Monday, July 28, 2008

Home from Colorado


This is just one of the many (over 750) pictures that I took while I was in Colorado at Twin Peaks Bible Camp. I really should have taken more, but for some reason I was busy watching campers for much of the week, ;-). This is a picture from the summit (or near the summit) of Old Man Mountain (one of the two mountains in the camp name) of the camp grounds and some of the surrounding countryside. I so so enjoy panoramic shots.

The full version of this picture is available in my Picasa panoramic album.

~Matt

Monday, July 21, 2008

I'm in Colorado

I've been trying to blog lately, but don't expect to see much from me this week. I'm no in Colorado. I'm going to be up at Twin Peaks Bible Camp for the week--I grew up going up there every summer (my parents were the camp cooks) and I haven't been back in several years. It should be a fun time (actually I know it will be) and I'm going to take plenty of pictures. I hope to keep coming back during the summer, but I don't want to take the place or all the good friends for granted, so I want to record as many memories as I can with my camera! ;-)
~Matt

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Episteme Denied

Episteme Denied
Enticing, Hope beckons with outstretched arms,
- A vision only seen through a glass darkly.
Does uncertainty yet reign supreme,
- Or has self-deception claimed the crown?
Does hope vainly feed upon laughter,
- May a smile conceal nothing hidden?
May dreams of hope ever come to life,
- Or shall haste ensure the death of dreams?
What price must be paid for wisdom?
- Desperately believing beyond what is seen.
Never will Veritas reveal a certain answer,
- Uncertainty will triumph in lieu of courage.

I like to write my poems with the second line indented, but Blogger won't accept this convention (hence the hyphens).



Main Entry: episteme
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a system of understanding or a body of ideas which give shape to the knowledge of that time
Etymology: Greek 'knowledge'

You may notice a similarity to earlier poems posted--it isn't exactly accidental.

From the Fire
Does a lie stare back,
- And whisper your name?
Does a lie softly promise,
- You will never be forgotten?
Can the truth be so painful?
- Waves of crashing agony.

Does the truth swiftly flee,
- From scrutiny and queries?
Does the truth sweetly smile,
- While saying nothing certain?
Can a lie be tolerated,
- Ages of slow uncertainty.

~Matt

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Home before Midnight

Well I'm not asleep yet at 00:10, but I made it home before midnight! Tonight was a late night anyway because the Creation Museum was open until 9:00. But we're rolling out a new version of our Daily Schedule that incorporates the Museum map (starting on Sunday). I had to make sure that we had enough printed for the next several days because these new projects need to be folded by our staff before we can distribute them to guests. So, it took a while to make sure that everything was okay and to calculate the proper numbers to print. I'm off Monday and Tuesday, so I had to ensure that we'd have enough on those days, knowing that I wouldn't be around to print more.

I'm enjoying the responsibilities I have and the projects I'm working on--but sometimes it feels as though I never have enough time. Sometimes I resent the time I work on projects because I'm not on the floor doing the jobs that I really enjoy, and other times I wish I wasn't on the floor because I have so much to get done. It is a Catch-22 I guess--I wish I knew how to balance the two aspects of work life. All I know is that I don't want to go completely in one direction or the other--I love both areas: project and floor work. I especially do not want to give up working on the Museum floor with guests.

Now I must head off to bed because I need to be back at the Museum early in the morning to get the Planetarium up and running. I hope that it will be a nice and busy Saturday!

~Matt

Monday, July 07, 2008

Fireworks

Last night (i.e. Saturday) I went out with some friends to see a fireworks show (my fourth of the year, and second of the past couple weeks). It was down on the Ohio River just across the river into Indiana. It was a good show, though I deliberately didn't bring my camera, just because when I do I'm usually just trying to get good fireworks shots, and I really have plenty of those now--it was just a good time to hang out with friends and enjoy the show.

I missed seeing any fireworks on the Fourth except those few I saw on either side of the highway as I drove home from work at night. At what appeared to be the end of the show (with a nice finale) a lighted sign appeared on the barge that read "More?" Of course everybody clapped and yelled, and pretty soon the fireworks started up again. They were good, but there was no real finale to the second set, they just eventually ended.

~Matt

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Stargazing

I wish I could say I took this image, but I just found it on Google. It is very nearly what I saw tonight, at least one of the things I saw. Jason Lisle, the astrophysicist on staff at Answers in Genesis had an informal stargazing session tonight. After Bible Study I headed over to the museum to join in (I'd been off today so I heard about it from a coworker).

I work the official Stargazer's Nights that the Creation Museum puts on, so I've been trained on the telescopes that the museum owns, but it is still fun to look because I'm still learning how and where to locate celestial objects. This picture is of Jupiter and the four Galelian (sp?) moons. When I looked tonight three of the moons were on one side of the planet and in line with them you could see at least two bands on the planet itself. We also looked at Saturn (you can see the rings), the galaxy M87, a globular cluster, a binary star (I don't remember the name, but it was near Cygnus--the northern cross--and one star was blue, one was gold), and several other things. It was quite fun.

It is so amazing to look up at the sky and see all that God has made. I've been in the Planetarium at the Creation Museum many, many times (I often joke that it is home because it is so familiar). If you come to the Museum you HAVE to see the show--and you can even buy a flat-screen version on DVD which is pretty awesome, even if it isn't on the domed ceiling. Anyway, at one point in the script Jason mentions when summing up all of the celestial wonders that God created that God simply said in Genesis 1:16b "He made the stars also."

~Matt