Notes from the Blue Book

memo

2009-03-24T11:54:00.002-04:00

No more new posts here.

The Bluebook gets a new address!

2009-03-23T15:19:00.006-04:00

Ever wondered how Notes from the Blue Book ended up with such a difficult, hard to remember address like http://www.papa-ridgeback.blogspot.com?

Me, too. But it was a beginner's mistake ... and one that caused years of head scratching, trying to find a solution.

Now that's changed. Here's my blog's new easy to remember address:

joedhall.blogspot.com

It'll take some time to transfer the sidebars, but as of today, all one thousand nine hundred-ninety-three previous posts are up and running.

Progress feels good.

Joe Sangl takes Financial Freedom to Washington, DC

2009-03-23T11:47:00.006-04:00

New Spring's Pastor of Financial Planning Joe Sangl will be interviewed tonight at 6:15 PM on WAVA FM radio station in Washington, DC.

You can click here at 6:15 PM EST to listen live on the web.

Church-tech Treat

2009-03-22T09:33:00.010-04:00

This morning I finally got the 5MileWiFi booster on my boat up and running.

A typical laptop has a somewhat feeble 50mw wireless adapter and essentially, the 5MileWiFi booster is a 1000mw (doesn't 1000mw=1 watt?) 2-port USB device including a 9dbi fiberglass external antenna and low-loss cables, that dramatically improves a computer's wireless peformance.

Yep, the results are dramatic: now my network sharing center shows about 20 5-bar networks, when it used to show just two.

Pictured above is the booster's external antenna. Sorta looks like a digital steeple, doesn't it ... especially since it'll be ushering me online and into today's web campus services.

Need a ride to church? Let your mouse do the driving.

2009-03-22T07:54:00.004-04:00

Catch a mouse-ride to church? Yes ... using your computer's mouse, that is.

Just double-click on the next line at 11:15 AM, 2:00 PM [2:00 PM Pacific], or 6:00 PM.

New Spring Church Web Campus

I'm using an 11.0 Mbps broadband connection; that means I'm taking the wireless road to church, too. :-)

Notes on staying home with the floo

2009-03-21T23:27:00.004-04:00

Somehow I've got it and have had it all week, even though I bought a $35 flu shot at Safeway several months ago.

The vaccine folks would argue the shot is actually lessening my symptoms, or that the vaccine only represents a "best guess" about which form of flu might be prevalent and isn't necessarily 100% on the mark.

Ugh, ok then. If you've got the flu it might be a good idea to stay home until you're no longer contagious, to prevent spreading your bug to un-deserving friends and un-suspecting co-workers. Really. Stay home, be a good friend and don't make your friends sick.

No, that doesn't mean you have to miss going to church if you're sick or shut-in.

Just double-click on this line at 11:15 AM, 2:00 PM or 6:00 PM Eastern Time to visit the New Spring web campus, and worship right where you're sitting.

Even if you're not coughing, sneezing and aching with the flu.

Ja, we have no bananas today

2009-03-21T09:50:00.003-04:00

(Saturday morning blog lite)

-From today's "The Gift of Understatement" Department

$2M worth of cocaine found in banana boxes

(CNN) -- A German supermarket employee got a surprise this week when she opened two boxes of bananas to find them filled with more than 60 pounds of cocaine worth $2 million, police said.

"This is obviously a matter of a logistical mistake," a spokesman for the Bavarian State Bureau of Investigation, based in Munich, told CNN Friday.

- source

Postcards from Havana

2009-03-20T19:36:00.018-04:00

My birthday was this week, and a friend sent me this terrific gift through the mail: a 1920s-vintage, unused postcard from the Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana.

Earlier this year, I found the following vintage postcard featuring Havana's jai-alai fronton.

Jai alai is the fastest, most dangerous ball game in the world ... now notice that unlike today, there's no chain-link fence protecting spectators from the ball (players didn't wear helmets back then, either).

Ok great ... but the 1920s happened a long time ago.

What's been happening on the other side of the fence recently?

Here's some excerpts from the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report:

Some sources estimate that as much as 80 percent of the population consults with practitioners of religions with West African roots, such as Santeria or Yoruba.

The Government requires religious groups to register with the provincial Registry of Associations within the Ministry of Justice to obtain official recognition.

The law allows for the construction of new houses of worship once the required permits are obtained; however, the Government rarely authorizes new construction permits.

House churches are subject to numerous regulations, many of which address location and hours of worship. Directive 43 and Resolution 46 require house churches to register with the Government. The vast majority of house churches were unregistered and thus technically illegal; however, most registered religious groups were able to hold services in private homes.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide estimates that there are at least 10,000 house churches nationwide. Their numbers have increased in recent years, which religious leaders attributed to the Government not authorizing construction of new churches.

Catholic Church officials estimate that 10 percent of baptized Catholics attend Mass regularly. Membership in Protestant churches increased and was estimated at 550,000 persons. The Baptists, represented in four different conventions, are possibly the largest Protestant denomination, followed closely by the Pentecostal churches, particularly the Assembly of God. The number of Pentecostals is believed to be rising sharply.

Government officials continued to harass, threaten, and fine unregistered religious groups, and state security forces continued to subject officially sanctioned and unregistered house churches to surveillance.

Learn more about Cuban House Churches here.

It's time to make the Transition®

2009-03-19T10:41:00.006-04:00

It's a plane that drives ...

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Terrafugia’s award-winning MIT-trained engineers have been advancing the state-of-the-art in personal aircraft since 2006. Now you can streamline your flying experience with the revolutionary integration of personal land and air travel made possible by the Transition® Roadable Aircraft.

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this is interesting ...

2009-03-19T08:59:00.004-04:00

Today, March 19, is St. Joseph's Day:

Saint Joseph's Day, 19 March, the Feast of St. Joseph or Solemnity of Saint Joseph is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a Solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church, a feast in the provinces of the Anglican Communion, and a feast or festival in the Lutheran Church. Saint Joseph's Day is the Patronal Feast day for persons named Joseph, Josephine, etc., for religious orders, schools and parishes bearing his name, and for carpenters. It is also Father's Day in some Catholic countries, namely Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy.

This date was already dedicated to Saint Joseph in several Western calendars in the tenth century. It was accepted in Rome in 1479, and in 1621 it was inserted into the General Roman Calendar for celebration throughout the Latin Rite. Since it always falls within Lent, Episcopal Conferences may, if they wish, transfer it to a date outside Lent.

- wikipedia

(above: Tampa Municipal Hospital)

(above: The Bachelor Apartments c.1931 , formerly located at 140 Biscayne, Tampa)

Picadillo: the sofrito secret

2009-03-19T08:22:00.008-04:00

(Thursday morning musings from Calypso's galley)

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of the Cuban dish Picadillo, and usually cook a homemade batch several times each month.

Never mind that it's impossible to find real Vigo Spanish arroz amarillo in these parts (I'm starting to think Picadillo should be served over white rice anyway).

[above: Picadillo photo from wikipedia]

The other day I found what promised to be the "real secret" of making Picadillo, and decided to give the secret a try last Tuesday night.

Was the result equal to what I remember at Cafe Mercedes in Tampa?

No, but it was a major taste-step in the right direction ... so I'll be tinkering some more with the spices next week.

(above: A view from 14th Street down 7th Avenue in Ybor City, c. 1930- source)

above: Seventh Avenue, Ybor City, Tampa- source

Studying the obvious

2009-03-16T19:56:00.009-04:00

(Monday Night blog lite)

Saturday night I walked across the street to Safeway, did my shopping, and walked out carrying five plastic bags stuffed full of groceries. By the time I crossed Boston Street and got back to the marina I was worried the bags would break, so I grabbed a dock cart and used it to wheel my onerous load back to the boat.

Then I made supper, blogged a little bit and went to sleep.

Around noon the next day I realized stuff from my list was missing. Lots of items I'd paid for had vanished. A quick check of my receipt confirmed my worst suspicions: some of my edibles were missing.

After about three hours of fretting and searching every square inch of my boat I finally gave up and accepted the obvious solution. The obvious solution was that after arriving back at my boat, I forgot to tote all my groceries on board.

When I finally went outside and looked up and down the dock, I realized the dock cart was gone.

So were my groceries.

It's been a couple of days now but still I catch myself wondering, How come stuff like that happens? I dunno.

Or maybe I just forgot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mental Abilities Peak at 22: New Study

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Do you forget where you parked the car? Do you search for words? Well, we’ve got bad news for you: New research shows that mental abilities peak at age 22 — and start to decline by age 27.

University of Virginia researchers tested more than 2,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 60, over the course of seven years, asking them to solve puzzles, take memory tests and spot patterns. They discovered that in nine of the 12 tests, the 22-year-olds came out on top.

By the age of 27, peak scores started to go south for tests of reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualization. By 37, memory was starting to diminish.

The silver lining? According to the Daily Mail, the report states that "abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or general information, increase until at least the age of 60."

What happened yesterday on the web?

2009-03-16T08:15:00.011-04:00

(Disclaimer: Though I am a member, I am not on staff nor is this blog endorsed in any way by New Spring Church, its staff, leadership or membership. Any opinions, impressions or reactions included here are entirely my own, and any responsibility for errors, omissions or other fault is mine.

No, I didn't write that because somebody's been yelling at me :-)

Instead, I included the disclaimer as an up-front reminder that what you read here is only me, without any coaching, "talking points" or instructions of any kind from anyone else.)

I've been attending both the 11:15 AM and 6:00 PM services at New Spring's Web Campus. Visiting both services lets me watch the first service full-screen size, so later I feel free to keep the display reduced during the 6PM service, which leaves enough room on my laptop's 10.5" screen to log-in and join the Chat Room.

Yesterday the web campus added a 2:00 PM (11:00 AM Pacific) service, and Joe Sangl's message was so powerful I attended it, too. And noticed new things happening along the way.

I noticed that a lot of folks who'd never met in "real life," including people who live on opposite ends of the planet, remembered others' log-in names and were welcoming and greeting each other profusely as they signed in.

Does that sound like a small, So-What thing? Maybe ... until you've signed in, and discover a half-dozen folks who've remembered your name are shouting a big Welcome in your direction. Seemingly insignificant things like a personal greeting might even start you realizing There's actually a loving group of believers here! after all.

Just like a "real" church.

It was amazing to see the web campus bringing worshippers together from Hawaii, Arizona, California, Alabama, New Jersey, New York City, the UK, Estonia, South and Central America (those are just the ones I remember) ... and here's the second thing that caught my attention: it wasn't long before worshippers began chatting back and forth in Spanish. Lots of folks, not just visitors in Latin America, but Spanish majors attending from Clemson University, too.

The folks attending from the southern hemisphere hadn't happened upon the web campus by chance, either: Nope, turns out they were both regular visitors ... because in Spanish, the woman in Peru told the man in Ecuador "This church teaches sound doctrine and preaches straight from the Bible." And he answered, from Ecuador, that he'd found the web campus because he followed Perry's blog.

Seems like they both enjoyed the music, too: the band's all-acoustic set included a cajón.

But now the big thing.

Yesterday was the first time I'd noticed folks approaching Pastor Nick to seek guidance and counsel concerning specific issues in their lives.

A man living in a western state, who had no local home church because his job included lots of out-of-state Sunday travel, asked whether it was OK to give his tithe instead to friends who were either in Bible school or living abroad as missionaries. Someone else was curious about the scriptural difference between a tithe and an offering.

One woman confessed the terrible crises debt had caused in her life ... and was eager for scriptural-based guidance to get her life back in order and start living according to God's purpose. Another woman wrote seeking Nick's counsel concerning a difficult situation in a dating relationship.

