Story: The Lethe, Pt. XI

“Anything, Marquél?” asked Dobbins.
“No, sir,” replied the young woman. “I’ve been trying to contact the Lethe on every frequency. If their communications systems are working, they should be receiving it instantly. Either they’re not receiving us, or they’re not responding.”
Before Dobbins could thank Marquél and walk away, the entire room seemed to spin in one giant circle. Dobbins grabbed the console to brace himself.
“Captain,” Marquél’s voice sounded distance, hollow, concerned, “are you okay?”
“What happened?” the dazed Dobbins asked. “For a second, it felt like the whole room was spinning.”
Marquél smiled slightly in relief. “That’s a normal side effect of jump drive travel, sir, for those who aren’t used to it. It took me a few jumps to adjust to it, but now, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
“Very well. Thank you, Lieutenant.” Dobbins carefully walked back to his command station and sat down, waiting for Sawyer to finish her scanning of space ahead of the Hyperion.
One hour passed, and Sawyer’s scans all showed no sign of the Lethe itself, only faint traces of the ship’s ion trail. Based on the dissipation rate, Sawyer estimated that the Lethe had passed through this area about 25 years ago.
Dobbins ordered another jump. Again, Dobbins found himself watching the control panel as the jump field built. Then, it felt as if he had blacked out for the briefest of instants, and when he had regained consciousness, the instruments indicated that the jump field again was dropping. Attempting to stand and then thinking better of it when the room once again started to play merry-go-round, Dobbins sat in his chair and watching the sensor reports as Sawyer began to scan anew for the Lethe. Once again, the sensors turned up nothing except the Lethe’s ion trail.
Another jump occurred, putting the Hyperion 15 light years from Earth. The tedious scan process began again. Once again, nothing except the Lethe’s trail. Another jump followed, then a fourth, and fifth. Each time the sensors came up empty. Just as Dobbins began to think that he would have to brace himself for a sixth jump, Sawyer exclaimed, “Captain, I’ve found something!”
Slowly, Dobbins stood up and walked over to her station. “What is it? The Lethe?”
Sawyer frowned. “I can’t tell, sir. It’s something, but it’s near the far edge of sensor range, about 4 light years away. It’s clearly metallic, but other than that, I can’t tell. It could be the Lethe. It could also be one of our early jump-drive probes. We sent a few out this direction. We’re too far away for a visual to be meaningful. If we could jump closer, I could tell you for sure.”
“Lieutenant Skylar,” Dobbins said, spinning around gradually to avoid a repeat of his earlier vertigo, “how close can you get us to that object using the jump drive?”
“As close as you want me to, sir,” came the reply from the confident young helmsman.
“Very well. Get us to within five hundred kilometers of that object. I want to be close enough to get a good visual on the object, but far enough away that we don’t run the risk of getting it caught in our jump field.”
“Aye, sir,” Skylar replied as he began the calculations for making the new jump. Within thirty seconds, he had completed his calculations and initiated the jump sequence.
As the sequence began, Dobbins suddenly wished that he had sat down. After the brief blackout that indicated the jump had taken place, the room seemed to spin for a second before returning to normal. Maybe I’ll get used to this one of these days, Dobbins thought.
“Captain!” Sawyer said, exuding excitement. “We’re close to have a visual, and there’s no question about it, sir. I can’t believe it. It’s the Lethe!”

VoIP

I had the chance to experience first-hand the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology that underlies services such as Skype. It is truly amazing technology. I was talking with a friend of mine in Romania via the Internet, and the sound quality was the same as if we were talking on the phone. Indeed, I would say that the sound quality exceeded that of my cell phone. It is impressive what a group of dedicated computer scientists were able to figure out how to do. To be able to take my voice, convert it into packets, send the packets through the Internet and then get them arrive at the same time in the right order is truly amazing. I may have to do a little research into how it works, because I'm very curious about it, now.

Story: The Lethe, pt. X

The most tedious part of the mission had begun: getting far enough away from the large gravity well of Mars in order for the jump drive to be engaged. Two days of travel later, and the Hyperion successfully reached a point at which the gravity of Mars would not interfere with the jump drive’s bending of space. Preparations began for the Hyperion’s first jump as official starship.
Skylar, Sawyer, and Chang spent the hours preceding their arrival at the safe point in order to calculate the exact settings needed to make the jump 5 light years ahead. Normally, the calculations would only take a few minutes, but this jump required extra precision because Sawyer had to scan ahead to see if the Lethe happened to be in the ship’s path. If so, then the Hyperion would want to jump a shorter distance in order to arrive exactly next to the Lethe.
Finally, Skylar announced, “We’re ready to jump, Captain.”
Dobbins looked up from the status monitors that he had been studying casually. “Excellent. Lieutenant Sawyer, any sign of the Lethe in the region ahead of us?”
“No, sir,” Sawyer replied quietly. “Nothing out there at all of any size, sir.”
Dobbins nodded. “That’s to be expected. If the Lethe were this close, someone would have spotted her. Mr. Skylar, whenever you’re prepared, let’s make the first jump.”
Skylar smiled. “Aye, sir.” His hands once again danced over the control panel and the Hyperion initiated a jump.
An observer outside the ship would have seen a unique sight. First, the clear striping around the middle of the ship suddenly began to glow orange. That orange glow grew in intensity until several meters on each side of the ship reflected the aura. Then, suddenly, without any flash from the engines or change, the Hyperion vanished, reappearing just as suddenly in a new location without any signals to indicate its arrival.
On board the Hyperion, the change was as sudden. One minute, Dobbins sat looking at his control panel, watching the jump field grow up to full strength. For the briefest microsecond, he felt like he blacked out, and then he noticed that the jump field indicators on his panel were dropping. The distant star patterns on the holographic display had changed dramatically. The Hyperion had just jumped 5 light years from Earth and sat alone in vast darkness of interstellar space.
“Jump complete, Captain,” reported Skylar.
“No sign of the Lethe in the immediate vicinity,” Sawyer said. “I’m expanding scans outward to 5 light years ahead.”
Dobbins nodded, still a little shocked by the suddenness of the jump. He knew what had happened—even if he did not totally understand it—but even knowing what had happened did not settle the slight sense of disorientation he felt. To try to get his sense of equilibrium back, he walked over to the communications station, where Lieutenant Marquél sat, transmitting on all hyperwave frequencies in an attempt to contact the Lethe.

Blank

Writer's block and too many tasks to do result in nothing to say. I wish I had something inspirational or witty to write, but I have many things demanding my attention that I need to take care of. Don't get wrong. Life is good. God has blessed me with a good set of circumstances, and He is my comfort and my guide. But I just can't seem to put together anything interesting or coherent right now. End of post.

Story: The Lethe, pt. IX

Sorry, this was supposed to be on Wednesday. Had a crazy week. Here it is.

“Message from the dockmaster, Captain,” Lieutenant Marquél announced, “he wishes us good luck and Godspeed.”
“Signal our thanks, Lieutenant.”
“Aye, sir.”
The Hyperion continued maneuvering for a couple of minutes before settling into orbit around the planet Mars. At that point, the visitors rose from their chairs and began to make their way to the exit from the bridge. A few felt the need to stop and say something to Dobbins. Most simply spoke the usual words of congratulations and well-wishing. Yentzen gave Dobbins a caution, “I don’t know what happened to the Lethe, Captain, but knowing the Generational ship designs the way I do, be prepared for something unusual, something slightly bizarre. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a sense of foreboding that the lack of communication from the Lethe is far more serious than simply a malfunctioning hyperwave array.”
Dobbins shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Yentzen. I hope you’re wrong, too, but one way or the other, hopefully we’ll find out soon.”

Over an hour past before all of the visitors finally departed. By that point, Dobbins was about ready to throw the stragglers out of the airlock himself. He normally was not an impatient man, but the dour arrogance of the European Prime Minister taxed him greatly. She had almost left the bridge when she decided that she wanted a tour, even though she had already received one earlier in the day. This time, she expected another, conducted by the captain himself. Upon hearing of her request, Dobbins did his best to get out of the unpleasant task of showing her around.
Dobbins nearly lost his patience when the head of the Hegemony spoke up. “Madam Minister,” the Head said graciously and gently, “you’ll have to permit the captain to conduct the tour on a different day. He has a critical mission that he must embark on without delay. I’m sure that he will gladly show you all the corners of this ship upon their return from successfully completing the mission.”
The Prime Minister seemed satisfied with those assurances, although she still slowly made her way to the docking port where her shuttle waited.
When the final shuttle had cleared the Hyperion, Dobbins gave the order to break orbit. The Hyperion’s sublight Ion Drive engaged, emitting a bright blue glow from the rear of the ship. The Hyperion slowly slid away from Mars and began to follow the Lethe’s course.

Tired

I don't know what it was about this past week, but I still feel tired now, even after sleeping 8 hours each of the past two nights as well as an extra hour or so today. I wonder if some of it is just because I was on surrounded by people nearly 24/7 for the past 3 days. Although it is hard for some people to understand, being around people incessantly is draining for me. It's not that I don't like people, but that I am tired by relating. The teachers' conference I went to on Thursday and Friday this week drained me far enough down that I'm still not rested. In a few hours, it's going to be time to sleep, and I know that I won't have enough rest. I'll just have to trust in God's grace.

