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This book was almost impossible to put down, which certainly made it easy to get through at high speed – which was good, since I got it just last weekend and hurried to read it in time for the blog tour. At first I was skeptical of "just another astronaut story", but this one is anything but.
A far-reaching tale of bravery versus deception – story strands run through Earth and Mars, looking through the eyes of various characters scene by scene. We are plunged straight into the action, and although this is the third book in the series, it didn't bother me at all that I haven't read the first two – this one is complete in itself, and contains snippets of backstory as the characters remember prior events.
Admiral John Wells and his team are hard at work on the Mars base, and he is dealing with the loss of his family six years previously. The discovery of a mysterious second Mars base and its connections to a fertility cult are enough to occupy the NASA astronauts' attention. Meanwhile, that cult's leader on Earth is gearing up to fulfill his twisted dreams, spoken to him by a bodiless voice – and the fate of hundreds of teenage girls is in the balance.
This is not your usual astronaut story. It's filled to bursting with unusual happenings and peculiar inventions – such as a tooth transmitter, an interactive virtual copy of a dead man, an alien hoax, messages in garden patterns, surprise appearances, fresh vegetables and a wagon train on Mars, and an international chase back on Earth. The topic of clones is also very well handled, showing that each is an individual soul even though their bodies are identical.
It's a space tale with real warmth, humanity, and spirituality. Unlike the Apollo 13 brand of story that depicts space as empty and brutal, Mars is described as a good place to be, and the people living there change and grow through the pages just like the people on Earth. Occasionally you'll need a fairly big stretch of the imagination to accept the outcome of particular situations, but that's only a minor niggle and for me, made the whole ride a lot more fun with its unexpected twists and hitherto hidden opportunities. Yes, this story is about space exploration, but first and foremost it's about people, about hope, and about the ultimate victory of good over evil. Expect the unexpected!
Take a closer look at the book's Amazon page here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157683946X
Other participants on this tour: Trish Anderson Brandon Barr Jim Black Justin Boyer Grace Bridges Amy Browning Jackie Castle Valerie Comer Karri Compton Lisa Cromwell CSFF Blog Tour Gene Curtis D. G. D. Davidson Janey DeMeo Merrie Destefano or Alien Dream Jeff Draper April Erwin Linda Gilmore Beth Goddard Marcus Goodyear Jill Hart Katie Hart Sherrie Hibbs Christopher Hopper Becca Johnson Jason Joyner Kait Karen Dawn King Tina Kulesa Rachel Marks Karen McSpadden Rebecca LuElla Miller Eve Nielsen John W. Otte Lyn Perry Deena Peterson Rachelle Cheryl Russel Chawna Schroeder Mirtika Schultz James Somers Steve Trower Speculative Faith Laura Williams Timothy Wise
And by the way... Today, my first-ever author interview has been published! You can check it out here: Lena Nelson Dooley's Blog - anyone leaving a comment there will be in to win a free copy of my book.


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Mobile Web Guidelines and Styles
Follow the documentation on UCSD's MWF website for HTML elements and styles and use these UCSD-specific styles and guidelines.
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<h1 id="header">element.
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<meta name="footer" content="News Full Site" /> <meta name="footer.url" content="http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu?ovrrdr=1" />
The ovrrdr parameter prevents the redirect javascript (if you have one) to redirect mobile devices back to the mobile site. If you are not using sitemesh from UXT, just change the link's text and URL.

subset: commoncrawl


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This warning will not display once the menu is on-line. To enable the menu locally, click the yellow bar above, and select
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«ISSN: 2319 – 7285 G.J.C.M.P.,Vol.4(1):75-82 (January-February, 2015) CORPORATE BOARD MEETINGS AND COMPANY PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ...»
G.J.C.M.P.,Vol.4(1):75-82 (January-February, 2015)
Edem Okon Akpan
Department of Accountancy, School of Business, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, Nigeria
Most literatures on corporate governance concentrated much on board composition or size as a measure of involvement in monitoring management, while another dimension of board oversight such as board meetings is ignored.
This study examined the relationship between frequency of board meetings and company performance using a sample from 79 companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2012. The result shows that the board meetings, directors` equity and board size are negatively significant. Audit committee meetings are positively significant while gender diversity and board age are not significant measured with ROE.
Keywords: board meetings, audit committee meetings, directors` equity, company performance.
1. Introduction In Nigeria, the issue of corporate governance and its best practice is still generating heat especially since the financial crises and the collapse banks, private and public corporations in the past decades. Companies like Leventis Plc, Nigerian Coal Corporation, Asaba Textile Industry, Kaduna Textile Industry all failed because of poor corporate governance (Modum, Ugwoke,& Oniyeanu, 2013). Since ever the collapse of the financial institutions in Nigeria, many researchers like (Sanda, Mikalu & Garba 2005; Kajola 2008; Babatuned & Olaniran, 2009; Semiu & Temitope, 2010) conducted research on corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance in the country. Other researchers examined the effectiveness of audit committee reporting in Nigeria (Okoye & Cletus, 2010; Owolabi & Ogbechia 2010;
Madawaki & Amran 2013). None of these studies explored the relationship between board meetings and company performance. Board of directors is appointed by shareholders to oversee the affairs of the company and monitor management on their behalf. For the board of directors and its sub-committees to fulfill its function of monitoring management, boards must frequently meet. Boards that frequently meet have time to set strategy and monitor management (Vafeas, 1999). They are likely to perform their duties in the best interest of the shareholders. On the other hand, frequent meetings result in waste of managerial time, increase financial burden in terms of travel expenses and sitting allowance. Routine tasks also absorb most of the meeting without adequate time left for outside directors to exercise control over the management. According to Vafeas (1999) board meeting, are not useful because outside directors have limited time for meaningful exchange of ideas among themselves. Most corporate governance literatures focused on the size and composition of the board as a measure of it involvement in company financial performance without considering the important of board meetings. Therefore, this study is to examine the relationship between board meetings, audit committee meetings, board size, gender, age, equity and company performance in Nigeria where there is limited empirical evidence. In filling this gap, this study contributes to the literature on board meetings and company performance. The remainder of this paper is structured as follows; section 2 reviews related literature during section 3 discusses data and methodology. Results and discussion are presented in section 4, and section 5 concludes.
2. Literature Review This portion discusses related literature on board characteristics and company performance. To makes it simple, it is categorized into: company performance, board of directors meetings, audit committee meetings, board size, board age, board equity and gender.
2.1 Firm Performance Companies through good system of internal governance improve its operations, and at the same time provide useful information to shareholders (Hsiang-Tsai et al., 2005). Studies have shown that good corporate governance directly affect corporate performance. It is evidenced that good corporate governance directly related to company performance. Black, Jang and Kan (2002) found that the company with a good system of corporate always reported better financial performance than those without good corporate governance. Jensen and Meckling (1976) share the same opinion that good corporate governance system result in high financial returns. On the other hand, Daily and Dalton (1994) believe that poor corporate governance may likely result in bankruptcy while good corporate governance helps to increase investor`s confidence.
The previous researchers on corporate governance use different dimension to measure company performance. For example, Klein (1998) uses return on assets (ROA) and Lo (2003) uses return on equity (ROE) as performance indicators. Although other studies have used return on equity, in this study too, return on equity (ROE) is used as performance indicator. This indicator has severally been used by many researchers to examine the effect of board characteristics and company performance. (Heravi et al., 2011; Sanda et al., 2005; Haslindar & Fazilah, 2011; Dagsson, 2011). The use of ROE allows investors to assess how effective companies manage resources to generate income for the shareholders. It is also attractive to shareholders.