Could just be me, but seems like when the web campus first launched, lots of chat room dialogue focused on technological stuff like server capacity, connection speeds and wireless signal strength.

But all three services yesterday felt different because folks, lots of them, were opening up to express what was happening inside their hearts, live ... using the church's digital venue to admit their need for sound spiritual guidance and prayer.

Just like what happens inside a "real" church. And I can't help but think that's gotta be big.

Could just be me, but it sure seems like the web campus is already creating a palpable sense of community among worshippers.

Just like a "real" church.

Finally, as each of the three services was about to conclude, I was amazed at the number of worshippers exchanging contact information, to stay in touch and follow-up with each other during the week. Meaning, keeping in touch during the times when the web campus is off-line. And I was amazed at the number of worshippers expressing their desire to open their homes for group-viewing the service.

Those two things by themselves sure sound to me like the web campus is spreading the gospel, bringing believers together in worship and sharing the joy of knowing Christ ... not just inside a brick-walled building, but planet-wide.

Yes, the web campus really is church.

Black Market Barbies?

2009-03-16T07:55:00.005-04:00

(Monday morning Blog Lite)

West Virginia Lawmaker Jeff Eldridge Seeks Barbie Ban

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Now that she’s turning 50, Barbie may find herself an outlaw in West Virginia!

Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge proposed a bill Tuesday that would ban the iconic doll and all of her plastic clones. The measure, creatively entitled the "Barbie Ban Bill," claims such toys perpetuate unhealthy, unrealistic stereotypes for young girls and women: "I just hate the image that we give to our kids that if you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, and you don’t have to be smart."

I'm guessing convicted offenders would go straight to the Barbie Big House? Hmmm.

Web Campus screen shots

2009-03-15T11:32:00.003-04:00

'ello L.A.

2009-03-15T08:39:00.005-04:00

Starting today, New Spring's web campus is adding an 11 AM (Pacific) service for folks living on the west coast (that's 2 PM eastern).

Now there's three online services each Sunday: 11:15 AM, 2 PM and 6 PM ET ... and one more reason to stop by and see what the web campus is all about.

Not America's Next Top Role Models

2009-03-15T08:12:00.006-04:00

Three people were arrested in New York City today after a riot broke out at auditions for America's Next Top Model at the Park Central Hotel.

Authorities are saying that at least six people were injured when bedlam broke out outside of the midtown Manhattan hotel where auditions were being held for Tyra Bank's 13th Cycle of ANTM. Two of injured were transported to an area hospital for treatment. - source

Comfy Christians

2009-03-14T21:52:00.017-04:00

Reading the Bible, sometimes I'll come across a verse depicting an event in Christ's ministry, or a statement made by Jesus himself, that's suddenly very different from what I remembered or expected.

The most recent examples are from Matthew 11.

When John the Baptist was in prison and learned Jesus was away preaching in Galilee, John sent his disciples to ask Jesus a question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Doesn't John's question seem ... odd?

After all, when he was still in Elizabeth's womb, hadn't unborn-John "leapt for joy" upon hearing Mary's greetings? Hadn't John told his followers that "one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to unite. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire"?

Wasn't it John the Baptist who baptised Christ, and who testified to then having seen the Spirit of God descending on Jesus like a dove?

So then why, once John's in prison, does he abruptly start having doubts about Jesus? What was suddenly on John's mind that was so serious, urgent and immediate that it caused him to dispatch his disciples (and wear out their feet) on a 200-mile round-trip walk so they could track Jesus down and ask him, almost sarcastically, Are you the one we're waiting for... or is somebody else?

Languishing in prison, the issue that had seized John's attention (since he was after all, a prophet) was the certainty that his death was imminent.

And as a chosen, faithful servant and prophet of God's Kingdom, John the Baptist must've been wondering why on earth Jesus was off somewhere preaching in the boonies ... instead of racing back to Jerusalem to hurl a righteous miracle or two at King Herod's head.

John was likely consumed by the idea If Jesus is for real then he must know I'm in trouble, so why isn't he here taking care of my problems ... and bustin' me out of jail?

From John's perspective, was it too much to expect Jesus to show up and throw down with a teeny-tiny miracle ... like a prison-break? Wasn't John all about furthering the advance of God's kingdom? What was taking Jesus so long?

See, John was getting anxious ... and wanted an immediate answer to his immediate needs.

How did Jesus answer? Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

A short while later, Herod ordered John beheaded ... to satisfy a dancer's whim.

-- -- --

Folks who believe in a cozy, God-keeps-me-safe-and-comfortable brand of Christianity would probably argue "Look, God calls different people to live different lives, and to do different things. God didn't call everybody to do exactly the same thing."

In other words, believers who treat Christ like the ultimate good luck charm are convinced that their dedication and devotion should result in lots and lots of blessings, favors and rewards ... clearly because their righteousness means they've earned God's favoritism.

No wonder Comfy Christians love their religion so much and consider themselves the most faithful, Biblical, sin-free and deserving Christians on the planet: obviously it's God's will for them to do nothing more than sit back, prosper and stand by ... and watch the blessings keep piling on.

I'm just guessing, but it's not hard to imagine they might be the same folks who find so many faults with others, and who have the most to complain about in church.

Comfy Christians believe it's always someone else who God tells to take risks; that it's always the other guy who's called to make sacrifices and bear the yoke; that it's only repentant super-sinners (certainly not folks who grew up going to church and never missed Sunday School) who get called to take up their cross daily and live all-out, completely and dangerously for Christ no matter the risk.

Like John the Baptist.

Like Paul.

Like Stephen and like Christ's disciples ... followers who were 100% devoted and convicted ... who knew Jesus had not suffered crucifixion and then rose from the grave in his hurry to get back and promise them prosperity, guarantee their comfort and grant them their wishes (especially when they're disguised as prayers).

Video: Building An Online Church Community

2009-03-14T15:00:00.002-04:00

Here's a short video clip of New Spring Web Campus Pastor Nick speaking at Unleash, stressing the importance of the church's role in building Community. (source)

Notes on life and cooking

2009-03-13T21:36:00.006-04:00

I dunno what's up lately; I've been burning stuff in the oven. Maybe I set the timer wrong, maybe the element is (already) going bad.

Or maybe when I'm blogging, I just ignore the timer and forget to get the food out of the oven before it burns. But it's only been happening recently.

Well, tonight's debacle was cinnamon rolls. Pillsbury Grands. With Cream Cheese Icing. Five big hockey pucks smothered with sugary topping.

Here's the thing: when all the cinnamon rolls you got look like charcoal briquettes, I like burned cinnamon rolls.

In fact, I like burned cinnamon rolls a lot.

Take a Friday night elephant ride over the Alps

2009-03-13T20:02:00.006-04:00

Well, only sorta.

For anyone interested in learning more about Rome's disastrous defeat at The Battle of Cannae, mentioned in yesterday's post, tonight at 10 PM The History Channel is airing "Battles BC: Hannibal the Annihilator."

About 200 years before Christ's birth, Carthaginian general Hannibal stunned the civilized world by moving his force of 38,000 infantry and 8000 cavalry, including 37 elephants, to attack the most powerful government on earth. It's estimated Hannibal lost half his troops in the hazardous crossing, and arrived in northern Italy with just two dozen elephants and 24,000 men.

But that was all Hannibal needed to humiliate the legendary Roman Legions, as he convincingly demonstrated at the Battles ... no, the slaughters ... of Trebia, Cannae and Lake Trasimene. More than 98,000 Roman soldiers died in just those three battles ... and all three occurred within a single year.

Hannibal has been attributed with the famous quotation,

"We will either find a way, or make one."

Hard times for Hogan?

2009-03-13T08:08:00.008-04:00

(Friday blog lite)

Some folks say pro wrestling is scripted and fixed; still, it's a shame when a sports icon's real-life goes off-script ... and divorce starts feeling like the only fix.

Hulk Hogan asks Fla court for funds to pay bills

2 days ago

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Hulk Hogan's lawyers have asked a judge to grant the former professional wrestler access to some of his funds that were frozen while his pending divorce is resolved.

Attorneys for Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, filed documents Monday asking that he be given $300,000 from the frozen assets. In December, Linda Bollea was granted $400,000 to pay attorneys' fees.

Hogan claims back surgery he had last month will keep him from working for a time. The motion said he has nearly $411,000 in his bank account and his bills top $312,000.

A hearing is scheduled Thursday on the issue.

Hulk Hogan (Terry Gene Bollea), son of Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher, and Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, was raised in Tampa, Florida.

While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration.

Hogan spent most of his time at a local gym, where he met pro wrestler Mike Graham, the son of legendary wrestler and National Wrestling Alliance president Eddie Graham. Hogan's physical stature also caught the attention of Jack Brisco and his brother Gerald.

Together, they convinced Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan agreed, and in 1976, Mike Graham introduced Hogan to Hiro Matsuda, who was among the sport's top trainers. - wikipedia

Hulkster Trivia: In an interview on both the Tonight Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Hogan claimed that the George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time. George Foreman was called and he chose to endorse the grill.

According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.

-- --- --

The Great Malenko was my all-time favorite wrestler. I still remember the TV interview from the Sportatorium ( 106 N. Albany in Tampa) when Malenko, in his thick Russian accent, informed wrestling commentator Gordon Solie, "You know what? I have to leave half my brains at the door just to come in here and talk to you."

- The Great Malenko, above

(Gordon Solie was The Dean of Wrestling Announcers; some of his "Solieisms" include: "He's not fast, he's sudden", "Five letters, two words, I Quit", "His face is becoming a crimson mask", "They're going at it hammer and tongs" and "Pier 6 brawl".

Solie was occasionally the track announcer at The Golden Gate Speedway in Tampa, too.)

I also liked bad guys Ox Baker and Sputnik Monroe. Go figure.

Ox Baker (above): "Now let's go hurt somebody!"

Sputnik Monroe, above

Hardcore History

2009-03-12T13:04:00.006-04:00

Several months ago a friend recommended a series of podcasts by Dan Carlin titled "Hardcore History."

Carlin's a not a historian: he's a history enthusiast with a knack for transforming ancient, dry-sounding topics into a vivid series of mental images, as he brilliantly did when depicting the ghastly fate of Roman legions surrounded by Hannibal's army at the Battle of Cannae in 216 B.C. during the Second Punic War.

It's estimated that 600 Roman soldiers died each minute during the day-long battle. Once the legions were cut off and surrounded by Hannibal's armies, the carnage became so horrific that Rome's bravest soldiers began digging holes and burying their heads, choosing to suffocate themselves rather than await a more hideous death at the bloody hands of the Carthaginians.

By the end of the day the slaughter was so extensive that out of Rome's original 75,000 troops, only perhaps two or three thousand escaped the battlefield with their lives ... a massacre representing Rome's second greatest military defeat of all time.

That's like all US combat deaths in Viet Nam happening before 3 PM in just one day.

-- -- --

If you were among the comparative handful of Roman survivors, never mind the humiliating defeat ... if you were still alive then you'd have felt like you'd won life's biggest lottery. If you were among the Carthagian victors, you'd undoubtedly have felt a bit heroic and larger-than-life, if only because victory meant your personal existence had been preserved.

But eternal life wasn't included among the spoils divided by the victors that day and every one of the survivors, whether Roman or Carthaginian, eventually died and returned to dust.

Sometimes a soldier's death was merely postponed until the next combat (or the next infected tooth or the next mosquito bite). No matter what battlefield heroics he performed, no matter his rank or wealth, no matter how cunning his tactics or his strategy, no matter how physically strong he proved himself to be, Death was always more cunning, stronger and more persistent.

