I love dinosaur humor

The Reality: An Economy Runs on HOPE

While reading a report today on the current economic "meltdown" going on in overseas markets, I came across this paraphrase of George Soros.

Billionaire investor George Soros said he believed the United States was already experiencing the pain of a double dip recession and that Republican opposition to Obama's fiscal stimulus plans was to blame for sluggish growth.

Of course, Mr. Soros's actual words were far more nuanced. But this reflects the current reality of politics - both sides are more interested in blame than giving the electorate a clear view of their choices.

So, let me give it a try. I add the disclaimer that I am NOT an economist, and I am sure many economists would ridicule my explanation as overly simplistic. You judge for yourselves.

Everyone agrees we are in the middle of a bad situation. To use a fairly standard analogy, the economy is on fire.
--> Democrats want to beat the fire by spending more. They want to use borrowed money to build the economy faster than the fire can destroy it.
--> Republicans want to beat the fire by spending less. They want to fix the underlying causes of the fire right away, trusting the fire to go out on its own, which will eventually allow new building to resume safely in the future.

But both sides are dismissive of the opposition:
--> Democrats say the Republican plan is like revising building codes in the middle of a fire - it does nothing for those suffering NOW.
--> Republicans say the Democratic plan is like adding fuel to the fire while it is still burning - it may make it harder to see in the short-term, but in the long term it just makes the fire worse.

The problem is, a "fire" is a bad analogy for analyzing the Economy. A fire attacks concrete things, destroying them, requiring people to grow new trees, mine new steel, and use human labor to put it all back together. The Economy, on the other hand, is a more nebulous concept. Value is something which exists in the mind of a human being, based on some "real" factors (like supply and demand) but also based on intangible factors (like desire and status). Value can be created from nothing - consider what you are buying when you buy a baseball card or purchase a Netflix subscription - and can be destroyed without anything concrete having been destroyed (as when a writer is found guilty of plagiarism or fraud). The economy is not built on debt or savings, but rather on HOPE.

Look at it this way.
--> If you have HOPE to have a family, you'll buy a house for them. If you have no hope, why bother?
--> If you have HOPE that you'll have a job tomorrow, you'll take the time to buy more than the essentials. If not, you'll hoard what you have.
--> If you have HOPE to eventually become employed, you'll invest time, money, effort in education. If not, you'll look for ways to pass the time.
--> If you have HOPE that you'll be repaid, you'll extend a loan. If not, you'll keep the money to yourself and invest in treasury bonds.

So, do Democrats or Republicans have the right solution? Neither. Both. It is not a question of finding the right value for a variable in the equation. It is a matter of convincing people there is HOPE for the future, so they will act, spend, and invest. And at the moment, all the Federal Government has done is convince people to look elsewhere for HOPE.

Keep that in mind this next election season.

Wendy's Remakes its Burger

Wendy's has decided after 42 years, it is time for a change. Facing declining market share, Wendy's knew that something needed to change. So they decided in 2009 to start the process of changing how they make their burgers. They went on sale today. Let us at Modblog know if you try one.

Remembering

From Over the Hedge.

Star Wars + Anything = Good

Well...That Was Unexpected...

Ann Althouse just posted that she had retaken the Political Compass test for the first time in a couple of years and was surprised to find that she had, as some of her commenters suspected, moved a little to the right. I was curious to see where my own standing was these days on a somewhat objective scale. Well, here I am:

Holy liberal, Batman! When did that happen?!? I'd be curious where some of our other contributors/readers are on the scale. You know you want to see for yourself.

Yeah, I've done this

The X-Muppets?

Not mine. Via Reddit.

United Illuminating's Power Outage Information

Here is a link for United Illuminating's Outage information. UI services much of South Western Connecticut.

Now That 85 Million Dollars Isn't Much Money...

At least, that's the impression you'd get if you've been keeping up with baseball news lately. Angels pitcher, Jared Weaver has decided to re-sign with the team, sighting his love of the west coast and the team as his main motivation.

Immediately, the baseball press made a very large deal out of his decision. Why would he not go into free agency where he's sure to get a better deal than the one he received from the Angels? One MLB Network anchor even suggested that he should have gone into free agency just to come back to the Angels with a better deal. And so Jared Weaver has become a poster boy for loyalty and for team pride over money. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate that Weaver wanted to stay with the team he loves even if he got less money for it.

But here's the thing. The Angels contract is 85 million dollars for five years. That's right, Jared Weaver is going to make 17 million dollars a year and the baseball press is acting as if the guy is going to be suffering. True, he could have gotten more but in his words,

“How much more do you need?” Weaver asked. “Could have got more, whatever. Who cares?”

Indeed, at that level of money, who cares about another 10 or 20 million?

Welcome to a Post-Steve Jobs Apple

It has been coming a long time - his illness has been quiet but well-documented, and he has been on medical leave 3 times - but it was still a shock to see the headlines: Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple. Today likely begins a panicked sell-off of Apple stock, as touchy investors flee a company without the iCEO at the helm. But tomorrow likely begins a smug buy-up of all open Apple stock by bargain hunters, who realize Jobs leaves Apple with a well-trained executive team, molded in his own image, with a strong vision for the future.



First, as an Apple investor and owner of Apple products, I want thank Steve for his many years of service. A life is not to be judged on its wealth, which can be accrued thru virtue or thru sin. But a life is to be judged thru its accomplishments, and Steve has had many. He was part of the personal computer revolution with the original Apple. He was part of the GUI revolution with the Macintosh (technically starting with LISA). He was part of the network revolution with NEXT computers and then the iMac. And he is at the forefront of the mobile revolution with the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Few men have lead through more transformations of the way we live and do business, and few have kept a consistent focus on customers.



Second, I want to reassure my fellow Fanboys that Apple will not die without Steve at the helm. Tim Cook has been CEO for several years now, de-facto, and the iRevolution has been as much about the executive team he leaves behind, as it is about Steve himself. Surely, he was the unifying visionary behind it, but there are many years of that vision left to go. I doubt the iPad is the last "One More Thing" to come out of Apple... perhaps not even the last one this year.



Third, I want to encourage Mod-Blog readers not to lose sight of the real base of this story. It is NOT a CEO resigning, or a visionary stepping down, or a world-class business changing hands. It is a human being fighting a difficult illness. Likely in the process of dying (although Steve Jobs is notoriously private about such things). Please be praying for him and his family - for healing if it be God's will, or for comfort if it is his time. While others are hand-wringing about supplies of the iDevice they lst after, let us show compassion for the man himself.



