Tag Archives: General

General

Remembrance

Prompted by Veteran’s Day in the U.S., and reminded by “Jeremy Keith”:http://adactio.com/journal/1375/.

Today is “Armistice Day”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_Day, which recognizes the official end of World War I on November 11, 1918 at 11:00am.

h2. A Time for Everything

bq.. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

p. “Ecclesiastes 3:1-8”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?passage=ecc+3%3A1-8

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General

Fears

A “friend”:http://www.robertnyman.com/ recently mentioned “fears of dying”:http://www.robertnyman.com/2006/04/22/im-afraid-of-dying/.

I think that many people would admit, in moments of quiet honesty, to similar fears.

I did my best to find some encouragement and reassurance:

* “…he answered me and _delivered me from all my fears._” “Psalm 34:4”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=psalm+34
* “…fear not, for I am with you” “Isaiah 41:10”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=isaiah+41
* “You will not fear the terror of the night” “Psalm 91:5”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=psalm+91
* “I will fear no evil” “Psalm 23:4”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=psalm+23
* “…whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me _has eternal life._ He does not come into judgment, but has _passed from death to life._” “John 5:24”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=john+5

bq. “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

“1 Corinthians 15:55”:http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Corinthians+15

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Gadgets Make Moral Statements (?!)

Excellent “article”:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114419429783417125.html?mod=hps_us_editors_picks in today’s “Wall Street Journal Online”:http://online.wsj.com/, in the “Portals” column by “Lee Gomes”:mailto:lee.gomes@wsj.com.

The title is “Apple’s 30 Years Of Selling Cool Stuff With Uncool Message”:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114419429783417125.html?mod=hps_us_editors_picks (subscription may be required), but I think “my title”:http://michaelmontgomery.net/article/gadgets-make-moral-statements is better.

He begins by discussing Apple’s 30-year anniversary, and their record of technology milestones, in glowing tones.

But he finds “another important Apple creation” to be problematic, if not insidious:

bq. The idea is that *moral values can be attached to technological objects*; that certain kinds of technology are inherently more ethical than other kinds; and that, by extension, the simple act of owning or using one particular kind of technology somehow makes you a better person than you’d be if you didn’t.

He welcomes a feisty debate on the relative merits of computers and other technological gadgets.

However, he believes the “idea of the virtuous computer”, or by extension any conclusion that “[g]ood deeds became equated with good shopping” is a bit much.

I agree.

_Photos from_ “Wikipedia”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_%28television_commercial%29.

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