Signs of the Apocalypse

 New Chinese place near my house, obviously catering to more than just Chinese and Native North Carolinians.  What was wrong with the universal language of "#1 China?"

Why Kids Exist

Not going to go deep or sappy here, but once again I was reminded today as to why we have kids.  I went to the bathroom, with Seth of course who just has to be there, and got the same loud question (that I know my wife can hear) I get every time when I finish:  "Is it gonna flush daddy?"

I think kids exist so that we will lighten up and laugh, and of course, to be humbled if not humiliated.

Signs of the Apocalypse

Hard to believe, but someone spent the money for this sign to mark an obvious path, which sits in Durham's University Tower parking lot.

Great NFL season

I have been amazed this year with how unpredictable the outcomes of games are. I could not imagine anyone trying to cover the spread with any real success. Last night the Saints score 36 points to avoid getting embarrassed in the second half. The Giants couldn't put anything together against Arizona, who looked like they were running Pittsburgh's entire playbook. Pittsburgh upset the mighty Vikings on Favre's watch and Cincinnati apparently had a sex change operation in the off-season. This is obviously going to be a great second half of the season no matter what, and who knows who will be the team to beat in the end.

Fantasy Football Catch-22, week 5

Here's a good spot to put your Catch-22 situations. I'll start.

DeAngelo Williams v. Clinton Portis. I have both. They are playing each other. I am a huge Redskins fan, but DeAngelo is expected to do much better, so I played him. Besides, I'll still be happy if Portis does well.

Update: In the first minute of the game, DeAngelo fumbled the ball and the Redskins recovered. Two plays later, TD for Clinton Portis. I am happy, but with regrets at this point.

Fantasy Football - good for the game?

Lately, I've been wondering if Fantasy Football is good or bad for the fans. There seems to be two extremes here as I watch my friends and myself act and react in a different way than I remember growing up (pre-Fantasy).

On the one hand, Fantasy Football is definitely good for ratings and advertising. More people MUST be watching, and watching more meticulously while buying up full-game packages just to see ALL of their roster play. This is great for the NFL, but is it great for us?

To ponder the negative, loyalties that make us who we are as fans go out the window. Feelings towards both liked teams and liked players are mutinied for the sake of the one player that is actually on the fantasy owner's roster. Excitement about a Chris Johnson touchdown turns to a "Well, that's okay" from the Titans fan who was hoping the TD would go to their own RB stud LenDale White. Even as I'm typing I am hoping that Cincinnati can score with less than a minute in the game down 5 points, just so that Hines Ward will have a shot at another catch, even though I hate the Bengals and my wife loves the Steelers.

I wonder also if the players are affected by the stats instead of the games they should be focused on.

Okay, the Bengals just did it, won, and my wife is mad at me. Point and case.

Summer TV

I have to say I'm hooked on America's Got Talent. Anyone else?

Health Care

I was listening to Herman Cane on talk radio today when he pointed out something I had not heard before: under the new bill, which is supposed to be passed this month before congress takes recess, individual health plans that are new would be illegal. Yes, illegal. What does this mean? If you lose your job, if your company tries to change providers, if your insurer drops your insurance, and apparently if your status changes and you try to get a diferent plan, you will be forced to take up the socialized, nationalized healthcare plan. Outrageous! I only heard half of the broadcast, so if you heard more or have more info on this infraction of capitalism, post it!

By the way I heard Herman's battle cry today, "We the people, not we the sheeple!" I loved it.

Ancient Vending Machines

There was an interesting show last week where I learned about the world's first vending machine. It was in a Greek temple, in a scheme involving Holy Water. Here's what happened:

Priests of the ancient Greek persuasion were concerned about the new Christian faith on the horizon, particularly in large cities such as Alexandria (the one with the big fat library). So pagan Greek priests started asking engineers to come up with amazing inventions to wow the public and increase their faith in the gods. Some of these were recorded and we know what the effect was though not necessarily how they worked. One temple wonder featured a statue of Apollo riding a horse-drawn chariot which was mysteriously suspended in the air, even moving across the room until it touched the head of a major god. One theory is magnetism, but it's hard to prove. Another has statues of gods dancing during a sacrifice, which are powered by heat from the fire. People flooded the temples to see these wonders.

One engineer came up with a particularly interesting device, building a device that would open a valve when a coin was dropped through a slot in the top of the box. Out of the box would come a small amount of water - "holy" water, of course. The priests were thrilled and completely took advantage of the unknowing faithful.

Maybe this kind of priestly behavior is why Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep". Jesus must have known that when real power was given out to the apostles, people would follow their lead. It was important that they, starting with Peter, spiritually fed these followers as opposed to preying on them. On the flip side, Jesus snapped at the Devil, "Man shall not live on bread alone...", indicating that believers don't need much more than God. So that would mean that the church doesn't need that much either, right? If you asked God what percentage of the church's tithes and offerings should go to serving non-Christians, what do you think he would say?

Looking around I wonder how often churches prey on people. Everytime I see a new building campaign, I wonder what it will really be used for and to whose glory. Look around at what is already. Who does that Christian Life center serve right now? I think the same thing about kids and youth camps that the church outright pays for. Christian parents should invest money in their own kids in spiritual things, and the "free rides" should go to kids who are not believers.

Next time you think, "Our church should..." or "Churches should...", think about whom your idea would serve too. If we only focused on the lost sheep, we might find them and they us - and soon, Jesus.