Random

• I ordered earbuds from Walmart.com to replace my iPod buds which had worn out. This morning there was a box at the post office with my brand new Panasonic stereo earbuds -- but the return address was an individual rather than Walmart -- absolutely no indication on the box or the customs form that Walmart was involved. It appears that loss prevention trumps branding at some point. There was a Walmart packing slip inside and, yes, the earbuds are working great.

• I'm speaking this coming Sunday at the Lutheran Church of Guam -- both the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services. I'll be talking about the psalm of the day -- Psalm 96 -- jazzed about singing a new song.

• The devastation from recent flooding in India is worse than most people realize. ~ link

• The first step in caring for the 900 million malnourished people in the world is to provide vitamin supplements. And while we're at it, how about some clean water to wash it all down! ~ link

• Some Swedes blame Florida for slow economic growth! They probably just don't have enough class. ~ link

• Scot McKnight is weighing in as a flat-tax advocate. I'm guessing that his university employer, non-profits, and churches, which all benefit from the tax-deduction incentive, wouldn't be as enthusiastic. ~ link

• Abilene, Texas is the new tech center of the heartland and ACU students are the geeks supreme. Incoming freshman this fall were given a choice of a new Apple iPhone 3G or iPod Touch, plus a package of ACU-written Web applications to use on them -- for free. There has been a 150% increase in the number of registered devices on the school's network compared with last year -- and bandwidth usage has increased. There is no word, yet, on whether admissions applications for next year are also up. But one can guess. ~ link

• I'm excited about the annual Micronesia Island Fair this coming weekend at Ypao Beach. We went last year and had a good time. ~ link

• Creative solution to church property disputes -- of which there are many as both the Presbyterians and Anglicans are doing the schism shuffle. ~ link