Some people DO get it.

Kishin Advani, the Realtor who sold us our condo three years ago, has been feeding me information behind the scenes that has helped us with the FSBO of the same condo. Of course, I promised to list it with him if it didn't sell FSBO but he's gone way beyond the call of duty to help out. And this is not the first time.

I had another great service moment when I went to the Barrigada Post Office this afternoon. After checking the PO box I had to go to the package window to get an over-sized box. But I didn't have to wait for the clerk to go hunt for the package in the back because it was already at the window when I arrived there. She had recognized me when I walked in the door and associated me with the proper PO box. She then picked up my package from the back shelf when she had gone to retrieve mail for another customer. So it was already waiting at the counter when I got there.

There are people who DO get it. Could Guam eventually become the customer service capital of the world? Imagine that.

Random

• One of our cacti on the lanai is showing some incredible spring bloom -- delicate little yellow stars.

• Health care breakthrough: Trials in India show that the Polypill works -- cutting heart disease by 80%, reducing strokes. This inexpensive pill could save millions and millions of lives -- and significantly reduce health care costs. Economic ripple effect could be staggering. ~ link

• WSJ article on the plight of the burbs:

What is happening on the urban fringe is similar to the urban decay that plagued cities after World War II, says Christopher B. Leinberger, a real-estate developer and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Single-family homes and townhouses in cities were broken into rental units. Now, we're seeing that phenomenon move out to the fringe." ~ link

• Over the years I've been collecting some of my rather random thoughts on ministry -- somewhat of a philosophy of ministry. I just created a "Ministry Lessons" page with part of my collection -- probably more revealing than profound. ~ link

• I don't get too excited about the liquor but I'd like to grow citrons. ~ link

• A Singapore pastor has reportedly been paid a $500k performance bonus. I really do need to get back to that surreal place. ~ link

Random

• Christians talk a lot about "the gospel." What exactly constitutes "the gospel" -- biblically speaking? Scot McKnight is helping us ask the right questions. ~ link

• I'm ready to go -- speaking @ the last LCG Lenten Service this Wednesday. Soup at 6 p.m., Holden Evening Prayer at 7 p.m.

Lutherans seem to be big on soup in Lent. Do any other groups do soup? It's actually quite amazing -- the majority of those in attendance on Sunday mornings shows up for the Wednesday night prayer meeting every week during Lent. Is this an unusually vibrant congregation or do others with mid-week prayer services during Lent experience similar levels of engagement?

My CV & online teaching

I started sending out my academic CV (Curriculum Vitae) (.pdf) today. Since we're mostly self-funded at this point in the Queen Creek church planting project I'm hoping to teach some online classes in leadership or Bible starting next fall -- perhaps a little tent-making gig. (I'm also hoping that I can eventually bring this thing full circle and teach some PIBC classes online from the States.)

I had never compiled an academic CV before. So, putting one together was a new experience. A CV is similar to a resume but a little more free flowing -- and longer is actually considered better. Mine is only two pages but real academics like to list every single article they've written, every conference presentation they've ever made, every recognition they've received, and every time someone has mentioned their name.

My list is short -- and really that's probably better for this kind of distance education. Online teaching requires a different skill-set than what is needed in a traditional classroom, so an out-of-the-box CV is probably okay. Any university administrator looking at my CV would recognize that my primary calling is not in academia and that I don't have aspirations to climb the academic ladder. But I do enjoy the students and the interaction.

In many American colleges or universities an online teacher is a contract employee -- no faculty status or rank. Often they don't even design their own courses, set their own reading lists, create their own syllabi, or even write their own tests. They are more like guides moving students through an interactive museum. Their function is similar to that of TAs in large universities -- except the primary delivery of course content is online in the form of reading and video. Obviously, there are both strengths and weaknesses to such an arrangement -- and to such an approach to teaching.

One thing that I hear over and over again from students in online classes (both at PIBC and otherwise) is that it's just so much more work than what is expected in a traditional classroom. That may be true -- or it might just be that the pace can feel more intense and the student has to take more personal initiative to stay on top of it all.

We'll see what happens.

