Introducing the Solar Tree

Because real trees just are not effecient enough...

I just read an article on solar trees - see the link below. The idea is that these "trees" will use solar panels to charge batteries that will power street lights, thereby reducing power use in the city and reducing the overall carbon footprint. It does seem to beg the question, what about the real trees and their negative carbon footprint? Are we replacing CO2 processing trees with plastic trees to reduce rather then eliminate green house gasses? A single tree is a pretty efficient carbon dioxide processing plant. Maybe some combination of real trees and street lamps would be ok. I guess something just rubs me the wrong way about calling these "trees".

Check it out for yourself by reading Introducing the Solar Tree

Heart of desperation

I used to lump the people talking to the faith healers in with the rest of the world's crazies. I have learned better.

God loves a heart pure and open to Him and His power. A person at the end of their options turning to God, albeit through a faith healer, may be a person who truly believes and really sees God for who He is, not who we have made Him. I have been guilty of the thing I caution against, putting God in a box. Who is to say that He won't choose to reward the person, who by faith, trusts Him for a miracle. How many times in His ministry did He do just that?

While we do not need a "faith healer" to intervene, believing in the miraculous power of God and throwing oneself on His mercy is an expression of worship, not craziness.

Stand in Awe of God

Ecclesiastes 5
5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Ec 5:1-7). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Have we lost the idea that we should be in awe of God? Reading this passage, I am thinking about what we are doing with Christianity today. I have written previously about the dangers of legalism and my personal struggles with what we / I have made Christianity, but there is a danger in making God our buddy. He is God. To loose the awsomeness of that idea is to miss a big part of who and what He is. It becomes easy to forget His majesty and His power when we stop seeing God as The one true God of the Universe, both a personal savior and a majestic being, worthy of all honor, praise and glory.

It can be a tough balance to keep this perspective sometimes. We are able to have communion with God, He destroyed the barrier between us and He gave us grace, but it did not diminish who and what He is. We are told to take seriously what we say to Him. How many of us sing our sunday morning worship songs by rote? How many of us really consider the promises we are echoing to God? I know that I do not always live true to this passage.

A time for everything

I have been giving some thought for the last several weeks to Ecclesiastes 3. The idea that there is a time for everything gives me comfort in a way I am having trouble articulating. Knowing that life is but a vapor, a transient thing to be savored and lived with purpose is a powerful idea, and binding that idea to this passage somehow gives me peace. The peace comes in the knowledge that life is not a collection of randomness, but that everything comes in it's time. Grief is not forever and we cannot expect only time to dance.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

I continue to meditate on this passage - what is it time for now? How can I use this idea to comfort myself and others with the certainty of purpose?

An RSS Tutorial for mortals

I've been asked more than once to explain this "RSS Thing" to friends and family since it has become prevalent across the web. I ran across a nice tutorial that explains it a little better then I was doing, from a guy in Australia, formerly of Baltimore. Check it out and tell me if you like it.

Make a difference with micro-loans

If you are looking for a way to have a direct impact on someone's life in a developing region, this could be your ticket. It is a pretty fascinating market segment for the financial industry. What I have read so far looks great and there are a few ways to get involved.

• through e-bay
• Kiva
• Globefunder

The basic idea is that loans are provided to entrepreneurs in developing countries at roughly 3% interest over 3-5 years on average. These loans are generally in the range of a couple or few hundred dollars and from what I have seen so far have a 98% payback rate. That's better then most "safe" investments and you are directly helping someone make a huge difference in their lives.

If you give it a go, let me know how you make out and who you help. Check out this blog entry at Bust a Change to see where I first read about this.

Tattoo Technology

Who would have thought - technology invades the ink parlor. Check out this blog entry, it details a new 3D process a designer came up with.

I am not sure that I like this idea - some of the process is in the unknown I think. Of course, you still have the fact that a human artist is actually laying down the ink regardless of what the computer model shows, still, I think something is lost.

Just in case 3D ink models are not enough - they now have removable ink made with micro beads that dissolve with one laser pass for those who want a "semi-permanent" tattoo. What is this, hair coloring?

What are your gifts?

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)
11 It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Reading this, I think it clear that this is not a one time ancient event, rather an ongoing thing happening to all of us as believers. The challenge we have, is to identify the gifts we have been given, and then to use them effectively in ministry to God. What does he need from me? From you?

I think that at the day of reckoning, we will be given a chance to look back on the gifts we have been given and explain just how we used what we were given. I want my report to be a positive one, but I seem to stumble on applying my gifts. Maybe I need to work a little harder on identifying ways to be used by God, or better still, ask Him to help me see.

How about you? What is your gift? Are you using it for Him

CSS and clean HTML

While playing around with CSS, I have found that tagging content and page elements has taken on a whole new importance. Look at sites like the CSS Zen Garden to see just how powerful this concept is. A great little reference to help you get started with HTML layout can be found at http://css-tricks.com/examples/CleanCode/CleanCode.jpg.

He has much more content to explore that will give you tips & tricks to use with your CSS work.

Photoshop Brushes

I really have to get rid of my stumble! toolbar - while it provides some great links it sure can suck up time. I ran across a link to a collection of Photoshop brushes that are vary neat. Check them out at http://www.photoshoproadmap.com

Who are we modeling?

What have we collectively made Christianity into that we have strayed so far from our model? Jesus gave us an example in Himself that we can follow. It is not a complex book of rules, rather a very basic directive to love others as yourself. What have we done that the words of Gandhi ring so true?

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ - Mahatma Gandhi

I would posit that we have lost the simple message because we can't accept the idea that it is not of ourselves that we attain heaven. We make it about the doing, rather than the being. In making it about the doing, we loose the real message of love. It is easier to check items off a list than it is to live a life dedicated to showing a Christ-like love.

Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

I am challenged by this thought, because to live a life based on demonstrating Christ's love is a far greater challenge than any set of rules.

Beauty of the earth

Trapped by faith and guilt

Recently, while talking to a close friend of mine I was reminded of how powerful a weapon set faith and guilt can be against a person. Growing up in a fundamentalist church, I heard repeatedly that we just have to trust God and He will heal someone, or - "oh that poor soul, if they would only really trust God, they would be free of their mental illness / addiction / disease."

This theory fails to take into account the mixed blessing of free will. God created us as independent beings, free to make our own choices and follow our own paths. He does have a divine plan in which we all play a role, however we are free to muck about with our lives as we see fit, for the most part. The result of this, also called "our fallen state" in churchese, is that God won't fix everything.

Mental illness, disease, addictions, these are a result of the choices we have made as a human race. We have created the mess we live in and we own that. It is a shared blame on humanity, not God. That being said, He is willing and able to see us through challenges, but that does not mean that He will remove the challenge. There is a huge difference between deliverance from adversity and serenity through the adversity. God's power shines the brightest when we are willing to accept the challenges in our path and reflect His grace and peace through and despite the challenges.

The trap mentioned previously comes when we forget that bit of truth and think that there is a level of holiness that can be attained that is sufficient to prevent any ill befalling us. This cross thinking results in guilt for all adversity since it must be our spiritual shortcoming that lead us there.

more on this later ....

Rebuilding iTunes database

One of my biggest complaints about iTunes is that there is no built in way to rebuild your database when files are moved or deleted. I ran across this utility today and it worked great! Check it out at http://itlu.ownz.ch/wordpress/

Peace on the river

While floating on the river tonight, trailing a line across the moon dappled water, watching the bats flit across the surface, I was hit again by how seldom we get to "Be Still".

Psalm 46:10-11 (NCV) 10 God says, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be praised in all the nations; I will be praised throughout the earth."

If we don't make time for quiet, we will never have time to hear God...

There IS a God!