Seems strange that 2225 years later, despite all of history's best evidence to the contrary, so many folks still treat death as an inconvenience ... to be delayed, worked-around or postponed until the time of their own choosing.

Footnote

additional Battle of Cannae details:

Although the true figure will probably never be known, Livy and Polybius variously claim that 50,000-70,000 Romans died with about 3,000–4,500 taken prisoner.[8] Among the dead were Lucius Aemilius Paullus himself, as well two consuls for the preceding year, two quaestors, twenty-nine out of the forty-eight military tribunes, and an additional eighty senators (at a time when the Roman Senate was comprised of no more than 300 men, this constituted 25–30% of the governing body). Another 8,000 from the two Roman camps and the neighboring villages surrendered on the following day (after further resistance cost even more fatalities - more or less 2,000).

In all, perhaps more than 75,000 Romans of the original force of 87,000 were dead or captured — totaling more than 85% of the entire army. In the battle itself only, perhaps more of 95% of the Romans and allies were killed or captured. - source

Watch UNLEASH 2009 for free

2009-03-12T11:45:00.001-04:00

Building Bridges

2009-03-10T09:32:00.012-04:00

Wood is terrific for making things ... like 2x4s and fishing poles. (Ok, I know bamboo is actually a grass ;-)

The Kinsol Trestle. Completed in 1920, it's 125 feet high and 614 feet long ... and one of the highest wood trestles in the word.

- photo by George Klein

But awesome as wood is, it's no longer the best choice for building bridges. Compared to steel, wood has some significant structural limitations. Even so, early steel bridges were uninspired and drew heavily from familiar designs; surely their construction appeared flimsy, dangerous and suspicious to the wood-loving public.

- The Georgetown Loop, Colorado

It took some serious thinking outside the box to unlock the new technology's potential, before we began seeing steel bridges like this:

The Millau Viaduct, France

Can you imagine building the Millau Viaduct using wood planks, nails and timbers?

A modern parallel to the evolution of bridge engineering is the church web campus: what radical thinking and ground-breaking design will be required to unlock the new technology, and create an internet virtual bridge connecting the entire world to the Gospel?

Get debt-free; Stay debt free

2009-03-10T09:23:00.004-04:00

Joe Sangl is Pastor of Financial Planning at New Spring Church. It is his passion and mission "to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances so they can go do EXACTLY what they have been put on this earth to do".

Here's Joe's upcoming schedule:

Thursday (3/12/2009): Speaking during breakout sessions of Unleash Conference at NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC)
Sunday (3/15/2009): Speaking during Sunday services of NewSpring Church(Anderson, SC)
Saturday (3/21/2009): Teaching Financial Counseling Experience (Lakeland, FL)
Sunday (3/22/2009): Speaking and Financial Learning Experience Compass Point (Lakeland, FL)
Tuesday (3/24/2009): Financial Learning Experience NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC)
Wednesday (3/25/2009): Financial Learning Experience NewSpring Church (Florence, SC)
Thursday (3/26/2009): Financial Learning Experience NewSpring Church (Greenville, SC)

The price is $15 for individuals and $20 for couples.

This church belongs to Jesus

2009-03-09T22:39:00.002-04:00

- clip from yesterday's service: "I Need A Bailout"

boat moving

2009-03-09T22:08:00.014-04:00

Today one of my neighbors decided to move his sailboat to another marina, and asked me to go along to help handle the lines.

Richard (left) and Bob (right) make sure the lines are right before leaving the slip. We're gonna tow the sailboat toward the Inner Harbor.

Underway: Richard's at the helm controling the boat towing his sailboat. Bob's handling the rudder aboard the sailboat, and keeping clear of obstacles (like dock fingers).

Now we're exiting the marina entrance. I've been through the Entrance once; today was the first time I've been out.

Now we're out in the bay & on our way to Richard's new marina.

Richard at the controls.

Bob did a good job with the tiller.

Wind pretty much did the rest, and pushed the sailboat into her new slip.

Now, Calypso is the smallest boat left in the marina.

Time's top 25 blogs

2009-03-09T08:33:00.002-04:00

25 Best Blogs 2009

Complete List

TOP BLOGS

MOST OVERRATED BLOGS

-source

There's no point inviting me to church, because I like sinning

2009-03-07T11:37:00.017-05:00

One of the most popular excuses I've heard from folks who resist even visiting church is, "Yeah but there's always a bunch of rules they want you to live by, and I don't need some hypocrite telling me how to live my life."

The second most popular excuse for not visiting is a sarcastic jab, "How long before they start asking for my money?"

The remarks sound different, but both express the same conviction: I like sinning and putting myself first. But I wonder, is every church really full of hypocrites?

Well, if the word hypocrite means a person whose actions belie stated beliefs, then I'm a hypocrite, too ... because despite professing faith in Christ, I am continually failing and fall short.

Only Jesus Christ was perfect and without sin: not any preacher, not any TV evangelist, not the head deacon, not Mother Theresa, not the Pope and not anybody else.

No matter what faith, religion or New Age conviction you might proclaim, unless you're currently living an absolutely flawless and perfect life, then you're pretending to live according to principles and virtues you don't possess ... which makes you a hypocrite, too.

So if there's human beings in church then I'd have to agree: Yes, church is full of hypocrites ... because believers in love with and 100% devoted to Christ still fail and fall short. And if they're honest, most will freely admit to failing every day.

Don't be surprised or offended: we're all fallible and imperfect, compared to Christ. That's why Jesus commanded, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." So instead of gloating and self-righteously pointing out the other guy's sins, we should first pay attention to our own, and then follow Paul's instructions to "encourage one another and build each other up."

Churches are full of hypocrites. But then so are grocery stores, office buildings, nightclubs, highways, movie theaters and football stadiums.

But then, hardly anybody stays home from the Super Bowl because "All football stadiums are full of hypocrites."

-- -- --

What about rules ... and why do some churches have so many?

There's a difference between rules and commandments. Rules are man-made (and imperfect, by definition). Rules are man-serving and man-given, but Commandments are God's living instructions to us, not because God exists in a permanent state of moody surliness or vengefulness, but because He loves us ... and being holy and perfect, God wants to protect and keep us from sin. And God will use discipline, as well as the consequences of our sins, to teach and encourage us from sinning again.

Knowing Christ means hating the sin in our lives, prayerfully repenting when we've fallen short, asking for His forgiveness and seeking the Holy Spirit to rid sin from our lives.

If rules are man-made guidelines that help you avoid & steer clear of your particular sin, then follow the guidelines. But also remember that rules aren't God-given, and that salvation doesn't come through adhering to man-made rules and traditions: No church edict can ever replace or supercede the power of the Holy Spirit.

-- -- --

But still ... every church I've ever visited wants my money!

I haven't visited every church ... so I don't know if that's true. What's more important is this: You don't have any money. None.

The next time the offering plate starts making its way down the end of your aisle and you find yourself protecting your wallet with a death-grip, think about this:

In 1857 the SS Central America, carrying 30,000 pounds of gold, sank in a hurricane off the North Carolina coast with a loss of 425 lives. The ship was carrying so much gold that its loss actually contributed to the financial Panic of 1857.

Many of the ships' 153 survivors reported that in the ships' final moments, doomed passengers stranded on deck were begging to trade gold ... pounds and pounds of gold ... to anyone willing to give up their place in a lifeboat.

Not surprisingly, nobody was willing to make the trade. And so the fantastically wealthy men left on deck went into the water with their pockets literally bursting with gold (gold's even heavier than lead).

You were born without a purse or a wallet and when you leave this world, you won't be taking so much as a penny with you. All the money in your possession, every cent of it, belongs to God ... He's merely allowing you to serve as His temporary asset manager. And one day you'll be held accountable for spending His Money ... whether serving and honoring Him, or entertaining, accomodating and satisfying yourself.

God can withdraw the balance and close the account at any time, too, so be cheerful ... and don't complain too much when God commands a tiny, tiny withdrawl from His account.

-- -- --

If you can't find a church in your area, try visiting the New Spring Web Campus on Sunday morning at 11:15AM or Sunday evening at 6:15 PM. No matter where you live.

Who knows? You might find out when you've stopped griping and finding fault with all the hypocrites, God's got something HUGE, life-changing and ever-lasting to say to your heart.

My newest Facebook friend ...

2009-03-06T07:44:00.010-05:00

Baltimore Crime Map sent me a Facebook friend invitation this morning. According to the Info section of their Profile, BCM's sole acitivity is "Mapping crime in Baltimore so residents can stay informed and keep safe."

Seems like a worthwhile idea so I accepted, even if I wasn't quite sure how BCM found me (or what brought me to their attention).

Probably because I'm a member of Facebook's Baltimore network ... but it's not hard to imagine innovative new algorithms are already in the works at corporations, political causes, fund-raising & marketing agencies ... and even evangelical churches ... to identify, target and develop ultra-specific aggregations of potential "friends" within Facebook's 24 million+ users.

It's gonna be interesting to watch what happens to the modulus of social networking as Facebook, according to Fortune, "now wants to become a place for anyone to build applications for social computing."

"The short version is that Facebook is taking its two major assets - its 24-million-members (growing at about 150,000 per day) and its strong technology underpinnings - and making them available to all comers."

Speciation

2009-03-04T22:31:00.003-05:00

What is it?

Meet Ugly Bat Boy ... something different from your ordinary cat.

(I think it's a cat)

I don't want some preacher or some church telling me how to live my life

2009-03-03T11:34:00.011-05:00

Ever heard someone say that ... especially after dropping out of church?

Ever heard somebody say that "Church is only about telling people how to run their lives," and that's the reason they "don't like organized religion"?

Ever heard somebody argue that "The Bible is old fashioned" and irrelevant?

Ever heard somebody say any of those things ... and then wondered why their shelves are crammed full of books by Dr. Phil, Oprah, Rhonda Bryne and Michael J. Losier?

Ever wondered why that person keeps a rack of "12 Rules for a Happier You" self-help videos under the TV and can hardly leave the house without first consulting their latest "astrology trend"?

Why does that person reject church, and then turn around and allow some New Age guru or a fallacious star chart to tell them how to live their lives? Seems to me that having your fate and destiny "controlled by the planets and the stars" would be about as restrictive and suffocating as anything I can imagine.

Is is because any of those self-help programs have actually worked? Then why keep buying and probing the web for more?

-- -- --

If you think the Bible is outdated, remember that today's latest "exciting and practical" self-help book was already outdated before the first copy came rolling off the binding press. That's because its publisher had already decided which improved new version of "15 Laws of Attraction and Fulfillment" would be released next season, because he's trying to predict and stay ahead of the self-help market.

Could it be that there's an on-going market for self-help books because self-help books don't work?

Hmmm.

-- -- --

Is the Bible really outdated and irrelevant? Not surprisingly, folks who're constantly prowling for quick solutions, personal affirmations and me-first fixes are likely to think so.

But folks who've taken time to actually, and prayerfully, read what scripture says (not just skim along seeking single-sentence platitudes for instant advice), and then allowed God to apply His word to their lives, already know that God's Living Word is alive.

And can never be outdated or irrelevant.

Do you listen in on God's council?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

- Job 15:8

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"

- 1 Corinthians 3:18-19

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

- Hebrews 4:12

Unlucky 13

2009-03-03T09:45:00.002-05:00

13 F. degrees here now, after plummeting to 8 F. overnight. At least we're not having 15 mph wind gusts.

No, wait ... the gusts are 25 mph.

