Broadband thoughts from Cringely
For the geeks - PBS' Bob Cringely talks about the future of broadband and the telephone system.
posted by Bob at
1:03 PM
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Friday, June 25, 2004
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Toward a more attractive desktop
Two of the many visual niceties of the Macintosh OS X are the subtle drop shadows it draws behind windows (giving them a more three-dimensional, "stacked" appearance) and the slight transparency it applies to drop menus. You can have the same nice touches on your Windows XP desktop using a little program (only 184Kb) called YzShadow. It's free. These aren't earthshattering changes, but the improvement is real, albeit subtle.
Download YzShadow
Download YzShadow
posted by Bob at
5:38 PM
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Sunday, June 13, 2004
LONG day!
Confirmation Sunday today... 14.5 hours and 100 miles later, I'm finally done and relaxing at home. I started working on church stuff this morning at 7:00, and didn't get back home from my kids' receptions until 9:30 tonight. It was a good day, but I'm absolutely wiped out.
Poor Ellie had a worse day, I think. I had her in her crate during church, which she's used to (even if she doesn't necessarily like it always), but it was too much to leave her cooped up there all day long, too, so she became an outdoor dog for a day. I left her a full bowl of water and two new chewbones, and she was fine. I hate to do it that way, but that's a preacher's dog's life some days. =( She's sleeping very peacfully on the pillow next to me right now, though, and seems to be content with life.
I think I'm going to answer some e-mail, and call it a night. Holy moly, what a day! WAY more exhausting than Easter.
Poor Ellie had a worse day, I think. I had her in her crate during church, which she's used to (even if she doesn't necessarily like it always), but it was too much to leave her cooped up there all day long, too, so she became an outdoor dog for a day. I left her a full bowl of water and two new chewbones, and she was fine. I hate to do it that way, but that's a preacher's dog's life some days. =( She's sleeping very peacfully on the pillow next to me right now, though, and seems to be content with life.
I think I'm going to answer some e-mail, and call it a night. Holy moly, what a day! WAY more exhausting than Easter.
posted by Bob at
10:02 PM
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More on Danforth
The Washington Post's article John Danforth, Churchman For a State Occasion gets at all of the reasons John Danforth's sermon made me queasy, and makes each fault sound like a virtue:
"If he sticks to his usual form today, Danforth, who declined to be interviewed for this article, will mention God once or twice near the end of his homily. But he can be counted on not to cause a stir by freelancing an impolitic mention of Jesus, as Franklin Graham did at George W. Bush's inauguration. He will likely perfectly embody Washington National Cathedral's other role, not as an Episcopal chapel but as the closest thing we have to a national church, a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance.
"'Jack will deliver a little homily,' says Alex Netchvolodoff, his former chief of staff and close friend. 'It's not deep theology. He knows that funerals are for the living; they are gatherings of people to celebrate a life, that they should be upbeat, full of hope.'
"Official Washington likes its religion beige, interfaith, tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop. Danforth will oblige: 'He won't step on any toes,' says Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 'People who don't have any religious sensibilities will feel comfortable with him.'"
God forbid any of my churches ever become "a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance"! That sort of faith is an artifact, not the living, breathing faith that gives hope to people in their moments of deepest need.
What good is a faith that is "beige, interfaith, [and] tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop"... except for political window dressing? It certainly isn't the faith that Jesus calls us to!
"If he sticks to his usual form today, Danforth, who declined to be interviewed for this article, will mention God once or twice near the end of his homily. But he can be counted on not to cause a stir by freelancing an impolitic mention of Jesus, as Franklin Graham did at George W. Bush's inauguration. He will likely perfectly embody Washington National Cathedral's other role, not as an Episcopal chapel but as the closest thing we have to a national church, a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance.
"'Jack will deliver a little homily,' says Alex Netchvolodoff, his former chief of staff and close friend. 'It's not deep theology. He knows that funerals are for the living; they are gatherings of people to celebrate a life, that they should be upbeat, full of hope.'
"Official Washington likes its religion beige, interfaith, tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop. Danforth will oblige: 'He won't step on any toes,' says Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 'People who don't have any religious sensibilities will feel comfortable with him.'"
God forbid any of my churches ever become "a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance"! That sort of faith is an artifact, not the living, breathing faith that gives hope to people in their moments of deepest need.
