Turning Green Part II

Now I'm turning green because Julie has been off this afternoon to Fort Funston with the dogs!

Fort Funston is in San Francisco and is unique in that it allows dogs off leash! Yes, the quadpedals (4 legged) are allowed to frolic on the beaches and in the ocean to their hearts content.

I am totally jealous!

Turning Green Part I

While down in San Diego last weekend I got the chance to hang out with my sister, Lurinda, which was cool. However, that meant that I had to hang out with her camera as well.

Let's just say - I have a serious case of camera envy. Yep, I'm green as Shrek in the camera area.

Check that baby out.

For you camera enthusiasts that's a Nikon D300 body.. with a 1.7x telephoto adapter.. with like a 70-300mm f2.8 lens (if memory serves me) at the end. I think it weighs 6 pounds.

To give you a sense of the zoom... Lurinda asked me to use her camera to take a picture of her and Chris. No problem I said. Well, I literally had to walk 30 feet away just to get their two torsos in the frame together at minimal zoom.

Sheeesh... and don't even get me going on the click-click-click-click-click sound I had to hear all weekend as my little camera-that-could would go click..............click..............click.

She's back in Michigan now. I think I'll be okay.

US Marine Corp Private Chris McGee

Friday I had the distinct honor of attending the graduation ceremony for my nephew, Chris, who completed 13 rigorous weeks of Marine Corp boot camp to become one of America's 370 newest Marines!

It was an educational two days visiting with Chris at the training facility and learning more about the Marines and the process he just completed as well as witnessing his graduation! I hope you get a chance to hear many of the stories of his training.

Graduation day started out with a flag ceremony at the General's House. It was a moving ceremony that allowed the parents and friends to hear inspirational words from the commanding Brigadier General of the training depot. It is clear that they love their job and understand how to mold new recruits into a cohesive Marine Corp. They should be very proud because I can already detect many changes in my nephew!



















The graduation ceremony took place a couple hours after the flag ceremony. Chris was a part of India (I) Company. I company comprises 6 platoons. Chris was part of platoon 3211. Here's the platoons lined up and ready to march on the 'parade deck' into graduation. ('deck' is the Marine term for ground).









Here's the Marine Band leading the platoons through their final drills.















Here's the Marine mascot - an english bulldog! Join the Marines! Walk the Dog!



















Here's platoon 3211 at the far side of the parade deck on a spectacular Friday.














And here's the platoon in front of the review stands.















Here's a zoom of the platoon. Chris is 2nd from the right in the back row (or in the middle of the picture in the rear!).















Immediately after the graduation mom (Lurinda) hit the parade deck to give her Marine a huge hug and some words of pride and congratulations!















Here's the proud father with his new Marine.



















Here's Cassie - glad to have her boyfriend back!



















This is my sister's great friend, Vicky, with the graduate!















And here's Uncle Tod representing Team Henderson on this most auspicious of occasions! We are all immensely proud of the service and sacrifice to which you are dedicated. Chris, you have our very best wishes as you enjoy your leave and then return for additional infantry training! Ooh-rah!

Ahhhhhhhhh

After weeks of rain it has been a blessing to be in San Diego for the last couple days. The days have been sunny and mild; absolutely perfect weather for spending time outside enjoying the Marine graduation (next post) and local scene.

Here's a picture of the beach to the left and right of our condo as viewed at 5:00 am! Yes, we have been getting up very early to get to the Marine training center early in the mornings to take in the whole graduation event.



















After a couple days of waking around the training center and enjoying our evenings I was ready for a little exercise; so I hit the beach late this afternoon for a run. As I stretched out and got my body moving my soul exhaled a giant 'ahhhh'. Yes!! Running outside in the fading sunlight. The late afternoon air cool and refreshing. As I was completing my run the sun was doing a perfect curtsy - floating above the horizon - sharing a final moment of calm perfection before the final rays rippled off the gentle ocean waves and into the night.

My heart leapt a beat in praise. Ahhhhhhhhhhh....

Here's a picture of the pier outside our condo just after sunset - with the lights aglow. A beautiful California evening is commencing and I am off to revel in it.

Cassie's Friend

You might be from Michigan if you pet wild animals that you see at the seashore ;0

This is Chris' girlfriend Cassie. How cute is she?

First, she was scared and wouldn't get near the bird. Then, she stuck a single finger out in friendship.



















Then, the entire hand of friendship was extended! Sweet! Do you get the impression that bird has worked the crowd before?

Butt Boy

Folks, I have just arrived in San Diego to hang with my sister and her family. We're heading over to see my nephew, Chris in the morning. I think my sister said we are leaving at 5:00 am... but I am hoping I was hallucinating at the time she spoke those words and that we are really going over at noon. I'll let you know how that turns out.

So, my sister's friend, Vicky, is along for the trip and apparently, she's liking California very much - thank you!

In fact, she seems enamored with the mighty pacific ocean - which is across the street from their condo. Here's a picturesque view of the pier taken from their balcony (at night)!













