Wednesday I got an email from Christine Neall, saying that she and her husband Rob were coming up Thursday with the Ouachita Hills bell choir, and would be staying the night at the gym on 3ABN's grounds. They were on the way to Michigan for several performances, and then on to Washington, D.C., for 3ABN's Ten Commandments Weekend. (Christine was in my graduating class at Hartland, and has been one of my most faithful friends over the years.) Of course I was excited to see them. Since this was just a stop-over for the bell choir, I didn't get to spend much time with the group, but I did drop in again on Friday morning, and enjoyed a morning worship where all the students and staff shared their favorite segments of the story Pilgrim's Progress.

"What would it mean to be able to listen in on other's thoughts? This idea has been a science fiction staple, but recent advances in imaging and neuropsychology are starting to make it look as if it might soon be possible." From the Quirks and Quarks website.

One of the podcasts that I subscribe to on iTunes is "Quirks and Quarks," a science talk show. I don't listen to every episode, but mainly the ones that especially interest me. This one titled, "Reading Minds," grabbed my attention. And it was definitely worth listening to. You can find a link to this particular program here. Prepare to be surprised and amazed, if not somewhat concerned. If you're the fun-loving type, pay particular attention to the small segment on "false memories," and to the word list that is given, and to the questions that immediately follow. I fell for this mental trick, and the explanation of why it works is quite revealing.

(If you aren't familiar with podcasts and would like to try this one, just download the free iTunes program and install it, run it, and configure it to your liking. Then once you have it running, click on the Music Store section in the left pane, and then in the "Search Music Store" field at the very top-right side of the window, type "quirks and quarks." The search may turn up related items for sale, but the podcasts are free, so look for the word "free" or "subscribe." When I last checked, the "Quirks and Quarks" podcast was at the bottom of the list. Of course there are thousands of other podcasts to choose from, virtually all of them free. You can browse them from inside the iTunes Music Store. If you are using iTunes for the first time, just be aware that the application's built-in advertising is mainly geared towards music albums and audiobooks that are available for purchase.)

This is the first post in a new category called Art and Designs. I thought since art is such a large part of my work and life, and since many people have no idea what it is that I actually do, it might interest them to see examples of things I've altered or created.

This is a small, actual-size piece of the art that is currently decorating the desktop of my PowerBook laptop. At actual size you can see the detail much better.



Below is a scaled-down picture of the whole image. As a desktop background, it is a bit busy. I wouldn't use it for a production computer. But it does make a rather pleasant backdrop for general use, although desktop icons tend to get lost. You can see the original that I adapted it from here. (I also made a light and a dark version, without the blue, which are less busy. But I still think the blue one is the most beautiful.)

This afternoon my friends and I visited Crab Orchard, a state park in southern Illinois that I have often driven past, but never checked out. However, after reading a bit about it online, I was curious to see more. As it turned out, our plans to visit a place called Little Grand Canyon changed, and we went to see Crab Orchard instead.



I had read about "observation towers" where the public could view local wildlife, and the park map directed us to the location with a symbol of a tall structure resembling a fire tower. I anticipated a good view from high up, and perhaps a chance to see some interesting birds. However, we were disappointed to find instead just a small observation deck or platform in a swamped field. There were some ducks swimming, but even with the aid of the binoculars we could not see them well enough to identify any.



Driving on, we came to a part of the park system called Devil's Kitchen. We got out and walked a bit, enjoying the scenery. Eventually we came to this dam. From there we trekked a little through the woods, not following a particular trail, until we got tired and turned around.

Later, in Carbondale, we enjoyed a meal at a Panera Bread restaurant, which has become one of my favorite places to eat. You can consider it "highly recommended." I had the black bean soup and a cherry pastry, both of which were delicious.

After church today I went with my friend Olen to visit Dixon Springs, one the many scenic spots within the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. I wish I had more photos, but here are a few glimpses of our time there.

This is Olen doing a little rock climbing. The rocks within the maintained area of the park are the perfect size for easy climbing. They also make good props for photos.

There is a beautiful creek that runs through Dixon Springs. In some places it is placid, almost motionless; but if you know where to look, you can also find where it tumbles over big rocks and swirls in little pools. I find the sound of cascading water very relaxing.

I would like to identify this thorny plant. The stem is about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, and it grows maybe 15 feet high. As you can see, it is covered with some decent thorns — although not all the stems were as thorny as this one. It reminds me a bit of the plant called devil's club, which I encountered in southern Alaska (only devil's club is much thornier and far more sinister in appearance). I've seen the plant pictured here only in a small patch at this one spot in Illinois, and remembered it from the time some friends and I camped at Dixon Springs several years ago.

Tonight a thunderstorm rolled in, which knocked out the power at home for maybe 15 minutes. After the storm broke, I saw the most awesome cloud formations. The photo doesn't really do the clouds justice. They had an unusual rolling, undulating, almost surreal appearance, which doesn't clearly show in the photo.





I learned that the name of this time of cloud formation is "mammatus." You can see pictures others have taken of this type of cloud here.

There was also a really incredible and vivid rainbow. The complete arch was visible. Unfortunately it was too difficult to capture.

Even computer geeks get into the April Fool's Day spirit. Today I was checking out some of the foolery that was posted over the weekend, and came across Google Romance. This is so great, you've got to see it. Be sure to do the tour. I love their intro.

After church on Sabbath, our young adult group decided to visit Giant City State Park, near Carbondale, IL. Giant City is one of my favorite spots in southern Illinois. A few in our group had never been there, and with the perfect spring weather we were enjoying, it seemed like a great time to go.

Unfortunately I did not get any photos of our hike or the scenery itself. Because we are in the earliest stages of spring now, it wasn't as beautiful as it can be. Still, there were hints of color returning. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Here is a shot of the group taken at Trillium Trail:

Later we climbed the Giant City water tower. Here, Jessica, Klara, Eva, and Michelle smile for the camera:

Afterwards we ate out an Alongi's, a great Italian restaurant in the Carbondale mall. Then the guys hung around Best Buy, looking at electronics they could never afford, and giving the Xbox demos a thorough performance test.