Reformed + Missional = Reformissional
Here’s a handy tool. With so many search engines to choose from, Phil Bradley provides insight into which engine is best depending on the information you are looking for.
Phil Bradley: Finding what you need with the best search engines
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Microsoft reveals plans to implement a more vertical strategy:
Microsoft’s top four verticals — the ones in which it feels it has existing strength — are manufacturing, services, distribution and the public sector. The next tier: retail, health care, financial services and media/entertainment.
Microsoft’s Grand Plan To Go Vertical
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Dangerous, that is, to “thugocracies and kleptocracies.”
When Wahhabist Saudi Arabia promises municipal elections, or Afghan women line up at the polls for hours, then the world has been turned upside down. Syria’s worst nightmare is not an American invasion, but an Arab League that is dominated by nascent democracies.
Victor Davis Hanson with another great article, steeped in truth and historical references.
VDH’s Private Papers::The Noose Tightens
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Perhaps we need to rethink some of the early education programs like “Head Start.”
…early education does increase reading and mathematics skills at school entry, but it also boosts children’s classroom behavioral problems and reduces their self-control.
Marginal Revolution: Does prekindergarten help kids?
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Bill Quick makes a scathing case for why he is giving up on the Republican party. He makes some good points that should be taken to heart by those who want the GOP to return to it’s roots as the party of small government and limited federal intervention.
There are many others, but these will do for starters. The Republicans are no longer the party of small, limited government, fiscal sanity, states and individual rights, and the Constitution. In their own way, they have become as bloated, hypocritical, invasive, and spendthrift as much of the worst the Democrats have to offer.
Read More: Daily Pundit: An Immodest Proposal and Bill of Particulars
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And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins (I Cor. 15:14,17).
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An empty cross, an empty tomb and empty grave clothes…
Empty Promise
I’ve had enough of broken promises
Been left holding tightly to the end of my rope
Tried seeking comfort in wealth and treasures
Don’t want to hear about another worldly hope
What I need is an empty promise
An opened tomb and an empty grave
A hope for every tribe and every nation
A truth by which I can be saved
Shallow remedies always bring me down
Walking circles in the dark of night
I’m tired of living here in this ghost town
Lord, open up the skies and shine your light
I will trust in the empty promise
My Lord and Savior, he rose again
Now he reigns upon his throne
And my new life will never end
©2005 over my head music (Admin. by summerland jasper music)
Words and Music by Jeff Doolittle
Who are these people?
The fact that one in ten e-mail users are buying things advertised in spam continues to make it an attractive business…
BBC NEWS | Bad e-mail habits sustains spam
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I’m actually in favor of liberalizing immigration law, but the President is mis-characterizing a group of people who want to help tighten down the southern border. Over 1,000 people have volunteered for the Minuteman Project which will attempt to monitor the Arizona-Mexico border (The group includes 30 pilots and their private planes). What irks me is this:
President Bush yesterday said he opposes a civilian project to monitor illegal aliens crossing the border, characterizing them as “vigilantes.”
The term “vigilantes” implies that these individuals actually plan to apprehend, and perhaps even punish, people who attempt to illegally cross the border. In reality, the project is more like a neighborhood watch program.
Civilians will monitor the movement of illegal aliens for the month of April and report them to the Border Patrol.
Mr. President, this type of rhetoric will not assist in promoting the cause of immigration reform.
Bush decries border project - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - March 24, 2005
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Well, okay. Not for the internet as a whole, but for visitors to Jeremy’s blog (and it’s a good blog)…
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Joe over at the evangelical outpost has an interesting take on the whole Terri Schiavo controversy.
Social conservatives spend an inordinate amount of hand-wringing over the threat to traditional marriage posed by the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. Gay marriage is, of course, a legitimate concern. But it would take an army of homosexual rights activists several decades to do as much damage to the sacred institution as heterosexuals have done by tolerating no-fault divorce and the repeal of common law marriage. The looming threat pales in comparison to the present danger of destructive marriage laws which have, for at least one young woman, literally become a matter of life and death.
the evangelical outpost: No-Fault Death: Terri Schiavo and the Absurdity of Marriage Laws
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Instructions here: Make A Wallet From Duct Tape : 3m.com
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Well, Justene couldn’t make it as she was asked to make an appearance on Fox News regarding bloggers and journalism (I suppose this was a valid excuse). Peter Sean Bradley (lex communis) and I still managed to connect for a bite to eat at the inaugural Central California Bear Flag League luncheon. Perhaps we’ll make this into a regular event.