For now, I will leave you with this important question to ponder.

If there is no God, who always pops up that next Kleenex?

Remember the goal

I think that often times, we get so focused on accomplishing a goal, we forget the point of the goal. We can so easily get wrapped up in the how, that we miss the why and the what. I am trying to make a point of clearly identifying my goals, and then working toward the end goal, checking to make sure that I am still on the right heading, rather then drifting with the winds of the day.

Taking time

Too often, I think we measure the success of our lives by what we fill it up with. The problem with this is that we never give ourselves the opportunity to "Be still" and converse with our God, or our own self. How can we really know what matters if we focus on doing, to the exclusion of the knowing?

Computer Wisdom

* There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
* A printer consists of three main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
* The programmer's national anthem is 'AAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!!'.
* At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer, you will find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on the computer.
* Beta. Software undergoes beta testing shortly before it's released. Beta is Latin for "still doesn't work."
* Computer analyst to programmer: "You start coding. I'll go find out what they want."
* Computer Science: solving today's problems tomorrow.
* Hidden DOS secret: add BUGS=OFF to your CONFIG.SYS
* Hit any user to continue.
* I wish life had an UNDO function.
* If your computer says, "Printer out of Paper," this problem cannot be resolved by continuously clicking the "OK" button.
* It said "Insert disk 3..." but only 2 fit in the drive.
* Microsoft Windows: computing While U Wait
* 665.9238429876 - Number of the Pentium Beast
* I have yet to meet a C compiler that is more friendly and easier to use than eating soup with a knife.
* My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
* Programming graphics in X is like finding sqrt(pi) using Roman numerals.
* "To know recursion, you must first know recursion"
* Life's unfair - but root password helps!
* Mountain Dew and doughnuts... because breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
* Hey! It compiles! Ship it!
* "Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.
* Intel: We put the "um..." in Pentium.
* Helpdesk tip #2: When the support analyst says "Click...", wait for the rest of the sentence.
* BREAKFAST.COM Halted...Cereal Port Not Responding
* BUFFERS=20 FILES=15 2nd down, 4th quarter, 5 yards to go!
* As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing.
* Disinformation is not as good as datinformation.
* Smash forehead on keyboard to continue.....
* Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue...
* All wiyht. Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?
* A good programmer makes all the right mistakes.
* Managing programmers is like herding cats.
* "There is an old saying that if a million monkeys typed on a million keyboards for a million years, eventually all the works of Shakespeare would be produced. Now, thanks to Usenet, we know this is not true."
* "A good programmer is someone who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street."
* C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg.
* A computer scientist is someone who, when told to "Go to Hell," sees the "go to," rather than the destination, as harmful.
* 1010011010 - The binary number of the Beast
* APATHY ERROR: Don't bother striking any key. Application has reported a "Not My Fault" in module KRNL.EXE in line 0200:103F
* "The three most dangerous things in the world are a programmer with a soldering iron, a hardware type with a software patch and a user with an idea."

The Christian Church culture

Referencing my earlier post about living an insulated Christian life, I feel compelled to comment a little bit further on the Christian vernacular. Sometime ago I was between churches and as a result had an opportunity to attend a fairly wide variety of different churches. One thing that really struck me was the language of the Church. At times, despite growing up a part of a church, I felt something of an alien. I suppose I've spent enough time outside of a church that what may seem to be completely normal to one immersed in the Christian Church culture, to me still seems at times foreign. I hang out with friends to eat and talk and I call that eating and talking, not fellowship. I'm still not completely sure what all the terms mean and I'm fairly certain I don't need to know. I think we need to make an effort to avoid creating our own Christian subculture, rather work on being a light in the culture we are part of.

It's not the healthy who need healing...

I'm all for corporate worship but I think, like most things it needs balance. It's so easy to get caught up in the Christian world that we forget what our mission really is.

Matthew 9:10-13 (NIV)
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’a For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus gives something of a rebuke here when he says it's not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick. Have we've forgotten that message? It seems to me that most churches I've been in are very focused on the Church, but not focused nearly enough on the world we are a part of. Maybe that's a product of too many years of trying to be in the world but not of the world, but how can you reach the world if you don't participate in the world?

To know someones pain, you have to know the person first. To show the love of God, we have to know the person.

ZOHO goes offline!

In case you were not aware, there is a great office solution available online for use anywhere - one of the chief drawbacks to it was there was no offline capability. Zoho has now added R/O offline and is bringing R/W soon! I like it. Check out the intro video below.

Brain Food

Anti-Aging and Cognitive Boosters

Credit: AOL Article

Blueberries are the ultimate memory food. Research at the USDA showed that daily consumption of blueberries dramatically slows the impairment of memory that usually accompanies old age.

Compounds in blueberries called polyphenols actually help "turn on" the signals that let neurons (brain cells) communicate with each other more effectively.

Compounds in strawberries help protect your brain and preserve your memory. In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, animals that consumed an extract of strawberries, spinach and blueberries every day had significant improvements in their short-term memory. Not only did they learn faster than the other animals, but their motor skills improved as well.

Spinach is loaded with an array of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds that research has shown to slow brain aging and preserve memory. It's one of the few food sources of the powerful, brain-protecting antioxidant alpha lipoic acid.

Tumeric's reputation as a "super-spice" is due largely to its anti-cancer activity and powerful anti-inflammatory properties -- but it also helps to protect your brain.

This spice first attracted the interest of scientists investigating Alzheimer's disease because rates of the disease are so low in India, where curry is a staple. A compound in tumeric called curcumin helps to prevent mental decline in laboratory animals.

Your grandmother was right -- fish is indeed brain food! Over 60 percent of your brain by weight is composed of fat, and most of it is the same fat found in fish. The healthy omega-3 fats in fish (and fish oil supplements) are incorporated into cell membranes, making it easier for information from neurotransmitters to get in and out of the cell.

Low levels of omega-3 fats have been linked to memory problems as well as depression, ADHD and various other neurological disorders.

Best sources: Wild salmon, sardines and cod -- or take fish oil supplements on a daily basis (500mg-3,000mg).

Egg yolks are one of nature's richest sources of choline, a B vitamin that is one of the most important nutrients for brain health. Choline is a building block of the valuable neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is vital for memory, learning and thinking.

This vitamin is particularly important during pregnancy because it's essential for the brain development in the fetus. The choline in egg yolks helps maintain the flexibility of brain cell membranes, which is critical for the quick transmission of thoughts and impulses.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is a supplement that just may be a fountain of youth for your brain. It seems to delay the onset of age-related cognitive decline and improve overall cognitive function in the elderly. It also protects the brain from damage due to poor circulation and helps to repair injured nerve cells.

Research shows that after three months of using recommended doses of Acetyl-L-Carnitine (500mg-1,500mg daily), there's a marked improvement in general cognitive function.

Phosphatidyl Serine (PS), a naturally occurring nutrient found in cell membranes, is highly concentrated in the brain. Several studies have shown that PS helps to restore brain function and improve learning and concentration.

Our brain health depends on PS for a number of important metabolic effects, as this it makes it possible for nutrients to move freely in and out of the brain cells.

Note:  To get the benefit of this supplement, take it with fish oil or with a serving of fatty fish such as salmon or sardines.

Ginkgo Biloba - Several research studies on this famous herb have revealed that it has a positive effect on thinking. Not only has ginkgo extract been shown to reduce the progress of dementia or the severity of its symptoms, but it also modestly improves both memory and the speed of cognitive functioning.

The extract of the leaves from the ginkgo plant contain compounds called glycosides and terpenoids which are believed to have memory-enhancing properties. Most importantly, ginkgo improves circulation to the tissues, notably the brain, and its powerful antioxidant action protects against memory-robbing cell damage from free radicals.

