Ideas-for-Life on A Geek's Life

Poetry As Therapy: A Brief Listening (and Reading) List

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 10:52:18 +0000

My grand plan for Lent this year was to post a poem a day using the Church of England’s #LiveLent reflections as a jumping-off point, but life happened (we lost G and then went into a full COVID-19 related shutdown) and I ended up stuck on 17 days. Poetry as prayer seemed like a good idea given the difficult season of faith I was in, in which prayer felt alien. It is not an entirely novel idea as I found out with more than a few essays reflecting on the subject, two examples being these excellent pieces at Talking Writing and The Millions. There is a rich history of the poetic form in various religious writing and in their associated rites; some might even argue that the enduring allure of the King James Version of the Bible has more to do with the cadence of its words than anything else. Come to think of it, the Psalms sometimes read like the brain dumps of a conflicted person, like transcripts of therapy sessions.

A Theology of Work

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 19:23:58 +0000

Somewhat fortuitously I stumbled on a podcast by Redeemer Presbyterian’s Tim Keller, Four Ways the Gospel Transforms Work. It was one which, by including the subject of work and identity, took me one back to a couple of years ago when I reflected on the subject of being and identity.

Tim’s four points - not making work our identity, considering all work dignified because God does it through us, sticking to the moral compass of our worldview and not letting work become our master - provide a detailed

Spring Cleaning..

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 21:07:51 +0000

They say the good is the enemy of the best or something to that effect. I am learning that this also applies to people. The worst kind of those has to be those who are happy to take one’s time without making any commitments in return. Over the last few days of reflection it has become apparent that I have a number of those (as well as being that sort of friend to some other people also).

Of Creatives and Their Work

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 16:30:42 +0000

The quote above had only been posted to a Whatsapp group I’m part of for all of an hour before it set off a firestorm. The bone of contention was Anais Nin’s body of work, (probably rightly) deemed inappropriate for the context in which it was posted (it’s a group filled with the super spiritual folk I serve alongside on my church’s tech and media team).

I made a spirited attempt at defending the value of her body of work - risque subject and bohemian lifestyle notwithstanding - a position which left me just short of getting my knuckles rapped. I started typing a lengthy response in the group but did the sensible thing and backed off, taking the time to ponder what I felt was a wider philosophical question: can an artist’s lifestyle be decoupled from their body of work? Or even certain elements of that body work?

#95 - On Faith, Certitude and Doubt

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 22:32:10 +0000

John Cornwell on the Importance of doubt:

Faith, like love, is seldom entirely constant; nor is it irrevocable.

More in a similar vein from Mike McHargue

#94 - Thuli Zuma - Things

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 19:24:37 +0000

–

Trust yourself if you can…

HT - Kovie Parker

#78 - Questions for the Universe 2 - Why Do We Love?

Sun, 20 Mar 2016 21:34:21 +0000

Short answer we don’t know… It sure does make us feel good about ourselves though…

#70 - The Gospel of Doubt

Sat, 12 Mar 2016 19:26:25 +0000

https://www.ted.com/talks/casey_gerald_the_gospel_of_doubt

Fascinating talk, key element of which for me is Casey’s search for meaning and purpose… In the end we all seek a wider, over arching meeting to life I guess, some of us still think we find it within the framework of a Judeo-Christian worldview..

#69 - Notes to Self

Fri, 11 Mar 2016 23:08:27 +0000

[tweet https://twitter.com/EugeneCho/status/708128160949243904 ]

#NoteToSelf

#66 - Borrowed

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 20:59:19 +0000

Borrowed @ MindBodyGreen

#NoteToSelf

#59 - Mosbytis

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 23:09:18 +0000

Spent the bulk of the weekend re-watching Season 9 of How I Met Your Mother, complete with its unsatisfactory ending in which Ted shoots off to Robin’s after all she put him through. Tsk!!! Tsk!!! Before that though, Ted’s summation of his 9 year journey to finding Tracy did resonate with my inner suppressed romantic:

It was at times a long, difficult road. But I’m glad it was long and difficult, because if I hadn’t gone through hell to get there, the lesson might not have been as clear. You see, kids, right from the moment I met your mom, I knew… I have to love this woman as much as I can for as long as I can, and I can never stop loving her, not even for a second. I carried that lesson with me through every stupid fight we ever had, every 5:00 a.m. Christmas morning, every sleepy Sunday afternoon, through every speed bump. Every pang of jealousy or boredom or uncertainty that came our way, I carried that lesson with me. And I carried it with me when she got sick. Even then, in what can only be called the worst of times, all I could do was look at her and thank God, thank every god there is, or ever was, or will be, and the whole universe, and anyone else I can possibly thank that I saw that beautiful girl on that train platform, and that I had the guts to stand up, walk over to her, tap her on the shoulder, open my mouth, and speak.

#35 - A Simple Way To Break A Bad Habit

Sat, 06 Feb 2016 18:15:06 +0000

https://www.ted.com/talks/judson_brewer_a_simple_way_to_break_a_bad_habit?language=en

A fascinating talk by Judson Brewer on habits and how we form them. Apt, given I am looking to embed 12 key ones this year. The key to tweaking our trigger-behaviour-reward cycle is being mindful and curious, focusing on what is really happening to us in the moment of behaving, apparently.

#Timely

#26 - Quotable

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 22:11:04 +0000

Stolen off Instagram… Have a peek at the kid’s back story. Impressive

#17 - Three Ideas For Life

Tue, 19 Jan 2016 22:48:46 +0000

From Simon Guillebaud’s January 3rd message at Holy Trinity Brompton on the subject Be A Living Sacrifice:

Live Urgently
Give Unreservedly
Be Transformed Radically

#Pondering

#8 - On Marrying

Sun, 10 Jan 2016 20:09:37 +0000

Stumbled upon via the Wordpress discovery feature, The True Story of a Seven Year Marriage:

Before you can make high towers, it’s best to build a good strong base. It comes from laughter, empathy, forgiveness, accepting the other person’s struggle, and knowing yourself. But sometimes without knowing it, you build too high and too fast. Things get shaky and start to wobble. There is always a way to rebuild if you’re willing. Always new and different blocks to try, always time to take a few steps back and build the bottom stronger.

The Longform Wrap #3

Thu, 26 Mar 2015 20:30:59 +0000

A few of the more interesting pieces I stumbled on on the web during March… Enjoy

On Spock- Gukira: Leonard Nimoy died, and amidst the outpouring of grief and the eulogies, I found I related most with this piece by Gukira who said it better than I ever could

I do not have a single Spock moment—an image or narrative that stays with me. Unlike those who know how to write about TV and movies, I cannot recall a single episode, at least not by name. When I was younger, when I first encountered Spock in Nairobi, in reruns from the 80s, I encountered him as gesture: as the arched eyebrow, as the grip that caused others to faint, as the Vulcan mind meld.

