Arrogant monsters

From 1998 to 2006, I spent at least part of my summer at a Young Life camp.

In 1997, I had my first Young Life summer camping experience at Saranac Lake in upstate New York, and it changed my life. I went back two more summers as a camper, then two summers as a leader, two summers on summer staff, a summer as an intern and two years as full-time property staff.

Needless to say, I love Young Life camping and believe that it's an important evangelical tool.

I also got to have a lot of fun at Young Life camp. A lot of my best memories come from camp, and a lot of my favorite memories come from working with the program teams. One of my favorite parts of my job at Lake Champion was working with the program teams who came in in the summer. I'd often work on videos for them, as well.

I was blessed to work with a lot of talented and funny people and witness a lot of ridiculous situations. The video above is a video that was made with Gary Wilmer and Chris Geisler while I was a summer intern at Lake Champion in 2003. I hadn't seen this video in a while, but my friend Mark was able to find it and post it to Youtube. Gary's narration still cracks me up to this day.

I.M. Pei on a Rainy Day

Last night, after helping a friend with a project at work, I grabbed a camera and stopped off at the IU Art Museum a little after 10 o'clock. The art museum, designed by famous architect I.M. Pei (arguably most famous for the glass pyramid at the Louvre), is lit up beautifully by a myriad of colorful LED lights in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

The rainy evening only added to the color, as the reds, greens and blues reflected off of the sidewalks and rocks. Shots taken with a Canon PowerShot A650IS, ISO 800.

For the full FLICKR gallery, click here.

The holidays are here...

As seen in a Maryland grocery store:

Binocular soccer

For no reason whatsoever, other than that it's hilarious: A Japanese sketch comedy show (I think the host is that guy from MXC) where they make some guys play soccer with binoculars on.

Happy break!

A fun video to celebrate Thanksgiving. I love Dwight.

The Kings of Old

So I just checked out one of the new cameras from our multimedia lab here at work for the weekend – a Canon PowerShot A650 IS. The thing has the most ridiculous macro lens on it – the focal distance is practically 0! Anyway, I checked it out so I can play with it this weekend, which means I'll probably be posting some pics up here...

I thought I'd start by taking a picture of one of the bookends on my desk at work. "Long have I desired to see the kings of old... on my desk!"

TGIF!

Misconceptions of Jesus

A friend and I were discussing common misconceptions about Jesus today, specifically people who get bogged down in legalities – and I was reminded of this parody video that Vintage21, a church group in North Carolina, produced a few years ago.

I ought to offer a disclaimer: this video, in no way, represents my views of Jesus, nor do I believe it reflects the views of the film's producers. Bear in mind this video was shown in church, then followed up with a sermon about common misconceptions and stereotypes of Jesus. This one specifically deals with what some people perceive Jesus to be like with rule-breaking, sinning and other "infractions."

It's quite humorous. There's three other videos just like this (it was a four-part sermon series) on Youtube that you can find through watching the video below.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields
Lt. Col John McRae, MD (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
in Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
in Flanders fields.

***

This poem, penned by Canadian military doctor John McRae about the 1915 battle at the Ypres salient, is one of the most memorable war poems ever penned. It's a fitting poem to read and think about today, as we honor our veterans – living and dead – and remember the horrible cost of war.

More Philly...

We got the tour of Independence Hall today! It was really cool to be in the room where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were debated and voted on. I didn't find any clues to a giant masonic treasure, but I'll keep looking.


Also, as we were talking to the historic district of Philadelphia, we passed a McDonald's with this trash can out front – and for some reason the clever graffiti made me laugh out loud. So apparently one graffiti artist thinks McDonald's is murder – but another says, "Hey, who cares? It's delicious!" Maybe this is only funny to me ...

The House of Pass and Stow

I'm on a business trip in Philadelphia right now, but while I'm relaxing in my hotel room this evening I thought I'd put the free Internet access to use and post a couple pictures.

Though I've been to Philadelphia before, I've never seen the historic part of town, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. I am a bit of a history nut, so I was pretty excited today when Jessica and I had a couple free hours and were able to walk over to Philly's historic district.

After all, Philadelphia full of interesting American history. It's one of the U.S.'s oldest metropolises, established in 1682 by William Penn. It was the home of the first government of the united colonies, home to the first Supreme Court, home to the first and second banks of the United States and is still home to a federal mint.

