What is faith?

“You’ve just got to have faith.”

“Just believe.”

These and similar phrases are often thrown about within Christianity. These statements assume that in many ways faith is opposed to reason, logic, science. Rightly, critics criticize Christianity (or at the very least its more public and vocal front) for its anti-intellectualism.

I don’t buy into that.

I believe faith is a logical extension of what can be experienced and reasoned.

A few days ago I watched The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse? on PBS. The gist of the program was about whether or not our universe is singular or not. Scientists line up on both sides of the issue because the existence or non-existence of the multiverse cannot be empirically tested. There are multiple pieces of evidence that point toward its existence, however, and its existence would in turn explain many of the observed mysteries about our universe.

Towards the end of the program it discussed the role of mathematics: mathematics has often served as a predictor of scientific realities when those realities at the time could not be tested empirically. Many times these mathematic predictions contradict accepted science of the day but are later found to be true.

Some may choose to disagree, but I believe religious faith is similar to mathematics described in the preceding paragraph. Faith is never a leap beyond reason and logic, it is never wishful thinking, but an extension of reality. It integrates what is known and what has been experienced to project a future reality that is based firmly on the past. Just as mathematics models what is already known, and through those models discovers new realities, faith models what is already known and through it projects what the greater, unseen reality ought to be.

That is what I believe Hebrews 11 to be saying to us as it opens, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV)

Thanksgiving 2011

This year’s Thanksgiving was different from previous years in at least one way: Shelley is no longer home. Because it costs so much and the holiday is so short, it didn’t make any sense for her to come home. Thus it was the three of us remaining plus a couple of friends that celebrated Thanksgiving together.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Petersburg found itself under thick blankets of snow. After the first dump I spent quite some time digging the driveway out while Elise shoveled the path to the back of the house and cleared off the deck. It didn’t stay that way for very long as the second large snowfall came not too long afterwards on Thanksgiving morning. I was going to be busy and Elise didn’t want to shovel. She saw our neighbor plowing with his 4-wheeler so she gave him some money to have him clear out our driveway.

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner menu was -

• Cheese (key lime and cranberry) and crackers
• Green beans with white miso and mustard dressing
• Cranberry chutney with apples and ginger (requires subscription)
• Braised turkey breast and gravy (requires subscription – I used the slow cooker version found in Slow Cooker Revolution)
• Black wild rice stuffing
• Fennel and pearl barley stuffed acorn squash (found in Best of America’s Test Kitchen, 2011)
• Mashed potatoes
• Rolls
• Pumpkin squares

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday for much of the rest of the country. There wasn’t much black about Petersburg though. We have no malls, no crowds, and no one attacked anyone else with pepper spray.

I had a “50% off any regularly priced item $50 or less” coupon at TrueValue and searched the store for something close to $50 that I needed or wanted. I found some toys but they were just over $50. There was nothing in the kitchenware section that caught my eye that fit the criteria. I finally found a Black & Decker corded Dustbuster with a hair-removal attachment meant to be used for pet hair. Since all such attachments for our current vacuums no longer seem to function, I figured it fit the “need” category. I also picked up a set of plastic food storage containers that were on sale.

I wandered about the town and stopped in at Lee’s Clothing where I tried on some Nordic sweaters. Now you have to realize that these things run well over $200 at regular prices, thus not making them a casual purchase. However, they were 20% off on Friday and Saturday. I’ve been in Petersburg now for over five years and I still didn’t have a Nordic sweater. It may not seem that important but it is kind of like formal wear here. It can be worn to church, to weddings, to funerals, and to public functions. With the Oxford Caroler performances coming up (in which I’ll be singing for the second year), the sweater moved into the “need” category. As an added incentive I had signed up my American Express card for Small Business Saturday’s $25 credit offer. I found one sweater that I liked but needed to wait until the next day to make the purchase.

Trading Union had coupon offers this week as well. For each $10 spent there was a coupon for a free item: laundry detergent, first pound of ground beef, 1/2 gallon milk, 3# apples. I spent a bit over $30 and got the detergent, beef, and milk.

Friday evening was the traditional festival of lights parade and tree lighting ceremony. The weather cooperated nicely: not too cold and no rain or snow. There was a great turnout of people – much more than on some years when it was wet and soggy.

Late Saturday afternoon after collecting the mail at the Post Office I went back to Lee’s Clothing where I purchased the Nordic sweater I had picked out.

Perspective: Once Upon a Time vs. Grimm

I’ve now watched all currently broadcast episodes: that is three for Once Upon a Time (OUaT) and two for Grimm.

My impressions after watching the first episode of each was that I preferred OUaT over Grimm. After watching what is available up to now, my impression remains the same. Why is that?

A few days ago our younger daughter mentioned something about character-driven vs. action-driven plots in regards to writing a novel. That got me thinking about these two TV shows. Both have a similar point of origin: take fairytale and fantasy characters, place them in the modern world and develop stories around them. But the two shows couldn’t be any similar beyond that point.

