Flickr Magazine

Have you always wanted to invent a magazine cover?
Here's your chance!
1. Upload a picture to flickr (or find one that is already there)
2. Head over to this site and put in all the details.
3. Admire your creation.
4. See what others have done...

Free access to a unix server!

Are you interested in Learning how to operate linux/unix? I turns out there is a non-profit organisation in the us that allows free accounts on a unix server on the internet! You can host your own website, check your mail, do just about anything!

Heres what they have to say about themselves:
--------------------
The Super Dimension Fortress is a networked community of free software
authors, teachers, students, researchers, hobbyists, enthusiasts and
the blind. It is operated as a federally recognised non-profit 501(c)(7)
and is supported by its members.

Our mission is to provide remotely accessible computing facilities for
the advancement of public education, cultural enrichment, scientific
research and recreation. Members can interact electronically with each
other regardless of their location using passive or interactive forums.
Further purposes include the recreational exchange of information
concerning the Liberal and Fine Arts.

Members have UNIX shell access to games, email, usenet, chat, bboard,
webspace, gopherspace, programming utilities, archivers, browsers, and
more. The SDF community is made up of caring, highly skilled people who
operate behind the scenes to maintain a non-commercial INTERNET."
--------------------

Check it out www.freeshell.org

A mention in the press!

Some times it pays to be first :)

A few weeks ago, I made a quick comment on Robert Scoble's Blog. I mentioned that he had made a mistake in reading the number of blog posts that link to his weblog. See his post here


Little did I know that David Berlind over at ZDNet would mention me in responding to Schoble! Check it out for yourself:
Microsoft's Scoble questions ZDNet's agenda

The Book of Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiates has always been one of my favorites books in the Bible. I love the way that solomon shares his own thoughts and fears on life.
Khouse have just put an article online about the book. Here's a quick quote:
"Ecclesiastes is different from any other book of the Bible. It does not dwell on the covenant, the election of Israel, redemption, prophecy, sacred history, or the temple. Its focus is on man the creature, his life on earth, and the inscrutability of God and His ways. Ecclesiastes goes beyond the other wisdom literature to emphasize the fact that human life and human goals, as ends in themselves and apart from God, are futile and meaningless." - Read more at Koinonia house

Is man made to work?

I love this quote from Paul Graham:
"As societies get richer, they learn something about work that's a lot like what they learn about diet. We know now that the healthiest diet is the one our peasant ancestors were forced to eat because they were poor. Like rich food, idleness only seems desirable when you don't get enough of it. I think we were designed to work, just as we were designed to eat a certain amount of fiber, and we feel bad if we don't." Paul Graham - What Business Can Learn from Open Source.

Isn't it funny that the grass always seems greener on the other side of the fence? Because we have to work we wish we didn't! If, like me, you have had times in your life when you didn't have much to do, you soon realize how empty that kind of existence is.
Rick Waren made this point in his book, "The Purpose Driven Life". We are not here on earth to sit around an make life as easy as possible for ourselves. Instead we are here for a mission (a purpose), to make Jesus known throughout out the world, to live in fellowship with one another, to worship God, and to serve others.
Notice the last point, serving others?
Serving others is the basis of open source software, the open source movement is fueled by people who say, I am willing to give my time and effort so that I am able to help others get great software. Without this attitude I suggest that open source wouldn't get very far.

Optical Illusions on pavement

These pavement drawings are amazing!

Here is a globe (Commissioned for live8):

From the other side:


See more pavement drawings at Julian Beevers Website:
Julian Beever's pavement drawings

A car powered by Air!

I remember as a kid imagining myself as the inventor of an air powered car. Of course as I grew older I learned that it was pretty much imposible. Others don't seem to lose faith so quickly:

The MDI Air Car - the world's cleanest car.

It is running on compressed air, which means it does need to be 'charged' or 'filled' up every so often. But you can't deny that is runs on air :)

Another Photo...

I've been experimenting lately with some close up photographs.
Here is an example:

I have labeled this Photo "A Leaf, A Branch and an Island"

To see more closeups visit my photos tagged "closeups".

How to Write More Clearly, Think More Clearly, and Learn Complex Material More Easily

How to Write More Clearly, Think More Clearly, and Learn Complex Material More Easily - This is a very interesting presentation, Not only does it communicate ways to learn and write, it talks about logic, and how to evaluate an argument. Highly recommended...


Note: The above presentation was writen by Michael Covington

Google is Expanding

The next big thing in search! Google Heart...

foldedspace.org: Get Rich Slowly!

Yet another article for you to read:

foldedspace.org: Get Rich Slowly!:

Quote from the author: "I've read over a dozen books on personal finance. Recurring themes have become evident."

dervala.net: Strong Language

dervala.net: Strong Language: "Engineers, scientists, and military officers often turn out good prose. Their sentences may not always be limpid, lyrical or arresting, but as writers they are capable of a clarity and precision that academics and marketers often can’t or won’t match."

While this statement may be a generalisation, I stand with the first comment for this article. "Hear Hear".

Small is the New Big

I thought it was interesting what Seth Godin (who I gather is an author of some kind) said about Churches in his article: Small is the New Big!

He said this, "A small church has a minister with the time to visit you in the hospital when you’re sick."
It is so true! In our Mega-Church culture, we have moved away from churches that have time for indivduals, we now have churches that just serve some arbitrary (though admirable) vision. Personally, I hope Seth is right and we start to move back towards smaller, more personable churches... With a the right lessons learn along the way of course :)

Does God have a sense of humor?

I thought this was a funny cartoon :)
It always amazes me that people think of God as uninteresting, always serious, etc. You just have to look around you to see that God definately has a sense of humor...
As well as an eye for art, and an imense love for you!

Soccer Anyone? 

James' Rambling at Bloglines

If you are wondering what blogs I read, try checking out my blog roll on this page:
James' Rambling at Bloglines
BTW:I have no imediate plans for this blog, but I am sure I will find a use for it someday :) It is a very easy way of sharing things I find interesting on other blogs... So that will be it's purpose for now!

A bit of archaeology for your week?

There have been some interesting archaeological discoveries recently. I was alerted to these by Khouse E-News.

9000 year old documents read for the first time by new infrared technology

Archaeological treasures found in the trash near the temple mount.

Enjoy!

Sampling Infinity

Jill Carattini Of RZIM comments on the way amazon (and increasingly) other services offer you suggested books to buy, music to listen too, etc... She suggests that this could lead to us restricting our choices to subjects or things we all ready know about? Is this a good thing? Who knows...

A Slice of Infinity (RZIM)

Red Rocks Photo

At Easter i visited "red rocks" which is basically the name for a beach at the very bottom of New Zealand's North Island. I snapped this picture look out towards the sea.

Red Rocks in Wellington

Colorization Using Optimization

This looks like a very impressive technology. Colorization Using Optimization
I just can't decide whether I should believe it!

James