Ok - blogger is really slow. I work on a few Blogger blogs, and all are ok in speed save for this urban onramps blog. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but my hunch is that it's because this blog is so, well, big. I've not only had it for three years, but I've made thousands of posts (it quit counting in the fall at 2,700 posts). So if it's slow because of size, and it will continue to be slow, maybe I should:
(a) switch over to a new Blogger blog, or
(b) take the opportunity to jump to TypePad
Your thoughts, experiences with other blog engines are appreciated.
jobs at bresee, faith-based nonprofit in LA
Our friends at the Bresee Foundation, a faith-based nonprofit located in Central Los Angeles, have the following job openings:
CAREER COUNSELOR. Full-time position. Work with local employers to place youth and young adults in internships and unsubsidized employment. Along with other staff ensure that clients are adequately prepared for the workplace.
INTEGRATED TRAINING INSTRUCTOR. Full-time position. Develop and implement curriculum for established GED preparation and workplace readiness program for young adults 17-21. Also, teach workplace readiness and basic academic skills development to youth during after-school hours.
IN-SCHOOL EMPLOYMENT CASE MANAGER. Part-time (30 hrs/week) position. Provide documentation processing and counseling support for youth 14-18. Assess needs for supportive services, maintain accurate files.
TO APPLY FOR any of these positions, please your fax resume AND cover letter to Cathy Trout at 213.385.8482, or email them to ctrout@bresee.org. Indicate position for which you are applying in the subject.
paid summer internships...
...for African American and Latino college students to work in the Bayshore Christian Ministries summer program. More info here. Bayshore is good people, Andy Hartwell, John Liotti and them.
search term mania!
the latest ways people found themselves to UO:
urban church commute (stuck in heavy traffic on the 10 freeway on Sunday morning, eh?)
todd minturn (I know him)
latino church youth groups mission trips (send 'em to harambee)
delaying adulthood (you've come to the right place)
latino church minneapolis (they exist)
free video of wtc jumpers (never forget
Center for Youth and Family Ministry
It's a new think tank based out of Fuller Seminary (Kara Powell and them) that's got a strong emphasis on urban youth ministry. Check it out http://www.cyfm.net/.
right-winger smackdown
Want to see right-wingers lob grenades at each other under the big tent? Track the back and forth over the blogosphere's role in Eason Jordan's resignation. None other than the Wall Street Journal opinion page (which is generally regarded as the conservative counter-balance to the WSJ's more centrist news side) called out and (attempted) to take to task the Big Bloggers. Dumb move, WSJ. This blog post will catch you up to speed on the "kerfuffle," including the general Professional Journalist lament over the rise of the citizen reporters, i.e., the bloggers.
Is this good financial advice?
David Batstone, executive editor of Sojourners and author of Saving the Corporate Soul--and (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own: Eight Principles for Creating and Preserving Wealth and Well-Being for You and Your Company Without Selling Out, writes the following in his weekly WAG:
Reduce - and then eliminate - your personal debt.
I'll be even more to the point: If you have credit card debts, use every bit of your savings to pay down your principle. Unless you have investments that are earning you over 18 percent return - and doing so on a consistent basis (just shy of winning the lottery) - then you're better off draining your bank account to pay off your loans. As Benjamin Franklin advised, "Rather to go to bed supperless than rise in debt."
the ongoing Wal-Mart debate, entry #41,667
(or whatever number we are on, I've lost count...)
Many say that when Wal-Mart enters a community, bad things happen, like jobs being lost, small businesses put out, etc. So you would think that when Wal-Mart decides to close a store and leave a community, that would be good for said community, no? Well, according to a union fighting a Wal-Mart in Canada, that's not quite the case:
Many say that when Wal-Mart enters a community, bad things happen, like jobs being lost, small businesses put out, etc. So you would think that when Wal-Mart decides to close a store and leave a community, that would be good for said community, no? Well, according to a union fighting a Wal-Mart in Canada, that's not quite the case:
"Fair-minded people who respect the rights of workers call on Wal-Mart to abandon plans to close its Jonqueiere, Quebec, store," the union urges Wal-Mart's chief executive, Lee Scott, in an electronic petition. It says the store's closing would "displace an entire community."So they are urging the store to stay open:
The union has gone further than the petition, also filing a complaint with the Quebec Labor Relations Commission in an attempt to force Wal-Mart to return to the bargaining table and remain open. The store plans to close in May.And can this be true? In a $285 billion a year company, leaders act like this?
