Wednesday, August 30

On the move

I taught my first sessions of spiritual formation and preaching this morning -- both went well -- the students are impressive. The preaching class will be a bit of a challenge since there are 27 students registered and I've constructed the class so that the emphasis is on practice rather than lecture.

Cheryl and I also moved today. We have a 30 day house sitting gig in Dededo. We're still looking for something more permanent. But we can't really do anything until the house in Turlock sells. So far still no offers -- not even outrageously low offers.

Tuesday, August 29

Random

...Wal-Mart has thrown in the towel in Turlock -- at least for now.

...Our new home doesn't have Wal-Mart -- small, big, or super-sized. But on Guam we do have the world's largest K-Mart which is a Japanese tourist destination, the hangout for skaters after school, and the competitive force which drives prices down on the island -- at least a little.

...Wristwatches are out -- replaced by cell phones. The only time I ever think that a watch might be helpful is when I'm flying.

...The top-11 reasons that Reformed Christians fail to appreciate NT Wright.

Monday, August 28

Random

...One of the seven Roman Catholic bishops imprisoned in China has been released.

...As seen in the Wittenburg Door -- The Emergent Elijah

...Cheryl and I spent five hours today navigating the bureaucracy to get our car registered and to obtain our Guam drivers' licenses. We were successful!

Contrary to what we read online no written test was required. But they came up with other hoops to keep us busy -- including a run to the Social Security office to get certified confirmations of our SS numbers. (Our SS cards are in the cargo container on a ship somewhere between California and Guam. Our passports were apparently not enough identification.) Cheryl also had to find an optometrist to certify that she can see well enough to drive. (In California they test both eyes together but here they test each separately and since she has natural bifocals they didn't know how to handle that.)

...Interesting reading -- Doris Flores Brooks, CPA and Guam Public Auditor, has an outline of some of the unique challenges (and fiscal quirks) of this island. (.pdf version)

...Brad Bergfalk has been keeping an eye out for hippos.

...Pollster George Barna says that 9-11 had no lasting impact on the faith of Americans.

To the contrary -- people have become more callous or personally indifferent toward spiritual matters because of 9-11. The terrorist attacks, and subsequent plots, have focused light on the ugly side of religion in such a way that it has made Americans want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that if they just ignore the whole topic the problems of faith and religion will go away. We're stuck in the denial that follows shock.

...Google is bundling some of their apps to create an office suite of sorts.

Sunday, August 27

Random

...If you get a chance check out Fuentes Libres. They do micro banking, providing impoverished Mexican women with small business loans. Once again, the church in action helping equip those who need it the most.

...We went into McDonald's this morning before worship at the Lutheran church and I bought coffee for Cheryl. After the fact, as we examined the receipt, we noticed that the counter worker gave me the senior citizens discount on the coffee. I understand that a lot of the people out here have a hard time discerning the age of haoles.

...We have a car -- 1999 Toyota Corolla.

...Worth noting for those using the personalized Google page -- the new to-do list module.

..."The Rise of Neo-Fundamentalism" -- who? where? Christian fundamentalist culture and theology has been with us for a long time. Is there really a new rise?

...I'm running the computer on battery tonight because of the intense band of electrical activity.

...Kent has been teaching English in a Chilean high school. Also, he has some more great pictures.

...Bob Webber at work -- "A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future" -- actual text of the document

Friday, August 25

Random

granite for sidewalks...Obsessed with opulence, Beverly Hills is starting to convert sidewalks from concrete to granite -- $850-per-linear-foot.

...The air marshals have a new dress code that allows them to blend in. Perhaps common sense is returning to America.

...Brandon Bowers, the man who made me famous in Turlock has a new job. Well, he didn't exactly make me famous but he did give my blog some unusual exposure when he started printing portions of it in the Turlock Journal. Brandon recently accepted a new position as the online editor for the Merced Sun-Star. What a great new opportunity for a creative and innovative editor.

...The worst part of the transition is waiting -- waiting for the old house to sell, waiting for the right car to come along so that we can buy some wheels, waiting for the right house in the right spot so we can buy another place to live... Well, at least I'm no longer waiting for Cheryl to join me on Guam. That makes things a lot easier.

