Detroit Adventure 2007!

Here are some semi-exciting pictures:

Sunset from the plane and Detroit at night from the plane:

And then some shopping at a cool grocery store that isn't in Iowa. The conference food is bad and expensive, so we bought lunch + exciting treats.

God Loves Energy Conservation

Ok, I'm not sure if I can support this from the Bible, but if I could figure how to do this without grossing out my roommates, I would totally try it:

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070922/note15.asp

Weekend Fall Pictures

I took some fall pictures this weekend! Perhaps you are wondering what this picture is (of the little building) - this one is the most exciting of all! My community group built a "sukkot" on Friday night - I will write more soon.

I think my fall pictures from last year were more exciting...though I think I took them later in the year when there was more color.

"Tact Filters"

I thought this was funny - now the question is: what am I?!

On 'nerds', 'normal people', and 'tact filters'

All people have a "tact filter", which applies tact in one direction to everything that passes through it. Most "normal people" have the tact filter positioned to apply tact in the outgoing direction. Thus whatever normal people say gets the appropriate amount of tact applied to it before they say it. This is because when they were growing up, their parents continually drilled into their heads statements like, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!"

"Nerds," on the other hand, have their tact filter positioned to apply tact in the incoming direction. Thus, whatever anyone says to them gets the appropriate amount of tact added when they hear it. This is because when nerds were growing up, they continually got picked on, and their parents continually drilled into their heads statements like, "They're just saying those mean things because they're jealous. They don't really mean it."

When normal people talk to each other, both people usually apply the appropriate amount of tact to everything they say, and no one's feelings get hurt. When nerds talk to each other, both people usually apply the appropriate amount of tact to everything they hear, and no one's feelings get hurt. However, when normal people talk to nerds, the nerds often get frustrated because the normal people seem to be dodging the real issues and not saying what they really mean. Worse yet, when nerds talk to normal people, the normal people's feelings often get hurt because the nerds don't apply tact, assuming the normal person will take their blunt statements and apply whatever tact is necessary.

So, nerds need to understand that normal people have to apply tact to everything they say; they become really uncomfortable if they can't do this. Normal people need to understand that despite the fact that nerds are usually tactless, things they say are almost never meant personally and shouldn't be taken that way. Both types of people need to be extra patient when dealing with someone whose tact filter is backwards relative to their own.

Super Fun Web Site!

Move your mouse up and down to change the time of day in Hong Kong! Yea!

http://61226.com/share/hk.swf

Book Report: The Giver

I am thankful to have a 3rd/4th grade teacher as one of my roommates, and she recommends new children's books to me. So, this Sunday I read "The Giver" by Lois Lawry. It is set in a future dystopic (anti-utopic) society where a society has done away with feelings, emotion, pain and strife for safety, but this has also removed any emotional depth from their life too (along with pain and suffering, love and joy are taken away too). Anyway, it was an interesting book!

Strange but True

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22439156-5012895,00.html

This is a strange/wild story, but it made me think that adultery really does begin in the heart. I found it interesting that the two people wanted a divorce, even though some would say they didn't "actually commit adultery" - but really, they did.

Liberals are smarter :)

I thought this was interesting. It also has a funny elephant picture. It is from here: http://www.slate.com/id/2173965/fr/flyout

Liberal InterpretationRigging a study to make conservatives look stupid.By William Saletan
Posted Friday, Sept. 14, 2007, at 9:28 AM ET

Are liberals smarter than conservatives?

It looks that way, according to a study published this week in Nature Neuroscience. In a rapid response test—you press a button if you're given one signal, but not if you're given a different signal—the authors found that conservatives were "more likely to make errors of commission," whereas "stronger liberalism was correlated with greater accuracy." They concluded that "a more conservative orientation is related to greater persistence in a habitual response pattern, despite signals that this response pattern should change."

Does this mean liberal brains are fitter? Apparently. "Liberals are more responsive to informational complexity, ambiguity and novelty," the authors wrote. New York University, which helped fund the study, concluded, "Liberals are more likely than are conservatives to respond to cues signaling the need to change habitual responses." The study's lead author, NYU professor David Amodio, told London's Daily Telegraph that "liberals tended to be more sensitive and responsive to information that might conflict with their habitual way of thinking."

Habitual way of thinking. Informational complexity. Need to change. Those are sweeping terms. They imply that conservatives, on average, are adaptively weaker at thinking, not just button-pushing. And that implication has permeated the press. The Los Angeles Times told readers that the study "suggests that liberals are more adaptable than conservatives" and "might be better judges of the facts." Agence France Presse reported that conservatives in the study "were less flexible, refusing to deviate from old habits 'despite signals that this ... should be changed.' " The Guardian asserted, "Scientists have found that the brains of people calling themselves liberals are more able to handle conflicting and unexpected information."

These reports convey four interwoven claims. First, conservatives cling more inflexibly to old ways of thinking. Second, they're less responsive to information. Third, they're more obtuse to complexity and ambiguity. Fourth, they're less likely to change when the evidence says they should.

Let's take the claims one by one.

1. Habitual ways of thinking. Here's what the experiment actually entailed, according to the authors' supplementary document:

[E]ither the letter "M" or "W" was presented in the center of a computer monitor screen. … Half of the participants were instructed to make a "Go" response when they saw "M" but to make no response when they saw "W"; the remaining participants completed a version in which "W" was the Go stimulus and "M" was the No–Go stimulus. … Responses were registered on a computer keyboard placed in the participants' laps. … Participants received a two-minute break halfway through the task, which took approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Fifteen minutes is a habit? Tapping a keyboard is a way of thinking? Come on. You can make a case for conservative inflexibility, but not with this study.