Random

• Seth says, ignore your critics -- and your fans. However, he adds, you should pay attention to your "sneezers." ~ link

• Western Governor's University has just launched a new online BA program in early childhood education. The fact that WGU is slow and methodical about adding new programs is an indicator of quality. ~ link

• YouTube crash course in Mormon Christology -- someone had some fun putting this together. (No, I am not in the least bit sympathetic toward LDS theology -- in spite of the fact that I've enjoyed most of the Mormons I've known.)

The suburban conundrum

It's been a great reversal. In the 20th century Americans escaped to the suburbs looking for a certain type of lifestyle. Now, many gravitate that direction because urban life is unaffordable.

This makes suburban life more complicated. If the burbs are not the first choice of where you want to be living you have a more difficult time sinking down roots -- and you've always got an eye open for opportunities elsewhere. On top of that you spend more time on the road commuting and less time investing in the community. All of this opens the door to many of the problems historically associated with community disintegration -- crime, drugs, gangs... The "urban problems" are migrating to the burbs, in turn making suburban life even more unappealing.

The new suburbia needs people who are self-aware, knowledgeable of the issues associated with their place, and willing to swim against the current.

Who are the writers and thinkers associated with suburban renewal? Any suggestions?

Psalm 37:8-9 (the Message)

Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.

Random

• Guam shoppers haven't gotten the recession memo, yet. This afternoon the mall was PACKED and people (locals & tourists!) were loaded down with full shopping bags -- just like Christmas.

• Starbucks has launched VIA, its new instant coffee, in London. The reviews seem positive. Apparently 80% of UK adults are already instant coffee drinkers. It doesn't make much difference to me. I'll drink fresh brewed or instant -- Starbucks or McDonald's -- whatever -- as long as it has enough chocolate in it. ~ link

• The economic downturn marks the beginning of the end of the MBA, says Matthew Stewart. I say nonsense -- utter nonsense. People have been sounding the demise of the MBA for years -- all the while the MBA programs in the US (and now around the world) continue to grow. My guess is that the degree will morph a bit to deal with the new global realities (it is after all an academic degree built on pragmatism) -- perhaps even become a bit more balanced. But it ain't goin' away anytime soon. Disclaimer: I'm not an MBA nor do I desire to be one. I'm just glad that there are others with such training to balance me out.

• Texas, the only US state obstreperous enough to require students to pledge allegiance to the state flag each day, will get to keep God in the pledge. "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." ~ link

• Is the global population shifting into reverse? This is why we're not worried about saddling our great-grandchildren with debt. At some point there won't be great-grandchildren. ~ link

• Colleges are dismantling computers labs because they are not longer needed. ~ link

Ethan Noah Dy

Derwin & Lisa Dy's son, Ethan Noah Dy, was born at 8:36 a.m., this morning -- just a couple of hours after his grandmother arrived from the States. All are doing well and our friends Derwin and Lisa were looking terrific by this afternoon.

Random

• I'm going to start a "Bring Back the New Facebook" group. **grin** Those poor FB guys just can't win. As soon as they start to bring order to the chaotic counter-intuitive FB mess the customers get upset. ~ link

• Come on you guys, it's not THAT bad! The mayors of towns and cities along the US-Mexican border are saying that the Mexican drug war "spill-over" into the US is being way over-stated by the media. ~ link (audio)

• "YouTube EDU Brings Free Education to the Masses" Hmmm... You might get some lectures on YouTube but I'm not sure that lectures are necessarily the same thing as an education. They might on occasion be a small component of an educational process but I'd hardly equate lectures with education. ~ link

• We're excited. Cheryl and I made reservations tonight to fly to Seoul, 대한민국, for a weekend in April. Cost: 25,000 One-Pass miles each. (There are some definite advantages to living on the edge of Asia.) Kent will take the bus up from his small rural town in the south and meet up with us. He is the one on the left in the picture.

• Here is an idea with lots of POTential on Guam. KFC will be paying the city of Louisville, Kentucky $3,000 to fix 350 potholes. In exchange KFC will be allowed to paint over the filled holes with a stencil that reads, "Re-freshed by KFC." Creative. ~ link (audio)

• The Protestant idea of the "priesthood of all believers" isn't so much that each individual has direct access to God on his or her own (without a priestly intermediary) -- but that we're all called to serve as priests for each other.

