They're not making this any easier...

(click image for full size)

So, every now and then in a dark hour of weakness I consider actually joining Facebook. I know, I know, crazy, eh? I guess it's something to do with staying in touch with some of the people we will be leaving behind in June. Noble, but the crack-team at Facebook Inc. (or whatever they call themselves) keep coming up with reasons to keep my information as far from their web-service as possible.

Unmitigated Facebook employee access to ALL your content and data mining not enough? Removal of privacy settings not cutting it? How about the latest "privacy blunder" [read:"intentional upgrade"] from Facebook:

"Facebook Crushes Privacy with Impunity" [gawker.com]

The gist: Outside affiliates (advertisers, corporations, etc.) now have "free-reign" with your data. Oh, and most users apparently still don't care (or know) according to FB growth stats. If you're one of the one who does but don't want to join me in the surrounding wasteland of not-Farmvile you might want to give this a read.

Don't tell me "but my stuff is set to private so I'm safe," cause you obviously enjoy reconfiguring and hunting down all the policy changes everytime they press "reset" on your ability to control your own data and trying to adapt to the [pointless?] reconfiguring of user experience. That, and it's right up there with the whole "my email password may not be great, but there's nothing important in there anyway" statement.

You know what, though: if Hipsters started doing the whole "no-facebook" thing my non-conformititis might just go all ouroboros on itself, implode, and force me to make a profile (or "pro-ff" as some pronounce it). If so, expect a cartoon profile-pic, no personally identifying information (except for the incessant tagging by other users), and a "strictly business" approach to updates. Ummm...

This post isn't directed at anyone in particular: just something I wanted to say.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

~Jon

Got something for ya...

Hey, remember that secondary blog I started way back when, put in some decent posts, and then pretty much abandoned? Yeah? Well, now the abandonment is official (I'll leave it up unattended for posterity... for now).

Well, if you took the time to read the post on the other end of that link (did you? be honest) you may have noticed that I have started up a kind of multi-author youth ministry blog/ezine/journal thing. Here's the logo (linked):



The idea is simply this:

Absolutes ring hollow for your average Post-modern because our perception of truth is essentially relative (don't argue: I'm setting up a straw man--just go read the Blindmen & the Elephant). Truth, therefore, is better communicated as experience: tales from the journey and shared paths.

Open Source (ie: software that allows you to read the code and understand how it arrived at this point) is applicable to Faith (& philosophy) as revealing the "code" that brought us to where we are and plots out where we may be going. Get it? If not, read the blog and eventually it will make sense... I hope

(note: though 'open source' is 'free, as in speech,' it still requires dedication and understanding to examine/read it--in software that would be an understanding of programming languages--therefore, though it means things come out in the open, it still requires investment on the part of the observer/reader/interact-er)

For a fuller (read:"stream of consciousness") take on what OpenSourceYM.org is about, read the About Page.

Anyway, check it out. Spread the word. Add your say. And let me know if you'd like to post something (it's all Creative Commons so I have no issues with posts being on there and your own website at the same time). BTW, I will be asking some of you in particular in the near future to consider writing something... or even being a regular columnist if it turns into anything more than a casual experiment.

Cheers,
~Jon

(I use Twitter like RSS, so you can get updates on the new site here: http://twitter.com/opensourceym)

Simply Glorious:

Project Natale, eat your heart out!

Something to think about...

Hey all,

It's midday and the lil'uns are napping. Opa L is here and we're enjoying the delightful weather (remember the Montreal icestorm back in the 90s?).

A while back I heard about a small-time independant documentary called "Prince of Peace, God of War." John Campea (of the Movie Blog) made it in response to his own questions of the divided opinions of pacifism and justified war within Christian circles. I ordered the DVD.

As with all documentaries, it's made with a bias (pacifism, in this case), but that isn't a bad thing. Sometimes the bias could be right. Sometimes the bias can challenge the audience to look into the facts. Regardless, I found it to be an interesting flick and a good discussion starter.

Here's the good news about that: Campea has decided to make his movie freely available online. So, if you're interested in watching it you can do so for free and at your leisure here (you can read his synopsis, or just scroll down to the download links).

Whether or not you watch it, feel free to post some opinion in the comments about whether you think Christians should be pacifists, soldiers, whatever. I'll not tip my hand and reveal my own opinion quite yet ;)