The specific aspect of the pacific she likes the best is a feature she calls 'butt boy'. As it turns out .. this is butt boy.













Yes, butt boy is a California surfer that practices his wares just across from my sister's condo.























Out of respect for our readership I am not going to share with you some of the anatomically correct comments that I have heard about this man tonight. Suffice to say, Vicky is loving California. In fact she just fell asleep on the couch next to me with this gynormous grin on her face.. and I swear that each time she exhales I hear her murmur... 'oh butt boy'....

You Gotta Love Craigslist ;)

This was sent to me by a co-worker and I just had to share it with you.

******WARNING****** This material is inappropriate and rude. So, Grandma Marian. Just stop reading right here. And, any of you youngsters. Time to pack it in.

Now, for the rest of you adventuresome folks... the actual ad:

To the woman that crapped in my car... (NE Portland)
We met on Craigslist so I am hoping that this post finds you. I know that it could quite possibly be the most humiliating first date that you have ever been on but I am willing to look past that.

I thought we had chemistry sitting at McMenamins sharing that basket of Cajun tots while drinking the Terminator Stout. I really felt like there was a connection there. I found you to be intelligent and witty and looked forward to further conversation with you.

At some point in life, everyone has gambled on a fart and lost. It just happened to be on a first date in the passenger seat of my car. Please don't feel bad. The package I sent you with Pepto the next day and the note that said "First dates are always a crap shoot. Call me" was meant to be funny, not offensive.

I have gambled on a fart and lost on multiple occasions. I don't think anyone wins 100% of the time. That's why they call it 'gambling'. I'm the last person to judge you. In fact, I am impressed by your boldness. The timing on the other hand could have been better... like when you're not seated on a heated leather seat.

What I am trying to say is that if you want to go out again, I would be more than happy to take you someplace where we can get a meal that is high in fiber and less taxing on the digestive tract.

I await your call,


P.S. If you crapped yourself on purpose to end the evening early... Touche!

Mrs. MacGyver!

My wife is Mrs. MacGyver! Boo-yah!!

Everyday we get up, walk outside in the rain, pick up our paper, walk inside, dry it out and open it up to find the headline: Drought! Governator Declares Water Rationing Plan! California To Raise Water Rates in Response to Drought!

Then we walk back inside, get ready for work, drive to work in the pouring rain, watch it rain all day long and then drive home in a pouring rain ;) [you don't think I have a little cabin fever do ya??]

Anyways, I'm preparing to go on a short trip to San Diego to see my nephew graduate from Marine Corp basic training and the pool was getting very full again. So, I called Julie on my way home last night to let her know I was planning on draining some water from the pool. I didn't want to spend the weekend worrying about it overflowing. You see, the forecast is for rain all weekend - combined with continued Drought!.

It's not that big a deal to pump some water from the pool.. but it's a bit of a nasty job and not one I look forward to with yearning.

Not any more!! My audacious, spectacular, gynormously wonderful and talented wife totally rocks! She had been anticipating the next pumping.. and found some couplers that make hooking the drain hose up to the outtake of the pump a complete breeze! When I got home she was running around in the back/side yard with a mini flashlight in her mouth and a wrench in her hand.. putting the final touches on our new drainage system [in a driving rain of course]!

Once again and may I repeat for all...: BOO-YAH!

My wife totally MacGyver'd that baby! And it only took 2 trips to the hardware store!

Julie - you are awesome!!

Challenging Scripture

The title of this blog entry ‘Challenging Scripture’ is intentionally a double entendre (a figure of speech that can be understood in either of two ways). In a time where it seems like everything we hold sacred, included scripture itself, is being challenged; I recently found myself profoundly challenged by a Scripture passage we discussed in our bible study group.

Mark 7:6-7: 'As Isaiah prophesized, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teaching are but rules taught by men.’

I love words. And I love trying to pick an appropriate word when I am attempting to convey a thought or idea. Often, the search for the perfect word is an effort to encapsulate a big thing (idea, taste, feeling, etc.) in a small package.

For instance, the word ‘Succulent’ evokes a myriad of texture, taste and experience. You can almost feel the juices dripping down your chin!

However, sometimes, this attempt to convey a big idea with small words has the side affect of obscuring the total picture. So, I tend to like to ‘re-lengthen’ scripture verses at times to see if I can discover some additional meaning by replacing a word or words with their definitions.

As an example – here’s the Isaiah prophesy above – substituting a couple of Webster definitions for the words ‘worship’ and ‘vain’:

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They participate in ceremonies, prayers and other religious forms of expressing love for me that lack substance or worth and do not yield the desired outcome. Their teaching are but rules taught by men.’

Ouch. My initial reaction to this expansion of the verse was ‘is that even possible?’ Wouldn’t any attempt to express love for Jesus be worthwhile? Doesn’t it all … ‘count’ .. for lack of a better term?

