Good Night

I am fascinated by challenges. While there were moments of frustration during my picture-a-day-for-a-month challenge, I was delighted with the changes it inspired in me as a photog. Undertaking the challenge of living by a cash flow plan with Christa has been the most eye-opening and liberating experience of my adult life. Our current diet and exercise challenge is re-sculpting my body into a shape not seen in years.

Inspired by all of that, I’m embarking on another challenge: going to bed at 9:30pm for a month.

I’ve always enjoyed a good night’s sleep, but it usually comes at the expense of a late morning. Sleeping in late usually means rushing around and even skipping some morning activities that I don’t want to forego (see exercise challenge above). So, remembering a similar challenge a friend wrote about, I am going to bed early.

Since it is my challenge, I get to set the rules. Going to bed does not mean being asleep. The challenge is to be in bed at 9:30, but it is ok to read or participate in some other activity. In the 7 nights since undertaking this challenge, falling asleep has only been an issue once and that was for only 20 minutes (getting up at 5:30, makes it pretty easy for me to fall asleep before 10pm). On Friday and Saturday I stay up until 10pm. And that’s it.

I’ve already begun to realize things that I wish I could stay ignorant of. Each day only has 24 hours. If you subtract 8 for sleep you are left with 16. I work 8 hours with a 1 hour lunch, and that leaves 7. I average a 50 minute commute which whittles it down to 5 hours 20 minutes. If I spend 60 minutes exercising and it takes 10 minutes each way to get to the gym, I’m down to 4 hours. A precious 4 hours each day for everything else I want to do with my time. Ouch. By the time this month is over there may be some changes.

36 and Counting

Thanks for a wonderful birthday Christa, and a big shout-out to my nephew for his melodious birthday wishes.

Psst, Hey Buddy...

Wanna buy a van?

1999 Toyota Sienna XLE Minivan - $7490

Finally go the van fixed and listed on craigsList. I'll knock $500 off the price for any Big Barrel of Blogs reader. Or if one of you refer me to a buyer, I'll knock $250 off their price and give you a $250 finders fee.

Just know that the clock is ticking. I've already got a guy sending me a cashier's check for the full asking price plus an extra couple of thousand for the shipping. It seems he's in Nigeria?

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.

Turn it up

Its that time of the year when I start calling the snow phone every day, I pay attention to the weather, and I listen to a mix tape my brother and his old roommate Adam made. They designed this mix to be played while driving to the mountain. To this day it still gets me cranked up to ride the pow. If you like, take a listen:

Snowboard Tunes*

And remember 90% of the time, speed is your friend.

*The song Get On Top by The Red Hot Chili Peppers is not available for streaming play from Rhapsody and has been omitted from this playlist.

**While I consider snowboarding to be a sport that should enjoyed by riders of all ages, some of the content on this mix may not be appropriate for younger listeners. If you are enjoying this with young ears, be warned that Click Click Boom contains mild profanity (although the lyricist is appropriately calling out those who spend their time complaining that they are victims instead of doing something about their situations--a lesson that is very appropriate for young ears). Also Fight for Your Right contains themes that I do not condone without an understanding of the sarcasm intended.

***This playlist is offered as a service of Rhapsody and is completely legal. You will, however, be required to download their app to listen. I can assure you that is it safe. They will offer you the opportunity to purchase a subscription, but these songs can be enjoyed as part of their free 25 songs per month plan. You might consider signing up for an unlimited free month which will get you through the holidays as I plan to share some Yule-tunes in the next few weeks.

In Case You Were Wondering...

If Johno and I had fun during thanksgiving.

Made with a Mac

You Can’t Make this Stuff Up

After a platelet donation at the Red Cross the other day I was offered refreshments by an older gentleman. When I sat down to drink his OJ and polish of a rejuvenating Krispy Kreme, he joined me.

He told me he hadn’t worked for money in 24 years, and that he had been a volunteer at the Red Cross for 20. He retired from the City as a manager in charge of issuing various business licenses. As I stuffed doughnut in my face he explained that he and his wife raised 2 sets of twin grand-kids. It seems his daughter was not fit to be much of a mother and could not care for her 4 children, so he took them in.

Now this is where he got me. One pair of twins is girls. One of the twins from this set lives here with 3 kids and the other lives in Florida. Recently the Florida twin had her 2nd miscarriage, so the Portland twin went to visit. Apparently after a miscarriage there is a procedure to clean out the uterus and the Florida twin postponed the procedure due to the Portland sister’s visit. When she eventually went in for the procedure they did a pregnancy test and found that she had been pregnant with twins and that only one had miscarried.

It was his understanding that the second, surviving child may not have been detected if the procedure had not been delayed. She is now looking forward to her first baby and expects her grandparents to be in Florida for the birth.

I guess he won’t be offering me juice this summer.

Righting Wrongs

The last picture of my dog on this site was more than 40 images ago. That is just wrong.

I shot this with my friend Johno's 70-200 f4 L lens a few months ago. You can see a few more from the same shoot here.

