links for 2010-09-16
-
The universal Church is pretty good at conversion, but lousy at discipleship.
links for 2010-08-21
-
Ten rules for respect, desperately needed in our culture today.
links for 2010-08-19
-
"Adoptees must attempt to make sense of a complex, deep matrix of circumstances, emotions and thoughts. It's not easy, not only because it's not easy, but also because most folks don't realize that it's not easy."
-
"Lucky? Lucky. Lucky to have been born on a continent terrorized by war, corruption and greed? Lucky to have been born in a country where 25,000 women and girls die each year due to pregnancy-related complications? Lucky to have been born in a country where more than half the population has ZERO access to basic medical care? Lucky to have been born in a region reliant upon rainfall and devastated by drought? [...] Lucky to have been in a room with at least eight other needy babies at any given time? Lucky to have been taken outside for "fresh air" once a day (week?) into a concrete courtyard? Lucky to have been held for feedings... and sometimes only for feedings? Lucky to have been in a Bumbo chair instead of a mother's arms? Lucky to have been taken by complete strangers to another continent 7000 miles away? Lucky to have been physically removed from his people, culture, history, language, customs?"
-
"Sometimes as the parent of an adopted child you get a lot of comments that are spoken innocently but come from a place of ignorance. Education is part of our job, but sometimes it gets a little frustrating.
[...]
"The rescue and lucky mentality people have with orphans so easily overlooks the very real pain and trauma inherent in it all. It engenders a need for gratefulness and payback among the children that’s just unhealthy. It turns a blind eye to the reality of their situation and turns adoptive parents into superheros that we’re definitely not."
-
"Adoption is not lucky. ... It’s a very sticky point in adoption but it’s an important one for people to remember. Our children came to our family because there was a need. There is grief, loss, and sadness in their lives."
-
"[C]hildren playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why."
links for 2010-08-16
-
"The fact we Muslims know the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation to thumb our noses at the infidel."
links for 2010-08-15
-
"Twibbon is the easiest and most powerful way to promote awareness of your cause on Twitter and Facebook, engaging with users and increasing your Twitter followers and your Facebook fans."
For future reference. Thanks, Dave!
links for 2010-08-03
-
Mac version's free, iPhone version costs $2, and yes, they sync. I'm pretty well covered with Appigo's Todo on my iPhone, and I have Things on my Mac for more intensive projects, but this may be of interest if you need a simple productivity/to-do system that doesn't break the bank.
-
Applicable to Photoshop Elements as well.
links for 2010-08-02
-
Exercise, music, naps, and, yes-video games and Facebook.
-
I need to read this EVERY DAY.
links for 2010-07-28
-
The gist: don't sit down all day.
links for 2010-07-27
-
I like LaCie's line of USB keys as the sort of flash drive I'd always have on my person.
links for 2010-07-20
-
"This shirt is a tribute to the thousands of patriots serving the Empire that died on the Death Star."
-
A collection of some of ThinkGeek's catalog covers as desktop wallpapers, featuring their mascot, Timmy. (More for my own future reference than anything else.)
links for 2010-07-04
-
My friend Dave created a fun typeface on his iPad.
-
"Gunkanjima – every urban explorer’s dream. A deserted island of concrete ruins slowly crumbling away off the West coast of Japan. Travellers have long been forbidden to land there and view the secrets within its walls. But with an awesome guide and a little luck, I was able to do just that."
Wonderful photojournalistic post by Michael "Gakuran". I love the idea of exploring deserted urban places.
-
The Marina Bay Sands resort features an infinity swimming pool: 56 floors above ground!
links for 2010-06-30
-
There's quite a few in this list I can see as being very, very useful...
-
For guys. (Though the ladies may like one or two of them...)
-
Conflict moves the story forward, keeps the reader's interest.
links for 2010-06-16
-
"JavaScript Blacklist is a simple extension for Safari 5 which blacklists scripts from a configurable list of domains. If a common "utility" script used by sites that you visit is annoying you, this will let you opt out quickly and easily."