...Guam is a place of many contradictions. The cost of living is extremely high -- but taxes are relatively low. The cost of purchasing a car is higher than on the mainland but as Melissa Heck, our new dean of women has discovered, the cost of maintaining an automobile is relatively low. The cost of a driver's license here is only $5 (compared to $26 in California).

...In spite of the laid back island attitude Guam is the first US territory to be declared both TsunamiReady and StormReady. We do seem to be more disaster aware here than anywhere I've ever lived. People actually store food and water. The houses are concrete bunkers. Storm alerts are taken seriously. I suppose that's what a little experience will do for you.

...I'm bummed. As of yesterday astronomers have stripped Pluto of its status as a full planet. What did Pluto ever do to deserve this? And what else that Mrs Stelling, my fourth grade teacher, taught me is going to turn out to be wrong? Poor Pluto. Everyone wants to pick on the underdog.

Thursday, August 24

Tuesday, August 22

PowerPoint?

Scot McKnight is ranting about PowerPoint and is trying to justify why he doesn't use it in his classroom. He's got a good list of reasons.

I'm a bit more open to PowerPoint presentations than Scot -- as long as we're not talking about a daily dose of them. The real problem with PowerPoint presentations is that they are presentations. It's not the technology per se but the underlying assumption that you can teach by simply presenting a series of slides. Yes, slides can be helpful at times. But they tend to transform students into audiences. And they can lock teachers onto a path in which there is little room for deviation. That is, it's hard to change directions when using PowerPoint and student discussion isn't as sequential as the slides. The temptation will be to minimize the moment so you can get through your presentation.

Random

...An enduring marketing icon that is as American as baseball and apple pie -- the Weinermobile has turned 70.

...Cheryl should be getting on the plane in Modesto about now. She arrives here in Guam at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday (Guam is 17 hours ahead of California. 5 a.m., Tuesday in California is the same as 10 p.m., Tuesday in Guam).

...They needed extra hands loading mattresses this afternoon so I got to go to the Hilton. PIBC bought 20 of their used beds (mattresses, box-springs, and frames) for the dorms for a total of $400. It wasn't how I had planned to spend the afternoon but flexibility is the name of the game here. It was fun -- but I'm pooped.

...Technically students aren't supposed to arrive for a few days but there aren't enough airline seats from the Micronesian islands to get them to Guam at the last minute. So the campus is starting to come alive as students begin to arrive. It's a good thing that we got those mattresses. We didn't know until this afternoon if they were going to be available.

Monday, August 21

Random

...A worshipper at a Manteca, California church thought that the man in the pew looked like the Modesto bank robber whose picture was published in the newspaper. They called the Manteca police who requested that the Modesto police email them a photo. In a few short minutes they had their man. There has got to be a moral in that story somewhere.

...Canadian indulgences

Sunday, August 20

Brown Tree Snake

Dead brown tree snakeI killed my first brown tree snake tonight. It was crawling along the fence in front of the house. After the head was severed and while the remains were still moving, Molly the boonie-dog-in-training decided to confront the beast.

Molly attacks the snakeBrown tree snakes, which were inadvertently imported onto the island at the end of WWII, have done inconceivable damage to the ecosystem and economy here. Nine of the 11 native bird species (along with a host of bats) have disappeared from Guam because of the snakes. Unchecked by the birds and the bats the insects have gotten out of hand -- affecting agricultural production, among other things.

Molly and I are doing our part to restore paradise. However, we probably have our work cutout for us. It is reported that there are 2,000 of these snakes per sq km on the island.

Saturday, August 19

Good News

...Both Rusty and Tex are now in their new homes -- two homes which we're quite excited about for them. Thank you to everyone who was helping us look for places for our pets.

...We knew that people were using Cheryl's music but we were surprised when she received her first royalty check from CCLI yesterday -- $49.13!

...Cheryl is dropping Betsy off at school this afternoon. Go Golden Bears!

...Only three more days until Cheryl joins me in Guam!!!

