Major Fire in Cochrane!

This afternoon, we became aware of a fire which had started in the Tembec wood chip yard on the east side of Cochrane. While most of the fire is obscured by the building, various angles reveal a raging blaze. Although a fire bomber was called in, they only succeeded in dousing part of the burning area before the cover of darkness forced them to land. Currently, at 10:15 pm, the fire is still raging, making the billowing smoke glow an erie orange in the night sky.

Update @ 11 pm: We just returned from taking a short drive to a couple of vantage points of the still-raging fire. The glowing smoke is still dominating the eastern night sky over Cochrane.

Photos by Cameron Donaldson

Disassembling a Hard Drive

Last week at work, a friend and I disassembled an old computer HD which had died. Neither of us had ever seen the inside of a hard drive before (except in pictures), so we figured it would be a good opportunity to check it out. A few screws and a bit of prying removed the cover to expose the inner workings.
A few moments later, various pieces were out of the case and lying on my desk. We were probably most surprised by the incredible polish on the actual disk, which seemed to be more reflective than a mirror!

Cochrane hosts evacuees

"For the third time in a year, Cochrane is one of the host communities for the evacuees from Kashechewan First Nation after a state of emergency was declared on April 22nd."

Photo by Cochrane Times-Post

Be Still

“I have a friend whose whole life plan consists of keeping questions at bay. ‘Keep yourself surrounded by sound,’ Ed says, ‘always keep moving.’ When he’s driving, he keeps the radio on in his car. When he walks in the house (he lives alone), he turns on the stereo or the TV. He never allows himself to be alone with himself. Drumming fingers on the windowpane, it’s as if he senses a presence at the window. He doesn’t like to go out into the country. He avoids the mountains, the wind, the quiet fields; they make him nervous. He likes to keep busy. The strange thing about life in America: it often seems designed to block our questioning out. It’s so busy, it can rush us into death before we’ve ever had a chance to stop and think. We might never really stop to ask ‘why?’” - Michael Novak

In Proverbs 4:26, the Bible reminds us to, “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.”

Let us take a moment today to just be still and ponder our path.

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2

Yesterday, Microsoft released the next preview of it's new Internet Explorer 7 browser. I've been using the new browser (which includes tabs, feeds, and a much slimmer profile then IE6) since it's initial beta release and except for some instability (which is expected since it's in beta), I like it alot. This latest release also includes free phone support, which they hope will encourage more people to try out the Beta 2 of IE7.

Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Download

60 billion emails sent daily worldwide

"Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion emails every day and many of these are spam or scam attempts, business leaders said on Tuesday"

Palm Keyboard

I recently purchased (from eBay!), and have since received, a portable keyboard for my Palm. Since I paid a good price, it was a bit of an experiment to see how well it would actually work. So far, I am pleased with the device, and think it will enable me to take effective lecture notes on the Palm. Has anyone else tried a similar keyboard? If so, what has your experience been using it?

Wilderness Rapids

Update: More images now posted on my photo journal here.

On Saturday, a friend took Cameron and I hiking north of Cochrane. After an hour-long canoe ride, we hiked another 2.5 hours to a set of rapids where we ate lunch. The power of the spring-run-off-charged river as it pounded over the rocks was astonishing.

The return trip went a little more quickly since the terrain was now somewhat familiar. We arrived back exhausted but certainly satisfied with the day's expedition.

AudioBlogger Test Post!

To love at all is to be vulnerable

I recently again heard a quote which is worthy of remembering, repeating, and reflecting upon. C.S. Lewis, in his book "The Four Loves" wrote:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully 'round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love, is Hell."

Evidence of absence?

One of many facinating lectures I have listened to recently was by Dr. William Lane Criag. In his lecture on "Religious Epistemology", Dr. Craig examines the the rationality and warrant of religious truth claims, such as the one that God exists.

