McRyanMac

My Blogger App

2011-09-26T18:06:00.001-04:00

I'm trying out the new blogger app Well waiting for my son to finish his workout.

Group's Internet and Radio Worship Does Not Meet IRS Definition of 'Church'

2010-08-19T14:23:00.000-04:00

Law.com: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that a religious organization that primarily holds Internet and radio worship services does not meet the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's definition of a church."

Why New England Is the New American Missional Frontier

2010-08-12T16:32:00.000-04:00

TheResurgence: "As a native Texan who spent more than a decade in Tennessee, I have the blue blood of the Bible Belt coursing through my veins. But in 2008, as the pastor of a young church plant in Nashville, God began to shift my attention from the older brothers of my homeland to the prodigals of (what I would consider) the wilderness."

LeBronomics: Could High Taxes Influence James' Team Decision?

2010-07-09T07:31:00.000-04:00

LeBronomics: Could High Taxes Influence James' Team Decision?: "“If LeBron James goes to the Miami Heat instead of the [New York] Knicks, blame our dysfunctional lawmakers in Albany, who have saddled top-earning New Yorkers with the highest state and city income taxes in the nation, soon to be 12.85 percent on top of the IRS bite,” the Post said."

Uruguay vs Ghana

2010-07-03T01:40:00.000-04:00

World Cup Match Results: Uruguay vs Ghana - FIFA World Cup 2010 - ESPN Soccernet

This was an amazing match.

They called him Coach

2010-06-05T09:34:00.003-04:00

Jim Murray: It is a conceit of our times that kids are supposed to be manageable only by their peer groups, that they are in headlong rebellion from any other authority and, the postulate has it, there is no way a street kid from Philadelphia or a blacktop player from Lexington Avenue could relate to a Bible reader from Indiana who coaches by wall motto. - Jim Murray writing about John Wooden

Coach Wooden proved that kids of all kinds will respect real leadership.

Thanks for your faithful leadership Coach Wooden.

Instant No Button!

2010-03-24T15:15:00.000-04:00

Instant No Button! Star Wars: "PRESS IN DIRE SITUATIONS"

Hundreds of fish fall out of the sky over remote Australian town of Lajamanu | Mail Online

2010-03-02T09:38:00.000-05:00

Mail Online: "'When I told my family, who live in another part of Australia, about the fish falling from the sky, they thought I'd lost the plot.

'But no, I haven't lost my marbles. All I can say is that I'm thankful that it didn't rain crocodiles!'

Meterologists say the incident was probably caused by a tornado. It is common for tornados to suck up water and fish from rivers and drop them hundreds of miles away.

Mark Kersemakers from the Australian Bureau of Meterology said: 'Once they get up into the weather system, they are pretty much frozen and, after some time, they are released.'"

And it can happen to frogs too.

This week in FL

2010-02-22T17:02:00.001-05:00

I'm in FL this week for some very significant meetings. And the weather is nice.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

Protect yourself with a decent password.

2010-01-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

The 10 worst passwords on the internet:
http://eepurl.com/g3l2
Password Lessons and Tips from Lifehacker:
http://eepurl.com/g3mo
The Usability of Passwords (pass "phrases" to be specific):
http://eepurl.com/g8NG

Social Media is More Social Than Media

2010-01-26T08:34:00.003-05:00

Some people push back on the latest thing because they don't like new things. It doesn't matter if the new thing is a cell phone or an automobile or any other proven technology: If it's new, it's eww :-(. These value routine over novelty.

All people engage with Dunbar's number (150 person capacity in your network) differently as they get older.

The reason why social media is so popular with students is that they have:

the highest need for social connection (while in college)
the most disposable time
and the lowest committed slots in their Dunbar relationship capacity.

As we get older, we commit to certain people to be in our relational bandwidth (e.g. spouse, kids, friends, colleagues). This lowers the number of open slots in our Dunbar capacity (150 people).

Also, this higher level of commitment to certain people means more time spent with these people and therefore less disposable time spent on "new" things.

Also, this investment in relationship with some means less time for "new" relations.

Because of this, regardless of a person's views on social media or technology, the older we get the less inclined we are to anything that will connect us with "new" people to add to our personal social network.

So why am I such a big fan of social media? Because it enhances the network of relationships I ALREADY HAVE. This is usually what causes people to embrace new technology; it enhances their connection with those already in their Dunbar network.
'
So, every person (practically) has a cell phone. Why? Because it allows us to connect with everyone we are ALREADY committed to. Parents of teenagers are often more savvy with texting than people 25-35 because they use texting to connect with their kids.

This example of an "older" generation embracing a new technology illustrates the principle: social media is relevant to our current social network needs.

Since the character and needs of our current social network change over time, the relevance and usefulness of various social media tools will change as well.

People will embrace social media when they see how it will help them be better parents, spouses, friends, servants and professionals.

So I try to figure out how to help people envision how social media will enhance their current relationships and major on that when talking about social media.

Some speech is more free than others?

2010-01-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

Censorship Inc. - WSJ.com: "'The majority is deeply wrong on the law,' according to a critic of yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC . 'Most wrongheaded of all is its insistence that corporations are just like people and entitled to the same First Amendment rights. It is an odd claim since companies are creations of the state that exist to make money.'

Whose opinion is this? We don't know exactly, because it is not attributed to any individual. It is an unsigned editorial in the New York Times. That is to say, it reflects the collective opinion of the Times editorial board, a division of the New York Times Co., a corporation that exists to make money.

It's lucky for the New York Times Co. that the Supreme Court upheld its First Amendment rights. Otherwise, it could not have exercised its First Amendment right to denounce the court for upholding its First Amendment rights. Right?

Not quite. As Justice Anthony Kennedy noted in his opinion, the McCain-Feingold 'campaign finance' law--which until yesterday's ruling made it a felony for corporations to engage in certain political speech--exempted 'media companies' like the New York Times Co. (and News Corp., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and this Web site) from this restriction.

McCain-Feingold, in other words, granted a small group of companies, including the New York Times Co., the privilege to speak freely about politics, while denying it to all other corporations--not only 'companies . . . that exist to make money,' but also taxable nonprofits that exist to represent a point of view, including the advocacy arms of the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association.

The editorial published by the New York Times Co. includes no mention of the special privilege the New York Times Co. enjoyed under McCain-Feingold--a privilege that creates at least the appearance of a journalistic conflict of interest. Is not the failure to disclose the New York Times Co.'s interest in McCain-Feingold a serious violation of journalistic ethics?
Podcast

The Times's opinion is wrongheaded as well. Under the paper's cramped view of the First Amendment, the privilege the New York Times Co. enjoyed under McCain-Feingold was just that: a privilege, not a right. The First Amendment does not say 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech of media corporations.' If the Constitution doesn't protect corporations, it doesn't protect the New York Times Co. And if Congress had the power to grant an exemption to media companies, it also had the power to take it away.

As Justice Clarence Thomas noted in McConnell v. FEC (2003), such reasoning would permit 'outright regulation of the press.' Some on the far left, complaining about 'corporate domination' of the media, would like to see just that.

In past generations, the New York Times Co. had a proud tradition as a defender of free expression. It was the prevailing litigant in two landmark Supreme Court cases expanding and vindicating First Amendment rights, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) and New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971). The former case, by the way, involved a political advertisement.

What a shame it is to see a once-great media corporation become a fair-weather friend of free expression."

So Happy Together

2010-01-07T09:41:00.003-05:00

My daughter told me they are reading Walden by Thoreau in her English class. They talked about his emphasis on solitude and the statement that the four necessities of life are food, shelter, clothing, and fuel.

This comes to mind:

1 John 1:3-4 3 that which we have seen and heard [the Gospel] we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Community is a big part of being a Christ follower. In fact, because God is a community (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), fellowship is more basic to the universe than any of Thoreau's necessities.