• Quote of the Day -- "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." ~ George Carlin (via)

Heat or humidity

Over the past few days I've had a couple of conversations with students who were curious about the climate in Arizona and whether it was air conditioned there, too.

When we lived in California and Arizona we ran the air conditioner because it was hot during the summer months. On Guam we run it year-round to attack some of the humidity which isn't just uncomfortable but which creates a breeding ground for mildew and mold -- warps doors and walls and wreaks havoc on books and electronics.

Islanders think that Westerners are silly because we like rooms to be so cold, but in fact we're often putting up with the refrigeration so we can bring down the humidity. Whether the AC ("aircon" as people say here) is the most efficient way of doing such is another issue.

Having said all that I'm not sure if I should mention that in the desert areas we will often use evaporative coolers ("swam coolers" in the old days) to interject humidity into the air and cool things down during the driest months.

I find that even though the temperature is A LOT hotter in the Southwestern part of the US than it is on Guam, we spent a lot more time outside in the desert than we do here. And we had the windows open a lot more than we do here (which is never). It's just different.

Perhaps the best way to explain it is to invite islanders to visit us when we're back in the desert.

Random

• An ongoing interest -- re-purposed cargo containers -- these are from Africa ~ link

• I had an international dinner tonight at Wendy's. The taco salad (which was quite good) is an American variation on a Mexican theme. I'm pretty sure the lettuce came from California. But the Mexican-style corn chips came from New Zealand (!), according to the package. Global fusion strikes again.

• Google added a lot of new features to its arsenal today, including a drawing application in Google Docs. So you can now draw in the cloud, too. It's pretty basic but functional. ~ link

• Attn: uke players and wannabes --Tonight You Belong to Me

Random

• "Many businesses that are in trouble are in trouble for a simple reason: they're the wrong size." -- Seth Godin. IOW, smaller companies might be more profitable. Can we carry this idea into the ecclesiastical setting and suggest that smaller-size churches might in some contexts be more fruitful? ~ link

• Attn: Guam media -- You keep producing stories about moped accidents. However, MoPEDs by definition have PEDals. I have not seen a moped on Guam. There are bicycles (which a few insane people ride) and there are lots of pedal-free scooters, most of which go faster than mopeds. For the record, I am in favor of mandatory brain-buckets for both scooter and moped riders (should a real moped actually appear on Guam). ~ link

• I unsubscribed from the White House Twitter feed. For the first two months we barely heard a tweet from those guys. But today they went hog wild and started posting every little boring move the President was making. I found the door out.

Random

• "More babies born in 2007 than any other year in US history" ~ link

• I didn't feel it. There was a 5.0 earthquake in our area about 2:15 p.m., this afternoon -- epicenter about 115 miles southwest of Hagåtña, Guam.

• I counted up the number of honorary doctorates that Martin Marty has collected -- 74! (Hopefully I got that right. I'm not used to working with large numbers. I think that every time the guy goes out to eat someone gives him another DD.) And then there is the one earned PhD. He is one smart guy and probably deserves a few more letters after his name. ~ link

• Marty's latest Sightings on "The Decline of the Culture Wars" can be found here.

• Speaking of university degrees, women are now claiming more bachelor-level degrees than men in the US. The rise of the college-educated woman is also affecting the share of income going to the top 1% of households -- or so some are speculating. ~ link

• The Obama chia pet? What have you guys been doing in the States while we've been gone? Isn't there anyone minding the asylum? ~ link

• For some reason my cell phone is no longer picking up a signal in some parts of the condo. Tower change?

