Photo by NaTT |
Sean Murdock March 8: Well, not a whole lot going on in Los Angeles currently. I did, however, re-discover perpetual motion (or at least a computer simulation of it), which I thought you two might find interesting. [Click here for Sean's simulation on YouTube.] That's about all for now; hope you enjoyed the show. For reference: when it switches to the yellow/red view, the shade of red indicates how much pressure is being applied to that piece (no differentiation is made between compression and tension though). Love always. |
Woodpecker |
Charles Frost March 8: "And the Emmy Goes To ... ": NEWS 36, Truman State's campus TV station, sent a communications student over to Janice's office to interview her about the grant she received to set up a summer teacher training institute for introducing her gecKo mathematics project. Unlike those annual extravaganzas where the recipient stands alone before the microphone speaking the familiar words, "And I want to thank my mother for giving me ... " Janice gathered her student research assistants around her to be interviewed. "Much more interesting for the campus audience," says Jan modestly. The interview was aired last week. Busy and Birding: Kay writes from her assisted-living development in Concord, NH, "Another winter month has past and the snowpiles are six feet high on our campus, although there is less snow near the coast and no snow at the Cape [Cape Cod]. I was in Chatham for a few days in February, and it was so nice to see bare ground. "My house has become established as a feeding and resting spot for the birds. My feeders are under a roof overhang which provides shelter from the snow and rain. This afternoon [March 2] I heard many birds singing in the trees in celebration of the warm spring sun and mild temperatures. Saw a red-bellied woodpecker at my suet basket recently (rarely seen in the Northeast) and a group of red-breasted grosbeaks eating berries on an ornamental tree near the campus main building. "We have been busy this winter with the Great Decision 2008 course, an economics course from the Learning Company and personal finance discussions. Our choral group will be performing three simple, but lovely, pieces for Maundy Thursday." Creeping Inflation: Yesterday Janice and I went to the lenten fish fry at the Roman Catholic Church here. We sat with friends, among whom was the principal of the parochial school. I asked casually how her pupils were doing. Academically, they're fine, she replied, and then revealed a financial worry that was on her mind. The school received a shipment of textbooks this week. She related that there was a sharp increase in the freight surcharges this time, so much so that the freight component of the billing has risen from 15 to 25 percent! Finally Coming Together: In an earlier issue I recounted my struggles with the University's online test-making and grading software system. I'm happy to report that everything went smoothly last Tuesday when I gave the students a quiz. At the time appointed for it to become available I said with all the confidence I could muster, "Log on and pick up your test." Symbols appeared on my console to indicate when each student logged in and when the last one was finished. What a relief! I've created bundles of questions on different topics for plugging into future tests. Happy Daylight Saving Time. Have an enjoyable week. We'll be on SPRING BREAK!! Lots of love. Charlie and Janice |
"By the Stream" Gallery photo Quilt index |
Regina Howlett I just love your quilt by the stream! It's absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Love, Regina [Ed. Note: Have you noticed how fast the Quilt Index is growing? We are now up to 97, with many more in the wings. We're no longer putting in only perfect photos of finished quilts with no people or furniture added. It's amazing what happens when you lower your standards! But maybe that makes the nicer ones stand out!! We are now concerned mainly with keeping good records of all the quilts I've been involved with. We have no photos of some of the earlier ones, but there are still plenty to look at.--NAM] |
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Christel Murdock I have the BEST news! I'm not sure where to start, but I wanted to tell you that I was baptized today/yesterday (Sunday). I was previously baptized Presbyterian, at my church in Coronado, and I have always been a believer and person of faith (some times more adamantly than other times). However, I never felt quite right in traditional, conservative churches. Recently, I had been searching really hard for the right church to fit in, but was concerned about churches' views on homosexuality. A really good friend of mine, Connie, invited me and Alison to her church, which she had nothing but wonderful things to say about. And of course, I was willing to give it a try. One Sunday, Alison and I finally made it. It was held in a dark theatre, with individual prayer areas where we walked in, and beyond that, regular seating. We walked in and sat with our friend, and it was clear from the first day, that this church was different. After that, we sporadically made it to church, first about once a month, then about every 3 weeks, then about every 2 weeks, and now every weekend we can, we go to church. I love it! I have never been part of such an open, comfortable, accepting environment where I can share my faith with people like myself. It's funny, too, because over time, I have seen many random friends there that I didn't even know were interested in Christianity and they, too, have begun to go regularly. They also invite *everyone* interested in exploring their faith into the church. This includes gay, straight, young, old, questioning, strong of faith.,.. HOMELESS even attend our church and are welcomed with open arms. It really fills my heart and I tear up a little just thinking that people who are persecuted on a daily basis can find a home here, with God, if only for two hours a week. So, to