The Dream of Spaceflight, cont.
So in between running tests here at work, I tend to have some time on my hands... at least today. So I've been reading that book some more. I'm on chapter two now, entitled: The Romance of Spaceflight: Nostalgia for a Bygone Future

It mentions an artist, Chesley Bonestell, who was famous for his works of a space nature. I checked out some of his stuff online... its quite impressive. http://www.bonestell.org/Page_30x.html

Also in this chapter it suggests that there are seven zones of human experience. The first five are the 'natural zones':
1) the area of sensation immediately touching the sking
2) the area within two or three meters in which most social interaction takes place
3) the maximum area of social interaction, reaching out a few hundred feet
4) the area that extends as far as one can see or otherwise gather information from any one location
5) an irregular and varying area made up of all the zone-four areas that a person experiences during a lifetime

Beyond the five natural zones are two conceptual constructs:
6) the surface or biosphere of the Earth
7) the universe as far out as one can conceive - the realm of transcendence, the literal locus of ultimate answers to all our "why" questions.

The book alludes to the fact that any 'god' that humans might refer to would be a part of the 7th zone of human experience. To quote the book (disclaimer... this is a quote, NOT my ideas): "To conceive of the transcendent requires a symbol. One cannot worship "God" - a word, a vague feeling, an intellectual abstraction; one needs an image: Jesus, Buddha, a bearded man in the sky, a painting, a statue. Yet the natural tendency is for the image to literally become God, and the larger, elusive feeling that empowered the symbol fades, eclipsed by a host of this-worldly connections. Finally demystified, the statue reverts to its status as mere artifact. Thus every symbol contains the seeds of its own desacralization. The millennial nature of Christian theology generated the idea of spiritual progress, which spawned the notion of salvation through success in this world, which led to the secular idea of material progress, which in turn began to desacralize Christian theology. The last stage of this process is fundamentalist dogma, in which symbols have lost their numinosity and have degenereated to mere signs"

I know that's a rather long quotation... It actually took up most of the page it was on in the book. I understand how the author intended for this long, drawn out description to emphasize a point he was making, however, what he said clearly demonstrates that he is most likely agnostic. Saying that Jesus is not one and the same with God. He says that Christianity is a desacralization. {sidenote: I'm not doing as good of a job today defending my views as normal... but I just wanted to state some of these... quite honestly all i've done really is list several points that I generally would be able to extend upon in at least a paragraph each. bear with me!}

More knowledge from another book
I was at the Air & Space Smithsonian shortly after having finished the book I had to read for my internship. I was roaming the book section of the gift shop and ran across a book that was on sale for just $5, called The Dream of Spaceflight: Essays on the near edge of infinity by Wyn Wachhorst. I haven't read much of it yet, but I've had a chance to get through the forward and preface, and begin on the 1st chapter (titled 'Kepler's Children'). SO i have a few quotations from this book that I thought I'd post.

"To gaze into the night sky and feel the vastness and passion of creation is to glimpse an equally vast interior. We are aware of the stars only because we have evolved a corresponding inner space."

"Beyond all the political and economic rationales, spaceflight is a spiritual quest in the broadest sense, one promising a revitalization of humanity and a rebirth of hope no less profound than the great opening out of mind and spirit at the dawn of the modern age."

"'Let us create vessels and sails adjusted to the heavenly ether,' Kepler wrote to Galileo, 'and there will be plenty of people unafraid of the empty wastes. In the meantime, we shall prepare for the brave sky-travelers maps of the celestial bodies.'"

"What motivates those who venture over the edge, who trek over barren plains, through tangled jungle, or across the Arctic waste?... [it] is a sometimes selfless obsession with reaching the pristine edges of reality...the attempt to complete the grand internal model of reality, to broaden the context of meaning, to find the center by completing the edge."

"'It is part of the nature of man,' he adds, 'to start with romance and build to reality. We need this thing which makes us sit bolt upright when we are nine or ten and say, 'I want to go out and devour the world.''" (Ray Bradbury)

"'There can be no thought of finishing, for 'aiming at the stars' is a problem to occupy generations.... No matter how much progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning.'" (Robert Goddard)

[It was] "Ed White, floating over the milky blue vastness of teh Pacific with that flash of sunlight on his viosr, that best captured the exhilaration, the euphoric liberation of a species come of age....'I don't want to come back, but I'm comin,' he said. 'It's the saddest moment of my life.'"

And as a side note... Books that Kepler Wrote
* Somnium - Kepler's vision of life on the moon
* Harmony of the World - Even through all the hardships Kepler faced during his life, he was convinced that it was still beautiful.

From the Earth to the Moon - Jules Verne

and thus ends the first chapter.

Long Time, No Post

Well, its been well over a month since I posted up here. I suppose I just haven't been 'inspired' by anything recently to write about here. I've been in College Park, MD since May 31 at the University of Maryland for a program called RISE doing research in the electrical engineering department (I know its not my major). I've met some pretty cool people and had time to hang out with a few of my friends from VT. Two of the people in my group at RISE were born and lived a good portion of their lives in another country.

Maria grew up in Romania. When she was really young, her dad was on a business trip in the US and decided to never go back to Romania (Romania was having a rough time... corrupt gov't and the works..). Anyway, once word got around that he had never returned home the government began harassing her family. While they attmepted to get out of Romania to join her dad in the US, the government wasn't giving them permission to leave and kept trying to get them to fess up about the father's wherabouts. Anyway, by the time the family finally got permission to leave, the government had collapsed and was beginning to rebound, but they were sick of the way they had been treated so came on to the US anyway.

Aimi spent most of her life in Nigeria. Her mother had moved to the US when she was very very young. But Aimi stayed in her town in Nigeria. Her father had many wives and so she really didn't get a chance to get to know him. Other members of her family took care of her until she was about 17. Then she moved to join her mother and sister in NYC. She spent about a year there before her mother kicked her out. So at 18, Aimi had spent only a year in the states and was supporting herself.

I'm so impressed by these stories of their lives. Its very brave of them and I have so much respect for how far they've gotten.

Goals, Dreams, and Priorities... As well as a bit of Wisdom from Good Ol' C.S. Lewis

Well, I was going to have some literary commentary here to go along with this post, but nothing on the internet seems to be working right now (other than this). Anyway, this post is kinda inspired from two different sources: my Sunday School lesson today and the book I'm in the process of reading right now -- The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

Let me start off with the Sunday School lesson. Chris, our teacher, came in and wrote 4 words on the chalkboard: goals, dreams, desires, priorities. Then he asked us to define these 4 terms. So here's what we, as a class, came up with...

• Goals = something realistic you plan to do


• Dreams = lofty, something you'd like to do... you don't put any (or much) effort into obtaining this, and thus expect little success from these actions.


• Desires = wants, feelings


• Priorities = hierarchy of dreams and goals

And Chris posed to us that Goals are dreams with deadlines. Also, all 4 of these are inter-related. We decided that the Flowchart would go something like this...
Desires --> Dreams --> Goals --> Priorities.
(Except sometimes the priorities have an overall effect on the desires and dreams and goals)

This lesson is something that hits home with someone like me... I'm generally a very organized, goal-oriented person and having a Sunday School lesson on these very things was something I could get into. The scripture that went along with this lesson came from several different places in the Bible... one of which was "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) Another was "Ask and it will be given unto you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7) 

This doesn't just mean that if you say that you delight in the Lord, then you can get that brand new car you've been wanting. Rather, if you TRULY are walking with the Lord and are striving to be like Christ, your 'priorities' will shift to be more like what Christ wants and less of those 'worldly', selfish ones. God isn't going to push himself on you to make a change; you have to make the decision for yourself. He's not going to give you the power to stop a bad habit even if you ask in prayer if you don't truly want to get rid of that habit. You have to want to accept God's will for your life. You have to want to make the change. And to grow in your walk, God's will must be the first priority in your life. You can't keep on doing the same ol' thing and expect to get closer to God.  

