"Seth, Come Down! For I'm Going to Your House Today"

The Obama inaguration was the highlight of my week. We arrived at Union Station at 8:30am. Should have been there by 5. The line for the bathroom was an Anaconda. No toilet paper and impatient woman from the much longer snake to the ladies room were using the men's room too. Talk about change. 

Anyhow, we saw Dikembe Mutombo in Union Station. He didn't need to arrive early. He can see over the crowd. 

So we waited on the bathrooms for 45min. then hit the streets. I had 15 government students with me and 3 other sponsors. We tried the southern route to get to the mall, but there was a crowd jam because a little boy had been hit by a car. The crowd was so thick that the ambulence was marooned there at the intersection, so we turned around to hike north around the capital building.  May barricaded streets let us to make quite a detore so that we approached the mall from the south near the Washington monument. They had closed off entries to the mall due to a maxed out capacity. We could see the crowd over the crest of a hill, but the mass was not moving, so even the jumbotron monitors were out of range. We were able to hear the address from our section of the sardine can. 

Folks were climbing trees, perching on top of the porta potties, and on each other's shoulders. It was warm in the mass and the mood was light despite our distance from the action. 

Idea for Christmas

I've been wanting to write up a short review of Forschner knives for a while--because everyone cutting food anywhere should have a few sharp knives.

Angela and I are knife snobs. She has Wusthof knives and we recieved Cutco knives from Heather on our wedding day. You get what you pay for with knives at this level. They are a joy to use. But for non-snobs who havn't thought to ever plunk down $300 for a few good knives I'm happy report that there are Forschner knives. They are good enough for production kitchens (Chipotle for one). 

Forschner knives don't have the glitzy sports car look. Most have hypo-allergic nearly indestructable Nylon--"Fibrox"--handles.  Right then. Life time warranty. High carbon stainless steel rust proof blades. 

So what? Well, they are as sharp and hold an edge like the Wosthof knives we own. And... they are cheap. Cheap! (for the quality). They are better than what you can buy at Kitchen Collection or Walmart. They compete with the best overpriced peices at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. 

Check them out: www.cadcutlery.com

If you have no high quality knives you should start with a Chef's knife. Then add the following to your set. 

• 7" or 8" Chef knife (one wavy edge and one straight edge).
• A couple paring knives. (one wavy edge and one straight edge).
• 10" wavy edge bread knife (under kitchen knives).

Or see if one of the knife sets fits your needs. Keep them in a block. Don't put them in the dishwasher and the edge will last for a very long time between sharpenings. 

Non-Writing

Non-writing is my new hobby. It a lot easier to find non-readers and stimulate non-creativity.  Granted, I've been busy. 

• planned a wedding.
• got hitched.
• moved 3000+ miles.
• started teaching Geometry.
• havn't taken Geometry for 12 years.
• trying to unpack the house.

So there! 

That's a Lot of Hot Air

It felt like the tropics, only at high velocity. We wore jackets more for protection from small flying projectiles than for warmth. Last weekend's storm formed from typhoons out near Hawaii and left me stranded in Astoria without power for a couple days. I was able to return home to Portland Tuesday morning when they opened one lane of I-30, but even then we were forging rivers. Dozens of electric company trucks were passing me headed into the disaster zone from as far away as Salt Lake City.

Well, large flying projectiles (such as 2x4s and corrugated metal siding) and trees fallen across the road were the only dangers we encountered on the way to the beach Monday morning. The wind was blowing hard enough then that even the soaked sand of the beach was taking to the air. In all it was quite an adventure. Electricity is slowing moving back up the county line to warm, feed, and entertain the people who lived through this really fantastic storm. I've never been to Hawaii, but as of last weekend, Hawaii has been to me.

When Nature Goes Bizzerk

I've never seen a sea bird act like this. Psychotic bats despairing over blindness and badly befuddled sonar I'd expect to flirt with death like this. Even well adjusted bats have buzzed me at times, but nothing like this bird that buzzed Jenna last weekend. The bird hovered just a few feet over the dogs head, easily within striking distance, and just long enough for the kill instinct to pump adrenalin to her Malamute brain. A 200 yard chase down the beach ensued with Jenna launching into the air, twisting, and nipping. Picture how teenage cats romp when teenage boys tease them by shining laser pointers on the wall. Well, the bird failed the suicide mission if that was it's goal. But the chase lasted a surreal minute and a half--most of which I was too dumb and confused to capture anything exciting. Just these.

God's Will

I found it in Astoria. Though not exactly what I had in mind, when God does try to fit inside my mind, it's usually to change it.

MP3 player saga: c150, e240.

