The Equipment

Today, in my first Mass at the St. John's Catholic Newman Center on campus, the sermon from father Greg Ketcham really caught my ear.

The scripture that he had to speak on is some of the most powerful scripture I know.

Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27

He then spoke on how important it is to have our focus on the Resurrection. I think that is so easy to forget as I get caught up in performance for the church.

He also quoted C.S. Lewis, which is almost always a good idea, and in this case, especially so. He quoted this in reference to the idea that it can be difficult to see God or experience God.

Unfortunately I did not get the quote exactly, and I didn't look too hard for it, but at its root, Lewis is saying that the sun shows no favorites, it just shines better in a clean mirror than in a dusty one. We are the instruments through which we see God and there is some work to be done for us to best experience and see God.

I love this idea, especially when combined with the idea of spiritual discipline and putting ourselves in the best situations to experience God. Now, some days may be cloudy and the sun will be hard to see regardless, but we must be prepared when the sun does shine, to reflect it as well as we can.

Human Factors

I decided since I wrote about my photo class a bit, I'd try to write about the rest of my classes in kind.

I'm also enrolled in a human factors course. "What is human factors," you may ask. It is a broad field that in many ways encompasses design for usability, safety, and efficiency. For example, today in class we looked over a broad realm of things human factors affects.

One is web design (for all you computer geeks out there). Why is facebook more friendly than myspace? Is it the design factor, the networking factor, or just perception?

Another example you could run for days with is Apple hardware/software.

We discussed flight issues with all the gauges a pilot must recognize, as well as industry applications like a Nuclear Power Plant control room.

All of these places and things must be designed for their ease of use, enjoyment of use, failsafes, etc, etc.

I know some people are taking this class as an easy A, but let me tell you, it has the potential to be one of the most fascinating courses I've ever taken here at Illinois. The material is engaging and the professor really encourages interaction with the class. So, check out Psych 358/IE 340, as that...is the class.

A new era

Alan is going back in time. 9 months after getting my first SLR camera as a gift, I have bought a second. This one, however, is a lot different. The first was a digital, this is a film camera. The first one was a gift and new, this one is a self purchase and is slightly used. But, both use the Canon EF mount, which means that I can interchange lenses between them, which is super exciting. The reason I bought this camera was for a class that I'm taking here at Illinois. Photo 1 is the name, and there is a good section of the course discussing black and white film photography. I'm just excited to give it a whirl.

Not only did I buy this used, but it was my first successful ebay victory (granted, I was the only bidder. People really don't want film cameras.) and it was on the cheap. It will be a good experiment, along with the darkroom work in class to really see how far into photography I can delve.

Check out my new toy/tool for yourself...

The American Flag

I was watching the DNC a bit last night with some friends, and at some point, a prayer was being said and the American flag was being pictured, and I blurted something (probably louder in my head) about how the Christian Flag was showing. Isn't that just awful? The American Flag, and the phrase "God Bless America" have become so tied together that our nation is truly seen as Christian (despite our war hawk status), and these symbols as Christian probably by the world. I truly imagine a foreigner seeing the American flag and having them more and more associate it with Christianity, rather than the cross or many other long lasting symbols. What a bad circumstance that puts us as believers in, especially with a "Christian" president. All he can be seen as is a hypocrite who doesn't live to Christian standards, despite what may be in his heart. I also found it fascinating as of late that the phrase "God Bless America" has crept up everywhere, onto license plates in Alabama, bumper stickers, and other medium, and yet, there is not one spiritual reference on it. It has become our meaningless mantra. Please consider this as you live your day today as a Christian Patriot, and recall which Kingdom your first allegiance belongs to.