My thoughts. I am interested to read yours in the comments, or on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Nuns a Literally Dying Breed

Very few of know any Nuns who are young. I must admit, that I haven't even been aware of any campaigns in the last 10-20 years aimed at encouraging young women in America to become Nuns. One area where this is having an impact is Catholic hospitals. Today, very few hospitals have Nuns as administrators, where as 20-30 years ago, the majority of these positions were filled by Nuns. This has caused a more profit centric view of the healthcare at these hospitals, instead of a view based on mission. It will be interesting to see how religions role in our health system evolves in the next 20-30 years.

Mammoth Find

A Russian reindeer herder stumbled upon a frozen woolly mammoth carcass in the arctic. The mammoth is said to be very well preserved and may be a great find for both scientists and mammoth lovers alike. The Russian government hope to excavate the mammoth and transport it to a facility where it can be studied and then displayed for the public.

Entire US Stealth Fighter Jet Fleet Grounded

With the current debate between the need to provide our military with the best technology and the need to cut some spending, you would think that our government would make the most of what they had. But instead, news comes out that our entire stealth fighter plane fleet is currently grounded because of one or two problems. What is worse, is that the fleet has actually been grounded since May. It is unthinkable to me that with all the best engineering minds, neither the military or the manufacturer can figure out how to fix these problems. On top of that, our government just committed to spend over a half a Billion dollars on more of these planes. I agree that we need to make sure these planes are safe before we risk our pilots lives in them, but how can it take more than 2 months to diagnose the problem? This should be the number one priority for the manufacturer and the government should withhold any future payments until these problems are fixed.

Is it Cheaper to Demolish a Home than to Repair it?

A new trend in the home market, is for banks to demolish foreclosed homes instead of reselling them. Banks have found that in some of the least sellable areas of the country, it is actually better for them to demolish a home and donate the land to the local municipality than to fix up the homes and then try to resell them. The companies also have the added bonus of not having to pay taxes or upkeep on the homes that they demolish. It will be interesting to see if this helps the housing market by taking cheap, but undesirable homes off the market, or if it just ends up creating places for people to illegally dump their trash.

Best served cold

From Speedbump

It's so hot. How how is it?

A friend passed this along and I HAD to share.

Entire Apple Stores Being Faked

We've heard of electronics and designer clothes being faked in China. (How else did I get my genuine Rolex watch in NYC for $25?) Now it seems that some merchants in China are taking it up a notch. Fake Apple Stores have begun to pop up in China. They are patterned after the real Apple Stores and even the employees can be seen wearing the same clothes as true Apple Store employees. The main way to tell the fake from the real seems to be to look at quality of the construction in the store and to test the knowledge of the sales people. If your salesman doesn't know more than you do about the iPhone, then that should raise a red flag.

Burnout & the Great Recession

My company has become obsessed with efficiency. This is not a bad thing in itself - every company should be looking to cut waste and build on their strengths. But I have noticed we have passed the point of cutting fat, and have begun running our best people harder and harder in order to meet deadlines. This is "efficient" - fewer people doing more work - but the stresses and strains are starting to show. And people are starting to ask the deadly question, "Is this really worth it?" And the obvious answer is "No."

Turns out, the same problem is all over in the Great Recession. As employers are forced to do more with less, and then realize they can exploit employers because there are no other jobs to go do, eventually employers are asking the impossible. And burning out their most valuable resources.

Of course, in the long run this strategy is horrible for business. Losing the expertise of one top-performer means hiring someone new, training them from scratch, and perhaps requiring 5 to 10 years to reach the level of productivity that the lost employee had. But in an economic time when companies are living quarter-to-quarter, there is little incentive to think even a year in advance. Burnout is mortgaging the next decade to pay for luxury in the next month. Sounds a lot like the thinking that got us in the Great Recession in the first place.

Is Pakistan the solution to the budget impasse?

So, Pakistan has decided to begin restricting their support of anti-terrorism. And the USA has pushe back, threatening to cut off military aid. And finally, Pakistan has threatened to pull out of anti-terrorism efforts altogether. There seems like a simple solution here - end all aid to Pakistan and pull our troops out of Afghanistan.

We save $2 billion in aid, plus the trillions we are investing in the War. In return, Pakistan suddenly has to face its own internal problems without an international scapegoat, while simultaneously having to face what they have made in Afghanistan by refusing to fight the Taliban.

It's time for our allies to understand that we can't afford to pay extortion money anymore. We're looking to fill trillion dollar holes in our budget. Pakistan just volunteered to do that for us.

REALITY CHECK: Simplifying the Budget Impasse

The debate over whether raising taxes or cutting spending is the way to avoid default has moved into high gear as the President issued a "Grand Compromise" to the Republican Congress that includes significant tax increases, as well as long-term spending cuts. So far, the GOP is having none of it. But I think we can simply the political calculation going on in the halls of Washington:

• IF the US Government goes into default, we will vote everyone out.
• IF the only spending cuts are to take place 2, 3, or 4 years out, we will vote out every Republican
• IF there are tax increases, we will grumble but live with it. Your job is probably safe.
• IF there are ONLY tax increases and no substantive spending cuts, we will vote out every Republican.
• IF Medicare, Social Security, and Military Spending remains off the table, nothing will be resolved and we will vote everyone out.

Hopefully, the President and Congress are keeping these important realities in mind as they play hardball in their negotiations.

iPhone as an SLR?!

There's brilliant, there's crazy, and there's Photojojo. They created a mount to attach your Canon or Nikon lenses to your iPhone in order to take network-connected SLR-quality photos. The problem, of course, is two-fold. (1) This turns your ultra-portable pocket camera into a bulky and awkward camera. (2) The sensor on even the best iPhone is still FAR below that of a low-end digital SLR. And if you want the ability to be able to quickly share SLR-quality photos on your iPhone, there is Apple's camera connection kit or EyeFi wireless cards + iPhone app

But you still have to admire their moxy. Or shamelessness. Can't decide which it is.

Perhaps the Greatest Fake Trailer Ever

Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner from Taylor Lautner

From FunnyorDie.com. Watch from Antonio Cromartie of the Jets doing what he does best in real life... hitting on women with reckless abandon.

Happy Birthday Nomad

Happy Birthday to the best brother and blogger in the world.

Shelton CT Fireworks 2011

Men, This May Save Your Life Someday

There are ways to get around learning how to tie a tie properly. (In college, I'd find a motherly type at church and beg for help - always made them smile.) But every man should eventually learn how to tie their own tie. This handy-dandy chart is the best illustration I have seen. Save this on your own machine, and keep it around for that formal emergency!

(This is not my own invention. Found it online and am not sure how to get back to where I found it. If it's yours, let me know and I'll give full attribution. In the meantime, it is too valuable NOT to share!)

Sitting Can Kill You

I have an office job, which means most days I spend 8 to 10 hours in a desk chair - either at my desk of in a conference room. While I have lost 70 lbs in the last few years, which is sure to add to my life expectancy, it turns out my sit-down job may be undoing all of my hard work. Apparently, sitting is almost as bad as smoking... from a statistical standpoint, anyway.