Bits, Bobs and Writing Elsewhere...

Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:30:00 +0000

Firmly mired in the middle of my February read, Ted Thompson’s debut novel The Land of Steady Habits, no thanks to a gruelling schedule at work with criminal deadlines, although I did manage to complete a profile of Selma star David Oyelowo for the church newsletter I occasionally write in. What intrigued me about that in the first place was how open he has been about his faith through out his career from theatre to Hollywood. Fascinating read, if I say so myself. Other than that most of my February reading was web based longform, a few of the more interesting ones being highlighted below:

2015 Reading #1

Thu, 29 Jan 2015 20:00:32 +0000

In addition to completing Moon Walking with Einstein, The Pioneer Detectives and significantly denting my copy of The Best American Essays 2014, my 2015 reading has consisted of loads of longform, which I am curating via Pocket. Below are a few of the more interesting pieces that caught my eye this month:

1. Learning to Drive - Adam Gopnik (The New Yorker): What we learn when we learn to drive?

… Driving a car more like walking on a sidewalk, [is] full of recognitions and hand waving and early avoidance, tamping down the sudden shocks that the combustion engine is heir to…

Links 04.10.2014

Sat, 04 Oct 2014 18:15:47 +0000

A few of the interesting bits and bobs I’ve stumbled on over the last few days

Hope for a cleaner, cheaper, oil less future just became a wee stronger. Nigeria beware?
@forakin on why we should all blog. For a more in depth analysis, Andrew Sullivan’s seminal piece from 2008 offers a longer read.
The £11bn conundrum. The scale of the problem or an opportunity?
Khoi on the design of the iPhone 6. Unimpressed is the word
Education as a tool for disrupting and challenge paradigms - the NY Times weighs in.
Ebola contained.. Phew -
Elon Musk, on Mars
On lightning, and being struck by it.
On Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the Modern Novel.
Pay and gender gaps, closing?

Day 26 - Take The Marine Corp Fitness Test

Fri, 27 Jun 2014 09:19:03 +0000

Day 26 of the Better Man in 30 days challenge - Take the Marine Corp Fitness Test

---

Managed the 3 mile in 29.5 minutes (includes the very leisurely 3 minute warm up), 46 crunches in 2 minutes and a barely there 4 pull ups for a total of 95 from a maximum 300 points possible. Not great but better than I thought given how a certain HIIT youtube video kicked my ass on Day 24.

Quotable.. Francis Chan

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 21:39:13 +0000

Francis Chan at Passion 2013:

Do you believe….That God is looking at you regardless of what you’ve done going ‘I’ll buy you back? I know you’re faithless but I never stop being Faithful, pursuing you, loving you… And as long as it is still called today, as long as you’re still breathing, right now you’ve got a chance. I’ll buy you back right now. I’ll take you back… You just lay it at the cross.

5 Tests of Compatibility

Fri, 06 Sep 2013 18:00:54 +0000

From my current read, Ben Young and Dr Sam Adams’ book - The One: A Realistic Guide to Choosing Your Soul Mate.

Is there chemistry? Are you sexually/ physically attracted to your partner?
Is your relationship natural? Do things flow naturally or are you spending a lot more time resolving issues than demonstrating a natural fit?
Would this be a good friend? If the chemistry was removed, is it someone you’d want to be with, whose company you enjoy?
Can you accept his or her personality as is? Could you spend the rest of your life with the person as they are?
Would you want your kids to be like him or her? Could you envision a future in which your children turn out like him or her?

Oh and to pass the test, it must be ‘Yes’, 100%…

TED Talks: Why 30 is not the new 20 - Med Jay PhD

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:10 +0000

[ted id=1741]

#FabReads - How Will You Measure Your Life - Clay Christensen

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:00:56 +0000

In his 2012 book, How Will You measure Your Life, Clay M Christensen attempts to analyse three key life pursuits from the perspective of the theories he teaches to his MBA students at Harvard Business School, looking to extract ideas which when applied to life will ensure that the outcomes we get are aligned with the outcomes we say we want. The three areas he concentrates on are Career, Relationships and the very aptly captioned ‘Staying Out of Prison’. A few highlights:

Joshua Harris on 'Sanctuary Moments'

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:15:44 +0000

Joshua Harris on ‘Sanctuary moments’ (ones where God steps into our lives to impact change in us) from the message ‘Is He Enough? (New Attitude 2004) [ mp3]

… I am not advocating for you that you wait for some sort of mystical experience. I want you to have a sanctuary moment here at new Attitude, but you know what, that’s not going to look like some moment in worship where God just wipes you out, knocks you on the floor, takes away your desire for marriage and sex, and really fills you with a hatred for the opposite sex and you stand up and say I’ve had my sanctuary moment. No…

The Friday Read: Gas is all around...

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:55:43 +0000

In the week that saw a cloud of gas leak from Total’s North Sea Elgin-Franklin field, the scramble for gas offshore Mozambique continues apace as Anadarko and Cove announce further finds, adding to the significant plays booked by ENI in 2011. The BBC’s Antonia Quirke ponders the impact exploiting these resources will have on this hitherto pristine corner of the world:

There is a sense on Vamizi of anxious anticipation. Some hope that the Mozambique government will run the project well and money will filter down to the islands which are particularly poor. Many people have feared the worst from the start. An islander tells me that when they heard that gas had been found to both the north and south, they watched all night as the illuminated exploration vessels searched and searched ever closer to their shores.

The Friday Read: The True Cost of Parenting

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:46:09 +0000

Joshua Gans on The True Cost of Parenting, and why $180,000 may not necessarily be as outlandish as it sounds especially when the opportunity cost of stay at home parenting is factored in:

Parents know their children, have their interests at heart, are on call all the time and mean you don’t have to worry about child care. This is precisely the utilitarian services that the high priced nannies are being valued for. Once you include stay-at-home parents, you’ll find that we are all paying much more for nannies than we think.

The Friday Read: Are Emotions Prophetic?

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:00:17 +0000

Are emotions prophetic? The short answer is No, but Jonah Lehrer at The Frontal Cortex offers a good summary of the long answer [pdf]:

Every feeling is like a summary of data, a quick encapsulation of all the information processing that we don’t have access to. (As Pham puts it, emotions are like a “privileged window” into the subterranean mind.) When it comes to making predictions about complex events, this extra information is often essential. It represents the difference between an informed guess and random chance.

