Archive for March, 2006

Prayer

by George Herbert

PRAYER the Churches banquet, Angels age,
Gods breath in man returning to his birth,
The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage,
The Christian plummet sounding heav’n and earth ;

Engine against th’ Almightie, sinner’s towre,
Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,
The six daies world-transposing in an houre,
A kinde of tune, which all things heare and fear ;

Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse,
Exalted Manna, gladnesse of the best,
Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest,
The milkie way, the bird of Paradise,

Church-bels beyond the stars heard, the souls bloud,
The land of spices, something understood.

New Scientist has a video of a tree-climbing robot being developed at Carnegie Mellon. How long will it be until the post-industrial revolution?

“In the name of human vitality WHERE is the charm in that useless, dispiriting, discouraging fatalism which broke out so horribly in the eighteen-sixties at the word of Darwin, and persuaded people in spite of their own teeth and claws that Man is the will-less slave and victim of his environment? What is the use of writing plays?—what is the use of anything?—if there is not a Will that finally molds chaos itself into a race of gods with heaven for an environment, and if that Will is not incarnated in man.…”

It seems as though there is no shortage of people who have an opinion on the Intelligent Design vs Creationism debate. My mind is not entirely made up one way or the other. I have noticed, though, that facts are in short supply. I would like to gather up 3-4 articles of the best that has been written on both sides so that a non-biologist of above average intelligence can reach an informed decision.

Stephen C. Meyer has published a peer-reviewed article in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington entitled:  Intelligent Design: The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories

It’s not easy reading so pour yourself some wine and take a seat on the couch.

Have almost finished reading The Guns of August. It’s an account of the first month of World War I and ranks as one of the finest works of historical nonfiction. The book opens with the following paragraph:

So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd, waiting in hushed and black-clad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration. In scarlet and blue and green and purple, three by three the sovereigns rode through the palace gates, with plumed helmets, gold braid, crimson sashes, and jeweled orders flashing in the gun. After them came five heirs apparent, forty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens – four dowager and three regnant – and a scattering of special ambassadors from uncrowned countries. Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last. The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history’s clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.

It’s astonishing to read of the parallels between 1914 and today. The course of history is influenced by frail human intellect as much as ever.

A wide-ranging look at the state of the US economy and some of the best investment insight you will ever find:

Century Management’s 2004 Investment Newsletter

Century Management has had a stellar track record for 30 years now. Nothing flashy, just plenty of common sense that is so easy to forget. As Cicero said a few thousand years ago:

“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should

be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance

of officialdom should be tempered and controlled,

and the assistance to foreign lands should be

curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.”

Feel led to keep a record of my thoughts for the questionable benefit of others.