In particular, the American Cancer Society study finds that women who sit for more than six hours a day were about 40% more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat fewer than three hours per day. Men were about 20% more likely to die.

That large study focused on the numbers of people who died. Other studies have focused on specific conditions affecting the most Americans, things such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression. In those studies, too, extended periods of sitting increased risks of illness.

I used to work with a man who brought his own desk to work, so he could stand all day while working. At the time, I thought he was crazy. Now, I wonder if he wasn't a genius ahead of his time.

Are limited plans or quasi-unlimited plans for data a better idea?

Last year, AT&T killed their unlimited data plans, just before the release of the iPhone 4. Now, it is becoming clear that Verizon is going to kill their unlimited data plans prior to the release of the next iPhone. As a power-user of my iPhone and iPad, this has caused me considerable upset. While I am grandfathered into the unlimited plans on AT&T (for now), no other users like me can ever get this kind of plan and if I ever want to interrupt my service for any reason (i.e. hospital stay, financial hardship) there is no way for me to get it back. It seems like a use of the duopoly power that AT&T and Verizon hold over the American cellular market.

But as I fumed and thought about this, I realized that I was only looking at this at a very shallow level. The fact is no one ever offered truly unlimited plans. Like your home internet, every "unlimited" plan has a limit after which the company will throttle your traffic or cut you off entirely. Under the "unlimited" monicker, they simply won't tell you what that limit is. Instead, one day after a bout of downloading (hopefully) legal video, you'll find your internet connection cut with a message to "contact us immediately". The saving grace of the "unlimited" plan is the cap is usually flexible, so if they have a (for instance) unspoken 4 GB cap and you hit 5 GB one month and 2 GB the next, most companies are forgiving. Whereas under a "limited" plan, as soon as you hit your cap you are either cut off or double-charged.

So, I ask Mod-Bloggers, which do you prefer and why? An "unlimited" plan which is really just "limited but we won't tell you how" or a limited plan where at least you can plan your usage? Do you prefer a false sense of security or honesty? Comment here or vote in the poll to the right.

(And no, it isn't fair to answer "I don't have a data plan, so there!" Because it is likely you at least have a dial-up or broadband internet service that got you to Mod-Blog. Same issue.)

We call this kind of thing "Checks & Balances"!

I am sure many will decry today's vote by the House of Representatives to deny the president authority to continue the war in Libya as a political stunt. However, it is an excellent example to our children of the many Checks and Balances that the founders put into the Constitution to ensure each branch had the ability to limit the power of the others. This is exactly how our government is supposed to work:

- Congress declares War
- Congress funds War
- The President wages War
- The President negotiates a Peace
- Congress ratifies the Peace

It is not this action which is an aberration, but rather the last few military operations where Congress minimized it's involvement. Except in times of national emergency - and even then - we need to maintain a balance of power in our government to ensure our freedoms are protected.

All too true

From DogHouse Diaries. Click on the image or the link for a closer look.

Leaving Afghanistan is the right thing to do

Voices from both sides of the aisle are already charging that President Obama's plan to begin drawing own troops in Afghanistan is a political ploy to win re-election. They see a man who ran as Anti-War - who escalated one war, and began another in Libya - looking to reestablish his credentials with the Democratic base.

But sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reasons. It is time to leave Afghanistan. We entered the country with two goals: (1) capture Osama Bin Laden, and (2) punish the Taliban for sheltering and incubating Al Qaeda and the bombers who struck us on 9/11. We have accomplished both of those goals (though Bin Laden died in Pakistan). And we have invested over 10 years and hundreds of billions of dollars in turning Afghanistan from a third-world war-zone into a functional nation state. It is enough. At this point, the Afghani people have to decide their own fate, and a continued American military presence is merely allowing them to put off the hard decisions and the tough compromises needed to knit together their fractured nation.

Many of my Conservative friends will disagree on this. They'll say that without us, Afghanistan will collapse into chaos and the Taliban will rise again. They may even say that without us in Afghanistan, Pakistan may radicalize and transform into a proto-Iran. But there comes a time in every intervention - whether in our personal lives or the world at large - where the object of the intervention needs to stand on its own. Or fall. Unless we're willing to decide that Afghanistan is the 51st state, it is time to go.

Focus your camera AFTER the picture is taken

As an amateur photographer one of my greatest frustrations is when I get that perfectly-timed shot, and then find out the camera focussed on the wrong thing. Thousands of my photos have had to be discarded for poor focus, despite the fact that what I was capturing would have been stunning. A new company is about to introduce a new light field technology camera which claims to be able to focus your shot after the fact, allowing you to shoot now and choose the focal point later. It also allows 3D pictures to be taken with the same shot.

This has the potential to transform digital cameras, and to allow fewer photos to tell a more complete story of any event.

The breakthrough is a different type of sensor that captures what are known as light fields, basically all the light that is moving in all directions in the view of the camera. That offers several advantages over traditional photography, the most revolutionary of which is that photos no longer need to be focused before they are taken.

That means that capturing that perfect shot of your fast-moving pet or squirming child could soon get a whole lot easier. Instead of having to manually focus or wait for autofocus to kick in and hopefully center on the right thing, pictures can be taken immediately and in rapid succession. Once the picture is on a computer or phone, the focus can be adjusted to center on any object in the image, also allowing for cool artsy shots where one shifts between a blurry foreground and sharp background and vice versa.

Prison is better than being without Health Insurance?

Color me skeptical, but a man robbed a bank of $1 and claims it was to get Prison Health Care. James Verone claims to have been out of work for 3 years since being laid off from his job at a Coca Cola plant, and is facing several challenging health issues.

In an interview with WNCN-TV, first broadcast Sunday, Richard James Verone said he has no medical insurance, but has an undiagnosed growth on his chest, two ruptured disks in his back and a problem with his foot.

The 59-year-old has no job and no money, so he said he decided to rob a bank in a bid to get medical care.

Last Thursday he walked into a branch of the RBC Bank in Gastonia, N.C. and handed a teller a note which asked for one dollar -- then he sat in a chair waiting for the police to arrive.

This looks more like a publicity stunt than a true cry for help to me, but it is possible I am wrong. However, I know there are a number of public and private charity organizations out there to help those without health care who are in dire need. And let us not forget that no Emergency Room can turn away anyone for lack of ability to pay.

If you are in dire need of health care - and are without insurance - I encourage you to let your needs be known to your local church and civic organizations. Let people help. Given the opportunity, Americans are known for their willingness to help their fellow man.

