After night fell we followed each others glow-light taillights as we maneuvered our kayaks through fallen trees in a narrow channel.

I did get a few photos before we lost the light of day.

Thanks to Steve and Bonnie at Scappoose Bay Kayaking and to PCC Community Education for a memorable evening.

Poppe Panther and his brethren form a proud ink of panthers to be mascots of schools. While I am aware of professional and university panther mascots, I was not aware of the population of panthers touting the mission of community colleges.

• Portland Community College
• Passiac County Community College
• South Florida Community College
• Ellsworth Community College
• Neosho County Community College
• Tompkins Cortland Community College
• Borough of Manhattan Community College
• Palm Beach Community College
• Baltimore City Community College

(The Chronicles of Goodfoot and Toaster is a wedding card produced by a father-daughter team one fun afternoon.)

The book, The Composer is Dead, is to be released March 3, 2009, and sounds unique from the review and comes packaged with a CD narrated by Lemony Snicket and music from the San Francisco Symphony.

I wonder if Snicket’s handler will be there assisting at the signing? I hear he’s quite a guy.

I’m excited and there is going to be one excited little girl in this house tomorrow morning!

Fung-US is gorgeous, playful and thought provoking — are we the fungus? Nontrivial Pursuit amazes in scale and message. The Source Series offers a true perspective of where our material lives originate. Forevergreen Tuffet is, well, alien. Invader, just like its real-life counterpart, threatens.

Of course the natural beauty of the park surpasses each of these installations but the art does spark discussion regarding our impact on the natural cycles of our world.

We started the day off with a beautiful quiet snowfall in which we delivered food to the needy. This was followed by a trip to Sellwood to pick up the little girl from a sleep-over. The snow continued lightly the entire time while we visited. Upon leaving the snow continued but we found conditions worsening as we approached home. The winds picked up, snow deepened, we followed a snow plow, drifts in Portland accumulated. The thermometer in the car read 20 degrees and it was now quite windy.

We made it home to find drifts of powdery snow in the yard. I stayed out for a while letting the dog take care of business. Of course she loves the snow so it is hard to get her mind off playing in the snow. I shot a few photos to share with you.

There look to be some great speakers and the event is tied to the Time-Based Art Festival, MusicFestNW and the First Thursday Gallery Walk.

Unfortunately I’m only able to attend one day of the event but still feel that this will prove valuable.

In short, the bus and MAX train ride were technically flawless. Even the preparations went smooth. Last night I used TriMet’s website to verify my travel plans. After entering my home address, my destination (just entered “Oregon Convention Center,” no address) and the time I needed to arrive by, the website informed me of where and when to catch my bus. It also let me know where to depart the bus and then walk to catch my MAX train. As I said, everything was flawless. Even the times were right on. But, despite this, the experience was mundane and uninspiring.

Then, on my short MAX ride, the coachman alerted us to the presence of a sea lion in the river to our right as we crossed the Steel Bridge. My transportation experience transformed immediately from an impersonal task into a shared experience. People around me morphed from mere indistinguishable shapes to inquisitive and true community partners.

One little action changed my experience.