowing the risks have decided for themselves from the beginning that they would willingly sacrifice their own lives to protect us, our Country, and our freedoms. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. " John 15:13.

I don't know if my son realized the significance of being in the presence of such great people, but I'm sure it left an impression on him that he will never forget--and that will make more sense to him as he gets older. Especially with the respect the band gave the veterans. From everyone singing Happy Birthday to the WWII veteran turning 89 to the active duty Coast Guard presenting the colors to the band's Armed Forces Salute where they played the song for each branch of the military as audience members all around us stood up when their song played. As they stood, the Director respectfully saluted them. All of the veterans deserved the attention and respect they recieved at that concert.

Musically it was a great show. I've heard high school jazz bands and recordings of more professional Jazz Bands, but nothing beats the live experience. I love the professionalism, the stretching the limits of their talents in their solos, feeling the power of the dynamics characteristic of Big Band Jazz , being stimulated by the syncopation and creative rhythms, and soaking in the energy the music and musicians generated. I think it was inspiring for my son as well to feel the power that only live music can provide. I hope it motivates him to continue to enjoy developing his musical skills...to have a standard to work toward.

The other thing that made it special was having the one-on-one time with my son--enjoying an experience that was special and exciting to him. It's a memory we will share together for the rest of our eternal lives. We may not remember the details of what transpired, but we will remember how it made us feel and the things we learned from the whole engulfing experience.

It was a great experience spending time with my son, my most respected generation, the protectors of my liberty, and the US Army's Jazz Band that brought us all together.

Prayerful Study

2008-10-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

A few recent Photography Experiments:

Prayerful Study

I like the details and personal symbolism in this still. A few candles, glow from the computer monitor and a 20-second shutter w/ no flash on a tripod.

First Frost Mountain Range

I didn't appreciate trying to scrape this off the windshield, but its delicate textures made taking a picture irresistable.

My Favorite Girl

Hiring A President

2008-10-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Through the hiring process, great care is made to select the best person possible for the job. The right person on the job makes operations run smoothly and efficiently with positive outcomes. The wrong person on the job disrupts progress, requires excess productivity maintenance; and often getting rid of the wrong person is very difficult.

Hiring the best person possible is important for any job and certainly true for the President of the United States of America. The person we hire to lead the Government's Executive Branch, represents the people of the United States for four years. Here are some steps to help choose the best person possible for the job:

1. Know The Job. How can we hire correctly for a position we know little about. Even if I am familiar with a position, I like to review the job requirements--especially from official sources:

The President is the Head of the Executive Branch and generally viewed as the head of the U.S. Government. While he does have significant power, his power is limited by the Constitution. Specifically, the Constitution assigns the following powers to the President:

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces

Make treaties, with two-thirds consent of the Senate

Receive ambassadors and other public ministers from foreign countries

Appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, and any officials as provided for by the Congress, with the approval of the Senate

Give an annual State of the Union Address to Congress

Recommend legislation to Congress

Convene Congress on extraordinary occasions

Adjourn Congress, in cases of a disagreement about adjournment

"Take care that the laws be faithfully executed"

Fill in administrative vacancies during Congressional recesses

Grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the U.S.

Vice President: President of the Senate and becomes President if the President is unable to serve.

2. Identify Values. In addition to reviewing the skills and experience required for the job, it is important to identify the values and characteristics you want in the person you hire for the position. Sometimes a person may have a resume full of experience and skills, but has values inconsistent with your philosophies, or character conflicting with the image you strive to uphold, or characteristics that don't quite fit the position. Examples of Values: honesty, hard-working, cooperative, consistent, humble, bold, good listener, decisive, self-initiative, teachable, good judgement, self-discipline, creative, persistent, respectful, wise, non-confrontational, follows-through, aggressive, willing to uphold change, compassionate, etc.....

3. Review Resumes and References. Candidates interested in the job generally provide an application, resume, and cover letter in their best attempt to persuasively attract you to their experience, skills, and values. You then separate the individuals you would like to interview. Things are more complicated in the Presidential hiring process, members of political parties tend to do the sorting to determine who the general public will 'interview'. However, the general public still prompts the Electoral College, so it is important to review the candidates Resumes. You can look at the Candidates' experience in Congress: Congressional Record, Senate, House of Representatives. You can also look at the Candidate's Official State Websites. Of course there are always the candidates' official websites:

http://www.baldwin2008.com/

http://www.bobbarr2008.com/

http://www.johnmccain.com/

http://votetruth08.com/

http://www.votenader.org/

http://www.barackobama.com/

There are several third-party websites designed to help the public research and compare candidates and their views:

http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

Other sites help clear-up false information:

http://www.factcheck.org/

http://www.snopes.com/

4. The Interview. The interview gives you the opportunity to gather a lot of verbal and non-verbal information about the candidate to help with your decision. You can see how they react and respond to questions. You can see how they process information and draw conclusions. You can see how they interact with others and portray themselves. You can find out how they would handle specific scenarios. The challenge with the Presidential interviews is that it's usually other people interviewing and asking the questions, but we still have a chance to see how they react and answer the questions. The other challenge is when more than one candidate interviews at the same time--mentally navigating debates is a challenge because the candidates often try to answer on behalf of their opponent. However, the debates do give us an opportunity to see how the candidates handle pressure and challenges to their ideology.

5. Make Your Decision. After reviewing and analyzing the information you gathered throughout the hiring process, you are ready to make your decision. You then extend your offer to the candidate. Please research well and submit your ballot on time because, although the hiring panel consists of many individuals, your voice is an important part of the decision-making process.

6. Support the New Hire. When the new person is hired and starts the job, its important to respect the decision of the panel and to support the new employee in their role and give them the opportunity to magnify their position. Give them the opportunity to be successful. That doesn't mean they can get away with whatever they want...they are still accountable to their employer. Sometimes they need coaching and correction and sometimes disciplinary action may be necessary.

That's not so simple in the Presidential Elections. We may disagree with the President, we may disagree with the results of the 'hiring panel'. However, we respect the process and the structure of the government which was established by inspired men. We can support the President of the United States and encourage him/her to represent us well. If the President requires coaching or correction or discipline, the governmental structure provides for those checks and balances through Congress and the Judicial System. We, too, as a people, can offer guidance to the President by hiring good Senators and Representatives and communicating our concerns to them and encouraging them to support the good things and challenge the questionable things the President does. Through our voice to our governmental representatives in congress we can promote coaching and correction and sometimes discipline of our newly hired President.

Ultimately, we are blessed to live in this country with the government we have. Although it's easy to find faults with decisions people and groups make, we are blessed with the freedom to express differences with the government. And we do have a voice in how our government behaves. The challenge to us is to do our part, respectfully, to voice our desires in the appropriate manner--realizing that we as individuals and governmental officials are not perfect, but together as a body of citizens, we are strong and can watch out for each other and confront challenges together.

At Home w/ Presidential Debates

2008-09-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself politically savvy in anyway, but I think its important to make good decisions when it comes to hiring the person who will lead the country over the next four years.

I enjoy watching the Presidential debates in an attempt to learn the truth about the candidates' character, positions on issues, and potential as President of the United States. The problem with debates is that you have to do a lot of mental sorting to try to figure what information is true, mostly true, exaggerated, or simply not true.

But not to worry, sorting through the debates feels like home--thanks to my children. Granted Presidential debates are conducted by professionals, but the base techniques are the same. After all adults are just little kids in bigger bodies and social networks:

1. Explain what your opponent did first. This is a classic technique often used to procrastinate your own answer. With a brother (K) crying in the distant background, we ask our obvious suspect (T), "What did you do to your brother?" T's Answer: "K wouldn't share his Lego's." We remind him of the question, "I didn't ask what he did, I asked what you did." "But K wasn't sharing."

2. "I didn't do that!" or "I didn't say that!" This technique is the hardest to not reciprocate. T runs to us in a panic: "J's going to kill me!" J: "No I'm not! I said I was mad at you!" T: "But you tried to kill me!" J: "I did not,...Idiot!" T: "I'm not an idiot, ...Stupid! Infinity and one, no tag backs."

3. Name Calling (aka: 'mud slinging'). Politicians are careful enough not to do primitive name calling directly, but they do use subtle phrases such as, "naive," "he doesn't understand," or "he's clearly ____," or "..we all know the sequel is worse than the first movie," "big boys," etc. Political ads do this freely--I guess because its not the candidate saying it directly.