Bow Fishing

Bow Fishing

I went bow fishing in one of my last nights in Alabama. This is a sport in which you go out on a boat, typically with a regular boat motor and a fan on top for really shallow water. You float around really shallow water and look for the fish that the game fishermen don’t want to catch, cuz they aren’t tasty and they are a nuisance. Then you shoot them with a bow and arrow. The arrow is attached to a string and a reel which you use to reel in your fish once you have pierced it. The people I know who do it will catch upwards of 30 fish a night, and then give them away to somebody that actually likes the way they taste.

I had never heard of this sport before I came to Alabama, but let me tell you something, it fascinated me to no end. I wanted to go, and when I finally got invited and it worked out, I jumped at the opportunity. So here we were, in a simple fishing boat flying across the Tennessee River to the murky swampland that is stereotypical Alabama. After being given a crash course in the equipment, another intern and I tried our hands at hitting the fish, while our host guided his boat through lily pads and brush. It took a while to finally see the fish, even with the aid of intense spotlights. Once I saw one, I lined it up though, and fired away. Stuck in the mud…

I thought to myself, this is no big deal. It was my first shot. I reeled my arrow back in after struggling with it in the mud. Resetting the arrow in the bow, I scanned for more targets to hone my skills on. This lasted for 2 hours. And I don’t mean the fishing, I mean the process of shoot, miss, stuck in mud, pull out, reset. It was a frustrating experience. Even after accounting for the refraction of the light and placing the fish a bit lower than I saw it, I still whiffed about 15 times. The other intern was no luckier, and we rode back to the south side of the Tennessee River a bit bruised in the ego department.

What made it even more striking is how good people actually are at this sport. Our guide told us he has about a 95% accuracy and when he sees a fish, he almost always is able to shoot at it too. Just amazing to me. Perhaps I will get a chance to try again, but what I know now is that I have a LOT of respect for somebody that does that

The Environment

Having been in Alabama all this summer, I’ve wanted to experience the place, and not just settle for living in a bubble. This experience definitely added to it, as the terrain we were in was absolutely surreal. With our floodlights shining on, you could see the murky water, lily pads that let water pool on them, but not drown them, trees sticking right out of the water, and shallow enough regions that our guide had to jump out and get his feet we to push us out. This was all accented by it being night time the frog sounds, the turtles bobbing their heads, and the herons flying around. It definitely felt like a true southern experience, at least what I imagined it to be.

The Analogy

How could I go fishing without having the stories of scripture regarding fishing go through my head? I guess pretty easily, but for whatever reason, my mind was struck with all sorts of analogy from the night of fishing. The first point I want to make is that I would have struggled as a fisherman in Biblical times. I probably would have been the tax collector who was converted. That job seems easier. I love that agrarian stories and parables come so much more alive when you experience them for yourself. When Jesus talks about Fishers of Men, I see how difficult it is and how patient we must be. I even think it is interesting how there is a difference between the fish we want and the fish we expect to get. As we rode back across the Tennessee River to our dock, there were fish just jumping out of the water right in our boat's wake. They were not the ones we wanted, but they were the most available. I think in the spiritual world, these are the people we must minister to. The people that want to hear the message. I also appreciated the nighttime calm that was around us as we fished. It really helps me to appreciate the retreating to quiet lonely places that Jesus loved so much.

ROLL SEC

The SEC (Southeastern Conference) is the greatest conference in football, and if you disagree with me, I won't be your friend. I love Alabama. I grew up on Alabama football and I remember the last championship like it was yesterday, so I guess I 'll just act like it was that recent. ROLL TIDE!!!

Wow, I sound really sarcastic writing that. Living down here in Alabama, and loving football, has led to quite a few conversations. The people down here love their football, especially the collegiate variety. I'm pretty sure the Iron Bowl (Auburn-Alabama) is bigger than the Super Bowl in this state. And in many ways it is a lot of fun. The games are neat to watch. That is, until I run into the fanhood. I can be quite the obnoxious fan, and I need to watch out, especially after watching Alabama fans especially. Their ability to talk trash is second to none. But their ability to win is second to Auburn. A fun joke I learned down here goes something like this...