We ran out of time today to get the tour of Independence Hall, but we're planning on taking our lunch break tomorrow to go back. I'll try to sneak off to discover mystery like Benjamin Gates does in "National Treasure..."

'Goal that saved Arsenal'

Random post today. I have this whole post I'm working on about God and chivalry and the Knight's Code and swords... but I haven't collected my thoughts enough yet to actually finish the post. I need some less mentally-taxing days at work so I can focus on that one night at home.

ALSO... my freelance business is exploding. Praise the Lord for it, as it definitely helps pay the bills, but I've got an incredible amount of projects I need to finish right now! Gah!

Anyway, my day at work today was pretty great – my coworker Jess returned from her trip to London and brought me a pretty awesome souvenir ... a new Arsenal scarf! I didn't even ask or anything, she's just feeding my obsession of her own volition. :)

It was a great weekend, too – for Arsenal and for me. Before I went to the Connexion retreat on Saturday I managed to catch a little bit of the second half of the Arsenal-Man United game. I didn't see any goals, but I went back later and downloaded the whole match and watched it. Phew. William Gallas scoring in the last minute of stoppage time to save the draw – sure it would have been better if it was a win, but still... amazing. Jess also brought me back the Sunday Telegraph, which has a nice big picture of the ref calling the goal and the headline, 'Goal that saved Arsenal.'

The retreat was really great, too – it's always great to meet new people, spend time in fellowship and worship, learn about God and ourselves and in general have fun. We even got to play a little soccer. Good times.

This is a crazy week at work – guest speakers today and Wednesday and a trip to Philadelphia Thursday through Saturday, but after that things calm down! I'm looking forward to getting into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

I was also asked to be my new niece's Godfather, which is a pretty great honor. I'm going to try to go home on Sunday to go to her baptism.

And with that last random bit, I'm off to go home and get ready to celebrate Guy Fawkes night.

'The World Ahead'

I've never explained why I decided to title my blog, "The World Ahead." If it isn't already imminently obvious, I'm a huge fan of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. I grew up reading "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," and have probably read the books upwards of a dozen times. The books were the roots of my imagination as a child, and as I've grown, Middle Earth has remained a wonderful and mystical place for me to let my thoughts and imagination linger.

The phrase "the world ahead" is from one of the many songs and poems Tolkien wrote to appear in the trilogy. The first time we hear the song is when Frodo, Pippin and Sam sing it along a wooded road of the Shire, not long after they've set out from Hobbiton. Tolkien writes, "Bilbo Baggins had made the words, to a tune that was as old as the hills, and taught it to Frodo as they walked in the lanes of the Water-valley and talked about Adventure" (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter 3). Here it is:

Upon the hearth the fire is red,
Beneath the roof there is a bed,
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still round the corner we may meet:
A sudden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.
Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass!
Hill and water under sky,
Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though we pass them by today
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,
Let them go! Let them go!
Sand and stone and pool and dell,
Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead
We'll wander back to home and bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
And then to bed! And then to bed!

The song is all about finding Adventure – with a capital A, as Tolkien writes it. Life is about finding our own adventure, about setting out from home and exploring the world ahead of us. I identify so much with the ideas presented here – about finding a secret tree, or gate, about finding excitement in the little aspects of life.

But Tolkien also recognizes the great value and draw of home on a traveler, particularly after adventure is complete. The song turns at the end, and suddenly the traveler grows weary of the road – and the comforts and draw of home are ever-more appealing. This is true in the immediate sense of completing an adventure, but also in the grander metaphorical sense of living our lives. At some point, we have to go home – in the meantime, all the world is there for our Adventure.

A few years after Frodo and Sam return to the Shire in The Return of the King, while Frodo and Sam are traveling to the Grey Havens, Frodo recalls the song, and sings it with slightly changed words. After all, Frodo is different than when he set out upon his adventure – the things he's experienced have left him changed, different, and not altogether complete. Frodo knows that he'll never be completely whole as long as he remains in Middle Earth. As Frodo approaches the havens, he sings these words:

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

Frodo sings of traveling the hidden path that will take him west of the moon and east of the sun, a traditional reference in fairy tales of traveling to a place that is impossibly far away. Frodo speaks of traveling on the Straight Road across the ocean Belegaer to Tolkien's Aman, the great Western continent where the Valar reside. Without getting into too much nerdy detail – this "traveling West" for Frodo is, for him, finally going home – Tolkien's Aman is the metaphorical heaven, where we can all go home to at the end of our Adventure, if we choose.

