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Archive for September, 2005

Fall term at Regent

September 14th, 2005 7 comments

I have started back here at Regent College and am really looking forward to this term. Here is a snapshop of my lineup for the term:

HIST/SPIR 500 – The Christian Spirit: A Hitory of Christian Spirituality – Professor Bruch Hindmarsh
Required texts:
Bradley Holt – Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality
Rowan Williams – Wound of Knowledge
Various other weekly readings

THEO 715 – Theology Seminar: John Calvin’s Institutes – Professor Hans Boersma
Required texts:
John Calvin – Institutes of the Christian Religion

LANG 510 – Introductory Hebrew – Professor David Diewert
Required texts:
Allen Ross – Introducing Biblical Hebrew

THEO 607 – Systematic Theology C: Pneumatology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology – Professor Hans Boersma
Required texts:
Alister McGrath – Christian Theology
Hans Urs Von Balthasar – The Dramatis Personae: The Person in Christ
St. Basil the Great – On the Holy Spirit
Various other weekly readings

There is definitely going to be a lot of reading (more than just what you see here) and writing this term and Hebrew is going to kick me in the butt! It will be an interesting fall.

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Categories: Daily Life, Regent College

Space Saturday VII

September 13th, 2005 2 comments

Once again, due to circumstances out of my (and some in my) control, this week’s Space Saturday is late. As this is becoming a common thing, I am not going to worry about it and neither should you! Just remember, “Saturday” is to be taken loosely. So now I bring you this week’s Space Saturday: the Fox Fur Nebula.

Fox Fur Nebula
Image (clickable) credit: Russell Croman.

The Fox Fur Nebula resides in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn – which it looks nothing like…) near Orion and Canis Major. The Nebula is part of NGC 2264 (the Christmas Tree Cluster) with S Mon at its center. NGC 2264 lies approximately 2500-2700 light years away and contains around 250 stars. The red gasses are from hydrogen gas stimulated by ionizing starlight and the blue gas is from reflection. The dark patches are from intestellar dust blocking and reacting with the emitted starlight.

For previous “saturdays”: Space Saturday Archive

Enjoy!
Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Categories: Blogging, Science

Do The Puyallup!

September 12th, 2005 4 comments

I am back up here in Vancouver and started back at Regent College and finally got my internet connection back! Before I snuck back into Canada, I went to the Puyallup Fair with mom, Bob, and Erin. It had been a long time since I had been and I think once every few years is enough now. The food was good, naturally, and checking out the baby pigs is always fun. I only went on one ride, the “Extreme Scream”. It was expensive (even with the buy one get one free special), but well worth it. Erin and I even got Bob to go the second time.

And now, the pictures! (They are clickable for larger versions.)

Puyallup Fair
Puyallup Fair
Erin and I preparing for the “Extreme Scream”.
Puyallup Fair
Erin and I at the top.
Puyallup Fair
A picture of me taking a picture of Erin and I.
Puyallup Fair
The picture of Erin and I.
Puyallup Fair
A picture from the top.

And as a special treat some video clips from the “Extreme Scream”! (Sorry for you dial-up users!)
Extreme Scream: A view from the ground of Erin, Bob and I. (19.3MB)
Extreme Scream: The ride up. (5.87MB)
Extreme Scream: The ride down. (12.4MB)

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Categories: Daily Life, Photoblog

Camping at Swift Reservoir

September 10th, 2005 5 comments

This week I went camping at Swift Reservoir with Erin, Sal (and Darin a bit) and her two kids Rachel and Nathan. Swift is located just south east of Mount St. Helens in its National Volcanic Monument as part of Lewis River.

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Normally we take the boat and camp in a remote spot on the reservoir but they have let a large amount of water out (probably due to the small snow cap) so it was extremely dificult to get to the more remote camp sites (since the reservoir is man made the banks are quite steep and the water was down a good 20-25 vertical feet from normal). Camping at the actual Swift Campground made it easy for us to check out some of the other sites in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Lower (Lewis River) falls, Ape Cave lava tube, and McClellan viewpoint were all visited. We also did the usual swimming, hiking, eating (lots), playing around, and staring into the fire.

