Go Ahead Turkey, Jump!

Would you be interested in a new ministry? Suicide Jumper Assistant. Don’t threaten to jump from the bridge when Lian Jiansheng is around. He will help you jump, rather, he will push you off the bridge.

Lian was an observer at a possible suicide jumper event in the city of Guangzhou in southern China. Chen Fuchao had been atop the Haizhu Bridge, threatening to jump for 5 hours.

Traffic was held up for those five hours as a crowd gathered. Chen sat on the bridge, threatening to jump. Lian offered to talk Chen down but police refused. Lian then broke through the police cordon, climbed to where Chen was sitting, shook his hand and pushed him off the bridge.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lian told Xinhua news agency. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Chen is recovering from his fall in the hospital, Lian is in police custody at last report.

There is no information on Lian. Beyond his comments, why did he feel compelled to give Chen a hand? He was probably in the five hour traffic tie-up at the bridge. He grew weary of waiting for Chen. He decided to do something, even if it was wrong.
Don’t you feel like that sometimes? “Go ahead and jump if you have to, just get out of the way. You are holding things up.” That is not very compassionate nor Christ like but sometimes we grow weary in helping the hurting. One of the hazards of serving the Lord is compassion fatigue. Several times Paul warned the church to not get tired of doing the right thing.

“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (NASB95). See also Galatians 6:9

Here’s wishing you patience for today.

AT Journal

Jen and I have been reading the journal of our AT hike day by day as it happened two years ago. Every day was an awesome experience. Of course reading it in my easy chair I don't feel the knee pain. By now I was existing on 3200 mg of Ibuprophen per day. That is maximum dose, but I knew I would not be smart to keep it up for another 4 or 5 months.

That isn't what I wanted to blog. I wanted to write down the awesome experience we had. We had opportunity to enjoy life, one another, new friends, and develop a new kind of relationship with the Lord. The mind is an incredible thing, and as you hike, hour after hour, day after day, you can spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation.

We are aproaching Virginia in the Journal. 150 miles from our drop out place. How you can be so thrilled and so sad reading a journal you wrote only two years ago is beyond me.

Appalachian Trail Redux

March 15 arrived and our thoughts returned to Georgia, 2007 when we set out to hike the AT. We have been reading the journal of our travel, reminding ourselves of the experience. Last night we had a serious conversation about whether or not we should give it another try. We agreed that if we were to do it at this point, we would want to return to Georgia and start all over. We also agreed that it is impractical to even think about.

Today I am working on Lectures for a Doctoral class on relationships I will present in May. Jen has already left for her shift at the hospital. (It is 6:16 AM) Two years ago we were hiking out of Hiawassee, Georgia and crossed into North Carolina. We hiked 11.6 miles that day, almost all of it was uphill. Life is much different in 2009 than 2007.

Today I have to go to the gym to get an hour’s workout, then this afternoon I will walk 3-4 miles with Uma and the rest of the day will be spent sitting on my hinder. Then I was on my feet all day long with maybe an hour on my hinder all day. Then I was possessed with finding water, today I am stressed confining my liquid intake to water. Then I was satisfied with a tortilla spread with peanut butter and honey, today’s lunch will be significantly more complex I am sure. Then a cup of instant coffee hit the spot. Today I am about to have my third cup of brewed coffee from gourmet beans we purchase by mail. Then I was looking for places to put everything, my bag, my groceries for the week, my water bottle, the pump, etc. Today I am wondering where the best place to put the piano would be, and whether or not we can let Amy take the sofa that is in the basement den. Then I was wondering about the best way to put duct tape on my feet to avoid blisters. Today we are thinking of getting a new car before the tax credit runs out on hybrids. Then I was deciding which shirt combination would be the best to wear to combat the weather. Today I am wondering if the weather will return to warm enough to play golf on Thursday or Friday. Yes, life is different, but life is still life.

The tree is a trail landmark, about 100 yards after passing into North Carolina. My thoughts are with the fine folks who will be camping at Muskrat Creek Shelter, North Carolina tonight. There is a great campsite about 30 yards on up the trail from the turnoff to the shelter.

Customer Service that is really Service

Let me pause among all my criticisms for a moment of praise. I am quick to complain about poor customer service whenever it happens, like last week. . . oh wait, this is a praise blog. I want to tell you a good story about customer service.

