1. Go to Google.com. 2. Type in “the answer to life the universe and everything”. 3. Click search. 4. Observe the answer that Google Calculator gives you.

The New York Times website has a nifty little gadget that lets you balance the budget… well, theoretically anyway . It’s set up with check-boxes that you select, and as you select options (either cuts to spending, or tax hikes) two diagrams at the top show the headway you’ve made in closing the budget gap. The U.S. House Republican whip has a project called YouCut which operates on the same principle of you-solve-the-problem. It has more options, I hear, but is designed to work on a weekly, case-by-case basis. The difference with this one is that it actually makes a difference: it’s weekly because the winning cut is put to an up-or-down vote in the House of Representatives. These things are fun. The one on the NYT website and came up with this: 20% saved by raising taxes, 80% saved by cutting spending.

I’m doing a presentation on music from the Río de la Plata area on Monday. In preparation, I was looking for some good videos to illustrate the kinds of music I’ll be talking about. And I ran across this:

This was for campus dress-up day (for Halloween of course). I wanted to do something different. I had friends say they’d never have imagined me in a goth look.

“Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a relationship.” That’s fine. But make sure it really is a relationship. Here’s what I mean: This phrase is sometimes used to avoid talking about theology & doctrines, or to imply that theology & doctrine is not worth the time spent on it. But, theology & doctrines are basically man’s pursuit of knowing God more. If you don’t know anything about a person, can you really know a person? If I say I love someone with all my heart, yet I can’t describe this person with anything less general than “wonderful” or “awesome”—or I don’t even know any of that person’s nicknames—what kind of loving friend am I?

My dad was at work this afternoon. Slow day, so he called me and we chatted a couple times. (He had to hang up at one point to take care of some people that showed up.) We talked for about 27 minutes total, 15 minutes the first time then 12 minutes a little later. This is what I love about conversations with my dad: He’s hilarious. For example—once in a while, he will ask if I have any romantic relationships or anything. However, he doesn’t awkwardly ask if I have a boyfriend. He always asks creatively. Today, this is how he broached the subject of my (nonexistent) love life: “So—I’m going to sound like a father now. In what decade to you plan to get married?” I laughed and told him this decade, I supposed. “OK. You know, if you plan to get married in this decade, there are certain steps to be taken. Have you taken any of those steps?” I told him not at this point, no. From that he asked: “So, does this mean you have a glimmer in your eye?” Again, I laughed. He then informed me ...

I bought it this afternoon. :)