Spudlets
November 26, 2003
I probably shouldn't kick folks when they're down, but ...
here is a funny but sad poll on the scariest mug shot (link needs a brief anonymous registration). I do feel bad for Glen Campbell. Supposedly he mixed prescription drugs and alcohol and lost control of himself. He's going to end up paying for that "indiscretion". He does not look like a happy camper in his mug shot.
Posted by MarcV, 3:18 PM link
Who's getting hungry for tomorrow? Who's ready for a 4 day weekend (show of hands!)? In case you want to "jazz" up the turkey offering tomorrow, the folks at NRO's Corner gave a link for a taste treat involving the little square burgers of hamburger heaven. Feel free to substitute Krystals if you must. I'm getting hungry just thinking about getting a sackful! Mmmmm, I feel my "inner Homer" (as LittleA would say) starting to take control ...
Posted by MarcV, 11:45 AM link
Catch It
if you can. I should start a feature called "Retread Reviews", films that I did not see when they first came out, waiting until they hit the cheap rack for DVD rentals or (better yet) become available at the library. This week's treat was Catch Me If You Can, a Spielberg special with DiCaprio and Hanks playing cop and robber. I liked it better than I had anticipated, though I knew nothing about the story beforehand. I don't remember it being very popular, but checking the box office results it apparently has done at least $200M in the US and abroad for ticket sales (no telling about DVD profits).
The whole production was top-notch, from the acting to the sets, and the storyline kept a good pace. DiCaprio's character, Abagnale the counterfeiter, was written to be very sympathetic, but you still rooted for FBI Agent Hanratty (Hanks) to eventually catch him. The most intriguing part of the story was how Abagnale managed to pull off all of his scams while still being at high-school age. For you "Alias" Jennifer Garner fans, the agent of your dreams puts in a guest appearance as a "pro" in a brief but steamy scene.
Speaking of which, as far as objectionable content the movie had very little violence, some cursing, no nudity but two s3xual situations. This would be a good movie to purchase, in that you can focus on different characters and situations with different viewings. Fans of sixties fashion/design will also enjoy the attention to detail in the sets. [SPOILER] My favorite aspect of the film was the redemption. You expected the movie to end once Abagnale was caught and sentenced, yet he ends up finding a new father (Hanratty) after losing his "earthly" father. The new father forgives his "crimes" and gives him another chance because he believes that there is some good in Abagnale. The new father even gives him free choice, yet Abagnale comes back. Sound like a theme for something else?
Posted by MarcV, 11:43 AM link
November 25, 2003
"Christian" Games
Yes, there actually are "Christian" video/computer games, some better than others. Wired has a review of three of them, as well as a listing of the economic impact of the Christian "market":
There's no business like God's business. Estimated sales of Christian videogames, music, books, and movie tickets reached a revelatory $3.6 billion in 2002.
Videogames: $200 million
Books: $2.5 billion
Music: $900 million
Movie tickets: $35.5 million
The videogames total is an eye-opener. I'm not sure how they define a "Christian" videogame, since the only ones I typically see are in the Christian bookstores and don't seem to sell all that much, even the Veggietales. At $35 a pop, you would have to sell 60,000 total units to reach that sales estimate. Movie tickets is also a difficult category to get a true handle on. That number should be significantly higher for 2003, and way up in 2004 as Mel Gibson's movie debuts.
Posted by MarcV, 10:21 AM link
Legal Docket
The lawsuits brought up by SCO trying to profit off of Linux seem to be running out of steam. This article helps give some background on how Novell first got involved, as well as explain what is going on now to thwart the attempt of profiting from and controlling the free OS for the masses. I briefly used Novell back in the mid-90's, and it never seemed to want to play "nice" with Windows. Novell had a chance to be a big player in the network market, but could not get their act together. There is also a website devoted to research results from the SCO lawsuits if you want to get more detail.
A bigger fish is in the legal pool as well. AT&T filed a patent infringement suit last week against eBay and its unit PayPal over their payment systems.
The eBay and PayPal payment systems involve a trusted intermediary to process payments over the Internet. This third party safeguards payment details such as credit card numbers. AT&T claims the systems infringe its patent 5,329,589 awarded in July 1994 for "mediation of transactions by a communications system."
Here is a link to the patent. Similar to the Bluecurrent patent, our federal government grants these broad patents on general ideas rather than a specific, tightly defined process or machine. From the patent:
The foregoing Detailed Description has disclosed to one of ordinary skill in the an (sic) to which the invention pertains how one may make and use a communications system which mediates transactions between entities reachable by the communications system. However, as is apparent from the nature of the invention and the Detailed Description, the number of particular embodiments of the invention is essentially unlimited.
eBay has already had a patent infringement lawsuit ruled against them for an on-line auction. Ten years ago nobody could have predicted how the Internet would have grown to what it has become now, and there's no telling where it will be ten years from now. I hope judges can overturn these broad patents and do what is best for the public, since it seems the patent office is not putting the public interest first. There is no "nature of the invention" here, just someone who happened to put this down on paper first and got the legal department to submit a patent application. I'm afraid that judges are very reluctant to overturn patents, even silly ones like these.
Posted by MarcV, 10:19 AM link
November 24, 2003
Yo Enrique!
This is just too good not to share, particularly with all of my loyal fan(s) at the TaterBed. Here's your link to join the "Enrique Iglesias Official Artist Club" for these exciting opportunities:
Exclusive video and audio content
Photo galleries, including behind-the-scenes photos of his tour
Member-only message boards
Yahoo! Messenger IMVironment
Too good to be true? If you don't feel worthy, maybe they'll consider you for the "Unofficial Artist Club". This offer is made in conjunction with his 2004 tour (yes, you'll have first crack at tickets as a "member") to support his new album "7". Since I'm not a member, I don't know the story behind the title, but I'll take a stab at it: his seventh album?, number of "serious" girlfriends?, Porsches in his garage?, the album quality on a scale of 1 to 10?
I think Yahoo has me mixed up with my membership in the Julio Iglesias Fan Club. I still get chills when I hear the first few notes of "To All The Spuds I've Ever Dug Before". Awesome.
Posted by MarcV, 4:40 PM link
Weekend Wrap Up
Didja ever have one of those weekends when you looked forward to coming into work Monday morning so you could relax a little? I opened up a can of worms by taking the "bathroom remodeling" plunge. It's just a small half-bath (4' x 5', replace toilet, sink stays, slap vinyl floor on top). The problem comes in whenever you unearth "things" on a 35 year old house - like the water supply valves not working and not enough pipe to attach a new valve, like the cast iron fitting that the toilet is seated on being broken.
I could "crab away" about all the details, but to wrap it up, Lady Spud now walks on new flooring to her new throne and washes her hands with water from a new faucet. Never mind about the "very" slight leak from the jury-rigged water-supply valves, or some gaps on the edges in the new flooring. These projects are not all that difficult from a mental/"knowing what to do" viewpoint, but I'm getting too old for this @*$#! Laying on my back under a sink trying to loosen cemented faucet nuts for an hour is not my idea of fun. Shutting off the main water supply involves a tortuous crawl under the house. Li'l Spud should be ready for those kind of chores in another few years, I hope!
I was reminded of a painful lesson a few times: for every plumbing male connector put the teflon tape on before you install the stupid thing. Having to apply teflon tape in cramped spaces was not easy.