The Friday Read: Mixed Matches

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:17:03 +0000

A few days late but an interesting read nonetheless. Denise Morris explores inter-racial dating and marriage from a biblical worldview over at Boundless.org. Parts One, Two and Three explore her experiences in growing up as a child from a mixed marriage, the pseudo-biblical objections people may have and offers a useful summation:

Will choosing to date someone outside of your race make your life more difficult? Hopefully not, but it could. If it does, remember that the father of lies still has a grip on humanity. He will until the day Christ returns to put him in his place. Are the potential difficulties of an interracial relationship worth it? Of course they are if it’s the person God has prepared for you. Most importantly, all of us are precious in his sight — red, yellow, black and white — and every shade in between.

Lessons Learned: On (online) dating

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:55:40 +0000

My little experiment in online dating comes to an end over the next few weeks, thanks to expiring subscriptions. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that online dating may not be for me.

If my experience is typical, it would appear the Nigerian man trying online dating has three strikes against him. First is the perception in the wider world of Nigerians as being inherently scam artists. A bevy of websites has sprung up whose MO appears solely to be defining tactics and strategies for identifying Nigerian scam artists and outing them. The three or so women on eHarmony who I made it past guided communication into emailing with suddenly became reticent when I declared I was Nigerian. From a couple of emails a day, things segued into an email a couple of days and then them leaving my emails un-replied.

The Friday Read: Self and The City

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:01:15 +0000

From Project Syndicate:

Urbanization is blamed for a wide variety of modern social ills, ranging from crime and incivility to alienation and anomie. But, by infusing us with their unique spirit and identity, our cities may, in fact, help to empower humanity to face the most difficult challenges of the twenty-first century.

What ‘unique spirit and identity’ might Lagos infuse us with?

Over-thinking...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:51:39 +0000

Not quite my state of mind, but this will do:

via xkcd.

The alt text (to stave off miss.fab’s wrath):

The worst resolution to the Valentine Prisoner’s dilemma, when YOU decide not to give your partner a present but your PARTNER decides to testify against you in the armed robbery case

The Friday Read: The Case for Clawbacks

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Michael Schrage mulls over the ‘de-knighting’ of Fred Goodwin - the former RBS CEO who presided over its meteoric rise from a relatively small Scottish bank to at one stage the largest bank in the world - and argues the case for better designed incentive systems that reward decisions which are inherently sustainable rather than geared towards risky short term profit:

…institutionalized imbalances in compensation encourage too many people to “game the system.” Traders are notorious for developing schemes that sync with how their compensation and bonuses will be paid out. Their defenders argue that consistent losers will, of course, get fired — so what’s the long-term point of clawbacks? But that ignores the (obvious) behavioral reality that traders who know that their greatest risk is losing their job — instead of their money — might be prone to making even larger bets to win comparably larger bonuses. The upside potential overwhelms the downside exposure. That’s a proven recipe for disaster.

The Friday Read #2: The Paradox of Options

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:57:33 +0000

Jonah Lehrer (The Frontal Cortex) reviews a paper by Bahns, Pickett and Crandall on the relationship between social ecology (the make up of a community and its characteristics) and how people initiate and maintain relationships. They surmise that a bigger pool only makes us more picky, and keener to gravitate to people similar to us (the so called Similarity-Attraction effect).

The cliff notes version?

When opportunity abounds, people are free to pursue more narrow selection criteria, but when fewer choices are available, they must find satisfaction using broader criteria.

The Friday Read #1: How Will You Measure Your Life?

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:18:11 +0000

Clayton M. Christensen over at the Harvard Business Review muses on life, purpose and defining the right long term metric for measuring success:

I’ve concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn’t dollars but the individual people whose lives I’ve touched. Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.

Shihan on Def Poetry

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:48:11 +0000

My interest in Def Poetry in the past has been limited to Bassey Ikpi. Thanks to a friend, I got forwarded a link to this video by Shihan.. My def poetry love just went up a notch… Found the full text here. Enjoy.

Arthur Ashe on God and religion

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:18:22 +0000

Arthur Ashe’s moving memoir ‘Days of Grace’ ends with a heartfelt letter to his (then) six year old daughter Camera in which he unpacks all the things he suspects his illness will deny him the opportunity of telling her in future. Covering a range of categories from the importance of family, racial discrimination, loss, marriage, money and even faith, it reads like a distillation of many years of living and learning. The section where he talks about faith and religion reads like a primer for a balanced, liberal, yet essentially Judeo-Christian worldview. Excerpts below:

Everything (via xkcd)

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:24:52 +0000

How sad is it that I can totally relate with this sentiment?

via xkcd

On Reality

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 02:52:46 +0000

Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems..

…so said Salman Rushdie. The corollary is that memory is deceptive, and nostalgia can skew our recollection of things so much that it becomes an alternate reality far removed from the cold, hard facts as they occurred.

Sometimes clarity hits you suddenly like a blow to the solar plexus, at other times the bleeding obvious slowly becomes apparent. All told, some day a bloke has to decide – what’s important, what’s not, and what to leave to fight another day….

Links: 07 Oct 2011

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:07:27 +0000

Nigeria turns 51, bloggers go on the charm offensive with 419 reasons to love the country. My moan from 2009 still stands regardless.
The 216th Mersey side derby is ‘ruined by the referee’. The inevitable comments about ‘foreigners’ follow.
More from The Good Men Project - traditional gender roles
Amanda Knox walks free - justice or a travesty?
For better, for worse, until two years doth us part?
In her b(rea)st interest? The $1m dollar insured boobs
Shell complicit in military excesses in the Niger Delta?
What’s in a number? Nothing, says the Good men Project.
How the discipline of blogging is a stepping stone to become a good writer.
Giving women the visibility they deserve?
Steve Jobs passes - TIME’s official obituary.

RIP Steve Jobs...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:06:56 +0000

That iconic 2005 Standford Commencement address again..

What I learned:

Do not be afraid to start again: Apple, NeXT, Pixar and then Apple again?
Keep every decision, and every action in perspective of what’s truly important
Find what you love, love what you do, and excel at it.
Never underestimate the importance of any experience, the dots only appear to line up in hindsight
Do YOU!

Definitely one to file in my ‘Ideas for life’ folder alongside Dennis Prager’s at Pepperdine University and John Legend at The University of Pennsylvania.