I purchased a Magellan RoadMate 700 GPS back in 2006 when we were going to Baltimore to see our kids and our new grandson. I bought it used in an EBay auction. It worked flawlessly, but for a few Interstate exits that had been moved. One night in Nebraska we were looking for what the GPS said was a Golden Corral Steak House and turned out to be some kind of sleazy nightclub. So some of the data was a little out of date.

For 75 dollars I bought a software update and all new maps and points of interest. We were going to take another long drive, this time to Austin, Texas and decided it was time to get updated maps. Well, they came and after hooking the GPS to my computer I entered the cd rom and followed instructions. First, it erased all my old maps, then started loading the new ones. In the middle of the upload there was a file it could not copy. I called Tech Support and they suggested trying it on a computer with Windows XP Service Pack 2. My computers all have Service Pack 3. So I tried it on a Service Pack 2 computer and it failed in the same place. Now I have a GPS unit with no maps.

I called tech support back and gave them the news. They said it was probably a defect in the software on my gps unit put there when I tried installing with Service Pack 3. (Nowhere in the documentation was that fact mentioned.) It just said the installation was for Windows XP. But before I even had time to get my dander up and ready for an argument the agent said, “we don’t support the 700 anymore so if you will send us the 700 we will send you a new 800 to replace it.”

So there you go. For the price of a FedEx to Tennessee I will have a new Roadmate 800 GPS. Of course I don’t have it yet. Mine will not be delivered to them until this Wednesday. And the date for us to leave for Austin has come and gone leaving us GPS less. But we didn’t go anyway so no harm done.

I suspect that the next time I am thinking GPS, I will be thinking Magellan. That is pretty good customer service and they have one happy customer. If you are looking for a GPS unit for your car, may I suggest Magellan.

The Incommunicable Attributes of God

We had a great Theology study this morning about our great God. For two weeks we are studying the attributes of God. Next week we are going to study the attributes that God shares with others. This morning we studied the attributes that belong to God alone. He shares these with none.

We studied 5 of these. God is 1. Independent; 2. Unchanging; 3. Eternal; 4. Everywhere Present; 5. Unified. Will you read one paragraph about each of these, beginning with Wayne Grudem’s (the author of our textbook) definition?

Independence. God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation glorify him and bring him joy. (ref. Acts 17:24-25; Job 41:11; Psalm 50:10-12). Both sides of this attribute are awesome. Our God is so great and powerful that he can exist totally by himself, but he allows his creation to bring him joy. I want to serve a God that is not like me. And I am thrilled that my worship brings him glory.

Unchanging. God is unchanging in his being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations. (ref. Psalm 102:25-27; Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). If God could change, he would either change for the better or for the worse. And that is all I am going to say about that. If you need explanation send me a message. The fact that God does not change means that we can trust his promises, they will not change.

Eternity. God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time equally vividly, yet God sees events in time and acts in time. (ref. Isaiah 46:9-10; Psalm 90:2; Job 36:26; Revelation 1:8; 4:8). There are two kinds of existence. We all live in time and space. God exists outside of time and space in eternity. Because God sees all time at once, he sees even the future that for us hasn’t been written yet. Depending on your trust in God this is either a very comforting statement or a horrifying one.

Omnipresence. God does not have size or spatial dimensions, and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places. (ref. Deuteronomy 10:14; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Psalm 139:7-10). Just as God is unlimited or infinite with respect to time, so God is unlimited with respect to space. As David understood in Psalm 139, God is present to punish, to sustain, or to bless. Once again, how you feel about this attribute depends on your desire to be holy. Wholly his, or selfishly yours, it is your choice.

Unity. God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times. (ref. Compare 1 John 1:5 with 1 John 4:8). One attribute of God is not more important than the rest. God is not partly light, partly love, partly just, partly merciful, etc. God is all of these things completely. God is not loving at some point, or wrathful at some point. The little boys statement that Jesus is really nice but he has a mean father is far, far, from the truth.

This was a great study. But it was the study of a great God.

(the book, if you are interested is Grudem, Wayne, “Bible Doctrine; Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, Zondervan, 1999 which is an abridgment of Grudem’s Systematic Theology Book)

Red Sky at Morning

Red Sky at Morning: A Novel by Richard Bradford

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Looking at New Mexico magazine's issue on books, this book was listed as a favorite of most of the people, (authors) interviewed. So we ordered it.



