University of San Diego
Today I took a quick trip out to San Diego to meet some guys we work with at the university. The first part of the day was mostly finances, etc ... not necessarily my cup of tea. But then later on the day we got to take a look at some of te things they are doing and it was really cool. First they showed us a display wall that could show images in steroe and could be controlled by movement when you were some special glasses. The applcation they showed us was exploring protiens, you could walk around and view te protien from different angles, it was pretty neat. The thing that I enjoyed most though was a demo by a fellow, John, he showed us some GIS stuff which I really enjoy and he had some pretty neat work ups of fly bys in real time over the earth ... it was like Google Earth on steroids.
April 2006 Archives
It was kind of cool the other day at church, our pastor--Chris, asked us why we were there. As I thought about the question and what my answer was I realized I was there because it was my joy. I love going to church on Sundays and when I miss it my week is usually pretty lousy because I miss the fellowship with my brothers and sisters at church; I miss learning about God with them; I miss worshiping with them. It's amazing how God transforms our hearts.
On a slightly different note, I'll be in San Diego tomorrow, hopefully seeing cool things.
I do not believe that our government should be in the business of making people behave morally. Rather, I believe it is their job to ensure that we function well as a society. That said I wish there was an easier way to distinguish what laws are required to allow us to function well. For example, I do not believe that state recognized unions between homosexuals will be the break down of our society, as such I think that the state should recognize civil unions and let the churches define marriage. However, I can also see the beginnings of an argument saying that the very foundations of our social structure will begin to crumble if we did that. I don't know that I agree with that statement; but, my point is that there is no simple test that we can apply to legislation to see if it is required for the smooth functioning of society.
Just a quick thought ... I'll probably write more about it later.
The other day I mistakingly parked in the wrong spot at work. I didn't realize that our office building did this but they gave me a warning saying that my car had been permanently recorded as having one violation against it and if it happened again the car might be towed. It was a mistake, I know I was in the wrong; but I feel like they knew I worked at Rincon, why couldn't they have just called me and asked me to move my car? I would have happily done it.
Frustration ...
Howdy yall (sound like a good southerner don't I?), I really like it when you post comments ... but, if you could include a name in the comment so I know who posted, that would be really great too!
As if a million songs haven't already been written about the subject I feel the need to lament it once more, saying good bye is not the easiest thing in the world. A very dear friend of mine has accepted an offer to study law at the University of Chicago, which is great, I am sure that he will be blessed while he is there. And even though I haven't seen him a great deal since he got married, there is still this empty sadness that I feel now that I know I can't just call him to hang out with me. I'm very much looking forward to the day when goodbyes are no more.
It's amazing how much closer technology has brought us, but it could still do better. I am still very intrigued by the possibility of different transportation technologies making distance a thing of the past. How cool would it be if you could live in North Carolina, but work in L.A.?
Harry Potter .... hmm
Ok, yes, I'm lame, I read books that are meant for twelve year olds, and I read them multiple times. But you have to admit J.K. Rowling is very good at keeping her audiences attention. She has the rare skill of writing witty, humurous dialog. Someting rarer than one might hope. I'm reading the 6th Harry Potter book again... so there, I've admitted to my childness, leave me be in my fantasy world :)
Thoughts on being a good facilitator
We've all been there, the meeting has been dragging on for hours and it seems like we are talking about nothing important. Here's some simple things that I think can improve the efficiancy of meetings:
- Make sure the group stays roughly onschedule and does not go down rabbit trails. This can be one of the most frusturating things and at the end of the day little that needs to get done gets accomplished.
- Don't let people interrupt one another. Interuption is one sure way to get under my skin. I hate it when people don't let another person finish their point before they pipe in, it's not conducive to solving problems.
- Try to get relevant questions answered while punting others that might lead to unnecessary time spent, suggest that these questions get handled offline.
- For each point on the schedule make sure there is at least one action point, or some sort of closure.
Just some thoughts ...