2. Responsiveness to information. Again, let's consult the supplementary document:

Each trial began with a fixation point, presented for 500 ms. The target then appeared for 100 ms, followed by a blank screen. Participants were instructed to respond within 500 ms of target onset. A "Too slow!" warning message appeared after responses that exceeded this deadline, and "Incorrect" feedback was given after erroneous responses.

An "ms"—millisecond—is one-thousandth of a second. That means participants had one-tenth of a second to look at the letter and another four-tenths of a second to hit the button. One letter, one-tenth of a second. This is "information"?

3. Complexity and ambiguity. Go back and look at the first word of the excerpt from the supplementary document. The word is either. Participants were shown an M or a W. No complexity, no ambiguity. You could argue that showing them a series of M's and then surprising them with a W injects some complexity and ambiguity. But that complexity is crushed by the simplicity of the letter choice and the split-second deadline. As Amodio explained to the Sacramento Bee, "It's too quick for you to think consciously about what you're doing." So, why did he impose such a brutal deadline? "It needs to be hard enough that people make a lot of errors," he argued, since—in the Bee's paraphrase of his remarks—"the errors are the most interesting thing to study."

In other words, complexity and ambiguity weren't tested; they were excluded. The study was designed to prevent them—and conscious thought in general—because, for the authors' purposes, such lifelike complications would have made the results less interesting. Personally, I'd be more interested in a study that invited such complications—examining, for instance, whether conservatives, having resisted doubts about the wisdom of the status quo, are more likely than liberals to doubt the wisdom of change.

4. Maladaptiveness. The scientific core of the study is a hypothesized brain function called "conflict monitoring." The reason why liberals scored better than conservatives, the authors argued, is that the brain area responsible for this function was, by electrical measurement, more active in them than in conservatives.

The authors described CM as "a general mechanism for detecting when one's habitual response tendency is mismatched with responses required by the current situation." NYU's press release called it "a mechanism for detecting when a habitual response is not appropriate for a new situation." Amodio told the press that CM was "the process of detecting conflict between an ongoing pattern of behavior and a signal that says that something's wrong with that behavior and you need to change it."

The indictment sounds scientific: CM spots errors; conservatives are less sensitive to CM; therefore, conservatives make more errors. But the original definition of CM, written six years ago by the researchers who hypothesized it, didn't presume that the habitual response was wrong, inappropriate, or objectively mismatched with current requirements. It presumed only that a stimulus had challenged the habit. According to the original definition, CM is "a system that monitors for the occurrence of conflicts in information processing." It "evaluates current levels of conflict, then passes this information on to centers responsible for control, triggering them to adjust the strength of their influence on processing."

In experiments such as Amodio's, the habit is objectively wrong: You tapped the button, and the researcher knows that what you saw was a W. But real life is seldom that simple. Maybe what you saw—what you think you saw—will turn out to require a different response from the one that has hitherto served you well. Maybe it won't. Maybe, on average, extra sensitivity to such conflicting cues will lead to better decisions. Maybe it won't. Extra CM sensitivity does make you more likely to depart from your habit. But that doesn't prove it's more adaptive.

Frank Sulloway, a Berkeley professor who co-authored a damning psychological analysis of conservatism four years ago, illustrates the problem. Appearing in the Times as a researcher "not connected to the study"—despite having co-written his similar 2003 analysis with one of its authors—Sulloway endorsed the study and pointed out, "There is ample data from the history of science showing that social and political liberals indeed do tend to support major revolutions in science." That's true: When new ideas turn out to be right, liberals are vindicated. But when new ideas turn out to be wrong, they cease to be "revolutions in science," so it's hard to keep score of liberalism's net results. And that's in science, where errors, being relatively factual, are easiest to prove and correct. In culture and politics, errors can be unrecoverable.

The conservative case against this study is easy to make. Sure, we're fonder of old ways than you are. That's in our definition. Some of our people are obtuse; so are some of yours. If you studied the rest of us in real life, you'd find that while we second-guess the status quo less than you do, we second-guess putative reforms more than you do, so in terms of complexity, ambiguity, and critical thinking, it's probably a wash. Also, our standard of "information" is a bit tougher than the blips and fads you fall for. Sometimes, these inclinations lead us astray. But over the long run, they've served us and society pretty well. It's just that you notice all the times we were wrong and ignore all the times we were right.

In fact, that's exactly what you've done in this study: You've manufactured a tiny world of letters, half-seconds, and button-pushing, so you can catch us in clear errors and keep out the part of life where our tendencies correct yours. And now you feel great about yourselves. Congratulations. You haven't told us much about our way of thinking. But you've told us a lot about yours.

The joy of men and community

I am so happy right now - three men from the Lampost just came to my house and (1) fixed our garage door opener (the garage wouldn't shut right), (2) fixed my timer-light outside of the garage (we have been fumbling for our keys in the dark for a long time now!) and (3) found a cool old typewriter in our garage!

Global Warming?

This is an interesting study of temperature data measurements that are (apparently) used for the national weather database. It's funny! And horrible science if it is true. http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/weather_stations/

Super Site!

http://www.rhettandlink.com/

So many exciting things here! These are the authors of the 'facebook' song! Thank you to Forrest for the good find!

