Random

• WHAT I'd like for Christmas is an electronic tagging system. Every time I want a particular book or tool I'd tell the computer to send a wireless signal which activates a beeper on the item. This gadget would seriously affect how we organize things -- and help me find the two lost books for which I'm currently hunting. I know that they are here somewhere!

• GUAM is going to get a Chuck E Cheese. Now THAT is progress! Actually, all facetiousness aside, it's a fun place for kids and will be a good addition for the children of Guam. ~ link

• Twitter is already making a profit. ~ link

• "10 awful truths about book publishing" ~ link (via)

• George Barna's year-end summary is built around four themes that highlight our inconsistencies. There are no real surprises but here they are:

Theme 1: Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.

Theme 2: Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.

Theme 3: Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the US.

Theme 4: Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or through a church – is not common at this time and it is not likely to become common in the near future. ~ link

• "REVOLUTION CHURCH hires new pastor" ~ link (CORRECTED LINK)

• WE used to say that churches "call" pastors. Is there a difference between "hiring" and "calling"? (The fact that I ask the question suggests that I think so.)

• NATHAN MYRHVOLD'S garden hose solution to global warming probably has a better chance of implementation than anything coming out of Copenhagen. Creative. ~ link

• THE Mayon volcano, about 300 miles south of Manila, in the Philippines, is about to erupt. Another possible solution to global warming? ~ link