The Progression of My Identity

Bubble Theory

2010-03-01T07:10:00.002-07:00

A level is a tool comprised of a long straight piece of wood with several sealed pockets of water containing a single bubble. The bubble always floats to the top, allowing the carpenter to see when his work is skewed one way or another. When it is perfectly level (hence the name), the bubble floats in the middle.

This has been a helpful analogy for me recently in my spiritual life. On one side, I can become skewed towards feeling I need to be doing more things for my spiritual life to be healthy (giving more money, sacrificing more, not having as much as I do have). On the other side, I can become skewed towards a sense of ownership or selfishness - these are my things, with which I will do as I please, forgetting all I have (possessions, relationships, position, etc) is given to me by God, and it's his prerogative to take them back as he sees fit.

In the middle is a wonderful balance of complete submission that results in restful peace and enjoyment of my relationship with God, and ready, appropriate action when He brings things to me. Jesus is my example in this. Throughout his whole ministry on earth he sought the rest and peace and joy of constant communion with the Father. He healed those sick whom he came in contact with; he taught those God put in his path; he fed those he encountered who were hungry. He didn't worry about doing enough, about those he hadn't healed or taught or fed; he simply walked in submission and peace responding to the situations the Father saw fit to bring him.

Update - Recent Activities

2009-09-20T22:00:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged since June 22, and I think only once since we moved to Red Deer from Washington. Since I spent the summer bumming around my parents place like I was still in High School, you might have thought I'd have had more time for it. Not sure why, it just didn't happen. Here's what did happen, however:

I got a job. I start my training tomorrow. It's a very exciting opportunity for me, and I hope I enjoy it and show at least an average level of aptitude for it.

Michelle, Norah, and I may have a new home in Red Deer. Our first house! We made an offer, agreed on a price and possession date, and are only waiting financing and a clean home inspection. Keep those fingers crossed.

It has been a great summer. There are not many fathers who get to spend a full 3 and a half months with their firstborn.

J&M Garage Sales Inc

2009-06-22T09:00:00.000-06:00

I think this week I'm going to test out a little business idea Michelle and I have been talking about for awhile. It's a garage sale running business. We advertise, set up, price, and run the garage sale in exchange for 50% of the earnings. You provide the clutter you want converted into cash. Could get some interesting responses. I'll let you know how it goes.

PS In case you hadn't guessed, no new leads on the job search front.

Cletus, Take the Reel

2009-04-28T09:45:00.001-06:00

I Wish I Could Blog

2009-04-27T13:16:00.000-06:00

I've had a number of things rolling around in my head to blog about, but the opportunity hasn't been there. Norah and Michelle keep me busy and free time is quickly devoted to outdoor activities (read: fishing) leaving little or no time to blog. Here is the stuff I wish I had time to post about:

"Cletus, Take the Reel", a hilarious reprisal of Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take the Wheel".
Hanes Brands' environmental and human rights record. No sooner had I passed judgement and posted the Hanes post than they emailed me back with more details. I really need to get the updated info up there.
My disenchantment with both major US political parties. Recently, the reasons I'm in favor of less government and more personal responsibility have been resurfacing. Too bad the GOP has such an awful environmental record and too bad the Dems will inevitably increase the size of government. Big brother's not the answer. Sigh. I stand by my choice of hope, diplomacy, and environmentalism even if it comes with big government. It's not a perfect world I guess.

I think that's it for now. I'm also trying to find time to post some pictures on Flickr from the Tulip Festival. Very fun!

Brand Impressions - Hanes

2009-04-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

Recently I bought a package of Hanes T-shirts at my local Target. The tag indicated they were made in Honduras.

I sent an email to Hanes asking about both environmental and human rights issues. I mentioned that their response would go a long way to shaping my impression of their brand. Unfortunately, that was over a week ago and I still haven't heard anything. I also checked their website - no mention of an environmental, human rights, community involvement or any other type of corporate responsibility program or policy. Unfortunately, no information doesn't equal no message.

In the last few years, my buying habits have changed and I've begun taking into consideration:

where products are manufactured;
the amount and recycle-ability of packaging;
my perception of the brand's environmental conscientiousness; and
my perception of the brand's human rights impacts.

The last two are almost purely conjecture based on what I see on the product packaging, and my perceptions of what environmental and human rights conditions exist in the country where the item was produced. Relying on my own perceptions leaves plenty of room for incorrect assumptions. I had hoped that brands like Hanes could give me some real information to accurately shape my perspective of the brand. Alas, I'm left to assume the worst about Hanes and their products.

It's a shame, because the shirts are really nice. Guess I'll try Fruit of the Loom next time.

Living with Open Hands

2009-04-21T13:26:00.000-06:00

"The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

Big Bonus = Poor Performance

2009-04-07T10:06:00.001-06:00

-- NOTE: Post taken from The Smart Supervisor, a blog for front line supervisors --

Yesterday on Marketplace I heard some fascinating new research that shows excessively large bonuses are associated with poorer performance. The researcher noted that higher at-risk compensation motivates us (the desired effect) but also acts as a stressor (an undesirable effect). At a certain point, huge bonuses create more stress than motivation resulting in poorer performance.

This research adds to a growing body of empirical evidence supporting what smart supervisors have known all along: people don't leave, stay, or work hard because of money. Employees are retained and motivated by the vision the leader casts, the accountability the leader creates, the responsibility the leader gives, and the empowerment the employees feel. We are entering a period of time in which soft skills will be far more critical than hard skills. Or as Tom Peters puts it, "'soft' is the new 'hard'". So work on your soft skills, especially listening and communicating.

Check out the full Marketplace report. The researcher sounds a bit like Dr. Nick on the Simpsons.

Misconceptions of Cleanliness

2009-04-04T17:54:00.000-06:00

I would like to dispel a common misconception about cleanliness which has unnecessary environmental and health impacts. We are inclined to associate the color white with cleanliness. Now, initially that seems fairly innocent. However, this misconception leads to the bleaching of nearly all paper products, from paper plates to toilet paper to diapers. And this otherwise unnecessary bleaching process produces some very harsh chemicals as by-products. Not the least of these is Dioxin, or polychlorinated dibenzodioxins to be exact, which cause birth defects, cancer (you knew that was coming) and other ailments. The worst part about these chemicals is that they build up quickly in the food chain and they aren't naturally metabolized. A large portion of the dioxin produced and released into the environment is used only to satisfy (and perpetuate?) our inaccurate misconception that white = clean.

Many of our activities cause environmental damage. Driving around in my '93 Honda releases all kinds of terrible stuff; but at least I get the clear benefit of fast, convenient travel in exchange. The "benefit" of having our paper stuff artificially colored white doesn't seem worth the environmental impact it creates.

Other misconceptions in a similar vein often lead to inaccurate judgments. For example, deformed/dark/black = evil and beautiful/proportionate = good (reality TV should have dispelled this one). There are others, I imagine.

Anyhow, all that to say maybe part of going green is going brown.

The English Patient

2009-04-04T17:21:00.000-06:00

Some time ago I picked up a copy of Michael Ondaajte's book The English Patient. I was inspired to pull it off the shelf after a recommendation from Malcolm Kenyon. I'm only a few pages in, but I remember why I so liked Ondaajte's In the Skin of a Lion, which I read in college. He has a powerful way of making me feel. His gift is not in creating the emotional feelings like sad, or angry, or happy; he can make me feel a desert, make me feel exhaustion, make me feel delirium. Many authors can describe buildings, rooms, gardens, relationships, accidents, and injuries. Few can make me feel them. Ondaajte is one of the few.

I mentioned Malcolm recommended The English Patient to me; he is quite the guy himself. He works with Michelle teaching English as a second language here in Bellingham, and he's a poet among a great host of other things. We had a chapbook of his poetry on our bookshelf (I am proud to say, meager though they are, my bookshelves hold untold treasurers!). He is a very gifted poet and a fascinating person to listen to. You can hear him reading some of his poems at poetry night in Bellingham by going to poetry night's podcast site. Two of Malcolm's readings are about a quarter of the way down the page.

News from Immigration Canada

2009-03-05T19:25:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday Michelle and I got her passport back from Immigration Canada - with a visa inside. Unfortunately, they decided not to answer any of the questions we asked in the two letters we sent them. Actually, I don't think they sent us one thing that was personalized throughout this whole process. Anyhow, you'd think we would be excited - well the visa expires on April 25th. Just enough time to move - but we'd be rushed. Really rushed. It was overwhelming to think about having a new baby, trying to pack our house, arrange a move, and look for a job in Red Deer all at the same time.

We decided to just drive up to the border and ask them all our questions. I'm really glad we did, because it turns out that "landing" in Canada (which is what we had to do before April 25th) is not the same as "moving" to Canada. Which we can do whenever we want, because we "landed" on Sunday. Our plan is to have the baby, get into a bit of a groove with her, and move in late May. There you have it - the big news!

The Simpsons and Louis CK

2009-03-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

I found these two movies really funny. I originally saw them like a week ago, but life's like that.

Lisa finds heaven at Springfield's new Mapple Store. (Thanks to Jeff G for this one)

Louis CK on the technology generation. It's so funny because it's absolutely true. They don't want me embedding it, so you'll have to be happy with the link.

On the Reduction of Errant Whizzing

2009-02-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

I recently read through a presentation by Tom Peters, which I downloaded from his blog. It mentions a significant reduction in errant whizzing through the seemingly small act of etching an insect-like target into urinals. Tom calls slight changes which have proportionally large results "nudges".

I thought of this today when I visited the bathroom of the Black Drop. They have innovated in their bathroom space in a different way. Being counter-cultural (or anti-establishment, or something like that) they have placed chalk boards in their bathrooms, presumably to encourage graffiti rather than discourage it. Would-be vandals probably don't feel cheated that their work can be wiped away effortlessly.

Speaking of the Black Drop, I hope to hear from them after this post. If they have Google Alerts set up, they will get notified that someone (me) is blogging about them. I set up Google Alerts for my name. No one is really talking about me. At least not yet.

That is all for now.

I Want to Work at Twitter, Or...

2009-02-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

What Makes for a Good Job

Recently I had the chance to read @dom's post about how twitter got started. It was both interesting and inspiring, and it illustrates a number of the things that make for a good job.

1. A Smart Team
I love that the Twitter team works together so much. They brainstorm, design, dialogue, and meet in big open warehouse type places. I want to be part of a team like that.

2. A Clear Vision
Part of what creates such a compelling team atmosphere is the pursuit of a clearly defined vision. Nothing brings people together like a common problem, and vision is the anticipated solution to a problem. It would be great to be part of a team pursuing a clear, meaningful vision.

3. A Continuous Learning Opportunity
If I were to work at Twitter it would put me alongside people who know WAY more than me about technology, creating software, starting companies, and a whole host of other things I'm interested in. I'd be surrounded by really smart people. No matter what the job, the opportunity to ask questions and learn from smart people is very compelling to me. Maybe that's why this job opportunity intrigued me so much. My dream job: working as part of a brilliant team pursuing a clear, meaningful vision with continuous learning opportunities.

4. A Sense of Achievement
Twitter's creators must be incredibly proud. Their brain child has millions of users and Venture Capitalists are falling all over themselves to invest in their company. I hope to find work which I can look back on and feel proud of. For me, the impact of not getting a sense of achievement from my work is that I have a really hard time relaxing. I feel a built in need to improve, create, learn, and grow something - and when I don't feel like I am accomplishing this at work, I take that desire home. I get restless and anxious and I try to work at anything that will show progress when I should be recreating, laughing, and enjoying life's truest pleasures: coffee, The Office, comic strips, sunrises, camping, fishing, crossword puzzles, friends, sunsets, gardening, etc. I can tell this is becoming a problem based on the movies I want to watch. My favorite movies, the ones I truly enjoy, are rarely acclaimed. They are cliche, funny, and predictable. Like Emperor's New Groove (yes, the cartoon). When I don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything, I try to relax and achieve at the same time; so I pick movies that are critically acclaimed, or that I think will make me smarter, or that I can blog about later. Also, I start trying to work on my lunch breaks. I go to the library, research business ideas, bring books to read, and above all, I find myself asking "What can I do with this time? What can I get done?". I feel restless. All that to say, I need to feel a sense of accomplishment at work so that I can enjoy my family and friends and my life.

Basically, I want to work as part of a brilliant team pursuing a clear vision that provides continuous learning opportunities and a sense of accomplishment.

There, I said it. If you know of any opportunities like that, let me know.

PS That job I linked to above might still be available.

Starting a New Blog

2009-01-22T19:28:00.001-07:00

I haven't even reached 100 posts yet and here I aPunk Rock HR and Brazen Careerist. There is a whole social network cloud of blogs and bloggers adjacent to and around both these sites. To see what I m

I started wanting to be a part of this community. I feel like I often have worthwhile things to say and I could increase traffic to my blog by commenting on more popular blogs. But then I started thinking too much about what I post up here. Like maybe HR people wouldn't want to read about our new baby girl (side note: in a few short weeks this blog is bound to become baby central; I'm getting really excited about meeting my daughter!) I don't like over thinking my posts; I really want this to be an unfiltered place for reflection on whatever topic interests me.

To be honest, I don't think I have enough free time to seriously consider starting another blog. Good content on a regular basis is what makes a blog worthwhile. I'm having trouble posting with regularity on the blog I do have, and I don't even think about quality or audience or anything like that. But I am going to keep the idea in the back of my head for the future.

The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.

2009-01-20T20:18:00.001-07:00

George Steiner's book succeeded in shedding new light on a subject that was, for me "all part of a school syllabus and television past." Thanks to the history channel and Schindler's List (and our culture's propensity for reducing things to the lowest common denominator) I had a very one dimensional perspective on WWII, Hitler, and the holocaust. I can't say this book reshaped my understanding of those events, but it gave me a new and unique perspective on them.

Steiner describes the places so well you can really feel what's it's like to be there. I enjoyed the structure of the story; many chapters and characters have only the thread of A.H., and the possibility of his existence, connecting them. I think this allowed Steiner to set a variety of scenes, further highlighting his ability to really put you somewhere, and still keep the book focused.

I'm going to have to read the ending again. It would have been nice to be in the dark until the end, because it's quite a climax.

Learning From Tim O'Reilly

2009-01-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in my initial post about Twitter that one of the first people I started following was Tim O'Reilly. It's been one of the best following choices I've made. I've only read two of his blog posts, but I learned something from both. And not the kind of things that just make you think "oh, that's kind of interesting". The type of things I will try to remember and apply in the future. Things that, in a small way, shape who I will be in the future.

The first was posted shortly after Bernard Madoff's giant Ponzi scheme hit the news. Tim's post included a quote from Herman Daly differentiating between a growth economy and a steady state economy. The idea that stuck with me is that we need to transition from an economy based on using things up to an economy based on taking a fixed amount of things and constantly remaking and improving them. In Daly's own words: "Growth is more of the same stuff; development is the same amount of better stuff (or at least different stuff)." This idea builds on what I learned from The Story of Stuff: that a linear system with a limited amount of resources is unsustainable.