Story: The lethe, pt. VIII

By 1200 hours, the number of people on the bridge exceeded the capacity specified by the designers. In addition to the usual crew of the 2nd shift, there were a number of dignitaries from the “United Earth Hegemony” government. The governor of the Martian colonies sat next to the commander of the Lunar outposts, the two men quietly laughing at some private joke. Next to them, looking bored as always was the Prime Minister of the European Union. Dobbins could not remember ever seeing the woman smile. If she was enjoying being on the Hyperion, she showed no sign of it. The Emperor of South America and the President of the United States of North America stood next to their chairs, listening to the slow, sonorous voice of the head of the Hegemony. By no means did all of the inhabitants of Earth live under the rule of the Hegemony, but far fewer lived outside than inside. The other dignitaries included the Prime Minister of the East Asian Republic, the commander of the Martian shipyards, and the Hyperion’s primary designer, Albert Yuntzen.
The bridge itself held all of the extra personnel with difficulty. Aside from the touch-sensitive panels that ringed the outside of the room for various secondary systems, and most of the dignitaries found themselves stuffed in between these outer stations and the inner area of the bridge. The captain’s station, which included readouts for every major system and basic controls that he could use, if necessary, stood at the very center of the bridge, a large, almost complete circle of touch-sensitive panels. Behind the captain’s station were the communications and tactical stations, facing forward. To the captain’s left was the vast, intricate control panels for the chief science officer, and to the right was the executive officer’s station. It looked like a smaller version of the captain’s station, a semicircle of panels facing forward. In front of everyone sat the helm and navigation controls, a vast set of panels operated by the helmsman. The remaining dignitaries who could not fit around the edge of the bridge found themselves stuffed into whatever space could be found within the inner bridge.
“All systems report ready, sir,” Brackers reported.
“Excellent, Commander, thank you,” Dobbins responded. “Mr. Skylar, when you’re ready, clear moorings at take us out of dry dock, full thrusters.”
Skylar’s hands flew over the panel with the fluidity that came from years of familiarity. “Aye, sir. Moorings cleared. Aft thrusters to 100%.”
On the holovision at the front of the bridge, the three-dimensional view of the dry dock ahead of the ship began to slide backwards as the Hyperion accelerated out of dry dock and began initiating orbit around Mars.

It's Cold

It may be October, but it feels like November, or even December. An arctic air mass has plunged into NE Kansas, bringing unseasonably-cold temperatures. I endured this cold snap first-hand, refereeing three soccer games on Saturday out in the cold. I can't remember ever refereeing games that were that cold. It was not fun to referee the games, although it was interesting to see a kid commit a blatant hand ball. He reached out and spiked it to the ground, drawing a yellow card, a rarity in recreational soccer.
Today was equally cold. Thankfully, I was able to spend the day inside.
This coming week will be warmer, but still cooler than normal. This cool Fall is fitting with the trend of a cool summer. If the weather continues to be this cool, it could be a cold winter.

Story: The Lethe, pt. VII

“Our mission is to find out what became of the Lethe, taking advantage of this new jump drive technology to follow the Lethe’s course, assuming she’s still on it, overtake her, and find out what happened. If the Lethe still is function and if people are still on board, we are to take them—and the ship, if possible—to Elysion and help them establish the colony. Hopefully, they’ve just had a communications system malfunction but are otherwise fine. Any questions?”
Brackers spoke up, “Sir, exactly how are we supposed to track the Lethe? I know that we can use the jump drive to jump instantaneously to any point within 5 light-years of our present position, but that still leaves a lot of territory to cover. It’s 46 light-years to 47 Ursae Major. It could take a year or so to explore all of that distance, even if we jump frequently.”
“The Lethe used a very powerful Ion Drive,” Dobbins replied, “and would have left a trail that we should be able to pick up once we’re outside the Solar System. Lt. Commander Sawyer, I am correct in thinking that this ship has the sensors to scan 3-5 light years ahead of its current position, am I not.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Sawyer quietly.
“Then, this is the plan: we head out of the Solar System along the Lethe’s original path, pick up her trail, and then jump outward in 5 light-year increments, scanning ahead of us each time until we either find the Lethe or reach 47 Ursae Major. Comments?”
“What if we don’t find any sign of the Lethe and we reach Ursae?” asked Skylar.
“Let’s hope, Mr. Skylar,” Dobbins responded, “that it doesn’t come to that. This search is already going to be difficult enough if the Lethe is where she’s supposed to be. Other questions?
“Good. That’s it for now. We depart dry dock at 1300 hours sharp. Be to the bridge by 1200 hours for your shift. Dismissed.”
The senior staff rose almost as one to leave from the briefing room. They exited as they entered, talking in pairs or threes, only this time the conversation focused on the Lethe, even the conversation between Marquél and Skylar, who seemed to be arguing about the origin of the name Lethe. Dobbins just shook his head at those two as he turned off the briefing room lights and left for his quarters.

Rambling Ruminations about Endurance

Endurance can be a paradox. In order to develop more, you must exhaust what you have. That is certainly true in running. You don't gain better endurance by resting too much.
I wonder: is the same true with life in general? Is the only way that God can helps us learn to persevere by taking us to the end of ourselves? I realize that our endurance and perseverance are ultimately the result of His grace at work in us, but at the same time, unless we are at the end of ourselves, we humans have a notorious habit of trying to rely on our strength. Perhaps, then, this need to learn perseverance is part of why God allows difficulty and hardship in the life of believers.
"In this world, you will have trouble..." (John 16:33) says Jesus in the midst of His final discourse with the disciples before His crucifixion. This world is fallen, crises happen. Relationships fail, emotions cloud rational judgment, and decisions that should result in good unintentionally cause evil. We constantly find ourselves tested by the circumstances of life. We need endurance to push through the hardship and honor God in the process. We can only do that in one way: through Jesus. This fact is why Jesus precedes, "In this world you will have trouble," with "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace." In other words, for Christians, the source of our peace in trial and our strength to keep going in hardship comes not out of ourselves but from He who dwells within us.
The challenge that we face, that I face, is to rely on the grace of the indwelling Spirit instead of on my own strength. It is in that grace that I hope to trust this week.

Story: The Lethe, pt. VI

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Fleet Com has given us a mission as unique as our ship’s abilities. We have been given the task of finding out what happened to the EGS Lethe.”
A holographic image appeared on the display of an extremely large, domed vessel, gray in color. It had a square base that was 4-5 kilometer on a side, and a dome that arched up to a maximum height of over 500 meters. It looked not dissimilar to the ancient snow globe baubles that Dobbins remembered his grandmother being so found of, only on a scale more massive than anyone had ever seen. A look of amazement erupted from the faces of the entire staff, except Skylar, who nodded in the way that people nod when they want to look like they understand, even though they don’t.
“For those of you who didn’t pay attention in History class at the academy, let me give you some details about the Lethe,” Dobbins continued. Marquél gave Skylar a sharp elbow to the ribs, prompting a quiet protestation from Skylar.
“Problem, Mr. Skylar?” Dobbins demanded, looking at the young man the way a teacher looks at miscreant student.
“No, sir.” Skylar said, attempting to talk smoothly out of the situation and failing, “I merely couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The Lethe? We lost contact with her about 15 years ago, and now we get the chance to find out what happened to her.”
“Actually, it’s been closer to 30, Mr. Skylar. The Lethe was one of the last generational colony ships to be sent out. Its destination, the third moon in orbit around the planet 47 Ursae Majoris b.” A schematic of the system of 47 Ursae Majoris appeared on the visual display and after a flyby, zoomed in on the planet and its moon. “As you know, this star system is 14.1 parsecs from our own system, so using Ion Drive, the trip would require about 70 years. To make such a long trip, the ship was designed to allow the second generation of those on board to become the first settlers on the new moon, which was to be re-designated Elysion upon establishment of the colony.
“The Lethe, then, like most generational ships carried about 500 people, even though it had room for nearly 2000. The remainder of the space was left for supplies and for room for the next generation to be able to live. Because of the vast distances that the Lethe would have to cover, the designers of the ship used the best holographic and construction technology available to create a ship that would seem to its inhabitants like it was Earth instead of a spaceship. The idea was that, if the passengers felt as much as possible like they still were on Earth instead of many light years from home, then they could avoid some of the deep-space psychoses that afflicted the other generational ships.”
Commander Ella spoke up, “The Lethe wasn’t the only ship to use such an approach, Captain. It had already been successfully used on a couple of other generational ships.”
“True, Commander,” Dobbins replied, “but the Lethe took the approach and refined it further. Not only was each individual’s quarters designed in such a way as to simulate an Earth-like home, the entire ship was built to be a giant Earth simulator. Only in the decks below the main level and in the Town Hall (the Control Center, really) could any hint be found that the ship was indeed a ship. The holographic technology, the climate control, and the unique design of the ship all contributed to making the illusion nearly perfect, at least from what I’ve been able to read of contemporary accounts. And since only the crew who ran the ship, all 20 of them, ever needed to access either of those areas, I have to imagine that illusion would function pretty well, as long as you wanted it to.”
“Twenty people couldn’t manage a starship of that size!” Zhang exclaimed in amazement.
“You’re correct, Mr. Zhang,” Dobbins said, “but if you remember your history, you’ll remember that the designers equipped the ship with a staff of nearly 200 androids to handle the majority of the tasks and serve the passengers needs. The androids were the ones who did the majority of the spaceship work. In this way, the passengers did not have to give up the illusion of idyllic, small town life on Earth. In fact, the ship’s designers even went so far in creating the illusion that they made the androids entirely human in appearance and mannerisms, with one exception: all the androids had unusually-colored purple eyes in order to help the humans recognize them as automatons.
“The ship set out 30 years ago from this very dry dock to a tremendous fanfare. Plans to build a second one just like her were already underway, with another, even more-distant star system to the target. The funds and personnel took a while to get approved, but construction on the second Lethe-class vessel had just barely gotten underway when hyperwave communication with the Lethe suddenly was lost. No indications of the exact cause of the loss of communication could ever be determined. Fleet Comm attempted several times over the course of the first year or two to re-establish contact and gain remote access to the ship, but no signal ever received a response. The Lethe simply had vanished into the depths of space, and to this day, no one knows what became of her or her passengers.”

From 85 to 66 in just a few hours

A cold front has definitely pushed through. It was hot (in the upper 80s) around 2:00. By the time I went out for a short run at 5:30, the temperature was at 81, and right now, it has plummeted to 66. That is the classic temperature profile of a cold front. The cold air mass has taken hold here in Topeka, returning us to seasonal temperatures. It looks like it will be a beautiful day tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the great weather!