A Sweet Swing

2009-12-28T21:54:00.000-05:00

Kyle Lograsso @ Yahoo! Video

Backward Students

2009-12-26T09:11:00.001-05:00

How awesome is this:

The Obama Doctrine

2009-12-10T22:01:00.000-05:00

The Obama Doctrine - Political Punch: "'We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes,' he said. 'There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified. As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak -- nothing passive -- nothing naive -- in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King, but as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms.'"

New Yorkers Flocking to Evangelical Christian Preacher? -- New York Magazine

2009-12-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

Why Are So Many New Yorkers Flocking to Evangelical Christian Preacher Tim Keller? -- New York Magazine: "Keller’s latest book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters, out in October, speaks directly to the concerns of New York and New Yorkers. The book, like the sermons it’s derived from, delivers a sharp spiritual rebuke of the very things—ambition and achievement—that brought many, if not most, of us here. Keller’s message, in other words, is a slap in the face to our civic religion of success. And scores of us seem to be flocking to him."

Chatting About God Tonight

2009-12-06T23:50:00.000-05:00

The McReynolds Story: "I just finished chatting with a guy in Hawaii"

This is a real challenge for those of us in ministry too...

2009-11-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

Anatomy (and Meaning) of the "Did You Know?" Video Series (VIDEOS, PHOTOS): "When you show it to educators, as often as not, the predominant reaction is withdrawal. They retreat like a turtle to its shell. Not all of them. But a lot of them. It's too much. It's too overwhelming. They don't know what to do with it. This is our challenge.'"

Face it

2009-11-24T17:47:00.000-05:00

Jose Antonio Vargas: Anatomy (and Meaning) of the "Did You Know?" Video Series (VIDEOS, PHOTOS): "With more than 300 million users, Facebook is like a country of its own. As Mashable reported earlier this month, Facebook grew by 25 million users from Sept. 15 to Nov. 6. If you do the math, as Mashable's Ben Parr did, that's a daily growth rate of 471,698 users. 'That's a small city joining Facebook every single day,' Parr wrote."

Dig yields possibly oldest Hebrew text

2009-11-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

Science- msnbc.com: "HIRBET QEIYAFA, Israel - An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa.

Other scholars are hesitant to embrace Garfinkel's interpretation of the finds, made public on Thursday. The discoveries are already being wielded in a vigorous and ongoing argument over whether the Bible's account of events and geography is meant to be taken literally."

Stagnating Temperatures: Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out

2009-11-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International: "The planet's temperature curve rose sharply for almost 30 years, as global temperatures increased by an average of 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.25 degrees Fahrenheit) from the 1970s to the late 1990s. 'At present, however, the warming is taking a break,' confirms meteorologist Mojib Latif of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in the northern German city of Kiel. Latif, one of Germany's best-known climatologists, says that the temperature curve has reached a plateau. 'There can be no argument about that,' he says. 'We have to face that fact.'

Even though the temperature standstill probably has no effect on the long-term warming trend, it does raise doubts about the predictive value of climate models, and it is also a political issue. For months, climate change skeptics have been gloating over the findings on their Internet forums. This has prompted many a climatologist to treat the temperature data in public with a sense of shame, thereby damaging their own credibility."

The McReynolds Story: Cross 09 NY

2009-11-18T15:15:00.000-05:00

The McReynolds Story: Cross 09 NY

My Youth

2009-11-14T23:15:00.002-05:00

I just turned 41. My daughter asked me if I felt old. I told her that I still feel young, though my hair and second chin betray the years passed.

I read this today. It explains my feeling much more eloquently.

Manvotional: “Youth” by Samuel Ullman | The Art of Manliness:

"Youth

By Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty."

Thoughts on religion in New England

2009-11-13T16:06:00.000-05:00

The McReynolds Story: Christianity in New England. Who can believe it?: "In some ways students are more spiritually open than ever. New England may currently say it's not 'religious', but I see everyday that everyone worships something. When I explain why I worship the God of grace and truth, justice and mercy, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of the Bible; people listen-they may not agree-but they listen intently. Some respond with joy."

Others seem so happy

2009-11-12T08:54:00.000-05:00

circulus vitiosus: "'The only happy people I know are people I don't know well.' --Helen Telushkin (via Dennis Prager)"

The McReynolds Story: Every Grain Of Sand

2009-10-31T13:08:00.000-04:00

The McReynolds Story: Every Grain Of Sand:
"Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear
Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer
The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay.

I gaze into the doorway of temptation's angry flame
And every time I pass that way I always hear my name
Then onward in my journey I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand."

What problems does Google Wave solve?

2009-10-18T08:02:00.001-04:00

danieltenner.com — What problems does Google Wave solve?: "In your average corporate environment, though, this happens all the time. People work on documents, presentations, etc. They have lengthy discussions over email. Pieces of work bounce back and forth across one or multiple organisations for weeks before they’re finalised. People are brought on to the conversation late in the day. Attachments get lost. Inboxes fill up and emails bounce. It’s a major pain.

So what are the problems with email in a corporate environment, and what does Wave do to address them?"

Let the healing begin.

A cool looking new bible: Glo

2009-10-16T15:51:00.000-04:00

I don't know

2009-10-15T09:52:00.001-04:00

I don't know about this but I'm willing to give it a try.

in reference to: Google Sidewiki (view on Google Sidewiki)

Pick a new name for CCC

2009-08-05T12:49:00.000-04:00

What should be the „new„ name of Campus... » online polls
Tags : christian campus university

This is not your Father's Suburban Sprawl

2009-08-03T15:52:00.001-04:00

Joel Kotkin: "Perhaps even more important may be social changes that could make Relos less relevant in the future. For decades in the post-World War II era it was believed that “spatial mobility” would increase, hastening social disintegration. This vision was epitomized in Vance Packard’s 1972 best-seller, “A Nation of Strangers,” with its vision of America as “a society coming apart at the seams.”

But in fact, far from becoming ever more nomadic, Americans are becoming less so, as the population ages and as formerly urban amenities are more widely dispersed and accessible. As recently as the 1970s, 20% of Americans moved annually; by 2004 the number had dropped to 14%— the lowest since 1950. By 2008, barely 10% were relocating.

These days human-resource executives complain that workers are increasingly unwilling to move even for a promotion, citing family and other concerns. With the recent economic downturn, worker mobility in the U.S. has waned further. The decline in the relocation tradition seems likely to persist in good times or bad."

The Instant

2009-08-02T17:07:00.002-04:00

Todd Stocker's Weblog: "When the impact happened, we believe that she was texting (big surprise) because on her phone was a last, unfinished text to her friend Wes that simply read “Tomo…” She never saw the truck. She never heard the hit. The speed and power of the truck hitting the car at 55+ mph snapped her into eternity. The word that comes to mind is Instant. As quickly as you blink, as suddenly as you glance, Makenzie was looking at her cell and then looking at her Savior.
It all makes real the verse that says, “…we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye…” (1 Corinthians 15:51). Makenzie is alive with Jesus and we cant wait to see her again."

Todd is my friend. His blog is bracing in it's honesty about the death of his daughter.

In the Fort

2009-07-16T13:03:00.002-04:00

I'm in Fort Collins working on the Staff Conference for the Campus Ministry. Good times. The conference starts next Tuesday.

Science vs. Religion

2009-07-16T13:00:00.001-04:00

USA Today:"The conclusion, Dickens said, is that something other than carbon dioxide caused much of this ancient warming. "Some feedback loop or other processes that aren't accounted for in these models -- the same ones used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for current best estimates of 21st century warming -- caused a substantial portion of the warming that occurred during the PETM."

Why GTD?

2009-07-15T09:53:00.002-04:00

From David Allan: I’ve given numerous “drive-by” radio and TV interviews, the type that give you about fifty-three seconds…. They’ve forced me to distill my message to the bare essentials. A typical question is, “David, what’s the one thing we do that gets in the way of being productive?” Here’s my answer:

“It’s not one thing but five things all wrapped together: People keep stuff in their head. They don’t decide what they need to do about stuff they know they need to do something about. They don’t organize action reminders and support materials in functional categories. They don’t maintain and review a complete and objective inventory of their commitments. Then they waste energy and burn out, allowing their busyness to be driven by what’s latest and loudest, hoping it’s the right thing to do but never feeling the relief that it is.”