Posted by MarcV, 11:27 AM link
Mile High Victory
The Beloved Bears eked one out yesterday in the frigid mountains of Colorado, besting the Broncos 19-10. Before you let any media sources tell you otherwise, the Bears won in spite of Kordell Stewart. He looked as bad as ever, but I detected a hint of the "second coming" in the post-game interviews - God forbid. I will give him the benefit of the doubt on some of the long passes due to "rustiness", but even his short passes and reads were poor, and any yardage that was amassed was due to the receivers running after the catch of a short-dink throw.
Many Bear fans were anticipating Rex Grossman's first action this Sunday against the Cardinals, but now it does not look so good for that scenario. What was good to see was a decent push by the defensive line (particularly Alex Brown, although no sacks for the D-line), holding the Broncos to 10 points, and OK protection by the offensive line against the #2 defense in the league. The Bears could and should have run the ball more, but once again decided not to play to that strength. You may also hear more calls to bring back the coaching staff next year, but their inept time management at the end of the first half should be another reminder of why they need to go.
Despite injuries along the O-line, QB shuffle and miserable start of the season, the Bears could easily be tied with the Packers at 6-5 in second place with a whole lotta momentum for the last five games. The difference is coaching, and the Bears continually come up short. If you want to see the difference that coaches can make, look at Dallas and Cincinnati. I hope that Bear's management can come up with a good coaching staff to turn things around next season in Chicago.
Posted by MarcV, 11:25 AM link
It Was Just One
To watch the Beloved Bears I went with my sister to a sports bar, and yes I did drink one draft beer, my last one being about six months ago. I had planned on going to see this game weeks ago, knowing that I would have time to watch all of it since it was a late game. The funny-strange part was that my Sunday School class had debated the drinking of alcohol that same morning.
The debate started when someone in class brought up the fact that they had had dinner out with a Christian brother who happened to have a beer with his meal. An older gentleman in class, let's call him "hardliner"(HL), objected to referring to the brother as Christian, that once he put the "alkyhol" up to his lips he no longer was a Christian. HL mentioned that the blood of Christ was "all-cleansing" and that a Christian should have no part of "alkyhol" after salvation, and would question the salvation of anyone who does drink.
As you may expect, this brought about a minor uproar followed by some strong debate between HL and the rest of the class about judging, seeking out our salvation, sin cutting us off from God and other assorted Biblical areas. I was almost tempted to say that I was planning on having a beer later on, but figured that Lady Spud might not think that was very humorous (later confirmed). HL and the other "guy" from class were supposed to meet with Pastor later to clear up the issue.
We may have lost some people from our class just because of this "judgmental" environment. Churches have split over things like this, and I could probably go into a 2500 word post on this. I did tell a classmate afterwards that when stuff like this comes up, you have to first focus on your relationship with Jesus and let everything else become secondary. He is the one you have to please, not some "brother" who may interpret the Bible a little differently than you do. I'm also trying to avoid the judgment game, since I have a difficult enough time with my own behavior to worry about someone else.
I don't want to make light of this issue though, because it is important for a fellowship to have standards. The Bible has a clear policy on dealing with someone who may be sinning, and it involves confronting them in love, followed by arranging a meeting for him with others from the church in order to reach agreement (if the first meeting was fruitless). It can be a lot easier to get on a soapbox to decry sinning and get all judgmental or spread rumors and gossip about the weak member, yet those hurt the church in the long run.
So is an occasional beer or glass of wine sinful? I don't think so, but you better ask God to make sure. Anything that would lessen your worship of the Lord (like drunkenness) needs to be avoided, as well as anything that may cause your brother to stumble. I'll leave it there for now before I get any closer to the 2500 word post.
Posted by MarcV, 11:23 AM link
November 21, 2003
New Green
Heard about a new album coming out from one of the soul masters, Al Green, and the Wall St. Journal had an article on the back page about him yesterday. His new album, I Can't Stop, is a departure from the gospel that he has recorded for the last twenty years. I have not heard the new album yet (maybe Santa will get it for me?), but there were some interesting tidbits from the WSJ that I wanted to share:
Before Barry White or Marvin Gaye recorded their own takes on bedroom soul, Al Green was already in place as the voice of seduction for an unbuttoned decade. He posed bare-chested on his album covers. His falsetto moan-straight from the church-was filled with a longing all could grasp. He put the afro into aphrodisiac (my emphasis, ha ha), writing songs that inspired a generation-and helped create another.
"I mean, people still show me pictures of a beautiful little kid. I say, OK, what's that about? 'Well, it's because of one of your songs ...
Yes, Lady Spud and I have enjoyed Mr. Green's crooning in the background during some special times. I was able to get his Greatest Hits on vinyl before they stopped mass-producing vinyl years ago. I also have one of his more recent gospel CD's with the song "Everythings Gonna Be Alright" and played it for some of the young ladies in the office (mid 20's early 30's). They gave me a blank look when I mentioned Al Green. Maybe the new album will help to reacquaint people with the soul legend. When asked about his previous decision to sing about romantic love or physical passion, and the recent release of his "secular" album, he responded:
"At the time, I was wrestling with my conversion. I couldn't help the way I felt! The balance I've come to now is the wisdom that spiritual things are spiritual things and carnal things are carnal things, and God made both of them."
Doesn't make carnal things righteous, since God may not have made them, but I can understand the need for balance in our lives. So what balance is he looking for?
"I've got to reach the people. They want to hear `Baby I love you,' `I'll never choose another.' That whole lifestyle, the family, the husband, the wife, the kids, staying together, is what I promote." With a look, Mr. Green lets on that he's done. He adds one last point.
"I was having to answer a question for the churches. They said to me, `Well, Reverend? How should we receive this secular album that you've put out here?' I would say everybody in this room got here some kind of way and it wasn't all just holding hands."
Indeed.
Posted by MarcV, 4:17 PM link
Friday Five
It's been awhile, but here we go again with Friday's forty per-cent five.
1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.
- Get out of the faith funk that's holding me down.
- Have Mastercard monster under $(hmmm)
2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.
- Tim
- Glenn
3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.
- Learn solid business practices to run my own.
- Edit and produce digital videos on the computer.
4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).
- Legally change my name to Spud Q. Tater.
- Bleach my skin and get six nose jobs (just kidding, hee hee hee).
- Buy domains and pay for hosting space for all of my blogging buddies (and you know who you are!).
- Visit the Holy Land and the Azores by taking a 4 week ocean cruise.
- Add a large room to my house and make it a rain forest atrium with a skylight and a bunch of different birds flying around and a bunny that I would call George and I would hug him and pet him ... (oops, better stop before I go overboard!)
5. List five things you do that help you relax.
- Blog
- Surf the Web
Posted by MarcV, 3:12 PM link
Good read from John J. Miller on Dr. Seuss on National Review Online today. I just read "Cat In The Hat" to Li'l Spud a few nights ago, and didn't realize the ending was as "subversive" as it appears. As a parent reading I see the mess that was made and the expected kid's response (I didn't do it!), before the Cat cleaned up his act. I'm not sure how my youngster perceived the ending - maybe I'll ask him, if he's able to explain it.
I doubt we go see the movie, though. Based on the commercials and previews, they seemed to have taken the innocent fun out of it and made it more "appealing" to teenagers, the target audience that makes or breaks movies. I'm not a big Mike Myers fan either, so missing it is no big deal. Mr. Miller's article does make a case for Seuss's liberal universe, and I had noticed that some of his books could be subtle manifestos for the environmental cause. Guess I'll need to be more careful about explaining the messages that the youngster gets from the books.
