Friends & bros

Walter Macfarlane and Alan Robinson were both raised in Hawaii and have been great friends for sixty years. This month they were surprised to find out that . . in addition to being friends, they are actually brothers.

Robinson had been adopted and was looking for his birth relatives. Macfarlane never knew his father. They made the connection through Ancestry.com.

Having been friends since 6th grade, they both say the news came as a shock - a shock they shared with their families last Saturday, Dec. 23.

“This is the best Christmas present I could ever imagine having,” Robinson said.

“It really is a Christmas miracle and we’re just so happy that we found it,” Macfarlane-Flores said."

Since 2013

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Though IS forces were driven out of Mosul, Iraq, things are far from normal compared to pre-IS. 

Normal social networks have to be re-built. "A Christian writer who evacuated to Kurdistan says, “When I come back, I feel broken because my neighbors stood by and watched as our possessions were looted in front of their sight. Too many have bought into the ideology that we are infidels . .”

But still, "Christians in Iraq decorated war-torn Mosul with Christmas lights and Christmas trees and even had a visit from Santa for the first time since their last Christmas celebration in 2013."

“The community is still severely affected by the war, people are celebrating [Christmas] out of habit with dulled senses and cold emotions,” said Edward, who lives in an Assyrian Christian enclave in the Nineveh Plain."

photo: dailymail.co.uk

IS defeat

Islamic State (ISIS) took Mosul, Iraq, in 2014. Christians had four options: stay and convert, stay and pay, die, or run. One night, one hundred thousand Christians fled Mosul, leaving families and their way of life behind. 

Homes, churches, museums, neighborhoods - not only Christian - were ravaged and destroyed while IS was in control. The UN estimates that IS barbarity eventually displaced over 3 million people in the region.

But three years of fighting have culminated with a victory declared by Iraqi prime minister Al-Abadi this month. He said, "We defeated Daesh (ISIS) through our unity and sacrifice for the nation. Long live Iraq and its people."

"The US special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS tweeted . . "We congratulate the Prime Minister and all the Iraqi people on this significant achievement, which many thought impossible."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Not pagan

Some people are bothered by the claim that our Christmas celebration was just the co-opting of a pagan Roman Empire celebration, and therefore not valid. This article says that there's little or no evidence to renounce our holiday as a fake.

It doesn't seem to co-opt the "Saturnalia" or the "Sol Invictus" festivals. And it looks like early Christians made a good faith attempt to put a date on Christ's birth so that it could be observed.

Given how hard it would be to be certain of the date Mary had her baby in the stable, with no news coverage whatsoever, and two thousand years ago, I think a little uncertainty is not a problem. 

We have a date, and we celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ brought light to the world:

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . ." (from John 1)

photo: wikipedia.com

Both Christmases

Ah, Christmas Day. Lovely, fragrant, cheery, fun. Or not. Christmas is wonderful; it's also serious with a side of sadness at times.

If you have circumstances making your Christmas Day less than great, just know that there's an inherent suffering right in Christmas. The story of Jesus' birth eventually led to the story of His walk to Gethsemane - and He knew it would.

"Why Christmas is and should be a bit sad"

Christmas beauty

Christmas-inspired music has been inspiring us for hundreds of years (the first Christmas was something like 4 A.D.). 

Johann Sebastian Bach was himself inspired by the God of the Bible. His music was "the expression of a unitary … world view, in which all beauty … was sacred because God was one, both Creator and Redeemer."

"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." —J.S. Bach

Here is beauty from his Christmas Oratorio, to glorify God and refresh your soul.

Christmas Carol

“You take the meanest man alive and show him the error of his ways…and we get to come along for the ride.”

That quote is from the director of an animated version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," produced in 2009. Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn and other well-known actors star in this motion capture, or performance capture, film. 

"For the actors, it’s a fascinating process with no costumes, no physical makeup and very little as far as sets. Carrey and the rest of the cast had their work cut out for them in their efforts to become the characters. “A lot of people think that these movies are just voice-over work,” says Carrey, “but they feature complete performances by actors.”



Just saw it for the first time, now it's my favorite.

Producing

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Lots of good things result from the success of that one business in yesterday's post, the Harris farm ("White Oak Pastures") of Bluffton, Georgia. Will's decision to stop following the industrial farming model - and to start the sustainable grazing model - initiated ripples of improvement and prosperity beyond his family.

Originally a beef monoculture, the farm now additionally has goats, chickens, sheep, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and more. Chickens graze a field after cattle move on, spreading manure and feeding on larvae breeding in it. Small ruminants also follow cattle. Will says the animals are healthier and happier every year.

Land that supported only cows years ago now now supports lots of diverse life - all of which make the land better. There's more microbial life in the soil, it absorbs much more water (instead of letting it run off), and more carbon is sequestered in it.

Animals, land, Harris family, 100+ employees, businesses they buy from - all benefit because the folks at White Oak Pastures create value. It all works because they serve a market niche that is willing to pay the price for these products.