Unions complaining about Wal-Mart's stinginess might have a better case if Wal-Mart's top brass were living lavishly. But the retailer's commitment to controlling costs can be seen from the top down. Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott has a tiny office in the company's corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Along with other executives, Scott flies coach and shares budget hotel rooms when traveling.Inquiring minds would like to know.
Sam is better
We are out of the hospital, Sam's fever came down, today they gave him his final dose (this week) of Ara-C, and he's running around strong. Thanks for your prayers.
50 gmail invites
Well, I don't know what gives, but now I've got 50 (fifty) gmail invites to give out. Doesn't everyone in the world who wants one have one by now? Last time I offered gmail accounts they were not all snapped up. But here goes: if you want one, leave a message in the comments below, telling me so, with an email address where I can send your invite - or you can just email me directly and I'll make the connect for you.
UPDATE 830 PM -- 2/14: Six down, 44 to go!
UPDATE 1030pm -- 2/15: 11 down, 39 to go!
UPDATE 830 PM -- 2/14: Six down, 44 to go!
UPDATE 1030pm -- 2/15: 11 down, 39 to go!
9/11: Debunking the Myths
Popular Mechanics examines the evidence and consults the experts to refute the most persistent conspiracy theories of September 11
I'm trying to pick a good example of the type of rumor/myth this article dispells. Let's see -- how about the mysterious plane seen in the vicinity of the Flight 93 as it went down in Pennsylvania?
I'm trying to pick a good example of the type of rumor/myth this article dispells. Let's see -- how about the mysterious plane seen in the vicinity of the Flight 93 as it went down in Pennsylvania?
The Cheerful Oncologist
Another wonder of the blogosphere - a real live, cancer-treating oncologist blogs about what he sees, hears and feels as he makes the rounds. If you've ever been in my position, with a loved one being treated for cancer, you've probably wanted to know what was really rattling around in the doctor's brain. Wonder no more. Go lose yourself at the good doctor's blog.
Hard to disagree with this Valentine's Day observation
From Dawn Eden(http://www.dawneden.com/):
The mainstream media forces Valentine's Day down our throats, stating quite clearly that unless a single woman has a hot date on this very day of the calendar, she is a pathetic, unattractive git.
In truth, anyone who knows anything about love knows that there is no guarantee that one will meet the right person at any given point in one's life. One may wish to just fool around in the meantime, but Page Six itself shows on a daily basis the toll of such hedonism, spelled out in bitchiness, superficiality, and backbiting, not to mention abortion and sexually transmitted disease.
Thankfully, there is another way, andÑunless your name is Richard JohnsonÑchances are I don't have to tell you what it is. There are men and women reading this who are dateless today not because they're undesirable, but because they are too wise, deep, and principled to settle for something superficial. Here's to you this Valentine's Day. My heart goes out to you.
Paul writes in Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
I may be in the Page Six universe. But I'll be damnedÑliterallyÑif I'm of it.
Eason Jordan: What in the world just happened?
Michelle Malkin knows:
I think back to my post below about Blogs: The Pressure of Instant Accountability...
For those of us in the information business, this is truly an earth-shaking time. Who would have imagined that the downfall of one of the world's most powerful news executives would be precipated by an ordinary citizen blogging his eyewitness report at Davos in the wee hours of the morning on Jan. 27?What happened is that CNN's Chief News Executive, Eason Jordan, just resigned a few hours ago after being held accountable by the blogosphere for devastating comments he made recently at Davos. Malkin's roundup will catch you up, in case you hadn't been following the affair.
I think back to my post below about Blogs: The Pressure of Instant Accountability...
The Cops...