The second was a little more recent: an explanation of Tim's "work on stuff that matters" mantra. In particular I like the second principle: create more value than you capture. In summary, he insinuates that creating and capturing value are more or less mutually exclusive activities; if you're focusing on capturing every last cent of value, you'll find yourself creating less and less. On the other hand, if you capture some of the value of a constantly evolving value creation string, you'll actually end up capturing more value in the end. And you'll have a stronger sense of accomplishment.

Reflecting on a Big Day

2009-01-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've been working in Human Resources at Whatcom County for almost two years, and yesterday I told my boss and several of my coworkers that Michelle and I are planning to move to Canada soon after our daughter is born. We are due March 11, so that means some time in April we will be moving (most likely). I was nervous about sharing this, particularly because I decided, with Michelle's help, that we were confident enough about the timing that we couldn't keep it a secret any longer (even though it's still almost 4 months away).

Both my actual boss and my practical boss were incredibly gracious in receiving the news. Both of them communicated that in life you need to pursue dreams and go after the things that you want to do, and they wouldn't want to hold me back from that. It was refreshing and encouraging to have their support, but also nice to know that both of them felt that I had made significant contributions in my time at the County, and that I would be missed.

Telling my work really adds a sense of finality to the decision. We are for (almost) sure that we are going, and more than likely it will be sometime in April or May. I can now start the job search process in earnest. Wow - lots to process. Better start working on the 'ol resume.

What Brazen Careerist Should Do

2009-01-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a page from @ev's book. Evan recently wrote a post about what Blogger should do; I'm going to try to do the same for Brazen Careerist. The main difference here is that I didn't start Brazen Careerist, nor did I sell it to Google for like a gazillion dollars. Evan did both with Blogger. So, for what it's worth, here goes:

Background
I joined Brazen Careerist a few weeks ago, sometime in that pre-Christmas blur. Since then, the number of "careerists" has probably quadrupled, which is a good sign. Anyway, I found Penelope Trunk's blog, which I usually enjoy, and she started Brazen, so I decided to check it out. It's a place for Gen-Y type people to discuss work, share their thoughts, and develop their careers. And there's also something nebulous about interacting with companies looking to hire bright people. Which is what initially interested me. More on that later.

What Brazen Shouldn't Do
I'm a little worried, because a lot of the features ("Fans", Profiles, Blog Feeds, etc) are reminiscent of all the other social networking sites, including Facebook, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, etc. Don't focus on the social networking thing. Why? All those other sites have been doing it a lot longer than Brazen, and they're doing it better than Brazen. So Brazen must be more than a place for people to connect and get to know each other. Which I believe it is, or can be.

What Brazen Should Do
The thing that attracted me to Brazen in the first place was the opportunity to interact with potential employers on a personal level. That's a revolutionary idea, and I don't know anyone else who is providing that. Unfortunately, as a Brazen Careerist I haven't been able to connect with any companies or their representatives (so far). So, as a first step, if individuals from sponsor companies haven't joined Brazen, they need to. Get some young recruiter-types from each company participating in the community. Then:

Help me find them. Set them apart, so I know who they are. An icon, a different font, a different color, their company's logo, something. And differentiate their contributions throughout the site so everyone knows a company's response or opinion from a Careerist's.
Give them a different profile template with info about the company, the individual representative's job, personal and corporate goals, mission statements, etc.
Feature their blog postings about their company, it's culture, their personal as well as corporate struggles, successes, and problems. Help them solicit feedback from the community, and allow them to provide input (and value) to the community.

In a sentence, Brazen should facilitate personal interaction between companies (reps, recruiters, marketers?) and the Brazen community. In fact, in addition to finding a source of great people, participating companies may gain new perspectives, innovative solutions, and access to critical feedback. And Brazen Careerists can get to know the companies offering the opportunities they're looking for. Imagine having a window into the decision making process, culture, and environment of a potential employer. That's what I hope I can get at Brazen Careerist.

Flooding in Whatcom County

2009-01-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Warm weather, melting snow and heavy rain combined to cause earlier-than-usual flooding in our neck of the woods today. Lucky for us, we're on the fourth floor. Stay high and dry!

Photos from the Bellingham Herald

Flickring Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T22:26:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2008 028, originally uploaded by Jared & Michelle Ott.

I'm just getting acquainted with Flickr, and I like that I can post directly from flickr to my blog. Unfortunately, I think I can only post one picture at a time, rather than a string of pictures and text, as I'm accustomed to. Michelle took this picture on a walk today. They are Mountain Ash berries. You can see all of Christmas 2008 here.

Flickr is nice, but it's also getting to be a pain managing all my profile pictures, not to mention the profiles themselves. The best feature of Flickr is geotagging. I'm looking forward to tagging all the locations our pictures are taken. Michelle and I can be found on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jared_michelle_ott/.

P.S. Posting from Flickr doesn't allow the pictures to come through as aesthetically pleasing as using blogger. Nice idea, but after messing with this post for half an hour trying to get the picture resized nicely, I give up.

Reusing Disposable Cups

2008-12-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

My latest conservation scheme is reusing my to-go coffee cups. It just felt like a shame to throw out these nice, convenient, sturdy cups after only half an hour. It's working out really well, to be honest. I mean, Starbucks makes those cups sturdy enough to be reused. And they really are much more convenient to take on the road. They fit perfectly into cupholders, and you don't have to wash them when you're done, unlike to-go mugs. I hate washing to-go mugs. I never feel like the lids really get clean.

This is one of those all-to-rare cases when the right thing to do environmentally coincides with the most convenient thing. If you don't mind rinsing and reusing paper cups.

FYI, the last post was authored by my brother. I'm actually quite proud of it. You're always welcome Jere.

It's Christmas, Part 2, Chapter 7.

2008-12-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

The cat is wearing silly clothes.
Running, staring, licking.
A new feline dessert.
Cats r gud loolz/

-Jared Ott

I hope you'll enjoy the first of many in a series of Holiday and Yule-time flavoured and themed pieces of poetry. Tomorrow will see another prudent update with possibly an Irish/Slavic undertone throughout.

Lamps.
Lamps are an amazing source of light and waste heat in this world. I'm so glad I take the time each day to appreciate these wonders of our dark and slightly cold-ish world.

It's Christmas

2008-12-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

- Family Traditions -
Michelle and I give one another a full stocking, rather than a single "big" present, at Christmas. This year we are traveling to Alberta to be with my family, so we've started opening our little gifts early. One of my favorite things about Michelle is how excited she gets about life in general, and presents and holidays and Disneyland specifically. Especially Disneyland and presents. Her excitement is contagious, and as a result I'm really amped.

The best part of my stocking this year is that Michelle made such an effort to be environmentally aware and conscientious about the presents she got me. I have 7 little gifts, and all but one of them was made outside China. Not an easy task. What's more, fully four of them were purchased used! It really means so much to me that she did that. So what was my first little present? A pair of reflective ankle straps (made in France), for keeping my pant legs from getting caught in the chain ring when I bike to work.

- Christmas Reading -
In other news, I'm taking two weeks off this Christmas and really looking forward to lazy days at my parents' place. I always overestimate the amount of reading I'll actually get to do on vacation, and this time will be no different. I'm going to either pick up Treasure Island or The Count of Monte Cristo, in addition to Steiner's Portage. Chances are I won't crack any of them, but you gotta aim high, right?

It occurs to me that I asked for books for Christmas... I'm gonna have some heavy suitcases on the road home.

What is Twitter good for?

2008-12-11T23:45:00.000-07:00

I mentioned my growing interest in social media in a previous post. It started with Twitter a couple weeks ago. I had heard the name, but didn't know what it was good for so I decided to check it out. Well, you can't see what's going on unless you sign up, which I did. Since then, they have posted a video explaining what its all about (here). My twitter account can be found here. As you can see, it seems to be an instant messaging service - but who needs another one of those? No one, that I can see. So there has to be something more to it...

Well there is, and there isn't. It truly is just a site for posting messages under 140 words. Micro-blogging, it's being called. I can perhaps best explain it's appeal through some examples.

Twittendipity
I heard a number of stories about how Twitter facilitates communication faster than any other medium. Do I mean it's faster to tweet your buddy than call him? No. What I mean is, twitter was the first medium to have first hand information on the Mumbai attacks out to the world. Another story to illustrate: when Guy Kawasaki forgot his power supply, he posted his need on Twitter and had 5 replacements offered in a few minutes. The best example, though, is how Terry Jones got an impromptu interview with Robert Scoble. Terry explains how it happened better than I could, here. Terry also coined the phrase Twittendipidty. In my own special case of twittendipity, I've been looking for an organization working in Haiti to support. So I randomly posted a question out there, and I think by chance someone saw it and pointed me toward Mission MANNA.

Interesting Stuff
Twitter is also useful for finding interesting content online. Some users specialize in finding and broadcasting links to interesting stuff. In the week I've been on Twitter, here are some notable examples:

Facebook is losing money
Tips for using iPhone (makes me want one)
The Bogolight - Shed some light on the developing world
Who owns the Western US?

Three of those four items came from @timoreilly's feed. I recommend following it.

I might try and get my family to join...

We'll see.

You can follow me here.

Google Analytics is Watching You!

2008-12-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been curious about how many of you "blurkers" are out there. In order to find out I signed up for Google Analytics about a week ago. It's Google's free tool for tracking traffic on websites. So beware; big brother is watching!

No, really.

You wouldn't believe the amount of detail included in these reports. OK, OK, there's no personally identifying information, and everything is presented in aggregate. But still, there's a lot of information. For example, geography. From December 4 - 10th I've had 29 visits; 22 from the US, 6 from Canada, and 1 from Croatia. (Croatia, if you're out there, I'd love to hear from you!).

Also tracked is info about your PC: operating system, browser, Flash and Java version and screen resolution. I've had 25 windows users and 4 mac users; I guess I'm not attracting the cool crowd. Lot's of variety in the browser section: 11 for both Firefox and IE; the 4 mac people use Safari; Google's own Chrome shows up twice, and one visit from someone using Opera. Before today I'd never even heard of Opera.

All kinds of analysis is provided about visitor habits: how many absolute unique visitors (takes out people who come back more than once - if you're wondering there are 14 of you thus far), how long you spend on the site (average of 13 seconds - come on people, that hurts), how many different pages you look at, which pages you looked at, and even which keywords you used to find the site.

Where you come from is tracked - and actually this might be the most interesting one. But I can't give away all my secrets. Check back soon, I'll be posting all kinds of good info. Probably not about you this time though. Probably back to me again. As Van Smack says, more of me and less of you is a good thing.

Bookends - Twitter and 'The Call' by Os Guiness

2008-12-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

Today at lunch I finished Os Guiness' book The Call. I had started reading it a number of months ago, and hadn't picked it up in several weeks. The timing was interesting, because this week I have become interested in emerging social media, web 2.0, twitter, and the like. And Os' writing in The Call is deeply influenced by many historical figures and writings. So today has felt like bookends as I look into the future and into the past simultaneously. The Call was good for me to read, informative and encouraging, if a little difficult to follow at times. The last chapter and the end of the book are almost poetic. And throughout the book the theology is dead on. It has reinforced my belief in the element of tension - the following excerpt is a good example:

People make two equal but opposite errors about life as a journey and faith as the Way. On one side, usually at the less educated level, are those who prematurely speak as if they have arrived. Such people properly emphasize the certainties and triumphs of faith but minimize the uncertainties, tragedies, and incompletenesses. Having come to faith, they speak and live as if they have nothing more to learn. All truths are clear-cut, all mysteries solved, all hopes materialized, all conclusions foregone - and all sense of journeying is reduced to the vanishing point. There are seemingly no risks, trials, dangers, setbacks, or disasters on the horizon. Or so they seem to talk.

On the other side, usually at the more educated level, are those who are so conscious of the journey that journey without end becomes there passion and their way of life. To such people it is unthinkable ever to arrive, and the ultimate gaffe is the claim of finding a way or reaching a conclusion. Like the perennial seekers we met earlier, for them the journey itself is all. Questions, inquiry, searching, and conquering become an end in themselves. Ambiguity is everything.

Yet the Christian faith has an extraordinary balance between these extremes. As those responding to God's call, we are followers of Christ and followers of the Way. So we are on a journey and we are truly travelers, with all the attendant costs, risks, and dangers of the journey. Never in this life can we say we have arrived. But we know why we have lost our original home and, more importantly, we know the home to which we are going.

Perhaps more important to me were the following lines on identity:

God calls and, just as we hear him but don't see him on this earth, so we grow to become what he calls, even though we don't see until heaven what he is calling us to become.

No one has captured this more profoundly than George MacDonald in his sermon "The New Name" from Unspoken Sermons. In his message in Revelation to the Church in Pergamum, Jesus promised " a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." MacDonald pointed out in good biblical fashion that "the true name is one which expresses the character, the nature, the meaning of the person who bears it. It is the man's own symbol - his soul's picture, in a word - the sign which belongs to him and no one else. Who can give a man this, his own nature? God alone. For no one but God sees what a man is."

Anyway, to summarize, there are definitely gold nuggets in this book, but it's difficult to state in one sentence what they are. More than anything, I was encouraged by this book. I was encouraged about my future, my life's journey, and the call placed upon my life. And I needed that.

Typos 2

2008-12-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Found in a job description:

"Requires knowledge of ... basic mathematics, and English compositon and grammar."

Wonderful irony.

Shopping with a Conscience

2008-12-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today I got an email from the International Labor Rights Forum announcing the 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide. Check it out, if you like. I also inadvertently found Reverend Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping - quirky and kind of weird website. But I think I agree philosophically. Getting back to the Labor Rights Forum, I think I support the unionization of workers in developing countries. In the US, where labor laws are strictly enforced, I think the benefit is debatable. Actually, I think that there are situations where unionization is a smart choice from the business' perspective, and I think there are a lot of times when it's actually detrimental to workers to unionize. Anyway, in other countries where labor laws aren't as strict, unionization may provide workers with more rights than the government will. However, what are the chances that a government that won't or can't enforce labor laws will protect workers' rights to unionize?

If I sound tentative, it's because I'm not sure I've heard the other side of the argument yet. In other news I sent a number of emails off to various organizations asking them to change this or that bad environmental or social justice practice. Responsible Shopper really is a great resource. One of the first (and only) companies to get back to me was Target. Their policy sounded a little public-relations oriented, but at least they took the time to respond to me. I sent a follow-up email asking for more specifics; we'll see what happens.

I also sent an email to The Lantern asking my standard question about green information - it was actually a slightly modified version of this post. The Green Lantern is a column written by a guy named Jacob on Slate.com, and although my query didn't get answered in his column, he did send me a nice, seemingly personal, note back:

Jared,

Thanks for your question -- it's a good one. Unfortunately, we still don't have much in the way of generalizable environmental info available for consumers. (In places like the UK, they do a far better job of this, although any ratings systems there are pretty nascent.) However, I'll keep your question in mind, and perhaps consider a column about the limited sources of information that are available about companies and products.

Best,
Jacob

Your word of the day is nascent - "just beginning to develop; in the process of emerging, being born, or starting to develop" (from the Encarta Dictionary in Word).