When I first read GTD, I laughed out loud because it described me so well.

(Hat Tip: What's Best Next)

Wow

2009-07-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

Todd Stocker's Weblog: "Recently, we found out that parts of her eye tissue were used immediately to help two people see: a 53 year old woman and a 9 year old boy. Let that sink in a bit. Makenzie closed her eyes on this earth on June 3rd and on June 4th, two others opened theirs. She gave her sight so others might see. It reminds me of the hymn line “I once was blind but now I see.”"

Stuff I Learned From My Dad

2009-06-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Stuff I Learned Video: "I wanted to record some of this for my Dad, for me, and my progeny."

Gen CCC

2009-06-21T10:30:00.001-04:00

Based on this article, Campus Crusade is a great place for young people to work.

Carole Ann Willingham

2009-06-13T13:20:00.004-04:00

I've spent the last few days in Weatherford, TX to honor the life and legacy of this amazing woman. Many people who are famous, are not great. Many people who are great, are not famous.

Weatherford Democrat - Legacy: "Carole Ann Willingham, 62, surrounded by her loving sons and husband, passed away peacefully at her home in Weatherford Monday evening, June 8, 2009. A courageous fighter, a gifted and caring friend, an amazing mother and wife, Carole Ann embodied the compassion, joy and Christian values of our Lord and Savior throughout her life. Family and friends alike cherish the memory of her smile, the warmth of her hugs and the grace and courage of her trip back Home. Open up the Pearly Gates St. Peter, you have a good one on the way. Carole was born March 5, 1947 in Fort Worth, Texas. A lifelong area resident, Carole graduated from Weatherford High School in 1965. While attending college at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Carole met her future husband before graduating in 1969. Ralph and Carole Willingham were wed May 25, 1968 and loved each other through rich times and poor times, in good times and bad, through sickness and health for 41 years. Through her years in Weatherford, Carole was an active member of the Parker County Teachers Association, served as a Sunday school teacher and for years sang in the church choir. Carole recently retired from the Parker County Co-Op Educational Services where she worked for more than 23 years and made a lasting impact on everyone she worked with. Carole remained active after retirement, keeping busy with her beloved grandchildren, serving the church, Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers and participating in the ministry of the North Side Baptist Church Cancer Care Support Group. Carole cherished her time visiting with friends and family and frequenting the matinee's with the love of her life on Saturday afternoons. Carole is preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Georgia Teague Poulter; and her stepmother, Lola Poulter, all from Weatherford. Carole is survived by her one and only husband, Ralph Willingham of Weatherford; eldest son, Major Paul Willingham USAF of Goodyear, Ariz. and Scott Willingham of Weatherford. She also leaves behind daughters-in-law, Janna Willingham of Goodyear, Ariz., and Stephanie Willingham of Weatherford, Texas. Carole's precious grandchildren include, Macyn Grace, Luke, Tucker and Mia Ann. Carole also precedes her sister, Dru Hogue, and brother-in-law, Glenn Hogue of Benbrook, Texas.Along with her loyal and supportive husband, Ralph, and her proud sons, Paul and Scott, Carole's memory will be held near the hearts of her countless friends and admirers, loving family and church, as well as her precious, cherished grandchildren. Those of us who know her best take comfort knowing that she now may rest. Matthew 25:21 And the Master replied "Well done my good and faithful servant!" Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at Galbreaith-Pickard Funeral Chapel. Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 11, at North Side Baptist Church located at 901 N. Main St., Weatherford, TX 76086.Interment in Memory Gardens Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be sent to North Side Baptist Church, attention Cancer Care Support Group.Galbreaith-Pickard Funeral Chapel913 N. Elm, Weatherford, TX 76086(817) 594-2747"

My favorite part of this obituary is the phrase "one and only husband". Ralph and Carole loved each other well with a covenant faithfulness that is a picture of how Christ loves his church.

This will give you an idea of Carole's courage:

Weatherford Democrat - Local survivor gets cancer courage award: "For the past seven years, Carole Willingham has battled inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive disease. Her gracious nature and willingness to pursue different treatment regimens qualified her for the Faces of Courage Award."

I'm honored to know the Willingham family.

Conferences expanding reach with webcast and twitter

2009-06-10T10:21:00.000-04:00

Digital @ Leadership Network: Conferences expanding reach with webcast and twitter: "On the first day of the live webcast, Twitter.com comments for the Christianity.com/The Gospel Coalition webcast by online viewers and attendees soared to over 1,100 posts, sending it to the homepage of Twitter and into the daily top 20 most talked about items. Conference participants posted over 2,400 times on Twitter.com during the three day event.

More than 26,000 people visited the free video webcast on Christianity.com. Additional participation on the social network site Facebook.com and in the personal blogs of influential church leaders also contributed to the immense success of the webcast.

“This conference webcast brought challenging theological teaching to thousands who were unable to attend the conference due to financial and other constraints. Social networking websites allowed these online viewers to interact with those in actual attendance,” added McGarvey. “From new Christians to long-time church attendees to church leaders and established pastors, everyone benefited from The Gospel Coalition speakers and the ability to interface with one another about event.'"

The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science

2009-05-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

Denver Seminary: "The strength of Harrison's argument is his insistence that experimental science grew out of the acute awareness that attaining knowledge is not an easy, natural process. In a postlapsarian world, strategies must be devised to overcome the inherited infirmities of original sin, as well as circumscribe the difficulties of apprehending nature, which had become less intelligible since the Fall. A scientist would have to create controlled environments so that experiments could be performed and repeated, and naturalia observed and described. As Harrison points out in the first chapter with numerous cited examples, many of these early modern scientists wanted to recreate the approximate conditions of the Garden of Eden, which had allowed Adam full and unobstructed knowledge of the natural world. He quotes many important thinkers of the time, like Francis Bacon, who reasoned that Adam had been able to name every creature in the Garden because he had known, a priori, the essential nature of each one."

Why I don't waste time on Newsweek...

2009-05-30T21:35:00.000-04:00

Ray Kurzweil: "I appreciate your bringing my ideas to your readership. However, there are numerous inaccuracies and misrepresentations in Daniel Lyons’ story."

Too many for me to quote succinctly.

Symblogogy: The QR (Quick Response) Code And You

2009-05-30T16:57:00.001-04:00

Symblogogy: The QR (Quick Response) Code And You: "In order to have one's phone behave more like a tool than a personalized toy, all one has to do is download a simple program into the cellphone and presto – the camera takes a picture (scans) of a symbol printed on a billboard, flyer, magazine, or display screen then decodes it and has the phone access a “(dot) mobi” webpage on the internet through a series of pre-scripted commands. Quick, Simple, and Easy.

So why hasn’t this form of consumer automation been adopted right here in North America (after all, in large consumer societies found in Europe and Japan, this kind of symbology enabled automation has been used and perfected for years. Fact is, this is why a camera was added to the cellphone in the first place.)? Hard to say, but get ready because the symbology revolution will be vying for your attention at a cellphone or specialty retail store around the corner from where you live, soon."

Is Technology Good or Evil?

2009-05-30T09:54:00.004-04:00

Kevin Kelly: So if you have life hacking -- life means hacking, the game of survival -- then evolution is a way to extend the game by changing the rules of the game. And what technology is really about is better ways to evolve. That is what we call an infinite game. That's the definition of infinite game. A finite game is play to win, and an infinite game is played to keep playing. And I believe that technology is actually a cosmic force.

The origins of technology was not in 1829, but was actually at the beginning of the Big Bang, and at that moment the entire huge billions of stars in the universe were compressed. The entire universe was compressed into a little quantum dot, and it was so tight in there there was no room for any difference at all. That's the definition. There was no temperature. There was no difference whatsoever. And at the Big Bang, what it expanded was the potential for difference. So as it expands and as things expand what we have is the potential for differences, diversity, options, choices, opportunities, possibilities and freedoms. Those are all basically the same thing. And those are the things that technology bring us. That's what technology is bringing us: choices, possibilities, freedoms. That's what it's about. It's this expansion of room to make differences.