ISSN: 2319 – 7285 G.J.C.M.P.,Vol.4(1):75-82 (January-February, 2015)
2.2 Board Meetings Every director is expected to attend all board meeting such attendance is one of the criteria for the re-nomination of a director except where there are cogent reasons that the board must notify the shareholders of at annual general meeting (AGM) (SEC 2006). For board to effectively perform its oversight function and monitor management performance, the board must hold a regular meeting. Measuring the intensity and effectiveness of corporate monitoring and discharging is the frequency of board meetings (Jensen 1993). There are mixed views about the effect of board meetings and corporate performance. One supporting point is that the frequency of board meetings is a measure of board activities and effectiveness of its monitoring ability (Conger et al. 1998 and Vefeas 1999) frequent board meetings can result in higher qualities of management monitoring that in turn impact positively on corporate financial performance (Ntim, 2009).
Conger et al. (1998) suggest that the board meeting be important resource in improving the effectiveness of the board. It helps directors to be informed and keep abreast with the development with the organization (Mangena & Tauringana 2008). Regular meetings also allow directors to sit and strategize on how to move the organization forward.
According to Lipton and Lorsch (1992) regular meetings enable directors to interact thereby creating and strengthening cohesive bonds among them. However, the opposing view of board meetings is that it is costly in terms of travel expenses, refreshments and sitting allowance to be paid to directors (Vafea, 1999). Board meetings are not necessarily useful because the limited time outside directors meet is not used for meaningful exchange of ideas among themselves and management (Jensen 1993) instead preoccupied with routine tasks and meetings formalities. This reduces the amount of time the board has to monitor management (Lipton & Lorsch 1992).
Empirical findings on the effect of frequent board meetings and corporate performance show mixed results. Vafeas (1999) reports a statistical significance and negative association between frequency board meetings and corporate performance. He also finds that operating performance significantly improves following a year of abnormal board activity. Karamandu and Vafeas (2005) find a positive association between frequency board meeting and management earnings forecasts, using a sample of 157 firms in Zimbabwe from 2001-2003; Mangena and Tauringans (2008) report a positive relationship between the frequency of board meetings and corporate performance. Similarly in a study of the sample of 169 listed corporations from 2002-2007 in South African, a statistical significant and positive association between the frequency of board meeting and corporate performance exist (Ntim & Osei 2011). This implies that the board of directors in South Africa that meet more frequently tend to generate higher financial performance. Another study conducted on public listed companies in Malaysia using five years data 2003 to 2007 of 328 companies, shows that the higher the number of meetings the worse the firm performance. (Amram, 2011).
2.3. Audit Committee Meetings Audit Committee is one of the subcommittees that are established by the companies with the responsibility of supplying the assurance on financial and compliance issues. Its role includes choice and monitoring of accounting principles and policies, overseeing appointment, dismissal of external auditors, monitoring internal control process, discussing risk management policies and practice with management and overseeing the performance of internal audit function.
In Nigeria, the audit committee is considered as a committee of representatives of both directors and shareholders charged with the responsibility to review the annual statements before being submitted to the board of directors. Audit committee that is active is expected to provide a monitoring mechanism that can improve the reliability and financial reporting of the company. In order to achieve this, must frequency of meetings. Advantages of meeting frequently are; it gives board time to oversee the financial reporting process, identify management risk, provides reliable information to shareholders through proper monitoring of internal control system (Anderson, Mansi, Reeeb, 2004).
Empirical evidence on the relationship between audit committee meetings and company performance are mixed.
Anderson et al. (2004) found that the frequency of audit committee meeting reduced cost of debt. Hus (2007) found a positive relationship between audit committee and firm performance. Abbott, Parker, Peters (2004) posited that the audit committee that meets frequently reduced the possibility of financial fraud while Beasley, Carcello, Hermanson, Lapides (2000) found fraudulent earnings with fewer audit meetings.
2.4 Board Size The number of directors on the board both executive and non-executive is referred to as board size. There are two types of board size - small size and large size. The day-to-day running of the company is the sole responsibilities of board of directors. Therefore, the size of the board could have a significant impact on the performance of the company. At the moment, there are different opinions as to which board size is the better.
Large board size encourages diversity in skills, gender, experience and race of board members (Dalton & Dalton, 2005). One disadvantage of a large board is that it slows down decision making process (Yermack, 1996). When the board is large, it resulted in time consuming and meaningless discussion (Lipton & Lorch, 1992). Moreover, large board can be less efficient (Hermalin & Weisbach, 2003). This also supports the view of Cheng (2008) that it is difficult to organize a meeting and reach agreement quickly with large boards. It can easily be manipulated when it comes to performance assessment of top management (Dalton, Daily, Johnson & Ellstrand, 1999). Also, large board increases agency cost or monitoring expenses, poor communication and co-ordination and all directors may not be carried along (Lipton & Lorsch, 1992; Jensen, 1993). However, another school of thought believes that a small board size positively affect company's performance. Jensen (1993) argued that organizations support smaller board size in order to cut down cost. Smaller boards bring members closer together, easily reach and more easily able to reach consensus (Dalton et al., 1999). It reduces the possibility of free-riding and is more effective at monitoring top managers due to lower coordination costs. The disadvantage of small boards is that it lacks the spread of expert advice and opinion. The question one may ask now is "what should be ideal board size?" Lipton and Lorsch (1992) propose an ideal board size to be between seven and nine directions. Board size should be of significant size in relation to company's operations.
According SEC (2006) board of directors should be selected in such a way that it will maintain its independence, ISSN: 2319 – 7285 G.J.C.M.P.,Vol.4(1):75-82 (January-February, 2015) integrity and also the ability of members to attend meetings. Jensen (1993) is of the opinion that the maximum board size should be between seven and eight directors. For instance, the mean board size in studies conducted by Yermack (1990) was 12.25% and 16.8% in Cornett, Hovakimian, Palia and Tehranian (2003).
The issue of board size and corporate performance was empirically tested by many researchers with mixed findings.
Yermack (1996) using a sample of 452 large US industrial corporations found a negative association between board size and company's value. Another study conducted by Eisenbery, Sundgren and Wells (1998) on small and medium size Finnish firms also found an inverse relationship between board size and profitability. On the other hand, Dalton et al.
(1999) found non-zero positive relationship between company performance and board size.
In the same vein, Hermalin and Weisbach (2001) opined that board size corporate performance has a negative relationship. On the other hand, Bhagat and Black (2002) found no association between board size and company performance. Bonn, Yokishawa and Phan (2004) comparing between Japanese and Australian firms, found an inverse relationship between board size and company performance for Japanese firms but found no correlation between them in the case of Australian companies.
However, large board size was found to be positively corrected with company performance in a study conducted by Mak and Li (2001) on 147 Singaporean companies but not supported by regression results. Also, the study of Adam and Mehran (2005) using US financial institutions found a positive association between board size and performance (measured by Tobin's Q). Dalton and Dalton (2005) meta-analysis reported a relationship between larger board's size and company performance which is a direct opposite of an earlier meta-analysis result by Dalton, Daily and Johnson, (1999).


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official letter writing samples pdf
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You will often hear that nutrition's role in changing your appearance is 80%. I disagree. In my opinion, nutrition and exercise play equal roles, provided of course we only talk about appearance.
Nutrition's role is indeed 80% in another very important aspect: our health.
It is so logical, that I shouldn't even write about it. Whatever we put through our mouths, determines our well-being. End of story.
Recent studies even show that nutrition plays a more important role than genes in determining whether illness will manifest itself. Think about that next time you consume something unhealthy.
Let me say one more thing that should be common sense: only natural foods are healthy (meaning foods that occur in nature). Any food that comes from manufacturing or processing should be avoided. However, this doesn't mean that all natural foods are healthy. Many substances in nature are harmful (or even poisonous) for humans.
Having said all that, let's scrutinize the subject of nutrition. It can be broken down in three basic questions: what, how much, and when. In this post, we will only talk about the first one.
So, here are the three macronutrients (they are called that way because we eat large quantities of them – on the contrary, the ones we ingest small quantities of are called micronutrients).
The name comes from the Greek work 'protos' which means 'first'. It is obvious then that it should play the first role in our nutrition, meaning that it should be included in every meal. It is the building block of our bodies, and helps in repairing every tissue (muscle, skin, nails, hair etc). The best sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy.
