Virtual reality spills into the REAL world - Virtual theft gets a teenager arrested [Pic]

It's starting the happen! Remember the movie Virtuosity (1995)? In the movie a virtual character takes on human form (as a result of advancements in nano-technology that allow an emulation of a human body to be created from Carbon particles in glass). The character goes around killing and wreaking havoc.

Well, it is happening in real life! No, there's no 'virtual' crazy guy roaming the streets killing people, but more and more frequently virtual crimes are starting have REAL WORLD consequences. [caption for the image to the right 'Hey, where's my stuff!?']

You see there is a difference between a REAL crime committed in cyberspace (e.g., hacking into a machine in order to steal data or change information), and a VIRTUAL crime committed in cyberspace (i.e., emulating a crime that isn't actuall taking place).

However, this bizarre story blurs those boundaries.... You see, the VIRTUAL furniture that was stolen was bought on the social networking site using REAL money...

Here's the story, tell me what you think:

A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website.

The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money.

Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website’s owners.

The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.

BBC NEWS | Technology | ‘Virtual theft’ leads to arrest — Can't this sort of thing be resolved by virtual police?

Technorati tags: strange, virtual reality, cyber crime, theft,hacker

Everything must change - a magnificent quote about authentic Christianity!

I am currently reading through Brian Mclaren's book "Everything must change". I still believe that Brian Mclaren will be one of the most significant Christian thinkers of our time. In particular I would encourage all Christians who are eager to grow and learn to read "A generous orthodoxy" - that will probably be my book of the year (other than my two books of course)!

Here's a wonderful quote from Mclaren's latest book:

The couple of hundred thousand people who have read my previous books seem to find in them some hope and resonance with things they've already been thinking and feeling, including a suspicion that the religious status quo is broken and a desire to translate their faith into a way of life that makes a positive difference in the world. They share my belief that the versions of Christianity we inherited are largely flattened, watered down, tamed... offering us a ticket to heaven after death, but not challenging us to address the issues that threaten life on earth. Together we have begun to seek a fresh understanding of what Christianity is for, what a church can be and do, and most exciting, we're finding out that a lot of what we need most is already hidden in a trunk in our attic. Which is good news. (Mclaren 2007:3 emphasis mine).

It's like manna I tell you! It's like listening to my favourite song... Which happens to be John Mayer ''no such thing"

Technorati tags: Brian Mclaren, Everything must change, John Mayer

7 good tips to develop yourself as a leader - [these are actually quite good... not just the regular 'Mens health type' tips]

I found these tips quite sensible and worthwhile... The author seems to have a bit of insight into the challenges and opportunities that go along with being in leadership.

You don't have to be in a position of authority to be a leader. Conversely, just because you have authority doesn't mean that people will follow you. You must be a leader to get others to follow you.
There are many books on leadership. They can have lots of great examples and in-depth explanations, but sometimes you just need something simple to help you focus on the essentials. This article intends to do just that. These are the habits that will help you and your team achieve great things if you focus on them.

1. Goals. Make it simple and easy for your team to understand the mission and to understand their part in achieving it.

• Concise Goals. Keep them simple and easy to understand.
  
• Focus your team on as few goals as possible.
• Communicate the team's goals Often and through Various Means (team meetings, individual meetings, emails, posters, slogans). And then do it some more.
  
• Track progress on goals.
• Involve team players in tracking the goals so that they own the results.

2. Motivating People. What you reward gets done. It's that simple.

• Incent team players to do the tasks that are most critical for reaching the team's goals. Make sure the rewards are meaningful to people. Understand each player and what they want from their job and in life. That's how you'll know how to reward them.
• Praise, Thank, and Recognize big and small contributions by individuals. Do this often and then do it some more.
• Set High Expectations. People will live UP to or DOWN to the expectations you set. Set them high and you're saying, "I believe in your ability to do great things!"
• Empower people by delegating responsibility.
  
• Celebrate team accomplishments often.
• Encourage Fun. Make the work place a fun place to be. Yes, work needs to get done but short fun breaks can make all the difference in the culture of your team.
• Pride. Foster a sense of pride in your team. As a team you could establish a mascot, create a team chant, and have a meeting that is focused solely on each individual's strengths and the team's overall strengths.
  