The Apple iPod, as everything Apple does, is aggrandized iCandy, and you don't need an iExam to notice that the prices are a bit higher than the competition. Though the billions of people sporting an iPod right now think they are different and technologically discriminating, there are still a few who like products that work well without the "get mugged on the street" appeal (though the iPhone is the new product to be mugged for).

So I've been looking around for the simple alternative. Nothing wrong with the iPod I suppose, but I don't want to spend that much, and I don't care for being forced to use iTunes and proprietary file conversion. (I also like an FM tuner and the option to record voice notes). Not to mention that when the iPod battery goes south in a year or so, it's an expensive repair. The Sansa E240 seemed like a perfect fit. I wrote an article on it in Jan. 2006. Problem is...


Yeah, a cracked screen put an end to that party within the first week of ownership. I must admit that Sandisk sent me a new one that is working fine today, but I carefully shroud it in an expensive leather case and gingerly play music when needing some gentile relaxation. I don't think I would sumo wrestle with this player though it is advertised as having a rugged titanium back--the screen is fragile

Now my other (lost then found) cheap Sandisk 512mb player is about unbreakable. I paid $60 for that one and it has proven more hardy than my $130 Sandisk e240 which was the intended replacement. So now I have two Sandisk players. The little cheap 512mb one that is rugged and very easy to drag and drop media to quickly; and the larger more feature rich, but seemingly fragile 4GB player. I suppose I'm satisfied with this combo, but it has taught me that maybe less is more. I loan the 4GB player to Angela, and it holds most of my music collection, and I am constantly swapping podcasts to my 512mb player for running and toting around.

But I'm still on the lookout for new solutions for versatile players that could fill the cheap, sturdy, iPod alternative niche. The Creative Stone Plus is worth a look. It's sturdy, very small, drag and drop, and inexpensive. I like it because it will support mp3/WMA files, has an FM tuner, a voice recorder, is extremely small, 2GB of memory, has a screen, and looks and feels sturdy. That's all good really, but the price is the same as the 1GB iPod shuffle which lacks a tuner, recorder, and screen. So with several useful features, twice the memory, and a price of $69, it's quite a deal. Of course it comes in various color options.

Could be a good first or auxiliary mp3 player. Creative also makes a Stone without a screen at 1GB for $39 which is as good as the iPod shuffle which cost's $74. The extra price of the Stone Plus is worth it in my book just for the screen and extra 1GB of memory.

Day at the Grotto

Dressing up for a date is the closest life comes to being a butterfly in a rose garden for a day. It really was a nice setting, and here are some pictures of Angela from the Grotto.

New Macros

Greetings,

I'm still alive and have some new macro shots in my galleries. The featured flower is the wild Columbia lily, with a 1.5 inch bloom. It's the only lily native to the Pacific Northwest.

Thanks for looking.

Angela

Angela and I met in college on a snowboarding trip. Five year later we seem to have stumbled onto the same trail and into love. God's surprises are best.

Alphabet Soup in Astoria

Darcy's rules were to find the Alphabet in non-letter shapes. I added a few rules of my own:

1. Alphabet must be taken sequentially. 2. One shot per letter. 3. We couldn't shoot the same subject for the same letter.

Here's what I came up with.

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

"Like Coming Home"

The First Buick I've Loved

Political Satire (One Liners)

No one has done more to disprove evolutionary theory than Gorge W Bush.

What's in a Name?

Two of my new favorite web sites:

1. Chocolate
2. Boats

To Be Known

To Be Known

I live inside myself
Conscious of thoughts
At times I'd want withheld
And I do hide--usually by choice.

Cruel twist, my shaking core,
This collection of human emotion;
Born from the plot line of loves failed
Seeks again to be examined.

So lift my eyes to the window,
Study this blush of affection,
And see if being known
Is where you want to be.

The Desire of This Age

***Update: The project is underway. If you would like to join, I would love co-readers and co-authors as we blog through The Desire of Ages this year.***

wallygoots.wordpress.com

Last year I read the Bible. This year I have decided to read the Desire of Ages. It's more than a goal to read a book. I want to be in Christ. The Bible is heavy with accumulation of this theme. Everything that we are not and hope to be has it's fulfillment in Christ. There is just something about being "in" and to experience this is to know the mysteries of conversion.

I would love to have company and dialog. So if you are looking to be in Christ this year, you should join me. 5 chapters a week; you may pick up with me any week; any chapter. It's never to late to participate.

This week:

God With Us
The Chosen People
The Fullness of Time
Unto You a Saviour
The Dedication

Quote of the Day: God With Us.

"In Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen."

Now doesn't that make your socks roll up and down?