I think this is why the God of Adam tells humanity to "subdue" the Earth. Technology provides options, choices and freedoms, but technology separated from the goodness and wisdom of the Creator becomes inevitably dehumanizing. Choices made in submission to God and others "subdued" to reflect the art of goodness, love and human virtue. Freedom to love and live in peace only grows out of a "subdued" technology. This is an option, choice, freedom that technology alone cannot provide.

Exploring the 2010 Web

2009-05-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

Robert Scoble: "In a couple of weeks I’m getting a new 2010 Toyota Prius. If you look at the web site, it seems to be pretty cool, right? But why doesn’t Toyota have a community, or place you can go to talk about the 2010 Prius? Toyota does have a Facebook page, but why didn’t they create a place for me to go to talk about my new Prius with other people? Why didn’t it create a YouTube account that would get hooked in here? Did you know that Toyota’s PR team is on Twitter? Yeah, they are, but you wouldn’t have known by looking at the Toyota Web site. Even over on Twitter and Google it took quite a few tries to find this page.
And that’s what I’m getting at. Toyota is one of the world’s top brands. Has TONS of money to spend on marketing. And they aren’t even taking advantage of the 2010 web. So how are smaller businesses supposed to do it?

For instance, right near Facebook is an awesome yogurt shop named Fraiche. Tons of Facebook employees frequent here. So you’d think they’d be working on a Facebook connect site so that they can let their community know when they have something new to offer, right? No.

Do they use video to tell their story? No. Do they have a friendfeed group where people who love Fraiche can talk about it? No. Is there a blog that shows some of the new things they are adding? No.

This is a business that’s run by the wife of a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and is right in the heart of Palo Alto (a short walk away is Tapulous and Facebook). If they aren’t on the 2010 web, something is wrong."

Why has personal fund raising worked for more than 50 years?

2009-04-26T22:57:00.000-04:00

United Way's New Way - Forbes.com: "United Way also got blindsided by a changing charity world. The number of nonprofits soared, rising 40% in a decade to 1.8 million and vying for money. Many had a single-issue focus--a specific disease like juvenile diabetes or a narrow cause like open-space preservation--that created close donor identification, loyalty and wallet-opening. Some donors found United Way’s broad funding too defuse."

Non-Profit Organization?

2009-04-26T09:54:00.000-04:00

Where Most Needed: Breaking Ranks with the Chronicle 400: "So again this year, the Chronicle has chosen to aggregate the 1,326 United Way chapters as a single organization, making United Way appear to be the largest recipient of private donations. The Chronicle claims justification for lumping together these fiercely autonomous local United Way campaigns because the national United Way has adopted some financial standards. Yet the Chronicle itself notes that less than half of the chapters have adopted the current fundraising strategy advocated by the national office. It's not the monolithic structure they would have us believe."

Is the United Way one organization or a federation of small non-profit groups?

College Students and Social Media

2009-04-26T09:37:00.001-04:00

True or False?

College students are at the forefront of social media because of the combination of their disconnection from childhood relationships, the need for new community, social freedom, and large amounts of free time.

Are We in a Narcissism Epidemic? No, we're in an idolatry epidemic.

2009-04-25T09:42:00.003-04:00

Are We in a Narcissism Epidemic? | Newsweek Culture | Newsweek.com: "But no matter how you were raised, the handiest cure for narcissism used to be life. Whether through fate, circumstances or moral imperative, our culture kept hubris in check. Now, we encourage it. Pastors preach of a Jesus that wants us to be rich."

This is from an article on a new book by and W. Keith Campbell called "The Narcissism Epidemic," released last week.

I haven't read the book but the article makes no mention of God or religion save the quotation above. So, let me say that "the handiest cure for narcissism used to be" religion. Or more specifically Monotheism. "God is God and you are not" is a handy cure for narcissism.

The Newsweek article submits this as evidence of our culture encouraging narcissism: "Pastors preach of a Jesus who wants us to be rich."

Hmm. Religious leaders have always done this since Jesus walked dusty streets of Jerusalem. Most of Jesus' first hearers thought he would make them all rich and prosperous by becoming King and throwing out the wicked Romans. So, there was narcissism in the Jesus' day. Fascinating. One of Jesus' closest friends and disciples, Simon Peter, tried to tell Jesus to stop talking about giving his life for others and Jesus told him to put a cork in it (here and here). It's hard to stay a narcissist when you follow Jesus.

The article has no mention of pastors who preach that when you stop worshiping the Triune God you necessarily begin to worship an idol and that all idolatry is a form of self-worship. You can find those pastors here, here and here. Why no mention of these? It's not like these churches are in a corner somewhere either. In fact I think Tim Keller has been featured in Newsweek.

So why not mention pastors of nationally prominent churches who attract young people by preaching against narcissism? As I mentioned here: "blogging (long form tweeting) fear, loathing, and high-handedness..." about X "...sells more books and blog ads than blogging about the balance between narcissism and self expression in general, which is as old as Job's laments."

If this generation is more narcissistic, it is because it is the least religious generation. But even as I write those words I suspect them as overstatement. Narcissism is the binary alternative to worship of the the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It always has been and always will. In this sense I am as big a narcissist as Simon Peter and Abraham. God help me.

A Christian and Twitter: Narcissism?

2009-04-25T01:07:00.000-04:00

As much as I hate to wade into this (I wish I had more time), I think it might be an important larger discussion about the virtues and vices of technology.

I'm going to try to limit my comments to my own opinions as an individual Christian. I don't purport to speak for all Christians, particularly because these matters involve new technologies and somewhat novel circumstances. As I explained to my son after watching the movie Valkyrie, I have more access to and transmission power of information in the phone on my hip than most humans have experienced in human history.

Over at Between Two Worlds I read, was sent and then commented on a post affirming Twitter as a cause and vehicle for narcissism. The post also equates social networking more generally with narcissism and nihilism.

As I commented there: Twitter as a technology, is no more or less narcissistic than the printing press. One must have a certain sense of confidence to publish any opinion widely. Is this narcissism or the necessary self-confidence to assert an opinion? If it's narcissism, then all who publish, via press, blog or Twitter are narcissists.

Who is a bigger "narcissist" than Luther? How dare he publish his private opinions to rival the Magisterium! This is an old criticism of Protestantism; not of it's content but of it's temerity.

Or how about Augustine's Confession. Isn't it like unto a giant tweet of personal feelings and experience. Does anyone really care that Augustine was a thief in his youth? Apparently, yes, his "narcissism" notwithstanding.

The medium certainly affects the message but the medium is only as self-centered or self-expressive as the messenger. Twitter is more indicative of culture than prescriptive. If Twitter actually is narcissistic, it is because those who use it already are. But blogging (long form tweeting) fear, loathing, and high-handedness about new technology sells more books and blog ads than blogging about the balance between narcissism and self expression in general, which is as old as Job's laments.

Twitter being simply a tool for communication cannot be narcissistic per se. It's ironic that Christians struggle to see the link between communications innovations of today and key elements of Christian history. I already mentioned the printing press, not to mention the written word in general. You'd think Christians would vilify the telephone more than Twitter since we value the written word. I'm sad to say that when the telephone was invented and first widely used there were probably Christians who decried the vanity of the spoken word and it's effect on society. Imagine:

"What are all those people talking about? Their hair? Their pets? What they had for breakfast? Rubbish! What narcissists!"

Sound familiar?

When your Mom calls and asks what's been going on today, do you stop and think: I don't want to be a narcissist so I better not say anything. Of course not. You disclose your life to people who care.

If you only heard one side of my phone calls you might assume I'm a narcissist because I'm always talking. But your assumption ignores the person on the other end. If you think my tweets are narcissistic, then why do you follow me? How can it be narcissistic if you have to choose to listen in. If you care enough to choose to listen, then it can't be all about me.

