Random

• "A snake with a single clawed foot has been discovered in China." What do you think? An indicator of a pre-fall (Genesis 3:14) snake? A remnant of a different stage of evolution? Creature from outer space? Some other explanation?  ~ link

• It's been awhile since I mentioned FreeRecycling.com. Your club or group can make money collecting ink cartridges and cell phones. I guess this is the equivalent to the paper-drives we used to hold when we were in junior high school or the Scouts who would collect pop bottles to raise money for their trips. I like the FreeRecycling.com approach because it is fairly straight forward and requires nothing upfront. Go here to register yourself or your group.

• Compared to most of the developed world Americans don't take much vacation. And having worked with people from other places in the developed world, we Americans often wondered why they were always on vacation.

• Where do the "profits" of the Christian publishing companies end up? ~ link

• "Scientists have pinpointed a gene linked to more than half of all breast cancers." ~ link

• Quotable:

...My irritation with the cult of personal application is the self-centered, self-absorbed posture of many as they approach God's Word. Now it seems perfectly appropriate after hearing one of Jesus' parables to ask oneself how his teaching is personally challenging us. But the operative word there is AFTER...

Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let's instead let God's concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (Col 3:2). Or, as The Message Bible puts it: "Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ -- that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." When we get a glimpse of "God reality" all of our own earthly concerns are seen in a new light. ~ Jeremy Berg

• IBM is jumping into the webmail fray -- hoping to beat out Google Apps for businesses. Competition is good. I wonder, though, if an established company can beat Google. For something that monumental it seems that it would take the creativity of a start-up company. ~ link

• Following the lead of the UK Navy, the US Army is experimenting with a portable system that generates energy from garbage. It seems like there could be some fascinating civilian applications for this technology -- if the price were right. I know of a few islands which could benefit immediately from access to this. ~ link

• The US military is involved in earthquake relief in Indonesia. ~ link

• So is Covenant World Relief. ~ link

• The models tracking climate change may not yet be comprehensive enough for use in policy making. ~ link

• "Arizona tied with North Carolina and Washington as the sixth most desired state to live in, according to a new poll." Phoenix didn't make the list as a desirable city but I'm enjoying it. ~ link