my dog ate my defusing homework

Movie Critic Roger Ebert's website has a section in which readers submit rules and laws of movie cliches called Eberts Little Movie Glossary.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=GLOSSARY

I submitted the following.

The Countdown Speed Rule

The likelihood of a digital clock counting down to an imminent demise in actual real time is directly proportional to the cost of the special effects resulting from the blast/explosion/detonation.

My Dog Ate My Defusing Homework Law

No instructions will exist with which a hero might accurately decide which color wire to snip to avert an impending explosion.

My Dog Ate My Defusing Homework Law (1.2)

Any person in contact with the hero who knows of the proper color wire to snip will loose contact with hero just before saying the color.

Disaster Averted Theory

No hero will ever halt a timed explosion with more then 5 seconds remaining on a digital countdown clock.

Is the future around the corner?

New technologies are introduced to the world everyday. With that being said there are a couple of big achievements coming up that will make a huge impact on our world. The one I'm thinking of is the hydrogen engine.

"At first glance, hydrogen fuel cells might seem like the perfect alternative to fossil fuels. They can generate electricity using only hydrogen and oxygen and are pollution free. An automobile running on hydrogen fuel cells would not only be more efficient than one powered by an internal combustion engine, its only emission would be water.Unfortunately, while hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, most of it is bound up in molecules such as water. That means pure unbound hydrogen must be produced with the help of other energy sources -- which in many cases involve fossil fuels. If that’s the case, then many of the environmental benefits of hydrogen as a fuel are negated. Another problem with hydrogen is that it cannot be compressed easily or safely, and requires large tanks to store. Also, for reasons that are not fully understood, hydrogen atoms have a tendency to bleed through the materials encasing them, thus weakening their containers." -livescience.com

There goes that idea. It isn't really worth burn up more oil in order to create some hydrogen. There is some hope in the this though. We are one step closer to being able to use the most abundant energy resource in the universe.

The most efficient energy resource would be anti-matter, only the problems carried along with using anti-matter are pretty much endless. Anti-matter is what the Enterprise runs on.

In other news, some guy in Denmark created the 1st piece of floating furniture. It is bed that is suspended in mid-air using magnet technology. This is the stuff that Kirk Vonnegut dreamed of...literally. With a price tag of $1.54 million clams, you too can feel like your floating in mid-air.

Pigs in a Blanket (or in the neighbors yard)

First crack here at breakfast gravy...topic today - the story of a family in my hometown whose neighbors have four 400+ pound pigs in their yard. The story has made national news. In a nutshell, there is a dilemma that exists because the Marmalades (neighbors of pig owners) have seen that the pigs are dirty, they smell, leave a mess on the Unicorns (owners of the 4 pigs) property and therefore they want the pigs to be removed from the Unicorns house. The Unicorns claim that they have every right to own pigs that they say are pets. Note - These are fictitious names, but not a fictitious story.

So I got in a heated debate with my parental units last evening over whose right, whose to blame in the matter. Without showing who took what side, here is the issue that I would like to hear from you all on. The two sides are in court currently over the matter. Do the Marmalades have the right to say that the Unicorns must get rid of their pigs for the above reasons, or do they have to deal with it even though they can smell the pigs, see their feces through the trees and sometimes they get loose and run through the Marmalades land? The issue at hand is do we have the right to how a neighbor lives because it may hurt our property value or because we flat out don't like what they are doing?

Other scenarios that were brought up during the course of the heated discussion that were used as support for one side or the other. Scenario A - Do I have the right to tell my neighbor to fix his lawn if there are a bunch of yellow dead spots from his dog that urinated all over the property because I'm trying to sell my house and his dissheveled yard will negatively affect if/how much I sell my house for? Scenario B - Do I have the right to tell my neighbor who has a King Cobra as a pet that he can't have it, because of the danger that it poses because if it gets out it could kill someone?

Just some classic property rights issues,
Von Kasey

New York Times article

There was an article that was in the New York Times last week, about Dr. Greg Boyd and his church Woodland Hills. I think that it warrants some conversation, and would love some of your thoughts to the article and to my preliminary response. I am going to try and elaborate more on this idea later, as it is one that is near and dear to my heart.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/us/30pastor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

I think that this is an important issue, and I am glad to see that it is getting attention. Many of the issues that Dr. Boyd and the article brought are imperative issues not only to American Christians but to Christians everywhere. I was a bit dissapointed however in the response from the "conservative camp." It is somewhat typical of the media and todays culture to associate the radical right with all conservatives. However there are many out there who feel that way. To assert that you have to be a Republican if you are a Christian is simply absurd, it is as ridiculous as saying Christians cannot be involved in politics. I hope that in the future there can be opinions included from more moderate thinking individuals. On that note, I think that Dr. Boyd brings up some important points about the Evangelical Right and their fixation with abortion and gay marriage. As a Christian those are both things that I oppose, but those are certainly not the only two issues or even the most important for that matter. On the other hand I think that to right off the political process completely as to say that because we are Christians we have God and therefore we are too good for the democratic process that governs our country is also disturbing.

My friend Dan had a great post about this article on his blog, and it really got me thinking about the issues that Dr. Boyd and the article brings up. Dan eloquently elaborates about St. Augustine’s idea of the Christian having dual citizenship, one in the earthly city and one in the heavenly city. While citizenship is far more important in the heavenly city, it doesn’t mean we can abandon our responsibility here on earth. Politics and government are part of the earthly city. I completely understand that my allegiance is to my God in heaven. Yet while I am here on earth, I have to respect the laws of the land in which I live. Part of that is involving one self in the political process. I believe that we cannot avoid or neglect the responsibility that we have in the earthly city.