Pakistan is NOT our ally

With the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden, it is time to face an uncomfortable truth. After a decade and trillions of dollars in aid, Pakistan is not really our friend or ally in the War On Terror. This has been evident for years, became obvious during the OBL capture, and is now something we can no longer ignore. During a recent set of sting operations on terrorist bomb-making factories, the Pakistani military or intelligence warned militants time and time again before raids

The two sites' locations in the tribal areas had been shared with the Pakistani government this past week, the officials said Saturday. The Americans monitored the area with satellite and unmanned drones to see what would happen.

In each case, within a day or so after sharing the information, they watched the militants depart, taking any weapons or bomb-making materials with them, just as militants had done the first two times. Only then, did they watch the Pakistani military visit each site, when the terror suspects and their wares were long gone, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

It is an uncomfortable truth. But clearly it is time to scale back our aid to this nation, as we prepare to eventually pull out of Afghanistan.

Happy Father's Day!

Thanks to all those who were fathers to us, our best wishes and prayers for those who are fathers to the next generation.

Google's Civil War

I've been having a conversation (some would say "spirited debate" or "argument") over Google with a friend online. He's a big fan of Google's suite of hardware - Android, ChromeOS laptops, etc. - and sees great things in their future. I appreciate Google for its work in Search, it's free GMail, it's excellent Google Voice transcription service (yes, it also redirects calls, but all I use it for is voice mail transcription), and the fact that Android is keeping Apple honest on iOS. But more and more, it is becoming clear that Google is in trouble. There's a simple fact that almost everyone is ignoring.

Google is at war with itself.

Google began as a creature of the Web. Search was it's be-all, end-all, and contextual ads paid the bills. (The last part is still true today.) The vision of Google was that ultimately the Network would make Mac vs PC distinctions obsolete. Ultimately, their leadership preached, everything will be done online. (Today we'd say "In the Cloud.") Their new ChromeOS is the ultimate expression of that vision - a computer which exists ONLY to be a gateway to applications that are online. Take a ChromeOS device off the web... and it is little more than a large paperweight. Samsung and others are trying to build a whole platform for Netbooks around this OS, which of course primarily runs Google Apps.

But at the same time, Google introduced Android as a way to ensure that the Mobile future included Google, and left no room for an upstart competitor (like Apple's iOS) to lock them out. They followed the Windows model of "license to everyone and anyone" as a way toward massive growth, and Android now runs on more SmartPhones than Apple or any flavor of Windows Mobile. But this has required repeated compromises to keep phone makers happy and to keep wooing iPhone addicts, and now Android is increasingly becoming App-centric with data living locally on the device. The Google of Android is not a company "of the Network" but a company of the cellular carrier, the hardware vendor, and the software maker.

These two parallel courses are fundamentally incompatible. Ultimately, the computer will have to either move "to the network" or remain in our hands. By pursuing two incompatible courses here, Google is not hedging their bets, but rather showing a split within the company and its philosophy. This split now has Google Android devices competing directly with Google ChromeOS devices for the same customers. And that is unlikely to end well for either of them, especially in light of the Apple juggernaut which has a simple message and a clear alternative.

Here's hoping Google figures this out soon, and drops one path. Or at worst, decided to merge ChromeOS and Android, so there is one code base for customers to worry about. Otherwise, the Google of the future will be the Microsoft of today - out of ideas, out of gas, and praying to hold on for just a little bit longer so the execs can cash out.

Fukushima Daichi: How did I miss this?!

I've been following the Japan tragedy closely, and somehow I missed big news on the U.S. impact of the disaster. Did I miss it, or is the news media not reporting it?

In the US, physician Janette Sherman MD and epidemiologist Joseph Mangano published an essay shedding light on a 35 per cent spike in infant mortality in northwest cities that occurred after the Fukushima meltdown, and may well be the result of fallout from the stricken nuclear plant.

The eight cities included in the report are San Jose, Berkeley, San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Portland, Seattle, and Boise, and the time frame of the report included the ten weeks immediately following the disaster. [Emphasis mine.]

This disaster is starting to look Biblical in its proportions.

UPDATE 10:42 PM EST: Here is the essay It is merely suggestive, not definitive. No study has been done, merely an overview of infant mortality rates before and after the Fukushima Daichi disaster.

Turning the tables...

Hmmmmm....

Each Detox makes it easier to fall off the wagon

We all know the stereotype of the local drunk who quits drinking with every hangover, but is back on the sauce by sundown. But it turns out there is more to alcoholism than normal human short-sightedness. A new study suggests that alcoholism - or the process of quitting - actually damages the part of the brain that allows us to control our urges. Thus, each time a recovering alcoholic goes back to the bar, he or she may be reducing her ability to quit long-term.

Researchers looked at the behaviour and brain activity of alcoholic patients who had recently undergone detoxification, and found that the very act of detoxification from alcohol results in damage to the areas of the brain that veto spontaneous desire - such as the desire to drink.
And the really bad news is that repeated detoxifications cause further damage, making it even harder for alcoholics to remain dry.
...She adds that, when planning detoxifications of alcoholic patients, they, their medical advisers, and support teams need to ensure that everything is set up to give the optimal chance that a single detoxification is sufficient to accomplish control over drinking. "If it fails, and the patient relapses, it will become progressively more difficult to abstain on future occasions.

Tennessee bans sharing

The music industry continues to push for draconian solutions to simple problems. Their newest assault on their customers is a Tennessee law which bans the sharing of your Netflix or Pandora password, which can now be a felony, depending on the level of infraction that the company can prove.

At issue for me is not whether sharing a password is wrong - unless it is within a family, it clearly is wrong - but that somehow the recording industry thinks a law like this is a better solution than simply putting in a technical fix. Why treat a stupid college kid like a Master Criminal, when you can simply lock the door (by limiting a streaming account to one stream at a time)?

It is a mistake to fix simple technical problems, with complicated, life-altering laws.

Parenting is all about setting priorities

PBS ends uninterrupted programming

One of the distinctives over the years for the Public Broadcasting System has been uninterrupted programming - the idea that you can watch an entire episode of Sesame Street without having to see commercials pop up every 15 minutes. This is coming to an end. Coming soon, PBS shows will contain commercial blocks in line with your average television station. Removing yet another reason to separate public broadcasting from the general herd of television.

The switch is intended to combat the problem of viewers “fleeing” to other stations during the network’s blocks of commercials between programs, which can last up to eight minutes. Under the new model, PBS will adopt a “hot switch,” with no break between programs. John F. Wilson, PBS’s chief programmer, told the Times that viewers will never be more than 100 seconds from actual content.

The change will present obstacles to writers accustom to producing content watched in uninterrupted blocks, the kind of viewing many say is vital for in-depth documentary work like Frontline and dramas like Masterpiece Theatre. PBS’s Wilson said that some programs may be spared from commercial breaks, but that many producers will be forced to adapt.