...came to Harambee tonight. Last week there was a disturbing incident that took place on the street in front of the center, most definitely a case of mistaken identity involving one of our top young people. All the officers involved plus their departmental higher ups were present, speaking to a number of parents and staff who witnessed the incident. We had almost two hours of vigorous dialogue, and things ended pretty well.
it's a page-turner
Just got the latest issue of The Journal of Morality and Markets. Hint: it's not oxymoronic; these folks are serious. Articles include:
Is There Only Secular Democracy? Imagining Other Possibilities for the Third MilleniumI'm interested to see what's in the Adam Smith piece.
The Secret, Natural Theological Foundation of Adam Smith's Work
The Concept of Social Sin in Its Thomistic Roots
Justice: The Most Terrible of the Virtues
From Cracks in the Liberal Edifice to the Rediscovery of the Common Good
A Biblical Precedent for the Coase Theorom?
I like Steven Seagal movies
There. I said it. I'm watching Out for a Kill right now. Actually, when I'm up at 4am with baby Micah (taking my turn) I often turn to the action movie channel. Almost invariably, it's a Steven Seagal flick. Or Bad Boys. No luck getting a Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, or even a Jean-Claude Van Damme, though.
the four ways to spend money
Food for thought from this guy:
I think the "four ways" idea was first put forth by Milton and Rose Friedman.
1. You spend your money on yourself. You're motivated to get the thing you want most at the best price. This is the way middle-aged men haggle with Porsche dealers.Ok, that last paragraph was that guy's commentary. You could enter your own gripes about government into that paragraph.
2. You spend your money on other people. You still want a bargain, but you're less interested in pleasing the recipient of your largesse. This is why children get underwear at Christmas.
3. You spend other people's money on yourself. You get what you want but price no longer matters. The second wives who ride around with the middle-aged men in the Porsches do this kind of spending at Neiman Marcus.
4. You spend other people's money on other people. And in this case, who cares?
Most government spending falls into category four. Which is why the government keeps buying us Hoover Dams, B-1 bombers, raids on Waco cults, and 1972 Federal Water Pollution Control Acts.
I think the "four ways" idea was first put forth by Milton and Rose Friedman.
Digital Divide and Ministry national conference
TechMission has set aside July 8-9 for the next national Technology and Ministry conference for folks in an urban setting. Good times. Get there if you can.
pray for Abner and his team
Abner Ramos is an Intervarsity staff worker at East L.A. College. One of the guys in his chapter, Julio, was killed this week in a hit-and-run accident. Abner is in the middle of the tragedy, as is Brad Arnold, and I pray wisdom and spiritual strength as they support Julio's loved ones during a very difficult time: http://elacceso.blogspot.com/2005/02/julio-rodriguez-is-with-lord.html Julio Rodriguez is with The Lord.
extreme blog makeover?
You know all those extreme makeover shows on TV? We could have an extreme web site or blog makeover. This can go live once the new Apple iChat software, the one that allows four-way videoconferencing, is released this summer. I got the thought after IM'ing wit DJ Chuang, who got jacked by his web site host - they lost the last month of his blog entries, server crash, and now he has to do "reconstructive surgery" (his term, not mine) on his blog.
driving me crazy
...and I say that without any exxageration. We've hit a stage in my son's chemotherapy where he is doing a lot better, but dad and mom are stressed out. We've just got a lot to do, in all areas of our life, yet there are many many many unplanned situations and interruptions related to child care that we are being stretched to our limit. We are challenged to pray more, take things more slowly, and just plain old trust God more. We are beyond stretched. Yet and still some good things are happening. At church we are doing the 40 Days of Community. Our first small group meeting was last night at our house and it went very well. Kafi and I also both did our first day's devotional, and I feel more peaceful today. And about Rick Warren - I really like the guy. I've never met him, but he's very likable and real and just himself. I appreciate him and the Saddleback folks. You know, I hate to say it, but I think there is some sort of spiritual bias against well-to-do, upper crust churches in America, particulary with wealthy folks, as if being wealthy alone disqualifies some place from legitimate spiritual service. Saddleback is tucked into a nice area in a nice part of a nice county, yet there is some incredible stuff coming from there. God bless them for it.
If you think of me as a "good networker"...
(and you may not, but i'm speaking to those of you who've said as much to me...)
