Matt Bepler

Today I helped a friend move. His name is Nick. Actually, technically… Nicholas. I have been thinking a lot about nicknames lately. I use one every day. I go by Matt, but yes… my given name is Matthew. Nicknames make sense to me, especially when they are shorter. Or less syllables. Jase for Jason (or even “J”), Bob for Robert, Will for William (or Bill), and Mel for Melanie. Sometimes, though… they go the other way. Weird.

Helping move Nick today was another friend, Marc. My brother (spelt differently) is also named Mark. No real natural nickname (or shortened name). Our sister, his twin, Heidi (Heid’) calls him Mookie. For me, that’s weird. I expect a nickname to be a shorter (less syllables) version of your real (given) name. If you go by “Bart” – Great! you dropped three syllables from Bartholomew. Lately someone at work has been calling me “Matty”. I’m ok with it, and it’s not the first time. I have had a few friends over the years call me that. But, adding syllables… I can see one, but what if your given name was James, and instead of “Jim”, your friends called you Jimmjimmeree (for example). Weird.

My baby sis-in-law has a great nickname. Jenny. Given name, Jennifer. But for years now, we all just call her Jen. Great name! (rhymes with Ren). I always wished I had a friend who had one of the coolest nicknames. I wish I knew someone named Nigel, and could call him “Nige”  (as referred to by his bandmates in “Spinal Tap“) Another would have to be Julie, nicknamed “Jules” – only one letter shorter, but… also one syllable less.  Speaking of less… Les is more, unless you go by Lester. Or Lesteroni. Weird.

*Not the stars in the Hollywood hills.
Last night was clear here in Vancouver.
I took my dog out for an evening stroll. Clear, but warm for February, near 50. Stars were out, and a nice strong breeze (or light wind) blowing. It was about the perfect winter night, especially for winter in the Northwest. It reminded me a bit of another clear night last summer.

I was working at Clark College Bookstore, and had this idea for a photo. The bookstore manager wanted a new design for the store’s gift cards, and she wanted to use this quote:

So, I set out on the Clark campus, and set up my tripod across the central lawn from the library, and took a few shots. One ended up being on the card above. As I was taking the photos, I noticed someone was across the way, on the sidewalk, just camped out there. I knew this person would be in my photos, but I kept taking them anyway. If you look at the final card closely (click the small one) you can see him at the base of the clock tower. After I was done taking photos, I walked over to see who was standing there, and that’s when I met Dick Shamrell, a professor of physics and astronomy at Clark.

He let me look through the large telescope he had, and I saw a closer view of the moon than I had seen before (not on a tv or monitor). He also found Saturn, and I could see the rings. We had a good little chat, and he told me about an annual stargazing in the gorge that I missed last year, but hope to make this year. (hopefully it’s not full moon again!)

I read books. sometimes I write things down. My wife reads books. She probably reads more than I do. She got completely absorbed in a book recently, and it is also a movie recently in theaters. I like movies. Often when it is after dinner time and we are channel-surfing, we happen upon “Forrest Gump”. Most times, we just watch it. Usually… from that point on. I like a good story, and I imagine most people do. I can’t remember the last book I read that was made into a movie, and I thought the movie was perfect… it nailed what the book was to me. But then again, I don’t read a lot of books (yet).

Last night we watched the movie of the book my wife has been reading lately. That movie is “The help”. I had a basic idea of the premise, but not much more. Throughout the movie, and in the final analysis, according my wife… it was different. Some parts were stretched, omitted, or created… for the sake of the story, so to say.

For me, it was quite a story. It passed through a lot of parts, and times, that the movie Forrest Gump did. Right around the time I was born. I can only imagine raising our sons during that time, and in that place. Parts of that generation are what I grew up with, but I want to believe that chapter in our nation’s history is over. It is not something we need to pass on to our sons and daughters.

A few years ago, I was in Savannah Georgia. I really don’t believe in coincidence much anymore, but strangely that is the same city where two things happened. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a very famous speech in a church that is still standing, AND that is where parts of the movie Forrest Gump were filmed. Especially the bus stop scene. The bench. I stood on the spot where that bench once did (it is since in a museum there), and thought a lot about the 60′s and the growing pains our country went through.