Exercise is crucial for both mind and body health.  It reduces levels of a stress hormone called cortisol, which when elevated, can shrink the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.

Studies show that exercise may help prevent Alzheimer's or dementia, or at the very least, significantly delay its onset. Exercise also releases chemicals that increase the production of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which has been called "Miracle Gro for the Brain".

Recent research at the University of Illinois shows that the brains of healthy but sedentary individuals ages 60 to 80 years old actually increased in size after exercising aerobically for 45 to 60 minutes, 3 days a week at a moderate clip -- both the white matter and the grey matter increased in volume!

IT Quotes ...

2400 Baud makes you want to get out and push!!

I hit the CTRL key but I'm still not in control!

Will the information superhighway have any rest stops?

Disk Full - Press F1 to belch.

Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (T)hrowup

Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic

(A)bort, (R)etry, (T)ake down entire network?

(A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et a beer?

If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming be
the process of putting them in.

Programmers don't die, they just GOSUB without RETURN.

Programmer - A red-eyed, mumbling mammal capable of conversing
with inanimate objects.

Real programmers don't document. If it was hard to write, it
should be hard to understand."

Daddy, why doesn't this magnet pick up this floppy disk?

Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity.

C program run. C program crash. C programmer quit.
Live free or die!

Too much is never enough!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Practice makes perfect!

Everybody loves to see justice done on somebody else.

Buy a better computer so you can reboot faster.

If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming be
the process of putting them in.

Makes the world goes round...

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and
you feed him and his family for a lifetime.

Give a man an answer, and today's frustration is gone. Teach him to
program, and he will be frustrated for the rest of his life.

Hit a man on the head with a fish, and he'll have a headache for a day.

This .sig is under construc

No good deed goes unpunished.

My name is Dump, Core Dump.

The Bible is open to interpretation

I am reading an interesting book right now called Velvet Elvis. It is by a guy named Rob Bell and published by Zondervan. I will most likely have a number of posts generated by reading and pondering this book, but for starters, here is a big one. Bigger to some then others I suppose, depending on your world view.

Rob makes a point that I had not really thought about alot to date, but which is pretty simple and profound all at once. He says "The Bible is a communal book. It came from people writing in communities and was often written to communities." He also mentions earlier that the Bible is open ended and must be interpreted. Here is another longer quote from the book that clarifies this point.

And that's because the Bible is open ended.

It has to be interpreted. And if it isn't interpreted, then it can't be put into action. So if we are serious about following God, then we have to interpret the Bible. It is not possible to simply do what the Bible says. We must first make decisions about what it means at this time, in this place, for these people.

He is talking about the process of interpretation that was practiced by the Rabbis in the time of Jesus, who had to make sense of the scriptures in the face of the changing times, and especially with the inclusion of the Gentiles into the fold of early Christianity. I will not go into the details of this process here, though it is fascinating to me, rather I will say that I believe that what was true then, is still true now, in that the Scriptures are meant to be interpreted by a community of believers in a point in time.

Digital Photography School

While stumbling around the net, I ran into a great photo/shop site IMO. If you are a photography enthusiast and / or a Photoshop fan, I think this one will appeal to you. The site can be found at http://digital-photography-school.com/. The site is a collection of tips, tutorials, sample work and more and I found it to be educational and entertaining at the same time. Hats off to Darren Rowse, the guy behind the site.

Faith like a fishing boat

While fishing on the river recently, I witnessed something a little humorous. Two guys in a fishing boat loaded with gear came flying up the river, hit a rapids section and never slowed down. They slid the boat sideways through the deepest part and kept right on flying out of sight.

Minutes later, a second and almost identical boat came through, only when they approached the same area, they slowed and picked the motor up. Very quickly, the boat started to slide sideways and drift backwards. These shenanigans caught our attention quickly and we watched things unfold with more than one little laugh. The guys in the boat seemed to debate the best plan for a minute or two while they slid almost all the way around, then the guy in front jumped into the water and started trying to stabilize the craft. Eventually, they hung a rope out of the front and one of the guys pulled it by hand through the rapids until they could get underway again.

I was struck by the difference and in true me fashion, I had to find the deeper meaning. How much like life was that experience. Do we have the courage to trust our Faith, or God and keep the motor running while we sail forward through the difficult patches, or do we grow timid and feel like we have to do it on our own? How often do we make our lives so much more painful than they have to be? Both boats went though the same section of water, they were virtually identical boats and drew the same water, yet what a different experience it was for both crews.

Pray for the president...

When was the last time you prayed for the president?

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)
(1)I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—
(2) for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

While I do not agree with many of his decisions, or those of many of our elected leaders, I still should pray for them regularly and respect them as appointed leaders. I find this a hard pill to swallow sometimes. I clearly have room to grow.

The balance of faith producing works

I have come back to this idea repeatedly, looking at what it means to live the Christian life, and what being a Christian is all about. Knowing that faith without works is dead, and knowing that we are justified through faith and not works, there is this competition of ideas at times. I would like to say that I don't struggle with this simple idea, but it causes me undue angst at times as I try to figure out what my life should look like. I know I am not the only one who has pondered this, but at times it feels a lonely road.

Don't Worry - wisdom from Bobby McFerrin and God

Don't Worry, Be Happy : Lyrics by Bobby McFerrin

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't Worry — Be Happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it Double
Don't Worry — Be Happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head,
somebody came and took your bed
Don't Worry, Be Happy
The landlord say your rent is late,
he may have to litigate
Don't Worry — Be Happy
Ain't got not cash, ain't got no style,
ain't got no gal to make you smile
Don't Worry — Be Happy
Cause when you worry your face will frown
and that will bring everybody down
Don't Worry — Be Happy

© ProbNoblem Music (BMI)

Matthew 6:25-34 CEV
(25) I tell you not to worry about your life. Don't worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn't life more than food or clothing?
(26) Look at the birds in the sky! They don't plant or harvest. They don't even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth more than birds?
(27) Can worry make you live longer?
(28) Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes.
(29) But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of them.
(30) God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?
(31) Don't worry and ask yourselves, "Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?"
(32) Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these.
(33) But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
(34) Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.

You have to appreciate the idea Bobby is hanging out there anyway. Too often we get caught up in the trap of worrying about (insert your worry topic here) and miss out on the sheer joy of life. I have found that worrying rarely is helpful and almost always is a distraction from more important things. While you're pondering that idea, check out what Matthew 6 has to say on the topic - pretty much the same as Bobby McFerrin, who knew?

People need to be needed

Reading an article sent to me today, I was struck again by the simple idea that people need to be needed. The article talks about missions and relating to each other across economic divides but this applies across social, religious and really any other boundaries that we create.

excerpt from the article

Poor people are people. Those who live and die in want of basic needs are just as smart, beautiful, creative, motivated, holy, and wise as you and I. They are also just as dumb, ugly, dull, lazy, sinful, and foolish as you and I.

This serves as a lead in to the story that talks about transforming the way short term missions works in one specific area. The gist of it is that the local population drives the activity and serves in a leadership role, rather than being simply recipients of charity. The fundamental shift comes when we recognize that you do not have to come from a wealthy country, have a Harvard MBA, be the right skin color or come with any other credentials to be an effective leader, teacher or mentor. It is arrogant at best to try and swoop in, determining the needs and providing a solution without the guidance of those being helped.

To be in a recipient only role dis-empowers the recipients and robs those providing the aid of the opportunity to really know those they are working with.

