Eco-cycle

In the car listening to NPR I heard the CEO of Eco-cycle talking about the importance of making things completely out of recyclable material. The mission of the company is to create zero waste communities.

Patent troll

In the world of patent law my brother in law is well known. He is the chief editor of Patently-O and was recently included in an internet radio show. In this radio show he talks about an interesting issue regarding someone who is known as a patent troll.

"In the end, everything was a form of prayer"

From the first time I heard about Dorothy Day, I have been captivated by her life. I now realize that she shared the passion of words that my father had. They both used words as their tools. For my father these words were most often expressed in his poetry and sermons. Dorothy Day wrote many books including her autobiography The Long Loneliness and was the chief editor of the Catholic Worker papers.
She described the mission of the paper in an editorial:
For those who are sitting on park benches in the warm spring sunlight.
For those who are huddling in shelters trying to escape the rain.
For those who are walking the streets in the all but futile search for work.
For those who think that there is no hope for the future, no recognition of their plight- this little paper is addressed.
It is printed to call their attention to the fact that the Catholic Church has a social program - to let them know that there are men of God who are working not only for their spiritual but for their material welfare.

The Commonweal (a Catholic magazine) features an article by Robert Ellsberg who had the opportunity to spend some time with Dorothy Day. He shares what he learned from her, especially about the importance of writing. He states that, "Her diaries provide a unique window on (her) life, and on the witness of a woman for whom, in the end, everything was a form of prayer."

I am fascinated by the idea that "in end, everything was a form of prayer." I think this touches upon what Paul writes about in 1 Thessalonians. "Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Brainy Border Collies

I was able to witness first hand how smart a border collie can be. The past 2 years I watched a border collie grow from a puppy to an adult. He was able to understand almost everything we said. However, he would often choose not to listen.
Above is a picture of "Betsy" a border collie from Vienna, Austria as featured on the front page of this months National Geographic. In this National Geographic article you can read about how extraordinarily smart animals can be. For example Betsy was shown a photograph and given a name to associate with the picture and was able "to make a cognitive leap that the thing in the photograph is what you are trying to find." She will be able to find the object in another room among many other objects. Once she associates the name of the object she locks it away, similar to the way a toddler learns .
Here is a picture of Rain the border collie I was able to take care of the past couple years.

Crawford Country Restorative Justice

I find it fascinating that my hometown has a restorative justice program in practice. Last time I was in Pittsburg I saw a sign for the Crawford County Restorative justice authority. I find this interesting as this is the topic I wrote my thesis on at Regent College and one in which I hope to implement within my vocation.

To read more about this organization click here.

Total lunar eclipse

Here is a picture from a photographer in Montana capturing the total lunar eclipse. A friend of a friend of ours took it.


This is a photo/image made by Chad Trettin, a professional photographer in Bozeman. This was his original message:

'This is last night's total lunar eclipse as seen from 8 miles west
of Bozeman. It was 3.5 hours from start to finish. Hope all of you
got to see it in person. For those of you on the other side of the
planet or who missed it, there will be another one in about 3 years.