I’m a curious soul – with a wide range of nerdy and geeky interests, ranging from space exploration to theological concepts. I often find interesting items when stumbling about on the internet – and on Friday’s I like to share my findings with you!
Olympic and Paralympic Museum
In June, we spent a week in the Colorado Springs area, visiting my father and his wife. I had planned the week around all my favorite Colorado sites – Seven Falls, Pikes Peak, Cripple Creek, Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods – and at the last minute, added the nearly brand new Olympic and Paralympic museum to the list, thinking it might be fun to visit ahead of the Summer Olympics taking place right now in Tokyo.
I expected the museum to be interesting; but I did not anticipate that it would border on fascinating and become one of the highlights of our week. From the moment we stepped into the building, I knew this was going to be a top-notch experience. State of the Art technology greeted us in every room. We were given name tags that we could customize with our favorite sport, and every time we stepped near a display, the display ‘recognized’ us and we were able to mark that display as something we wanted more info on. When we returned home – we discovered ‘digital lockers’ in our email inboxes, filled with all kinds of articles and info on the displays we were most interested in.
The entire museum was interactive – we had fun racing and competing against each other in the 50m dash and skiing downhill. We were in awe at the Olympic Torch and Olympic Medals display. And it was fun to walk into the 360 degree theatre for the Opening Ceremonies, giving us a taste of what it must be like to march into arenas in the Parade of Nations.
Since coming home, I’ve followed their Facebook Page and I’m impressed with how many special events they host – from kids sports events to Meet and Greets with past Olympic athletes.
If you are ever in the Colorado Springs area, be sure to take an afternoon to visit the Olympic and Paralympic Museum – it is well worth it! For more information, visit their website here: Go for the Gold!
Combating Misinformation
As Covid-19 concerns surge again as cases and variants rise, I often find myself navigating a world of instant news that’s becoming more difficult to sift through to find credible sources and information. In light of that, I appreciated this article at ERLC, by Jason Thacker: How Christians can Combat the Dangerous Reality of (COVID-19) Disinformation
Whether at work, church or family gatherings – opinions are strong and widely varied. News sources are not much better – each seems to deploy a different message, sometimes changing hourly. Thacker gives great advice on what mis/disinformation is, and how we as Christ-followers can navigate the tricky waters with the Gospel as our guidebook.
“Christians are a people of truth and should have nothing to do with spreading falsehoods (Eph. 4:25).”
-Jason Thacker
DATA is Fascinating
It may seem unfair to follow the above post about misinformation with a brief section on Covid-19 Stats….but that’s exactly what I’m doing. My main reasoning is that I so enjoy everything that the website “Information is Beautiful” shares. Infographics are a bit of an obsession of mine – I love how hard data can be represented in fascinating ways.
So, for what it is worth, check out the wealth of Covid-19 Statistical Data shared in accessible, fully interactive infographs and dashboards, located here: Covid-19 Coronovirus Data Dashboard
Stunningly Beautiful Glass Octopus
I love the ocean – snorkeling is one of my favorite activities anytime I get near the sea. There’s something about floating among the fishes – all the stress and worries and fears seem to melt away.
I’ve been blessed to encounter several interesting sea creatures – Puffer Fish, Sea Turtles, Eels (which low-key freak me out every time), Sea Cucumbers, a shark (terrifying and amazing) and Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa (say that 3 times fast! Ok, say it just once. I dare ya.)
But the one creature I have yet to see in the wild is an Octopus. It’s high on my sea creature bucket list, so I love to read articles about them. Open Culture recently featured some stunning footage of a Glass Octopus, which I had never heard of before. If you are feeling stressed, take 30 seconds to watch this beautiful animal floating in the inky darkness of the sea.
Glass Octopus Encounter / Schmidt Ocean Institute from Colossal on Vimeo.
