I'm sure you are all looking forward to the rebate checks uncle sam is dishing out to us, but I just found out something I did not realize:

From CNN:

"The checks are an advance on next year's refunds, and most, if not all of the money, will be deducted from taxpayers' refunds in 12 months' time. "
 
So, be aware - the reality is that you will just get that much less money on your refund at the end of next year.  To me this is very sneaky, and I did not realize this is how it was going to work!  I just figured we'd add to our $5 trillion debt and let the next generation figure it out ;-)

I've found some interesting clues for the recently launched "Lost Experience" clue game from this post.  I can't believe the effort (ABC?) has put into this whole thing.  So far I've signed up for the newsletter at www.thehansofoundation.org, sent a message to Joop, and clicked a bunch of "hatch-like" bubbles to reveal a letter condemning Hanso research for its primate research on Zanzibar. 

I also just noticed that Bad Twin, the script Sawyer was reading in last night's show, has actually been published and is for sale.  The blurring of fiction and reality is quite interesting.  Just goes to show that when there's money to be made (thanks the the large community following the show has developed) corporations will go to great lengths to rake in the profit.

[UPDATE:] I guess www.thedharmainitiative.org is a bogus fan site, making the clue site I linked to above useless.  Apparently the only "official" lost experience site is www.thehansofoundation.org.  Here's a much better clue site.

Here's an interesting article that discusses Jim Wallis and his book, God's Politics: Why the American Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It. 

I've heard about this book for a while and have been meaning to read it, but have yet to pick it up.  From reading through the article, I have to say I definitely agree with a lot of Wallis' thoughts and views, and am certainly looking forward to reading his book.   Has anyone read through it yet?

The Economist posted an interesting article entitled Chicago: A Success Story.  It details the urban renewal that has made the city prosper over the past 20 years or so.  It's an interesting read that discusses many aspects that the city gets "right."

Don't get me wrong...I love Chicago, and its great to see it get the good press it deserves.  What's interesting, though, are the aspects of the city that are not mentioned - and sometimes only seen by a resident of the city.  When you peel back the covers, Chicago is still a major urban center that has many major urban problems.  Vast sections of the city are still completely abandoned...a lingering result of the riots that erupted after MLK was assassinated.  Murder, while on the decline, is still a major problem (almost double the rate of NYC.)  In many neighborhoods, drug markets and gangs operate openly.

To me, one of the most striking issues the city faces is the future of education within Chicago.  My wife worked as a teacher in the Chicago Public School system for several years.  Talk about eye-opening.  The level of corruption, scandal, apathy, and injustice that occurs within that system is alarming.  How will the lives of hundreds of thousands of students ever change within a system so inherently flawed?  This is one area the city needs to target and make things right.  The question is, how?

Parachute pants.  Oversized glasses.  Rediculous bling.  Early 90's mainstream "rap" at its worst.  Yep, we're talking about MC Hammer.  Can't touch this!

I remember hearing a rumor a few years back that Hammer had become a Christian.  Other than that, I haven't thought about this guy since viewing the occasional Pepsi commercial.  However, today I ran across a post on CNet that mentioned that the Hammer Man has his own blog! 

I had to check it out, and it seems legit.  I also ran across this post, which seems to confirm his faith.  Very interesting.  Apparently he's got a new album coming out as well. 

Next thing you know, we're going to see Vanilla Ice's comeback ;-)

I'm sure you've all received one of these e-mails...you know, the subject mentions something about having the volume turned way up so you can listen to a song or whatever.  Well, this kid won't soon forget the day he was duped.  This video is absolutely hilarious...the kid actually attacks the monitor ala the deer attacking hunter footage shown on Fox TV's "world's most dangerous video" special a few years back.

File this one under a big "oops".  Sounds like old man Cheney accidentally shot one of his hunting buddies.  Just imagine the situation had this guy's injuries been worse.