My favorite so far is this one, it speaks to my heart and thoughts I have had while in the airport

Great Scientific Find

From: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070908/bob9.asp

"Closer examination of the full human genome is now causing scientists to return to some questions they thought they had settled. For one, they're revisiting the very notion of what a gene is. Rather than being distinct segments of code amid otherwise empty stretches of DNA—like houses along a barren country road—single genes are proving to be fragmented, intertwined with other genes, and scattered across the whole genome. Even more surprisingly, the junk DNA may not be junk after all. "

I'm going to Canada!

Because Joanna is getting married!!!! I am so excited!

Super Cool

I learned this yesterday and I am not sure I can quite comprehend the coolness of it yet - did you know that you can text message google, and google will text message you back!? Yes! It will give you driving directions and answers to simple queries!

http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/

Ride Across the Lake!

In honor of Forrest being in Japan and my enjoyment of cycling, I thought this was nice:

Choices

Valley of Vision wins again for expressing what I have been thinking lately, but much more eloquently.

O God,
Though I am allowed to approach thee
I am not unmindful of my sins,
I do not deny my guilt,
I confess my wickedness, and earnestly plead forgiveness

May I with Moses choose affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin.
Help me to place myself always under thy guiding and guardian care,
to take firmer hold of the sure covenant that binds me to thee,
to feel more of the purifying, dignifying, softening influence of the religion I profess,
to have more compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
to deem it an honour to be employed by thee
as an instrument in thy hands,
ready to seize every opportunity of usefulness,
and willing to offer all my talents to thy service.

Thou hast done for me all things well,
has remembered, distinguished, indulged me.
All my desires have not been gratified,
but thy love denied them to me
when fulfillment of my wishes would have
proved my ruin or injury.
My trials have been fewer than my sins,
and when I have kissed the rod it has fallen from thy hands.
Thou has often wiped away my tears,
restored peace to my mourning heart,
chastened me for my profit.
All thy work for me is perfect,
and I praise thee.

Things I wanted to buy today

Why am I fascinated by USB products? I don't know, but I am!

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00339&cat_id=035&dept_id=015

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00332

Eternity

This is from one of my favorite books, "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanauken.  I find it a compelling (though not complete by any means) argument that humans were created for eternity, and not just for this world.

How strange that we cannot love time. It spoils our loveliest moments. Nothing quite comes up to expectations because of it. We alone: animals, so far as we can see, are unaware of time, untroubled. Time is their natural environment. Why do we sense that it is not ours? C. S. Lewis…asked how it was that I, as a product of a materialistic universe, was not at home there. "Do fish complain of the sea for being wet? Or if they did, would that fact itself not strongly suggest that they had not always been, or would not always be, purely aquatic creatures?" Then, if we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest? It suggests that we have not always been or will not always be purely temporal creatures. It suggest that we were created for eternity. Not only are we harried by time, we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it. We are always amazed at it - how fast it goes, how slowly it goes, how much of it is gone. Where, we cry, has the time gone? We aren't adapted to it, not at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home.

What a Wonderful World

GREAT Shadow Puppetry - For more funny videos, click here

NutritionData.com

Another favorite website - www.NutritionData.com - it is so cool! It gives not only the calories and other basic nutritional content information, but minerals and all sorts of information you never wanted to even think about!

Facebook Song

A song all about Facebook! Very catchy.

Favorite Site: www.MapMyRun.com

I have decided I need to fill out a "favorite links" section on my page, so I will give a review of why each link is my favorite. www.mapmyrun.com has to be one of the coolest things I have found in a long time. Reasons why:

(1) You can map (using google maps/satellite images) your walk/run/bike ride and
(a) Know how far your route is!
(b) Save your route (so you can use it again!)
(c) Log your route to your 'training log'

This picture is one of my favorite routes!










(2) The aforementioned 'training log' - it keeps track of what you have done! And you can make graphs! And charts! This is what August looks like so far for me:

Books: A Severe Mercy

Since I have apparently stopped finishing books (no new LibraryThings for quite some time), I have decided to start adding older favorite books to my online library. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken is one of my most favorite books, I highly recommend it. It is the story of the author's passionate relationship with his wife and their search for spiritual truth. I should read it again soon.

I say foe! If you are not aware of the evil known as "Segway" see here. No, I am being too dramatic, as Segways are not evil, but it seems strange to me that many cities are purchasing them for their police forces rather than bicycles. See the stats below - bikes just seem so much cheaper, faster, and more efficient! My comments are in red. I am not sure why I have such antipathy towards Segways. Please know that I am only against Segways or other motorized vehicles for able-bodied and healthy persons.

Article from: http://www.planetizen.com/node/50

The Segway: A Pedestrian Friend or Foe?

6 May 2002 - 12:00am

Author: Andy Clarke

What are the major planning issues involved in the use of the Segway, and should motorized transporters be allowed on sidewalks?

What is the Segway?
The Segway Human Transporter (SHT) is described as "the first self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device." The rider stands on a small platform supported 6 to 8 inches off the ground by two parallel wheels; holds onto handlebars that are used to steer the device; when the rider leans forward the SHT moves forward and when the rider leans back the SHT moves back or stops.