Random

• Horace Glump's gardening blog has some helpful info on building raised bed veggie gardens. ~ link

• India's Tata Motors is launching its Nano car in Mumbai today -- world's cheapest car -- $1,979 (100,000 rupees). It might be too little, too late the for ailing car manufacturer. Sound familiar? ~ link

• Sweden: No bail-out for Saab ~ link

• Listening to Ed Stetzer talk about the "Pitfalls in Planting: What We and Others Do that Undermine the Work and How to Avoid Them" -- some wise words for church planters ~ link

• "It seems like Twittering is just randomly bragging about your unexceptional life..." ~ from the "Twouble with Twitters"

Silly signs

This particular sign
is posted at the
New Travel Beach
Resort, in Chantaburi,
Thailand, where we
had our retreat last
month. I really want
to know what the
Thai lettering on
the bottom says.

Silly signs

This particular sign is posted at the desk in the Leo Palace bowling alley on Guam (one of the nicest bowling allies I've ever been in). It reads:

We will be Excuse Maximum One hour to use Karaoke Room In-case We have waiting Customer.

All the workers we met there spoke great English but apparently the Japanese manager who ordered the sign, probably from a sign-maker in his home country, is pretty clueless. Leo Palace is owned and operated by a Japanese company.

Random

• The first McDonald's in Queen Creek opened last week. ~ link

• The first time I saw someone with a Coptic cross tattooed on her forehead was in Minneapolis. Jennifer Johnson has an article on the Christian History website about such tattoos. ~ link

• We posted an update on our ministry blog -- more detail about our transition and future plans. ~ link

• The recession seems to be feeding the online college movement. ~ link

New Guam license plates

Old style Guam plates











New style Guam plates

Silly signs

No one thinks you're
stupid if you screw up
the language when you're
speaking it. But if you
spend thousands of
dollars on signage
without checking the
grammar then people
begin to wonder. Each
sign company on
Guam should be
required to hire at
least one native
English speaker to
keep their customers
from looking silly.

Random

• Big cuts in postal service coming to the US. The volume of stamped mail is back down to 1964 levels. But they are trying to maintain staff and facilities for pre-Internet days. We may just have to adjust our expectations a bit. ~ link

• No whining allowed. The US is better off than the rest of the world when it comes to food. "Americans spend only 5.7% (of household income) on food consumed at home in 2007, the lowest percent in the world," says Professor Mark Perry. Of course, we do tend to eat out a lot. But that says a lot about our level of affluence (even in a slow economy). ~ link

• Great line from David Brooks -- writing about the US's "cosmic myopia," in the midst of the collapsing world financial system --

The president of the United States has decided to address this crisis while simultaneously tackling the four most complicated problems facing the nation: health care, energy, immigration and education. Why he has not also decided to spend his evenings mastering quantum mechanics and discovering the origins of consciousness is beyond me.

It's true. The president does seem largely disconnected from reality at times but we know that most of what a president accomplishes gets started in his first year of office. If he doesn't launch into these things now the opportunities for success diminish with time in office. His clock is ticking. ~ link

• Mortgaging church property is a theological issue. If the space is sacred because it is set-apart for sacred purposes then to give a secular bank an interest in the property is theologically inconsistent. However, if buildings are seen more as mission tools, not particularly sacred in themselves, then there is more openness to outside mortgages. So muses Valerie Munson, expert on church property law at the University of St Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. Cathy Lynn Grossman in her USA Today column is asking if these differences are affecting church foreclosure rates. ~ link

• Philip Jenkins writes on "The Philippine diaspora" ~ link

• Foreign aid is smothering Africa to death -- creating more problems than it is solving. ~ link

• WSJ article on church planting in America ~ link

Gecko

This little guy has been looking for a way to get
into the house. I think he wants to sell us
some insurance.

Random

• The Crocs company appears to be in financial trouble. Solution -- attract more Japanese tourists to Guam and sales will go up. ~ link

• I finished the rough draft of the new PIBC/PIU catalog and have asked 10 people to proof/edit it. Maybe we'll be a little more accurate this time.

• One of our students was climbing over a wall (because the gate was locked), slipped, and dislocated her elbow. We all thought she had broken it but it appears that in spite of the pain there was no break. I won't say who it was but she is our only student from Texas...

• Dave got back last night with some good news from Chuuk. The US government is going to fund the repair of the potted Weno road -- which is almost the world's worst road -- just slightly better than the road to Dave & Joyce's home in Yigo. The Chuuk road (really the only road in Chuuk to speak of) will require a feat of engineering since it runs along the coast and is in many places below sea level. Dave & Joyce's road will require a miracle because it's subject to the fiscal whims of GovGuam.