Searching for Green Info - Update

2008-11-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

In my original post on this subject (here) I said I was going to send a letter to the editor of the Bellingham Herald. Well, apparently he or she didn't like it much because it hasn't been published yet. I did, however, start a lively discussion in the Herald's new reader forums. You can check it out here. The synopsis is that it's always better to buy used, as Eric commented on my original post.

The more I thought about this issue, the more I considered starting a second blog devoted to documenting the environmental and social justice records of various companies. I even checked into conscientiousconsumer.blogspot.com - which is occupied by another individual who had the same idea, only a year or more ago.

Just a few days ago Eric dropped me another line, which included a link to the Responsible Shopper website. These guys are doing exactly what I envisioned, and more. They include links to sites where you can actually take action on issues, which is awesome. For getting informed and taking action on social justice and environmental issues, Responsible Shopper is the best site I have seen.

Cheesiest Country Songs Ever

2008-11-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I both speak a little Spanish. She more than I. The difference is she knows past and future tenses. I'm an in-the-now type of guy. Anyhow, we both know well enough what a real Mexican Spanish accent sounds like. And we are in the habit of poking fun at English pronunciations of Spanish words, especially in a southern drawl. If you've done it, you know what I mean. If not, ask me and I'll show you sometime. That's the backdrop for the first contestant in my "Cheesiest Country Songs" contest. It's from Garth Brooks.

She used to be my rosa amarilla
My little Mexicali tomatilla
But then one night I drank too much sangria
Woke up and found a note that said I'll see you

Oh, my baby no esta aqui no more
My baby no esta aqui no more
She left me here with nada
Broke my heart like a pinata
My baby no esta aqui no more

Whoa, whoa, whoa, if you see her
Please, please tell her that I need her

I used to be her number one vaquero
Her numero uno caballero
But I've had to hock my spurs and my sombrero
'Cause when she left she took all my dinero

Oh, my baby no esta aqui no more
My baby no esta aqui no more
She left me here with nada
Broke my heart like a pinata
My baby no esta aqui no more

Whoa, whoa, whoa, if you see her
Well please, please tell her that I need her

Oh, my baby no esta aqui no more
My baby no esta aqui no more
She left me with nada
Broke my heart like a pinata
My baby no esta aqui
My baby no esta aqui
My baby no esta aqui no more

And all the High School Spanish teachers let out a collective sigh of despair.

Our next contestant is Alan Jackson. Now, I really like Alan; he has a lot of really good songs, and he is the quintessential country voice. But no one is accusing him of being technologically savvy. Computer geek he ain't. Picture the writing process for this song, circa 1996:

Alan: What about that internet thing? Heard a lotta talk about that lately.

Bubba the Cohort: Yep, I reckon them there computadoras is here to stay.

Alan: You sound like Garth Brooks. Now let's see here... computers. Internet. Keyboards, mouses, electricity, printers. Yeah, I can work with that. Now ain't all them spots on the internet started out with dubyas? What say we call it www.memory?

And a hit was born...

I know you're leaving, I see the signs
You're gonna walk out on this heart of mine
You'll never call me, you'll never write
You made your mind up, you're gone tonight
If some rainy day you're all alone
You feel like talkin' you can log me on

At www.memory
I'll be waitin' for you patiently
If you feel the need, just click on me
At www.memory

You won't even have to hold me or
Look into my eyes
You can tell me you love me
Through your keyboard and wires
No, you won't have to touch me or
Even take my hand
Just slide your little mouse around
Until you see it land

At www.memory
I'll be waitin' for you patiently
If you feel the need, just click on me
At www.memory

If you feel like love, just click on me
At www.memory

For the record, I checked www.memory and it's an e-tailer of computer memory and other accessories. You gotta remember to register your domain name, Alan. Geez.

Typos

2008-11-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

I came across two typos in the last week that had me in stitches, as they say. In talking about them Michelle suggested I come up with a section on my blog for writing down the best typos we come across. Since I'm running out of room on the sidebar, I decided to start using Labels. Will I go back and label all my previous posts? Maybe. Only the ones that fit into nice categories.

Anyway, here are the typos. First off, Michelle and I tried to sign up for a Childbirth and Parenting class at the local technical college. Some miscues happened, and we got a letter indicating we would need to re-register. It concluded with the following statement:

"I'm sorry for any incontinence this may cause you."

Luckily, the mix up hasn't caused any incontinence thus far.

I came across the second typo at a conference I went to recently. The subject matter, Labor Relations, is relatively dry. In the middle of a particularly dry paragraph, the material took a citrus-y twist:

"In the same lime of discussion, it is important to consider..."

This one hinges more on context, so at a later date I may add the particular sentences before and after. Anyhow, feel free to chime in with your favorite typos. And remember, spell checking is no replacement for good old fashioned proof reading.

"Once" and the Arts

2008-11-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I watched "Once" last night, and it's the first movie I've seen in quite awhile that I really liked a lot. Two things stood out - first the music. Watching Glen Hansard perform was really cool. He has an intensity that goes really well with the music itself, or maybe it was the natural connection between a musician and music he's created. Either way, watching him perform was... riveting? I can't come up with exactly the right word.

As a side note, he reminded me a little bit of my friend Zach. I think it was just the facial hair/guitar combination. And the intensity.

Secondly, the relationship between guy and girl was excellent. The movie managed to depict a relationship that doesn't fit quaintly into the three or four categories of romantic relationship we've been conditioned to expect from movies. In fact, it manages to be unique among all the relationships I've seen in movies. It left me sad, but not unhappy. My expectations were unfulfilled, and yet I was very satisfied. You should watch this movie (unless you think music is boring). Also be aware that the Irish accent makes the characters difficult to understand at times. And there's a few f-bombs.

Today I was listening to CBC Radio 1, and I'm convinced that the Canadian arts and culture scene is unique in the world. I'm no expert on the arts, but I really think there is no artistic environment like Canada's. I heard this week's episode of "DNTO", a radio program produced in Winnipeg. I just think it's really cool that a place like Winnipeg hosts such a vibrant arts community. Anyway, my musical weekend has inspired me to add learning to play the piano to my life goals list.

While we're on the subject of Canadian radio, I also really like Wiretap (quite funny, if inappropriate and off-the-wall at times) and As it Happens (could any theme music be more iconic? I think not).

Searching for Green Info

2008-11-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my situation: I want to buy a new car, or a bicycle helmet, or a new spatula.

And, I am willing to pay more money if I know that extra money is going to support cleaner industry, safer working conditions in developing countries, and environmental responsibility.

Furthermore, I want to avoid inadvertently supporting businesses, brands, and products that exhibit destructive behavior, especially wealth transferring (making their goods inexpensive by refusing to pay decent wages, harvesting raw materials unethically and refusing to clean up the mess their production processes create).

Here is my problem: I am in the house wares department looking at spatulas, and I can't tell Evil Corp from Good Guy Inc. Do I buy XYZ's spatula or ABC's spatula?

Where can I find a resource which rates companies and brands on their environmental and societal impact?

I have been looking, lest I receive an angry "STFI" in the comments section, for this type of information on the web. Here is what I have found:

gazelle.com - Nifty recycler of electronics
epeat.net - More or less what I wanted, except it's limited to computers
worldchanging.com - Green news media outlet
treehugger.com - Another green news media outlet
green.wikia.com - An environmental wikipedia of sorts

My next step is going to be writing a letter to the editor of the Bellingham Herald, very similar to the above. Maybe I can tap into all the earthy people around here. If it's out there, someone in Bellingham knows where to find it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Some Green Thoughts

2008-11-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago I got on a green kick and started keeping track of what I bought, where it was made, etc. I haven't been very good about keeping that up, which I regret. But the main goal was never to keep a log; it was to develop a habit, or maybe to change my way of thinking. Lots of times I feel like I'm trying to swim upstream. Our culture is very powerful.

I had a small but satisfying success today. As I've whined about on this blog before, my laptop is coming unhinged. Well, the power cord finally gave out a few days ago. The battery has been toast for some time, so no power cord, no laptop. No laptop, no internet. Life grinds to a halt. I jest, but there's more truth there than I'd like to admit.

Anyhow, I checked online (ironically enough) and the replacement part was going to be $65; and, not only that, but it would be a whole new part when only one little section of the cord was broken. [Incidentally, that was my goal for tracking my purchases: to have my buying decisions include questions like "how much waste am I creating?" and "who made this and under what conditions?" in addition to "how can I spend as little as possible?". Ultimately, I would like to be asking "how can I get the greatest use while causing the least human and environmental damage?". But I digress.]

After checking on a new part online, I remembered Craigslist. Surely someone has a perfectly good power cord just laying around in there basement. Good idea, but it was more frustrating than fruitful. And I'm up one useless power cord in the process. Finally I checked with Data Doctors, who were really helpful when Michelle was trying to get our "m" key fixed awhile back. They didn't have a used one either, but the owner explained how I could just replace the plug on the power cord. Which I did. And it works, so far. And it cost $3.22.

Wow. I think I might be the most boring guy in the world. I was eventually going to point you toward the RElectronics website, which I learned quite a bit from. To put this all in the context of my blog, for the last few years I've been wrestling with our culture's 'use it up, throw it out' mentality. The Story of Stuff really impacted my thinking on the subject. If you haven't already, you should check it out. And, if you know of other people or books or websites that are responding to this issue in new a different ways, I'd love to hear about them.

General Reflections

2008-10-28T22:30:00.000-06:00

I finished reading Maus a number of weeks ago. It was the first graphic novel I'd read, besides a collection of Marvel comics, which doesn't really count. I really enjoyed it, but I'm going to avoid making any grandiose critical pronouncements. I will say that Vladek Spiegelman was a very real and endearing character to me, and my favorite part of the book.

In a weird coincidence Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com (a political polling and analysis site I've been frequenting lately) posted this today. Blumenthal's father-in-law, who passed away yesterday, has a very similar story to Vladek Spiegelman, as documented in Maus.

Michelle and I have been watching the Office almost every night. We're already half way through Season 4, which we got less than a month ago. The Office is great because it is so subtle and compelling in the way it engages our culture. I don't know exactly how to explain it, except that I watched the last two minutes of "Survivor Man" twice in a row, totally spellbound. And I need to see "The Deposition" again. I mean, it's totally hilarious, but it's the once-in-a-blue-moon, darn-that-was-poignant, out-of-nowhere-when-you-least-expect-it, rewind-that-I-need-to-see-that-again moments that have me totally hooked.

More good stuff from The Call:

For Jesus, spirituality is plainly not a life of contemplation divorced from a life of action. There is nothing in Jesus' life of either the super-spiritual "Catholic distortion" or the all-to-secular "Protestant distortion" we saw earlier. There is only a rhythm of engagement and withdrawal, work and rest, dispensing and recharging, crowds and solitude, in the midst of one of the shortest, busiest public lives ever lived.
If we are not to be dried up, our secular lives require supernatural refreshment too. But equally, if our supernatural experience is not to become an end in itself and a source of indulgence and pride, we must resolutely descend from the mountain peaks of vision to the valley of ordinary life where our callings take us. The New Testament knows no monasteries or monks, only spiritually disciplined disciples in a demanding, everyday world.

Last but not least, I'm excited to say that Michelle and I are having a girl. We went this weekend to a second hand store and picked out some of her first clothes. I learned that newborns wear pants with their onesies. Hey, it looked like a complete outfit to me.

Political Reflections

2008-10-25T11:32:00.001-06:00

As you may or may not know, I'm fairly sure I'll be voting for Obama in the upcoming election. I have to say, I'm a sucker for what people are calling his "rhetoric". Take this article, for example, particularly the last paragraph. It's been brushed aside as the ability to read from a teleprompter, but I think it's more than that. I believe there is power in the spoken, and written, word. I have for some time admired another rhetorical politician - Winston Churchill. His words, I believe, single handedly willed the English people onward in their resistance and endurance of the Nazi onslaught. Actually, if anyone is interested in a good Christmas gift for me, I would love a collection of Winston Churhill's speeches and public addresses.

Over the last week or so I've had some reservations about voting for Obama. Call it buyer's remorse, or second guessing, or whatever. First of all, I got an email forward about how Jesus revealed to somebody that he was going to pull the shroud back on the evil practice of abortion. Accordingly, this individual sent out a video, which I chose not to watch, but which apparently included footage of aborted babies, etc. I'm fairly sensitive to graphic stuff like that, so the suggestion alone made me feel guilty, like a vote for Obama was a vote for killing babies. But then I remember something he said. I'm paraphrasing: "I'm not pro-abortion; no one is pro-abortion. We need to teach our kids abstinence; that's the best option. Second, we know not everyone will chose abstinence, so we need to teach safe sex. And finally, and most importantly, parents need to take a greater role in their children's lives, including teaching and helping their kids to understand their sexuality." Again, I'm paraphrasing. He said something along those lines during one of the debates. A well-reasoned position. I really like that on several occasions he has challenged parents to take more responsibility for the lives of their children, suggesting that many of the societal ills can be righted by proper parenting. I agree with that. I also remembered that I voted for Bush in 2004 based on abortion, and it doesn't seem to have had much impact on the issue. In fact, none at all that I can see.

Maybe Obama's just a windbag. But he's an inspirational windbag, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for people who can bring out the best in others. And I think that's a very important quality in a leader.

Things I'm Applying

2008-10-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

There are some spiritual truths which I have learned, per se, but which I haven't learned to apply. The following paragraphs come from "The Call":

Midlife crises that are genuine and not simply fashionable are generally due to the tensions between three very different desires: for successful careers, for satisfying work, and for rich personal lives. Early in life the differences between our personal lives and our work may not be marked or obvious. But as life goes on, and especially if success in one sphere is not complemented by success in the other, a yawning chasm will open that leads to deep frustration. Sadly, studies show, a few people enjoy neither their work nor their personal lives; more enjoy their work but not their personal lives; only a few say they enjoy both.

Crises created by a contradiction between successful careers and satisfying work are even more fateful. For when we set out in youth and choose careers for external reasons - such as the lure of the salary, the prestige of the position, or pressure from parents and peers - we are setting ourselves up for frustration later in life if the work does not equally suit us for internal reasons, namely our giftedness and calling. "Success" may then flatter us on the outside as "significance" eludes us from the inside.

I wrestle with this a lot. Theoretically, I want work that is satisfying, fulfilling and significant in my own eyes. Practically, I don't really know what satisfying work would look like for me. What am I gifted for? What am I called to? I usually default to applying for jobs I'm qualified for, which haven't had the significance I'm looking for. Another problem is that I panic if I'm not able to contribute to my savings on a regular basis, to say nothing of actually having to spend those savings.

Speaking of money, another quote from The Call:

Second, and more practically, calling introduces into society a different style of operating that directly counters the market mentality. We do what we do in life because we are called to it, not because we get paid for it.

Contrary to the ways of commerce, calling means that life is lived for God's sake or for it's own sake under God. Intrinsic satisfaction outweighs external rewards such as pay, advancement, and external recognition.