Story: The Lethe, pt. V

Dobbins walked up to the podium at the front of the room, amazed at how real the synthetic mahogany exterior felt. The boys at fabrication had outdone themselves on this one. Like the conference table, it had touch-sensitive controls and the ability to automatically interface with handhelds. Dobbins had just enabled the main controls and initiated the interface between the main computer and his handheld when Commander Brackers and Lieutenant Samuleson walked into the room, discussing the latest developments in weaponry.
Their conversation continued as the remainder of the senior staff filtered in. Marquél, Ella, and Sawyer all came in together, discussing something about the finer points of living in space with family members. Zhang entered alone, head down, reading something off of his handheld. Finally, at 0959, everyone arrived at the conference room, with the exception of Skylar, the helmsman. Right as the chronometer on the wall read 1000, he sprinted in, a half-eaten doughnut in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and the top two buttons on his gray uniform still unbuttoned. He hurriedly shoved the rest of the pastry in his mouth while almost simultaneously gulping the drink. Hurriedly discarding the cup in a reprocessing bin, he dropped into the seat next to Marquél with enough force to cause it to rock backwards.
Marquél rolled her eyes at Skylar’s finish. She appeared to be about to make a comment when Dobbins beat her to it. “Nice of you to join us, Mr. Skylar. You made it in time, I see. Is it normal for you to make such a dramatic entrance?”
“Uh, no, sir,” Skylar replied in a voice that sounded far too contrite to be entirely sincere. “I was just up a little late after the party last night; I couldn’t sleep,sir. Too excited about our first mission, I guess.”
To Dobbins eye, Marquél appeared to suppress another wisecrack, instead settling for a slight sigh of irritation.
With his staff assembled and the almost-tardy Skylar sufficiently chastised, Dobbins began the briefing. He called up on the holographic display the image of an old starship.

Strange Coin Toss

Because I hurt my back last weekend at a tournament, I was working an under-9 (7 & 8 year old) girls' recreational soccer game. I was prepared for some things to be a bit weird compared to the under-12 & under-13 club games that I normally do. But I wasn't prepared for what happened at the pre-game coin toss.
Two girls from each team, pink and blue, arrive at the center circle for the coin toss. Here is a rough transcript of what happened next.

Me (to one of blue's captains): Call it in the air
Captain: Okay

[I toss the coin in the air. She waits for the coin to hit the ground and looks at coin, which shows tails.]

Captain: Tails
Me (smiling): Cheater. Let's do that, again. Call it in the air.

[I again toss the coin in the air. She again waits for the coin to hit the ground and looks at the coin, which shows heads.]

Captain: Heads

At this point, I stare at her, dumbfounded. I couldn't decide if she was being serious. Did she not understand English? Did I say something unclear? Was she suffering from a cognitive impairment? Thankfully, her co-captain bailed me out and said, "I'll call it." We proceeded with the coin toss correctly, but I have to file this under the "Now I've Seen Everything" category.

Story: The Lethe, pt. IV

Dobbins arrived first in the briefing room. Because the Hyperion was brand new, the briefing room felt more Spartan than Dobbins was used to. At one end of the room sat a holographic projection area. Looking like a cross between a small stage and an ancient projection television, this system allowed the crew to bring up three-dimensional representations of objects and manipulate them in real time. The system also tied into the communications system, allowing for three-dimensional communication to be conducted with ease. The bare, tan walls softly reflected the glow emitted by the LED lights that were subtly embedded throughout the ceiling. A person entering the room who was unused to this form of lighting would find it unusual at first that there was no single source of light. Rather, every direction seemed to be equally bright, and shadows were non-existent. This omni-directional lighting gave the entire conference room an otherworldly feel.
In the center of the room stood a massive conference table. A computer embedded in the table received and sent data to handhelds with high efficiency, and the table surface itself had touch-sensitive control areas on it. Dobbins still remembered the first time he saw an inexperienced officer forget about the control areas. The man had grown tired of sitting during a particular long, boring report, and decide to stand up and sit on the edge of the table. Unfortunately for him, he sat on the light control and plunged the room into a few seconds of total darkness while also bringing up a copy of the movie shown the night before at the ship’s weekly movie night. By the time he frantically succeeded in restoring the lights and shutting off the movie, his face had turned a deep shade of red. That officer never sat on a table again.

College Football: The Battle for Last?

K-State and Iowa State both played ugly games yesterday. Each team played well for 1 quarter, and then took the rest of the game off. Both lost, and I'm not sure which loss was worse. ISU lost to Iowa 35-3. ISU played well in the 1st quarter, and then folded after that. KSU, on the other hand, played atrociously through the first 3 quarters of their 17-15 loss to Lousiana-Lafayette. They missed 3 field goals. They went 0-12 on third down. They basically did nothing on offense. Their only points through 3 quarters was a safety on a botched snap. When they finally were able to score a touchdown, they missed an extra point. Then, once they had the lead, the defense finally wore down a little, allowing a late field goal.
Both teams were less than impressive in their first-week wins. ISU beat one of the worst team in Division I football (FCS team North Dakota State). KSU unimpressively beat Massachusetts, also an FCS team. Both teams had trouble with FBS teams this week.
So, with "Farmaggedon," the battle between KSU-ISU still several weeks away, the question remains: will it be a battle for last in the Big XII North? Based on what I've seen from these two teams so far, I'd be tempted to say yes, except that there's a team that looks even less skilled than either KSU or ISU: Colorado. Colorado has lost twice, including getting blown out on Friday night against Toledo. KSU and ISU may be saved from the cellar of the North not because of their own skill but by Colorado's ineptitude. Exactly how things play out, of course, remain to be seen. Few things are less predictable than college football. Perhaps that's why it can be so fun to watch.

Story: The Lethe, pt. III

At the change-of-command party afterwards, Dobbins finally got the chance to meet all of his senior staff. With the exception of Samuelson, the remainder of the senior officers had served on the Hyperion during her shake-down cruise. Fleet Command felt that the best crew for the ship was the one that already knew her, and Dobbins agreed wholeheartedly. He knew that a unique ship like the Hyperion required a crew with unique skills to function properly. Still, working with a new group of people always presented a challenge. He knew that it would take time before they would adjust to his style of command.
Samuelson and Dobbins walked in together, Samuelson explaining to Dobbins the details of the Hyperion’s weaponry. In the somewhat-crowded mess hall, at a table near the far end of the room, sat the remainder of the ship’s senior officers. Samuelson, who had been on board for several weeks, led Dobbins over to the table and began to introduce everyone.
First was a smiling younger man with short, curly, dark hair and dark skin. This was Lieutenant Myles Skylar, the helmsman. He rose and greeted the captain with a salute, speaking with a faint African accent. Next to him sat Lieutenant Commander Katie Sawyer, science officer. She demurely greeted the captain with a nod of her brown-haired head. Facts, not people, were her specialty.
Beside her was a calm, collected blonde woman with striking blue eyes that seemed almost like they could read your mind. “Captain,” Samuelson said, “This is Commander Ingrit Ella, our ship’s doctor and psychiatrist. She’s spent the past two years studying the effects of jump drive travel on humans. If anything strange is going to happen to anyone, she’ll be prepared for it.”
The Oriental man to Ella’s left chuckled briefly. “The only strange thing that will happen on this trip is going to be if someone decides to play a joke and reprograms the food replicators to make wax fruit. Jump drive travel hasn’t done me any harm in my nearly three years of experimenting with it. I’m Lieutenant Commander Chiang Zhang, chief engineer, sir. We’re ready to launch as soon as you’re ready.”
Dobbins laughed. “As you were, Commander. We’ll have plenty of time to put your engines and the jump drive to the test. For now, let’s enjoy ourselves.”
“Well said, Captain!” chimed in the deep female voice of Lieutenant Ana Marquél, communications officer. She introduced herself to Dobbins, standing to salute as Skylar had.
“And finally, sir,” Samuelson said once Marquél had returned to her seat,” this is your Executive Officer…”
“Commander Neal Brackers,” interrupted Brackers, rising to give Dobbins a sharp salute. “Let me say that is an honor to serve under you, sir. I’ve heard about your heroism during the Charon Crisis. Your quick decision-making saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives on that starbase.”
“Thank you, Commander. Your record is equally as impressive. I look forward to having your help at keeping this ship running at peak efficiency.”
“Won’t you join us, sir?” asked Ella. “We were just discussing what our first mission might be.”
“Personally, I’d like to head out there a ways,” said Skylar. “All of those trial runs to Alpha Centauri got old after a while. I want to see what this ship can really do. Maybe get to the other side of the galaxy, or beyond.”
“The other side of the galaxy might take us a tad far out of communications range, Skylar, even with hyperwave,” chimed in Marquél. “I think something a little closer to home might be better.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Skylar demanded. “Come on, Ana, where’s your sense of aventura?”
“We’ll talk about our mission tomorrow during the briefing,” Dobbins said quickly before Marquél could respond. “For now, relax, have fun. The real work begins tomorrow. If you’ll excuse me, I want to meet some of the rest of the crew. I’ll see you all tomorrow morning at 1000 hours sharp.”
As he and Samuelson walked away from the table, Dobbins asked, “Are those two always like that?”
“Who, Skylar and Marquél?” Samuelson answered. “Yes, sir, they are. They went through the academy together and served on their first deep-space posting together, so they know each other really well. And Skylar seems to like to stir the pot. He’ll give anyone a hard time if he thinks he can get away with it. It’s never affected his performance, but the crew tell me that it kept things interesting on some of the early test voyages.”
Dobbins smiled. “Well, if we’re gone for as many months as I expect us to be gone, Commander, we’re going to need a little entertainment now and then to keep us from getting too bored. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to introduce me to some of the other members of the crew.”