• Walmart has its own stimulus package. They're paying out $2 billion in bonuses to hourly workers. Discount business is good because the economy is slow. Walmart is working on getting their act together. Credit is due. ~ link

• "The Other Side of Church Growth" -- stimulating interview with Philip Jenkins, who says we need "a theology of church extinction." ~ link

• My tropical garden is in bloom.

• My Google Voice activated--had to tweak new settings -- still won't support phone forwarding to Guam but for me that will be moot in a couple of months. ~ link

• Cheryl picked up two rolls of dollar coins for me -- no service fee @ First Hawaiian Bank.

• Quotable:

...new birth is not simply an individual-with-God affair of the heart. The new birth, expanded to its biblical proportions, is an act of God to create individuals to participate in the new community of those who follow Jesus in a missional direction. ~ Scot McKnight

• Our good friend and current supervisor (Asia region coordinator for Covenant World Mission) Dave Husby is taking on a new assignment. He will be the director of Covenant World Relief. Congratulations! ~ link

• My parents got married 55 years ago today and boy am I glad they did. Happy anniversary!

Random

• Brits rediscover the power of an old wartime poster ~ link

• Today's Glumpism -- "Life is a lot easier if you let your dog worry for you." ~ link

• One reason that the $1 coins aren't circulating well here is that the Bank of Guam is charging a 60¢ service fee to get a roll of them. Is that legal?

• WSJ: "Migration around the U.S. slowed to a crawl" -- well, yeah. There are fewer jobs to move to and if you had a new job you might have to try to sell the house you're under. But there are places like Phoenix where there is net + migration -- over 50,000 people last year. My theory, FWIW -- perhaps not much, is that the whole recession bubble is going to burst at the first substantial sign that things are getting better. All of the pent-up consumerism will explode into a frenzy of buying, selling, and moving. People are just waiting for a good excuse to justify spending. Cognitive dissonance is in the wings.  ~ link

Random

• A third of the world's languages are considered to be "at risk." A quarter of the world's population now speaks just three languages: Mandarin, English and Spanish. ~ link

• We said goodbye to John & Jeannie Jamieson tonight. They've been on sabbatical here on Guam for a few months. Tomorrow they head back to Kathmandu, Nepal, where they serve an international church. John is now online. John now Twitters. It's been a successful sabbatical.

• The latest Facebook release is pretty intuitive to the way that my brain works. I still feel more partial toward Twitter, though.

• I keep thinking that I should tell Pastor Jeff that there's a Lutheran Church of Guam Facebook group. I'll let him know before we scoot out the door in May -- if he doesn't come across any of the online hints I'm dropping.

Mark Chaves: Congregational size

We cannot downplay the significance of size. If you want to better understand at least one aspect of the complexity of the American church this from Mark Chaves' post is worth a look:

Size is among the most important characteristics of any organization, including congregations. It affects everything else. More people means more resources, more staff, and more programming. Bigness also brings more complexity: different kinds of staff, more administration, more attention to coordinating the various parts. Bigness brings bureaucracy, formality, and a loss of the personal touch. Some may worry about churches that get too big for the pastor to know all the members’ names. I once heard a megachurch pastor confess that he didn’t know the names of everyone on his staff.

There is lots one could say about congregational size, but one fact is fundamental: Most congregations in the United States are small, but most people are in large congregations... ~ More from Mark Chaves

Random

• The Seattle P.I., a great American newspaper, has turned off the presses and is now trying to become a great regional web presence. ~ link

• Construction on Guam is going to slow down for a bit. The cement supplier has had shipping issues and there is a shortage. ~ link

Happy St Patrick's Day

Random

• Carl Gutierrez has announced that he is running for governor again. No one on Guam is the least bit surprised. Frankly, if Guam is ever going to make the systemic changes to improve life here there needs to be someone who is totally new -- who has new eyes, is genuinely creativity, and has fewer family/social obligations. I'm guessing that there are some Chamorros currently living abroad, now in their 30s or 40s, who could return to Guam with a fresh perspective and turn things around. This place could really rock with some good leadership. ~ link

• Six good tips on how to win friends and become an influential Twitterer ~ link

• GrandCentral.com: "Your account is not yet ready to be upgraded. Please check back shortly." Will do. No problem. I can wait -- especially now that I know that something is actually happening. (I've learned a lot about patience while living on Guam. If it were really all about me I'd think that God brought me here to teach me some more patience.)