I think for me in my life, where I've always had this big plan in my life, that's the hardest thing for me. I work so hard on accomplishing my goals and preparing myself for those things I have planned out in my future that I often make that the first priority in my life, shrugging my relationship with God off to the side. And its hard for me to keep him in first place in my life because sometimes its hard to make that connection between my aerospace engineering and my religious convictions. Its easy to get in the routine of relying on yourself to accomplish your goals... and if you work hard enough at it (at least in my experience) you can reach those goals too... at least I have been able to, so far. That's when you slip out of things. 

A few weeks ago, in my religion class we were watching some video on the religious responses people had to the 9-11 attacks... they kept showing scenes of beaches with sunsets, and for some reason seeing the waves come in and out on that TV screen made me think of something. You know, when you were little and were at the beach. When the under toe comes, you can feel its impact. At first, its effect subtle, you can maintain your stance and keep your feet on the ground. But gradually the force of the current increases and eventually knocks you off your feet, pulling you under. This is like in your walk with God. At first impact, you can keep on going in your life the way things had always been and keep the guise that everything’s just fine, just the way it always had been... even fooling yourself. But eventually, it builds up and overcomes you... You loose control of your life because you've gone away from God's will for your life. 

By not putting him as the first priority in your life, you're putting yourself at high risk for going astray... errr, actually you are going astray. If you're not careful, you'll lose it... like when the force of the under toe gets too strong. 

Anyway, I just started reading The Screwtape Letters yesterday afternoon, and I've been surprised to find several passages within it so far that are somewhat related (or at least intriguing and applicable to life as I see it as a college student) to this same topic. Just as a little background, for those of you who are not familiar, Screwtape is a devil. The book is comprised of letters written by Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood - a devil in training (to give it a form of quatification). Screwtape advises Wormwood in the ways of converting wavering humans away from Christianity (or 'the Enemy' = God). Any quotes I make are things that Screwtape is saying as he advises Wormwood as to how best get the person on the side of 'Our Father Below' (the Devil).  

"Finally, if all else fails, you can persuade him, in defiance of conscience, to continue the new acquaintance on the ground that he is, in some unspecified way, doing these people 'good' by the mere fact of drinking their cocktails and laughing at their jokes, and that to cease to do so would be 'priggish', 'intolerant', and (of course) 'Puritanical'." - Letter 10  

"The real use of Jokes or Humour is in quite a different direction, and it is specially promising among the English who take their 'sense of humour' so seriously that a deficiency in this sense is almost the only deficiency at which they feel shame. Humor is for them the all-consoling and (mark this) the all-excusing, grace of life. Hence it is invaluable as a means of destroying shame... A thousand bawdy, or even blasphemous, jokes do not help towards a man's damnation so much as his discovery that almost anything he wants to do can be done, not only without the disapproval but with the admiration of his fellows, if only it can get itself treated as a Joke." - Letter 11 

"The Christians describe the Enemy as one 'without whom Nothing is strong'. And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man's best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off... It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing... Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." - Letter 12  

"active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel." - Letter 13

A Brief Update
I haven't updated here in a while, so I thought I'd take a 'study break' from exams to just mention a few things...

Its exam time now... All I have left of my freshman year is 4 exams, one of which is at 3:30 pm today! :)

Anyway, this year has been incredible. I can't think of a dull moment... and its gone by SOOOO fast. I've learned a lot and have had a lot of new experiences since I got here to VT.

I've been consumed with coursework here at the end of the semester and that's been keeping me from doing a lot of the blogging stuff... well, as a matter of fact, I haven't been very regular on it this entire semester.

And before I close out this post, I want to say that I am lucky to have friends like HokiePundit. Thanks. :)

Happy Easter

Well, its the day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
So go out and be glad for Christ is risen.

Today, I believe was the first Easter I spent away from my family and didn't go to church.

A verse of recognition
I know I've been gone from the blogging world for a while, but I just got back from Bible Study with the Nav's and this verse was mentioned and stood out to me... Philippians 2:14-16

Philippians 2
2:14
Do all things without complaining and disputing,
2:15
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
2:16
holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

America Triumphant
A nifty little montage

Just something I ran across
I found this quote on a friend from high school's AIM Away Message today...
Best explanation of the world's problems that I have ever heard:
"Liberals are stupid.. Their parents smoked too much pot or something. Think about it. There was the 70's and then there was this surplus of liberals"

Controversy in Hokie-land
If ever there was an issue of the CT (Collegiate Times - the VT student produced newspaper), today would be the day! Just take a look at some of the headlines....

* BOV drops gays from policy

* Affirmative action dealt blow at Tech

* Federal bill would put cap on tuition

* Lesbian hire gets boards approval

* Changes to admission policy detrimental to Tech diversity

And yesterday wasn't much better...

* Tech may censor extremist speakers

* Diversity commission OK'd

* Smoking ban passed for campus residents

And that's not mentioning the SLEW of war-related articles (not that I find those to be controversial at this point...).

IMPORTANT:

Store Closing Notice:

ALL K-MART AND WALMART STORES WILL BE CLOSED IN IRAQ!!!

THEY WILL BE REPLACED WITH TARGETS.

Silly French
Found this link on a friend's AIM Profile:
Your French belters (from the Sun Feb. 15th)

Random Notice
Hey, I just realized that Robbie (HokiePundit) has placed me on his links list under Fightin' Gobblers! So I did the same..

Happy Valentines Day... err Singles Awareness Day
I found a link off of a friend's profile this morning as I checked everyone's away messages after I woke up (yeah.... i do that every morning as I wait for the water in my shower to warm up).

Singles Awareness Day

While I'm not so adamant about how horrible Valentine's Day is (I do love those conversation hearts), the author does have a point. People do get overly worried over this one day... and what does it teach us? not really much.... people rush out and buy their significant other stuff, but just because its some day.... The point the author makes is that love shouldn't just be something that is put on the front burner for this one celebrated day, but rather love should be celebrated all year round...

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day just the same.

Valentine's Day.... err... Singles Awareness Day

A Link
http://www.talltexian.com/AmericaForever/id28.htm

The Day After Tragedy Hit
The post made yesterday was the news according to the post NASA made to their main webpage yesterday afternoon. It sums up basically everything that was known about the situation at the time and pretty much everything that is known now. I wanted to come back today and make some more comments about this horrible tragedy and expand upon the events of yesterday. (prepare yourself for a rather lengthy post)

But first, let me step back a bit. I would venture to say that President Bush has probably had the most "jam-packed" presidency with crucial, serious, and tragic events of any president in the history of the United States. It seems that just when the President and the US has dealt with one situation, another one just all of a sudden appears…. from the 9/11 attacks, to the dealings with Korea, and now the loss of 7 lives in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia, and everything in between. But this in particular has struck a personal note (as did the 9/11 attacks… but this almost to a greater degree).

For my whole life, or at least what I can remember, I have wanted to become an astronaut. Not just any astronaut, but I wanted to be the Shuttle Commander. As a middle school and younger high school student, I paid my way to go to the Space Camp Programs in Florida and Alabama a total of 4 times and also won a scholarship to Advanced Space Academy an additional time. So in all, I've attended the programs a total of 5 times…. not quite the record, but not far off either. In fact by the 5th time I attended the camps, I was on a pretty much first name basis with much of the staff there in Huntsville, Alabama. Space Camp was the perfect excursion for someone like me. A week-long camp where I could meet other kids from around the country, and sometimes from other parts of the world as well, who were also interested in space. I could learn about the history of the space program, about astronomy, and about the mechanics of space travel; I got to experience simulators and get a taste of the types of training that real astronauts go through… even experience miniature shuttle missions. People at my high school definitely knew about my sort of 'obsession' with space travel… all knew that I wanted to be an astronaut… A lot of people just used that as a way to make fun of me, but I didn't care… I knew what I was passionate about and it didn't matter what other people thought. Other people, especially some of my teachers, still ask me to make sure that I 'get them tickets to see my first launch.' And for any of you who have made that request…. when the time comes, just let me know! J

But the point is, I think that was my motivation… maybe not my obvious motivation, but more subconscious…. all throughout my high school life…. its why I did so well. There's really no other explanation to it. I never saw myself as the 'smartest' kid at school…. not really close at all…. But the difference was that I worked my BUTT off so that I would have the best grades I could get….