3. Walk Your Talk. You need to practice what you preach. This is how you establish trust and credibility.

• Model the Way by participating in the team's tasks as much as your position allows.
• Be Honest. Deliver on your promises. Actions speak louder than words.
  
• Challenge Yourself. Do your best (and then some) just like you ask your team to do their best.
• Speak Up. Just like your team members sometimes need to let you know what they've done in order for you to be able to recognize and praise them. They, in turn, need to know what you've been working on and what you've accomplished. So find ways to communicate this, modeling this key behavior.
  
• Stay Sharp. You need to be competent for others to follow you. If you're not improving, you're falling behind. Always be learning and keep on top of the latest skills, technology, and knowledge in your field.
  

4. Inspire through a combination of

• Unwavering Positive Future Vision
  
• Commitment to Improve things along the way that will make that positive vision a reality.
• Ability to Bootstrap as necessary when resources are tight.
  

5. Process Power. Good process is like having a high performance machine. Sloppy process makes things fall apart. So be sure to establish these key habits with your team.

• Establish Routines. Do this for the team and also work with each individual to come up with their own high productivity routines. These are routines that dictate what work is done when.
  
• Establish Processes for all the tasks that are done repeatedly. It takes time to set up at first, but after that it will pay off in saved time and less errors. Processes describe how work is done and might involve systems for doing the work.
  
• Task Assignment. As much as possible, assign tasks according to the strengths of each teammate.
  

6. Change. Embrace change by seeking it out. This will tread a path for your teammates to follow.

• Change Routines Quarterly. Look for better ways to achieve the team's goals.
• Take Risks. Don't be afraid of failure. No one ever reaches great heights without a few failures.
• Learn. Learn as a team from failures. "How can we improve it the next time?"
  
• Encourage team members to take smart risks too by making it safe to fail. Focus on learning from past experiences and building upon them to find better solutions.
  

7. Advocacy. Support your team and they'll support you.

• Promote your team members. Make sure others outside your team know about the individual team members' successes. You want your team members to excel and even graduate away from your team possibly. Don't worry. If your team is great there will be plenty of others who will want to join! This natural turnover of team members is like the renewal of cells in your body. It is necessary and healthy.
  
• Promote your team. It's your job to market the great accomplishments of your team in order to get the rewards, recognition, and resources that your team deserves.
• Fight for the most important resources and changes that will benefit your team and the organization overall. Remember to pick your battles wisely.

What else do you think is essential for a good leader? Got a good story? Please Share in the comments. We'd love to hear from you!

Written for Dumb Little Man by K. Stone, author of Life Learning Today,

Technorati tags: leadership development, growing as a leader, tips

Indian man marries a DOG [Picture] to show his remorse for stoning two other dogs to death...

Yup, that Karma's a slave master! Just ask Earl! If you don't repay big time for the sins you've committed your coming back as a dog in the next life!

So, here's a bizarre story of an Indian man who married a dog to atone for the fact that he stoned two other dogs to death. He believed that his actions had left him cursed, and so this was one way of breaking the curse....

Now that's the funny side of the story... But there is also a serious thing to consider. Richard Dawkings in his book 'The God delusion' lumps all believing persons in the same category as this guy. He says that what we are doing by praying, fasting, attending worship etc. is nothing more than this kind of superstition.

I have many, many reasons that counter his simplistic categorization of faith. However, the one thing that is unquantifiable is the experience of a life changed and run through by grace, or the miracle of transforming love that frees one from fear of retribution (or bad Karma) and releases one to truly live!

That is why it is always worth remembering, the way of Christ is not just forgiveness, it is also abundant life! And, of even greater joy, is the privilege of being part of God's wonderful plan to bring abundant, free, and blessed life to all people and all of creation! Now, that's much better than marrying a DOG! It makes more sense too!

NEW DELHI - A man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death — an act he believes cursed him — a newspaper reported Tuesday.

P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony Sunday at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.

Selvakumar, 33, told the paper he had been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago.

"After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear," he said in the report.