Jesus makes the difference

2009-03-02T20:34:00.002-05:00

Dow 6800

2009-03-02T11:42:00.012-05:00

Don't even turn on the news this morning if you're heavily invested in the US stock market ... unless you're the kind of investor who looks forward to getting angry, becoming depressed or both.

My personal opinion is things will keep getting worse, too.

______________

There aren't many liveaboards here at the marina, because most boat owners own boats for recreational purposes on weekends. So we're already talking about a very small sampling pool.

But within that group there's two men on my dock who've lost their careers as a result of the current economic turmoil, plus one more who lives on the dock adjoining. We're talking about three divorced middle-aged men, with families and children to support, who got no warning at all that their livelihood was about to abruptly evaporate.

I can describe the look on their faces in one word: shock. And if the stunned expression subsided after a week, the disbelief still showed through in their eyes. I saw something else, too. Now, instead of hurrying down the dock in the morning on their way to work, their postures ebbed into a slouching drag that seems unacquainted with either focus or direction.

I don't even know their last names but that didn't prevent any of them from stopping me on the dock, shaking their heads after sharing the bad news and asking, "What am I gonna do?" They were so desperate to hear of a solution that they were willing to seek answers from a (imperfect) stranger.

There's probably six liveaboards on my dock ... which works out to about a 33% casualty rate. I feel sure there's many, many more staying under the gossip radar.

My personal opinion is that things are gonna get worse, too.

-- -- --

Joe Sangl is the Pastor of Financial Planning at New Spring Church: here's two recent posts from Joe's blog that are more relevant than ever ...

jsangl on 24 Feb 2009

What To Do When You Are In A HUGE Financial Mess

I have met a ton of people who are experiencing the harshness of the following two key items:

No Plan, No Savings, Piles of Debt
Loss/Reduction of Income

Here is what you can do when faced with this situation.

Cry. It is OK to be regretful for awhile!
Take time to prioritize who will get paid and who will not get paid. (Read the post I wrote HERE about priority order.)
Write out your goals. Make sure they are SMART.
Prepare a written spending plan (even if you know that it will not balance to Exactly Zero). This will allow you to fully understand your "Go Get This!" number.
Take ACTION!

There can be a tendency to just focus on #1 and hope for everything to just work itself out. Usually, this is not the case. Recovering from this type of issue is emotional and gut-wrenching, but it requires one to take action.

You CAN recover from the mess!

Help! I Can't Pay My Bills. & Seriesjsangl on 12 Nov 2008 01:00 am

Help! I Can’t Pay My Bills. Part 3

This is a series written for those who are struggling mightily with their finances and tough decisions are being made about who will be paid and who will not be paid. It is my hope that this series will provide practical steps that can be taken to walk out of this situation and into financial freedom.

Part 3 Prioritize

When the financial sky is falling down and the walls are closing in on you, it is imperative that spending is prioritized. Here is my suggested order of priority for spending when there just is not enough to pay everything.

Housing Must take care of the mortgage and utilities first. Now if the mortgage payment has run out of control and it is 60% of one's take home pay, then it is high time that the house be sold or income be tripled within a couple of months.
Food I am going to eat before one single bill is paid! We must be able to eat. I am not talking about Olive Garden or fast food. I am talking about groceries bought with coupons and much attention to frugality.
Transportation If transportation is required to produce income, then it is imperative that the vehicle payments, insurance, taxes, gasoline, and maintenance be funded.
Back Taxes Owing the government back taxes is a terrible thing, and it must be addressed. I would rather owe anyone besides owing Uncle Sam!
Secured Debts If there is additional money remaining after Housing, Food, and Transportation are taken care of, it is time to pay the secured debt payments. This is debt where the lender can come take something - like a car, boat, motorcycle, tractor, etc. If the lender repossesses the item, they will sell it at a wholesale auction and come after you for the difference.
Family & Friends Debts If you owe family and friends and you still have some money left, it is essential to pay on debts owed to family and friends. Unpaid debts to family and friends has been the cause of untold relationship issues since time began. Avoid this!
Unsecured Debts It is time to address the unsecured debts. Credit cards, student loans, signature loans, etc. One thing to note is that unsecured debt holders will be screaming and hollering the loudest because there is nothing they can come take from you. As a result, they will try to play upon your emotions to get you to pay them before you pay anyone else. And it works! I have met with a lot of people who have kept their credit cards current while letting the house payments fall behind. Not good!

Go back to the spending plan you have prepared and ensure that your priorities are in order.

Did you wonder why Tithing isn't on the list?

That's because like heartbeats and breathing, tithing should be reflexive; something we do automatically ... without even wondering whether it's required or essential.

winter weather where?

2009-03-02T08:31:00.015-05:00

just gorgeous here ... and freezing, too

2009-03-02T08:10:00.002-05:00

The Inner Harbor

8:10 AM

Get real happy (or die trying)

2009-03-01T22:56:00.007-05:00

During another round of discussion tonight concerning The Secret, I started wondering why so many Me-First books dominate sales lists and grow into best-sellers.

Is it because people have already accepted the mindset that their lives' value is based on the creed that Nothing On Earth Can Possibly Be More Important Than Satisfying My Needs, And Making Me Happy?

All it would take to make me happy, the thinking goes, is the perfect career, the perfect salary, the perfect body type, the perfect spouse, the perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect kids, the perfect country club ... just give me those basics, and I'm sure that's all it'd take to make me happy.

No; I disagree.

I'm not going too far out on a limb by suggesting this: Listen up ... all your personal needs, goals, priorities, ambitions and expectations could be met by 5 PM tomorrow, yet within 3 years, max, you'd be feeling exactly the same way about yourself as you do now.

And you'd be anxiously looking for the next thing it'll take to make yourself happy all over again, because your goal of being happy lies in satisfying yourself.

So what's it gonna take? Why are so many people desperately craving happiness ... and falling on flat on their faces trying to find it?

Happiness is temporary; joy is not. Happiness is a passing impression; joy is the result of certainty and conviction.

Happiness is internal and within me; joy is the assurance that God's purpose is greater than me.

The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

- Proverbs 10:28

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

- John 16:24

Clear that cache!

2009-03-01T15:21:00.006-05:00

This morning I already had my computer connected to the TV and the volume turned up, all set to go when the 11:15 AM service started at New Spring's web campus. Guess what happened?

I got last week's service instead ... and from what I briefly saw in the Chat Room, it looked like a handful of other folks were having the same problem.

But it's an easy easy easy thing to fix: all you gotta do is clear your computer's cache (the cache is simply a folder your computer uses to store temporary internet pages and other online data you've downloaded from the web).

If you're using Internet Explorer, start by clicking Tools. Then in the pop-up window, click Internet Options, which should open to a tab marked General. About halfway down the page you'll see a tab under Temporary Internet Files marked Delete Files.

Click Delete Files, OK and OK and you're all set.

Firefox is even easier. Just click Tools, and then about 2/3 of the way down the roll-out, click the Clear Private Data tab ... and you're done.

Of course if you're using a Mac then you've got many, many more opportunities to be expressive and creative ahead:

;-)

Opportunity calls ... from a cod

2009-03-01T08:44:00.004-05:00

Have you seen this unlikely-sounding story in the news?

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish's belly, still makes smelly calls

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 28th 2009 at 2:17PM

In a just-barely-believable story hosted up at The Sun, a businessman was both shocked and confused when his presumably sunk cellphone began ringing his lady friend around five days after he dropped it at sea. As the tale goes, a 25 pound cod managed to swallow the thing, and a pair of fishermen discovered it upon gutting their catch. The best part? The bloke who it was returned to is still using it, despite the fact that it literally reeks of rotten fish.

See, Nokia will miss out on a terriffic opportunity if they choose to continue marketing this fairly-boring phone as their Model 1600.

Nokia should consider re-labelling their phone The Nokia Jonah instead.

Just sayin'.

Is your Sunday looking like a Snow Day?

2009-03-01T07:40:00.015-05:00

Snowed here in Charm City last night ... in fact, looks like snow spilled all the way down to the Deep South overnight.

So you might have already looked out the window this morning, seen snow, and suddenly realized you're completely out of milk and bread. Uh oh.

You know what that means:

The critical urgency of venturing onto ice-slick public highways clogged with other frenzied citizens racing between grocery stores to get in line and stock up on milk n' bread might seem like a perfectly valid excuse for missing church. Or at least, reason enough to stay home, stay warm and skip worshipping.

But no matter where you live, Sunday doesn't have to be a Snow Day so there's no excuse for missing out.

Because if you're staying home, try visiting New Spring's web campus and attending today's service online.

Besides, all that milk and bread you plan on hoarding will spoil by next weekend anyway. :-)

See ya there!

Don't. Not even once.

2009-02-28T19:56:00.015-05:00

Had a long telephone conversation today with a friend from another state who's having "boyfriend problems."

The people involved are both adults, have been dating just shy of a year, are both divorced and both have children. The reason she called was because she and her boyfriend had an explosive, name-calling, expletive-filled argument this morning ... it just happened to occur in front of his 7-year old son.

It's likely that she'll read this post ... I hope they both do ... because what I told her is worth posting here.

Don't ever do that again. Don't even think like it's a possibility. Period.

Adults, but particularly parents, can easily overlook the weight and intensity their words convey. To a child, no one's words or opinions are as important, or carry the potential for hurt, as a parent's.

And even if the child's parents' argument isn't directly concerned with the child, its impact certainly is. To start accusing, name-calling or score-settling in front of a child isn't just unacceptable: it's reprehensible. Don't ever do that again.

My parents didn't do it and my grandparents never did it either. Kids learn by observation, and I learned an exquisite, life-long lesson from their example: Don't fight or argue in front of kids. Ever. No matter what the circumstances or the cause, there's simply to reason to ever let it happen. Leave the kids out of it; don't even let the kids know about it.

For crying out loud, your children look up to and want to respect ... and admire ... you. They want to think you're perfect, even though you, I and God know that you're not. Don't let your children down ... especially when it's so easy to avoid doing it.

And no I'm not saying to be deceitful, or to save your fighting and name-calling so you can explode at each other when you're together behind closed doors. What I'm saying is Don't fight with each other at all.

Is somebody out there hollering, "Well, I'll say and do what I want to because they're my kids"?

No, they're not. You may like to think "If it wasn't for me my kids never woulda been born" but you'd be Biblically mistaken, because your attitude leaves God out of the parenting equation. Parents are the recepients but children, every single one of them, are a gift from God. And children don't deserve to be treated like pets or appliances ... and exposed to your dirty laundry.

"Joe, let me tell you something. Kids need to get used to life early and besides, my momma and daddy screamed and hollered bloody murder and fought all the time and it didn't do me no harm ... just look how I turned out." Exactly: you think it's OK to argue, scream, fight and call your wife ugly names in front of your kids. So don't be surprised when your son starts doing it to his wife.

Or when your daughter marries a man who thinks its ok to call her repulsive names like whore and bitch, too. In front of your grandkids. Because your example taught your daughter that being cursed and called disgusting names is perfectly OK.

"But my wife always starts it! Don't I deserve the right to defend myself and fight back?"

Defend yourself against what? Loud words and silly names? You gonna fight her moods, for Pete's sake? Are your feelings really hurt that easily? Must be tough being you.

How about this: what about stepping up and being a man? Try something new and risky ... stop acting like a "guy" and start being the man God intended.

God made men the head of the family, not the boss or dictator, not the VIP to be catered to and attended, and not the constantly-dissatisfied complainer: it's the head of the family's responsibility, his God-given duty, to protect his family by putting them and their well-being, and not himself, first. Always.

Don't ever fight again in front of the kids. End of discussion.

Care to Kindle?