However, here’s a bible study tip that I try to remember. When Jesus quotes a scripture or says something, Himself, you can take it to the bank.

Which leads me to admit that I find this scripture very challenging. Intimidating almost. It says that there are forms of religious expression that lack worth. It says that there are fruitless ceremonies that are man-made and do not contribute to the worship of God.

And Jesus goes on to summarize the problem as follows in Mark 7:8: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men”

It appears, then, that there is genuine worship - which is doing the commands of God and there is vain worship - which is holding to the traditions of men.


So what prompts me to bring this up? Why now?
For some reason, only known to God, I seem to be bumping into a lot of Catholics lately - in many contexts including kids, colleagues, strangers, bloggers, etc. They range from 'practicing' to 'barely practicing' to 'Catholics in name only' (Catinos).

And they all seem to be revving up for Lent. I was even browsing a random online blog and ran into a blogger that is a ‘Catholic’.. but views the way she practices 'her religion' (her term) as ‘her own’ and ‘discarding the rules that I don’t agree with’. She has manufactured her own man made religion and thus has a unique way of approaching Lent.

At the same time I am continuing on a personal journey to understand social justice. As a Californian I am challenged almost daily to defend my beliefs and to agree with, or at a minimum accept, a different world view that has it’s own definition for social ‘justice’. Within that context I am genuinely trying to figure out how Jesus would approach some of these complex issues and ideas. My mind remains open and searching for God’s own heart on many of these issues.

But this set of verses seems to present a warning against taking re-engineering the gospel too far. It appears that when we (individually or institutionally) try to reshape obedience to God (doing the commands of God) into something more palpable to man in order to reach people with the Gospel… it is entirely possible that the worship we reach them with will have been rendered vain – ‘lacking substance or worth; not yielding the desired outcome’.

What’s the point of that?

Are you participating in some form of worship (at church, for Lent, in the privacy of your own life) just to satisfy some rule that you or your Church came up with? Instead of focusing on doing what God commands us in the Bible? If so – I want to encourage you – as I remind myself – to look skeptically at the traditions of men (inside and outside the Church). Challenge them with Scripture (Rom 12:2).

Demo Time

One aspect of my job that I love is getting out of the building from time to time to demonstrate and test our system. Luckily for us - builders of radar detection systems - we have a ready made test facility called San Francisco Bay right near by. Every day there are commercial and pleasure craft with radars fired up on the bay as well as air traffic, weather and other airborne radars present. It's a great place to play.

So, from time to time we pack up our system and head for the bay. All we need is a mobile home (to provide shelter, power and a bathroom) and trailer (to hold our stuff) and off we go. The location we set up in is called Fort Baker; a former military base located just past the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. As you can see from the first couple pictures our setup site is just opposite from and provides a beautiful view of San Francisco. And from the pictures you can see we picked an awesome day for the trip.























This next picture shows the trailer where our system resides as well as our antenna (at the top of that portable mast unit on the left). The details would bore you to tears.. but all you need to know is that the antenna is like a really good radio antenna and the stuff in the trailer is a really good radio for listening to radars. The software stuff I do simply tells the listener exactly what they are listening too. Simple huh!? Oh.. and you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background which I'll talk about next.



















It's hard to show pictorially, but we are just down the road from the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. This picture is taken just around the corner from where we park and is a unique view of the bridge. In this picture San Francisco is in the far view (far or south side of the bridge) and Marin (the north side) is nearest. You can literally keep walking down the road I was on when I took this picture and walk underneath the bridge. At the bottom of the hill is the primary Coast Guard facility used to monitor activities on the bay and to provide search and rescue resources (and additional targets for our testing).





























Here's a picture of a container ship (target) that entered the bay through the Golden Gate and now is passing underneath the Bay Bridge (SF on the right end - Oakland/Berkeley on the left end) bringing the west coast lots of stuff to buy. There's also a smaller commuter ferry (target) just crossing it's wake (behind it).















Fort Baker was originally the location of canon encampments used to protect the SF bay from enemy naval attacks. You can see some of the original canon-mounts (they would have been mounted on top of the buildings, and powder rooms (below) at the top of this next image.















Recently, Fort Baker was de-commissioned or turned over from the military to the public sector. As part of that, the old military housing has been beautifully restored by a private company that now runs a resort and spa called Covella Point. The next couple pictures give you a snapshot of the historic buildings that were restored. These are now either split into individual rooms that can be rented - or some remain as guest houses that can be rented in their entirety. The insides are as wonderful as the outsides.




























Here's a picture of the old enlisted barracks that now includes a restaurant and bar (where we took our client for a nice post-demo debriefing (or drink as we non-military types call it). Not at all an unpleasant way to end a work day.















This is kind of random.. but when I was down by the base of the Golden Gate a helicopter appeared very near the northern bridge tower. It was literally loitering right next to the tower for a relatively long period of time. I don't know if they were conducting some type of visual inspection of the tower or what.. but they were way closer than I would have liked to be. Though, they got a most unique view of the bridge!