Search Results for "Telephone poles"
Telephone poles in rural area. Manitoba, Canada.
A colorful California sunrise sky looking down a road with telephone poles and electric wires in silhouette vanishing into the distance.
Dynamic clouds over marshlands covered with telephone poles that were once used for giant antennas for Ship to Shore services.
Green trees surround aged roads in Centralia Pennsylvania. Telephone poles line the paths where a traveler has parked his van and trailer. Beautiful secenery and hills in the distance.
Backroads off a main highway in Centralia Pennsylvania. Telephone poles line the empty streets surrounded by a beautiful scene of green trees and grass.
Dense morning fog gives a pink hue to the morning light. Telephone poles, a field and a road shrouded in fog.
Toppled telephone poles covered in ice and snow are shown as well as a hurricane and a flood.
A lineman leaves his work truck and climbs a ladder and works on splicing wires in overhead lines between telephone poles.
A fleet of work trucks are driven and linemen raise telephone poles and string overhead lines in the snow and in the aftermath of a hurricane.?
A fleet of trucks are driven away from a service center and telephone poles are shown linking lines of communication across the country.
Downed telephone poles and overflowing rivers are shown in the aftermath of a hurricane in New England.
1928 - Telephone poles run through a forest, put up by a company that studies how to preserve wood.
1928 - Termites chew up telephone poles.
1950s: Flying saucer zooms through space. Spacecraft flies toward United States on Earth. Saucer crashes through billboards, trees and telephone poles.
1950s: Drawings. Axe chops through trees, trees fly. Village, road, two large trees, hills. Paul Bunyan stands proudly with axe in front of forest. Town by railroad tracks, telephone poles.
1920s: clouds soar above Canadian Rockies mountain range with trees and forests. Telephone poles stand near highway.
1948�Soldiers practice making connecting phone calls through a wire panel, and practice climbing telephone poles at West Point.
Operation Knothole nuclear tests in the Nevada desert in 1953 effects on towers, telephone poles, power lines.
1930s: Street views with houses and telephone poles. Hills and tree landscapes.
1930s: trees grow near buildings. road curves around hilly village with stone wall and telephone poles. sign reads "Chula Vista Hotel had lunch and swim" next to gold medal.
1930s: road winds around curvy countryside with white rocks, roadside villages, houses, hills and big clouds on horizon. men and women walk on street in town with cars, telephone poles and bell tower.
1930s: houses with porches and balconies sit on top of mountain with trees nearby and rocky roads with telephone poles on rugged coastline in Acapulco, Mexico.
1920s: Intertitle: "A telephone company takes a short cut across country." A man uses a tractor to string wire along telephone poles. Two men guide it as it unspools.
4K Driving through city traffic at night near dusk. Two lanes of traffic, with telephone poles trees clouds and a blue sunny sky. Busy rush hour.
1950s: South Carolina Highway Patrol car pulls up to beachside home. Woman exits house and greets highway patrolman. Utility crews load trailer with telephone poles.
1930s: dirt road winds uphill through pine tree forest to mountain with snowy peaks and stops in Montana national park. telephone poles run along highway on prairie.
1930s: road winds up and down mountain with trees, forest, telephone poles, fence, guardrails and rocks near hills.
1940s: Telephone poles and mountain vista. River runs through hills. Woman stands near street sign. Car drives along hills. River runs through valley.
1920s: Car driving along two-lane road, with telephone poles and car passing in opposite direction. Vehicle goes under bridge and passes car that pulls out in front of it.
Moving, dramatic low angle of Drakensberg Mountain range in warm afternoon light, past grass and telephone poles in the foreground, dramatic clouds and a patch of blue sky in the background.


Of course he wasn't Jesus, that would be ridiculous; Jesus was a guy who lived two thousand years ago. He was more like the reincarnation of Jesus, an apparently ordinary man who bore a huge burden, who was charged with solving mankind's problems. His problem - as Richard was at pains to explain to me - was that he didn't want this responsibility, it weighed heavily on him, he simply couldn't bear it.
He explained to me how it had happened. He'd been living in a hippy commune, experimenting with drugs and exploring his spirituality. One night - while astral travelling - he found himself inhabiting his girlfriend's body while she was being fucked by one of his friends. He was enormously disturbed by the experience and retreated into himself, he sought shelter in the library of his mind. But the library started collapsing around him; the books that contained all he knew where falling, spines breaking, pages tearing. Pillars of knowledge crumbled around him as he huddled trying to protect himself.
Then he was lost for a while; months of wandering, sleeping rough, living on scraps found in dustbins. He left the city and wandered the moors, eating raw chicken eggs stolen from farmyards. One day he was walking along an empty road when he was approached by an ethereal figure, a sort of avatar of Christ. The figure walked right up to him and - without pausing - passed into him.
- "Are you sure that's him?"
- "OK, if you're sure"
- "It's OK, we know who you are, come with us, we'll look after you"
He was taken to a house; bathed, fed, cared for.
One evening he was watching TV with his new friends when the now famous Ethiopian famine report came on; he stared in horror at the severely malnourished child with flies crawling across her face. Suddenly he was transported through the TV, he found himself looking out through her eyes; the reporter, the glare of the lights, the camera lens. He looked back out at the watching world.
As he explained to me: "That's when I knew I had to do something. So I set about making Live Aid happen". When I politely pressed him to elaborate he explained that he achieved this largely by shouting at the telly, but really didn't want to speak about it.
That was my introduction to Richard - the latest man in my mother's life, and nominally my third step-father. I quickly came to understand that he was clinically insane: a paranoid schizophrenic with a messiah complex, almost certainly related to his experimentation with drugs, probably cannabis induced. I realised (far later than I should have done) that reasoning with him didn't help anyone, only served to make him increasingly stressed and anxious.
Better to agree with him that the watchers would be having a cold night outside tonight. Better to accept that we shouldn't have the TV on in case it exposed him to more examples of what he should be dealing with, in case it helped them find him and put him to work setting the world to rights.
I'm minded to share this story not because Bob Geldof has been in the news, but because two events in the last week have made me think about Richard.
Firstly - without wishing to sound sanctimonious - it's why I'm uncomfortable laughing at reports about the pro-indy campers' latest appearance at the Court of Session. If you missed it: Jesus Christ has returned to Earth and he wants a judge to stop the eviction of independence campaigners camped outside the Scottish Parliament, a court has heard.
I know nothing about the pro-indy campers other than what I've read, but it seems quite possible that some essentially vulnerable people have latched on to the issue that has dominated public discourse in Scotland. They appear to have among them people more in need of help and support than mockery.
Secondly - of course - there's been the awful, sickening news of the death of Jo Cox.
I've watched as various commentators have debated the significance of her alleged killer's apparent association with the far right - particularly given that today he gave his name in court as "death to traitors, freedom for Britain" - and the extent to which that is relevant or not given allegations about his mental state.
I make no judgement about his state of mind or motivations - it would clearly be inappropriate to do so - but I do think it's reasonable to react to this awful event by thinking about the environment that the current referendum has created. We can't ignore context if we wish to make sense of the apparently senseless.
Those with a tenuous grip on sanity are inevitably conditioned by the environment in which they live; sometimes they may end up literally interpreting and gruesomely magnifying the worst of what they hear.
Richard was an inherently kind, gentle and caring man. The environment he chose to be in was one that exposed him to an array of religious ideologies; when he lost his grip on reality it was predictable that he would go the way he did. He became broken, but harmless.
Somebody with a different inherent nature, who is regularly exposed to rhetoric that focuses on who we should blame rather than who we should love, might be expected to fall another way.
Look at the environment we currently live in. Political opponents are routinely demonised for holding differing views. On social media words like "traitor" are casually bandied about. Immigrants - whole bodies of humanity - are chosen by some as a focus for blame. Billboards are plastered with provocative images.
It seems there's something about the winner-takes-all, "once in a lifetime" nature of referendums that encourages the worst in political campaigners. But the people who should take the blame for this are not just those who stoop to using the cheapest language and most offensive rhetoric. Also to blame are those on both sides who stand by and let it happen, those who tolerate appalling behaviour from their own, those who turn a blind-eye to the rise of the malignant far right for fear of getting involved.
We all share blame, whether through our action or our inaction.
For those who want a quick summary but with my own perspective. Basically the toxic nature is not due to this referendum or UKIP. Before UKIP's rise we had the BNP in 2010 and UKIP are just a more PC and free market obsessed -moderate- version of them. No, it is that politicians do not represent the people they claim to and whilst I am sure she was a lovely woman. Jo Cox is one of those politicians who clearly does not represent her constituents or countries political beliefs. A good politician is supposed to put their bias to one side and ask what their constituents want and is it good for the nation.
Jo Cox was very pro immigration. She voted against further immigration controls, was pro refugee and intervention in Syria. All three things are deeply unpopular in her country and I imagine her constituency. This is not an apology for what happened and please don't make it out to be that, its tiring. But she was an emblem of what is wrong with Labour. Somebody with a big heart that wants to look after the world before he or she represents their constituents. Her Parliamentary speeches I can find are all on Syria and helping refugees.
The average person feels hostile to their local politician because nothing seems to happen. Its like since Thatcher the government just does its own thing. Ignoring the people on privatisation and immigration. So what we have is a climate of contempt. The politicians are the enemy, a soul-less corporation who are just in it for themselves.
You are aware that the average person has a say in who represents them as an MP? Granted FPTP can result on a minority of votes securing a seat but that would suggest any hostility should be directed at the electoral system...but the public got a say in that too recently and opted for FPTP.
Aa an aside it's sad that the term "pro refugee" exists.. It implys the term anti refugee is a valid label to apply to someone.
(a) Excellent piece Kevin, (b) shame on you RFE.
None of this is new. I can rmemeber a shopkeeper in Glasgow laughing at the news of JFK's murder, we just have to keep arguing against hate.
Shame on me? Why because everyone should just accept that MPs ignore their constituents. And naturally rather than letting people make their mind up for themselves you removed my post. Well that is your right sir but all you do is prove me right.
RFE It might have something to do with the fact that there are 1,000s of easier careers than politics and it takes a great deal of sacrifice to represent people that never seem to respect you no matter what you do. Finding a politician that doesn't have enough empathy to be "Pro Refugee" is going to be difficult.
Similarly you have to be pretty well educated to be a politician, and the more educated you are the less likely you are to want to Leave the EU. Hence the scarcity of genuine political Leave campaigners.
RFE: Bit late now I suppose, but the constituents of Jo Cox weren't as fixed on immigration as you are; after all two thirds of Labour supporters voted remain.