That I need to try to live out. Thus far, it has not been easy and I haven't had much success. Little by little, though, the picture is becoming clearer. I want to be in a position to listen to people, understand them, and encourage them. I want to help people. I want to teach people. I want to strive, with close friends and colleagues, for some common good. It's hard to know what I was made to do. For now I can be faithful and patient.

Checking In

2008-10-13T21:39:00.000-06:00

I've got a typical case of blogger's remorse. I've been away too long. Here is what's going on with me:

Fall is a good time. Expensive coffee for looks and warmth. Beautiful scenery. Rosy cheeks.
This Friday is find-out-the-baby's-gender-day!
Patrick tuned me in to the Village, and I've only listened to one sermon, but it's reawakened my appreciation for good teaching.
I've been thinking that I need to remember who the shepherd is and who the sheep are. Lot's of times I think Christians act too much like the shepherd, and it really turns people off. We're all sheep here people.
I've probably forgotten some things I bought. I did just buy The Office: Season 4, which is fantastic. But I challenge you, just try to find out where a boxset was manufactured. I can't find it anywhere. That's why my purchase tracking no longer adds up.
Michelle and I are retreating to the San Juan Islands this weekend. We're going to take in a show, drive around the beautiful countryside, try to see some late season Orcas, go out to eat, and relax.
Luke and Barbie have joined the blogosphere! Welcome guys.
Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Happy Election Day Canada!
The hockey season has started again. Hope springs up in the Edmonton Oiler fan, if only for a month or two.

Well I think that's all for now. I'll be back soon, I hope.

Back in Balance

2008-09-20T14:17:00.000-06:00

Alright, so my goal this morning was to even out the new/used balance in my purchase record, which I definitely did. And then some. Here's what I found:

A Baby Backpack! It's turquoise, and I was debating it's purchase when several ladies informed me that I'd be kicking myself if I didn't get it when I went to get one in the store in a few months. It also brings out my eyes, I'm told.

SNL: The Best of Christopher Walken on DVD. Christopher Walken is funny without trying.

The brightest, most vibrant, most obnoxious reflective vest in the world, to keep me seen on my bike in the dark mornings ahead.

A CD wallet full of CDs I probably don't need - but how could I turn it down for $1? Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Pete Seeger, Bette Midler, just to name a few. Kind of an interesting mix don't you think?

Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter which is an absolute classic of business strategy. He's kind of a legend, an impression instilled in me by Dr. Proudfoot, my business strategy prof in University. Unrelated except that it's in the textbook genre, I also bought a Quantum Physics textbook. I'm going to get to the bottom of this Large Hadron Collider business.

I also got some flower pots for free. I'm only going to score the products that saved me from buying something new in the "purchased used" category. The textbooks, CD wallet, and SNL DVD were unnecessary, but fun to get. So I guess the "used" is still lagging behind the "new". Such is life.

Happy Saturday!

*** UPDATE ***
I can't believe I forgot! I typed that whole post on my new (to me) keyboard and completely left it out. I got a great USB keyboard, which I've been after for awhile since the "m" on our laptop is dying a slow death (you know this if you've checked email at our house). But there's MORE! This USB keyboard also came with two additional USB ports built right into the keyboard, solving another problem we had - only one USB port. Our laptop is being ravaged by planned obsolescence. Did I mention the battery no longer works? And the AC adapter power cord only works sporadically?

On the sunny side, new and used purchases are even again.

Blog Updates

2008-09-19T22:53:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to update the extra stuff on the fringes of this here blog for awhile, and I finally found time tonight.

Firstly, I added a number of new individuals to the Blog Roll:

Megan H - A good friend of the family's

Katie L - Katie does the typing, but the whole clan is represented. Pat is one of my golfing, fishing, and hockey cohorts.

Rob M - I just discovered Rob's blog today, and I was overjoyed at having found it. Every now and then Rob will send Michelle and I an email, and they're fantastic to read. Who knew a near endless supply of his writing was to be had! His latest post, My Car Makes Me Sin, is extremely entertaining. I highly recommend it.

I also updated my purchase statistics. My goal was to keep new and used purchases at the same level, but it's not working out. Although, I'm going garage sale-ing (I'd like to nominate garage saling as a new English verb. Who do I contact about that?) tomorrow so I might be able to bring things back into balance. Clothing is difficult to buy used, especially professional-type attire. On the other hand, I haven't been to the Goodwill in awhile, so I'm not exactly doing everything I could be doing.

I added Bicycle Commute Statistics because I think it's interesting and because I log the trips at Whatcom Smart Trips anyway, and they do all the hard work. I was actually really surprised at how little money I'm saving; cars are very efficient. On the other hand, I can't believe 68 pounds of carbon dioxide would have been emitted into the atmosphere. That seems like a lot.

That's all.

Political Rant (You've Been Forewarned...)

2008-09-19T21:57:00.000-06:00

So I'm leaning Democratic this fall. Here's one reason: long-term energy. Democrat solution: newer, greener technologies. A long-term perspective. Republican solution: drill more.

Pardon the sarcasm, but let me see if I've got this straight: oil and oil-related products are increasing in price, largely because there's a limited supply and an unlimited demand. So our solution is to use up said limited resource at an even faster rate? Seems just a tad short-sighted, doesn't it? And in our mad dash to use up the last of our dwindling resources, why not trash the planet along the way?*

I know the Democrats have been a little light on the details, and some of the suggestions (properly inflated tires?) seem ridiculous in light of the magnitude of the problem - but aren't they at least headed in the right direction: reduced consumption, other sources of energy? Isn't that where we're going to have to end up anyway?

And another thing - I'm a fiscal conservative (smaller government, free markets... if that's not a fiscal conservative, that's what I meant) and I'm sick of one-way conservatives. It's pretty duplicitous to say we believe in free markets, but only if it means consumer prices go down. Oil is getting more scarce and it’s being used more so the free market is dictating that prices go up - simple supply (going down) and demand (going up). The genius of the free market system is that the increased price of oil and oil-related stuff will spur innovation and creativity to find better, cheaper energy sources. Keeping the price of oil down is short-sighted and will only hamper our transition to the next energy supply.

So I'm happy gas is more expensive; heck, bring on $10/gallon!

Actually, I've been thinking about this for awhile now (time warp - most of the above was written when I was in a more rant-ish type mood; now I'm a little more contemplative) and I think efforts to find a new source of energy are being hindered because we're focused on switching out oil with something new while still maintaining our consumption habits. Consider your personal range; by that I mean the distance you're willing to travel and still consider it 'convenient'. Another way to think of it, what length of trip do you consider significant enough that you block off a whole day for that one trip? What if that distance was drastically reduced? Maybe our culture should shift such that all our day-to-day activities are accessible by bike and foot, and any travel beyond that is done by airplane. What is the airline industry if not a worldwide mass transit system? We'd sure save a lot of oil not making those big long oil-strips we call highways. The infrastructure requirements of long distance air travel are so minimal in comparison to the automobile it's not even funny.

Well, all that aside, I do think that these are just the beginnings of a multi-generational shift in the way humanity views, uses, and consumes energy. The transition hasn't even really begun here; I don't have the data, but I'd hazard a guess that the average cost of fuel and the average commute length in America have charted a similar trajectory over the past 30 years.

Well, thanks for listening. I feel better already. What do you think?

*Editor's Note - that last little jab isn't entirely fair; the oil industry is quite clean in comparison to other natural resource industries. The mining industry, for instance, does hundreds of times more environmental damage than the oil industry. But that's beside the point.

Recent Musings

2008-09-07T19:29:00.000-06:00

I've had a few random thought-strings that I thought I'd share.

First off, I've continued to ride my bike to work on occasion and I can't believe how awful exhaust fumes are. I often come to a stop too close to the vehicle ahead of me, and I don't notice at first, but after a few breaths I realize I haven't gotten any oxygen. I don't think automobile exhaust disgusts people nearly as much as it would if it were black instead of colorless. When I'm driving my car, or when you pass other cars on the highway, it's as if there's no toxic fumes at all because there's no visible sign of it. I thought about suggesting a color additive but I guess indifference is better than black soot everywhere.

I'm in the market for a waterbath canner - so if you've got one that your willing to sell, let me know. My first experiment, on borrowed equipment, was making pickles. It was fun, but I over cooked them. They came out the consistency of baby food. A wise grandmother of a friend overheard my plight and suggested relish. I think it might turn out more like a pickle paste, but it's all going to the same place. I might have a good invention on my hands! Jared's Perfect Pickle Paste - great on hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and more! My next canning project is going to be blackberry jam. I was out picking some blackberries tonight. Blackberry picking is not a good activity for arachnophobes. Spiders everywhere.

I got a new book today - Hit the Ground Crawling from dadsadventure.com. It's a book by dads for dads-to-be. Michelle and I got this packet with all kinds of baby information, mostly in pastel pinks and blues, but one handout caught my eye - it was black with this smiling, dirty baby holding a wrench on the cover. I read it, front to back, within a day or so, and it was one of the first things to really connect with me about this whole fatherhood thing. (I'm fairly certain that I've told everyone that Michelle and I are expecting, so this shouldn't be too shocking). Anyway, I've got that to dig in to.

That's probably enough random rambling for one day.

Garden (and Other) Produce

2008-09-01T19:16:00.000-06:00

So I've been meaning to post some pictures for a few weeks now. Michelle and I went blueberry picking, and I put them in plastic bags to freeze for the long cold winter ahead. There's something about growing things that I really like. I think it's the fact that you've got something to show for your work when your done (hopefully!). I also really like how practical it is. I enjoyed just running the berries through my fingers. Some of them were still warm from the heat of the sun. I vacuum packed each freezer bag with a straw, and the super smooth bag perfectly molded to each berry made for a really cool feeling texture. Unfortunately I can't help you feel it with pictures, but here's my attempt:

Also a few weeks ago, we pulled about 75% of the carrots from our garden. Here are the long, straight, prize winners:

And here are the mutants:

And here is the finished product:

I've actually already eaten all these carrots. Apparently they all taste the same because they made a great snack at work. I'll have to remember to plant more carrots next year. And not to judge a carrot by it's shape.

Payne Hollow - Harlan Hubbard

2008-08-27T22:25:00.000-06:00

I finished reading Payne Hollow: Life on the Fringe of Society a few days ago. It's a Thoreau-esque autobiographical book about Harlan and Anna Hubbard's life on the shores of the Ohio river. The most interesting part of the book for me was Harlan's idealism, which I think I share with him in some small degree. Here is an example:

Our objections to an outboard motor are more subtle, and not generally understood by the practical minded. It makes a different craft out of the johnboat, a driven thing, quivering as if in pain. A motor is odorous and noisy. Even a small one spoils to some extent communion with the river. It interferes with your contemplation of sky and water and the distant view. It's noise discourages conversation, but this in some cases may be a desirable feature.

It's not evident in the passage quoted, but he is comparing the outboard to the use of oars as a means of crossing the river. I enjoyed hearing why they did this and that, both the philosophical reasons for their retreat to the land, and the practical means of day to day survival. I would recommend it as excellent reading to any who consider themselves idealists or naturalists. Unfortunately, it seems to be available only regionally. I happened to encounter it through a friend who has lived in Kentucky. I couldn't find it in any local libraries. Of course, the internet will bring it to your doorstep, though I'm not sure Harlan would approve.

NW Washington Fair!

2008-08-16T00:04:00.000-06:00

It's Fair week, and Michelle and I went out on Thursday afternoon. I was most excited about the food, and it didn't disappoint. I had, in chronological order, a Hawaiian Shaved Ice (to cool off from the trip out - no A/C), a half a basket of fresh cut curly fries, a delicious strawberry lemonade with real lemon, a chocolate-dipped vanilla ice cream bar from the Boy Scout booth (Haggen-Daas has nothing on those boy scouts), corn-on-the-cob, buttered and salted, also from the Boy Scouts, and poffertjes, which are little dutch pastries served with butter and powdered sugar. At first I thought they would be better with syrup, but then I realized I just wasn't using enough butter. The best food booth was, by far, the Lynden PTA stand. They're prices are the cheapest at the Fair, and when we got to the front of the line we asked about water (usually $2.50 for Dasani) and explained that we wanted a HUGE drink, but didn't really want that much sugary pop. They gave us a "Tanker" size cup filled with ice and water - FREE! Nothing is free at the fair - heck, we were willing to pay for it if we had too. Anyway, they earned my wholehearted endorsement. Here is Michelle with the Tanker:

We also saw a horse show, with teams of Clydesdale horses navigating a course and backing up to the stage. It was interesting how they backed the wagons in. The whole thing kind of reminded me of trying to get my drivers license as a kid. Here's what I think was the winning team:

We spent a good amount of time walking through the livestock barns. The poultry barn contained all manner of chickens and roosters and ducks and game hens, and this little critter. Michelle thought it was cute, so we watched it for awhile. It didn't move. It took us way too long to figure out that it was stuffed. Yes, fake. We're those city people who take pictures of the only fake bird in a barn of 300+ birds. You gotta admit, he's cute. A baby emu I'm told.

My favorite was the goat barn. It brings back memories of being a kid, since we had goats on the farm. Floppy-eared goats, cute (and mischievous), like this one:

So that's it for the fair. Make sure you hit the Lynden PTA booth. Best food at the fair. Here's a picture of our garden, as it was in late July. The cucumbers, of which there are three little hills in the picture, have since taken over. And I'm hoping to have bell peppers soon.

Kikkerland Design - 2

2008-08-13T22:26:00.000-06:00

Today I got another response from Kikkerland, this time from a VP. It said:

Dear Jared,
Thank you for your purchase of a Kikkerland Kitchen timer. We share your concerns and are taking steps to improve the accountability of our suppliers and are committed to reducing waste and improve the quality of our products and the environment.

We ask our suppliers to sign a commitment to not use forced or child labor and to use labor practices that conform to local laws.

At some of our larger suppliers we do factory inspections. Kikkerland will not knowingly buy from any suppliers, which violate this agreement.

We do not actively participate in local issues of the place of manufacture but try limit the harmful effects of our activities. We try to reduce waste by reducing packaging and using recyclable packaging such as paper and PET plastics wherever possible. We try to reduce pollution and save money by increasing the load factor of the containers we bring into the country.

We are also active in a reforestation project in Brazil Mil Fohas and just introduced a new line of notebooks, Writersblok, of which 2% of the proceeds will support NYC826 an organization that promotes literacy and creative writing skills in children in New York City.

We realize that this reply does not address all of your concerns. There remains a lot to be done. As we grow and our ability to address these issues grows we are committed to further reduce the harmful impact of our activities and motivate and encourage our suppliers to do their part as well.

Jeroen Kuiper

Kikkerland Design Inc.

Kikkerland is a smaller company, I think, and more agile in responding to customer inquiries. For that I'll give them credit. It's nice to know that they are active and conscientious about their business practices, thinking about the packaging they use, supporting reforestation and literacy projects. I'd like to see standards above and beyond "local laws", but then again I'm not familiar with Chinese labor law; it could be quite progressive. Overall I'm pretty pleased with their response. Given the choice between Kikkerland or other similar products, I'm going buy and be willing to pay more for Kikkerland stuff.