It was a delight to read. If you have ever lived in New Mexico or wondered why we New Mexicans are so strange, this is a great read. Warning, you may have some trouble understanding some of the language even though it is all English.




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On the Origin of Species

In the current edition of World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky gives four key themes to remember when Christians are responding to evolutionists. I think these are good points to remember.


1. There is a difference between types of evolution. That there is change within a species is obvious. To say that all dogs had a common ancestor is an example of microevolution. It is false to say evolution does not exist, because microevolution is observable. But what Darwin and Darwinists want to do is to expand the concept of microevolution to evolution beyond species. That is saying that some other kind of organism became a dog. That kind of evolution is called Macroevolution and this is what we oppose.


2. DNA is complicated. “Bill Gates has said, ‘DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created.’” When you see a computer program, one thing you know is that some intelligent being created it. The same can be said of DNA.


3. Irreducible complexity. Here is what that means. “We know that cells have complex circuits, sliding clamps, energy-generating turbines, rotors, stators, O-rings, U-joints, and drive shafts. . . Each little engine depends on the coordinated function of many protein parts and doesn’t work unless all the parts are present. Could all those innovations arise sequentially, or would they all have to happen at once? Irreducible complexity says they all have to happen at once and it is a killer for Darwinists.


4. We need to debate with the evolutionist with compassion. They know there is no hope for them. They are going to die. We can share our hope in Jesus Christ. “Whosoever believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

If you would like to read Olasky's article it is online at http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14943. However, to access it will cost you $5.00 but you also get two issues of World Magazine. If you are not familiar with World I would highly recommend it to you. It is a biweekly magazine that looks at world events through a Christian worldview.

Do You Want To Be Happy?

I think I always knew this. About 25 years ago I decided that most Television was pretty much a waste of time. Since then my viewing is limited to news and sports. (24 doesn’t count because Jack Bauer sent me a message and said, “watch!” You had better do what Jack Bauer says.)

A recent study of the activities of happy people collected data from the last 34 years on social activity and media usage. What do happy people do? Well, they read, they socialize, and they go to church.

What is surprising is what happy people do not do. In the study it was determined that out of 10 activities happy people were more active in all but three. Those three were socializing at a bar, surfing the internet, and watching TV. What the study does not tell us is if those three activities contribute to our unhappiness or if they are the refuge of unhappy people.
Robinson, John P. and Martin, Stephen, What Do Happy People Do? Social Indicators Research, Vol 89: Issue 3, 12/01/2008, p. 565

So if you want to be happy, why are you surfing the blogs? Happy people are those who are serving not surfing, interacting with other people not the remote control. God did not create us to be hermits, but to make a difference in the lives of others. Countless times in the New Testament, believers are called to participate in the lives of others. Paul tells us to “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NASB95).”
Now, turn off this computer and go visit a friend. Only if it is after 9:30 don’t come over here, we are trying to be happy and happy people get plenty of sleep.

The Inauguration Of Barack Hussein Obama

OK Already! There is a news blackout at the Russell household this weekend. It is three days until the magical moment when the smartest man in America will take the reins of government from the imbecile W. and already the news channels are Barack saturated; well that and the endless reruns of the heroic pilot that saved all the people on USAir by crashing into the Hudson River instead of the World Trade Center. “We are talking now to Jonathan Doe who was in New York when the plane went down.” “Mr. Doe, What did you see?”

“Well I didn’t actually see anything but I heard all the sirens and I said to myself, ‘something big has happened in the big apple today.’”

“Mr. Doe, what color were the ambulances that were seen rushing to the scene?”

“Uh, I didn’t actually see any ambulances, but their sirens had an urgent pitch to them.”

“Thank you Mr. Doe, or can I call you Jonathan?”

Enough! Do you think we would have seen that kind of coverage if Delta Connection flight 4323 crash landed in the Great Salt Lake? I don’t think so. The biggest thing about that crash was that it happened in New York City. Yes the pilot is a genuine hero, as is the flight crew and I am thankful that all passengers lived to take another flight. But I have heard enough and seen enough pictures of the stack of seat cushions used as floatation devices stacked in a corner. One news person gave a 5 minute presentation on how the seat cushions really do float, just like every flight attendant has told us before every flight we take.