Then you can learn what I do and why by reading the "Network" chapter in Tim Sanders' book, Love is the Killer App. I just picked it up again and started reading it, late last night. I was startled by how clearly he explained "love" networking. Now, let me clearly state that I didn't learn what I know from Sanders. I learned it by watching John Perkins, and because I have a fair amount of this approach to life as part of my personality. I recommend Sanders because I often try to explain this stuff to people and stumble over my own words.
Then you can learn what I do and why by reading the "Network" chapter in Tim Sanders' book, Love is the Killer App. I just picked it up again and started reading it, late last night. I was startled by how clearly he explained "love" networking. Now, let me clearly state that I didn't learn what I know from Sanders. I learned it by watching John Perkins, and because I have a fair amount of this approach to life as part of my personality. I recommend Sanders because I often try to explain this stuff to people and stumble over my own words.
please help
There is a young adult in our Harambee.org community who starts, this week, a six month substance abuse / rehab program at a Christian facility. I'm not giving more details here because of the public nature, but if you would like more specific info, please email me and I can share more. This person has demonstrated that they want a new start. In recent weeks they have volunteered many hours in our ministries, have attended bible studies with our staff, and get themselves to church every Sunday. They need $500 to get started with the program. If you would make a contribution to help this young person, I would be very appreciative. You may click the button below for secure giving. Thanks in advance.
FEB. 9 UPDATE: Thank you to all who have given. We've received $225 so far. This person still needs $275. Questions? Email me.
FEB. 9 UPDATE: Thank you to all who have given. We've received $225 so far. This person still needs $275. Questions? Email me.
want to present a workshop at CCDA 2005?
You've got til April 1 to fill out the CCDA 2005 Conference Request for Presenters Form and send it in.
Vonage
Anybody using Vonage? Are you satisfied with it? I'm thinking about switching to it, but would like to know the downside - since the upside is clear: it's cheap. Really cheap. Plus I can probably call Jordon and sit on the phone during the next State of the Union speech, chatting it up.
phone cards
Canada phone cards
India phone cards
France phone cards
phone cards
Canada phone cards
India phone cards
France phone cards
blogs - "the pressure of instant accountability"
Hugh Hewitt put his finger on it a little while back, what I like about blogs, their power, and what I now expect from news sources: instant accountability.
I think I'm suited to blogs because I've lived "high accountability" for years, because of my living situation. I live across the street from the ministry I run, Harambee, and the entire neighborhood watches me all the time. People watch when I come and when I go. They see who visits my house. They see who I hang out with. The watch me unload my car after returning from the market. Now that I run the center as executive director, I feel even more pressure. I sign the checks - tons of people have opinions about how I use the money. I make decisions about programs, staff, taking action in difficult situations, and people who are not under the pressure I'm under get to criticize freely. It's the territory that comes with our vision of making whole disciples via incarnational ministry. I'm free to leave or quit or move along, no one is making me stay, and each day I choose anew this life. In the process I've learned the "high accountability" cuts both ways. People want to hold me accountable, fine. But I'm going to quickly turn around and hold the critic accountable as well. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I feel a measure of protection because, whatever standard gets applied to me, I'm going to apply it to the critic.
Anyway - from "high accountability" to "instant accountabilty" wasn't too much of a leap, especially for a person with a well-fed ego (me). I appreciate others, especially journalists who blog, for choosing to live with such transparency. But it's definitely a jolt for folks who are unused to visibility or accountability.
I think I'm suited to blogs because I've lived "high accountability" for years, because of my living situation. I live across the street from the ministry I run, Harambee, and the entire neighborhood watches me all the time. People watch when I come and when I go. They see who visits my house. They see who I hang out with. The watch me unload my car after returning from the market. Now that I run the center as executive director, I feel even more pressure. I sign the checks - tons of people have opinions about how I use the money. I make decisions about programs, staff, taking action in difficult situations, and people who are not under the pressure I'm under get to criticize freely. It's the territory that comes with our vision of making whole disciples via incarnational ministry. I'm free to leave or quit or move along, no one is making me stay, and each day I choose anew this life. In the process I've learned the "high accountability" cuts both ways. People want to hold me accountable, fine. But I'm going to quickly turn around and hold the critic accountable as well. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I feel a measure of protection because, whatever standard gets applied to me, I'm going to apply it to the critic.
