End times?

Two people who changed the computing world, together on stage. This is is the first part of a seven-part interview:



Check out the full interview at All Things Digital.

In memory

There is no victory in war. As we remember and honor those who gave their lives today, we must also remember a term that has become part of our everyday vocabulary: collateral damage. What makes one life more expendable than another? Is it race, country of origin, religion, or social status?

Today, I pray both for the lives that were given, and those that were taken.

Addendum:
As often happens, when I write something here, my iTunes random playlist manages to find the perfect song to accompany it. Here's a snippet from Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits:

There's so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

Now the sun's gone to hell
And the moon's riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it's written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We're fools to make war
On our brothers in arms

National Sorry Day

Today is National Sorry Day in Australia, a day of healing on which Australians remember the forcible removal of indigenous peoples by the settlers.

Maybe we can learn a lesson from the land of Oz this year when it comes time for Thanksgiving.

Responding to critics

Jamie has a good post on responding to critics of the emerging church. I've seen plenty of criticism on both sides, and some of it merits a well-reasoned response, but at times it's best to ignore the critic and move on. Figuring out when to do so can be a challenge, however, as it's easy to get carried away by an instinctive reaction that gets the adrenaline flowing.

Comic relief

Another stressful week, and a blogging dry spell. I went in search of inspiration and found this instead:

From ReverendFun.com

Yeah, that's me...I think.

First contact

I'm a sucker for "first contact" stories, a very common (and often overdone) theme in science fiction stories. I recently discovered Jack McDevitt, who happens to deal with the theme exceptionally well. After reading Chindi, I picked up an earlier novel, Infinity Beach, in which he illustrates how well humans can bungle first-contact situations.

The idea of other intelligent civilizations (assuming one classifies humanity as a member of the group) has fascinating implications from a theological standpoint. Many Intelligent Design advocates would have us believe that God created this entire universe and saw fit to populate only one planet. That doesn't sound like something a God of infinite creativity would do. Somewhere out there, I believe, there are other life-forms, probably asking themselves the same questions we are.

How did the creation story play out? Did God have to intervene by becoming mortal and living among them? Are they as bent on destroying his creation as we are?

Someday, we'll find out.

Friday Five: Potato, Po-tah-to Edition

From the RevGals:

There are two types of people in the world, morning people and night owls. Or Red Sox fans and Yankees fans. Or boxers and briefs. Or people who divide the world into two types of people and those who don't. Let your preferences be known here. And if you're feeling verbose, defend your choices!

1. Mac? (woo-hoo!) or PC? (boo!)
Why yes, the Friday Five author reserves the right to editorialize!
Mac all the way. While I do run Windows (and Linux) on my Intel Mac, I have long since recognized the Mac OS to be superior to the pale imitations that spew forth from Microsoft.

2. Pizza: Chicago style luscious hearty goodness, or New York floppy and flaccid?
Neither: home-made, dairy-free alternative.

3. Brownies/fudge containing nuts:
a) Good. I like the variation in texture.
b) An abomination unto the Lord. The nuts take up valuable chocolate space.
[or a response of your choosing]
I could go either way, as long as there's no dairy.

4. Do you hang your toilet paper so that the "tail" hangs flush with the wall, or over the top of the roll like normal people do?
Over the top. D knows it annoys me when she places it the other way.

5. Toothpaste: Do you squeeze the tube wantonly in the middle, or squeeze from the bottom and flatten as you go just like the tube instructs?
I try to start from the bottom up, but chaos theory inevitably wins out. Who am I to argue with the immutable laws of the universe?

Recovery

The past couple of weeks have been stressful, and necessitated a break from blogging (both writing and reading). I'm trying to ease back into it, but it may take a while. Meanwhile, I found two interesting articles on TIME's website:

The first is an older interview with Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins on the God vs. Science argument. I'd like to have been there for the original debate, but the article is pretty well written.

The second, in a lighter vein may indicate that the search for the antichrist is over. :)

Responding to prayer

I had planned to cut back on blogging recently. Life has been getting a little crazier than usual; the house is at the age where it needs a fair amount of work, but we're not in any position financially to have it done. So, this morning, D and I prayed for God's blessings on the house.

This afternoon, we received a piece of mail with an announcement, "Two homes are about to be blessed..." It contained a "prayer rug" (a piece of paper) with instructions to pray while focusing on the "rug," then return the contents of the envelope, along with prayer requests, so that it could be sent to another family.

For those of you who haven't heard this one before, it's a scam from "St. Matthew's Churches." Cash is solicited in the announcement (but not mandated). If you don't send a donation, you will receive more mailings requesting one.

I've seen some amazing things happen in my own life, and those of others, in response to prayer. However, it's good to know that God has a sense of humor.