Random

• Happy birthday to Betsy, our youngest, who turns 21 today. She is currently hanging out at the airport in Portland, Oregon, waiting to catch a plane to Guam. And then because of the dateline jump she'll miss most of her 21st birthday. But I'm sure it will be memorable.

• American churches are more diverse and informal than a decade ago ~ USA Today

• Our latest ministry update ~ link

• More woes for the Colorado River. Be careful -- that's my river you're messing with. ~ link

• Now they're blaming the housing bust on the tax code change.

By favoring real estate, the tax code pushed many Americans to begin thinking of their houses more as an investment than as a place to live. It helped change the national conversation about housing. Not only did real estate look like a can’t-miss investment for much of the last decade, it was also a tax-free one. ~ link

Yeah, perhaps, but it's still no excuse for over-extending ourselves on speculative investing -- spending what we didn't have. And that's basically what happened.

• In case you get a uke for Christmas -- which would be a great blessing for anyone (in case you're looking for a gift idea) -- Al Wood has a free ebook for beginners. ~ link

• The courts yanked control of Guam's only dump away from GovGuam and put it in receivership because of environmental violations. So far the private company running it has been saving the taxpayers at least $88,000/month over what it costs when GovGuam runs the operation -- and that's with a bunch of high paid suits in charge. The judge may have inadvertnetly plugged one of GovGuam's sucking holes. ~ link

• Some Maryland high school students say they're using digital photos of license plates taped over their own to trick speed cameras into generating traffic citations for their teachers and enemies. Sounds like some imaginative talkers. There is no evidence that it's actually happening but some parents are worried. ~ link