Will says, "Technically I work 16 hours a day but I don't feel like I work at all! I would do for free what I do for a living."  That's passion.

Sustainable

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

McDonald's is looking for sustainable farmers. Here is the story of one.

Will Harris inherited the northern Georgia farm that his grandfather originally bought. It was profitable until the early 1990's, then it wasn't. That's when the land's productivity sank so low that farms couldn't be profitable anymore, and the little farming community died.

Will's dad started using ammonium nitrate fertilizer on his pasture back in 1946. What he didn't know was that, although the grass seemed to love it, that fertilizer was killing "the microbial life that fed the soil."

His "contained animal feeding operation" (CAFO) supported his family for about twenty years. Then came the dark days and he wound up borrowing $7 million to maintain his industrial farm. At the bottom of the barrel, he changed to a system like Joel Salatin's.

He calls himself a grass farmer now, just like Salatin does. His farm has grown from 700 cows in 1995 to 100,000 different animals - all on the same land. It seems like a miracle. They support their family and over one hundred employees.

McD & climate

Allan Savory has been speaking and training farmers for years. Joel Salatin has been speaking and writing books and training farmers for years. Both of them (I'm sure there are others whom I don't know about) are passionate to spread the message that correctly raising pastured beef produces productive land & nutritious meat . . and takes CO2 out of the atmosphere. 

That huge global user of beef, i.e. McDonald's, may have been listening. 

photo: firstwefeast.com

"For more than four years, McDonald’s has been traversing a long and arduous path to produce "sustainable beef" in its sprawling global supply chain.

"The fast-food giant is embarking on a small but potentially significant project to measure and analyze the ability of cattle farming to sequester carbon in soil, using a style of grazing called adaptive multi-paddock — AMP, for short. If it works, it could transform the way McDonald’s ranchers raise cattle and produce beef — while avoiding the release of millions or even billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Merry Christmas

If you were an American Christian living in, say, Iraq, would you wish your neighbors a Happy Ramadan? I would do that - to honor their tradition and to extend courtesy to my neighbors.

About 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas, some Christian and some not. So you're on very solid ground when you say "Merry Christmas!" to almost everybody.



Note: Christians (including me) celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. But non-Christians celebrate our national holiday too - "a big majority (81%) of non-Christians in the U.S.also celebrate Christmas." You offend almost nobody by wishing them a cheery "Merry Christmas."

Interpersonal

Pastor Mac shares wisdom for smoother interaction with other people. "Don't dream up conflict." Genuine conflict is unavoidable, but hopefully we can avoid dreamed-up conflict. If a conversation can clear the air, we won't have to suffer through more conflict than is necessary.

Sit with us

Natalie Hampton was bullied in school for years, told that she would never have any friends, even physically attacked. But it was sitting alone at lunch that made her feel like an outcast.

Changing schools in ninth grade made the difference for her, though, when she was invited to sit with someone during lunch. She says that this kindness saved her life.

Natalie created an app called "Sit With Us." Students create "open lunches" where anyone can join them and be included in the conversation. 

"Even though just about every school has bullies, I believe each school has a larger number of upstanders who want to make their schools more inclusive and kind," she said.

Last walker

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Gene Cernan, an American Navy captain, "veteran of three space flights, and the last man to walk on the moon", died last January at the age of 82.

Here's footage of the launch of the huge Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 17 mission (it's 45 years old):

He was confident that we would go back to the moon and even Mars eventually.

When the mission ended he said, "As we leave the moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as

we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind."

As of yesterday, it looks like we are officially going back. President Trump has directed

NASA to focus on returning humans to the moon

Apollo 17

Last Friday, December 7, marked exactly 76 years since Japan attacked Pearl Harbor - and it also marked the launch of Apollo 17 back in 1972. Forty-five years ago a human being stood on the moon, and no one has done it since.

The Apollo Program was designed by NASA to send astronauts to the moon and return them safely to earth. Six Apollo flights accomplished that.

Jack Schmitt, one of the twelve individuals who have walked the moon, spent 22 hours there as a geologist during this mission. "He is eager to see a rebirth of the zeal for U.S. human space exploration that boosted Schmitt and Apollo 17 Cmdr. Eugene Cernan onto the lunar surface . ."

Could we once again successfully explore deep space? He commented:

"We actually are in a much better technical and knowledge position today to undertake a moon-Mars initiative than we were just prior to the start of Apollo."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Tesla driver 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Yesterday's post was the BMW owner's story, today is the Ferrari owner's story:

"Finally Something to Hate About the Model S!

"I have had my P85 [Tesla Model S] for 6 months, and I have finally found something bad to say about it: owning the Model S has made me dislike my Ferrari and every other car I once loved. I paid nearly $250,000 for the Ferrari and now I don't really want to drive it. 