the baptism. I was sort of blindly going to this church, not even knowing what denomination it was, so one day I decided to look it up. It was Disciples of Christ, which is the same as the University I attended. I found that coincidence very interesting. Looking into the philosophies of this church, attending with people I can really enjoy, I really fell in love. This past week, I got a few e-mails from the church talking about Baptism Sunday. I had already been baptized as a child, so I figured this wasn't for me, so I set it aside and honestly put it out of my mind. This morning, Alison and I woke up around 10. Now, our church is about a half hour away and it starts at 10:30, and we hadn't walked the dogs, so we got a pretty late start and Alison thought we just wouldn't go, but I'd been out of town and unable to attend for 3 weeks, and there was no way I was missing church this Sunday. We ended up being about a half hour late. I didn't mention this before, but our church actually has a new venue. It's a big, lovely room in the back of a coffee house and our seating is centered around this beautiful "table of grace." As we walked in, we noticed a big hot-tub-like thing in the center at the back of the room. We skirted around it and sat near the front. The message was about baptism, of course, and the story about how Jesus sent Philip to share Christianity with an Ethiopian eunuch. And that the eunuch, someone who had been persecuted all his life, and cast from Jewish temples, after learning from Philip, found himself at some water and asked, "Why shouldn't I be baptized?" I like that phrase and how our pastor really stuck to the wording. "Why shouldn't I..." There's no reason. So, as our pastor invited everyone who wanted to, to come up and be baptized, he mentioned that there was no reason why we shouldn't if it was something we were compelled to do. But I was thinking about my previous baptism, and how strange it was and if it would be right and okay... and my pastor said, "even if you were baptized as a kid, in some other religion, or this one, if you feel like this is the right thing, come on up; you are welcomed." And then I thought.. wow.. I really want to do this, but I didn't bring a change of clothes. And the pastor said, "So, I know all of you are thinking, I don't even have a change of clothes! ...that doesn't matter." And I chuckled because I loved that he'd anticipated that idea, and my heart welled up and I really wanted to do it. Then, the pastor said if we wanted to do it, *anyone* was welcomed, and that we should go to the back and talk to another pastor who was waiting. I was afraid, though, that Alison would stop me (and I would have let her), so I told her I wanted to do it, and she simply said, "Okay." and scooted slightly to let me through, placing her hand gently on my back as I passed her to show her support. I walked to the back to talk and the pastor asked me why I wanted to do it. I told him that I felt *right* in this community of faith and that I felt strongly about it and wanted to share my wholeheartedness with God and with the other members. And he told me that was the right reason and I felt so good! I was directed to the other side of the room and stood in the back, and was told what to expect. Thank goodness, because I was really worried about not knowing what to do.. whew! I was the first person that stood up who didn't previously plan to be baptized. My pastor asked me why I decided to do it today, last minute, and I talked about my relationship with God, and how I'd always loved him, but only really felt him in my life in little glimpses. I told the congregation about how I'd previously actually had a talk with this pastor and cried because I wasn't feeling God in my life. And how since attending this church regularly, I really, really felt him on a daily basis working in my life and wanted to solidify that and shed the past by being reborn into this comunity of faith. Then, I turned and plugged my nose and stood as the pastor dunked me gently into the warm water. I arose, and felt so different and refreshed. He told me he loved me and wrapped his arms around me in a hug that I really wished could last. Then I stepped out of the water, wrapped myself in towels and listened to the stories of those after me. It was really amazing. At our church, we have communion each Sunday, so as others were rising to consume of the body and blood of Christ, I decided to put my socks on really quickly and get up. When I was doing that, though, a bunch of friends came up to hug me and congratulate me and say how happy they were for me. I never thought of it as something to congratulate, but it really is. So, as church let out, I helped clean up and went to lunch with some friends. I can't get over how perfect this experience was for me, and how I actually feel closer to God and part of a community I believe in and love. That's my story. I do hope to see this one in the next Muse. I love you both so very much! |
Chickadee |
Eugene Murdock This GEMS article was first submitted to the Murdock Muse Newsletter in 1992. April 14, 2008: Are you a birdwatcher, or a butterfly or wildflower collector, or do you just perhaps love to walk in the woods and absorb the sights, sound and smells of nature? Well you're not alone, because that is a strong tradition that has been passed down through the Murdocks of the 1900's. In all of great-grandfather Milo's diaries, I searched for some signs of his being a naturalist to see where we get our tendencies, but there is very little information. As a teenager he only mentions what he studied in school, how many chair parts he made at work, or what games they played for recreation. As an adult he worked from sunup to sundown, 6 days a week. (On Sundays he didn't do any "work", but the farm chores alone, that had to be done, would have been a day's work to me.) The one clue to his being a naturalist was in the spring when company came and they would all go for a walk in the woods to