A former model has taken to the catwalk for a unique show – 82 years after her first assignment.
Pauline Crystal posed for a show celebrating the fashions of high street chain Marks & Spencer – where she used to work – at the grand age of 86.
Back in 1930, aged just three, she modelled a pair of jodhpurs by sitting on a rocking horse, a job she only vaguely recalls but which set in motion a love of clothes and a lifetime of modelling.
Eight decades on and Mrs Crystal is still in demand as she showed off a variety of vintage M&S styles, bought by Leeds University fashion and design students from auction site eBay.
The event came ahead of the official opening of the M&S company archive at its new permanent home at the university.
Mrs Crystal, of Leeds, a former Marks & Spencer manager, found herself in a 1970s faux fur coat, a 1960s shift dress, a modern white men’s shirt and lace tights.
The coat, bought on eBay, cost the students 45 and the dress 35.
Over the years she has modelled bridal gear and department store fashions but is a newcomer to the world of retro.
'I prefer the tailored look,' said Mrs Crystal.
'If it is simple, it is better. Young people can wear what they like and how they like. The fashion of today suits young people, which it should do.
She also revealed how her great grandfather, a market trader in Leeds, apparently turned down an offer from a fellow trader, one Mr Marks.
She said: 'My great grandfather, known as Sloman the Soap King, turned him down.
'He went into business with Spencer and the rest is history.
M&S archivist Katharine Carter said the full archive, of around 70,000 objects, has now moved permanently from London to Leeds, the city where the company began.
It will open in March.
Ms Carter said: 'There are quite a few garments in the collection. Some have been donated by members of the public.


The Zipcode for Albion is . Albion is in Providence, Rhode Island in the New England region of the USA. It is located about 9 miles north-northwest of RI's capital city of Providence.
Albion (CA) is 2705 miles west-northwest.
Albion (ID) is 2133 miles west-northwest.
Albion (IL) is 909 miles west.
Albion (IN) is 721 miles west.
Albion (IA) is 1103 miles west.
Albion (ME) is 207 miles north-northeast.
Albion (MI) is 682 miles west.
Albion (NE) is 1361 miles west.
Albion (NJ) is 237 miles southwest.
Albion (NY) is 354 miles west-northwest.
Albion (OH) is 555 miles west.
Albion (OK) is 1372 miles west-southwest.
Albion (PA) is 459 miles west.
Albion Correctional Inst (PA) is 459 miles west.
Albion (WA) is 2254 miles west-northwest.


Note: this article is part of a series inspired by this conversation. The series is not meant to imply that all women will or should be mothers, or that motherhood is any holier than any other vocation, but instead to encourage those who feel that they are swimming against the cultural tide by getting married and having babies.
After getting married at the age of 22, I was blessed with my first baby when I was 25. Three more followed and by the time I was 33, we were a family of six. This would put me in the minority In today's society. According to the Washington Post, "By age 25, 44 percent of women have had a baby, while only 38 percent have married." Among those who do marry in their twenties, the tendency is to wait to start a family until a career is established. In fact, the same article also states, "Women who wait until age 30 to marry make much more money," although this statistic does not indicate which of these single women are already mothers. What are women to think when considering the effect that marriage and motherhood might have on their career?
When I got married, I was studying elementary education in college. As I approached the completion of my degree, I had my resume ready to go. I even sent it to a Christian school. Yet, something was bothering me. I couldn't stop thinking about what our family would look like when a child came along. Since marrying, I had never been home enough to get things organized and make our townhome really feel like home. If I started teaching, would I be ready to make the transition into motherhood? After pondering, praying, and reading the Scriptures, I realized that I needed some time at home before a child came along. It was the only way I felt that I could fulfill my vocation as wife and hopefully as a mother. I nervously discussed this with my husband, who somewhat reluctantly agreed. We had been planning on putting my salary in savings as a down payment on our first house. People at the school where I was student teaching surprised me by saying they thought it was great that I was staying home (two women even said they wished they could do the same).
Was having kids and staying home when I was young difficult? Becoming a mother was an adjustment--as it is at any age. A year or so after my first baby was born, I remember having an epiphany- -"I feel like an adult." Previously, I often felt more like an overgrown college student. Being a mom grew me up, so to speak, and was formative in making me into the woman I am today. That is one of the many benefits I see in having children when I did. I learned to be my children's mother when I was pliable and young. I was not yet set in my adult ways; therefore, they were not add-ons or drains to my already formed adult life. Plus, as much as I don't like to admit it, I had a lot more stamina in my twenties than in my thirties (and now, my forties). For example, I didn't wear glasses until I was in my mid-thirties, when I discovered I needed reading glasses. Even with them, when I was more tired than usual I still got eye-strain headaches. That is still true for me today. My twenty-five year-old body adjusted to the new demands of motherhood without constant eye-strain headaches--which is much better than my thirty-five year-old body would have done.
Something that helped me transition to motherhood was befriending women from church. I also attended a weekly ladies Bible study and an exercise class; both activities included moms of all ages. I called the older, more experienced moms when I had questions or needed help; several of them were so kind as to watch my baby occasionally so I could run errands or go for a jog alone. At the time that our firstborn came along, my husband was working full-time and going to school part-time. He is a great listener and encourager. He is also great with babies, but his availability was limited then. This made it even more important for me to ask for help (which is not easy for me to do). It also highlighted to me my occasional intense desire to "get away from it all." I had intensely desired to be a mother; however, adapting to the 24/7 nature of motherhood felt stifling at first. I found myself wanting to be separate, even for a little bit, from this role. However, when I left my baby with someone, all I could think about was how she might be doing! Thankfully, I had another epiphany after my second child was born. I realized that I was still trying to keep me as "just me," not a "me that has to take care of someone else all the time." Realizing that I could never satisfy that desire (and why was it there, anyway?! I had been so eager to have children!), and realizing that Jesus was serious when He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself," I embraced the constant demands of motherhood and found myself joyfully content, although at times exhausted, with my growing flock of little ones. And in losing my life, I found it.
Although I found being a young mother fulfilling, did I give up all intellectual growth by changing diapers all day? Actually, I found that as I was home with the children, I learned not only a lot about health, hygiene, nutrition, time management, organization, and human growth and development, but I also had the flexibility to educate myself in areas where I was lacking. I have read about politics and theology; I have listened to thought-provoking radio programs and podcasts. I have read books for enjoyment. In addition, as my children have grown, we as a family have more complex discussions about all kinds of topics. I have grown into my adult ways of thinking as a mom, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
But was it really worth it to give up my earnings potential for all of those years? Interestingly, the Washington Post article I referenced earlier states that men who marry in their twenties actually earn more than men who postpone or avoid marriage. Joy Pullman explains in an article at The Federalist that her husband and kids are much happier when she is home, and that "research also shows that marriage makes men work harder and smarter, and spend more time contributing to their families and communities." So, while it appears that I gave up my earnings potential, I actually helped increase my husband's. I view that as re-routing my potential into him, while simplifying our lives and increasing our family's contentment. My husband and I are joined by God, and as we fulfill our vocations we serve each other in love. The money we have is technically money he earned, but it is really money we earned because it takes both of us to keep our lives running smoothly.
My oldest child is now married and I am thrilled not only by the possibility that I could be a young grandma, but also that I could live to see my great-grandkids (and possibly even a great-great grandchild!). Although it isn’t given to everyone to marry and have kids while young, it is something to be embraced when it does happen. God calls children a blessing. God does bless people with money, but God also calls the love of money a root of every evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The temptation to think we need more money is great in a society that has unprecedented material abundance, the most in the entire world. While my family doesn’t go on fancy vacations or have the newest and best of everything, we wouldn't trade all the money in the world for what we do have--rich relationships with each other, and time for what is most important: receiving God's Word at home and at church.
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. . . .
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD . . .
Dana Palmer is Pastor Stan Palmer's wife, a mother of four, a mother-in-law to one, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. She has a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish. Although she has enjoyed tutoring students in Spanish as well as teaching Sunday School, the majority of her teaching experience comes from teaching her own children, three of whom she currently home schools. As an adult Lutheran convert, she is particularly interested in Lutheran theology and is thankful to be Lutheran. She finds pleasure in reading classic fiction, writing, classic movies, exercising, scrapbooking, and spending time with people.
"I embraced the constant demands of motherhood and found myself joyfully content, although at times exhausted, with my growing flock of little ones. And in losing my life, I found it."
I would have loved to marry young right out of college, but it turned out that wasn't God's plan for me, so thanks for including this caveat "Although it isn’t given to everyone to marry and have kids while young, it is something to be embraced when it does happen." I'd say, overall, we all need to learn to embrace the plans God has for us, even if they don't seem ideal at the time. I, too, am blessed by the first child God gave me at age 33, 11 months after my husband and I were married, and there's no way to know if I even could have conceived a child prior to that if I had been married sooner, since I had large uterine fibroids that went undetected for years. All children are a blessing regardless of when they come to us. But I can also see how your experience and attitude runs counter to what most of our society would say, and so I thank you for sharing your viewpoint.
You're both welcome. Bethanie, I felt compelled to put in the caveat for the reasons you mentioned. My husband wanted to be married in his twenties; he was thirty-one when we married. Life certainly doesn't unfold the way we think is ideal, but God upholds us in all of our sorrows and joys. Thank you, Rebekah and Bethanie, for your comments and thoughts on motherhood and the blessing of children.


