Archive for August, 2007
Cappuccino Coast: The day the Pacific was whipped up into an ocean of froth
It was as if someone had poured tons of coffee and milk into the ocean, then switched on a giant blender. Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney were transformed into the Cappuccino Coast.
Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the local lifeguards’ centre, in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales.
One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath. The foam was so light that they could puff it out of their hands and watch it float away.
It stretched for 30 miles out into the Pacific in a phenomenon not seen at the beach for more than three decades.
Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed.
All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles.
These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore.
As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.
The foam “surfs” towards shore until the wave “crashes”, tossing the foam into the air.
I’m Not Gay
I was really tempted to Photoshop this picture by putting a rainbow sticker on him, but I’m just too lazy to be creative right now. However, I would think if you are going to make a public statement about your innocence that you knew every news outlet would cover, wouldn’t you want to wear a suit and tie?
Thermochromatic Furniture
Reminded me of the Generra Hypercolor trend back when I was in high school or jr high. Wikipedia
In my Inbox this morning
25 Reasons how College and High school are Different
25. In high school, you do homework. In college, you study.24. No food is allowed in the hall in high school. In college, food must be provided at an event before students will come.
23. In high school, you wear your backpack on one shoulder; in college, on both.
22. In college, the professors can tell you the answer without looking at the teacher’s guide.
21. In college, there are no bells or tardy slips.
‘They fire first and think later,’ say British soldiers
The friendly-fire deaths in Helmand have reopened a schism between American and British troops over how to fight the Taleban in Afghanistan.
Although publicly British commanders insist the Americans are still a vital ally in the fight against insurgents, privately British soldiers expressed concern and anger at their “gung-ho” approach.
Because Public Schools Are For Heathens
Southern Baptists are moving to open their own schools, offering an alternative to public schools that would educate a new generation about biblical principles. As the traditional school year begins today, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest is sponsoring a two-day workshop designed to train church leaders to open private schools.
“In the public schools, you don’t just have neutrality, you have hostility toward organized religion,” said Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. “A lot of parents are fed up.”
Southeastern is leading the push, sponsoring a Christian School 101 workshop today and Tuesday.
The program is designed to train church leaders to open private schools.
“Southern Baptists see the new religious establishment in this country as secularism,” said Bill Leonard, dean of the divinity school at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. “It dictates pluralism and diversity of values relative to doctrine, politics and sexual values.”
Southeastern seminary is fighting back.
Ten years ago, it started a master’s degree program in Christian school administration to help train principals.
About 40 people signed up for the workshop. Most are church leaders from small towns.
Trapped Chinese miners survive on coal, urine diet
BEIJING (Reuters) – Two Chinese brothers who tunneled their way out of a coal mine collapse after being trapped for nearly six days survived by eating coal and drinking urine, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Brothers Meng Xianchen and Meng Xianyou became trapped while working at an illegal mine in Beijing’s Fangshan District late on Saturday, August 18, the latest in a series of disasters to strike the world’s deadliest coal mining industry.
Two days later, rescue efforts were called off and relatives began burning “ghost money” at the entrance of the mine for the dearly departed.
“At first there was no feeling, but then I was so hungry I couldn’t crawl any more,” Xianchen told the Beijing News. “I got so hungry, I ate a piece of coal, and I thought it quite fragrant.
“Actually, coal is bitter and unsmooth but you can chew up pieces the size of a finger. In the mine, we picked up two discarded water bottles, and drank our urine. You can only take small sips, and when you’ve finished, you just want to cry.”
He said because they were eating coal, and were in the mine for nearly six days, they did not defecate.
“We were only able to do that the day before yesterday in hospital. It was full of coal.”
Both said they would not go back into mining.
Ministry Students want to serve God, but not necessarily in the local church
College students who feel a calling into ministry passionately want to make a difference for God’s kingdom. But a significant number don’t believe the local-church setting is the place to do it, according to guidance directors for ministerial students at some Baptist schools.
“I think that for both positive and negative reasons, a lot of young people don’t see themselves settling into local-church ministry positions,†said Omer Hancock, professor of church ministry and director of in-service guidance at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. “An increasing number of our students are gravitating to other areas—other expressions of ministry.â€
To some degree, students are looking for other avenues of ministry beyond a local-church setting because of the controversy they have witnessed, Hancock said.
“The reality is that for the entire lifetime of these young people, they have grown up in a culture where there is a lot of church conflict and a lot of denominational conflict,†he said.
Many students know little about their denomination, but they know firsthand about forced termination of church staff, conflict within congregations and a perceived lack of respect for church leaders, said Micheal Summers, director of church services at Wayland Baptist University.
And before anyone else asks -Â yes, I was actually in one of Dr. Hancock’s classes.Â
Top Ten (10) Military Movies of All Time
Military movies featuring guns, strategy and battles have long been a popular staple in the film industry and studios have created several masterpieces. We have compared the pundits selections, with our selections and created the list of the Top Ten Military Movies of All Time. Only true war and military movies were considered, not sci fi movies or romance movies set against a battlefield backdrop, therefore movies like Forrest Gump and Top Gun did not make the cut. With no further adieu, here are the Top Military Movies of All Time:
I’m a little surprised that Saving Private Ryan is only ranked #7, and I’m still bitter Shakespeare in Love one the Best Picture Oscar over this masterpiece.
College Rivalries and Jesus
This shirt came from a University of Michigan fan’s website. I would post the link, but there’s some non-approved BON stuff on that website.
[Thanks, Robert!]