I'm on Twitter to stay connected to my office mates when we are out of the office. If you think that is a shallow substitute for real intimacy, watch this and stop talking to your friends on the phone; only talk to them in person so you won't be shallow.

I also get instant updates from the Boston Police while I work downtown. And, at times, I listen to real time conversation about real time events using things like Twitterfall and Twitter Search. For example, right now I'm "listening" to the Swine Flu story break across the globe. I just checked CNN on the web at 12:55 AM and there's a small mention of the flue at the bottom under World headlines. I'll bet it will be a bigger story by noon.

It's ironic that I've spent this much time writing about whether Twitter is narcissistic and I primarily use it to listen. You get the picture.

I'm hoping my next post will be - A Christian and Twitter: Brevity?

Free Music: Heart-Shaped Box

2009-04-21T16:55:00.000-04:00

The Autumn Film : "For this Giveaway, we followed Tifah into her living room and recorded her as she sang some new material, playing on her old upright. It’s an intimate glimpse into the songwriting process."

Susan Boyle YouTube Video: 100 Million Hits

2009-04-20T23:44:00.000-04:00

Epicenter from Wired.com: "Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent video is on track to become the most popular video in the history of YouTube, amassing nearly 100 million views in its first nine days and earning the producers of the program a serendipitous, potential windfall that should already be in the millions."

"Boom!"

2009-04-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

John Madden retires from broadcasting - NFL- nbcsports.msnbc.com: "NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol announced today that John Madden, Hall of Fame coach and the most honored broadcaster in sports television history, has decided to retire from broadcasting.

Madden issued the following statement today:

'It’s time. I’m 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I’m home and, more importantly, when I’m not…"

Dungy and Donald Miller on Obama's Team

2009-04-13T19:19:00.000-04:00

TAPPED Archive | The American Prospect: "Although there has not yet been an official announcement, word is leaking out about who else President Obama has selected to fill the remaining 10 seats on his Advisory Council for the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. So far, we know that Christian author and hero to under-35 evangelicals Donald Miller has been tapped for one spot. U.S. News and World Report says that former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy has been slated for another spot."

In-N-Out Burger: Professionalizing Fast-Food - BusinessWeek

2009-04-13T10:31:00.000-04:00

BusinessWeek: "But on issues of quality, Rich remained his father's son. In 1984, in Baldwin Park, Calif., he set up In-N-Out University, a training facility, with the aim of filling the pipeline with qualified managers and reinforcing the company's focus on quality, cleanliness, and service. About 80% of In-N-Out's store managers started at the very bottom, picking up trash before rising through the ranks. Rich realized that if he wanted to expand, he needed to put a system in place that would professionalize management.

To attend In-N-Out University, an associate usually had to have worked full-time at a store for a year. In that time, she had to demonstrate initiative, strong decision-making ability, and impressive people skills. A cornerstone of In-N-Out's limited growth strategy was to expand only as quickly as the management roster would allow. At the university Rich came up with a number of ideas to hone the training process. For instance, a team of field specialists was deployed to motivate and instruct associates. Inspired by pro sports teams, Rich began producing a series of training films and videotaped trainees to critique their performance.

Although the work could be dreary—imagine a four-hour shift spent cleaning up spilled milk shakes—associates were made to feel part of an important enterprise and given opportunities to advance. On-the-job training was wedged in between mealtime rushes, and everyone was given large helpings of feedback. Rich wanted each associate to understand his job and how he could do it better. The result was that many part-timers came for a summer job and stayed for a career. "

Giant Chee-to spurs online frenzy - Mar. 7, 2003

2009-04-02T07:34:00.000-04:00

CNN.com - Mar. 7, 2003: "It's believed to be the largest Chee-to in the world. The cheesy glob of fried cornmeal that Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans found last week in a bag of the snacks is about the size of a small lemon and weighs in at about half an ounce."

Wow.

Google Earth's flying tour bus

2009-04-01T10:10:00.001-04:00

Google LatLong: Google Earth's flying tour bus: "I've been working on the new feature for Google Earth 5.0 which makes it easy for you to record and share your stories with others. It's called Touring, and with it you can create guided, narrated flights around Google Earth. Think of it like a flying tour bus. Just like a tour bus, you can look around while you travel, you can have narration explaining what you're looking at, and you can get off the bus to wander around. Even better, you don't need roads and you never have to worry about being left behind!"

I need to do some of this.

Pace of Cell Phones

2009-04-01T08:39:00.001-04:00

Sent to my by Dave Dishman:

MySmallerSpace

2009-03-30T07:37:00.000-04:00

MySpace shrinks as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo grab its users | Technology | The Observer: "MySpace had 124 million monthly unique visitors last month, a decline of 2%, according to the marketing research company comScore. Facebook, by contrast, racked up 276 million unique visitors, an increase of 16.6%.

Michael Arrington, co-editor of the influential industry blog TechCrunch, posted: 'What was a bad situation in November 2008 is starting to turn outright ugly - Facebook is now well over twice the size of MySpace ... It was less than a year ago that MySpace and Facebook were the same size.'"

Northeast: Losing Religion

2009-03-28T10:17:00.003-04:00

State of the States: Importance of Religion: "Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts are the least religious states."

This is dramatic because these states were pioneered by people seeking explicitly to practice religion. Of course, as far as I can tell the survey didn't count things like Marxism, Secular Humanism and Global Warmism as religions. Man is incurably religious which is why all "philosophies" take on the structures of religion (e.g. clergy, sin, penance, apocalypse) and are no more or less verifiable scientifically than traditional religion.

War. What is it good for?

2009-03-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

The Progress of Our Arms: "And McPherson has emphasized that the end of slavery ultimately depended on the military defeat of the Confederacy. Without victory, slavery would not have been destroyed. Lincoln was able to free the slaves--and should be granted the credit for freeing the slaves--because he succeeded in winning the war."

but is he a campus "Crusader"...

2009-03-19T13:48:00.000-04:00

Ed Driscoll: "“AP’s Labeling: Obama the ‘Populist Crusader’ vs. ‘Hardline Conservatives.’”"

Back to the Future: The Law

2009-03-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

10. Ecological Intelligence - 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now - TIME: "But what if we could seamlessly calculate the full lifetime effect of our actions on the earth and on our bodies? Not just carbon footprints but social and biological footprints as well? What if we could think ecologically? That's what psychologist Daniel Goleman describes in his forthcoming book, Ecological Intelligence. Using a young science called industrial ecology, businesses and green activists alike are beginning to compile the environmental and biological impact of our every decision — and delivering that information to consumers in a user-friendly way. That's thinking ecologically — understanding the global environmental consequences of our local choices. 'We can know the causes of what we're doing, and we can know the impact of what we're doing,' says Goleman, who wrote the 1995 best seller Emotional Intelligence. 'It's going to have a radical impact on the way we do business.'"

How, in practice, is this different from the Pharisees of the New Testament and the Medieval Scholastics?

Official Twitter Tags for CSU09?

2009-03-17T16:16:00.002-04:00

With all the power invested in my by this garden variety Blogger account, I hereby declare that this year's CSU staff conference will be referred to on Twitter as #csu09ccc

YouTube Symphony

2009-03-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

YouTube - symphony's Channel: "Play your part in music history."

I love this.

The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science

2009-03-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

Denver Seminary: "The strength of Harrison's argument is his insistence that experimental science grew out of the acute awareness that attaining knowledge is not an easy, natural process. In a postlapsarian world, strategies must be devised to overcome the inherited infirmities of original sin, as well as circumscribe the difficulties of apprehending nature, which had become less intelligible since the Fall. A scientist would have to create controlled environments so that experiments could be performed and repeated, and naturalia observed and described. As Harrison points out in the first chapter with numerous cited examples, many of these early modern scientists wanted to recreate the approximate conditions of the Garden of Eden, which had allowed Adam full and unobstructed knowledge of the natural world. He quotes many important thinkers of the time, like Francis Bacon, who reasoned that Adam had been able to name every creature in the Garden because he had known, a priori, the essential nature of each one."