"After being in the Tesla, the Ferrari is loud, cramped, primitive, and stressful to drive. In fact, all my ICE vehicles now feel so archaic compared to the Model S. Starting up a car's engine now seems like an asinine waste of time (and oxygen!). Waiting for a drivetrain to "warm up" is now bewildering. Having to work the engine and transmission through revs and gears (even with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission) was once a pleasure -- now it is just frustrating. The existence of gas stations now seems completely moronic (refuel overnight in the comfort of your own garage!). The Ferrari once felt blisteringly, scary fast (0-60 in 3.5s), but believe it or not, the P85 feels a LOT quicker than the Ferrari in the real world. (I don't think any ICE vehicle could ever compare with the instantaneous rush that the P85 provides) . . . 

"The Model S has rendered obsolete the very best cars in the world. My Ferrari is now gathering dust. Thanks a lot, Model S :)"

So interesting to me that both this driver and yesterday's driver love their Teslas for the driving experience! Most of us always thought the motive to buy an electric vehicle was just to save fossil fuels. Guess not. 

Tesla driver 1

Reading articles for the "auto era ends" posts three weeks ago, I ran across a Ferrari owner and an M3 owner who loved their cars - but now drive a Tesla Model 3. They didn't make the switch to save the climate. They both now drive their Model 3 just for the pleasure of it.

Here's the BMW owner's story:

"My primary car starting in 2001 was a then-new BMW M3 E46. It was nimble, it was quick, it was exciting, and it was stylish and well admired. I enjoyed it for years, and it was the right car for me then. It was so successful and redefining its part of the industry that many other automakers spent years creating their own answer to that edition of M3."

He drove it for over ten years before moving on to the Tesla. 

"The M3 is an excellent car. I enjoyed it for over a decade, and, short of a V12, it's definitely the best-sounding gas engine I know with its inherently balanced inline-6 engine . . But as good as it is, the M3 has been clearly surpassed. 

"Now that I drive the Model S, the M3 and all other gas cars feel clunky and lurchy and powered by outdated, noisy, overcomplicated monstrosities. They're not fun anymore. I found I no longer like the rumble, the shake, the smells, and the noises of the gas engine and its transmission, jiggling my innards and wearing me out after a long drive. 

"While I still admire the engineering accomplishments the M3 represents, it also represents the pinnacle of the bygone gas-engine technology of the 20th century. My feeling is the same I would have for a beautiful 19th-century-tech steam locomotive: I can admire its impressive engineering, but why would I possibly want to own one? Especially next to a 21st-century Model S.

Colleges doomed

Out of the 4,000 existing U.S. colleges and universities, about half of them won't be around in a few decades. They'll be bankrupt because so many students will be able to get their education less expensively online.

That's the prediction of a Harvard Business School professor. But he's not alone in his opinion.

"The U.S. Department of Education and Moody's Investors Service project that in the coming years, closure rates of small colleges and universities will triple."

In 2016, the average graduate had about $37,000 in student loan debt. Americans in total owe about $1.45 trillion on student loans. Let's hope that figure goes down drastically, and graduates can find other ways to spend or invest that money.

IoT #2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

A giant network of things connected to the internet, and therefore able to send data to other things -- that's the Internet of Things. What things? "The new rule for the future is going to be, "Anything that can be connected, will be connected."

"Say for example you are on your way to a meeting; your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take. If the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late. 

"What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you? What if your office equipment knew when it was running low on supplies and automatically re-ordered more?  "

IoT #1

Internet of Things (IoT). It's things all around us connected to the internet so that humans can be freed from the task of gathering information and the task can be done without error.

Soil sensors can warn farmers that certain fields need water, for instance, though other fields don't. If the data is computed right at the field in the irrigation system, then the solution (targeted watering) can be done instantly. That would be "edge computing." 

Edge computing will also be done in a hospital context. A small computer can analyze the patient's vital signs in great detail and in real time, leading to better diagnosis and more effective intervention to prevent a life-threatening incident.

"The edge is where the action is. It’s a manufacturing floor, a building, a campus, a city, your house, a crop field, a wind farm, a power plant, an oil rig, a telecommunications outpost, a sports arena, a battlefield, in your car, in the sky or under the sea. In the future, computing is everywhere."

(from NYT, cont'd tomorrow)

Water from air

Is there really any water in the dry air of Arizona? Apparently there's more than you might think, because a professor has invented solar panels that wring drinking water out of that air. His business is called Zero Mass Water, and it makes Source Hydropanels.

photo: forbes.com

The most they will produce is five liters per day, so it's only for drinking water - not near enough for irrigation or general household use. A typical home setup would be two units, for a price of $4500 plus installation.

Pricey, if you have access to plenty of water already. But interesting, if you don't. For bottled-water-using-families, the system could pay for itself in five years.

Possible applications:

1) contamination of local water, as in Flint, Michigan
2) lack of clean water in many parts of the world
3) desire to be off-grid in terms of water supply

(from Forbes)