4. Almost True. This is one of the harder techniques to discern because we don't always have all the source information available. That's where research sites such as http://www.factcheck.org/ or http://www.snopes.com/ becomes a valuable resource. Mom (knowing the answer): "Are you dressed and ready to go? C (hopping up and down, half paying attention): "Yes." Mom: "Are those the same clothes you wore yesterday?" C: "No, I changed my pants." Mom: "Will you please go change your shirt?"

5. The Truth. This is what I look for and believe it or not politicians sometimes use this technique. I wish politicians spent less time talking about what their opponent does/doesn't do because it takes away from telling what they themselves are going to do. How can you make a good judgement based on things 'enemies' say about each other. Give me the truth from the horses mouth, please. Back to the example in #1: "I didn't ask what he did, I asked what you did."

Thanks to the practice my kids give me, its a little bit easier to sort through these Presidential Debates.

Apologies to My Three Readers

2008-09-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I wanted to take you down a path to see an update of the 'Wildlife of Moss-Grove.' This is a path we use to document the different personalities of the crazy wildlife that hangs around here. Since pretty much all of you who read this blog also read that blog anyway, I apologize for the repeat.

1. This spring we had a fresh new addition to Moss-Grove. Here are some recent pictures.

2. This is a video of some interesting interaction with one of the more lively 'critters' in Moss-Grove.

Late Summer Photos

2008-09-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos we took recently at Netul Landing (Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.) OK, so I threw in some from other locations too (Fort Steven's State Park--various sites.)

I just thought they turned out kind of cool.

A black Dragonfly in a sea of green

Another Dragonfly disguised among ripening Blackberries.

A pair of Cattails contrasting against the sky reflected off of the Lewis and Clark River

A single clear cattail stands out from the Lewis and Clark River's chameleon backdrop.

A pelican grazes the surface of River-Ocean waves as it glides within inches of the water. Pelicans usually fly close to the water (literally inches,) single-file in small groups trailing each other up and down over incoming waves.

Sunset Silhouette @ Peter Iredale

Greatest Views Come With Highest Risks

2008-08-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

At church today, one of the lessons was a discussion about safe use of communication technology such as Internet, cell phones, and all its uses--especially how it influences our youth.

Just like some of the most beautiful scenes in the world are only found at the risk of harm or death for those unprepared and careless, technology can connect us with so many wonderful people and life-improving information at the risk of destructive and even life-threatening consequences if not used wisely and cautiously.

We recently watched the Caves episode from the BBC Nature Series: Planet Earth. Incredible footage of things very few people ever see.

Lechuguilla cave scenic © Gavin Newman

The Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico was uncovered just over 20 years ago and has incredible, white sulfuric acid-created gypsum crystal formations untouched for thousands of years. Its so precious that you need special government permission to even enter the caves--it took BBC two years to finally get permission to film the cave.

The picture above was taken in the Chandelier Room, so named for the giant crystal formations hanging from the ceiling. To get to this incredible site, more than a mile inside the mere 101 miles of cave explored so far, the first thing you do is climb down 118 feet almost vertical. Then in the pitch black, silence you climb up and down piles of rock from ceiling collapses and occasionally pass through tight crawl-only passages.

The crew from BBC who filmed the cave, dragged their heavy film equipment through the pitch black cave for 10 days of filming. Can you imagine the food, water, lights, batteries, safety equipment and other things they had to be prepared with? If they weren't well-prepared and careful through their journey we wouldn't have that beautiful witness on the TV screen.

Technology gives us access to sites, sounds and information beyond imagination. Its how the common person can see unimaginable details of galaxies, planets, comets and stars. Its how we can instantly talk with a friend on the other side of the planet. It's how the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring hope, joy, and love to almost every truth-seeker on the Earth.

However, technology can also be a tool destructive to ourselves, others and society if misused. Addictive, family-destroying pornography is a click away even with the most thorough of parent controls and protective software. Text messaging and social network sites such as MySpace are used by the common high school student to socially assault others or to buy and sell drugs. Locally, the use of text messaging alerted a High School principal of the significant problem of students abusing prescription drugs. Technology is even used by predatory people to find and harm innocent victims.

So what do we do to help ourselves and our children wisely and carefully navigate these treacherous caves of technology so we can safely be magnified and uplifted by the good things that can come from the proper use of technology?

1. Create a Safe, Open Environment.

Utilize Parental Controls and other technology-based protection: In order for people to get trapped into doing something bad, they have to be exposed to it. Technology-based protection isn't fool-proof, but it prevents a lot of accidental exposure.
Be aware of what your children are doing: When people do things they know are wrong, secrecy empowers them to continue digging deeper into trouble. Know what your children are doing and what their friends are doing. Look at you're child's MySpace page, the cell phone bill, the Internet history. Put the computer in an open area--provide every environment and opportunity to prevent secrecy from enabling him/her to act on temptation.
Limit personal information: Avoid providing personal information to the world. Any specific identifying information available on the web can be used by someone with malicious intent to physically locate an individual. Recently a blogger posted an innocent picture of themselves on a public blog which was picked up by a less-than-innocent forum group. Even after making the blog private, the forum was still able to locate cached pictures, and even download the picture from the picture storage site Blogger uses. Posts on the forum from people working together to find the picture again hinted of recognizing that their pursuit of the picture was not appreciated and hoped 'no one catches on.' You often hear of predators stalking individuals because they put too much detailed information on their blog, chat room, or MySpace. Its easy to put pieces together when you are talking about your High School or the store you went to across the street from your house that is unique only to your town, etc.

2. Educate yourself and your children. We can't always be there with our children and no technology-based safeguards are 100% effective, so if we can empower our children with the knowledge they need to make their own good decisions they can choose for themselves to avoid dangers.

www.netsmartz.org This website was mentioned at the church meeting today. It gives a lot of information about Internet safety for all age groups. This would be a great activity to do together with your children.
Let your children teach you. By the time I could type 'How R U?' in a text message, there are some youth who could have text messages the whole Lord of the Rings series to their friend. LOL (Laugh Out Loud.) Youth today know technology like the back of their hand.
Let your children know your expectations. Help them know what to do.
Be an example. Use the internet the way you want your children to use it. Children do what they see adults do, especially those they respect the most.

3. Develop a close relationship with your children. This is probably the most important. Generally speaking, if you are close with your children (especially starting young) you will trust them and they will trust you. Some youth may argue that all of these 'restrictions' prove that you don't trust them or 'its a violation of my privacy' for you to know what they are doing. But if you are able to maintain a good relationship with your children, they can know your intentions are based on your love for them. They can know you are only trying to protect them. And you will know the type of decisions they will make and you can be able to trust that they will be as faithful to you as you are to them. At least that's the type of relationship I hope I can develop with my children.

I'm sure there are other things that can be done to maximize our opportunity to have such wonderful technology tools at our disposal with out falling down paths of physical, emotional, social and spiritual danger. I try to be careful with my blog, but after today's education, there is still a lot more I can do to be extra safe--and certainly a lot more I can do to prepare my children for things they will face as they become older. You probably have some good ideas too...

sources: (click links)

Wildlife Photo Hunt

2008-08-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

This summer, the eight of us travelled to far-off places to look at animals not native to our little northwest town.

So we packed up our tent and our clothes, loaded the kids in the van and started our journey. Granted the 73.6 mile trip to the Oregon Zoo, doesn't quite qualify as 'far-off places', but its a long-enough drive for me with the six kids.

Plus we didn't drive straight to the zoo, we actually spent three days playing with my wife's sister's family. The Oregon Zoo was our first full day on our vacation.

For all but two of our kids, its was the first remembered trip to the zoo. We bought an annual membership to the zoo to keep the memory alive with the opportunity for multiple visits throughout the year...(that and it was only a few dollars more than regular admission for the whole family.) Even the 'Plus' membership with added bonuses and guest admissions cost less than two visits for our family.

We saw lots of cool animals and even rode the zoo train!

Considering the crowd, we were pleased that we left with the same amount of kids as we brought...and the same kids we brought!

We did have a little scare, though, when our youngest son followed someone else and got himself lost. By the time we figured out he wasn't with my group, my wife's group or my wife's sister's group, I ended up back-tracking past the monkeys, the alligator, the meerkats, and the giraffes until I found a nice lady asking a little teary-eyed boy if he was lost.

Scared us to death, but other than that, we had a good time at the zoo and even caught pictures of the wildest of animals:

Hummingbird In Action

2008-08-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've always been fascinated with Hummingbirds. I'm amazed at their ability to hover, their speed and their size. I'm in awe at how fast they can flap their wings.

On our vacation we had the opportunity to visit the Oregon Zoo. While we were there we saw a hummingbird in action and took advantage of a potential photo opportunity. Using the sports setting on our camera, we were impressed with how well the pictures turned out. (These pictures have been cropped and brightened up a little bit.)