Everybody knows that they are bad for us (which isn't exactly true), but everybody eats them in the end. I have put them second on purpose, because they are the next most important macronutrient after protein. They are the most dense energy source, and play a very important role for many functions of our bodies.
The key however is to choose only healthy fats, which are: animal fats, eggs, whole dairy, butter, fish fats/oils, olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocadoes.
I know that animal fats (which belong in a category called saturated fats) are considered unhealthy, but this view is wrong. These fats are a natural food, they are packed with useful energy, and they are very tasty. In the future we will discuss this subject further, but for the time being remember this: don't avoid animal fats.
On the contrary, you should avoid the following fats: margarine, vegetable oil, hydrogenated fats, trans fats (which are used in every fast food chain), and of course everything fried.
Carbohydrates (carbs)
They are an energy source too. They are divided in simple and complex carbs, or they are grouped as fast and slow using the so-called glycemic index. In practice however, both classifications show how fast the carb is absorbed into the bloodstream. Simple/fast carbs are absorbed quicker, and thus produce a spike in blood sugar, which is not a good thing.
Simple carbs include sugar (glucose), honey, fruit (fructose), and white flour and all its products.
Complex carbs are the following: whole-grain products, grains, oats, rice, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, legumes.
Now that we are done with the theory, let's move to the important stuff: of all three macronutrients, the only one that is not essential is carbs. If we look at the evolution of humans, we will conclude that we have been eating carbs for a relatively small time period (since agriculture began). The exception of course is vegetables and mostly fruit, which have been a natural food for man (and many animals) since the dawn of time.
Alas, in the last few thousand years, carbs have become the base of our nutrition. Coincidentally, since then humans have become weaker and less healthy.
Rest assured, we will talk about this extensively, however keep in mind that carbs should be minimized. We must surely eat fruit and vegetables, and to some extend honey, potatoes and brown rice, but all other carbs should be lowered.
The base of our meals should be protein, with healthy fats as the preferred source of energy (which will be included in protein sources). If we also eat fruit and vegetables, we don't need any more carbs.
That's all for now, more to come.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
General nutrition guidelines
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What Are The Benefits Of Eating Lentils?
When it comes to affordable healthy eating, lentils are your new best friend. They're a nutritional powerhouse, offering plenty of essential nutrients that benefit your health, and they're also extremely versatile in the kitchen, so you can eat them without getting bored. Including lentils in your diet will benefit both your short- and long-term health — read on to learn how.
Dietary Fiber
A single cup of cooked lentils contains 16 grams of dietary fiber or 63 percent of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommended daily allowance of fiber for an adult man or woman on a 2,000-calorie diet. Lentils contain some soluble fiber, but are an outstanding source of insoluble fiber. A diet that includes plenty of insoluble fiber can regulate bowel movements, promote digestive system health and may significantly decrease the risk of colon, breast, throat and esophageal cancer. Fiber-rich foods like lentils may also help prevent stroke, heart disease, diabetes, high blood cholesterol and hypertension.
Lean Protein
Cooked lentils provide 18 grams of protein per cup, with less than 1 gram of fat, negligible saturated fat and no cholesterol. When compared to beef, poultry and fish, all of which are good sources of protein but contain much higher amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol, the Harvard School of Public Health names legumes such as lentils a better protein choice. A 2012 study published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" reported that substituting lean protein sources like beans for red meat could lower your overall risk of dying from most diseases, including cancer and heart disease. Lentils do not contain all of the amino acids required by the body for protein synthesis. Combine them with a grain like rice or whole-wheat bread for a meal providing complete protein.
Each cup of cooked lentils has 358 micrograms of folate. This amount supplies nearly 100 percent of the 400-microgram daily requirement of folate for adults. Folate, also known as folic acid or vitamin B-9, supports nervous system health, aids in energy metabolism and is required for the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and red blood cells. If your diet lacks adequate folate, you may be more likely to develop cancer, depression, heart disease, and age-related vision or hearing loss. It is especially important for pregnant women to include folate-rich foods like lentils in their diets. Pregnant women who eat at least 600 micrograms of folate daily may lessen the risk of their child being born with a birth defect.
A cup of lentils provides 87 percent of the iron men need daily and 38 percent of the amount a woman needs. The body uses an iron to produce red blood cells and adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. People who are deficient in iron may develop anemia or neurological problems like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The iron in plant-based foods like lentils is nonheme iron, a form of iron that is not absorbed as easily as the heme iron in meat, poultry, and fish.
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Press Releases
Votem to be a Founding Member in Dept. of Homeland Security Council on Elections
March 19, 2018Votem to be a Founding Member in Dept. of Homeland Security Council on ElectionsCLEVELAND, OHIO USAVotem is proud to announce its participation in the Department of Homeland Security's Sector Coordinating Council (SCC) for the Election Infrastructure Subsector. The Council, which is a cooperative effort between the DHS, the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), The National […]
Votem announces its partnership with Civic to bring the first-ever decentralized KYC process to the VAST Token Public Presale
March 7, 2018Votem announces its partnership with Civic to bring the first-ever decentralized KYC process to the VAST Token Public PresaleCLEVELAND, OHIO USAVotem, the blockchain-based mobile voting platform, has announced a partnership with Civic to launch the first-ever decentralized KYC process ever. Civic is a blockchain identity-verification technology that allows consumers to authorize the use […]
Votem® Welcomes Dr. Emin Gün Sirer to Board of Advisors
Dr. Sirer is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and a Co-Director of the Initiatives for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts (IC3). November 28, 2017CELVELAND, NOVEMBER 28, 2017FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Votem Corp has announced the addition of Dr. Emin Gün Sirer to their Technical Board of Advisors. Dr. Sirer is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at […]
Votem Corporation Certified to Participate in EAC's Voting System & Testing Certification Program
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Votem welcomes Alex Tapscott to the Technical Board of Advisors
Alex is a seasoned financial executive, entrepreneur, investor and thought leader. He is the CEO of Northwest Passage Ventures, an advisory firm and consultancy. Alex is a founding member of the International Monetary Fund's special advisory group on fintech and the World Economic Forum's Global Futures Council on Blockchain. He also sits on the advisory board of Elections Canada, the independent non-partisan agency responsible for conducting federal elections and referendums in Canada.
Votem proudly announces that Bob Stewart joins the team as Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Bob Stewart is joining Votem as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and a member of its senior leadership team effective immediately. Bob most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer and elected member of the Board of Directors of Sonavation, Inc. Bob was instrumental in turning the company's products around, focusing efforts on the delivery of the company's IDkey consumer and enterprise devices containing, industrial and mobile fingertip biometric identification and access control products, solutions and services.
1,880,525 Votes Cast – Largest Ever Online Vote Using Blockchain
Votem® and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announce the successful completion of the 'Fan Vote' for the 2017 Inductees. Votem's cutting-edge "Blockchain" platform powered the successful fan vote enabling the Rock Hall to easily collect votes from around the world without the risk of 'software bots' falsely adding to the vote counts.
Votem Announces Acquisition of Mobile Voting Business
Votem announced the acquisition of the mobile voting business from Michigan-based, Konnech Inc. This business unit and related product line called "ABVote", brings Votem a set of leading voting systems products in use by many progressive jurisdictions including the State of Montana and Washington, DC.
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This semi-weekly feature scours the internets for news of the Robot Apocalypse (#RoboApoc). I rate each item on a scale of 1 to Skynet.
When I think of robots (which is often) I think of humanoid robots, you know machines that look human. Maybe it is because of the pop culture robots that shaped my childhood, like C-3PO, the Terminator, or even Transformers.
After humanoid robots I think of robots that function in a human understanding of space and time, meaning robots that relate to the natural and human built world in the same scale we do.
My unscientific assumption is that these are the most common robots most people think of when we think of robots. My second unscientific assumption is we do this because we are the center of our own worlds. This explains why so many of the world dominant religions have Gods or figureheads that take on the form of a person (the dominant ones are men) as opposed to a giant kraken .
It is very hard for me to conceive a world, natural or built, outside of the scale of myself. My mental maps, my mental models, all of it relates to my perceptions and my surroundings. It is also, actually, a bit terrifying.
This week I am sharing a handful of developments in the #RoboApoc that are human scaled (in size, in understanding of the world, or in relation to our built world). These developments have impacts on humans, either directly, or through impacting our society. But imagine if robots were building themselves, if data unhinged from physicality, geography, or even time were in charge of constructing the built world, and beings to move through it, what would they build?
1. Captain Robot requesting access to runway 4. – Researchers have developed a humanoid robot that can fly a flight simulator. Rather than fully automate a plane, they have built an actual machine that can perceive the world and flip switches on the plane console, as well as steer, in order to keep it in the air. The several articles I found about this ask the question why build a humanoid robot to begin with, because, they say it is cheaper to build to the human environment (the plane and its controls) than to completely modify the environment.
#RoboApoc Rating – 8. Soon they will control the skys.
2. That's not a Burning Man Art Car, that's a self driving Semi. A few weeks ago Mercedes unveiled the Future Truck 2025, a self-driving semi. The truck is highway safe and trippy LED front lights replace those pesky old headlights. While Mercedes insists that the truck still needs a driver for more complicated urban and backroad driving, drivers can relax but not check out completely on the big roads.
#RoboApoc Rating – 4. While robots (that is what an automated truck is) driving on highways may be scary now, it will be standard in the future to the point that handing a a set of keys over to a teenager is seen as reckless. Also, we are foolish to think that when the robots attack they will use our highways, our human scaled form of transportation. The truck does free drivers up to do other work (with the help of tablets), like logistics, trip planning etc. This does take away jobs from the home office.
3. The best part, they don't demand water breaks. A lecturer at Queensland University of Technology in Australia has programmed an off the shelf humanoid robot to pick a cherry off miniature tree. And many in the robot world sighed.
#RoboApoc Rating – 4. First they come for the cherries, then they come for the children. The real threat here is to the people who are currently picking cherries, and doing other similar farm work. Many in Silicon Valley speak of the age of abundance as technology frees us from dreaded labor, they haven't really distributed that abundance down to the rest of us still stuck in the age of unemployment.


text: Mammalian grid cells fire when an animal crosses the points of an imaginary, hexagonal grid tessellating the environment. Is the grid-like structure of firing fields a consequence of a continuous attractor network within medial entorhinal cortex? I will show evidence against this hypothesis and argue that neural coding constraints explain the geometry of the spatial code. In this talk, we will explore how animals can navigate by reading-out a simple population vector of grid cell activity across multiple scales. Dead reckoning in navigation requires grid cells to be organized into discrete modules, such that each cell within a module has the same lattice scale and orientation. Across modules, the spatial periods should change, forming a geometric progression with a scale ratio of around 3/2. This ratio minimizes the risk of making large-scale errors in navigation. Silencing intermediate-scale modules should cause systematic errors in homing, while knocking out the module at the smallest scale will only affect navigational precision. The read-out neurons behave like goal-vector cells in the population vector framework, transforming the world-centered coordinates inherent in the grid cells' periodic spatial tuning into the body-centered coordinates needed for planning movements. Nonlinear gain fields set the goal locations. We propose that the read-out neurons might be found outside of the hippocampus proper, for instance, in retrosplenial or posterior parietal cortex.


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I'm presently reading a book about the importance of opening oneself to direct encounter with creation, in preparation for a 40 day hike in the Alps this summer. The author offers some of the best prose I've digested in a long time, but more significantly, exposes the frightful momentum in our culture towards a disembodied existence, spending most of our lives shielded by houses and screens from what God teaches us through cold and heat, wet and dry, light and dark, seasons.
David Abram recalls his childhood of embodied movement, interacting with nature, wild eyed with wonder as he listened to frogs, waded in creeks, and got drunk on looking at the stars. Then, in high school, he writes about hitting the books: "The prescription for my eyeglasses got stronger, while my skin wondered what'd become of the wind that used to explode past my face as I cycled the alleys and narrow woodlands…" He continues: "As I reflect on it now, it seems that my skin became less porous, less permeable to the abundant life that surrounds, as my conscious self steadily withdrew its participation from sensuous nature and began to live more in a clutch of heady abstractions."
Why do we withdraw into walls, into our shells, into our heads? Abram posits our fear of death leads to creation of sanitized worlds so that we won't be reminded of our impermanence. We've worked hard to create an alternate, techno/industrial reality in which we're shielded from the moment by moment truth that we not only eat food; our bodies are ultimately food for others. Because this is terrifying to us, we build great systems to both stall death and hide it from our collective consciousness. He says this so well: "We cannot abide our vulnerability, our utter dependence upon a world that can eat us".
Our attempts to avoid the truth, however, have come at a cost on several levels. Withdrawal from nature cuts us off from a source of revelation that's healing and life giving in its own right, but more importantly, invites us to lives of gratitude and celebration, ultimately inviting us to Christ himself.
Fear of death keeps us locked up. Mosquitoes, ticks, bears, lightning, slipping on rocks, fast streams, cold, sunburn, heights. They're all a threat. Why bother when you play Wii, stay indoors, and live to tell about it. The homeless, financially shipwrecked, mentally ill – these too are perceived as threats to our so called secure lives, and so we stay away. A bible study's easier, in the comfort of the like minded. Thus does the bigger world, which not only heals and delights, but also hurts and terrifies, remain distant from most our daily lives. We've built a fortress and we're hiding: from risk and our own suffering and mortality.
This alternative comes at a great price. Abram writes, "only now do we notice that all our technological utopias and dreams of machine mediated immortality may fire our minds but they cannot feed our bodies. Indeed, most of our transcendent technological visions remain motivated by a fright of the body and its myriad susceptibilities." Or, to quote the bible, "through fear of death (humanity) has been subject to slavery…"
I love it when people who don't show signs of having my same faith are saying the exactly what Jesus is saying: Fear of death will kill you early. You might live longer in terms of days, but surely not in terms of quality, because the reality is that everything worth doing in this life requires risk.
Crossing social divides requires risk, and we make the gospel real and visible when we take this risk because a core message is that the dividing walls are being broken down.
Living generously requires risk, because it means letting go of resources, whether time, energy, money, to be a blessing to others and as an act of worship, instead of storing them away for later or spending them on ourselves.
Getting out so that God can speak to you in creation requires risk, and this too has been a central reality in the lives of people who make the good news visible, from Abraham, to David, to Jesus, to Paul. Only in very recent history has our world so elevated convenience and safety that we can now live in climate controlled comfort 24/7, bug free, dirt free, and ostensibly risk free.
Recognizing that you are part of a life cycle and that someday you'll be food, even as today you enjoy food, requires courage, but of course we see that Paul considered dying to be gain, not loss, and so was able to live fully, freely, boldly.
That passage quoted a few lines up, from the book of Hebrews in the Bible, is set in a context which basically offers the remarkably good news that we ca be free from the fear of death, and hence free from slavery to the Matrix that is our techno/industrial world.
How am I freed from the fear of death?
By entering eternal life now. – The future of wholeness, joy, and generosity that God is bringing as the climax of history is already here for all who want it. Embracing God's reign now means that death is not a transfer of citizenship so much as a movement home to the fullness and wholeness of that which we now only know in part.
By embracing the reality of mortality. I was chatting with a friend on Monday who said that his dad, when in his 90's, skipped a surgery that would have prolonged his life a few months and in the end, his choice was rooted in the belief that life goes on.
By cherishing the gifts of each day for what they are: foretastes of eternity. Crossing social divides, loving unconditionally, giving generously, and sleeping under the stars are all cut from the same cloth called "abundant life" and all of its available by entering eternity now.
