Thursday, September 27, 2007
St. Vincent de Paul
A friend to all in need, especially the poor. Happy day.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
First Catholic church in Qatar
Uhoh - this is one step closer to the gospel being preached to all peoples. You know what happens after that. The end of the world. Yup.
Still, I'm happy for Qatar.
Still, I'm happy for Qatar.
The Feast of Tabernacles
The name of the holiday is frequently translated "Feast of Tabernacles," which, like many translations of Jewish terms, isn't very useful.
So happy Sukkot to all of the Hebraic persuation. Remember, as a rabbi once told my friend's parents, it's a double mitzvah to engage in conjugal relations with your spouse in the sukkah (don't know if that's true, but I do know that that's what the rabbi said).
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Vatican on climate change
While demanding effective action to avert ecological disaster, Msgr. Parolin called for a balanced and careful approach. He said that scientific evidence shows "a link between human activity and climate change." However, he said, the strength of that evidence "should neither be exaggerated nor minimized in the name of politics, ideologies, or self-interest."
HP support getting iffy
PSA - Looks like they're getting a little Dell-like in their support model.
Labels: computers
Hey!
Blogger ate a post from yesterday. First time. I'm not happy.
Labels: metablogging
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Ahmadinejad to speak at Columbia
A lot of people are upset about this shindig. I'm not a big fan of the guy, but I always feel like he's hiding something (no not the nuclear weapons, everyone knows about that). Besides, I feel like if you can invite Peter Singer onto a campus (after all he is a proferssor) why not Ahmadinejad.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Offer not valid in all states
DENVER, September 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Federal Appeals Court has dismissed a case brought by abortionists and other abortion supporters against Kansas for attempting to enforce their mandatory child sex abuse reporting law. Legislators had changed one word in the statute, rendering the case moot.
Kansas law requires that health care professionals, teachers, and other professionals who work with children must report all suspicion of sexual abuse. Aid for Women, a Kansas City abortion mill run by abortionist Sherman Zaremski filed suit against former Attorney General Phill Kline after he issued an opinion indicating that abortion clinics were required to follow the law.
Why would the law apply to them? They're special.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Songs in the Darkness
Trying to find inspiration during a moment of depression in my day I came across this article. It reminded me of my mornings in Harlem with the Missionaries of Charity. Those were some of the most beautiful mornings in my life.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Overheard at work
I work in tech. Lots of guys. You know the routine. Especially odd when we go out, since all the bars we go to are "long dudes and short chicks" as one coworker once put it.
Apparently a group of people, say 40 guys and 5 gals, went out a few months ago to a bar a few blocks from the office and proceded to take it over (lots of them, small place). A couple from out of town walked into the bar, yelled "Oh no, it's a gay bar", and walked out. A coworker yelled back, "It's not a gay bar, really". The tourist wife responded "Yeah, uhuh".
What a glorious life.
Apparently a group of people, say 40 guys and 5 gals, went out a few months ago to a bar a few blocks from the office and proceded to take it over (lots of them, small place). A couple from out of town walked into the bar, yelled "Oh no, it's a gay bar", and walked out. A coworker yelled back, "It's not a gay bar, really". The tourist wife responded "Yeah, uhuh".
What a glorious life.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Guilt
Just an interesting read on Yom Kippur and guilt.
Not the most interesting part, but one that made me chuckle:
Nice to see some guilty third parties once in a while.
Not the most interesting part, but one that made me chuckle:
I was reminded of those days recently when a man told me of his intimate relationship with guilt. His mother introduced the concept and made sure he learned it well. (By the way, he's not Jewish. Or Catholic, either. So much for those myths.)
Nice to see some guilty third parties once in a while.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Wake up
Maybe we're a little too eager to get those organs.
CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan man who had been declared dead woke up in the morgue in excruciating pain after medical examiners began their autopsy.
Carlos Camejo, 33, was declared dead after a highway accident and taken to the morgue, where examiners began an autopsy only to realize something was amiss when he started bleeding. They quickly sought to stitch up the incision on his face.
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Failure to Communicate
Historically, police departments, fire departments and ambulance drivers have all had their own independent communications equipment, so when there's a disaster that involves them all, they can't communicate with each other. A 1996 government report said this about the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993: "Rescuing victims of the World Trade Center bombing, who were caught between floors, was hindered when police officers could not communicate with firefighters on the very next floor."
And I thought it was hard to get a group of people together in college.
Labels: metablogging
Quote of the Day
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about
telescopes.
- Edsger Dijkstra
telescopes.
- Edsger Dijkstra
Labels: computers, programming, quotes
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Old co-workers
I often wonder about my old coworkers, and how to (or if to) keep in contact with them. We had a friendship of a particular type - that of business. Once the business association has ended, is there anything left? I always feel as if I've gotten closer to people than solely business would account for. But running into a old coworker always feels awkward, especially if I was the one who left. Perhaps I'm not comfortable enough with myself to make it work. Or maybe there really is nothing there.
A bad attitude
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Often, when I see someone behaving foolishly, I'm tempted to write them off and write a nasty blog post about them. I probably would have done the same with Paul had he and I and blogs all existed at the same time. Though I probably would have been killed for the post so maybe not. Point being I would have wanted to.
But I can't see into the heart of another man (most certainly not into the heart of a woman). Nor do I know what God has in store for that person. Indeed I should be much more sparing with my anger - there is such a thing as righteous anger, but it's not emotionally driven, but rationally driven, and it's for the good of the person you're angry with. It probably should be saved for people who act in bad faith (again hard to tell).