Rest In Peace, T-Mobile Sidekick

It wasn't my first Smartphone - the Kyocera 6035 running PalmOS was that - but the Sidekick may have been the best pre-iPhone smartphone. It provided the killer e-mail experience of a Blackberry at about 1/10th the cost, and also offered excellent texting, good-enough web surfing, and a real App Store years before Apple. It was the T-Mobile Sidekick. And it's best feature was full cloud integration - years before anyone else got it right - your contacts, e-mails, photos, everything was always available online from any computer. But that cloud service goes away starting today, relegating a titan of smartphone usability to being just another Android phone.

Rest in Peace, Sidekick. You will be missed.

Thank You on Memorial Day

Glorious sunset

Romantics, this is your last chance tonight to share the sunset with someone special!
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Just a beautiful image to share with my Mod-Blog friends.

Most days, I wish I could say this

Apologies for so few posts. Blogger and Firefox have not been getting along, so I've been unable to log in the last few days.

New Muppet Movie Trailer

I can't wait!

A Great Marriage Proposal

Social networks as Big Brother

Have you noticed those "Like" and "Tweet" buttons that are popping up all over? A new study suggests they are being used by Facebook and Twitter to track your browsing, even when you don't click them!. It may be time to consider logging off of Social Networks, as these companies are going overboard in their efforts to know everything about their users.

The widgets, which were created to make it easy to share content with friends and to help websites attract visitors, are a potentially powerful way to track Internet users. They could link users' browsing habits to their social-networking profile, which often contains their name...

For this to work, a person only needs to have logged into Facebook or Twitter once in the past month. The sites will continue to collect browsing data, even if the person closes their browser or turns off their computers, until that person explicitly logs out of their Facebook or Twitter accounts, the study found.

Facebook, Twitter, Google and other widget-makers say they don't use browsing data generated by the widgets to track users; Facebook says it only uses the data for advertising purposes when a user clicks on a widget to share content with friends.

I don't want to be one of those paranoid people who assumes the worst of every company. But these days, the Social Networks are giving us every reason to be suspicious.

My thoughts on May 21st "Doomsday"

I have been trying to ignore the Family Radio madness predicting Doomsday on May 21, for fear of giving a false prophet publicity. But now it is all over the news everywhere, so my little blog is not adding to the noise.

My thoughts?

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. - Matthew 24:36

And also...

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. - 1 Thessalonians 5:2

So, first, anyone who claims to know when "the End" will come is claiming to have knowledge the Jesus Himself did not have. But, second, all Christians are called upon to live as though Jesus were returning any second.

Please, be kind on May 22 when we all wake up and find the world still here. There will be many people disillusioned and shocked that they were wrong. And most of them were not deceivers - they were deceived!

Our Canoe Trip down the Delaware River

Thanks to Bowhunter for captaining our little vessel!

Actually, I wonder if this isn't a good idea

I got a visit from Bambi this morning!

I got a visit from Bambi this morning! a video by nomad7674 on Flickr.

While visiting Bowhunter in Bushkill, PA at Camp Mont Lawn.

WHAT IF? Microsoft & Skype

There are many people second-guessing the Microsoft acquisition of Skype. And for good reason. $8.5 billion is Microsoft's largest acquisition ever, and it was for a service which largely duplicates the existing MS Messenger application. The only two features that Skype has which MSN does not are: (1) the ability for telephones to call into it, and (2) the ability to call out to telephones.

And I am wondering if that is EXACTLY what MS wanted to buy.

A little while ago, Google rolled out Google Voice as "the last phone number you'll ever need". The idea was that you could give people your Google Voice number, and it would "bounce" the calls to whatever other phone you chose. It was paired with a clever speech-recognition system which was able to transcribe voice mails and send them to you as text messages and/or e-mails. The whole thing is quite clever, but it is ultimately a hack looking to work around the existing phone systems.

What if, rather than just adding Skype to XBox, Microsoft wants to change Windows Phone such that all calls thru it are done via VOIP, routed thru Microsoft servers. If Microsoft "owns" your phone number, then all calls are over data connections and it doesn't matter if you are calling on a Verizon phone, a Sprint phone, an AT&T phone, or even over your home Wifi or your XBox's ethernet connection. It could provide true phone number portability - perhaps better regarded as phone number "agnosticism" (so long as you stay with a Windows Phone). You could even, theoretically, have a "family phone" where all members of the family have their cell phones/laptops/XBoxes/Zunes ring when anyone calls their Microsoft phone number.

This would truly be thinking outside the box, and could free the customer from the control of the cellular companies. Of course, I doubt the cell phone companies would be too fond of that idea.

REVIEW: LOVE WINS by Pastor Rob Bell

BOOK: Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell
MOD-BLOG RATING: *

THE SHORT VERSION:

More of a college bull session on paper than a serious discussion of the doctrine of Hell, Pastor Bell's book is thought-provoking but not particularly useful. It is recommended only to those interested in what Bell is hearing from non-Christians, rather than to current Christians looking for a real analysis or study of the historical doctrines of Hell.

THE LONG VERSION:

Since the time of the Jesus, the Church and it's leaders have had to keep a close eye on Doctrine - the right teaching about Jesus and God. First century heretics wanted to do away with Christ's humanity - arguing that his flesh was merely an illusion because all that was physical was evil. Later heretics attacked the idea of morality - arguing that Christ had brought complete freedom from ethical living. Still later heretics wanted to abandon Christ's deity - arguing that it was enough for Jesus to be a good teacher. Separating well-meaning questions from sheep from evil-intending questions from wolves has been a major preoccupation from Jesus to Peter to Paul to Augustine to Martin Luther to the present.

The newest charge of heresy within the Evangelical community is against Pastor Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan (not to be confused with Mars Hill Church in Seattle run by Pastor Mark Driscoll). In his new book "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived", Pastor Bell questions the existing prevailing doctrine of Hell - specifically the eternality and finality of eternal punishment - and points out how the doctrine has done much to alienate non-believers.

Bell's book is not a comprehensive treatise on the doctrine of Hell, neither an analysis of its historical underpinnings nor a detailed philosophical argument for a particular position. It is even hard to really figure out what his exact position is on the doctrine of Hell. (I suspect Pastor Bell would see this as "nuanced", whereas to me it was simply "vague".) But I believe this is a fair encapsulation of his views:

Hell does exist. However, it is neither eternal nor inevitable for any human being. Hell is not "punishment", but rather God allowing us to choose to be without Him, which is necessarily misery. God's love and omnipotence is paramount over his wrath or judgement, and ultimately all will come to Him, whether it takes a lifetime or millennia.