Posted by MarcV, 9:18 AM link
November 20, 2003
More on the health care bill - the Wall St. Journal weighs in on an editorial atOpinionJournal. They fill in some information gaps on future implications of the bill. For those who do not want to read the whole thing (it's not that long and it has some good points), I'll reproduce the last section below:
Do Republicans really want to gamble on committing the country to an unending drug entitlement in the hopes they'll control Washington long enough to midwife these private plans into the foundation for future reforms? Especially when that entitlement doesn't meet a pressing need?
As Congressmen are by now well aware, 75% of Medicare beneficiaries already have some kind of drug coverage. That's why they have devoted about a fifth of the resources in their bill toward bribing employers not to drop the benefit. An estimate from the National Center for Policy Analysis suggests that only one of every 16 dollars spent in this bill would go toward purchasing drugs seniors otherwise would not have had. The rest simply displaces spending by the private sector and state Medicaid programs. We wonder how many seniors will thank Republicans when they learn that their new Medicare benefit is worse than their current one.
Reluctant Congressmen also needn't be swayed by White House arguments that this bill is their only chance to do something before November 2004. They could easily regroup to pass a low-income subsidy, drug discount card and Medicare Plus Choice stabilization. If polls indicating senior unhappiness with the proposed drug benefit are accurate, that may in fact be the politically savvy thing to do.
We recognize that the U.S. is in a political race on health care, between liberal Democrats who want to socialize the system in stages and those of us who want to introduce market forces and more individual choice. One test of any specific proposal, therefore, is whether it moves in the market direction.
We had hopes that a GOP Medicare reform might do so, but this bill's fine print reveals that short-term politics has overwhelmed the policy. Republicans are offering the certainty of trillions in new entitlements in return for the mere promise of future reform, and that's too expensive a gamble for principled conservatives to support.
We need reform, not add on. I hope we can continue the low-income subsidy, and keep pushing the rest towards a market force solution.
Posted by MarcV, 11:11 AM link
November 19, 2003
Clay Mania
I'm a few weeks late on this story, but I just saw something about it and had to post. Memorabilia for Clay Aiken, that second place American Idol who seems to be first in everyone's hearts, is now a money maker for a few folks who happen to have what the market craves.
From old yearbooks to videos of Clay dressed as Santa and singing Christmas tunes, raiding your Raleigh attic is turning dusty, forgotten keepsakes into bountiful booty.
Take Marc Cram [Now what kind of momma gives their baby a palindrome name?]. His stash of Aiken memorabilia has netted him enough to make a mortgage payment. A certified financial planner in Durham, Cram found some old videotapes he made in the late '90s of variety shows in Garner, where Aiken performed. He edited out everything not related to the Raleigh-born heartthrob, made copies and put them on eBay, an Internet auction site.
The first one sold for $180. "It's like printing money," said Cram, who has sold about 30 of the videos.
Yes, that's $5400, minus production costs (oh, about $100). Pretty tidy profit, and poor Clay doesn't get a dime from it. Hope he's saving his pennies, when he'll probably fade into entertainment obscurity (or dinner theaters) after the next round of American Idols hits the tube. Speaking of which, here's a plug for an early holiday "treat":
AMERICAN IDOL winners Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard, along with contestants from the previous two seasons of the FOX hit television show AMERICAN IDOL will be performing classic holiday songs for a one-hour Christmas special AN AMERICAN IDOL CHRISTMAS airing Tuesday, November 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Don't worry, Clay will be on there too.
Posted by MarcV, 11:02 AM link
Compassionate Giveaway
I have wanted to post on this sooner, but internal brain wrestling kept me from wrapping any conclusions around this, this being the health bill that seems to be near enactment. I had a difference of opinion with Mark Byron, where he would like to see senior citizen's drugs subsidized, while I have a difficult time with expanding another federal welfare program to the tune of $400B+ and who knows how much in the future. While I can understand the need for a national Medicare system, the libertarian part of me wants the feds out of social programs.
That includes education, welfare, social security, housing, after-school programs, and anything else that a state governement or local communities should be responsible, per the Constitution. If states were only responsible for Medicare, then the "retirement" states (i.e. Florida, Arizona) would be under an undue hardship because of people who had lived further north deciding to move to a warmer state. So I will begrudingly accept a national Medicare program. I would still like to see more emphasis on the private sector and market competition included in the bill. Only the private sector can bring marketplace efficiencies into play and give the lowest cost.
"Charities" in the hands of the federal government end up being profit centers for bureaucrats, manipulated by special interests, and an inefficient use of taxpayer money. Scrappleface had an interesting take on the Medicare bill:
A compromise Medicare bill moving through Congress would demonstrate President Bush's "compassionate conservatism" by giving billions of dollars to the neediest among us -- physicians, pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers.
"We're moved by mercy and compassion," said an unnamed Republican Congressman. "Have you ever looked into the eyes of an executive who has just learned that he's lost five percent of his incentive bonus because competitive market pressures forced price reductions?"
There are senior citizens who need help getting the proper medications. I don't know how this Medicare bill will eventually play out, but we need to be on guard for any more of a swing towards national health care. I read an article last week in the Wall St. Journal (need a subscription!), explaining how some doctors are setting up practices on a cash-only basis. Without the headache of insurance processing, the doctors are able to charge much lower rates and spend more time with their patients. Instead of 3 or 4 office assistants, they can get by with just one.
If we as a society can get to the point of paying for regular medical expenses and save insurance for the catastrophes, then we can stop this incredible ramp-up of medical costs and allow marketplace competition to deliver the best services at the lowest prices. Would a $500 (or even $1000) deductible be that much of a burden on most people, if it gets them lower insurance costs and stops the soaring healthcare costs?
Posted by MarcV, 11:02 AM link
Blogger has a good post (yes, difficult to believe) on how not to get fired because of your blog. They had some good chucklers in there:
Blogging off the Company Pier
We understand that you can’t work all day. In fact, a healthy dose of intellectual distraction is necessary for productivity. Theoretically. For all we know, there may even be statistics that prove two hours of actual work per day is enough to keep the world running smoothly. In any case, a traditional boss will want to see you working when they visit your cube, not blogging.
Hopefully most people work with a boss that will at least give you a warning so that you can modify any "aberrant" behavior, but some bosses are just looking for any opening so you have to stay on your toes. The two hours sounds about right, if you really condensed the day down. So how do you know if you have a problem?
Do you blog at work? Do you check your referrer logs and surf the blogosphere all day from your office?
All day? Well, that might be pushing it. Is it a bad day at work when you can't manage any significant blogging breaks, especially when you may have some juicy topics to expound upon? Oh yeah. If I'm getting my job done and finding new ways for the company to save money, then occasional dips into the blogosphere should not be that big of a deal. Blogger does give some tips on changing your posting date and time, but if your company's Internet connection goes through any type of firewall/security, then they can easily see what sites you visit and when you click. It's just like anything else on the job: keep your bosses happy and they will not put the hammer down on some of the "grey" areas.
Posted by MarcV, 9:21 AM link
Referral Log Fun
- Goggle gave me a #4 ranking on marlin monroe abortions. This seemed kinda "fishy" at first, but it turns out that this originated from a Polish Google site, so they may have had a little trouble with the first name. I will say that I am against abortions for celebrities and just about anyone else.