I think that there is a fine line between faith and politics that should certainly not be crossed, yet should also not be avoided. I believe that Dr. Boyd is right in that the pulpit is no place for political rhetoric, and diatribes about current events. I think that the church has a responsibility to society far beyond gay marriage and abortion. America is not a Christian nation nor is America the “new Jerusalem,” ideas on that line of thought are dangerous. There is also the idea of too much nationalism becoming dangerous. I agree with Dr. Boyd’s take that we can’t allow politics and patriotism to become idolatry. We cannot allow ourselves to be so swept up in national pride that we forget about our heavenly calling. Yet I think that the church has a responsibility to society, and should be an example to the Christian faith. The church cannot severe ties with politics and society because doing so would destroy the ability to reach out and help those who need the church.

As I stated before, I don’t believe America to be a Christian nation, but I do see America as an opportunity for believers of the Christian faith. Dr. Boyd (and so many other pastors) are free to say what they want to say about their faith, they can stand at their pulpit’s every Sunday and preach the Gospel how they see fit. If someone is telling them what to say or how to say it, it isn’t coming from the military or the federal government. We are not in Nazi Germany or the Soviet USSR. There are no Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s having to found legitimate underground churches for fear of their life if they preach God’s word. There are still places today where people are being persecuted for their faith. America is not one of them. America has granted us the right to worship the way we want to worship. My allegiance and my faith are in my Lord in Heaven, not my country, but respect and responsibility are also to my country while I am here in this earthly city.

My apologies for this being a bit disorganized, I just started to write, and went through a few drafts before anything even remotely made sense. Please let me know what you think.

Blessings,

Peter

Any Questions

Blokes,

Butter has been wicked busy lately. I apologize for this and also for this crappy, half thought out post. I give my word that I'll be back with a tenfold vengance after this fecal storm is over. Until then I feed you Eric as a sacrifice to tide you over,

Eric Gossett * (see below)

Unicorn

Any Questions?

Bonus Info:

*Eric Gossett came to Bethel from the University of Arizona in 1984 where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics and specialized in combinatorics. His undergraduate degree is from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Gossett has a wide variety of interests in both mathematics and computer science teaching courses in Web programming, Discrete Math, Data Structures, Linear Algebra, and Algebraic Structures. He pioneered the use of Mathematica within our curriculum and most recently authored the Prentice-Hall textbook Discrete Mathematics with Proof.Previously he received the Bethel Faculty Service Award for his work developing Bethel's first generation of web services. Dr. Gossett is a tenured professor and also an avid racquetball player and the faculty sponsor the Bethel Anime Club. email: gossett@bethel.edu phone: 651-638-6131 office: CC 224

Quite the day

I usually leave the political section to Peter but since we had a merger of the two topics over the last day, I think it's ok for me to venture off a little from the usual sports beat path.

Winning a basketball game is a just another day for Team USA guard Kirk Hinrich, but little did we know how good he is in solving international crises. Between games against China and Brazil, Kirk headed over to the Middle East to try to figure out what all the fuss was about. By getting together the leaders of Israel and Hezbollah, Kirk negotiated a peace between the two sides. Kirk then hopped on a plane and let Brazil know that the World Cup is over by dropping 14 points on them in a USA win. Kirk was not available for interview after the game seeing that he is now headed to North Korea to talk to their leader, Byung-Hyun Kim.

Wants and Needs

I went to the dentist today. I still don't have any cavities, but some are forming. He told me that if I stay off sweets then my enamal will build calcium deposit in these area. This got me to thinking about what we want and what we need as a society from a technological perspective. I know, a bit odd, but that's me. Here is one thought. What if pop was never invented. Pop contributes no value to our health as American's we can get plenty of sugar from other foods and the liquid in pop is not a substitute from drinking water. So, if we didn't invent pop would it be a better world? Yes, it would be better. For one thing, we wouldn't have known what we were missing and we would have better dental and physical health. What technologies can this philosophy be applied to? Automotives, cell phones, the internet, pesticides, air conditioning, or maybe weaponatry. Obviously, now that all these things are here they are not going away I'm just asking if it would be a better world without these things? Consider automotives...they are something that we all rely on. If we had extensive public transportation and shared the resources needed to run a train or bus rather then everyone driving their own car that might be better. There is a lot to think about with this philosophy. We only thought if we could, but did we ever thing if we should? I mean if we could just take hold of some dinasour DNA and then fill the gaps with frog DNA we probably could make some dinosaurs. But should we?

Ok, so the Decent Destroyer has been on hiatus for a couple of weeks now but fear not... the Decent Destroyer is 10 times more committed to the blog than other bloggers such as Freebone and Mythical Beast.

Cruising through the headlines today, I caught a quote from everybody's favorite gray haired NFC North quarterback.


"I really feel like this is, as far as talent is concerned, the most talented team that I've been a part of as a whole,"

Let me get this straight, a team that went 4-12 last year and has Donald Driver and Robert Ferguson as their top 2 receivers is the most talented Packer team you have played with? Yup, just another reason I'm glad you are back Mr. Favre. Can't wait to see you break your own record for INT's again this year. Enjoy Ahman Green for the few weeks he will be back. The defense is improved but they will need to put points on the board to survive your INT-fest.