Okay, back on the track I was taking…. I definitely was more knowledgable about space travel, the history of manned spaceflight, etc. than any other person I knew…. Gosh you probably could have asked me any silly trivia question about the space program back then, and I would've known the answer. (I'm a little rusty nowadays… so I wouldn't try asking me now… out of practice) But I knew then that space travel was still fragile, a risk…. something that became apparent again to the nation's public after yesterday's travel. Becoming an astronaut, you assume the dangers that come along with it…. Every time you go into space you're practically strapping yourself to a rocket-powered bomb of sorts…. And during reentry… if you don't come back into the atmosphere at just the right time, you'll be missing your "window" and it'd be like running into a brick wall. Also, coming back in at the correct angle affects things as well, because you must deflect the heat generated from friction as you reenter the earth's atmosphere. It's a risk that all astronauts are aware of and are willing to take to make that voyage into space…. not just for themselves (though that is part of it) but also to better the human race through the work they do while in space. That risk involved is also why astronauts spend over 3 years in training for their specific mission. They run through the procedures over and over until its almost second nature… but they don't ever let it become second nature… they don't let the little details by them… even the silly routine checks are done every time following a specific guide for how they should be done and reported… almost like a script for a play.

Anyway, throughout the 42 years of US manned spaceflight, only 3 incidents resulted in the loss of human life. The first of these was Apollo I [January 27, 1967], however it was never meant to launch. Rather Apollo I served as a launch pad test of the Apollo/Saturn launch vehicle being prepared for the first piloted flight. Three astronauts, nonetheless, were on board of the vehicle and were unable to escape the command module once failures began. These three men were: Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom (Gus - a veteran of Mercury and Gemini missions), Lt. Col. Edward H. White (the astronaut who performed the first US extravehicular activity during the Gemini program), and Lt. Col. Roger B. Chaffee (an astronaut preparing for his first mission). Adjustments to the command module were made to fix the anomalies so that something like this would not happen again, and provisions were placed in the lunar excusion module as well so that this could not occur there either.

Apollo 13 could have been a deadly catastrophe, but as I mentioned before NASA trains its astronauts, as well as mission control and ground support, so well that they know their mission flawlessly, but I failed to mention that these astronauts and other engineers know their equipment like the 'back of their hand'… and thus with some ingenuity, they were able to solve the problem and get back to earth safely.

Next, the US Space Program spawned into a new generation of spaceflight: the Space Shuttle. Beginning with the first Shuttle flight in 1981, the space program would become more and more a useful tool to learning more about space as well as our own planet. The Space Shuttle Program Began with launch of STS-1. Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on April 12, 1981, at 7 a.m. EST to begin the first shuttle mission, STS-1. The primary mission objectives for STS-1 were to accomplish a safe ascent into orbit, check out all the systems on the space shuttle and to return to Earth for a safe landing. All of these objectives were met successfully. The first crew for the Shuttle Program and for the Space Shuttle Columbia was John W. Young (commander) and Capt. Robert L. Crippen (pilot).

It wasn't until January 28, 1986 that tragedy struck the space program again. STS-51L, Challenger Orbiter… crew of 7: Francis R. Scobee (commander), Michael J. Smith (pilot), Judith A. Resnik, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald E. McNair, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Sharon Christa McAuliffe. After several delays and pushbacks of the flight, the Challenger finally was going to get off the launchpad on the chilly morning of January 28, 1986. Delays set in again with the onset of a hardware interface module in the launch processing system failure during liquid hydrogen testing procedures. After fixing this problem, the Shuttle finally was cleared for launch. And only 73 seconds after liftoff, as America looked on as the first teacher was to be sent to space, the Challenger exploded, claiming the crew and vehicle. Shuttle flights halted while investigations of the incident were undergone and while improvements to the systems could be made to prevent another tragedy from happening later on. It took nearly 3 years before another Shuttle would launch again.

Twenty years after Columbia's maiden flight, America's first space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, returned to service just after a year and a half of maintenance and upgrades that have made it better than ever. More than 100 modifications and improvements have been made to Columbia, highlighted by the installation of a new "glass cockpit" that replaced mechanical instruments with 11 full-color, flat-panel displays. The new cockpit is lighter, uses less electricity and sets the stage for the next generation of improvements, a "smart cockpit" under development that will make the cockpit even more user-friendly. Columbia is the second of NASA's four space shuttles to be fitted with the new "glass cockpit." Other improvements included weight reductions that have increased the amount of cargo Columbia can carry to orbit by hundreds of pounds. To save weight, almost 1,000 pounds of unused wire -- left over from equipment and sensors that were used on Columbia for only the first few space shuttle test flights - were removed. Comprehensive inspections of 95 percent of Columbia's more than 200 miles of wire were performed at Palmdale. To prevent such damage from recurring, technicians smoothed rough edges throughout the shuttle and encased wiring in high-traffic work areas in protective tubing. Such inspections and protective measures will be a regular feature of all future shuttle major maintenance. In addition, Columbia's crew cabin floor was strengthened, the heat protection on its wings was enhanced and protection space debris was added to its cooling system, making it a safer spacecraft. While Columbia was in California, technicians scoured the shuttle during months of intensive structural inspections, using the latest technology to check for even minute signs of fatigue, corrosion or broken rivets or welds. (resource for details on upgrades to the Columbia Orbiter was found at http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/releases/2001/01-25.html).

This brings us about up to date…. (if you want to read more on US manned space history… check out http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/)

STS 107, what some people considered what had been the "most perfect mission" up until the last 20 minutes. Never has NASA had problems during reentry before yesterday. Here's a segment from the most recent NASA Shuttle Status Report (8 pm EST 2/1/03):

---

The Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts were lost today when the vehicle broke up over north central Texas during its reentry from orbit.

Communications were lost with Columbia and its crew at around 8:00 a.m. CST, while the shuttle was traveling about 18 times the speed of sound at an altitude of 207,000 feet. Columbia was 16 minutes from landing at the Kennedy Space Center when flight controllers at Mission Control lost contact with the vehicle. Columbia was returning from a 16-day scientific research mission, its 28th flight, which launched on January 16.

Aboard Columbia were Commander Rick Husband, completing his second flight, Pilot William McCool, wrapping up his first mission, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, also completing his first mission, Kalpana Chawla, on her second flight, Laurel Clark, a first-time space traveler, Payload Commander Mike Anderson, ending his second flight, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of the Israel Space Agency, on his first flight.

Prior to the loss of communications with Columbia, the shuttle's return to Earth appeared perfectly normal. After assessing some wispy fog near the shuttle?s three-mile long landing strip at KSC before dawn, Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain gave approval for the firing of the shuttle's braking rockets to begin its descent from orbit.

Husband and McCool began the deorbit burn to allow Columbia to slip out of orbit at 7:15 a.m. CST. There was no indication of anything abnormal with Columbia's reentry until the last communications between Mission Control and the crew.

At Columbia's intended landing site, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy met with the families of the astronauts to offer their condolences, vowed to uncover the cause of the accident and press ahead with the Shuttle program.

"This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the nation," said O'Keefe.

"We have no indication that the mishap was caused by anything or anyone on the ground," O'Keefe added.