What is the Crown of Thorns?
The above quotation is one of four gospel passages which make explicit reference to the relic known as the Crown of Thorns. Christ was tried by the Sanhedrin – a Jewish judicial body. They accused Jesus of various crimes, including claiming to be the Messiah.
Pontius Pilot ordered Jesus to be flogged and sentenced to crucifixion. By way of mockery, the Roman soldiers responsible for carrying out this punishment placed a crown of thorns of the head of Christ and mocked him as ‘King of the Jews’.
The Crown of Thorns is thus representative of the suffering of Christ during his final hours. It signifies the mockery of Christ but also, ironically, his regal and magisterial qualities and is symbolic of his heavenly reign.
It is not my intention to engage in a debate regarding the events of the Crucifixion, or indeed the significance of Christ. Needless to say, I am a Catholic and I uphold Catholic believes. Furthermore, whether you believe in Christianity or not, there is historical evidence for the life and Crucifixion of Christ (as highlighted by non-Christians). And so, as the historical evidence suggests, there was a Crown of Thorns, an actual artefact worn by a man called Jesus during his crucifixion.
It is not known what happened to the Crown of Thorns immediately following the crucifixion. It was likely removed from Jesus’ head once he was taken down from the Cross and the crown cast aside.
At the time, only Jesus’ disciples knew of the religious significance of the event that had just taken place. Perhaps they kept the artefacts worn by Christ during the crucifixion, aware of their religious significance. There certainly would not have been a stampede to collect anything associated with Christ from the general public or the Roman soldiers.
The only things of value would have been those items that could have been re-used, e.g. clothing and shoes. To 99% of the population at that time, Jesus was just another criminal sentenced to death.
References to the Crown of Thorns during the early medieval period are rather scant. The popularity and demand for relics (objects venerated because of their proximity to a Saint or holy person) did not really take off until the high middle ages.
However, we do know that the Crown of Thorns was in Jerusalem until the 11th century. According to the Golden Legend (a text written in the 13th century), St Helena, the Emperor Constantine’s mother, had located the Crown of Thorns in Jerusalem when she visited the city in 326. It was found along with other relics associated with Christ, including the True Cross. It was displayed in the church on Mount Zion in the 6th century and there is evidence to suggest it was displayed in the same church into the 8th century.
In about 1063, the Crown of Thorns was taken to Constantinople and it remained there until 1237.
Allegedly, thorns from the Crown of Thorns were removed from the crown itself and distributed throughout Europe even before the 13th-century.
In the medieval period, there was a huge black market for religious relics. Many churches claimed to have pieces of the True Cross, heads of John the Baptist and bones of saints. Some of the more intriguing relics were Christ’s foreskin, the milk of the Virgin Mary and the head and thumb of St Catherine of Siena.
People would go on pilgrimage and pay to visit shrines and churches which housed these relics and were thus good for business. One church which supposedly housed the brain of St Peter was found to be a forgery when the relic was disturbed and found to be a stone.
It was said that if all the pieces of the True Cross which claimed to be authentic were put together in a line, they would stretch out over a mile. And if all the body parts of the apostles were collected, they would each have 4 bodies. With so many relics claiming to be authentic, it was difficult to distinguish legitimate artefacts from forgeries.
One way in which to establish the authenticity of a relic was its association with miracles. Relics were said to possess holy powers and could perform miracles when one came into close proximity to it, for instance, curing lepers, restoring the sight of the blind and healing the lame.
The holier the saint, the greater the power of the relic. And, the closer the relic was in proximity to the holy person, the stronger its power was said to be. And so Christ as the holiest of holies, and the Crown of Thorns, worn by the man himself during his death was considered extremely powerful. The Crown of Thorns was (and still is) venerated as an incredibly holy artefact.
The French King, Louis IX came to the throne in 1226. He is marked out as a rather pious king who was venerated as a Saint following his death. In 1244, Louis had been struck dumb by an illness and upon his recovery had vowed to go on crusade. However, even prior to this event, Louis had shown exceptional piety.
In 1237, Baldwin II, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople was in possession of the Crown of Thorns. He needed to raise funds to fight the Greeks (who wanted to retake possession of Constantinople). Baldwin offered the Crown of Thorns to Louis IX who paid 100,000 livres for the relic. (As a comparison, the church Sainte Chapelle in which the relic was housed cost 60,000 livres to build).
In 1239, the Crown of Thorns arrived in France. The occasion was met with much celebration. The streets were lined with people and colourful banners.
The relic embarked on a tour throughout France and arrived in Paris on 18th August 1239. King Louis, along with his brother, Robert of Artois received the relic outside the Church of Sainte Antoine-des-Champes. Following a service, Louis and Robert walked into the centre of Paris with the relic wearing only plain clothes and in bear feet. They briefly stopped outside the cathedral of Notre Dame and then interred the relic in the Chapel of Sainte-Nicholas. It was shortly thereafter moved to the chapel of Sainte-Denis whilst construction was completed on the Sainte Chapelle (Holy Chapel).
Louis then distributed thorns from the Crown throughout France and Europe as gifts. These fragments of the original relic are still revered today by those who house them.
King Louis began to construct Sainte Chapelle in 1238. The chapel was built to house Louis’ relics. Most notably, the Crown of Thorns and a piece of the True Cross. The chapel was completed in 1248 and Louis’ relics were moved there.
Sainte Chapelle still stands today and is a popular Parisian tourist attraction.
During the French Revolution (1789 – 1799) Sainte Chapelle suffered extensive damage. The Crown of Thorns was moved at this time for safekeeping to the National Library of France. It was returned to the Catholic Church in 1801 where the relic found a new home in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Napoleon commissioned a reliquary (a casing to hold a relic) for the Crown.
Crown of Thorns in the circular reliquary in crystal of 1896. Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
The Crown can be seen by visitors on the last Friday of every month and each Friday throughout Lent.
Yesterday (15th April 2019) a fire started at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Firefighters fought the blaze for around 12 hours. Thanks to their efforts, much of the building remains. Firefighters, priests and staff of the cathedral risked their lives to save as many relics as possible. Including the Crown of Thorns.
Thanks for reminding us about the meaning of The Crown of Thorns especially with Easter approaching.
It is so upsetting that Notre Dame was on fire right before Easter too.
I am personally not a catholic or even overly religious but hearing that this incredible cathedral was on fire brought tears to my eyes! I loved getting to learn some of the history of such an amazing relic!
It was really interesting reading all this history, as I didn’t know any of it originally!
When I saw the news yesterday, I was devastated. So much history at risk. I had always talked about visiting Notre Dame but had never made the time, unfortunately.
I was devastated to see the images of the Church burning, but I’m happy to know that so many of the relics were saved.
Wow, this is truly powerful. Thank you for reminding us all.
Very interesting read! So powerful!


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The story behind Apple's NeXT OS in 1996 At a Churchill Club event in San Jose, Calif., Jean-Louis Gassée discusses why Apple chose Steve Jobs NeXTSTEP OS over Gassée's Be OS. In hindsight, Gassée says, "Thank god that didn't happen, because I hated Apple's management."
At a Churchill Club event in San Jose, Calif., Jean-Louis Gassée discusses why Apple chose Steve Jobs NeXTSTEP OS over Gassée's Be OS. In hindsight, Gassée says, "Thank god that didn't happen, because I hated Apple's management."