2009-02-28T09:27:00.006-05:00

What's a Kindle? The Kindle is a 3G wireless reading device sold exclusively through Amazon.com

So what's a Kindle do? Basically, Kindle lets you download stuff like full-length novels (in less than 60 seconds), magazines and newspaper articles or check articles at wikipedia.com, download and play mp3 music or podcasts, or browse text-centric web sites "any time, anywhere with no monthly fees, service plans or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots." [You can check Kindle's coverage area here.]

According to Amazon, Kindle 2 lets you read for up to 4 days without recharging the battery ... and you don't even need to connect Kindle to a computer to do it.

Kindle 2's new text-to-speech feature can actually read over 240,000 books, articles, blogs and texts to you. Aloud. Amazon prices most New York Times best-sellers for downloading at $9.99 each ... and the Kindle 2 is capable of holding more than 1500 books.

Do it make ya wanna run out n' buy one?

Priced at $359 US, Kindle seems kinda pricey ... especially when compared to other gadgets, like Apple's iPhone 3G ($199-$299), RIM's Blackberry ($149-$589) and Apple's iPod ($53-$224.95)

For a boat live-aboard like me, Kindle's biggest attraction is space (and weight) savings: I usually read 4-6 books per month, and a year's worth of reading consumes about as much space as a small bathtub ... and probably weighs about the same.

Oh, and lately I've been finding about half my reading material at the marina's laundry room book shelf, where other live-aboards thoughtfully drop off their most recent best-sellers (they're also thinking space and weight) so I'm not accustomed to paying for throwaway reading.

My decision? I'll wait for Kindle 3 to see what new features are included ... and whether it's accompanied by a significant reduction in price as well.

is it about time ...

2009-02-28T07:49:00.003-05:00

... or conspicuous consumption?

You decide: here's the top five finishers from AskMen.com's list of Fine Living Top 10: Watches

NUMBER 5

Richard Mille RM 002-V2 Turbillon

$240,000

It’s difficult to settle for a single model from this relative newcomer who’s taken watchmaking to another level from day one in 1999. But first, let’s make it perfectly clear that we’re not gushing mindless praise at yet another corporate rebel of his particular industry. Having said that, owning a Richard Mille is a rare treat. Several models are offered, and as we said, singling one out is not easy. As a good example, the RM 002-V2 Turbillon, with its carbon nano-fiber construction, is what you might imagine as the outcome of the most avant-garde designers locked in a studio with NASA engineers. To relay a few specifications in the allotted space we have here would do a great injustice to the several dozen other impressive characteristics. And that’s just our non-gushing assessment.

NUMBER 4

Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Type 370

$274,000

Granted, the Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Type 370 does retail for over a quarter-million dollars. However, it’s only about one-quarter the going rate for the car it was designed to complement, the Bugatti Veyron. You’ve no doubt heard of the car’s phenomenal performance; and the watch is quite impressive in its own right. Foremost, you can’t ignore the unconventional display angle. This allows the wearer to check the time at a glance without lifting his hand from the wheel or turning his wrist. Not a bad idea when scorching the Earth at over 200 mph. The watch also pays tribute with an upright parts arrangement, to resemble an engine layout. Look closely through the six sapphire crystals held by the 18-carat white-gold case. You’ll see movement wheels designed to replicate the design of Bugatti wheel rims of the 1930s.

NUMBER 3
Breguet Double Tourbillon Classique Grande Complication

$329,000

It’s one thing when fine watches enjoy status among the rich and famous, but when you’ve been in the business since 1775 and your past customers includeMarie Antoinette and Napoleon Bonaparte, you must be Breguet. You must also be the maker who patented the Tourbillon, designed to compensate for gravity and improve the watch movement’s accuracy. You may just get the impression they have a knack for this watchmaking thing. With 50 hours of power, their Double Tourbillon Classique Grande Complication strikes an appealing harmony between sophistication and simplicity with a rotating textured center plate, turned by hand. An image of the solar system is hand engraved on the back of the movement. A case of platinum surrounds the 588 pieces and 69 jewels.

NUMBER 2

Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Minute Repeater

$623,000

Henry Ford would not wear this watch. If he were still with us and the morbid name or heavenly price didn’t deter him, its assembly definitely would. There are perhaps just a few more parts -- moving or otherwise -- at work here than in a Tin Lizzie, and it wasn’t mass-produced on an assembly line. Any other captain of industry who can appreciate the thousands of hours spent in the creation of a Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Minute Repeater will wear one with pride. This 30-jewel timepiece has a 34-hour power reserve. Functions include hours, minutes, repeating hours, quarter-hours, and minutes by demand. So this is also not the ideal choice for feature-loving wearers, but if you appreciate craftsmanship over gizmos, this is one skeleton you won’t want to keep in the closet.

NUMBER 1

Girard-Perregaux Opera Three

$630,000

Desirability is understandably great for the Opera Three, and even at $630,000 we can envision hordes of the well-to-do camping out for the chance to buy one, iPhone-style. There’s just a small flaw in that scenario. Girard-Perregaux position themselves as crafting “watches for the few since 1791.” They’re not about to change. For the especially privileged few who acquire one, life could be worse. Owners can let the arrival of each hour pass in silence or they can embrace it by allowing the Opera Three to play one of two personalized tunes on its (very) miniature carillon, somewhat like a diminutive music box -- on your wrist -- that cost over half a million.

what can we really expect from a church web campus?

2009-02-27T20:37:00.007-05:00

Nick Charalambous is one of the most amazing, passionate, and Christ-loving men (with one of the most incredible testimonies) I've ever known. It's true. Nick also happens to be the pastor of New Spring Church's internet campus.

This morning I wrote a response to a recent post on his blog.

Nick, just finished reading yesterday's post on your blog and the subject reminded me of something I heard years ago during a historic home tour in Charleston.

This particular mansion was quite grand by every standard, including its ornate gas-fired chandeliers and sconces, but even though the house had been constructed after residential electricity was readily available, the original owner had refused to include the new technology in his home.

Apparently the stubborn man had argued that he'd gotten along fine without electricity so far and that, in his estimation, "Electricity is just a fad, and can't do anything gas already does better."

That man's stodgy thinking made me think of a comparison to today's web-based church campuses when mortar-bloggers opine, "What for? We've gotten along fine without web campuses so far. They're just a fad and can't do anything a 'real church' does better."

But I'd suggest that today's web campuses are only as sophisticated (and perhaps as delicate and mysterious) as the first light bulbs: not perfect, and in a sense still very unfamiliar, but good enough to get the job done. Which means the web campus experience merits further attention.

When the first home computers arrived on store shelves the systems were slow, bulky, arcane and expensive, offering little more than simple word processing and cumbersome filing systems (like, for keeping track of phone numbers and Mom's favorite recipes- awesome!). Which caused lots of folks to scratch their heads and ask, "Why would I ever need a home computer?"

It took a new dimension of thought (and some inspired innovations, like icon-driven menus, sound cards and the mouse) before the "home computer" gradually evolved to become Skype, HD surround-sound Xbox's, Kindles, Blackberries, video editing platforms and Facebook.

Just as that mansion's owner accepted that "Gas is better" because he couldn't imagine the arrival of electric hair dryers, TVs or washing machines, the parallel holds true for today's "first generation" web campuses: we can't overlook the reality that we live in an era when the majority of 21st century US citizens feel that owning a computer is a virtual [pun] necessity. And we haven't even mentioned iPods, iPhones or DVD players ... which would never have been invented had we been content to accept the previous century's notion that "Gas is better."

Perhaps some folks would argue that "Church web campuses are a fad," but the potential for great and amazing opportunities remains; the key to unlocking that potential might lie not so much in defining a web campus in terms of comparisons to brick n' mortar churches, or according to "things we already know for sure about what church is," but in formulating an entirely new paradigm from scratch ... and in making room, lots and lots of it, for the web campus miracle to define itself and meet the ministry opportunities those of us born in the second half of the 20th century cannot begin to imagine, much less perceive as possibilities.

Summing up, sure, nowdays probably nothing sounds quite as romantic as dining (or reading a good book) bathed in the warm glow of a hissing gas-lit fixture; it's just that I'm starting to seriously doubt we'll ever see natural gas iPods or gas-burning cell phones. Electricity opened doors that folks used to gas lights couldn't see.

Nick I can't wait to see where the web campus will take ministry and how its presence will revolutionize sharing the gospel. Not just by crossing time zones or circumventing geographical boundaries like oceans or borders, not just by responding to differences like language, ethnicity or age ... but how web campus ministries can impact and negate INDIFFERENCE and reach the hearts of individuals who desperately need to know Christ. Wherever and whoever they are.

I keep wondering what's ahead ... like, what will the equivalents of the first "web campus mouse" or icon-driven menu be? And it makes my head spin every time I try to imagine where God will lead us from there.

guaranteed ... in writing

2009-02-26T21:03:00.009-05:00

Ever promised someone something, but then reneged and failed to keep your word?

I certainly have; you probably have, too: after all, "weasling out" of an agreement is only human (though it's certainly easier to remember the times other people have broken their pledges than it is to remember the times we've broken ours).

Especially if you're the one doing the weasling, which can be easily rationalized with excuses like "Well, things change" or "I didn't know as much then as as I know now," breaking a promise or going back on your word might not seem like such a big deal ... until we remember that breaking a vow is something God will never do.

"Get It In Writing"

If somebody offered you an irresistible deal on the car of your dreams, what would be the first words to come flying out of your mouth? Will you put that in writing and sign it? In ink too please, if you don't mind.

"Getting it in writing" serves to spell out the terms and offers an assurance that the other guy is willing to follow-through without reneging, while a signature serves as authentication and acknowledges an agreement to the contract.

So how can we know our salvation is assured through Christ?

Here's the terms ... guaranteed

We know our salvation in Christ is assured because God doesn't renege or break his promises. Unlike us, God doesn't change his mind, have second thoughts or go back on his word. God doesn't make excuses either, because God does not change ... and besides, God already knew everything about everything and everybody before he created the universe: God had all the 411 up front.

Which tells me it's impossibly hard to surprise, outsmart or out-negotiate the Creator ... no matter how hard folks keep trying.

But but but ... who signed the guarantee?

The promise of our salvation wasn't written in ink; after all, ordinary ink is short-lived and unstable.

Our promise of eternal life was signed in Christ's blood instead.

And that's an imperishable guarantee.

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

- Hebrews 9:15

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

- Matthew 26:28

But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

- Galatians 3:22

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

- Hebrews 10:28

"I'm very in touch with the universe because I'm a very spiritual person" (updated)

2009-02-25T08:44:00.012-05:00

Huh?

I've got no idea what that gobbledygook means (or even if it means anything), except that it's a catch phrase often heard from folks who pour their brains into New Age self-help books; from folks who're searching for Your Hidden Inner Power! ... from folks who're anxious to affirm "the progress of their on-going journey of self discovery, revelation and awareness of the infinite universe."

Like, wow.

The universe is infinite, so it seems to make good New Age sense that the goal of any sincere spiritual space-quest is to "become a harmonious part of the infinite whole." The infinite whole ... really?

Then why does God Jehovah somehow end up being in the hole instead of being the whole?

When God is mentioned in holistic spaceology, we find New Agers trying to re-define Him either as "something we're all part of" or as "a concept each person must decide for themselves."

So if you decide I need a miracle now! it's no problem, because Me-First theology insists God can be processed into a kind of convenient between mind-meals spiritual snack, or re-packaged as a take-as-required vitamin supplement: "The Secret's" own power bar.

Anybody out there wondering what's wrong with defining God according to our own terms?

