Ok, so the title is a little over the top.  But I’ve been thinking about how the services which are collectively called “Web 2.0″ work, and what they do to people, and perhaps it’s not hyperbole after all.

This all began with a game I played with friends called the Poll Game.  The idea is that one persons asks a question, and everyone tries to predict how many people will answer “yes” to the question.  It’s a step above Scruples (shudder), but can be a way to kill 20 minutes.  Anyway, the question in question (hah!  made a funny!) was, “Do you think that we will have established a working colony – no families, just astronauts and scientists – on the surface of another planet or moon within 100 years?”

This seemed like a ridiculous question to me.  After all, you should ask questions where the answers of the other players is not obvious.  I immediately pulled the “10″ out of my hand, indicating that I thought all of us would say “yes.”

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Today my school invited Greg Mortenson (author of Three Cups of Tea) to speak to the community as the Harold Hines Fellow. Unfortunately, he was delayed in flight and did not make his afternoon appearance. So to make productive use of the time, we held a Morning Exercise and allowed the students to speak about the service learning that had been put in place as a result of this book. It was a very meaningful event, in spite of losing the services of our keynote speaker.

Before you scream, “but you said you’d never blog about work!” keep your shirt on. This isn’t really about work, but rather about the video that comprised part of our assembly. This video was produced for Pennies for Peace, Mr. Mortenson’s student-focused service and fund-raising organization. It stars his daughter, and is extremely well done and worth a watch.

You hear the “but” coming, don’t you?

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When the new congress was sworn in, one member (Keith Ellison – Democrat from Minnesota) will be placing one hand on a 200 year old Koran, once owned by Thomas Jefferson. Let’s leave for just a moment the unconstitutionality of permiting – much less requiring – a ceremony that calls upon a deity to aid in serving the country. Let’s instead focus on the Neaderthal response that involving the Koran has sparked in some of our enlightened leaders.

From the Chicago Tribune: “Some critics have said only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) warned that unless immigration is tightened, “many more Muslims” will be elected and follow Ellison’s lead.”

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I know I’m shooting fish in a barrel here, but on this, my last day in NC, I stumbled across my mother-in-law’s bible study book for the winter quarter. These books are published in series (usually for monthly or quarterly consumption) and are intended to serve as bible commentaries upon which to base a Sunday School class. Because they are intended for the laity and not for a bible scholar or minister to lead a group, they can be simplistic in their points and lacking in their historical context.

My mother-in-law’s church is currently using Volume 1, number 2 of “The Herschel Hobbs Commentary,” written by Dr. Robert J. Dean. (The Herschel Hobbs in the title is in honor of Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs, an theologian of the Southern Baptist Church.) I would have dismissed this journal as a typical protestant collection of homilies, inspirations, and scripture interpretations had I not seen the second theme of this volume: “Creation Faith: Living by God’s Design.” As I feared, this section was concerned with Genesis 1 through 11 and how these words should be applied as a historical reference to the creation of the universe.

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I’m a week early, but is it too soon to go on record with the first New Year’s resolution that I will fail to uphold? I want to make this blog a higher priority in 2007. I need the practice writing; I want this to become something worth reading. I don’t have visions of fame and influence, just the ability to make someone somewhere want to see what I’m thinking. Anyway, on to the ramble:

1. Driving from Chicago to Charleston, while not on my list of top 100 favorite things to do, is not the worst way to start a vacation. We began at 8:00pm, and drove straight through until 3:00pm the next day. Little Pmkin was a complete angel (could it have been the child-dose of Dramamine?) Even little Pnut held it together well, all considering. Sure, the next day was a bit dodgy, but we still had the energy to do some site-seeing and much hanging out. Tomorrow we reverse the commute (this time leaving from V’s folk’s house in Thomasville, NC). We’ll see if twice in one week is pushing it too far. . .
2. Each winter solstice is my time to get caught up on non-fiction, usually in the realm of science. This year, my readings were both the result of gifts. V’s dad gave me a book called Misquoting Jesus, by UNC Theologian Bart Ehrman. It was a fast and fascinating read, focusing on biblical exegesis, particularly where there is evidence that what we have been brought up to understand as the original text of the bible is in actuality edited, miscopied, or blatantly changed. The arguments are rational and seem quite convincing, but this book is targeted at the lay reader, and so presents arguments briefly, and with little in the way of counter-arguments. The upshot is that if you are predisposed to think that the bible is not infallible or God-inspired, then this book will give you backing for your views. If, however, you are of an evangelical or fundamentalist bent, there will be plenty of opportunity for you to attack what is presented. In any case, it is a fascinating look at how modern scholars attempt to interpret what is surely the most influential book ever published.
3. The second book, which I am two-thirds of the way through, was a present from my loving wife V. The Reason Driven Life by Robert Price is a chapter-by-chapter rebuttal of the insanely popular The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren. In it, Price attempts to counter the syrupy, irrational pabulum that Warren serves up in his 40 life lessons. Price is not attempting to make agnostics or atheists out of his readers, but merely non-fundamentalists. His take on fundamentalism (and I happen to agree) is that it is self-contradictory, full of logical and rational holes, and demeans God by making him petty, arrogant, and insecure. Price’s alternative is to take control of your own thinking, wherever that may lead, and to live a life of reason and thought, not blind obedience driven by fear. His message is not one of rejection, however. He doesn’t ask you to merely turn away from fundamentalism, but rather to choose a different motivation in your life. There are chapters where I admit that I don’t “get” what Price is driving at, but overall it has served its stated purpose in getting me to think about where my life is headed and what I plan to do with the rest of it. Favorite quote [in response to how fundamentalists justify their world view] “I said it, God believes it, that settles it.” For more information about Dr. Price, see the Point of Inquiry podcast from earlier this year.
4. There’s just something about travel. For the second family vacation in a row, this mysterious service provider “linksys” is giving me the access I need to get on the internet tubes. He (or, to be fair, she) seems to have moved next to my in-laws from his previous abode in Vallejo, CA. (See my previous post “Stupidity, or generosity?“) Wardriving isn’t what it used to be. Heck, no hacking required.

That about wraps it up for this week, true believers. Early in the new year my mates and I hope to get in a full game of Die Macher. If we do, a session report and review will follow.