Got Firefox?

9 June 2006

If you aren’t a Firefox user, there’s no time like the present. If you haven’t seen the recent Firefox Flicks, use some weekend to catch up.

Stay tuned for an upcoming essay. You just might answer some of these questions:

  • What’s the state of Linux on the desktop?
  • Will your next computer run Windows, OS X or Linux?
  • Will you upgrade your PC to run Windows Vista & Office 2007?
  • Can anyone make money in PC’s any more?

Comment [1]

Filed under:

Impressions and Attitudes

2 June 2006

...a simple “cheat sheet” for those confused and worried about the place of Christianity in AmericaIt’s easy to carry a flawed notion about people of faith these days. Sometimes the notions are spot on. Encountering the choir member berating the waitress etches an image that’s probably not flawed at all. Reading the mainstream media’s views of Christians, one gets the impression that Sunday mornings involve snake-handling wherever Christians have gathered. That’s a bit less accurate.

Too many Christians want credit for their behaviors while doing their Christian stuff. Then, they want that credit to buy them a pardon when they do their non-Christian stuff. Like berating the waitress! That’s the way it is with all of us though, isn’t it? We hope the good things we do gather some slack for those moments when we get wound a little too tightly.

There’s humor in all of it. There’s humor in the misimpressions that people form. There’s humor in the attempts people make to appear holier than thou. After all we’re humans and we can be pretty funny regardless of how you look at us.

Mike Holihan points to the glossary that can untangle all the flawed thinking in a Salon article by Michelle Goldberg. Read the Salon article first. Follow that with a bit of a rebuttal—in glossary form. Here’s the teaser:

To be fair to these perplexed and terrified people, Christians are not easy to understand. To begin with, there are roughly 2,000 years of history to grasp, and certainly more denominations and subdivisions than that to take on board. For people who were raised secular, I imagine it’s like trying to understand an opera after coming in halfway before the end: the stage is crowded with people, two of them seem to be dead, a woman is wearing a hat with horns, and everyone is making a terrible racket.

Once you’ve had your humor fix, change gears and read what the Real Live Preacher has to say about Gospel Living in a Superficial World.

Comment

Filed under:

What Did They Fight For?

28 May 2006

How timely that the branches of our government have chosen to fight amongst themselves on this Memorial Day weekend. For me, the play-by-play announcer, color commentator and referee who One hundred percent turnover of Congress in the next three elections!can call this game correctly is Glenn Reynolds. The links are here, here, here and here, and they lead to all manner of insight into this separation of powers crisis. Once you’ve read those (and the included links), take a look at these: 123456789—My gosh; just keep reading this stuff.

Our veterans didn’t fight because we’re entitled to our opinions. They fought for the rights, privileges and the rule of law derived from our Constitution. No one is above the law—not me—not you—not Hastert—not Jefferson—not Boxer—not Pelosi—none of them.

I’d like to see a movement in this country that calls for all 535 members of Congress to be replaced during the next three elections. That’s a hundred percent turnover! Make sure that no more than a fourth of them are lawyers, too. Then, require the newly-elected to operate under a balanced budget equal to 75% of our current budget. Sure—it sounds naive, but give me a better idea!

Comment

Filed under:

Not the First Time

19 May 2006

I’ve got friends of faith who are in a tizzy over The Da Vinci Code – book and movie. They’ve been going to seminars to learn how to refute those who object to what my friends have been believing since they were nine years old.

Somehow, I don’t think revisionist history should be that threatening. After all this isn’t the first time that the Christian faith has been challenged. If you can get to it—subscription may be needed—read what Joseph Loconte has written in Debunking the Debunkers. Loconte quotes C.S. Lewis as follows:

“I do not wish to reduce the skeptical element in your minds,” Lewis explained. “I am only suggesting that it need not be reserved exclusively for the New Testament and the Creeds. Try doubting something else.”

Comment [1]

Filed under:

Omaha Weekend

6 May 2006

Lots of news has converged around Berkshire Hathaway and the annual meeting in Omaha today. Three key bits:

Yesterday’s closing numbers for Berkshire show that an “A” share carries a price of $88,710. Learn more about the company by reading here and here. Just to whet your appetite, the business press is reporting that Berkshire’s first quarter earnings show a 70% increase over the same quarter last year!

Comment

Filed under: