The silver bullet for spam... Bayesian filtering I'm using the Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail client, which supports this filtering. I happen to get a lot of spam in my softhome.net account, so I'll train this filter and see how effective it is in sorting out spam from real mail...

Lord, change our hearts and lives. Heidi Baker speaks again at the Cambridge Vineyard ... Right click and save it to your computer.

*so bored* tears

"What does it mean to 'proclaim the gospel'? How can you do so in a way that both wakes up/converts the religious and yet also engages more secular people? Answer: Christ-centered interpretation and preaching. You must always preach every text in such a way that it reveals Jesus and his saving work. Ed Clowney points out that if we ever tell a particular Bible story without putting it into the overall main Bible story (about Christ), we actually change the meaning of the particular event for us. It becomes a moralistic exhortation to 'try harder' rather than a call to live by faith in the work of Christ. There is, in the end, only two ways to read the Bible: is it basically about me or basically about Jesus? In other words, is it basically about what I must do, or basically about what he has done?"

Nursing a bit of an illness right now, still at work though. Things have been slow around here lately. Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California? Incredible. I guess that's just as likely, if not more so than a former wrestling icon becoming a political figure, as an independant, nonetheless.

"You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." It's so difficult to be deadly honest with myself. Many times, its easier to just be either in denial with regards to where my heart is, to feel perfectly justified and OK. Either that, or the tendency shifts to the other end of the spectrum, where its easy to become mindlessly self-deprecating, exhibiting before God a false sense of humility. But to just sit in the light, and let God examine the heart is scary. I'm scared to find out who I really am, how there is no possible way for me to measure up to God's standard - and even if I know this in my mind, I deny it in my heart .. but if I listen closely to the Lord and just sit still and stop trying to justify myself all the time, I know it ... I am woefully inadequate in all regards. And even the areas where I think I am strongest, are my "redemptive qualities," are of the most value, are really utterly meaningless. But at that place of helplessness, there are two roads - either a road to despair and self-pity. Or a road that is shining bright with the light of God's love, to say, "I love you and have given myself up for you." I still can hardly grasp the mystery of Jesus' life dwelling inside of me, yet everyday the evidence flows forth in abundance, of the love of God, the hope of God, the kindness of God, the justice of God and what I really need to do is to sit still, stop squirming around, to rest and relax in the love of Christ, to see, and to believe. (ok i'm not even going to bother to be coherent anymore) Anyway, not with the intention to be introspective, but the wrestling has continued and I've not been very submissive to the will of God - rebellion. And even though our culture seems to suggest submission is a bad thing, a sign of weakness or lack of spine. Well maybe, but its a pretty honest posture before the Creator of all things to submit and acknowledge my weakness and his greatness. To try and stand proud before him is some crazy talk and an invitation for an appointment with the humble stick. But yeah, submission to God is not necessarily a painful thing, but the most beautiful and desirable thing, despite what our culture teaches us about the word "submit." The greatest evidence of this truth is to observe the life of someone who is continually submissive to the Lord, and inevitably the fragrance of their lives is so sweet and lovely, and quite different to the other flavors of the world. Of greatest, eternal value, delightful to God and fragrant before man. I'm writing all of this because, noting the lack of entries in the past weeks, I've found it difficult to write about anything in particular, and while I see other journalists (heh heh) deferring writing about themselves to linking to other articles, giving commentary to the world's Goings Ons -- for myself I find that to be a sort of busyness, a distraction, and a simple indulgence that's not really worth the "breath" so to speak. But yeah, I've been unable to update probably because of a resistance to firstly be honest with myself before the Lord, and then secondly to be honest and transparent before whatever you are (internet people). So here's my first foray back into this place ... and oh what a rambling mess ..

Have the song "Drowning in your eyes" by Ephraim Lewis stuck in my head all morning.

Feel the ground it's slipping away Like a sigh that greets the close of day Feel the waters' welcoming arms Embrace me in the quiet calm I can't hear what you say anymore Just the sound of trees on the ocean floor Irresistably drawn from the shore I'm drowning in your eyes I'm floating out to sea Helpless on the restless tide That flows between you and me Moving slowly as if in a dream The colours change from blue to green All around me reflections of you In forests deep I'm passing through In the swell of the storm we're as one We're dancing in the morning sun Could it be that we've only just begun

The weekend is here! Rejoice when you face trials of many kinds! There is a specific purpose behind it all. Run the race with endurance, as so many others are going thru at this very moment.

This morning, taking a shower, I thought about the different attributes of the people of God. Each guy had sort of a different style, or uniqueness about them, in reflecting what being "a man of God" really is. None of these were the "ultimate right answer" but each are dear to the heart of God and served his purposes faithfully. Solomon - asked for and received wisdom David - had a pure heart for God Paul - perservered, unwaveringly Moses - was exceedingly humble Elijah - displayed the power of God Abraham - walked by faith, not by sight Daniel - was intimate with God through prayer Ezekiel - knew the sorrow of God for his people Isaiah - saw the coming salvation Jacob - simply shows God's sovereignty in election Joseph - displayed a life of having favor with God Samuel - listened to God from his youth to his old age John the disciple - was loved by Jesus John the baptist - a fearless speaker of truth

Interesting videos made by Korean Americans from UCLA.

There are 6 Matrix Revolutions trailers to be found here.