Links: 30 Sept 2011

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:36:42 +0000

Printing a car? Odd that the retards who comment on the Daily Mail jump right to dissing the Indians and Chinese in the comments.
Facebook rejigs, again. Tips and tricks to keep things private
Sex and Hygiene, an info-graphic.
Home grown scam; preying on the desire to jet out of Nigeria by all means.
A saddening tale of domestic violence. Where does all the love go? :(
There’s an app for that. iPhone meets sleep monitoring.
Understanding the Nigerian ‘Middle Class’ - wonder why the earnings limits have been set between NGN75k to 100k - hardly significant earnings I reckon.
Brain reading, quite literarily.
The DTR, a guide via Boundless.
Go out there and make babies. The case for more educated [and progressive] people having more children.

Links: 23 Sept 2011

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:28:36 +0000

Will this father be prosecuted for defending his family against burglars?
Reclaiming the Gentleman - The SBM approach.
Even nature tears down first, before attempting to rebuild. The plus side to the Australian fires.
A dastardly act, and using social media to hunt the bastards down: Sugarbelly’s blog post, an e-Petition and numerous Twitter mentions.
How About We on the types of women to avoid.
Eugene Cho muses on Troy Davis, the death penalty and what is an appropriate Christian response.
An essay on travelling.
Navigating the “You’re a great guy, but…..” talk.
Looking for the perfect dating age gap? Six is it.
The case for doodling.

Half-full or half-empty?

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:47:41 +0000

Breaking up has its perks - especially when there was the small matter of a six hour difference and 3,000 plus miles. On the plus side, the need to remember birthdays (I sucked majorly at this, which probably added to my being kicked to the kerb), answer phone calls at odd hours of the day and be a pillar of strength to someone finally vanishes, and one is free to pursue other interests. On the flip side, the months of getting to know someone from the ground up are then tossed away, as though all meaning were trivial. Only after a while does the real cost register - long periods that were once filled with sharing the minutiae of life are suddenly filled with solitude; solitude which has the potential to bend one’s mind and numb it into a stupor.

Al Mohler on Vocation

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:00:36 +0000

A few weeks ago, ‘Jane Doe’ prompted some deep thinking by Single Nigerian, leading him to ponder if trying now and then was enough when others had sacrificed things (even their lives) to ‘get the word to the common man.’

I was listening to an old message by Al Mohler - Being Men and Raising Men [ mp3] - whilst walking to work today, and a section [begins at 51;11] struck me as being a very apt answer to that question.

Web Reads.. 1April2011

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 20:05:26 +0000

Quick reads….

On-the-job relationships come back into the limelight - one Police Unit seems to have fallen apart over the Team Leader’s dalliance with a female team member.
On paywalls, one of the more rational arguments I’ve read. (HT - The Daily Dish)
Artificial leaves currently in development may one day power an entire house by electrolysing water and providing hydrogen for fuel cells.
Robotic bird flying becomes a wee bit more realistic.
The genetic basis for loving working out.
Sounding a note of caution for using GPS-aware apps indiscriminately. Color gets another (light) bashing.
Slick sleaze, or ill advised expenditure? A short history of the bomb-zapper that never was.
Google aims to turn phones into credit cards.
App of the Week? Social Media meets shopping for dresses - an app for your friends to help you select a dress.
The boobs have it. Apparently, there is a connection between length of time spent breast feeding and brain size. However there is no guarantee that breast milk is all that, especially when the mother isn’t eating well herself after all.

Web Reads... 25Mar2011

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:27:41 +0000

Back after missing two weeks.. Blame an ultra packed work programme..So here goes..

S3’s brain-computer implant passes 1000 days in situ. Small steps, but good news none the less.
LOL, FYI and OMG make it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
Meet the luxury edition iPad2, 24 carat gold, 53 diamonds and T-Rex bone shavings; all for a ‘paltry’ 5M pounds..
Justin Taylor does an early ‘April Fool’s Day ruse about a letter to the Apostle Paul.
Buying the right to fight a case for someone else?
Goodluck Jonathan leads the latest poll? Interesting stuff in Nigeria..

Web Reads... 27Feb2011

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:28:23 +0000

The Queen advertises for a dish washer to come on staff… My local MSP wonders if they’ve not heard of a dish washing machine.
The WHO drills down into the alcohol stats.. Apparently alcohol killed more people than AIDS or TB in 2010.. Sobering..
Understanding the story.. Thirteen perspectives….
Brain chemicals and dating.. A primer.
Teju Cole’s ‘Open City’ hits the shelves… The New Yorker, The Daily Beast and The Apostrophe weigh in with reviews.
The kid named Facebook..Ostensibly its a testament to the impact FB had on the Egypt Revolution.. Hopefully, the kid doesn’t get a lot of stick for the name though..
There’s an app for that… Tracking relationship changes on Facebook gets the Web2.0 makeover….. SMH..
Web mourning?
Help for the blokes - wristbands that warn of potentially PMSing partners.
Bringing faiths together by cuisine.. The Faith and The Hot Dog show..

Web Reads.. 18Feb2011

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 18:44:51 +0000

‘Spiritual’ love goes social… The story of Vicars connected by a witty comment on Facebook
A soup ladle turns out to be a life saver in more ways than one.. Meet the bloke saved from a tiger by his wife’s soup ladle
‘Life is short, have an affair?’… Al Mohler muses on the Ashley Madison business model..
GABA receptors may be the reason for anxiety around that ’time of the month’ for the lasses..
The ’thief’ who sued the bloke he tried to steal from - and got 13k pounds..
A not so short history of Aji-no-moto.. And the scare scaremongering around MSG.
Man vs Machine.. 1-0 to the machines on Jeopardy..

Web Reads... 11Feb11

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:06:33 +0000

Personality tests go a notch up - this site offers personality tests based on your blog.
Automating war? Danger room reports that one in fifty ‘combatants’ in Afghanistan is a robot.
The key to snagging the dream girl appears to be acting uninterested. @JangleLegJones thinks differently, sadly I couldn’t convince her to write a 4000 word essay deconstructing the research.
Tim Challies offers the chance to pre-order his new book, and get a signed copy.
Apparently, even sex is a matter for IQ these day s.. Sigh..
There’s an app for that. Confessionals go electronic.
Sleepwalking may be in the DNA after all.
A kiss too far?
Much ado about farting
Potentially crappy valentine weekend coming up? Try these books to get you laid..