In a briefing, Chief Flight Director Milt Heflin said that around 7:53 a.m. CST, just minutes before communications were lost with Columbia, flight controllers detected indications of a loss of hydraulic system temperature measurements associated with Columbia's left wing, followed three minutes later by an increase in temperatures on the left main gear tires and brakes. At 7:58 a.m., flight controllers noted a loss of bondline temperature sensor data in the area of the left wing followed a minute later by a loss of data on tire temperatures and pressures for the left inboard and outboard tires.

After several attempts to try to contact Columbia, Cain declared a contingency, whereby flight controllers began preserving documentation regarding the entry phase of the flight. Recovery forces fanned out from Texas to Louisiana to try to recover debris that will be pertinent to the mishap investigation.

Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore said several teams have been organized to gather data for analysis and will report to an external investigation board that was appointed by Administrator O'Keefe. Dittemore added that no specific orbiter debris or crew remains have been positively identified at this time, and that there is no leading theory for the cause of the accident.

Dittemore said the processing of other shuttles at the Kennedy Space Center for future launches has been temporarily halted to enable engineers to review data regarding vehicle processing and to focus attention on capturing all pertinent information involving Columbia's prelaunch preparations.

NASA managers will be meeting on a regular basis to begin reviewing data associated with Columbia's investigation. The next status briefing from the Johnson Space Center is tentatively scheduled from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX at 12:00 p.m. CST Sunday. It will be seen on NASA Television with two-way question and answer capability for reporters from NASA centers. …

On the International Space Station, Expedition 6 Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit were informed of the loss of Columbia and its crew shortly after a Russian Progress resupply vehicle undocked from the ISS. Filled with discarded items no longer needed on the ISS, the Progress was commanded to deorbit by Russian flight controllers and reentered the Earth's atmosphere.

A new Progress cargo ship will be launched Sunday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:59 a.m. CST (1259 GMT) filled with supplies for the Expedition 6 crew. It is scheduled to dock to the ISS Tuesday morning. ISS program officials say, if necessary, the current resident crew could remain in orbit until late June with the supplies being ferried to the station on the new Progress.

---

President Bush's Response yesterday to this horrible tragedy, I think was very well put (maybe not so poetically as Reagan, the last president to offer condolences for an incident such as this… after the loss of lives in the Challenger incident)….

---

My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our
country. At 9 o'clock this morning, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with our
space shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above
Texas.

The Columbia's lost. There are no survivors.

Onboard was a crew of seven -- Colonel Rick Husband, Lieutenant Colonel Michael
Anderson, Commander Laurel Clark, Captain David Brown, Commander William McCool,
Dr. Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon a colonel in the Israeli air force.

These men and women assumed great risk in this service to all humanity. In an age when
space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel
by rocket and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the earth.

These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a
high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will
miss them all the more.

All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who
have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves
with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.

The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our
world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into
space will go on.

In the skies today, we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see, there is
comfort and hope.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created
all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn
today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth, yet we can pray
that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.

---

Another good resource I've found on the Columbia incident is: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/shuttle/.

Well, I think I've about summed up everything for right now. So, to close, Rick Husband, William McCool, Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Mike Anderson, and Ilan Ramon of the Israel Space Agency, as well as their families and friends are in our thoughts and prayers.

The US is a strong nation and so is NASA and the rest of the space program. We'll survive. It might be a break before the Space Program resumes to its normal pace, but it will return. And eventually, (hopefully), my name will be added to the list of those who've gone to space (I still need to be the first woman on the moon and one of the first people on Mars!). There's still SO much to be accomplished, it'd be a shame for it to die.

So, America… keep believing in the space program!

Disaster Strikes the Space Program again...
NASA STATEMENT ON LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH COLUMBIA
A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 9 a.m. EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It was scheduled to touchdown at 9:16 a.m. EST.

Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. EST at an altitude of about 203,000 feet in the area above north central Texas. At the time communications were lost. The shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and tracking information were received in Mission Control after that time.

Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be reported to local authorities.

Flight controllers in Mission Control have secured all information, notes and data pertinent to today's entry and landing by Space Shuttle Columbia and continue to methodically proceed through contingency plans.

Follow Up
In regards to Thursday's post, I wanted to add a few comments.
Before I went to class, the way I responded was soley.... "Of course they aren't letting homosexuals carry leadership positions!" I mean, why would they? IV is a Christian organization and having someone in a leadership position who clearly did not represent the standards that the group is professing would be counterproductive and would make people outside the organization question its merit (hypocritical).

The discussion in class, while it did not really change my stance on the issue made me think about it more in depth and realize more of the other side of the picture. Some of the points made against IV in this case were IV is carrying the school's name and logo along with the organization name. Also, they're using school facilities for their meetings (etc). In addition, some schools (mainly private schools) offer all campus organizations funding from the student activities fee. If the school professes to not discriminate (as VT does for example) against age, sex, race, or sexual orientation then campus organizations do not have the right to discriminate either as long as they're using the school name, logo, facilities, or funding.

This is all well and good, but I still don't agree. Here's an example.... Would the Black Student Alliance have a white person as president???/ I don't think so.... Would the Society of Women Engineers have a male in a leadership position??? No again.

On the other hand, why would a homosexual, or anyone for that matter, want to be a part of an organization that professes different values and morals that differ from those of themselves?? It just doesn't seem like someone would go through the trouble to be a part of a group that clearly condones some value they posses, like homosexuality for example.

I brought this point up in class and the teacher made the point that maybe a person wants to get in leadership to reform the group. Well... maybe they should make their OWN organization that professes that Homosexuality is not condoned within Christianity.

Anyway, that's just what I think!
Until next time...
~Stefie

An Article from my Religion Class
In my religion class, we're required to subscribe to a Daily Relgious News Email service, OnReligion.com. One article we were required to read spouted some interest in my mind... (from the Washington Times 1/18/03):

---

InterVarsity status shaken by bias accusations
Richard N. Ostling
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published January 18, 2003


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After 65 years of work on American college campuses, the respected InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has been battling recently with administrators at several dozen schools.
At issue are university rules that forbid recognized on-campus student organizations to discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual orientation.
InterVarsity requires students who lead its chapters — though not the other participants — to adhere to its eight-point doctrinal platform, and the traditional Christian teaching against homosexuality.
"A person's religious convictions are a relevant factor when selecting him or her to lead a religious organization," undergraduate leaders of an independent but InterVarsity-related Christian fellowship at Harvard said in a recent statement. The issue is under discussion at Harvard.
InterVarsity seeks to settle such disputes privately, said the group's attorney, David French. It almost always wins, defending its policies on the basis of religious freedom, said Mr. French, whose efforts are supported by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz.
But at Rutgers University, a local chapter was suspended in September, subsequent talks stalled and InterVarsity filed suit in federal court Dec. 30 for the first time anywhere.
The same day, news broke that Chancellor James Moeser of the University of North Carolina overruled the student activities director, who had told InterVarsity students to drop their leadership restrictions by Jan. 31 or be thrown off campus.
North Carolina's rules, similar to those elsewhere, require campus clubs to allow "full membership and participation" without regard to religion, sexual orientation or other factors.
Mr. Moeser decided InterVarsity could continue as a recognized campus club without changing its rule about leaders. Because it makes "valuable contributions to student life" and since membership is open to all, "on balance," Mr. Moeser explained, "preserving freedom of expression is the more crucial consideration."
Originating at England's University of Cambridge 126 years ago, InterVarsity reached the University of Michigan in 1938 and currently has chapters on 560 U.S. campuses.
Its missionary convention at the University of Illinois every three years is the biggest religious event in America for college students; it drew 18,730 in 2000.
Yet deeply religious students tend to find themselves marginalized on campus, said Alan Charles Kors, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
They wind up as the only group expected to live with "a hostile environment," he said.
Mr. Kors, a University of Pennsylvania historian and nonreligious Jew, thinks such students should insist on their rights, as InterVarsity is doing.
"A large number don't fight back," he said.
Apparently, college religious organizations often avoid conflict by operating off-campus — or by simply winking at campus rules. But Mr. French said "integrity" requires InterVarsity chapters to state their leadership policies.
For many years, there seemed to be no problem. The pressures on InterVarsity first became public at Tufts University in 2000, when a member filed a complaint that student leaders of the local chapter barred her from holding office because she is a lesbian who disagreed with InterVarsity's view of homosexuality.
Eventually the campus judiciary decided the lesbian had been discriminated against, but InterVarsity's policy did not violate Tufts' rules so it could continue operating.
Mr. French said he believes public universities such as Rutgers are bound by U.S. Supreme Court decisions that guarantee religious clubs equal access to campus facilities and funding from mandatory student-activity fees. In addition, the court has backed the right of private associations — in a Boy Scouts case — to select leaders on the basis of moral tenets.
The Rutgers dispute pits adherence to InterVarsity's doctrinal requirements against the university rule that "membership, benefits and the election of officers" will not be made on the basis of "religious affiliation."
The InterVarsity chapter could operate off-campus like many religious ministries do, concedes InterVarsity staff adviser Laura Vellenga.
But she said that would relegate it to "second-class status," losing guaranteed access to campus facilities and a rightful share of student-activities fees.
Emmet A. Dennis, Rutgers' vice president for student affairs, said Monday that the school believes a group receiving student fees should open leadership posts to any active participant.
He sees InterVarsity as a national organization seeking to veto local leaders by insisting on its doctrinal standards, although Miss Vellenga said the Rutgers students themselves want to make sure like-minded Christians continue to lead the group.
The issue is simply the right of assembly and "whether groups can come together under particular beliefs," according to Jonathan Crowe, who was student co-leader of the InterVarsity chapter during the Tufts University dispute.
"If you take that away, forcing a Republican group to have a Democratic president or a Hillel group to have a Holocaust denier, you're undermining the integrity of the group."

