It’s official…I sold a photograph to the National Geographic Society. In 2006, I took several photographs of Crater Lake and stitched them into a panoramic photo. I had no idea that my photograph would be displayed on thousands of copies on a map!

My photo will be featured on the Central Cascades Geotourism MapGuide.

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Oregon State University’s campus is coated in a covering of red and yellow leaves.

via Life@OSU

It was 113 degrees when I checked the car’s temp gauge yesterday. The temperature went down to 112 when I snapped the picture. The high today is supposed to be 108 degrees. When it’s 100 degrees outside tomorrow, it’s going to feel quite chilly. I may need a sweater

It’s miserably hot in Corvallis right now…I think it’s time to go to a movie (Harry Potter?)…I’ve been camped out at Borders for most of the day. I detest paying for wifi, but the Borders air conditioning is ultra cold which makes up for the spendy internet access.

The Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act is ironic and discriminatory in that it contains language that does not promote or protect religious freedom:

“No teacher in any public school shall wear any religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher. A school district, education service district or public charter school does not commit an unlawful employment practice under ORS chapter 659A by reason of prohibiting a teacher from wearing religious dress while engaged in the performance of duties as a teacher.”

via the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR):

“This legislation forces Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and others to choose between their faith and entering the teaching profession,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Those who wear religiously-mandated attire are not proselytizing; they are practicing their faith, a right guaranteed by the Constitution. Concerns about religious neutrality in schools can be adequately addressed through professional codes of conduct.”

He said the legislation also raises the question of whether a Christian or Jewish teacher wearing a prominent cross or Star of David would face removal from his or her teaching position.

Testing the Waters for Illegal Drugs:

This week, Northwest researchers published the results of a communal drug test. Scientists from Washington and Oregon sampled sewage treatment plants around Oregon. They checked the inflows for traces of cocaine, methamphetamine, and the party drug Ecstasy.

96 communities voluntarily sent [in] a sample of their raw influent representing one day of material flowing into their wastewater treatment plants.

Methamphetamine was easily detectable in every single sewage sample.

Papers the Movie:

Papers is the story of undocumented youth and the challenges they face as they turn 18 without legal status. Currently there are more than 1.8 million undocumented children who were born outside the U.S. and raised in this country. 65,000 undocumented students`graduate every year from high school without “papers” and find the door to the future slammed shut. In most cases, it is against the law for them to go to college, work or drive. Yet they have no path to citizenship.

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Oregon State University Director of Peace Studies and associate professor of philosophy Joseph Orosco is interviewed about the legacy of Cesar Chavez: