Nouslife

14 May 2008

Airships

Over the years I have occasionally wondered whether anyone has been looking at airships for transport in stead of jets and the like. So I was happy to see this article by George Monbiot touting the same idea and adding a few helpful details like these:

a large commercial airliner cruises at about 900 kilometres per hour, the maximum speed of an airship is roughly 150kph. At an average speed of 130kph, the journey from London to New York would take 43 hours. Airships are more sensitive to wind than aeroplanes, which means that flights are more likely to be delayed. But they have one major advantage: the environmental cost could be reduced almost to zero.

Even when burning fossil fuels, the total climate-changing impact of an airship, according to researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, is 80-90% smaller than that of ordinary aircraft(4). But the airship is also the only form of transport which can easily store hydrogen: you could inflate a hydrogen bladder inside the helium balloon. There might be a neat synergy here: one of the problems with airships is that they become lighter - and therefore harder to control - as the fuel is consumed. In this case they become heavier.

Air Force Aims for 'Full Control' of 'Any and All' Computers

My first reaction was to doubt that this would be possible, but my second was concern that it should be attempted at all.Air Force Aims for 'Full Control' of 'Any and All' Computers | Danger Room from Wired.com:
"The government is growing increasingly interested in waging war online. The Air Force recently put together a 'Cyberspace Command,' with a charter to rule networks the way its fighter jets rule the skies. The Department of Homeland Security, Darpa, and other agencies are teaming up for a five-year, $30 billion 'national cybersecurity iniative.' That includes an electronic test range, where federally-funded hackers can test out the latest electronic attacks. 'You used to need an army to wage a war,' a recent Air Force commercial notes. 'Now, all you need is an Internet connection.'"
It might appear at first sight that cyber war would be more merciful, but let's recall that the point of trying this kind of thing is to be able to shut down things like power, water, transport: thus it is a definite turn away from respecting non-combatants and embedding total warfare in strategy.

What should our response be as Christians? Well for non-pacifists the erosion of just war principles is surely a matter for concern. For pacifists and perhaps for just-war-proponents, the issue may be how resistance looks in such circumstances ... still thinking about that; any thoughts or leads gratefully received.

A Story for Ascension

Thanks to Maggi Dawn a story about the Ascension where the symbolic meaning is really important. It has the feel of a Rabbinical tale, which I like.

As Abba Sayah tells it, after forty days of resurrection appearances, Jesus knew it was time to leave his disciples – his mother, his brothers and sisters, his companions in the Way. It was hard to say goodbye, but he knew that the time had come. After all, he was the truth and we humans can only take so much of that.

So Jesus called them all together on the mountain top, and made his farewells. It was a tearful moment. Mary was crying. John was crying. Jesus was crying. Even Peter, the immovable rock, was reaching for his handkerchief.

They knew that Jesus had said he would always be with them. But they also knew it wasn't going to be the same. There would be no more breakfasts by the seashore, no more late night discussions around the campfire.

Jesus was sad too, but he was glad to be returning to his Father, and he knew it was all part of the plan. And so he began to ascend.

As Abba Sayah told the story, just as Jesus began to rise, slowly and gracefully into the air, John just couldn't bear it. He grabbed hold of Jesus' right leg, and refused to let go.

"John?" said Jesus “What are you doing?” And John shouted back, "If you won't stay with us, then I'm coming too."

Jesus calmly continued to rise, hoping that John would let go. But John didn't let go. And then to make matters more complicated, Mary suddenly jumped up and grabbed hold of Jesus' other leg. "I'm coming too," she shouted.

By now, Jesus’ big exit had obviously been ruined, but he looked up into heaven, and called out: "Okay, Father... what do I do now?" And a voice came out of the clouds, deep and loud like the rumbling of thunder in the distance.

"Ascend!" the voice said.

"Ascend?" Jesus asked?

"Ascend!" the voice replied.

So Jesus continued to rise through the air, with John and Mary holding on until they too were lifted off the ground.

Well, then, ALL the other apostles, not wanting to be left behind, jumped on too. Imagine if you can – a pyramid of people hanging in the middle of the sky. Jesus at the top. John and Mary next. The apostles hanging on below.

And then - what was this? Suddenly all kinds of people were appearing out of nowhere.

friends and neighbours that had followed them up the mountain.

The crowds he used to preach to.

Old people.

Young people.

Jews and Gentiles.

Men and women.

All of them grabbing the last pair of ankles and holding on.

And above it all the voice of God calling out, “Ascend!"

But all of a sudden, from the bottom of the pyramid, there came the voice of a small child.

"Wait!” he yelled, “I've lost my dog! Wait for me”

"I can't wait," Jesus called back, "I don't know how this thing works." But the little boy wasn't going to be left behind, and he was determined his dog was coming with him. So, still holding on with one hand, he grabbed hold of a tree with the other, and held on with all his might.

For a moment, the whole pyramid stopped dead in the air - Jesus pulling upwards, and the little boy holding on to the tree, scanning the horizon for his lost dog.

But Jesus couldn't stop. The ascension had begun, and God was pulling him back up to heaven.

At first it looked as if the tree would uproot itself. But then the tree held on, and it started to pull the ground up with it. Sort of like when you pull a rug up in the middle, the

soil itself started moving up into the sky. And hundreds of miles away, where the soil met the oceans, the oceans held on. And where the oceans met the shores, the shores held on. All of it held on, like there was no tomorrow.

To make a short story long: Jesus DID ascend to heaven, He went back to his natural habitat, living permanently in the presence of God’s endless love and care and wholeness and laughter.

But, as Abba Sayah tells it, he pulled all of creation – the whole kit and caboodle – everything that ever was or is or ever will be – he pulled it all up into heaven with him.

13 May 2008

Spiritualission

I can so relate to this:

Recently, a young couple came to arrange for their banns to be called, and the conversation took an unexpected direction. They had been attending the church where they were to be married, and the groom was struggling with this experience. He told me that he could not have the kind of faith that Christians have. He could not be a Christian because he could not accept these set descriptions of God and the world, when his experience was telling him something else. In this sort of dialogue, I need another word. I need to describe Christianity in a way that is not about rules or binding, but about a journey of faith and the experience of God. “Spirituality” and “spiritual path” are not adequate to the task, but they are a starting place. They offer me the possibility to describe faith in terms of relationship with God and others; to answer the need inside each of us that presents itself more readily in questions than answers. We live in a time that some call post-Christian. People have given up on legalistic, controlling religion. They have also begun to give up on the materialism and licence with which they replaced it, as they see that it does not meet their needs. They flock to the “Body, Mind and Spirit” section of bookshops, and to talks on alternative practices because they are trying to find a way to feed their spiritual side. They are not flocking to the Church, because they do not see that we have anything to offer them. So when I say to people: “I’m not really religious,” they are nonplussed. “Hang on,” said one young man, “but you’re a vicar.” It is then that I use that word spirituality to begin a dialogue about experiencing God rather than joining a club and following rules.

The article by Eva McIntyre is brief but raises the issue nicely and helpfully. Doubly so since someone close to me has been articulating their faith in terms of finding the cultural baggage of traditional church and faith expressions very unhelpful but still finding a vibrant meaning in God-centredness in Christ...

Don't let the Language Crazies win

Another helpful piece at Language Log : it discusses the difficulty that while it is true that split infinitives are actually standard English, the opinionated but misinformed ("the crazies") are sometimes in positions of power and could take against the split infinitive on your job application or mark your dissertation down. The problem is that altering our linguistic behaviour to accommodate their unfounded prejudice only encourages them. So Arnold Zwicky's advice, at the end of it all is this: "The objective fact is that split infinitives are standard English. So my advice is: split an infinitive if it suits you (or don't, if that suits you). Good writers do it. And you don't even have to have a defense for it; do it because it sounds right for you. Don't let the crazies win."
And yet, do we want to risk it? Well one of my tactics has been to have a standard footnote to (a) recognise that 'yes: I have split an infinitive' and (b) it's deliberate because (c) it is standard English and here's a reference or two to demonstrate it (and perhaps mention Shakespeare and Jane Austin, inter alia, used them).

08 May 2008

15 Strangely Shaped Trees

Some of these look a bit 'rude' but some are really just amazing.

I find these a light relief at the moment from an outstandingly busy time in my life: I have my heaviest teaching load in the academic year just at the time when reports have to be done and there's a load of marking of reports following the deadline at the start of this term. Added to which I wasn't able to get a march on designing the learning for this term's teaching because last term (when I'd normally have started on it) my daughter's accident threw everything into a turmoil. So if you are a praying sort, please pray for wisdom on my part and helpful synergies and synchronicities to help me. If you aren't a praying sort, I still appreciate it if you think kindly on me!
Any way, regular-ish visitors may now know why I've not been posting much lately: I've been digesting mission history and trying to help others learn from it.
15 Strangely Shaped Trees