Anyway - from "high accountability" to "instant accountabilty" wasn't too much of a leap, especially for a person with a well-fed ego (me). I appreciate others, especially journalists who blog, for choosing to live with such transparency. But it's definitely a jolt for folks who are unused to visibility or accountability.
This is how I sit back, take a load off, and knock back a tall cool one
If you google plain ol' "RUDY" you get me at #18. Number Eighteen. In the world.
like a dog returning to its vomit, take two
I'm back here at The Apple Store in Fashion Valley - yes, that Apple Store - and I gotta blog for a second. "They say" - they being Tim Keel, Tim Conder, Damian O'Farrell, Ivy Beckwith, and Laci - that Brian McLaren was on Larry King Live tonight regarding that Time magazine thingy. This thing is hot. I heard it being discussed on talk radio on the way down here, driving with Dan Hodge from Fuller and APU.
i'm trying not to blog today, cuz I've got a bunch of stuff to finish, BUT...
Throughout Davos, by the way, the name "Fox News" is a bogey word, like "neocon." To say "Fox News" is to say "Satan" or something. Everyone understands (and agrees).Hmm - so I'm an ignorant boob?
AND
A reporter for a major left-leaning American news institution is explaining to a chief of a major Middle Eastern broadcasting network that if you really want to understand the "American mindset," you have to watch Fox News, because boobish Americans watch this all day long, are heavily propagandized, and are therefore ignorant.
AND
This is the bottom line: America under George W. Bush can be seen as embodying no good at all, and every non-American government or society Ñ so long as it's not allied with Washington Ñ can do no wrong. Therefore, a point about China is immediately answered with a point about Guantanamo.Ok, I've got to shut this down, and stop posting, but this is surreal.
Ok, I know - just go read it for yourself - this as good as the web gets, a professional writer who will deliver some professional copy, but here you get to read his reporter's notebook, his reactions and impressions, and ALL the stuff that will be left out of his officially submitted article. Good stuff.
UPDATE: just... can't... help.... it:
And then [Jacques Chirac] trains his sights on the United States: "Every year, U.S. citizens give over $220 billion to charitable causes. Three percent of this goes to international causes." You don't actually hear the booing in the hall, but you can sense it.Are these numbers accurate? We give $220 BILLION to charity EVERY YEAR? According to Jacques Chirac, not Fox News? I would say we are a very generous people. (This quote is from Day 2 of Nordlinger's Davos reports.)
UPDATE 2: I GIVE UP. I'm just going to add the quotes, finish the articles, then I'll be done with it. Too much good stuff:
At my table (I am a "facilitator") I discover something that can be discovered anywhere around town: The United States is a stunningly powerful country, even an all-powerful country. It is responsible for nearly everything bad Ñ war, pestilence, famine. It can do anything. Every problem in the world is its fault, and every solution is within its grasp, if only it weren't so malevolent.AND
When Blair talks about global warming, I must say, he does so in a reasonable manner. He gives you the impression that if you disagree with him, he doesn't hate you Ñ doesn't count you as a foe of humanity. There is a temperance, a reasonableness, about him that is missing in our Democrats, I think.AND
After his speech, he gives maybe the best answer to any question I have heard at Davos. Klaus Schwab asks him what the "business community" can do to help the world. Blair says, "First of all, the business community can make sure its businesses work well Ñ and make a profit." That receives a smattering of applause. Blair smiles, "That's the first time I've ever been applauded for making that point."AND
In the john later, a guy Ñ an American, of course Ñ said, "If Blair wanted to waste his political capital by supporting Bush, why didn't he at least demand more from Bush in return?" They never, never understand that Blair has fought the war because he thinks it right Ñ and in Britain's interest Ñ and not in order to extract some deal from the United States.
housekeeping
In no particular order:
Black Film Festival starts at my house on Saturday: My wife decided to host a Black film festival and invited people. She didn't ask for my permission or anyone else's; she just called it and pulled it off. Cool with me. First movie up is A Soldier's Story, which is a good one and entertaining. Sometimes Important Films are boring, frankly, but not this one. Let me know if you want in.