- I hope whoever was looking for this, God give me an answer I am rudderless finds what they are looking for. At least they started in the right direction, so maybe they're not as rudderless as they think they are.
- For the person looking for hairlock extensions: I would recommend glue, since messing around with keys to lock and unlock hair tends to be quite cumbersome.
- Someone thought enough of me to check out "home field advantage" debunked. While sleeping in your own bed can have its advantages, you still end up playing on the same field with the same set of ref eyes making the calls. You do have a matter of pride to consider when defending your home field, though.
Posted by MarcV, 9:04 AM link
November 18, 2003
Had an interesting time at supper last night. We had steamed broccoli, and as 5 year olds are wont to do, Li'l Tater crammed some in his mouth and tried to swallow some stems without chewing them. Yes, we are always reminding him about not stuffing his mouth and chewing well before swallowing. They got stuck in his throat and he couldn't breathe. Lady Spud started to panic. I got up and went towards him.
It felt like things were going in slow motion, and I can distinctly remember myself stepping back from the situation to "assess" what was going on. You'd think I would join in the panic, but I did not want to hurry and do something wrong. My first inclination was to slap his back, but I remembered the Red Cross training and that they recommend not doing that unless he's upside down. I pushed near the top of his stomach while standing at his side. I waited a second or two and was going to get behind him for the Heimlich maneuver, when the stalks finally came out (THANK YOU LORD).
I did not want to do the Heimlich because I was afraid of breaking his ribs, so I'm glad it did not get to that point. His mom said something about him learning things the hard way. As scary as it was for him, it was more so for us. Afterwards, she made up a new plate for him including more broccoli, and believe it or not he still ate the broccoli. After an ordeal like that you would think that he would have lost his taste for it, but he likes broccoli.
Posted by MarcV, 4:20 PM link
Tech Tues
Ripped from the pages of a recent edition of Time magazine, some suggestions for the hard-to-shop for person on your list:
- Do you have one of those commutes that take a long time due to driving on a bridge over a river or other body of water? Try driving one of these, an amphicar rated at 100 mph land, +30 mph water, and water barriers will be a thing of the past. This ragtop will only set you back about $250K. Not only can you fish from it but you don't have to worry about stowing the boat trailer! "A vehicle that will transform your life." (and your pocketbook!) The website has a neat video clip showing the amphicar in action.
- In case you want to take a dip while taking out your amphicar, try a swimsuit made of Salmon Skin Leather (Haute Couture fashion garments). Salmon skin had in the past been thrown in the scrap pile destined for cat food, but now you can wear it. These handmade garments go for $335 and up. (WARNING: Website link shows women in bikinis.)
- If you're worried about someone attacking you after seeing you in one of those bikinis, try wearing a personal-defense technology coat. They are designed to deliver 80,000 volts from a 9 volt battery to whoever happens to grab you. They are supposedly fully insultated so the wearer does not feel a thing (besides relief at thwarting a "masher"). I don't know if I would want to sweat in it and then set the coat to stun. Currently the developers are still working on a prototype, but maybe they'll be on sale next year.
[NOTE: I don't ordinarily bother reading Time because of their arch-liberal slant, but these were some interesting items.]
Posted by MarcV, 4:01 PM link
November 17, 2003
Heard most of the first hour of Rush Limbaugh's return today. Nothing earth-shattering, but it was good to hear the call for less playing nice with the liberals and more standing up for conservative beliefs. Funny to contrast that with some of the junk that went on last week over at Mark Byron's, as well as the comment I left at Little A's this morning. More grace, less hate, keep striving for good ...
I listened to Rush as I was driving to the dump for lunch. On Friday night we (Lady Spud and I) had loaded up the truck with an old riding mower that had been dead a few years (and I could not bring back to life) and the old water heater that I had to replace a few weeks ago. I headed for the dump Saturday morning bright and early, ready to relieve myself of this "load" when I was met at the gate. "Dump's closed, they're repaving. It'll be open on Monday morning." Swell (grumble grumble). All I could do was turn around and head back home. When I turned the radio back on they were playing "He's an On Time God, Yes He Is". So I figured He wanted me to keep my truck loaded and parked in the driveway all weekend. Worked out OK, so who am I to question?
He may not come when you want Him,
But He'll be there right on time.
He's on time God, yes He is!
Posted by MarcV, 1:54 PM link
For an eye-opener on what people believe, check out Dave Shifflet over at the OpinionJournal - Taste section for his take on a nationwide poll concerning heaven and hell. Here's a taste:
... Barna surveys found that 26% of born-agains believe it doesn't matter what faith a person has because religions teach pretty much the same thing...
Besides rejecting the notion that Christianity is the only way to heaven, a large portion of born-agains (35%) do not believe that Jesus experienced a physical resurrection, according to Barna surveys. A majority (52%) reject the existence of the Holy Spirit as a living entity, and 45% deny Satan's existence. In the meantime, 33% accept the concept of same-sex unions, 10% believe in reincarnation and 29% think it's possible to communicate with the dead, a belief shared by a third of the population, which is very good news for the séance industry, if not for the keepers of the orthodox flame.
Yikes!! The fields may be ripe for harvest, but it sounds like there might be some bad seed out there.
Posted by MarcV, 1:34 PM link
November 16, 2003
TGOJ-TF
Lady Spud and I went on one of those rare date nights yesterday and took in a movie (at prime-time ticket prices). The Gospel of John the film turned out to be very good, even taking into account its length (3 hours). A ten minute intermission would have been nice for a leg stretch, but I guess that would have made the experience even longer. They use the Good News translation, literally reading it and taking the dialogue from that version.
- Be sure to crunch your popcorn or open your cellophane candy wrappers before the film, because it almost felt sacreligious to make noise during the film, particularly when Jesus was talking.
- If you occasionally fall asleep during your pastor's sermons, you'll probably do the same during the film, especially when Jesus has a long speech/testimony. I tried my best, but Lady Spud had to elbow me once as I began a brief snore. Watching it at night and having worked on chores during the day did not help.
- This is not a "must see on the big screen" yet would be a good DVD to own. This film should be an excellent resource for new believers, and maybe even for the unsaved.
Favorite parts: Samaritan woman at the well (really made that story come to life seeing it portrayed), Jesus walking on the water (just enough special effects to make it believable, yet you still kept your focus on the story and not so much on the effects), breathing the Holy Spirit on the Apostles post-resurrection (hallelujah!). Whenever Jesus was in a crowd and the people knew who He was, they would make the effort to reach out and touch Him and He welcomed them - I liked seeing that. The rest of the film had great moments as well. These just stood out for me.
I'm a little surprised that ADL/Jewish groups did not make a peep about of this film when they're crying about the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion". I heard that TGOJ was made by Jews. It stayed true to the portrayal in the Gospel where the Pharisees insisted on Jesus' death, showing them rallying the public for execution when Pilate brought Jesus out. The portrayal of Pilate (Stephen Russell) was excellent, and the film went to great pains showing his reluctance to crucify Jesus, almost to the point where you wondered if he feared the consequences of executing Jesus.