WebReads.. 04Feb2011

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:49:38 +0000

Steve shares his learnings so far - 30 days after quitting Facebook
The Christian Illuminati? Or Just a well connected crew? More questions than answers in this teaser...
Large-proofing emergency services - counting the costs.
The Jerusalem UFO, or a drone?
Becoming invisible?
Wack or what? The bloke who added his wife to a terrorist watch list to prevent her flying back home.
‘Spray-on skin’ for burn victims.
This brings a whole new meaning to the storm in a tea-cup idiom. Storm in a bed sheet?
Mubarak’s cronies launch a cyber counter-insurgency…
Mosquitoes evolved?

WebReads... 28Jan

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:55:34 +0000

Genetically engineering plants to spot bombs may be the future of counter terrorism..
LED teeth may be the new cool.. If only in Japan..
Want to make the transition from talk to bed? Social media might be it after all. So much for Gladwell’s ‘diss’ of social media.
Apparently brain scans can identify a predisposition to transexuality..
His Grace - Archbishop Crammer - weighs in on the lack of political voices speaking up on the abortion debate.
Tyler Blanski encourages us to re-think sex
One bloke got busted for importing cockroaches… HT @relevantmag

Web Reads - 21Jan...

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:54:42 +0000

Max Atkinson deconstructs JFK’s iconic inaugural speech and identifies Six Essentials. Apparently the key is utilizing contrasts; three-part list; contrasts combined with lists; alliteration; bold imagery and audience analysis. Useful for writers?
Children who write by hand ’learn better than those who type’. However text messaging ‘improves children’s spelling skills’. Clearly the pen is mightier than the keyboard, but the cellphone is mightier still..
The woman who solved her own kidnap story.
The evidence for manflu - even if its only in our heads…
The genetic basis for friendships..
Surely it’s a first, but the city of Liverpool now has an embassy in the UK..

Questioning the answers..

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:56:50 +0000

Having passed several chronological milestones, one increasingly has had to field questions that assume that all the basic competencies required to function as an independent contributor to life in various spheres have been achieved. Invariably these often centre on the achievement of academic, financial, material and career milestones. Amidst the focus on these admittedly essential categories is a lack of focus on the attainment of certain critical thinking skills.

I subscribe to the belief that a child is born with a blank worldview - the so called tabula rasa. Over time he/she acquires knowledge about life; typically by experience. The child thus builds up a worldview- religious, social, cultural, sexual even. At it’s most basic, this worldview is a set of answers for what constitute good, bad, the why of life, meaning, etc. Of necessity, these answers have to be gleaned from others in the early days - parents and relatives, peers, civic and religious leaders and teachers.

Barry Schwartz on 'Practical Wisdom'...

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:56:15 +0000

One big idea to revolutionise the year in my opinion - ‘Practical Wisdom’. Rules are great but they often lead to performance based metrics which meet the letter of the law, but fail to address the real root causes…. Two excellent TED talks from Barry Schwartz that I’ve been listening to a lot today.. Bring on the new year…

The real crisis? We stopped being wise..Using our practical wisdom

Web Reads: 10Dec2010

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:00:49 +0000

The science of attraction. Perhaps it’s all in the mind after all.
Another reason to google your name. You might be wanted for murder…
Necessity is the mother of invention - the husband who rigged up a taser device to keep his wife faithful..
The ‘completely irresponsible’ call reporting a stolen snowman
The case for eating insects..
Mathematical immortality - buy a theorem and name it after yourself.
The smart wallet that could help you spend within your means..
Bacteria that could recycle iron..
The gene for aggression.
DNA testing of babies - whilst in the womb..

Nigeria: What We searched for..

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:34:07 +0000

Google’s 2010 Zeitgeist makes for interesting read.. The summary from Google:

In the year of Nigeria’s 50th independence celebration, it was unsurprising that terms like “Nigeria” and “Goodluck Jonathan” ranked highly in the search trends. But the nation’s imagination was certainly captured by social networking, with “2go” topping the fastest rising list, and “Facebook” being the second most popular search by volume. Nigerian musicians “Terry G” and “Dagrin” also attracted significant online interest.

Links: 3 Dec 2010

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:09:27 +0000

Feeding the poor with iPads: How FareShare is blending technology and social responsibility..
The game that ‘makes’ you a genetic scientist…
The radiation debate flares up again - are radio waves frying our brains?
Facebook breakups are the real deal..
The right twitter handle can make you famous.. The girl who suddenly became famous thanks to the ashes down under..
Skye Jethani’s 30 day Twitter experiment…

Links: 26 Nov 2010

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:01:47 +0000

More on cheating in Universities… A statistical approach at the University of Central Florida
The many uses of Facebook - Oo..
Another reason to dissolve a marriage? Religious differences.. Sigh…
Wanna ’live’ forever? Enter the bluetooth enabled e-tomb.
Indonesia’s the world’s biggest Twitter users?
Getting the girl is all in the angle of the tilt..
Football by biting... Wonder what the bloke was thinking though..

Links: 19 Nov 2010

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:33:49 +0000

6 years on - the 66 year old woman who gave birth to a kid.. Selfish? Playing God or a real chance for re-inventing life? ..
Celebonomics.. Why you’re not famous..
Con artist.. Not Nigerian.. Gasp!
Another take on the homoepathy debate.. Apparently the talk not the tincture is what works.
The danger of desensitization - The daily telegraph’s Geoffrey Leon compares BP’s Gulf disaster to Chernobyl.
Ghost writers.. A shadow scholar ‘bares’ all..
Ultimate gadget? Or quirky? The remote control + pillow combo…
Google street view - weight loss tip..
Apparently its not only Nigerian cops who are camera shy..
The demise of marriage? Or just a blip.. Time ponders the relevance of marriage

Links: 12 Nov 2011

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:03:49 +0000

More reason to be careful about your twitter activity - The twitter ‘joke’ that’s been blown out of proportion..
iPhone apps that could save your marriage?
The mean gene.: apparently one in four people have this gene..
Taking email (and the internet too seriously)…
Laptops and male fertility.. Interesting piece over at Wired Science…
Another take on the Yahoo vs Gmail argument…Gmail appears to be inherently ‘safer’.. (HT Trae Days)
Interesting take on the Marine Corps, Appearance and Tradition over at The Art of Manliness..
Ribadu is interviewed on the Economist’s Africa blog.
Amazon briefly lists the inappropriately named ‘The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct’ before bowing to pressure and taking it down..
Skype wedding? The possibilities are endless… (HT The Daily Dish)

The week of going meatless....

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:07:38 +0000

I survived the week of going meatless… Needless to say, I’ll not be repeating it anytime soon.

Happiness

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:01:03 +0000

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLGlMbi7w3g]

via @GoodPlanet

What I really meant was....