Gmail fails, signals tech apocalypse | Webware - CNET

2009-02-28T20:06:00.000-05:00

Webware - CNET: "But then these are gloomy times, and we're not talking about Twitter, which swoons dead away on a regular basis: this is Google, the bedrock of the Internet. What if we really are facing the Big Blue Screen of Death? What will be the signs if a higher power does hit CTRL + ALT + DEL on our technology-dependent world?

We decided to look for answers in the Bible. The Bible is sort of like God's user manual, and everybody knows you don't crack open the manual until something's gone epically wrong, so we just did what we always do and Wikipedia'd it instead.

According to the Book of Revelations, there are seven stages to the end of the world. These are seen in visions by a chap called John, who is called by an angel to document the end of days. Which he'll film on his Flip Mino and then Twitter about, presumably."

Hmm: Obama Plan Would Reduce Charitable Deduction for Some Wealthy Donors - Philanthropy.com

2009-02-26T14:01:00.000-05:00

Philanthropy.com: "President Obama today proposed to cap the rate that high-income taxpayers can use to claim charitable deductions as part of a plan to finance changes to the country’s health-care system.

In a document outlining his 2010 budget plans, the president proposes to limit the tax rate for itemized deductions at 28 percent for families making more than $250,000.

That would reduce by as much as 20 percent the amount wealthy taxpayers could reduce their federal tax payments for charitable donations. Under the current system, taxpayers who are in the 33 percent or 35 percent tax brackets use that rate to claim deductions."

Her Christmas List

2009-02-12T11:57:00.002-05:00

Right before Christmas my 10 year old daughter tore off a strip of wrapping paper and wrote down here wish list. I reproduce it here to enjoy her whimsy.

LPS Digtal planer
phone
Ds game
Wii fit board
fairy wings
Super power
more metal string
littile sister
cook book
liberty
my own holiday
peace on earth
Garden
Seeds
more allowence
own company
lot of money (10,20)
poputary
to be skiny
fairy God parents
puppy
laptop
condo
active
nicer schools
credit card
car
free School coupon
3 snow days
cousin to come in summer or Christmas

Why believe in Science?

2009-02-11T10:45:00.001-05:00

The Constant Nature of Science: "There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. The speed of light measures the same 186,000 miles per second, no matter if the light comes from a child's flashlight or a star that's galaxies away. Mathematically, there is an exact speed of light that doesn't change.
Physicist Eugene Wigner confesses that the mathematical underpinning of nature "is something bordering on the mysterious and there is no rational explanation for it."³ Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."⁴

This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence. Instead, scientists cling to their long-held faith in the fundamental rationality of the cosmos.

Physicist Paul C. Davies comments, "...to be a scientist, you had to have faith that the universe is governed by dependable, immutable, absolute, universal, mathematical laws of an unspecified origin. You've got to believe that these laws won't fail, that we won't wake up tomorrow to find heat flowing from cold to hot, or the speed of light changing by the hour. Over the years I have often asked my physicist colleagues why the laws of physics are what they are? ...The favorite reply is, 'There is no reason they are what they are--they just are.'"⁵"

Offline Gmail

2009-01-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

Official Gmail Blog: "Web-based email is great because you can check it from any computer, but there's one little catch: it's inherently limited by your internet connection. From public WiFi to smartphones equipped with 3G, from mobile broadband cards to fledgling in-flight wireless on airplanes, Internet access is becoming more and more ubiquitous -- but there are still times when you can't access your webmail because of an unreliable or unavailable connection.

Today we're starting to roll out an experimental feature in Gmail Labs that should help fill in those gaps: offline Gmail. So even if you're offline, you can open your web browser, go to gmail.com, and get to your mail just like you're used to."

Hooray!

GrandCentral Dreams

2009-01-28T14:34:00.005-05:00

I've been using GrandCentral for a while now, hoping that Google would make it awesome.

Now that there's word that Google will release GrandCentral 2.0 a friend comments that they should implement SMS messages to work with your GrandCentral number.

I heartily agree.

If I know Google (and this will prove if I do or not) they will do this and more. I've been dreaming of this for many moons:

Gmail Contacts will be integrated with Gmail, Gmail Chat and Grand Central. Gmail already has SMS capability and I dream that it will all come together to truly become the last phone number I'll ever need.

Gmail Si! Microsoft No!

2009-01-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a great example of why I'm down on Microsoft, ripped from today's headlines: http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK2ZZG6E7EF3IQF

Gmail improves features for no charge and in a timely fashion. And Microsoft:

Interestingly, buried in today's news was the announcement that, Hotmail is finally adding POP3 support - eleven years after Microsoft acquired the service! We've previously covered how it's possible to jailbreak Hotmail data and transfer messages out of the ageing app.

If anything illustrates why data portability is important in web-based services (and for web workers), it's this reality; Microsoft passed an eleven year sentence of imprisonment on its users' personal data and is now paying the price with a 5% decline in its user numbers.

Not Peanuts

2009-01-17T17:34:00.001-05:00

My Way News - Kellogg's recalls more peanut butter products

The recall includes Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, as well as some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies.

How big is love?

2009-01-16T12:58:00.001-05:00

FOXNews.com - Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 'Un-American' - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

Tom Hanks, Executive Producer for HBO’s controversial polygamist series “Big Love,” made his feelings toward the Mormon Church’s involvement in California's Prop 8 (which prohibits gay marriage) very clear at the show’s premiere party on Wednesday night.

“The truth is this takes place in Utah, the truth is these people are some bizarre offshoot of the Mormon Church, and the truth is a lot of Mormons gave a lot of money to the church to make Prop-8 happen,” he told Tarts. “There are a lot of people who feel that is un-American, and I am one of them. I do not like to see any discrimination codified on any piece of paper, any of the 50 states in America, but here's what happens now. A little bit of light can be shed, and people can see who's responsible, and that can motivate the next go around of our self correcting Constitution, and hopefully we can move forward instead of backwards. So let's have faith in not only the American, but Californian, constitutional process.”

Hmm. Is Tom Hanks saying we shouldn't have laws against polygamy? No "discrimination codified on any piece of paper" would allow quite a bit of "Big Love". It seems to me that laws against polygamy, prostitution and statutory rape are "discrimination codified" on quite a few pieces of paper. I'm going to choose to believe that's not what Tom Hanks meant.

Wonderwall

2009-01-15T22:35:00.001-05:00

Guerrilla marketers use mobile billboards for surprise ad attacks

Though Catalfumo works primarily in New York City, one recent evening he was in Philadelphia doing "guerrilla marketing" for the Franklin Institute, a science museum and memorial to US founding father Benjamin Franklin.

Standing on a corner near some local bars, Catalfumo and an assistant projected images of a blackbird and a bicycle in a tree onto the wall of a nearby building.

"Curious?" the ad asked from the side of the building, enticing viewers to the institute's website.

"It's a new way to approach people," Catalfumo told AFP. "It's better than doing a million dollar ad clip at the Superbowl where if it isn't ridiculous, you won't remember it. This is an interaction that will last."

As the night went on, the duo was approached by passersby eager for information about the website and the projected images.

"Some people hung out for a half hour to talk with other people coming up to see it," Catalfumo said. "The reaction from people on the street seems like instant gratification and they'll tell more people than if they just got a flier on the way to the train station."

Sam Ewen, chief executive of another innovative marketing company, Interface, said a reason most people are so receptive is because it's so different from traditional billboards.

Global Warming Update

2009-01-15T22:17:00.001-05:00

DRUDGE REPORT 2009®

CHICAGO COLDEST IN DECADE...

Chicago has most consecutive days of snowfall since records began in 1884...

Flint, Michigan breaks 95-year-old record...

Blowing snow, frigid temps pound nation...

40 BELOW ZERO...

Frigid air, perhaps coldest of winter...

Watches/Warnings...

Live Chill Map...

Twitter Spreads News Of U.S. Airways Crash In An Instant

2009-01-15T18:54:00.000-05:00

Mobile Blog - InformationWeek: "Today was yet another indicator that Twitter is the way we're going to consume breaking news in the future. I learned about the U.S. Airways Hudson River plane crash before it was on CNN.com, NYTimes.com and FOXnews.com.