For the more mature believers, watching this with an open mind is important, because you can spend the time nitpicking on things that should or should not be in the film and miss the big picture. It's probably a good idea to read the book (whatever translation) before watching the film, but not absolutely necessary, or maybe just read the book afterwards to help remind you of scenes from the film. I did not read it before, and found myself wondering if things were missing. With that said, some "criticisms":
- Jesus was never shown hugging anybody. Maybe that was intentional, since hugs can take longer and increase the time of the film. Many Christians look forward to the time of feeling His embrace and spending eternity with Him, and it was odd not to see Him hugging.
- The actor playing Jesus had a slight British accent, while the rest of the cast was neutral American. His accent reminded me of Alec Guiness (Obe Wan Kenobe). Christopher Plummer narrated the film yet did not have as strong an accent.
- The reinstatement of Peter by the lakeside at the end was disappointing, but there was not too much that the filmmakers could do. The Greek language has at least 5 different words for "love", while our American/English usage covers the gamut from casually liking something to unconditional love (agape). When Jesus was asking Peter if he loved (agape) Him, Peter could only come up to brotherly (philo) love. I also did not get the sense of "squirm" that Peter would have been feeling knowing that he disavowed the Lord three times after he said he would not, and having to face Jesus knowing that He knew what happened.
This film has helped my anticipation for "The Passion", but that will be another three months. The Greatest Story Ever Told can be The Greatest Challenge for a filmmaker, but the film was well done. Seeing the Gospel stories come alive was a blessing.
Posted by MarcV, 8:48 PM link
November 14, 2003
Woo hoo! Just got my e-mail - got yours yet(?), or are you not one of the "select" VIP's that gets an offer like this:
We would like to take this opportunity to offer you our fine selection
of Italian crafted Rolex Timepieces.
You can view our large selection of Rolexes (including Breitling, Tag
Heuer, Cartier etc) at:
Nope, I'm not going to give the link, and you can't make me! What a sweet deal, Rolexes for $65. Oh wait a second, that's "Italian" crafted Rolex. Is that like a Hungarian crafted Volvo? Or a Moroccan made Burberry raincoat? Sounds like the kind of thing you can find from a street vendor in any large metropolitan area ... never mind.
Posted by MarcV, 4:03 PM link
Intellectual Pentecostal
As "oxymoronic" as intellectual evangelical sounds, how about intellectual pentecostal? Since posting about that Wednesday, I've wrestled with the reason why pentecostals are automatically not perceived to be intellectual, even by Christian brethren in the more mainline denominations. I have come up with four areas that influence how an evangelical is stereotyped in order to be accepted as "intellectual":
- In and not Of the world
- This was the main cause for the rise of evangelical/fundamentalist churches over a hundred years ago. Worldly influences were infiltrating the church and diluting the gospel message, where people made the gospel fit the world rather than people changing to fit the gospel. By not changing to fit the world, evangelicals will reject the carnal and rely on the spiritual.
- Bible only source
- A common doctrine for evangelicals is Biblical sufficiency, that the Bible has all that is needed to manage lives, and nothing needs to be added to the Bible. This obviously goes against intellectual doctrine of seeking new knowledge and discovery.
- Faith vs. evidence
- Evangelicals walk by faith and not by sight. Not many things (if anything) in life are truly 100% proven, so an evangelical will leave the unproven to faith, while the intellectual is satisfied to either fill in the gaps with his own "hunches" and/or continue to investigate.
- Anticipation of Heaven
- Evangelicals have a clear goal of Heaven and what it takes to get there, so that things of this world have less importance to them. Should we get more excited about preparing to meet Jesus, or going into detail on how fascism influenced Saddam Hussein and the Fedayeen structure?
Perhaps the perception of priority for an evangelical is what influences their acceptance by secular intellectuals. You also have the fear of proselytizing working against the evangelical. In all of the above the evangelical has his focus on submission to God, surrendering his will for the Lord's, acknowledging His higher power, and the tendency to leave something unexplained as a "mystery of God". The secular viewpoint is that everything can eventually be explained, man is the center of his universe, and life just "happens". That can be a difficult bridge for evangelicals to cross.
What makes a pentecostal's acceptance as an intellectual even more difficult? It is reliance on the Holy Spirit and the "out of this world" gifts of the Spirit that seem anti-intellectual. How do you explain speaking in tongues, interpretations and miracle healings to a secular intellectual? Or even some non-Spirit filled believers? The questions becomes: can the pentecostal believer reconcile a Spirit-filled life and pursue intellectual knowledge? I believe that God has gifted us with sound minds, that the mature believer can rely on the Holy Spirit to discern truth and when particular subjects can harm your faith.
Another difficulty for the intellectual pentecostal can be straddling the secular intellectual world with the church family. Many people in the church are content with Bible study, concentrating on determining God's will and knowing enough about the world to function and survive in it without letting the world pollute themselves. There's nothing wrong with that, and praise God that they are obedient to His Word. You can hope that they will be accommodating to someone who digs deeper into intellectual pursuits, some that may not even appear to be righteous, in order that more of God's wisdom can be learned and communicated to others, and that He will ultimately get the glory.
Where does a Pentecostal start? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Can I walk with the Lord and still seek intellectual pursuits? Seek first the kingdom of God. The Lord wants our priorities to be straight and true, and He gives us the freedom to use our talents to worship Him and help others. This freedom has "percolated" through the world in the last five to six centuries, getting us to the point where we are at today.
Western civilization has tapped the freedom "drive" of individuals, given to us by God, to advance our culture and make living easier. Tremendous discoveries are made at a breathtaking rate. Information and communication have advanced to the point of overload, where knowing how to get information can be more important than knowing the information. Do we need to live the simple life of a monk? No, but you can if you want. Can we seek knowledge for its own sake? Yes, if we keep our eyes on Jesus.
Posted by MarcV, 4:01 PM link
Good day at National Review Online: Goldberg, Nordlinger and yesterday's piece by Frum are all listed, as well as another excerpt from Victor Davis Hanson's new book. If you have the time, NRO has split up the intro to VDH's recent book on war, with the last of the 4 parts posted today. All good stuff.
Posted by MarcV, 9:34 AM link
Introvert Networking
For you shy folks out there, and the blogosphere is full of 'em, the 1 Man IT-Dept. gave a link (from someone else's link) on how to network even if you are a wallflower. She gives a five step plan, and the last one is a goodie, something that I had not considered but seems worthy:
Send New Year's cards.
Sending cards at year-end is tantamount to saying, "You're someone I care about." So send cards generously. If you can, include a short note to each person. Sure, it's a struggle to find things to say, but since it's early November, you have two months to think. Write a few cards each day, and when you're stuck for words, remember the key to good networking: Be interested in other people and talk about yourself in interesting ways.
Rather than a Christmas card, that could be viewed as too personal, a New Year's card can simply be: Had a great year, hope you did too - looking forward to a great 2004 [then briefly personalize]. You can print them out on the computer, showing that you have some computer skills, and make them look more business-like rather than "holidayish". Now all I (and you) have to do is figure out who to send them to! Even if you're not in heavy job-search mode, a network is something that has to be continually fed and cultivated, or it will whither and die, not available at the time when you most need it.
Posted by MarcV, 8:51 AM link
November 13, 2003
Saw this over at NRO's Corner on the Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel. "NBC is partnering with writer David Seltzer (The Omen) and producer Gavin Polone to develop a six-to-eight-hour limited series based on the apocalypse as foretold in the Book of Revelation..." Oh my, wonder how it will end? I'll bet the part with the white horse and condemned sinners will be neatly excised out. "... the series will follow two central characters, a physicist and a nun, who are racing against the clock to see if the apocalypse can be averted." Looks like they missed the rapture, or perhaps that will also be neatly excised out. There's also rumors about an "Antichrist character", but no truth to the rumor that he would be portrayed by a former governor of Arkansas.