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:14:43 +0000

Via XKCD:

What I Learned Since July 10, 2009..

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:40:43 +0000

What I learned since July 10, 2009

The whole “every disappointment is a blessing” is cliche 9 times out of 10 - the one occasion it is not more than makes up for all the other times…
Above a certain level of pay, autonomy and a sense of truly contributing are the most important considerations for job satisfaction….. for me..
People usually mean well when they try to commiserate - most of the time they just need to shut the fuck up.
Brooke Fraser’s Shadowfeet is the coolest song ever….
Every bloke needs a bizzle - the one chic who has the guts to give it to you straight from the hips ( no double etendre there). It’s always helpful to get your ego brought down a notch or two.
The ladder theory works - however sad - blokes just need to get with the program.
Female bosses are so not it - woe betide you if you have a Technical review when its that time of the month - red ink everywhere… sigh..

Celebrating the Debacle...

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:08:44 +0000

One of the more creative jokes about England’s demise at the World Cup I’ve seen so far…..

The Idiot's guide to...... Looking busy!

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:12:38 +0000

When you bill per the hour, looking busy is of paramount importance… The criticality of this black art is never more obvious than when you sit in full view of the Oga and can ill afford to be found playing solitaire, surfing the internet mindlessly, blogging, or God help you - being nabbed on ogling the goodies on offer on Page 3. Below are the top tips I have gleaned from the best – trust me I’ve learned from the very best - a stellar cast of international pedigree..

The Grass is Always Greener...

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:49:11 +0000

Barry Schwartz, writing in The Paradox of Choice makes a compelling argument - to my mind - for cutting down the options.. One paragraph on the subject of life and partners grabbed my attention.

.. inevitably, you will find people who are younger, better looking, funnier, smarter, or seemingly more understanding and empathetic than your wife or husband. But finding a life partner is not a matter of comparison shopping and ’trading up’. The only way to find happiness and stability in the presence of seemingly attractive and tempting options is to say, “I’m simply not going there'

Friday Night Blues..

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:31:09 +0000

HT: XKCD

Life's Like That..

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:07:20 +0000

In retrospect…. Life happens.. With or without our consents…. And in its wake often comes change.. which we by default detest. Over time, we develop safe routines, coping mechanisms and default positions to deal with life - ultimately acquiring some semblance of balance.

Sometimes change is subtle; imperceptibly modifying the place where we are on the continuum of life, instigating minor perturbations - little oscillations if you like - around our equilibrium positions. The pragmatic thing to do then is to try to hold the fort, to resist change and maintain the status quo.

Piper on Mid-Life Crises...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:30:15 +0000

Excellent piece by John Piper on the subject of handling mid-life crises. An excerpt….

You know, God makes no mistakes. I cannot explain to you why he ordained that the first half of your life would be led in a way that looks like you wasted it. Maybe you just lived for money, and you lost your marriage, and you lost your kids. And now you’re 54 years old, and you are all alone and rich and miserable.

Rethinking... Life.

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:41:12 +0000

I had an eccentric- if morbid- pastime whilst growing up; fantasizing about dying; and that for as long as I can remember. This was not a simple hit-by-a-car death, but a major drawn out event complete with ambulances, flashing lights, weeping family, and heart broken friends. The object of those fantasies was to convince myself I was that important to all of them; and assuage my battered ego after being blasted to bits by my mum. I would imagine Mother crying; eyes puffed up, hair flying in the wind, scarf wrapped around her waist, totally inconsolable, attempting to throw herself into the ditch, mourning her great loss - ME. Often I would have Di in the background, bawling like a chicken deprived of her entire brood in a sweeping attack by hawks - only a slightly more dignified version of mum.

Once Upon A Life...

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:42:32 +0000

Inspired by a long talk with my friends O and Steve who challenge me to take life more seriously and to excel myself.

The motorcade slowly inches its way through the crowded streets preceded by weaving motor cycles carrying men bought to perform stunts. Music funnelled out of half open windows, blaring horns, howling sirens and people massed in grotesque postures; sticking out of open car doors and perched atop yet more cars are the hallmark of the day. A benumbing mix of people is assembled, all dressed in matching black clothes waving black handkerchiefs and bearing a large portrait of a man, who they eulogize in song. Presently the hearse bearing the ornately carved box bearing his remains comes into view surrounded by more men dressed in black and roving cameras ostensibly placed to capture the gaiety of the celebration for posterity’s sake.

On the subject of lifelong learning.

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:25:33 +0000

Ben Dulap, President of Wofford College speaking at TED2007 on the subject of a Passionate Life quotes Mahatma Gandhi

Live each day as if it were your last, learn as if you were to live forever.

Lifelong learning - continuously aiming to understand the rules of engagement in every sphere of life that intersects us - is the key to succeeding; it would seem.

That is another life long lesson I am adding to my burgeoning list.

Not restless enough?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:39:00 +0000

I find the story of Isaac, Esau and Jacob intriguing, how guile and subtlety wins over brash power. Even though Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob, I find it interesting that Isaac mentions that Esau will only be under the yoke of Jacob until he gets restless. Perhaps every situation I am in at the moment is only because I have not been restless enough to break out from the chains and limitations…….

The Inner 'CAT' scan

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:40:00 +0000

The deep examination of life is a critical component of following Christ wholly. Gordon McDonald offers the following categories for examination.

My People connections: Am I a people please-r? Do I seek to gain self esteem from peoples’ opinion of me? DO I use people rather than attempt to leave their lives in a more improved state than when I met them? Do I have unresolved resentment against certain people? Am I unduly competitive and jealous of others?
My Things connection: Do I measure my self worth based on the amount of stuff I have? Does money control me? How disciplined am I with regards to purchases, especially things that may not be needful at the moment? Am I truly generous? How much of my earnings do I give to the less privileged? DO I tend to judge people by how much they own?
My Thought Connection: What is the condition of my thought life? What drives my thoughts? Am I captivated by frequent immoral thoughts? What are my attitudes to pornography? Am I obsessed with being someone I am not? Am I constantly dissatisfied with where I am in my life?
My Guilt Connection: Are there things in the past I am still carrying guilt over? Are there things I need to seek forgiveness over and restitute?
My Career Connection: What are my work goals? Am I delivering work that is excellent? Is work controlling my life? What do I do when I need a break from work?
My Memory connection: Have I granted forgiveness to people who have hurt me in the past, deeply? Am I still controlled by defeats or failures from the past that tend to prevent me from going forward today?
My Habit Connection: Do I have any habits, thought patterns or attitudes that are preventing me from being fully Christ-like? Is there any habit I can’t let go of?

