I ordered a book from Amazon yesterday and when I completed my order I was offered the opportunity to “upgrade” my purchase to allow for online reading of the book. This would allow me to begin reading the book immediately and allowed for searching inside the entire book and even allowed me to print. The cost: an extra 5 bucks. No big deal right? Well, hang on.

Why is there a fee involved? I ordered the book from Amazon. Couldn’t they just allow me free online access to the book I just bought. Why add the 5 bucks? Wouldn’t it make more sense to give away the digital copy than to charge extra for something I’m getting in a few days anyway. There’s not publishing costs, no shipping costs, zero overhead. It just doesn’t make sense.

It turns out that I have previously purchased 6 books that are available for online access. The prices range from $1.49 to $7.20. There is no set price for upgrading either. What’s that about?

Crossway Publishers gives away the digital copy of books you purchase through them. Like Amazon they are completely searchable. You can print and copy just like Amazon. Crossway books are available for immediate download once you purchase the physical copy.

So if a small publishing group can give away the digital copy why can’t mighty Amazon? I’m just asking.

Since I started blogging back in 2004, I have never gone more than a few days without posting at least something each week. That is until last week.

Last week was my last week of (relative) freedom before the beast that is summer had a chance to take over my life. I left my computer wherever. I failed to return emails. I kinda checked out of cyberspace.

It Begins…
Summer began for me in earnest today. We began Work Camp early this morning and that will last until Wednesday night. We have about 200 teenagers representing about 10 churches painting houses and cleaning yards in the Arlington area this week. I love the idea of teens and adults spending their first week of summer paying to paint other people’s houses in the hot, hot sun. What a great week! Bonus today as a cool front moved in at the end of the work day. Hopefully, we can continue to have mild and clear weather for the remainder of the week.

Summer Staples
I picked up a one volume copy of all of the C.S. Lewis Signature Classics to read through this summer. I have read some (Mere Christianity, Screwtape, The Great Divorce) and there are a few that I have not read (Problem of Pain, Miracles, A Grief Observed). I had already planned on reading through Miracles and Screwtape this summer but then I thought it might be fun to try and read through all of these master works over the next three months. I never tire of reading through Lewis. I get overwhelmed sometimes but never tired.

I Shall Retire to the Nerdery
Another of my summer plans is to decorate my office. Those of you who know me know I love movies and music and animation. What you may not know is that I love comics too. I’m not a total geek but there is just something in me that connects to mythology, storytelling, and folklore . What better place to find those elements than in the comic book heroes that I know and love? So in an effort to find some interesting pieces of wall art I headed down to the closest comic book shop to pull some issues with cool covers. I found what I was looking for but I also got sucked in to a new storyline from my favorite hero, Batman. At the end of this new series RIP… (dum, dum, daaaaaaaaaah) Bruce Wayne will no longer be Batman. Whaaaaaaaaaa? Sounds pretty cool to me. I’ve cross another line toward total geek-out.
I hope everyone has a great week. I’ll talk to you again soon.

I am still reeling from last night’s season finale of LOST. I won’t ruin the BIG HUGE REVEAL of who was in the coffin here but needless to say, I was shocked. All season long I had predicted that it was Michael’s body but, man-o-man, was I wrong!!! (Credit where credit is due, my wife guess correctly)

Now here is something I found absolutely fascinating about tonight’s episode. The name given to the body in the coffin was Jeremy Bentham. The real Bentham was a English philosopher from the late 1700s and early 1800s. He is most known for his advocacy of Utilitarianism, the idea that goodness is derived from an action’s outcome. True goodness is measured by the impact it has on a situation as a whole. What is done for the greater good and the greatest number of people is deemed truly great. Looks like we have a season of story in there somewhere.

The thing that most struck me about the real Bentham and how he might relate to LOST as we go forward was his corpse. To the best of my understanding, Bentham had his body preserved and stored in a cabinet. One article said that this was due to financial reasons. More likely is that he allowed his student, Dr. Southwood Smith, to preform an autopsy on his body. Autopsies were highly controversial but Bentham and Smith believed that by dissecting a dead body many great things might be learned for the betterment of society. Again, the greater good would be served.

In 1850 University College London acquired the body and presented it on display in their main building. Apparently, the head fell off one day and so the powers that be sculpted a replacement head out of wax but kept the real head in the cabinet. The head, after years of being stolen and being just plain creepy, was removed and is in “safe keeping.” The college allegedly brings Bentham’s cabinet to important Council meetings where he is marked “present but not voting.” According to the Wikipedia article, if there is ever a need for a tie breaking vote Bentham votes in favor of the motion.