What's wrong with that is

(1) God created us, and doesn't need us to return the favor

(2) God reveals Himself in scripture, not through the latest Have-Him-Your-Way best seller

(3) If "We're all part of everything" then Satan must be part of everything too, so it follows that "We're all part of Satan" ... except that folks content to voyage along inside their inner-spheres never say that.

What's the critical difference between faith based on "I'll make up God as I go," and faith in Christ through total and complete surrender?

The consequential differences are that unlike a I-Deserve-To-Be-Happy paperback author, God the Father never said Go Ahead, Have It Your Way ... nor does God allow excuses for our sins.

"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."

- Joshua 24:23

Blessed is the man
       who makes the LORD his trust,
       who does not look to the proud,
       to those who turn aside to false gods

-Psalm 40:4

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

- 1 Timothy 6:2-6

pursuit of the perfect picadillo

2009-02-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

I dunno if should keep trusting my memory. Lately it's been running me around in circles, because no matter how hard I try, recollection tells me that Picadillo was better when I was a kid.

(above: boat-made Picadillo, version 22 Feb 09)

The best picadillo I remember was in Ybor City at Cafe Mercedes in Tampa ... but that was so long ago, I can't even find a hint of Cafe Mercedes anywhere on google.

The serving line at the Mercedes included fresh Cuban bread and a delicious ropa vieja, too.

I keep trying and failing, without ever coming close to the flavor of Cafe Mercedes picadillo.

Try your own ropa vieja: recipe here.

Is an Internet campus really a church?

2009-02-24T09:27:00.002-05:00

Here's one powerful response.

Just one more thing I thought I'd never see

2009-02-23T10:42:00.006-05:00

(Monday morning blog lite: marina neighborhood news)

It's been windy here, sometimes gusting to 60mph, for almost a week. It's been so windy that trash gets blown from all over the Inner Harbor and winds [sorry] up stuck here around the docks.

So this past weekend the trash boat (technically, a "trash skimmer") came cruising down the fairway between adjoining docks and got busy skimming the trash mangroves from between boats before the morasses of driftwood, tree limbs, lumber planks, plastic bottles and assorted amalgamations of suburban debris grew large enough to become floating islands and a menace to navigation.

Regular readers already know I love, and am a great fan of, trashboats of every description. You can watch a real TrashCat™ video here.

(above: UMI Trash Skimmer clearing debris along the promenade in Baltimore's Inner Harbor)

Further Reflections on Trash Skimmers

I suppose the name trash skimmer was chosen because it's pretty straight forward and self-explanatory when itemized in a city council's budget request. But a brand like The Trash Shark or The Dock Mess Monster would make every port authority practically start drooling to have one.

(above: a UMI TrashCat™ operating at the heart of Baltimore's waterfront tourist area, the Inner Harbor. TrashCat™ photos from trashskimmer.com)

A Ground and Pound Specialist

2009-02-22T19:32:00.004-05:00

If you attended either one of the services today at New Spring's web campus, you already know what I'm talking about.

If you missed out, you can watch the podcast here (it'll be uploaded & available Tuesday).

In the meantime, check out Perry's blog here.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

- 2 Timothy 1:17

You didn't get here by accident

2009-02-22T12:45:00.002-05:00

How'd you get here? Maybe you googled, maybe you were scanning blog rolls or maybe you accidentally clicked the wrong link on another site. Or, maybe you're a regular reader just checking in.

However you arrived on this page, it's no accident that you're here and that you're about to read this:

I WANT A NEW MARRIAGE

New Spring Church Web Campus

tonight 6:00 PM ET [11:00 UTC]

Just click on the text above at 6PM and find out for yourself.

Bringing it

2009-02-22T11:20:00.002-05:00

As BIG as it gets

2009-02-22T09:21:00.004-05:00

(Tech-geek update)

Yesterday I picked up both a SVGA and a stereo miniplug cable ... so now I can watch the New Spring Web Campus on my LCD TV. With real stereo speakers, too.

That's what I'm talking about.

And The Loser Is ...

2009-02-22T08:11:00.013-05:00

(Sunday morning blog lite)

Me? I think it must be, because The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be presenting the Academy Awards tonight, including the "Oscar" for Best Picture.

Isn't that exciting? Yawn, here's the 5 nominees:

How many have I seen? Nada. Not a single one ... so am I missing anything?

Nope, I don't think so. And besides, the category that would matter most to me is Best Cinematography. Here's the nominees in that category:

Notice they're almost identical to the nominees for Best Picture. So what does that mean?

It means film is a visual medium and that 99.9999% of everything you see on the screen is there because of lighting (the rest is dirt, scratches, film grain and emulsion blur). Without light, there's no need for a camera to capture the action ... and we might as well sit blinking in the dark, trying to watch the soundtrack.

________________

Log on to the web and watch this before the Oscars:

Where? New Spring Web Campus

When? Today at 11:15 AM and 6:00 PM

What? I Want A New Marriage - part 3

Why? Even if you're not married, this amazing series deserves your undivided attention.

BIG Plans for a Full-Size weekend

2009-02-20T15:53:00.003-05:00

It's freezing outside today with sustained winds at 50mph, same as it was yesterday, but I'd still like to get over to Radio Shack tomorrow ... and pick up a SVGA cable to connect my laptop to my TV screen.

That way, come Sunday morning, I can visit the New Spring web campus and watch I Want A New Marriage pt.3 on a full-size screen.

I mean, as "full-size" as full size gets on a 28-foot cruiser.

;-)

In the meantime, check out Can Church Work Inside A Social Network for the Masses? on Nick's blog.

You're on my mind

2009-02-19T23:12:00.001-05:00

No matter what happens,

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

- Philippians 1:19

Starbucks goes Green in SC

2009-02-19T14:39:00.001-05:00

Starbucks touts new ‘green’ S.C. roasting plant

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Starbucks Corp. said its new roasting plant in Calhoun County in South Carolina has been awarded a “green” designation from a national building organization.

The Seattle coffee giant (NASDAQ: SBUX) said the central South Carolina plant has been awarded a “silver” LEED certificate for new construction from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Starbucks officials have vowed to “significantly” reduce the company’s environmental footprint by 2015. At the new plant, 20 percent of building materials were from recycled content and more than 75 percent of construction waste was recycled, they said, adding that a portion of the plant’s power will be supplied by wind energy.

“In this business climate, it’s more important than ever that we make the right investments in our business, while making sure we do it in ways that support our business, the communities we work in, the environment and our people,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

- source

Whatcha reading?

2009-02-18T07:46:00.003-05:00

Who Moved the Stone?

English journalist Frank Morison had a tremendous drive to learn of Christ. The strangeness of the Resurrection story had captured his attention, and, influenced by skeptic thinkers at the turn of the century, he set out to prove that the story of Christ’s Resurrection was only a myth. His probings, however, led him to discover the validity of the biblical record in a moving, personal way.

Who Moved the Stone? is considered by many to be a classic apologetic on the subject of the Resurrection. Morison includes a vivid and poignant account of Christ’s betrayal, trial, and death as a backdrop to his retelling of the climactic Resurrection itself. - amazon.com

33

2009-02-17T21:08:00.002-05:00

- source: BaltimoreSun.com

Gross Love

2009-02-16T21:27:00.007-05:00

Around 7 PM tonight it occurred to me that some folks might read today's earlier "Tithe First" post and get the impression from the imaginary budget I used that I'm suggesting tithing should be based on post-tax, post-withholding, net income.

Sorry, but for folks looking to cut corners around God and set set-asides for themselves, I've got bad news.

We should never we think we're smarter or more important than God, and waste time figuring out workarounds to keep for ourselves what God said belongs to Him.

What did Jesus surrender, and do without, to take our place on the cross? Did He hold something back for Himself, or did He willing surrender everything in our place? Was the Son of God's sacrifice based on Net, or Gross?

Christ gave up everything because He loved us more than any thing in the world. His love was gross ... unqualified, without profit, without deductions and without withholdings.

So if tithing still seems financially difficult, remember that a Tithe means 10% ... and represents the bare, basic minimum: we haven't even started talking yet about Offerings.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:10

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

- 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8

Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
And they were amazed at him.

- Mark 12:17

Why Men and Women are just like Computers

2009-02-16T19:58:00.003-05:00

Here's a video clip from Perry's second message in the I Want A New Marriage series.

You can catch Part 3 on Sunday at 11:15 AM and 6:00 PM on the New Spring web campus.

Tithe First

2009-02-16T11:31:00.004-05:00

Probably the most-often heard excuse people offer for not tithing is "I can't afford it."

Sometimes they'll frown or shake their heads, hoping for a sympathetic reaction, but remember: "An excuse sounds best to the guy who's saying it."

An Excuse is not a Reason ... and it's their Reasoning, not their income, that's the problem.

-- -- --

Budget Me This

Let's say your take-home income, after taxes and withholdings, is $2000 per month. A quick peek at your Budget looks like this:

Mortgage/Rent: $600

Utilities: average $250

Groceries: $450

Insurance: (all) $300

Property Taxes: $150

Credit Cards: (minimum payments) $200

Sound good so far?

Sure it does, except that the total spent so far is $1950 ... and we haven't even started tacking on all the "other necessities" (like internet access, NetFlix, dining out or weekend shopping). And there's nothing left over for savings, either.

No wonder folks say they can't afford to tithe: they're out of money before they're out of month. So what's the solution when you "can't afford to tithe"?

A Two-Step Program

Step 1: Pray to God, and ask Him take control of your finances.

Step 2: Move tithing to the top of the list ... and calculate your God Goes First Budget from there.

But what about my standard of living? How will I pay my bills? I'm not gonna work like a slave for nothing, just to scrape by in life.

Hint: Instead of concentrating on a standard of living as your #1 priority, focus instead on Serving God, and make Obeying Him your only priority ... and see if a change of heart doesn't induce a change of finances. Besides, about 95% of the world lives with lots less than what you've already got.

If you're still having trouble taking the first step, remember that your eternal life was paid in full at a price ... and Christ didn't use a revolving account or Easy Terms to do it.

My goodness, did you really miss it?

2009-02-15T12:40:00.002-05:00

Did you miss the 11:15 AM service at New Spring's web campus?

Well there's good news ... today's 6:00 PM service is just around the clock-corner.

Sorry, I'm just a little stuck around the edges

2009-02-14T21:08:00.007-05:00

No matter what you may think of my skills (or aptitude) as a marine mechanic/plumber/electrician, I'd be the very first to tell you I'm really not very good at spreading goo.

Whether it's 3M 5200 adhesive, caulk, silicone, JB Weld, Bondo, di-electric compound, fiberglass resin or carpenter's glue, I'm genetically pre-disposed to doing a horrifically bad job and making a big mess. But being ever-optimistic, I don't let that stop me from trying.

So yesterday afternoon I mixed up a big heapin' batch of white marine epoxy and began touching up some of the little nicks, scratches, pinholes and gouges in Calypso's fiberglass hull.

To make a long story short, it's been almost 32 hours since I stopped working and cast my epoxy spatula aside. And since then, I've been finding traces of white epoxy in the most unlikely places. It keeps showing up in places where you'd never expect to see it.

On the rims of drinking glasses, on TV remotes, keys, door handles, tools and in my nose. I can't help wondering Where did that come from? even though I can't hide from the answer: White epoxy could only come from one source ... me.

Yes sir, sin is like that, too. Even if you think other people can't see it, sin has a way of sticking to everything it touches, and showing up where you'd least expect to see it. Sin separates us from God.

And like a bad epoxy job, sin can't be blamed on anyone else.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

- 1 John 2:1

Something to do tomorrow morning before the New Spring web campus goes live

2009-02-14T18:00:00.018-05:00

If you haven't already visited, be sure to catch tomorrow's 11:15 service on the New Spring web campus.

