Irrelevant Ramblings

Yesterday Apple released a new beta version of their web browser, Safari. All I can say about it is WOW. It is faster that the previous versions and faster than Firefox. Not to mention the new view options.

There is this new thing called Top Sites (see below). It is a page that shows you all the recent pages you have viewed, but you can also “pin” your favorite sites on this page. If one of the pages changes since your last view, it will display a star in the corner. This is great if you are an avid blog reader, as my wife is.

Safari 4 Beta Top Sites

Another cool feature is the new history browser. If you have ever used iTunes then you know that you can view your albums by album cover.  Well now you can use that same sort of view in Safari to view your browser history.  This comes in handy if you went to a site and for got what the address was, but you remember the look of the page.

There are tons more great features, but these are the ones that stood out to me.

This is a beta and there are some bugs, but overall this is a great app. If you haven’t already done so head over to Apple and download it. It’s available for both Windows and Mac.

It’s that time of year again. It’s lent! What is Lent you ask? Let me tell you.

Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter.The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. Traditionally there are three practices observed during lent:

1. Prayer
2. Fasting
3. Almsgiving

This day in age these three practices have evolved and usually consist of:

1. Giving up a vice
2. Adding something that will bring them closer to God
3. Giving time or money to a charitable organization

Easter is a popular celebration and for most the true meaning has long been forgotten. Lent is an antidote for this, it is meant for us to remember the reason that Jesus came to earth and ultimately gave up his life.

By participating in lent we face our humanity and realize that we, like the disciples, would likely have fallen asleep while Jesus prayed in the garden, that we would have likely denied him as he accepted his death sentence.

How can you participate in Lent?

If you are interested in participating in lent there are a number of things that can be done.

Fasting

If you are interested in fasting below I have given some examples of what you can fast from:

Food: Meats, poultry (eggs too), fats and oils, soft drinks, 2nd helpings, Alcohol, Coffee (try tea or some other low-caffeine drink if you get headaches), dairy (milk and cheese), solid foods (only drink water or juices), Junk foods (chips, snacks, salty food), candy (plus refined sugar in general), and dessert (great for kids—very meaningful!).

Media: TV, movies, computer, email (set an autoresponder), Internet, magazines, radio, the phone (leave your cell phone off when appropriate), handhelds, video games, and other technology ….

Other Things: You may want to fast from certain relationships, or people in general, choosing instead to walk only with God for a period. You may also fast from social events, parties, or clubs, if you regularly go out of your way for that kind of gathering.

Days: Leave it all behind: leave junk food, TV, cars, noise, and all the media and messages of the culture. Pack the very minimum (water, warm clothes, etc.) and find a trail, a mountain, or a beach, and feast on God.

Imitate Jesus, who took whole days to walk alone in the wilderness fasting and praying …. Give God the time and the room that he wants. God wants to fill you up, wants to bless you. If we are constantly pouring other stuff into our heads or stomachs, there will be little room for God.

Prayer

It is suggested that the time that you would usually spend participating in whatever you have fasted from, be spent in prayer and scripture reading.

Giving

You may also decide that this is a time that you would like to start, or increase your giving. This could be giving financially or giving of your time to a charity or church of your preference.

How ever you observe this time of lent it up to you, but remember this is a time to bring you closer to God and to acknowledge and be thankful for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf during the Easter season.

Question

Do you observe Lent? If so, what are you fasting from this year? I’m not sure what I am giving up yet, but I will let you know!

Last summer Google expressed it’s intention to engage in the production of automobiles and invest 5.5 million dollars in the development of new electric cars. This amount was divided between the two companies – Aptera Motors and ActaCell.

Aptera Motors, together with Google is developing a two-seat car, which is equipped with a hybrid or electric motor. A car will be able to accelerate to 140 km/h, «hundreds» reach approximately 10 seconds. Max distance – 160 km. And less than 1 liter of fuel per 100 km. Aptera 2e arrive at the California market in October this year and the cost will be approximately $ 30 thousand dollars.