Iran-ternet
This is big. Iran, it seems, is going to build its own isolated intranet and all but cut its citizens off from access to the real, worldwide Internet:
Millions of Internet users in Iran will be permanently denied access to the World Wide Web and cut off from popular social networking sites and email services, as the government has announced its plans to establish a national Intranet within five months.
This is unprecedented for any nation with readily available Internet access. Here's hoping the plan falls apart.
Outlet Mall Wars
It seems two outlet mall developers are vying to build an outlet mall in Chesterfield Valley. This is just down right bizarre:
It was surely a highly contentious decision for Saks to decide to go with Simon's project, she added. After all, Saks has a big presence in many of Taubman's malls.
“I'm sure they were sweating bullets on that one,” she said. “It is often more political than trying to end the war in the Middle East.”
Hmm.
In My End is My Beginning
From T.S. Eliot's “East Coker” in the Four Quartets:
The wounded surgeon plies the steel
That questions the distempered part;
Beneath the bleeding hands we feel
The sharp compassion of the healer's art
Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.Our only health is the disease
If we obey the dying nurse
Whose constant care is not to please
But to remind of our, and Adam's curse,
And that, to be restored, our sickness must grow worse.The whole earth is our hospital
Endowed by the ruined millionaire,
Wherein, if we do well, we shall
Die of the absolute paternal care
That will not leave us, but prevents us everywhere.The chill ascends from feet to knees,
The fever sings in mental wires.
If to be warmed, then I must freeze
And quake in frigid purgatorial fires
Of which the flame is roses, and the smoke is briars.The dripping blood our only drink,
The bloody flesh our only food:
In spite of which we like to think
That we are sound, substantial flesh and blood—
Again, in spite of that, we call this Friday good.
Calvin and the Mystery of the Eucharist
In his Commentary on 1 Corinthians, while commenting on 11.24, Calvin pushes back against all those who would seek to explain the inner workings of the Lord's Supper:
“In the meantime, however, drive away gross imaginations, which would keep thee from looking beyond the bread. […]” These few things will satisfy those that are sound and modest. As for the curious, I would have them look somewhere else for the means of satisfying their appetite.
Though Calvin does briefly discuss his own view of the Supper in this work, clearly he puts a great deal of emphasis on the need not to explain too much.
Sanitizing Cell Phones
A cell phone, rather obviously, should be one of the germiest things we use. Between times we pull out our phones, we touch door handles, shake hands and so on. Now some inventive folks are trying to create a special UV sanitizer just for cell phones. The nifty thing is that this device avoids making UV sanitation an extra step by combining cleaning and charging into one process. Intriguing.
From the site:
Wired put it best when they said, “The irradiated warmth of a cellphone's interior is a vile, germ-infested bath loaded with more pathogens than any surface in your home.” The difference from your cell phone and everything else around you is that your cell phones is a safe-haven for bacteria. Their warmth allows bacteria to continue to live and to continue to reproduce!
The inventors have set their Kickstarter fundraising goal at $18,000 for production to begin.
Paraclesis and the Authority of Scripture
From Erasmus's “Paraclesis,” concerning the authority of Scripture:
It is no school of theologians who has attested to this Author for us but the Heavenly Father Himself through the testimony of the divine voice…
Note that Erasmus does not place the authority he gives to Scripture in the church structure, but in God's attestation. This is huge, even if Erasmus ultimately did not follow the Reformers.
iHungry Hippos
Another excellent April Fool's Day joke. I just love the idea of capacitive touch screen compatible hippos. I wonder how long a Gorilla Glass screen could hold up with this?
Quest Mode
While you still can, you should visit Google Maps and try the “Quest” mode. It shows to how great an extent the company is willing to go to for a good April Fools Joke.
Late Night Haiku XLI
CXV. Silence prowls around
Bushes below my window.
Claws scratch quietly.
CXVII. Oh, cruel time! Tick, tock.
Time erodes when it could build —
A hole, but not whole.
CXVIII. Old friend, so much time
Has passed through the rugged chasm.
Ever widening.
