Reading 12-26-4

      I finished Umberto Eco's Focault's Pendulum, which was an exciting, though rather information laden novel. It definately had a bunch of references to arcane fraternities (as that was kindof the plot of the book). Anyway, it was an interesting read, and it will be interesting to someday read The Bible Code, to see how much fiction he lifted from Eco.
     I finished Vol 1. of The Complete Works of Jonathan Edwards. That signifies that I am halfway through with reading Edwards. Some spectacular highlights were his sections on Religious Affections, Justification by Faith Alone, and the preface of the Humble Inquiry: Communion. The list of theological questions at the end of the volume was pretty impressive, also.
      For the upcoming reading, I will be delving into the second volume of Edwards. I also ordered the book Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, Trans. by Michael Biggins. It is the history of Hassan ibn Sabbah. From whom we get the words Assasin, and Hashish. What a colorful character! I have a few other books added to my reading list, that I have yet to acquire: Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward, The White Company, Sir Nigel, Treasure Island and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.

Website Stats

The website has almost reached almot 40,000 page hits. I think that googlebot and some indexers helped a bit with that. Still, it is nice to see some decent traffic on one's website. It's been really nice to have a camera again, also.New additions of late include the "Mystery Photo" section on the left. There are also some improvements to the member interface, for those that have registered. The theme was revamped for the holidays! Hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Reading 12-19-4

     I picked up Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. It's been immensely interesting. It is certainly a well written book, with thousands of allusions to other books and topics and learning in general. It seems to be in the same genre as the bible code, though it was published in 1987. I've also been keeping up with the Jonathan Edwards, and am now about ¾ done with volume 1.
      I've also been looking through The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy, which is more interesting everytime I read through it. Especially after reading the Black Arrow, having to do with the war of the Roses. The first time I read through it was in preparation for my trip to Europe in 2002.

Indian Bathtub 2 Hot Springs

After my trek to Bruneau Sand Dunes, I was off to find the fabled Indian Bathtub 2 Hot Springs, which I knew to be in the area. After hiking about six miles up the side river, because my Ford Mustang Covertible 4x4 kit and lift kit didn't arrive in the mail yet. Otherwise, I would have sped down the four wheel drive roads to arrive at the springs post haste, but the four inch clearance on my car doesn't agree with that. After finally locating the springs, I then relized i was on the other side of the river, and had to ford the river. However, it was not deep, and it was totally worth the minute of freezing water. The upper pool even looks a little like Mickey Mouse.

Bruneau Sand Dunes

I visited the fabled Bruneau Sand Dunes, as per my earlier plans. The weather was excellent for December, a high of 52° with the low there being around 35°. The dunes were excellent, and it was quite a workout hiking around them. The wind was blowing at the top, so some of the pictures appeared grainy, but there was good reason for that. I had the entire state park to myself, as the photo of the parking lot will attest. It was a great experience to have your own state park, and that is one of the reasons I really love idaho.

Sam and Max

So, the latest computer game I've been playing is Sam and Max: Hit the Road!

Reading Railroad 12-10-4

     Well, I haven't cracked Edwards in a couple weeks and instead made myself busy with Herodotus and Vanhoozer. Now, I've descended back into Historical Fiction. I just finished the Black Arrow, by Robert Louis Stephenson. It was a great read! It was on a list of many great books that motivated Terry Brooks to write. And there are more there! I'm hoping that Santa might leave a few for me to keep busy with.
     In other news, I've been reading about classical sculpture for a project I am working on. Mostly about methods of carving and working with stone, particularly marble and granite.

Camera + Batteries + Epoxy

After not taking pictures for about four months (since August really), I got out and took some today. The rain was pouring horrendously, so it made for some cold and wet weather. I treked downtown to the park, and took some photos. It was deserted. This summer, the battery door on my camera broke, so that it would pop open at any time (and lately, if it wasn't taped shut or being held). Anyway, I sold the camera on eBay, with a good description of its problems. However, the buyer was not able to get it working, and maybe helped it along a little, so that when it was returned, it did not work at all. I took it apart, and have played with it, and let it sit for a few months, and it seems to be working now, apart for the battery door. That is, until yesterday.

Ye Olde Wyntertyme

It's about time for a news update! As the holiday season is upon us, i've been working on reading and drinking coffee. I've also been thinking about being a security guard of a baggage handler until I go back to school. I think I would enjoy either one of those. I've fixed numerous people's computers. I redesigned the webpage for the church I currently am attending. They now have a database driven website, where the administrators have the ability to upload files, pictures, video, and information without having to do any html. Although, a little html always helps things look much better. Plus, database driven means dynamic content, which is far easier to change things. As you can change one thing in one place that affects the whole site, rather than having to change them all. While there are programs that make it easier to do this in html (dreamweaver, frontpage), database driven is a far easier option.

Herodotus - Reading 12-3-4

Finished The Histories by Herodotus. A nice overview of the events of the middle east and Persia from a Greek view circa 425 B.C. Herodotus writes mostly about the cultures of the middle east and the mediterannean. He give his theories, some of which are rather hilarious, about the origins of many different things. Such as the vicious Arabian flying snakes! The Histories deal alot with the Assyrian and Persian conquests, and the Greek battle of Thermopylae and Platea stand out strongly. It was interesting to read of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians (Spartans), particularly from a Greek viewpoint of the timeperiod. Herodotus chronicles pretty much all the interesting or notable events up to the beginning of the Peloponnesian wars.