So what does this mean for our friend in the coffin? Well, Ben said everyone has to go back so… looks like “Bentham” will be tagging along. Add a little creep factor to this if he sits in on the return trip planning meetings too.

It is hard to believe that I have to wait until 2009 to find out that I’m probably wrong about this. Leave your thoughts and theories in the comments section friends. Have a good weekend everyone.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46 TNIV)

It is Indiana Jones Week at the Felkers. We watched Raiders last Saturday and we are trying to squeeze in Temple of Doom tonight (somehow). Tomorrow we will watch Crusade. I am not sure my wife has ever seen The Last Crusade so we will definitely have to watch that one before seeing Crystal Skull on Thursday. Whew! So much action, so little time!

I love watching Dr. Henry Jones run, swing, and punch his way through these adventures chasing after “priceless” pieces of antiquity. There isn’t a risk he isn’t willing to take and we, the audience, cheer him on every step of the way.

Scripture tells us that the kingdom of God can be compared to these great treasures. In fact, the kingdom of God is the greatest treasure of all. In the parables above, Jesus says that when we encounter the kingdom we should treat it like the world’s greatest treasure and that we should do whatever it takes to obtain it. The men in his stories sold all they had just to get their treasure.

Do you realize that we trade the glory and freedom of living in the kingdom for mere trinkets everyday? It should be the other way around!

Spend some time today and meditate on how great the kingdom of God is and what is standing in the way of you obtaining it.

*LOST SEASON FOUR DISCUSSION HAPPENING BELOW* PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!

For those of you who are Lost fans you know that this season has been dealing with a lot of nerd-friendly issues such as theoretical physics, the space time continuum, and the nature of reality. All good stuff to be sure but often times I feel like my puny little BA can’t match up with the likes of Dr. Faradey and his time traveling rat.

So to make up for Lost time (ha) I have been expanding my reading list to now include a handful of scientific books. I began last Christmas with The Fabric of the Cosmos. I liked that book so much that I have since picked up Greene’s first foray into explaining deep, difficult, theortical concepts to everyday joes, The Elegant Universe.

In The Elegant Universe Greene introduces the reader to superstring theory. While general relativity deals with the big things in the universe, quantum mechanics deals with the smallest particles. Einstein believed that there must be a unifying theory that explains the entire workings of the universe both large and small. Many believe that superstring theory could be that unifying theory. Greene argues that throughout the history of physics, conflicts have emerged that, once settled, rewrote our complete understanding of what we know about how the universe works. Yes, like Desmond, I sometimes get a nosebleed just reading this stuff.

As I began reading last night I immediately ran across something that jumped out at me as extremely important as we head into the (second) season finale for season 4.

We all know that there is something off about the island and that this season we have come to understand that time plays a big role in that. First a rocket payload landed later than expected. Then a dead doctor washed ashore hours before he died. What is going on here? Now as we move toward the big finale John Locke is on a mission to “move the island.” What does this mean for those left on the island? What about those now on the freighter? What about the rest of us living our lives unaware of the islands existence? For those of you who have been following closely this season get a load of this:

The first conflict concerns puzzling properties of the motion of light. Briefly put, according to Isaac Newton’s laws of motion, if you run fast enough you can catch up with a departing beam of light, whereas according to James Clerk Maxwell’s laws of electromagnetism, you can’t. Einstein resolved this conflict through his theory of special relativity, and in so doing completely overturned our understanding of space and time. Accoring to special reletivity, no longer can space and time be thought of as universal concepts set in stone, experienced identically by everyone. Rather space and time emerged from Einstein’s reworking as malleable constructs whose form and appearance depend on one’s state of motion.

I think that this is a pretty significant bit of information as it concerns our castaways. If the island can move (or is in a constant state of motion relative to…) then no wonder there is a hiccup in time as it concerns rockets and dead doctors and satellite phones.

Maybe I should send Grizzly Jack a copy of this book to help aid him in his quest to return. I’ll just have to tell the postman to stay on the bearing 305 lest he too get a nasty nosebleed.

I can’t believe we have to wait another two weeks to (not) get answers to the mysteries surrounding the island, the survivors of 815, the freighter people, Ben, and Charles Widmore.

If anything should happen to me during these next two weeks, Desmond Hume is my constant.

You can now follow me on Twitter.

Twitter is a free micro-blogging site where you can send “updates” to your contacts and friends through IM, text messages, or email alerts.

Get your own Twitter account and message me so I can follow you too.

It was quite the weekend here at Casa de Felker. I hit up a concert VIP-style, I wogged a 5k, spent the evenings with my beautiful wife, and reached a milestone with my online relationships. For more on each of these events keep reading.