Risky Business

So remember a while back when I was talking about my new van that was going to be the perfect roadtrip rig? And how upon returning from the sweet roadtrip to Wyo and Montana I was going to sell it? Well, I still have it. Yup, it’s been 2.5 months and that 4-wheeled, piece of family-toting joy is still in my driveway.

But, weren’t you just going to drive it for 2 weeks and then come home and put it back on Craigslist? What happened?

We hit a deer. Yeah, one night while finishing a monumental day of hiking to Porcupine falls, trekking up to Medicine Wheel, and then heading to Cody for some famous Montana beef; a deer ran out in front of us and committed suicide on my van. We were driving a stretch of road than connects Powell to Cody—a drive that my family has driven hundreds of times with nary a swerve to avoid a deer—when I came high beams to antler with what can accurately be described as a deer-in-the-headlights.

He jumped out, I hit the brakes and swerved slightly (remember the road has on-coming traffic), he froze, and then turned my perfect investment into a liability. No passenger was hurt, the van is still drivable, and I guess my day ended better than his. However, the van’s hood and fender are dented severely enough to require replacement. Don’t forget that this purchase was all about saving money, so I am carrying a $1000 deductible on the van. Meaning: I’ve spent the last 2.5 months saving for the repair.

And even after all of this, I’d do it again, hopefully without the deer.

Remember Aron Rolston? You know, the guy who hiked into a Utah canyon and got his arm pinned beneath a boulder? I read a few excerpts from his book a few years ago and I’ve adopted a bit of his philosophy. Everything has risk. When he chose to hike alone into the canyons without informing anyone of his whereabouts, he took a risk. And, at the time of his choice, he determined that the reward for hiking that canyon outweighed the risk of becoming trapped and not being rescued. So, when he became trapped and realized that no rescue was coming he was not surprised, nor was he upset-for he had accepted the risk.

Before I bought the Sienna, I knew there was a risk. I understood, and even considered that a mishap could render it unsellable. I accepted that if that happened I would value it as a trade for the reward of driving my very own mini-van on a cross-state roadie. I have no justification to feel cheated, I made this choice fully understanding the risk.

Friday Fun

CJ is from my hometown of Powell, WY and is often running some wacky contest on his blog, usually with real prizes! He's got one up there now, so go try your luck--you could win a song from iTunes.

The Marathon that Ate My Lunch

And a friend who beat it up and took my lunch back.

Today was the 2006 Portland Marathon. It started at 7 am just as the sun was stretching into the sky. I don't know exactly how many participants joined us downtown for the start, but I think it was somewhere between 6 and 8 thousand.
When my training for the marathon started to lag a bit I enlisted my old running partner Shawn to join my on this journey. His steady pace and faithful spirit have been a joy on many long runs and I sure needed him today.The first few miles of a marathon are a kick. Thousands of people, fresh legs, and cool weather make it hard to stick to a slow pace. We were constantly reminding each other to keep the pace down. At mile 1.5 we got our first encouragement from our very own cheering section, Anne & Brian Diedrich, Darren & Stephanie Nielan, and Christa Hill. (Later we would see Nancy and Cameron Jones.)Seeing friendly faces in the crowd is like being greeted at the airport after a long trip.
We made a loop and came right past the same spot 3 miles later and surprised the photographer.Next, the crew moved to a spot near 12 miles and waited for us to appear. We spent miles 6 through 11 on a dull out and back in NW industrial Portland. Our pace was lightened as we passed a praise band: Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Your love makes me sing!
The next section took us past Montgomery Park and then out highway 30 to the St John's Bridge. We passed the time by convincing each other that we could certainly run 2 more miles. And at one point, Shawn had to break it to me that my math that had figured there would only be a 10k-to-go after we reached mile 18 was wrong, and the 10k-to-go mark didn't hit until mile 20.
After the bridge we got to see our crew again, this time with Nancy and Cameron. We stopped and stretched briefly.
Our old running buddy Jimmy Young appeared in a few miles and ran with us for about 3--not bad considering he had to run back to his car! His energy was appreciated. It was during this section along the bluff, and leading to the Steel Bridge for the finish, that wheels came off. All of the major muscles in my legs began to cramp. Quads, hamstrings, and calves all let me know that I was pushing them well beyond their ability to perform. I was forced to walk much of the last 4 miles. Shawn choose to sacrifice his finish time to stay with me. I cannot think of a more self-less gesture and I am touched by his friendship. His encouragement and patience meant a lot to me out there.



We finished in 4 hours 22 minutes and 5 seconds.

Here are the mile splits:

1. 10:18
   
2. 00:00, (never saw the marker)
   
3. 20:47
   
4. 8:57
   
5. 8:15
   
6. 8:57
   
7. 9:20
   
8. 8:34
   
9. 9:00
   
10. 10:17
    
11. 8:58
    
12. 9:49
    
13. 9:35
    
14. 9:37
    
15. 9:14
    
16. 9:39
    
17. 9:28
    
18. 10:04
    
19. 11:26
    
20. 9:50
    
21. 9:52
    
22. 10:59
    
23. 9:50
    
24. 11:32
    
25. 12:41
    
26. 12:30
    

I was carried home and I soaked in a cold tub and then took a long nap. Later we got the whole crew back together for some post-race replenishment at El Indio's.