Posted by MarcV, 9:26 AM link
November 12, 2003
Overload
I have found these two ideas from two different sources, yet they somehow coordinate. In the Wall St. Journal, 11/10/03 (not available online), is a description of "surfers voice":
On one end of the phone is an annoyed colleague or family member discussing an important topic. On the other end, a party puts on a meager sountrack of knowing participation: "OK ... uh-hum ... right ... OK." It is punctuated with surreptitious tapping of a keyboard.
Show of hands, how many of you are guilty of this?!? Every once in awhile I may sneak some surfing in when someone calls at the office. I wonder if they hear the keyboard/mouse clicking on the other end? I can always explain it away as work related (ha ha). May as well put the time to good use (hee hee).
Prof. Levy [U of Wash.] sees "surfer voice" as more than a technology issue. He says the distraction is the result of the failing of a culture that rewards mindless information saturation. He engages in daily meditation sessions to help clear out the cobwebs, but admits he, too, is addicted to the information that floods into this PC and on his Web browser [sounds like a blogger candidate to me].
"The funny thing is, I check my e-mail before I meditate," he says via cellphone.
My job title is MIS Specialist, and now I can say with confidence what the MIS stands for: Mindless Information Saturation. And I get paid for it too!
The next one is from a long article about "intellectual evangelicals" (NO, that is not an oxymoron!) and how some colleges are starting to make a name for themselves, such as Wheaton College and Fuller Theological Seminary. In describing the strengths of evangelicalism, the author Alan Wolfe had this to say:
Still, the democratic character of early evangelicalism has its contemporary counterparts. In contrast to Sloan, the evangelical scholars with whom I have spoken are democratic to a fault. They tend to see good in nearly everyone. Ruthless meritocracy is as foreign to their sensibility as it is to that of their counterparts in liberal secular academies. Hierarchies make them uncomfortable. Hating to see anyone hurt, they do not like rejecting younger people for tenure. Wanting to ensure that everyone succeeds, they spawn a multiplicity of journals and publishing houses so that anyone can publish anything. They are as insistent on multicultural diversity as any good leftist. Evangelicals have created institutions as sensitive and caring as any in America. The downside of all this is that evangelicals sometimes find themselves with no adequate way of distinguishing between ideas that are pathbreaking and those that are gibberish.
It's a big big house, and evangelicals have a heart for bringing in as many as possible. I feel the same type of spirit in the blogosphere, where folks come and go and are usually friendly and accommodating. Everyone's complaint seems to be 'so many blogs, so little time', as well as not having time for posts on your own site. In the blogosphere, anyone can publish anything, but the downside is finding the stuff that interests you and that is well written.
We all can feel overloaded from time to time, keeping up with your "posse" of daily reads and trying to post to your own site, as well as those other demands of family/work/friends. More people joining in the blogosphere can seem overwhelming, but I'd hate to think of the alternative. I need to keep my eyes open for new bloggers and not get in a rut of the same ol', same ol'. Not that there's anything wrong with that ...
Posted by MarcV, 4:21 PM link
November 11, 2003
Purpose Driven
That book, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, made a mention over at FoxNews. Lady Spud is going through it now with her Women's Wed. night group, and she is really enjoying it. From the article:
The book is reaching people seeking a higher purpose, while also offering Christians a new understanding and relevance for their faith, according to Rick Stillwell, pastor of Fairview Baptist Church near Shawnee, Okla., whose parish is participating in the Purpose-Driven campaign. “One of the greatest challenges we face is showing the relevance of God to our lives today,” said Stillwell. “'The Purpose-Driven Life' is not a fad. Although it’s very professional and organized, it’s still transforming lives."
However, Kenda Creasy Dean, an assistant professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, views the campaign mostly as savvy marketing by the book’s publisher, Zondervan. “This book is designed to help church leaders lead the life they preach about, but the danger is that there is no one-size-fits-all method of spiritual formation,” she said.
There's no doubt that "The Purpose-Driven Life” has touched a nerve. The book has sold over 8 million copies since it came out in October 2002. When it was released, the publisher launched the first “40 Days of Purpose” campaign in which 1,500 churches participated. This year, the campaign was re-launched and more than twice as many churches signed up. Churches officially participating in the campaign paid a registration fee from $750 to $1,150, depending on the size of the church, which included a resource kit of sermon outlines, videos, group curricula and promotional materials.
There's a part of me that wants to agree with Princeton's Dean, that we would get a lowest common denominator "experience" and miss out on part of God's glory for us. There is one size that fits all, though, and it is the Holy Spirit (hallelujah!) who was made to fit each one of us with His power and love. I am encouraged that this book and study are drawing people closer to God, and that people across denominational lines have something that they can use as a foundation to bridge gaps (ecumenical?).
Stillwell’s parish is also experiencing growth as a result of the Purpose-Driven campaign. “We’re seeing people of those hard-to-reach ages coming and taking a new approach to things they might have been turned off by before,” said Stillwell.
Dean said “The Purpose-Driven Life” has essentially given churches strategy for reaching parishioners who have become disenchanted. In the last half of the 20th century, she said, churches have become more like corporations, and in the process "have lost their soul." "The truth is that many churches are so rudderless that any intentional plan or sense of direction is an improvement, which is partly why Rick Warren's "Purpose-Driven" language is so appealing," she said. And despite its appeal, Dean said the book's message is not new. “It’s really just back to the basic biblical principals,” she said.
Whatever the reason for its popularity, Stillwell contends that the campaign and the book are having a positive effect merely by bringing parishes together again. “People for the first time in decades are recognizing church as a community of people.”
Glory to God and amen. A church is not just a building, it's the people inside who should have a common cause, worshipping Jesus and celebrating His presence in our lives. Nearly ten years ago I participated in a Sunday school class utilizing a workbook that was the popular study back then, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God by Blackaby and King, and it helped not only to give me some "logic" behind faith (needed by a skeptical scientist) but to hear the testimonies and have faith modeled by other mature believers. I hope others are blessed in a similar way with the Warren book.
Posted by MarcV, 9:13 AM link
November 10, 2003
Weekend Wrap-Up
Oh, poor little neglected blog. Is it just me or do alot of bloggers seem busy and not posting much? May this week be a fruitful posting week! Quiet weekend, but here goes anyhow:
- The local BigLots had a 30% off everything because they are moving to a bigger store down the street. I found some frames for more pictures of Li'l Tater and wife work-display, and a potential replacement coffee mug for the one I broke a few months ago (sigh). The youngster found a whoopee cushion early on, and decided to "serenade" the store the rest of the time. Ordinarily $0.99, down to 0.69 - what a bargain! It would not have been so bad, but we ran into our Pastor's wife. She suggested that he bring it to children's church (I don't think so).
- Rainy morning did not allow for outdoor work. Oh the disappointment!?! (Not)
- Watched the Professional Bull Riding over the weekend. I can't imagine how you can do that and not permanently damage your back. I had to chuckle when one of the announcers was getting excited over the bulls they ride (some worth over $100K) and called them "animal athletes". I wonder if some animals get together and name their teams after humans?
