Bag of Randomness

  • A few days ago a package arrived in the mail addressed to “GEEDING” and the return address was from a place called INKtastic.  WifeGeeding was visiting her parents along with BabyGeeding for a couple of days and when I brought up the package to her, we just assumed it was some address labels she ordered, but when she came home yesterday we found that not to be the case.  In the package was an absolutely awesome and delightful onsie sent to me from . . . well, that’s an good question.  There’s nothing inside that indicates who sent us this wonderful gift, just the onsie itself, and the return label just states the printing company it came from.  But obviously it came from a reader, so WifeGeeding, BabyGeeding, and I would like to say THANKS! Talk about a great surprise.
  • So who did LeBron choose, Team Edward or Jacob?
  • Michael Keaton’s real name is actually Michael Douglas.
  • The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) peaked in terms of membership in 1965 with 4.25 million members, today they have half as many members.
  • Remember when the cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber A was freed last August from a Scottish prison because a doctor said he had only about three months to live?  It’s been about a year and he’s still kicking.
  • The NY Times has a cool feature in which when you double click a word, a question mark appears and you can get the definition of that word.  Here are the top 50 words their readers have double clicked.  I have to admit that’s a pretty cool feature, albeit inchoate.
  • YouTube now has a feature that makes it more like a TV, it’s called Leanback.
  • What do you call an earthquake on Mars?
  • Maybe that Iranian woman won’t be stoned afterall.
  • A Chew Chew Train
  • The Forever stamp can be a good investment
  • Grace
Posted in Personal | 3 Comments

Small Church

NIELSVILLE, Minn. (AP) — A preacher and two congregants would be a full house in the church near here built by retired construction worker Bruce Larson.

The 6-foot-square exterior of the little white chapel translates into 4,032.25 square inches of interior floor space. That’s 767.75 square inches less than a queen-size bed, 1,272.13 less than the bed of a 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup, and almost 350 square inches bigger than a Twister game mat.

The structure in Sundet Cemetery about four miles northwest of Nielsville could be the smallest functional church in the world.

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Posted in Spiritual | 2 Comments

Big Churches Get Bigger

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) Megachurches here in the heart of the Bible Belt are thriving enough to support a major building boom despite a sluggish economy.

First Baptist Church of Gardendale has built a $19.7 million, 2,700-seat sanctuary about 15 miles north of Birmingham. After a small arson fire in April delayed the opening, the first service in the new building is now set for Aug. 8.

First Baptist Church of Trussville is in the midst of a $7.5 million expansion that will include a new, larger home for its preschool, expected to be ready in January.

A new $4 million, 1,000-seat youth sanctuary is under construction and expected to open this fall at the Church of the Highlands, and Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Homewood is getting ready to break ground on a $9 million children’s building.

“It’s certainly a difficult time in the economy, but it appears we’re staying on track with our budget,” said Chris Byrd, chairman of the building committee at Dawson.

Churches are finding that with housing construction in a downturn, they can save money when they invite bids on their building projects.

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Posted in Spiritual | 1 Comment

Iran government issues style guide for men’s hair

In an attempt to rid the country of “decadent Western cuts”, Iran’s culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval.

The list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. However,quiffs appear to be acceptable, as are fashioning one’s hair in the style of Simon Cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe.

Most of the models are clean-shaven although one picture features a man with a goatee beard, previously frowned upon by Iran’s conservative clerics. Using hair gel is also within the law, albeit in modest quantities.

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Posted in Political, Spiritual | 2 Comments