Football, American Style

The last two days have seen me at high school and college football games, with others on television in the background wherever I go. Autumn must be here; it's time for football.
In some ways, I'm glad that it is this time of year. There's some exciting, even festive, about a game of American football. Each game is an event, and the fans in attendance get excited (sometimes too excited) about what happens on the field. The atmosphere at the K-State/UMass game yesterday, for instance, was so electric at the start that it reminded of the times I would attend the KSU/ISU game with my family. Ah, the happy, care-free days of college. At the same time, I do find it odd that people (myself included) sometimes get so worked up about a game. In reality, it doesn't matter even from year-to-year who won what game when. Certainly in 50 or 100 years, it's not going to matter at all. The challenge, of course, is keeping games in proper perspective. For me, knowing that there is an eternity with Christ ahead, I at least have some hope of keeping a football game (or a soccer game) in perspective. That's not to say that I don't forget myself or get caught up in the moment. Such reactions, however, are not the kind I desire. What I want is to be in the middle ground: not so indifferent to the game that I can't enjoy it, yet not so caught up in it that I behave in a way that dishonors the Lord. It's a long season, and I'll have plenty of chances to practice between high school soccer and football, KSU football, and Iowa State football. (The Chiefs don't count. We know that they're going to lose most of their games this year.) Hopefully, I can find the middle ground, and enjoy a few games in the process. May God grant me (and all of us) the mercy to do just that, keeping these temporary pastimes in perspective.

Story: The Lethe, pt. II

On the other side of the door stood a tall, gaunt man, nearly seven feet in height but seemingly underweight. His close-cropped brown hair and taciturn expression gave him the imposing look of a stern disciplinarian. Anyone, though, who had the fortitude to maintain eye contact with the man could see a playful flicker in his eyes, hidden underneath a well-practiced veneer of emotional discipline. This man, Lieutenant Robert Samuelson, had been chosen by Dobbins himself to be the ship’s chief of security and chief weapons officer. His reputation in all forms of combat only added to the mystique created by his formidable appearance.
“Captain on board!” he proclaimed in a strong, tenor voice. From somewhere out of Dobbins’s field of view, a boson blew a whistle, a tradition dating all the way back to sea-faring ships on ancient Earth.
As the last tones of the whistle faded, Dobbins stepped out of the shuttle and onto the ship—his ship. He looked around at the assembled crew. Two hundred officers, the best men and women in the fleet, and another three hundred enlisted personnel. All stood at attention, eyes staring straight ahead.
One figure, an elderly gentleman with innumerable medals attached to the front of his uniform, stepped forward. Reading from the handheld in front of him, he went through the history of the Hyperion’s development, describing the ship’s history and shakedown cruise in detail. Finally he said, “As of this date—July 11, 2137, I, Captain Luther Travest of the Ship Development Division, relinquish command of the EHS Hyperion, first in the class of hyperlight-capable ships built at the Lasalle Shipyards orbiting Mars.” He crisply raised his hand in a salute towards Dobbins.
Dobbins returned the salute. “I relieve you, sir.”
“I stand relieved,” Travest replied. He stepped forward to shake Dobbins’s hand while simultaneously giving him the handheld. “Captain, welcome on board. Your specific orders are contained here. Without a doubt, you have the finest ship and the finest crew in the Fleet. I leave her in your hands, take good care of her.”
Dobbins shook the older man’s hand and took the device containing his orders. As the other captain stepped back to his spot in formation, Dobbins surveyed the crew, took a deep breath, and began his welcome speech.

I Forgot (Again)

So, I forgot to post on Sunday. Sorry. I got distracted by other things. I will do my best to post tomorrow and try to get back on my regular Wednesday/Sunday schedule. For now, this in-between post will have to suffice, because I'm tired and just want to rest.

Story: The Lethe, pt. I

With the school year getting underway, my time to ponder and plan interesting things to post has dwindled substantially. So, each Wednesday, I'm probably going to post pieces of a story that wrote earlier this year. (I'll try to post random thoughts & comments on Sunday, still, for those of you who don't care about the story.) I will be the first to admit that I did not necessarily write this story for anyone else. My main motivation was that I have a master's thesis to write next year, and I wanted some practice in writing something that was longer than a 5-page graduate school essay. This story definitely is longer than 5 pages. So, if you're curious (or want to see what happens when a math teacher tries to engage in creative writing), read on. (As always, all content of this blog is copyrighted.)

The Lethe
Captain Christopher Dobbins of the Earth Space Fleet sat anxiously in his seat as his shuttle climbed away from the surface of Mars towards Dry Dock Four. His blue eyes darted quickly from the controls to the handheld computer containing his orders. He had read the orders many times in the thirty minutes since liftoff, and he fought the urge to read through them again. He tugged at the tight collar on his dress uniform. He hated dress uniforms. They never seemed to fit him right, despite the assurances from every technical expert that the scanners on clothing fabricators always got the fit exactly right. It seemed to him that the collars always came out just a bit on the small side, constricting his throat just enough to be annoying but not enough to cause any problems. After one more futile yank on his collar, he stared out the window of his shuttle as it neared the newest ship in the fleet, the ship that was about to become his: the Hyperion.
The Hyperion’s opalescent appearance stunned him. He had seen the schematics, of course, even pictures on the holovision. To see the ship in person, however, made it seem more real, somehow. Perhaps, the realization that he would soon be walking her decks and get to experience first-hand her unique abilities worked to create this heightened awareness of reality.
The Hyperion was no ordinary ship. Unlike its predecessors, which relied on an Ion Drive to propel themselves at speeds approaching the speed of light, the Hyperion had a new form of propulsion—jump drive—that allowed the ship to avoid the speed limitations imposed by special relativity. In a process that Dobbins really did not understand, the jump drive allowed the Hyperion to bend space in such a way that the ship could, in essence, move to a different location instantaneously.
Fleet Command had told Dobbins of the plans to build the Hyperion three years ago, naming him as commander-in-waiting. Those three years passed slowly, as Dobbins slowly bided his time on the Constellation, continuing an interesting (but dry) research mission in the solar system’s Kuiper Belt. Despite his love for exploring, he found the concept of getting to explore other star systems firsthand too fascinating to escape his thoughts. More than once, he had dreamed that he was onboard the Hyperion, giving the orders for the first jump out into the great unknown.
As the shuttle neared the Dry Dock, it began a series of complex maneuvers in order to align itself properly for docking with the Hyperion. Slowly, the shuttle neared the main shuttle docking bay on the starboard side of the ship. As the two vessels drew near, the automated controls of the shuttle took over, guiding the small transport flawlessly into the port. With a dull clang, the two ships joined together, and the doors at the right side of the shuttle slid open.

Round 7

Tomorrow, I begin my 7th full year as a teacher at Cair Paravel. It's a bit hard for me to believe that I have had the blessing and privilege of serving the Lord in this way for as long as I have. It has not always been an easy road; teaching, although it becomes easier with time, never reaches the point of being dull. Every year, I have a different group of students in each class, with their own strengths, weaknesses, failures, and fears. The challenge is to help them learn about mathematics and a bit about God, too. It is a task that I am not sufficient for, at least, not in my own strength. Only by God's grace can I have any hope of being effective at this challenging task.
So, as the 2009-2010 school year looms, I look ahead with excitement, yet also with a bit of fear and trembling. This year is going to hold many joys and trials, many highs and lows, and above all, innumerable little opportunities that will require me to have to trust in His grace alone. To paraphrase a cliche, I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. And I know that they'll be exciting times coming.

Zounds! Summer Hasn't Happened!

So, now that I've completely by pointless goal of using all of the letters in post titles, I can get on to the important aspects of blogging.
And the weather once again is the story of the day. Well, that and the fact the Topeka City Council (thankfully) realized that they simply did not have enough money for a police helicopter unit. Unfortunately, they still wound up raising the property taxes to fund the Metropolitan Transit Authority (or whatever its official name is). Still, it's better to have a smaller increase than a huge one, which is what would have happened if the helicopter unit had stayed.
And I digress. Back to the weather. I can't remember the last time (because there hasn't been one in my 7 years in Topeka) where the weather was nice enough that we could have had soccer practice at 4 in the afternoon without worrying about the heat. Usually, it's already closing in on 80 degrees by 9 a.m. So far, it's been cool, cloudy, and rainy far more often than it has been hot and sunny. This unusually cool pattern is a welcome break from several years of hotter weather. I'm hoping that this cooler-than-average trend continues for the rest of the summer. I would love to be able to sit outside on some of these evenings and read and relax a little.
(Only 4 days left until school starts....)

Yes, I forgot about the Letters

I just remembered that I was trying to use every letter in the alphabet in my post titles. So, today, I knock out another letter. Whether I remember to use the last remaining letter is another story.
I worked 5 soccer games yesterday over in Kansas City. This was the second time that I've gone to a tournament outside of Topeka. It was a good experience to work with different referees in a different city. Interestingly, of the 5 games I did, two of the games involved a team from Topeka. It was a bit strange to drive 1 1/2 hours only to referee teams from my hometown. I'd write more about it, but I'm so tired that I'm not going to write any more.

The "Enemy"

News today out of Somalia, a lawless country, that four Somali Christians working at a Christian orphanage have been beheaded by radical Muslims. These Christians were killed for refusing to deny their faith in Jesus Christ.
This callous disregard for human life and the "convert-or-die" attitude are two hallmarks of the radical, militant Islam that underlies Islamic terrorism worldwide. Too many Westerners still think that we can negotiate with these terrorists or come to some sort of "life and let live" agreement with the radicals. The unfortunate reality is that such accords are probably not possible. Islamists, such as these radicals in Somalia, are literally following the Koran's command to make war on the infidels and to kill those who renounce Islam. They will not stop until the entire world is "Muslim" (with all the "infidels" dead) or until they are dead.
This sort of evil has been around for hundreds of years; it is part and parcel with much of Islam's history. These radicals are not going away, but we need to be aware of their motives if we are going to develop an effective response. Our current approach is to try to create win-win scenarios. That doesn't work well when the other side's only interested in "I win-you lose" and will not settle for anything less.
One part of the solution is highly active missions efforts on the part of Churches worldwide. If the Gospel can take root in this Islamic cultures, there will be fewer Muslims from which the radical sects can draw their resources and personnel. Another part of the solution is developing another energy source besides oil. If the Middle East, the source of oil and the money for most Islamic terrorism, no longer had billions of dollars at its disposal, many of these terrorists would cease to be a threat. There are other pieces to the puzzle, including the use of military force. But I won't discuss those here. One last thought, on the difference between radical Islam and radical Christianity: "The radical Muslim kills you when you refuse to believe; the radical Christian prays for you when you refuse to believe."