Better version of the tynt-blocker extension I linked to before.
links for 2010-06-13
-
"This extension adds an Amazon Search item to the context menu. To use it, just select some text on the page, right-click (or hold the Control key and click) and then choose 'Amazon Search' from the menu. Your selected text will be searched in Amazon."
links for 2010-06-12
-
"This Safari extension blocks the stupid annoying Tynt copy/paste junk."
links for 2010-06-11
-
"Project: AK-47 has only been operating in the United States for a year and a half, but it promotes and funds projects that have been directly working in Southeast Asia since 1994. The staff not only negotiate to demobilize child soldiers but provide everything they'll need for a new life: shelter, food, clothing, trauma counseling, mentorship, education and, most of all, love. Programs even offer agricultural training to give youth the skills needed for employment in the country's vital green tea farming industry. The staff is devoted to these youth until they become functioning adults, at which point they are facilitated into university, agriculture or other employment."
-
Dedicated to eradicating the concept of the "child soldier", Project: AK-47 has developed a line of socially responsible clothing to raise funds. All of the items in the store are sweatshop-free, and all of the profits go toward their rescue projects for child soldiers, and other children caught in the way of armed conflicts.
links for 2010-06-09
-
"A Photographer's Guide to Depth of Field is our first photography guide and we're giving it away absolutely free. No catches, no tricks - just hit the download button and get it on your desktop now."
links for 2010-06-08
-
What makes Camera+ different is the Lightbox function. Photos taken through Camera+ are saved within the app first. You can edit and apply effects to photos without those photos being on the iPhone's camera roll.
links for 2010-05-31
-
Kirk Morris, father of Marine Pfc. Geoffrey Morris, 19
[...]
"I don't think that the majority of Americans get it," he said. "It's about remembering those who have fallen. ... I don't want to diminish our veterans, but that's why we have Veterans Day. This day is about all those who never got their tomorrows."
[...]
Sandra Miller, mother of Army Pvt. DeWayne White, 27
[...]
[S]he is baffled so many Americans do not recognize or even think about his sacrifice, especially on Memorial Day. Even family members, she said, are too busy to mark the occasion, leaving her alone in her sorrow.
"It's not about having a barbecue. It's a day for remembering. ... And what's up with all the sales?" she said. "If one TV channel could just put up the photos of all the fallen for just one day, that would make a huge difference."
links for 2010-05-26
-
"A portion of the profit from our shirts will go to changing your world:
"Globally: Fighting to end extreme poverty in 3d world countries.
"Locally: Providing food for the hungry in the U.S.
"When you buy a shirt, you join a movement of people who want to change the world. We see need all around us. Stop talking about it. Start living the difference. It's not sacrifice unless it costs you something. Love is the weapon of the future. Be vigilant. Be tenacious. Be the change."
links for 2010-04-30
-
"Here’s one thing you should know about the Disney Cruise: The culture of Disney is insidious. Mousack is piped into every nook and cranny of the damn ship: the elevators, the restaurants, the hallways. If you submerge yourself in the mouse-shaped pool, you will hear the haunting theme from The Little Mermaid, as though she were down there, somewhere, singing. You can’t escape it by going to the Lido deck, or even, God forbid, your own room. Every single time you leave your cabin, some sort of switch is triggered so that upon reentry the radio is back on, blaring 'Small World.' I thought the Geneva Convention had banned that song. If they want to find Bin Laden so badly, the government should just turn Afghanistan over to Disney and the company can pipe some of its greatest hits into the terrorists’ caves. Before you know it, every last one of them will crawl out and confess to something, anything, to make it stop."
links for 2010-04-27
-
Refuse to pay for those add-ons dealerships force on you. At the very least, do some basic research and negotiate the add-ons down, since there's significant markup on them.
links for 2010-04-26
-
Good advice from Christopher Rice.
Still hard to believe I gave him a test drive in a new Saturn when he was 15.