BlackBerry CEO John Chen revealed that the Canadian cellphone maker would unveil two new mid-range smartphones in July 2016.
The new models, codenamed "Hamburg" and "Rome", will be touchscreen devices operating on the Android OS.
Despite BlackBerry's poor performance in the international market, CEO John Chen was optimistic about the new models and said that Blackberry could bounce back and start making profits again.
BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM), was founded in 1984.
It started off with selling pagers and released its first phone, the Blackberry 5810, with voice calling facilities in 2002.
In 2007, BlackBerry had become the most valuable company in the Toronto Stock Exchange with a market capitalization exceeding $67 billion.
By 2010, BlackBerry had shipped its 100 millionth phone.
How did BlackBerry get its name?
The keys on the original Blackberry device, a pager, resembled groups of seeds. After going through the names of quite a few seed-based fruits, Research in Motion (RIM) decided to name their product BlackBerry because most of their devices were black at that time.
Despite BlackBerry's initial success, the stock market crash in 2008 brought down BlackBerry's share price by $50 dollars, which marked the beginning of its demise.
By 2009, BlackBerry struggled to compete with Apple's App Store, a problem it never managed to solve.
BlackBerry, which sold around 15 million phones per quarter at its peak, currently sells a meagre 500,000 (as of March 2016).
In 2008, BlackBerry was valued at a massive $83.4 billion - more than eBay or Goldman Sachs. However, by 2013, BlackBerry's valuation had dropped to a pitiful $3.4 billion - less than that of American fast food chain Wendy's.
As BlackBerry continued to slump in the international market, Facebook decided to end support for the BlackBerry platform.
In February 2016, WhatsApp dropped support for the BlackBerry platform.
BlackBerry users, thus, were cut-off from the world's most used social media and messaging apps.
BlackBerry said that it was "extremely disappointed" with the fact that two of the world's biggest apps had completely abandoned them.
BlackBerry has filed a law suit against Nokia over the alleged infringement of 12 technology patents. The patents cover data transmission technologies involved in 4G and other networks.
BB alleged that Nokia used these patents on several transmission systems and softwares. Nokia said it was looking into the allegations.
Blackberry is seeking payment from Nokia rather than blocking its access to the technology.
Canadian handset-maker Blackberry launched the BlackBerry KEYone smartphone at the Mobile World Congress 2017 being held in Barcelona.
The new phone is priced at $549 and is expected to hit stores in April'17.
KEYone comes with a physical QWERTY keyboard, a 4.7-inch touch screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, a 3,505 mAh battery, 3GB RAM and a 12-megapixel rear camera unit.
Billionaire Elon Musk, celebrated his 45th birthday today.


WILL 1991 see the collapse of the house that Tito built for Yugoslavia? One disgruntled tenant has just backed off the prospect of demolition. But it still looks possible. Threats to the multinational state appeared soon after its founder, Josip Broz Tito, died in 1980. With him passed the unique authority that kept a ``common home'' together, despite often quarrelsome tenants.
The collective presidency that succeeded Tito never had his authority. On the contrary, it mirrored increasingly jealous rivalries, which Tito had restrained for 35 years of stability.
Ethnic Albanian unrest in Kosovo in 1981 was only the forerunner of naked conflict between major republics. Now, divisions threaten the country as a whole.
On one side is Serbia, the largest republic. It not only wants the once-autonomous province of Kosovo under its thumb; it also hankers for a traditional Serbian dominance to which it claims its size and medieval history entitle it.
Other Yugoslav republics resist this - principally Slovenia and Croatia, the most Western and economically advanced.
Serbia might have ``managed'' rebellious Kosovo indefinitely. But the defeat of the Communists in almost all of last year's regional multiparty elections ensured a Yugoslav problem of acute crisis dimensions. Only in Serbia did the Communists - under an extreme nationalistic, populist leadership - survive. It wants to keep Yugoslavia as it is, within a centralized federation in which an enlarged Serbia is top dog.
Slovenia and Croatia, with new center-right (and nationalist) governments, want a loose confederation of independent, sovereign states, with the right of secession.
The federal authorities in Belgrade are as desperate to prevent unilateral dismemberment of the established state as Mikhail Gorbachev is to prevent similar steps in the Soviet Union.
Confrontation, even civil war, loomed as 1990 ended. Slovenia and Croatia mobilized paramilitary forces to defend their ``independence'' against any challenge from the federal Army, run mainly by Serbs. Croatia lowered the tension by obeying the presidency's call to disband these republican ``private armies.'' But it kept the weapons. Its political rift with Serbia remains.
But Slovenia is so resolved to ``go it alone'' it plans to mint its currency and make legal changes for a new state. Its leaders seem over-optimistic. With but a tenth of Yugoslavia's population, Slovenia does indeed generate a third of the country's gross national product. It tops the hard-currency export account. But Western economists, along with some Slovenes, ask: Is this enough?
EFFICIENT as it may be, Slovenia - like Croatia and Serbia - will still need the Yugoslav and the East European market. It is far from being sufficiently competitive in neighboring Austria and Italy, let alone in world markets at large.
Western support was promised for a realistic federal reform package - which Slovenia opposes. But such support for Slovenia is unlikely. The United States and the European Community have already indicated preference for a united Yugoslavia.
Ironically, the answer to all this lies less perhaps between these saber-rattling arch-rival republics than with what is happening in Kosovo. Not long ago, only an extremist fringe there regarded Albania as an answer to its wrongs. The majority knew they were Yugoslavia's poor but were still better off than those in Albania.
Now, however, Albania's economic and social reform not only fuels Kosovo's demand for home rule. It is also - together with Serbian repression - turning more Kosovar thinking toward uniting with a new kind of neighbor.
One hopes this possibility would deter Serbia's intransigence over Kosovo. It might also help persuade Serbs that only a reformed, decentralized confederation can prevent a Yugoslav breakup, which would be disastrous for all.


Kids, listen up: don't start dropping out of high school just because the Tumblr CEO David Karp, who just sold his Internet company to Yahoo for $1.1 billion, had neither a high school nor a college degree.
Kids, listen up: don't start dropping out of high school just because Tumblr CEO David Karp (who just sold his Internet company to Yahoo for $1.1 billion) has neither a high school nor a college degree. Quitting the Bronx High School of Science at the age of 14 may have "made mom proud," per The New York Times's Jenna Wortham and Nick Bilton, but for most of you, forgoing a degree is a really bad idea. Yes, Karp, like a couple of other high profile tech millionaires and billionaires — Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs — ditched formal education earlier than most 1 percenters and also managed to succeed. But, they're statistical outliers.
In fact, following Karp's trajectory is an even worse idea than pulling a Zuckerberg, Gates, or Jobs: He never even finished high school. The latest figures have unemployment for those with less than a high school diploma at 11.4 percent, compared with 7.2 percent for high school graduates. 7.2 percent isn't so bad — that's better than the national average, you might say. But, don't stop there. The more education, the better. Unemployment drops all the way to 3.6 percent for those with Bachelor's degrees or higher. The 34 million Americans over 25 who dropped out are 71 percent more likely to be unemployed, according to a recent Atlantic story debunking the myth of the college dropout.
Of course "employment" is only one measure of wealth, but since 1979 the income gap between people with college degrees and people whose education ended in high school has grown, according to Timothy Noah in The New York Times. What Noah calls the rise of the "educated class" includes affluent to rich families in the top 10 percent, with incomes over $111,000, compared to working-class families in the middle 20 percent, with incomes roughly between $39,000 and $62,000. In short: People who go to school longer not only have a better statistical chance at having a job, but at making more money in those jobs.
Sure, it sounds kind of dreamy to skip all that boring (and expensive) educational training, which doesn't even guarantee a fruitful career — especially when a big newspaper like The New York Times repeatedly glorifies the few success stories, or when Mayor Bloomberg suggests forgoing tuition for a career in plumbing. But, unless you're getting $100,000 from Silicon Valley drop-out evangelist Peter Thiel to pursue a business dream, it's statistically a terrible idea.


WIMBLEDON, England — As a tyke growing up in Marietta, Ga., Melanie Oudin would watch Venus and Serena Williams on TV and tell anyone who would listen that she was going to play at Wimbledon, too, one day.
Who knew she'd be right? And do so well, so quickly?
Making her Wimbledon debut at age 17 after getting through qualifying, the 124th-ranked Oudin joined the Williams sisters in the fourth round at the All England Club by beating former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2 Saturday in the most startling result of the tournament's opening week.
"Was just thinking that she was any other player, and this was any other match, and I was at any other tournament — you know, not, like, on the biggest stage, at Wimbledon, playing my first top-10 player," Oudin said. "I mean, I go into every match the exact same, you know, like, no matter who I play. It's not, like, 'Oh, my gosh, I'm playing the No. 1 player in the world.'"
Another U.S. qualifier, 133rd-ranked Jesse Levine of Boca Raton, Fla., couldn't extend his run in the men's tournament, losing to No. 19 Stanislas Wawrinka 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. That leaves No. 6 Andy Roddick as the last American man in the tournament.
The only time Oudin really lost her way was when her match ended and it was time to leave Court 3, a patch of grass known as "The Graveyard of Champions," because of the long list of stars upset there. She wasn't quite sure where to go and asked someone to direct her toward the exit.
Not all that surprising, when you consider that a year ago, Oudin entered the junior event at Wimbledon — seeded No. 1 among the girls — and failed to make it out of the second round, losing 6-1, 6-3 to eventual champion Laura Robson of Britain.
Yet there Oudin was Saturday, outlasting 2008 U.S. Open runner-up Jankovic, then calling Mom and Dad back home to share in the revelry.
"My emotions are all over the place," Oudin's father, John, said in a telephone interview. "When I think about watching Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker in their starched whites at Wimbledon, I just can't believe Melanie is there. It's hardly any words other than, 'Wow!' We've been saying a lot of that. Just, 'Wow!'"
"I was feeling quite weak. No power," Jankovic said. "I wasn't the same player."
While Oudin was working on her big win, five-time Wimbledon Venus Williams was enjoying a matter-of-fact contest on Centre Court, winning the first eight games en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory over 34th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. The only other time they played, on a hard court at the Australian Open in January, Suarez Navarro knocked off Williams in the second round.
"Completely different circumstances," noted the third-seeded Williams, whose sister Serena advanced Friday.


