Random

• There are a lot of people wound up about Columbus Day this year -- again rehearsing his immorality and injustices -- stridently suggesting that we take the day away from him. But the fact is that generally speaking we haven't "celebrated" Columbus Day in years. Mostly it's a calendar hold-over from a bygone era -- something which the feds keep around in their quirky system because of past labor negotiations. (If you want to get it off the calendar get the unions on your side.) But really, it's a non-issue. What could be more humiliating than to have a holiday in your honor based on a myth which most people don't believe -- and which most people except bankers, talk-show hosts, and bloggers ignore?

• Were people dying during the 1918 flu pandemic because they overdosed on the new miracle drug called aspirin? ~ link

• New research: Learning a complex new skill seems to increase the white matter in the brain -- the cabling network of the brain. ~ link

• From Karyn Sorenson on Facebook:

I was talking to the "snake catcher" at Andersen AFB and he told me that last month ALONE they caught nearly 3500 brown tree snakes on the base! Guam has as many as 13,000 non-native b.t. snakes per square mile. This is higher than snake densities in the rainforests of the Amazon Basin of Ecuador where 51 different snake species occupy the same habitat!! The bts has virtually obliterated the bird population of Guam.

• Franklin Graham's compensation from his two full-time jobs last year was over $1.2 million. The boards of his two organizations were trying to play catch-up on his retirement contributions. Still, this is a big blow to the credibility of both organizations and Graham. How did they think this was going to be perceived? ~ link

• San Diego photo pro Dan Fields has been on Guam to do some photos for PIU and he's got some great one's on his blog. link | link (via)

• Am I being negative and judgmental when I suggest that Joel Osteen could benefit from a class in biblical hermeneutics? ~ link

• Bible translation guru Rick Mansfield has a major review of the NET Bible. ~ link

• Ah yes, Lindsborg, Kansas. We camped in their free town-center campground one night and the next day enjoyed seeing the Swedish heritage shops. ~ link

• Speaking of Swedish -- our oldest son Kirk just checked in from Stockholm. He and his touring partners were in Germany and Denmark last week. He can tell me if it's anything like Lindsborg. I have my suspicions.