Good morning! Welcome to 09-09-09.
Dropped the six off at middle school and went to Mass. Our pastor is so predictable. If the saint being honored that day is a Jesuit, he goes all out in telling us about him/her. With today honoring St. Peter Claver (a Jesuit), we got a homily devoted to his ministry.
Bing Maps bird's eye view is just creepy good. Here's my folk's home where we spent our vacation last month. (related link) Since the pole barn and glider swing are missing, I'm assuming the photo is a couple of years old.
Encouraged by my paystub this morning. The 3 weeks of vacation balance I carried over from AMD has finally showed up in my paystub. Somewhere between HR and finance, those 120 hours had disappeared during my transition.
Took Michelle out for a date lunch at the Cafe on the Oval. Stopped for caffeine on the way home. Been debugging since...
Done with test/debug for the day. Time to snarf a quick dinner and head to the first RCIA session of the season.
Back from RCIA. Several interesting tangents of discussion. Want to research the use of the original Greek word "stauros" in the famous "Take up your cross" quote that we'll see in next Sunday's Gospel reading. More info near the bottom of this page: (related link) "Stauros" may have a more complex meaning than simply "cross".
Bookmarks I made today:
Palm Pixi Phone
Comment: This phone reminds me of the new Palm Pre mixed with the older Centro's built in keyboard, rather than the slider style keyboard of the Pre. It'll be interesting to watch the reviews in the weeks ahead.
Excerpt: With its thin design, exposed keyboard, and multi-touch screen that responds to natural gestures, Palm Pixi makes it easy to communicate on your terms.
Faithful Is the New Countercultural
Comment: Brief tips from a number of Catholics in the new media on the Holy Father's call to be countercultural — that is, positive “signs of contradiction”.
Excerpt: Several well-known Catholics recently shared with the Register some easy steps to help us walk through the narrow gate toward heaven and along the countercultural path to life.
Dis’ ‘Ole Chevette for an Oil-Burning $2,200! - 1982 Chevy Chevette
Comment: Ah... four cylinder diesel cars of the early 80's. The other priceless quote: "Forty MPG would not be out of the question, as would interminable freeway on-ramp runs."
Excerpt: There is nothing better than a glacially slow and sexless four door to keep a new driver self possessed of their own immortality grounded in reality, despite the seller's claim that car is fun to drive.
Sonic barrier broken - The Boston Globe
Comment: For my midwest friends & family who tease me with things like "New Hampshire, didn't you just get electricity last year?" you have something new to tease us about: New England is finally getting Sonic hamburgers.
Excerpt: PEABODY - It was reminiscent of the 1950s, the glory days of drive-ins: carhops on roller skates carrying burgers and shakes, lots of tailgating, and the aroma of fries wafting through the air. This was the scene at about 10 on a recent evening at New England’s first Sonic.
'Contraception cheapest way to combat climate change'
Comment: LOL! I'm sure this will go over well at the Vatican, eh? In the end though, for some of the extreme greenies, this kind of thinking doesn't surprise me. From their point of view, all of the many energy savings within our household are "offset" by my philoprogenitive progeny.
Excerpt: Contraception is almost five times cheaper as a means of preventing climate change than conventional green technologies, according to research by the London School of Economics.
Cash for Clunkers Gave Boost to European Diesel Cars - WSJ.com
Comment: Some interesting stats, including 70% of the VWs sold in "cash for clunkers" were TDI's.
Excerpt: The brief cash-for-clunkers mania may have given a timely boost to the efforts by German manufacturers to promote European diesel technology as an alternative for energy-conscious American consumers.