There is an inevitable relationship, between the sales and the current assets. The actual and the forecasted sales have a major impact on the amount of current assets which the firm must maintain. So, depending upon the sale forecast, the financial manager should also estimate the requirement of current assets. However, as the sales forecast cannot be certain, so is the case with the forecast of current assets also? This uncertainty may also result in spontaneous increase in current assets in line with the increase in sales level, and may bring the firm to face tight working capital position. In order to overcome this uncertainty, the financial manager may establish a minimum level as well as a safety component for each of the current assets for different levels of sales. But how much should be this safety component? It may be noted that in fact, this safety component determines the type of working capital policy a firm is pursuing. There are three types of working capital policies which a firm may adopt i.e., moderate working capital policy, conservative working capital policy and aggressive working capital policy. These policies describe the relationship between sales level and the level of current assets.
In case of moderate working capital policy, the increase in sales level will be coupled with proportionate increase in level of current assets also e.g., if the sales increase or are expected to increase by 10%, then the level of current assets will also be increased by 10%.
In case of conservative working capital policy, the firm does not like to take risk. For every increase in sales, the level of current assets will be increased more than proportionately. Such a policy tends to reduce the risk of shortage of working capital by increasing the safety component of current assets. The conservative working capital policy also reduces the risk of nonpayment to liabilities.
On the other hand, a firm is said to have adopted an aggressive working capital policy if the increase in sales does not result in proportionate increase in current assets. For example, for 10% increase in sales the level of current assets is increased by 7% only. This type of aggressive policy has many implications. First, the risk of insolvency of the firm increases as the firm maintains lower liquidity. Second, the firm is exposed to greater risk as it may not be able to face unexpected change in market and, third, reduced investment in current assets will result in increase in profitability of the firm.


The feds failed to order a breakup when it could have done some good. Now, based on the government's findings, Sun, Netscape and Be are suing -- with good reason.
Microsoft's legal team is a lucky bunch. First, its four-year antitrust battle with the government, which had once seemed so bleak, now looks like a victory. Second, the company has now been hit with a raft of private antitrust suits, guaranteeing the outside lawyers lots of billable hours and the inside lawyers job security for years to come.
So far, Netscape, Sun Microsystems and Be Inc. have all sued the software behemoth, alleging that they suffered from the wrongdoing so thoroughly documented in the government's case. Other competitors, sensing an easy victory, will likely follow suit.
While this may seem like just a legal pile-on -- literally the last chance for Be to make a buck, before vanishing forever -- the results may be far-reaching, and will especially affect technology-minded consumers. Microsoft has for years now used its monopoly power to quash competitors and promote its own products. Its stranglehold has sapped innovation from the industry and robbed consumers of the benefits of a competitive market. Indeed, Netscape's business has been nearly eviscerated by Microsoft's actions. Sun's Java, an exciting technology that has survived thus far, may nonetheless meet a similarly dire fate at the hands of Microsoft's just-launched .Net.
The government's case now looks like it will do little or nothing to curtail these wrongs. Chances of success for the private suits are also slim, but there is at least a possibility that they may indeed lead to stronger penalties and fairer markets. Regardless, consumers ought to applaud these actions, insofar as they seek remedies that the government has failed to pursue.
The lawsuits will get a boost from the government's case. The findings in that case -- documented in the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law -- will give the private suits a solid foundation, skewed strongly against Microsoft.
But the findings are only the foundation on which each of the plaintiffs hopes to build broader charges than the government was able to prove. For instance, both Netscape and Sun assert that Microsoft illegally monopolized the market for Internet browsers. The government's similar claim (of "attempted monopolization") was rejected by the Court of Appeals, which said the Department of Justice hadn't even defined the browser market.
Proving these and other charges will require some work. In addition, the standards for private antitrust suits are different enough that, even where the charges overlap with the government's, these will be far from simple victories. For starters, while the government showed that Microsoft's behavior reduced competition in certain markets, the private plaintiffs must further show that they specifically were harmed by that behavior. It can happen that a monopolist, in reducing competition overall, may actually benefit certain competitors.
This means that Netscape and Sun will eventually have to show that they would have been successful -- or, at least, more successful than they were -- but for Microsoft's illegal behavior. This makes a maddeningly speculative question suddenly critical: Was Netscape actually harmed? Would it have failed anyway?
It's impossible to know with certainty, of course. But it does seem clear that Microsoft damaged Sun and Netscape's businesses through aggressive and illegal tactics. The question remains: Will Microsoft pay a price for its behavior?
The symptoms of Netscape's suffering are obvious: By Microsoft's own estimate, Netscape controlled 80 percent of the browser market as late as 1997; today, it has only 20 percent. Importantly, Netscape's share didn't drop so dramatically because its products were inferior or overpriced. Indeed, it probably wouldn't have lost market share even if its product had been inferior. "Netscape" had become popularly synonymous with "Internet," and consumers -- perhaps schooled by Microsoft's years of pushing the "industry standard" against upstarts like Apple -- wanted to stick with the market leader. Even Bill Gates acknowledged: "[quality] alone won't get people to switch away from Netscape."
The real migration to Internet Explorer started only after Microsoft played its trump card, and used its operating-system monopoly to close off Netscape's two most effective and cost-efficient distribution channels: original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Dell and Compaq; and Internet access providers such as AOL. The Microsoft executive in charge of operating systems, James Allchin, pushed this strategy, arguing "we must leverage Windows more."
OEMs offered particularly effective distribution, as they could simply install Netscape's browser on every machine they shipped. Microsoft fought back by bullying these OEMs into exclusively distributing Internet Explorer. While some of the company's tactics were simply questionable -- such as offering Windows-licensing discounts to cooperative OEMS -- others smacked of thuggery. For instance, Microsoft threatened to audit Gateway's internal use of Microsoft products if the computer maker wouldn't abandon Netscape Navigator.
Microsoft used similar methods to foreclose distribution by Internet access providers, for instance by facilitating user sign-ups for only those ISPs that would exclusively promote Internet Explorer. Recognizing that theirs was a commodity product, few ISPs could afford to leave to their competitors the visibility and convenience of appearing on the Windows desktop. Indeed, even AOL -- whose proprietary service was and is unique, and which now owns Netscape -- eventually signed up with Internet Explorer in exchange for a spot on Microsoft's desktop.
The tactics worked: Internet Explorer dramatically gained market share at Netscape's expense and, importantly, Netscape's distribution costs skyrocketed. But were these tactics and the others alleged in the suit entirely responsible for Netscape's failure? Might not the company have failed anyhow, as did so many of its bubble-market contemporaries?
Sure. Netscape shared a lot with those now-failed "businesses": arrogance, ungrounded optimism, a 20-something co-founder and nearly uncontrolled growth. Those negatives could easily have conspired to bring down the company. Netscape certainly seems to have stumbled badly and to have made several mistakes, such as choosing to rewrite its browser from scratch just when it faced real competition. That process turned into something of a debacle and led to an almost three-year wait, during which Microsoft raced ahead. Missteps like that suggest that the stock market's manic expectations may never have been met.
But there were important differences between Netscape and the dot-coms. For starters, the company enjoyed real revenue (over $500 million in 1997) from browser licenses, Netcenter portal advertising and sales of server software and development tools. Without Microsoft's illegal interference, those streams likely would have grown and may well have led to additional sources of income.
The company's management should be credited not just for those revenues, but also for being savvy enough to sell the company to AOL for $4.3 billion in 1998 -- not at the peak of the market, but well above what the company would sell for today. Even if AOL hasn't turned out to be the best corporate parent, it was a smart move that brought Netscape into an environment with stable revenue and little direct competition from Microsoft.
If the company had survived on its own and executed its original plans, the rewards could have been immense. Its products, already must-haves, might have grown into a development platform able to support full-fledged applications. That, after all, was Microsoft's fear: that Netscape would lure developers (and thus users too) from the operating system to the browser. Had it succeeded, Netscape might well have found itself in the same lucrative position Microsoft owns today and has fought so vigorously to protect.
This is, admittedly, a speculative future. For one thing, Netscape's products were far from being able to host sophisticated applications. Sun's Java was much closer to this goal, and actually might have ended up competing with both Netscape's browser and Microsoft's operating systems. We simply don't know how the markets would have progressed absent Microsoft's wrongdoing. But this lack of certainty is not reason enough to let Microsoft off the hook. If it were, that would only encourage monopolists to strike at their competitors earlier and more fiercely.
It is obvious that these companies were damaged by Microsoft's anti-competitive actions. But what should be done about it?
The companies want money, of course, though they haven't yet said how much. While Sun did reportedly estimate that its tab alone could exceed $1 billion, such figures are based on little more than guesswork. What is an unknown chance of owning a rapidly changing market really worth?
There are ways to value such uncertainties -- investors use various formulas to price speculative securities such as options -- but for all their precision, they typically boil down to a number of judgment calls. In any case, they're likely to receive only nominal use here: Because these cases are all jury trials, the lawyers are likely hoping simply that the awards, if any, will be based less on formulas than on emotion.
Unfortunately, monetary damages won't likely be an effective remedy because Microsoft has a $36 billion cash hoard with which to easily pay any but the most severe penalty. Furthermore, it is unclear whether such awards would accomplish much in the public interest. You could even argue that an award to Netscape, now part of AOL Time Warner, might even be an overall negative, at least for technology-minded consumers, because it would transfer cash from the technology industry to a media company.
In addition to cash, all of the private suits ask the courts to impose so-called conduct remedies that would restrict Microsoft's future behavior. Interestingly, Microsoft will likely contend that its conduct has already been remedied by the settlement of the government's antitrust case -- even though that judgment is poorly drafted and unlikely to produce meaningful change. That is one reason why the suits allege wrongdoing beyond what the government was able to prove in its case: Microsoft cannot reasonably claim to have settled claims excluded from that case.
Because Sun Microsystems' lawsuit is much broader and more ambitious than the others, it could produce the most dramatic regulations. Still, any additional regulation could create a serious burden for Microsoft if it conflicted with remedies already imposed by the government's settlement (or by the European Union, which is pursuing a similar case against the company). A patchwork of remedies imposed by various courts could well produce confusing or contradictory regulations.
Indeed, it's worth questioning if any conduct prohibitions, no matter how well coordinated, could actually reform Microsoft and restore competition to the marketplace. It may be that Microsoft could weasel its way through any but the tightest regulatory nets; and regulation so severe might only force the company to stagnate, with little or no benefit to the overall market.
A so-called "structural remedy" -- a breakup -- would likely have been more effective. It would have replaced Microsoft with a pair of smaller but still strong companies, in a market suddenly open to competition. The collusion between operating systems and applications development that has long fortified Microsoft's monopoly would be erased. Unfortunately, the government declined to pursue such a breakup and instead opted merely to slap Microsoft's wrist. With these private actions, perhaps the company will at least get a spanking.
Second of a two-part series on the legal battle between Netscape and Microsoft. Read Part 1.
J.J. Gifford is a writer and consultant in New York.


