Quick Hits of the Week

• The shooting at the Dark Knight Rises premiere happened almost two weeks ago, but I wanted to share one of the stories that I read about that really impressed me. Pierce O’Farrill was shot three times in Aurora, once with each of the shooter’s guns. He was interviewed by a local radio host just three days after the incident, and he had the following things to say: First, he forgives the shooter, and wants to talk to him. Second, he doesn’t think that the shooter should be given the death penalty. Finally, he’s still a staunch proponent of Second Amendment rights, despite what happened to him. Talk about sticking to your values under extreme pressure. Well done, Mr. O’Farrill. I hope more people remember your name than the sociopath who hurt you.

• You may have noticed, if you’ve gone back through the archives, that a lot of the images I had used previously have been removed. I’ve only kept the pictures I’ve taken personally, or covers of books I’ve reviewed. I liked the other images I’d chosen, but in all honesty I didn’t do a good job of making sure that they were legally alright to use. Recently, that lack of care bit a blogger in the butt big time, and I don’t think it’s responsible of me to risk putting my family in a similar predicament if all six of you start sharing this blog and it becomes wildly popular. I’m already replacing the images removed with equally good works from the public domain or licensed free through Creative Commons, so the loss is only temporary. I would like to say something to the artists and photographers out there, though. Protecting your product doesn’t make you wealthy, growing a dedicated group of supportive followers does. Be careful which you are spending the bulk of your time on.

• I was not a part of the Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day, yesterday. That’s not because I don’t support Dan Cathy’s right to speak freely about his beliefs without government-imposed sanctions, because I do. In all honesty, it’s because I’m the only Christian I know that doesn’t like their food. No joke. Perry Noble, on the other hand, loves Chick-Fil-A. He also loves Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and he recalls how Christians responded to that company’s decision to support homosexual marriage. The comparison is stark, and the way he calls out the other sins that we would rather ignore is spot on. Barnabas Piper, admitted Chick-Fil-A addict, nails the bigger problem.  “We cannot sacrifice our biblical convictions but neither can we sacrifice the church’s ability to serve people of opposing viewpoints and lifestyles.” Exactly right.

• Have you ever looked at your iPhone and said, “Man, I wish I could attach Legos to this thing. That would be so cool!” Well, that day has finally come. Go get yourself a TinkerBrick case. It makes me want to get an iPhone.

Is there something valuable or important or cool or funny or weird or awesome out there I missed this week? I can’t hit it all, but you should let me know about it by dropping me a line or sharing it in the comments below! I’d appreciate the heads up.

Quick Hits of the Week

• One of the hits from last week was about how an overabundance of regulation is a bad thing. I want to expand on that a little. One area of regulation that is constantly overlooked is corporate tax credits. Yes, tax credits are a form of regulation. They carve out special exceptions in existing law that complicates the system. More often than not, the promised economic benefits are never realized, but waste, fraud and corruption abound. Glance through this slide-show, read the captions, and tally up the millions lost in tax revenue versus the jobs actually created. Even in the cases where the promises were kept, do you think the tax incentives were the secret to those few companies’ success? If those states could afford the losses, wouldn’t it have been simpler to just lower their overall rates instead of dolling out special handouts to a lucky few?

• Apparently, if you combine an LED and a nickel battery you can make some really cool things. Glow in the dark Easter eggs for night time hunts. Virtually indestructible lanterns. It makes me want to break out some tools and see what kind of trouble I can cause.

• I wouldn’t even call myself a decent amateur photographer. I know nothings about the theories, or styles, or technologies involved. Still I do know when I like something, and I like the artwork of forced perspective photography. Many of these shots are awesome, and must have been a chore to set up. Well done.

• Perry Noble has a great list of four problems that every church has to deal with. I agree with three and a half of his points.

1. Agree. The church should be engaging the world in a way that is relevant to their lives. Religion and theology shouldn’t get in the way.
2. Agree. Every church should be striving for improved excellence in their ministry, not accepting less by throwing things together at the last minute or allowing volunteers to serve in areas where they are not gifted. This is a big pet peeve of mine.
3. Agree. You can’t reach the world if you spend every night at church. The church needs to be equipped and available to serve and minister to those around it.
4. Eh. The idea that Christians universally support one political party or platform was never really true and has grown less so over the last decade. We each have been formed differently and are moved by different kinds of pain and injustice. We should each follow those ways that God has called us, while finding common ground with each other in the church. (And your decision to not vote doesn’t disqualify you from speaking about this country’s leadership. You should always be free to speak out about your government, and anyone saying otherwise is being embarrassingly stupid.)