(this new blog address reflects my profound belief that our lives are journeys of transformation, and that there's always a step we can take towards wholeness – my upcoming sabbatical was the catalyst for the change, as you see here…)
If success is a mountain, I'm an accidental climber.
Has it ever happened to you? You've been working hard for goals you believe in for a long time. You've sacrificed and said no to trinkets so that you could focus on the gold of your goal. It didn't happen overnight, but it happened. You took initial step into the unknown of a new job, or that visionary idea into a deeper realm of committing to it and the universe rewarded with you success. The business grew. You were promoted. The publisher said yes.
It feels good and so you stay on the path a little longer and you continue to get a few more responsibilities. All the while, there are other areas of life, and these too are growing. You're a spouse now, maybe, or a parent, or you have a loan for a house and are slowly filling it with stuff. Your hard drive's filling up with pictures of kids at Christmas, Little League, Prom night. It's not perfect. There are bumps along the way, but you're still getting more responsibilities. The business is gaining new market share. Investments are doing their job. It's all paying off.
Days become decades, quickly. Now there's money in the bank, and when the car breaks you don't worry about whether you can afford to get it fixed. You eat out a bit more, maybe a lot more. Others, looking in on your life from the outside, are a little envious, or maybe resentful. That's because you've become what our culture tells us is most important; you've become "successful". You just kept walking, step by step, and it happened that you eventually found yourself high up on the slope with your own measure of fame, or influence, or upward mobility, looking down on the lights below. You wonder how you got there, pausing to look around for a moment.
You look around, once you have a little time to catch your breath, but nothing looks familiar. You're not sure where you are anymore. You thought this was the right path because back down there along the way, everyone applauded and affirmed every step you took – college degree, corporate job, promotion, partner, consultant, marriage, kids, cross fit, commute. The world's filled with cheerleaders ready to affirm or punish every step of the way so that the well trodden mountain becomes your mountain too. You went, almost without questioning. And then comes a moment when you know it's time to rest and recalibrate.
Just such a moment came my way last summer. I'd come home from two packed months of speaking at conferences on both coasts and in Europe, ending this season with a cross country flight on a Friday night. At eight the next morning I joined with other staff members of the church I lead for a four hour morning of round-robin interviews with several candidates for a single staff position. These were finished and I was having lunch with one of the candidates when my phone rang. "Germany?" I said to myself, seeing the +49 country code. Because I have a daughter there, I picked up.
"Kristi! Good to hear from you…"
Silence. And then, "Richard it's Peter."
"Peter. I thought you were Kristi. Listen, I'll call you back, I'm right in the middle of…"
"Nope. I need to chat now, for a just a minute or two." I walk away from the outdoor table just as the waiter brings my food. I'm sitting in the glorious Seattle sunshine by the front door of the restaurant when he says, "Hans Peter died today paragliding in the Alps. They found his body early this evening. I'll let you know more when I know the time of the funeral." After a silent moment Peter says, "I know. Stunning." We chat a moment before I hang up the phone and finish the perfunctory interview, wondering why the world hasn't stopped for everyone else on this outdoor patio, because God knows its collapsed for me. I can't eat, can't throw up, though I want to. Then I go going home and sit in the sun that set hours ago in Austria, sinking behind the Alps and leaving a family I love reeling in darkness.
One of my best friends is dead. We'd skied the Alps together, snowshoed the Cascades east of Seattle, and ridden bikes amongst monuments of Washington DC. We'd rejoiced and agonized over our kids. We'd argued theology and commiserated about leadership. Even though we were separated by 6,000 miles or so, he was one of my best friends. And now he's gone. The next day I broke down while telling my congregation, but on Monday there was an important retreat to lead for my marvelous staff. It would be filled with laughter and adventures, and I just kept pushing, because there was always another thing to do just around the corner. The retreat ended and I sat in a stream and talked at a camera for video that needed making. Then home, then studying for Sunday, then preaching three times.
After that I collapsed. There was a day or two when the thought of getting out of bed to make a little coffee was overwhelming, let alone actually doing my job. It was time for a sabbatical, a break from the normal routine in order to restore. I knew I needed it.
Sabbaticals are for pastors, what fallow land is for a farm. God invoked farmers to let the land rest every seven years, as a remembrance that God's the provider, and as a gift of restoration for both the land and the farmer! It's important for the health of everyone: the pastor and the church, the farmer and the land. It was time.
When you're young, nobody tells you about the dangers of success. It's like a disco ball, high up there on the ceiling in the center of the room, and all the lights of everyone's ambitions are shining on it, so that its beauty is magnified as it reflects the collective pursuits of greatness back to everyone in room with sparkle, as if to say, "this is what it's all about". You want it to shine on you too. We call it lots of things, depending on our profession. We want to build great teams, provide service second to none, create a product everyone needs, cure cancer, end human trafficking, write the song, get the corner office, get into Sundance, make the NY Times Bestseller List, raise amazing kids, find true love. Let's face it, there's a gold medal in every area of life. Maybe this isn't a bad thing. After all, we all need a reason to get up in the morning. We want our lights to shine. We want significance. I get it.
Conventional Wisdom, or disguises dressed as the same, capitalize on these longings for success. That's what seminars are for, and books about losing 100 pounds, or running marathons, or creating a marketing strategy. There is an entire "pursuit of success" industry precisely because we believing that going after it is the right thing to do, and maybe it is.
I'd always thought I wasn't in that camp. In a world of big, I'd made my living running a church in my living room, and teaching at tiny Bible schools around the world several weeks a year. In a world of urban, I was living with my wife and three children in a place where the phone book was a single sheet of paper. We were rural, small, subsistence. There were resource challenges at times, but even though we lived below the poverty line, we slept under the stars on clear nights, camped in old fire lookouts where Jack Keroak spent his summers, and enjoyed tiny staff meetings around the kitchen table. It was hard work, and frugal, lacking notoriety, but life giving.
That was nearly twenty years ago. Between then and now, I've been privileged to pastor what I believe to be one of the great churches, in one of the great cities of the world. Grace infuses our life together as we try to focus more on how Jesus unites us than how lesser issues divide. There's joy and laughter, there's brokenness and healing. It's far from perfect. But I've been thrilled and honored to carry the torch for this season. In order to restore creativity and vision, though, I knew it was time, not for something different, but for a pause.
I asked my board for three months off, so that I could get off the treadmill, get my bearings, and return, with a sense of refreshment, and a re-calibrated soul, better able to serve, lead, and discern the signs.
I've been intrigued with the notion of pilgrimage for my sabbatical time, trying to learn what it means to walk with God by literally walking… for 40-45 days, through the high Alps. My intent is to move away for three months: out of speed and into slow, out of complexity and into simplicity, out of comfort and into suffering, out of certainty and into dependency. The convergence of my weariness born from success, and the death of my friend pointed me towards the path of getting out from behind my books, and desk, and out of my car, putting one foot in front of the other for 400 miles.
Lessons will be learned through preparation and travel about suffering, traveling light, encounter, endurance, beauty, hospitality, and much more. And while the original thought was to travel the Pacific Crest trail from the Canadian border south into Oregon, or from Mt. Rainier to Mt. Shasta, the death of my Austrian friend left a teaching hole for this summer that I'm qualified to fill, so I'll teach the last week of their program and then my wife and I will begin in Northern Italy, head up through Austria into Germany, then west before dropping down and finishing our trek in Switzerland with friends.
I'll post what we're experiencing and learning here as I'm able, so I hope you'll join us!
Departure: July 23rd Return: October 23rd – Here's a Sabbatical Video that will answer more questions.
There's a hearing. It comes to us in dreams, or songs, or after a conversation in the corner booth of a Tuesday night with the one we love, or maybe at a graveside or in a hospital, or in the wake of infidelity. However it comes to us, we hear the voice calling, beckoning.
There's a wrestling with what we've heard. Was it the wine, or divinity? The weakness that I'm easily dissatisfied, or the strength that I'm willing to risk it all, to shoot the moon, in pursuit of a better story? Discerning between the Siren calls of temptation and the tug of the divine; having the courage to say yes, or no.