Last meeting of the Emergent Coordinating Group: I'm driving to San Diego tomorrow night with my friend Dan Hodge for the last gasp of the Emerging Coordinating Group. Read Tony Jones's good that was then, this is now, here's what's next post to get a handle on the change. I'm not planning to attend the Emergent Convention. Dan and I will literally jump in the car in Pasadena at 5pm, drive to the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego, meet, then jump in the car and drive back home, arriving around 3am. I don't want to be away from my family, so I'll be there when we all wake up together. Plus it will be a great chance to spend time with Mr. Hodge, a doctoral candidate at Fuller doing innovative work with hip hop and theology.
Come to the Harambee Annual Dinner: I'm inviting you. For realz. It's on Saturday, March 5. Brad Smith, former CEO of Leadership Network and now President of Northwest Graduate School (Ray Bakke's school), is our speaker. Good times. Show a face. Bring a friend.
Black Film Festival starts at my house on Saturday: My wife decided to host a Black film festival and invited people. She didn't ask for my permission or anyone else's; she just called it and pulled it off. Cool with me. First movie up is A Soldier's Story, which is a good one and entertaining. Sometimes Important Films are boring, frankly, but not this one. Let me know if you want in.
Last meeting of the Emergent Coordinating Group: I'm driving to San Diego tomorrow night with my friend Dan Hodge for the last gasp of the Emerging Coordinating Group. Read Tony Jones's good that was then, this is now, here's what's next post to get a handle on the change. I'm not planning to attend the Emergent Convention. Dan and I will literally jump in the car in Pasadena at 5pm, drive to the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego, meet, then jump in the car and drive back home, arriving around 3am. I don't want to be away from my family, so I'll be there when we all wake up together. Plus it will be a great chance to spend time with Mr. Hodge, a doctoral candidate at Fuller doing innovative work with hip hop and theology.
Come to the Harambee Annual Dinner: I'm inviting you. For realz. It's on Saturday, March 5. Brad Smith, former CEO of Leadership Network and now President of Northwest Graduate School (Ray Bakke's school), is our speaker. Good times. Show a face. Bring a friend.
"two wrongs have made a right and my moral compass is tired and busted"
This guy is painfully honest, and I respect him for it:
You may think that you have felt dumb before, but let me tell you something: until you have stood in front of a man who knows real pain and told him that you are against your country's alleviation of his country's state-sponsored murderous suffering, you have not felt truly, deeply, like a total f***** moron.This isn't cheap point-scoring or "i told you so" posting. This is why I read blogs, cuz I don't know if I would have ever read this guy's account of Election Day in Iraq anywhere else.
someone asked me about torture
It's been a tough issue to think about, especially with Alberto Gonzales' senate confirmation vote nigh. Here are some thoughts from Belmont Club that strike me as wise:
We ought to be manly enough to authorize the use of a certain amount force on terrorist suspects, but only to the degree consistent with our deepest national values. To strike a balance between the need to maintain certain principles without paying too much for it in terms of military advantage; remembering what cost in blood must be paid for keeping the national conscience clean. It is a cup that will not pass away. We will be called to account not only for our management of captives but also for whether we allowed them to kill the innocent while they grinned insolently before us. Both the tortured prisoner and the child blown to pieces by a terrorist bomb will accuse us on the Last Day. About the only thing we can do is our best. But there is no weaseling out, no escape from choice.The last line gets me: No weaseling out, no escape from choice. The difference today is that you and I do not have to actually make a choice about this matter. But 100 senators (who are men and women, after all, as well as husbands and wives and fathers and mothers and sons and daughters and aunts and uncles) must. A president must. An attorney general must. Military commanders must. I was first drawn to an interest in politics during the first Gulf War, when I tried to imagine what it must be like to be President Bush (41), having to make decisions that would cost lives. Talk about between a rock and a hard place. I think Bush and Gonzales both were thinking about the line above - the one that is underlined - when evaluating whether the Geneva Conventions applied to non-state actors, the Al Qaeda terrorists.
provocative
Sometimes I just post stuff because it's so dang provocative. Here's the title of a book authored by two guys with an article in Monday's Wall Street Journal:
"The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy"
If that wasn't an Engine Starter for your Inner Environmentalist, read how they conclude the article:
"The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy"
If that wasn't an Engine Starter for your Inner Environmentalist, read how they conclude the article:
The earth is far bigger than people think, the untapped deposits are huge, and the technologies for separating oil from planet keep getting better. U.S. oil policy should be to promote new capital investment in the United States, Canada, and other oil-producing countries that are politically stable, and promote stable government in those that aren't.I thought our discussion was about alternative fuels and how soon we can get them in mass supply.