The Hot Seat......

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:33:23 +0000

For Me….In the midst of potentially destabilizing change…

The hot seat …..is the hot seat…. The place where you are put on the spot, and come under the most intense scrutiny possible. Here, the basis of your Faith is rigorously examined and the coherence of your worldview is systematically evaluated. It is the zone where well meaning words become dry platitudes devoid of any soothing balm, where textbook solutions fall apart, where time tested strategies cannot even begin to scratch the surface of the sickness that a hope deferred brings.

On attempting to find the perfect solution..

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:34:13 +0000

I listened to an old Joshua Harris message I downloaded from 2005 over the weekend. One thought caught my attention all over again….

It is easier to give direction to those who are alive than to attempt to raise the dead.

Whilst he made the statement in the context of guy-girl relationships, I think it makes sense for other aspects of life. Perhaps it is better to start something and then attempt to retool it than to eternally agonize over the perfect solution.

On... The Crux of the Matter

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:27:49 +0000

First off.. Our PROJECT is live……. Stop over and show us some love aight! ABlackJamesBond asked a particularly intriguing question on the last post on his blog - contemplating.

Would the boy you were yesterday be proud of the man you are today?

I wish I had straight forward answers, a Yes or a No. But I’m finding out that the more I think about it, the more it seems the answer is both Yes and No. Yes, I’ve met and exceeded most of my targets; No because in some regards, I have done stuff the boy of yesterday, who stood with great enthusiasm on the cusp of greatness would cringe to even hear of. Deep down sometimes I argue with myself, wondering if perhaps I have even delivered on the huge potentials I know I once had.

Letter to the future...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:39:45 +0000

It seems only like yesterday that I stood in your shoes, on the verge of turning twenty-one. My mind was a maelstrom of feelings; not all of which I could understand. On the one hand was nostalgia for all the memories of growing up and on the other trepidation. I had just left the University and I was going to miss the ‘mountain top experiences’ - the uninhibited exuberance of worshiping together on a Sunday afternoon, the wonderful friendships that had been developed over the tenure of my stay, the nights spent in raucous laughter as we talked about everything under the sun - everything. I felt some trepidation, a nagging concern at the monstrous changes that I was on the verge of undergoing. Lots of issues swirled around my mind – what final grade would I make? Where would I be deployed to serve the nation? Would I get a job? Was a Masters’ Degree the ultimate coup de grace I needed to launch myself into my chosen career? Had I learned all I needed to succeed in life? I had plans, that had me doing things I had only seen in my dreams.

UNICEF's Day of The African Child........

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:47:32 +0000

Today is UNICEF’s Day of the African Child. Spare a thought for so-called child-witches, preventable deaths, poor quality education and child trafficking.

On "Greening the Ghetto"...

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:00:16 +0000

We might learn a thing or two from Majora Carter’s approach to tackling environmental degradation issues in the South Bronx. Video’s HERE

The Action Item List

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:09:00 +0000

I identified a few key things that I need to work on in my life to improve on myself majorly. The prioritized list I will be working off is below:

Develop a reading schedule: financial, self motivation, self esteem, writing and career related books.
Schedule times for laptop gaming, internet and other non essential activites.
Build a plan for improving my life in the categories of Al Mohler’s excellent piece - The Marks of Real Manhood.
Develop a plan for regular bible study and prayer, determine a time and stick to it
Document my peculiar sin vulnerabilities: identify the triggers and fight for the life of me!
Identify two mentors - one in the workplace and one for my personal life. Set up weekly teleconferences or meetings as appropriate.
De-clutter my life. Reassess all my people connections and downsize to a manageable number.
Complete my MSc, identify critical modules I will require in the work place and read up on them before I get to resume work.
Get a complete physical exam done. Identify any potential health vulnerabilities and ensure they are in line for focused attention.
Maintain my weight - can’t afford to increase health risk levels by bulking up.
Develop mechanisms for tracking and assessing need before expenditure. Consider adding a need assessment module to my excel tracking sheet.
Read up on investment opportunities in Nigeria. Develop mechanisms for assessing investments and prioritizing them for action.
Identify worthy causes and get plugged into a couple.

Hopefully, I will be able to state categorically at the end of the year that I have worked through the list.. I then shall measure effectiveness and decide which new directions I need to chase!

Living your Liturgy

Sun, 31 May 2009 13:47:01 +0000

Apparently an awe inspiring 90% of Nigerians are religious. Statistics like these make the likes of Richard Dawkins claim that religion is the root of all evil. Dinesh D’Souza, Ravi Zacharias the UCCF, and a whole lot of other resources exist specifically to discuss the pros and cons of the subtle nuances of the arguments around Drawinism vs Intelligent Design and Theism vs Atheism vs Agnosticism. It is instructive to also note that atheism has not done much better either - the Soviet era is a case in point.

On "Living A Soulful Life"

Thu, 28 May 2009 18:14:20 +0000

I’ve always had a not too complementary view of the intellectual capabilities of most musicians.. But John Legend made a lot of sense in his commencement address at his Alma Mater (The University Of Pennsylvania). I don’t agree explicitly with everything he says especially about blurring the lines between absolutes, but he made sense overall. Enjoy…

On injustices too blatant to ignore...

Sat, 23 May 2009 21:32:26 +0000

Crap happens. God Judges ultimately. But miscreants need to be taught that crime and punishment are different sides of the SAME coin.

On Virtual Communities... Again...

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:20:35 +0000

Quite an interesting discussion the last post generated. I for one believe that virtual communities have their place, but they should not be allowed to upstage our real life relationships. I’ve made real friends from blogging that I would include in my Top Ten all time friends, but that has come about because at some stage I, or they reached out and made contact beyond what the very open forum of blogging can provide. I’ve tried to summarize the positions you all held and tried to comment.. Enjoy… Farida talked about the opportunity to raise issues and fight injustices via the vehicle of blogging: I agree explicitly with you on that one. The global accessibility that the internet provides makes it a great tool to raise awareness on topical issues – if people get to read it that is. With the level of internet penetration in Nigeria though, I’d be very surprised if blogs do not merely cater to the already intellectually aware.

On Technology.... Flickering Pixels...

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:07:32 +0000

I jumped at the chance to participate in BlogTourSpot’s review of Shane Hipps new book: Flickering Pixels – How Technology Shapes Your Faith for two reasons. I was at a stage where I thought the clutter of technology was squeezing sense out of my normal life, plus I’d get a copy of the book for free.