Also caught the "Saving Jessica Lynch" movie of the week last night. It was OK, but it never captured that "American Pride" moment during the rescue that I was expecting. I was surprised at the lack of resistance at the hospital once the Rangers landed. You would have expected a few Fedayeen to be left behind. They really did not feature her so much as the Iraqi lawyer who gave the Army the information needed to rescue her. At least Hollywood is starting to break ground and portray bad Arabs in a movie. Ms. Lynch's interview with Dianne Sawyer will be shown tomorrow night. Click on the link to read the highlights and save yourself an hour of Sawyer.
Posted by MarcV, 4:54 PM link
November 07, 2003
If you want a great but short overview of the rise of the pro-life movement in the Republican party, go forth and read American Conservatism - "How A Cause Was Born" from Fred Barnes. Difficult to believe that Republicans back about 30 years ago just turned their heads to the slaughter of innocents. I can understand it from a libertarian/small government viewpoint, but I'm glad that Republicans took the issue and ran with it.
Posted by MarcV, 8:00 AM link
Slow posting the last few days. Extra buzy-ness at work has limited free time, and the combination of extra physical labor and 80+ degree days has had me dozing by 10 pm the last few nights. I feel like I'm under farmer hours, since I wake up before 5 am. My corporate boss is in today, so I doubt that I'll be able to post much. At least there's a free lunch out of it!
Li'l Tater lost his first tooth 2 days ago, and it was fun to see him so excited. His main worry was that nobody would be able to recognize him. He did find a dollar under his pillow yesterday morning, and used that, along with some other money, to buy a StarWars sword. He made sure to show off his "gap" to everyone he met yesterday. He has another loose one next to the gap, so you know what kind of Christmas he is in store for!
With all of the excitement wearing him out, he did snuggle with me after supper last night and napped while I held him. It has been many months since I have had that privilege. I didn't even mind the drool spot on my shirt. Difficult to describe the joy and pride in watching grow a little more each day, tinged with a little wistfulness at missing the toddler/baby whom I could easily hold in my arms. He calls me Dad (sometimes as he rolls his eyes!) and I'm grateful for every day I get to hear that.
Posted by MarcV, 7:11 AM link
Mean Dean
Charles Krauthammer over at the WaPo has a wrap-up on the Dean mess, and he makes some interesting observations. He showed how Dean was backpedaling, trying to cover his you-know-what while not apologizing for his "redneck with pick-up trucks and rebel flags" remark:
Constrained by the ruling Democratic dogma that everyone, even your rebel-yelling racist redneck, is a victim, Dean absolved these yahoos of responsibility by explaining that responsibility lies with those nasty Republicans who taught them their racism: "I think there are [a] lot of poor people who fly that flag because the Republicans have been dividing us by race since 1968 with their southern race strategy."
[If there has ever been a party that has been "dividing us by race" it is the Democrats.]
And to show how ecumenical is his belief in outreach, he cited the fact that Jesse Jackson had just last week visited a trailer park full of white, um, folks: "We need to reach out to those people, too." Those people? All this proved a bit much for John Edwards, whose knowledge of the South is firsthand and not anthropological. Edwards, who grew up white, working class and southern, made the devastatingly correct observation that Dean's problem is not racism but condescension.
[Hunh, fancy that, a Yankee talking to down to Southerners!]
Edwards is too politic to say it, but it's not hard to read the subtext of his rejoinder -- that this snob from New England thinks we Southerners are the kind of trash James Carville once said (of Paula Jones) you find by dragging a $100 bill through a trailer park. You could almost hear Edwards saying: Vote for me, another Southerner like Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- winners both -- rather than another effete Northerner, this one from the mean streets of Montpelier.
It's hard to believe that Dean is the front runner for this "crew". I don't know if it's because of Dean's talents or lack of talents with the rest of the candidates. I have heard rumblings from Republican leaders about the threat that Dean could be for Pres. Bush's re-election, I just have a difficult time seeing it. With the economy blossoming, look for more attacks on the President's handling of Iraq.
Posted by MarcV, 7:06 AM link
November 06, 2003
Nomad
An interesting display system has been brought to market. The Microvision Nomad "superimposes high-contrast, high-resolution images on the user’s view of the surrounding environment" with a small screen (about 1" x 1") attached to a fist-sized unit that is worn on the head. The screen is clear, yet is used to display images in red. The screen is positioned a few inches in front of one eye, and gives a field of view equivalent to a 17" monitor.
The projected image overlays information from any computer source into your view. Doctors and mechanics are already using these to help guide them through their work. This will also be useful for pilots, in that they can see flight conditions without having to look away from their flight path. The display retails for $7000, not exactly a toy but could be justified for people who need information while they are working and can't afford to look away to get that information. No, this is not a commercial, but something that's very interesting.
Fogscreen
While we're on the "vision thing", here's another interesting product that you may see in the coming months. The Fogscreen uses a water-mist generated by an ultrasonic disperser as a screen for displaying images:
The FogScreen is a suspensible device that creates a thin, smooth fog surface almost instantly when it is switched on. It can be used for image projection just like a conventional screen. FogScreen is, however, a screen you can walk through! The fog, made of ordinary water with no chemicals whatsoever, dissolves in seconds by itself, leaving no trace behind when you switch it off.
The FogScreen is silent and non-breakable, which enables safe gaming, exercise or training, and allows non-supervised public presentations. It also enables the audience to enter and exit rapidly through the walls into virtual environments, which can even be sequential. Mixed reality and immersive projection technology could use CAVE-like virtual rooms with fog walls, making them effectively “virtual virtual rooms”.
Fogscreen Inc., based out of Finland, expects to have larger volumes of the product available next year. Here is a link to a WMV video. It's basically a fog curtain about 5' wide and 4' high that can be used to display an image. Since it uses fog, the bottom of the image does "wave" around. This could be the next big corporate toy, where companies will use this in reception areas to advertise their product. You can't help but notice it as you walk through it! "We are continuing the development of FogScreen. The next generation of FogScreen will be interactive and will behave like touch screens." Fascinating.
Posted by MarcV, 6:57 AM link
November 05, 2003
It's junk like this that can really make your blood boil: Judge Issues Abortion Law Injunction
A federal judge blocked implementation of a federal ban on partial-birth abortions Wednesday less than an hour after President Bush signed the ban into law. U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf issued a temporary restraining order citing concerns that the law did not contain an exception for preserserving (sic) the health of the woman seeking the abortion.
I'm not sure what "preserserving" means or the intent of the judge, but from what I have seen this issue had been addressed in the bill. These idiotic activist judges are taking democracy out of this land. The only way I can see of stemming the tide of this activism is with a Constitutional amendment, but then they would probably try to rule against that too.
I don't get too worked up about displaying the 10 Commandments or whether God is mentioned in the Pledge of Allegiance, but this is a matter of life and death. How much longer do we let people slide by and say "Ooops, didn't mean to get pregnant - just kill the baby"? Either this society will treasure life or we will continue to slip into the abyss of death. 30 million babies did not get a chance to breathe because of the judicial process - how many more?