RUSH Concert
I have never considered myself a fan of RUSH before but I have enjoyed and appreciated their music in the past. This concert was incredible. It is hard to believe that three people could put out that level of sound. Their musicianship, stage presence, and visuals were outstanding. Perhaps my favorite part of the night was when the South Park kids (as “Lil’ Rush”) introduced the song “Tom Sawyer” on the video screen. Hilarious!!! I got the VIP hook up from a friend at church and was able to enjoy the second half of the concert from the VIP box. It was a great concert and and great night. Except…

Race for the Cure
I shouldn’t have stood for three hours at the concert because I had the Race for the Cure bright and early on Saturday morning. This was my very first 5k and although the main goal was to just finish I was able to finish just under my target time. I lost a few minutes of time waiting on the portajohn and i wasted some time maneuvering around moms and their strollers but all in all I finished strong. I can’t wait for my next race!

501
Today I added my 501st friend on Facebook. This is kind of a big deal for me as I have personally met every one of the people listed as my friends (even Dave Ramsey). This is a pretty big milestone and I appreciate everyone of you who have added me as your friend. If you haven’t added me as your friend please drop me a message on Facebook. I was going to offer a prize for my 500th friend but the number snuck up on me and I wasn’t prepared. Maybe I’ll have something planned for the 550th.

Hope you have a great week!

I got the greatest kick out of this picture partnered with this caption from The Drudge Report this morning. Classic.

I also hear that the CIA is recruiting a ton of children from The Xavier Academy for covert ops and that a young man named Barry Allen is helping police in Silver City.

I just wish that Metropolis had a city plan in place to protect its citizens.

Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJVS)

I began thinking about this verse and I remembered a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies, Seven Samurai.

Kurosawa’s 1954 classic film begins with a gang of bandits tearing through the Japanese’s countryside. They come to a stop at the top of the a hill overlooking a small, poor, insignificant village. They are about to attack the defenseless hamlet when their leader reminds them that they attacked this village last season. He tells them that they should come back when the barley harvest is in so that they could really wreak some havoc. They agree and they ride off vowing to return and destroy everything. An older man from the village had been hiding on the hill and he overhears the bandits plans and he rushes down the hill to warn the people.

The very next scene show the entire village weeping and wailing and sitting in the dirt in the center of the village. Some are crying out they they wished that they could die right now. Doom and gloom is all around. Most have given up every ounce of hope.

One young man stands up and proclaims passionately that the villagers must fight the bandits. Most of the older men shout him down telling him that his idea is ludicrous. The older men agree that the course of action must be decided by the leader of the village. Every villager stands up and marches to the old mill where the oldest and wisest man living among them resides. The old man will tell them what they must do.

After much deliberation and thought the old man agrees that they must fight these bandits off. He tells them that they must hire samurai to help protect the people. Many of the men argue with the old man’s words saying that they could never afford to hire samurai. They ask him incredulously, “What Samurai would work for barley and rice?”

The old man responds to their doubt by saying, “We will look for hungry samurai.”

That’s vision.

Without his vision, the people would perish. The old man knew that his people were in trouble. He knew their fears and he knew their limitations. They needed help and they needed a different perspective. The old man exhibited vision to see beyond excuses.

Effective vision is most often the most practical. The people were focused on what prohibited them from surviving. The old man focused on what they had and what would help them survive.

Quit whining and crying about your situation and what you think is keeping you and your people from success.

Go find you some hungry samurai and protect your village.

Well folks, it seems that I was wrong in believing that the Justice Dept. would never approve of a merger between XM and Sirius satellite radios. Today the merger won the government’s a-ok.

I’m a bit bummed but whatcha gonna do?

I just hope that I am wrong again and that the merger won’t affect by bill or my satellite radio experience. I’m doubtful however.

Prove me wrong XM/Sirius. Prove me wrong.

March 16- 23 is considered “Holy Week” throughout the world. I came across a great resource in Group magazine that I using this week to help my teens think through the last week of Jesus’ life as he entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) until he rose from the dead (Easter). The devotional was originally written by Steve Case but I modified it to meet the specific needs of my teenagers.

This devotional will combine their love for technology with scripture and prayer. It’s called “A Cell-ebration for Holy Week” and it is designed to be led entirely using text messages. That’s right, I am redeeming their text messages for Jesus!

Each night during Holy Week, which also corresponds with their Spring Break, I will text them scripture passages and devotional ideas. The teens will have the opportunity to text back and text one another.