Friday, September 14, 2007
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live.”
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Boring entry
I've been discussing myself (always a warning sign for a boring blog entry) with a few friends and have come to the conclusion that I've become a very boring fellow. I think there are a few reasons for this.
1 - Not much time to spend on things outside of work
2 - A general tendency to isolate myself in order to conserve time
3 - A move from an interesting job to a . . . less interesting job, I suppose is the best way to put it. Specialization instead of generalization. I haven't decided which is better.
4 - Inadequate prayer. Not because of time, but more because of sloth. If I was more serious about my spiritual life and not so worried about, well, other stuff, I think that would lead to peace and a clearer mind.
Just a first draft.
1 - Not much time to spend on things outside of work
2 - A general tendency to isolate myself in order to conserve time
3 - A move from an interesting job to a . . . less interesting job, I suppose is the best way to put it. Specialization instead of generalization. I haven't decided which is better.
4 - Inadequate prayer. Not because of time, but more because of sloth. If I was more serious about my spiritual life and not so worried about, well, other stuff, I think that would lead to peace and a clearer mind.
Just a first draft.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Happy new year
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Blog day of silence for 9/11
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mixed-use
Recognizing that smaller manufacturers need affordable space — and the city needs the jobs they provide — some urban planners urged officials to rethink where industry can be located. Ron Shiffman, a veteran planner and chairman of the Industrial Retention Network, said many of the newer companies are a lot cleaner than past factories and can coexist alongside housing in mixed-use neighborhoods. He has also suggested an approach not normally associated with bricks and metal.
Having read Jane Jacobs' The Economy of Cities
, the idea that New York will allow manufacturing in residential and commercial neighborhoods is quite exciting. It allows a greater variety of people to work near their jobs. It also encourages a greater mixture of people and ideas, creating an environment for innovation.Labels: economics, local, work
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Sanity
We usually live with an unconscious image of earth as a large, stable, secure place, the absolute, the center, with Heaven and Hell as barely visible points in the sky, shimmering and remote fantasies, tiny and uncertain. In fact, it is Earth that is tiny and uncertain.
This is sanity. This is the cold light of day, "the way it is". In order for us to be sane, to live in the real world, this vision would have to become habitual. We may gauge our sanity level by how habitual it is.
Peter Kreeft - p.142, Christianity for Modern Pagans ( Ignatius 1993 )
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Learning from the best
I'm about to start a new job at "big company x" after leaving "small company q". I'm not sure what I think about this transition. People tell me it's the smart move - there are more things to learn and do. I think it might be the dumb move - I was previously working on a good team with a bunch of really talented people. I guess time will tell.
Labels: work
Friday, September 07, 2007
Charity and Taxes
I guess I always assumed that giving money to non-profits would benefit society, so give them a tax break, external benefits, et al.
Some wealthy people seem to think this isn't true. After reading this article, I may have to agree.
What qualifies for that tax deduction has broadened over the 90 years since its creation to include everything from university golf teams to puppet theaters — even an organization established after Hurricane Katrina to help practitioners of sadomasochism obtain gear they had lost in the storm.
Roughly three-quarters of charitable gifts of $50 million and more from 2002 through March 31 went to universities, private foundations, hospitals and art museums, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Some wealthy people seem to think this isn't true. After reading this article, I may have to agree.
Labels: economics
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Public Service Announcement
A friend of mine recently lost all of her data to a hard drive crash. Lesson - please please please back up your data. If you don't know about backups, ask me and I'll try to help.
Labels: computers
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Storing Everyone's DNA
I do not like the idea at all, though I can't quite place my finger on why I don't like it. I guess it violates my feelings that the government shouldn't have any data until there's some reason for it to have it. Not sure if I can call that subsidiarity, but it would make me feel better if I could.
Labels: politics, technology
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Business Ethics
So it looks like Sprint has a nasty habit of dropping people who use the roaming part of their contracts or call customer service too much. This (and the related sort of stuff that goes on with cable modem download limiting) seems to me to be quite base. When you enter into a contract with a service provider, there are some things that are spelled out, rates, terms, etc, and a lot of things that are not. My thought is that one of the unspecified terms is that both sides will be reasonable. This is hard to write into a contract, and hard to enforce. However, I fail to see how business can be carried out in an atmosphere of distrust. That leads you straight to the sorts of liquidity problems that are bouncing around Wall Street, I think.
At any rate, what Sprint's doing is not just lame, but also bad for business, and businesses everywhere. I think.
At any rate, what Sprint's doing is not just lame, but also bad for business, and businesses everywhere. I think.
Labels: economics
Monday, September 03, 2007
Prayer Request
Please pray for Zorak the Mantis who is having a tough time at work. Might as well pray for her toddler while you're at it.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Sodom and . . . Gibeah?
Just noticed that the city of Gibeah, mentioned at the tail end of the book of Judges, seems to be populated by the same sorts of individuals who made Sodom so notable. Except with a less happy ending with a dismembered concubine. I have a Soncino commentary, but all it says is that the similarity with Genesis 19 is "striking". Amazing you never hear about this in debates.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Why Johnny Can't Believe
This is an article about how the church at large has failed us.
I always enjoy reading well thought out Protestant commentary, and this is a good short piece to digest before heading out on Saturday night. He's calling for a more intellectual and rigorous faith, always a good thing. Though of course it can easily be overdone.
When you screw up a program
Just found out that a program I wrote has been storing duplicate data. Not a nice discovery for late on a Friday night, but I feel like fixing it is a priority task for this weekend. It's only professional.
