Jiggity Jog

I'm home again — back to where my life is within walking distance.

Rob and Mike returned home Saturday night, and there was much rejoicing among the canine members of the family. Interestingly, Eric called Saturday night and was surprised when Rob answered, which means he was calling to talk to me. :-)

Sunday, Mike and I unpacked the truck and put the food away, but left much of the stuff sitting in the living room. Rob and Mike slowly began to pick at the pile, cleaning things and putting them away.

Sunday evening, Eric came over and we had a nice steak dinner and watched Hello, Dolly! Then Mike went to bed and Rob, Eric and I soaked in the hot tub. Rob got up to go to bed, leaving us "to your own devices." Eric ended up spending the night again. :-)

Rob and Mike drove me to the train station last night we had dinner. I was home an hour later, completely exhausted. When I arrived home, the apartment was stifling because it hadn't been air-conditioned in two weeks.

Still, it's nice to be back.

Blah

There's an article in today's Washington Post about megachurches — defined as churches with weekly attendance in excess of 2,000. It reminds me of the article The Christian Paradox (excerpt) that appeared in Harper's Magazine recently.

Here's a quote from the Post article:

"The parishioner that we serve is vastly different . . . from 25 years ago," Jakes said. "People interview you before they join your church." They're looking for more than just spiritual guidance, and Potter's House has to deliver: computer hookups under some pews, simultaneous translation for Spanish-speakers, a streaming Internet feed for those too ill to come to church, ample parking, a multitude of youth programs, a $4 million air-conditioning system. Black megachurches such as his are just catching up to their white counterparts, Jakes said; the new trend is for deluxe amenities such as gymnasiums and food courts.

Link: Fortresses of Faith.

American religion: faith as entertainment complex.

I'm of the opinion that once a body of worshippers grows beyond a certain size, it should foster a new group. I don't believe a "professional" spiritual leader or hierarchy is required; let's keep it low overhead, cut out the middleman and pass our savings directly on to YOU!

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Then there's this: another article in the Post, Vowing to Set the World Straight. It opens with an anecdote of a man who gave up being gay when he was twenty years old. Now he's 54.

Three years ago, Cavnar said, after soul-searching prompted by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he decided his days of "white-knuckling it" were over. "I told my wife I couldn't not be gay anymore," recalled Cavnar. His biggest regret, he said, was the devastating impact ending their 26-year marriage had on the woman who had struggled with him.

I feel a lot of pity for the man, and a lot of respect. Like Kenny, he's completely turning his life around. I hope he's doing well.

Ha!

So there's a Slashdot story about Microsoft's patent application that covers some of the technology of the iPod. Blah, blah, blah.

But then there's this comment:

The Microsoft patent is for something called "Auto DJ". Basically it's software that allows you to pick several songs as positive seeds, and at least one as a negative seed, and based on your choices it will generate a playlist from your music library. Sounds like a DAMN good idea ... although knowing MS the execution would end up like Clippy *shudders*

And then this reply:

"I see you're trying to make a playlist. Would you like me to get jiggy with it?"

This was so funny, I was wiping tears from my eyes.

Sad

There was a riot today in Richmond, Virginia as thousands of people lined up to purchase a 4-year-old Apple iBook for $50 (Washington Post Article). Here's an article from the local Richmond paper with photos. Click on the slideshow link. Utterly amazing.

Frankly, I think the organizers of this sale were a little... unorganized. Or maybe folks are a little more patient when they're merely standing in line for life-giving water after a hurricane (just as an example) than they are when standing in line for a cheap-ass laptop computer.

I certainly hope that's the case, because otherwise it won't be pretty if — for whatever reason — we have a crimp in the gasoline supply. Folks lined up for gas in the 1970's rather peaceably, I suppose. (I was five in 1973, so I don't have a clue.) These days there's road rage and DVD stampedes at the Wal-Mart. One guy in the iBook riot was hitting people over the head with a folding chair.