The paper said an astrologer had told Selvakumar the wedding was the only way he could cure the maladies. It did not say whether his situation had improved.

Deeply superstitious people in rural India sometimes organize weddings to dogs and other animals, believing it can ward off certain curses.

The paper showed a picture of Selvakumar sitting next to the dog, which was wearing an orange sari and a flower garland.

The paper said the groom and his family then had a feast, while the dog got a bun.

Anyway, she's a pretty bride regardless... I hope they have a very happy life.

Technorati tags: dog, Indian marries dog, karma, Dawkins, Atonement

Some great news about Liam, but his dad is blind as a bat...

Yesterday little Liam the great went for all his 1 year checkups (eyes, ears, muscle tone, development, but also for his injections and immunizations)...

The great news is that he is perfectly healthy! In fact, not only is he healthy, he is doing so much better than we ever anticipated! He is reaching all of his milestones, and even surpassing some. The effects of the damage to his brain are minimal, and we hope they will become even less of an issue as he grows and mature. Naturally, our doctor (responsibly) warned us that with such a premature child the first 2 years or so are always dicey, so he is not out of the woods yet. However, you wouldn't say that there is any problem if you were to see him!!!

How different things were last year this time. I know some of the photos below have been posted before, but they never seem to stop amazing me and filling me with gratitude for all that has passed.

Last year this time Megan was in hospital (for the second time) trying VERY hard not to have our baby! I remember when the pediatrician and neonatal ICU manager came to see us, we knew something was amiss. They arrived together and gave us the rundown (worse case scenario) of what could happen:

• If Liam was born during that week he would be very frail and prone to infection.
• There was a high chance that his lungs were not developed, so we needed to prepare ourselves for him to spend months on a respirator, and then further time an ventilator once he had learned to breath.
• It was likely that he would suffer some brain hemorrhages as a result of his brain being so fragile and not yet capable of coping with the stimulation and trauma of being out of the womb three months early.
• There was a high likelihood that he would need numerous bouts of surgery to help sort out any digestive problems (which are common to neonatal premature babies).
• It was likely that he would either suffer damage to his eyes, or be entirely blind, as a result of the respiration and ventilation (oxygen damages the eyes).

After they had shown us some pictures, explained all of the risks, and allowed us to ask questions they took me into the neonatal ICU (my first of MANY visits over the next few months). I scrubbed my hands and arms, put a mask over my face, and was instructed not to touch anything or anyone. Then they showed me a little boy who was born at more or less the same stage as Liam was due to be born - he was on an open resuscitation table (with heathers), pipes, probes, and a myriad of bells and whistles attached.

It was so traumatic - when I left the ICU and had to return to the ward to tell Megie about the experience I remember sitting in the parents lounge for a few minutes just weeping... I couldn't believe that we were actually going through this! After I had composed myself I went in to Megie's room and did my best to paint everything in a positive light - but in my heart I feared that we were going to loose our little miracle boy. It was a feeling that I would feel many, many, times after his birth.

Megie and I cried our eyes out! Heck, when I think back on November, December, and January last year all I can recall is an aching hole in the pit of my stomach, and seeing the world through teary eyes.

I remember that we prayed and pleaded with God to help us, and to keep Liam from being born. We begged God to keep him and Megie safe, and then we sat in a stunned silence...

Those were dark times! But, I will confess they were made bearable by the loving support and prayers of so many friends and family - we were receiving literally hundreds of emails and text messages from concerned people (some whom we had never even met)! It was an image of the body of Christ loving itself to wholeness.

Each afternoon of that week I would leave the hospital, fetch Courtney from aftercare and do my best to be composed and strong. We kept her bag packed, so that if I got a call from the ICU Courtney could go to her aunty Madika (and have clothes for school etc.). Then we would go to the hospital and watch a bit of TV with Megie - Courtney would cry all the way home.

Tough times.... I get quite emotional even thinking about it!