Here is the hummingbird 'stopping' after zooming in at lightning speed. In my vast unlimited lack of knowledge about hummingbirds, my guess is that this is an "Anna's Hummingbird" (Calypte anna)--perhaps an adolescent, if not an adult female.

Here's a close-up of the same picture. I love the deployed landing gear. Hummingbirds' normal flight speed is 25 mph.

It's amazing how they can hover so still. Looking at slow motion video, they tilt their wings in a figure-eight pattern as if they are treading water. Hence the unique angle of the wings in this picture. I'm guessing this hummingbird flaps its wings around 50 wing beats per second.

I like this picture because it shows the fluorescent feathers on its back. I also like how you can see the feather's of the wings...they really are birds! The feather's are actually kind of transparent.

Here you can see its beak getting nectar from the flower.

You can get interesting hummingbird information on the web in addition to the links sited on this page (http://www.hummingbirds.net/.)

Panther Creek Falls, Washington State

2008-08-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I took a few days off work for our annual summer vacation attempt. This year we spent a few days camping in my Brother/Sister-in-law's backyard. We actually wereable to do a lot of stuff during those three days and three night.

Saturday morning, my brother-in-law, who is really into photography, took me to one his favorite waterfalls, Panther Creek Falls in Wind River valley, Washington, so we could practice taking pictures with our new cameras.

It is only 65 feet high, but one of the most picturesque water falls I've ever seen. Two creeks join at the falls which adds to it's features. Plus there are multiple levels forming a small chain of waterfalls. The water is crystal clear--so much so that the 'fizz' formed at the bottom of the falls and rapids is white mixed with bright baby blue. Just looking at it makes you want to dip in a glass and drink the best tasting, ice cold water you've ever had.

Here are some of the pictures I took from the falls (click the image for more detail):

Here is where the higher creek starts trickling down the 65 ft. drop. You can barely see the second creek dumping down the cliff on the bottom right corner. Note: To get that smooth 'lace drapery' look, I used a tripod and a slower shutter speed. A faster shutter speed would show rough droplets opposed to smooth lines.

Here is the full falls. Pictures don't do it justice, nor does the picture capture the size. Notice how the white water intertwines with the green vegetation.

A few hundred feet from the main falls is this smaller falls. You can see the baby blue in the water at the base of the falls. Almost every log and surface area was covered in a thick carpet of Moss.

Here you can see a mini-ledge in front of the lower falls in front of the large falls. It a little difficult to tell without the ability to decipher depth.

Can't forget the benefits of 3-D. Get your blue/red 3-D glasses!

Echos of the Storm

2008-07-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

One month shy of a year ago, my family was enjoying the western-most point of the Fort to Sea trail. The Fort to Sea Trail represents the route Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery used to get to the Pacific Ocean (sunset beach) from Ft. Clatsop.

Tall, always-green grasses filled the forest floor where the thick moss carpet stopped. The multitude of tall trees swaying in the crisp ocean breeze, gave insight to a small creature's view of the world from the bottom of a tall, grass forest.

It was very peaceful and relaxing to be surrounded by such a neat forest spotted with small lakes, buzzing with dragon flies, guarded by seagulls, and patrolled by squirrels and other animals.

These coastal evergreen forests are very unique and amazing to walk through. It's like you enter a whole new, peaceful world with so many new things to see.

I don't know how long this forest world took to grow and develop--it looks like its been happily, peacefully guarding the coast for centuries, but I do know that things can change drastically within one year.

In early December, almost nine months ago, we had a micro burst storm whipping hurricane-speed winds into the coast. In an instant the trail was closed and was unable to open until June 2008 when the fallen trees were cleaned up.

So today we decided to visit again, hoping the damage from the storm was minor, and to seek the peace of this beautiful forest. As we drove up, we pulled into the where we thought the parking lot used to be. The road looked the same, the parking lot looked the same, but the forest looked much different. (the following pictures were taken from the same general location on the trail as the original pictures above--they are also in the same order.)

I knew there were a lot of trees down, but I didn't realize just how many. In just two days, hundreds of trees, which took decades to grow were destroyed...as if someone chopped the tops of the trees off like a kid chopping dandelions with a stick.

Greens turned to browns and sunlight now pierces the ground that was once protected by the shade of an evergreen canopy.

At this point in the trail another unexpected surprise presented itself. Not only did the wind storm unmercifully rip through the forest, but we now learned where the multi-acre sunset beach fire from a month or so ago occurred. It was heart-wrenching to see the black scar that gutted out the center of this already-wounded lush forest and the orange fire-licked trees surrounding it.

It was depressing walking through our once peaceful retreat which was now destroyed. But still there was a hope and anticipation of how much stronger future will heal this forest. Amid the fallen giants were the surviving younglings that seemed to reach up with ever more determination to reclaim their sanctuary. Tender green ferns and grass shined in contrast to the now pitch black forest floor; and surrounding the destruction were enboldened patches of mature trees and plants encouraging the newborns to thrive and be hopeful.

Notice how the trail divides the black fire destruction (right) from the surviving young trees and forest. (left)

The forest was still guarded by the seagulls, squirrels still played in the trees and a family of dear greeted us at the trail head! (can you see the dear in the first post-destruction picture?)

Although I'm depressed at the loss of one of my favorite environments, I'm exciting to watch the next generation of survivors create their own sanctuary for us to enjoy!

Chris Rice

2008-07-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

On the special feature DVD of Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie I was instantly interested in Chris Rice's musical performance of Billy Joe McGuffrey. Being impressed with his singing style and natural sound, I decided to review his bonus video on the DVD, The Other Side of the Radio.

Again I really enjoyed the real-instrument sound and musical style, but the thing that impressed me the most was the sincerity in his voice and lyrics. I felt he really did care about his audience.

Now Chris Rice is one of my all-time favorite artists. We bought his Album, "Run the Earth Watch the Sky" and just recently we bought his Album "What a Heart is Beating For."

Not only do I like his sincerity, but I really like his optimism. I listen to his music and feel hopeful and encouraged...and, partially because he is a Christian musician I know his music and lyrics are appropriate for all ages whether or not they are hymns he's written or more secular topics.

(I'm Christian too, but my feelings for Jesus Christ are of such a sacred nature to me, I'm more picky about what Christian music I like--even though I generally like the style of music most Christian artists use, the lyrics and feeling I get when listening to the majority of Christian music doesn't always match up to those sacred personal feelings.)

I am also really impressed with how well he writes his lyrics. He uses a lot of creative metaphors that seem to expand the meaning beyond just the words themselves. I suppose I like it because metaphors are how I apply concepts in my own life.

Here are a few samples of his lyrics to illustrate:

Baby Take Your Bow: Although death can be a depressing reality in our lives, Chris Rice does a good job of bringing out the respect of life's opportunity, the hope of our eternal lives, and comfort when loved ones temporarily depart their mortal bodies until the resurrection:

Lemonade: This song captures the excitement, anticipation, and joy of true, sincere love. It illustrates his sincerity, gratitude, and optimism. I like to think of this song in relation to my wife and me:

Here are the lyrics to those two songs if these unofficial music videos don't work:

Baby Take Your Bow
Chris Rice

We're gonna miss your song and dance
The way you made us laugh
And we're so glad we had the pleasure for a while
But on the other side you'll find a better audience
Just be yourself, and you can't help but make the angels smile

Baby, all the world's a stage
Playwright pens your final page
And then he brings your curtain down
So blow us your kisses and drench our eyes
We'll rise to our feet to wave goodbye for now
So baby, take your bow

The world is lovelier because you had your moment here
And we could see a friend of heaven in your face
And in your song we heard the longing for a distant shore
And now your time has come to go, and so be on your way

Baby, all the world's a stage
Playwright pens your final page
And then he brings your curtain down
So blow us your kisses and drench our eyes
We'll rise to our feet to wave goodbye for now
So baby, take your bow
Your show is over now
It's time to lay your burdens down
So baby, take your bow

Copyright 2007 Clumsy Fly Music (ASCAP) (adm. By Word Music, LLC)

Lemonade
by Chris Rice

So go ahead and ask her
For happy ever after
‘Cause nobody knows what’s coming
So why not take a chance on loving
Come on, pour the glass and tempt me
Either half-full or half-empty
‘Cause if it all comes down to flavor
The glass is tipping in my favor

Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!

Now take your time to answer me
For the beauty of romancing
Is to calm your trembling hand with mine
While begging love to fill your eyes
I can hardly breathe while waiting
To find out what your heart is saying
And as we’re swirling in this flavor
The world is tilting in our favor

Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!