How big is the Segway?
The SHT comes in three models. The personal transport model is 16 inches long, 21 inches wide, and weighs 69 pounds. Slightly larger models are available for commercial/industrial use; they are 19 inches long, 25 inches wide and weigh up to 95 pounds. The heaviest bikes usually weigh less than 35 pounds.

How fast is the Segway?
The Segway is capable of speeds up to 20 miles per hour. A speed-governing key is used to limit the speed of the personal transport model to 10 miles per hour, or "three times faster than the average walker." The commercial/industrial models are set with a top speed of 12.5 miles per hour. Bicycles can go faster than 20 miles per hour and also have a built-in speed governing system (your legs).

How far can the Segway go?
The personal transport model will go between 9 and 14 miles on single charge; the commercial/industrial model will go up to 17 miles per charge. Need I say more?

How much weight can the Segway carry?
The SHT is designed to carry a person up to 250 pounds. The cargo version has an additional capacity to carry 75 pounds and a trailer is under development that will have a further capacity of 300 pounds or more.

When will the SHT be available?
Demonstration models are currently being tested and used at trade shows and other venues. The personal transport model is expected to be available in late 2002.

Where can I get more information?
www.segway.com has a lot of additional promotional and technical information.

Why has the Segway become a legislative/public policy issue?
The manufacturers of the Segway have launched an aggressive lobbying campaign to amend state and Federal law to ensure that the device is not regulated as a motorized vehicle and that it is able to operate on sidewalks and trails rather than the road. Legislation to achieve these goals has been introduced in the US Senate and most states.

What is being proposed at the Federal level?
Senate Bill 2024, introduced by Senator Bob Smith (R-NH), would allow the use of the Segway on federally funded sidewalks and trails, when state or local regulations permit.

What is being proposed at the state level?
While the specific legislative proposals are slightly different in every state, the general goal of the legislative campaign is to classify the Segway as a pedestrian and permit use of the sidewalk unless a local jurisdiction specifically bans them. The bills also typically restrict the Segway to streets with a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less if a sidewalk is not available.

The March 8 issue of Urban Transportation Monitor reported that "the [Segway] company has provided model bills and testified before 45 state legislatures…Of those 45, 21 states have legislation pending and 5 states (NH, NJ, NM, NC, and SD) have passed legislation regarding how and where the EPAMD can be used."

What are the concerns/objections to the Segway being treated as a pedestrian?

• The impact of collisions with pedestrians
  
• The impact of collisions between Segway users (especially operating in limited space)
  
• The threat and discomfort felt by pedestrians which may discourage walking and use of sidewalks
  
• Competition for already limited space on the sidewalk
  
• Likelihood of crashes between Segway users and motorists (the two most common causes of bicycle/motor vehicle crashes are bicyclists riding against traffic the wrong way, and riding on the sidewalk, both of which the Segway would presumably be doing. At every driveway and intersection, bicyclists/segway riders must negotiate drivers who are not looking for them or expecting them to be going so fast)
  
• This sets a precedent for other motorized vehicles such as scooters which may be even less appropriate to use on sidewalks
  
• There is no way to enforce speed limits set by state/Federal law
  
• The speed governing mechanism on the Segway can be easily over-ridden
  
• We have no research on the operating characteristics of the vehicle or the rider
  
• The social justice impacts of allowing an expensive device available to a limited population to dominate public space
  
• Sidewalks have been designed for use at walking speeds, not "three times faster than normal walking speed"
  
• What happens where sidewalks don't exist or come to a stop and the road has speeds in excess of 25mph?

What are some other concerns about the Segway?

• Promotes a more sedentary lifestyle when we should be promoting walking as healthy physical activity
  
• Promotion of the Segway has been disingenuous:
  
  • it is a motorized device even if the phrase "electric personal assistive mobility device" seems designed to disguise this
    
  • we don't know if it can be safely integrated into the pedestrian environment as the makers claim
    
  • use of the phrase "assistive mobility device" may incorrectly suggest that it serves people with disabilities in the same way a wheelchair does
    
  • the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was persuaded not to treat the Segway as a motorized vehicle, leaving regulation in the hands of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, even though the Segway has a motor
    
• Promotion of the Segway legislative campaign has not considered or included those most affected: pedestrians and bicyclists
  
• Promotion of the Segway distracts from serious issues of bicycle and pedestrian safety and access
  
• The current crop of legislative proposals will result in inconsistent and confusing treatment of the device from one state to another and from one community to another
  
• The legal status of the user is unclear or is inappropriate: should a Segway user follow the rules of the road?
  
• The current legislative campaign usurps local control over the use of the device and places the onus on localities to prohibit use of the device rather than make a positive decision to permit use of the device where appropriate
  
• Operation of the Segway in the roadway may be problematic with the speed differential between motor vehicles and the Segway
  
• There are unanswered questions about the licensing, training, and regulation of Segway users, and regulation of the equipment that should be required for the operation of the device (e.g. helmets, lights and reflectors, DUI)

What are the positive aspects of the Segway?

• The Segway will provide mobility assistance to some people unable to walk or walk very far or fast
  
• There are practical and valuable commercial uses for the device
  
• If the Segway is used on streets it may help make more use of bike lanes and reclaim space from motor vehicles
  
• Any car trip that is replaced by another mode benefits bicyclists and pedestrians
  
• Segway users and the manufacturer may become an ally in the quest for better bicycling and walking conditions
  
• Anything that gets people outside and into the fresh air is positive
  
• It is an emerging and fascinating technology that should be supported
  
• Public trails and sidewalks are for everyone's use and to ban or limit one type of user smacks of elitism
  

After weighing all these factors, the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals believes that the Segway ought to be regulated and managed more akin to a bicyclist than a pedestrian. The presumption should be against their use on the sidewalk.