But for me, the road ahead is just beginning, and while going home sounds like the most wonderful thing I can imagine, it's the world that is ahead of me, and I'm ready for my Adventure.

Vacation... Part II

Just a few more pictures to share.

The road through the Smokies:

The inspiring view from atop Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Tennessee:


And camp:

Vacation ... Part I

Here I am at the top of Rainbow Falls on the Horse Pasture River ... the falls were a 25-minute hike from the car, and we arrived an hour before the park closed. The locals assured us that the park service would actually lock the gate and lock the car inside the park at 6 p.m., so we really had to run through the woods to get a view of the river and the falls.

It was a real Last of the Mohicans moment, running through the woods and running along the river. Incidentally, lots of the movie was filmed right in this area, possibly even some on this river. I felt like I was in the movie. Except I didn't jump off the waterfall.


Here's a view from Newfound Gap in the Smokey Mountains National Park. The fall color was really coming out at higher elevation.


We spent one night in the Chataloochee Valley on the eastern side of the park, in an area where they had repopulated elk back in the 1990s. We got there kind of late, just as the sun was going down, so I wasn't able to get very many great pictures... but I do like this one.


Now you may be asking yourself, "Why didn't Tim approach the wildlife?" Well, here's your answer.


More to come, later...

Back, and alive!

I'm back and alive from the adventure in the Smokeys and Blue Ridge Mountains... no computer or cell phone for a week, and it was glorious! The week also included a black bear, trout, and a bunch of elk, which was pretty awesome. I'll post some pictures when I get caught up on my e-mail and work.

I feel relaxed and refreshed. This verse is the absolute truth:

"For you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
- Isaiah 55:12

Vacation!

Well, I'm wrapping up work today and getting ready to head home tomorrow to fly to North Carolina for a week of ... nothing. Nothing but the outdoors, the trees, the rivers and relaxation. I'm really looking forward to some time away from the bustle of life here right now.

If you want to do something fun and educational, I challenge you to take this geography test (us U.S. Americans don't have enough maps as it is, anyway) and see how many you can get right.

Beware: This is addicting. You can do the other continents through this web site, too.

The African Country Geography Quiz

I'll post more when I get back from vacation, photos, and hopefully some deeper thoughts too, since I'll have some time to read and think...

New niece!

I have a new niece! Vivian Jane was born on Wednesday afternoon, making me an uncle for the sixth time. I'll get home next week to see her..

Ganging up on the Sun

Second row tickets to Brett Dennen and Guster tonight. I'm pretty excited.

Rock. On.

The Rise of the Lost River!

First off, the blog layout keeps changing – sorry about that, I'm trying to learn the limits of what Blogger can do and add some new elements to the blog. Hopefully I'll continue to update it and make it better!

Today I managed to have another Southern Indiana Safari – and now I'm able to make my second post in my series on cool, out of the way places right in our Indiana "backyard." It was a great day outside, and I was looking forward to getting outdoors and taking some photos. Today I took my roommate along, and we drove down to the quaint little town of Paoli, Indiana. I had three destinations picked out: the Orangeville River Rise, the Wesley Chapel Gulf and the Pioneer Mothers Forest. They're all within about 15 miles of each other, and they're all uniquely interesting.

********

The Orangeville Rise (or "The Rise of the Lost River")
Because Southern Indiana is rich in limestone, it's also criss-crossed with a network of underground caves, rivers and other unique geological features. Large portions of the southern part of the state have what's known as karst topography – a landscape shaped by the erosion of a layer of bedrock – such as limestone. Because of the dissolution of this rock layer, the area displays many unique drainage features and is home to thousands of caves. (Here's another interesting link about karst topography features: Karst in Indiana).