I’ve got it made
Rest in the shade
And hold my love
While God above
Stirs wiith a spoon
We share the moon
Smile at the bees
More sugar please
He really loves us after all
We’re gonna need another straw!
We’re gonna need another straw!

Life gave me lemonade and I can’t imagine why
Born on a sunny day, beneath a tangerine sky
I live life without pretending
I’m a sucker for happy endings
Thanks for the lemonade
Thanks for the lemonade!

Copyright 2004 Clumsy Fly Music (ASCAP) (adm. By Word Music, LLC)

Summer Parades

2008-07-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Each year our town does a 4th of July parade. Its nothing overly fancy (just a comfortable hour-long,) but its becoming a fun tradition for my family especially since we can watch it from our front yard.

Here are some of the participants in our little parade...can you guess what they are? (hint: there are usually a lot of vehicles in the parade.) Click the picture for the answer.

Red, White, and Blue!

Keep reaching to guess this one.

Yes there are people in there, but they didn't throw candy to the kids like most of the other parade participants.

This was a new entry for this year. It was pretty cool.

This was a cool paint job.

What's that in the reflection? Godzilla?!!

From little kid's perspectives these are either cute or scary.

Our Dependence on Independence Day (repost)

2008-07-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

[Here is a reposting of my post from July 4th 2007. (With current pictures.)]

A divinely organized miracle took place 231 years ago which has made one of the most extensive and enduring impacts on the world in its whole history of existence. On July 4th 1776, the Congress of the United States of America declared its independence from Britain and a new country was born--founded with the philosophy that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (Declaration of Independence)

Through the last 232 years our freedoms have been gratefully treasured, painfully challenged and, especially at times of greatest prosperity, taken for granted. Our ability to do what we choose in this country is dependent on upholding the principles established on that first Independence Day.

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the unified goal was set and the commitment was made to establish a land of freedom: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." (Declaration of Independence) At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, these hopeful leaders suddenly became enemies to the most powerful nation in the world. They gave their all, figuratively and literally to stand firm in their commitment to the success of this new country. God helped them prevail. Through costly growing pains, threats on its existence, and even dents by its own people over the last 231 years, this nation presses forward under the same principles on which it was founded.

As a result we are free! The government was established--the checks, balances, and protections were set in place to allow us the freedom and accountability to choose for ourselves. We may choose to live free or we may choose to live in self-inflicted bondage. The only thing we don't choose is the consequence of our actions. Freedom is so risky for the individual--to have no scape goat for our actions. However, freedom to choose for ourselves is so valuable its benefits out-weigh any risk.

With respect for God and these men who sacrificed everything to give freedom to those who live in this great nation 231 years later, I hope I will never take for granted the freedom I have. I pray that I will make personal decisions that will keep me free on the everyday battle field of choices.

[Photo Details: The above photos are from this year's Astoria, Oregon 4th of July fireworks show. Our family drove across the river to the Dismal Nitch rest area to watch them. Sadly, due to a shaky tripod only a few of the picture actually turned out, but I was pleased at the general outcome of my first attempt to photograph fireworks with a new digital SLR. Starting with a tip from an online resource, these photos ended up being taken with an apeture of 16, a shutter speed of 2 seconds, film speed (ISO) of 800. They were shot with a Nikon D40, 6.1 megapixels; 200mm zoom from about 4 miles across the Columbia River. I did crop the pictures to isolate the fireworks from the 'empty' space, but I did not do any other manipulation of the photos. Certainly not professional, but my personal best so far. :-) ]

Guest Blogger: T

2008-07-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Teen Titans is a fun Gamecube game. WARNING It's vilent but has no blood and guts.The power ups are realy helpfull.Teen Titans is also a TV show.Powerups'Yellow Triangle Coins'Orange Dimond Coins'Red Hexagon Coins'Charge'Speed Up'Slow Down' Energy'Full Screen Attack'Extra Continue'Trigon bird'The Source' Soto's Dog'Silkie'and Larry the Titan.Every Titan Has there own fighting skills Robins attack's are the strongest.

America's Tall Ship: Eagle (WIX 327)

2008-07-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

I've had a recent fascination with tall ships since I moved to the Oregon Coast. I first learned about the replica of the cir. 1750 freight vessel, Lady Washington, now the offical ship of the State of Washington. (It is also the ship they used as the Interceptor in the Pirates of the Carribean movies.) The Lady Washington, visits our area with the Hawaiian Chieftain each year to give rides and perform battle re-enactments. I always love seeing them when I can.

The Lady Washington returning from a battle sail with the Hawaiian Chieftain on the Columbia River

This year I was a little bummed because I didn't get to see them this year, however I had a pleasant surprise when my wife called on the cell phone to tell me there was a huge tall ship docked next to the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast. I quickly went to the Columbia River Maritime Museum's viewer-guided web cam to take a look. The first thing I noticed was the Orange Racing stripe with the Coast Guard seal and I got excited: It was the real version of the painting on the wall in my office of the Coast Guard training bargue--The Eagle!

The USCG Eagle (WIX 327) was a German Training vessel (SNS Horst Wessel) built in 1936. After WWII it became a war prize for the United States. In 1946, the United States Coast Guard commisioned it as the Eagle to continue to serve as a training vessel.

The Eagle--full sail (phot0 from the USCG website)

The three-masted Eagle is 295 feet long (docked next to the 210-ft Cutter Steadfast), almost 40 feet widewith , a displacement of 1,784 tons fully loaded and draft of.

With its 21,350 feet of sail and five miles of rigging, the Eagle can sail a maximum of 17 knots by wind power. Compare this to the 10 knots maximum speed with its diesel engine.

Cadets training on the Eagle must handle more than 200 lines of rope and learn each one. (Daily Astorian)

Up to 46 crew members, 175 cadets and instructors under the direction of 19 officers "learn the ropes."

Steering is the rudder is all mechanical, so up to six people power the steering (two on each wheel.)

For how much use the Eagle has had over the last 72 years it is in very good shape. Its almost 1/2-inch thick steel hull and three-inch teak wood-covered steel decks are well maintained. In fact, one of the crew members mentioned to us that prior to sailing to Astoria, Oregon from the Eastern Coast of the United States, it went through some reconditioning

Looking at the Eagle was a neat experience for me--in fact I went on the self-guided tour twice. One of the interesting things to me about going on the ship was seeing that the shell was designed like a early era tall-ship, yet it has all the technology of a modern ship--electricity, radar, sonar, computers, etc. It was interesting how they mixed old technology with new while still maintaining respect for the history of the Horst Wessel.

The kids enjoyed the tour too, they were able to get a collectible (plastic) coin for taking the tour. There was even a ships wheel at the stern of the ship, safely disengaged, that the kids were able to wiggle around a little.

Most of the information came from the United State Coast Guard website. The Daily Astorian article reprinted on the Goast Guard website was also fun to read. Information on the web is also available for the Lady Washington and other tall ships.

Baby Blessing Leads to Photographic Lessons

2008-06-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today was a special day for our family...our daughter had her baby blessing at church! My wifes's sister even made a beautiful blessing dress for her and we wanted to get some good pictures of her in it. (To see more pictures of our little angel in her blessing dress, please take a stroll down the recent addition on the "Wildlife of Moss Grove" trail.)

We learned some simple techniques that improved the quality of the picture.

First, we tried taking some pictures inside the house. The camera's flash can can overexpose the subject and trail a big black shadow on top of the darkened backdrop behind it and damage the quality of a photo, so we opened the curtains wide to let some of the natural light fill the room in hopes we wouldn't have to use the flash. Unfortunately it still left hard shadows and a dark subject:

Even brightening it up with software doesn't change the shadows problem.

We decided to move the picture-taking outside with the natural light hoping it would give more brightness and softer shadows.

We laid some blankets down on the grass in the shade to avoid the sun shining in our daughter's face. With a few adjustments to the camera settings to capture the light better, we compensated for the shade and got better results...softer tones, less harsh shadows.

(I did still brighten it up with software, though, I don't totally have my camera settings mastered yet.)

Even though moving the baby outsided in the natural light solved the harsh shadows problem, it almost over-compensated and left the subject a little bit flat. So we took a single sheet of white poster board and used it to reflect softer light back onto our baby which added a nice bright, almost glowing accent.

You can see a big difference. In the picture below, the poster board is positioned off camera to the top right. The shadows aren't too harsh, but the light accents the subject bringing out greater depth and texture. You can especially see added depth in her face and dress.

The lesson learned is that a simple piece of white poster board used as a light reflector, can really bring a picture to life.