New Online Photo Album

I think I like Picasa better than Fliker (I should have known, Google owns Picasa!), and my photo album is here.

More On Suffering

This is from John Piper concerning his response to the tragedy that happened in Minnesota this week:

At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge.

There are no firm facts at this point about the total number of injuries and fatalities. When we crossed the bridge Tuesday on our way out of town, there was extensive repair work happening on the surface of the bridge with single lane traffic. One speculates about the unusual stresses on the bridge with jackhammers and other surface replacement equipment. This was the fortieth anniversary of the bridge.

Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Jesus implies that those who brought him this news thought he would say that those who died, deserved to die, and that those who didn’t die did not deserve to die. That is not what he said. He said, everyone deserves to die. And if you and I don’t repent, we too will perish. This is a stunning response. It only makes sense from a view of reality that is radically oriented on God.

All of us have sinned against God, not just against man. This is an outrage ten thousand times worse than the collapse of the 35W bridge. That any human is breathing at this minute on this planet is sheer mercy from God. God makes the sun rise and the rain fall on those who do not treasure him above all else. He causes the heart to beat and the lungs to work for millions of people who deserve his wrath. This is a view of reality that desperately needs to be taught in our churches, so that we are prepared for the calamities of the world.

The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.

We prayed during our family devotions. Talitha (11 years old) and Noel and I prayed earnestly for the families affected by the calamity and for the others in our city. Talitha prayed “Please don’t let anyone blame God for this but give thanks that they were saved.” When I sat on her bed and tucked her in and blessed her and sang over her a few minutes ago, I said, “You know, Talitha, that was a good prayer, because when people ‘blame’ God for something, they are angry with him, and they are saying that he has done something wrong. That’s what “blame” means: accuse somebody of wrongdoing. But you and I know that God did not do anything wrong. God always does what is wise. And you and I know that God could have held up that bridge with one hand.” Talitha said, “With his pinky.” “Yes,” I said, “with his pinky. Which means that God had a purpose for not holding up that bridge, knowing all that would happen, and he is infinitely wise in all that he wills.”

Talitha said, “Maybe he let it fall because he wanted all the people of Minneapolis to fear him.” “Yes, Talitha,” I said, “I am sure that is one of the reasons God let the bridge fall.”

I sang to her the song I always sing,

Come rest your head and nestle gently
And do not fear the dark of night.
Almighty God keeps watch intently,
And guards your life with all his might.
Doubt not his love, nor power to keep,
He never fails, nor does he sleep.

I said, “You know, Talitha, that is true whether you die in a bridge collapse, or in a car accident, or from cancer, or terrorism, or old age. God always keeps you, even when you die. So you don’t need to be afraid, do you.” “No,” she shook her head. I leaned down and kissed her. “Good night. I love you.”

Tonight across the Twin Cities families are wondering if they will ever kiss a loved one good night again. Some will not. I am praying that they will find Jesus Christ to be their Rock and Refuge in these agonizing hours of uncertainty and even loss.

The word “bridge” does not occur in the Bible. There may be two reasons. One is that God doesn’t build bridges, he divides seas. The other is that usually his people must pass through the deadly currents of suffering and death, not simply ride over them. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:2). They may drown you. But I will be with you in life and death.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-38)

Killed all day long. But not separated from Christ. We go through the river. Not over it. He went before us, crucified. He came out on the other side. He knows the way through. With him we will make it. That is the message we have for the precious sinners in the Twin Cities. He died for your sins. He rose again. He saves all who trust him. We die, but because of him, we do not die.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

Talitha is sleeping now. But one day she will die. I teach her this. I will not always be there to bless her. But Jesus is alive and is the same yesterday today and forever. He will be with her because she trusts him. And she will make it through the river.

Weeping with those who weep, and those who should,

Pastor John

Psalm 71:20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again.

My Favorite Bike Path

This is one of my favorite bike paths near by house. I have had the idea of mounting my camera to my bike for some time, and I am quite excited that it seems to have worked quite well. This is also my first YouTube video! It's not really that exciting, hopefully in the future my bike-videos will improve...

"Oh My God" - Jars of Clay

I have been thinking about suffering and pain lately, and my conclusion continues to be that there is suffering in this world because of sin - we are all broken, and capable of any wrongdoing, and our only hope, only way to ever experience joy and true change from our brokenness is Jesus. This song's lyrics better expresses my thoughts (I wish you could hear it though):

Jars Of Clay - Oh My God Lyrics

Oh my God, look around this place
Your fingers reach around the bone
You set the break and set the tone
Flights of grace, and future falls
In present pain
All fools say, "Oh my God"

Oh my God, Why are we so afraid?
We make it worse when we don't bleed
There is no cure for our disease
Turn a phrase, and rise again
Or fake your death and only tell your closest friend
Oh my God.