Kikkerland Design

2008-08-12T14:53:00.000-06:00

Recently I bought a double kitchen timer from Kikkerland Design, in mint green. For some reason our microwave doesn't have a timer feature, and I was getting tired of needlessly heating up Pyrex dishes of water. So we got the timer. Alas, even designer items such as this one are made in China these days. So I sent the following email Sunday August 3rd:

Subject: Double Timer, Mint

As a conscientious consumer I am attempting to make more of my purchasing decisions based on the ethical and environmental practices of the companies who produce the products I buy. To that end, I have a few questions related to the Double Kitchen Timer, Mint color, that I recently purchased. I understand that I am asking a lot - the more information you can provide for me, the more comfortable I will be purchasing Kikkerland products in the future.

1) How much do you know about the working conditions under which your products are made? How do they compare to North American standards?

2) Are you certain no children were employed in the manufacturing or distribution of the double timer I bought?

4) How familiar are you with the environmental impacts of your manufacturing processes? Are you sure the raw materials used in your products are produced or harvested ethically?

5) What are you doing to improve the living conditions in the areas where your products are produced?

Thank you in advance for your time,

Jared

Yesterday, August 11th, I got the following reply:

*** UPDATE 8/15/08 *** Laura asked me to take down her initial email, as she only meant it to be an acknowledgment that a response was forthcoming. The official reply is above.

I was impressed, especially since it's been like a month and several reminder emails and I still haven't heard anything from Memorex. Maybe they'll surprise me. Although the email doesn't contain any specific details, it's satisfying to know that my concerns were heard and appreciated.

Raspberry Ridge 3, Jared 0

2008-08-09T17:02:00.000-06:00

Reading Michael Bamberger's "The Green Road Home" has renewed my interest in golf. Last Tuesday Pat and I played 9 holes at Raspberry Ridge, then today Dave and I played 18 holes. I kept the scorecards and ran the numbers with Excel. There's only 9 holes at Raspberry Ridge, so with three rounds I was able to get some good numbers. The course is a par 34, fairly short, with no par-5 holes. I shot 51, 50, and 53 for the three rounds, which amounts to just under double-bogey golf, or about an 18 handicap. On the Par 4 holes (there are 7) I averaged 5.9 strokes per hole, and on the par 3 holes I averaged 5 strokes. My best hole was number 9, where I averaged 4 strokes, one over par, followed closely by 4 and 5, where I averaged 5.33 strokes, or 1.33 over par - close to bogey golf. My worst holes were 3 and 7, on which I averaged 6 and 7 strokes, triple-bogey in both cases.

You might think all this data crunching is useless, but it gives me a good framework to work from, mentally. Now I know that bogey or better is an improvement on my game. And I know I need to bare (bear?) down on 3 and 7.

In other news which I have not had a chance to blog about, I crashed my bike on the way in to work on Monday. I crushed the helmet I was wearing, and I'm pretty sure it would have been a hospital trip if not for the helmet. I am a big believer in bike helmets now. I also bought my first new product not made in China, a little package of tissue paper for putting in gift bags, made in the good ol' USA. Memorex still hasn't gotten back to me, and neither has Kikkerland, who make a kitchen timer I bought recently. As for used purchases, I picked up a nice bike pump, and some pedaling shoes, both from craigslist. The search for a bike continues...

Conscientious Consumer - Part 2

2008-07-27T14:22:00.000-06:00

I've added two new lists to my sidebar to track the number of things I buy. One tracks the number of new products I buy versus the number of things I get used. The second tallies the manufacture location of the new products that I do buy. As some of you may have guessed, I'm looking forward to getting a good sample of information so I can start adding the percentages. A graph or chart won't be far behind.

Part of the reason I'm doing it is to remind myself to get things used whenever possible. Buying used has several advantages: 1) There usually isn't any packaging to throw away. 2) It's usually cheaper. 3) An item that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill gets an extension of it's useful life. Yesterday Michelle and I were out and about and I found a used pair of golf shoes for $25 at Play-it-Again Sports. Then we found a baseball glove for $5 at Goodwill. Goodwill also had two pairs of size 12 (my size) golf shoes for like 5$ each. They looked pretty ratty though, so I stuck with the more expensive ones I already had.

A little off-topic, but none-the-less interesting, Michelle and I won $5 in Sports Bucks from Play-it-Again Sports for getting a trivia question right. The question was "How many sports teams in the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB have names that DON'T end in 's'?". The choices are 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12. We got that one wrong, but we got the bonus question right, which was "Which league has the least team names that DON'T end in 's'?" I know your first instinct is to head for Google, but you shouldn't. Try naming the teams you know. You should stop reading and make a list, because I'm about to give you the answers we got.

Michelle and I got the Utah Jazz, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago White Sox (Michelle), Boston Red Sox (Michelle), Minnesota Wild, and I just thought of one we missed, the Miami Heat. I know there's one more that I can't remember now (that we got when we were standing there). So how did you do?

The new product I purchased today was a firewire cable for transferring the video of our Bowron Lake trip from the Camcorder to the computer. Made in China, of course. I'm gonna try to find out if they know under what conditions it was made. So far no response from the email I sent to Memorex. Well, I shouldn't say that. They forwarded my questions on to the research department, and they haven't gotten back to me. We'll see.

A Conscientious Consumer

2008-07-22T19:19:00.000-06:00

Today I was driving my mom up to the Abbotsford airport (she was visiting Michelle while the boys were canoing and camping) and we got to talking about The Story of Stuff and consumerism and where our products are made and various other things. After I dropped her off I continued thinking about it, and I had a few ideas. I'm going to try and keep track of the products I buy new and the countries where they're manufactured as well as the products I buy used. I'm also going to start sending specific questions to the companies who make the products I purchase, such as:

1) How much do you know about the working conditions under which your products are made? How do they compare to North American standards?

2) Are you certain no children are employed in the manufacturing or distribution of your products?

3) I noticed a significant amount of packaging came with your product. Have you considered ways to reduce the packaging in your products? Could more recyclable packaging be used?

4) How familiar are you with the environmental impacts of your manufacturing processes? Are you sure the raw materials you use are produced or harvested ethically?

5) What are you doing to improve the living conditions in the areas where your products are produced?

What other questions should I be asking? What do you think about my idea? Could I phrase these questions in a more effective way? It occurred to me that someone has probably done this and collected up the responses into a book. Have you heard of any books like this? It's kind of cool because it finally makes me feel like I'm able to do something about this issue. I'll post the responses I get from my inquiries, if I do get any responses.

Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit - July 14 - 21, 2008

2008-07-22T19:08:00.000-06:00

We got back yesterday from our Bowron Lake Canoe trip. I'm pretty sure everyone who went had a blast; I know I did. My absolute favorite parts were the moments of stillness. The wind wasn't blowing, the water was flat as glass, and the only sound was the rhythmic gurgle of canoes slicing through the water. The scenery was beautiful and we saw some really cool wildlife, including numerous eagles and osprey, 2 moose, a black bear and her cub (from a distance), among other things. Day one we stayed in campsite 6, day two in campsite 16, day three in 26, day four in 37, and day five in 48. I may post in more detail a little later, especially when I get Mike's and Jeremiah's pictures in the mail.

Right now I have another post on my mind...

Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit

2008-07-14T06:38:00.000-06:00

Today's the day! I'll be leaving any minute for Wells, BC and the start of our 5 or 6 day canoe trip. All my gear is packed, mostly in one pack thanks to Michelle's Kelty hiking backpack. My dad, my brother, and Mike are meeting us there, and Dave will be here to pick me up any minute. (If this post ends abruptly, he came a few minutes early.)

I've been meaning to post about Maus, the graphic novel by Art Spiegelman I started reading a couple weeks ago. It recounts the story of how Mr. Speigleman's father survived World War II as a Jew originally living in Poland. The author uses anthropomorphic representation, with each nationality symbolized by a different animal. Jews are mice, Nazis are cats, Americans are dogs, etc. The book won a special Pullitzer prize, I think because they don't have a comic book category. So far it's been excellent. I highly recommend it.

Maus has gotten me thinking about pacifism. In one sense I like that pacifism is a radical example of principled living. When you take everything away from an organism, nature dictates that it will do anything to survive. Humans are no exception - when you back us into a corner, threaten our loved ones, etc, we will often do whatever is necessary to survive. I like that pacifism is a distinct choice to be set aside from the natural order - no matter the circumstances or the situation, violence is not to be engaged in. It sets us apart.

On the other hand, if everyone were a pacifist, wouldn't violent men rule the world in short order? What are your thoughts on Pacifism?

Garage Sale!

2008-06-28T18:39:00.000-06:00

Today we held a three generation, 4 couple garage sale at Michelle's parents house in Ferndale. Attendance was pretty good, we sold quite a bit of stuff, but there was definitely more than a car load left when we were done. So we decided to cart it all down to Ben's place in downtown Ferndale and do it all over again next Saturday. Michelle did a lot more work than me getting ready for today's sale, so she's not too excited about putting signs up or getting ads in the paper. I, on the other hand, didn't do any work and I got a little taste of how much fun hosting a garage sale can be. So I'm excited to make signs, promote the sale, and collect up things to sell. Everything must go by 1:00pm next Saturday! No reasonable offer refused!

We made a little over $60 today, and we cleaned out our house of stuff we don't use. I very much like both ends of garage sale-ing, and I hope it's a regular aspect of my life in the future.

I may post a few pictures if I get around to it...

Biking and Gardening

2008-06-23T20:52:00.000-06:00

Recently I've been biking to work. I borrowed a vintage Fuji 18 speed from Michelle's Dad, and it's taken me a week or so to get used to the friction shifting, located on the frame. I took it in to Kulshan Cycle today after work because it's been slipping teeth, especially when I'm putting a lot of torque on the pedals. I thought it needed a new chain, but it turns out it just needed to be lubricated and worked in a bit. One of the bike mechanics loosened it up for me and put some penetrating oil on it. It was like night and day - now it's really smooth. I bike about 2.1 miles one way to work every day, and it's really a relaxing ride. Not much traffic, except for one intersection, and it's relatively flat. I'm getting exercise, saving money on gas, and not polluting. It's been really eye-opening actually. Biking to work is really convenient.

This spring Michelle and I planted a garden in one corner of our friend Bea's garden. Bea has chickens, a dog, and some cats, and she recently acquired some ducks. It's a blast to go over to her place. The chickens sometimes segregate themselves into a corner of the yard, and when you come in they all come marching out, like they're on patrol, to investigate the situation. We planted carrots, radish, bell peppers (which didn't come up), cucumbers, broccoli and some flowers. All from seed! I'm pretty impressed with the broccoli - it's big and we just harvested the first three heads. We've got all the radish we know what to do with. Let me know if you have any good recipes that feature radish, or if you want any fresh radish. I like gardening because it reconnects me to the basic functions of life. It's very real. I feel like a lot of peoples lives, mine included, are a little pie-in-the-sky. I counted the other day, and I think my real job, while very necessary, is about 4 degrees of separation from providing for people's basic needs.

Speaking of my real job, click here for a link to some work I did recently. Click on the "Salary Matrix" link. That's all me!

Blogs of Note

2008-06-21T12:11:00.000-06:00

So I've been planning on highlighting a couple blogs for the last week or so. I really need to start building "blogging time" into my daily routine.

Patrick and I meet for breakfast every Thursday. He spent 2 or 3 years living in Central Mexico after university, and he met his wife there. While he was there he collected 43 stories based on his experiences and I find them fascinating to read. He has cleaned up and posted 23 of them so far at patvoy.blogspot.com. They are worth checking out.

Eric and I met in Calgary when I was going to U of C. His blog is a collection of quotes and passages from books he's reading. I try to check in regularly, but he's a pretty prolific reader (and blogger). Recently I asked him how he reads so much, and if it ever feels like a chore to him (sometimes it does to me). He said:

First of all, I read a lot of fiction which I really enjoy and it doesn't seem like work to me. I try and balance that with some non-fiction that really interests me (usually history, politics and economics). I am about to read Common Wealth by Sachs (I'm pumped). Mostly I only make myself read something when I really want to read it. I leave books until I think, "I should read that, I bet its good". The Devils by Dostoevsky has been sitting on my shelf for 2 years. Reading should be fun, if it isn't right now, take a break. And don't worry about "I need to read everything" because you won't, and that is OK.

He's right - I won't read everything. And it is OK. I needed to hear that - reading is again a peaceful, fulfilling activity for me. Anyway, check out his blog at raskolnikov-thethingsiread.blogspot.com.

Spirited Away

2008-06-17T13:11:00.000-06:00

Spirited Away is an animated Japanese movie in the vein of Alice in Wonderland. I have to admit, it was a little wierd, but that was also part of the appeal. For example, Chihiro's parents weren't animated to fit the western stereotype of what animated Japanese people look like. They were animated the way Japanese people see themselves (the parents, and Chihiro, were very nationality neutral). At the same time, the characters exhibit unique and distinctly Japanese, or maybe Asian, mannerisms. It was cool to watch. It was also cool to look at. I don't know much about animation, but this movie used a different technique than I have seen before. The shots out the car window were particularly interesting.

In terms of the plot, it made just enough sense to keep me watching, which isn't saying a whole lot because I have a low tolerance for things not making sense. I was thinking about one scene again today and I realized that there was a subtle but powerful environmental message that I didn't pick up on until now. If you like foriegn films or the fantasy genre, this is one you should see. IMDB tells me it won the 2003 Oscar for Best Animated Picture.

In other news, I started biking to work this week. I borrowed a touring bike, complete with saddle bags for a change of clothes and shoes and what not. It hasn't rained on me yet, so I'm still liking it.

Countdown to Bowron Lakes trip: 26 days!

To Kill a Mockingbird

2008-06-03T13:42:00.000-06:00

I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird a few days ago, and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes I wonder if serious literature isn't wasted on High School students. No offense to High-Schoolers, but I certainly wasn't at a maturity level in High School to appreciate the themes that this book brings up. It makes me think that I should re-read The Outsiders and Fried Green Tomatoes, the two I remember reading in High School.

I have a lot of respect for the way writers like Harper Lee are able to create engaging, enjoyable stories and characters and at the same time address themes like racism, stereotyping, and cultural norms. Getting into the minds of Scout and Jem as they attempted to reconcile their natural and innocent understanding of fairness with the behaviors and attitudes of the community around them was fascinating. I wonder what assumptions I make on a day to day basis just because, subconsciously, I've agreed to it with everyone around me. I have a suspicion that the underlying principle persists, but I think in 50 years we'll look back and see the effect in totally different issues. Animal rights, maybe? Consumerism and "externalized costs" (see thestoryofstuff.com)? Probably not - probably something else I haven't been smart enough to question.

Atticus Finch will go down as one of my favorite literary characters. I'm going to try to remember to flip through this book again when I'm a father. I hope my kids and I have the same type of relationship he had with Scout and Jem. I also wonder if I'll ever face "that one thing" that I need to do. Hopefully I'll see it coming if I do.

Anyone have any recommendations for other classics I should put on my list? I'm trying to work up the courage to start Anna Karenina, but I'm afraid I don't have the attention span for it... Maybe I should stick with high school level classics, and then when I'm 50 I might be ready to take on Tolstoy.