While living in Africa as a child, I saw both sides of this approach. I saw missionaries who were so full of their goodness that they would not deign to eat off of a plate that a Chadian had used. I saw the opposite side of that in my home, with my fathers best friend being a Chadian whom I called my uncle. The people we worked with were my family, the relationships we had were relationships of equals in my experience. What a contrast and what a gift from my parents to me - I never have been able to fully reconcile the two sides of the coin but I am now beginning to understand it more, though I am saddened by the lost opportunity on both sides all those years ago and continuing all over the world even today.

Work it...

This video is more than a little weird, but after the slow start, it gets more impressive. I wonder how much practice this took?

The truth can sometimes hurt

What else needs said?

Conformity - not always the best choice...

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.

Are you the model or are you the conforming one? Who or what are you conforming to?

Drivers and Manuals

• NetGear WG-111 V2

Beat the stress with bubble wrap

How can you deny that satisfaction that comes from patiently working your way through a piece of bubble wrap? Ok, maybe you can, but it's still fun. Here for your popping pleasure is a virtual piece I lifted off the net.

The Transformative Nature

While thinking on the topic of Christianity, and what it means, I have been pondering the slipping of the emphasis on the transformative aspect of Christianity.

Romans 12:1-21 MKJV
(1) I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.
(2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.
(3) For I say, through the grace given to me, to every one who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But set your mind to be right-minded, even as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.
(4) For even as we have many members in one body, and all members do not have the same function,
(5) so we the many are one body in Christ, and each one members of one another.
(6) Then having gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, if prophecy, according to the proportion of faith;
(7) or ministry, in the ministry; or he who teaches, in the teaching;
(8) or he who exhorts, in the encouragement; or he who shares, in simplicity; or he who takes the lead, in diligence; or he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness.
(9) Let love be without hypocrisy, shrinking from evil, cleaving to good;
(10) in brotherly love to one another, loving fervently, having led one another in honor.
(11) As to diligence, not slothful, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
(12) rejoicing in hope, patient in affliction, steadfastly continuing in prayer,
(13) distributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.
(14) Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.
(15) Rejoice with rejoicing ones, and weep with weeping ones;
(16) minding the same thing toward one another, not minding high things, but yielding to the lowly. Do not be wise within yourselves.
(17) Repay no one evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
(18) If it is possible, as far as is in you, being in peace with all men.
(19) not avenging yourselves, beloved, but giving place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
(20) Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head.
(21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

While I do not advocate in any way the legalistic approach and the dogmatic views that ruled much of the church for so long, I also think that we need to keep in mind that we are talking about a faith that should and must change a life. It is a thing that requires transformation to be fully realized.

Reading Romans 12:1 emphasizes this to me in a few ways. On our own, the actions listed in this passage are not always natural, they require a transformation of our mind and our will. These are not listed as a series of commands, rather as an example of ways in which the change brought about by our faith will be evident in our lives.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.

As you may be able to guess from my earlier writings, I am looking at all of these listed actions and attributes and seeing one common theme. Love drives all of them. Without love, will you feed and cloth your enemy? What kind of love drives one to do that? It is not natural by any means. What kind of love makes a person willing to bless those that persecute them? The answer is vs. 9 and 10, it is a fervent love that is without hypocrisy. There is no free pass here - we are talking about a life altering love for our God that is the foundation of the Christian faith and if it is real, it will produce change in your life. In fact, it must produce change and that must not be overlooked. Here we teeter on the slippery slope of legalism if we look for an easy way out. It is far easier to legislate a list of rules and behaviors and then simply try to stick to those actions then it is to freely commit oneself to loving God wholly and completely and through that love seeking continuously to be transformed and renewed.

A relationship, well cared for, is no small endeavor and in our world, we seem to find it easier to look for the 10 step quick fix rather than acknowledge the journey that is our faith.

The Wyzo experience...

lifted from the Wyzo website

Wyzo is an awesome new browser that focuses on optimizing your online media experience. Wyzo gives you easy access to all your favourite media sites, downloading media content and inform your friends about your discoveries.
BitTorrent™ Made Easy

We've integrated your torrent downloads inside our download manager, so downloading torrents has never been so easy! Now you can manage your web and torrent downloads from the same window. Start downloads with just one click.
Secure Web Browsing

Wyzo allows you to browse the web securely using the latest protection and safety technologies. Built from the ground up on the Firefox core, Wyzo will make sure your experience is smart, safe, and hassle-free.

I downloaded it and it seems ok, not all that it could be. I will play around with the torrent client more to see if that's really worth it. I also am trying out the FireFox plugin with higher hopes. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.wyzo.com/.

Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

The title is shamelessly stolen from Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google. This guy is the consumate hacker, IMHO. Check out this paper he put out on the topic. http://www.norvig.com/21-days.html

Programmer, Developer or Hacker

What's the difference between a programmer and a developer, or even a hacker? A question no real hacker or even a developer would ask, but one I still hear from co-workers or friends in one form or another.

I've met and managed a lot of programmers, I've even worked with a bunch. It is not a bundle of fun. Programmers tend to be people who write code of some type in A language that they are comfortable with, for a paycheck. They are not known for independent thinking and are not known for passion about their work.

Developers on the other hand usually tend to be people who write in several languages, with a passion for whatever language is cool to them for whatever reason they have, rational or otherwise. They tend to look at the world as a problem to be solved and will argue, sometimes passionately, over their brand of right for the solution. They work well independently and sometimes with others. I have worked with a number of these types and I enjoy it a lot more. These are some of the more fun people to hang out with. They usually have a good sense of humor and are fairly well read.

Hackers are another breed. A really good dev may desire to attain true hacker status, but not be willing to make the time required due to a personal life. I have worked with and also managed a couple of real hackers. Of the three types, this is my favorite. Not because of the impressive social skills attained by 20 out of 24 hours at the keyboard, rather because they are generally so incredibly intelligent. I wish I could say I have attained hacker status, but it would be untrue. I have been called one, and while flattered, I have to say that at best I was an aspiring hacker. With the time I spend on dev work at this point in my life, true hacker status is a long way off for me. It has become a term loosely thrown around anymore and misused as bad as the word Diva in pop culture.

Legacy Video Games

I ran across a find today that will make any old gamers wax nostalgic. Check out http://www.everyvideogame.com/play-nes-Contra_(U).htm. Contra and a whole bunch of other NES games are available via an online emulator.

A thought for the fourth

I was thinking last night, while I should have been sleeping, about this country in which I live. How we have been sliding slowly from a culture of strength and sacrifice to a culture of immediate gratification and one that demands quick fix, no cost remedies. This brought to mind some wise words that I will leave with you, spoken by greater men than I.

"From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots."
-- Thomas Jefferson

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them"
-- FDR

Plethora of web links

Another good find: http://www.alvit.de/handbook/

This is a page with links to all sorts of web content and developer tools and widgets. Enjoy

Blog Hacks

I have several blogs and online "properties" that I maintain and I wanted to share styles and content among them. I also wanted to minimize redundancy. To that end I am collecting most of the customizations here, with pointers to more detail in some cases.
First off, I needed to share content among my sites so I needed a file host. GooglePages fit that bill very nicely and can be found over at http://googlepages.google.com.

Shared Lib Includes:

These go at the top of every page / template I use

<link href='http://jking.net.googlepages.com/sharedBlogStyleSheet.css' rel='stylesheet' type="'text/css'/">

<script src='http://jking.net.googlepages.com/sharedBlogJS.js' type='text/javascript'>

These two files hold the shared styles that I can then customize further in individual site files.

Google Pages

I recently gave up my paid hosting account to give a go at using all free web services to create a new virtual site that offered even more functionality. One of the needs for this project was a place to store simple things like shared files, js libs and what not. I spent some time banging around the net until I remembered that google page creator offered just such a thing. Huzzah, problem solved and even better, staying on the base google platform.