In OUaT the characters suffer a curse, cast by the Evil Queen, in their home world and are dumped into a small town of Storybrooke in Maine. Their memories of their pasts are forgotten, and it is going to take the daughter, Emma (who knows nothing of the curse), of Prince Charming and Snow White to break the curse. The story contains action (mostly in the fantasy world), certainly, but that is not the primary focus. The focus is on how these characters interact with one another and grow. The interactions between the protagonist, Emma, and the antagonist, Regina (mayor, formerly the Evil Queen) primarily push the plot forward.

Grimm is a detective drama set in Portland, Oregon. It would be an ordinary crime-fighting drama except for the twist that characters from Grimm’s Fairy Tales are alive and well in the present day world, and most of them are not nice. It is up to the descendants of the Grimm family to destroy these evil creatures. Nick, the protagonist and detective, is one of them. At the opening of the series he does not know this, and only slowly begins to accept that he is different. Nick’s character develops as he responds to the surprises and challenges thrown at him. Nearly all of the antagonists exist for just a single episode, to fulfill parts required by the action. The only antagonists that have appeared in both episodes so far, and only briefly, are the shadowy Police Captain Renard and a hag.

OUaT seems to better fit the character-driven story while Grimm is more an action-driven one. OUaT feels innovative and new whereas Grimm seems more a reinvention of a standard crime-suspense drama.

My personal taste apparently runs toward character-driven stories. Of all the Star Trek TV series, I preferred Deep Space Nine because the characters really grew and fleshed out over the seven seasons. My favorite series was Babylon 5, again because it was about the characters and their interactions.

Or maybe because I’m Japanese and have been raised on and exposed to character-driven dramas. NHK’s Sunday evening epic historical-fiction dramas would be a prime example. A single series runs weekly for a year. Everyone knows the story already so it is definitely about the characters, often minor ones that are given life through the series. NHK also airs a series that runs 15-minutes a day, Monday through Saturday, for six months per series. There can’t be much action that takes place in 15 minutes (actually less because there is intro and closing), so again it is about the characters.

The point of my rambling is to report that both OUaT and Grimm are worth watching, depending on your tastes. I personally hope that OUaT is picked up for the rest of the season and gets additional ones, unlike so many ABC series of late.

Japan Trip Memories

		Japan Trip 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Calm Between Storms

The past week has been quite rainy and stormy. The clouds broke and the sun came through this morning, however – a respite before another storm system is forecast to hit this evening.

I went out to the beach and walked to Hungry Point and back. Click on image below to view the album.

Mushrooms

A couple of Sundays ago I attended a mushroom workshop where we learned to identify a few of the easily identified edible mushrooms in the area. I’ve gone out since and collected some of them.

Winter Chanterelles

Angel Wing Mushrooms

Hedgehog Mushroom

The Winter Chanterelles are fairly plentiful nearby. On the trail I use, I’ve only seen the Angel Wings in three locations. I happened to stumble across the Hedgehog along the path.

There are real Chanterelles on the island – just farther away and I have to find them. There are also supposed to be larger Hedgehogs also, but again, requires a longer drive.

Turning off IPv6 might fix WiFi connectivity in Windows 7

I got a call from our daughter on her way to Fairbanks, panicked when her new Windows 7 notebook wouldn’t connect to WiFi on the plane or at the Anchorage airport. She also said she had the same problem with one of our routers at home.

After sleuthing around on various tech support FAQs, KBs, and forums, I learned that Windows 7 and some routers don’t get along with the default Windows 7 network installation of IPv6.

I have a WiFi adapter on my desktop and voila! I experienced a similar issue. I hadn’t ever tried WiFi on the desktop because it is wired to the network. With the default settings I could see the router, but whenever I tried to connect to it, it would say it could not. As soon as I went in and turned off IPv6 protocol for the adapter, I was able to connect.

So for anyone needing step-by-step, here it is:

1. Go to Control Panel –> Network and Internet –> Network and Sharing Center

2. You should see something like the following.

3. On the left side, click Change Adapter Settings. You should see a window with a list of network adapters.

4. Right-click on the Wireless Network Connection item. If you see more than one, you should select the hardware one (not any that read “virtual”). Select Properties from the popup menu.

5. Deselect the TCP/IPv6 item and click OK.

6. Try to connect. Hopefully this will solve the WiFi connectivity issue you are experiencing.

Summer Sunrise

I wasn't planning to be out at sunrise, but Shelley discovered she had left the car switch on overnight. (She was going out to work.) I got up to hook up the battery charger and saw the colors in the sky. Running up to the house, and then back down to the beach, running over the uneven rocks, barnacles, muscles, and seaweed, I was able to catch the sight of this sunrise

Album

Pink salmon and roe

Today’s catch was two pinks – one male, one female – 21 inches, and 22 inches.

