stephan.com
scattered thoughts

If we are to win the war on terror, we must allow ourselves to be invaded.

Accountable Email may provide a solution to the delicate balance of privacy and transparency needed for the Chinese market.

I kinda feel bad about this one. I spent some time tonight playing mind games with a 419 scammer in Benin (location confirmed by my site logs)
1:17:54 AM mrstheresacolmbo0: COTONOU BENIN
1:17:58 AM mrstheresacolmbo0: REP
1:18:14 AM stephan: Good, you are telling the truth, you ARE in Benin
1:18:25 AM stephan: this is your IP address 81.91.239.5
1:18:39 AM [...]

I wrote this in November 2001, and just ran across it now. It’s not particularly complete, but it might be of interest to my readers who gamble:
All gambling is, at its heart, an act of worship.
I first became aware of this in my first real gambling experience. I was going to a trade show in [...]

Walking in my neighborhood, I was accosted by a lady shouting “Jesus is coming! To Echo Park! Look at the birds!”
I took her flyer, and she furiously explained to me that Jesus was coming, and you could tell by all the birds in the air.
I’m afraid she’s going to be terribly disappointed on [...]

fascinating stuff. Link
When inoculation or vaccination takes place, the disease may be prevented physically but the reason for it remains in the soul. The illness has therefore only been postponed or diverted and another affliction will take its place in the future. There is, however, another result, and that is, in putting off payment when [...]

I swear, I don’t think Roger Ebert has given anything a bad review in weeks.
I feel like he was so moved by The Passion (judging from his ranting review) that he can’t bear to condemn a movie.
It’s like whatever he sees he thinks
How would Jesus rate it? Would Jesus give this a thumbs down? [...]

So, I’m interested in this movie. It looks like the performances might be weak, and it looks like it might be hard to watch, but it also looks like a respectful and historically accurate portrayal of the tale told in the New Testament, assuming those events actually happened.
I plan to see it, though I [...]

I call myself a non-theist.I spent a lot of time, perhaps at a younger age than most, wrestling with that messy question of the existence or non-existence of God. I wasn’t raised in a particularly religious manner, though I went to Lutheran schools for about 3 years (7th and 8th grade and freshman year [...]