And now for the pictures! (All are clickable for larger versions)

Swift Reservoir Campground
Swift Reservoir Camp
Swift Reservoir Camp
A little mid day marshmellow roasting?
Swift Reservoir Camp
Nathan eying a chipmunk… or is it the other way around?
Swift Reservoir Camp
Erin and Rachel sneaking a snapshot.

The Lewis River Lower Falls
Lower Falls
Lower Falls
Rachel posing.
Additional Images: Lower Falls #1, Lower Falls #2, Lower Falls #3.

In the Ape Cave lava tubes
Ape Cave
Snack break at the end of the cave. Nathan and Rachel are quite ready to turn around!
Ape Cave
On our way out.
Ape Cave
Nathan and Rachel posing at the entrance to the Ape Cave.

Mount St. Helens from McClellan Viewpoint
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens

All in all, this was a great, relaxing week of just hanging out. How can you go wrong? Aside from my my car becoming extremely friendly with a deer and me not being able to find my passport and student visa (which could REALLY suck) the week was quite pleasant and a good vacation before heading up to Vancouver for the start of fall term back at Regent.

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Categories: Daily Life, Photoblog

Space Saturday VI

September 4th, 2005 3 comments

I know, I know. It is Sunday. I think I will just be using the term “Saturday” very loosely. Today on this lovely Saturday, I bring you: NGC 3370!

NGC 3370
Credit: NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team and A. Riess (STScI)

NGC 3370 is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way in the constellation Leo some 100 million light years away. One thing I really like about this photo is the host of other, quite beautiful, galaxies in the background that appear in quite vivid detail.

Hubble Site also has other pictures of NGC 3370 that you can check out (including some wonderful detailed shots). SEDS is also a good place to check out other information on NGC 3370.

For other astronomy stuff, see my Space Saturday Archive

Since school is approaching, I am headed out to enjoy a few days of camping with the fam. Because of this, I won’t be around, but feel free to take a look at the other things going on around my blog. I have a few posts on Katrina that you may want to check out: Thoughts on Katrina, Katrina Relief Contributions, Katrina Satellite Imagery, and Moore Offers His Wisdom (this one especially if you like to argue). Keep the donations coming in and log your contributions as part of the Blog Relief Weekend (raised $730,000 so far)!

Have a great week!
Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Categories: Blogging, Science

Moore offers his wisdom

September 2nd, 2005 18 comments

Michael Moore is still bitter. Here is a portion of his “Open Letter to George Bush”

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It’s Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

[...]

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don’t let people criticize you for this — after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

[...]

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It’s not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C’mon, they’re black! I mean, it’s not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don’t make me laugh! Race has nothing — NOTHING — to do with this!

What a putz. (And what is with him using an AOL email address?) Someone on the left needs to tell him to use some of his massive amount of money to buy a clue. Moore continues to affirm that he actually has no idea whatsoever about how the country works. Bush is the left’s favorite scapegoat. Him and “global warming”. Let me quote Chrenkoff:

Global warming and hurricanes – The hurricanes aren’t historically on the increase, and the number of the most serious – category 4 and 5 – is down compared to previous decades (EU Rota has some nice tables). Hurricanes are also a part of a natural decades-long cycle of changing temperature of the Atlantic Ocean.

Bush diverted the money away from flood-proofing New Orleans – Two problems with that – New Orleans has been on notice since the previous devastating hurricane Betsy in 1965. Bush has been in the White House for only the last five of these past 40 years, so one might as well blame every other President since LBJ for not doing enough – and then ask, why should all the blame be laid at the feet of the feds, instead of sharing it with state and local authorities?

Check out EU Rota‘s post on the ridiculous claims of the left. This was a Natural Disaster! Yes, there are things that could be done to prepare and there were some failures on many levels. But there is no way for everyone to be prepared for everything all the time. Stop blaming anyone you feel like and help out. Donate. (Or pick another charity). Join the Blog Relief Weekend (over $500,000 raised so far). Log your contribution. THAT is what helps, NOT blaming everyone you don’t like with flimsy reasons. Move on.

