This afternoon I find myself wondering what we mean when we say the word peace. - Saint Eros

Well worth the read.

- Peace

I just finished taking the last of the christmas decorations off the front of the house and I took the first bike ride of the season. So it must be spring. Snow is in the forecast for later this week. Ah Calgary.

-Peace

Accroding to Bene Diction Rick Mercer is apologizing americans, and it's in classic Mercer style, but it's not Mercer it's Collen Mockery, as you can see in this video clip. Snopes.com exposes this not quite hoax.

I do think Mercer would have delivered it better. To get a feel for Mercer's style check out this collection of Rick Mercer video clips.

-Peace

This post over at The Living Room shows how a tool like Who links Who can be abused. It looks like 'Gary' used some tool, like WLW, to find people who link to The Living Room and harass them.

Any tool can be used for evil, but it's the first time I've suspected that something I've created may have been abused. Not a happy thought. Yeah it's a fallen world.

-Peace

A letter to a friend in Iraq
by Andrew Mandell

-Peace

The Monster Under My Bed

The Monster Under My Bed - a kids book by Kevin Frank.

With Sarah growing up I miss out on reading kids books. We were big fans of Franklin the Turtle and got each new books as it came out for years. Last year while visiting friends in Guelph, we went to the local hip book store and I spent the entire time in the kids section with their two year old son. Yup I've got a soft spot for kids books.

-Peace

Xaiver+ has a post on Saint Jean de Brebeuf author of 'Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime or as I've always know it The Huron Carol. I didn't know it dated back to the 1600s, it's such a brilliant piece of cultural adaptation that I assumed it was recent. That's what modern arrogance will do to ya.

Bruce Cockburn sings the Huron Carol on his album Christmas, the original huron version no less. The Cockburn Project has a detailed entry comparing the original carol to the more common anglicised translation. I also learned that The Huron Carol is considered Canada's first Christmas song.

Now I'm in the mood for Christmas music in March :)

- Peace

Lord willing we're headed to the Cornerstone music festival this summer. Course calling Cornerstone a music festival is a bit of an understatement. For instance there's the writing workshops being put on by Prairie School of Writing. The session on the blues as truth telling looks great..

Ain't Nothin' But the Blues: Poetry and the Art of Transcendence
Amaud Jamaul
2 pm - 2:50 pm, Wed-Sat
In this workshop we will examine how poetry can be used as a vehicle for inner exploration and spiritual growth. Looking at the Blues tradition, we will discuss the function of "truth telling," and how creative work can help uncover deeper understandings of our identity.
bio for program: Amaud Jamaul teaches creative writing and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has won scholarships and fellowships from several foundations, writers' conferences and colonies, and he is currently a member of the Cave Canem Workshop.

Fellow blogger Kevin Rains will be spreading the word on blogs:

Blog On!
Kevin Rains
11 am-11:50 am, Thurs - Sat.
You want to write, but feel stymied by the publishing world. Web-logging (blogging) gives you the tools to get your work "out there." Blogs are simple web pages that require no computer programming experience but allow you to publish your ideas and develop as a writer. Kevin will tell you how to set up a site and how to write on-line. If you have a minute, you can blog.

Anyone else headed to C-Stone this year?

-Peace

OK that's odd, some one was searching for "Wendy Cooper" hair. I'm guessing it's on her head not google.

-Peace

A Pattern Language for Emergent Systems

One of the most influential books in Object Orientated Design is Design Patterns. Design Patterns capture common ways to solve problems using the Object Orientated approach to software. I could see some one writing a similar book for Emergent Systems cataloging broad principals as they appear in many systems. When they do I predict that Quorum Sensing will have an entry

Quorum Sensing - individual units in a distributed decision system changing behavior or state when the number of units in the system reach the required level for successful implementation of a new state or strategy. The term was first coined by microbiologists describing cell to cell communication in bacterial systems. While radically different in implementation Quorum Sensing can be observed in the transformation of grasshoppers into a swarm of locusts.