Yup, so he was born very early. I got a phone call on the Thursday evening, 15 November, to say get here quickly since Megie's water had broken and there was no way to keep Liam from being born. The nurse who phoned me warned me that it was serious and that we need to be prepared for the worst. I rushed to the hospital as fast as I could (my Polo Tdi has never been quite so fast since! I was doing close to 200km/h on the highway to the hospital). When I got there Megie was in the delivery room and our gynecologist, the pediatrician, the neonatal ICU staff, and the theater sisters were all ready. There wasn't enough time for a C-section, so.... Well, you can imagine. (The photo above shows how small he was with the little blue teddy bear. The one below shows how large he is in relation to that same bear today!)

Our lives changed that instance... Suddenly so many things that were not really important just fell out of our sphere of concern. For the next three months our lives were simply focussed on spending as much time as we could in the ICU with him, and making sure that Courtney (who was not allowed into the ICU) has as normal a life as possible.

Well, it's a year later, and Liam is healthy, strong, intelligent, agile, in fact he is just perfect, perfect in every possible way!

I just don't know how we could ever thank God for such an incredible and undeserved gift! If you read this post today, or find it in a year, or two, or three, please could you offer just a short little prayer to thank God for the gift that he has bestowed upon us? We cannot do it by ourselves, we need your help to fully than God for His mercy and grace!

Well, I also had my eyes tested yesterday... it turns out I am blind as a bat.... I do have glasses, but like most people who THINK they can see without them I don't often wear them. Well from now on you'll see me 'be-specticled' much more frequently... It's a bugger getting old!

At what intellectual level is your blog rated?

With a picture of a guy in a fairy suit (see the previous post). I'm not surprised at the rating my blog got!

Here's my general rating:

At least my friend Dr Bentley can communicate with highschool children!

Pete, however, is clearly much more intelligent than he looks ;-). Here's his blog rating!

How does your blog rate? I'm certain there must be MANY more intelligent people out there!!!

Be careful what you post on Facebook! It could get you fired!

Like just about everything, facebook has a dark side! Here's a hilarious story of an irresponsible young guy who called in sick at the office (supposedly to attend to a family emergency), but then posted photos of the Halloween party he went to attend on facebook.

He got nailed!

What's the moral of the story? DON'T LIE ABOUT NEEDING TIME OFF WORK!!! Truly, that's the moral of the story! Rather take leave (although, some would say that the moral of the story is don't post all your photos to facebook!)

I'll admit as a minister I've seen quite a few incriminating photos of members of my congregation in facebook... At least it gives me something to preach on!

So, are there any incriminating photos of you on facebook that we should know about!? Come on, post a link in the comments - we'll keep it between you, me, and few hundred other people ;-)

Technorati tags: bust on facebook, caught out, facebook, Kevin Colvin

Iranian Minister tells British Members of Parliament that Gays should be hung and tortured.

What kind of a world do we live in where news like this goes largely ureported! This is one of the most bizarre, and sad, news reports I have read in ages! At first I thought it cannot be serious, but it is!

Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister - timesonline.co.uk: Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt.
Mohsen Yahyavi is the highest-ranked politician to admit that Iran believes in the death penalty for homosexuality after a spate of reports that gay youths were being hanged.
President Ahmadinejad, questioned by students in New York two months ago about the executions, dodged the issue by suggesting that there were no gays in his country.
Minutes taken by an official describe a meeting between British and Iranian MPs at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a peace body, in May. When the Britons raised the hangings of Asqari and Marhouni, the leader of the Iranian delegation, Mr Yahyavi, a member of his parliament’s energy committee, was unflinching. He “explained that according to Islam gays and lesbianism were not permitted”, the record states. "He said that if homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed [he initially said tortured but changed it to executed]. He argued that homosexuality is against human nature and that humans are here to reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce."

For those interested, there’s also a series of videos on Youtube about homosexuals in Iran, which can be seen here:

1.- Part 1 of 3
2.- Part 2 of 3
3.- Part 3 of 3

Reposted from Dvorak.org

Sadly, I'm sure that barbarism like this takes place all over the world, and in many cases it goes completely unreported. Certainly, we are aware that in Southern African lesbian women are frequently raped in order teach them to have 'normal' sexual relations with men.

Let's be praying for those who suffer under such acts, and those who perpetrate them.

Technorati tags: gay, homosexual, hanging, Iran

Malaysian car manufacturer has plans to build an 'Islamic car'.