The interplanetary medium is the material which fills the Solar System, and through which all the larger Solar System bodies, such as planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets, move.
The interplanetary medium includes interplanetary dust, cosmic rays and hot plasma from the solar wind. The temperature of the interplanetary medium varies. For dust particles within the asteroid belt, typical temperatures range from 200 K (−73 °C) at 2.2 AU down to 165 K (−108 °C) at 3.2 AU The density of the interplanetary medium is very low, about 5 particles per cubic centimeter in the vicinity of the Earth; it decreases with increasing distance from the Sun, in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. It is variable, and may be affected by magnetic fields and events such as coronal mass ejections. It may rise to as high as 100 particles/cm³.
Since the interplanetary medium is a plasma, it has the characteristics of a plasma, rather than a simple gas; for example, it carries with it the Sun's magnetic field, is highly electrically conductive (resulting in the heliospheric current sheet), forms plasma double layers where it comes into contact with a planetary magnetosphere or at the heliopause, and exhibits filamentation (such as in aurorae).
The plasma in the interplanetary medium is also responsible for the strength of the Sun's magnetic field at the orbit of the Earth being over 100 times greater than originally anticipated. If space were a vacuum, then the Sun's 10−4 tesla magnetic dipole field would reduce with the cube of the distance to about 10−11 tesla. But satellite observations show that it is about 100 times greater at around 10−9 tesla. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory predicts that the motion of a conducting fluid (e.g., the interplanetary medium) in a magnetic field, induces electric currents which in turn generate magnetic fields, and in this respect it behaves like an MHD dynamo.
How the interplanetary medium interacts with planets depends on whether they have magnetic fields or not. Bodies such as the Moon have no magnetic field and the solar wind can impact directly on their surface. Over billions of years, the lunar regolith has acted as a collector for solar wind particles, and so studies of rocks from the Moon's surface can be valuable in studies of the solar wind.
High energy particles from the solar wind impacting on the Moon's surface also cause it to emit faintly at X-ray wavelengths.
Planets with their own magnetic field, such as the Earth and Jupiter, are surrounded by a magnetosphere within which their magnetic field is dominant over the Sun's. This disrupts the flow of the solar wind, which is channelled around the magnetosphere. Material from the solar wind can 'leak' into the magnetosphere, causing aurorae and also populating the Van Allen Belts with ionised material.
The interplanetary medium is responsible for several effects which can be seen from Earth. The Zodiacal light is a broad band of faint light sometimes seen after sunset and before sunrise, stretched along the ecliptic and brightest near the horizon. It is caused by sunlight scattering off dust particles in the interplanetary medium between the Earth and the Sun.
A similar effect is the Gegenschein, which is seen directly opposite to the Sun's position in the sky. It is much fainter than the Zodiacal light, and is caused by sunlight reflecting off dust particles outside the Earth's orbit.
The term "interplanetary" appears to have been first used in print in 1691 by the scientist Robert Boyle: "The air is different from the æther (or vacuum) in the... interplanetary spaces" Boyle Hist. Air.
The notion that space is considered to be a vacuum filled with an "aether", or just a cold, dark vacuum continued up until the 1950s (see below).
In 1898, American astronomer Charles Augustus Young wrote: "Inter-planetary space is a vacuum, far more perfect than anything we can produce by artificial means..." (The Elements of Astronomy, Charles Augustus Young, 1898).
Tufts University Professor of astronomy, Kenneth R. Lang, writing in 2000 noted, "Half a century ago, most people visualized our planet as a solitary sphere traveling in a cold, dark vacuum of space around the Sun".


How does the powder coating work?
Basically, a powder coating is possible wherever the substrate is electrically conductive. In the automotive industry, the process is therefore used not only in the refinement of the rims, but also in the coating of many other vehicle parts such as the auto body or the gas tank. An overview of other services involved in powder coating can be found on https://mauipowderworks.com/ .
Basically, always the same procedure is used. It essentially comprises two work steps.
First, the component is freed from its previous paint in a chemical immersion bath. After that, the rims are roughened. In this way, the new paint can adhere better later. In this case, methods such as sand or glass bead irradiation are used. Another advantage of this method is that the surface of the rims is cleaned chemically and metallically.
In the second step, it comes to the actual powder coating. The painter uses a spray gun that charges the paint particles electrostatically. This is done either by friction or by electrode. Since the rim is charged exactly the other way round, the paint particles keep optimally. Overall, the process involves three steps. The first is applied to the primer, the second to the color coat and the third to the clear coat .
Each step is interrupted by a 45-minute burn-in phase. The rims are heated to a temperature of 200 ° C. The polyester resin particles cure in this way and form a solid layer.
What advantages does a powder coating have?
The main advantage of a powder coating is the reduced care required for the rims. The treated rims require much less care. The coating is dirt-repellent. As a rule, a little water and a little bit of rim cleaner is enough to remove all dirt with little effort. Another advantage is that the powder coating protects the rim reliably against scratches. With a thickness of 150 to 200 nanometers, it is impact-resistant and at the same time very elastic.
Moreover, the coating makes the rims with their uniform, shiny look much more noble and sporty.


