Freely you have received, freely give.

The helpless little child made its way toward the United Nation food camp located 1 kilometer away. The photographer stopped only long enough to take this picture.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mark 10:14

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; Psalm 113:7

We need to do more than just look at the picture.

If giving to your church will save the life of a child like this, give to your church.
Otherwise, this service is very easy to use: Action Against Hunger.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. Luke 12:33

Pirates vs. Ninjas: Part 2

Mission:
Which faction will do the best job mowing the grass: Pirates or Ninjas? The job will be judged on quality and speed. The clock starts at sunrise.

How the Pirates Mow the Grass:

Sunrise: No activity
10:00am: A dozen pirates convene in the front lawn, argue for five minutes and then scatter accross the neighborhood. Five minutes later they return with a dozen nearby residents. Each of these neighbors has their own lawn mower and a few minor cuts and bruises. Due to threats of bodily harm, the neighbors begin to furiously mow the grass. The pirates drive them to mow as fast as they can. They miss a spot or two but another pirate/mower team spots it and cleans it up. The cat-o-nine-tails is employed when mistakes occur, and few make a second mistake. The positioning of the mowers across the lawn isn't perfectly dispersed but it's close. The pace is frantic.
10:16am: Every blade of grass has been cut. The lawn is done.


How the Ninjas Mow the Grass:

Sunrise: No activity
10:00am: No activity
12:00pm: No activity
6:00pm: No activity
Nightfall...
At this point it was agreed upon that the Ninjas had elected not to participate in this competition, and we eventually went to bed.
...
However...despite never hearing a lawnmower, or even hearing the neighbor's dog bark, we found the lawn to be cut and groomed the next morning.


Analysis:
The pirates were clearly very fast. Their lines were not real straight and there were some places where the grass was uneven due to differing blade heights, but it didn't look horrible.

To properly analyze the Ninja's work, a botanical forensics specialist was brought in, and he estimated that the grass was systematically cut between 8:00am and 7:30pm. The disturbing thing is that we were alert and expecting to see the Ninjas begin their work. We simply overlooked the fact that the lawn was gradually being completed throughout the day. The Ninjas methods are a complete mystery. They did a very good job and deserve style points, but speed was a part of this contest, and the Ninjas took at least 9 hours and 14 minutes longer to get the job done. The higher level of quality was not enough to make up for the disparity in speed. Pirates win!

Voyager 2

I was looking up the date of Pluto’s declassification as a planet, for a curious friend, and stumbled upon the wikipedia article about Voyager 2. As you know, Voyager 2 sailed by many of the planets in the solar system taking pictures’n stuff. Afterward, it’s just kinda continued to cruise out into deep space. The article states the following…

Since its planetary mission is over, Voyager 2 is now described as working on an interstellar mission, which NASA is using to find out what the solar system is like beyond the heliosphere. Like Voyager 1 around three years before, Voyager 2 crossed into the heliosheath, the last section of the heliosphere before interstellar space, in October 2007. Each Voyager carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent aliens. The disc carries images of Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, and a medley, "Sounds of Earth", that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore and a variety of music.

Great! We’ve given the Borg, Romulans, Protoss, and Sith a menu of entrées and the address to the restaurant. Thanks a lot NASA!