Friday Night

Late Friday night Walt and Dasha came by.

I have a new camera!

My new camera came, here I am on the first day, trying it out.

Remember or Forget

I sit beside my lonely fire

And pray for wisdom yet:

For calmness to remember

Or courage to forget.
-Charles Hamilton Aide (1830-1906)

Courage, brother!

Courage, brother! do not stumble,Though thy path be dark as night; There's a star to guide the humble,Trust in God and do the Right. Trust in God.
-Norman Macleod

Californian Adventures: Day Three

DAY THREE:

Friday, June 10th

Friday morning. By 11 am we were in the fellowship hall at church, waiting for the rest of the people from the wedding party to show up, so we could discuss plans.Later, after people showed up, we were handed a shopping list for wedding supplies, so a bunch of us headed to Cosco. When we got there we had tons of things to look for and buy, like refreshments, utensils, tablecloths, and etc. for the wedding.

At some point while we were there at Cosco, I needed to take my little sister to the bathroom. But when we walked into the ladies room, there was a Gay man there. So we left. (If you don't believe me, read article "Gender Blender" from World Magazine... some of you will be shocked)
After picking up all the supplies, we then went back to the church to drop things off. Later we were back at the Fullerton apartment, where Miriam's husband, Tim, and Rachel were waiting for us. And there was different furniture there; some nicer couches that they had moved in. So that was cool. Rachel showed us her new cell phone and we hung out and visited for a bit... and Rachel told me that later that night would be a slumber party for some of the girls at her apartment in Whittier.

So that night ( sometime after 9), Joi came and picked me up, and I spent the night at Rachel's apartment. That was neat, having our last night together, Rachel and I. So it was Joi, Rachel, Marcie,Meghan, Andrea, Julie, and I. When I first walked in, the girls were all curled up in front of the tv, watching an Anime show called: "Fruit's Basket". I had no idea that Anime could be so emotional! I used to think it was boring, high action cartoons. Rachel's hair was full of curlers, it was cute and I took pictures. I got to meet Rachel's pet hamster; "Viffi". He was adorable, and I held him for several minutes. That too, was cute, and I took more pictures. After a while we all gathered and had Ice Cream Cake, and sat in front of the tv to watch a movie called: " Labyrinth". Weird movie from the 80's, but it was entertaining. (To be honest with you, I was SURE I would have weird dreams.) (Especially with that one guy's frizzy hair, it was creepy). We also did Henna tattoos, I was gonna get my arm done, but thought that would look weird for the sleeveless dress I had for the next day. So I watched other people do Henna. It was fun.

Needless to say, we went to bed really late.

More Pictures from Tim and Rachel's Wedding 

Jane and Nathan at Rachel's Wedding.

Jane was a Flower Girl, Nathan was a Ringbearer.

Tim and Rachel's Wedding! 

California: Day Two

DAY TWO:

Most of the day we spent in Tim's Fullerton apartment, cleaning the place up for him and Rachel so it would be nice for them when they start living there. It is fun to clean house, when its not your own. Little blocks of time were spent trying to solve Tim's Rubicks Cube, ... it can be addicting! I also took the time to sketch a picture of the view from one of the windows there.

Then at four we left for the church, where the Rehearsal Dinner was to be. We got there and I was able to meet Tim Motte's family--- Debra, Terry, Joey, Anna, and John. I also met other people in the wedding party, like Isaac, Joi, Marcie, Kenji, L.D., Jane, ... if there is anyone I am forgetting I apologize. Aunt Beth was there too, with Torri and Micah.

Then at five we went to the sanctuary to rehearse. It was exciting. And Rachel wasn't even there yet! When she finally showed up, it became even MORE exciting. We ran out to meet her at the car, and applaused for a bit. Then we went back to the sanctuary to practise. And coming up the isle; first was L.D. the lamplighter, then Kenji and I, Doug and Joi, Joey and Anna, John and Marcie, Isaac ( Miriam wasn't there), Holly ( Eric wasn't there), Nathan with Jane and Torri, and eventually Dad and Rachel. It was pretty cool.

To prepare all of us for what to expect on the wedding day, the minister spoke fragments of what he would be speaking. He would say things like " DEARLY beloved friends, Etc." He used the "Etc.'s" to save time. Reading the whole document wasn't necessary if we were just practising. So I thought it was pretty cute when he asked Rachel to repeat him. She repeated him LITERALLY; including dramatically saying:" I, Rachel, take thee, Timothy, to my wedded Etc." Everyone chuckled. By the time that practise ceremony was almost over, Miriam showed up, and we all went through the whole practise again.

Then we went to the fellowship building for dinner. Gathering around the table, we visited. Then Isaac Pletcher, good friend of Tim, and kind of the main help of the event, spoke up, and said that we would then take time to share any thoughts/advice/memories we had with the couple. ( Otherwise known as a chance to share embarrassing childhood stories...) So Debra and Terry (Tim's Mom and Dad), shared some funny stories about when Timmy was little. And Dad shared his thankfulness for Rachel, speaking of the fears he had when Rachel was an infant having seizures, and how the Lord has been gracious to protect her. Isaac shared a poem, and also took the credit for being the matchmaker... the one who introduced Rachel to Tim. Rachel's roomate Joi shared memories of the medieval birthday party that they threw for Rachel. Tim's brother John shared about how Tim had inspired him to like to read books and study philosophy, even though at first he had no interest in those things. Doug talked about his experience of meeting Tim before Rachel started dating him. Laughing, Rachel was quick to explain that it had all been "planned".