A New Semester
It's Friday, finally! This first week of the spring semester has gone so SLOWLY. I'm taking 18 credit hours and working in an Aerospace Engineering Senior Design Team. I also made the Hokie Hoops Pep Band and the University Symphony Band (one of my credit classes). Here's my class schedule...
Monday
* 10:10 am - Engineering Fundamentals
* 11:15 am - Religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Tuesday
* 9:30 am - Intro to Programming in C++
* 11:00 am - Calculus II
* 12:30 pm - Vector Geometry
* 2:00 pm - Physics I
* 3:30 pm - (Aero Design Team)
* 5:00 pm - Symphony Band

Wednesday
* 9:05 - Physics Recitation
* 10:10 am - Engineering Fundamentals
* 11:15 am - Religion: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
* 2:00 pm - Physics Lab (every other week)

Thursday
* 9:30 am - Intro to Programming in C++
* 11:00 am - Calculus II
* 2:00 pm - Physics I
* 3:30 pm - Aero Design Team
* 5:00 pm - Symphony Band

Friday
* 11:15 am - Religion: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

They're heavy Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that's okay. I should have some good posts deriving from my religion class.... Like on Wednesday, the whole class was devoted to a class discussion on what we think the definition of religion is. There were some pretty off the wall ideas. For example, one person was saying that quantum physics could be a religion because it defines the history and mechanics of the universe.

Anyway, it should be a good semester. I'll return eventually to post once again.

A New Year
So, I'm a little late, but I want to wish ya'll a happy new year! May it be a fun and productive year.

I don't have many wise words to start the year off... I don't really do the whole 'New Year's Resolution' thing... I don't see a point, because if there's something in your life that needs to be changed waiting for a new year to begin is just going to get you in the habit of putting off making that change, and thus make it harder to actually do.

I'm rambling... so I'm going to stop. Maybe I'll have some good post with deep thought put into it sometime in the near future.

Christmas Eve
Well, its that time of year... Christmas Eve. So many people get caught up in the chaos of the season that they neglect the true meaning of Christmas... Jesus Christ. And even for non-Christians, there should be more to Christmas than just rushing around getting angry because you can't find that perfect gift in time... its time to relax and enjoy the company of your family. So often, people get so wound up in the stress of everything that is going on here at this part of the year... Christmas concerts, shopping, dinners, parties, church services.... the list goes on... But, sometimes we just need to stop and say 'thank you lord' for the season. (I found this article on the origins of Santa Claus by the way)

So... here's a flash back to what the Christmas season is about... sit back and relax and remind yourself of why we celebrate... (have a Merry Christmas!)

---

According to the Gospel of Luke...
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to the city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the House of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, " Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom there will be no end."

Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

And the angel answered and said unto her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you , and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, and angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name, Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

So this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet, saying: "Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emanuel, which is translated, God with us."

Then Joseph being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And called His name, Jesus.

And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirnius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up out of Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea on the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who had been born the King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So the said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the Prophet: " But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel." Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me, the I may come and worship Him also."

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the manger, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, the presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, the departed for the own country another way.

Now there were in the country, shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, the angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring great tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger. Now when they had seen Him, the made widely known the saying which was told to them concerning the Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them.

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,
And the government shall be upon His shoulders.
And His name will be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace, there will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to order it and establish it with judgment and justice,
from that time forward, even forever."

Blogger Etiquette
I don't know if there is such a thing as blogger etiquette... but, since Robbie (HokiePundit) issued a good luck to me and another fellow Hokie on our exams, I figured I'd repay the favor.... So, to Robbie (and anyone else who may be taking them as well)... Good luck on your exams. I hope that your efforts will be repaid and that you won't be too stressed throughout exam week.

And, if I don't get a chance to tell you before then... Have a wonderful Christmas break and a great trip to San Francisco for the bowl game!

In conjunction with yesterday's post, I noticed that my friend Robbie's (Hokie Pundit) Away message was along the same lines:
You know, I'm glad people think Bush is a moron. He had a 1206 on his SATs (before the readjustment). He got his BA and MBA from two Ivy League schools. He successfully ran a MLB team and an oil company, and then became the first Governor of Texas to ever win re-election. After this, he defeated a two-term incumbent Vice-President during an economic boom. He's forced the UN to go along with his will, and helped give his party control of both the legislature and executive branches.
Everyone gets what they want! Europeans and liberals get to whine about how dumb he is without having to put forth credible views or even evidence, and conservatives get their man in power!

A Matter of Country Unity
I understand that not everyone can be wise enough to understand certain things in life, but that doesn't mean that the liberals have to be so stubborn. Face it George W IS our president. He won the election, whether or not you like it.... nothing you say is or do is going to change that right now. So why don't you think about your country a little bit and COOPERATE! Things would be a LOT better for everyone if people didn't spend their time doing things like this...Mockery.

It really irks me that people do this stuff... as if making fun of someone is EVER going to help the state of our country. I mean if you feel so strongly against him, then why don't you spend your time more productively by sitting down and explaining in detail what poor "W" is doing wrong and how he can change it to do it better... with all the details worked out, mind you! Then send it to your congressman or maybe straight to the president himself.... maybe then your ideas will be heard... but doing stupid stuff like wasting your time trying to point out every little mistake the man makes is unacceptable! Come on, the only perfect 'person' to ever come to this world was Jesus Christ himself.

And that's my soapbox.

Thanksgiving

Yes.. this is a little late coming, but I was reminded of something I could post on after reading someone else's blog.

Thanksgiving... a time to be... well, Thankful. So... here's my list of everything (well, at least everything I can think of) I'm thankful for (I mean besides the obvious... since everything derives from God anyway)....

I'm thankful for a loving family... they're always supportive of everything I'm doing. And since I've been at college, they've all been eager to come take me out to eat or pick me up and take me somewhere if I need a ride.... even though they all live in Roanoke (about 45 minutes away). They're all looking out for me and this week I think I got money "to help me out" from 3 sets of my family: my mom & dad, my aunt Paula, and my aunt Charlotte & uncle Bill. Anyway, they're very fun people and care about me a lot, which is something to TRULY be thankful for nowadays....