American Football Starts Tonight

Although the game is basically inconsequential, being an NFL preseason game, tonight is the first football (American football) game of the season. It's a harbinger of the end of summer. Soon, school will be in session, the weather will start to cool off, and MLB will be crowning another champion. Meanwhile, American soccer will be dwindling, European soccer begin, and American football will be in full swing.
I'm not sure I'm ready for summer to be over, yet. I feel like this summer has been the busiest I can remember in 10 years. I know that I've had plenty of slow days and plenty of goofing off, but I sort of wish I could have a week at home with nothing to do. Of course, the last time I thought I wanted that, I wound up with the flu over Spring Break and was miserable. So, I guess I need to be grateful to God for the times of rest He has given me. And I need to try to be more efficient with the time I have left so I can work and play.

X Has Not Been Used

As I ran through the list of post titles that I have used over the years in blogging, I've noticed that I've never used three letters. Today, I use up one of the three: X. Now, I realize that this is trivial and pointless, but I had to start the post some way. On to the point of this post!
There are a couple of national-level hot-button issues that are currently affecting Kansas. One is the placement of a new national biological and agricultural defense laboratory in Manhattan. The building of the lab in Kansas stirred controversy, and even though the government has already chosen a site, the hubbub still has not died down. A report (some speculate leaked by politicians from Texas) claims that the Kansas site was chosen incorrectly. A few Kansans are still concerned about what would happen if a tornado hit the facility. I personally don't care a lot about this issue. I trust the selection process to work correctly (most of the time). In this case, because of the choice (Kansas over some rich, influential states like Texas), I think that the decision was legitimate. I'm sure that the building's designers will be sure to set up the lab in such a way as to withstand a tornado. It can be done, for the right price, and if there's one thing that the federal government has shown over the years it's that it knows how to spend citizens' money quite well.
The other major issue is the suggestion that the terrorists currently held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be housed instead at Fort Leavenworth. This idea has evoked strong negative reactions from people on both sides of the political spectrum. Kansan Democrats who favor closing Gitmo still oppose bring the prisoners to Leavenworth. And the case they make is compelling: Leavenworth simply is not equipped to handle such prisoners. At the same time, there is a maximum-security prison in Michigan that is about to shut down, and it seems like the people in that city want to have the prisoners housed there. It seems logically to me to put the terrorists there if we have to move them. I still don't understand why Democrats are so big on moving everyone out of Gitmo in the first place. Do they think that we'll "Gitmo" respect for foreign countries by shutting down the prison in Cuba? There's one problem with that: most countries already dislike us for some of the abuses (or imagined abuses) that have occurred there. Shutting it down isn't going to do much to improve our standing in the world. Our allies already like us. Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and any other country run by an egomaniac already dislike us. And France was just starting to like us (not anymore), but that's another story. So, really, to me, ignorant of the details that I am, it seems that the best option is to leave the Cuban prison open. The second-best option is to put the prisoners in Michigan. Leavenworth seems like a bad idea from the start. And given that Congress has not authorized any funding for moving the prisoners or opening a new facility in the U.S., all of this speculation could be just that.
To re-cap, X now has been used as a title for a post. I'll try to knock out the other two letters in the next couple of posts.

Selling Something Nobody Wants

American car companies have almost failed in recent years because they make cars that nobody wants to buy. It looks like the government is trying to take the same approach with health care reform. This article summarizes the negative response. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Arlen Specter, Democrat Senator from Pennsylvania, received a very poor reception from Specter's constituents. There seems to be strong opposition to this legislation in Philly. I have a feeling that this resistance is not isolated, but I could be wrong. We shall see. In this instance, it sure looked like the government was selling something that nobody wanted.

Two Weeks Left

In two weeks, my summer will be over. While the first day of classes is still three weeks away, all teachers have to be back in two weeks. So, as summer draws to an end, I can't help but find myself wishing for another week. Normally, I'd be very much ready to get to the business of teaching, but this summer has been so busy--and this school year seems so daunting--that I would love to have a week of "boredom" before the craziness of school starts.
Since I won't have that extra week, I need to remember--and live by--Jesus's words in Matthew 6:34 -- "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I should probably make that verse my theme verse for the year. I can't change what is coming my way. I can--and have--prepared for it. Soon, it is time to take everything day by day. For now, I'm going to try to focus less on what's coming and more on enjoying what God has put before me. Doing so makes life more enjoyable, anyway.

Summer? What summer?

I am amazed at how cool this summer has been. Usually by now, it's sunny for days on end, with temperatures in the upper 90s and heat indices topping 110. It's felt more like late Spring than late Summer in the past two weeks since I've returned from Romania. It's quite nice, actually. I've enjoyed being able to have the windows open in the middle of the day, to be able to paint at any time of day, and to be able to get exercise without having to worry about the heat. I know that the hot weather is probably coming eventually. It's still too early in the summer for another heat wave not to show up. Until it does, though, I'm going to be thankful to God for the great weather, and enjoy it as best I can.

Concerning Returning

The past week has been an intense week of getting caught up from being gone for two weeks. It hasn't always been easy. It's always a challenge to recover from jet lag, whether going east or west. It's also a challenge to return slowly back to "normal" after the "high" of a short-term mission trip. I've certainly ridden the emotional roller coaster a little for most of the week. It's only by God's grace that I was able to function in spite of the ups and downs. It was not the most fun week of my life, but I've had worse.
It was not a pleasant shock to return to the cynicism and pessimism that pervade American culture. The whole Harvard-professor-getting-arrested fiasco exploded into the headlines right when I got back. That story, coupled with the usual doom-and-gloom that seems to pass for news lately, worked mostly to make me wish I was back at camp and isolated from all of the negativity. I realize that such is the world, such is life. Upon Christ's return, all will be set right and all of these hardships will be but distant memories. Until then, I will just have to rely on His grace to live each day well.

Painting and More Painting

The house painting project continues, but the end is in sight. Accent work is going on right now. Once it's complete, all that's left is the front porch and back deck. Then, it will finally be finished. I'm looking forward to having it done!

Back from Romania

I'm back from Romania. Still process everything and trying to get caught up with life and graduate school from being gone for nearly two weeks. No time to post anything else right now.

Another Bad Idea Floating around Washington, DC

In the midst of concern that Congress was going to do something detrimental to our nation, like passing Cap & Trade or creating government-run health care, I hadn't noticed another provision slipped into the health care "reform" bill. It would require all businesses with 25 or more employees to carry health insurance for their employers. Such a requirement is an unbearable financial burden for many companies and not possible for others. For example, I work at a company that has more than 25 employees. The company does not provide health insurance because the majority of our employees are insured through their spouse's insurance. As a result, our pool of people who would be covered by a plan is so small that no insurance company wants to cover us. Even if they did, the cost of such a policy is about twice what I currently pay in the "self-enrolled" pool. Requiring our company to provide health insurance for all of its employees is not only unnecessary, but it is also costly, as any policy that its available will be more expensive, not less.
This bill working through Congress is just another in a long line of ideas that our legislators are putting forward that show how out-of-touch many of them are with what life is like in normal America. I wonder how much longer the U.S. can last with this sort of disconnect between reality and what its leaders perceive to reality? Fifty years? Thirty years? I don't know. It's not good, though, and I fear that in thirty years I'll be looking back at my life today and reminiscing about them being the "good old days."

The Royals' Season in a Microcosm

From today's game:
1 run, 12 hits, 9 left on base

Weather

The weather is the news here, again. In this case, the news is good news: it's going to be "cool" here for the next few days. Cool, in this case, means about 90 degrees, which feels wonderful when compared to the near-100 temperatures that we saw last week. Aside from just having enjoyable weather, the best part of this cooler weather is that I can finally get my house painted! It's hard to get much done when you have to stop at noon because it's too hot. So, here's to a couple days of hard work to getting my house looking like new!

More Random Thoughts

A couple more random comments on news items.

1. The benefits (at least for teachers) of a union can be seen in this story from the AP and reprinted on Fox News. To summarize, hundreds of New York City teachers who are under suspension for one reason or another (each teacher has his own story, and all claim to be innocent, of course) are required to report to a "rubber room," where they have basically nothing to do. Some teachers are there for years. They still get full pay, however, because the union rules require them to be paid even while they are suspend. Moreover, the rules require that these suspended teachers continue working at tasks that do not directly involve teaching. The estimated yearly cost for this situation is $65 million. (Comment: We spend $65 million for basically nothing, and we wonder why our average per-pupil expenditure is so high!) Of course, a big part of the problem is that every tenured teacher (who are the ones who get reassigned to this "rubber room") has the right (again, thanks to the union contract) to have a disciplinary hearing with an arbiter. There are 23 arbiters in New York City. They work 5 days a month. (Comment: What?! So, we have teachers who, legitimately or not, are trapped in a sort of limbo and can't get out because the arbiters who are supposed to adjudicate their cases are only available 1 day a week? What sort of nonsense is this? Oh, wait, a union's involved. Never mind. I'm not shocked anymore. I have to wonder if unions have perhaps outlived their usefulness...)

2. The scary (and foolish) cap-and-trade legislation is headed to the floor of the House. This poorly-conceived, scientifically-flawed legislation is exactly what we don't need in this struggling economy. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the average annual cost of this legislation per household is $175. Big deal, most of you probably are saying. But consider those who are not rich, such as myself. I'm a teacher, and unlike my counterparts in New York, I don't make huge amounts of money. The only way I'm going to get an extra $175 a year out of my budget is to cut about $15 a month out of my budget, meaning that I am going to have live on the bare-bones necessities if this legislation passes. And to make matters worse, this bill, which purportedly will help combat global warming, will do nothing of the sort, since global warming is a naturally-occurring phenomenon that we have absolutely no control over. So, we're going to spend a ton of money to enact a program that won't solve anything. All it will do is bankrupt more Americans who are already struggling in this faltering economy. I hope that this legislation fails miserably. This is the sort of "change" I feared would happen if the Democrats got control of both Congress and the White House. Get used to bad ideas coming out of Washington for a while. Socialized medicine is next. Get ready to wait in line. :-(

Random Thoughts on Random Topics

Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to my Dad. In a society where fathers are becoming more and more absent, I'm realizing what a great blessing from God my Dad was to me and my siblings. I would not be half the man I am without him in my life.