What good is a faith that is "beige, interfaith, [and] tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop"... except for political window dressing? It certainly isn't the faith that Jesus calls us to!
posted by Bob at
7:42 AM
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Friday, June 11, 2004
Amazing and shameful
How do you preach an entire homily in a Christian church without naming Jesus even once? Especially a funeral homily, the moment when Jesus Christ and his resurrection are the only thing that matters?
Rev. John Danforth just did it in Washington, D.C., a few moments ago.
Sure he quoted scripture like the first chapter of John, where Jesus is referred to as "the Light". Sure he mentioned "the resurrection" and "our faith." But each verse was carefully selected and edited to ensure that the name "Jesus" was never uttered from the pulpit. The name "Ronald Reagan" was uttered a maximum number of times.
How shameful.
Danforth said earily on in his homily that the point of such a message is to connect the life of the deceased to the faith of the church. And Danforth did actually strive to connect Ronald Reagan's life to the notion of faith. He hit on an appropriate biblical image - light - and argued that Ronald Reagan was an example of a person filled with light. (We'll let slide the theologically absurd proposition Danforth made that Reagan had "no dark side" at all. No pastor of the Church could ever utter such a thing and keep a straight face, yet there it was.) In other words, Danforth found a "hook" for his sermon, like any good preacher, and his words were well-chosen and solemn.
But they were generic. The "faith" that he connected Reagan's life to is the faceless, shapeless idol that is American civil religion. The faith of the Church is that Jesus Christ, God's only Son, lived and died so that our darkness might be made light (to use Danforth's image), and he rose so that in his life we might live also. That's the Church's faith.
Our national civil religion goes more like this: There is some sort of God who is good and on our side. When we do what we think is right, he's pleased with us, and rewards us. "Good" people like Ronald Reagan will go to some kind of heaven. "Bad" people like Hitler and the Iraqis will go to hell, whatever that means. But we're not so sure about all of this, and especially the specifics, so if you believe something else, it's all good - what's important is that you have faith in SOMETHING.
No matter how much he dressed it up with allusions to a Jesus of sorts, and with Christian trimmings, the faith Danforth's sermon professed was that watered-down abomination of civil religion. It was made for TV, but had no place in the Church.
You can almost imagine his predicament - I'm a Christian minister. I've been asked to preach at the funeral of a former president. My words will be heard by millions of Americans, people of great faith, people of little faith, and people who do not share my faith at all. I am called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially when the Church is at worship, but there will be many, many people who do not watch or listen to worship, but because it is news, or to pay honor to Mr. Reagan, or any of a hundred other reasons. How should I preach? Should I proclaim the Gospel boldly and risk offending countless people on the biggest sermon of my life? Or should I make my sermon bland and palatable to people of any and no faith, everyone else who accepts the vague idea of "being good"?
Rev. Danforth had an opportunity (and an obligation) to bring a bold message about God's saving love for Ronald Reagan in Jesus Christ to a national (and international) audience. He had a chance (and a responsibility) to let the church's REAL light - the light of the Gospel - shine forth through his words. Instead he chose to talk about Ronald Reagan's light, and America's light. He chose to be bland and inoffensive, and will probably be widely praised for his "wise" choice.
But not in this blog. Me? I'm ashamed that any colleague of mine could make a choice like that.
Rev. John Danforth just did it in Washington, D.C., a few moments ago.
Sure he quoted scripture like the first chapter of John, where Jesus is referred to as "the Light". Sure he mentioned "the resurrection" and "our faith." But each verse was carefully selected and edited to ensure that the name "Jesus" was never uttered from the pulpit. The name "Ronald Reagan" was uttered a maximum number of times.
How shameful.
Danforth said earily on in his homily that the point of such a message is to connect the life of the deceased to the faith of the church. And Danforth did actually strive to connect Ronald Reagan's life to the notion of faith. He hit on an appropriate biblical image - light - and argued that Ronald Reagan was an example of a person filled with light. (We'll let slide the theologically absurd proposition Danforth made that Reagan had "no dark side" at all. No pastor of the Church could ever utter such a thing and keep a straight face, yet there it was.) In other words, Danforth found a "hook" for his sermon, like any good preacher, and his words were well-chosen and solemn.
But they were generic. The "faith" that he connected Reagan's life to is the faceless, shapeless idol that is American civil religion. The faith of the Church is that Jesus Christ, God's only Son, lived and died so that our darkness might be made light (to use Danforth's image), and he rose so that in his life we might live also. That's the Church's faith.