Can you tell where the simple poster board reflector is on this picture?

Random Photos

2008-06-15T01:02:00.000-07:00

I like how the focus is on the off-center flower, yet the colors balance the picture out without being symetrical.

I wish I had a stronger zoom, but I still like being able to see the craters of the moon.

The Astoria-Megler bridge from the Hammond Marina. Notice the 'fish bone' trees on the skyline--physical memories of the December wind storm.

This white moth on our white wall looks kind of angelic...

...until you see it close up. Especially with those piercing eyes and the 'hairy' look. I like how you can even see the shadow of antenae hairs on the wall.

Three Weeks Into This World

2008-06-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Our baby b is three weeks old today! Her due date was three days ago.

Little Hands

Little Feet

At 12-days-old, already developing her "mischief" look.

Wide-eyed @ 20 days.

Takes after daddy: happy to be in mommy's arms.

Peaceful Baby And Her Not-As-Peaceful Older Brothers

2008-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a little snapshot of time regarding my children. Having another baby around the house after almost five years heightens your awareness of how much and how quickly your children change.

We've been enjoying watching home movies taken around each of the boys' births. Its amazing to see how much of their personalities haven't changed--they've just become more sophistocated in how they display their personalities.

Peaceful, sleeping baby B

C (age 5 in two weeks) not hiding his mischievous side.

K (age 6.5) trying to look 'suave' while still not hiding his 'blond' tendancies.

T (age 8): adventurous, fearless, and daring.

S (age 9.75) the brother guardian and Mom's best helper.

J (age 11) the connoisseur of obscure Nintendo trivia--and an ear for good music.

Baby B and the hand of comfort.

Fruits of Miracles

2008-05-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

A week ago yesterday, my pregnant wife's water broke. 24 hours later, a week ago today, our first daughter was born, three weeks early, @ 6 lbs. 15.5 oz.; 19.75"

To me, birth is a miraculous thing, but reflecting back on this particular birth it seems there were additional miracles encompassing the miracle of birth itself. Why did the water break break so early? Why did we have to wait an extra day before official labor commenced? How did all of that timing coincide with the particular people who helped us?

I feel that all of those things were actual answers to prayers and fulfillment of blessings and comfort. And that’s not to mention the miracle of having a girl after a trend of five boys!

I saw God’s hand in all of this and I saw the same hero in my wife that I saw with all our babies.

After spending all day Thursday in the hospital, bored to death, while my wife was slowly drained physically and emotionally by the unproductive contractions forced on her by the Pitocin, we were pretty discouraged. The only comfort was being able to hear the baby's heartbeat on the monitor and know both she and Heather were still healthy and safe. By dinner we turned off the Pitocin, said more prayers, and tried to enjoy a relaxing evening in our hospital dungeon.

In answer to our prayers, with no more help than some previous cervix softening medications, my wife started contracting on her own around 1am. I was unaware of her contractions until 2am when I recognized that she was in true labor. I folded up my bed and geared-up for the part I hate the most-- watching helplessly as she suffers inconceivable pain and agony.

After a few hours of intense torture, my wife was only at 3cm. Laboring so painfully long, so early in the morning (after a full day of forced contractions), with very little progress overwhelmed us and we decided to try our first-ever epidural.

I've always been nervous about it and had reservations about epidurals partially because my wife is generally sensitive to medication. When the anesthesiologist came moments later he resolved most of my concerns and started preparing for the epidural.

Suddenly I noticed a different reaction during the next contraction--my wife was pushing! In just about 20 minutes, my wife went from a 3 to an 8! This prompted the anesthesiologist to move faster, but almost in a blink, my wife was pushing again and the head crowned.

The anesthesiologist ended up delivering the baby about 10 minutes before our doctor arrived at the hospital. The whole labor was about four hours. As surprised and somewhat unprepared for the baby to come three weeks early as we were, if we weren't already in the hospital when the labor started, its possible we might not have made it to the hospital in time--let alone to get settled and prepared.

Although we had competent nurses helping, if we hadn't asked for an epidural, there would have been no doctor to deliver the baby...and we still didn't have to go through with the epidural. [Note: I say 'we' knowing full-well that it really means Heather.] We found out later that the anesthesiologist who delivered our baby used to teach OB classes--what are the odds.

This was a unique experience for us, but the whole process was a witness to me that God is mindful of our needs and, although He allows us to learn through some difficult challenges, He is always nearby to offer comfort and support. I know God loves His Children.

My youngest son's expression is a good representation of how all my boys feel about their new baby sister.

Our New World of Photography

2008-05-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

We've always dreamed of having a decent camera to satiate our appetite for developing our photography skills. Thanks to Uncle Sam, we received our Economic Stimulus gift and that dream came true. I can't guarantee our skills will improve, but the pictures will certainly improve over those of past camera's we've owned.

We didn't get the fanciest, highest featured camera, but we got one that seems to be just right for our amateur needs. We bought a Nikkon D40 6.1 mega pixel, Digital SLR Camera with a bonus zoom lens with vibration reduction for under $600 from Costco.com. It has more features and options than any camera we've ever owned.

So the past few days we've been experimenting with the camera. Although I still do some post-shoot editing, most of it is cropping and a little brightening in some cases. Anyway, here are a few results from our new camera (click on picture to see detail better):

Spring is the perfect time for testing colors and close-ups. I love the depth of field this new camera provides. And it has some nice vivid pictures...its not washed out like the point-and-shoot tended to be. And the focus is tons clearer than our point and shoot.

How about moving targets? I was stunned when I saw how clear this seagull turned out in mid-flight. On top of that the blurred background makes it stand out.

Friday night the beach had an eerie orange haze as the sun set giving a fitting backdrop to the skeletal remains of Peter Iredale.

One of the best tests is the moon. I was quite pleased with how well the zoom lens took shots of the moon. This picture was cropped and still has a lot of detail without the grain--a testimonial to the value of increasing mega pixels.

This is one of my favorites. Not only does this cropped shot say a lot about the capability of the camera, I was also fascinated with the unique opportunity of snapping wild life in action in my own backyard. I was fascinated at the scope of this scene. It's like a single snapshot of this mortal life: start of new life (the specks of pollen came out so clear I was surprised), our reliance on each other, and death completes the circle.

More Spring in the NW 2008

2008-04-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Tall Order for the Columbia River

2008-04-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, I heard on the radio that an over sized ship carrying an unusually large cargo was anchored in Hammond, OR waiting to resume its journey to the Port of Portland (OR) until Thursday morning when the tide was low enough for its 185 ft. tall cargo to clear the nearly 200 ft-high Astoria-Megler Bridge. We decided to take a look:

The giant 490ft wide crane sits firm on its Post-Panamax (too big to fit through the Panama Canal) carrier and rests briefly after a month-long journey from China.

Before sunrise Thursday morning, when the tide was low, the Columbia Bar Pilots quickly outran the fog that was rolling in from Young's Bay and slipped the Zhen Hua 17 under the Astoria-Megler bridge with four feet of clearance. (Daily Astorian)

It's hard to see just how giant this structure is with the massive mouth of the Columbia River. But you can get a little reference if you look at the little dots (windows) on the sides of the ships and consider that each row of windows is about one story high.

After clearing the Astoria-Megler bridge just ahead of the fog, the Columbia River Bar Pilots turned the ship over to the Columbia River Pilots for its more difficult challenge: the 195ft Lewis and Clark Bridge at Longview, Washington...

A Few Pictures of Recent Trips to Lacamas Lake

2008-03-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from some of our trips to Lacamas Lake in Camas, WA.:

All kinds of vegetation: Trees, flowers, moss,....(The picture used for the blog title also came from Lacamas Lake Park.

One of the waterfalls in the "pot holes" section below the dam.

My son spotted this 'alligator' as we were walking down the northwest inlet of Lacamas Lake.

This picture was taken on one of the snowy mornings. The weather was weird that day with a mix of snow, rain, sun off and on all day. I really like the contrast of the branches with the pure blue backdrop with a hint of white clouds in this picture.

I love my youngest son's expression in this picture. He demanded I take a picture of the plant. I like how this picture turned out with the plant standing out in focus in fulfillment of his request, while the subject I wanted (my son) fills the background with just a slight blur. Everyone once in a while our little cheap, reconditioned 4.1 mega pixel point-and-shoot takes some better-than-usual pictures.

Lacamas Lake, Camas, WA

2008-03-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Camas, Washington is where I grew up (at least through my social years of middle school and high school.) I have a ton of good memories of that city.