Oh my God, can I complain?
You take away my firm belief and graft my soul upon your grief
Weddings, boats and alibis
All drift away, and a mother cries

Liars and fools; sons and failures
Thieves will always say
Lost and found; ailing wanderers
Healers always say
Whores and angels; men with problems
Leavers always say
Broken hearted; separated
Orphans always say
War creators; racial haters
Preachers always say
Distant fathers; fallen warriors
Givers always say
Pilgrim saints; lonely widows
Users always say
Fearful mothers; watchful doubters
Saviors always say

Sometimes I cannot forgive
And these days, mercy cuts so deep
If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep
While I lay, I dream we're better,
Scales were gone and faces light
When we wake, we hate our brother
We still move to hurt each other
Sometimes I can close my eyes,
And all the fear that keeps me silent falls below my heavy breathing,
What makes me so badly bent?
We all have a chance to murder
We all feel the need for wonder
We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the thunder

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven
All the times I thought to reach up
All the times I had to give
Babies underneath their beds
Hospitals that cannot treat all the wounds that money causes,
All the comforts of cathedrals
All the cries of thirsty children - this is our inheritance
All the rage of watching mothers - this is our greatest offense

Oh my God
Oh my God
Oh my God

Good news for fair-skinned coffee-addicts! (me)

From: http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/07/31/exercise_caffeine_fight_skin_cancer
Exercise, caffeine fight skin cancer
By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer | July 31, 2007
WASHINGTON --Can adding a cup or two of coffee to the exercise routine increase protection from skin cancer? New research indicates that just might be the case.

The combination of exercise and caffeine increased destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B radiation, according to a team of researchers at Rutgers University.

Americans suffer a million new cases of skin cancer every year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In mice there is a protective effect from both caffeine and voluntary exercise, and when both are provided -- not necessarily at the same time -- protection is even more than the sum of the two, said Dr. Allan H. Conney of the laboratory for cancer research at Rutgers.

"We think it likely that this will extrapolate to humans, but that has to be tested," Conney said in a telephone interview.

Nonetheless, he added, people should continue to use sunscreen.
Exposing the mice to ultraviolet-B light causes some skin cells to become precancerous.
Cells with damaged DNA are programmed to self-destruct, a process called apoptosis, but not all do that, and damaged cells can become cancerous.

The researchers report in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they studied hairless mice in four groups. Some were fed water containing caffeine, some had wheels on which they could run, some had both and a control group had neither.

"The most dramatic and obvious difference between the groups came from the caffeine-drinking runners, a difference that can likely be attributed to some kind of synergy," Conney said.

Compared with the control animals, those drinking caffeine had a 95 percent increase in apoptosis in damaged cells. The exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, and the mice that were both drinking and running showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

Just what is causing that to happen is not yet clear, though the researchers have several theories.
"We need to dig deeper into how the combination of caffeine and exercise is exerting its influence at the cellular and molecular levels, identifying the underlying mechanisms," Conney said.

"With an understanding of these mechanisms we can then take this to the next level, going beyond mice in the lab to human trials," he said. "With the stronger levels of UVB radiation evident today and an upward trend in the incidence of skin cancer among Americans, there is a premium on finding novel ways to protect our bodies from sun damage."

Conney said the researchers were originally interested in the effects of green tea in preventing skin cancer and were doing tests on regular and decaffeinated teas.

They found the regular tea had an effect, but not the decaffeinated brew.
And, he said, researchers also observed that mice drinking caffeine were more active than those that didn't get it, so they decided to study the effects of exercise too.

They put running wheels into some of the cages. The mice "love to go on it," he said, and will jump on the wheels and run for several minutes, then get off for a while, and then get on and run some more.

And they found that both caffeine and exercise helped eliminate damaged skin cells, but the combination worked better than either alone.

"What we would like to see next is a clinical trial in people," Conney said.
Dr. Michael H. Gold, a Nashville, Tenn., dermatologist and a spokesman for the Skin Cancer Foundation, said he believes "the concept of systemic caffeine should be addressed further."

"I think the concept potentially has a lot of merit," he said in a telephone interview. But mice and humans are different and studies need to be done to be sure this also applies to people.

In the meantime, he said: "If you go outside, you have to wear a sunscreen ... it has to be caffeine and exercise with your sunscreen."

Song for Today

Every Little Thing (by Delirious)

Everything must change
There’s a mirror showing me the ugly truth
These bones they ache with holy fire
But I’ve got nothing to give, just a life to live
If your world is without colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

Every little thing’s gonna be alright
Every little thing’s gonna be alright [x2]

There’s no-one else to blame
I live my life between the fire and the flame
I’ve built my house where the ocean meets the land
It’s time to live again, pull my dreams out of the sand
Let your world be full of colour
I will carry you, if you carry me

When it’s all falling down on you
You’re crying out but you’re breaking in two
When it’s all crashing down on you
When there’s nothing you can do
There is someone who can carry you

Written by Martin Smith/Stuart Garrard ©2003 Curious? Music UK

Human Tetris!

Tetris was the game of choice for my sister and I for many summers in my childhood. So, I was delighted to find that the Japanese have a human tetris television show! Thank you http://blazingcenter.blogspot.com for this excellent find.

Joy

Yesterday was a very interesting day, I went for a wonderful run and experienced a terrific thunderstorm (golf-ball sized hail!), and the topic of joy was on my mind. This is an old poem about joy.