Consider the text of Matthew 19:9 where Jesus identifies who commits adultery in the case of divorce and remarriage. The passage is not preserved before the fourth century when there are three major variant traditions, one of which reads: "whosoever divorces his wife except by reason of sexual immorality makes her commit adultery and whosoever marries the divorced woman commits adultery;" another reads: "whosoever divorces his wife except for adultery and marries another commits adultery;" a third reads "whosoever divorces his wife except for adultery and marries another commits adultery himself and whosoever marries the divorced woman commits adultery." Here, between the variants, we have Jesus making opposite rulings about who is guilty in case of divorce. We have no way of knowing which of the textual readings, if any, is correct, but we know that at least two cannot be. We cannot appeal to the earliest text because all the variants are attested in the fourth century when the earliest manuscripts appear. The matter discussed in this passage is a very practical one with significant implications for Christian practice, one where the text is significantly corrupted, and the manuscripts reflect various biases.
Until reading Gee's chapter, I didn't recognize that there was a question mark over that verse. If anything, it should make us more cautious in applying that passage.
Such challenges are not unique to the Bible. There are uncertainties in the original manuscripts for the Book of Mormon, for example, in addition to printer's errors, and then there will be errors in translation for other languages, just as there will be in the Bible. We are grateful for the majesty of the scriptures, but must recognize that anything that has gone through human hands--the hands of scribes, translators, and printers, and even the hands of mortal authors, however prophetic and inspired--can have imperfections. Don't let that inconvenient truth shake you from the truths that have been revealed. It's an imperfect world, but we do have scripture and we do have modern prophets and apostles who can continue to guide us in the pattern that Christ established in the original Church of Jesus Christ.
In a very realistic dream last night, I was with a missionary who was teaching a highly educated couple about the Word of Wisdom. They sincerely asked how God could be unhappy with them for drinking coffee. It's a fair question, especially with scientific evidence that coffee might have a variety of positive health effects (jury is always out on the impact of any one food or drink: positive effects in one area might be outweighed by harms in others, and much remains to be understood). It reminded me of an investigator I had in Switzerland who loved the Church but loved her coffee just a wee bit more, and stuck with this rhetorical question: "Why would the Lord reject me over a cup of coffee?"
The answer, of course (IF the Word of Wisdom really was given by revelation), is why would we let our love for coffee come before the Lord? Why would we reject Him for such a trivial thing? It's a matter of faith, of course, that depends on recognizing Joseph Smith as a prophet. Once we suspect that may be the case, it's still fair or at least natural to ask about some of the details of the Word of Wisdom. Most of it is now understood to be very wise. But for all we know, the ban on coffee and tea in the LDS Word of Wisdom could be an arbitrary test of faith. Perhaps it could have been toast and jam, deep-fried fish. or ice cream and chocolate (heaven forbid!). An inconvenient and unpopular dietary restriction as a test of faith, perhaps?
In the dream, I tried to find a way to help the couple understand the role of the Word of Wisdom. There were two disconnected concepts that followed. One was the image of people with a chain hanging from their wrist. It looked like a symbol of slavery, as many may view our dietary restrictions. Then a group of people with the chains stood in a circle and started spinning around, the loose end of the chain extending outward. The chains now were weapons that kept enemies away from the group. Kind of weird, but I guess that's a fair to look at the Word of Wisdom, especially the restrictions on alcohol, tobacco, and harmful drugs, and the emphasis on a healthy diet.
The other concept in the dream, or in a waking moment after it, was that of a coach training his team. There are all sorts of rules that a coach may impose on team members, from "give me 50 push-ups now!" to numerous details of daily diet and exercise. Some of what he asks may be arbitrary and not all that helpful, but the journey of obedience and discipline is a valuable one aimed at taking his team to a higher level of success. If the Lord is our coach, we don't have to insist that He provide scientific evidence backing each aspect of His recommended dietary regimen. The discipline itself is part of the journey to excellence, not to mention obedience.
Someday we may understand the Word of Wisdom with more clarity. For now, though, it's such a minor thing we're asked to do--what a pity if we let that stand between us and the Lord.
Did either of these concepts help in teaching that couple? I'll let you know after the next installment in my dream series, if the sequel gets played.
Though this verse was written for a different purpose, it also captures a situation that full-time missionaries can face each day when they have to go out and seek for people to teach. How easy it is to "dread the contempt of families" and instead "not go out of the door." In our "normal" lives, how easy it is to keep silent and not let others know what we believe and stand for, fearing the misunderstanding and even contempt that sometimes comes (though contempt may be imagined more often than actually faced).
One thing, though, should motivate us to forget ourselves and stand as witnesses of God in appropriate ways: love. Our love for others and our love for the Savior can give us courage to rise above the fears of then natural man, that natural coward, and become Saints who share and testify of the truth. We will each have our own style, but when we are prompted to do something, to say something, that is the time to take a risk and open our mouths, in love and respect, but with courage.
"Perfect love casteth out fear." (1 John 4:18) May we seek the miraculous gift of charity, the perfect love of Jesus Christ, that we may be useful instruments in the hands of God in serving and blessing others in this brief mortal journey.
The PaleoJudaica blog offers a copy of a press release about the cache of metal plates from Jordan. Any of you have updated information to share?
For some reason, part of me is always excited to learn about ancient writings on metal plates that have been preserved over the centuries. Guess I'm just into metal.
Update 1, April 3, 2011: More interesting coverage on the topic emphasizes that some of the 70 tiny books are sealed with lead wire. See the article, "Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history" at MailOnline. Check out the photos (two reduced samples are below). I look forward to further information--and hope these are actually authentic, unlike the Padilla Plates or the Michigan plates of slate that garnered interest for a while.
Update 2, April 3, 2011: These may be fraudulent. Daniell McClellan raises a serious issue linking them to another recent fraud. Thanks to OpenMinded for giving me this lead on the bogus lead.
Update 3, April 7, 2011: Also see an excellent discussion at An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica. Kudos to Daniel Johnson.
Social upheaval is on my mind. When there is upheaval such as rioting in the streets, sooner or later we will be faced with the question Nephi had to ask during his family's trek across the Arabian desert: "Whither shall I go to obtain food?" (1 Nephi 16:23). It's a question that we may need to ask in the near future. The best time to ask it is before we face hunger, before a truckers strike, before riots break out, before the power grid goes down and shuts down commerce, or before a disaster wipes out parts of the supply chain for food and water. The best time to ask it is now when the answer is very easy and relatively non-miraculous: Wal-Mart or some other retailer with affordable prices. Build your supplies of food, water, and clothing gradually but fervently now before prices erupt much higher and before essentials simply become unavailable.
I hope I'm wasting all of your time and money with this advice. If you are lucky, taking my advice will be a waste of your money because you'll never need it. But luck tends to favor the prepared. Prepare.
We've seen riots break out in many nations when people are hurting economically. Ultimately, concern over the basics such as food can result in social upheaval or even mob behavior. Upheaval in the form of uprooting corrupt governments may be healthy if it's led by people with the wisdom to put something better in place of the old regime, but many of our revolutions in the past century have resulted in more hunger and sometimes mass starvation.
There are powder kegs all over the world that can be ignited, resulted in sudden changes in society. Whether for good or for evil, such transitions often involve disruption in the food chain. Shipments stop, stores are looted or simply become sold out in a hurry, water supplies may be shut down, farm lands and energy sources may be destroyed. People will go hungry--even in lands spared from the horrors of earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. Man-made disasters can strike anywhere.
If people start going hungry here or anywhere else, things can get ugly. Kudos to Japan, though, for showing a mindset of cooperation, self-sacrifice, and civil order even in the worst of times.
"Whither shall I go to obtain food?" Inquiring minds want to know--when it's a bit too late. Now is the time to be asking.
Kari Huus of MSNBC has a story, "In Japan, the Mormon network gathers the flock." I recommend it.
The only thing that rivals the Mormon church’s ability to spread the word is its ability to cope with emergencies.
Within 36 hours of the earthquake striking off the coast of Sendai on March 11, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that all 638 of its missionaries in the country -- 342 Americans, 216 Japanese and 80 from other nations – were safe.
Efforts have now turned to relief, not just for members of the Church in Japan but to the region at large as the Church works with the Red Cross and others. Appreciate the positive perspective from Kari Huus.
I was living in Atlanta when Hurricane Andrew wiped out some regions of southern Florida, especially Homestead. I was one of thousands of Latter-day Saints who joined LDS-led relief efforts shortly after the hurricane struck. I was amazed to see how well the Priesthood organization functioned. Men who I suspect weren't all that great at home teaching, giving talks, or organizing a ward social all looked like real professionals when it came to stepping up to the challenge of helping a community reeling from disaster. Order, hard work, compassion, and kindness prevailed thousands poured into the grounds of LDS buildings to camp and work. Just amazing. The image of thousands of yellow T-shirts is still in my mind. They helped us recognize one another for increased order, and let the people know who were and reminded us who we were as well. I think they said "Mormon helping hands" or something like that. It was a tiring couple of days but well worth the sacrifice. So impressive to see how supplies and labor had been so effectively organized by people in the Church.
Keep Japan in your prayers. Donations are good, too.
Can't the Music Be Wholesome, Too?
Is it too much to expect a grocery store to play music that parents (OK, maybe some parents) don't have to shield their children from? Sure, they are going to hear it out there in the unwholesome world we live in, but I wish Wholesome Foods would not be one of those sources of unwholesome music.
Maybe the CEO will announce a new partnership with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Cool. Then I'll be back for dinner.
Tonight my heart was pained over what is happening in Japan. I've begun praying more earnestly for the people in Japan, a wonderful country where there are many sweet and courageous people, including friends of mine, fellow Mormons, fellow Christians, fellow engineers, fellow bloggers, fellow sushi fans, fellow photographers, fellow innovation geeks, fellow jokesters, fellows of all kinds, and they are in deep trouble. We're at the point where miracles are needed. Real miracles.
 Yea, and if he say unto the earth -- Move -- it is moved.
 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One -- yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths!
In no way do I wish to suggest that this disaster is punishment upon Japan. It is a disaster that affects the whole world, the kind of afflictions and terror that occurs from time to time across the entire globe and over all the centuries. It's part of mortality, with bad things happening to good people all the time. These tragedies can be tools, though, to humble us and remind us of our mortality and our weakness and of our need for God.
Helaman 11 reminds us of God's real power. He can make the earth move if He wishes. He can make the waters move. With that power, He can certainly move things in a way that will help the Japanese people avert the nuclear nightmare they now face. Is a little miraculous assistance now too much to ask for? Is it too much for us to plead with the Lord and point to the courage and goodness the Japanese people have shown in the midst of this disaster, to point to their great needs, and to please for special help for them, even as we prepare to do more on our own to help from afar? If we unite in prayer, can we not hope for miracles to avert the terror before them now?
It may be too much to ask since far worse things have befallen other good peoples around the globe and continue to afflict them. Floods, earthquakes, famines, plagues, war have ravaged many, and we must not forget the former unspeakable horror we poured upon Japan with the fury of two nuclear weapons on civilian populations at the close of World War II. Mortal life can be brutal, and we knew this would be part of the ride even as we rejoiced at creation of the earth (Job 38:7) and at the prospect of coming here. We're all going to die, but thanks to Christ we're all going to live and this mortal drama will end in victory over the grave, and if we let Him, we'll have victory over sin and spiritual death as well. But for now, we must be concerned with our fellow mortals and their needs.
