Topic
Redistribution?
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with her professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.
He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she is too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I have invested a lot of time and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!
Her father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the Republican Party."
Jefferson: Luck and Work
I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
Gandhi: Be the Change
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
TIME Magazine: Simple Churches in America
You know something new has become something real when TIME Magazine covers it with such a reasonable tone. Read their article There's No Pulplit Like Home.
Escape - hand-eye coordination test
Just a little fun game to test your ability to watch and avoid four things at once: Escape!
What Andrew would say to the young emerging church in north america
Andrew over at Tall Skinny Kiwi gave voice to feelings of misunderstanding between numerous critics and leaders in the conventional church and the movement of churches known as "emerging church". I appreciate his encouragement to not only stay the course, but to speak up and help others understand what the movement is really all about.
Ice Skating at Joan Kroc Center
The Kroc Community Center offers its ice skating rink for public use at least once per day. Check the schedule for dates and details. Cost: $6.50 to skate, $2.50 to rent skates.
Carrot, Egg, or Coffee Bean
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.
She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same diversity ... boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter.
Web 2.0 Emerging
Dion Hinchcliffe's Web 2.0 Blog is the closest I have come so far to reading a definitive site on the subject of this new web application design philosophy known as Web 2.0. The days of static web pages with links and buttons is being overtaken by pages that come alive kinda like the programs we began using before the web emerged, but in a new massively connected way not possible before it did.
Walsa Kids Game: Tali Masok
The children of Epmi village play a game called Tali Masok. They explained it to me and I decided I’d share it with you!
Teams
Tali Masok is played by two teams of three to six players. The number of players must be the same on each team.
Setup
The playing field must be marked out on the ground with chalk or paint or, as the Walsa children use, ashes. Its pattern is always the same, but its size is determined by how many players there are on a team. The standard field has six squares and accomodates four or five players. Another pair of squares must be added for playing with teams of six.