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

Dr. Craig states, "Unsatisfied with the evidence we have, some atheists have argued that God, if He existed, would have prevented the world’s unbelief by making His existence starkly apparent (say, by inscribing the label “Made by God” on every atom or planting a neon cross in the heavens with the message “Jesus Saves.”) But why should God want to do such a thing? ... there is no reason at all to think that if God were to make His existence more manifest, more people would come into a saving relationship with Him."

"In fact, we have no way of knowing that in a world of free creatures in which God’s existence is as obvious as the nose on your face that more people would come to love Him and know His salvation than in the actual world."

European Leadership Forum Resource Center

A few months ago, my brother discovered a wonderful website called the ELF Resource Center. Featuring speakers such as Jay Smith with the Brethren in Christ Mission, this site currently offers more then 600 hours of MP3 audio downloads of lectures in three main categories:

• Christian apologetics
• Leadership
• Theology

The stated vision of the forum is "Identifying critical leadership needs, and seeking to be a bridge to the best resources to meet those needs." The wealth of information made available from some of the world's foremost speakers is outstanding.

Photo Contest Win!

Recently, my brother and I entered a photo contest sponsored by the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane. The contest results were recently announced: I won first and second place, with my brother taking the honorable mention. Check out the winning photos on the Polar Bear Habitat website.

New-to-me Palm Zire 71

Last week, a guy I work with bought a new Palm to replace his slightly-buggy Zire 71. He gave me the Zire 71, which has a few glitches but otherwise is still functional, in case I could find some use for it.

Since I have been looking to purchase an MP3 player recently, I was happy to note this Palm includes that ability. Equipped with my 1 gig SD card, there's plenty of room for music and audio lectures.

So, I'm quite pleased with my new Palm...even if it's not perfect, the price was right!

Conflict of Seasons

Walking to the office this morning, the GM of the company where I work commented to me about an observation he made regarding the vehicles in the parking lot. The conflict of seasons at this time of year is evident by the fact some pickup truck beds still have a snowmobile, while other people have a 4-wheeler in back. Evidently, at this time of year it's hard to decide which recreational vehicle to haul around!

From the Photo Archives: June 2002

Sunset over Lake Commando, Cochrane, Ontario
Taken with my first digital camera: a 2.1 megapixel HP PhotoSmart 315

Dog + Unicycle = Stares

The last couple of days I have taken our dog Tippy for a walk unicycle around the lake in the middle of town. To clarify: I ride the unicycle and the dog trots beside me. Anyway, by now, most of the residents are somewhat used to seeing one unicycle (even two unicycles, when my brother comes for a ride as well), but when a dog is thrown into the mix, it's enough to make even adults point and stare! So, while the dog and I get some exercise, I'm glad to also bring a smile to a few people's faces.

Update: photo...

Must. find. snow.

Here is a photo of snowmobile tracks along and across a bare gravel road a couple of days ago. Obviously, someone really needed to get to the next patch of ever-depleting snow!

Have a Satellite to Launch?

A company called Sea-Launch provides a service to launch spacecraft from a platform in the ocean. So far, they have performed 18 launches, with another scheduled for April 11. Obviously someone has lots of cash available! This is not something I ever plan on using, but a fascinating concept none-the-less!

He's Divin' In!

On Saturday, Cameron, his friend Jed, and myself took advantage of the spring-like conditions to haul out our bikes and go for a ride! After various planned and un-planned wipe-outs, the collection culminated with this one by Cameron into water !

View the short video clip here (~1.3 MB)

Office 2007 UI

Update: I realize today is a unstable day to post information online! However, please rest assured the following is not meant as a joke or hoax...

As someone who uses Microsoft Office almost every day, both at work and at home, I was looking forward to more information about the re-designed UI (user interface) expected for Office 2007. Recently, Microsoft released a ~13 minute video showing Office 2007 in action:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/ui/demo.mspx

Looks like it will be a great improvement...now we just have to wait for the (ever changing) release date!