Secondly, I'm thankful for all the talent and ability I've been given by God. I'm so lucky to have the ability to play music (to some extent) and to enjoy that.. (this next part is going to sound arrogant... I really don't want it to)... I'm also thankful that I have the knowledge and ability to learn that I do... I have to work to learn, but it's not like my efforts don't pay off... i've seen it in some people where no matter how hard they try, they just can't get it... (whatever the 'it' is that they're studying)...

I'm thankful for my world and my country.. I was lucky to have grown up in my little town of Vinton. It was a nice place to grow up... no violence, safe, caring, close enough to a larger city (Roanoke) that I could be acustomed to the real world without having to fear it. America is a wonderful country and I'm so thankful to be living here were I can live the way I want to live without fearing the government... FREEDOM... such a thing to be thankful for.

Finally, I'm thankful for my friends. I'm so lucky to have friends like I do. they're all fun people, many of whom have genuine relationships with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Breakin'
Well, it looks as if I not only took a fall break physically from school, but also mentally from blogging...

That last week before my real break (up to the 22nd of Nov.) I was VERY busy with tests and projects and the sort... but I have no excuse for my week at home...

Nothing of substance comes to mind to talk about... Hopefully I can think up something soon!

CT Article
Yes, another busy week... looks as if next week won't be much better, but then its Fall BREAK!!! :) yayayay!

Anyway, today in the CT (Collegiate Times), Virginia Tech's newspaper... actually a pretty good source of campus, state, national, and worldwide news, considering the source... Well, today in the Opinions & Commentary section there was an commentary on Gun ownership...

The author, Jim Keeney, compares owning a gun to owning a car... both can be deadly, but are both useful as well...

A different slant, and a very good point!

a verse

We have waited for Thee eagerly;
Thy name, eevn Thy memory, is the desire of our souls.
At night my sould longs for Thee,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently.

~Isaiah 26:8-9

Dating vs. Courtship

I was presented with this new Christian view on dating about halfway through last school year... I still haven't developed an opinion on it but, here are some excerpts from a website I found about it (http://polynate.net/books/courtship/part1.html):

Dating was invented in the early part of this century. Prior to that time, marriage always involved much more input from the parents, and "trial relationships" leading up to marriage were not conducted at all. Courtship, as discussed in more detail subsequently, seeks to emulate the Godly models described in the Bible that were conducted by God's people up until the invention of dating.

Courtship is a word that has been adopted to describe a biblical model for the relationship leading up to marriage. In the Bible, the parents were always involved in the marriage process.

Once we are married, we recognize that certain things are sacred to our partner. Things such as co-habitation, kissing, intimate hugging, sex and bringing up children. We recognize that not only our physical body, but our emotions, even our spirit are dedicated to that one partner, for the rest of our life (according to our vows).

The dichotomy is this: in dating, we presume to partake of many of these privileges of marriage. We would be shocked if a married man had an emotional attachment to another woman, and yet it's quite acceptable for singles to have a different emotional attachment every week. On the one hand, we save sex for our partners (and some even do that sparingly), but on the other, we engage in rampant emotional promiscuity, giving pieces of our hearts away until one wonders what will be left for that special, life-long partner.

The primary purpose of marriage is not to please you, but to serve God.

So to have a successful marriage, the most important thing is to ensure that you follow His principles that He laid down when He designed marriage. The irony is, when we focus on His principles instead of our pleasure, we end up having a very satifying and pleasant marriage!

I'm going to be looking into these concepts a little more in order to form a more definitive stance on this stance on dating... Sometime in the near future I'll post again on this topic.

Quote of the day

One of the amazing facts about science is that it reveals God at all levels

Election Results

Ahhh.. the morning after.... The elections silly! Yes, we all await the next morning so we know how our votes affected the elections.... Here's a run-down of the things I voted for....

* US Senate Election
John Warner walks away with the position as US Senator from Virginia for the 4th term (he's been in the Senate since 1978), carrying a wopping 84% of the votes. Also on the ticket were Jacob Hornberger and Nancy Spannaus under the independent label raking in 9 and 7 percent of the votes, respectively.

* US House of Representatives Election - VA 6th District
Bob Goodlatte amazingly pulls away with the position of representative to the US House of Rep's for his 6th term.... Its a good thing he ended up winning because he was running unopposed....

* Judicial Power and Jurisdiction Amendment to the VA Constitution
Ballot Question: Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to permit the Supreme Court to consider, as part of its original jurisdiction, claims of actual innocence presented by convicted felons in the cases and manner provided by the General Assembly?

* Exempt Property Amendment to the VA Constitution
65% yes! (this helps my college)
Ballot Question: Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow localities by ordinance, rather than the General Assembly by law, to exempt property from taxation that is used for charitable and certain other purposes, subject to the restrictions and conditions provided by general law?

* Educational Facilities Bond Issue
72% yes!
The purpose of the Act is to allow the Commonwealth to sell bonds to raise funds to pay for capital projects at state-supported colleges, universities, museums and other educational facilities. The capital projects contemplated in the Act have an estimated useful life of more than twenty-five years and include, but are not limited to, capital projects for the renovation of instructional facilities, construction of new academic space, construction of new research space, upgrades to heating and cooling systems, and improvements for handicapped accessibility.

* Parks and Recreational Facilities Bond Issue
The purpose of the Act is to allow the Commonwealth to sell bonds to raise funds to pay for capital projects at state-supported parks and recreational facilities. If this Act is approved, the Commonwealth may issue Commonwealth of Virginia General Obligation Bonds and sell the bonds to raise funds to pay for specific capital projects. The capital projects contemplated in the Act have an estimated useful life of more than twenty-five years and include, but are not limited to, capital projects for the acquisition of land for natural area preserves and parks, campground construction, visitor center renovation, road improvements, trail improvements and shoreline erosion repair.

Highlights from an article I found in the Roanoke paper... "Triumphant GOP Looks to new Agenda"
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush and his party savored sweeping midterm election victories Wednesday and began sketching an agenda for a new, Republican-controlled Congress. The leader of defeated House Democrats, Rep. Dick Gephardt, signaled he would step down.... Republicans were assured of 51 seats in the new Senate, a gain of two. Democrats had 47 and the support of one independent....In the House, Republicans had 227 seats — a gain of four — and led for one more. Democrats won 203, and led for three. There was one independent. Senior aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Gephardt intended to declare on Thursday that he would not seek a fifth term as House Democratic leader. The 61-year-old Missouri lawmaker is a potential challenger for the White House in 2004, but it was not known whether he would discussion his presidential ambitions when he made his announcement....The elections marked a remarkable triumph for Republicans, who bucked history to gain seats in a midterm election in which they held the White House."

Not only did the Republican party end up with majorities in the House and Senate, but also a majority of the governorships throughout the country, even Governor Jeb Bush of Florida came out on top.

I'm not a republican, but I am conservative and Republicans tend to be more conservative than Democrats, so I guess it was a great day for Republicans and a not so shabby day for conservatives alike.

Election Day

In honor of one of the greatest American freedoms: voting
I voted for the first time today. That's one of the good parts about being 18! And I got one of those stickers to show that I participated in my country! But, today's post is related to the elections.... Political Parties....

There are many, many, many independent parties in the United States.... Some of these include:
* The American Reform Party - breakaway from the Reform party known for by Ross Perot
* The American Nazi Party
* Communist Party USA
* The Constitution Party - (a personal favorite for the 2000 presidential election) formerly known as the US Taxpayers Party... and basically a very serious Religious Right platform
* The Green Party - highly liberal
* The Labor Party - liberal group created by labor unions
* The Libertarian Party - Libertarians are neither left nor right... they believe in total individual liberty and total econmic freedom (this is a party I tend to lean toward more now than before)
* Reform Party - Ross Perot
* Socialist Party USA - advocate left-wing electoral change versus militant revolutionary change.
* and many more.....