Pastor Bell's arguments are actually limited to only a single chapter of the book (all others are preamble, or reflection afterwards) and come out to these:

1. From the very earliest Church fathers, there have been those who believed Hell was not eternal.
2. References to Hell in scripture are vague. (He has digressions into discussions about the Hebrew "Sheol", Greek "Tartarus" and "Hades", and a dismissive look at Gehenna.)
3. God is absolutely sovereign, and absolutely wants all to be reconciled to Him.
4. Most of Jesus's references to "the coming wrath" were references to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, and not to Hell. (A statement he does not spend much time defending.)
5. "Forever" is an incoherent concept, and not one recognized by the Biblical writers.
6. A temporary Hell is "a better story" than an eternal place of conscious torment.

I am not going to address each of these in turn - I leave it to other more educated men and women to do that. But I will note that none of these arguments are novel, convincing, or in many cases even compatible with a plain reading of the text. And Bell ignores many, many more scriptures dealing with Jesus speaking words like "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41) Nor does he dedicate much time to the "lake of fire, which is the second death" in Revelation, which is the most clear reference to an eternal place of torment in all of scripture.

However, in the end, it appears to me that #6 above is the core of Bell's argument. "An eternal Hell makes for a bad story. A temporary Hell where all are ultimately saved makes for a much better one!" Bell is known for embracing the Arts more than the average Evangelical pastor, and his book is full of shifts from a prose to a poetic style (something I found jarring as a reader). As such, he is clearly bothered by the idea of an unhappy ending for many, and by the fact that there are many who reject Christ because they can not accept a God who would sentence a plurality or majority of the human race to a place of eternal torment "for a few short years of sin on the Earth." And he is even more disturbed by the number of people who have rejected Christ because of the traditional doctrine of Hell.

But Christ warned that the gospel, while being "Good News", would be an offense for many. And that "the way to life is narrow, but broad the way to destruction". Over and over in scripture - both Old and New Testaments - we see God saving a "remnant" from destruction - a relatively tiny number out of the mass of humanity.

But the weakness of Bell's argument is actually a saving point. I said to someone after reading the book, "What Bell proposes is heresy, but I do not think Bell is a heretic." This book is not intended to set a new standard for critical analysis, or preach that anyone who teaches Hell is against Christ. Instead, it is like a late-night college bull session, where a bunch of guys stand around saying "What do you think about THIS?" or "Have you ever thought about THAT?" These discussions are not intended to be the last word on any topic. They're intended to stimulate thinking, bat around ideas, and provide a safe forum to ask questions that no college professor would take seriously. Ultimately, they strengthen the orthodox, by allowing each person to figure out why the heterodox fails for him or herself.

Overall, I do not recommend this book to most readers. It's not a serious discussion that shows both sides of the issue, or even provides a coherent argument for its own side. It is more likely to disturb and weaken than to edify. But if you are someone who enjoys playing with ideas, and are comfortable doing lots of your own research afterwards, it can provide a diverting read.

And be aware, if Pastor Bell does shift from "What if?" to "This is the only way", he will truly have become a heretic.

Microsoft to buy Skype?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is set to acquire VOIP company Skype for almost $8 billion. This would rank as the largest acquisition in the history of Microsoft, bringing to mind their failed bid for Yahoo three years ago.

It is unclear to me what, exactly, Microsoft would be gaining with this purchase. Skype is a great service for video-conferencing and internet telephony, but it is already having problems with profitability and security. And these core technologies are widely available and cheap to deploy without buying the core technology. eBay purchased Skype in 2005, and has found little to do with it since then. Then again, they have also invested relatively little, since then.

Perhaps this will give Microsoft something to compete with Apple's FaceTime and Google's GoogleTalk. Or maybe it is just a landgrab for Skype's millions of users, who can easily and quickly switch providers in a heartbeat.

How do we respond to the death of OBL?

The day after the assassination of Osama bin Laden, I was surprised and saddened to see just how many people not only took no joy in the news - but actually took it upon themselves to condemn anyone who viewed his death as good news. Some were simply killjoys - people who took great pleasure in robbing others of happiness - but some were truly thoughtful people struggling with the situation. Religious leaders were equally split this weekend, as they tried to teach their congregants how to react to death of this mass-murderer.

My own read is simple. It is appropriate to rejoice in justice done - especially for those of us in the NYC area who were closest to 9/11 and knew those who died. But it is also appropriate to mourn at the necessity of killing, and at the fact that he will now never have a chance to repent.

Happy Mother's Day!

All of us here at Mod-Blog want to wish our mothers a VERY happy Mother's Day. (And one JUST as happy to one Mod-Blogger who IS a mother.) We thank you for your love, sacrifice, and for your part in giving us all life.

Is it bad that I have had this same thought?

From Pooch Cafe.

Time for honest introspection

We have celebrated the news of the death of Osama bin Ladin - a man who masterminded the killing of 3,000 innocent Americans, and would liked to have killed far more - and our politicians have basked in the glow of success. The spies who found him, the soldiers who confronted him, and the commanders who organized and approved it all should be lauded.

But it is also time to be honest with ourselves. We must admit the discovery of Public Enemy Number One shows our intelligence capabilities in the Arab world are still inadequate. It has been 10 years since 9/11, and we have now learned that OBL spent six years in the compound where we was ultimately found and killed. Let me repeat that: SIX YEARS. And during all of that time, our best intelligence was that he was living in a cave along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, probably constantly in motion. Instead, he was in a secure mansion, surrounded by family, living comfortably with all of the advantages of a modern life except telephone and internet.

After 9/11/2001, we learned that our intelligence services were hampered by an over-reliance on technology over human assets. We loved our gadgets and our gizmos, but hate doing the hard work of building relationships and developing allies. This discovery appears to indicate that nothing has changed in that vein. OBL understood this weakness and exploited it, by keeping gadgets far away. In the end, he fell because of human intelligence - his courier.

Soon, when all of the ceremonies are done and the medals have been awarded, we need to sit down and take a long, hard look at ourselves. Has anything really improved since 9/11/2001 in the areas of developing human assets in the Arab world by our intelligence agencies? (I doubt it.) Or does this great victory show an even greater weakness, that another enemy can exploit?

Should Bin Laden's Photo be Released?

Should the White House release the photo of Osama Bin Laden taken after his death? The answer must be yes. Many believe that it will be inflammatory to some or that it will be too gruesome for many people to see. While both of these points of view may be correct, they don’t acknowledge the current reality. Eventually, the photo will get out. Whether we like it our not, in the age of Wikileaks and 24 hour news, someone will gain access to the photo(s) and release it to the public. The sooner the photo comes out, the less power it will have. The photo probably won’t do much to convince skeptics and conspiracy theorists that Bin Laden is still alive, since these people wouldn’t be convinced even if they took a scuba diving trip to find his body. But convincing people that he is dead is not really the point. We already know that his wife and some children where there and acknowledge that he is dead. If people don’t believe them, then they will never believe. The real issue is that this will be an example of how America tries to be transparent even when it may not benefit us. Just like a scandal situation, this is a situation that the American government needs to be driving the discussion of, not just reacting to what news organizations and internet groups can dig up.