Friday, August 18

Random

...The Presbyterian Church USA has yet another controversy brewing. One of their publishing houses is producing a book, Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action, which suggests that the September 11th attacks were engineered by the Bush administration. This would be an incredible feat since they were only in power for eight months prior to the attack. And when you consider the Bush administration's subsequent track record it's hard to believe that David Ray Griffin actually considers the government competent to conspire on such a level.

...American mainline denominations are in decline because of -- 1. competition, 2. lack of clarity in focus and message, 3. demographic shift. I suspect that #2 is the biggest issue. I'd put it in terms of lack of clarity regarding beliefs and mission.

...One of the problems with using Gmail with the Eudora email client (for years my favorite) is that when I send email through the Gmail server I always get an idiot message telling me that the mail can't be sent because of an SSL error and that the connection has been closed by a foreign host. However, the email goes through in spite of the message to the contrary. The message is a major annoyance -- especially if you're sending out lots of email over the Gmail server.

A web search suggests that many others are having the same problem. There is speculation on the cause -- but no one seems to have a solution. Anyone out there with new information? I run Eudora 7.0.1.0.

...LA's only country music station has changed formats.

First of all, I want to offer my condolences to the CM fans in the LA basin. I don't really like your music but I can feel your pain.

Secondly, I want to note that this is so indicative of the faddish nature of American culture. 20 years ago radio stations were scrambling to adopt a country format. Even small markets had three or four CM stations. When you drove across the US listening to radio you might think that CM had 80% of the stations tied up. But that wave has now washed back out to sea. The moral being -- don't build your life on meeting the desires of fickle people.

...Concerned over the commodification of what they see as a basic human right, United Church of Canada delegates adopted a resolution asking its members to stop buying bottled water. As goofy as this resolution sounds it does raise issues about whether clean drinkable water is a fundamental human right. Americans wouldn't really think in these terms but that's because we all have access to good water.

On Guam the tap water is supposedly potable but I wouldn't trust it. If there was ever a failure in the purification system (infrastructure failures are common) they might not get around to telling everyone for a week or two.

...Writely, the free online word processor, is now accepting new users.

Post Office Experience

This afternoon I had to mail a couple of computers to our remote site in Palau. So I went to the post office in Barrigada.

Since Guam is a US territory and utilizes the US postal system everything was familiar about the operation. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a few things I haven't seen in mainland post offices.

First of all, there was more than enough parking. The people in Turlock would be green with envy.

Secondly, the clerks at the counter had the music turned up -- way up -- and they were rocking out to the Beatles. One clerk was even singing along. And the thing is that no one else in line appeared to think that this was in the least bit unusual. People in this part of the world don't seem uncomfortable about singing in public. It's refreshing.

I keep finding these pleasant surprises about this place.

Thursday, August 17

Random

...Faith-based tourism is on the rise. Of course, tourism on a whole is on the rise these days -- with 45% more Americans traveling overseas today than 10 years ago. This may not be such a bad thing -- especially when we consider that people are feeling more isolated than before.

...Leon Morris the great Australian theologian has died at the age of 92. What most people don't realize is that Morris was a mostly self-taught theologian, utilizing the programs of the University of London and Cambridge University.

...The price for homes in Stanislaus County are inching down, says the newspaper story. I already know that. We've made major adjustments to the selling price of our home. And there are lookers -- some serious. But still no offers. I'm thinking that those who can afford to buy right now are hanging back expecting that the prices will go down even more. The other factor is that not as many people are buying homes for rental investments.

Wednesday, August 16

Random

...I've become a fully naturalized Guamanian now that I have a Cost U Less Rewards Card.

...Cost of gas on Guam -- $3.459/gallon. Same price everywhere.

...Election season here is a whole lot more interesting than election season anywhere else I've lived (except perhaps Chicago). There are more candidates and more signs than coconut trees. And there are daily political rallies along Marine Corp Drive (the main drag) during commute hours. It may be wild and crazy but you certainly can't accuse people of apathy.

...At least one Subway in Guam gives out stamps for the Customer Appreciation Cards which were phased out from the mainland restaurants because of fraud. Sometimes being in the sticks has advantages.

...The geckos on the window outside my room are busy tonight making chirping noises. They must be looking for company.

...It has been reported that GTA is about to disconnect the Internet from GovGuam buildings because the government has a $300,000 telecommunications tab which hasn't been paid.