Ski to Sea 2008

2008-05-26T13:14:00.000-06:00

The Ski to Sea race was yesterday, and my leg went off without any (major) hitches. This year we had two teams, number 260 and 295. I was the Road Biker for Team 260, and Michelle was going to be one of the Canoeists, but that leg was canceled. Read all about it here.

Tommy (Road Biker for Tea 295) and I arrived at the DOT Shed (runner - road bike exchange area) at around 8 in the morning to await the hand-off from our respective runners. It was sunny and hot all morning, and we took refuge in the shade. Tommy's team arrived first, and about 15 minutes later my number got called. I took my bike and my bag and made my way to the starting gate. That's when things got interesting.

Travis, my team's runner, passed the timing chip to me; so far no problem. What I should have done was taken 15 seconds and strapped it to my bike before I took off. Instead, I put my foot in the toe cage and pushed off. Then as I tried to sit back into the saddle, I misjudged it's height and the front of the seat grabbed my bike shorts and yarded them down. Yep, I mooned the entire road bike staging area. There was an audible "oooh..." as the crowd looked away in horror. I hastily pulled my pants up, and I was off. But I wasn't out of the woods yet.

I still had the dumb timing chip in my hand, and it was a real struggle trying to attach it to my wrist one-handed as I road down the mountain. It was velcro, so of course it got stuck to itself. When I shook it to get it unstuck, it flew out of my hands. I think I hollered an obscenity and I definitely slammed on the brakes, leaving some nice skid marks on the road. I laid down my bike, ran back up the hill, and luckily found the timing chip right away. When I laid down my bike I must have knocked the chain off, but again, luckily it only took me a few seconds to put it back on. Overall I think I only lost about 5 positions - finally I had everything organized, and I could focus on racing.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, except when I almost collided with a guy handing out water. Otherwise I passed more people than passed me, and I felt good going up the hills. My overall time was 1 hour 52 minutes, which was under my goal of 2 hours, so I was happy about that. I averaged about 20 mph, and my fastest speed was 41.8 mph. There was a section where I was cruising at around 40 mph for several minutes, and I was able to brake by sitting up out of my tuck position, which was nice. The overall race results aren't working quite yet, but you can see all the details here. If they're not working yet, check back soon.

I don't have any pictures to post at the moment, but suffice it to say that a spandex bike jersey makes for mean tan lines. Yowza.

Ski to Sea Training Report #3

2008-05-10T18:27:00.000-06:00

So I've been meaning to post a Ski to Sea Training Report after every training session, but as you can see I haven't gotten around to it. So we're starting with 3. I am doing the road bike this year - last year I did the canoe, and let's just say I wasn't the first to sign up for that leg this year. The road bike leg is the longest leg at 38.5 miles, and takes the race from deep in the mountains out to the Nooksack River, where the Canoe leg takes over.

Michelle and I started training just over a week ago (the race is two weeks away - May 29th). Our first outing I went 13 miles in about an hour and a half. Not bad, considering it was all flatland stuff, compared to the race which will trend more towards downhill. On Thursday we went out again, but only did 5 miles.

Today was the big cheese. The whole ball o' wax. I went up the mountain with our runner (leg before me), our cross country skier, and our downhill skier. They dropped me off at the exact spot where I'll take off from on race day, and I had 38.5 miles ahead of me. The first third of the race has the most downhill sections. My top speed was 34.3 mph, but there were some uphill sections, most notably just as I came into Maple Falls. It was tough enough that I needed a break, and I stopped for about 5 minutes. From there it was again mostly downhill, but less dramatic. At Kendall the race takes a sharp turn north on Kendall Road. This section was tough because it is essentially flat, and my legs were pretty weak by that point. My left calf actually started cramping mildly. The route turns west again at South Pass Road, and at this intersection I took another little snack/rest break. When I got going again I struggled up a steep but short little hill, and a few miles later came upon a more drawn out uphill climb. My legs gave out about half way up, and I paused again. I recovered enough to make my way up the hill, but it was getting tougher. I noticed on South Pass Road that the uphill climbs were more frequent and less likely to end with the relief of a downhill section and more likely to gradually give way to a flat section or slight downhill incline. No rest for weary legs. The final 3 miles into the towns of Everson and Nooksack was actually very pretty, and I got a nice rhythm going, averaging between 14 and 15 mph most of the way.

All in all I think it took me between 2 and 2 and a 1/2 hours. I finished at 1:35pm, and I think I left between 11:15 and 11:30am, but I didn't check before I took off (d'oh!). Not bad for my first outing. I think a really good time is 1.5 hours.

More later as the training rolls on!

Writing and Fishing

2008-04-23T18:49:00.001-06:00

So I've been trying to earn a few more bucks on Helium the last few days. I got paid $12 (woo-hoo!) a couple days ago, and I got a PayPal account all set up, and my $12 is burning a whole in... well, I want to spend it. Actually, I'm still not convinced it's real. It's money from the internet. All of my instincts tell me money from the internet isn't real. So I'm anxious to convert my internet money into some real products. Specifically fishing-related products.

The hang-up, and why I want to earn a little more money, is that shipping is $4.95 up to a certain limit. So I want to get as much stuff as possible to spread the shipping cost out. Despite the fact that I'm not sure it's real, I still gotta be responsible with my internet money.

Speaking of fishing-related products, Michelle's dad bought a boat last weekend! It's a 14' Sears Gamefisher (used of course), with a trailer. Should make this summer's outings a little more comfortable!

In other news, Astonishing X-Men just keeps getting better. I laughed out loud a few times, and the story is getting more and more engrossing. On the other side of the literary world, To Kill a Mockingbird has been fantastic as well. Harper Lee builds the kid perspective into the narration so well that it still catches me off guard sometimes. I know I'm probably supposed to like him and all, but I hope that as a father I'll be half as smart as Atticus Finch. I'm just finishing Part 1, but I'll keep you posted.

Hopefully you're enjoying spring if it's come yet - I heard Alberta got a blizzard recently! I'd say neener-neener-neener, but the weather would probably go south (no pun intended) before I got done.

I'll leave you with the best bumper sticker I've seen recently:

Homer, Alaska:
A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.

Life of the Beloved

2008-04-16T22:10:00.001-06:00

I picked up Henri Nouwen's Life of the Beloved a few days ago. Michelle and I started reading it together a couple of months ago, but it fell by the wayside. For some reason it really connected with me this time. It's a small book, and it's very easy to read. At the same time, there are profound truths on every page. It's the type of classic that I think I will appreciate more every time I re-read it.

I started reading a new genre today: the graphic novel. I picked up Astonishing X-Men: Gifted this evening on my way home. In this case a graphic novel is six comic books bound together, but on the plus side there aren't any annoying adds or anything. So far it's pretty good. I got thinking about comics because Michelle and I started watching the first season of Heroes. It's been pretty engrossing so far.

Interesting fact I recently learned: Google is willing to give away their 411 service (1-800-goog-411) because they use it to improve their voice recognition algorithms. How smart is that? So next time you call goog-411, make sure to try out your best Sylvester Stallone accent. Learn that Google.

Done Winston Churchill!

2008-04-01T19:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I finished reading Winston Churchill: An Informal Study of Greatness by Robert Lewis Taylor. It was published in 1952 in the US, and I picked up my copy at Gold Beach Books in Gold Beach, Oregon, last February. I had been interested in Churchill for a while, and I liked the idea of buying a book used, and I found one, and it was only six dollars, so I went for it. It has taken me over a year to finish reading it, but that's not really a reflection on the quality of the writing. I just googled Mr. Taylor, and apparently his 1958 novel The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters won the Pulitzer prize for fiction. He also wrote for the New Yorker and the Saturday Evening Post. Pretty good taste, I'd say, by the book buyers at Gold Beach.

Winston Churhill was actually quite funny, and I laughed out loud a lot. Taylor spends a ton of time on Churhill's early life, from childhood until his political career began. In contrast, there were only about 20 pages about World War II, maybe because the book was written only a few years after it's conclusion. The author also points out, several times, Churchill's personal policy against giving free interviews or information out to journalists; apparently, if anyone was going to make money writing about Churchill it was going to be Churchill. All in all I enjoyed the book, but I also kind of feel like I got a monkey off my back. If you're interested, drop me a line and I'll lend it to you.

I've now started To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - should be interesting. I've wanted to read it ever since seeing Benny and Joon, in which Joon references Boo Radley, a character in the novel. Actually, probably half of my motivation for reading classics is so I get all the jokes and references in pop culture. I don't know what the other half is.

In other news, Michelle and I watched This is Spinal Tap last night. I was surprised that I hadn't seen it before with Mike, Luke, Tony, Joel, or the rest of the Red Deer crew. It seemed right up they're alley. What's up guys?

Spring Blizzard!

2008-03-29T12:09:00.000-06:00

Michelle and I left the house this morning at about 10 past 8. We met Dave, Colleen, and Ben for breakfast at Old Town Cafe in Bellingham, and by the time we left the snow was coming down like crazy. Not only does Bellingham go for years at a time without seeing snow, I'm not sure there's EVER been snow in late March. Not like this anyway. Michelle and I were going to spend some time gardening today; last weekend Dean and Richard stayed with us and went golfing; I've been itching to go fishing; and now this:

To highlight the disparity between what I was hoping for and what I got weather-wise, here's my Texas-rigged plastic worm, all set to go, against the snowy backdrop:

Well, despite my previous post, I guess spring has un-sprung. More than likely it'll all melt by this evening; even now the snow is turning to rain.

In other news, Michelle and I watched No Reservations a few nights ago. It was better than I expected, and a good date movie. The best part was watching the chefs at work. It was cool to see the kitchen of a really upscale restaurant in action.

Lighthouse Mission

2008-03-18T20:32:00.000-06:00

For the last two months or so I've been going to the Lighthouse Mission on most Monday nights. It's a short stint in the kitchen, 4:30 to 6:30, usually cutting up vegetables for the next day's meal. The best part has been getting to know some of the guys. The fellow who runs the kitchen is a Spanish-speaking Scotsman with a fondness for rap music. He's aiming to be the first Spanish rapper to perform wearing a Tartan. I think he will be the first. He's a lot of fun to work with.

One of the other guys I work with is incredibly smart. Yesterday we were talking about Jean Paul Sarte and the economy (well actually, he was talking, I was listening mostly). I think we got talking about psychology because he was telling me about the mindset required to survive in prison. He told me some pretty scary stories, the most haunting parts of which were the reactions of the onlooking inmates. Since then I've been reflecting on my relatively soft life.

Yesterday I met a guy at work who was completely decked out for St. Patrick's Day, including face paint and a kilt. We were talking about how kilts were just multi-use blankets, and somehow got talking about how much killing and stealing the guys who wore them did. I think I'm part of a very small minority of humans in history who haven't seen anyone brutally murdered, or experienced hand-to-hand combat. I don't know how I feel about that. Certainly lucky and grateful... but also something else, like apprehension maybe? Or disconnection?

Perhaps it's a distorted view; maybe there have always been lot's of people who lead safe, happy, secure lives. Maybe that's just the boring part of history we never hear about.

Vantage Point

2008-03-09T17:12:00.000-06:00

Michelle and I went to Vantage Point last night. We enjoyed it, but you don't really need to see it. It was redeemed because it didn't take itself to seriously or carry on too long. This blogger summed it up pretty well:

Coincidence and chance nudge the film increasingly towards implausibility...

Spring has Sprung!

2008-03-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was walking home this evening and I noticed that the willows beside the sidewalk are budding. Pretty soon the apple blossoms will be out in full force. The weather's warmer, and we're up to 11 hours and 25 minutes of daylight (I've been keeping track). This weekend is the daylight savings time change, so next week I'll have almost two hours of daylight left after I get home from work. And, to top it all off, I might be going fishing for the first time of the season tomorrow. Just maybe.

I haven't been writing here as much recently because a lot of my energy for writing has been directed toward helium. So far I've written 9 articles on a variety of topics including GPS systems, Christianity, New York hotels, Chicago restaurants (I've been to neither), coffee, computer software, movies, and viral infections. My articles have made me a whopping 11 cents, but I did come in fourth in a contest, which made me $5. My articles and such can be viewed here.

I had a random thought today: do you think that the habits and general appearance of Patty and Selma Bouvier are a subtle jab at the French? Is Matt Groening that cunning?

In investing news, I'm thinking of buying an index fund, such as this one, or maybe this one. They're both at 12 to 15 month lows, and my Finance profs always said making money in the stock market is easy: "Buy low, sell high". Timing the bottom is the tricky part. What I should do is not be greedy; I should just start taking small positions, and if the market continues to fall, increase my position. It's not going to fall forever (he said just before the markets collapsed).

What have all of you fantastic people been doing?

Portland, OR

2008-02-21T21:13:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Michelle and I went to Portland. We'd been tossing the idea around for awhile now, and it came up again when I read Blue Like Jazz. Michelle had been once before, but it was my first time. We decided to take the train down. It's super convenient since it runs right through Bellingham, and we got a deal from the Portland Oregon Visitor's Association - 2 for 1 tickets. So altogether we went to Portland and back for $58! That's less than we would have spent on gas, and we got to sit back and relax for 6 hours instead of driving for 4.5. We used Priceline.com for the hotel, and it worked out great; we stayed at the Hilton downtown. The room was small, but very comfortable. We spent most of our time outside since the weather was so beautiful - 60 degrees! (+10 for the canucks) Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Here's an interesting bit of Portland architecture. I believe the establishment was called the "Salmon" or something.

This is the north end of a 6 block park, right in the heart of downtown Portland. The downtown area is interesting; it kind of sprawls, lacking the typical nucleus of really tall buildings. Instead there are a sprinkling of modern skyscrapers amongst old brick buildings, "character" apartments, parks, plazas, and independent shops.

This is me in front of Powell's bookstore. It's bigger than it looks; it takes up a complete city block. Instead of building a new building they just put doors joining the existing buildings when they expanded. I bought a copy of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" inside. A classic american novel from a fabled american bookstore.

Michelle in front of Voodoo Doughnuts. I heard about this place on NPR almost a year ago (check it out here). It's a tiny hole in the wall, and about as small inside as your average walk-in closet. My lemon chiffon cruller was... an experience.

This signpost was in Pioneer Plaza, 2 blocks from our hotel. That's pretty much it - that's what we saw and did in Portland.

Reading and Writing

2008-02-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

So I took Traver on Fishing and Writer's FAQ back to the library yesterday. I hadn't finished either, but Traver was getting repetitive and Writer's FAQ was all about writing books, which I think would be a big leap for me at this point. I'm going to try to start with articles and stuff. I came across Helium, a site which offers the potential for making money by writing articles. What's the catch, you ask? Well you can expect to make about $0.01 per article per day on average. It's some type of revenue sharing thing from the banner ads I think.