___________________________________________________________________

If you're a returning visitor, then you probably can't wait to catch the next message in the I Want A New Marriage series and you'll be watching the seconds tick off long before 11:15 AM.

And if you've already visited and think the web campus is the most exciting thing to happen to the internet since the dial-up modem, chances are you'll be up at 6:00 AM and staring at your computer screen (watching the seconds tick off till 11:15 AM).

And if you're up at 6 AM, have already prayed, had breakfast, walked the dog, read Campus Pastor Nick's blog, downloaded and printed the study guide, checked out the web campus blog, had two double espressos, e-mailed links to Perry's blog to all your friends and start getting fidgety, grab your binoculars and take a look up at the sky.

Because folks in the 29624* area code can catch a glimpse of the lost $100,000 International Space Station tool bag as it floats by, 150 miles in orbit overhead. Here's where and when to look:

Here's a video of the backpack-sized tool bag in orbit:

And while you're gazing up into that big, infinite sky, if you start wondering "What's my role?" or "Where do I fit in the universe?" then please take time to remember "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Come and see what God has done,
how awesome his works in man's behalf!

- Psalm 66:5

* Tool bag gazing times for other zip codes available here.

Evolution explains why we have dandruff

2009-02-12T14:01:00.011-05:00

(Thursday blog lite)

Today is Charles Darwin(12 February 1809- 19 April 1882)'s birthday. Darwin is considered the father of evolution, which not only purports to explain how apes became humans, but also why humans get dandruff.

Say again?

It's true. Dandruff is largely the result of sebum and sebaceous secretions (skin oil). According to evolution, oily skin is a leftover from the days when our genetic ancestors began losing scales, but still needed a little waterproofing ... the same reason why ducks got oil glands and feathers.

On the big evolutionary scale I guess we should feel lucky we got dandruff, instead of feathers.

I mean, most of us.

Would you go to a church where the pastor didn't know your name?

2009-02-10T11:31:00.002-05:00

I've heard a lot of remarks like that ... implying that because of the sheer size of the congregation, mega-churches are impersonal, which hints that members can't get a full measure of "pastoral care."

Another comment I've heard is "When I die, I wanna know who's doing my funeral."

I don't think any one can ever really know that, and besides, by the time the occasion comes around, will you really care? ("Excuse me Lord, but before I get moved into my mansion, can I take a peek down there and make sure the right guy's preaching my funeral?")

Now pretend like it's my turn, and I'll ask a different question:

- Would you belong to and participate in a church where the pastor knows your name ... but doesn't like you?

What?! How can a man call himself a pastor and not like every single person in the congregation? If I even suspected that was true, why in the world would I want to keep going- and giving my money- to a church led by somebody who didn't like me? Just give me one good reason.

That one reason would be Because God wants you there.

And unlike folks who're always finding something about church to complain and gripe about, God's never once been wrong, changed his mind or made a mistake.

Religious Porn

2009-02-10T06:43:00.010-05:00

This morning I saw a video posted at youtube that described my pastor as a "goat herder" who delivered "a purpose-driven scolding" to his congregation.

What was my reaction? I felt incensed and cross-eyed with ire at such a purposeful and dishonest misrepresentation. After watching it three or four times, I downloaded the file to my drive ... for "future reference" ... so I can watch it again and again, any time, and amuse myself whenever the mood hits.

Then my anger began fading as the novelty wore off and I got curious about finding more material like it. Why? Just so I could see what the critics are saying. For entertainment purposes, you see.

I won't include the link here, but the same youtube poster maintains a virtual museum of videos "to show you what happens when the church does not remain faithful to correct preaching and teaching of the scriptures."

I strongly disagree with that self-righteous assessment of his efforts, but ventured into the museum regardless ... and the more I watched his anonymous assaults (and there are plenty), the more angry and aroused I became. Passionate, even, to jump on his assumptions and start wailing away on his smugness.

But then I stopped and asked myself, "Why on earth are you even watching this stuff?"

And I realized the answer is easy: because videos like that amount to religious porn ... because pornography is any lurid, sensational material intended to titillate or to cause arousal ... which exactly describes my anger-reaction to seeing it.

-- -- --

"Religion" is often confused with Faith, especially when religion replaces Faith and becomes man's attempt to reach up to God and achieve salvation. But salvation isn't available, nor can it be earned, through any religion: Salvation is only through Christ and his sacrifice on the cross ... because God reached down to us.

-- -- --

So is this virtual museum of idolatry (and bloggers attempting to create acclaim for themselves by tearing down other believers and blistering their pastors) serving God and making the name of Jesus Christ famous ... or merely creating dissension in the body by peddling sanctimonious smut?

Sharing the gospel worldwide at the speed of light

2009-02-08T21:50:00.009-05:00

New Spring's web campus is online, streaming live at 11:15 AM and 6:15 PM EDT.

What's a "web campus" all about? Think of it as a way to attend New Spring Church live, via your computer and internet connection, no matter where you are in the world. Today more than 600 people in eight different countries attended. Stop for a moment, and think what that means.

You might be shrugging and thinking, "How's watching church on a computer different from watching church on TV?" or "So what? No matter what you call it, an internet church still isn't the same thing as going to a real church."

What's different about the New Spring web campus?

Read what Internet Campus Pastor Nick Charalambous wrote last week at Ipiphanist, following the web campus launch:

They were at church. It was just online. And they need the church to stop arguing about whether they were really there and just figure out how we can be the church online for them; how we can help each other love God, love others and make disciples.

The web has changed social arrangements forever. We cannot argue about that any longer.

In post-Christian Europe, local churches everywhere are being shut down and turned into luxury condos or bars. Physical, bricks-and-mortar church holds little to no meaning other than prejudice and anachronism for hundreds of millions of people.

We would be sinning against Christ and his sacrifice on the cross to turn our backs on them.

I plan to charge the gates of hell with our Web Campus. Who’s with me?

2000 years ago Christ said the gates of Hades will not overcome his church, and that "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

I sincerely believe the internet campus is the greatest means of sharing the gospel and reaching people for Christ we've had since Gutenburg's press.

And like Nick said, it would be a sin against Christ to let the gift of such an opportunity go to waste.

Perry's Sunday Night Reflections from Kenya

2009-02-08T21:27:00.001-05:00

- from perrynoble.com

Hey!!! Found another place with internet and just wanted to report on a few things…

I MISS MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!!!
I miss my friends at church!

Now that I have that out of the way…this trip has been amazing. God has used it to stretch me WAY beyond anything I have ever experienced! I am WAY out of my comfort zone…and that is a good thing.

The past several days have opened up my eyes to a world that I never imagined existed. Sure, I’ve heard the stories and seen the pictures…but being here and seeing what I’ve seen, hearing what I’ve heard and smelling what I have smelled has forever marked me!

I take so much for granted. I walk into the kitchen and turn a faucet on and…BAM…water. Yesterday I visited an area where women go and get water four and five times a day…and words can’t even describe the hill they have to climb just to get water!

We’ve visted several schools and spent some time with a lot of kids…and I don’t think I’ve cried this much in a long time. They have joy like I’ve never seen! They dance…they sing…they laugh…it’s amazing. When we walk into a community they walk up to us and hold our hands and won’t let go until we leave.

Yesterday I saw a pile of bottle caps outside of a home and realized that they were the only toys the kids in that house had to play with…it broke my heart.

Today I visited a church…and as soon as they found out I was a preacher they asked me to preach! It was…uh…interesting…and fun! The pastor interpreted for me…and I spoke on Ephesians 3:20. I loved it…seriously…I was way out of my comfort zone…but that is exactly where God wanted me to be!

Their offering time…UNBELIEVABLE. These people have nothing (according to American standards) and yet they give…and give generously. Many of them do not know where their next meal is coming from…yet they give from what they have and trust God to provide!

OK…it is about time for dinner. (I haven’t had dessert since I’ve been here except for a chocolate bar today! In fact, if it were not for Cliff Energy Bars I might not be alive…I have eaten them nearly every day for breakfast and lunch!)

NewSpring…I miss you! AND I am so excited because I know that God wants us to POUR into a community over here and make a difference. Please continue to pray for the team and I as we have a few more things to do. We are excited about a safari that we get to go on Tuesday morning. I hope I get to see a lion!

We are so blessed! My prayer for all of us who read this blog is that at some point today we would take the time to thank Jesus for the things we take for granted.

One more thing…this is one of the most BEAUTIFUL places on the planet!

OK…gotta eat!!!

56-yr old Aspen Woman Swims the Atlantic

2009-02-08T08:03:00.002-05:00

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Jennifer Figge pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand, exhilarated and exhausted as she touched land this week for the first time in almost a month.

Reaching a beach in Trinidad, she became the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic Ocean _ a dream she'd had since the early 1960s, when a stormy trans-Atlantic flight got her thinking she could don a life vest and swim the rest of the way if needed.

The 56-year-old left the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast on Jan. 12, battling waves of up to 30 feet (9 meters) and strong winds.

"My dog doesn't know where I am," she told The Associated Press on Saturday by phone. "It's time for me to get back home to Hank."

-source here

The pirates are coming, the pirates are here

2009-02-08T07:48:00.006-05:00

-photo from www2.tbo.com

Yesterday was Gaparilla, when pirates invade Tampa and demand the keys to the city. Check out the video here.

Arrrrrg!

Picadillo

2009-02-07T19:44:00.002-05:00

Made from scratch; served over Goya yellow rice.

PS.

Cinnamon rolls.

Thinking really, really outside the box: the Presto Pizzazz

2009-02-07T10:27:00.004-05:00

Or at least, outside the pizza box.

So what's the contraption pictured above? It's a pizza oven.

I found the Presto 03430 Pizzazz Pizza Oven on Amazon while trying to find a compact toaster/convection oven to replace Calypso's I Love Lucy-era tabletop oven (which gave far more yeoman service before dying than its $40 price tag suggested).

The Pizzazz will cook a 12" frozen pizza in about half the time required by conventional ovens, and priced at just $45.93 with a 4.5 star rating after 274 reviews, the 03430 looks like a steal.

With that kind of innovative design and execution, it's too bad Presto doesn't make cars.

Unjust Enrichment

2009-02-06T23:34:00.002-05:00

"Unjust enrichment is a legal term denoting a particular type of causative event in which one party is unjustly enriched at the expense of another, and an obligation to make restitution arises, regardless of liability for wrongdoing." - wiki

But as believers, we're talking about a different kind of unjust enrichment: it's enrichment in Christ ... through a debt that can never be repaid.

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."

"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

- Luke 7:42-43

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

- Ephesians 1:7

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

- Phillipians 4:19

26

2009-02-06T21:39:00.004-05:00

3 shootings raise Baltimore homicide toll to 26

By Justin Fenton and Richard Irwin

11:03 AM EST, February 5, 2009

City homicide detectives are investigating the fatal shootings of three men whose bodies were found yesterday in separate locations in the city and appear to be unrelated. Police said no arrests had been made.
- The Baltimore Sun

Homicide Map for February 6, 2009: all victims

Homicide Map for February 6, 2009: white victims

Windlass Weekend

2009-02-06T20:21:00.004-05:00

Today's temperature never got above 36 F, but the weekend is forecast to hover in the mid-50s.

Sounds like a good time to get back to mounting and installing Calypso's windlass.