Iran
On the one hand, I understand why everyone in the West is upset with the Iranian government for how they're handling the recent election and the post-election protests. It is not right to have a vote and to say that people are electing the next president (sort of a #2 leader in the country) and then rig the vote to ensure that one man is guaranteed to win. The handling of the protests also is quite wrong. Opening fire on peaceful protesters and generally trying to stifle the voice of the opposition is wrong on every level.
On the other hand, I'm also not surprised at what is happening. It is quite in keeping with the nature of dictatorships, such as the one in Iran, that elections are rigged or manipulated as needed to establish who the powers-that-be want as legitimate. Protests are, of course, squashed as quietly as possible. And when quite calming doesn't work, there's always the aggressive tactics that we're starting to see. China has used such an approach for years, and we're seeing something similar in this situation.
These protests, I fear, are going to do very little, unless the military refuses to obey the Ayatollah's orders and organizes a coup to throw him out. That is not likely to happen.
I'm disappointed in the response of our President to this whole situation. He seems to be convinced that he can negotiate with Iran and have good relations with them. They have clearly indicated the opposite, and even if they started being nice to us, I fear that it would only be a part of some elaborate deception on their part. They do not trust the United States and have not ever since they deposed the American-backed Shah in the 1970s. No amount of playing nice now is going to change how they see us. We are seen as an evil country, and that is not going to change as long as Iran remains a theocracy.

Health Care
I am scared at what I'm hearing about the health plan being proposed by the Democrats in Congress. To force every American to carry health insurance is not going to do anything to address the real problem in the health care industry: spiraling costs. These spiraling costs result from many factors, one of them being the addiction of American medicine to technology for diagnoses and another being the fear of malpractice suits if every avenue isn't exhausted. Congress can't do much about our technology-obsessed society, but they can do something about the malpractice suits. There needs to reform in how medical malpractice suits are handled. I don't have any specifics because I am not knowledgeable enough in law or medicine to know what to suggest, but I do know that there are some proposals that could work. I would far rather have that than be trapped into a government-run health care program, which will be the eventual outcome of a program such as the Democrats propose.

Weather
Central Kansas had some brief tornado touchdowns yesterday, a brief burst of late-season tornadoes. Tornado season is nearly over for Kansas for the Spring. As the summer progresses (it technically began today), the middle atmosphere is going to become too warm to allow for thunderstorm development on a regular basis, hindering the development of tornadoes.

That's All, Folks!
I have no more random thoughts to write right now. So there!

Quiet Week So Far

Things have been relatively quiet in Topeka, lately. No more proposals for roundabouts in places that they probably shouldn't be, no fights breaking out between city council members, and no major weather events in the city itself, other than some rain. It's nice for things to be quiet once in a while. Usually, there's some sort of crisis happening. So, I'm going to enjoy the quiet and get to work painting the outside of the house.

Media Bias or Non-story?

I ran across an interesting story from my old hometown today. You can read an article discussing the story here. To summarize, a conservative political science teacher in Lawrence, KS, has not had his contract renewed for next year. He is protesting the decision, claiming that it was political bias that cost him the job, not poor teaching.
I don't have enough information about the situation to know whether that is the case, of course. There could be many factors at work here, none of them political. It would not totally surprise me if someone was fired for his political views, though. Having grown up in Lawrence, I can tell you that it is the most politically-liberal city in Kansas. Conservative ideas are not looked on as being good, but the people who hold conservative political views are still treated with respect on those rare occasions that they dare speak their mind. The seeds are there, then, for a teacher to be fired for his political views, but it seems unlikely at the same time.
The whole story of this situation doubtless will come out in time, but the part that fascinates me about the whole story is the complete lack of coverage from any local news source. (You'll notice that I ran across this on FoxNews...and lest you accuse me of reading biased news, I'll point out that I also read the equally-biased CNN to get a bit of a counterpoint.) The Lawrence Journal-World, the paper that should be covering this story, has nothing about it. The Topeka Capital-Journal, usually quick to pick up on discrimination stories, has nothing on it. Now, noticing the nature of the story and the lack of coverage, I have to wonder would have happened if a political liberal had been non-renewed and made the same claims. Would the LJW and CJ have picked up the story and trumpted it from the front page? Or would they also have left it be, considering it a non-story? I don't know. And I refuse to speculate. But it is something that the journalists at both papers need to ask themselves if they truly want to stay balanced in their approach to the news.

No Roundabout

It's time for a minor news note, brought to you by Petty Corp., maker of the Irrelevantator, the greatest useless gadget ever!
The Topeka City Council has reconsidered its decision to put in a roundabout at 17th and MacVicar, mostly in response to protests from those who lived in the area. The majority of those who opposed the change pointed out that there was insufficient space for the roundabout (which is true) and that a roundabout would be potentially more dangerous for pedestrians (also true). The question remains, however, about what to with the intersection. It is somewhat dangerous and definitely narrow. Traffic tends to back up there during the late afternoon "rush" home, and MacVicar jogs slightly to the east as one drives north on it. Perhaps the best solution would to widen 17th Street and re-align MacVicar. That solution, like the traffic circle, would probably result in more protests from the neighborhood. Still, given the amount of traffic that 17th Street carries, it would make sense to add in a right-turn lane on westbound 17th at MacVicar. That would help some, as would a new traffic signal that allowed for both protected and unprotected left turns. The current model is a '70s unit that allows only for unprotected turns. Those ideas, of course, are the thoughts of an amateur observer. The professionals know these things better, and hopefully, they'll find a way to make that intersection safer for all without using a traffic circle.

KC Royals

It is with great disappointment that I bid farewell to any hopes of the Royals amounting to much more than an also-ran this year. The season started out with great hope: the pitching was excellent, and the offense, while not powerful, was providing just enough offense to win games. So, the logical question is, "What happened?"
The stand-up comic answer is "The Kansas City Royals finally realized that they were the Kansas City Royals."
A more serious answer, though, requires discussion of three problems, one of which was evident from the start of the year: lack of offense. As the weather heated up, the Royals' hitting did not. The offense consistently has shown that it will not be able to produce 4+ runs on a frequent basis. While it is true that the Royals are averaging 4.07 runs per game, the offense has produced more than 4 runs in only 10 of the past 34 games. Half of those were at the start of May, during the Royals' 5-game win streak. In the last 10 games, the Royals have scored more than 4 runs only once. (And I don't even have time to talk about the problem of players striking out a lot. There are several Royals' starters who average 100+ strikeouts a year. A team can survive with 1 guy who strikes out a lot. To have more than 1 is nearly impossible to overcome.) So, the offense needs to produce more runs and to produce them early in games in order to put pressure on the other team's offense. Right now, the Royals are constantly having to play from behind, and part of the reason for that is that they are not scoring runs in the early part of the game.
The Royals' problems, however, also lie in pitching. The team started to struggle tremendously when its closer, Soria, went down with an injury. The bullpen turned into the "blowpen," blowing saves left and right. With Soria back, things have improved little because the starting pitching has not been good. Now, starters do have bad games. A couple of the Royals' loses were the result of a bad outing by one of the starters. Several more were the result of bad pitching by the bullpen. The statistics overall show that the pitching needs to be better, but the pitchers can only do so much. The offense has to help the pitchers out when they have bad days.
In addition to offense and pitching problems, though, the biggest problem the Royals face is an economic problem. They simply cannot afford the players necessary to put together a consistently winning team. For example, the Royals had a potential 30 HR/30 SB player on their roster (Carlos Beltran) a few years ago. They couldn't afford to keep him around because his salary demands were too high. The money that the team gets from revenue sharing is not enough to help offset the vast costs required to put together a team of high-quality players. Unless something changes in the overall salary structure of baseball (i.e. a salary cap), then I see little hope of the Royals putting together a team that consistently is competitive in its division. The only chance that the Royals have is for a bunch of young players (all under relatively-inexpensive long-term contracts) all to mature at the same time, resulting in huge output for a couple of seasons. That could happen, but the Royals need about 5-6 position players and 4-5 pitchers to have those sort of years. That probably is not going to happen.
This year, certainly, it is not going to happen, which means many a day of turning off the radio broadcast early.

Euler's Identity

e^(i*pi) + 1 = 0
Few things in mathematics fascinate me as much as this simple, seemingly-trivial statement. Inside this one equation, we have all of the basic constants of mathematics (e, i, pi, 1, & 0), but we also incorporate trigonometry (admittedly, it's behind the scenes, but it's there). To understand this identity requires knowledge from several different areas of mathematics. Thus, fully understanding it sort of brings about a sense of fully understanding elementary mathematics. (And, for me personally, it doesn't hurt that my favorite mathematician, Leonhard Euler, figured out the mathematics behind the identity.)
So, how does the identity work? (I'm so glad I asked! [grin]) It turns out that e^(ix) can be evaluated as the sum of cos x and i sin x, that is,
e^ix = cos x + i sin x
(The explanation for this is far behind the scope of a simple blog post. If you want to find out why, consult a good mathematics textbook.)
In the case of the identity above, x = pi, so
e^(i*pi) = cos pi + i sin pi
cos pi = -1, and sin pi = 0; therefore, we have
e^(i*pi) = -1 + i*0 = -1
This result means that the first term in the identity is simply -1, making the result of its addition to 1 be 0.
That is how the identity works, in case you were curious.