The area near Paoli has a rich karst topography, and the aptly-named Lost River is a great example of the complex nature of the hydrological system. A Sierra Club article about the river says this:

One of the most complex hydrological systems in the world winds through southern Indiana, dotted with deep springs, caves and sinkholes.
Except after heavy rains, a 22-mile section in the middle of the river is dry, while the water continues to flow underground, coming back to the surface in impressive springs called "rises." The water flows underground at depths of up to 150 feet.
The Lost River has been called an "underground Grand Canyon" and "three-dimensional river delta."

We set out to find one of few of the rises that happen to be on publicly-owned land. The Orangeville Rise is one of the locations that the Lost River suddenly bursts forth above ground again, bubbling to the surface just below a cliff on the south side of town. It's clear locals use the rise as a swimming hole, but exactly how deep the water is would be hard to measure – some sources indicate it's easily over 100 feet deep. The water is unbelievably clear and cool and has the most wonderful green tint to it. The Orangeville Rise isn't hard to find, and is right off the side of the road, designated as a National Natural Landmark. Definitely worth seeing.

********

The Wesley Chapel Gulf
About five miles east of the Orangeville Rise is the Wesley Chapel Gulf, which is found in a small, 187-acre island of the Hoosier National Forest. The topography is drastic and unexpected – amongst the rolling farmland is a 1,000-foot wide sinkhole!

The Wesley Chapel Gulf was formed when a large section of the underground topography collapsed, sinking the terrain and exposing many caves, springs and other karst features. The most breathtaking part of the gulf is pictured above – where a large spring bubbles to the surface below the 200-foot cliff. According to most estimates, the water rises about 150 feet (that number rises to more than 300 feet if you believe some of the locals) and promptly flows into the cliff wall and disappears. It's really quite incredible. I'm not entirely sure of the name of this particular feature, but I think it's called the "Boiling Spring."

Once again, the water was incredibly clear at the top, while just below the surface it took on a pristine green color. You could actually hear the water coming to the surface and running under the cliff. It was amazing, and exceeded all my expectations of how beautiful it would be. There are also lots of caves in the area (caving, of course, is strictly prohibited) which criss-cross in every direction imaginable. They are prone to flash floods, just as the water level of the spring is apt to change often. After such a dry summer, I'm sure the water level was relatively low in this photo. I want to go back sometime when it's rained a lot and see how high the water rises. As dry as it was, I still got pretty muddy (especially my butt... when I slipped and fell... multiple times).

While we were at the Boiling Spring, we met two of the friendliest and funnest local beagle dogs – I nicknamed them George and Lennie in the fashion of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men." George was the leader, while Lennie was a bit bigger but just followed George around. Anyway, the dogs ran up to us as soon as we hiked back to the gulf and followed us around the whole time (I was impressed with their climbing skills). I caught this picture of "George" and I think it shows exactly what he's all about. What a happy life. Both George and Lennie (who didn't kill any rabbits or mice while we were there, to my knowledge) were both rewarded with a Nature Valley granola bar when they followed us back to the car.

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The Pioneer Mother's Forest
Not much to say about this one, as the visit here was cut short by my inability to find the darn place, and the fact that it was getting dark (and we were getting hungry). The Forest Service sells the Pioneer Mother's Forest as Indiana's only public old-growth forest – there has never been a tree cut inside the boundaries of the park, as far as their records show (apart from one or two for pioneer firewood, I'm sure).

Well, if you know me, you know that I LOVE trees, so I thought this place was pretty cool. There were enormous birch, oak, maple, sycamore and tulip trees. I don't think we hiked in far enough to really get to the biggest trees – most of the forest looked like much of the forest you see in Indiana already. It was still beautiful though, and I'd love to go back in a few weeks when the fall colors are out and find the really big old trees.

Anyway, it's time to go back to watching Raiders of the Lost Ark – an appropriate end to an adventurous day. If you want to know how to get to any of these places, give me a shout – they're not hard to find if you know what you're looking for, and they're all within an hour of Bloomington.

The case in Jena.

If you haven't already read about the "Jena 6" – six black high schoolers facing murder charges in a rural Louisiana town, please check out the following link to NPR's coverage of the story. Inform yourself.

