Quote of the Day: 30 November 2017

“[I]f a tool works for you, fine; if it doesn't, adapt it, modify it, or try a new one.” -Michael Doyle & David Straus

[While this was said about a method of running meetings, the sentiment applies as well to other uses of tools.]

Forest Grove Police log excerpt, 29 November 2017

The log entry from the record of local police activity for this week is about a suspicious individual.

Nov. 17 - Officers contacted a man seen talking to a shrub near a shopping center. The man explained that he was looking for sniper positions while waiting for the bus. Police contacted the same man sometime later for activating a flashing cross-walk at random, blocking traffic on a busy street. He was instructed to cease and desist, which he did without incident.

 Some weeks are more interesting than others. This was the best entry for this week. I can think of completely benign reasons for these activities, but it is much more likely that this individual is malicious, or suffering from mental health issues.

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2017

“‘I’m stupid about guns but I have really strong feelings’ will never be a rational argument for banning guns.” -J.R. Salzman

[And yet, people will continue to attempt to use it as one.]

Quote of the Day: 28 November 2017

“I suspect [French toast] really was invented in France because the ubiquitous baguette is composed of nearly fat-free or ‘lean’ dough, which goes stale very quickly.” -Alton Brown

[Happy French Toast Day! That's good stuff.]

Quote of the Day: 27 November 2017

“Shoot for yourself, but share your art with the world.” -Alex Buisse

Quote of the Day: 26 November 2017

“Many people hear the word disciple and think it means only ‘follower.’ But genuine discipleship is a state of being. This suggests more than studying and applying a list of individual attributes. Disciples live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry.” -Robert D. Hales

Quote of the Day: 25 November 2017

“You know, we never talk about how great of a word ‘burgle’ is” -Scott Kamenitsa

[It really is.]

Quote of the Day: 24 November 2017

“U put your right knee down

U put your left knee out

U put your right fist up & shake it all about

Do the Wokey Pokey & turn yourself around” -David Burge

Quote of the Day: 23 November 2017

“I figure Thanksgiving partakes of the same feeling, the feeling of having worked hard and now having enough to see you through the winter ahead. It’s the feeling of harvest festivals in every culture, as far back as we can go.” -Sarah Hoyt

[Happy Thanksgiving! This is truly my favorite holiday. Because it's all about giving thanks. You can make it about eating, or overindulgence if you want, but to me it will always be about gratitude.]

Forest Grove Police log excerpt, 22 November 2017

This week's excerpt from the log of local police activity brings us a tale of religious intolerance.

November 11* A woman flagged down an officer to report that a cult was operating in a nearby field and had left bodies and blood scattered in the area. Officers initially found nothing unusual in the area, however they followed up with the woman on a second call and found her wearing a surgical mask and holding a bag full of what were later determined to be animal bones. They determined no crime had occurred.

 This woman was so determined that the police investigate this cult, that she was either collecting evidence herself, or planting it. I don't know which, but the conclusion that no crime had occurred leads me to think that she was planting evidence for the police to investigate.

Quote of the Day: 22 November 2017

“Why should parents alone determine what is and what is not acceptable education? But why not parents? To whose hearts are the interests of children closer?” -Sheldon Richman

Quote of the Day: 21 November 2017

“This had better not be some accountant trick to make me look at a spreadsheet.” -Earl Harbinger in Monster Hunter Siege

Quote of the Day: 20 November 2017

“No government is ever really in favor of so-called civil rights. It always tries to whittle them down. They are preserved under all governments, in so far as they survive at all, by special classes of fanatics, often highly dubious.” -H. L. Mencken

[This is why our government is set up as a grant from the people with limited powers. It is sad to see people who should understand this, fail to grasp the concept.]