- Peace

Mike's Spot On The Wall:
It's been a long time and I haven't been blogging mostly because my work has been very busy.
As Douglas Adams said "I love deadlines... especially the whooshing sound they make as they go by"
But I'm back.
A big "thank you" to Dave and Kim for having us over. Dave your hospitality is as big as your shoes.
I got my CD back from R.S. Productions yesterday. It sounds pretty good. I’ll have to figure out where I can put it so people can see/hear it.

Mike's Take On The War:
I feel deeply saddened by it.
Saddam's regime was an evil one, (no doubt about that) but I’m not sure this was the best way to deal with it.
The repercussions have me reading Revelations again.

Mike's Walk:
None to steady. I realize that my love for God is very lukewarm at best.
How can I be so thankless?
How can I be so hard?
Can God heal a lack of love?
I am praying that He will.

This week my life has been Meetings... my life is nothing more than meetings. [bonus points if you read that to the turne of 'feelings']

Monday night, Strategic planning team. Bit of a misnomer as we've been in tactical mode since our pastors resigned.

Tues night meet with our financial advisor. It's not a big deal we have one investment, we're thinking of making it two.

Wed - Calgary.net users group. Presentation on .net from a Java perspective. Yes I'm considering working witht the darkside.

Thurs. - Supper and Bible study, we just talked tonight but we have been reading Luke. It was a good time, I needed the break.

Friday - To Be Determined.

Sat morning - last leadership meeting with our pastors.
Sat night - congregational meeting with our pastors followed by a good bye party.

-Peace

From Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie - The Privacy Song [Real Video]. Too funny and all too true.

- Peace

You cannot serve both God and Money - Jesus

Maybe not but you can get a 'Christian' theamed credit card. I wonder how they feel about forgiving debts?

as seen on Raw Faith

Since we joined in Feb of 2000 our church has had three sets of pastors [in the Salvation Army it's a Man & Wife Team], the third just resigned. The resignations in all three cases gave been related to health issues.

I was feeling very down about this, but this morning the strategic planing team met with Kris [who's leaving at the end of the month] and it was such a productive session that I can't help be feel hopeful. I'm sure the next few weeks will be filled with ups and downs, but right now I feel like we could take on the world.

-Peace

On Feb 23,2003 I wrote

sooner or latter somone at RIAA or MPAA will figure out how to link [Digital Rights Management] to the war on terrorism

March 14th, 2003 on /.
MPAA, Microsoft Testify Piracy Funds Terrorism

So there you go. That means something ... I'm sure of it. No, Really.

-Peace

From this mornings reading:

At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched {Moses'} feet with it. "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me," she said. So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said "bridegroom of blood," referring to circumcision.) - Exodus 4:24

This verse leaves me perplexed, why after sending Moses on his way to Egypt did he want to kill him? Wouldn't have been simpler to just tell Moses at the buring bush to circumcise his child? Why did Zipporah do it? Was Moses unwilling? Is that was it's about?

-Peace

Kim likes the Element so we will test drive it on Saturday. Space being the winning factor.

- Peace

OK so the winners are:
Subaru Impreza - sports wagon and let's be honest it's a hatch back. Good fuel economy, and it fits me well, the Outback and Forester did not. It's a small car about the same size as the Corrola but with All wheel drive, A/C and a clock :) I'm a bit concened with the cargo space, we may need to keep our extra lugage compartment that we strap to the corrola, and I'm not sure my current bike rack would work on the hatch back design. Only other draw back a single cup holder (we use the two in the corrola all the time) and it's over the cd player so a spill would be bad..... I'll test drive this on Saturday.

The Honda Element, tons of room, better fule economy than you'd think and not a bad price. I'm sure Kim will hate it, but we'll see. Need to test drive this.

Funny how neither of these were on my list, but the trying on of cars killed off many that I thought would be contenders. It was worth the $10 to get in, it would have taken way to much time to drive all over to try those out one by one.

-Peace

Heading to the Clagary Auto Show to try on some cars. I try on cars the way I try on shoes, I have size 14EEE feet :)

We've been driving a very basic 94 Corolla that I got in school. It's been a great car, but it has its drawbacks for longer trips. No AC is a killer in the summer, and every time we go to Sask. in winter we seem to hit a storm on the way back. Calgary's snow/melt/freeze cycles seem to guarantee plenty of ice on the streets, so I'm aiming for All Wheel Drive. A clock would be nice, the Corolla doesn't have a clock - I said it was basic. I'm looking to balance space/price/fuel economy.