I have visited quite a few Islamic countries - Dubai, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey and Malaysia. For those of us who are accustomed to predominantly western cultural frameworks (whether they be secular or Christian), it can be quite an eye opener to experience Islamic culture. On my recent trip to Malaysia I was amazed to see an arrow on the roof room in which I stayed at the Methodist Conference that was held at the Sunway resort and convention center... When I asked someone what the arrow was for, they said it is intended to show the occupant the way to Mecca for prayers... Sensible! (By the way, I didn't take this picture on the right, but the arrow in my room was in a similar location... Oh, and it also pointed to Mecca, but I mentioned that already!)

Today I read of a an even more amazing way to please one's Muslim customers - the Malaysian car manufacturer, Proton, is planning to build an Islamic car! Here's what they plan to do:

The Malaysian carmaker Proton has announced plans to develop an "Islamic car", designed for Muslim motorists.

The car could boast special features like a compass pointing to Mecca and a dedicated space to keep a copy of the Koran and a headscarf.

Safety features or fuel economy is one way of selling a car, but Proton thinks vehicles designed specifically for Muslims across the world represent a huge gap in the market.

What do you think a Christian car would look like!?

I'm not sure. But the picture above is a 'mulitfaith' (and even a 'secular humanist') car!

Technorati tags: crazy, Muslim Car, Mecca, Christian car, secular humanism, Malaysia

Your gifts in relation to God's grace - a morning devotion

We are currently training a new group of Superintendent Ministers for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (for those who are not familiar with Methodist structures, a Superintendent Minister has a ministry of oversight that is placed between the local Church and the office of the Bishop. Usually the Superintendent will have responsibility for a number of Churches and ministers in a geographical area called a Circuit. A Bishop has responsibility for managing Superintendents etc.)

Since this is a position that comes with some prominence and power one constantly needs to guard against pride and the abuse of that power. This morning I lead the opening devotions from Ephesians 2:8-10 and the following quote from John Calvin:

Nearly all wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But, while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon oneself without immediately turning [one's] thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom one "lives and moves" (Acts 17:28). For, quite clearly, the mighty gifts with which we are endowed are hardly from ourselves; indeed, our very being is nothing but subsistence in the one God.

Here's an excerpt from the little liturgy:

THE PREPARATION
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it!

PRAYER OF APPROACH
Lord our God,
eternal and wonderful,
wholly to be trusted:
you give life to all;
you help those who come to you
and give hope to those who call on you.
Set our hearts and minds at peace,
that we may bring our prayers to you
with confidence and joy;

Lord our God,
In this moment of prayer let me hear again, that it was not I who first chose you, but you who chose me. Save me from all false pride which might dare lead me to believe that you chose me because of merit, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN:
Ha ke le tje, ke le mobe,
Ke le ea khesehang,
Na har’a baetsalibe
‘Na ke bonoe joang?

Jo! Ke mohlolo-hlolo
Ha ke ratoa le ‘na
Ka rato le lekalo,
Le ke Morena.

[Oh, what a surprise when I've been loved by my Lord, being such a sinner myself]

If you're interested you can download the complete liturgy with hymns and prayers here.

Technorati tags: Superintendent, training, Liturgy, Methodist

Can I get an 'Amen'? Christian social networking clone of digg - sermoncloud

Faith is going web 2.0!

I am an avid digg user. I like the fact PEOPLE can judge the content and 'digg' it or 'bury' it. One eventually builds up a community of people who you know have similar tastes and you can easily find stuff that is appealing and interesting.

A new Christian version of digg has just popped onto the internet - it is called 'Sermon Cloud'. You post thoughts, share your sermon ideas, and have people give it an 'Amen'.

Check it out at www.sermoncloud.com

Technorati tags: Christian, social networking, Digg, sermon cloud

250 plus page views per day and rising!

It has been incredible to see the growth in the readership of this blog over the last few months. I have gone from an average of around 20-50 page views a day to over 250 unique visitors! That's a lot of eyeballs!

WOW! It is just incredible. Thank yo. Please keep coming back, and please tell others.

Have a blessed day.

Dion