Catching Up With iKids

Apple is the evil genius behind what every person under the age of 29 will soon want. Ah, marketing. So to clue in adults everywhere, first some vocab (that even I, at age 30, have learned):

"iPod" -- It's the most popular digital music player in the world, created by the Apple company. Basically, song files can be taken from CDs (ripped) and put on your computer's hard drive. Songs, movies, and other media content can also be downloaded from the internet. Apple's iPod has a tiny hard drive or flash card with capacities of 2-80 gigs. 2 gigs will store and play about 28 hours of music. iPod really isn't an MP3 player because Apple uses a proprietary file type. (MP3 is a compressed format). There are many digital music players by other companies that recognized MP3, and other compressed format media.

"Cell Phone" -- Yeah, you know, but younger folks think differently than we do. A cell phone is a small computer used for constant connection with friends. It's like what you didn't discover the internet was until just recently--a constant connection. Beyond this, a cell phone is a powerful status symbol for a young kid. Should it be? Maybe not, but that is why kids are scrambling to buy coveted cell phone models for prices that make my socks jump down my ankles and into the toes of my shoes.

"TM" -- Not Trade Mark, Text Messaging. Kids peck lines of text out on their phone keypads at 10+ words per minute these days. It's astounding--why don't they just call their friends? Well because, they can text in class while pretending to pay attention, it uses less air time, and it's more exclusive.

So then, this weekend Apple Computer (Now Apple Incorporated) introduced iPhone. Think about how a kid would view the merging of Christmas, Halloween, and Disney Land. It's the new iPhone. Seamless music player, video player, complete internet function, large hi-rez completely touch sensitive screen for movies or slide shows, and yes... it's a very slick phone with 2MP camera.

I've never owned anything made by Apple (no ipod, no imac) other than their free iTunes software for managing podcasts, and I don't think I'll be shelling out $499 anytime soon for an iPhone, but you can bet that a kid near you will be able to show you what it's all about soon. If you just can't wait, crank up your fast internet and watch the iPhone release keynote speech (only two hours long) at Apple.com and be up on technology.

*picture viewed from the Apple's web site.

The Decider is Also The Planner

"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act." - Bush.

I believe that any country who's leaders lie stand to lose the support of the people.

Read the article here.

Mark (My Words): Part 2

Another brain twitching curiosity from Mark:

Mark 11:12-14

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

The parallel story is in Matthew 21:18-22. Basically, Jesus finds no fruit so with a word He smites the tree and it withers immediately. Sounds a lot like Ananias and Sapphira. But have you considered .... it wasn't the season for figs! No wonder the tree was figless.

Nothing is void of context, but if it were, some interesting questions arise from this story:

1. Who in their right mind talks to trees? (Of course trees don't wither for crazy people).

2. Does God smite things that don't serve His desires?

3. Finally, what did Jesus mean to teach? Surely this lesson is not the same as the vine in John
15 where unfruitful branches are cut off and thrown into the fire. What kind of twisted theology would have God cursing every unfruitful believers for failing to produce fruit out of season. (And is there a season were a believer naturally dose not bear fruit?). This is a dark teaching. No, the lesson intended must be very different, but what is it?

Thankfully we do have context for this story. This may be a piece that doesn't seem at first to fit, but we know it belongs inside the puzzle that is God's character. May this and every scripture fall subject to what we already know collectively about God's wisdom and love.

What do you think?

Mark (My Words): Part 1

I read the Bible in 2006 starting on page 1 in January and finishing on 1383 new years eve. I hit Mark Novemberish; and Mark is still jabbing back. If you have compared the gospels, you know it's an action verb book, but what shocked me were snippets like the following:

Mark 8:23-26

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"

He looked up and said, "I see people: they look like trees walking around."

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't go into the village."

The two best things about the Bible are what is said, and what goes unsaid. Only talking to Mark, Jesus, or the blind man, could here reveal hidden motives and surrounding oddities. Isn't it like God to allow curiosity? Hit me on the following questions:

1. What made Jesus need to lead the man out of the village and then instruct him not to go back?

2. When Jesus spit on his eyes, were they opened or closed? (I'm assuming this is not the same man that Jesus made mud for).

3. And now, I'm most curious about the two phase healing. Did Jesus really need a second try? Was the man hanging onto darkness? And did Jesus know when he asked the question--"Do you see anything?"--what the man's eyes were doing?

What does this mean for us?

Admit It, You're Reading This!

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows how to leave comments. (And bloggers relish comments). You don't even have to sign up or sign in here at blogger in order to leave comments.

At the bottom of each post is an underlined link that will open the comments page. My link says "clever comments."

1. Click on "clever comments" for the post that offended you.
2. Type your comment in the comment box.
3. Click on the bubble by "Other" or "Anonymous."
4. Type the funky colored letter code into the word verification box (this feature is so I don't get spammed).
5. Click on "Publish Your Comment."

