But Seriously

Noah's Ark?

A new claim is being made for the discovery of Noah's Ark, as evangelical explorers from China and Turkey believe they may have found the remnants of the legendary biblical vessel.

"It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it," Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and member of the 15-person team from Noah's Ark Ministries International, told Agence France-Presse.

The team says it recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey at an altitude of 13,000 feet and that carbon dating suggested it was 4,800 years old.

Several compartments, some with wooden beams, are said to be inside and could have been used to house animals, the group indicated.

via www.wnd.com

Feasting on the Gulf Coast

I recently spent a week on the Louisiana Gulf Coast.  I had a great time with old friends at a reunion and I spent an extra few days with my parents.  As is our custom, we spent some time visiting local attractions like the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom (my son's favorite) and this time we did a swamp tour with Cajun Encounters.  Captain Mike entertained us with history, folklore, and tricks with wild gators.

We have some favorite restaurants that we like to visit whenever we come down.  If we are going through North St. Tammany Parish, we will try to pass through Mandeville and stop at It's Another Beautiful Day.  If we are still there in the evening, we may stop in Covington and eat gourmet Chinese food at Trey Yuen.  We also try to eat at Copeland's if we are in New Orleans or another city with one.  This time, we managed to visit all three restaurants (but not in the same day).  Copeland's, unfortunately, was not up to par.  The server was dedicated to her table--well, one of them--but it wasn't our table.  While the Bayou Broccoli was as delicious as ever, the recipe for Ricochet Catfish had been tampered with--they cut back on meuniere sauce and added onion strings instead.  I can't imagine that the onion strings cost less than the sauce, but I can tell you with certainty that they distract from the flavor.  Cutting back on sauce was a big mistake.  The meuniere sauce is the whole reason for the dish.  The crab and corn bisque was delicious as usual and I finished my meal off with a fantastic bananas foster.

We tried a few new restaurants.  Crawfish Paradise introduced me to the crawfish burger. 

We also visited Steve's Marina where I had another dish with meuniere sauce and our very attentive server even brought me extra.  I think Copeland's is officially bumped.

Captain Al's steak and shrimp has a flavorful decor to match a flavorful steak.  The homemade salad dressings are a super bonus.  (Cpt Al, get a web page so I can link to it.)

We also ate at the Times Grill, but I could not bring myself to attempt the 1.5 lb wall of fame burger.  As for all the other burgers, I don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.

Another fine trip with great friends, great food, and great times with family.

More new photos

18 more photos are posted in the "Southwest" album.  They include panoramas of the Grand Canyon, pictures of Canyon de Chelly, and Window Rock.  My photo albums do not allow comments, so feel free to leave comments here.

Not for the Faint Hearted

I finally get it. 

For years, I have asked myself, "Why send so much of our resources to other countries when we have people who need them here?"  I am ashamed to say that I just didn't get it.

Today, I looked up one of my favorite bands on YouTube.  Jars of Clay has a song, Light Gives Heat, that touches my heart--and yet I still didn't get it.

I found this video to that song:

Notice the contrast: our abundance to their desolation.  I get it now.  Do you?  We need to send resources to these precious people on the other side of the world or just a country or two away.  We need to because we have the resources and they don't.  We have clean water, and they don't.  We have food that goes to waste . . . and they don't.  Our abundance is so heavy, that the people here who need still have an opportunity to get what they need.  Other countries don't.

I now get it.  I want to help them get it too.

Album Updates

I have updated two photo albums.  New pictures have been added to Colorado and Southwest albums.  You will see that we like oceans and mountains.  Here are some examples:

This is Malibu Beach at sunset in 2004, I think.

This is another photo from Antero Hot Springs.  I think the Mountain in the background is Mount Princeton.

Photos of Hawaii

I had the immense pleasure of traveling to Hawaii in April '07.  We visited Oahu staying in Honolulu.  We also traveled around the island.  I just posted a photo album of the landscape photos I took in Oahu.  You can view the photos here.

I loved Hawaii and seriously consider moving there.  Did you know they have no native snakes?  Sadly, the Dole Pineapple factory is leaving.

Check out the album and feel free to comment.  The album is a work in progress and I plan to upload more landscape photos from states like California and Colorado.

Are you interested in using any of these pictures commercially?  Please e-mail me for permission.  Do you want to use one of these pictures in a non-commercial post?  Please leave a comment below and be sure to include a link to your use.

I hope you enjoy.