I get quite depressed whenever I visit, though. It has changed a lot from its former, small-town culture. Most of the homes are expensive homes and the whole characteristic of the town is different. The forested areas and fields I used to play in are now crammed with expensive homes with no yards. The tree-lined roads and beautiful natural creeks and forest oasis' in the middle of the neighborhoods are traded for money and replaced with gigantic homes that stomp out all of Camas' raw beauty. It's like going to the movie theater that you've gone to forever, sitting in your favorite seat and then all of a sudden a super large person plops down right in front of you, blocking your view every time. Makes me feel like those who took over Camas don't appreciate the value of what was originally there. I suppose that's the typical story of community growth--or maybe I'm just jealous that they live there now...and that they can afford such nice houses.

However, regardless of all those changes, there are some constants that have been preserved for which I am grateful.

One of them is Lacamas Lake and Round Lake up the hill to the North almost out of town. The Lakes themselves are pretty cool, but the awesome stuff is the below the dam in what we called the 'Pot Holes.' Who would have thought hidden away in this small town was some of the prettiest natural carved rock features and waterfalls. As the water tumbled over these rock beds, they would dig deep pits and create several waterfalls. This was my playground for several years of cross country (we had the best course in the division), track, and school field trips. My brother even did his trail improvement Eagle Scout Project at the park.

Here you can see Lacamas Lake which is connected at the south to Round Lake (not labeled, but obvious). At the southern-most end of Round Lake is the dam and the myriad of trails taking you through some beautiful forests with creeks, and water falls, and plant life and a ton of interesting things to soak up. In the bottom right corner (in the dark green vegetation just east-northeast to my High School Football stadium (the high school has since relocated) is a little white patch...that is the long, cascading falls. Comparing it to the stadium, you can get a feel for how long it is.

The other constant is the place of the world's best french fries, Top Burger. Every time we visit Camas we get an order of fries...and sometimes we splurge and order a malt too. The food is still as good as I remember it. I think another reason why I like eating there is because of the many times I would go there with friends.

Top Burger is the building on the corner of 15th and Everett. The clue is all the cars in the parking lot! I used to live about six blocks to the west on 15th st. My High School is (was) a block to the east.

So this Spring Break we took a trip to Camas for a nice walk and some good fries! And I reminisced the good 'ol days.

Wintry Spring Day

2008-03-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Spring has officially begun! Spring is my favorite season--the weather warms up, flowers start shining bright colors all over, the sun stays out to play longer and longer. Everything is new and fresh and waking up.

Today started out as a normal day of rain, rain, rain, here on the north Oregon coast--quenching the grass and flowers' winter thirst (OK, so they drink almost daily, year-round here).

The flowers have already started stretching out in the warmer weather and longer sun. The grass also has been reaching towards the sky taunting the lawn mower.

However, as the day progressed another wonderful surprise sprinkled this spring day: SNOW!!! Giant, quiet flakes of whipped ice peacefully floating from the sky and gently lighting down, in contrast, on the dark evergreens and bright green grass.

Enough snow to magnify the excitement of Spring Break as the boys capture the opportunity to play in this rare treat to the North Oregon Coast.

Although shaken a bit by the surprise, the spring flowers remained bright and warm in counterpoint.

More Photo Quiz

2008-03-19T22:54:00.001-07:00

A circus tent post? Tight-Rope?

Is this Mt. Kilauea?! A glowing furry thingy?

Maybe an alien petting its dog??

Is this in a swamp? A glimpse of part of a caterpillar?

Speaking of caterpillars...this looks like the fuzzy kind.

Guest Blogger: T

2008-03-16T17:58:00.001-07:00

Super Mario Galaxy is fun. Red muhsrooms Make you have six hearts. Green mushrooms give you 1 extra life.Collect power ups such as Bee suet,Ranbow star,Fire plant,Ice plant,Boo- suit,Spring suit.

Mystery Pics 1

2008-03-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd try something in an attempt to be fun. Can you tell what these pictures are? Click the pic to see if you got the right answer:

Hmmmm. Interesting Colors and texture.

Where's the beef?!

Is this from some alien world? Actually much of its world is ironically still a mystery.

Jaws of death?!! To some wonderers and passerbys, perhaps.

Juicy Orange, Strawberry, Watermelon flavored?

Recent Photos

2008-03-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

Ecola State Park (Oregon) during golden hour before the sun is dowsed by the Pacific Ocean.

And the plane jumped over the moon.

I like the silhouette with the blue-ish layers in the background.

Portland Oregon Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the reflecting pool.

Can't go without more 3-D pictures to add new depth to the incredible view at Ecola State Park.

Flash Attacks

2008-02-27T21:19:00.001-08:00

These are some great flash animations by artist, Alan Becker, that I was introduced to today. The artist mentioned on his gallery website it took three months to make the first animation and five months to make the second. There is a lot of detail, so you have to watch them more than once to catch it all. Very well done!

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviant ART

Animator vs. Animation II by *alanbecker on deviant ART

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

2008-02-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

Since I've been in a video mood (much more interesting than my commentary, in my opinion), here's an animated slide show of McMinnville, Oregon's Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home of the Spruce Goose, that I made a few years ago. Its a good snapshot of some of the cools things to see there.

Just the Spruce Goose alone is an amazing site. It's housed in a large airplane hanger...practically takes up the whole building and dwarf the dozens of other fascinating planes on display. The Spruce Goose is basically a giant flying boat made out of laminated wood set in layers. It sits 79 feet tall, 218 feet long, the wings span 319 feet with eight 3,000 horsepower engines driving 17 foot diameter propellers. Its first and only flight lasted about one minute as it flew almost a mile distance at 70 feet altitude to the surprise and silence of skeptics. Pictures can't capture the magnitude of this unique aircraft.

Please enjoy a quick, virtual tour of the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum:

Technical notes: This video was also an experiment with some of the transitions, music, and pan-and-zoom features that Pinnacle Studio video editing software provided.

Super T And The Runaway Ship

2008-02-24T22:07:00.001-08:00

Can our super hero save a ship from utter destruction as a larger, out-of-control ship plows towards it. Watch and find out!

Shortly after my dad gave us our first video camera as a combined birthday present, I experimented with the blue screen (chroma screen) feature of our video editing software. This is how the cheesy, ad hoc experiment turned-out.

For the blue screen we used an amazingly effective blue blanket draped over the back of the couch--this is how we could fly. I hung a blue tarp from the ceiling for the backdrop...but, as you can see, it didn't work very well--too much white light reflection.

Anyway, even with all of its obvious imperfections, its still one of my favorite creations...especially since it was more or less a create-as-we-go (improv) situation. Plus I really enjoyed spending the few hours with my middle son who was very cooperative.

Its amazing what you can do when you just lose your job and have a little extra time on your hands all of a sudden. Its was a bit relaxing during a very stressful time.

A Real Post

2008-02-16T20:44:00.000-08:00

Much too long ago, I kind of cheated on my last posts by more or less cutting a pasting.

However, I do want make a few brief comments on President of Gordon B. Hinckley, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who passed away a few weeks ago.

"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt. 7:20) Not many people yield fruit as good as President Hinckley did. He loves God as is evidence by his unshaking testimony and willingness to go the extra mile in his service of the Savior. He seemed to go non-stop always trying help the stone 'cut out without hands' (Dan. 2:34) roll on with increasing momentum. During his watch on the tower (Ezekiel 33:7), he saw 13 million members of the church, and 124 Temples in operation around the world. You can tell by the sincerity and powerful testimony when speaks that he loves God and loves people. His love of people is also manifest in his desire to travel around the world bearing his testimony of the Savior and expressing his love to a multitude of congregations. He also instigated a fund to provide specific education loans for people around the world who needed a boost so they could be successful temporally as well as spiritually. Many of the good works he did are not publicly known, but evidenced by the growth of the church and its programs.

The thing that amazes me is that he endured 97 years to the end...living righteously, keeping a clear mind, and continuously working day to day under the direction of the Lord. I have a hard enough time enduring day to day, let alone almost 27,000 days. I guess that's the example...its making good choices each day, each choice, one at a time. And when you make less than perfect choices, fixing it and moving forward always improving upon the previous day. Then the 27,000 days inperceptibly build with one righteous personal victory after another.

President Hinckley reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon (Alma 13:3, 10-13 :

And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;

Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.

Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.

I hope I can follow President Hinckley's example and be as faithful and clear-minded as he was everyday for 97 years!

Naturally 7 -- Another Unique Acappella Group

2008-02-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Naturally 7

Beloved Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, Dies at 97

2008-01-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

SALT LAKE CITY 27 January 2008 President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.

The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from cause’s incident to age. Member of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.

President Gordon B. Hinckley Testimony

A few highlights from President Gordon B. Hinckley's leadership.