First there was an earthquake over the summer. Then the downed jet fighter in San Diego. Today, Twitter was the source I first saw reporting the U.S. Airways flight that crash-landed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey.

Twitter represents the power of people to communicate events in an instant. Silicon Alley Insider's Dan Frommer was the first I saw to report news of the crash. I quickly checked all the major news sites and saw no coverage. Since I live in the NYC metro area, I ran into my living room and turned on the TV. News channel WNBC 4 in NYC was just interrupting local programming to report news of the crash.

Within minutes there were hundreds of Tweets about the crash, complete with pictures from eyewitnesses and even one person who was on a NYC ferry headed to the crash site to pick up passengers.

That's amazing power, all thanks to the mobile phone and a social networking tool called Twitter. News spreads like wildfire when you can tell 100, 500, 1000 people at once with a single Tweet."

Update: Heinous Facebook Identity Theft

2009-01-15T08:36:00.002-05:00

Today I'm in Daytona, FL at Summer Project Directors Conference with my friend and colleague Geoff Freeman. He discovered that someone hacked into his Facebook account, changed his password and then claimed to all of his Facebook friends that he is stuck in London with no wallet or money and needs money sent to him.

Geoff is sitting right next to me right now as this identity thief started chatting with me on me on Facebook.

He claims that I should send money to help him through Western Union to:

Geoff Freeman
32 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town,
London, NW5 2AE United Kingdom

Can someone, somewhere bring this person to justice?

Oh, and make sure your Facebook password is strong.

Update:

"Geoff" just went offline. The real Geoff and I are pretty sure this person is an accomplice.

Another Update:

Here's how my chat with "Geoff" ended...

Apparently he was the done...

Geoff

u there?

all i need now to get on a plane back home is 850

can u loan me that?

8:52pmRyan

how about I send you an even $1000

8:52pmGeoff

do u know any western union agent around u?

or do u have any idea about western union?

8:55pmRyan

yes actually my brother is a western union agent

I'll call him right now. He's actually a district manager so he'll have lots of authority to take care of you

8:57pmGeoff

so how are u going to do it now

8:57pmRyan

I'm going to call him right now

He can contact someone there in London I'm sure

8:58pmGeoff

8:58pmRyan

he will make sure the money gets to you

when should I tell him that you will be there to pick it up?

8:59pmGeoff

just tell him to send the money and i will pick it up here with my passport

are u calling your brother now?

9:02pmRyan

yes

9:03pmGeoff

so how is it going?

how soon will i get it?

9:04pmRyan

he said he needs your passport number

if you don't have a wallet or any other id

9:10pmGeoff

U ARE A FOOL

IDIOT

9:12pmGeoff

IF U TALK TO ME AGAIN...I WILL GET YOUR ACCOUNT HACKED

TRUST ME...I'M THE DONE

FOOL

IDIOT

Final Update:

Last night, after more than 48 hours Facebook finally responded to Geoff and reset his password. He had no response for two days while his account and identity was being used to nefariously solicit money. It is troubling that Facebook is so slow to respond. It makes me question whether Facebook is a good idea.

Best Buy, happier?

2009-01-12T12:27:00.000-05:00

Best Buy has a new slogan: you, happier. Wouldn’t it be great if the stuff at Best Buy made you happy. That would make life much easier.

I guess they didn’t see this study about TV and happiness. They sell a lot of TVs

Working Smarter, but not Happier

2009-01-12T00:17:00.002-05:00

Hmm, IBM (according to their new ad campaign) is working for a smarter planet, in order to make happy people.

Are the smartest people that you know also the happiest?

That Madoff guy is pretty smart. So were the Enron guys. I don’t’ think there issues were lack of smarts.

The happiest people that I know are grateful, no matter how smart.

The most miserable people I know are angry about not getting what they think they deserve. In fact that’s what causes much of my own misery.

It would be cool if IBM could help me to be grateful. That’s actually why I keep going back to the Bible. It reminds me why I can be grateful.

Why I hate the BCS

2009-01-11T14:54:00.001-05:00

Rick Reilly: "By the way, we're calling our title the "national" championship because it actually includes the whole nation—all 119 Division I schools—unlike the BCS, which includes 66. Yeah, the BCS somehow eliminated the middleman—the NCAA. The conferences these schools play in take their dump trucks full of cash straight from the TV networks and fairness can go suck a lemon...

...Sure, BCS blowhards will hand you schlock about how the college football season is like a playoff, how it's an elimination tournament every week. Really? Well, how come Florida and Oklahoma weren't eliminated with their losses? Utah ran the table, beat everybody set in front of them, including Ala-damn-bama in no less than the Sugar Bowl, and gets the bagel.

Oh, by the way? It was Utah's eighth straight bowl win, the nation's longest streak. Among the losers during that run? Let's see USC, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, and now the legendary Houndstooth Hats.

"What else do we have to prove?" asks Utah's magical quarterback, Brian Johnson. Good question. He and the Utes essentially whipped Alabama at home. Handed Nick Saban a garlic necklace to wear the entire offseason. Stepped on his team's neck 21-0 in the first three possessions and never looked back. Let's see. Who was it that was losing to Alabama until nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter? Oh, yeah. Florida."

My Wife: Awesome

2009-01-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

Nothing but the blood...

A way with words

2009-01-03T15:24:00.003-05:00

In honor of J.R.R. Tolkien's Birthday, I give you one of my favorite passages from The Lord of the Rings:

And behold! it was a winged creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was naked, and neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of hide between horned fingers; and it stank.

A creature of an older world maybe it was, whose kind, lingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon, outstayed their day, and in hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and he gave it to his servant to be his steed.

The Resurrection and the Life

2008-12-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

My question-that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide-was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man…a question without an answer to which one cannot live. It was: “What will come of what I am doing today or tomorrow? What will come of my whole life? Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything?” It can also be expressed thus; Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?

Leo Tolstoy – A Confession quoted in The Reason for God page 201

I just turned 40 and I think about this already. I’m a Christian. I believe in life after death and the maxim “right now counts for eternity” yet I still feel this nagging sense of nausea that all of the things that I’m stressed about today are the futile sound and fury of a life that ultimately will signify nothing.

This week I could no longer look away from these feelings. I found myself wandering among the small rectangular head stones at St. John’s Cemetery in Orange, CA. My Aunt Helen had died and I was here for her burial. I was struck by how small and numerous were the gravestones. Most had lived more than 60 years. 60 years of love, anger, work, vacation and everything else, boiled down into a small plaque amidst hundreds of other small plaques.

My Brother in Law said what I was thinking: “A whole life and all that’s left is a little sign.”

Adding to the sense of futility was my memories of Aunt Helen. She lived an obscure life by almost any measure. She chose to stay home and enjoy its comforts. She was never famous, not even for 15 minutes. She wrote no books. She traveled little. She taught dozens of school children for decades but remained in contact with none of them. She had few friends. She never married nor had children. I was the closest thing to a son and I did not know her well.

And now I stood with a very small group of family and caregivers to bury her body and commemorate her life.

Would I end up the same way? Even if I have teary hordes at my funeral, will it mean anything in 200 years? I’ve walked by countless statues of men in Boston-men who had far more stature than I will ever achieve-and neither known nor cared who they were. These figures are now monuments to forgotten glory, patronized by the indifference of those who must navigate around them.

What about all the dreams I have? What about all the things I said I would do when I was twenty and had it all in front of me? Even if I could do some of them, would it amount to anything more than self-fulfillment?

What about the things I know I could do if I had the time? I would like to write a screenplay, learn German, learn Latin, and learn as much about Shakespeare as can be known. I’d like to be the front man in a rock and roll band and sing bass in a barbershop quartet. Heck I’d like to play minor league baseball. It’s very unlikely that I will do some or all of these, and even if I did, will it make any difference?