Random

• History of the offering plate in America ~ link

• They're removing the metric signage along I-19 south of Tucson -- the nail in the US metric system coffin? I was thinking of converting my blog to the metric system in order to keep the hope alive. ~ link (thx)

• Is Rush Limdbaugh a liberal heretic? In short, yes. But people don't seem to care. ~ link

• Dave has a post about our bowling excursion last night. ~ link

• Youth ministry breakthrough ~ link

• President Obama appointed five pastoral advisers. It was going to be six but they didn't want to have to pay to fly me from Guam. And of course I wouldn't have taken the assignment anyway because I wouldn't want to be associated with an ecclesiastical body which wears neck-ties on a regular basis. It's a slippery slope. ~ link

Random

• There is a new Covenant church starting in Santa Clarita, California. That's a place that's been on my radar for awhile. Exciting opportunity! ~ link

• We went bowling with our PIBC community group this evening. The guys in our group, all Chuukese, had never been before. (There are no bowling allies in Chuuk. They have beautiful lagoons but no bowling allies.) So, all four of them ended up with scores higher than mine. Sigh.

• Have you tried the Hershey's Kisses with coconut? Very smooth.

• It appears that a school in Sheffield, England is trying to ban the word "school" -- because of the negative associations -- for the parents. Okey-dokey... ~ link

• The Economist: "Why immigration is good for America's business" -- If hospitality isn't enough of a reason in and of itself here is something more "bottom-line" -- other than the hospitality. I wonder if one of the reasons that God modeled radical hospitality (hesed) because ultimately we end up benefiting from our own openness and generosity -- a "byproduct." ~ link

Random

• Time magazine has identified the "new Calvinism" as one of the "10 ideas changing the world right now." ~ link

• "Missional church is not about ‘doing church’ better -– at least, not the way we’ve 'done church' in North America... It is not church growth in a new dress… missional thinking and living change the game completely. The missional renaissance is altering both the character and the expression of the church in the world." ~ Reggie McNeal

• A few people concerned about Google's advertising advances have come up with a GreaseMonkey script that automatically clicks on all AdSense ads -- an attempt to throw off the hounds, so to speak. Over-reaction? ~ link

• It was Pineapple Friday. I cut up the 5lb monster pineapple that I grew on campus. Actually all I did to make it grow was to plant it and occasionally pour a little fertilizer on it. The rest took care of itself -- one of the great things about living on Guam.

• Kentucky is the US state with the highest proportion of smokers -- 28% of Kentucky residents smoke. Guam beats that, though -- 31.1%. ~ link

Guam's "issues"

Someone asked me the other day whether Guam's problems were related to corruption or ineptness. I told him, "yes." While there are lots of solid people trying to get things done and do them right, the obstacles created by the ingrained corruption and ineptness frustrates them to no end. Now, 10 police officers have been indicted. That's the bad news. The good news is that the police department itself initiated the investigation. We grieve for all those affected but we acknowledge the courage and leadership of the department. ~ link

Random

• Concern that the growing violence in Mexico is going to spill across the border (more so than it already is), Gov Jan Brewer has asked the Pentagon to station more troops along the US border in Arizona. ~ link

• GrandCentral is crawling out of its cave -- and it has a new name -- Google Voice ~ link

• FWIW -- The top 10 "Happiest States" according to the Well-Being Index ~ link
10. Arizona
09. California
08. Massachusetts
07. Washington State
06. Maryland
05. Minnesota
04. Colorado
03. Wyoming
02. Hawaii
01. Utah