Check out google page creator at http://pages.google.com/

Online Office Replacements

As I move to the online line mashup model, I have been looking at replacements for other applications that I use. What can I do using just a web browser? These links are for tools and sites that I have found useful for this purpose. This was originally posted on my main site blog, but here I will dig a little more into the guts I hope.

For now, check out the links below.

Google Docs

This site from Google has a decent word processor and spreadsheet as well as some other gadgets but it is not tops in functionality.

Zoho

This suite has the best setup I have found so far. I like the way the software works and the suite is robust.

CSS Based Slider Menu

Thanks to Stu Nicholls, over at CSSPlay I got a jump on making vertical sliding menus for my site from a standard, compliant data definition list. I was looking for a good way to make a menu that did not fly all over and was simple to use, while being compliant with existing standards. I took what he had as my foundation and modified it slightly for my use. You can check it out on my main site.

Attach an icon to anything

Through the magic of CSS, we can do so much more then ever before with web pages. One of my favorite recent tips is the ability to attach icons to links (or really anything) based on custom attributes. Rather then re-write the whole article, I am linking it here: http://www.hunlock.com/blogs/Attach_icons_to_anything_with_CSS.

Try it out and be amazed. The tip works on all new (2007) browsers but will degrade gracefully for older systems. They will simply not see the icons.

love the V-Twin

waxing nostalgic... what can I say about this lovely. I miss her. :)

Do not worry

Matthew 6:25-34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Walking the Walk

While looking for encouragement and examples of courage, I ran across a little bit of wisdom is Philippians as well. Basically, what really hit me the most about it was the idea of what it means to "walk the walk". What does it mean to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel ?

Philippians 1:27-29
(27) Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
(28) without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God.
(29) For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,

To get a little more insight into this, I suppose looking at some examples of what the Gospels say about conduct would be a good starter. In Galations 5, I found a pretty concise summary of this idea. In one word, it can all be summed up as Love.

Galatians 5:13-26
(13) You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
(14) The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
(15) If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
(16) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
(17) For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
(18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
(19) The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
(20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
(21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
(22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
(23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(24) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
(25) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(26) Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Reading through this passage, clearly the predominate thought is that love is the foundation of it all. All the other other things can be considered manifestations of that love. One of the real dangers that the previous passage represents is the interpretation of what it means to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel

Looking at the passage in Galations, we get an idea - the trick is to not then create our own law structure around these ideas.

Still here?!

So today is day 6 of the ongoing saga. I thought I was going home today, but the doc just told me otherwise. Bummer. I was really a little surprised at how upset this whole thing gets me. I think it is the frustration of not knowing compounded by being away from my family and a little of the fear of what happened in the past.

Philippians 1:19-21
(19) for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
(20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
(21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

I have spent a little time looking for verses on faith and courage and I think I like Philippians 1:19-21 a lot. I know I am not really totally qualified to claim this passage, but then, little things like qualifications has never stopped me before. :)

While the context is different, I hope that I can attain the passion outlined in v.21. To live as God would have me live, not because it is what I have to do, rather because it is my passion.

Maybe this will serve as a vehicle to help get me one step closer.

Resolving Bitterness

While hanging out here in the "Hotel Paoli" I have taken the opportunity to catch up on a few podcasts from Daybreak. The most recent one was Break Through Bitterness which talks about identifying and eliminating bitterness in your life. Forgiveness through grace being the predominate route for this difficult task. Well timed, I think. Some time ago I went through a difficult professional experience and then a month or so ago I had the chance to face one of the individuals primarily responsible for this difficulty. I found it surprisingly cathartic to shake his hand and let it go. How many more applications for this are there in my life? I think it's pretty easy to allow these things to fester under the surface and then ignore the bubbling up of the bitterness out of context. It is harder to address the issue in question directly and deal with it but far more efficacious for healing and restoring or maintaining relationships.

All that being said, one thing hit me particularly hard. John mentions the timing of this process. His summary was basically (forgive me if I don't get this exactly) When God says to forgive, He does not give a time table or add a bit about, When it is convenient, rather it is a directive to ACT. I have a few more applications for this that I am struggling to ACT on and this is pushing me to prayer in these areas.

Update on my ppc-6700

So... After my posts about the rotten experience I had with Verizon and my phone, I got a new one and I'm happy with it. Finally. Actually, I am very happy to have it right now. The 802.11 support and the office and other app integration has been a boon to me as of late. Being disconnected from my laptops, I have relied on my phone for email and web connectivity as well as office docs and so on.

Having a convergence device that holds music, photos, accesses the cell networks and 802.11 networks as well as lets me run my productivity apps is better then you might think at first. One device - manages most. Nothing optimally, but most things acceptably. I'll keep it. (for now)

Careful what you ask for

Right now, Im composing this post on my smartphone using the hospitals wireless network while I lay in my bed. It's 6 something in the morning. I was praying the other day for a renewed closeness with God. Not that I was distant or anything, I was just looking for more. Maybe this is His answer. ;)

Nothing deepens a relationship like dependence, right? I thought the days with this illness were behind me but maybe I just needed a little reminder that there is a bigger picture I'm a part of. Reference my earlier post - what's my role? For now I think, it is to be thankful for grace and strength. What a gift we have.

Wildcharge

While at work today, I finally came across an (almost) shipping version of what I have been hoping for. It's called Wildcharge and it offers true wireless power. There are a number of competing products that I've found as well indicating that the market may finally be ready! True wireless - I will buy it!

Verizon and my ppc-6700

So a while ago, I bought a new ppc-6700 from Verizon wireless to consolidate some functionality. I have my office apps, mapping software, photos, some tunes and oh yeah - a phone, all in one convenient device. Sounds good, right? I thought so. Then it happened. The screen stopped responding to input - bummer, but hey, I have the warranty through Verizon, plus the insurance plan so I'm covered. (I thought)

I went through all the troubleshooting steps in the manual and also the ones I found online, finally resetting it to factory defaults. When I took it to the Verizon tech, it took over an hour of explanation and repeating the steps to convince them to give me a replacement. Of course, none was to be had in the store but they would mail me a refurb device (I thought it was supposed to be a new one) in a week - quicker if I wanted to pay for it. No thanks, I'll wait the week.

The new device arrived! So I got it up and running and I moved all my stuff over. Then it began flaking out on me. At first, it was random - power cycling and so on. As time went on, it got worse and worse until it just shut itself completely off every time I left it alone for more than a matter of minutes. This is bad, especially when you use it for business as well as fun. Another trip to Verizon#$%@ This time, only 20 minutes to convince them it was broken since it would not stay on to troubleshoot - I suppose that's progress, right? Then I had to convince the phone rep that I did not want to buy another phone (I was eligible for an upgrade) but I wanted them to replace the phone again under warranty. Well, they are shipping a new one, we will see how it goes. I think the next phone I buy will be a mil-spec basic phone...

Got my new phone - wouldn't you know it, it failed also. Again Verizon hit me with the, why don't you just pay to upgrade line. Well, that's customer service. It took a mention of the better business bureau to get them to rethink their position. Finally I got a new phone. Let's hope I meet with more success then the last couple of times. At this point I have spent hours on the phone with Verizon and as much time in the store itself. Whatever happened to customer service? I guess it went the way of the dinos and bag phones...

The story of life

I recently read a book titled Epic, suggested by a friend of mine. The book was written by John Eldredge and was a very quick read with an interesting message. The basic idea of the book is that life is a story that God is telling and the story of creation and the universe is imprinted in every person. The essential elements of hero, struggle and redemption are being reflected in popular culture and stories.

After reflecting on the ideas for a while, I like the image that it provides me. The question of, is there something more? is answered in the story. We have to identify our part in the story and what role we play. I had another friend recently ask me what my role was in life. He had watched the movie, "The Lady in the Water" and was caught up in the idea of the story and roles we play. I think the ideas are directly related and worth working through.