Sad Incident

I saw this news earlier today, and it shocked and saddened me. Abortion provider George Tiller has been murdered by a man whose motive at this time was unknown.
Let me be absolutely clear: I do not agree with abortion, except for extreme emergencies to say the life of the mother. Dr. Tiller's regular practice was disappointing to me.
Let me be absolutely clear, again: I wholeheartedly condemn this murder. I may disagree with Dr. Tiller's actions, but killing someone for that reason is as evil as killing an unborn child. No human being has the right to take the life of another. Even the state, which has the power of capital punishment, has limits in executing that power.
This event is a sad day in our nation, a day that shows how irrational we have become as a society. Instead of using appropriate means to prevent the travesty of abortion, we see some maverick foolishly engage in the travesty of murder. No justifiable reason can be given for such a heinous act.
I am concerned, too, about the backlash that could occur as a result of this tragedy. I can see people who are pro-life being mocked or looked on with distrust after this. And I have to wonder: it is possible that anyone who holds a pro-life position could begin to be consider a "domestic terrorist" and that those who engage in making pro-life statements will be considered guilty of "hate speech?" I don't think that will happen, but given the current political climate, I guess anything is possible.
For now, please be in prayer for the Tiller family as it mourns and for America as a whole as we seem to be careening down the dangerous path to moral anarchy.

No Excuses...I Forgot

I was supposed to post something yesterday. I didn't. I don't have a good reason, and I'm not going to try to make any excuses. I forgot.
I had a good idea about what I wanted to post my blog. Unfortunately, I forgot it.
I keep meaning to plug up the empty carpenter bee nests that in the roof over my back deck. I keep forgetting.
There's a story that is halfway edited, and once it's done I'll start posting. I said to myself yesterday that I needed to edit it. I forgot.
It may be that there was a time in my life that I could remember everything without writing it down. If there was a such a time, I've forgotten it.
There's a theme to this entire post, but, like everything else, I forgot. :-)

Remembering Those Who Served

As tomorrow is Memorial Day, I thought I would make a brief post mentioning those in my immediate family who served to protect this country and to secure the freedoms that we now enjoy. My ancestors came from Germany (and Scotland) to seek out a better life and greater freedom in this land, and their descendants served honorably in securing those freedoms.
My uncle Wayne served in the military during the Korean War in a support role, ensuring that the soldiers were able to fight with fewer distractions. He retired from the military and lived a quiet life in Colby, KS, until his death a few years ago.
My maternal grandfather, Marion, served as a cargo pilot during World War II, transporting prisoners, troops, and goods to different places throughout the Pacific Theater. After the war, he returned home and eventually became a pilot trainer and pilot for one of the aircraft companies in Wichita. He died many years ago, and is buried in Wichita, along with my maternal grandmother.
These heroes in my family tree may never have had to endure the horrors of combat, but I know that without them, the brave men who fought to provide me with the freedoms I enjoy today would not have been able to do their jobs as well as they did. Thanks be to God for their years of sacrifice and service.

Thoughts on News

A story caught my attention this morning. It appears that a mother has run off with her son to avoid being forced to allow him to undergo chemotherapy. As odd as it sounds, it appears that the courts have ordered that this boy undergo chemotherapy, something that is apparently against the (slightly unusual) religious beliefs of the mother.
This story raises some interesting questions that I can't fully answer. Where is the line between protecting children from abuse/neglect and the government meddling in the family's personal affairs? Is it right (ethical) for the government to be involved in this family's personal business in this way? Is it right (ethical) for the government to be involved in family affairs, ever? (I think the answer to this last one is "Yes," but I'm having trouble figuring out where its limitations should be.)
While I think it is a bit silly for the mother to refuse her son treatment, it seems to me that the actions taken by the authorities are more likely to make the mother want to continue to run. Issuing an arrest warrant for her and holding her in contempt of court are not actions that would give her motivation to return home or turn herself in. Logically, she's going to see running as her only viable option, since not only will she see her son undergo something that she (I think incorrectly) believes is wrong but she will also have to endure legal penalties for running in the first place. It's a double-lose situation for her. I don't agree with her decision, but I do see that the course taken by the government is more likely to cause harm than good.
As I read through the story, it also seems to me that the government took incredibly strong action in rapid succession. The family refuses to continue chemotherapy, so the government steps in and tries to take custody of the child. That seems a bit authoritarian to me. And it seems to be a bit of dangerous precedent. What's to stop authorities from deciding (say, 40 years from now) that teaching children to believe in Jesus is abuse. Based on this set of court actions, it would appear that it would be legal (not ethical, mind you, but legal) for the court to take the children away from their parents.
That scenario is not likely to happen, I know. I'm considering an extreme case to try to help myself get a solid, logical grasp on where the boundaries should be between the social spheres of government and family. And all I'm left with right now is the same unanswered questions that I posed near the start of this post. I'm going to have to think this one through some more.

On Week Left

So, I forgot to post yesterday. Yeah. I was just a little tired and distracted thanks to the end-of-the-year rush. Anyway...
There's a week of school left, a little less, actually. I have three days of Finals to give and grade, and then one work day before the real work begins of summer. I've already talked about all that teachers do over the summer, so I can't decide if I'm looking forward to it or not. It will be a welcome break to have a more flexible schedule, but I know that I will be ready (at least psychologically) for school to begin again in August.

High School Soccer Rules Thoughts

I just read through the rule changes to high school soccer for next year. As a referee and coach of high school soccer, I need to be a little bit careful about what I say about the rules, since it will be my job to comply with these rules once the season begins.
I am fascinated (and a bit annoyed, sometimes) by the different rules for high school.
Here are some examples of the differences between NFHS (high school) and FIFA (everywhere else) rules.
In NFHS, the clock counts down. It is stopped by the referee for goals, yellow & red cards, and penalty kicks. When the clock reaches 0:00, the half is over, and no time is added. In FIFA, the clock counts up and runs continuously. Time is added at the end of each half to allow for time lost due to goals, yellow & red cards, penalty kicks, and any other stoppage of play.
In NFHS, the home team must wear white jerseys and white socks and the away team must wear non-white jerseys and non-white socks. In FIFA, the home team can wear whatever color they wish, provided that it does not match the color of the away team. In the event of two teams in similar colors, the home team changes.
In NFHS, a throw-in that does not enter the field of play is illegal and the ball is given to the other team. In FIFA, a throw-in that does not enter the field of play is still a dead ball, and the ball is re-thrown.
In NFHS, a player receiving two yellow cards is shown a yellow-red card and is unable to play for the remainder of the game. He may be replaced. In FIFA, a player receiving two yellow cards is shown a red card an is unable to play for the remainder of the game. His team plays a man down for the rest of the game.
In NFHS, substitutions are open and unlimited. That is, players may be substituted in and out as often as the coach wishes. In FIFA, substitutions are closed and limited. That is, a player may not re-enter the game once leaving, and each team may make a maximum of 3 substitutions. (I should note, however, that FIFA allows the substitution rules to be modified for youth games.)
In NFHS, the referee is required to give a signal to indicate the type of foul called in addition to indicating the direction of the kick and whether the kick is direct or indirect. The signals, some of them a bit bizarre looking, are shown in this PDF document. In FIFA rules, the only required signals are the direction of the kick and whether the kick is direct or indirect.
In NFHS, at least 2 ball handlers placed out of the field are required in order to keep play moving. In FIFA, no such requirement exists.
In NFHS, if play is stopped for an injured player and one team is in possession of the ball, play is restarted with an indirect free kick for that team. In FIFA, if play is stopped for an injured player, play is restarted with a dropped ball.
Now, these differences might seem minor. Stopping the clock and adding time, for instance, have functionally the same effect. The effect of this difference, however, lies in who controls the game. In FIFA rules, the referee is in control. In high school rules, he is a slave to the clock. In my experience, I have seen this rule difference cause a team to be denied a goal because they took a shot less than a second after the time expired, creating the need for an overtime period when the game could have already ended. In other words, the quality of the game was detrimentally affected.
I would love to see the NFHS revise its rule book to bring the high school game more in line with the rest of the soccer world. Since that is unlikely to happen, however, I will just have to live with the differences, whatever I think of them.

Summer Approaches

This school year is on notice: there are two weeks left before the grand chaos of activity that is summer begins! Now, most of you who are reading this know that I am a teacher and perhaps can't quite bring yourself to see how my summer could be a chaos of activity. After all, don't teachers have the summer off?
The myth of teachers having the summer "off," like the myth that single people have more time, is far too common. Somehow, people think that because teachers don't have students, we aren't working. I can easily dispel the myth of summers off by simple observation. I'm going to spend half of my summer at school, preparing for the coming school year. When I'm not planning for next year, I'm going to be work on graduate classes, and in my spare time, I'll be working on personal projects and taking a mission trip to Romania. It all adds up to a summer that will be just as busy as the school year, if not possibly busier.
So, my summer is not going to be a summer "off," a summer of sleeping in and relaxing and not accomplishing anything useful. Far from it. I'll be working just as hard as the next man in the summer, perhaps harder. So, enjoy your summer and the relaxation that will come with it. I'll be busy living out proof that teachers do not have summer off.

Last Caspian Quiz

Because I won't be posting on Wednesday, here are today's post and Wednesday post in one massive bundle. This is the last quiz that relates to the differences between Prince Caspian the book and Prince Caspian the movie. I hope you've enjoyed the quizzes. If not, then they're gone after this post.