In summary: Last year, three black students sat under a tree at Jena High School where white students would normally sit. The next day, three nooses were hung from the tree. A group of white students was found to be responsible for hanging the nooses, and received an in-school suspension for the "prank" (the school's word). In the following days and weeks, race relations in the small town high school continued to deteriorate. A black student was beaten up at a party attended by mostly white students, and the next day, when he got in an argument with a white student who was at the party, the white student went to his car to get his gun. The black student and his friends wrestled the gun away from him and took it home – and were charged with theft of a firearm. The culminating incident occurred when six black students beat up a white student after he allegedly used racial slurs. The boys were initially charged with aggravated assault, but the district attorney changed the charges to attempted 2nd degree murder. For more information, particularly about the trials, please read below...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14533821

For those of you at IU, there's also a facebook group (of course) you can check out for more information.

http://indiana.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4897458234

I'll refrain from stating any opinions about the case and let you make your own decisions. I have a feeling you'll be hearing more and more about this story in the coming weeks.

Only who can prevent forest fires?

First off, happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Who knew it was September 19th? Glad I found that out before it was too late. But let's be serious, shouldn't every day be talk like a pirate day? Arrr!


I'm home sick from work today – just woke up tired – and while I've been spending some time navigating the clogged tubes of the internets, I came across this photo from the 2007 Albequerque Hot Air Balloon festival, which took place early last week (incidentally I've seen the Hot Air Balloon festival in person, in 2004 when I was living in Santa Fe.)

It seems like Smokey is making a bit of a comeback these days – he's featured in a new series of forest service commercials with the traditional "Only you can prevent forest fires" slogan, and still has his face plastered on state and national parks all across the country.

So what better way to have Smokey watch over the dried, tinderbox forests than to literally have him looking down on campers below, right? Well, sure it's a great idea, but the Smokey campaign went a little wrong.

Whoops! Reports say both people who were navigating the giant bear head through the skies weren't seriously injured in the crash. This does make the marketing scheme a little less effective, though, doesn't it? Just found this amusing and wanted to share. :)

Prince Caspian...

For anyone who loves the "Chronicles of Narnia," Disney has released a video preview of the new "Prince Caspian" movie, due out on May 16, 2008. The movie is based on the fourth book in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, in which the Pevensie siblings return to Narnia to again fight an evil that threatens the land.

This isn't an official trailer, but does contain some movie footage. Looks good - I'm just excited to see Reepicheep.

http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/blog/vid_player.swf?vid_id=1

Female rocker alert!

It's rare that I find a musician who speaks directly into my heart – whose lyrics cut so deep into the heart of who I am that I absolutely feel the song deep inside me. It's even rarer that I find a female singer who reflects my own heart so well – after all, there are a lot of fundamental differences in the male and female hearts. But after getting a recommendation to listen to some Betsy Walker (it's actually "betsy walker" on the album, but I'm not into that whole lowercase thing) I was instantly hooked. I've enjoyed some female Christian music before – namely Jennifer Knapp and Ginny Owens, but I think Betsy is an instant favorite.

Incidentally, Betsy is an Indy Indie rocker. She's from Indianapolis, is independent, Christian and has a beautiful voice.

This is her song "Blessings," which echoes a prayer that has been in my own heart for months, a prayer I still pray every night for certain people in my life.

"Blessings"

May you walk with the Lord all your life,
And not turn to the left or the right.
May your pace match the step of the almighty guide
May you walk with the Lord all your life.

May you ache of the Lord all your life,
May you run that you might win the prize.
May you hunger and thirst and be satisfied,
May you wake with the Lord all your life.

And may there be blessings on you,
And may there be mercies ever anew.
And may you find all his promises true,
May blessings fall all over you.

May you fight for the lord all your life,
May your courage not fail you in night,
May you put on his armor and stand in the light,
May you fight for the Lord all your life.

May God grant you peace,
Grant you peace,
Grant you peace.

The Electric Company

I've always fancied myself to be a bit of an environmentalist and conservationist. I'm certainly not ready to join Earth First or Greenpeace, but I love the world that God has given us and believe we should protect it.