Our national civil religion goes more like this: There is some sort of God who is good and on our side. When we do what we think is right, he's pleased with us, and rewards us. "Good" people like Ronald Reagan will go to some kind of heaven. "Bad" people like Hitler and the Iraqis will go to hell, whatever that means. But we're not so sure about all of this, and especially the specifics, so if you believe something else, it's all good - what's important is that you have faith in SOMETHING.
No matter how much he dressed it up with allusions to a Jesus of sorts, and with Christian trimmings, the faith Danforth's sermon professed was that watered-down abomination of civil religion. It was made for TV, but had no place in the Church.
You can almost imagine his predicament - I'm a Christian minister. I've been asked to preach at the funeral of a former president. My words will be heard by millions of Americans, people of great faith, people of little faith, and people who do not share my faith at all. I am called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially when the Church is at worship, but there will be many, many people who do not watch or listen to worship, but because it is news, or to pay honor to Mr. Reagan, or any of a hundred other reasons. How should I preach? Should I proclaim the Gospel boldly and risk offending countless people on the biggest sermon of my life? Or should I make my sermon bland and palatable to people of any and no faith, everyone else who accepts the vague idea of "being good"?
Rev. Danforth had an opportunity (and an obligation) to bring a bold message about God's saving love for Ronald Reagan in Jesus Christ to a national (and international) audience. He had a chance (and a responsibility) to let the church's REAL light - the light of the Gospel - shine forth through his words. Instead he chose to talk about Ronald Reagan's light, and America's light. He chose to be bland and inoffensive, and will probably be widely praised for his "wise" choice.
But not in this blog. Me? I'm ashamed that any colleague of mine could make a choice like that.
posted by Bob at
11:44 AM
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Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Reagan for Rushmore
From the Beeb: The tired old lobby to get Ronald Reagan carved in South Dakota stone is rearing its ugly head once again in light of the president's passing this week. Led by Republican Congressman Matt Salmon (who is leading my list of contenders for partisan bozo of the year), the idea is that Reagan "deserves" having his face on Mount Rushmore and that Congress should make it so.
The BBC article quotes park service rangers and officials with the monument who make two very obvious objections, and illustrate just how ludicrous an idea this is:
(1) The mountain can't handle another carved face. If you were to try it, you might very well bring down the whole carving. At any rate, if you look at the geography (and keep in mind that the reason Teddy Roosevelt is so far back is that they didn't find good, quality stone until they blasted away that much), there's just no place to put anyone - Reagan, Kennedy or Elvis. And yes, they've all been proposed.
(2) Adding anyone to Mount Rushmore at all would destroy it as a piece of art. Rushmore was the vision of Gutzon Borglum, the dream of this one artist and the many artisans who helped him create it (including his own family). It is not now, nor was it ever, intended to be a continuously expanding "hall of fame" - it is instead an expression of Borglum's admiration for these great presidents. Even the suggestion of placing someone else on the mountain is patently offensive and shows no understanding of art whatsoever. We might as well paint John Paul II into the Cistine ceiling!
Obviously, I get a little bent out of shape over this. As a South Dakota travel counselor, I heard this idea a lot. An awful lot of Americans just don't seem to get why it's a heinous idea to add Ronnie to "the faces" (as the camper-towing masses seem to call Mount Rushmore).
Thankfully, Congress would have to collectively take a goofy pill to pass this one. Let's hope they lay off.
And Rep. Salmon - shame on you for your willingness to deface one of the world's great works of art in the name of petty partisan politics. What an embarrasment for the people of Arizona.
The BBC article quotes park service rangers and officials with the monument who make two very obvious objections, and illustrate just how ludicrous an idea this is:
(1) The mountain can't handle another carved face. If you were to try it, you might very well bring down the whole carving. At any rate, if you look at the geography (and keep in mind that the reason Teddy Roosevelt is so far back is that they didn't find good, quality stone until they blasted away that much), there's just no place to put anyone - Reagan, Kennedy or Elvis. And yes, they've all been proposed.
(2) Adding anyone to Mount Rushmore at all would destroy it as a piece of art. Rushmore was the vision of Gutzon Borglum, the dream of this one artist and the many artisans who helped him create it (including his own family). It is not now, nor was it ever, intended to be a continuously expanding "hall of fame" - it is instead an expression of Borglum's admiration for these great presidents. Even the suggestion of placing someone else on the mountain is patently offensive and shows no understanding of art whatsoever. We might as well paint John Paul II into the Cistine ceiling!
Obviously, I get a little bent out of shape over this. As a South Dakota travel counselor, I heard this idea a lot. An awful lot of Americans just don't seem to get why it's a heinous idea to add Ronnie to "the faces" (as the camper-towing masses seem to call Mount Rushmore).