Through it all, I believe we all need a little help. Not like the Beatles sang, and not like this movie I watched with my wife. The help we all need is in treating people, all people… as we would like to be treated. Yes, I know… it’s the golden rule. But how did our country, founded on such laws (and rules) as this, stray so far? That is not a question I can answer. A lot of wars, and a lot of pain cannot properly answer that question. I do know that for myself on a day-to-day basis… if someone asks for my help… even you who are reading this. I want to believe, with all that is within me, that I would be able to give you the help you need.

10-11-11 – Another of the binary dates this year. The first one was the first day of this year, the last will be in a month when all goes to eleven… 11-11-11. Today in binary, also written as 10 1111 would be 47. That number, as you may know, is a prime. Forty-seven is a nice prime number, I think, and the atomic weight of silver. It would have been funny to me if it were tomorrow, since that day, the twelfth, is when the 47 experience really begins.

Last week when Steve Jobs passed away, I checked his “number of days” from birth to Oct. 5, 2011. That number was 20,677. You can calculate these “difference of days” pretty easily in MS Excel, unless you have to go back a few centuries, and then it doesn’t work as well. I did find a website that will calculate this for you. Another website I have found, and use from time to prime time, simply for mathematical amusement is a prime factorization site. (math geek warning here!) There are other sites that do this, but this one works just fine. So, I put in the number of days for Steve (20,677), and got the factors of 23 x 29 x 31. Three consecutive primes. Primes numbered 9, 10, and 11.

Curious about this, I also factored some other famous inventors and mathematicians number of days on earth. The one that most got my attention was Einstein … 27,793 days. And that number is prime. I also just found out about Eisenstein primes… of which 47 is one. 47 is also a Carol number (new to me) which there are only 9 of under 1 million. And, that is where I make myself stop (for now). This “math thing” will take you as far as you want to go with it, for now… I will save it for another sleepless night!

PS… footnote: I just discovered this about The “mystery of 47” at Pomona College. Something that began in 1964… a “mere” 47 years ago. Weird. : )

Multnomah Falls Trail
Upward to Wahkeena Springs
Follow the falls down.

Yesterday was Hike day. Chris and I headed back out to the Columbia gorge. We had hiked out there last month, and did “just” the Wahkeena trail, and back down. Today we set out from the base of Multnomah Falls to do the 5.4 mile loop. Here’s a map of it.

Climbing up the first bit we mused about how many people actually go past the first bridge. The hike starts up a set of switchbacks, and after you make it to the end of the first one you see the ominous sign that says “1 of 11″. A few more switchbacks  you get to “4 of 11″. Those first switchbacks are fairly steep, and long… a few hundred feet. Your brain starts to do the math, and your body skews the results. But, they do get shorter, and the last 3 of 11… you are actually hiking Downhill. Then you arrive at the overlook viewpoint of the 542′ plunge. Chris called this the least inspiring view of Multnomah Falls. It think it is also known as the “There’s my car” view.

My guess is that many of the people who do get to the top… see the overlook, take that picture like the one above, and climb back down. At the overlook spot, if you look just upstream (to your left) you see that nice little fall at the top of the post. If you venture “up”  from there, you encounter several more waterfalls of varying size, including Weisendanger Falls (at left). Note the stacks of rocks on the log at the bottom.

The trail winds along staying with the creek most of the way. There were a few wet spots, and a few spots where you have to walk across the creek. Stepping stones were usually available. I would recommend a non-raining day, dress lightly, carry very little (water and a camera are a good idea), and don’t be hurried for time. We made the loop in 2.5 hours, but we had planned to.

After you reach the “top” – without continuing on UP to one of the “Rest” viewpoints, or the *Really* long trail all the way up to Larch Mountain (someday) -  you connect to the Wahkeena springs trail and start following the water back down. Along the way you see “Fairy Falls” pictured at left. There are some steep parts on the way down – that is where I slipped and fell the first time. More careful this time!

There are plenty of small bridges to cross on the way down, and the trail is very well kept up, and actually quite well traveled. We passed quite a few people even at the highest elevation we reached, which I think was about 1600 feet. At the top we passed a couple with a dog, and then passed them again as we neared the bottom. They must have been moving right along. We did take a few rest breaks along the way.

