To Paddle or not to Paddle

Well, we have been wanting to go canoing all summer and Friday, July 20th seemed like the perfect day to travel down the Chena River.
Julia, in the front taking pictures of herself, didn't get as much excercise as I did. She was busy doing self photos so I had to help her with the picture.

It was an enjoyable, relaxing trip especially for Julia. I got a pretty good upper body work out, but did have a nice time. I wish I could get my own canoe and then we could do this more often. It's great excercise and quite relaxing.
You just have to love the look on that girl's face. She makes me laugh. I'm glad we could spend time together this way.
The Chena river was really pretty that day and there were lots of ducks and beautiful houses along the way.

Bloglines

Once you get it set up, using a feed reader can be a very efficient way to view many different web sites and a lot of information. You don't get to see the design of the sites very often, however, and you miss out on all of their advertising... which they may be counting on to stay afloat. Do you care?

Do you find RSS to be useful? Will you keep using an aggregator, like Bloglines? If so, which one?

I really won't miss the advertising and it will be nice to just see the information that I need. I do find RSS useful especially on a site that is of interest to me. Since I'm already signed up for Bloglines, I will keep using it plus I can keep up with my instructor and information that he finds useful.

Other Camping Pictures

Other really pretty pictures can be seen on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggizzle35/

I love getting flowers at close up range and there are many more on flickr. I hope you enjoy them.

My 4th of July 2007

Today is the most beautiful sunny day you could ask for. After a rather sleepless night, Julia and I went for breakfast at the Chatanika lodge, in Alaska. We returned to our camping area and tried to return the favor of loud music but was probably unsuccessful. Julia laid down because she didn't get much sleep last night, so Patches, one of our water loving dogs, and I went on a journey.
These are the kind of journies that I love the most. We walked down the wild flower path next to the little pond and on around the corner through a wooded area with streams of golden sunlight piercing through the trees. There were lots of plants covering the floor of the wooded area. Our journey would take us pass a variety of flowers, some of which were not familiar to me, and then on until we reached a the river.
The sun glistened across the rippling water. Up ahead, it looked as if we would be able to cross over in a shallow area. Someone before us had the right idea; there was a fire pit and a chair right beside the river in a little private, secluded spot that they had made for themselves. My kind of heaven on earth. As Patches and I walked along the river bank, there were beautiful, dark, sapphire flowers that I didn't recall ever seeing before, but now that I think about it, they may be wild delphinium. We came to the place I wanted to cross the river and when I came down from the bank, I stepped deeply in to thick sand up to my knee, and for fear of getting stuck, just kept moving quickly to my destination. Now I was wet but it felt good because the heat of the day was already upon us and sweat was dripping from my face.
As I looked at the river, I recalled the passage in the 23rd Psalm that says, "He leads me beside still waters, He restoreth my soul" (Psalm 23:2-3). This was the day my soul had been longing for. The river had bends and turns with rippling water but there were also places in th eriver where the water pooled and became calm and still. That was what I was looking for; a place that was calm and the water seemed motionless, like glass. It made me think of childhood memories of my great grandmother, who would take me fishing with her and she would fish in places like this because trout like these places too. On hot summer days like today, trout stay in these cool places where the water is in the shade and pools which makes it a deeper spot where the water is cooler. This was a beautiful, quiet spot, quite a ways up stream from where I had come from but since I was already wet, Patches and I just crossed over in the shallow places.
Patches and her extreme love of the water kept me throwing sticks out so she could retrieve them. The birch trees were hanging out over the water in places making the perfect spot for a trout to hide. Just when I was thinking, this was a great place to take off all your clothes and go swimming, there was a canoe gently floating down the river until they hit the rippling water and then they had to work harder to paddle so they wouldn't go into the trees or the bank. Several other canoes followed and each one handled the ripples a little differently until they came into the smooth water. It reminds me of how life is, you can take things easier in the still waters but when life throws you a curve and you hit the ripples, you have to and paddle a bit harder so you can navigate the corners because you don't want to capsize and end up up side down.
While we sat there, I did see fish over in the smooth, quiet water that was in the shade. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the smell of fragrant flowers was noticeable in the air as we got ready to head back to the camping area. I feel bad for people who don't slow down enough to take time out for themselves and take advantage of enjoying nature like this. Hawaii isn't the only place you can go to enjoy sunny weather and sandy shores. Right here in Alaska, there are beautiful sandy shores by this river that sparkle in the sunlight like gold. This is gold country and a great place to pan for gold would be on this shore.
If water was to remain still for too long, it would become stagnant and worthless, much like people who sit still for too long. If you find your flow in life and keep moving, you will find marvelous treasures up around the bend. There are times in our lives that we have to work a little harder and paddle like crazy to stay upright, but that's what lets us enjoy the smooth, quiet places in life where it's shady and cool. When you come from the hard places, you sure appreciate life a whole lot more and have gratitude for the simple things in life.

Flickr and del.icio.us

You've now used flickr and del.icio.us-- what do you think of them? Did they behave like you expected? Will you keep using one or both of them? What are some of the useful sites and pictures you discovered?

I think that both of these websites are very cool and very helpful communication tools. I can share my pictures with my family in NewYork by way of Flickr and my younger brother is using it to share graduation pictures with me. http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggizzle35/

I really like del.icio.us because I can have my bookmarks where ever I am as long as I have internet. I find this invaluable, especially when I'm traveling and I need access to work related items or websites. I don't have to do a search to find my bank or my bills, it's all right there in del.icio.us.

I like both tools and will probably keep using them both. By looking at other sites because of homework, I found some really good information in regards to Bible software and search engines that I may not have taken the time to look for. It's always nice to find pictures that are pretty or unique. I like close up pictures and landscapes and this one was especially nice. http://www.flickr.com/photos/babsphotosecosse/747199569/in/photostream/

Wikis are very interesting

I found that Wikipedia is very interesting to use and there is tons of information available and tons of links to information in regards to the topic you may be searching for. I made a page and found the software easy to use and easy to get to links and topics of interest. It is very easy to edit the information.

I probably have viewed other sites with wiki type information on them without even being aware of it. My wiki website is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fnmek and I think that everything a person could want to know about can be found through Wikipedia, or if people are interested enough, they can find out about other people, individuals and what they are specifically interested in or what their viewpoints may be if they have put it on Wikipedia. This might be a good website for spouses to use to get to know each other :- )

Answers to the Question for CIOS 275 Summer

Are bloggers journalists?
I believe that some bloggers probably are journalists and some blogger are just like me, normal every day people writing their thoughts out, or sharing information over the web.

I think that if bloggers have had an impact on the way other people think, vote, or receive information; that is not a bad thing. Blogs are people communicating or providing other people with opinions, information and other stuff and I think it's a good thing. I do think that it should be viewed as having the same rights as freedom of speech. It is the freedom to express one's self and opinion on a topic or share their view. There should be no predjudice on it, as long as it is in fairly good taste.

Why or why not? Bloggers have been responsible for breaking and carrying news stories that have resulted in senators losing their jobs and possibly changed the course of the last presidential election. Is that good or bad? Should bloggers have the same rights (to access events, interview, etc) and protections (not to have to reveal their sources) as nespaper and television reporters?

Prom Night

Wow, what a beauty. Julia really looked beautiful on Prom night. The dress was perfect for her and she just glowed. She can usually be found with a ball cap on and jeans and a t shirt and no make up. She is a no frills kind of gal but she sure can be elegant as well. I guess she is like her mom that way. We clean up good.