Technical Difficulties

I think I blew the motherboard in my imaging computer. It has been down for about a week and a half and makes it a little hard to keep up with my picture-a-day project. I have been taking pictues, just unable to do much post-work. I dusted off my old laptop and uploaded the rest of the month tonight. Maybe the next attempt will go better.

Don't Move

I’d be surprised if you didn’t know most of the details surrounding the search for the Kim family in southern Oregon a few weeks ago. I’d also guess that you now have an increased familiarity with Mt Hood that came from watching all manner of reports about snow caves, cell phone calls, and 50 mph winds.

But I wonder if you heard about a guy named Daryl Blake Jane? Jane was stranded in his Jeep Cherokee for 2 weeks. He set out for a town called Trout Lake, which is found on the flanks of Mt. Adams just a couple of hours from Mt Hood. Instead of taking a longer, well maintained highway, he chose to cut through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It was on a national forest road that his Jeep Cherokee got stuck in the snow. Unable to dig himself free, and recognizing the beginnings of a winter storm, he decided to wait it out. He rationed the rice cakes and banana chips he’d brought for snacks. To defrost the car he ran the engine for 7 minutes a day. For warmth he crawled inside his down sleeping bag. When his water ran out he drank from puddles.

And to improve his odds of survival, he stayed put.

It sounds so simple, but when you are alone and stranded, the urge to take rescue into your own hands is mortally tempting. The chilling fact is: you will be found. The question is: will you still be alive? Your chances of staying alive are increased when you don’t move, you find or build shelter, and you make your location visible to rescuers.

Jane followed most of these survival techniques during the 2 weeks he lived in his Jeep. His family was convinced he was on that national forest road, but when air searches by local law enforcement did not turn up any signs, law enforcement called off the search. Jane’s family persevered and worked with constituents of a local, snowmobile club to perform a ground search of the road. On the 14th day of his ordeal, Daryl Blake Jane was found by members of his own family. Exhausted and hungry, Jane was taken to a hospital where no injuries—not even frostbite—were detected.

I can only imagine how hard it must have been for Jane to stay in his Jeep. To suppress the urge to hike down the road and rescue himself took heroic willpower. I am convinced that is what kept him alive. I think I’ll remember his plight if I am ever put in a situation like that.

One A Day

I've been bragging that I could take a photo a day, but never fully committing to the endeavor. Then my friend Johno gave me some encouragement and before I knew it, I am taking a picture a day this month.

Feel free to check them out here. Or if you are a flickrnaut check here. Or if you want to keep up in your reader use this feed.

I'll post one a day through the end of the month. Some days are more interesting than others, but each picture was taken on its day of the month.

A big shout out to Johno, whose picture a week project inspired me.

Cover the Wall

I read a blog called PhotoJojo (you may remember Ike referencing them for a photo project he did. A while back they highlighted an application called the Rasterbator. (Its ok to giggle at that.) Rasterizing is converting images to a series of pixels or “picture elements” along scan lines to transmit or reproduce the image. The Rasterbator does this but the result in my mind is closer to a half-tone. The HalfTonator wouldn’t make anyone giggle though, so I can see why they chose the name they did.

The Rasterbator takes your image and blows it up as big as you want it and then creates a PDF that you put together to make your huge image. I’ve done a few wall sized ones in my house, but I’ve been wanting to do a really big one.

When Greg and I started dreaming about converting the Metro auditorium into the FQ amphitheater, I knew I had found my excuse.

I already had a 3 image pano from FQ 2003. It is of the crowd with Johno praying up front. A huge, life-sized version of it seemed appropriate for our event.

We made it almost 27 feet wide and 10 feet high. It took 390 sheets of paper and 3.5 hours to hang.


Looking back I would have chosen smaller dots, (a configurable setting in Rasterbator), which would have given more detail in the far away parts of the image. But, over all it turned out fantastically.

I’m planning a snowboarding one for the back of my office door. (Maybe even in color.)

Faith Quest in December?

For about the last 10 years I’ve spent my Labor Day weekends singing at Faith Quest. Faith Quest is a 4 day youth event held at Camp Yamhill. To say that what happens at Faith Quest is amazing would be an understatement. Some of the most powerful moments of my life have elapsed there.

The corporate worship times at FQ are inspired, praise-filled sessions of joy and devotion that rival any worship experiences I’ve ever had. For starters, God shows up and hangs out with His kids. Next I get to sing on mic with some amazing musicians who recognize when God shows up. Then, there are about 500 worshipers jammed into a space made for about 450. It is an incredible combination and it never ceases to amaze me.

I’ve often wanted to duplicate it, but never felt called to organize such an event outside of Faith Quest. Recently the teens at Metro asked us to try. So, I’ve called my friends who sing up front at Faith Quest and they have agreed to meet at Metro tomorrow at 6pm. Now all we need is 500 worshipers to join us. How ‘bout you? What are you doing Sunday night? Bring your small group. Bring your family. Bring yourself.

I’ve already invited God, and He said He’d come.

Pot-Luck at 5.
Worship at 6.
All at Metro.