However many independent parties exist, however, America is highly a bipartisan system.... balanced between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
* Democratic Party (DNC): right now have a 50-49-1 majority over the Senate because one Repubican was suayed into converted to independent and thus throwing the majority (by one) to the democrats... That's why this years election is so crucial, because the majority could go back to the Republicans and our President can actually get something done without getting shot down.
* Republican Party (RNC): currently control a slim majority in the House of Representatives, several key Governorships, and the White House.

To read more on these parties, I've found a really good resource: http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm.

I've said before that I'm VERY conservative. But I never said what party I am... That's because I don't believe in choosing one party. Especially, Democratic or Republican because there are liberals and conservatives in both. I prefer to choose who I vote for based on their political views and platform, comparing them with my own personal ideology. I hope that other people feel the same way too.

Finally, voting is a very important freedom for Americans to take advantage of. If you don't vote, then you have absolutely no right to complain about the government.... NONE! If you're able to go out and vote, do it! Don't assume that other people will vote the way you want them too... Take matters into your own hands and make a say in your country!

Thoughts of the Day
(this blog is quickly turning non-political... but that's okay)

Assurance of Help in Temptation
"No Temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." ~ I Corinthians 10:13

Christ the Center
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ~ Galatians 2:20

Halloween
Many Christians celebrate holidays, such as Halloween, without thinking about where it originated or its true meanings... I've never really had a problem with Halloween, but then again, I've never really taken the time to look into why some Christians do not participate in this holiday. So, that's what this post is meant to be: My exploration of this holiday.

How did Halloween come to exist?? For several hundred years before Christ, the Celts inhabited what is now France, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland. Celtic priests were called Druids. These people were eventually conquered by the Romans.Greek and Roman writings about the Druids dwell heavily on their frequent and barbaric human sacrifices. The ancient Irish texts say little about human sacrifices, but detail the Druids' use of magic to raise storms, lay curses on places, kill by the use of spells, and create magical obstacles.

October 31st was celebrated by the Druids with many human sacrifices and a festival honoring their sun god and Samhain, the lord of the dead. They believed that the sinful souls of those who died during the year were in a place of torment, and would be released only if Samhain was pleased with their sacrifices.

Irish records tell of the fascination the Catholic monks had with the powerful Druids, and Druids soon became important members of their monasteries. Pope Gregory the Great decided to incorporate the Druids' holiday into the church. He made the proclamation, "They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the devil, but they may kill them for food to the praise of God, and give thanks to the giver of all gifts for His bounty." Pope Gregory III moved the church festival of October 31st to November 1st and called it All Hallows or All Saints' Day. Pope Gregory IV decreed that the day was to be a universal church observance. The term Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve.

The founding fathers of America refused to permit the holiday to be observed because they knew it was a pagan holiday. Halloween was not widely celebrated in the U.S. until about 1900. In the 1840's there was a terrible potato famine in Ireland which sent thousands of Catholic Irish to America. They brought Halloween with them.

The modern custom of going from door to door asking for food and candy goes back to the time of the Druids. They believed that sinful, lost souls were released upon the earth by Samhain for one night on October 31st while they awaited their judgment. They were thought to throng about the houses of the living and were greeted with banquet-laden tables. People greatly feared these spirits and thought that the spirits would harm and even kill them if the sacrifices they gave did not appease Samhain. They carved demonic faces into pumpkins or large turnips, placing a candle in them to keep the evil spirits away from their homes.

The tradition of bobbing for apples and giving out nuts came from a Roman addition to the Druidic New Year’s eve. The Romans worshiped Pomona who was the goddess of the harvest. They combined their harvest festival to Pomona with Halloween.

Okay well, that's the background... but so what?? That's what it began as but does that have anything to do with whether or not we should participate??

In advance of Halloween for 1999, Focus on the Family, a Fundamentalist Christian agency conducted a poll of their web site visitors concerning their plans to observe Halloween. The Results were:
30% Avoid it because it is evil
29% Enjoy costumes and candy
29% Turn it into a fall festival
9% Ignore it for lack of interest
4% Observe it as Reformation Day -- a recognition of the founding of Protestantism.

Every act around Halloween is in honor of false gods, which are spirits in the realm of the Satanic. Those who have been deeply involved in witchcraft and who are now free, declare that even those who say they worship spirits of nature are in actuality contacting the Satanic realm without knowing it. The Bible instructs us to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. Both Christian and Jew are forbidden to participate in the occult practices listed in Deuteronomy 18:10.

This is what William J. Schnoebelen had to say about the holiday..
An old proverb says, "When you sup with the devil, use a long spoon." Presumably, NO genuine Christian would want to sup with the devil at all and yet many may be doing so in ignorance.

As a former witch high priest now saved by Jesus, I was astonished by how many Christians let their kids celebrate Halloween. Some churches even sponsor "haunted houses" and similar events on what is the Number One satanic "helliday" of the year. Halloween used to be called Samhain, and is still celebrated as an ancient pagan festival of the dead by witches all over the world. Unfortunately, just giving the date a "holy" name like All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve cannot change its grisly character. Halloween is an occasion when the ancient gods (actually demons) are worshiped with human sacrifice. The apostle Paul warns us: "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils" (1 Cor. 10:20).

If you are a Christian parent, God has given you a precious responsibility in your children. Remember, their ability to resist spiritual wickedness is much less than yours. If you allow your children to participate in Halloween (Trick or Treating, costume parties, etc.) you are allowing them to play on "the devil’s turf," and Satan will definitely press his home court advantage. You are opening up doorways into their young lives for evil by bringing them into a kind of "fellowship" with these ancient "gods."

We are commanded not to become involved with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). Both from my experience as a witch, and since getting saved, as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have seen far too many examples of how breaking this command works out in lives. Remember, while we have God's promise of protection for ourselves and our children, that promise may not hold if we allow our children to celebrate this dark holiday. Case after case has come to us of children in rebellion. In many of these families, the problem can be traced back to the children being exposed to Halloween at a young age. It is hard enough to raise children these days in a Godly way without exposing them to Satan's realm.

Well.. that's what I've found in my search for knowledge and an opinion... oh and check this site out... Happy Halloween

Excuses, Excuses
Sorry for the break in posts... I get busy from time to time here at college and have to pull myself away from the blogger scene.

On Sunday, after NLCF, I went to the Newman library for the first time since I've been at college. For some reason, I have no need to go to the library. I guess when you're not in an english class and not in any classes that would require you to go do book research, there isn't a reason to go.... but, I decided that I wanted to look into picking up C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity because a friend of mine reccommended it. Well, it turned out that the library's copy of this book was out, but I decided to look into some other books. I walked away on Sunday with 3 C.S. Lewis books related to Christianity and one by some other guy... Anyway, currently I'm reading C.S. Lewis' The Case For Christianity (hence my last post)... All of the books I picked up are really short, so I should go through them pretty quickly, pending I don't get too busy with my real schoolwork.

Moral Law

You might as well say that the sheet of music which tells you, at a given moment, to play one note on the piano and not another, is itself one of the notes on the keyboard. The Moral Law is, so to speak, the tune we've got to play: our instincts are merely the keys.
~C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

Fasting

I've always been slightly confused by the idea of fasting... it has always seemed to be a more "Old Testament" teaching that noone follows anymore.... But a week or two ago HokiePundit mentioned that he was fasting... And today, the sermon at NLCF was all about fasting... so here's my insight (taken mainly from what I picked up from Chris Backert's sermon this morning):

Fasting has been and is a highly misunderstood topic in Christian doctrine. But what is it really???

Fasting is a time when people willingly go without food for a spiritual purpose. Why would you fast? Well, to answer this, look at three examples from the Bible:
* Samuel was missing God's favor and protection
* Ezra was missing God's guidance and needed an answer
* Joel was missing God's deliverance and needed relief

Fasting seems to take place when there is something missing from the equation... and that something is God. But, its not just the act of fasting that will bring us back to God like the Pharisees thought ("One day teh disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, 'Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?' Jesus responded, ' Should the wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Someday he will be taken from them, and then they will fast. And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch shrinks and pulls away from teh old cloth, leaving an even bigger hole than before. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old wineskins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved." ~ Matthew 9:14-17).

