T-44 : Magic Focus

I was watching the NFL Playoffs after church on Sunday.  I was at a different angle because we've just sold our old sectional couch in preparation for a new leather set that's due to be delivered.  So I was on a chair in a different part of the room.  I realized that there's a glare from that angle that comes from the kitchen sliding doors that don't have curtains or blinds.  So, I had to deal with it.  I was able to change my focus away from the glares on part of the screen to more of the whole screen. It felt kind of like looking at a Magic Eye picture.  Perhaps that's how we I'll approach life more often.  When I get focused to much on the glare I'll just step back and try to see the big picture; especially if I can't find any curtains!

T-45 : People Versions

Someone prayed before Sunday School yesterday that we could all become "better versions of our self" by applying the principles we were about to learn.  I really heard that differently than I had before.  It struck me that we're not so different than software in that way.  We "upgrade" ourselves with new and better facets to our personalities.  That could just be the computer guy talking.  What do you think?

T-46 : Siamese Fighters

We have a cat that has the markings and temperament of being at least partially Siamese.  I believe that the Betta Fish has another name of Siamese Fighting Fish.  Why are the Siamese so angry?  At least the King and I was a fairly peaceful musical story, the way I remember it.

T-47 : Evil Apple?

I don't know if it's technology folklore but I heard the other day that the first Apple Computer sold for $666.66 and that the company name drives perhaps from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.  I'm no conspiracy theorist but I do like to keep an open mind.  Has anyone ever heard evidence for or against either of these theories?  Could it be that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates actually knew each other early in life and that their paths diverged?

T-48 : Earbud Invisibility

Whether anything is playing or not through my headphones when I'm either walking across campus or jogging around the track people tend to ignore me.  That can be a good thing or a bad thing.  I tend to enjoy not having to engage in trite pleasantries.  Something tells me that's the natural man talking, though.  A few semesters ago President Clark in a devotional said that we should be more social as we walk from here to there.  So, I try to keep a proper balance.  I still walk with earbuds in listening to podcasts but I also make eye contact, smile, and greet folks as I can.  How about you?

T-49 : Hail Mary

What does it mean to say a Hail Mary?  The book I'm reading is talking about a priest prescribing this to someone who has come for confession.  Wikipedia goes on and on about things that I don't have time to read right now.  Catholicity.com shows it as:

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

So, does that mean that, when the priest says that you need to say 3 Hail Mary's, you'd just repeat this prayer out loud 3 times?  Would you do so right then and there or back home in the comfort of your room before bed that night or what?  Someone with more non-sheltered Idaho/Utah life please enlighten me. 

T-50 : Balanced Esteem

Low self-esteem makes you expect too much from others.  Pride makes you expect too little from others.  The appropriate amount of self-confidence can help you to see others as partners; those you can rely on to give to you as much as you give to them.  Be a giver and a taker for the good of humanity.