Random

...Pollster George Barna has released the results of a survey which indicates that "house churches are more satisfying to attenders than are conventional churches." I'm generally pretty sympathetic to the house church movement and see it as a vital stream in the church. However, we shouldn't read too much into this survey. The primary reason is that the movement is currently so small and the people who associate with such a minority movement are by nature highly motivated and committed people. Add to that the cognitive dissonance factor and it's a no brainer.

...Speaking of house churches, my church website of the week is a blog which attempts to network house churches in the Phoenix, Arizona area -- Phoenix Area House Churches 2.0

...The transfer of funds from the sale of our California house to our escrow account on Guam went off without a hitch. It looks like we're set to close escrow on the condo Thursday morning. After that we can start painting and doing some minor kitchen remodeling. We should be out of the duplex we're in by the end of the month.

...Do boys and girls need separate classes? A new major study in Britain says yes.

...The IHT has an insightful piece on the tensions that have emerged as Asian-Americans have risen to dominate the elite US universities. But the fact is that these students aren't getting into Cal or UCLA because of race. The Asians are there because they and their families, including many who start out as poor immigrants, have disciplined themselves and emphasized the importance of educational preparation. Woe to us when we get so into racial engineering that we dock people who have worked hard to achieve something they value.

...The American auto industry has recognized a change in consumer preferences and GM is currently leading the green movement among the Big 3. (But that's not going to prevent them from having to cut jobs this year.) I'm not sure that we're becoming all that much more environmentally conscious. I suspect that Americans have simply decided that they're tired of being held hostage by oil producing countries and having to fight wars where oil is at least a factor. It's an independence thing.

...An Iraqi court dropped all remaining genocide charges against former dictator Saddam Hussein. I'm sure he is relieved.

...Today's power outage only lasted about 4 minutes. Nobody on Guam ever sets the clocks on their microwave ovens. It would be an exercise in futility and frustration. :)

...Wal-Mart innovation -- In Wal-Mart, where everything tends to become jumbled and messy, I'm sure that lots of merchandise is lost in the store -- never to be seen or sold. But now there is a solution.