From "The Valley of Vision"

O Christ,
All thy ways of mercy tend to and end in my delight.
Thou didst weep, sorrow, suffer that I might rejoice.
For my joy thou hast sent the Comforter,
multiplied thy promises,
shown me my future happiness,
given me a living fountain.
Thou art preparing joy for me and me for joy;
I pray for joy, wait for joy, long for joy;;
give me more than I can hold, desire, or think of.
Measure out to me my times and degrees of joy,
at my work, business, duties.
If I weep at night, give me joy in the morning.
Let me rest in the thought of thy love,
pardon for sin, my title to heaven,
my future unspotted state.
I am unworthy recipient of thy grace.
I often disesteem thy blood and slight thy love,
but can in repentance draw water
from the wells of thy joyous forgiveness.
Let my heart leap towards the eternal sabbath,
where the work of redemption, sanctification,
preservation, glorification is finished
and perfected for ever,
where thou wilt rejoice over me with joy.
There is no joy like the joy of heaven,
for in that state are no sad divisions,
unchristian quarrels,
contentions, evil designs,
weariness, hunger, cold,
sadness, sin, suffering,
persecutions, toils of duty.
O healthful place where none are sick!
O happy land where all are kings!
O holy assembly where all are priests!
How free a state where none are servants
except to Thee!
Bring me speedily to the land of joy.

Wonderful Movie: Joyeux Noël

I watched a movie with my roommate tonight called Joyeux Noël, it was wonderful. It is a true story about German, French and Scottish soldiers had a cease-fire on Christmas eve in WWI.

Des Moines Adventure!

This weekend I went to Des Moines (Iowa) to visit my friend Andrea. We went walking around a beautiful lake and also went to a fun new grocery store (I bought some black rice).















And, I fufilled a life-long dream - I was able to ride in a paddle-boat! You pedal like a recumbant bicycle, and it's very fun!

Julia = Abulia?

I learned a new word today from 'word of the day' at www.yourdictionary.com: abulia.  It sounds suspiciously like me, as I really dislike decision-making...

Word of the Day: Abulia (Noun)

Pronunciation: [ê-'bu-li-yê]
Definition: A loss of volition or the ability to make decisions.
Usage: The adjective is "abulic," also used to refer to a person suffering from this dysfunction.

Minnesotan Adventure Pictures

Here are the pictures of my Minnesotan adventure. It was so much fun! I did two first-time-ever new things:

(1) rode in a pontoon boat and and (2) swung from a rope into the lake

And one second-time ever thing: went caneoing!

This weekend I went to visit my dear friend Joanna at her grandparent's cabin in Minnesota. It was the furthest I have ever driven by myself! It was wonderful - more pictures to follow!

Rose Petals

This Jewish Synagogue was across the street from our hotel in Paris. I could not decide if I like the picture with or without the blue door...

Sunday in Paris

Sunday (June 17) was my last full day in Paris. I saw two more beautiful churches (one with real-life flying buttresses!
















I was very excited to be able to order a crepe de chocolate (chocolate crepe) and some hot chocolate for my dinner. My waiter laughed at my chocolate dinner, but I was excited to order a complete dinner (and pay) all in French. I was also ridiculed by other customers for taking a picture, but it is a beautiful crepe, is it not?









One of my final destinations of the day was the Palais Royal. These are two of my favorite pictures of the day. I had thought "man with skateboard" in the foreground and "man strolling" would detract from the picture, but now I am glad they are there, I feel they add to the tranquility of the scene...

Tiny French Things

I like small things. I don't know why, but I do. I should add, tiny functional things. I think that's part of it - it's so tiny, but still functions like a regular-sized object! Perhaps it is because I am a girl, but I just don't know. I have always liked doll-houses, little boxes, etc. Anyway, there are many tiny things in France! It is a tiny-lover's paradise. I previously showed a picture of one of my tiny hotel rooms (http://lulia.blogspot.com/2007/06/versailles.html). So tiny, but very functional!



It was very hard to take a picture of the tiny elevator in Paris (they put mirrors on all sides!), but if you look at the ceiling, you can see that the elevator is about 3 ft x 3 ft. Maximum capicaty = 3 (though I think you would have to be pretty good friends)


Next was tiny transportation. I wish I had taken a picture of a tiny car (They are called 'smart' cars - see http://www.smart.com/ for details - they are coming to the US in 2008!) next to a normal sized car, because they are unbelievably tiny! and I have seen folding bikes before, but only on the internet, never in person! what a great idea. See http://www.dahon.com/ for details and pictures of folded bikes.











And now finally, for breakfast each day, we had the option of tiny jars of honey and jam. In the US, you would get little plastic containers, but not in France! Little glass jars! Very exciting.

More Sightseeing Pictures...

These pictures are from Saturday, June 16.

This is a men's clothing store - everything is pink! Shades of pink, pink stripes, pink ties.

This is the fôret (forest) on the west side of Paris. I didn't expect to find bike trails in Paris, so it was neat to hear about this and go see it. And of course ,the




















A craft store with a beautiful yarn display. I was tempted to take it all home! But I showed restraint and no French yarn for me :( Finally, the Arc De Triomphe, I did not know it was so large. It is beautiful (c'est bel I think)

Musée Du Louvre

I went to the Louvre Museum on Saturday (June 16). It was beautiful, but there were many areas where picture-taking was not allowed :(
The metro (subway) near the musuem was the most exciting entrance I saw in all of Paris - very unique and lovely.