1st annual Evangelical blog awards
Nominate and vote for bloggerz here, at the Evangelical Underground blog.
Man, am I going to be nominating some of you who are on my blogroll (column right, down).
The categories:
Man, am I going to be nominating some of you who are on my blogroll (column right, down).
The categories:
Best overall evangelical blog (jordon cooper)
Best designed evangelical blog (hmm, maybe tallskinnykiwi just to tweak 'em)
Best evangelical blog - politics (hugh hewitt, hands down - the guy's a Big Blogger plus he's got a Young Life link at the top of his blog)
Best evangelical blog - ministry (dj chuang's metablog)
Best international evangelical blog (tall skinny kiwi)
Best domestic evangelical blog (uh)
Best evangelical blog - apologetics (theoblogy, though i don't know if tony is defending what they want defended - yet it will be a good fight)
Best evangelical blog - pastor (there is none other than brad boydston)
Best new evangelical blog (combine jeremy and liz and throw in Abner come around April)
Best evangelical blog - humor (este mark riddle)
Best evangelical missionary blog (by definition, not the safest thing to do, but how about Kevin in Bangladesh)
Best evangelical youth pastor blog (sergio does the pastoring in between photoblogging and got-a-test-tomorrow blogging)
Best evangelical group blog (er, maybe the emergent planninmg blog)
Best evangelical teen blog (jason's got a crew - pick one)
Christian Tsunami Aid Groups Withholding "Best Stuff"
Allegations surfaced this week that Christian groups delivering food, water and medicine to survivors of the South Asian tsunami may be "keeping the best stuff to themselves," according to a spokesman for the United Nations.Hmm.
I'm an M.O.L. because...
..because I link to pages like this when I find them. Thanks to Liz for tipping me off by emailing me.
The definition of M.O.L. is not for the faint of heart - but you should know that the man coining the term considers himself an M.O.L. as well (wouldn't that make you King M.O.L., buddy?). Plus I'm on a distinguished M.O.L. lists that includes Tony.
The definition of M.O.L. is not for the faint of heart - but you should know that the man coining the term considers himself an M.O.L. as well (wouldn't that make you King M.O.L., buddy?). Plus I'm on a distinguished M.O.L. lists that includes Tony.
this looks legit
Here's the official CNN link to an Anderson Cooper 360 transcript. Cooper interviewed a man who stopped the tsunami wave, briefly, using the name of Jesus Christ. I've heard about this from a few sources, searched over at CNN, and found the transcript. I don't think it's an urban legend. The meat of it:
http://tatteredthoughts.blogspot.com/
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)http://www.detnews.com/2004/nation/0412/29/-45717.htm
COOPER: It bears repeating that each night, we've been moved by the stories of people, people who have literally reached out and saved strangers' lives. Daylan Sanders is a U.S. citizen who sold his townhouse near Washington D.C. 10 years ago, and moved back to his native Sri Lanka, to build an orphanage, the Samaritan Children's Home. When the waves came on Sunday, he gathered all 28 children, put them in a boat, and raced the waves to safety.
He joins me now on the phone from Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Thanks very much for being with us, Daylan.
You know, we talked to a lot of people, and when they first saw the waves, they instantly thought to run to higher ground, but not you. What made you think your best chances were at sea in a boat?
DAYLAN SANDERS, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, SAMARITAN CHILDREN'S HOME: Because there are no words in human speech to describe what we saw. It was a 30-foot wall of sea, just bearing down on us like an angry monster. And it was coming at us at such speed, I knew that there was no place on ground where we could be safe. So I knew -- there was something in me that told me that instantly, that we've got to get on top of this wave if -- to stay safe.