The author’s background is in advertising, which has given him a unique insight into the working of media and how it is changing how we think, which ultimately affects how we share and live out our faith. The book sets out in broad strokes the insidious dangers that the changes media brings to our lives can generate, and by sounding out a clarion call, we can be on the lookout for them and avoid them as they arise. Several key points stand out 1. All Faith is based on communication – either from God to us or between us as adherents, and the way we primarily communicate affects our interpretation of our faith. 2. Each more ‘efficient’ means of communication we pick up has a dark side – it increases the propensity to clutter rather than clarify. 3. Media is not neutral – the message we actually get from communicating is both dependent on the message and the medium. 4. Pictures & Images (such as television) hijack our imagination. Words and printed matter however encourage us to generate our own images of the concepts being discussed, as opposed to being fed an image which in reality is one man’s interpretation of the words behind the image. 5. We have slowly become a tribe of individuals – sharing experiences on an unprecedented scale (shared experiences build community, a ‘tribal’ ethos) but yet utilizing the self same tools to build an illusion of closeness whilst in reality, it is only yet another layer of interaction, another screen between the real us and the next person. 6. For Christians, we are both the medium and the message and all other forms of communication should only be to facilitate that primary, face to face communication model, not replace it.

7 random quotes... and 2 songs......

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 23:14:17 +0000

1. That a mad man decides to dance naked does not mean that sane men should beat the drums ~ West African proverb.

2.Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor Frankl

3. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. ~ Winston Churchill

Reflecting..... Three Ideas for Life

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:30:15 +0000

Over the past few days, the transience of life has been brought very forcibly to the forefront of my mind. Maybe it’s the new streak of grey in my beard, or the news of yet another young acquaintance who is no more, or it’s the startling realization that the kids who were born the year I completed undergrad study are all knocking on the door of their teenage years…. The various random thoughts coursing daily through my head have agglomerated around three key concepts - Cogitation, Connection and Contribution.

Don't waste...............your mugging!

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:20:00 +0000

I heard John Piper tell a story in a message today from his “Don’t Waste Your Life Conference” based on the Julio Diaz story…

Apparently the guy’s a social worker and, like all chronic Bachelors, frequents a particular diner for his evening meal on the way back from work on Fridays. On this day, he was ambushed by a would-be mugger. Rather than attempt to struggle, Diaz proceeded to offer his coat, and then dinner to the teenager.

Wilberforce.... On Social Responsibility

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:05:00 +0000

If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.

William Wilberforce (Abolusionist & Member of Parliament)

Jim Elliot on what really matters....

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 01:55:00 +0000

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot (Missionary to Ecuador and Martyr)

Piper on why we do not hunger for God.....

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:24:00 +0000

The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife

Random Quote.. Ravi Zacharias...

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:30:00 +0000

No real update today, so i decided to share a quote from some of the stuff I’ve been listening to..

The only thing worse than nostalgia is amnesia…

- Ravi Zacharias

Memories from the pre-black sheep years.....

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:43:00 +0000

“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs”

Jonah 2:8……

Seven Ideas for Life...

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Found this interesting article on Boundless.org. Dennis Prager is a Jewish American and a talk show host.. Enjoy his thoughts from the commencement address he gave to the 1997 graduating class of Pepperdine University.

One: The Greatest Struggle Is with Yourself - not with society.. Two: Trust Your Common Sense Three: Race is Unimportant Four: Don’t Leave Your Values at Home Five: Beware of Bad Ideas Six: Behavior Matters More than Intentions Seven: Religion is the True Counterculture

On Social Responsibility..

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:53:00 +0000

Just saw the shocking videos referenced by the waffarian. Such behavior is not only appalling, it is simply unacceptable. I’d hazard a guess that while Akwa Ibom may be in the spotlight on this issue at the moment, things like these are happening all over the country in the hinterland…

The combination of spiritual zeal and half-baked knowledge has always being a fatal mix. I’m deeply ashamed to admit that I spent a couple of years in Eket and did not realize the full extent of this problem - yes we saw kids on the road and occasionally gave them money - but there was no concerted effort on our part to do something about it.. A couple of expats came together from time to time and provided funding to get some off the streets and into safe houses in other states for their safety - but the overwhelming response from us Nigerians was one of apathy and studied indifference…

The Fourth Dimension of Quality

Thu, 22 May 2008 08:07:00 +0000

Spent May Day listening to the likes of Fred Thompson, Sharon McPherson, Ibukun Awosika, Leke Alder at the platform (www.theplatformnigeria.com ) .. Fred seems to be big on this TQM thing – Meeting specifications, meeting expectations and providing excitement.. Maybe there is a fourth quality – operating at a more fundamental level — but none the less critical – quality of thought…

What's in a Worldview?

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Russ Bush:

A worldview is that basic set of assumptions that gives meaning to one’s thoughts. A worldview is the set of assumptions that someone has about the way things are, about what things are, about why things are.

St. Augustine of Hippo:

True faith is bound up with reason

James W. Sire (The Universe Next Door):

A worldview is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world.

The Marks of Real Manhood

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:17:00 +0000

Found Al Mohler’s (www.albertmohler.com) precise distillation of the essential qualities of would -be husbands and fathers over at Boundless (www.boundless.org). Couldn’t help asking myself if indeed my house was in order.. 13 critical dimensions of manhood from a Christian worldview - a must read for Christian men and the women who love them..

Read the complete article at
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001093.cfm

What Girls Wish You Know?

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 19:58:00 +0000

All – Found this interesting article over at my favorite truth shop - www.boundless.org Comments anyone?

Show some respect. When it comes to respecting women, many Christian guys act no differently than the world. When I hear a man talk about other women disrespectfully, it is an immediate turn-off. Some guys will pour on the charm when they take a girl out on a date, but they don’t demonstrate the same consideration to their female friends. Even something as simple as keeping his house clean, so women feel comfortable when they visit, will make the women in his life feel valued.

Every Day I Say I Do

Sat, 19 May 2007 06:16:00 +0000

Attended a friend’s wedding fairly recently…Saw a lot of old chums, all nicely dressed, sweet looking gentlemen now – a far cry from the rowdy rabble we were a few years ago on campus. Guess the last time we saw ourselves in that number at one time was way back then in the Uni days..

We talked a lot about a lot but ultimately the discussions gravitated towards the “new life” our man had just stepped into – marriage – and the difficulties in meeting “good girls” at our stage of life. Young up and coming guys who are perceived to be doing well have the unique disadvantage of being seen as “arrived” and thus as good prospects.