Google doesn't advertise

It's curious to notice that the biggest seller of online ads, does not itself, advertise online.

(Musings) Permanent Link made 7:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Contentment without complacency

Some friends of mine and I were having a discussion about how "being content in all circumstances" seems to lead to a life of inaction. What would motivate you to rage against injustice if you were truly content? Why would you fight slavery (as a slave or a slave-owner) if you were content with your circumstances?

The Bible admonishes Christians to be content in all circumstances, yet contentment in the face of injustice smells like someone using religion to control me. The Christ that I serve redeems and frees me. So how do I reconcile contentment with the struggle to, if not bring heaven to earth, stave off hell on earth?

Enter John Piper, who's excellent article Dissatisfied Contentment deconstructs this idea. He starts from the premise of the pursuit of ultimate pleasure being a proper motivation for man - Christian hedonism.

"The loving person is the person who gives cheerfully, that is, who finds pleasure in giving. Precisely this pleasure pleases God; therefore, the person who abandons the pursuit of his own pleasure abandons the possibility of loving man and pleasing God."

From the premise he develops a position on why a content person would act. The bottom line is that a joyful content person overflows. Contentment and joy receive more contentment and joy when it sees others also having the same. Piper argues that this was the rationale for creation. It works for me. The original article is great.

(Musings) Permanent Link made 6:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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U2 hearts Apple, sort of

From the new U2 album is the song, "Unknown Caller". In the lyrics is an oblique reference to "Force Quit" the Ctrl-Alt-Delete of the Apple world

(Funny) Permanent Link made 3:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Kafka Fight Club

We have a rule in our family when we deal with bureaucratic organizations like home owners associations, the military, tax offices, things like that. It's the "3 visit rule". By that we mean, you make one visit to get your admin thing done and find out the office is closed. On visit two you arrive at the correct hours, but find that you have not brought the critical bit of paperwork or do not have the key piece of required knowledge. Finally on visit 3 you successfully complete your business. The most recent example of this was trying to get an X-Ray through Kaiser. Visit one - hours. Visit two wrong office for *that* kind of x-ray. Visit three x-rays. So now there is a little culture jamming to respond thanks to this webpage: Pay with pennies "Greetings. This site is about my culture jamming involving large payments in pennies to organizations that are difficult to deal with. Banks, government agencies, and the occasional retailer have all fallen prey to "penny payments." In today's society, it is all too common to hassle the consumer or the taxpayer. More and more we are asked to "hold," "wait in line," "fill out complex or time consuming forms," or give up confidential information. ..." Can you see where this is going?

(Funny) Permanent Link made 2:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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