Fasting, according to the Pharisees, was a visual, open event. They thought it would earn them God's favor. But looking at the larger story, we don't normally try to put something new into something old... Jesus' way of love, grace, and freedom was so different that it couldn't even exist in teh same container as the religiosity of the Pharisees.

Jesus says you can't earn God's favor when it is right in front of you... God is right in front of you...

Fasting isn't legalistic, but a way of refreshing our life. Going without food helps us find ourselves when we have moved away, rather than find God because he hasn't gone anywhere. Fasting helps put our heart in the right place. We can learn everything there is to know about sin and TRY really hard not to sin, but its not necessarily "the more you know, the further you go." -- You have to put effort into it.

Fasting helps us:
* Deny Ourselves:
- You really want to eat, but you have to learn to stand against desires of the flesh
- most sin comes from the desires of the flesh
- addictions feed off of wrongly placed desires
- fasting teaches us self-control
- our society is a society based on our wants and fulfilling our desires - impulse
- the danger is in thinking that our impulses are reasons to do something

* Finding our True Selves:
- we perceive that our bodies are the central part of our lives - our society idolizes bodies
- we're so fascinated with when the bodies look the best, but it could be when our insides look the worst.
- fasting brings our weaknesses to the surface
- Jesus said that he has food that we couldn't imagine - also, our true sustinence should come from God, rather than food and earthly pleasures
- when we're separated from God, do we crave Him?
- we SHOULD value the spiritual self

When you fast, replace food with God.

Respect

You know... I have a TREMENDOUS amount of respect for the military. I was going to be a part of the Air Force, after all. And, I still am around the military every day here at Tech, since Tech is one of the 2 schools in the nation with a Corps of Cadets within the civilian school.

I am, as you may know, a member of the Marching Virginians... the 330+ person marching band, that is the CIVILIAN marching band. Virginia Tech also has a 'regimental band' known as the Highty Tighties. I'll have to admit that the Highty Tighties aren't the best sounding band in the world. In fact many bands I heard throughout high school sound better than they do... But, they do have several things working against them.... 1) The Highty Tighties are rather small... the Corps of Cadets is only 3% of the entire population at Tech, so with that in mind... they can't really be that large.. (appx. 80 people are in the HT's) 2) They not only have to balance band and academics... but also military training.

The MV's constantly are making fun of the HTs. Their marching is really not bad at all, but yet the MVs criticise them for that too.. Just because it is military style marching doesn't mean its bad... Besides these people have done something the rest of us should have done... they're training in order that they can serve the United States and protect every American's freedoms... I RESPECT THAT ENORMOUSLY... we all should have some commitment to protecting America and all it stands for.... and these Cadets are doing just that.. they're the future of the military... we need them... and they just need some respect... we're all in the band... band is about enjoying what you're doing... entertaining the crowd.... etc... that's what we're doing in the MV's and that's what they're doing in the HT's, but we both have our ways of doing things... I don't think its right or fair for us to be so critical of them... and it really bothers me... like sincerely bothers me that the MV's treat the HTs this way...

There's my soapbox.

Insight for The day

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you'll receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward ~ Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." ~ Eclesiastes 9:10

God creates the heavens and the earth... God creates man... God gives man work to do.... Its been there since the beginning of time. Sometimes, when we're overloaded with tasks that we don't necessarily find the most appealing, we tend to take on a negative attitude and complain... boredom creeps in along with a lack of interest, which sparks rude actions... mockery, not paying attention, etc... I know I get this way... I've been this way for the past few days.... and it doesn't help when the people you're around act this way either - it just brings you down as well.

Tests can be rather stressful, especially along with all the other things we have to complete on our normal day-to-day schedule.... and they're certainly not something we all just want to go do in our spare time, with the exception of little personality type tests (such as the ones found at thespark.com). I definitely have been rather pessimistic and have taken complaining about it... which isn't the thing to do...

I was working on my Bible study for the Navigators group that I'm in. This week's study is on Wholeheartedness, and I came across the verses I quoted above. If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, no matter the task, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat our problems as teh cost of discipleship. Also, by not letting the inequities and less than desirable aspects of life bring us down, we probably could be much more content with our status in life...

An Excuse

Sorry... I know I've had this just over a week and I haven't been posting very regularly... but I need to break from this addictive hobby of blogging while I prepare for two BIG tests on Friday! After that, I should be back with a refreshing new post!
Until I return...

The Song...
The song I posted last night, When Love Takes You In, is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. The first time I heard the song was at the 2002 Concert in Roanoke in February or March. I'm a rather stoic person in that I don't cry very often. In fact, I believe that when I heard this song at the concert last year it was the first time and only time I've ever cried due to a movie, song, etc. He said that he was inspired to write it after he and his wife adopted a child. The song has meaning both in the secular sense, relating to adoption, and in the spiritual sense, relating to our relationship with God.

The song refers to love taking you in... this is like the act a couple takes when they adopt a child... They're taking a child in with love, just as they would love a child of their own flesh and blood. I think that the most powerful part of this song is "When love takes you home and says you belong here / The loneliness ends and a new life begins / When love takes you in." Adopting an orphan doesn't mean that you love him/her any less than you would a child that you 'made' (for lack of a better term)... These children are brought into a home that loves them (or so it should be)... This is the life they know and will grow up knowing... Love has taken them in and given them a new life full of hope.

But this song is not only about physical adoption. The song has basis in three key verses:
* 1 John 3:1 - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
* John 14:18 - "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
* Psalm 68:5-6 - "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."

Just because God is not our physical father does not mean that he doesn't love us the same. Its hard to imagine a love so pure, so deep, so true... In the first stanza of the song, he talks about feeling as if noone is there for you - loneliness... That's what Psalm 68:5-6 refers to: God is there for the lonely... He has given us protection and provision, just as any loving parent would give their child. The loneliness ends... and our new life IN HIM begins when he took us in. God will NEVER stop loving us and there is not a thing that could cause his love to fail. "And this love will never let you go / There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold."

This is what Steven Curtis Chapman says about adoption (taken from the website of Shaohannah's Hope, the adoption 'agency' he and his wife founded):
Recognizing that adoption is a perfect picture of what God has done for each of us in making us His children through Christ, Shaohannah's Hope has been established to present and encourage adoption as a response to the Gospel. Psalm 68:5-6 tells us that as the Father to the fatherless, God delights in setting the lonely in families. It has been our experience that the scriptural mandate of caring for orphans, such as the one found in James 1:27, is really a wonderful invitation to experience God in a profound way by being a part of His sovereign plan for His precious children.

Working from these foundational truths, Shaohannah's Hope exists to enable children living without the love and hope of an earthly family to be adopted into "covenant homes." These families can provide not only love and support needed for this life, but also provide a child with the knowledge of God’s plan for his or her eternal life with a forever family called The Body of Christ.


"That's what God does, and it's His favorite thing to do," Steven says, "to take the lonely, the homeless, and put them in families."

Now, I'm far from being settled down and ready to start a family... trust me... I've never even been on a date before.... But, Adoption is such a miraculous and wonderful process that I want to adopt a child when I get ready to have a family once I'm married. God is like an adopted parent to us. He was always our Father in Heaven... before we became a Christian it was as if He was awaiting the adoption papers to go through. God has love for every human being... its just that once we become Christians - once "our adoption papers go through" - His love for us is INSURMOUNTABLE!!!

Song of the Week

When Love Takes You In
I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

~Steven Curtis Chapman

"I waited until I was married. My virginity was an honor that I was bestowing on a man - he had to be worthy of it."

-Lisa Kudrow, in an interview with People magazine
from HokiePundit