What is your role?

What is mine?

The wisdom of Veggie Tales

This morning, my 3 month old daughter and I were watching Veggie Tales on television and I was reminded of the simplicity of the real message. I think we often over complicate things for one reason or another when the truth is, it is simple enough for a child to understand - probably better than most of us adults.

We came into the episode underway. There was this little creature who climbed a large mountain to get away from others who were not being nice. He encountered a wise and gentle man who turned out to be the creator. They had some dialog that built the message of love and tolerance, and ultimately, the little character asked the age old question we have probably all wondered about at one time or another. "If You created everyone, why didn't you make them all obey you all the time and be nice?".

The answer was so simple - essentially, "If I made them love me, it would not be love. Love can never be forced, it has to come of free will". Some of the elegance of the response is lost in my retelling, but you get the idea I hope.

MS Office "Save as PDF"

If you use Microsoft Office 2007, you need this add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS

This download allows you to export and save to the PDF and XPS formats in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. It also allows you to send as e-mail attachment in the PDF and XPS formats in a subset of these programs. It was a part of the standard functionality until Adobe got a little tweaked with Microsoft stepping on their toes. Even with it a separate download, it's still pretty painless except the Windows Genuine Annoyance confirmation.

Get it now

A changed life

In a recent series at the church we are attending the focus has been in 2 Peter. I have been bumping these verses around in my head, trying to figure out what they mean. I think in the end, I have had a pretty good idea the whole time; I just have been hesitant in picking up on it. My fear of being a part of the “old guard” has built a resistance to frameworks of rules. I believe that the key is in balance and understanding the basis for the directives outlined in this passage. If we follow the first and greatest command - to love - we will desire a changed life. These guildlines / directives are simple a manifestation of this changed life growing out of the new creation.

Slipping on the bannana peel of life

I find that in the desire to find the truth, I have started to slip a bit on the banana peel of life. I find myself unwittingly being defined (at least in my own mind) by what I am not, or do not want to be, rather than being defined by what I am. I need to invest time in firmly establishing what I am, just as I have spent so much time determining what I am not.

Dev Links

I have a few links to some good blogs and resources that I got from MS Devs or from my own research so I figured I would post them here to share and keep as a reference.

• Sijin Joseph's blog - Dev Resources


• Scott Guthries blog - an MS Dev


• MSDN Blogs


• Brian Goldfarb's Blog


• JrzyShr Dev Guy
  Peter Laudati's bits + bytes from exit 117...


• .net DEvHammer
  Just what IS a Developer Evangelist, anyway?

Microsofts open source projects

While attending the HLS Devcon today, I heard one of the sweetest sounds I have yet heard from a Microsoft conference... In a session on Ajax, the presenter spoke about the technology, what it could do and how it worked. Then came the punchline... by the way, it works with PHP, Java, on Apache, whatever you want. Not the party line about the language of your choice being available in the VS IDE, rather this was talking about using a Microsoft technology to help devs build their php sites. Well done Microsoft.

Also a topic of conversation was the codeplex resource. This is a Microsoft repository for open source projects. In their own words, "CodePlex is Microsoft's open source project hosting web site. You can use CodePlex to create new projects to share with the world, join others who have already started their own projects, or use the applications on this site and provide feedback."

Cats are multi-dimensional

I ran across this while wandering around that dark place called the internet. It reached out and grabbed me so I had to post it here. :) I hope you enjoy it. I know I did.

Antigravity, The Feline Butterology Theory

---

Captured from the Usenet Oracle, 19930625

This question was posed to the Usenet Oracle:

If you drop a buttered piece of bread, it will fall on the floor butter-side down. If a cat is dropped from a window or other high and towering place, it will land on its feet. But what if you attach a buttered piece of bread, butter-side up to a cat's back and toss them both out the window? Will the cat land on its feet? Or will the butter splat on the ground?

And in response, thus spoke the Oracle:

Even if you are too lazy to do the experiment yourself you should be able to deduce the obvious result. The laws of butterology demand that the butter must hit the ground, and the equally strict laws of feline aerodynamics demand that the cat can not smash its furry back. If the combined construct were to land, nature would have no way to resolve this paradox. Therefore it simply does not fall.

That's right, you clever mortal (well, as clever as a mortal can get), you have discovered the secret of antigravity! A buttered cat will, when released, quickly move to a height where the forces of cat-twisting and butter repulsion are in equilibrium. This equilibrium point can be modified by scraping off some of the butter, providing lift, or removing some of the cat's limbs, allowing descent.

Most of the civilized species of the Universe already use this principle to drive their ships while within a planetary system. The loud humming heard by most sighters of UFOs is, in fact, the purring of several hundred tabbies.

The one obvious danger is, of course, if the cats manage to eat the bread off their backs they will instantly plummet. Of course the cats will land on their feet, but this usually doesn't do them much good, since right after they make their graceful landing several tons of red-hot starship and pissed-off aliens crash on top of them.

---

Flaws In the Flying Cat Theory: A Response

Special to the Coastal Beacon

A logical analysis of the BFAD (Buttered Feline Antigravity Drive) propulsion theory clearly demonstrates the impossibility of such a system.

Let us begin with a simple analysis. 1) Buttered bread must fall butter side down. 2) A cat always lands on its feet.

While both theorems are indisputable, the oracle offers no proof of the construct. The oracle implies that anyone who 'would' test this construct would immediately find the secret of BFAD.

This is clearly nonsense.

Let us assume a normal Einsteinian universe (although a Euclidean universe would serve our purposes just as well, the Einsteinian is both cheaper and drinks are readily available.)

To test BFAD, one must procure:

• Bread
• Butter (margarine, for some reason, will not work)
• A cat
• A strapping device.

Let us assume that all of these are readily available.

Attach the strapping device to the cat.

See?

No cat.

What has happened? We have run up against an a priori universal law. By a priori, we mean that it takes priority over either the Buttered Bread Principle or the Law of Feline Landings.

What happens is that the instant a strapping device and a cat occupy the same four dimensional space, the cat disappears. Now, this can easily be tested, and has been repeatedly. There are two schools of thought about this phenomenon.

The first holds that a cat and a strapping device are constituted out of different fundamental building blocks. According to this theory, a cat is constituted primarily of superquarks, (called meows by current theorists.) These superquarks demonstrate qualities that are both atomic (constituted as they are of groupings of normal quark particles) and feline (because these quarks exhibit characteristic of "charmed" or "lucky" particles.) Again, according to this theory, strapping materials are fashioned out of non-charmed particles. Bringing the two together causes one or the other to cancel out. One aspect of this theory that has not been sufficiently explained to date is the fact that it is always the cat, not the strapping device, that disappears.

The second school of thought, and it is one that appears to be gaining ground in academic circles today, holds that cats are, in fact, super-intelligent pan-dimensional beings who exist in our four dimensional universe only because there is plenty of good food and a lot of creatures stupid enough to provide the food, along with plenty of attention.

Whenever a strapping device appears, the cat simply opens a door to a different series of dimensions, and goes on an extended tour.

According to this theory, purring is a cat's way of maintaining a constant balance cycling across multiple dimensions. This school holds that antigravity is impossible, but that theoretically, a REALLY good grip on a cat, while reaching for a strapping device, could result in our ability to cross dimensions with ease (barring scratches, that is.) Pessimists argue that if there were anything really interesting in those other dimensions, cats wouldn't spend so much time here, so why ask for a good scratching?