There's a response. Sometimes the response includes the creating of lists, naming the possible rewards and losses should we undertake the journey. We pray. We consult. We listen to our dreams, more intently than ever. Then we go. Or stay. Whichever way we decide, it will make all the difference.
There's a preparation. If we're going, there'll be things to do, so that already, before we step outside the house, our priorities have changed. We're reading up instead of watching TV, saving and buying what we'll need. Getting in shape so that we can handle it. Learning skills, and finding our lives pruned, and richer for the less that it's become.
There's a leaving. At some point, after we're prepped and packed, there's nothing left to do except walk out the front door, and whether it's for a weekend getaway, or for last time, or for God only knows how long in between, this moment, this nano second of turning away from the familiar, is vital necessity, for though we're told we can have it all, I know now that this is rubbish; know now that I can't live in the new and hold on to yesterday.
Click. The door is closed. The Journey begins.
Our journeys define our lives because the best lives have movement of some sort – physical or spiritual, geographical or emotional, as we walk through valleys of doubt and grief, ascend peaks of prosperity and health, know the warmth of intimacy, the fog of isolation. Through all of it, learning to navigate, take a step, move or stay put, and knowing when to do the one or the other, all this will change us forever. In these coming days, I'll be writing here mostly about the journey that is, or can be, each of our lives, told through lens of lessons learned as my wife and I prepare for, embark upon, and experience, our journey of a lifetime: 40 days of hiking in the Alps.
The themes of call, guidance, discernment, decision-making, preparation, focus, endurance, storms, carrying weight simplicity, encounter, beauty, fear, hope, rest, will fill the pages, just as they fill our lives. And each post about the journey will be stored here. So here we go.
A favorite author of mine says:
"Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it." –
That's what I plan to do in these next months. Thanks for joining me!
"They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace" -Jeremiah 6:14
Dissociative disorder is defined as a "disruption or breakdown of memory, awareness, identity or perception." It's a common occurrence among war veterans, physical and sexual abuse victims, those growing up in family systems broken by deep addictions, and among victims of religious/spiritual abuse. The pain and trauma of the past or even the present is simply too much, so the person dissociates, meaning he or she moves into a different space, a safer space, by denying the painful realities of the present moment. By denying reality, pretending there is no pain, and getting lost in some form of alternate reality, we find a fantasy land which is in the short run less painful. But when the Disneyland we've created closes, we're forced to face our pain again. Eventually, if we hope to live the sort of full life Jesus promised, we'll need to face to truth of our pain, both personal and collective. Whether we do that, and how we do that, are perhaps two of the most important issues many of us will every face in our lives.
All of this, though, sounds very personal, a sort of clarion call to get therapy. Maybe, but recently I'm struck by the reality that there's a broader collective application of this dissociative tendency and our collective need to face reality. Yvon Chouinard, founder of the Patagonia company (standard issue clothing at the church I lead) recently wrote, "I'm not optimistic at all. I'm a total pessimist. I've been around long enough, traveled around enough, and been around a lot of smart people to know that we're losing. In every single category, we're losing."
Wow Yvon. Way to ruin my day. I want to get up in the morning, hop in my car and drive my 1.2 miles to work, put in my time contributing to the industrial machine that's drawing down the earth's resources, drive home, eat my food that was raised in the industrial agriculture machinery that's stripping the precious topsoil from land and laced with growth hormones and pesticides. I'll watch a little something on TV, endure a few ads reminding me either of my inadequacy if I'm prone to insecurity, or that the reality of my economic well being is predicated on other people buying crap they don't need. Then I'll fall asleep and wake up the next morning with an injection of caffeine and do it all again. I don't want to be reminded of species extinction, or the fact that human trafficking and the oppression of women are at an all time high in the history of the world, or of the harsh realities in South Sudan and Syria, Ukraine and the oceans of pain on the streets less than two miles from my house – so I focus on my upcoming world cup brackets and Stanley Cup if I swing towards sport, or a new band if I don't. After all, I'm not part of the problem. I pay my taxes. Vote. Stay sober. Read my Bible and go to church. Eventually the world will see the wisdom of the free market (or the socialist "single payer" solution if I think that way) and things will turn around. They always do.
I can live that way, but this is dissociative; a massive form of self-denial. With respect to things always turning around, the reality is that they "always don't", at least of the history of empires is any indication. Jeremiah's mourning in the 6th century BC was not only over society's condition; it was over the massive, intentional, and collective denial of society's condition. If we take our cue from Alcoholics Annonymous we'll recall the first condition of transformation is the admission that things aren't just bad – they're beyond fixing in the resources of our own strength. If it's Bible you want (and I hope you do) the same thing is declared all over the place. The starting point of healing and transformation is staring the harshness of naked reality in the face.
At some point, it happens; it hits us hard. We can see that though the system might be working for us, it isn't working. It isn't sustainable. It's isn't life giving. It isn't whole. We see it, it hits us, and we're filled with both grief and a longing for things to be other than they are for our world. When we really see with clarity, and are willing to sit in the reality of what we see, we mourn. When we mourn and lament, we open the door to even clearer ways of seeing and then, of living. We re prioritize. We confess. We take a step towards wholeness; and then another; and then the steps become a journey; and the journey has a real joy in it, because it's rooted in the truth and the truth, as painful and dark as it might be, will set you free.
There's more. Those who are willing, like the prophets of old, to look beyond the superficial categories of personal well being and forgo the temporary anesthetics of culture long enough to feel the pain will become part of God's grand and joy filled solution, and this will happen for three reasons:
I. Because we'll think collectively
Our hyper individualized society makes it easy to dissociate ourselves from the sins of our parents, but we do this to our shame. When Israel returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls of the city, the dedication included a lengthy confession of the sins of the parents. This isn't a blame game. It's an acknowledgement that we're shaped by our culture, by our family, or nation, or geography, and that there are scars because of it. Our insistence that all's well, that Adam Smith is wiser than Chief Seattle, that our internment camps were necessary, and that racism is behind us are all just a massive forms of denial.
We're terrified of becoming negative, depressing people, but the reality is that my willingness to own every piece of the story that has shaped me lays a foundation for redemption and my own transformation that would be impossible as long as I cling to denial.
II. Because we'll make wiser choices
Seeing, owning, and naming the disastrous consequences of consumerism, nuclear proliferation, industrial agriculture, unrestricted free markets, commitment free sex, unrestricted access to abortion, will, if we allow ourselves to really see, change the way we live. It's in the wake of this kind of mourning that take bold steps towards simplification, or hospitality, or eating less fast food, or maybe even making a bold vocational change. I've no illusions that these simple choices will change the overwhelming systemic problems. But I do believe that creatively imagining a better world, as we're wired to do, and equipped to do by the teachings of Jesus, Paul, and the prophets (see Micah 6:8 here) will move us into a more joy filled, life giving, and peaceful existence, making us part of God's solution.
III. Because we'll say Maranatha and mean it.
We who follow Christ have a grand hope and that has to do with the promise of his coming reign. Just as the prophets are saturated with the bad news in an attempt to shake us awake, they're equally overflowing with hope, as they envision all tools of war melted down, and an end to suffering, injustice, environmental degradation, and disease. This kind of cosmic transformation won't happen because I bring my own shopping bag to Trader Joe's, even if I go there on my bike. Still, every chance I might have to live as a sign that there's a different kingdom than the prevailing kingdom of consumerism and trivialities will testify to the hope I carry in Christ.
All of it begins, though, with an acknowledgement that all's not right. So maybe join me in praying this Anishinabe prayer:
Grandfather; look at our brokenness. We know that in all creation only the human family has strayed from the Sacred Way. We know that we are the one who are divided and we are the ones who must come together to walk in the Sacred Way. Grandfather, Sacred One, teach us love, compassion, and honor, that we may heal the earth, and heal each other. Amen
to which I'd only add: Marantha! Come quickly Jesus!