Word rant

That's it! No more. In the future I will not commit to projects which require or expect submissions to be in Microsoft Word or a Word format. I don't care if it is "the standard." Word is just so quirky and counter intuitive. You spend way too much time trying to second guess what the word processor is doing or resetting the defaults for this or that or doing voodoo to get things to line up right. What does everyone see in this program? The emperor has no clothes. /rant

Random

• According to the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems the US will need to produce 63.1 million college degrees by 2025 just to match other nations in the percentage of adults with college degrees. "At the current pace, the country will fall short of that threshold by 16 million degrees." ~ link

• The CSM has picked up iMonk's blog posts on his projected decline of evangelicalism. ~ link

• I'm not particularly fond of Calvinism -- at least the 5-point TULIP version. But really, there is no reason that Calvinists should be targeted for layoff at Southwestern Seminary (if indeed that is what's happening). Can't those guys in Ft Worth find something else to get all up in arms over? Maybe iMonk is right -- implosion on the horizon. Don't worry, the kingdom of God will move forward with or without us. ~ link

• My thought for the day -- When we enable the dysfunction in others we are ultimately going to be feeding the dysfunction in ourselves.

• My new TNIV Reference Bible (Renaissance edition) arrived this morning. I've been waiting for several years for this release (which occurred last fall) and then several months to get it at a price I was willing to pay. It's funny, I prefer to do most of my reading and writing digitally but there is still nothing quite like holding a fine leather Bible. Maybe it's a generational thing.

• Low power FM 106.9, which was playing classical Chinese music in Tumon, Guam, is now broadcasting a mix of classical Western, ultra-mellow church music, and KJV Bible reading. Hmm... I enjoyed the old format.

• My suspicion is that the Obama administration is even more clueless than the banks which got themselves in such hot water. "Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to return the bailout money... They say they plan to return the money as quickly as possible or as soon as regulators set up a process to accept the refunds." ...L. William Seidman, the former senior regulator during the savings and loan bailout says that "Weak banks are being asked to do things that will erode their position." ~ link

• IE8 to be the last version of Internet Explorer? ~ link

• In some Western US states it is illegal to collect rainwater (there is fear that too many collectors will deprive the rivers of their flow). In Arizona they'll give you a tax credit if you set-up a rain collection system. Let's move there. ~ link

•10 major US newspapers to either go digital only (DO) or fold ~ link

• Biodegrade shopping bags starting to find their way into the market. Here is the latest! ~ link

Random

• Pictured is my last pineapple right before I "harvested" it. It was so heavy that it was just dangling from the bush. It came off into my hand without any work when I grabbed it. We put the monster on a scale and it weighs 5lbs. I started the plant about a year ago, rooting a crown from another pineapple. The fruit is now in our kitchen and should be golden enough to eat in a few days.

• The French are raising the drinking age from 16 to 18. ~ link

• Mike Galley called this "today's definition of irony" when he posted the story on Facebook -- "16 arrested in fight at nonviolence concert" ~ link

• Does your church encourage you to twitter during worship? ~ link

• When it comes to direct mail, generally speaking longer fundraising letters are still more effective. Go figure. ~ link

Random

• Nearly transparent concrete thanks to embedded optical fibers. ~ link (thx)

• Auto fuel from coffee grounds? We know it can be done. Now if we'd just move beyond the novelty and dreaming and talking stage and into the action stage. Just do it. ~ link

• How to Twitter ~ link

• "Campolo questions if economic woes can be solved" -- Of course, Tony Campolo is a master of hyperbole. And then there is the human propensity (especially those who are historically aware) to each believe that we are living in the most defining moment in history. It's a part of our quest for significance and self-definition. ~ link

• The banner headline on the front page of the Marianas Variety today features the $3.7 million (in addition to the $140 million in formula grants) that Guam will get through the US economic stimulus plan. The large story on the bottom of the same page is about how the US has historically abandoned Guam and done very little for the island other than burden it with the military, environmental regulations, and the Compact of Free Association issues. It's disconnected politics as usual on Guam.

• I do miss spring in the almond orchards but my running nose and watering eyes don't. ~ link

• iMonk bemoans the digital altar calling popping up in revival meetings. Instead of walking forward you use your cell phone to text the evangelist and register your decision. At first I thought the story was satire. ~ link