And when it was my turn to talk, I publically confessed about a prank that I used to do to Rachel: When I was a child I was really annoyed with how Rachel liked to read all the time, cause I couldn't stand books! I would ask her if she wanted to play with me and she would say things like; " I'm busy reading right now," or... "I want to finish this chapter." So one day I got this brilliant idea: I would switch the bookmark when she wasn't looking! I tried it out, she didn't find out. So I did it lots of times growing up, sometimes moving the bookmark back a chapter, sometimes moving it forward a few pages. Everyone laughed.

That's it for Day Two of Californian Adventures.
Signing off for now,
Emily

When dogma meets drama on television

Soft-focus spirituality on TV gives way to programs with a more explicit religious viewpoint. Will audiences accept it?

By Gloria Goodale Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Machines Controlled By Thought

Thought-Controlled Machines May Be One Step Closer
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News
April 12, 2005

Please lift up Gloria in your prayers.
On April 16, 2004 tragedy struck a very
special little girl, Gloria.
On that painful day, Gloria fell into a
jacuzzi and didn't take a breath for 15
minutes. Doctors said the damage to
her brain was so severe she would
never open her eyes or know her own
family.
But after 2 months in the hospital
Gloria was strong enough to go home.
Today, her life and the lives of her
family are much different than before.
Gloria is currently in a semi-vegetative
state and requires around the clock
nursing care.
Gloria is not defeated!
Her family believes in the healing
power of Jesus Christ. Already she has
come much farther than doctors
expected. Please pray for Gloria's
continued healing and for the
Endermann family

 

A recent sketch. 

Doug and I. Christmas 2003. 

My sister Rachel posing as "The Lady of Shalott"  

This is an old picture of me with my siblings Rachel and Douglas. I'm the girl in the middle.  

Me posing at "The Old Spahgetti Factory" in California last Summer.  

Taking the roof off

For L'Abri, the brainchild of 20th-century giant Francis Schaeffer, turning 50 is an opportunity to celebrate and revive what is golden in its unique approach to evangelism | by Gene Edward Veith 

Need a Building? Just Add Water
 

This a sunset photo taken from my old house.  

A 10-month-old Egyptian baby is recovering in hospital after having a second head removed from her.
The rare condition occurs when one of two conjoined twins fails to develop completely in the womb. Manar Maged is being treated in intensive care at Benha Children's Hospital in Cairo. She is not yet fully conscious, doctors said.
The second head was able to smile and blink, but could not have survived on its own, doctors said.
The weight of a second head attached to her own was preventing Manar from sitting or crawling.
"Manar's breathing has improved... Her temperature and heartbeat is normal," Nasif Hifnawy, one of the doctors who operated on the baby, told Reuters news agency.
Another paediatrician of the 13-strong team said he expected her to remain in intensive care for at least a week.
Doctors have also said the girl can move her limbs and does not show signs of paralysis, but refused to give more details of her recovery.
They said they had been instructed to do so by the Egyptian presidency and the baby's father.
A similar operation was carried out on a girl in the Dominican Republic last year, but the child did not survive.
 

'Wrist Video' gives Israeli Army an Edge

HOLON, Israel (AP) -- Israeli troops are now sporting gear that Dick Tracy would be proud of: tiny video screens, worn on the wrist, which display video shot by unmanned airplanes.

Read the Article Here.

Such charming frogs! 

In my old backyard. 

Holly 

Is this a dance party of the 1700's? 

Holly 

Nathan would be great in advertisements! 

Me when I was little. 

Hearing in Colour

Last Updated: Monday, 14 February, 2005, 15:15 GMT

Blind student 'hears in colour'
Geoff Adams-Spink
BBC News website disability affairs correspondent


A blind student has developed software that turns colours into musical notes so that he can read weather maps.


Mr Wong was assisted by colleagues James Ferwerda and Ankur Moitra

Victor Wong, a graduate student from Hong Kong studying at Cornell University in New York State, had to read coloured maps of the upper atmosphere as part of his research.

To study "space weather" Mr Wong needed to explore minute fluctuations in order to create mathematical models.

A number of solutions were tried, including having a colleague describe the maps and attempting to print them in Braille.

Mr Wong eventually hit upon the idea of translating individual colours into music, and enlisted the help of a computer graphics specialist and another student to do the programming work.

'Three dimensions'

"The images have three dimensions and I had to find a way of reading them myself," Mr Wong told the BBC News website.

"For the sake of my own study - and for the sake of blind scientists generally - I felt it would be good to develop software that could help us to read colour images."

He tried a prototype version of the software to explore a photograph of a parrot.

In order to have an exact reference to the screen, a pen and tablet device is used.

The software then assigns one of 88 piano notes to individually coloured pixels - ranging from blue at the lower end of this scale to red at the upper end.

Mr Wong says the application is still very much in its infancy and is only useful for reading images that have been created digitally.

"If I took a random picture and scanned it and then used my software to recognise it, it wouldn't work that well."

'Colour memory'

Mr Wong has been blind from the age of seven and he thinks that having a "colour memory" makes the software more useful than it would be to a scientist who had never had any vision.

"As the notes increase in pitch I know the colour's getting redder and redder, and in my mind's eye a patch of red appears."

The colour to music software has not yet been made available commercially, and Mr Wong believes that several people would have to work together to make it viable.

But he hopes that one day it can be developed to give blind people access to photographs and other images.