And if you check anonymous, please type your name in the post, so I know who to love.

Now go be clever.

Gallery Bulletin (1)

I've posted new shots in my Animals, Lake Chelan, and Friendly Faces Galleries.

Woof! That's my house dog Cherokee begging for a little game of fetch.

Breathtaking possibilities

This could be the year Jesus comes! It could be that I find a job I love this year. Maybe a woman I've always loved in spirit will have a name and face in my heart. Maybe Calculus will make sense. In 2006, God seemed slow at keeping promises, and I was slow to trust His timing, which worked out in my favor on nearly every point. He proves his promises and the power of his Word calms storms as fierce as they ever were.

What about you? Knowing the world is falling to pieces, are you also ready to see His face?

Lists

McSweeney has this thing going where readers post lists of very random and funny things never before considered. For example:

The Hierarchy of Candy
Other Drinks That Can be Made by Just Adding Chocolate Syrup
Nuclear Plants or Retirement Community
What the "It" Refers to in Gatorade's "Is It in You?" Campaign
Apparent Passions of My Upstairs Neighbors
Pickup Lines: The First Drafts

Now, one of my own:

Reasons to Hate MySpace

"My Computer" (microsoft) meets "iPod" (apple) for a really cheesy name scheme. Proof that self-centered themes sell.

Soft core dating adds: "Is she saucy? Are You?" "Naughty or nice?" "Spankin!"

My space tells me that people who are already my friends want to be my friends.

That "view all my friends" button can be really depressing. You mean, that's all the friends I have. I shouldn't have deleted Tom! And why did 14 of my friends request to be connected to me and then never even say hello?

The "remember me" button when signing in has never worked for me. I have to reintroduce myself every time I access myspace. "Hi Tom, I'm Seth. Here's my password." Why do I need a password if it's my space? Got cookie!

Classified adds. Did you know myspace has classifieds. Classic case of mediocrity by trying to be too much for too many.

The handful of messages I receive from profiles that have been removed before I check my inbox.

Friend requests from "SoHot99" saying, "Dude u r so fine. Check out my naked pictures at my other website..."

Intrusive advertising has never been more an invasive of personal eye space. Migraine! Makes me want to pull my shirt over my head and run away yodeling.

Tom pretends to be your friend. Tom, your not my friend. And you really need to update that lo-fi picture.

Wallygoots.com is Dead

I'm a bit sad for the demise of www.wallygoots.com. It's a little piece of me that I've put to hibernation for lack of money, time, and purpose. I'm still a bit knotted up. It has been my corner of the internet for 2 years--my morsel of ownership in this mega-complex of information called the web.

No worries, I'll still be here in the blogosphere.

And here posting pictures: wallygoots.smugmug.com

Good bye wallygoots. It's been internetastic.

Bummer Stickers (2)

Here's a couple recent witticisms from the makers of bumper banners:

"I may be fat, but your ugly, and I can diet."

"Cosmic Fish"

"Someday we'll look back on all this, laugh nervously, and change the subject."

"I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with sticks."

"If it ain't country, it ain't."

"Obviously, my treasure is in heaven." (on an early 80's Honda Civic hatchback).

"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"

"And God spoke from a FIERY Bush" (Emphasis retained).

">/bush>" (an html programing code for "terminate command")

And now a new section: Personalized license plates.

"Big Cat" (on a Catillac land yacht).

"Mid Lfr" (on a little yellow Miata--ha! My Dad has one just like it)

Evil Kanevil

I'm not making this up. Tuesday night, while driving across the Glen Jackson bridge which spans the Columbia and takes me home from Sylvan land, I saw Evil Kanevil. By 8:15pm the roads were still damp from the days unapologetic rain, and the flow of traffic hounded me along at about 15mph over the posted speed. A man on a motorcycle stormed by my drivers side window standing on his bike riding wheelie! At night. On wet roads. He continued the stunt off into the distance exceeding 85mph and leaving me to wonder about Darwin and the survival of the most careful.

So did I really see Evil Kanevil? Well, maybe a distant relative. Or could it have been Donald Rumsfeld?

Hallelujah

If you have not heard of Samuel Menashe, there is no better time.








Hallelujah

Eyes open to praise

The play of light

Upon the ceiling—

While still abed raise

The roof this morning

Rejoice as you please

Your Maker who made

This day while you slept,

Who gives grace and ease,

Whose promise is kept.

'Let them sing for joy upon their beds.'—Psalm 149

Samuel Menashe

Retro Rocks

Anyone with a geology background want to explain this formation to me?
I took the picture up near Cispus pass in the the Goat Rocks Wilderness.



Rock on,
Seth