My Aunt Helen was an artist. I recently saw sketches and paintings from her prime. She had talent and a passion for exotic people and places. These are reflected in her works. She studied Polynesian artistic forms in college. I saw one of her papers stored in cedar chest at her house. I imagined all of the effort and anxiety that it took to finish this paper. I imagined the faith of creativity that moved her pen and paintbrushes. What became of it?

It is clear that this early promise of her life was never fully realized. Not even close. Will it ever be?

It was thus in my mind as the Pastor put his hand on her casket to commit her remains to the earth until the resurrection of all flesh.

Resurrection?

This I recalled to mind and therefore I had hope.

In a merciful providence, I happened to be finishing one of the best books I’ve ever read on the plane ride to CA for the funeral. At the end of The Reason for God, Tim Keller dwells on the meaning of Resurrection:

…Christianity is not only about getting one’s individual sins forgiven so we can go to heaven. That is an important means of God’s salvation, but not the final end or purpose of it. The purpose of Jesus' coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it. It is not just to bring personal forgiveness and peace, but also justice and shalom to the world. God created both body and soul, and the resurrection of Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both body and soul. The work of the Spirit of God is not only to save souls but also to care and cultivate the face of the earth, the material world.

It is hard to overemphasize the uniqueness of this vision. Outside of the Bible, no other major religious faith holds out any hope or even interest in the restoration of the perfect shalom, justice, and wholeness in this material world.

The Reason For God, page 223

Burials are an obvious time to think about resurrection; I’ve just been to so few funerals that I’ve never had this much time. However, every time is a good time to think about resurrection because the resurrection of Jesus gives hope to everything in this messed up world.

If I understand correctly, Jesus resurrection means that all of my Aunt Helen’s gifts of artistic talent, all of her feelings of adventure and joy, all her hopes and dreams were contained not just in her soul but in her body. Her body never reached its potential in this life, but then I guess no one’s body ever does until resurrection. Someday she will fully realize her artistic gifts, just not yet.

Resurrection also means that even if I can’t learn German or perform Shakespeare in this life, I can do it in the next. These are good things that you do in the body. The resurrection of the body is so central to Christianity that they put it in the creed.

Where else can I go for a resurrection? I can’t find this hope anywhere else but in Christ.

But not just the body is made new in resurrection, but all that is good about the physical world. Trees! I love trees. Chocolate: My wife will be comforted by that. Jesus rose from the dead and then sat under a tree and had a fish breakfast. Probably I could have chocolate for breakfast when I am raised. And I am raised with him, but the time is coming and now is when I will know in whole, not only in part, about this resurrection.

I hope someday to see my daughter and my Aunt Helen together painting the loveliest of trees. I hope to sing and read Shakespeare. I hope. I have faith. I love the God who made the heavens and the earth and promises to make all things new in the one who is the resurrection, and the life.

Organized Religion

2008-12-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

WSJ.com: "Laymen may be confused by the notion of a scientific discovery 'that is completely the opposite of what scientists had thought.' After all, we keep reading that all scientists agree about global warming and no one may question it. Is science infallible or isn't it?

The answer is: It depends. Scientific teachings that are part of the 'ordinary magisterium,' such as those involving the interaction between Earth's magnetosphere and solar wind, are not infallible. But global warming is what scientists call an ex cathedra doctrine."

'The end' as a weapon

2008-12-15T23:09:00.000-05:00

Opinion - USATODAY.com: "Some environmentalists have their own fixation with the apocalypse — just not the biblical one. This involves the wrath of nature and the ecological end times. But fear is an ineffective tool for any cause.

There is, in progressive circles, a certain fascination with those apocalyptic prophecies that seem to hold so many religious conservatives in thrall. From the sensation over the megaselling Left Behind book series to more recent media flare-ups around figures such as John Hagee (the television pastor of countdown-to-Armageddon fame), the end times seem to be looming at all times.

Turn your attention to a strain of thought ascendant in secular, environmentalist America and you might be surprised to find a similar apocalypse fixation, minus the Book of Revelation and anti-Christ parts. Call it the secular theology of environmental collapse — the fearful conviction that the hopelessly corrupt world as we know it has entered its death throes, with massive destruction stalking ever nearer."

wow

2008-12-15T16:29:00.001-05:00

Sit on it!

2008-12-15T16:12:00.000-05:00

Ponzi not Fonzi, is the first to do this.

Madoff and Markets - WSJ.com: "Capitalism runs on trust, so inevitably there will be men like Bernard Madoff who attempt to steal from the trusting. His alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is exceptional mainly for its size, the length of time he was able to run his con, and the affluent and sophisticated circles in which he operated. There is something especially shocking when a man held in high esteem turns out to be a thief."

Reprieve

2008-12-09T21:53:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting in the JFK airport rocking out to The Autumn Film.

Potential Super Seminar Speakers?

2008-12-09T14:09:00.006-05:00

What do you think of this ROUGH list?

Jim Collins
Tim Muellhoff
Dan Allender - the next step on story
Irwin McManus
Mike Krzyzewski
Mark Driscoll - Gary Breshears?
Dallas Willard
Gary Thomas
John Ortberg
Dinesh D'souza
TED - 18 Minute speeches
Tony Dungy - Suffering
Bob Buford -
Andy Crouch - Engaging Culture
Steve Jobs -
Nancy Pearcey - Christian Worldview
Stephen Um
Cy Rogers

Who would you add?

Average Age of CCC Staff

2008-12-09T13:31:00.002-05:00

In the 1990's the average age of CCC staff was 34.5

Today it is 41.7

Mercy Ministry Fodder

2008-12-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

10 Things You Can Do to End Online Segregation: Encyclopedia of Urban Ministry | UrbanMinistry.org: Sermons, Podcasts, MP3s, Grants, Jobs, Books on Christian Social Justice: "If you participate in a social networking 'cause', really get involve and get your friends to give to avoid 'slacktivism' which is a new term for when people join online causes but never actually do anything."

Funny. I think the term "online segregation" is a misnomer though.

Uh Oh

2008-12-04T23:40:00.000-05:00

Destructive Koobface virus turns up on Facebook | U.S. | Reuters: "Koobface spreads by sending notes to friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, 'You look just awesome in this new movie,' direct recipients to a website where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player.

If they download the software, users end up with an infected computer, which then takes users to contaminated sites when they try to use search engines from Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com, according McAfee."

How does this apply to CSU09?

2008-12-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

YouTube Symphony Orchestra: Google sees a future in fancy music of the past: "'Our idea is a collaborative orchestra,' said Sanders from New York. 'Musicians will be auditioning online from all over the world through our new site [youtube.com/symphony]. The winning players will then gather in New York next April to debut a piece for orchestra at Carnegie Hall. This is a new kind of opportunity for musicians.'"

CSU09 Roving Reporter

2008-12-03T10:13:00.001-05:00

Who wants to be a roving reporter doing audio interviews for podcast?

Aristotle for Everybody

2008-12-02T09:44:00.002-05:00

Aristotle for Everybody by Mortimer J. Adler is a simple introduction to a foundational thinker. I use concepts from this book at least every week.

Domestic horses being abandoned

2008-12-02T09:20:00.000-05:00

UPI.com: "Authorities in Nevada say an increasing number of domestic horses are being abandoned by their owners because of the worsening economy.

The horses are being turned loose to fend for themselves, but lack of survival skills and often end up being killed by predators, hit by cars or dying of starvation, said Darrell Peterson, a brand inspector for the Nevada Department of Agriculture."

This is a bummer.

Why I Love Twitter

2008-12-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

O'Reilly Radar: "If you care what I think, you know that Twitter is just about the best way to learn what I'm paying attention to. I pass along tidbits of O'Reilly news, interesting reading from mailing lists and blogs I follow, and of course, tidbits from the twitterers I'm following. These are all the things I could never find time to put on my blog, but that I spray via email like a firehose at editors, conference planners, and researchers within O'Reilly. A lot of my job is, as we say, 'redistributing the future' - following interesting people, and passing on what I learn to others. And twitter is an awesome tool for doing just that."