I always feel bad when I don't finish a book that I start - I don't know why, but it's hard to admit I'm not going to finish a book. Which is probably why Winston Churchill is still on my Books I'm Reading list, even though I bought the book on my honeymoon a year ago. I probably haven't cracked it in 8 months. But I do know right where it is. In case you were wondering. Some famous librarian (is there such a thing?) once said that you should take 100 less your age and give each book you start that many pages to grip you - if you're not into it by that point, start something else. Other sage advice I've heard recently: "Never go into the aisles of a grocery store. Everything you need for healthy living is around the outside."

Credit Card Checks

2008-02-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

Why do credit card companies send people checks? It's all the inconvenience of a check combined with the high interest rate of a credit card. It combines the worst qualities of both, while excluding all the benefits. Who uses these? Are there people out there with credit cards and no checking accounts?

On the off chance that I've completely missed an awkward situation in which the answer to the above is a resounding "yes" - I apologize. Otherwise, I make no apologies - credit card checks are stupid.

Caucus Day

2008-02-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I attended the Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus for precinct 208, Legislative District 42, here in Whatcom County. It was held in the library of a local elementary school (off topic, but no less noteworthy, I had time to read "Stone Soup", a book about 3 monks who use their culinary abilities, and lack of ingredients, to bring a village back together). There were 128 people present, and an older woman told me that in the past 35 had been a good turnout. About a third were under the age of 30. There was mass confusion about the rules, and it was pretty disorganized, but all in all I was glad I went. In total we had 17 delegates from our precinct to send to the County Convention; of those, 13 went for Obama and 4 went for Clinton. I was pretty happy with that turnout. I considered submitting myself as a candidate to be one of the Obama delegates to the County Convention, but it's on a Saturday in April, and if it's nice outside I might rather be fishing. Plus I heard that it takes all day long, and today's 2 hour session was enough for me. Democracy in small doses please.

Catch Up

2008-02-04T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've been busy - so this will be an action-packed post.

Movies: I've seen Bucket List and Spy Game since I last posted. Bucket List was OK, but not recommended. You don't need to see it, but Jack Nicholson is entertaining to watch. Spy Game was a good thriller - I really liked watching Robert Redford play the seasoned CIA spy runner. The story was a little unsatisfying, but it's worth seeing if you haven't.

Spiritual Life: I've been wrestling with where my fulfillment comes from. Both work and recreation (fishing) have been unsatisfying surrogates, mostly because I've been looking to them as a primary source of life-meaning. I realize now, thanks to Michelle, that these aren't bad in themselves (there were some real depressing days when I thought I'd have to give up fishing) but that they'll never be enough for me unless I'm already being fulfilled through Christ. And I'm also trying to remember that they will be richest and most enjoyable when I 'm already satisfied in him.

Politics: Washington State's caucuses are this Saturday and I'm going to take the opportunity to participate. Generally I'm a Republican leaning individual (small government, fiscal responsibility) but none of the Republican candidates are even the tiniest bit inspiring. Not to mention the fact that I don't resonate with defense spending or the politicization of some moral issues (abortion, gay marriage) and not others (poverty, racism). I think that about covers the Republican platforms - oh yeah, and I'm not worried about a recession. In fact I'm not sure that I would mind an economic downturn. So that leaves the Democrats. I think I am somewhat of a personal appeal voter, because I can't stand Senator Clinton. Hearing her speak rubs me the wrong way, and her smile seems so stinkin' fake. I think I might vote for anyone but her. Besides, her positions on issues are identical to Obama's, and I like his youth and his idealism much better than her annoying experience. I think in the General Election Hillary Clinton unifies the Republican Party and John McCain appeals to independents - Republicans win. On the other hand, Barack Obama doesn't unify the Republicans (as much) and he appeals to independents and those looking for change (who isn't?) - Democrats win. So I think I want to cast my vote in the Washington State Democratic Caucuses for Obama - another young white male independent going for Obama. I hate being a statistic. Maybe I should look at Ron Paul again.

Fad Interest of the Month: Career as a writer/author. Somebody has to write great fiction - why not me? I'll let you know how it goes.

Juno

2008-01-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

I saw Juno on Friday night with a whole passel of people. It was great; I loved it. I figured I would, and that might be my biggest complaint - I feel a little bit like the movie was too perfect. Like maybe someone made it just to be popular, which I think is the worst form of selling out for the "indie" genre. The only other "problem" was that, as Slate's Dana Stevens said in her review, no one is as quick as ALL the characters in this movie are. But that's part of what makes it so fun; and it is SO fun! I would totally recommend it. Michelle and I are actually considering buying it when it comes out on DVD, and we don't buy many DVDs. On the positive side, there's your obvious stuff - it's hilarious, with great characters. Juno's dad in particular is a great character. I think what I liked most about this movie was that it had a redemptive undertone running through it. The obvious example being that a teenage pregnancy might not be a tragedy ("what you meant for evil I meant for good"?). But there were other examples too, like Juno's step-mom Brenda who was supportive, caring and motherly. Maybe step-parents can be good parents too... I also liked that Juno's dad wasn't portrayed as a relational failure because he'd been divorced. I guess there were subtle encouragements that I really appreciated. It's definitely worth seeing.

Testament of a Fisherman

2008-01-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape; because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience; because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude without loneliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better out there; because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid; and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant - and not nearly so much fun.

- Robert Traver

Michelle and I went to the library tonight and I found a compilation called Traver on Fishing. The above quote was on a page prior to the Introduction, and I resonated with it. I have since read three of the "yarns" and there were numerous other quotes I would have liked to list, given more time. I am looking forward to the spring already... so much so that I've begun to track the length of day. Since I started last week we've gained more than 10 minutes of daylight. Another couple months and I'll be fishing...

Blue Like Jazz

2008-01-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

I finished reading Blue Like Jazz a few days ago. I have to say that I was struck most not by what he said, but by the way he said it; by his ability to share as an equal. He did all the talking, and yet I didn't feel talked down to or taught. I actually felt really lucky that I could listen in as he shared about his life. The tone and voice of this book will be wit me for a long time. I have led bible studies and shared things with people, but I think it's always been one-way - sometimes I feel like a conversation killer. But I was blown away by Don's ability to make me feel like his close friend and not his pupil. I was impacted by the things he said, most notably the subtle way that our culture has made love a commodity. It is so natural to reward those who are like us; in appearance, in speech, in mindset. We've developed codes and christian pass-phrases so we know who to smile warmly at, and who will return the favor. It comes so easy, and yet it is so unChrist-like. I've been struggling with how to be warm and affirm the blessedness, as Nouwen says, of those whose lifestyles and experiences are divergent from my own.

Sondre Lerche is Cool and So Am I

2008-01-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write this post ever since a few days after Christmas when I got the Dan in Real Life soundtrack from Michelle. I wasn't aware of it when we went to see the movie, but all the music in the film is by one artist, Sondre Lerche. He's kind of different, fun, optimistic, and cool. Which got me thinking about music, and indie music in particular, and why I don't like it. I remember being told about bands like Wilco, The Flaming Lips, and Pedro the Lion and I couldn't help but feel like they were tokens of membership in some club - I remember brushing off the suggestion that I check them out, mostly because I felt like people liked them in order to be cool rather than for good music. I'm sure they are excellent musicians, but doesn't the indie music scene seem a little superficial and clique-ish to anyone else? Maybe these are just the whiny rants of an outsider, but that's my point - this music isn't music, it's a way of excluding people. I remember when I was working in Mexico I met to a youth pastor who promptly flipped open my CD case to see if I had any good music, i.e. the type of music he listens to, i.e. to see if I was cool or not. Maybe this whole post is a lament about not being cool.

Well, I bring all this up because "discovering" Sondre Lerche made we want to ask other people if they'd heard of him, i.e. show other people how cool I am. And I don't think I like that part of me. So all I'll say is that I really enjoy this guy's music, and if you've never heard of him, don't worry; you're still cool. Probably cooler than me, especially if you own any Sufjan Stevens albums.

PS Do I sound a little bitter? I'm not real proud of my musical insecurities either...

Holiday Posting Lull

2007-12-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in quite some time - I'm blaming the holidays. Lame excuse maybe, but we did drive to Alberta for a week to visit my parents and celebrate Christmas. I got to see a bunch of my friends in Calgary, and Awaken's new home. I'm happy to report that there were no issues transporting the energy-efficient light bulbs across the border (or the cat) - and Awaken members were able to pass them out in their neighborhood when they went caroling. As Scott the negligent blogger said, it was net-zero energy usage - energy lost from having the door open to listen to caroling could be recouped over the next few years using the light bulbs. During our time in Red Deer I learned that a Skateboard company my friends and I started, Salvation, now has a new website (I've been out of the loop). If your wondering what I have to do with skateboarding, they needed someone to deal with the Government, you know "taxes", "accounting", and so on. I'm looking forward to getting my own profile page, complete with pictures of me in my "I got mad spreadsheets, Yo!" T-shirt and a video of me making journal entries. Michelle and I had a great trip, and it worked out really well - we got to see everyone, and it still felt relaxing. For Christmas Day Michelle and I hosted breakfast for the Ferndale regiment of the Erhard family tree before heading South to Seattle. I had a blast watching everyone exchange presents (Michelle's family can be just as funny and crazy as mine), and there was even snow falling, a bit of a rarity for Seattle. Oh, and the coffee was fantastic. I'm sure plenty more has happened that I'm leaving out, but my plan is to distract you with a bunch of links to keep you busy. Happy surfing!

PS I might post some pictures from the trip in a little while. Oh, and the links are in grey - they're kind of hard to see.

Meet the Robinsons

2007-12-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I have seen this movie twice now in the last week. It's a lot of fun and here's why:

1) Goob - the funniest, best animated, best voiced character in animation history. He's stinking hilarious - and very cute. But best of all he's really kid-like.

2) Bowler Hat Guy - my kind of villain.

3) Wilbur's family - they are all totally nuts and totally accepting of one another. Happiness despite obvious and outright dysfunction. Kind of reminds me of my family.

4) Legacy - I like that this movie, or rather the people who made it, acknowledge and appreciate the legacy left to them by the man who started their company. This movie includes recognition of where it came from and it is true to Walt Disney's values and ideals. I like that a lot.

Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut

2007-12-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

The best way I can describe Kurt Vonnegut's writing is viciously satirical. Vonnegut is considered a black comedy writer, but it's stronger than that. I admit, I certainly laughed on a few occasions (maybe 4), particularly when the continents were described as "floating on molten slurp". I also really enjoyed the hero, Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer and a character from another of Vonnegut's novels. His method of coping with the world is to make up science fiction stories about the absurdity he finds all around him. These mini novellas are absolute gems. Finally, and most importantly, there were many occasions throughout the course of this book where I got the distinct sense that there was some connection, some symbolism, some message I hadn't quite grasped. It was these little hints amidst the chaos that made me think, hard at times, and also made me wish it wasn't over when it was. On the other hand, it would be like Vonnegut try to fool me into thinking the chaos had some deeper meaning.

At a few points in this book I considered putting it down altogether due to the extremely vulgar adult content (not to mention language). What allowed me to continue reading was the sense that Vonnegut was being blatantly honest and that the issues he raised were rooted in many people's very real life experiences. Ultimately, I was disappointed and saddened by the distinct lack of hope throughout much of the book; one bright spot was Eddie Key, a character who had the responsibility of memorizing the exploits of every member of his family for many generations into the past. All in all though, Vonnegut doesn't come across as a particularly cheerful individual; Breakfast of Champions left me thankful that I have hope.

One last comment: throughout the book Vonnegut ends paragraphs with the words "And so on." He often begins with "And..." Instead of the standard "The End" conclusion, Vonnegut's last word is "ETC". He explains that human lives don't fit the initial incident-rising action-climax-conclusion model so often used in novels - it's a big humble jumble of accidents, mistakes and chance encounters. And so on.

Certified Fair Labor

2007-12-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

So I was listening to NPR on Black Friday and the topic of consumerism was being discussed. The host was interviewing a pollster from the LA Times and a journalist who wrote a book called "A Year Without Made in China". The pollster said that overwhelmingly people would be willing to pay a few cents more for products if it guaranteed they were manufactured under fair labor practices. However, manufacturers say that they are simply giving consumers what they want with ever decreasing prices, which puts incredible pressure on the manufacturing process to cut costs. Like labor costs. It got me thinking about coffee. There are at least three common seals placed on coffee - Fair Trade, Certified Organic, and Shade Grown. Why isn't there a "Fair Labor Practices" seal that can be put on products? Has anyone heard of anything like this? I realize that it would be tough to monitor, but why couldn't it work? I'm pretty sure that products with a seal like that would command a premium well worth the cost of getting certified.

The Holiday

2007-12-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I watched The Holiday last night. Overall, it was a fun movie, especially thanks to Jack Black and Kate Winslet. Unfortunately, Jude Law could have been fun to watch as well if Cameron Diaz had been even close to believable. I don't know what it was, but she seemed awkward and out of place the whole time. Her character is generally impulsive, irresponsible and spazy - which was supposed to be against her nature. It was a tough sell. Basically, Cameron Diaz as a professional, responsible grown-up wasn't the best "fit". However, I would recommend it if only for the chemistry between Jack Black and Kate Winslet. Let me know what you thought.

Mercy, Compassion and Justice

2007-11-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Michelle and I spent some time with Jeff G, the new-ish youth pastor at our church. We were having dinner and got onto the topic of short-term missions and particularly the role of relief efforts in mission. Jeff shared with us that the Covenant denomination has recently set up a new department of Mercy, Compassion, and Justice. The department head, Debbie Blue, explained that suffering in the world is like a river, and compassion and mercy are our efforts to pull people and communities out of that river; justice on the other hand is heading upriver to find out who or what is pushing these people in the river in the first place. That analogy really hit home with me, and along with discussions I've been having with Eric on his blog, inspired me to loan some money to a women in Sierra Leone through KIVA. You should consider checking it out.

City of God

2007-11-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting on this movie for several months now. A friend of mine gave it to me, with high praise and recommendation. I have been kind of putting off watching it for the same reason Michelle didn't watch it - it looked way too intense. And it was. Sometimes I don't want to be reminded of how easy my life has been - sometimes I feel guilty for having two parents, plenty of friends, and not knowing anyone who has been shot. I feel guilty for not having experienced the depth of fear those kids felt. Some scenes were difficult for me to watch. The best part of this movie was that it was based on a true story - and my favorite scene was the real footage of Knockout Ned during the credits. I was impressed at how well the director had duplicated the interview. Despite the fact that it was based on a true story, I was a little disappointed that this movie felt so much like other gangster movies I've tried to watch. Most of all though, I am left feeling overwhelmed at the pain and suffering and evil in the world. I can't understand how people can be so cruel to one another - and yet I can in some ways. Last week at our monthly Missions Committee meeting a woman told us about the 60 days she had just returned from in the slums of South Africa. She had gone to try to form an idea of how our congregation can best alleviate some of the pain and suffering on that continent. Her story, and City of God, have me thinking about the importance of entering into the pain of others. It's scary and hard, and it's for fear of entering into the pain of others that I didn't want to watch this movie. I don't want to know the horrible things people are capable of doing to one another. It's incredible to me that God enters into the pain of each person on this planet, day in and day out, simply by virtue of knowing them so well. He never turns away from people in their darkest moments the way I wanted to so badly during some parts of this movie. The pain and anguish he must feel... I can't imagine.