From Wikipedia: The Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the most visited and one of the oldest, largest, and most famous art galleries and museums in the world. The Louvre has a long history of artistic and historic conservation, inaugurated in the Capetian dynasty until today. The building was previously a royal palace and is famous for holding several of the world's most beautiful works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Madonna of the Rocks, and Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo. Located in the centre of the city of Paris, between the Rive Droite of the Seine and the rue de Rivoli in the Ier arrondissement, it is accessed by the Palais Royal — Musée du Louvre Metro station.





With all of the famous and fantastic art, I found the painting of the dead rabbit funny. It was very well-done, but it is of a dead rabbit! ("lapin mort" in French)

Favorite picture from Saturday, June 16

I am too tired tonight to write a complete story, so I will just put my favorite picture from Saturday, June 16. It is at the Louvre Museum. I thought the combination of the Egyptian sculpture + pretty window + pretty outside building was nice.

Orleans Cathedral

I am going out of order, I am sorry. I had forgotten about some more pictures I took last Friday, June 15, of a large Cathedral in Orleans. This was my first real-life view of a flying buttress, it is quite amazing. I think it is called the "Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans" and this is what Wikipedia has to say about it:















"The cathedral Holy-Cross of Orleans, was started in 1287. It partly collapsed March 24 1568 because of the damage caused by the Protestants. Henri IV posed the first stone of the new building April 18 1601. The northern wing is completed in 1643, the southern wing in 1690. Work was completed in 1829. The fame of the cathedral comes probably partly from its association to Jeanne d' Arc. The national historical heroine came to the evening mass on May 2, 1429 while in the city, to lift the siege." Thanks again, Wiki.

My first day in Paris

Day 1 in Paris went well - I will have pictures soon. Here was my schedule:

6:00 AM - Go to train station near Orleans
7:15 AM - leave for Paris on train
8:30 AM - Arrive in Paris and take first subway ride to the Louvre Museum
11:30 AM - Find my hotel, Victor Hugo and check in - take my first nap in Paris :)
1:00 PM - Go sight-seeing to
(1) Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel),
(2) Arc de Triomphe,
(3) Forest (Forêt) on the east (correction: west!)-side of Paris,
(4) Fruit & Légumes market for dinner
9:00 PM - back to hotel!

Good

Thank you h-j for the link:



What is the Gospel then? The Gospel is the only reason for hope in this world of suffering - the only answer to pain and evil. The Gospel is God in human form, Jesus Christ, sacrificing Himself to death, to cover the sins/evil/wrong-ness of His people. But Jesus did not only die for the sins of the world, God resurrected him and overcame death and evil. Followers of Jesus have peace and hope because of this, but not necessarily physical prosperity.

More Photos!

Here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lulia/

Versailles

We went to Versailles Wednesday night - Thursday! We had a very late dinner, but our hotel was only one block from the Palace of Versailles, so I woke up early to see a few pictures. Speaking of my hotel though, it was very tiny!















There are beautiful statues and iron work. It is difficult to describe how ornate everything is. It seems as though everything is beautiful here...



















About the Château de Versailles (from Wikipedia): When the château was built, Versailles was a country village, but it is now a suburb of Paris. From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789', the Court of Versailles was the center of power in Ancien Régime France.

In 1660, royal powers from the advisors who had governed France during his minority, was casting about for a site near Paris but away from the tumults and diseases of the crowded city. He had grown up in the disorders of the civil war between rival factions of aristocrats called the Fronde and wanted a site where he could organize and completely control a government of France by absolute personal rule. He settled on the royal hunting lodge at Versailles, and over the following decades had it expanded into the largest palace in the world. Versailles is famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy which Louis XIV espoused.

Bonjour de France!

Today I am in France! The flight was long :( But on my flight from Cedar Rapids to Detroit, I found that I was sitting next to my friend Kelli's uncle! I could not sleep on the flight from Detroit to France, but I was surprised by the not-so-bad food quality. There was even a fresh salad with tomatoes. I had never been on a plane with tv's in the seats! The man next to me laughed at me because I took a picture :)

It was really neat, they had a real-time map of where the plane was, the outside temperature, and the speed of the head/tailwind.
I am glad I work with adventerous people - tonight we went to a non-English speaking restaraunt and our food was great.

We also went to see the statue of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). She saved the town I am staying in right now, Orleans, in 1429. It is a very old city! It was founded before 275. Everything is pretty much beautiful.

This picture is just a typical house outside of my hotel.

This is funny!

http://linein.org/temp/award.swf

A hymn to God the Father

I found this here: http://daveys2france.blogspot.com/2007/05/hymn-to-god-father.html

A hymn to God the Father
Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun, Which was my sin, though it were done before?vvWilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done, For I have more.

Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sin their door? Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun A year or two, but wallowed in a score? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done, For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore ;But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore ; And having done that, Thou hast done ; I fear no more.

by John Donne.

This is...strangely (edit) fantastic

Fantastic, as in "ludicrously odd" or "extravagantly fanciful in design, construction, appearance" - I thought the choreography was inventive! And yes, I found the song catchy.

"Is Christianity Good for the World?"

I thought this was a fascinating set of articles between atheist Christopher Hitchens and theologian Douglas Wilson. I think there will be more than 3 parts, or I hope so.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Profound!

Tominthebox News Network: $40 Million Dollar Debt Paid, But Debtor Still Faces Prison

Arr-mini-ohs!

Now you should all be visiting Tominthebox daily, but just in case you haven't visited for a while - heehee!

Tominthebox News Network: Part of A Balanced Theological Breakfast