Random Thoughts Archives - Page 15 of 31

The Angry Messiah

Today is Pigeon Monday. Or at least that’s what I call it. Hopefully I’ll start a new trend! I call today Pigeon Monday because it seems Jesus had something against pigeons. That’s evident from the story about tearing up the Temple grounds.

On the Monday before Passover, Jesus entered the Temple grounds and unleashed some fury. It was always one of my favorite Bible stories when I was a kid. The vision of the Messiah overturning tables, driving people out, blocking people from bringing anything through the Temple … it was all so exciting compared to the meek and mild …

Ember

My son has always been a tinkerer. We still laugh about his childhood dream of wanting to build an airplane in our backyard. I pointed out we had no tires for the plane to land with and he said, “They sell tires at Costco.” I pointed out we had no engine, which stumped him for a little while, and then he said, “We have one in Mom’s car.”

Stubborn, focused, no problem was too large to solve … he had the perfect internal hard wiring to be an inventor. And tinker he did, from Legos to woodshop to photography to …

Singapore

My last post focused on my time in the Klong Toey Slum of Bangkok and the challenges of human trafficking and poverty. How to handle such complex problems?

Well, one way is to do what I did. Fly to Singapore and forget about it.

Envelope myself in luxury. Let the Raffles Hotel staff laugh at my stupid jokes and insist it’s their pleasure to wash my dirty socks. Lose count of the Italian super cars and shopping malls.

I’m writing this from the Writers Bar of the Raffles Hotel, where Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling would sip drinks and write. …

From This Adventure to the Next and Back

Most of us feel a touch of trepidation when we travel to an unknown place. Walking into the foreign can be both thrilling and frightening at the same time.

Even after years of going to the odd and curious places around the world — behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War, into Zimbabwe as Mugabe muscled white farmers out of the country, exploring the rainforest with machete in hand, visiting Haiti just after the USA invaded, through the giant security wall around the West Bank, or even a violent neighborhood not far from my old office …

Support the Boring this Holiday Season

“….in this age of elites who delight in such phrases as “out of the box” and “killer app”, arguably the most coveted status symbol isn’t a yacht, a racehorse, or a knighthood; it’s a philanthropic foundation — and, more than that, one actively managed in ways that show its sponsor has big ideas for reshaping the world.”
Chrystia Freeland, Plutocrats

I remember reading that line in Plutocrats and laughing out loud. It’s so true, especially here in the Silicon Valley region. And it’s why I’m not keen on engaging with a lot of foundations.

This came to light recently as …

Views of Summer

It has been an amazing summer. September is a wonderful month — the weather is often the best of the year. But it also makes me pause and realize summer is nearly over. Tonight they harvest our grapes, so I guess it really is Fall.

Thought I’d share a few of the amazing sunsets, wildlife, and cloud formations we have seen in and around the vineyard this past summer. None of these were taken with a filter or edited.

I’ll start with the most recent, a photo I took Sunday night of the Mount Diablo fire.

So which one is …

Finishing the Challenge

It begins with, “In the beginning, God…”

It concludes with, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”

And in between is a whole lot.

It’s the Bible, and it’s really long. Sixty six books — or at least letters — and over 1000 pages even without the notes. Over 700,000 words total.

In the last 90-days, I have read it all. No, not listened to it. Not perused it. But actually read it. It’s like reading the entire of book of Romans each day, plus a bit. About 30 minutes a day for me.

A friend and …

Best Looking Cars Ever?

A blog titled Junkyard Wisdom should post something about cars every now and then, don’t you think? I came across this article from Popular Mechanics and found it amusing. It’s a list of the top 100 hottest looking cars of all time. A good way to waste a few minutes daydreaming.

Get a few car lovers together, have plenty of your favorite adult beverage available, and this list of 100 Hottest Cars of All Time will create all kinds of arguments and laughter. I admire Popular Mechanics for even giving it a try; it wouldn’t be easy to pull such …