85. Why do the Pevensies go through the door? (Choose as many as apply)
A. They are fleeing angry Telmarines
B. It’s time for them to return home
C. They see their mom and dad on the other side
D. To show the Telmarines that it’s safe to go through the door

86. What happens as the Pevensies say goodbye to the Narnians?
A. The wave goodbye and wish everyone good luck
B. The sing a farewell song to the different Narnians, recounting the deeds of each
C. They say farewell to the different Narnian animals, then to Trumpkin, and finally Caspian offers Susan her horn back. She tells him to keep it.
D. Peter gives Caspian his sword, Susan points out that she and Peter won’t be returning, Lucy hugs Trumpkin, and then Susan and Caspian *snog!*

87. How do the Pevensies wind up back in their original clothes?
A. They quickly change in the train depot’s washroom after returning
B. The change into them before the go through the doorway
C. They magically are wearing them when they arrive on the train platform again
D. They don’t

88. What do the Pevensies see when they walk through the door? (Choose all that apply)
A. The train platform
B. The Narnians
C. The island of Telmar
D. The director

89. Where is the train platform located?
A. We don’t have any idea
B. In a city
C. In the country
D. Beside a river

90. Where is Edmund when he realizes that he left his new torch (flashlight) in Narnia?
A. On the train
B. In the bathroom
C. At school
D. On the train platform

Prince Caspian Quiz 34

82. When Trumpkin meets Aslan, what does Aslan do?
A. He says, “Hi, there!”
B. He playfully pounces on Trumpkin
C. He roars at Trumpkin
D. Trumpkin never meets Aslan

83. After the Battle of Beruna, how does Aslan send any willing Telmarines home?
A. He makes a doorway in the air
B. He makes a doorway out of a twisted tree
C. He calls in gryphons to fly the Telmarines there
D. He roars and they magically disappear

84. How many Telmarines initially step forward to take Aslan’s offer?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
E. Come on, baby, say you love me

Severe Weather

The story today is definitely the severe weather already occurring throughout much of the Central Plains. The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has put portions of Oklahoma and Texas in a "High Risk" area for severe weather. The "High" label is something the SPC does once or twice a season, so to have it occur today indicates that all the necessary factors are present for a severe weather outbreak.
The main threat area is southwest of Topeka, so I don't expect there to be much happen around here, except for the occasional downpour and maybe some hail and high winds.

Prince Caspian Quiz 33
79. Why do the Telmarines not cross the river?
A. There is no bridge, so they surrender
B. They cross the river and flee Narnia altogether
C. The bridge is destroyed under them as they try to cross
D. They don’t want to get to the other side

80. Who destroys the bridge at Beruna?
A. Peter
B. Aslan
C. Bacchus
D. The river god

81. When do the other Pevensies (except for Lucy) and Trumpkin see Aslan?
A. At the final battle
B. At Beruna
C. As they travel to Aslan’s How
D. At Miraz’s castle after the Telmarines are defeated

Prince Caspian Quiz 32

Drawing near the end, for any of you who wish to know.

76. How long does the battle between the Telmarines and Narnia last before the trees show up to save the day?
A. Not very long at all
B. After one assault is beaten back and the second wave is continuing
C. After most of the Telmarines are already dead
D. Trees? What trees?

77. When does Lucy first meet Aslan in real life?
A. While the final battle with the Telmarines is being fought
B. At Beruna after the final battle
C. She only sees him in dreams
D. As the Pevensies are trying to reach Aslan’s How

78. Why do the Telmarines retreat from the final battle?
A. They don’t retreat
B. They think that they can win if they regroup at the river
C. They are scared of the trees
D. They are French

Busy, Busy, Shockingly Busy

The weather is warming up. Life is good. God is good. And I'm really busy and really tired. Thank you; good night.

Prince Caspian Quiz 31
73. Who are Peter’s marshals during single combat?
A. Glenstrom the Cenatur and Reepicheep the Mouse
B. Glenstrom the Centaur, Bulgy Bear, and Wimbleweather the Giant
C. Edmund and Glenstrom the Centaur
D. No one

74. While single combat occurs, what are Susan and Lucy doing?
A. Trying to find Aslan in the forest
B. Watching the combat
C. Knitting
D. Traveling with Aslan as he frees Beruna from Telmarine control

75. After Peter defeats Miraz in single combat, what happens next?
A. Miraz surrenders and leaves
B. Peter gives Caspian the sword to kill Miraz
C. Sopespian and Glozelle shout, “Treachery!” and in the confusion, Glozelle kills Miraz
D. Peter kills Miraz

Prince Caspian Quiz 30

70. Who manipulates Miraz into accepting the challenge of single combat?
A. No one
B. Edmund
C. Edmund, Lord Gozelle, and Lord Sopespian
D. Lord Gozelle and Lord Sopespian

71. What does Susan say to Caspian as she and Lucy leave to find Aslan?
A. She doesn’t meet Caspian until right at the end of the story, so nothing
B. “Why don’t you hold onto it [the horn]? You may need to call me again.”
C. “You’re an arrogant little prince, aren’t you?”
D. “For some reason, you remind me of Zorro.”

72. What does Caspian do during the single combat?
A. He makes his plans for leading the army in case Peter dies
B. He follows Susan and Lucy and saves them from Telmarine scouts
C. He sneaks around behind Miraz’s army to launch a sneak attack
D. He watches the single combat

This Joyful Eastertide

Easter has to be my favorite holiday of the year. Now, I've explained why in previous year's blog posts, so I'll simply leave my observations to this one statement: Christ is risen!

Prince Caspian Quiz 29
67. When does Miraz’s army arrive around Aslan’s How?
A. After the Pevensies arrive
B. At the same time as the Pevensies
C. Before the Pevensies arrive
D. They never get there

68. Why do Susan and Lucy leave Aslan’s How?
A. They have had enough of fighting
B. They never go to Aslan’s How, but instead follow Aslan on another errand
C. To go find Aslan in the forest and get his help
D. They plan to go to Cair Paravel

69. Who suggests the idea of single combat with Miraz?
A. Peter
B. Edmund
C. Reepicheep
D. Caspian

Election Results

We had a local election here yesterday, and the results were particularly interesting to me as a voter and as an observer.
As a voter, I faced the perplexing dilemma of a no-win situation. The city residents were asked to vote on a 0.5% increase to our sales tax, the purpose of which was to raise money to pay for repairs to streets, guttering, street lights, curbs, etc. The city has been deferring maintenance on streets for the past 10 years, spending money that should have gone to maintenance on other, less important items. So, I found myself trapped in a no-win vote. If I voted "Yes," I voted to give the city more money to waste because it has already shown that it will not spend its funds appropriately. If I voted, "No," then I'm guaranteeing that the infrastructure will decay because the city already has shown the inability to assess budget priorities correctly. So, when I went to vote yesterday, I just stood there, debating between "Yes" and "No" for several minutes. I finally voted "No" because I was not convinced that the city would use the funds properly.
As an observer, this election also was fascinating. First of all, the headline in the local paper about the sales tax vote was a classic case of media bias. "Sales Tax Receives Emphatic Yes" ran the headline. The vote, though, was 57%-43%, which I would hardly call emphatic. If the vote were 67%-33% or 75%-25%, I would call that emphatic. But a measely 4% spread is hardly emphatic. The headline, then, tells us two things: the opinion of the headline's author about the sales tax increase (he supports it) and the general political outlook of the author (politically towards the liberal side). I can't believe that the media try to deny that they have a liberal bias!
The second interesting aspect of this election was the vote over allowing the city council to be able to override a mayoral veto. Because of a mistake in the city charter, the mayor was allowed to veto any decisions by the council, but the council could not override the veto. The ordinance was designed to fix that. It explained its purpose, and anyone who followed the news at all would know that such was the purpose of the ordinance. Unfortunately, there were quite a few uninformed voters on this issue: 35% of voters voted "No" on this ordinance. There is no logical reason to vote "No" on this ordinance, unless, of course, they didn't understand the ordinance, which means that they were not following the issues at all. That lack of awareness saddens me a little. If we are to vote on issues as a society, what good is voting if a significant portion of the electorate is unaware of what they're even voting on?
Thankfully, this election cycle is over. The presidential elections last year soured me on the political process a little, and these results have not improved my attitude towards the efficacy of the process. Unfortunately, our process is the worst form, except for all of the others. I guess I'll just have to live with it.

Prince Caspian Quiz 28
64. How far does the process of summoning the White Witch go?
A. The White Witch appears in crystal and nearly comes back to life, only to be interrupted at the last second
B. It brings her back
C. The beginnings of the ceremony are interrupted
D. It fails. They wind up conjuring up Arwen instead

65. Who is present when the ceremony to start the White Witch begins? (choose as many as apply)
A. Caspian
B. Nikabrik
C. Dr. Cornelius
D. Trufflehunter
E. A werewolf
F. A hag

66. Who interrupts the ceremony to summon the White Witch? (Choose as many as apply)
A. Peter
B. Edmund
C. Trumpkin
D. Lucy
E. Susan
F. Dr. Cornelius

If You Don't Like the Weather...

The old saying, "If you don't like the weather in Kansas, wait 30 minutes, and it'll change" has never been more true than these past couple of weeks. We've had several strong cold fronts push through the region in that time, causing temperatures to fluctuate rapidly. It's April, and yet here I am planning on covering many of my plants up tonight to prevent them from freezing. Lows are supposed to be in the 20s these next two nights.
In reality, we were spoiled during the early part of this decade with warm Springs. These past couple of years, however, we're seeing a return to more typical weather. It's not odd, or unusual, or alarming. But it does take some getting used to.

Prince Caspian Quiz 27
61. What event motivates Nikabrik to suggest summoning the White Witch?
A. He is bored
B. Several days of resounding defeats of the Narnian army
C. Because she told him to call her
D. The failed attack on Miraz’s castle

62. When is the bridge at Beruna completed?
A. Well before the Pevensies even arrive back in Narnia
B. While the Pevensies and Trumpkin try to get to Aslan’s How
C. After the failed castle attack by the Narians
D. It is never built

63. When is Miraz crowned king?
A. Immediately after his son is born
B. Before the story begins
C. Right before attacking Caspian’s army at Aslan’s How
D. He is never crowned king

Prince Caspian Quiz 26

58. How does Edmund signal the troops during the castle attack?
A. A giant white flag
B. A flashlight
C. The Bat Signal
D. They never attack the castle

59. How many minotaurs do we see die during the castle attack?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 0
D. What castle attack?

60. What is the outcome of the castle attack?
A. The Narnians are forced to retreat and loose a significant part of their army
B. Miraz surrenders
C. Miraz dies
D. For the last time, they don’t attack the $@#! Castle!