"Living together" doesn't soothe the pains of divorce

It is almost a truism in my generation - "A couple should live together before they marry to test-drive the relationship." Even among some claiming the cross of Christ, it has become a de facto arrangement for many (the excuse usually being reduced expenses of cohabitation). But ethicists and theologians have warned for years that cohabitation is just like a marriage - without the assurance of actual promises or the protection of law. Now, we have proof in a new study which shows that cohabitating couples who split have all of the same pain and problems of divorcing spouses, but without any of the social or legal protections that married couples have available to them.

"I don't think there's any difference in how I felt after the fact, because it felt like it was a marriage," Emerson says. And when they broke up, "it still felt like it was a divorce."
Cohabiting is a significant emotional attachment, and when you break up, "it's going to hurt a lot," says Scott Stanley, co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver. "By cohabiting vs. marrying, people aren't avoiding that aspect of pain."
And because cohabiting has become so widespread — more than 60% of couples who marry today live together first, studies have found — the number of court battles between former partners and the number of cohabitation agreements have increased during the past five years, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

There's a reason marriage was created - to provide a stable foundation for family, and to protect those willing to give up their own lives for those they love. Modern cohabitation has not improved upon it.

Not exactly funny... but true!

Finally, he's the LATE Osama Bin Laden

Credit where credit is due. The Obama administration has accomplished something that the Bush Administration could never do. They have executed an operation which assassinated Osama Bin Laden. Apparently, the kill has been confirmed via DNA testing, so there is no concern that a lookalike or decoy was eliminated instead.

Bin Laden was located at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which was monitored and when the time was determined to be right, the president said, he authorized a "targeted operation."

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation," Obama said. "After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

...Former President George W. Bush said in a statement tonight that Obama called him to inform him of the news of bin Laden's death.

Bush called the operation a "momentous achievement" that "marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001."

Now, we wait to see if this development (1) demoralizes al-Qaeda around the world, (2) energizes and united them, or (3) has no effect whatsoever.

Don't use rhetoric to obscure meaning!

My posting earlier this week about Rob Bell's book Love Wins generated a lot of discussion on Facebook. Among the replies was a link to this article from one of Bell's defenders, written by a friend of a friend. I read the thing at the time and moved on, but one phrase from the article has been bothering me constantly since that time.

Speaking to his Mars Hill congregation this past Sunday, Bell also pointed out that the word "radical" comes from the same word as "radish," meaning "root." In the 17th century, "radical" came to mean, "returning to the origin" or "essential." A radical, therefore, is someone who is returning to the roots, the original, and the essence.

It is exactly this kind of beside-the-point thinking that really bothers me about many of Pastor Bell's supporters. (Again, I have not read the book, not have I met him, so I am withholding judgement on the author himself.) This point is presented as a major bit of wisdom, attempting to legitimize a position by showing etymology proves a "radical" is more true to original intent than a "conservative" or "orthodox" thinker.

But language changes over time, and meanings do not always stay true to original intent. For instance, consider the case of hobo, as investigated by THE STRAIGHT DOPE. The two strongest sources for the word are "Hoe Boy" - i.e. migrant worker - and "Hey, beaux" - i.e. A french dandy. Yet no one would claim that a modern hobo is either inherently a migrant farmer nor a Frenchman.

It is fine to argue for a theological point of view from logic and scripture. But it is deceptive to use rhetorical flourishes like this which obscure truth with facts that sound interesting, but are irrelevant. These kinds of references from Pastor Bell's supporters only serve to further discredit him in the eyes of his critics. And to leave a bad taste in the mouth of those - like me - trying to keep an open mind.

Does the Death Star make economic sense?

I am a Star Wars geek. I know far more trivia about the Original Series, Prequel Series, and Expanded Universe than is healthy for me. And Wardo, CRChair, and Sean can attest that we've had more than our share of conversations about the minutiae of George Lucas's universe. But I am not sure we have ever had a discussion quite on the level of this analysis of the economics of the Death Star (WARNING! There's some salty language in spots) which uses various economic and political theories to analyze whether or not the Emperor's pet project - THE DEATH STAR - really makes sense on a macro-economic scale.

The more you spend on bureaucracy, the less control you have directly over your Empire. The less you spend on bureaucracy, the more you have to tighten your grip, and the more star systems slip through your fingers.

So, the Emperor and Tarkin focus on making one really huge, high-impact investment: The Death Star. They throw in Alderaan as part of that investment. This doomsday weapon will supposedly free up their resources to spend less on administration, personnel and infrastructure, and continue to function without a Senate. It seems like a big investment until you realize how much they save by not actually having a functioning government.

This is an attractive option even today, as politicians look to pay for tax cuts and handouts to core constituencies by laying off or cutting salaries and benefits for bureaucrats and government workers, as well as by skimping on infrastructure.

The problem, of course, is that it doesn’t work. The underpaid, undermotivated, poorly managed stormtroopers can’t even track down the Empire’s most wanted fugitive androids in an extremely sparsely populated area where they have undisputed control. If Tatooine still had meaningful senatorial representation and local government, Luke never would have gotten off the planet.

If you love Star Wars, I must say this article is a must-read piece.

If you use the PlayStation Network, it's time to change your passwords everywhere

After days of outage, Sony is finally coming clean regarding exactly what the "external intruder" gained access to during their hack attack on the gaming giant. And the news is not good. Sony has essentially given up all information about their customers except their credit card numbers... they think.

As Seybold lays it out, the hacker — or “unauthorized person” to be specific — managed to obtain pretty much every bit of information you might’ve given the company, which I’m listing below:

- Name
- Address (city, state, zip)
- Country
- Email address
- Birthdate
- PSN / Qriocity password and login
- PSN online ID / handle
- Purchase history
- Billing address
- Password security answers

The biggest issue here is that most people use the same information to log into their game networks as they use to log into their banks and other financial companies. Thus, by simply reusing the usernames, personal info, and "personal security answers" here, the hacker may be able to steal money from many PSN users without having to touch Sony's network again.

If you're a PSN user, please change your username, password, and security answers at any financial services website that used the same info as Sony's system. Don't wait for the hackers to sell this info to criminals.

President Obama releases his birth certificate

If you were a doubter, here you go. Although, I doubt very much this will silence those who align themselves with the "birther" movement. But here's hoping this forestalls months and months of pointless debate during the actual 2012 presidential campaign among the serious candidates.

If any of our Mod-Blog readers were among the doubters, what is your reaction to this development. And do you agree with Donald Trump that it is all due to him?