Posted by MarcV, 3:39 PM link
Everything you wanted to know about The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act -- Misconceptions and Realities can be had at this link. I started to read it, but had trouble concentrating on it when sadness and grief overwhelmed me at the thought of a precious baby being butchered by selfish people. The article did say that at least 2000 of these procedures are likely done each year, and that only a very small fraction are performed to save the life of the mother. The ban that Congress recently passed has always contained a clause that allows for this procedure in case of the mother's health is at dire risk. [link from NRO's Corner]
Posted by MarcV, 9:22 AM link
November 04, 2003
Tech Tues
- From Wired, now that candy-day is over, this may interest you if you have a sweet tooth. "It's got full flavor at one-third the calories. It's safe for teeth and diabetics. And it's all-natural. The long, strange search for the ultimate sugar substitute." It has a brief history on other sugar substitutes, and the problems that the inventor had trying to bring tagatose to market. It's already in Pepsi's Diet Slurpees at the 7-11, and you may be seeing much more of it over the next few months. The article also has some interesting descriptions of biochemistry, if that sort of thing excites you.
- Also in Wired, an article/interview with Linus Torvalds, the "benevolent dictator of Planet Linux". Many others have predicted the takeover of the personal computer by Linux, and I think it will be much more evident in 2004, particularly when the mess with the SCO/IBM lawsuit is resolved.
- Can you believe that you can now buy a DVD burner for under $100? Or a 120 GB hard drive? Or a 17" CRT monitor? Just incredible.
Posted by MarcV, 12:25 PM link
Prayer
Over at NRO's Corner, Jonah Goldberg started an e-mail avalanche when he wondered about prayer and whether or not it made a difference that a prayer was answered depending on the number of people praying. This question came about from the petition by the parents of the girl (Smart) who was kidnapped. I saw his post about ten minutes after he published it and was tempted to give him an answer. I'm glad that I didn't, since it would have been lost in the shuffle.
He has posted several responses, and some of them have been interesting. Prayer is one of the simplest yet misunderstood acts of a believer. Prayer is our communication with God, and it should be a two-way line yet many look at prayer as petition only. Prayer is a result of our faith, the desire to serve the Lord and find out from Him what He would want us to do. One interesting response from the Corner:
Speaking of James 3:3-4, author John Piper writes: "James criticizes the motives of prayer that treats God like a cuckold: 'You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?' Why does he call these praying people 'adulteresses'? Because, even though praying, they are forsaking their husband (God) and going after a paramour (the world), and to make matters worse, they are asking their husband (in prayer) to fund the adultery." I think that sums up many of the prayers proffered to God quite nicely, and it explains why God doesn't answer.
When you align your heart with God's, then anything you ask for will be given to you. He wants to hear from every one of His children. When prayer is approached as strengthening a relationship rather than reciting a laundry list of needs, then you can reap the rewards of moving closer to God. As far as "changing" God's mind by prayer, the Bible gives some examples where that may be possible. He blesses us far beyond what we deserve, and that's as good an answer to prayer as I can hope for.
Posted by MarcV, 12:24 PM link
November 03, 2003
24 hours ago my heart was aching over the new of the downed helicopter and loss of 15 lives, and my prayers go out to the families grieving over their loss. My concern is with the public reaction to this, and the continued opposition to President Bush and his efforts for the War on Terrorism. We live in the instant gratification age and people want the US to get out of Iraq, yet the situation in Iraq is messy and will continue to be so for some time. Thank God for people like Ambassador Bremer and Sec. Rumsfeld and their leadership for guiding the progress in Iraq.
An article over at FrontPage (link from NRO's Corner) gives a first hand account of someone who participated in the invasion and initial clean-up of part of Baghdad. He believes it something much more than some Islamofascist terrorists:
We are not at war against terrorism; we are at war against an ideology. I consider this ideology to be the product of a dangerous mental disease. It is a disease that has infected millions of Arabs into believing that by destroying the enemy -- the Jew, the State of Israel, and the "Great Satan" America -- past Arab pride and glory [will] be restored. This mental illness is slowly but deliberately plunging the world into World War III.
I have heard other anecdotes similar to this, where educated Arabs will go off the deep end blaming Israel for the world's problems, claiming that the US is a puppet of the Jews. I wonder how much of this started as resentment of a small country of "squatters" who beat the best that the Arabs threw against them since 1947(?), with Israel aided by some Western technology and a firm resolve to beat the odds. If they can't beat the Jews militarily, then indoctrinate the masses into hating them.
I also wonder if somewhere in the back of their mind is the ancient fear that the god of the Jews is stronger than the god of the Muslims. Some people would try to say they have the same origins, but Jews and Muslims worship a different god. I don't know what the Western world could have done differently to stem the Arab world's hatred of Israel and Western ways, but 40+ years of indoctrination will be very difficult to overcome. Iraq can be a starting point, where the freedoms enjoyed by a country that elects their government officials, respects the right of individuals and is driven by a market economy can give hope to the huddled masses in the Mideast.
Posted by MarcV, 12:31 PM link
Weekend Wrap-Up
Oh, poor little neglected blog. I could give the standard "busy-ness" excuse about Friday, but who cares? And if you do care, here's some musings on my weekend:
- After spending 3+ hours at work Saturday morning, I did get to catch L'il Tater score two goals for his soccer team. He's showing some improvement, but still has difficulty kicking the ball hard. He would rather just dribble the ball and bull his way through a crowd. Don't know where he gets that hard head...
- More bush chopping Saturday afternoon, and we still have a little more to finish up. I did manage to cut down a small tree that was near our power line without any major mishaps, so that was a good thing. I had saved some of the work for this time of year expecting cooler temperature, but we made do with low 80's. Could be worse - could live in Fla.(yikes)!
After chopping, we went shopping. We needed pants and the local clothes outlet had a sale, so we bought some $10 pants. I crossed a threshold size that I had hoped never to consider (I'm not telling the number) yet had to go to if I was going to get something that fit. I'll look at this as a challenge rather than a defeat, and will work in the next few months to turn the (fat) ship around and get back to those pants hanging at the end of the closet that used to fit a skinnier Spud. Why did God have to make pastry so tasty?!?
- A twin bill at the Spud household finished the Saturday evening: Kangaroo Jack and Gods and Generals. KJ was OK, but I wouldn't spend more than one rental charge on it. It was a little violent for a kids film, but younger kids should be able to easily discern the bad guys. I had expected G&G to be about Gen. Robert E. Lee when instead it was about Gen. Stonewall Jackson. The movie was pretty good, and I understand why they made it 3-1/2 hours, but they could have cut about an hour from the film without too much trouble. Most of the reviewers at IMDB thought the film was boring and liked Gettysburg much better. I did like the authenticity of the filmmakers to show people expressing their faith in the things that they did.
They did go out of their way to show the stupidity of the Union military leaders, particularly the repeated charges up the hill outside of Fredericksburg. From the final "battle" of the movie (Wilderness), it's hard to believe that an army of that great of size and deep inside of the enemies territory, that they would not have sentries/guards a quarter to half mile outside of the camp as security against a surprise attack. Arrogance or stupidity? It makes you wonder how the Northern forces did eventually prevail.
- Sunday? Besides the usual routine, it was fairly quiet. Tried to watch that CBS 75th special, but it had some boring spots on it and tended to glorify the 70's and current shows over the rest of the time period. I did have to turn it off when the newscasters took over, and Dan Blather started in on how they didn't just hire journalists, they hired the "best" journalists ever (retch). We instead watched the Professional Bull Riding on Outdoor Life Network. It's interesting to watch the cowboys try to stay on top of a bucking bull for 8 seconds. They also have a show called "Killer Instinct" that is enjoyable too. The finals for PBR are this weekend, so check your local listings.
Posted by MarcV, 12:27 PM link