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

UPDATE:

I would like to quote Hugh Hewitt:

I understand that an entertainer on the NBC special said some incredibly distasteful stuff about President Bush. No doubt a lot of folks will be pretty upset. I am taking my cue from the president, who spent the day in the company of a lot of folks who seem to have spent the last 48 hours doing nothing but blasting him in an attempt to escape fallout. President Bush said nothing about his critics, but kept the focus on the victims. W is in the business of getting the relief organized and saving lives. He isn’t taking political shots, and I doubt he’s going to, no matter how great the provocation. He’s a good man and a great president, and his example should instruct his supporters to keep the focus on Americans in desperate need of help and hope.

Here is the “entertainer” (Kanye West) Hewitt is talking about (8.0 MB). (Thanks to Malkin for the link) West was Time’s Hip-Hop’s Class Act in last week’s edition. Yeah. Just watching him on the video is difficult because he was not very eloquent, especially compared to Mike Meyers. Watch it. It is pretty pathetic. NBC has, of course, issued a statement saying they don’t support or endorse his views.

Katrina Satellite Imagery

September 1st, 2005 2 comments

Once again, Digital Globe has put together some amazing imagery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Superdome

Check out their Katrina Image Gallery to see what they have put together as most of the images were just taken yesterday (August 31st). You will find high resolution images of New Orleans and surrounding areas. Also, I have saved to my server three pdf documents that are especially interesting, saddening, and well put together. Hurricane Katrina – New Orleans analysis, Hurricane Katrina – Biloxi analysis, and Hurricane Katrina – Mississippi Coastline analysis should definitely be looked through.

Global Security has used some of the Digital Globe imagery and created some New Orleans overlays. See especially here, here, here, and here.

Here are a few of the images I have pulled from the Digital Globe imagery. Check out the full images at their site for the full thing.

Bellaire Levee
This was the Bellaire Levee on the Letairie Outfall Canal in the Northwest part of New Orleans (image has East at top)
Interstate Interchange Flooding
This is at the interchange of I-10 (East/West) and I-610 (North/South)
Surekote Levee Before Katrina Surekote Levee After Katrina
The image on the left was captured from Google Earth (who gets much of their imagery from Digital Globe) and is of the Surekote Levee on the East side of New Orleans. The image on the right was taken yesterday by Digital Globe with their QuickBird satellite.

I have probably gone against Digital Globe‘s “Editorial Usage Rules” and if so, I apologize and can take the images down if needed. I hope they understand!

The imagery sure says a lot about the magnitude of the hurricane. Keep praying and donating. Both are needed.

Also, the Blog for Relief Day has been extended into Blog For Relief Weekend! So when you donate, be sure to log your contribution and if you are so inclined, use “Matt Jones’ Random Acts of Verbiage…” as your referral. The fund raiser has brought in over $200,000 to various charities through over 1200 blogs!

Stop by Chrenkoff to see his Hurricane Exploitation Quotes post. It is a great read. For all those that want to blame republicans or global warming, this isn’t for you! Heh.

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

Katrina Relief Contributions

September 1st, 2005 No comments

The Truth Laid Bear is keeping track of all the generosity of the Blog for Relief Day. Currently there has been over $80,000 donated to various charities ($3000 in the few minutes it took to write this post) with over 1000 blogs participating.

Glenn over at Instapundit is running a list of charities to donate to.

I have choosen World Vision to donate to. Please feel free to donate to their Katrina family support program. If you donate to World Vision (or any other charity) and would like to be added to the Blog Relief Day, head over to the contribution page and get listed. If you want to use me as the referral, I am listed there as “Matt Jones’ Random Acts of Verbiage…”.

Again, I would like to point you to two places. One is NBC’s WLBT and their amazing Katrina video footage. The other is the Katrina Wiki page as they have an amazing amout of resources for those looking for help and information as well as those needing help. Check it out.

Also be aware of some Katrina related scams being sent around the internet. Make sure all email and charities are legitimate. See Online scams emerge in Katrina’s wake from zdnet for more information.

Ή χάρις του κυρίου ημων Ίησου Χριστου μεθ’ υμων.

UPDATE: As of 10:00pm PST over $200,000 has been donated as part of the Blog for Relief Weekend. Oh yeah, it is not a weekend event, not just today! Keep the funds coming!

Categories: Around the World, Blogging