This year the JOY award (Jerk of the Year) has two awardees. Can we give it up for ... SCO (Santa Cruz Operations), and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)! Congrats! First up: SCO SCO's pathetic attempt to claim ownership to Linux is just jaw-droppingly lame. 1) Before they began spouting these ridiculous claims, guess what? SCO's top officers have been doing nothing but selling off their stocks. Umm, c'mon how obvious can this be. Apparently they've got a lot of confidence in their claims. Red flag, anybody? 2) They say pieces of code in Linux are from UNIX System V (for which they own the license). Although they haven't released all the examples they've supposedly found (saving it for the courtroom), the ones they have found have been proven to be very flaky - an indication to the nature of their claims, built upon lies, smoke & mirrors. 3) In response to Bruce Perens' picking apart their presentation, they respond with an open letter, in which the original article is completely misquoted and taken out of context. This is getting more blatantly absurd by the day. fin: I hope IBM stomps these fools into the ground in the courtroom. In fact, this is so totally unethical I hope these guys go to jail - and not the white collar kind, but the pound me in the ass prison (sorry). It really makes me want to hurl just reading about this stuff, so I try not to. If you want more details, here's a website that gives continual updates and a detailed scoop. This is such a mockery of the American legal system, of businesses, of consumers, admittedly each of which are far from perfect, but this is the kid who has chocolate smeared all over his face and fingers, pointing at some other kid claiming loudly and vehemently that the other kid ate the candy - bold lies, no conscience whatsoever. Our next friend: RIAA The RIAA has a legal (by the letter, but arguably not in spirit) claim to music. While I'm no advocate of music piracy, the bullying tactics employed by the RIAA are enough to sour any sympathy they might have with the public. They consistently produce claims that are ridiculous - its insulting and incredibly patronising the way they're treating the very people who've been putting money into their pockets for so many years. What makes it worse is that these people are nothing but middle men - they don't create the music, they don't listen to the people who buy the music, they don't promote good will (inflated CD prices), pretty much they have no redeeming quality for anyone. They just sit in the middle and make a hat-load of money. Their claims are inflated and reek of a legalistic self-righetousness - stomping over businesses, the public, the government in a messy fit of indignation. Yes, it'll make you wanna puke. 1) Instead of identifying consumer trends wisely & going with it (a la Apple's iTunes) they're going with the communist China approach of "You've violated us - now you will die." They're haphazardly handing out subpoenas - strongarm scare tactics. I've never heard of anyone doing anything like this before. 2) 12 year old girl sued for music downloading. 3) a google search for riaa tactics will reveal pages upon pages of stories of how disgustingly they've gone about this whole thing. 4) the RIAA has kindly offered an amnesty program. Thanks guys. You're the best. From the article about the 12-yr-old girl: "Nobody likes playing the heavy and having to resort to litigation," said Cary Sherman, the RIAA's president. "But when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action." Aww poor Cary. Cause you worked so hard to write that song all by yourself, and now the bad people have come and stolen it from you. The irony is after ripping off the American people for so long, they can't stand to have a taste of their own.

Cell phone irony

This morning, while sitting in my room, it gently dawned on me again. Do you know how good it is, to know and trust in a sovereign God, who is also genuinely kinder than any person I've ever met on the planet? I could imagine nothing better. And I've experienced nothing better in life. God is all powerful. And he loves me as a son. Could it be true? Undoubtedly so. By faith, I trust in him, and each step of the way, his specific acts and words of kindness have been so real. My experience in this world has taught me to basically expect the worst, because that's probably what you're gonna get in any given situation. I wasn't born with this cynicism - its a defense mechanism the world has brutually taught me through the years. And so I bring this mentality with me when I come to God, yet I find myself repeatedly disarmed by his gentleness, kindness, and creativity. Not only do I not get the worst, I get way better than I could've come up with by myself. And he takes so much pleasure in displaying the riches of his kindness to me. Man, what an awesome God! And on the flipside, I think about how scary it is, to have emnity with the all-powerful God, whose justice and righteousness are beyond all comprehension. A God who declares that all sin must be paid for. And that line between falling into the judgment of God, or resting in his mercies forever - lies one single, gigantic, and simple truth - Jesus is Lord. Either he can pay for our sins, or we can pay for it ourselves. But the cost is simply more than we can afford. Not one hundred thousand acts of good will, not being a good person, not even practicing the right religion or going to the right church or temple consistently could ever pay the price. The bible declares "that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved." God has made it so simple that a child could enter into his mercies.

Back to the grind, from the Labor day getaway. Vacations are so so nice. I noticed how refreshed I felt, being back at work after a 4 day weekend. Incidentally, I just read a blurb on Ars Technica regarding the productivity of US workers. The ensuing discussion thread was rather interesting as well. Compared to European culture, Americans get a piddling amount of vacation time. From what I read, many European countries, by law require employees to have 25 days of vacation per year! OK anyway, the grass is always greener. I'm really thankful for my job - it's a fantastic fit for the things that I'm interested in, and good at. And the vacation time I do have, and the 40 hour work weeks really aren't bad at all. So I'll shut my mouth now. Heck, I'm not in a third-world country pick-pocketing tourists for the local gangs or whatnot, just to survive. Or living in a one-room house with 10 other people, working 10 hour days 7 days a week to make $200 a year. Actually, in the kingdom perspective, do those things even matter? Everyone has a time & a place in this intricate tapestry of life, and to strive 50-60 years to simply improve quality of life ... and then die, seems so meaningless. Or to pass on an inheritance of wealth or quality of life to the next generation, for what?