6AM – The alarm goes off and it needs to, even for morning people at this time of year. Autumn in northern latitudes means every day the sun sleeps in a little longer, the morning air's a little colder, and the bed's a little more inviting. "Why get up and suffer in the dark?" I ask myself, when I can stay wrapped in a cocoon of safety and comfort.
Embodiment is the answer. I'm old enough to know that if I don't get up and do something with my body before the day gets on, I won't do anything physical. I have a desk job, which means that I live most of my best hours sitting in a chair, often communicating in a virtual world with pixels, bytes, and other relatively recent inventions. An e-mail here – a facebook post there – a text message. A step up from this is reading a real book, and I'll do some of that too, if it's a good day. O so much of my life, though, is lived necessarily inside my head and the affect for me, and probably you too, is not good. Like fluorescent lights, the disembodied life in the realm of ideas and virtual relationships has a subtle but damaging long term affect on our lives. Wendell Berry, who still writes on a typewriter, has been declaring this for decades, like a prophet before his time. Some of us are beginning to believe he's onto something, including Phillip Zimbardo from Stanford, and Bill Plotkin, who is spending his life helping people get out of their heads.
What helps me get out of my head is exercising, outside, in whatever weather happens to be there. It's only by showing up consistently, darkness and light, rain and shine, that I'll be able to learn from all the revelation God is offering me through creation. Afternoons don't work for me. I'm spent. So I force myself out, and after coffee with God, I'm soon running the stairs at the Greenlake Aqua Theater, which is the remnant of a place where everyone from Led Zeppelin to Bob Hope performed back in the day. Now it's just stairs, for sitting, or mostly, for crazy people who like to run up them early in the morning.
There's nobody on the stairs this morning, but that's unusual, because this is a great place to get your heart pumping. I always regret getting out of bed to come here and I'm always excited to run them once I arrive. My goal is to dash up them 14 times and I usually enjoy the first four of five sets. After that, suffering joins the party and I'm faced with the constant realization that I don't need to do this. I'm alone so there's no reputation to preserve. There's enough suffering in the world already, so why I am inflict more by doing this? I always ponder quitting before 14. I usually make my goal. Today though, I'm flooded with inspiration, right in the midst of my suffering.
The value of the stairs, I realize, is that it's a school of sorts, preparing me for the rest of my day and the rest of my life. "How so?" you ask. Here's how:
1. It builds endurance. There's little in life worth doing that doesn't require consistent showing up, even when you don't feel like it. Marriage is that way. So is the priceless work of developing intimacy with Jesus. So is developing whatever craft or calling belongs to you, or starting a business, or learning to ski better, or improving your communication skills, or leadership skills, or pottery skills…or any skills. If you can't break through and keep going when you feel like quitting, you'll get stuck halfway up the mountain or halfway in your marriage. It won't be pretty. Every time I run stairs I want to quit. That's a good thing because I'm not just exercising my legs and lungs, I'm exercising my will.
2. It builds capacity. God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah once when he was discouraged, and God's word seemed harsh on the surface of things. Jeremiah was complaining about how hard life had become for he and his people, but instead of sympathy, God offers this word: "If you've run with the footmen, and they've tired you out, how will you run with the horses?" From this, I learn that I need to have not just "enough in my tank" for what I think life will throw at me, but hopefully, extra capacity, so that I'm able to serve, or give, or go the extra mile, or do what needs to be done – precisely by developing habits that create capacity. We'd all do well to ask ourselves how we're building extra capacity – body, soul, spirit – and if we've no answers, we'd do well to take a step towards building some.
3. It teaches you to look for joy in the midst of pain. When the heart's up to 170 and every breath feel inadequate, and I'm only on round 10 of 14, the best way for to me avoid the thought of quitting is to look for some beauty and soak it in. It's always there somehow – the silhouette of a runner, a flock of geese, a heron, a falling yellow leaf, eventually the sunrise itself. I don't know why this happens, but the beauty helps me continue because I think that at some primal level beauty is the continual reminder that life is still worth living. Our disembodied virtual worlds can only offer imitations or at best representations of real beauty. We need to get out and touch, taste, see if the transforming power of beauty is to bath our souls in life giving ways.
4. Bacon. You think I'm kidding. Consider Hebrews 11, which is the reminder that Moses endured all the suffering of his calling because he was looking "to his reward". After the stairs, four slices, with eggs covered in sun dried tomatoes and sprinkled with Romano cheese, an orange on the side. After the hard marriage talk, or a few of them; genuine intimacy and revealing. After the hard thing, the reward. The principle extends all the way to grave, as Paul declares that the greatest reward of all is Christ himself. My friend Hans Peter, who died this summer in an accident, said once that dying will be like "a kid running home to papa after his first day of school". Our willingness to do the right thing, even though the right thing often means delayed gratification or suffering, is the price of our transformation. The reward? Our transformation.
Why wouldn't we?
Science camp is just getting started.
Yes, the week on the island is over. The week of being thrown together with what appeared to the naked eye to be an utterly random gathering of 15 pastors (Baptist, Assembly of God, Reformed Church, United Church of Canada, Presbyterians, and a mutt like me) is over. The profound face to face conversations with this group, in class settings and while feasting on organic, lovingly prepared meals and fine wine, is over. Waking to sunrises that painted the islands a million hues of green is over. Profound in-person lectures with some of the finest theologians I've ever had the privilege of sitting under, and one of the best scientists in North America are over.
But science camp has just begun because flames (plural) were lit in our hearts that will, if properly fanned, grow into blazes which, I pray, will change the lives and ministries of we who were privileged to participate. I'll be able share much more later (since it appears that the rapture isn't happening today after all ) but for now I wanted to quickly highlight some of the small flames that have been ignited:
This past week has included what, on the surface, appear to be two radically divergent investments of my time. It included some passionate visioning conversations at the church I lead, and important reading in preparation for my upcoming week at conference addressing the intersection of science and faith.
While on the surface, they appear to be two wildly different worlds, they came together this morning in my quiet moments in the backyard. Everything's becoming new these days in the backyard: deciduous trees have new leaves. Evergreens have new needles. And all kinds of things are popping out of the ground, including the health-enhancing dandelion, and the flower (name unknown) whose blossoms serve no purpose known to me other than that of being beauty. As I'm paying attention, I'm now thinking about DNA and reproductive cycles, of seasons and how both temperature and longer days play roles in all that I'm seeing. Francis Collins book, the Language of God is helping me understand the building blocks of the universe, and though there's much more to say about this, I'll offer only one quote: "The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. He can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory. His creation is majestic, awesome, intricate, and beautiful – and it cannot be at war with itself." Collins' reminder is an important one because nature, whether studied through a microscope, or a telescope, points to the Creator, inviting worship.
Meanwhile, I'm also looking at these things through the lens of questions about change and finding the life for which we're made, whether as individuals, or as the people of God called the church.
Spring is the season for micro-vistas. In the winter I re-create by getting outside, in the snow, and on the best days I'm swishing down a hill paying nothing other than split second attention to the ground beneath my feet. Then, on the way back up I'll look out…out…out: to the ridge across the canyon with it's overhanging cornices of snow, or the summit of Mt. Baker, or Mt. Rainier. The beauty is absorbed through the macro experience. Seeing the nuances of shadow and light, of cracks in rocks, of the shadows of tree on snow are for other, slower seasons.
Those days are gone for now, and what I love about springtime is that I don't need to move two feet in order to find immense beauty. I sit in my living room and look out the window. There's a fir tree growing in my front yard and this is the time of year when it's pushing the envelope: extending it's life by bursting out fluorescent green tips on each branch in contrast to the solid, familiar evergreen that is the rest of the tree. This happens every spring, like clockwork. And every spring I marvel like a kid at a carnival. There's more of course: Geranium blossoms are an architectural wonder and a sensual delight. I can sit with them looking at the nuances of color, the structural relationships between flower and stem, the pungent aroma and realize that suddenly 30 minutes have passed in a blink.