So that leads to the compact SUV market - Here are some cars/suvs I'm looking to try on

Subaru Legacy / Outback
Toyota Matrix
Toyota Highlander
Honda CRV
Honda Pilot
Hyyndai Sante Fe
KIA Sorrento
Mazda Tribute / Ford Escape

If we don't buy one this year I'd defiantly want to look at the SUV Gas/Electric Highbred vehicles set to come out next year. Though I don't know if they'd be in our price range.

I took a Saturn VUE for a test drive on Saturday, it's a contender but as the driver I found my left shoulder was up tight against the door, so it's not a perfect fit. I also found the road noise to be more than I expected. On the plus side it handled well in a significant amount of snow and has plenty of cargo space - and I think it looks cool.

If you have one of these units please let me know what you think.

-Peace

Truth was one of the main themes of The Matrix as symbolized by the 'red pill'. If you take the 'blue pill' you wake up in your bed and believe what ever you want. If you take the 'red pill' you wake up in the real world and are faced with the Truth, it's what it is no mater what you wish. The central temptation of the movie is to return to the Matrix and live in a pleasant dream world.

The latest installment of the The Animatrix, The Program focues on the choice between Truth and The Matrix, it doesn't add anthing new, but by focusing on the subject in one short movie it's hard to miss. There's also some nice fighting eye candy.

-Peace

Java's creator returns home

I had breakfast with James when he was here on Wed, sat at the same table.

-Peace

Don't know if anyone else is doing this, it dawned on me that I could creat my own google news categories for things I check on a regular basis. The first three are Canada, New Brunswick (where I grew up) and Java.

-Peace

No you haven't been fired you've been de-emphasized. ouch.

-Peace

It All Ads Up for Google - and if you look up, way up you'll see Google's new ad system at work. Must admit I prefer these ads to the dating service adds that were here before.

- Peace

update: doh! the orginal blogspot banner adds are back.

Today's Silly Quote - from the Wired News article Meet a Rising Star in Game Design

"People are spending less money going out to dinner and less money going to the baseball games," Goodman said. "But they are not going to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs."

umm ... staying home and playing video games involves quite a bit of thumb twiddling, true it's high tech thumb twiddling, but thumb twiddling none the less. In fact too much thumb twidling can lead to nintendo thumb.

-Peace

100 Facts about Elaine

Chinese Visit to Anti-Cult Center Filled with Irony - John Trott

Language, and its definitions, end up in the hands of those holding the reigns of power. If we believe the Words of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that is not the way of the Christian toward either friends or foes. Falun Gong members need Jesus, and thus should be the subjects of evangelistic efforts, but they do not need either the label "cult" or the accusations of brainwashing. Those currently persecuted by the Chinese government also need our prayers and letters of protest to the Chinese government on their behalf.

-Peace

isn't this just a narcissistic, prideful exercise in intense navel-gazing? Shouldn't we be out working in a soup kitchen or something?

The Second Renaissance - Part I is the first of series of animated shorts set in the world of the Matrix, it's given me hope for the sequels. I loved The Matrix because it drew on multiple rich sources of inspiration and interweaved them. Nothing in the movie was there by accident. In almost every scene there was reference to some piece of literature or art, from the Bible to Terminator.

Can they maintain that level of artistry for the sequels? I've had my doubts but The Second Renaissance gives me hope. It draws heavily from the stories of the Old Testament from creation to the Hebrews in Egypt. It tells the story of the rise of the machine and sets the stage for the war with humanity. In the same way that the movie AI sided with our possible future creations, the machines that created the matrix are portrayed with sympathy, they just want to live. This animated short gives The Matrix a richer back story than the movie could develop on it's own.

The next animated short should be out this month. I'll post when I've had a chance to see it.

Here's hoping hoping the sequels can live up the original and the Second Renaissance.

-Peace