[UPDATE]: Cheney's Got A Gun

In the next three weeks, the President will make crucial decisions about next year’s budget, including how America will best use our resources to help educate, feed and treat those most in need. As ONE, we’re asking that the U.S. give an additional 1% of our budget over the next five years so we can keep our life-saving promises to fight AIDS and poverty.

Ask President Bush to fund the promises made

What could just one more penny of every dollar do? By giving an additional 1%, the U.S. would be able to help prevent 10 million children from becoming AIDS orphans and send 100 million children to grade school.

Wow...a 19 year old going by the nick name of Jupelo is spending the entire year at Walt Disney World (with a $100k budget) before he heads off to college.  Follow him on his website, which includes a live feed of him walking around the park.  A couple of questions come to mind:

1) What kind of businesses did this kid run to amass that kind of cash in high school!  I was making $7.50 an hour working at Best Buy and I thought that was a good gig.

2) I'm going to put it out there right now that this kid won't end up making it the whole year.  I mean, how many times can you actually visit It's a Small World and still maintain your sanity?  If this kid even goes on the ride once a week for a month, he will in fact go insane or lose the will to continue his endeavor.

I can't say it isn't a creative idea, though.  Could end up a lucrative business move for this kid.  Should lead to some positive publicity for Disney, at the very least.

[via BoingBoing]

I finally got around to "reading" Dan Brown's bestseller, The Da Vinci Code.  The controversy and/or hype surrounding the book has been swirling around for quite some time now, but for one reason or another I never got a chance to read it until now (technically speaking, I listened to it on CD.)

I have to admit, the storyline is incredibly intriguing and very addictive.  I actually found myself longing for my commute to and from work each day, knowing I'd unwrap a little more of the story with each drive.  The story itself unfolds rather quickly, but the more controversial aspects do not show up until about the half way point.

Suddenly, you are hit like a ton of bricks with the assertion that Jesus Christ was not only married, but had a child as well.  The book clearly blasphemes the Christian understanding of Christ's fully divine/fully human nature.  While I can certainly understand the objections the Vatican and many other Christian organizations have had to this work, one cannot deny the freedom Mr. Brown has to share his opinion. 

However, it seems that the general public is increasingly unaware of the fact that this is indeed a work of fiction, not fact.  That people are accepting this work as historically accurate is concerning, especially since the story's popularity has spawned a Tom Hanksfilm and even a video game.  The popularity of this novel has had its effect at the Louvre, where record attendance has been recorded, and has spawned pilgrammages to the Rossyln Chapel. 

Christian apologist (and staunch Calvinist) James White does a good job of discrediting Dan Brown's work on his blog.  Pretty interesting read for anyone discerning the truth behind what is otherwise a thorougly entertaining piece of fiction.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and found some time to relax with family and friends while reflecting on the blessings in your lives. 

For Thanksgiving this year, Roxanne and I decided to run the Edison Park Turkey Trot, a 5k race we ran a few years back.  It seemed like a great idea...that is, until the weather report was released.  Yep, it was indeed the coldest Thanksgiving in 50 years in Chicago, and we found ourselves spending Thanksgiving morning out in the 20 degree (0 with wind chill) weather.  It could have been raini...I mean snowing, so at least we had the sun on our side!

The race actually ended up being a lot of fun despite the cold, so we headed back to the car and drove home to get ready for dinner at the in-laws.  On the way back, I couldn't help but notice the car was pulling hard to the right, so I pulled over and found that, sure enough, one of the one-month old tires I had just put on the car was flat.  Let me tell you...changing a tire in weather that feels like 0 degrees is MUCH LESS ENJOYABLE than running in it.  I got the spare on, which, of course, was almost totally flat itself.  Finally got it filled up and we were on our way.

Despite the less-than perfect start to our Thanksgiving, I had to remind myself...if this is the only thing that I have to be upset about, I am pretty well blessed.  Indeed, God has blessed my family in so many ways I can't even begin to list them all here.  However,  I will note that the very fact that I am a United States citizen means that I have been given WAY MORE than I could ever hope for, let alone need.  This website is a great reminder of just how rich we are really are.  As an American, we are surrounded by wealth and often take for granted the lifestyle we live.  We must strive to remind ourselves that the lives we are experiencing are in no way normative on this planet.  In fact, it seems to me that many of the material "blessings" we have are so often curses in the end.