COOPER: So how quickly -- how quickly...
SANDERS: So I came out, I called out for the children. They all came. We rushed. We had just 10 seconds to get into the boat, and that day the outboard motor stayed hooked to the boat. Usually, we take it off every night. And we got into the boat -- you know, it had rushed in. It has -- it just demolished everything that stood in its path. It came with such force. It just hit both of the garages. The garages just splintered in every direction. It lifted up my Toyota pickup vehicle, my Mitsubishi L-300. We had a three-wheeler, a motor bike. Everything -- it just pulverized.
And then when we got into the boat, it was just a few -- I would say about 15 feet away, and we were eyeball to eyeball with the wave. And immediately, a scripture popped into my mind. It said, "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against it."
And I know from there, I got the courage. I just stood up in the small boat, and I lifted both my hands and I said, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, on the strength of the scriptures, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him. I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to stand still. And I thought I was imagining at the time that the massive wall of water, it stood. It -- I'm not one given to exaggeration. I saw, as if something holding back, some invisible force or hand. It just stood.
And -- this was confirmed, because later on, when I met some of the villagers who had climbed on top of palmara (ph) trees and coconut trees and had survived this onslaught. They told me -- they called me father. They said, Father, we didn't stand a chance because the sea, when it got down to the beach and it crushed into the village, it came with the same speed and the same furry, and it just wiped us all out.
But when -- ours is a four-acre complex. We have a boys section, the girls' home, the staff section and everything. But when it got on your land, at one point, it stood still. It just slowed down. And that gave you the chance. What made it? Was it the density of the trees or the buildings? I said, there was no power on Earth that could have held it back but the power of God. I said, I called upon God, and I commanded it in the name of Jesus, who 2,000 years ago he commanded the waves, and they obeyed. He commanded the sea, and they obeyed. And this is the very same God did the same to us and gave us those precious few seconds that we needed to stop at the first yank, at the start, the engine just sputtered into life.
COOPER: And Daylan, I know your gamble paid off. You were able to take your boat really directly through the wave and rescue all the children in your orphanage.
SANDERS: By the way, they came up to us, and I told them that, you know, it's going to catch up with us and if it caught up...
COOPER: It's a remarkable, remarkable story, Daylan. Able to save 28 of the children in the orphanage. The orphanage itself, the buildings, the structures destroyed. But it's a remarkable tale. Daylan Sanders, thanks for joining us.
http://tatteredthoughts.blogspot.com/
i'm also tech support
In urban ministry you wear a lot of hats. One of my hats is network and computer tech support. I'm blogging from an eMac that Harambee got a hold of for $200, not a bad deal considering that it's almost new and was rarely used by the previous owner. I transferred the data from a G3 that one of our admin ladies uses, and she will have this on her desk come Monday. I transferred the Airport card from the G3 to the eMac, but had to access the Apple web site for instructions.
You know what? One of my neighbors got wi-fi for Christmas, because I see a "linksys" access point on my list of wireless connections, and I ain't be got no linksys router. Which means that this neighbor can access my own unsecured Airport Express base station. So today, for the first time in four years, I've put a password on my base station.
I think this eMac is just about ready to go. I've installed software, transferred files, etc. Just one of the hats I wear.
Right now Kafi and Sam and I are going to the theatre to see The Incredibles. We will swing by and pick up Michelle, Monique and Nyaesha, our nieces, and bring them with us. Micah might join us in the theatre, and cry her head off, or we'll see if Kafi's aunt wants to keep her. Either way is fine with me.
You know what? One of my neighbors got wi-fi for Christmas, because I see a "linksys" access point on my list of wireless connections, and I ain't be got no linksys router. Which means that this neighbor can access my own unsecured Airport Express base station. So today, for the first time in four years, I've put a password on my base station.
I think this eMac is just about ready to go. I've installed software, transferred files, etc. Just one of the hats I wear.
Right now Kafi and Sam and I are going to the theatre to see The Incredibles. We will swing by and pick up Michelle, Monique and Nyaesha, our nieces, and bring them with us. Micah might join us in the theatre, and cry her head off, or we'll see if Kafi's aunt wants to keep her. Either way is fine with me.
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