...Google is trying to prevent their company name from becoming a verb. It's too late, though. They are victims of their own success. The fact is that I google things every single day.

...Evangelicals have mounted a concerted effort to register millions of new voters. Or more precisely, some evangelicals of a particular political bent have mounted a concerted effort to register millions of new voters. While I am not always sympathetic with the political agendas of these people I do appreciate that they are taking full advantage of the American political system. It's annoying when people are criticized for organizing voters -- the very thing they should be doing if they want to change things. What do the critics want them to do -- riot in the streets instead?

...Kent has a video clip from a soccer game he attended in Chile.

Sunday, August 13

Random

Guam Airport...I'm on Guam -- arrived Sunday evening after 18 hours of travel -- connecting through LA and Honolulu. Once the sun rose on Saturday morning, within minutes after take off from Modesto, I had light all the way to Guam. I loved the outdoor garden within the secure area at Honolulu -- where I had a couple hours layover. Dave Owen, along with Charlie and Jan Troxell met me at the airport. I'm staying with Dave and Joyce Owen -- sleeping in a bed I've slept in before. Nine days until Cheryl gets to join me here.

...
In spite of being on "orange" alert there were no delays or extra security searches at any of the airports. LAX had some unarmed National Guardsmen standing around, apparently to help with searches -- but none were being conducted. The airline employees did remind us continually that we were prohibited from carrying liquids and gels onto the planes. No additional restrictions were in place. I was a bit surprised that I was not targeted for extra searches since I was traveling on a one way ticket.

...Guam is UTC +10 -- which means that 5:30 a.m., Monday morning is the same as 1:30 p.m., Sunday afternoon in California. So, as I write, it's already Monday here. It's nearly first light and the roosters which are so common on Guam are crowing. Because we are 13 degrees north of the Equator we typically have just about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark -- everyday, year round.

...Church website of the week: Mosaic in SoCal -- where Erwin McManus is pastor.

...According to Allstate the top five objects most likely to be stolen from high school and college students: "band instruments, data-processing devices such as laptops and PDA's, sports equipment, MP3 players and accessories, and digital cameras."

Friday, August 11

Random

...Kent pointed me to The Immigration Debate -- a great little video parody on YouTube.

...More humor -- "Five weird ways to earning a bachelor's degree" -- by Jay Mathews.

...They picked up the cargo container this morning -- over 3 hours early. But we were ready. I guess this means that we're committed now.

...The University of California is opening its 100+ libraries to Google. This will add millions of books to the online library.

Thursday, August 10

Random

...Packing is still a major focus of our lives. The cargo container is almost loaded. We'll finish up today and then the truck picks it up Friday. I leave for Guam on Saturday. Cheryl leaves in a few weeks. Rusty and Tex are still looking for a new home.

...Bob & Linda Johnson have volunteered to keep the grass cut at our house until it sells. Kurt Palmberg, who is also our real estate agent, will keep things watered. You all make our lives much easier. Thank you!

...Wal-Mart intends to introduce E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, to its gas-stations. If they help this ethanol thing catch on will there be enough corn in Iowa to keep it going?

...Bookmark: Windows XP tuneup.

...As far as I can tell, the only impact of the new flight restrictions on my travel plans for this weekend will be that I won't be carrying my water bottle.

Tuesday, August 8

Random

...The Emergent Village has done an excellent job with their website redesign and update.

...A few weeks ago I saw a t-shirt which said, "I may not be smart but I can lift heavy things." I can identify with the owner of that shirt. If I were smart I wouldn't be lifting so many heavy things. Fortunately, I've got friends with hand-trucks and a hydraulic lift. Joe Bonander, Chris Lascano, and Anthony Salafia came over last night and we loaded the appliances and heavy furniture into the cargo container. No injuries. No strained muscles. However, even with all of the moving I've been doing for the past month every muscle in my body is sore.

...Yesterday morning I had blood work done at the Emanuel Lab for a routine physical. The doctor's office called yesterday afternoon to say that I'm normal. I was impressed -- not just that someone thinks I'm normal but that you can get lab results in a non-emergency situation so quickly. Progress.