collect Mayflowers. His son, my grandfather, Edward Herbert Murdock, was a paperhanger and painter by trade and was quite competent as a free-lance photographer, but he definitely loved the outdoors. He was a great fisherman, an avid gardener and a good cook, so I enjoyed the years when he lived in the house with us in Hubbardston. Several of his children (my aunts and uncles) were naturalists in different ways and forms. Frank, the oldest, loved hunting and several times came and got Dad or Grandpa to go out with him. Doug, my father, spent most of his adult life providing for us eight kids but in his retirement years spent much of his time in the woods and fields that he loved so well. He collected wildflowers, kept an annual and a life list, and generally kept tabs on the whole environment around the homestead. He kept us aware of when shooting stars would be in the sky and when eclipses would come, and he made a wind vane for the barn roof that could be seen from the house to keep track of the winds and weather. Ken, the youngest son, became an earth sciences teacher at the high school level and, as an avid collector of specimens, had his house full of nature things on display. Erma was not a specialist but just loved the outdoors. She was unmarried so spent a lot of time at the house with us. She had a platform built out in the back yard for a good sized tent that she stayed in during the summer. It was the focal point for many a pleasant evening around the fireplace, under the stars, singing as she strummed her guitar. But the real naturalist was Aunt Helen, by trade a medical historian, whose true love was anything to do with nature. She would take us on nature walks and open our eyes to the wondrous things around us, constantly amazing us with her knowledge of the birds and plants and astounding us with her ability to communicate with the animals. To all these wonderful teachers and friends we owe a deep debt of gratitude for what they passed on to us. Love, Gene/Dad/Unk/Grampy |
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Robert Foster Murdock May 7: [Ed. Note, NAM]: Our grandson Robert Murdock called with some very interesting news. He is now a Chargers Team Writer for Pro Football Central. He had been writing some short articles for a sports website and thinking maybe he would apply for a spot as Team Writer for the Chargers, since they have been doing better lately. Pro Football Central has recently been asking fans to write something about their favorite team, with the idea that they might want to apply for a job. However, Pro Football Central saw something he had written, and they liked it so much they asked him personally to write an article. Then they liked the article so well that he is now on their roster of writers, for the Chargers. If you go to http://www.profootballcentral.com/, you can see two of his articles. Below is one of them, which I think is very good. Robert is still working for his other grandmother, also, at both the dog kennels and the real estate office. For real estate, he does just about anything, from sales to office work to property management. I asked if that means he would fix a door if it needed to be fixed, and he said yes. I am very impressed by his wide variety of talents. So here is his latest achievement.[End NAM] Special Teams K.O. Punch Seeks to Jab His Way Into a WR Spot By PFC Chargers Writer Robert Murdock Kassim Osgood has come a long way since being picked up by the Chargers as an Un-drafted Free Agent in 2003. Off the field, the former San Diego State University Aztec standout and fan favorite is known as a caring, likeable, stand-up guy. His many interests include acting, (most recently, he appeared as a Marine on the television series “ Jericho ”) and overseeing the Team K.O. Athletes for Education Foundation. He is praised for his contributions in the San Diego community, including being awarded the Jose Cota Man of the Year Award, an honor bestowed upon him by the San Diego Police Historic Association. With the Chargers, he has made a name for himself as a “gunner” (Special Teams player who specializes in racing downfield to tackle the kick/punt returner). Using exceptional athleticism and vision, he has contributed to a number of punts downed near the goal line which would otherwise have surely resulted in a touchback. He is regarded as such a force in the kicking game, that opposing teams have been forced to resort to double and triple teams in an attempt to contain him. He has been awarded Special Teams Player of the Year by his teammates, and has been voted to the Pro Bowl……. twice. Despite all of this, Osgood recently expressed his discontentment due to not seeing much action with the Offense as a receiver, his listed position. The fact that he declared his frustrations in the form of public statement has placed him in some Charger fans’ “doghouses”. Chargers GM A.J. Smith responded to Osgood’s statement saying in short that the Chargers expect Osgood to honor his contract, so it appears Osgood will remain a Charger for at least two more seasons. A good run-blocker, the knock on Osgood as a receiver at the NFL level is that he seems to have trouble achieving separation from the defenders when running routes. Perhaps this season, Osgood will prove himself to Head Coach Norv Turner, and dispel that perception. In the Chargers recent mini-camp, Osgood by most accounts looked good. A starting roster spot however, will be very difficult to attain, as the Chargers team suddenly finds itself laden with talent at the WR position with last season’s acquisition on Pro Bowler Chris Chambers, the emergence of Vincent Jackson as a reliable Offensive weapon in the latter portion of last season, the return of Eric Parker, last year’s 1st round drafting of Craig “Buster” Davis, Malcolm Floyd displaying promising flashes, and last year’s 5th rounder Legedu Naanee quickly making a name for himself as a versatile play maker. |
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