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Proof that people are capable of believing any strange combination of belief systems:
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From New Scientist Magazine: 13 things that do not make sense
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Perhaps we are putting too much faith in computers as an aid in the educational process.
Despite numerous claims by politicians and software vendors to the contrary, the evidence so far suggests that computer use in schools does not seem to contribute substantially to students’ learning of basic skills such as maths or reading.
Telegraph | News | Pupils make more progress in 3Rs ‘without aid of computers’
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I had an interesting discussion this morning with a friend regarding the shift in thinking over the past 100 years from a modernist perspective to a post-modern one. This shift has occurred in many arenas, but we were specifically interested in how it has affected the way Christians view God and spirituality.
In modernist thinking, the Christian life tends to be viewed from a guilt/justification model. The emphasis in soteriology is on the propositional, on having the right “knowledge” of God in order to be saved. While many modernist thinkers can be highly devotional in their writings (Matthew Henry, Charles Hodge, Jonathan Edwards), they make arguments with thought processes, patterns and assumptions which are often foreign to the post-modern mind.
One primary reason for this disconnect can be found in the fact that post-modern thinking emphasizes a shame/restoration model in place of the guilt/justification model of modernism. Soteriology focuses not so much on having correct knowledge of God, but on having a right relationship with God. This dichotomy can appear to put these perspectives at odds with one another.
Howerver, these do not appear to me to be mutually exclusive perspectives. As a whole, scripture does not emphasize either model over the other. Many of the Psalms fit well in the shame/restoration model, while much of Paul’s writings seem geared toward a guilt/justification viewpoint. The point I glean here is a reminder that God’s ways are beyond our human categories and cultures.
I often hear Christians lamenting the “good old days” of the modern. Others laud the positive aspects of the post-modern perspective. I believe there are both pitfalls and potential in both systems. Where they are in conflict with scripture, they must of course be thrown out. However, in our human frailty we can hardly look at things from a view of complete objectivity. A good excercise for us as we continue the (apparently unstoppable) trend from the modern to the post-modern is to make our best effort to view concepts through both lenses.
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I asked my wife to marry me at the foot of this cross. Now, the San Diego City Council has decided that it must come down. I guess the next thing to go will have to be the San Diego Mission…
Photo Credit: Da Goddess
It looks like Microsoft is leaking some details about the forthcoming version 7.0 of the IE web browser. Unfortunately, it sounds like Microsoft is still not going to take standards seriously. I guess I’ll stick with Firefox…
A question for my fellow bloggers–how much clout do you place in blog rankings like the Truth Laid Bear Blogosphere Ecosystem? After my 4 month hiatus, I find that I have devolved from a mighty Large Mammal, to an underwhelming Marauding Marsupial. Should I be worried, or is this just another silly thing bloggers do to increase our sense of self-worth?
After a four month hiatus, it’s time to return to the world of blogging. Back in November, after a full year of consistent blogging, I realized I needed to take a break. Now, I’m starting to fill up again on topcs of interest to me that I just have to start talking about. So, I’m back and plan to resume bringing you insightful commentary with a personal touch.
I look forward to a smooth re-entry to the blogosphere.
I suspect you get as irritated as I when you are in a public setting and someone’s cell phone goes off. The annoyance is especially great during a movie or worship service.
A cottage industry has sprung up to devise creative ways to remind audiences to shut their phones off, ranging from the “Inconsiderate Cell Phone Man” shorts shown before movies at Loew’s and Regal theaters to the moment during the Broadway show “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” when a member of the cast tells the audience in character that she “would just like to take this minute to ask you to turn off your cell phones, pagers, beepers–whatever you have that might make noise and distract our spellers.”
That still doesn’t always work…
One form of prevention is cell-phone jammers–devices that broadcast a signal on the same frequencies as cell phones, blocking transmissions. Smaller devices block calls in a user’s immediate area; bigger jammers cover a radius of almost a mile.
Here’s a better idea. A standard protocol should be created where all cell phones would be required to search for a specific signal. This signal would come from a transmitter in the vicinity of the phone. When a phone detects the signal, it would automatically switch to “quiet” mode or “buzz” mode. These transmitters would be cheap to create and easy to install. This would accomplish the purpose of a cell phone jammer, but without violating FCC regulations (you can pay a $11,000 fine per day if you use a cell-phone jammer) or violating individual liberties. Facilities which have one of these devices installed could display a sign informing people that they have installed a transmitter and that their phones will not make an audible ring while inside the facility.
So, Nextel, Cingular, Verizion, T-Mobile…you guys need to make this happen.