Quick Hits of the Week

• So, around the first of this month, Congress passed a law forbidding welfare money from being used at liquor stores, casinos, and strip clubs. Let’s ignore, for a second, the fact that this legislation is nearly impossible to enforce. What I want to know is, if people are spending their welfare money on those things, how are they able to pay for groceries and keep their lights and heat on? Yes, I’m being a bit facetious. I know that there is waste in the system, and people can and do receive far more than they need for their basic necessities. At the same time I know single moms who are struggling to make ends meet without being able to receive any welfare, because they have the audacity to stay employed. You get more of what you reward, and less of what you punish. What does this current system encourage more of?

• I just recently came across BA Expat, a blog by a young entrepreneur named Zack. I look forward to reading more from him. The post that got my attention was his 10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Life Today.  While I already do a few of these things, but I’m challenged to add a couple of the others in the next month. For example, I know it’s past time to de-clutter my closet (not to mention a few other areas of my life).

• As the father of three future teenagers, I’m always looking for good advice to put in my back pocket to teach them about dating when they’re ready. Perry Noble from Newspring recently delivered a pair of punch-lists of unacceptable behavior, one for the men and another for the women, when dating. Dating relationships lead to marriages. Leading my kids to have high standards for the people they date (and to live to high standards themselves) means that my wife and I can be relaxed and suppotive when each wedding day comes.

• Speaking of weddings, brides are usually smiling on their wedding day. I don’t know about these wedding photos, though. Her smile is kind of painted on. And what guy needs help getting dressed? A tuxedo isn’t that complicated. Anyway, after the ceremony, their honeymoon consisted of a cross country tour in a stylish custom RV, and when they got back they moved into the house of her dreams.

Quick Hits of the Week

• So some researchers at MIT have found that people spend more when they use credit cards. The reasons are debated, but the core question remains: Why do we not like to use cash? Jeanette Pavini thoroughly goes over the topic of why we should have a good relationship with cash, and stop having a bad relationship with credit.

• I have friends who work in and around local journalism here in Tucson. We’ve talked frequently about the future of news in the information age. Currently most are maintaining (or even expanding) legacy models, and only just trying to take advantage of new media opportunities (and they don’t do it all that well). Internal surveying tells them that the bulk of their viewers want the local stations to cover national news. That seems insane to me, and I doubt that it’s sustainable over the next decade. One route of success I think exists, and Seth Godin agrees with me, is for local news sources to become excellent at their local niche, which would allow them to talk about new things that aren’t being talked about at a national level. I can get information about national and international events from a dozen great sources online, but I can’t get great, thorough, challenging reporting about events and trends in southern Arizona anywhere.

• Amazing posters. Recent films made with a vintage cast. Check out the Ghostbusters one. Tell me you wouldn’t watch that.

• If I told you that the world we live in, on average, is a pretty great place to be, would you believe me? Despite fears to the contrary, the data shows that we’re living in one of the least violent times in human history. Steven Pinker runs through it for us over at Reason. Now, that isn’t to say that there isn’t room for improvement, or that the individual data points are always positive, but I’d like to think we could deal with specifics without overblowing the whole. We should avoid being constantly negative about the world we’ve been given to live in, and constantly afraid of the future because…

• Fear is a sin. It will separate us from God. If you don’t believe me, go read Perry Noble’s list of ten results of fear. Yes, worrying counts.

• This is awesome. The Federal Trade Commission is encouraging you to get out of debt during this financial crisis. They give some great advice, such as following a budget, prioritizing your expenses, and dealing responsibly with your creditors. And I applaud them for it. Of course, it would be great if government at all levels would follow some of this advice. Didn’t our national leaders recently go over 800 days without passing a budget? That’s more than two years. State governments all over the country are learning how hard it is to prioritize expenses after not doing so for decades. Maybe the FTC could make a web page for them?