But this blog is about the new president. I am totally amazed at what is happening. It is an historic moment. We are about to have our first non-white, non-European, president. I can understand the elation of the people who are going to have a president for the first time that looks like them. It is an amazing thing. It would have been nice to have elected a Black person president who has actually accomplished something besides being black, however.

People have lost their minds over this. On National Public Radio, the radio network owned by the people, just before Christmas a soloist on Garrison Keillor’s show sang her rendition of “In Bleak Midwinter.” In case you don’t know, it is a traditional English Carol about the coming of the Christ child. But in yuletide 2008 Renee Fleming sang these words. “In the bleak midwinter, at the Christmas feast, a family leaves Chicago and travels to the East, for a public mansion in Washington, D.C., in a time of trouble and festivity. All across the nation, sea to shining sea, people watch the passage of that family.” (See National Review, Jan. 26, 2009, p.14)

So now B. Hussein Obama is not just the second coming of FDR and Abraham Lincoln, he is being compared to the first coming of Jesus Christ. I don’t know which to feel worse about. That the American people can be so taken or that BHO is set up for failure. Here we have a new president who has no accomplishments to speak of. Democrats rail at the inexperience of Sarah Palin while ignoring the fact that she has more experience than BHO.

But of course, BHO is much smarter than Sarah Palin, John McCain, and George W. Bush all put together. You know of course how that intelligence is measured. If you agree with the left you are smart. If you are conservative, you must be stupid. Former NY Gov. Mario Cuomo said yesterday on Mike Huckabee’s TV program that BHO was incredibly intelligent. How does he know that? What evidence did he give? Even if he is egghead smart, Henry Kissinger seemed to be mighty intelligent too, but who would have wanted him as president?

God puts kings and presidents in position and our responsibility is to obey them and pray for them. Those two things I will do to the best of my ability. The Bible does not say I have to watch the coronation, uh, I mean inauguration for 5 days straight.

I Am Glad To See 2008 Go—Sportswise

I don’t think it possible to have a worse sports year than 2008. It was an awful year for any team to have me as a fan.

It began in the spring when the Lobo Basketball team, once again, was only futile in any attempt to gain the NCAA tournament. It is sad anyway when you measure success just by getting into a tournament, even if you never have a chance to win. I wonder what it is like to root for a team that has a shot at the final four.

Of course the Jazz stumbled early in the playoffs but my longtime team, the Lakers made the finals, only to lose to the hated Boston Celtics. This year may be different. We must wait and see.

In Baseball, the Yankees got off to a slow start and never sped up. The last year in the House That Ruth Built was the first year in a decade that the Yankees didn’t make the playoffs. At least the Red Sox didn’t go anywhere either.

When fall came around and football started the Lobos got off to a slow start losing their first two before picking up and beating Arizona. After that, it was downhill, losing to both Utah and BYU and congratulating themselves on close games. With a final 4 win season the blow came when head football coach Rocky Long hung it up.

The Broncos, with a mediocre team beset with injury, led their division from week one, only to collapse in the final three games to spend another January at home. Then the unthinkable happened. Another coach bit the dust.

Here is hoping for a better 2009.

Oh! One more. I was home at thanksgiving when my old High School Football team went to the state championship game with an unblemished record. They lost and now hold the record for the school that has lost the state championship game more than any other school. What a record. (They did win once, back in the 1950's)

And A Little Theology, Don't Drown It May be Deep

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Piper is at his best explaining why God put us here in the first place. The title is a negative way of saying, Be Sure Your Life Counts."



Even though it is a short book, don't plan on a fast read. Savor it and take time to meditate on your single passion to live for.


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Fun Reading, If You Can Keep From Worrying

Extreme Measures: A Thriller by Vince Flynn

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This one is a page turner. It is hard to put down. A third terrorist cell is on its way to the US. Can Rapp and Nash intercept them or will the senate judiciary committee chairman have her way and toss our heroes in the clink, for using extreme measures?



This may help explain the somber look on Obama's face when he exited his first briefing with the president. He needs our prayer because while the book is fiction, the issues are not.