President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 95, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering nearly 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders. A profoundly spiritual man, he had a great fondness for history and often peppered his sermons with stories from the Church’s pioneer past.

He was a popular interview subject with journalists, appearing on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and on CNN’s Larry King Live, as well as being quoted and featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines over the years. During the Salt Lake Olympics of 2002, his request that the Church refrain from proselytizing visitors was credited by media with generating much of the goodwill that flowed to the Church from the international event.

In recent years, a number of major developments in the Church reflected President Hinckley’s personal drive and direction. In calling for 100 temples to be in operation before the end of the year 2000, the Church president committed the Church to a massive temple-building program.
In 1999 — 169 years after the Church was organized by its founder, Joseph Smith — the Church had 56 operating temples. Three years later that number had doubled, largely because of a smaller, highly practical temple architectural plan that delivered these sacred buildings to Church members in far-flung parts of the world. Many more Church members can now experience the sacred ceremonies that occur only in temples, including marriages for eternity and the sealing of families in eternal units.

President Hinckley was the most traveled president in the Church’s history. His duties took him around the world many times to meet with Latter-day Saints in more than 60 countries. He was the first Church president to travel to Spain, where in 1996 he broke ground for a temple in Madrid; and to the African nations of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Cape Verde, where he met with thousands of Latter-day Saints in 1998. In 2005, he traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation, nine-day tour to Russia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

At a general conference of Church members in April 2001, President Hinckley initiated the Perpetual Education Fund — an ambitious program to help young members of the Church (mainly returning missionaries from developing countries) receive higher education and work-related training that they would otherwise likely never receive.

Closer to his Salt Lake City home, President Hinckley announced the construction of a new Conference Center in 1996 and dedicated it four years later. Seating 21,000 people, it is believed to be the largest religious and theater auditorium in the world and has become the hub for the Church’s general conference messages to the world, broadcast in 54 languages.

Even before his term as president, President Hinckley’s extensive Church service included 14 years as a counselor in the First Presidency, the highest presiding body in the government of the Church, and 20 years before that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

President Hinckley was born 23 June 1910 in Salt Lake City, a son of Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley. One of his forebears, Stephen Hopkins, came to America on the Mayflower. Another, Thomas Hinckley, served as governor of the Plymouth Colony from 1680 to 1692.
President Hinckley’s first job was as a newspaper carrier for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City daily. After attending public schools in Salt Lake City, he earned a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Utah and then served two years as a full-time missionary for the Church in Great Britain. He served with distinction and ultimately was appointed as an assistant to the Church apostle who presided over all the European missions.

Upon successfully completing his missionary service in the mid-1930s, he was asked by Heber J. Grant, then president of the Church, to organize what has become the Church's Public Affairs Department.

President Hinckley began serving as a member of the Sunday School general board in 1937, two years after returning home from missionary service in Great Britain. For 20 years he directed all Church public communications. In 1951 he was named executive secretary of the General Missionary Committee, managing the entire missionary program of the Church, and served in this capacity for seven years.

On 6 April 1958, while serving as president of the East Millcreek Stake in Salt Lake City (a stake is similar to a diocese), President Hinckley was appointed as a general authority, or senior full-time leader of the Church. In this capacity he served as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles before being appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 5 October 1961.

President Hinckley received a number of educational honors, including the Distinguished Citizen Award from Southern Utah University; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Utah; and honorary doctorates from Westminster College, Utah State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, Utah Valley State College and Salt Lake Community College. The Gordon B. Hinckley Endowment for British Studies, a program focused on the arts, literature and history of the United Kingdom, was established at the University of Utah.

President Hinckley was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America; was honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews) for his contributions to tolerance and understanding in the world; and received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2004, President Hinckley was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in the White House.

In March 2000 President Hinckley addressed the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He also addressed the Religion Newswriters Association and the U.S. Conference of Mayors and twice addressed the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.

President Hinckley wrote and edited several books and numerous manuals, pamphlets and scripts, including a best-selling book, Standing for Something, aimed at a general audience. In it he championed the virtues of love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness, mercy, thrift and industry, gratitude, optimism and faith. He also testified of what he called the “guardians of virtue,” namely traditional marriage and family.

President Hinckley married Majorie Pay in the Salt Lake Temple in 1937. They have five children, 25 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. Sister Hinckley passed away 6 April 2004.

Taken from:

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

A Few Recent Pics (not 3-D)

2008-01-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Click to see a larger version (and more detail)

65 ft Young's River Falls (Astoria, OR)

From the mouth of the Columbia River we can see Mt. St. Helen's 130 (or so) miles away. Right above the river's horizon, you can make out the 4+ mile-long Astoria-Megler bridge.

Sunset @ Sunset Beach, OR (fairly close to the actual colors)

A point of clarification: The first and last pictures (the best pictures on this blog) we actually taken by my brother-in-law. The pictures I took of the same subjects with my point-and-shoot didn't capture the color as well as his camera did (you can kind of tell by comparing the middle picture).

Thanks for your comments.

A Few More 3-D Pics

2008-01-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

Another view of the Lewis and Clark River near Ft. Clatsop.

A small sample of a wind-swept forest. Again the 3-D gives a significantly better perspective of the wind's capabilities.

I know most people looking at these pictures don't have a pair of 3-D glasses just laying around the house, but hopefully you will have a chance to see these pictures in three dimensions. It adds a depth and perspective. Its easier to imagine being there looking at it. Its well worth it. I'm still amazed at how neat the 3-D pictures turn out.

All I do is take a picture with one eye, then with the other eye and focus on the same point. (A tip: for objects far away, you may need to separate the two pictures by more than an "eye's length" away--see the Mt. St. Helens 3-D picture.) Then using picture-editing software, I take the red channel out of the right-eyed picture, take the green and blue channels out of the left-eyed picture, overlap them, and align both picture to a common point--voila! Stereo picture!

What's Your Highest "You've Got Your Hands Full" Rating?

2008-01-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

I'm going to cheat on this post and refer you to a post I did on our Daily Dose of Mischief blog. On that blog, we document cute and mischievous things our boys do. (Mainly so we have proof that they deserve what they get from their kids -- I know your reading this, son.)

Anyway, I know judge our experiences going out in public as a family based on a "You've Got Your Hand's Full" rating. Read about it here.

Also, here are a few more 3-d pictures--hopefully you have 3-D glasses...its like your there:

Here is a picture across the Lewis and Clark River near Ft. Clatsop.

There is no way to really explain the destruction that occurred in the forests from last month's huge wind storm. Even pictures can't capture the massiveness of the impact as forest trees either snapped like toothpicks or pulled their roots out of the ground. 3-D helps bring out a taste of the awe-inspiring power of the wind. I'll try to get more 3-d picture samples like this.

Cool, Warm Moon

2008-01-09T23:41:00.000-08:00

We were driving around looking at Christmas lights one evening and noticed the moon rising over the Washington State Horizon across the Columbia River. Although this 38-second video is just kind of a thrown-together thing and not very interesting, I really liked how cool the moon looked. Hopefully you can get a little taste of what it really looked like in real life. At the end of the video you can see the moon rising over a 'parked' ship. (Harry Connick's 'Heavenly' is also a fitting song.)

Guest Blogger: T

2008-01-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

This is a link to the past.I'v played it befor. It was awsome!Im not very good at it but I still love it.

Disney 2007: Day 4

2008-01-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

Actually, we didn't go to Disneyland on Day 4, we just went to the Lego Store in "Downtown Disney."

Here's "Luke Skywalker" posing with his good friend R2D2 just moments before......

...meeting up with the long, long ago, in a galaxy far far away's most notorious wayward good guy.

Here, Kitty, Kitty

"It's a small world after all...." unless you're the one putting all of these tiny Legos together.

Speaking of tiny Legos, this Giraffe was almost life size, towering way above our head to the the ceiling. I can't even imagine how many Lego's it took to do this...and the person who made it probably went broke considering we paid about $3 for five lego pieces to create one customized Lego person.

This was impressive as well. I'm guessing this was about 10 feet high or more.

Disney 2007: Day 3

2007-12-29T01:43:00.000-08:00

My boys holding their prized Micky Mouse Suckers.

...with their prized Micky Mouse suckers standing in front of Boo's door. I didn't realize how big those doors to the people world really were. (The exhibit opens in Spring 2008)

This captures the steam train and the big Micky Mouse Head planted in the front of the Main Street Terminal.