How to pronounce Linux

Another stumble find - to settle the Linux pronunciation debate once and for all, here is audio from Linus Torvalds himself (the original Linux author) pronouncing the word... with a slight accent :) Saying Linux

"Picking and Choosing from the Law"

So - While stumbling around the net today, I came across something that made me laugh out loud. I have to issue a warning here, if you are easily offended by questions of religion STOP READING now. Ok, consider yourself warned.

The story goes like this...

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:


Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim

I looked this up on Snopes (urband legend debunking central) and it had this to say: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp

I laughed all the way through the letter, despite this being a serious topic. The truth of the whole thing was too much. I have always struggled with the whole picking and choosing from the Bible and the Old Testament in particular so when I read this piece, it really made me laugh while at the same time, feeling sad for all the people who think in terms of black and white, cherry picking their way through the Bible and life, believing what fits their world view and ignoring all else.

Firefox Extensions for Web Developers (and blog hackers)

The days of looking at an area on a web page and guessing the pixel dimensions or color are over! Well, at least if you have a few tools and use Firefox. I like IE, but Firefox has largely replaced it for my day to day usage primarily due to the customization and tools available for Firefox.

Here are a few add-ins that I find to be very helpful for web development and hacking my blogs or other web properties I use.

1. The eye dropper utility.
   
   • This is a great little widget that gives you an eye dropper in the bottom of your status bar. If you click the eye dropper, you can identify the color of any area on your page in RGB or Hex.
   
   
   • Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/271
   
   
   
   



2. The measure it utility.
   
   • This add-in gives you a little ruler in the status bar that you can click to get a measurement overlay giving you precise pixel dimensions of any screen area. Great for measuring that new page element location or footer area and so on.
   
   
   • Get it at https://https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/539/
   
   
   
   



3. Web Developer
   
   • As described by CW: "Web Developer is another virtual Swiss Army Knife for coding. There's some overlap with Firebug, but where Firebug concerns itself almost exclusively with the content of a Web page, Web Developer offers tools to tweak how you're interacting with the page." I like this integration with the tool bar and the ability to work with CSS in particular.
   
   
   • Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/60/
   
   
   
   

Random Quotes / Messages

Random quotes are a nice addition to a site to add a little fun content so I am including directions here to put them on your own blog.

1. Select a list of quotes to put on your blog.


2. Go to the templates tab on your blog customization and select add a new page element.


3. Select the HTML / JavaScript element


4. Paste the following code into the block




<i><center><script language="JavaScript">
//store the quotations in arrays
//change this number to reflect the number of quotes
quotes = new Array(2);
//just follow this pattern to add more quotes
quotes[0] = "Shave your head, get a wet sponge, and flip the switch, 'cause you're about to get a Truthocution!<br/>Stephen Colbert";
quotes[1] = "I believe all God's creatures have a soul... except bears, bears are Godless killing machines!<br/>Stephen Colbert";
//calculate a random index
index = Math.floor(Math.random() * quotes.length);
//display the quotation
document.write("\n");
document.write(quotes[index]);
</script></center></i>
</pre></li>



5. You can give the element a title if you want, but it is not needed


6. Save the element and drop in in your page where you want it.


7. Viola, you have random quotes...

Ok.... thanks for the applause, no really, thank you... Ok. So there are variations of this script all over the net. You can find a version you like better or hack this one up. Follow the links to check out sites with great little scripts and widgets for your blog, or watch here for more.

File Synchronization

A while ago, I was looking for a way to keep my multiple drives and systems in synch, and also to back up my files. As it turns out, so was my dad. I spent some time rummaging around the web and I came up with allwaysync. This application is easily the BEST at what is does, especially for the money. (free for personal use)

From the vendor: "Allway Sync uses innovative synchronization algorithms to synchronize your data between desktop PCs, laptops, USB drives and more. Allway Sync combines bulletproof reliability with an extremely easy-to-use interface."

We both use it at this point and it has been working most efficaciously. Pull the application down from http://allwaysync.com/ to give it a try.

where's the tipping point?

The issue with Don Imus serves to illustrate a good point. We tend to turn a blind eye to divisive issues until they hit critical mass, and then we express "outrage!" over the straw that served to break the camels back.

"From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent," said CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, in announcing the decision.

What about all the other comments made over the years? What about the comments made by Rush L. on a regular basis? Why does it have to come to this before we express our outrage. At this point, it seems a little false and frankly, a little silly. When it is common place for "shock jocks" to make a living insulting and demeaning others, why do we have to wait until someone finally says - Hey, it's not right, before we take action? And why, when it finally happens, do we act so surprised that it happened? Really, you do not have to look far to hear this same kind of vitriolic diatribe. It is commonplace on drivetime radio in the big markets.

I am all about freedom of speech, don't get me wrong. And I know where the dial is on my radio and I control (to some degree) what I listen to. What I am really pointing out more than anything is the absurdity of the advertisers response on this. They watch the ratings and public response, and when and if they deem it a PR issue, they suddenly become aghast. How silly does that sound when said that way? But that is exactly what is happening in front of our eyes on this very issue. If it was so very bad, they would have come out against it immediately and the firing would have been over and done by now. They would not have to wait until they see the economic effect. But then, that's what it's really about, isn't it?

Photo sharing sites

I love to take pictures. I am an official photo junkie - the guy at the party who has the camera and says smile :) while you're trying to finish your drink. At any rate, when you take a lot of photos, you need a way to share them. I looked at all the free sites I could find and I could not find anything I was happy with. I wanted something that would let me customize and personalize. I also wanted to be able to lock down collections and share others.

To skip to the punchline, I found smugmug and never looked back. I still use a few free services for other things but I love my smugmug account. The pure hackability (good word, eh?)of the service is amazing and the community around the service is superb. It's worth a visit if you do any online photo sharing.

Hack your blog

While working on one of my other blogs, I have been playing around with blog hacks and tools. Basically what I've found is that blogspot is very similar to my favorite photo host (smugmug) in that is it highly customizable and uses standard naming conventions, styles and variables for templates.

Taking this into account, there is a growing community of "blog hackers" that have ready made widgets to drop into the blogs and it is fairly straight forward to make your own. I'm going to build a list of these hacks and make a link list as a starting point. Look for more content over time on this subject.

V for Vendetta

I recently watched a disturbingly powerful movie. The title was V for Vendetta. The movie was set in England in a future that is too close to home. The basic premise of the movie is that the (Plot spoiler coming) government has instituted martial law following an outbreak of terrifying viruses that are threatening the existence of the nation. Unfortunately, and known to very few, the outbreak was created by those aspiring to power and used as a tool to catapult them into control. The only solution to the outbreaks was total government control, centralizing the power in a very "Big Brother" fashion.

The main character, originally bent on revenge for wrongs to him and country, realizes that overthrow of the government can only come from the people and only succeed with peaceful protest and with a little help from symbolic gestures, given power by the people, through an idea. The idea being that the muzzle of a gun works only so far, peace and words built on ideas and ideals are ultimately the most potent weapon available.

While this is a dark movie in many a sense, it is also one of great hope and also some truth. Among the notable quotes from the movie, to me, is this: "You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it."

How true is this thought in our daily lives? Are we living with a manufactured mask of Christianity that makes us forget what we are underneath? Not only in the spiritual sense, but in the greater world view as well? Also, how many of us walk around with a Mask of composure, or professionalism, hiding the chaos or pain that we are dealing with underneath. We pretend everything is ok until it all seem very normal. Ignoring the underlying reality that shapes us every day, we compromise our integrity to be like our peers and be liked by our peers.

Another quote from the movie is particularly convicting and along the same line of thinking: "I'd only told them the truth. Was that so selfish? Our integrity sells for so little, but it's all that we really have. It is the very last inch of us, but within that inch, we are free".

Do we value that integrity that we have? Do we treasure it and act in a manner that befits the value? Or, rather, do we loose that freedom, sold for the price of "acceptance"?