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A Little Global Warming in a Snowstorm

Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed by Christopher Horner

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Christopher C. Horner gives evidence that the whole Global Warming "Crisis" is a political ploy. He documents how scientists who do not fawn over the politically correct line are shut out. This includes their being disinvited from summits, conferences, etc., because this isn't about the environment it is about government.



Oh, and money! While environmental enthusiasts point out any contribution global warming skeptics receive from any energy producer they neglect to point out that the global warming crisis is a 6 billion dollar a year industry that would disappear overnight if there were no "crisis."



While this is not a book dedicated to Global Warming statistics, it uses plenty of them while making the point that the whole "crisis" has as its goals, 1.) bigger government; "the Koyoto Protocol is the first component of an authentic global governance." (former French president Jacques Chirac) and 2.) Money as described above.



Those of you my dear readers who have been convinced by the Al Gores of this world will never believe me, so read this book. I gave it only 4 stars because some of the writing is difficult to follow mainly due to the detail he gives some of the issues.



It is definitely a must read for anyone who is truly interested in truth, not propaganda.


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The Dream That Lives On

I know you couch potatoes will have trouble believing this, but even after two aborted attempts to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT) the dream still appears at the strangest times. We are resigned to the fact that we won’t be hiking on the AT anymore. Short of a knee replacement I will never have the knees to do it. We waited too long to try.
The next best possibility is not practical either. While I can hike a week or maybe two at a time, we live too far from the trail to hike it a few miles at a time. So that won’t happen either. We had our shot and we were shot down. Over three different hikes, we managed just about 800 miles. We are going to have to be satisfied with that.
Knowing and submitting to the facts doesn’t keep the dream from reoccurring. Today after lunch I was going out to the deck to sit in the sun for my vitamin D fix. (Dr.’s Orders not laziness) I decided to take a cup of coffee, but I didn’t want to make a pot so I settled for a cup of instant. When I sat on the deck, in the cool air, a slight breeze causing the remaining leaves to fall, and sipped the instant, it felt like an afternoon on the trail.
The only coffee we had while hiking was instant. I almost never drink instant any other time. But when I took the first sip I was transported back to the trail. I spent the first 5 minutes of my vitamin D time daydreaming and wishing. It is crazy.

In Memory, Tony Hillerman 1925-2008

I lost a friend this week. He died at age 83 of Pulmonary distress. He was a friend I never met, but spent many hours enjoying his storytelling. I will miss his engaging tales of life in the Four Corners area. Most of my Utah friends will say, “Tony who?” Most of my New Mexico friends will agree. Tony Hillerman was a great story teller.

Tony Hillerman was a journalist who decided that if he was going to make up stories he might as well sell them as novels. He wrote mystery novels with a twist. The twist was the primary mystery solvers were two Navajo Policemen, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee. The books contained insights into the life and culture of the Navajo. One article said that an early book agent told Hillerman he should lose the Indian stuff.

Reading a Hillerman mystery was about traveling the Navajo Reservation and the area around it, Albuquerque, Farmington, Gallup. I can see in my mind’s eye Jim Chee’s trailer house down on the San Juan River in Shiprock. The reservation roads to the trading posts, the mountains, the canyons, the sheep meadows are not understandable to those whose life has been spent in the city. I have driven on many of those roads and hundreds more like them in the four corners. I could lose myself in a Hillerman book and day dream my way back to a simpler life.

Fiction is not my favorite read. But over the years there have been three authors whose books I bought on the day they were released. (Well at least on the day they showed up at Sam’s Club or Costco.) I didn’t even wait for the paperback version. Now one of them is gone. I will miss Tony Hillerman and the adventures of Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn.

Oh, the other two authors for those of you who don’t know are John Grisham and Tom Clancy.

USA Today with Biblical Understanding

There is an Interesting article on page 9d of USA Today, Tuesday October 28, 2008. It is about the discovery of Egyptian artifacts in a copper mine in Jordan. The article is about King Solomon, the Old Testament kingdom of Edom, copper mines, and Pharaohs.

3000 years after Solomon died archaeology is discovering one of the mines that contributed to his great wealth. I am continually amazed at the discoveries in the dirt of the middle east, findings that lend credence to the Bible.