How do you get an Alabama fan to stop being an alcoholic?
Paint his beers all orange and blue. He won't be able to touch them for 6 years.

I think I've been really worn down by the presumptuously cocky nature of a program that has been as successful as Illinois recently.

Then I try to tell them that Big 10 football is football too (Ohio State is not helping me), and I get an earful. Check out this little comment from ESPN.com

Since 2003, the SEC is 30-31 in out of conference games against BCS conference schools. Out of the 30 wins, only 14 came on the road. I believe a win is a win, but Georgia beating Ga Tech at Ga Tech and Fla beating Fla St in Tallahassee are not extremely impressive lately - that accounts 5 of the road wins. Georgia and LSU are the two schools that stand out in out of conference wins against BCS conference schools - though no big win has been away from Athens or Baton Rouge. By contrast since 2003, the Big Ten is 43-31 in non-conference games against BCS schools. 19 of the wins have been on the road. Similarly, the big wins are usually at home with the exception being my Buckeyes win at Texas in 2006. The SEC's win/loss OOC record against BCS schools suggests the SEC is like every other conference - great on the top, avg in the middle and pretty awful on the bottom. The one difference is defensive line play - not skill players, not DB's, not speed, it is the D-line. Very impressive. I presume this is why Tressel recruited and got the best OL this year.

Oh, and in defense of Ohio State, let's play the national championship in the midwest, so a Big 10 team can have a home game.

I'm not sure what the whole point of me writing this was, other than to get it off my chest. I'm really frustrated by that aspect of the south, and I can't wait until Illinois rises to the occasion. You know Zook has a chip on his shoulder, and he's ready to beat on a conference that he wasn't 'good enough' for.

ZOOK 'EM

The Green Hat

In American socio-economics, for the last few decades at the very least, there has existed the working and business class, the white collar and the blue collar, and any other way you could split it. Generally, you would get to know those who were along side you and didn't spend a lot of time with the others. If you worked at a GM plant, chances are you didn't associate with the bankers in the community. And vice versa is often true as well. Now, this isn't to say that the division is in stone, but it definitely seems to exist.

Now, I am over-simplifying all of that, but let me finish...

Nucor Steel (the company I am working for this summer), has in many ways, spit in the face of socio-economics. This is in a lot of ways due to the vision of Ken Iverson, and those who joined with him and those who followed in his footsteps. His book, Plain Talk, is a good, quick, and fascinating read. In the steel industry, this split of cultures has existed for a long time. In Bethlehem steel, the issue was so intense that the corporate folks had their own golf course, and operations had their own separate one. They didn't interact with each other, and blue and white collar were divided. Based upon your rank, people in steel wear different colored hats based upon rank, execs get special treatment, etc.

Not so much at Nucor. No special treatment for those who wear polo shirts. They park in the same spot as guys who wear dirty greens (the common wear in a steel mill). These once separate two classes are not just asked to interact, but they enjoy it. It is realized that this is best for business, and it really is the most human thing to do. This culture is fascinating to me, and since everybody gets paid and treated well, there has been no need for workers to organize a union.

Anyway, I'm not here to dode on a company. After all, it definitely is not the most important thing in my life, the business world that is. In any case...

I got a green hat today. It was a big honor. New hires and interns are given a yellow hat for safety reasons, so people can watch out for them and make sure they're in a safe place. But today, when I returned to my desk from the mill, I had a shiny green hat on my desk with my name on it. It was a huge honor to receive it. I tried it on, and felt kind of like I didn't deserve it. I am just an intern. After being assured I had earned it though, I will wear it for my last week proudly. I am now 'one of the guys,' and I love that feeling. The camaraderie of people coming together for a common cause is a beautiful thing. We must carry these ideals into the business world, and I would argue that many of them are Christ-like values even (I know, be careful Alan. I mean the part about treating people fairly and equally and with respect, even love.) to live in life.

I will wear my green hat proudly as a Nucor employee intern.