Thankfully, Congress would have to collectively take a goofy pill to pass this one. Let's hope they lay off.
And Rep. Salmon - shame on you for your willingness to deface one of the world's great works of art in the name of petty partisan politics. What an embarrasment for the people of Arizona.
posted by Bob at
5:21 PM
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Monday, June 07, 2004
The papal foot is leaden...
Thanks for the joke, Jason!
After getting all of the Pope's luggage loaded into the limo (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices that the Pope is still standing on the curb.
"Excuse me, Your Eminence," says the driver, "Would you please take your seat so we can leave?" "Well, to tell you the truth," says the Pope, "they never let me drive at the Vatican, and I'd really like to drive today" "I'm sorry but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! And what if something should happen?" protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning.
"There might be something extra in it for you," says the Pope.
Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel.
The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Supreme Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 105 mph.
"Please slow down, Your Holiness!!!" pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.
"Oh, dear God, I'm gonna lose my license," moans the driver.
The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.
"I need to talk to the Chief," he says to the dispatcher.
The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going a hundred and five.
"So bust him," said the Chief.
"I don't think we want to do that, he's really important," said the cop.
Chief exclaimed,"All the more reason!"
"No, I mean really important," said the cop.
The Chief then asked, "Who ya got there, the Mayor?"
Cop:"Bigger."
Chief:"Governor?"
Cop:"Bigger."
"Well," said the Chief,"Who is it?"
Cop: "I think it's God!"
Chief:"What makes you think it's God?"
Cop:"He's got the Pope for a limo driver!"
After getting all of the Pope's luggage loaded into the limo (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices that the Pope is still standing on the curb.
"Excuse me, Your Eminence," says the driver, "Would you please take your seat so we can leave?" "Well, to tell you the truth," says the Pope, "they never let me drive at the Vatican, and I'd really like to drive today" "I'm sorry but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! And what if something should happen?" protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning.
"There might be something extra in it for you," says the Pope.
Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel.
The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Supreme Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 105 mph.
"Please slow down, Your Holiness!!!" pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.
"Oh, dear God, I'm gonna lose my license," moans the driver.
The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.
"I need to talk to the Chief," he says to the dispatcher.
The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going a hundred and five.
"So bust him," said the Chief.
"I don't think we want to do that, he's really important," said the cop.
Chief exclaimed,"All the more reason!"
"No, I mean really important," said the cop.
The Chief then asked, "Who ya got there, the Mayor?"
Cop:"Bigger."
Chief:"Governor?"
Cop:"Bigger."
"Well," said the Chief,"Who is it?"
Cop: "I think it's God!"
Chief:"What makes you think it's God?"
Cop:"He's got the Pope for a limo driver!"
posted by Bob at
10:21 PM
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Saturday, June 05, 2004
Friday, June 04, 2004
UPDATED: Elanor's Photo Album
OK, Elanor's Photo Album is now updated with the two new VBS pictures. Enjoy!
posted by Bob at
10:52 AM
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Veterinary news
For those of you who haven't heard, Ellie came through her surgery on Tuesday with flying colors. =) I was expecting several days of recovery for her, but she was frisky and energetic right from the moment I took her home. She isn't having any trouble getting around, whether it's going up and down the stairs or leaping onto the bed or sofa. And she's playing just the way she always has, too.
Now it's just a matter of waiting until next week when she can (finally!) be groomed... My dog is cute when she's shaggy (or any other time), but she's really, genuinely pretty when she's properly groomed. Hopefully the groomer will be able to blend in her shaved patch in a way that looks reasonably natural. ;)
An update to the photo gallery, with two VBS pics, is on its way. I'd post more, but church council politics make that a bad idea right now. Really! There are two or three pictures I'd like to share, but you'll just have to ask to see them privately, since I don't feel like feeding the fire. Trust me, though... they're cute ones.
Now it's just a matter of waiting until next week when she can (finally!) be groomed... My dog is cute when she's shaggy (or any other time), but she's really, genuinely pretty when she's properly groomed. Hopefully the groomer will be able to blend in her shaved patch in a way that looks reasonably natural. ;)
An update to the photo gallery, with two VBS pics, is on its way. I'd post more, but church council politics make that a bad idea right now. Really! There are two or three pictures I'd like to share, but you'll just have to ask to see them privately, since I don't feel like feeding the fire. Trust me, though... they're cute ones.
posted by Bob at
10:34 AM
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