Of course this discovery proves nothing. I don’t need it to prove anything where my faith is concerned. Just the fact that competent archaeologists find in their digs the very things you would expect them to find if God’s word had any historicity.

The Bible tells us that Solomon was one of the wealthiest men in ancient history. But when offered wealth by the Lord, he instead chose wisdom. Thus we hear “The Wisdom of Solomon” referred to as a positive thing whereas we rarely hear of “The Wealth of Solomon.”

This wise man concluded his treatise about life by saying “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB)

What's That Again?

The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas E. Woods Jr.

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
While I am not naive enough to accept everything in this book at face value, it does have an interesting alternative look at some of the major events in American History.



I was especially interested in the articles on the Civil War, (which the author points out wasn't a true civil war) WWI and the intentional methods of Woodrow Wilson to manipulate us into joining the war, and the chapter about the causes of the great depression.



The book is weak at the point of references. While the bibliography is a long one, the text is not footnoted.



Read it, you may just learn, or rather relearn some of your own history.


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Head GO! vs Heart NO!

I first became aware that there is a difference between being a head fan and a heart fan during the Western regionals for NCAA basketball back in the 90's. The tournament was held in the "Pit," home of the UNM basketball Lobos. One of the teams to make it to the regional was the New Mexico State aggies.

On my way to the game my friends asked me, "So who will you be pulling for, the Aggies or UCLA"?

My head tells me it would be a great thing for the state of New Mexico basketball if the aggies could pull off a win against the heavily favored Bruins. "I will be pulling for NMSU", I confidently responded. But inside the pit, when the aggies ran out onto Bob King Court in their fringed warm ups, I immediately switched allegiance. I have pulled for the aggies in the newspaper, and even cheered them heartily on television, but my heart would not allow me to pull for them in the Pit. No way Jose.

I have the same problem today with BYU and Utah. While undoubtedly they are Mountain West Conference leaders, along with TCU, and it helps the conference where the BCS is concerned for the Utes and the Cougars to win outside the conference, my head says GO! but my heart says NO!

I try, I really try to pull for the Utes. And that is the truth. How awesome that the Mountain West Conference is 6-1 against the PAC 10. If I could just wake up in the morning and read the scores and see that Utah beats OSU 31-28 my head can say, “YEA” But if I watch the game as soon as I see that stupid helmet with the feather Logo or Swoop that ridiculous feathered mascot, or hear “I’m a Utah man sir” I immediately revert to what I was born to be.

Funny isn’t it? My head says "GO"!, my heart says "NO"! I have the exact opposite reaction to the Texas Longhorns. I don’t want to pull for them. My head doesn't care if they ever win a game, but when they run on the field and I see that awesome Longhorn Logo, Bivo the majestic live longhorn steer, and hear “The Eyes of Texas are upon you” my heart says “hook em horns"!

I am just being honest here. It is something I do not fully understand. I may never have a Lobo football team to be proud of. But I am a Lobo none-the-less and three teams Lobos don’t pull for, New Mexico State, BYU, and Utah. “I’m a Lobo fan sir, I’ve been one all my life.” And that, is the rest of the story.

Isaac's Storm

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As hurricane Ike hurtled toward Galveston I was reading this book about the 1900 Hurricane that virtually destroyed the same city.



Isaac Cline was the representative of the US Weather Service stationed at Galveston. The book is about him, the weather service, and the hurricance. Weather prediction was in its infancy and Isaac was attempting to learn the science.



It is a story of Government impotency that gives perspective to Katrina.


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Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved by Russell Martin

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
In 1827 a budding musician cut a lock of hair from the body of a recently deceased Ludwig Von Beethoven.



In 1995 two Americans employed scientists to open a simple locket that contained a lock of hair, purportedly from the great musician, Beethoven.



This book deals with two questions. 1. How did this lock of hair make the journey from early 19th century Vienna to a late 20th century London auction house, and 2. what does the examination of the hair tell us about the life and death of Beethoven.



The first question is enhanced when one considers the history of 20th century Europe and the Nazi attempt to eliminate all things Jewish.



The book has a varied pace, sometimes very slow and cumbersom, at times as quick paced as a mystery. I gave it a 3 star rating (out of a possible 5) because of the slow pace and because after reading it, I now know trivia so trivial it will never even show up on trivial pursuit.


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