gMail Broken?
For the past several days I've been noticing anomalous behavior in gMail:
The summary line for the email in the mail browser shows 5 messages and an excerpt from the fifth but when I click on the email link I see only four (or fewer) emails and the one that is excerpted in the list is missing.
Email sent from one gMail account to another take extremely long to deliver and in some cases never arrive.
I see these problems in Chrome, Firefox and Safari with increasing frequency.
Anyone else?
Light From a Bottle -- Amazing!
We struggle with solar panels. This guy uses old plastic bottles to bring light to dark places. Talk about thinking outside the bottle!
Spirituality: Could it Be a Cure-All?
This wonderful piece in the India Times describes how spirituality -- which the author defines somewhat broadly as "Basically ... a non-materialistic approach to life's issues as opposed to the other approach that is based on materialistic interest." -- is the key to stopping the corruption that is so rampant in India and throughout most of the world. I concur with the writer and wish to broaden the discussion.
It seems to me that spiritually, properly understood as I think the above definition comes close to doing, is indeed the answer not only to corruption but to much of what is going haywire in the world around us these days.
Specifically, it seems to me that a spiritual approach to economics, banking and finance, would, once in place, all but eradicate much of the unfairness, bias, and economic violence which is now rampant. If even a substantial minority of those who call the shots in these arenas was focused more on the non-material issues of fairness, justice, opportunity and equality, we could cut through a lot of the garbage out there passing for serious economic policy but serves the materialistic selfishness of a minuscule minority of our citizenry.
If we looked at our unilaterally launched and all-but-morally-indefensible wars against terror, and in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya (and lots of other places nobody's talking about), with non-materialistic aims in mind. We'd shut them down in a nanosecond and divert those resources to activities that promote love and peace and harmony.
Maybe if, instead of calling it spirituality, we called it "non-materialism", we'd get more traction for these ideas in the public arena?
WTH is the "Next Level"?
I must be getting cranky in my old age.
In the past two days I've received about six email marketing letters telling me that someone out there has some magic solution that will let me take something about me "to the next level." Really? I didn't realize I was in a video game where there are levels! Nobody tells me anything!
One of these emails said I could take my Web skills to the next level. Assuming there are levels (and I've looked all over my desk, in my filing cabinets, and searched the entire Internet and I'm darned if I can find anyplace that defines these levels if they exist), how can you promise to take me to the next one without knowing which one I'm on now?
Another promo told me they could help me take my spiritual awareness to a whole new level. Funny, I've been studying ( and teaching) spirituality for many years and I always viewed that path as one of steady progression, not measurable levels. Let alone getting the idea that someone outside myself could help me find a new (presumably higher) level of spirituality without knowing even how I define spirituality or what my path is.
If the best marketing idea you have is so vague that you can't describe it intelligently and articulately, how can you expect me to trust you to help me improve my skills? What are you going to do? Tell me how to promise other people to take them to the next level?
Gimme a break.
Is Apple's Bluetooth Sucky?
In my home office I have a Mac Mini on which I'm using wireless mouse and keyboard. The keyboard is from Logitech and works like a charm 99% of the time. The mouse is an Apple Magic Mouse.
Apart from the fact that the mouse doesn't work very well for me because of the way I am used to handling a rodent, the darned thing is constantly getting disconnected from the computer. Several times a day I get the message that it's disconnected. I go through the usual Bluetooth re-synch process of holding down the mouse button for a few seconds at a time. Sometimes that works after a few repetitions; other times, I have to restart the system to get it back. I've found that sometimes turning off the mouse and then turning it back on again helps.
But I've run into this with other Apple Bluetooth devices and apps in the past. For example, my iPhone 4 sometimes struggles to pair with a speakerphone I have in my car. It can sometimes take 2-3 minutes for the two to get together. Similar problems, though not quite so severe, with an Apple wireless keyboard and my iPad.
Is this a characteristic of Apple? A couple of my techie friends tell me that Apple's implementation of Bluetooth has always been a little weak. I find sporadic discussions of the issue on the Net but nothing concerted.
Is anyone else having these kinds of issues? Any thoughts on remedies?
Niners Fans, Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid
Fans of the San Francisco 49ers, of which I count myself one for many years, should be afraid after watching their beloved team appear to decimate the Seattle Seahawks 33-17 today.
Defense was strong, but against a young, weak, and injury-hampered offense run by a new, rusty quarterback. Special teams were strong but any time you see one club's special teams do well, it's almost always at least in part because the other club's special teams did poorly.
Offensively, the Niners were highly disappointing. They never hit a rhythm, never put together a convincing drive, played far too conservatively at inappropriate times, and just didn't look right. One third-down conversion all day? You're not going to win many NFL games with that kind of offense, I don't care how good your D is. And frankly it's hard to tell just how good the D really is yet. In the first half, it looked like they really disrupted Tarvaris Jackson's rhythm and schemes. He was sacked several times, hurried a lot and hammered just as he released the ball more times than I've seen in a lot of years. But that's mostly attributable not to the pass rush of the Niners as it is to the sieve-like nature of the Hawks O-line.
Frank Gore had a terrible day. In fact, the Niners running game was pathetic. And on at least two or three third-and-short situations where you'd want Gore in the lineup, he was on the bench.
It's not a huge shock that the offense would be shaky after the lockout-delayed season start, and I saw a few glimmers from QB Alex Smith today that I had not seen in the past couple of dismal years. Maybe the best quarterback ever destroyed by NFL stupidity and greed can pull his career out of the fire. I'm skeptical, but it could happen.
It's nice to start with a conference win but there's still a lot of room for wait-and-see with these guys.
Theology Should Not Be an Electoral Issue
According to this recent Associated Press story, the American public -- at least in substantial numbers -- appears to be ready to use a candidate's theology in their decision-making about acceptable candidates in elections. This is a dangerous step.
It is one thing to want to know whether a candidate is religious or not; that is a general observation about the basis for his or her moral compass and general bearing. But when we start questioning theological positions -- i.e., specific beliefs about specific doctrinal subjects -- we go too far. The Constitution in Article VI, Section 3, unequivocally states:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. (Emphasis added)
In 1961 when John F. Kennedy ran for President, he had to overcome widespread concern that he would, as President, submit to Papal authority as a Roman Catholic when it came to matters of State. He was able to reassure the public that he would be a citizen first and a Catholic second. But in today's highly charged religious climate, that's not good enough. Candidates are being challenged on their individual theological positions on issues like the nature of Jesus Christ, their relationship with him, their beliefs about Biblical inerrancy, and other such issues that have nothing at all to do either with moral compass or with fitness for office.
In 2008, I was among many who questioned whether a Mormon could make the same promise as a Roman Catholic could make, based on my own personal experience in the Mormon faith and its concerted efforts to force me to follow political dictates and policies. I was wrong to draw that conclusion and I have since recanted. But because I made that mistake, I think I understand the reason many people believe that it is important to know more than is perhaps necessary or healthy about a given candidate's religious beliefs. We can't afford to allow this to become a standard in American electoral politics.
(BTW, I promised several months ago to avoid commenting on politics in my blog. I don't think this post violates that promise because it's not so much about partisan politics as it is about process. But it's OK with me if you see me as having violated that agreement.)