While fishing, after I had caught the first one, a ferry went by at a fairly rapid clip. I know that ferries displace a considerable amount of water, resulting in large swells and surf along the shore. I miscalculated how much surf would come crashing through. I had my tackle high enough, but I thought the fish would be fine where it was. When the waves came in I realized I would have to hold on to the fish to keep it from getting washed away. As a result I was hit with water from head to toe. I was wearing a long jacket so it kept most of my uppers dry, but from about thigh down, my jeans and shoes were completely soaked. (I still have water in one of my ears from getting hit with the water.)

Pink salmon roe is noticeably larger and lighter in color than the silver roe. You can see the huge color difference in the photo below. If you look closely, you can see the size difference as well. I needed a jar for the new roe, so I had to finish off the silver caviar (on rice) from the first silver catch from last Thursday.

I also baked some of the silver from Saturday. This is one of three filets I baked tonight. Cook’s Illustrated had simple oven-baked directions – start in a very hot oven (500F), then immediately lower it (275F) and let the filet bake at the lowering temperature until done (about 9-13 minutes). I must say it turned our quite well – better than my previous attempts using the broiler.

Sermon: Serving God

This sermon was given at the Presbyterian Church on July 31, 2011.

MP3, 6.5MB

Sermon: Our Healer

This sermon was given at the Presbyterian Church on July 10, 2011.

MP3, 12.4 MB

Two more cohos and a rainbow (not trout)

I went down to the beach this afternoon to see if I could grab any more salmon. Turns out I ended up with two cohos (silvers - 銀鮭). Both fought hard. With the first one the line got caught in some large seaweed. It was also high tide with the water line into the rocks, so I couldn’t just slide the fish onto the beach. Just as I was trying to figure out how to land it, someone came by to dump some stuff into the water. He helped grab the fish. With the second one I had gotten it tired and weakened, but still couldn’t figure out how to land it on the rocks. As I began to work it into a nook, it jerked and snapped the line. I jumped into the water, slipping a bit, and getting wet from about thighs down. But the fish was too weak to go anywhere and I was able to grab it and bring it onto the rocks. Both were females and I got a large amount of roe as a bonus. All this makes up for losing a brand new lure today.

Two cohos, on the rocks. Both about 26 inches long. Top one weighing in about 5.5 lbs., the bottom one about 6.0 lbs.

Ready to be fileted. But I didn’t feel like doing the work at the time so I wrapped them whole and placed them in the refrigerator. Maybe tomorrow.

Roe (筋子) curing in brine.

When I went down to dump the fish guts into the water, I saw a nice rainbow. I ran back up to the house and ran back down with a camera, but the rainbow had already faded considerably. You can still see some here.

It’s been cloudy and rainy all week, but the clouds broke for some sun today.

A good run of salmon

After returning from Hawaii, I’ve been out fishing an hour or so each day. I’ve caught three pinks and one silver during the last three days. I heard that there were orcas in the waters today, feeding vigorously. I think I’ve already nearly equaled the salmon catch I had last year.

Here is a pink (カラフトマス) that I caught today – 22 inches, 3.5 pounds.

Here is my first silver (銀鮭) of the year – 27 inches, 6.5 pounds.

Here is the same silver, fileted and it was a female with roe so some ikura (イクラ).

Maui vacation photos

Here are links to photo albums of our vacation to Maui, July 13-25.
Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4
Album 5
Album 6
Album 7
Album 8
Album 9
Album 10
Album 11

Three Lakes Hike

Okay, we didn’t make it to all three. We got to Crane and Hill Lakes. Instead of going to Sand Lake, we decided to venture out to Ideal Cove and back.

The day was sunny and very, very warm… Okay, it was HOT. On the drive back home, the outside temperature reading hit 80F. But it was definitely a good day to go on a long hike.

Outing to LeConte Glacier

Today was Memorial Day. It was a warm and sunny day. My dad, sister, Shelley, and I went out with Gerry to LeConte Glacier. Unfortunately there was too much ice at the mouth to allow us to get very close. We managed to push through the ice to get in enough to at least be able to see the glacier.

We saw sea lions, sea gulls, seals, and bald eagles along the route.

Sermon: More Stubborn Than a Donkey

I filled in at the Presbyterian Church today. Here is the audio of my sermon.

Sermon Audio – MP3 – 13.8MB

Baccalaureate Sermon

Tonight, the Petersburg Christian Ministerial Association sponsored the Baccalaureate for the graduating class. I had the privilege of giving the sermon.

Audio Link – MP3 – 9.3MB

Word Document – 50KB – the last page is something I had thought about using, but found the social network research that I used in its stead.

Little Norway Parade

Here is video from yesterday’s Little Norway Parade.

Senior class parade through downtown

The seniors were taken from class for an early lunch period. The theme: Magic School Bus. A noise parade through downtown and then they went to Sandy Beach Park where they were given invitations to Op-Grad.