There are several points along the hike where you get far enough away from Highway 84 below (at left) that the water is all you hear. At one point near the top, as we were between the Multnomah creek and the Wahkeena creek, the loudest sound we could hear was the breeze blowing through the gorge. It is a very peaceful and inspiring hike, and could easily be made into a longer, more relaxing “day hike”. I took a lot more pictures along the way, and posted some of them on a Picasa album. I plan to make this hike again, and after yesterday I got re-inspired for another climb up Mt. St. Helens. But, that’s a blog for another day!

Just Smart.

Most of us have seen the ads for many years. I have to admit, I have only been into IKEA maybe 3 times ever. Last weekend it came to be IKEA day for us. New furniture for the teenager. It helped that it was EAT for FREE day. Or better, deduct your food bill from your XL furniture bill. It worked.

Back home, boxes opened, I have to say… my favorite pictogram was the top one. DON’T try this one by yourself, you fool. Nice. Thank you IKEA.

Look, up in the sky!
No one will be mistaking this for a bird or a plane. Apparently our little tide-making satellite will be extra close tonight. The “Supermoon”, at its perigee (closest orbit spot to earth – just 221,566 miles tonight) will appear a bit bigger than your average full moon. And brighter too!

Especially at moonrise (around 7pm) and moonset tomorrow  (around 7am). It will appear that way, that is, IF it appears at all in the Vancouver area. Here’s hoping!

Every so often I get into a conversation with someone about ancestry, or what kind of mix are you? Well, I am a 3rd generation U.S. American. For some, that is enough. Others then say, “No, No, what about your great (several greats follow) grandparents… where were they from?

This subject invariably comes up around St. Patrick’s Day each year,  so I decided a pie graph would show it well. So, there it is… I’m a mix of 1/2 German, 1/4 Danish, 1/8 Scottish, and 1/8 Irish. For graphs that are much more fun, and even funny quite often, check out: GraphJam.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all the Irish, part-Irish, and Irish-just-for-today.

A couple of days ago, on Monday, it was “pi day”, 3/14. For us math geeks, it’s the first three digits of pi (3.141592653…) For the extra geeky, it will be a super pi day in 4 years when it is 3/14/15. Especially at 9:26:53! Now, two days later, the Eve of St. Patrick’s Day, it is 3/16. A day of Hope.

About a month ago I was having a restless night – not sleeping well. I had planned to get up early the next morning to do some reading in the early hours. Thinking it was near a “get up” time, I grabbed my bedside clock, and clicked the light. 3:16. when I saw it, I thought… Too early! And then I saw it again. 3:16. I got up. I did read John 3:16 that morning, among other verses, and thought about the superbowl ad that was banned from the game last month. It ended with that link, and a simple explanation of the verse.

I also see that today the radio station K-LOVE has a page on their blog about this day, trying to get it nationally recognized. I, for one, support it.

3:16 is a day of hope, A Happy Day. The day that the (human) Race was Won by One. It reminds me of the ending to the movie “Secretariat“, when another race was won by one… and by the greatest distance… a record that still stands. Oh, Happy Day.

Yesterday, while cleaning out some old papers, I found a post card from my cousin. He had sent it from Maui, and it was a photo of a surfer (Rush Randle) riding a “mountain” of a wave (this pic is very close to it). I didn’t connect it at that moment with recent events in the news. But, it must have put the word “wave” on my mind. I went in to work today, and it is quite a busy day for many of my co-workers @ClarkBookstore – Book Buy Back week. I met one of our buyers on my way to my desk, and asked her “Are you ready for the big wave?”

And then I felt weird. And then I told her so. She agreed. That sentence would have sounded totally different — normal — a week ago.

I remember this same feeling after Katrina. I had a similar experience. I used the “w” word in a way that felt normal the week before. I also remember feeling a small amount of sympathy for the 80′s band “Katrina and the waves“. Nothing like the sympathy I felt for residents (and colleagues I knew) in the New Orleans area, but somehow that band’s name suddenly didn’t conjure up thoughts of “walkin on sunshine”.

I still like the word wave, and it reminds me of good times spent on ocean shores, and even in the surf. I still think about riding on waves too. Not at the magnitude that Rush Randle does. Magnitude. Enough words for this post.