Recently God has really laid it on my heart to do everything I can as an individual to save the planet in small ways. I've been listening to some really excellent sermons on the subject – namely the "God is Green" series by Rob Bell and his compatriots at Mars Hill Bible Church (if you're going to listen to one, listen to "God is Green IV: Tomatoes and Towers," which you can download here). I've also been doing a little bit of independent research on the Internet, and I have been reading some really interesting books on what it means to be a Christian and love the planet. "Serve God, Save the Planet," by Dr. James Sleeth, is an excellent, page-turning book that has opened my eyes to the excess waste I generate every day. Sleeth, a former New England ER doctor, gives spiritual reasons why we should care about the planet, and then explains how we can take action in practical ways.

Our electricity bill from Duke Energy for August was $75.74. It's one of the higher electric bills we've had to pay, but we finally caved in in August and ran the air conditioning for consistent days. Luckily our apartment stays pretty naturally cool, but the consistent combination of 98 degree days with 90 percent humidity was a bit much.

So here's the current goal: halve the electricity bill. Granted, it will be a little easier since September brings cooler weather and open windows, but it will take a little extra effort to get the bill below $38.00. The lowest we've paid since we moved into the apartment in December is about $60. I'm not sure how the end result will turn out, but here's the plan of action:

• Turn out the lights! Probably the most obvious answer, but still very applicable. Lights need to be turned out when not in use.
  
• Turn off & unplug. This goes for computers, appliances, and other random electric devices. This means turning off the computer entirely, instead of just letting it go to sleep. It means unplugging small electric devices that draw a constant current – for example: the electric shaver I have that doesn't need to stay plugged in when it's already fully charged. Larger devices like the television and stereo draw power even when they're turned off. TVs draw current because they're always "partially on" – waiting for you to click the remote and turn the set on. Most stereos have what's called "phantom power" – power that's provided even when it's turned off. By using a surge protector to shut power to these devices completely off when they're not in use, a lot of electricity can be saved.
  
• Energy-efficient light bulbs. OK, they're still expensive, and I can't afford to buy a lot of them right now. And it's wasteful to replace bulbs that are still perfectly good. However, I did buy four compact fluorescent bulbs to replace the most commonly used bulbs in our house. Compact fluorescent bulbs use about 25% of the electricity traditional incandescent bulbs use to produce the same amount of light (lumens). They also don't generate heat and last a lot longer.
• No dryer. A clothes dryer draws an enormous, enormous amount of electricity. As Sleeth points out, it would take five work horses rigged to a turbine to generate enough electricity to run a clothes dryer. That's a lot of power. I've got a clothesline, and I can use it.
• Our clothes dryer has a light bulb in it that turns on when you open the door. Granted, this takes a miniscule amount of energy, but it's pretty ridiculous. I don't need a light in the dryer. I'm going to disable it.
• Canvas grocery bag. Sure it's a little dorky to carry around, but I really don't need to throw away five plastic grocery bags every time I go shopping.
  
• Bike and walk. I already bike the three miles to work most days, I'll just have to get that extra motivation for those days I really don't feel like pedaling.
  
• Windows open! Obviously this one is going to be pretty easy for the month of September. We'll see how it goes after that.

Again, these are simple, everyday things we can all do to be more conscious about the beautiful world God has given us. The less power we use, the less power plants we need. If fossil fuel power plants go offline, we have the benefit of having less pollution and less dependence on oil.

I'm not advocating that we need to shut down our modern lives and live in a semi-neolithic sate. But there are many, many ways we can be more responsible with the incredible amount of luxury we are afforded by living in a country like the United States.

Will definitely post more on this topic later, including the results of the electric bill test in about a month.

Right in our backyard...

I'm making a point of visiting interesting, funny and strange places near Bloomington. It's not the most beautiful place I've lived, but there is certainly a lot of character in the hills (and people) of Southern Indiana. On Monday (Labor Day) a small group of us went out to the Greene County Rail Viaduct.

A viaduct is a series of spans or arches used to carry a road or railroad over a wide valley or over other roads or railroads. Not many people know that there's a stupendous viaduct right in our backyard, in Greene County. In fact, the Greene County viaduct is said to be the third largest of its kind in the world.

The viaduct spans the Richland Creek valley on the Illinois Central Railroad. Built in 1906, the viaduct is a half-mile long and up to 180 feet tall. Reportedly six or seven trains still cross the 100-year old structure every day.

I walked out onto the viaduct a little bit – as far as I was willing to go, anyway. Remember "Stand by Me?" I didn't want that to happen, as there's nowhere to go off the sides of this thing.