Japan needs our prayers and help. The carnage in Libya right now also deserves our prayers and help, and so it is in many nations. Perhaps if we learn to unite in prayer and deed to bless others more fervently, to plead with God for extra help among many nations and peoples in need, including those we are close to here at home, we can see little and big miracles occur, and be guided to find better ways to make a difference with our own lives. We need more prayer, and perhaps we'll be able to see more miracles. Maybe not the big ones we want to read in headlines, but at least the small ones where souls are touched and God's greatest works are done. But a few headlines of miraculous good news would be welcome now, and I think I'll keep praying for that.
During the 7 years that I've been blogging here at Mormanity, I've heard many complaints about the failure of prayer in seeking guidance from God. People tried it and it didn't work for them: they didn't get an answer, no personal revelation, no magic "burning in the bosom" or spiritual experience or majestic epiphany. Just nothing. I think many of those who have abandoned prayer left out the secret ingredient, or ingredients, that can make it most likely to bring revelation. I wish to recommend a better way to pray for those who are frustrated with it. For best results, add scripture study, especially right after prayer, and throw in some time to ponder and reflect upon what you read.
I often like random scripture study--just throw open the Bible or Book of Mormon and read a while, then jump somewhere else if you wish. Sometimes methodical study of a topic helps using the LDS Topical Guide or other resources, and sometimes reading straight through on a reading plan will do. But I really think those who wish to gain revelation from God to guide them in their thinking and decisions need to consult what God has given us as tools for wisdom and growth. As we apply those tools to our unique situation, prayerfully seeking God's help, they scriptures can become alive and we can have true spiritual experiences.
As we are riveted by the events in Japan, what can we learn and apply to our own situation? First, I am struck by the civility, courage, and kindness of the Japanese people. In spite of the chaos, society in Japan has not broken down into lawlessness. The Japanese apparently do not look for excuses to smash open shop windows and load up on loot. Social order and basic respect for one's fellow man can still pervade a people even in the midst of destruction and danger. That is inspiring. I hope my nation can learn from that.
We can also learn about emergency preparation. The disaster was extreme, unexpected, and sudden. The tsunami would follow the earthquake by just a few minutes, making speedy evacuation critical to survival. Though many of you may not live in earthquake zones, we all live in regions where extreme disasters can strike, where we may have just a few moments to evacuate. Do you have a 72-hour kit ready to go? Something you can grab and run that will have what you need to live for three days or so until help arrives? This might be a backpack or other bag you can carry filled with things like basic first aid supplies, granola bars or other long-lasting items you can eat, bottled water, clothing, a radio, a flashlight, phone numbers and contact information, etc. This would be a good time to do a drill with your family in which authorities knock at your door (why not have your home teacher do this as part of the drill?) and give you 5 minutes, maybe less, to evacuate. Can you grab a bag and run? Have you thought through what you would do?
One of the most important things to consider is where to meet after a disaster. This is essential in the case of a fire. Make sure everyone knows where to gather after escaping a house fire. A friend of mine died in a fire in his home because of inadequate preparation in this area. All of his family and another family got out safely, but some gathered in the back of the house and others in the front. He didn't know about the people on the other side of the house. He thought there was still a child inside, and ran back into the burning house armed with a water hose. There was a flash of fire and suddenly he was engulfed in flames. Heroic, yes, but unnecessary.
Whether it's a chemical spill, a riot, an epidemic, flooding, fire, or whatever, we are all at risk. Be prepared. Storing food and water is more important than ever in these dangerous times.
May we keep the Japanese people in our prayers and look for better ways to help from afar.
Meanwhile, consider donating through the LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund.
A classic old article by that unpredictable and delightful scholar, Hugh Nibley, is "The Early Christian Prayer Circle." For those wishing to better appreciate the ancient roots of the LDS temple experience, it's a great place to start.
Nibley sees the ancient chorus and ancient ring dances as having temple-related roots. "Ring Dance" is also one of my favorite sculptures, a landmark of Appleton, Wisconsin where I live. The beautiful sculpture is a water fountain in Appleton's downtown City Park. It depicts children in swimsuits joyously playing as they interlock their ankles (not something from the Temple) and do a ring dance around the fountain. It's a monument to the joy of being young and the fun of human friendship and play. A couple of my photos of it are below.
Interestingly, the artist, Dallas Anderson, was a Danish convert to the Church who taught art at BYU for a while before coming out to the Midwest. He lived and recently died here in Appleton. I had a chance to speak with him briefly before he passed away. He was a kind old man, an intellectual, and a tremendous artists who had left the Church after running into some anti-Mormon literature that took the wind out of his spiritual sails. His story, what little I know of it from our brief conversation, reminds me of the need to be patient and understanding of good people who leave the Church for reasons that seem valid and hard to refute. It also reminds me of the need to make answers to anti-Mormon attacks easier to find. There are good, kindly people who have been led away unnecessarily. Some say they are better off, but they are missed, and I fear they are missing something of great worth.
All these thoughts--Nibley, the Temple, good people who leave the Church, and the joy of human friendship--are stirred when I see our famous Ring Dance fountain in Appleton.
"Alma's Enemies: The Case of the Lamanites, Amlicites, and Mysterious Amalekites" from the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 2005, resolves several questions about the narrative in the Book of Alma by showing that the mysterious Amalekites, enemies of the Nephites, were actually the Amlicites that are introduced with much fanfare at the beginning of Alma's record and then mysteriously vanish in the text. There are several reasons for concluding that the two groups are the same, and that the reason we have two different names is due to confusion by the scribe and printer in dealing with the names dictated by Joseph. And yes, it's a mistake that slipped by Joseph Smith himself.
Resolving the error and recognizing the two groups as one greatly strengthens the text and brings unity to the Book of Alma while resolving other issues as well. It's one more example of the text of the Book of Mormon, the ancient text, being "smarter" than Joseph Smith. There is more depth, more unity, and even more poetry to it than Joseph could have realized, let alone created.
Methuselah and the Patriarchs: Bizarre Longevity Explained?
How did the early patriarchs in Genesis manage to live for hundreds of years? Methuselah, for example, lived to be over 900 years old. Remember, this was before multilevel marketing and long before informercials, so they had no chance to buy the latest longevity-enhancing miracle foods. This was even before multivitamins, before x-rays, before antibiotics, and still long before pharmaceutical companies crafted the brew of 30 or 40 pulls a day that many folks need to reach even 70 years of age. How could those guys live so long?
This was a mystery until the very recent discovery of the Not Quite Dead Sea Scrolls. Though authenticity still needs to be verified, there are several exciting breakthroughs in knowledge from this collection of early writings engraved on ancient aluminum foil. Scroll MX13 indicates that the earliest records were kept by the world's first company, Adam & Sons LLC, a law firm. Those 969 years that Methuselah put in? That's billable hours. Yes, the entire history of the patriarchs was recorded in billable hours. Methuselah's life span based on conventional time was actually around 62 years.
Those who weren't partners in Adams & Sons didn't get nearly as many hours credited to their accounts, for some reason, and arguably were short-changed in the record keeping. For example, the billion of years required for the preparation and creation of the earth were credited with just six days of work.
Another clash between science and the Bible has been resolved. It's about time.
Yes, I'm proud of BYU for putting principles first and being willing to jeopardize basketball glory by removing a key member of the team for an honor code violation. I wish we had that kind of integrity in more parts of our country. But I also feel terrible for the player affected and wish that the media (as in the Salt Lake Tribune) wouldn't repeat the alleged misdeed that got him booted. Really, does the whole world have to know that he confessed to missing three months of home teaching in a row? Or was that two months? Actually, it's none of my business.
The real story here, though, may not be isn't the integrity of BYU, but might be the courage and integrity of starting forward Brandon Davies, the young man who, after slipping up in some part of his life, hopefully did what he believed to be right to come clean--even though it would deprive him of a chance to compete for basketball glory on a team ranked #3 in the nation. Repenting and doing what he understood to be right in God's eyes was more important. Sure, it would have been better if hadn't gone astray in the first place, but everyone slips up in various ways and we all need to turn and repent to come back to the Savior. Sometimes the price seems high, as it does in this case, but my guess is that he's a far better man for having made the painful decision to come clean. Thank you, Brandon, for your courageous choice.
Update: March 5 Stories are never as simple as they seem at first. I realize that I don't know if there was a courageous choice or not that Brandon made, so I've edited my last paragraph to be a little less certain. The word "hopefully" is newly added.
I had a surreal experience in New York recently. After checking in to my hotel, I was given the key to my room, room 238, and told that I could access the elevators around the corner, a little to the left of the lounge area with a fireplace and several people sitting in comfortable chairs. I went to the elevators, stepped inside one, and pressed the button for floor 2. I normally take the stairs, but hadn't seen a stairwell, so I went with the nearby elevator on what should have been a very short trip.
The doors slowly closed. I turned and noticed I was surrounded by mirrors. I could see something white on my lapel, so I pulled it off and examined it. It was delicate and wispy, perhaps a piece of down. I let it go and marveled at how it just stood there in the air, barely descending. For maybe ten seconds I stared at it, pleasantly surprised that I, normally always in a rush, could just stand there and enjoy the almost surreal experience of watching a piece of down suspended in midair in a mirrored elevator that was moving so ... very ... slowly.
There I was, patiently suspended between floors in what must have been the slowest but most gentle elevator I had ever been in. I smiled and turned toward the door and waited. Then I waited some more. I wondered if the elevator had become stuck between floors, and contemplated the movies I had seen in which people were trapped in elevators for hours. A moment of worry, but that faded quickly. I was intrigued to see that I could so patient. Finally, there was a ding and then the door opened. A woman stepped in and I stepped out onto the second floor. I turned to the left and soon found my room, room 238.
A few minutes later I left the room and started back to the lobby. As I approached the elevator area--I still hadn't seen a stairwell--I was surprised to look down the hallway past the elevators and to see that on this, the second floor, there was also a lounge with a nice fireplace, just like the one I had passed on the first floor. There were also some people in comfortable chairs there talking. What, a second floor lounge also? I walked toward it and noticed that there was a swimming pool here on the second floor. As I continued toward the lounge and looked to my right, it all became clear. The second floor of this hotel was the main floor, the one I was on when I checked in. It wasn't so much the elevator that was extremely slow, but its passenger.
How often we do we step into elevators, anxious for them to take us to our destination, when we are already where we need to be? How often do we grow frustrated about the slowness of the journey when the Lord has already put us in the right place and it's time for us to move on our own instead of waiting for something or someone else to move us?
Finally, how often do we marvel at our own virtues--patience, in this case--when we are actually being rather dense?
I stepped into an elevator and became pleased at how I could be so patient and enjoy the slow ride from floor one to floor two. I stepped out feeling full of Zen-like wisdom. Any outside observer, however, would have seen a guy on the second floor step into an elevator and just stand there for about a minute before some other passenger came along, pressed the button, and released a stationary fool from his delusional ride.
Yeah, it was a surreal experience.