Not silent, just busy

Posted by on April 21, 2012 No comments

My blog has been pretty quiet so far this year.  Looking back over the archives, there were periods during which I’d post several times a day — often, I’m ashamed to admit, when I was supposed to be doing something else.

I haven’t lost interest in expressing myself.  (For some reason, I was born with an innate belief that the world needs to hear my opinions.)  Lately, Sharon and I have been busy with the analog world — work, church, hobbies, home maintenance, and so on.  And that’s a good thing.  It feels like life is coming into a healthier balance.

While we appreciate the opportunities for outreach that the Internet provides, humans were created to interact on a personal level.  So we’re thankful we’ve been led to our home here in Illinois — great neighbors, a wonderful home church, and a chance for me to resume a longtime hobby, singing a cappella music in the barbershop style.

Even so, I was persuaded to sign up for an online fantasy baseball league this year.  Mike Heiser is the organizer and David W. Lowe is among the participants, so I couldn’t say no.  I’ve avoided fantasy leagues in the past because I know how I am — when I start something that interests me, I can get so wrapped up in it that I lose perspective.

It’s happening already.  Marlon Byrd of the Cubs really ticked me off the other day.  Not only is he not hitting  for squat (.070 average, .179 OBP), he cost my fantasy team at least one run, two RBIs, and two Total Bases with a great diving catch on a line drive hit by Joey Votto of the Reds.

So I find myself rooting for the Cubs to win while at the same time hoping that, say, Zach Cozart and Joey Votto get extra base hits with men on base every time up.  As long as Dempster, Samardzija, or Marmol aren’t pitching.

Time to put down the laptop and do something organic.  (Good thing I’ve got ESPN’s Fantasy Baseball app for my phone.)

What democracy hath wrought

Posted by on March 10, 2012 No comments

Saddam Hussein is starting to look good by comparison:

More than 90 Iraqi students have been stoned to death for their Emo haircuts by religious extremists in Baghdad in the past month after an interior ministry statement dubbed it devil worshipping.

Iraq’s Moral Police released a statement on the interior ministry’s website condemning the ‘emo phenomenon’ among Iraqi youth, declaring its intent to ‘eliminate’ the trend.

‘The Emo phenomenon or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate [the phenomenon] as soon as possible since it’s detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger,’ the statement read.

Saddam was no prince, but he kept a lid on stuff like this.

Americans of both major parties have trumpeted the spread of democracy in the Middle East, thanks to our benevolent intervention (and about 110,000 deaths).  But what anyone with a brain could see was that self-determination in a predominantly conservative Shia Muslim nation would result in sharia as the law of the land.  And Iran’s new best friend.

It’s hard to believe that the giant brains who have overseen the foreign policy for George W. Bush and Barack Obama didn’t see this coming. Regardless of our opinion of the federal government, total idiots just don’t rise to that level.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s estimated that the number of Christians in Iraq has dropped over the last ten years from about 850,000 to 345,000 — and fewer every month.

Back to Branson!

Posted by on February 12, 2012 No comments

Sharon and I are honored to return to Branson, Missouri this summer for what looks like another amazing conference. And once again, we get to pick the brains of the speakers for P.I.D. Radio!

Wind farms…bad?

Posted by on February 6, 2012 No comments

This winter in Illinois seems warmer than usual. We’ve discovered the reason — all those huge propellers along I-39!

[W]ind farms can actually alter the climate according to a new study by a group of American scientists.

The team from the University of Illinois found that daytime temperatures around wind farms can fall by as much as 4C, while at night temperatures can increase.

The research indicates that the warmer nighttime temperatures allow plants — which are typically crops, at least here in Illinois — to breathe more. And this is…bad?

Safer for whom?

Posted by on January 28, 2012 No comments

A Reuters headline this week proclaims Abortion safer than giving birth:

Dr. Elizabeth Raymond from Gynuity Health Projects in New York City and Dr. David Grimes of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, found that between 1998 and 2005, one woman died during childbirth for every 11,000 or so babies born.

That compared to one woman of every 167,000 who died from a legal abortion.

It’s all in how you do the math — or in this case, how you define “death”.

By my count, about 15 women die for every 167,000 children born. That’s compared to one woman plus 167,000 children for every 167,000 abortions.

It seems clear that legal abortion is about 15 times more deadly than childbirth.