aerik

I bought some peaches at the grocery store the other day (they were actually ripe!) and on each one was a little label: www.ripenready.com.

It's more than just the "information age" - maybe "interconnected age" is more accurate.

There was an article in Discover about how we are becoming addicted to being connected, checking our email, voicemail, text messages... think "email-checkers anonymous". You know, they're right too. I have sat at working hitting F9 (checks for new mail in Lotus Notes) more than once.

So, tomorrow I rejoin the workforce. I've got to say that I'm really lucky to have had such as easy time getting a new job - my old manager's manager basically called me and asked if I was interested. I mean, I had to interview for the job, but since I was a perfect fit, it was easy.

So, I've had a lot of great family time. Yesterday we went to the zoo - bought a membership, so we can go back any time - it was only the cost of 2 visits, which seems pretty good. I'm glad we bought the membership too, as we were there for about 4 hours and only saw 1/3 of it. Had a great time. A couple of days ago (Friday), we just walked around Golden Gate park. They have a beautiful carousel, which we rode - Eli had the dragon and Ben the lion. Eli decided that his dragon was going to get Ben's lion, so immediately Ben said his lion was going to get Eli's dragon. There is also a huge play area in there. It's also home (for a very long time) to the lawn bowling club. All kinds of interesting things that I never knew. We all had a great time - and again, we only saw a little bit of what there actually is to see. Only down side is that it was kinda cold, but it was a good excuse to buy coffee and hot chocolate (which they sell at the same booth where you buy carousel tickets).

We went to the beach twice last week - once was just me and the kids so Joann could do some stuff. Had a blast both times. The second time we went to Seabright beach, which is really a hidden gem. Parking is scarce, but it's a great beach - long stretches of sand, actual bathrooms and a shower for rinsing. I think there was even a little snack shack. We lucked out and got on street parking for free, right accross from th entrance. I don't think there was a good place for surfing, but it was a great beach for hanging out, maybe having beach parties (they allow fires in pits).

Today we went to a BBQ at Brett and Jen's for the 4th, then shot off a whole bunch of poppers and snaps at home. Very cool. I can hear the fireworks off in the distance as I type this. So, a pretty good week of vacation.

Suppose for a minute that God is incapable of joy. Yes, I know that's a ridiculous thought to some of you, but who are you to know the mind of God? So for the sake of this hypothesis I just had, assume that God cannot feel joy. But, what if he conceived of it? Just as we can imagine things we cannot do - what if God conceived the idea of joy before all of creation? And what if God was compelled by this idea? So God thinks a bit, and knows that He cannot create joy in a vacuum. So he imagines life - imagines creatures that can feel joy. So, because he is compelled by the idea of joy, God creates life - life somewhat like himself - life capable of creation, thought, etc., but he also manages to imbue this new life with the ability to feel joy. Or perhaps the best he can do is to give this creation the ability to evolve joy.

And, following one logical path through this thought experiment, because this life is somewhat like God, it cannot always feel joy. Or perhaps this limitation is something like a law of physics - joy cannot exist in a vacuum - the other feelings and emotions must exist also.

So, as a thought experiment, what if we exist for God to try to create the most wonderful thing He's conceived: joy.

It's interesting to think about...