Quote of the Day: 19 November 2017

“Adversity should not be viewed as either disfavor from the Lord or a withdrawal of His blessings. Opposition in all things is part of the refiner’s fire to prepare us for an eternal celestial destiny.” -Quentin L. Cook

Quote of the Day: 18 November 2017

“True, the free market ignores the poor precisely as it does not recognize the wealthy–it is ‘no respecter of persons.’ It is an organizational way of doing things featuring openness, which enables millions of people to cooperate and compete without demanding a preliminary clearance of pedigree, nationality, color, race, religion, or wealth. It demands only that each person abide by voluntary principles, that is, by fair play. The free market means willing exchange; it is impersonal justice in the economic sphere and excludes coercion, plunder, theft, protectionism, subsidies, special favors from those wielding power, and other anti-free market methods by which goods and services change hands. It opens the way for mortals to act morally because they are free to act morally.” -Leonard E. Read

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2017

“Now if there was one thing that the animals were completely certain of, it was that they did not want Jones back.” -George Orwell

[There are plenty of things that people collectively agree they are certain they don't want. How to accomplish that, they don't agree about, but assume they do.]

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2017

“Keep pressing home on him the ordinariness of things. Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defense against Christianity. They will positively encourage him to think about realities he can't touch and see.” -Screwtape

Forest Grove Police Log Excerpt, 15 November 2017

Here is the excerpt from the log of local police activity for the week. I always enjoy these.

Nov. 4
- A hotel employee called police after finding what appeared to be drugs while cleaning a room. Officers tested the substance and identified it as sugar; it was disposed of.

Well, there's at least one naive hotel employee, so I don't have to feel so bad about not being able to identify drugs myself. Though I doubt I would mistake sugar for drugs unless it was intentionally made to appear like drugs.

Nov. 6
- A church reported that the lock on their message board had been broken and the words changed from a religious exhortation to "Satin lives."

I am so glad we have vandals in our town that are so concerned with the state of satin. I had never before considered whether it was alive or not. Or, more likely, we have some fairly stupid vandals that are unaware of how to properly spell "Satan".

Quote of the Day: 15 November 2017

“The fact is, there’s nothing about government that makes it less ‘greedy’ than the average guy or the average institution. Indeed, there’s every reason to believe that adding political power to natural self-interest is a sure-fire recipe for magnifying the harm that greed can do.” -Lawrence W. Reed

Quote of the Day: 14 November 2017

“[I]t’s very hard to get things done when you’re a supreme ruler. There's too many people in the way, mucking things up.” -Lu-Tze, Thief of Time

[This is something so many conspiracy theorists don't comprehend.]

Quote of the Day: 13 November 2017

“Large profits mean large pay rolls. But profits must be the result of service performed.” -Calvin Coolidge

[This so succinctly expresses the relationship between investment and jobs, as well as the role of the profit motive. Coolidge was an expert at explaining things in a way that is logical and clearly put.]

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2017

“We understand that it is impossible to say that we love God while at the same time hating, dismissing, or disregarding others around us.” -Dean M. Davies

Quote of the Day: 11 November 2017

“Better than honor or glory, and history's iron pen,

Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.” -Richard Watson Gilder

[Happy Veterans Day. And thank you to all who have served.]

Quote of the Day: 10 November 2017

“‘Ordinary’ Americans are so much better than the people who think they're better than them.” -Andrew Klavan

Quote of the Day: 9 November 2017

“Fool-shooting guns should be selected for fool-shooting utility and nothing else.” -Tamara Keel

[I appreciate Tam's ability to phrase things succinctly, and in a pithy manner.]

Forest Grove Police Log excerpt, 8 November 2017

Here's the excerpt from the log of local police activity for this week.

October 27* A woman came into the police department to report that her neighbors had said rude things to her. Officers explained that while impolite, it is not against the law to be rude to others.

I didn't expect it to be different, and I do hope for a more congenial world, but I am glad that rudeness is not illegal.

Quote of the Day: 8 November 2017

“Alas, what looks great on paper, doesn't necessarily work great in real life.” -Brad Torgersen

[Isn't that always the way?]

Quote of the Day: 7 November 2017

“The safer the district, the loonier the politician.” -David Burge

[Happy election day. Vote responsibly.]

