College professor: someone who talks in other people's sleep.

Israel won’t allow any iPads into the country because they may interfere with other devices, presumably those involved with that country’s security. In the article on MSNBC.com is a quote from an Israeli govt. spokesperson I cannot understand.
“If you operate equipment in a frequency band which is different from the others that operate on that frequency band, then there will be interference.”
Huh??

This afternoon I reserved a rental car for my trip to Grand Rapids next week. How small a car can I squeeze myself into? We’re about to find out because I don’t think they rent anything smaller than a Chevy Aveo.

Speaking of cars, aren’t you glad you’re not Toyota? Q: Can it get any worse? A: Yes, and I suspect it will. I can’t believe Consumer Reports, doing one of their standard tests, finds an ESC error that Lexus (Toyota) didn’t already know about from doing that same test themselves.

A couple of nights ago I wrote about the woman who has been charged with animal cruelty because she didn’t take her dying dog to the vet. She said she wanted to but couldn’t afford the bills. Someone responded to that post wondering if she had cable for her TV, a cell phone and the like. That is, she found money for those luxuries (and they are luxuries) but not to take care of her dog.
I wrote, and write under the assumption that she’s telling the truth and genuinely could not afford the vet, not that she had sufficient money in the bank and just chose not to use it on her dog.
With that in mind, the responder to my post raises an interesting issue. How much beyond the most basic “food and clothing” (1 Tim. 6:8) should we forgo for the sake of saving a pet? Am I acting immorally if I pay my cell phone bill but don’t spend $x,xxx,xxx.xx on Fido? Where on the list of financial priorities and responsibilities does medical care for an animal fall? And where is the ceiling?
Al is asleep on the floor as I write this, so he can’t see what I’m typing. (And don’t tell anyone, but he’s also illiterate.) If he gets sick I’m not canceling my cable, my cell phone and my subscription to TIME so I can spend all of that money on vet bills. You may think I should, but were you John Law would you be prepared to charge me with a crime?

I had lunch today with M. I told him about what Christ did for him on the cross and the only thing asked of him in return (accepting the gift). Nothing I will ever do ranks as high on a list of activities as sharing the good news of salvation through Christ. I never tire of explaining that truth.
The sad part of our conversation came at the end when he told me I’m the first pastor to ever explain it to him.

Review: The new Kodak printer does not print colors as vividly as the dead and gone HP. But the results are very acceptable for my purposes (it’s chugging away on the bulletin as I type this), it prints significantly faster AND it actually prints without repeated error messages.

We have some improvements we’d like to make here at the house. We’d like to put in wood flooring between the living and dining room where our recliners and the TV sit. The carpet there takes a beating from the additional wear and wood flooring would hold up better as well as add some pop to that area. We’d like to put a solar tube in the ceiling there, too, because it’s in the center of the house and needs more natural light. For some strange reason the master bedroom is the only room that hasn’t rec’d a make-over. It looks just like it did when we moved in almost three years ago. It needs new trim, new paint, a new ceiling fan and, ideally, French doors out onto the patio.

All of those things remain on the to-do list until the funding is in place. We replaced the van - a decision we made carefully and prayerfully - so it will take some time to replenish the savings account before we tackle more home improvements. No big deal; that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

Which is to say that as often as I disagree with the policies and actions of President Obama I agree that in this economic environment it doesn’t make sense for us to make another manned trip to the moon. We know what’s there (nothing). So I don’t understand the noises from those who think it is a national shame if some other nation puts men and women on the moon. If the govt. of China decides to spend billions so someone can hit a 7-iron out of a lunar crater I say “Go for it, guys!” But how ‘bout we pay down some of our monstrous national debt.

Mars?? Why? Sure it would be cool to know more about the place, just like it would be cool to have wood flooring here at our house. But we can’t afford either one right now. The benefits are nowhere near commensurate with the costs. So take a deep breath, Buzz Lightyear. I know you had a great time in space and it’s an exciting frontier. But we have too much work to do at home right now, and too little money to do it.
IMHO.