Butterflies, Seagulls, Politics and Preaching

2009-02-06T09:06:00.006-05:00

"The butterfly effect refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events" - wikipedia

In 1961, meterologist and mathematician Edward N. Lorenz was using a numerical computer model to rerun a weather prediction, and as a shortcut, entered the decimal .506 instead of entering the full .506127 the computer would hold. The result described a completely different weather scenario than predicted: "One meteorologist remarked that if the theory were correct, one flap of a seagull's wings could change the course of weather forever." In later speeches and papers, Lorenz used the more poetic tern butterfly.

-- -- --

Wonder what might happen if the church stopped flapping its lips about politics, and dedicated itself to reaching people by preaching the gospel?

I'm guessing no man-made scenario could predict the result.

A Personal Post for Brent Sears

2009-02-05T18:41:00.008-05:00

Brent Sears does lots of his own cooking; Brent Sears likes his chorizos; Brent Sears ain't scared of trying something new.

So I'm posting this Rice with Chorizo recipe from CubanFoodMarket.com just for him:

One day Brent mi hijo will report and meet me in Ybor City; we'll begin the search for the best Cuban sandwich on the planet.

José Martí Park, Ybor City*

* The park technically belongs to Cuba: the title is owned by the Cuban government, which purchased the land in 1957 to commemorate Marti. Jose Marti is considered the father of Cuban independence from Spain.

Notes on being slightly off-center

2009-02-04T22:10:00.004-05:00

Here's another picture I took yesterday while installing the new faucet.

Hmmm. Are you wondering why the faucet isn't centered, and is mounted offset so far to the left?

It's because the black cabinet door on the left slides open, while the door on the right swings open. In other words that's the only place the faucet could be mounted, yet still allow each cabinet door to open.

(No, I didn't think of that on my own; I just used the original faucet's hole :-)

Righty Tighty, ADD Part 2

2009-02-04T21:41:00.005-05:00

Are you wondering, What happened today with the faucet? Well, what happened was that I spent two hours sorting out and re-fitting the hot and cold water supply hoses but now, yes, the new faucet works correctly.

I was gonna post a new photo as proof but after taking pizza-pictures for today's previous post, I forgot to turn off my camera ... and the battery ran down.

So there you have it.

Tomorrow the temperature's supposed to dip down to 14 degrees, but Friday I'll resume installing Calypso's windlass (an electric motor for raising & lowering the anchor) .

I've never installed (or even worked on) a windlass before, but on Monday I got all the holes drilled and everything bolted in place ... somehow without dropping the windlass over the side.

I think that's a good sign; we'll find out on Friday.

Nacho Mama's

2009-02-04T19:14:00.010-05:00

Nacho Mama's is a Mexican restaurant on O'Donnell Square, about three blocks from the marina.

Here's my three amigos: Mama's is reasonably priced. Mama's delivers. And the most important thing? Mama's delivers pizza.

[Large double cheese, pepperoni, mushroom and sausage pizza; above]

Plus, Mama's delivers home-made salads and meatloaf, too.

[Mama's Ten Leaf Salad, with Honey Jalapeno Vinaigrette; above]

OK so tomorrow's forecast calls for snow, 25mph gusts and a high of just 27 degrees, so stocking up the fridge with leftovers seems right ... especially before business gets down to 14 degrees by the end of the day.

PS. Oh this likeness of Elvis lurks outside on Mama's sidewalk.

ADD: Day of Daze

2009-02-03T20:58:00.013-05:00

Several months ago it seemed like a good idea to replace Calypso's 26-year old plastic galley (kitchen) faucet [below] with a newer model ... one that included a a spray attachment, for doing dishes.

According to Amazon, the faucet came with 1/2" IPS fittings. But 1/2" IPS fittings didn't fit. Nor did 3/8" IPS fittings. You can see the difference, below.

I thought they looked like 3/8" compression fittings, so I called Kohler's Customer service and was assured, "Oh Yes definitely, your model only comes with 1/2" IPS fittings." It's just that my model was different.

Long story short: I took the supply lines loose, got a ride to Home Depot, and spent 15 minutes in the Plumbing aisle until I got the right size ... 3/8" compression, as I first suspected. It took almost two months, but finally I had all the parts to get started.

So this morning I unbolted and took out the sink; that's the only way I could reach and unscrew the old faucet's huge Plex nut (below).

No problem so far, right? Things went so smoothly I decided to add a water filter to the cold water supply, too. The job ended up taking about six hours, but I finally got all the fittings right n' tight ... with no leaking at all. None.

Shoot I even replaced the sink's drain hose, while I was still on an enthusiastic Completion roll. Notice how good the new faucet looks, below:

Yes sir, good deal.

Then around 5 PM, after cleaning up and admiring my work, I realized I'd reversed the Hot and Cold supply lines: the faucet worked backwards. Huh?

Does that make me sound like a moron? How could I make such a simple mistake? Why couldn't I just C-O-N-C-E-N-T-R-A-T-E, make a list, pay attention to what I was doing, etc.?

The best answer is that ADD is like that.

Especially when you've got two supply lines, two shut-off valves, one water filter ... and 12 different 3/8"/MIPS/FIPS/Plex/1/2" Barb/Compression fittings, couplers & adapters, 76 pounds of nut drivers, wrenches, locking pliers, chisels, Vise Grips, sockets and extensions ... plus hose clamps ... and enough Teflon plumber's tape to gift-wrap the Eiffel Tower.

That's something like 86 aggravations and 1440 possible things going on at the same time, that's how: concentrating and becoming fixed on one thing means losing sight of the next thing.

Oh well, it's not like I'm not used to it.

So guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?

Super Bowl re-cap

2009-02-02T18:18:00.002-05:00

(football humor)

Before going any further, you gotta understand one thing first.

I'm just visiting Baltimore, but I ended up being here long enough to learn that no group of people on earth despise Pittsburgh the way folks in Charm City despise Pittsburgh. I mean, if there's one thing here that brings people together, it's a shared contempt for P-burgh.

So here come the jokes ... and Go Ravens!

Pittsburgh is the home of sports teams like the Pirates and the Steelers ... the only teams in America named for their city council.

Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in Pittsburgh?

A: Baltimore: 245 Miles

Did you hear about the power outage at the Pittsburgh airport?

Forty Steelers fans were stuck on the escalator for three hours.

Today YOU can visit New Spring Church no matter where you are

2009-02-01T07:31:00.009-05:00

Just click here at 11:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time (04:15 UTC). Download the Study Guide here.

For other time zones, check the International Time Converter.

"More Dangerous in Every Dimension"

2009-02-01T07:19:00.003-05:00

Georges St-Pierre first stunned, then dominated and dismantled BJ Penn in a one-sided defence of the UFC welterweight title in which the Canadian showed that his strength, speed, power, game plan and versatility knows no bounds.

Quite Simply, GSP looked faster, stronger and more dangerous in every dimension, rendering any thoughts of a Penn upset against the favourite, and welterweight champion, futile. GSP is the man. Indeed, he rendered Penn's Octagon skills ineffective.

The bout was called off after four rounds, with ringside doctor William Berliner having inspected Penn, and Penn's brother gesturing that it should be over.

-Telegraph.Co.UK

What do you mean by "Eternal Life"?

2009-02-01T00:11:00.004-05:00

Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

-John 17:3

-- -- --

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?"

- Matthew 22:18

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they’ve just heard
‘Cause all the powers of darkness
Can’t drown out a single word.

Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad Banned by NBC

2009-01-30T18:35:00.002-05:00

But this is it:

Sarcastic Christians; Mean-spirited Believers

2009-01-29T22:34:00.006-05:00

That's two oxymorons.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

- 1 John 4:7

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

- John 13:34-35

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

- Galatians 5:22-23

Who is Jesus?

2009-01-29T11:02:00.001-05:00

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

- John 11:25-26

Cursive, foiled again!

2009-01-29T08:27:00.003-05:00

School debate: Is cursive writing worth teaching?
By Megan Downs, Florida Today

Are the flowing curves and fancy loops of cursive writing disappearing from elementary school classrooms?

Some fear classic penmanship has been left behind as preparation for state assessment tests dominates class time. Others blame the rise of the Internet, combined with a push to ensure that children are technologically literate, for rendering delicate handwriting an art of yesteryear.

"With all the other subjects we must teach, we just don't have the time to spend a lot of effort on cursive," said Carl Brown, principal of Manatee Elementary in Viera, Fla.

That's a big change from years past. Brown recalled that he had to attend a summertime handwriting camp in Brevard County, Fla., about 25 years ago because of his illegible scrawl.

"Nowadays, parents would be pretty upset if we sent kids to handwriting camp," he said. "Kids just don't write letters now. They send e-mails or text messages. ... A lot of those old ways are going away. How many bills do you pay by writing a check anymore?"

-source

Somebody broke into my truck

2009-01-27T22:21:00.003-05:00

It's parked beside the marina office. Behind the gate. Under mercury vapor lights and a surveillance camera. And we have 24-hour security guards here.

Last year thieves helped themselves to my storage building in SC.

OK, enough already. Stop it.

Crosswind Landings & Go-Arounds

2009-01-27T12:08:00.008-05:00

A crosswind landing is a landing executed when a significant portion of the wind component is blowing perpendicular (instead of parallel) to the runway; crosswind landings aren't performed the same as a "routine landing" (I may have inadvertently just created a new oxymoron) ... and can get extry-hairy in a hurry.

A go-around occurs when the pilot, for whatever reason, chooses to abort the landing and applies full-power to "go around" the airport before attempting another landing.

The Hong Kong clip is ... well, see for youself.

Right

2009-01-27T08:41:00.004-05:00

Notes from the Blue Book

memo

The Bluebook gets a new address!

Joe Sangl takes Financial Freedom to Washington, DC

Church-tech Treat

Need a ride to church? Let your mouse do the driving.

Notes on staying home with the floo

Ja, we have no bananas today

Postcards from Havana

It's time to make the Transition®

this is interesting ...

Picadillo: the sofrito secret

Studying the obvious

What happened yesterday on the web?

Black Market Barbies?

West Virginia Lawmaker Jeff Eldridge Seeks Barbie Ban

Web Campus screen shots

'ello L.A.

Not America's Next Top Role Models

Comfy Christians

Video: Building An Online Church Community

Notes on life and cooking

Take a Friday night elephant ride over the Alps

Hard times for Hogan?

Hardcore History

Watch UNLEASH 2009 for free

Building Bridges

Get debt-free; Stay debt free

This church belongs to Jesus

boat moving

Time's top 25 blogs

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My newest Facebook friend ...

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What To Do When You Are In A HUGE Financial Mess

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winter weather where?

just gorgeous here ... and freezing, too

Get real happy (or die trying)

Clear that cache!

Opportunity calls ... from a cod

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish's belly, still makes smelly calls

Is your Sunday looking like a Snow Day?

Don't. Not even once.

Care to Kindle?

is it about time ...

NUMBER 5

Richard Mille RM 002-V2 Turbillon

$240,000

NUMBER 4

Parmigiani Fleurier Bugatti Type 370

$274,000

NUMBER 3Breguet Double Tourbillon Classique Grande Complication

NUMBER 3

$329,000

NUMBER 2

Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Minute Repeater

$623,000

NUMBER 1

Girard-Perregaux Opera Three

$630,000

what can we really expect from a church web campus?

guaranteed ... in writing

"I'm very in touch with the universe because I'm a very spiritual person" (updated)

pursuit of the perfect picadillo

Is an Internet campus really a church?

Just one more thing I thought I'd never see

A Ground and Pound Specialist

You didn't get here by accident

Bringing it

As BIG as it gets

And The Loser Is ...

BIG Plans for a Full-Size weekend

You're on my mind

NUMBER 3
Breguet Double Tourbillon Classique Grande Complication