By the way, this film is in Portuguese with English subtitles. I kind of forgot about that, but it does add an interesting rhythm and sound to the movie.

The Future and Self-Actualization

2007-11-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

This morning I had a nice discussion with a gentleman from my church about life and christianity and pacifism and living in tension. We also discussed the plans Michelle and I have for the future. I shared about my degree in Finance, my enjoyment of history and philosophy, and my appetite for achievement. I also shared my desire to work at something significant to my savior, not something that would be impressive at my 10 year high school reunion. I shared a lot, but ended up by saying that I haven't got any real practical plans. I have been thinking lately about self-actualization and I am suspicious that it's a myth, or as Solomon would say, a "chasing after the wind" - a waste of time. My culture (or perhaps my pride) has been subtly, but powerfully, telling me that my life's work should involve something significant, impressive, important, and noteworthy. Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that almost every generation before mine has been happy fulfilling the lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy (and much more thankful for their fulfillment) - should I really be spending so much time contemplating what it is that I want to do, what will make me feel fulfilled? Or should I just decide to take the life challenges which come to me and are in alignment with Jesus' heart and consider them the will of God? I am leaning in that direction, but that's a scary way to live my life. It's so... out of my hands. I'm afraid - I could wind up with any old measly life. Not a very high view of the sovereignty of God is it?

I'm not very good a letting go - I'm a sucker for control and safety and knowing where I'm going. Which I don't anyway...

The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience

2007-11-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

I was worried after reading the first two chapters of this book. It begins with an avalanche of statistics revealing how hypocritical the behavior of North American Christians is – divorce rate is the same or worse as the general population, the co-habitation rate is the same, etc. The second chapter contrasts this with the New Testament scriptures, book by book. I was worried – the tone had me thinking an angry football-coach-Jesus was about to show up with a patented feel-guilty-and-try-harder pep talk. Luckily, I was wrong. The third chapter points to our modern, reductionist, incomplete understanding of the gospel, and three other doctrines, as the root cause of western evangelicals’ disobedience.

Chapter 3 identifies 4 doctrines which have lost their whole-ness through the influence of reductionist thinking – the gospel, salvation, sin, and persons. I won’t go into great detail, but I agree in each case that recovering a full understanding of these doctrines is a step in the right direction.

In chapter 4 the author identifies six points to “recovering the New Testament understanding and practice of the church”. Of the six, three are given the most thorough treatment: the church must return to being a community, the church must be countercultural, and we must reestablish mutual accountability and responsibility in the church. I appreciated the first two – nothing new there – but the piece on accountability, and specifically church discipline, got me thinking. I hadn’t thought about church discipline in the context of a postmodern christian community – what should it look like?

Where this book disappointed me was the section on how to practically implement the steps to recovery above. After diagnosing a major problem in christendom – a huge problem – the solution according to the author is more of the same. Apparently, we need strong small groups. Needless to say, I believe the solution needs to match the depth and severity of the problem – I believe we need a much more radical shift in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian in the western world.

I will also say that I disagreed with the method of quoting scripture in this book. It is very common in modern Christian writing to pull verses out of the books to which they belong, inserting them as proof or evidence of general points discussed. I think that scripture was intended to be read and interpreted thematically – that is to say that the basic unit of the bible is the book rather than the chapter or verse (because the chapters and verses were added later, and are therefore not inspired). So the correct way to read and understand scripture is to read an entire book and understand its themes and the way they fit with the themes of other books. When people support they’re arguments by quoting individual verses we must make the assumption that they are taking the verse in the correct context and in alignment with the themes of the book from which the quoted verses come. As has been well documented, single verses taken out of their context can be used to support all kinds of ludicrous and heretical arguments.

All in all, this book was worth my time and energy.

Community (PMC - Part 3)

2007-11-12T14:39:00.001-07:00

As a postmodern christian I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven, residing on earth, is the "institution" that individual christians ought to belong to. Modern christianity has assumed that local churches are the appropriate institutions for the infiltration of God's loving redemption throughout the world. This is not to say that I don't believe in local communities of believers; far from it, I think we have strayed to far from this model. Modern churches often have thousands of members from miles and miles away who all come together once a week, and then return to spend the other six days of the week in isolation from one another. Evangelism is essentially the effort to coerce not-yet-christian neighbors to attend the big church gathering on Sunday morning. Contrast this with a true community in which individual members live close to one another, see each other on a day-to-day basis, and interact with not-yet-christian neighbors who are exposed to the authentic day-in-day-out life of the christian community and it's individual members. This would provide for an environment of accountability and encouragement for daily life. In many ways this more neighborhood-focused community of believers would allow not-yet-christians to be part of the community, enveloped in Christ's love, all the while respecting their right to take their time and investigate Christ and his claims at their own pace. A true daily community of believers and non-believers is an integral part of my view of post-moder christianity.

By the way, this is not to say that there shouldn't be worship gatherings or bible studies or prayer groups; just that they would be more evident and transparent to the broader community in which the christians live.

Dan in Real Life

2007-11-04T00:00:00.000-06:00

I really enjoyed this movie. It was fun and sad and funny and real. I really liked the use of visual symbolism to convey mood and feeling. There were several scenes that were just right - which probably means they were far too obvious - but I liked them none the less. The characters were excellent, which I suppose means the acting was decent. Steve Carell's a bit hard to picture as an everyman, but everyone else was perfect. The music was good too - although I didn't know any of the bands, it fit really well. And me not knowing who the musicians were is probably a testament to their popularity amongst "everyone who knows anyone". Perhaps most importantly, it made me excited and happy to be a part of a family. My only complaint would probably be deemed a "spoiler", so you should just go see it and let me know what you think via email.

Ronald Reagan in Private

2007-11-02T21:51:00.000-06:00

The more I read of Jim Kuhn's memoirs, the more I realize why it was at the dollar store. The title sounds weird if you think about it too much, and a critical analysis it's not, but it does provide an interesting look into the day to day life of a President of the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. Kuhn manages at some points to sound as if the job of Executive Assistant to the President were rather like babysitting. There are also some annoyingly repetitive themes: Reagan was polite to everyone no matter who they were; Reagan was stubborn; Reagan didn't hold grudges; blah, blah, blah. The book in general wasn't well thought out - it awkwardly attempts to juggle both chronological and topical organization, doing neither well and often leaving me a bit confused. On the other hand, I've learned some interesting things about politics. Most of the President's interactions with others are choreographed, and every action, every movement is carefully planned to control the impressions created. But in many cases this is due to the incredible ramifications his or her actions have - a small slip up can be really bad when you're always representing the entire US! It has also been refreshing to get a window into a politician's life who (in Kuhn's eyes, at least) pursued the presidency out of a desire to serve and improve the lives of others. Sometimes I really think presidential candidates are all arrogant egotists seeking self-fulfillment. Please show me otherwise.

Corporate Christianity (PMC - Part 2)

2007-10-31T07:39:00.000-06:00

Recently I attended a fund-raising campaign at our church. The speaker (a consultant from out of the area) spoke about the McDonalds story, and drew some of the following conclusions:

Like McDonalds, we have a product to sell. We need to feed a hungry world, and Jesus is our product. And, just like McDonalds, we need a marketing strategy.

Let me first say that I completely disagree with this statement - I was actually kind of shocked that he said it. However, I think I understand why many churches mimic corporations, using business strategies, business leadership principles, even business organization structures. I think the reasoning goes something like this: If we really believe all this - which is a funny question for christians to ask; does it seem to anyone else like we need to convince ourselves? - anyway, the thinking goes if we really believe all this gospel stuff, then shouldn't we be doing our best to be excellent? And actually I believe we should - the non sequitur is that we need to be excellent at the same things as the business world - sales, marketing, leadership, etc - when in reality we need to be excellent at the same things that were at the center of the person and ministry of Jesus - graciousness, forgiveness, inclusiveness, justice, and ultimately love. That, I think, is what postmodern christianity is about - finding ways to recapture the heart of Jesus' life and live it out now, in our time and place.

The unfortunate thing about churches mimicking corporate excellence is that it leads to an in-authentic sales pitch type presentation - everything seems "slick" and polished. That undertone doesn't jive at all with the authentic desire of our Lord to see each of his children return to him, no matter what their social or economic situation. The other unfortunate thing is that most churchgoers buying into this misguided corporate philosophy are doing so with earnest hearts and good intentions - they just haven't really thought about it.

Postmodern Christian - Part 1

2007-10-27T18:26:00.001-06:00

I consider myself a postmodern christian, but I've been struggling with how to explain what that means. One of the things it means is that I'm going to strive to remain as open and gracious as possible to new variations, ideas, and interpretations of the christian faith. I'm convinced that one of the mistakes we've made over and over again in church history is passionately embracing a new, revolutionary, reactionary (and very good) version of our faith - only to become as entrenched and rigid as the version we replaced. I'm going to try to understand that interpretations of our faith for different contexts cannot be evaluated or compared to one another - they are neither more or less right, so long as the pillars of the faith that make it what it is remain. Post-modernism and more specifically the Emergent Church are a reaction to modern, seeker sensitive, sunday-centric, uninvolved christianity - but the emergent church will itself be replaced someday (maybe soon!), and I want to be gracious enough to let go of the principles and ideas I'm embracing now to learn and grow from whatever might be coming next...

Politics

2007-10-27T17:24:00.000-06:00

I am interested in politics. I've been watching the early primary races, as well as reading biographies of Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill. In particular the account of Reagan's presidency contrasts with the current political race. It seems like the candidates in both parties for the 2008 race are molding their views and appealing to the majority - essentially doing whatever they can to get elected. And in the process, none seem to have a clear, articulate, passionate vision of the future. Accurately or not, (I suspect Kuhn's portrayal of Reagan is a bit rosy) Reagan comes across as an individual with a vision of what America could be, and a personal dedication to that philosophy - the fact that it resonated with voters was because he was the right man at the right time - not because he changed to fit the voters. He had authenticity. I don't see a lot of that in the 2008 candidates.

I wonder if the 2008 candidates aren't struggling a bit because they're trying to be what the voters want, but maybe the voters don't know what they want. Here's my appeal: this vote is yours if you can present me with a vision of the future I can believe in, some strong, sensible strategies for the problems we're facing (immigration, nuclear war/weapons, economic development and ecological protection, foreign affairs, etc). Give me something I can hold onto, something I can invest myself in. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll be able to find a candidate worth my vote at all.

Americana

2007-10-21T20:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Michelle and I went to Stoney Ridge Farm with a group of our friends. It was one of several experiences I’ve had since moving to Washington State that have been quintessentially American. Born of American parents but growing up in Canada I’ve never really been able to relate to Norman Rockwell paintings or Readers Digest articles. Yesterday, all I knew was we were going to pick a pumpkin right out of the field and then come back and carve it. I asked Michelle how long we’d be gone, thinking it would probably take me 15 minutes tops to pick and harvest a pumpkin. Little did I know, it was all about the experience. The farm has all kinds of things to do. We took a hay wagon out to the pumpkin field right away – after all that’s why we came. As advertised, we found a field full of pumpkins, an apple orchard full of fruit, and a corn maze. We wound our way first through the corn maze, then picked out a bag of right-off-the-tree apples (I ate one right then and there – they’re free if you eat them in the orchard), and finally we scoured the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkin (Michelle had spotted it from the wagon). Later, after paying for our farm fresh produce, we proceeded to the ranch house-turned café for fresh caramel apple pie and fresh pumpkin pie. So good! By this time I was reveling in my all American Saturday, and suggested we get the apple cider donuts to top it off – after all, what’s more American than being stuffed full of great food? Later we previewed the Christmas trees and checked out the farm animals. It was a cool day, and I really felt like I was experiencing an American tradition – the harvest.

Earlier this summer for Memorial Day the town of Ferndale, where Michelle’s parents live, lined main street with American Flags. Ferndale IS the American town. Main street crosses a little river and then intersects 1st, 2nd, and 3rd avenues, and that’s about it – my Brother-in-law lives in a little house just past 3rd avenue. When I’m out on Saturday mornings at garage sales in Ferndale I can’t help thinking the very same thing is happening in literally thousands of small towns across the US. Americana also came to me when I spent a Saturday morning repairing Michelle’s rear drum brakes. I stopped at the Ferndale auto parts store to pick them up, then headed up to my father-in-law’s place. We spent several hours taking apart and then rebuilding the brakes in the driveway. Again, I felt the warm feeling that I was participating in a great tradition – that millions have had this experience, many were having it that very day, and many would have it in the future. There’s something about these activities that unites Americans in the city and in the country, in the east, west, north, and south, on the coast, in the mountains and on the plains. It’s a neat feeling to be a part of something bigger than myself and to share a heritage with so many…

If you’ll excuse me I need to peel and slice some freshly picked apples for an apple pie – what could be more American?

Bill

2007-10-12T23:20:00.000-06:00

I've been reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom and a few things strike me. First, for all the author's quasi-humble first-person bashing of ambition, the book was carefully crafted to appeal to the broadest masses. Plenty of the heart warming inspirational stuff we can all feel good about with no religious or political affiliations to offend or put people off.

Moving past my cynicism with regard to Oprah-culture, some really good things were said in this book. Morrie's comments on the value of family when facing sickness and death really struck a chord with me. A friend and I used to visit a man named Bill who was also facing sickness and death, only he had no family at all. No children, no wife, no brothers or sisters that I knew of. He did have friends, including myself, but it wasn't the same. There was nothing ultimate or permanent holding us there, guaranteeing that we'd be there through the whole ordeal. As a result, Bill dealt with his struggle by denying and ignoring it. Morrie's love and enjoyment of physical touch also stuck out as strange to me - just reading about how he longed for it and needed it made me uncomfortable. Human touch must communicate something more than can be communicated audibly.

I haven't finished the book yet, but it's been worth my time so far.

What’s in a name?

2007-10-07T23:35:00.000-06:00

Tension – Magellan – Philosophy: all names I considered for this blog (and, consequently, all taken). One of my distinct characteristics is the flight from one excitement to the next – if I were to compare myself to combustion, my life would be a series of fireworks rather than a slow-burning hardwood fire. Given this, I should probably just pick a name and get on with it – I’m liable to forget why I was so excited about blogging in a week or so. Even so, names are very important to me. They are permanent and I can’t help feeling they play a role in determining the fate of they're owners. I'm pretty sure choosing the correct name may contribute to the success or failure of this blog. On the other hand, since I tried all the wonderful, succinct, symbolic names above and none of them had been updated since 2002, maybe I should just get on with it. Well, it looks like “get on with it” wins it, 2-1.

OK, I lied – my idealism, as it so often does, won out. I couldn’t just name it anything, so I came up with identityprogression.blogspot.com. It comes from a philosophy class I took at the U of C. A strict logical interpretation of identity would not allow me to say that I am the same person I was a year ago, nor will I be the same person in a year’s time. I will have changed – maybe learned, maybe grown – but definitely changed. Don’t tell my wife – I’ve been doing the dishes a lot lately.