Quote of the Day: 6 November 2017

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one[.]” -Edmund Burke

We went to the zoo

Yesterday, my family and I went to the Portland Zoo. This was something I've been thinking about for a couple of weeks. Going to the zoo was one of the activities that my wife suggested I do while she was busy at the conference in Austin. So, with a relatively dry Saturday on offer, we took The Pup to the zoo. This was his second visit, and my first.

Here are a few shots I took while we were there.

None of the animals were very active, save a few of the smaller birds and, surprisingly, the giraffe. The tiger was downright lethargic.

In one of the smaller gift shops in the zoo The Pup saw a plush tiger, and got very excited about it. He was quite distraught that we did not get it for him.

This is only the third zoo I've ever gone to, and the other two are Utah's Hogle Zoo, and the San Diego Zoo. Overall, I'm reserving judgment until I can see the zoo in warmer conditions. It was unusually cool weather here yesterday.

Quote of the Day: 5 November 2017

“When we give our heart to the Father and the Son, we change our world—even if circumstances around us do not change.” -Neill F. Marriott

*Snerk*

Joe Huffman shared this post at his blog.

I laughed.

Quote of the Day: 4 November 2017

“Think about it - every single corpse on Mt. Everest was once a highly motivated person.” -@MollyCocktail

Quotes out of Context: Firearms or Photography? Edition

Here's the quote:

“[T]ry not to be sucked in the endless gear discussions vortex that is sadly so common on many internet boards. People who spend their time there are usually the ones who don’t shoot very much.”

Which do you think? Said about a gun enthusiast or a photographer?

Quote of the Day: 3 November 2017

“[I]n the last resort, a remedy must be obtained from the people, who can, by the election of more faithful representatives, annul the acts of the usurpers.” -James Madison, The Federalist No. 44

[If the electorate would exercise their prerogative rather than allow it to languish, many of the poor bits of legislation would have been prevented. It would also show that term limits are not strictly necessary.]

Quote of the Day: 2 November 2017

“Sometimes the truth is unpalatable, and telling it will get people mad at you. And yet, you must still tell it, because without the truth you have nothing but a growing fog of lies that will kill you as surely as any bomb or any enemy.” -Sarah Hoyt

[We as a society do not value truth enough. We are far too permissive about letting lies stand.]

My first bleg

So, I'm hoping that my efforts have resulted in some small readership here.

In the #APicADay series of posts over the past month I've shared some of my learning experience with photography. It was also a way for me to gauge my interest in going deeper into photography as a hobby. As a result I have decided I am interested in pursuing it further. However, I do not have much experience at this point. So, I have some questions I'd like to have answers to from more experienced photographers.

APS-C vs. Full-Frame sensor: Is this a big deal? I'll just be getting my feet wet with interchangeable lens cameras. Is it worth me spending the extra money for the larger sensor when the smaller sensor can use lenses for either?

Canon, Nikon, Sony: What are your preferences and why? I have heard many people say that it doesn't matter that much. But, there are people with definite preferences, which must exist for some reason.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR: This might be more clear at this time, but getting less clear as time goes on. It seems that currently Sony is the only company putting out a quality mirrorless ILC. But as they become more capable in the future, will I have made the right choice?

Anyway, I'm currently leaning toward a Nikon D7500, though I haven't fully made up my mind. A D500, or D750 would also be nice. I've done more looking at the Nikon models because I have an affinity for their optics expertise from other areas. I am open to having my mind changed though.

I do have two fast dogs, that I'd like to be able to take decent photos of, and my current bridge camera is just not up to the task. I'm also interested in macro photography.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Forest Grove Police log excerpt, 1 November 2017

This week's excerpt from the log of local police activity:

October 25* A caller reported a man screaming to himself and riding inside a shopping cart down a busy road. Officers were unable to locate him.

I would have liked to have seen this. However, I was out of town in Texas at the time. Anyway, it's nice to know that the police are made aware of things like this going on.

Quote of the Day: 1 November 2017

"[T]hough individual oppression may now and then proceed from the courts of justice, the general liberty of the people can never be endangered from that quarter: I mean, so long as the judiciary remains truly distinct from both the legislature and the executive." -Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 78

[We've drifted far from the founders' intent.]