Some of you are aware that I have spent time building homes for Habitat for Humanity in 2 African nations - Ghana and Tanzania.  In both locations, I was astounded by the incredible amount of effort required at the beginning of the day in order to collect the water necessary to mix morter.  This task was especially arduous in Zanzibar, where each team member (and many locals) carried a 5 gallon bucket (or any other type of container to be found...Africans are VERY resourceful) over 500 meters to the closest well, then hauled it back to the site.  Keep in mind that 5 gallons of water is very heavy, and us white folk had not quite attained the skill of carrying the buckets on our heads, as our clever African friends did, which lead to very calloused hands. 

Enter the Hippo Water Roller.  What a PERFECT idea!  This bad boy can haul 200 gallons of water and requires little effort on someone's behalf.  Hopefully these things can be mass produced at prices that will allow even the most hard-off nations the ability to afford at least one per village.  I know the people of Kiombamvua would appreciate one!

...and that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! Now evidently my cycloptic colleague informs me that that cannot be done. Ah, would you remind me what I pay you people for, honestly? Throw me a bone here! What do we have?     -Dr. Evil

What we have, Dr. Evil, is dolphins, with frickin' toxic dart guns attached to their heads!  Are you kidding me?!?  This has to be the most rediculous thing I've ever heard of!

If Mark Townsend is to be believed, this has to be one of the most insane ideas the U.S. government has ever come up with.  And supposedly its been in the works since the late 80's.  Admittedly, I'm not terribly familiar with The Observer, and for all I know it could be the UK's version of the National Enquirer.  However, this story is very humorous whether or not it is true. 

Don't you feel much safer knowing our nation's sea coasts are being protected by Flipper?!  I mean, come on, there's no way Flipper would mistake a beach-goer enjoying the ocean for a terrorist, right?!  And now that Katrina has potentially wiped out some of these flippered friends, what are we to do?  Are we at the mercy of the evil-doers?

[via World Magazine Blog]

The Poynter Institute, a journalism school and owner of the St. Petersburg Times, posted this entry discussing the death of the newspaper, a thought I briefly mentioned earlier. 

Their take is that with the growth of online news readership, the newspaper will have to present itself in a different light, and provide readers an alternative to the traditional newspaper.  They cite an example of a Danish newspaper that is presenting content in more of a magazine / tabloid format, ala the Red Eye in Chicago. 

So what do you think?  As municipalities and transit agencies begin offering free WiFi and web connectivity becomes more and more prevalent, is there really a need to print all that paper, which in and of itself is so wasteful? 

I'd always prefer paper-less reading whenever possible, but certainly books and other print volumes are here to stay. 

Man, what's going on right now on the Gulf Coast (New Orleans, in particular) is such a tragedy.  My heart goes out to those in the midst of all this, and I have been praying for those affected, that they might attain peace in the midst of despair.  I also hope this event will stir within people all over the world a desire to investigate and challenge their beliefs on the meaning and purpose of life, so that they might discover the Truth. 

I really had no idea that a hurricane could cause this much chaos, especially in an "industrialized" nation.  I think it is very interesting, however, that the risk of such a disaster in New Orleans had been studied and documented at length, and yet, the government, both at a local and national level, seems so ill-prepared for something we knew was imminent. 

Check out this post I came across (via Ethan Zuckerman) that links to a National Geographic article from October, 2004, that eerily describes a scene very similar to what we have today. 

I agree with many of the points made by the author of the post.  I hope that if any good comes of this situation (on a political level, anyway) that it will allow us to refocus our energies on building into our own nation, and really challenge us to solve the some of the difficult problems our own country faces before we try to "fix" the rest of the world.