BK-itis

Plans for Today

2008-10-02T05:43:00.001-07:00

I have been battling a cold since getting the flu shot last weekend. Coincidence? Hard to say.

Today I have no voice whatsoever, and am completely congested with a nice headache. So I decided to stay at home and rest it off.

The girls are begging me to take them to Cox Farms - we'll have to see whether or not I feel even the least bit better by lunch time. If so, I intend on taking my camera with me, as I am not getting nearly enough photography done as of late. Then again, I may just stay in bed all day.

-- BK

New Books

2008-09-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

I just found the Westiminster Bookstore's presence on the web ... very, very cool. At the suggestion of a friend of mine, I purchased the following:

An Answer to Frame's Critique of Van Til by Greg Bahnsen

Consistency of Van Til's Methodology by Scott Oliphint

Cornelius Van Til and then Reformation of Christian Apologetics by Scott Oliphint

Revelation and Reason: New Essays in Reformed Apologetics

Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the Service of Theology

I can't wait for them to arrive!

-- BK

The Photo Blog is Up!

2008-09-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

With the help of my friend Ragnar from Norway, my photography website Knapp Imaging finally has an integrated blog! This is now the third blog I either run or contribute to ... what was I thinking??

Anyway, check it out at blog.knappimaging.com.

-- BK

School is out!

2008-09-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

Wow ... I made it through!

Monday morning was the beginning of a very trying 3 days for me. I attended a crash course in the Fundamentals of ITIL for 2 days, and then took the exam for certification on the last day. I can honestly say I have never studied so hard in my life!

We went through 400-500 slides worth of material in those 2 days; material that I had a very difficult time absorbing, since it is in an area I have very little background in (IT Service Management). It was tough to relate what I was learning to anything I already knew. In addition, much of what we were learning were lists of things, and definitions of terms that were at many times inconsistent with the way I have used the terms in the past.

Regardless, God was good - I received an email this afternoon that told me I had passed the exam. I didn't ace it, or even do as well as I had hoped (31 out of 40 questions correct - 78%), but considering the circumstances, I am pleased with the results:

Click on the graphic below if you are interested in more information on what I am talking about here ...

-- BK

A Bouquet of Newly Sharpened Pencils

2008-09-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movies of all times is You've Got Mail. Near the start of the movie, Tom Hanks is waxing poetic about the fact that it is fall once again and school is back in session as he types an email to Meg Ryan (whose identity is still anonymous to him at this point.)

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.

Well, fall is almost upon us, and the girls have started school again. Not only that, I have 3 days of schooling myself starting tomorrow. It is for a certification in ITIL which I will be tested for on Wednesday of this week. Did I mention I don't like tests?

So, I suppose I will sharpen a couple of number 2 pencils and pack them in my portfolio and head off to school in the morning like a nervous little school boy. I'm afraid taking an apple for the teacher isn't going to help my odds of passing this test at all - it's pretty much gonna come down to hard work.

-- BK

Some R&R

2008-09-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

We are heading out of town for a couple days, right into the path of hurricane Hanna. W00t! Should be a blast!

-- BK

Late-night DVD mania

2008-08-29T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to creating a DVD for my friends Sam and Becky whose wedding I photographed last August. Can you believe it - a whole year later?! There are a myriad of reasons this has taken so long, but I am happy to finally be working on it, and I am certain they will be happy once it is done. Thanks, guys, for being so patient with me!

-- BK

One of those days

2008-08-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those days when you look back at the day just before hitting the sack and say "what did I actually accomplish today?" It wasn't that I didn't do anything - it's just that it doesn't feel as if I made much progress in doing what I did.

One thing I *am* doing is reading through "Velvet Elvis", with some level of concern. I used to listen to Rob Bell's NOOMA videos until I started to sense this whole "Emergent Church" thing coming through; questioning what we should consider to be non-negotiables in our Christian faith. This book may very well lead into some of the same things. I don't know yet, it is too soon to tell, but I can already sense him stretching the limits of Orthodox Christianity.

I'm not gonna post a picture of the book or a link to where it can be purchased, because I don't want to appear to be suggesting that anyone actually purchase it. No doubt I will have more to say later on once I get through reading it.

-- BK

A "plug" for "Choosing Hats"

2008-08-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my co-contributors to Choosing Hats and I had our second Study in the book "Always Ready" by Dr. Greg Bahnsen. The book is an excellent introduction to Presuppositional Apologetics, something I have been studying for the past 7 years or so. This time we only spent an hour in our study, as opposed to an hour and a half last time. We also only got through three chapters in the book, compared to six chapters the last time.