Many of you have these words of Jesus: Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Could it be that these words, like so many others of Jesus' are truer, much truer, than we realize?
In my readings for the upcoming symposium of faith and science that I'm attending, I've discovered that the deeper one goes down the rabbit hole that is physics, the closer one gets to the mysteries of revelation called theology. For example:
After Einstein initially posited that the speed of light was the fastest thing in the universe, the reality that two halves of a split atom will always respond in immediate resonance with each other (meaning that a shift in one always means there's an instantaneous sympathetic shift in the other), led Einstein to publish a paper in 1935 revising his initial thoughts. His findings came to be known as the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox.
The point of all this is to posit the possibility that things are more connected than we might believe, and that because of this connectedness, our acts of compassion and generosity contribute to the blessing of "whole of humanity." not just the single recipient of your kind act.
If you're reading these words, you're likely among the top 10% of wealthiest people in the world. You're probably not spending much time thinking about how you'll get water to drink, or whether you'll have a place of shelter tonight. Though it may come at steep price (depending on where you live) you have access to health care; and food; and more than one pair of shoes. We are, in other words, blessed.
This kind of wealth creates choices, and the wealthier you are, the more choices you have. Live here or there? Marry or stay single? Stay in this relationship or leave? Change jobs? Change majors? Upgrade to an iPad 2, or keep the old one? Buy that new thing or not? Go to that concert or stay home? Go skiing or sailing? Premium cable or basic? 54″ flat screen or only that meager 32″ one? Buy organic or cheaper? Depending on your wealth, and where you live, these choices just keep multiplying. Toss in exposure to thousands of ads saying, "see me," "touch me," "taste me," "buy me and be happy," and the options increase even more.


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Skip to comments.Obama Prepares to Back the Bus Over Blue Dogs After November Election
Posted on 07/05/2010 3:56:31 PM PDT by Askwhy5times
President Obama embarked on a what seemed to be an insane strategy last year. Shortly after passing the Stimulus, he had his minions on the Hill, Reid and Pelosi, launch full throttle into two of the most controversial legislative issues ever to face Congress. The House passed Cap-and-Trade climate change legislation in June of 2009. The Senate failed to take up the bill because of lack of support among many Midwest Democratic Senators. Undeterred, President Obama had Pelosi start the process of ramming Health Care Reform through the House. After much twisting of 'Blue Dog' Democrats arms, the House passed HCR in early November. A lot of haggling and some thinly veiled bribing ensued and the Senate passed Health Care Reform under reconciliation in March and the House quickly affirmed the bill.
This strategy appears to have been wildly successful. Why would anyone call it insane? The only reason President Obama and the Democratic leadership were able to accomplish this was their almost 80 vote majority in the House and filibuster-proof 60 vote(including 2 Independents) majority in the Senate. Since these bills had virtually no Republican support, moderate Democrats from districts or states that voted for McCain in 2008 or have a large number of Republican or Conservative voters were needed. These are the so called 'Blue Dog' Democrats. The 'Blue Dogs' were forced to repeatedly throw themselves on their swords to pass legislation that was often very unpopular in their districts or states. Consequently, many of them won't be returning to Washington next year. President Obama will lose his large majorities in both the Senate and House. He may even lose control of one or both of those bodies. President Obama threw 'Blue Dog' democrats and his future majorities under the bus to pass Cap-and-Trade and Health Care Reform.
The pain Blue Dogs suffered due to Cap-and-Trade seems to have been wasted because it is still stalled in the Senate. Health Care Reform passed, but if President Obama had been willing to work with Republicans, he could have passed a Health Care Reform bill without destroying the careers of many moderate Democrats. The general concept of HCR was very popular last summer. A version of Obamacare light could have easily passed with some Republican support.
As President Obama pressed ahead with his liberal agenda, the economy continued to head south. Team Obama told us unemployment would not go over 8% if the Stimulus wasn't passed. Unemployment actually approached 10% even with the Stimulus. Voters demanded Congress focus more on jobs. President Obama ignored this demand and pressed his controversial initiatives. Why did President Obama waste the careers of so many Democrats for a stalled climate change bill and Health Care Reform that could have been passed in a different version? President Obama has shown a lack of willingness to compromise his liberal ideology, but few think he is politically insane.
Obama's strategy only makes sense if his plan all along was to cost many of the 'Blue Dogs' their jobs. The stage has been set for Cap-and-Trade and President Obama is now setting the stage for Immigration Reform. How can so many moderate Democrats losing their seats help pass these controversial bills? There will be a large block of lame-duck 'Blue Dogs' in Congress after November 2, 2010. Getting their votes for these unpopular bills would be almost impossible if they knew they would have to face reelection again soon. Without that constrain, the Democratic leadership can appeal to their party loyalty and, with luck, get enough moderate Democrats in the House and Senate to pass Cap-and-Trade and Immigration Reform in a lame-duck session after the November election. Scott Brown's capture of the Kennedy Senate seat complicated the plan, but that could not have been foreseen last summer. After throwing 'Blue Dogs' under the bus the first time, President Obama now plans to back it up over their corpses.
There are no Blue dog democrats.
I don't think what happened to Eric Massa was thinly veiled.
"The general concept of HCR was very popular last summer. A version of Obamacare light could have easily passed with some Republican support. "
Even if there are, there won't be any next session.
Allen Boyd (Rat - FL 2nd) will be one of them.
What use does a fascist dictator have for "representatives" anyway?
Still, if I'd been thrown under the bus once, I might be less eager to dive under the wheels a second time. I believe that Obama and Pelosi fully intend to use the lame duck period to foist outrage after outrage upon us (amnesty and carbon tax/cap'n trade). However, if my cushy career had been wrecked, I might not be affected by party discipline. Maybe these a$$hats will balk at being used again.
I guess they can bribe the "blue dogs" during the lame duck session.
so will Joe Donnelly (IN-2)
His Republican opponent, Jackie Walorski is a real firecracker.
He won't have the chance because many of us plan to take care of the bluedogs ourselves in November!
"There are no Blue dog democrats."
Correct, but there are many yellow ones!
And so will Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-23)
Nobody who knows what's going on calls it "insane".
We call it what it is: Treason.
Obama's strategy only makes sense if his plan all along was to cost many of the 'Blue Dogs' their jobs. The stage has been set for Cap-and-Trade and President Obama is now setting the stage for Immigration Reform. How can so many moderate Democrats losing their seats help pass these controversial bills? There will be a large block of lame-duck 'Blue Dogs' in Congress after November 2, 2010. Getting their votes for these unpopular bills would be almost impossible if they knew they would have to face reelection again soon.
that's Eric mAssa. Describes him to a "T".
Bono Mack (CA) 202-225-5330
Castle (DE) 202-225-4165
Kirk (IL) 202-225-4835
Lance (NJ) 202-225-5361
Lobiondo (NJ) 202-225-6572
McHugh (NY) 202-225-4611
Reichart (WA) 202-225-7761
Chris Smith (NJ) 202-225-3765
If you get a chance vote them out in the primaries. If you cannot this year...keep them in power for two more years then dump their sorry a$$es in 2012.
Massa was the Dems' Mark Foley. They knew all this stuff about him for years, according to a local columnist who also knew for years.
They never outed him until he bucked them on Obamacare.
Bob Lonsberry knew much about this stuff with mAssa. I'm pretty disgusted that he kept his mouth shut except for the fear of the Homos shouting him down.
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BioWare has released a new video that showcases many of the incredibly detailed — a few could be mistaken for real places — environments in their next-gen fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Inquisition, due later this year. The game takes a few pages out of Skyrim's book, and it shows. I'm all for having another beautiful, open-world fantasy sandbox to play around in, and if anyone can do a good job of it, it's the makers of Mass Effect. Take a tour of Inquisition's world after the jump.
Dragon Age: Inquisition arrives this Fall for PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4.
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