Hell & It's Critics

I am not sure how many Mod-Bloggers have been paying attention, but a recent book has renewed an old debate about the existence of Hell and it's place in Christian doctrine. It is easy to forget just how controversial the idea of a place of eternal punishment can be to a non-Christian or humanistic mind. In the mainstream press, people are airing defense of the doctrine of Hell and strong criticisms of it.

The central question of the book - and most of the critiques of it - is "Is Gandhi in Hell"? i.e. Is a man universally recognized as a moral champion who is NOT Christian bound for eternal torment. I imagine similar questions could be asked of other great moral leaders.

To be clear, I believe the general answer of orthodox Christians to this question is "Salvation is found ONLY in Jesus Christ, and as far as we know those who die without saving knowledge of Him are in Hell. However, God is sovereign and if He chooses to make exceptions, He can do so. But if He makes exceptions, it is not indicated in scripture."

Interested to see what Mod-Bloggers think about this controversy. I've already discussed with a few of you. (And yes, I know we need to differentiate between the controversy raised in the book and the controversy triggered by the book.)

Netflix bigger than any cable company

If you're wondering why various cable companies have been trying to force Netflix to pay them for bandwidth, wonder no longer. The DVD rental and streaming video service is now larger than any individual cable company in the USA, with 7% of all American households subscribing.

Did I mention I have some free trial codes for anyone who wants them? ;-)

Origin of the Species - Peeps

Back in the days when I ate sugar, I always preferred Cadbury Creme Eggs to Peeps as my Easter indulgence. But those little yellow chicks have meanwhile taken over the world. I always wondered where they got started.

HE IS RISEN!

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
John 20

It's a Dog's World

Happy Birthday Ward

Happy birthday to the founder of Mod-Blog. We affectionately call him, "The Wardling".

Educated or Scarred for Life? Yes!

I love videos like the one embedded below, as I have been fascinated by dinosaurs all of my life. In some ways, I wish things like this had existed when I was a child. (Although, since I was terrified of the Philly Phanatic, this might have caused me to blow a gasket.) But one site asks the question are such animatronic and puppeteering scare-fests really educational? Or are we just fooling ourselves that fun and learning can co-exist in such environments?

Your iPhone/iPad is watching you!

In scary Big Brother style, it turns out your iOS cellular enabled iPhone or iPad is tracking your every movement. The database found keeps data from the moment iOS 4 is installed, and appears to track even times when GPS location is not turned on (likely using cell tower triangulation).

Skeptical? I used this sample app to pull the data from my own iPhone. The image below. Note it's careful documentation of my trips to Bath and Houghton, NY, Lancaster, PA, Cherry Hill and Wildwood, NJ, and Delaware. Of course, my own privacy is not breeched because I had already posted photos from each of those trips here to Mod-Blog or to my twitter feed.

Please note, getting this info requires access to your device OR to any computer (Mac or PC) which your iOS device has synced with.

Christ in the Passover

With the audience that normal browses Mod-Blog - and the fact that we are now in Passover week - it seemed like a good time and place to post this video from Chosen People Ministries on how Christ is prefigured in the Passover Seder meal.



I always find it fascinating to see how the Old and New Testaments intersect. Feel free to post any other such cases - or your objections - in the comments.

Tradeoffs in Government

I was thinking today about the compromises that are made in government. In a representative democracy often you have to give something of value up in order to get the other side to do the same. Republicans over the past 30 years have given up on budget cuts in order to acquire cuts in taxes. Democrats have given up on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in order to get funding for entitlement programs.
My question today is “Is there something that Republicans could give up in order to acquire the end of legal abortions?” What if Republicans agreed to grant full marital status to homosexual couples? Or what if Republicans agreed to “the right to Universal Health Care”? Would either of these issues be enough to sway Democrats? Also, would the rank and file Republican support such an idea? A trade of this type would probably have to be done in the form of a Constitutional Amendment because otherwise one side of the compromise may be found unconstitutional while the other side remains law.
What item of value might you be willing to give up in order to accomplish something of greater value to you in government?

Watch for ATM Skimmers!

ATM Card Skimmers are devices attached to ATM and Point-of-Sale kiosks that either electronically read your card as you insert it, or use a video camera to gather information like card numbers and PIN. Tax time is prime-time for ATM card thieves, as people are hitting the bank more than usual to move money around or pull statement information. Be sure you know how to spot a skimmer and take measures to protect yourself from thieves. Using modern wireless technology, the thief may not even be within sight of the ATM when this happens.

And at the very least ALWAYS cover our PIN entry.

SOB! Today *IS* Tax Day

Well, we all got a reprieve, but today is Tax Day. Tax forms must be eFiled or mailed today in order to avoid penalties (or you must apply for an automatic extension). But the good news is plenty of experts have tips to help you get the most back from the tax man. And even if you are filing last-minute, there are always online options to avoid the lines at the post office.

Dee Leicht E.A. preparer at H & R Block at 4530 Lemay Ferry Road suggests:

- If you are preparing your own taxes, make sure that you file Schedule M, Making Work Pay, to receive up to a $400 credit.
- Check your deductions for education. They are very good this year and include books and supplies.
- Make sure you take exemptions for any persons (earning less than $3600) that you supported in 2010.

And remember, even if you do file for the automatic extension, you still have to pay what you EXPECT to owe to avoid paying interest and penalties.

Is the future of Magazines a Netflix-like service?

This is a very interesting idea, and one that had not occurred to me. Interested to see what a newspaper/magazine industry veteran like Sean thinks of this.

Imagine if you could pay $10-$15 per month to have access to the daily editions of hundreds of newspapers, or the latest issue of any magazine that crosses your mind. Yes, publishers would need to get used to running with lower profit margins than they'd like. But those margins are going to get thinner every year unless the industry finds some way to meet the digital age head on.

The Thinking Behind the Narnia Movies

I don't bring it up much here, but I am a major C.S. Lewis fan. His work was a major formative influence on my philosophy and theology. And I have really enjoyed the "Chronicles of Narnia"movies, despite their faults. So, I was glad to see a new interview on Christianity Today discussing Dawn Treader, and where the franchise is going next.

So what kind of reaction are you getting from those people about Dawn Treader?
There's agreement that we are getting things right thematically. In terms of Reepicheep with that Aslan-size hole in his heart, getting that right. In terms of Eustace talking about no matter how hard I tried I couldn't do it myself, the idea that redemption is something that has to be given; it can't be earned. For the most part people have agreed that we've done a good job with those themes.

Surprise! Today is NOT Tax Day

Somehow I missed this until yesterday, but taxes are NOT due April 15 this year. They are due Monday, April 18. So, if you've not already filed or eFiled or requested an extension, you have a few more days before panic has to REALLY set in.

And if you want to start NOW, don't forget many options to fill out your taxes online!