Random

...The new version of the website for the Evangelical Covenant Church went live last evening. But then a few hours later it was back to the old version. They must be having some transition issues. Transitions of this magnitude are not all that easy. I'm confident, though, that they'll get it all sorted out.

...Cingular is not only raising the bar. They're also raising the rates for some customers. They plan to start charging the 8% of their customers who still use pre-GSM phones an additional $5/month for service -- a move to encourage them to upgrade so the company can standardize the whole system on GSM.

We have Cingular GSM phones and I can understand why some of their customers are reluctant to upgrade. We're continually fighting dead spots, dropped signals, and scratchy connections. GSM is definitely the way to go -- especially if you ever travel outside the US. But the Cingular GSM network, in my experience, seems to be lacking. I've been told, however, by some with old phones that they have very few problems.

...California public school enrollment is down -- especially the schools in downtown areas. The whole trend has taken demographers by surprise. School closures are expected in some areas. Turlock is definitely an exception to the trend -- right now.

...Can a town be over-churched? Stafford, Texas thinks so. They have 51 churches in the town of less than 20,000 -- which isn't all that many. Really. Stafford, like many towns in America, is concerned about the eroding tax-base. Many communities have figured out non-tax ways of recovering revenue lost to non-profits such as churches -- i.e. special fees for services such as fire and police protection. Of course, when you consider what churches give back to communities and that the constituencies of churches are already paying taxes and fees... There has got to be some kind of middle ground on this issue.

...Some friends gave Cheryl and me VIP passes to the front seats at the 4Him concert at the fair last night. We barely lasted two songs and then bailed to find a place in the back row -- hopefully preserving what remains of my hearing so that someday, when they arrive, I will be able to have conversations with my grandchildren. 4Him, which is on a farewell tour, has some good music. I especially liked hearing songs that I remember listening to on KLTY when we lived in the Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex. And while 4Him is good in concert I enjoy listening a whole lot more on the radio -- where I can control the volume.

...When we went to the fair last evening it didn't even cross my mind that we should take along some mosquito repellent. That was a mistake.

...Kent's picture comes up in a rotation on the website of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, where he is studying abroad this term. You may have to reload the page a few times before the group picture comes up. He is the blonde kid with the blue jacket in the upper right quadrant.