I know that this seems odd but I think it has the potential to be really great. As my readers, you too are invited to join us for the devotional. It would also serve as a good opportunity for you and your family to worship together each night while on break or just because. To participate, email me with your cell phone number to kickingatthedarkness (at) gmail (dot) com.

You can also follow along with the study each night by follwoing the Order of Worship laid out below. The entire week will follow this order. Keep this outline handy to help you follow along.

A CELL-ebration for Holy Week
This worship service is designed to be led entirely using text messaging.

What You’ll Need:
Cell phone- You will need a cell phone. If you don’t have a cell phone just follow this order of worship on your own.

An order of worship- this will help you stay on track and follow along each night

A Bible- I will text you scripture references from Psalms and the NT for you to read and meditate on

A quiet place- Make sure that you are in a state of mind and at a place where you can really focus on Jesus

Call to Worship:
Micheal texts: The Lord be with you
You text: And also with you

Micheal texts: Let us lift our hearts to God
You text: Amen

Micheal texts: A psalm (I will text you a reference for the psalm of the day. Read the psalm. When you are done reading the psalm text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: A passage from the Gospels (I will text you a reference for the gospel passage of the day. Read the passage. When you are done reading text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: I will text you a message about what we have read. (When you are done reading text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: Prayers of the people
You text: Text Micheal specific prayer requests (I will in turn text everyone a prayer list each night)

Micheal texts: Kyrie eleison (Greek for “Lord have mercy.”)
You text: Kyrie eleison

Micheal texts: Go now to love and serve God. The Lord be with you.
Teens text: And also with you

Scripture References:
Palm Sunday- Ps 2; Luke 19:29-40
Monday- Ps 22:1-11; Luke 19:45-48
Tuesday- Ps 22:11-21; Matthew 21;12-17
Wednesday- Ps 69; Matthew 26:14-18
Thursday- Ps 109; Luke 22:14-20
Good Friday- Ps 23; John 19:19-30
Saturday- Ps 46; John 19:38-42

Yesterday I went to the store - the comic book store - and I purchased a few issues of Batman.

I paid with my debit card and when the clerk handed me the receipt he said, “I’ll just need your John Hancock.”

In my best Chris Farley voice I said, “It’s Herbie Hancock.”

He just stared at me with a blank look on his face.

Me: “Haven’t you see “Tommy Boy” with Chris Farley?”
Clerk: “No.”

I scooped up my Batman comics and promptly left.

Yes, that’s right. I out nerded the clerk working at the comic book store.

I hope that my humiliation can bring a smile to your face. Have a great weekend everyone.

Many of you know that I have a fear of 2 things- clowns and self-aware robots. Having typed that sentence now I’m just thinking about Self-aware Robot Clowns. That would be terrifying!!! I digress.

It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a good week for Micheal according to this article entitled, Automated Killer Robots ‘Threat to Humanity’.

Increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP.

“They pose a threat to humanity,” said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain’s Royal United Services Institute.

Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world — from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones — can already identify and lock onto targets without human help.

There are more than 4,000 US military robots on the ground in Iraq, as well as unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours.

The first three armed combat robots fitted with large-caliber machine guns deployed to Iraq last summer, manufactured by US arms maker Foster-Miller, proved so successful that 80 more are on order, said Sharkey.

But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger.

It we are not careful, he said, that could change.

Military leaders “are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war,” he said.

Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield.

South Korea and Israel both deploy armed robot border guards, while China, India, Russia and Britain have all increased the use of military robots.

Washington plans to spend four billion dollars by 2010 on unmanned technology systems, with total spending expected rise to 24 billion, according to the Department of Defense’s Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032, released in December.

James Canton, an expert on technology innovation and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, predicts that deployment within a decade of detachments that will include 150 soldiers and 2,000 robots.

The use of such devices by terrorists should be a serious concern, said Sharkey.

Captured robots would not be difficult to reverse engineer, and could easily replace suicide bombers as the weapon-of-choice. “I don’t know why that has not happened already,” he said.

But even more worrisome, he continued, is the subtle progression from the semi-autonomous military robots deployed today to fully independent killing machines.

“I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies me,” Sharkey said.

Do these scientist not watch TV?!?! It is only a matter of time before my iPhone, my stereo, my car, and the T1000 unite together to destroy us all.

I’d write more but some guy just walked in my office. He’s some muscle-head with a leather jacket and sunglasses. He wants me to come with him… oh snap! Gotta run!

link

It begins… D’oh! It’s a recap show!

To quote the wife, “Well, we’ve got an hour.” I’m going to take out the trash.

See you in 58.

Ok. Quick thought about the recap. I am a little unnerved that it is being narrated by Ben. Just sayin’.