I have this theory that no matter how little subject matter is on the table for discussion, philosophers (or philosopher-wannabees) will fill up their available time discussing said subject matter. It is the same theory that states that no matter how big or small your home is, you will always find stuff to fill it up.

An audio recording is available on the blog for those who are interested in listening to us work through the book.

-- BK

More blogs than I can shake a stick at!

2008-08-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

Where did that expression come from? "More x than I can shake a stick at?"

Wherever it came from, that is definitely the case with me. I just created another a new blog that I will eventually attach to my photography website. SmugMug has gone to great lengths to allow users to customize their "space", and I intend to take full advantage of it. Once of the tips/techniques to be found on DGrin (the SmugMug support forum) is making a blog that has the same look and feel of your website. This will be a project I undertake in the coming days/weeks/months/whenever I can get to it.

-- BK

Scanning in History

2008-08-23T16:38:00.001-07:00

On our last trip to Upstate NY to the old homestead, I inherited a number of very old photos. Old enough that they are on a heavy type of board, rather than the typical type of photo paper you see today.

My goal was to get these all scanned in and to dispose of the originals, but the more I think about it, a large part of what makes these photos as special as they are is the material they are on. So, I am left with the quandary of what to do with these once I have scanned them in.

I'll worry about that another day ... in the meantime, here is one of the photos:

-- BK

It's a cakewalk!

2008-08-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

I finally finished editing videos from the spring recital. Here is my oldest daughter playing Golliwog's Cakewalk ...

... and my youngest singing Cruella De Vil ...

-- BK

What's in store this weekend?

2008-08-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

I just got word that my parents are coming to visit next week. This is awesome news, but it also means we have a lot to accomplish over the weekend. One of those things on the list is the next installment of our SkypeCast Bible Study of the book "Always Ready" over on Choosing Hats (choosinghats.blogspot.com). It looks as if it will be just Paul and myself today, but in the interest of keeping this study moving ahead we are going to proceed anyway.

In more news for "Choosing Hats", I've actually just posted the next installment in a an article on the authority of God's word. This is something I wrote awhile back, that I will likely be using in our upcoming study on doctrine at Image Church this fall.

On another front, I have a few opportunities in front of me to write a book. This is something I have had interest in for quite awhile, but haven't really had the time for (as if I really have time for it now). I may start out on a small scale for now ... time will tell!

-- BK

Of wheels and nails

2008-08-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well today I wrote a check for $350.00 for a new tire for the SUV. OK - I didn't really write a check - who uses checks any more?

Apparently a nail found it's way into the sidewall of the left rear tire, and caused a slow leak, as in 10 psi per day or so. The tire pressure monitoring system (which I used to loathe on a prior vehicle due to its constant false alarms) actually did its job nicely and warned us of the leak. It didn't tell us exactly which tire it was, of course - that would be too much to ask.

Anyway, after the second trip to the gas station to put air in the tire, I realized something was amiss and took it to the dealer. We picked it up this morning and are back in business, albeit a few hundred dollars poorer :(

And no - that's not a picture of my Q7 or my house for that matter :)

-- BK

Kids and their backs

2008-08-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a bit nervous right now. We have an appointment around noon today with an Orthopedic surgeon to take a look at our oldest daughter's back. Some days it is tough to sit back and let God be the one to worry about things, since he is sovereign. Today is one of those days.

God help me trust in you and you alone.

-- BK

Rush playing Rush on Rock Band

2008-08-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

The idea of Rush playing one of their own songs on "Rock Band" is, well, a bit ironic.

Take a looksie ...

-- BK

Celebration Time!

2008-08-18T06:54:00.001-07:00

May, June and July of this year have been the most taxing time for me at work in a very long time. We completed the migration of a very critical system from one platform to another, and did it with minimal impact on our client. Even in the world of computing technologies, God is sovereign and has definitely blessed me and my team.

Today the "big guys" from corporate will be stopping by to celebrate this milestone with us. Should be a very exciting time.

-- BK

A New Blog

2008-08-17T13:31:00.003-07:00

It's about time I stood up a blog that was generic, and simple, and not targeted towards any specific subject. So here it is.

So what have I been up to this weekend? Lots, as follows:

1. Image Elders' Retreat in Fredericksburg, from Friday afternoon through Saturday noon. Had an awesome time of fellowship and planning for the future of Image Church.

2. Noah's 3rd birthday party. Spent Saturday afternoon chillin' at the pool and taking lots and lots of pictures of this adorable little dude.

3. Image Church Gathering on Sunday morning at the warehouse. This week I served in the second hour as a "bouncer" (well, more like a hall monitor!)

4. A couple hours at Potomac Mills mall, hanging out with the family and getting exercise!

p.s. I like lists

-- BK