You've Been Warned | Ain't Complicated

Of Aliens and Stuff

OK, first off, in the Strange Little People Department we have this:

Former NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell – a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission…says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions – but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades.

Dr Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview that sources at the space agency who had had contact with aliens described the beings as ‘little people who look strange to us.’

[…]

“I’ve been in military and intelligence circles, who know that beneath the surface of what has been public knowledge, yes – we have been visited. Reading the papers recently, it’s been happening quite a bit.”

Dr Mitchell, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics claimed Roswell was real and similar alien visits continue to be investigated.

For the record, I tend to believe non-human alien beings have visited planet Earth. And continue among us. 😯 Just not the sort of ET aliens that Mr. Mitchell describes.

Did these aliens get turned around by about 90 degrees to the West and jump in the wrong body of water?

Federal officials said they netted 43 illegal aliens in an immigration raid on O`ahu.

[…]

The 43 men were all citizens of Mexico.

Were? Did they die or otherwise give up their Mexican citizenship? Oh, I know: As a reward for their record-breaking swim, they were awarded honorary US citizenship. 🙄

Once upon a time, in the United States of America, this wouldn’t have been alien at all:

Elective Bible courses in Texas high schools received the blessing of the State Board of Education on Friday, but local school officials will have to figure out how to design those classes so they don’t violate religious-freedom protections.

[…]

Attorney General Greg Abbott has told the board that although the state standards for the Bible class appear to be in compliance with the First Amendment, his office can’t guarantee that the courses taught in high schools will be constitutional because they haven’t been reviewed.

Critics contend that the standards – based on old guidelines for independent studies in English and social studies – are so vague and general that many schools might unknowingly create unconstitutional Bible classes that either promote the religious views of teachers or disparage the religious beliefs of some students.

Earlier this year, the Ector County school board agreed to quit using a Bible course curriculum at two high schools in Odessa that the American Civil Liberties Union said promoted Protestant religious beliefs not shared by Jews, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and many Protestants.

[…]

The course is supposed to be geared to academic, nondevotional study of the Bible, and cover such things as the influence of the New Testament on law, literature, history and culture.

That’s a good step. I think. I hope.

SMBI: Days of Elijah

OK. I won’t do this often. Very rarely, in fact. For the record: I am not a YouTube fan.

I learned about this video from one of the singers (and fellow blogger), Hans Mast.

Hans Mast, live and in concert!

I’m calling your attention to it because my family and I heard them live in Lebanon (Oregon). We really enjoyed that program, even if the venerable Urie Sharp wasn’t the director.

Oh, I didn’t mention these are the Sharon Singers from Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute (SMBI).

May this song encourage you. And warn you.

Behold, He comes!

We live in perilous times, as in the days of Elijah and as in the days of Noah.

Prepare!

CFL Broke?

If you’ve had the misfortune of breaking a compact fluorescent light bulb, please accept my regrets (if you’re going to take care of the mess “properly”, anyway).

Here’s how the EPA wants you to clean it up:

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

Have people and pets leave the room, and don’t let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Did you actually think all you had to do was sweep up the mess and dump it in the nearest garbage can?

Ha!

PS: It’s worse for carpet, rugs, clothing, bedding, and such like. If you really want to know, click the link above.

Sunscreen Alert

Generally, I do not apply sunscreen to me, so this doesn’t apply to me directly. 🙄

But I still find this interesting (thought I didn’t read much more than what you see here):

Four Out of Five Sunscreens May Be Hazardous to Your Health

A consumer advocacy group has a warning for parents who think they’re protecting their family with sunscreen: You may be getting burned.

The Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit, has released an investigation of nearly 1,000 brand-name sunscreens that says four out of five don’t adequately protect consumers and may contain harmful chemicals.

The group says that some of the products of the nation’s leading brands — including Coppertone, Neutrogena and Banana Boat — are the poorest performers.

[…]

Few health recommendations have had as damaging an effect as the advice that you should never leave your house without sunscreen. Wearing sunscreen effectively blocks your body’s production of vitamin D, which happens naturally when your skin is exposed to sunlight. In fact, sunscreens reduce vitamin D production by as much as 97.5 to 99.9 percent.

“So there you are,” as Hank the Cowdog would say.

Reading: Choose the Best!

Earlier today I called attention to the sacrifice of right reading.

Now I get this in my email: Choose the Best (alas, I didn’t/haven’t):

The printing press puts into the hands of parents a means of good, which they may use to the greatest advantage in the culture of their home-life, and in the shaping of the lives of their household. But they must keep a most diligent watch over the pages which they introduce. They should know the character of every book and magazine which comes within their doors, and should resolutely exclude everything which would defile. Then, while they exclude everything whose influence would be for evil, if they are wise they will bring into their home as much as possible of pure, elevating, and refining literature. Every beautiful thought which enters a child’s mind, adds to the strength and loveliness of the character in after days. The educating influence of the best books and magazines is incalculable, and no parent can afford to lose it in the training of his family.

That was written in 1882!

I’m grateful for what J. R. Miller wrote way back then. Just as I’m grateful to The Berean Call for calling my attention to it.

But what will I do about…

…my own personal reading matter?

…the other reading matter I allow in my home?

…any teaching opportunities I might take (or make)?

Knowing me, probably nothing. 😥

It Was Hot That Day!

Update way down below

This was at Margaret Miller’s place (a mission “compound” of Hope Mennonite Missions) in Guaymas Valley, Mexico:

It was hot that day! (And it got at least two-tenths of a degree hotter than what it shows above.)

Thankfully, it was also very dry.

The wind that blew most of the day, as I recall, was also hot and dry.

On days like that, to stay healthy stay in the shade and drink liquids.

Do lots of both, in fact.

Anyway, I’m left wondering what the thermometer would have recorded if we’d had it out in the sun.

Yesterday, I did an experiment here at home (near Yoder, Oregon). Here are the results:

Thermometer in the sun

That must be why temperatures are measured “in the shade” rather than “in the sun.”

😉

Originally posted: July 10, 2008 at 1:54 pm

Updated: July 12, 2008 at 2:03 pm

At 10:20 this morning, the temperature in the sun was 107, but in the shade it was merely 76.

Tony Snow

He died this morning.

I just stared at the headline.

I knew he had cancer. I knew he’d fought it off at least once. I didn’t know he was that bad off, though.

He had a good radio show before he went to the White House as press secretary. I enjoyed listening to him. And I was glad to hear him once in a while on The Radio Factor after he retired from his WH job. But I didn’t know him personally. So why should his death matter to me?

I don’t know.

And why should it matter any more than the young man in Somalia that died at about the same time Tony did? (I assume one did.)

I don’t know that either.

In any event, I keep wondering what Mr. Snow learned after he died.

What will you learn after you die?

And I?

So…what should we learn before we die?

And when shall we try to learn it?

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

May the Snow family find the Good Shepherd’s comfort and peace and strength and courage.