Here we go. It begins… for reals this time.

8:00- Bumbelbee’s cousin, Red Hornet? (The wife recognized the car as Hurley’s)
8:03- Nope, it’s Hurley. “I’m one of the Oceanic 6!” That’s one for me.
8:04- Best. Theme Note Tone. Ever.
8:06- The story is taking place in the present. That’s 2.
8:07- “I never met her.” Lies, lies, lies.
8:08- Back to the nut house for Hurley. And flashback to the island for us.
8:10- I still don’t trust Ben.
8:13- Charlie’s dead.
8:14- The guy on the other end of the phone is named George. Naomi went missing. My money is on Ben having that knife. I still don’t trust Ben.
8:20- A kiss goodbye is all Ben needs to see. He’s found a new foothold in the love triangle.
8:21- Back to the present.
8:22- An Oceanic Representative offering an upgrade? Didn’t think so.
8:24- D’oh! Hugo’s alone.
8:25- Jacob’s left the light on for him.
8:29- Ben saw more then a kiss. Or so he says. I still don’t trust Ben.
8:30- I stand corrected. He was telling the truth.
8:31- Ambush by Naomi. That was quite a jump for someone with a giant knife wound in the spine.
8:33- Meanwhile, at Jacob’s… which is down the trail from Jacob’s… Locke seems to have been paying Jacob a late night visit.
8:40- Reunion time. Sun & Jin, Bernard & Rose, Claire &… oh yeah. Sorry.
8:43- What the WHOO-HAH!!!!! Charlie’s in the present telling Hurley that “they need you.”
8:46- Locke just got sucker punched! Jack pulled the trigger. I think he has had enough of Locke. On a theological note, that wouldn’t have been the first time science tried to kill faith. (I had to throw that in there)
8:51- Jack’s been handing out the beatings as of late.
8:54- Locke, Claire, Danielle, Ben, Hurley, Survivor #23, the teens, & Sawyer are off to the barracks.
8:57- Hurley has another visitor- Jack. Go with that beard idea, dude.
8:58- Keep your mouth shut Hurley!
8:59- Sorry? We have to go back. And here we are.
9:01- “Are you Jack?”

Ok. So what do we know?

1) We know 6 people made it off the island. We know who 3 of them are: Jack, Kate, & Hurley

2) The 6 people that came back are hiding information about what happened to the other people left on the island. At least Jack and Hurley are having second thoughts about coming home.

3) There are people trying to get to the bottom of that mystery.

4) Hurley was sorry that he followed Locke. I’m very interested to follow that series of events.

5) We know Jack wanted to grow a beard and that he made that dream come true. In spades.

Great season premiere! Welcome back survivors of Oceanic 815.

Tonight’s episode, The Beginning of the End, is only a few hours away.

I have no idea what’s in store for us tonight but here are some of my thoughts, ideas, and theories…

1) After last season’s “game changing” finale, where we were treated to a flash-forward rather than the typical flashback, I have thought that this season might follow the same pattern. I have wondered whether season 4 will take place in the present (off the island) and that the flashbacks will take us back to the events that lead to some of the islanders (we only know of Jack and Kate) escaping from the island.

2) This last theory has gained more legitimacy with me due to the title slide featured on the commercials. The advertisements show the island reflecting off the ocean but the reflection is that of a city skyline.

3) 6 people will leave the island. The commercials have featured the number 6 flashing subliminally between images of the new season. We know that Jack and Kate leave the island. Your guess is as good as mine as to who the other 4 are. However, one of them might be Michael because…

4) I think Michael (Walt’s Dad) was the person in the coffin Jack visited in last season’s finale. If it is Michael, then he and Walt might have been the ones who led the “rescuers” back to the island. We saw Walt telling Locke to crawl out of Dharma pit last year. Before that, the last time we saw Walt, he and Michael were leaving the island in a small boat.

5) In the finale, Jack throws a raging, drunk tirade when he is challenged by the chief of surgery. “Bring my father down here ands see if he’s drunker than I am,” he railed. Ummm… as far as we know Jack’s father is dead. He died in Australia and Jack went to bring him back to LA. It was the whole reason Jack was on Oceanic Flight 815. Now Jack could have said this because he was drunk out of his mind. He was out of touch with reality and dealing with a lot. However, the island is special. Locke was in a wheel chair prior to arriving on the island. Jin was infertile. The island has significant healing powers. If the body of Jack’s dad was on that plane… Nah! That’s crazy talk. Or is it? I think I might have seen Jack’s dad in the season 4 trailer. He’s alive. I’m calling it.

Only 2 hours to go… Check back during the show.