I really like how this turned out with no flash while waiting in line for the Indiana Jones ride. I love the colors and the lighting that gets drowned out when you use a flash. The silhouettes added a nice frame. (unplanned)

Here is my son battling Darth Maul at the Jedi Academy. He was chosen to be one of the dozen or so Jedi Padawan students. While in training Darth Maul and Darth Vader crashed the party and tried to make all the younglings join the dark side.

My son defeating Darth Vader just a few minutes after learning basic light sabre technique. Fortunately none of the Padawans joined the dark side and together they caused Darth Vader and Darth Maul to retreat. Thus my son graduated from Padawan school!

California's Golden Arches. The lighted Golden Gate bridge guarding the entrance to Disney's California Adventure.

Disney 2007 Day 2

2007-12-28T08:47:00.001-08:00

You may recognize this signature landscape. I am fascinated with how realistic they made things look, even though the materials were significantly different than the things they were made to represent. Great artistry.

I decided to take some video with my digital camera as we rode on Thunder Mountain Railroad--more perspective photography/videography that I enjoy .

The front side of Cinderella's Castle was decked out in glowing icicles and shimmering snow on the roof. I love the cool, blue glow. It also reflected nicely in its moat.

Disney 2007 Day 1

2007-12-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

The backside of Cinderella's Castle from the line to Peter Pan.

Tarzan's Tree House, had a path taking you way up into the life-like man-made tree where you ran into a cougar and saw a little bit of Tarzan's history. Then the walkway takes you back down to swing on ropes among other interactive activities.

Disneyland was decorated beautifully for the holidays with Christmas lights all over main street. Christmas music played through speakers along the street. A very nice touch.

"It's A Small World" was decked out for the Holidays with passerby's surrounded with calming Christmas music (Taken without a flash).

A closer view of the the festive "Small World." This ride was also changed for the holiday with Christmas decorations everywhere! "Jingle Bells" was mixed in between the 'It's A Small World" lyrics...well orchestrated. This ride really gets picked on, but in reality it is a very impressive exhibit.

Christmas Music

2007-12-19T23:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some samples of some of my favorite Christmas music. The Blenders (another, often, a capella group) have great arrangements, range, and blend.

I also really like how well the sound is mixed on the recordings. It seems to capture the full blend, frequency range, and depth of their voices. From these clips, their live performance is well mixed as well.

They are quite talented. You can hear more samples from their website: http://www.theblenders.com/main.html

What are your favorite Christmas artists/songs?

The Highlight of Last Week

2007-12-17T00:34:00.001-08:00

Now that I've recorded some of my experiences and thoughts about the storm we had two weeks ago, I can go back to regularly (or regular random) scheduled programing with lighter topic mixed with occasional contemplative posts.

My kids never fail to surprise me. They do things I would never think of...yet when you realize their reasoning, it totally makes sense. You can read this last week's unique experience by meandering down the Moss Grove Wildlife Trail Head...

The Unexplainable Impact

2007-12-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

The crazy storm two weeks ago and the week-long+ after math left a very significant impression on me. How quickly things can change and how fragile things can be and how human behavior is affected by significant disruptions and threats to one's basic needs. I learned to respect the power of nature and was left to rethink my priorities. I definitely want to be proactive about any potential threats like that again.

I also learned how mindful Heavenly Father is of our needs. Miracles are witnessed everywhere through this storm--mercy echoes through every aspect of this storm from the storm to the protection from the storm to the lessons learned through this storm. I realized the significance of the word "Father" when respectfully referring to God as our Heavenly Father.

I'm sure I will have more contemplative moments reflecting different things that soaked into my mind and heart from the storm. But hopefully they will be helpful to you. Although I fear its almost impossible to understand the full impact of an experience like this without actually living through it, I hope some of the stuff I have said or will say about it will help someone else be better prepared and apply the experience to their lives.

I have much better respect and empathy for those who endured similar and worse experiences than I did.

You can also read about how it affected others--and see more pictures--by reading recent posts on some of the blog links listed in my Trail Heads links.

The Daily Astorian Photos and Stories of Wind Storm

2007-12-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=155&TM=49321.75

The Hurricane Unknown to the World, Day 4

2007-12-11T22:12:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, December 3, 2007

7:30am. The wind storm is officially over, but the power is still out almost everywhere (even some of the power is out again where they had it going last night,) phones are still out. The utility crews are working hard. You see trucks everywhere--its quite reassuring.

The telephone company discovered four breaks in their fibre optic cable ring that connects us to the outside world. The fibre optic ring is designed so if it breaks, the signal goes back the other way, so service isn't disrupted. However with the four breaks, both routes were cut-off.

The kids have been troopers through it all. Even though there is no school for the rest of the week and they get antsy, they are actually better behaved with the power off! Although at night they tend to get more impatient with the power outage.

Off to work.

6:00pm. The challenge for work today was how to process payroll without power. We were determined to make it happen this week even if we had to write the checks manually. Direct Deposit is out because that has to be submited online two days before payday...which would be today. Our payroll clerk is calculating time sheets with an abacus...Ok, actually its a plain calculator.

One of the group homes bought a generator with some of their savings so we decided to try taking the server to that group home and entering payroll in the accounting system with the generator power. We took the single-desktop computer uninterupted power supply (ups)to regulate the unsteady power from the generator. It worked amazingly well!--and the battery back-up was useful more than once. Payroll went much quicker than the nightmare thought of doing it all by hand.

So our payroll person hung out at the group home entering payroll directly on the server and I hung out at the office opening the three-days worth of mail and being available when we needed odds and end information from the office for payroll.

While I was there one of the office staff people we hadn't heard from yet came to check on us. We were glad she was alright.

The director and associate director went to run errands to all the homes, such as the heaters that were picked up in Portland yesterday.

With all the running around, I concluded I had to get gas. Earlier that day, it was reported that Fred Meyer was hooking up generators to their gas pumps and had a couple truck loads of gas lined up to make there was enough for everybody. I waited in line for a half anhour to get gas which actually surprised me because the lines at a very few other gas stations I saw or heard about (running with generators) were several blocks long.

As I was coming home after a full day, I noticed the street light start to glow. To my joy the power came back on!! That was a relief because our freezer already had stuff dripping down the fridge from melting, the big freezer was reaching the end of its ice age, and the frozen turkey we put in the fridge to keep it cool was getting thawed out pretty well. I got home to lights on in the kitchen...and the phone rang.

It was from a family friend in Vancouver! The phones were working again! It was nice to have contact with the world again! When our director went to Portland yesterday, they made a few calls to family in Vancouver for us so they would know we were alright.

After reporting on how well we were doing, the lights flickered, got really dim and went black. My middle son and I went outside and saw bright blue-ish light flash from behind distant trees, then we heard an long electric growl--must be a transformer blowout. When you start a vacuum the lights in your home flicker the instant its turned on, perhaps with thousands of electrical appliances starting all at once when the power came it overloaded a transformer. I don't know how it all works, but that's what I imagine. Seeing and hearing the electrical explosion instantly gave me respect for the power of those quite electricity lines running overhead along the roads.

So our power was out again. It felt like dangling on a yo-yo--just get our hopes up after 3 1/2 days without power and then within an hour its out again. But there was still hope because one block away from us the street lights still dotted the roads and the glow from the Fred Meyer vicinity was glowing.

9:00pm. After the power went out, some friends of ours decided to visit family in the Portland area and let us borrow their generator. We tried it on our freezer for about five minutes, but the fumes and the noise disturbed us too much so, we decided to go to Fred Meyer to try our luck getting ice.

It was refreshing seeing a somewhat normal visit to the store. Although they had generators during the storm, Fred Meyer still pulled all of their freezer/fridge items and put them somewhere. I don't know if they locked them in a freezer to stay cool or if they had to throw it out, but when we got there they were beginning to restock the frozen foods. Not surprisingly, the ice was gone.

This visit was different than what my co-worker described her experience when she went on Monday. She said people were animals. I guess when you're paniced and not prepared, your more willing to compromise your ethics and courtesies. I don't know, but it makes me want to be prepared all the time, so don't have to be at the mercy of panic and its thoughtless compromising.

While we were there, we ran into one of our fellow church members. We exchanged reports on how we faired the storm. They lost all of the trees on their lot and one tree pierced their roof..fortunately, not a whole lot. They were still without power or phone. Gratefully, the friends who let us borrow their generator also let us borrow a cell phone on the only cell phone service that's been active throughout the week...and only at certain hot spots (Fred Meyer was close to one of them). She was able to call home for the first time all week to let her family know they were alright.

Shortly after we got home, the power came back on again! I called our bishop to give him a status report on our contact with fellow church members.

We went to sleep without the Kerosene heater, candles, and we were out of glow sticks!