Showing weakness

When is it wrong to hide our pain?

I have learned the most from people who shared their brokenness and pain with me.

2Co 12:8-9 (8) For this thing I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me. (9) And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.

I have always struggled with sharing my own struggles with others for various reasons, chief among them is that I have felt uncomfortable showing weakness. Our culture has created an image of manliness that is built on a "macho gunfighter" Hollywood type. Compounding that, is a reluctance to appear a whiner. I am learning, albeit slowly, that sometimes greater strength is shown in admitting weakness and / or failure, than not. Giving people a chance to minister to your / my needs is sometimes more important than maintaining that image of "having it all together".

The truth is, people hurt. People make mistakes. People get sick. People struggle with addictions, behavior issues, life. We have to learn to get past the desire to mask it with a lie and learn to lean on our friends and in turn, be there to be leaned on.

The "Doing of Christianity"

The "doing of Christianity" has largely become Christianity.

In a recent conversation with a friend I tried to explain my position on this. I keep coming back to Love. Love is what is foundational, everything else comes from Love. To make the point more relevant, consider a marriage - an analogy often used in the New Testament.

I love my wife, therefore I want to please my wife. She is my passion, therefore I want to know my wife. Because I want to please my wife and I want to know my wife, I talk with her, I try to understand her and her wants and needs. It doesn't happen that I watch "dancing with the stars" on the television because I enjoy the program, I do it because my wife enjoys it and I know that to do things she likes is well worth the time. It brings her joy, and through that joy, I find happiness. Because I love my wife, I will throw out that favorite pair of jeans that have more holes than a good swiss cheese but fit me so well. I know she does not like them and prefers pants that have a minimum of damage. These things did not come first. My wife loved me as I was. I adopted these specific manifestations of our love over time, just as she has learned to understand me more over time.

The salient point here is that Christianity should resemble this process. We fall in love with our God and He loves us where we are. He loves us in our brokenness. As we grow in our love for Him, our lives begin to reflect the changes. The "Works" are an outward manifestation of our love for our God.

Here is a point on which I may part ways with some of you still with me... I believe that these "works" will differ among believers. I believe that cultural influences will dictate manifestations of our love. What may be right for an American in Philadelphia, PA may not be right for a Chadian in Balimba. That being said, the constants provided in the New Testament serve as a good starting point for a normalized baseline regardless of local.

The example of love

When Jesus came to this earth, He had a choice. He could come in fully realized power and glory and make things right, or he could come in weakness and love. He chose weakness. I believe that this is the model for love. Let me be clear on this, weakness in this sense does not speak of lack of will or passion, rather a conscious choice to restrain untold power in favor of taking on a mantle of humility.

God chose to provide an example of Love for us to follow that is impossible to measure up to. Love is one thing that cannot be forced. Love cannot be mandated. Love is a result of an overwhelming emotion. Love is the ultimate emotion that can motivate behavior more powerfully than any other influence.

I believe that this is why He chose weakness. He made it a choice, and not an easy one at that, but a choice that would change the world. He created a community that personified sacrificial love as He was love.

What to do with the Old Testament

I was thinking about the Old Testament. I have always struggled with it but I seem to more as I explore my faith more deeply. I think that looking at it as a theological document as opposed to a historical document is a good start. (Thanks Tim)

A friend of mine suggested that it is best looked at through the lens of the cross, meaning I believe, that we look at it with the overlay of Grace.

I think that when we are able to abandon the strict literal interpretation and consider it as a guideline and theological record it makes a little more sense. I guess I struggle the most with what to take away as relevant for us now, in the world we live in, no longer under the Law. I grew up hearing preachers pick and choose passages and verses that fit their point, glossing over the sister verses and commands and I began to build this sense of frustration with both the Bible and them.

How can you cherry pick truth? If one command is truth we have to follow, why not the next? Looking at it through Grace, we can select what fits the "new pattern" but it is still a bit of a challenge, leaving us as the ones to interpret the "wisdom of the ages". Frankly, I feel more qualified to interpret the thinking of my 15 year old daughter and her friends (meaning not at all) than to be the judge of the truth in the Old Testament.

I have settled on this. (for now)

1. God is the source of Truth.
2. God is the inspiration for the Old Testament.
3. The Old Testament reflects truth that God deemed relevant for humanity.
4. The change in God's interaction with humankind between the Old and New Testament is explained solely by Grace, fully revealed when God became Man.
5. Much of who and what God is will remain a mystery until the day He chooses to reveal it.
6. We have to be content with what we have been given.
7. God is an awesome, awe inspiring mystery that we cannot explain, reason away, or fully understand.

I wonder why it's ok to do that

Looking at the headlines every day, sometimes I can't help but wonder, why do they (insert your headline source here) feel that it's ok to do that.

Here is one that I really struggle with. Why did the captors of a US news reporter feel it was ok to kidnap, torture, and then behead someone, but then the same people who cheered at that caused a huge uproar over a cartoon that could be considered disrespectful to Islam?

What about the rights of the man kidnapped?

Measure the response of the world to the kidnapping and beheading (pick your instance, there have been many), then think for a bit about the response of the radical Islamic world to a simple cartoon. It seems a little out of balance, does it not? Especially when other religions are parodied on a regular basis.

Since the response of the radical Islam world was so violent over a cartoon, would not it be appropriate in their book to have a similar, if appropriately escalated, response to their actions? Why is it that the world seems in such a hurry to apologize when cities are being torn apart in the violence of the response? What about the response? Is that not something to be upset over? Where does it end?

Why is it ok to act like that?

Please note: I am Not advocating a violent response on any course. I am questioning the logic, or extreme lack thereof, that has been demonstrated here, and time and time again. I do not believe that violence is the answer to this. I do not profess to have the answer, hence, the question Why?

How, I wonder, do all the millions of followers of Islam who are not radical fundamentalists, but rather peace loving people who respect their fellow persons feel about this? I suppose a little like I feel when I hear about some Christian Fundamentalist doing something crazy in the name of God... What God do they serve I wonder?

Food for thought on the subject of love

The Bible has a lot to say about love, but here are a couple of passages that make a pretty clear series of points in my mind.

1Co 13:1-13
(1) If I speak in the tongues of humans and angels but have no love, I have become a reverberating gong or a clashing cymbal.
(2) If I have the gift of prophecy and can understand all secrets and every form of knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing.
(3) Even if I give away all that I have and surrender my body so that I may boast but have no love, I get nothing out of it.
(4) Love is always patient, Love is always kind, Love is never envious Or vaunted up with pride. Nor is she conceited,
(5) And never is she rude, Never does she think of self Or ever get annoyed. She never is resentful,
(6) Is never glad with sin, But always glad to side with truth, Whene'er the truth should win.
(7) She bears up under everything, Believes the best in all, There is no limit to her hope, And never will she fall.
(8) Love never fails. Now if there are prophecies, they will be done away with. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
(9) For what we know is incomplete and what we prophesy is incomplete.
(10) But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will be done away with.
(11) When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways.
(12) Now we see only a blurred reflection in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now what I know is incomplete, but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
(13) Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Note in Corinthians - v.1 - and also a repeated theme, to paraphrase: "no matter what great things I have or do, if I don't have love, I really have nothing..." Mind you, this is my interpretation on these things, but I feel a valid one. Where have we gone so astray as a community of believers that we have made it about the doing - and in the process forgotten the love. I'm not saying we have replaced it with hate, or even that we have even totally abandoned it, I am saying that we have relegated it to a position of relative unimportance.

Galatians 5:22-25 ISV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. (24) Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. (25) If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

The Fruit of the Spirit, referenced here in Galations, mentions first Love, then from love, things that can be considered to be manifestations of love.