For a while now I’ve been debating on changing my cell phone carrier–well, not necessarily just the carrier, but the phone. I guess I was still stuck on the old way–nothing smart, just calling from time to time.
It amazes me how much mobile technology has changed in the last five years. Andrea and I finally figured that it was time to take a step into the next era.
Andrea makes decisions on a much different scale than I do. She wanted a phone that she likes. Now the phone she had had for the last eighteen months or so, she said, never felt like it was really “hers”. It’s hard for me to explain this enigma of what she likes and doesn’t like when it comes to technology. What I do know is that it has to be easy to use, easy to carry, and a nice feel in her hand. I had an idea of getting her something like I would be getting, but she didn’t like any of them. What she undoubtedly did like was a small, simple Palm Pixi–still a smart phone, but probably not as advanced. She couldn’t quite explain why she liked it, but it was just like it had her name on it. Hey, I didn’t mind, it was free with contract!
But for me, it was a bit more complex than my wife. I knew that I wanted an Android (operating system) phone. I had researched it enough, and had heard a lot of good word-of-mouth compliments on it. I confidently settled on the HTC Evo Shift. I didn’t even know what I gotten myself into. I would have never dreamed how much I enjoy this phone now! It’s almost like they designed the operating system just for me! Everything is very customizable. The widget feature on the desktop is fantastic. The whole navigation scheme is perfect. The integration with email and phone is seamless. The look of it is clean as a whistle. And I have just had this phone for a few weeks!
Now, there is another popular smartphone developer (unnamed, but most of you know who I am talking about) that pioneered the whole smart phone idea back in 2007. They still have quite a hold on the market, and are extremely innovative. I considered them, but I honestly don’t like either company that carries their products. Also, I have some experience with this company through their popular media player, which is basically their smart phone without the phone. I like it, but to me, it feels like a lot is missing. My Android phone fills in all of the gaps, plus adds so many more features.
[amazon_link id=”0345497422″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]New York: the Novel[/amazon_link] by Edward Rutherford caught my eye while looking through the Amazon Kindle store nearly two months ago. It is an historical fiction detailing the antiquity of New York City from the time the Dutch settled the area as New Amsterdam, to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in 2001–nearly 350 years. It sounded like something I could “devour” over the course of a week or so, even though it is over 800 pages in print form (I read it on my Kindle). So I purchased it, and began reading intently.
The narrative begins with the Van Dyke’s: a well off Dutch family that traded furs and other popular goods for a living. The author strategically places the family in different important events in the city’s early history, while still developing the characters so the reader can get to know them. Eventually, the Van Dyke’s marry into the Master family, newly arrived English immigrants who came when the Crown took the colony from the Dutch. From then on, the book centers on the Master family all the way to the conclusion, while introducing and developing many other protagonists: from an African-American slave family, to the Irish O’Donnell’s, then to the Italian Caruso’s, and briefly, the Jewish Adler’s. This sounds somewhat interesting so far, doesn’t it?
Well to begin with my criticism’s, I have to mention the editing errors. Two were obvious; however, there were a few others of which I cannot remember the exact details. The first was when one of the Master’s and his son were travelling to along the newly constructed Erie Canal to the Niagara River. The author declares that Lake Ontario is higher than Lake Erie; therefore, the Niagara Falls. Sorry, Mr. Rutherford and team: it’s the other way around–Lake Erie is higher than Lake Ontario. If geography was truly how the author describes it, then the salty water from the Atlantic would be flowing into and filling up the Great Lakes at a very rapid pace. Now, if this was a ‘B’ book by a little known author, I could understand. But New York is written by a well known, best-selling historian, and by a renowned publisher.
On top of that editing error, the author also declares that General Grant defeated General Lee at Gettysburg in early July, 1863. There’s a large problem with that: General Ulysses S. Grant was taking Vicksburg, Mississippi when General Lee was defeated at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania by another general: George G. Meade. I’ll forgive Mr. Rutherford for this one, though. He’s British by nationality. On top of that, he states several pages later that General Grant took Vicksburg on July 4, 1863–he is correct there.
However, as a Christian, the most disappointing aspects of New York had to do with the lack of truly moral characters. It seemed that nearly every protagonist throughout the narrative was either unfaithful to their mate or a fornicator. Truly, Mr. Rutherford, is this history? America, it its early days, had a very high moral code, that I believe a large portion of the population adhered to, whether they were born-again Christians or not. Yes, New York was–and still is–a very seedy city. Yet, was everyone this debauched? The closest person I saw to be truly moral was Mercy Master, during the time of the Great Awakening. But even her and her husband’s “religious experience” was extremely shallow. Mercy did seem to have a complete change of heart after going to hear the great George Whitefield preach. She then invited her husband, and he reluctantly attended. The book describes him listening to the preacher’s words, and to me, it really seemed like he might have had a true awakening in his soul. But instead, the author goes off on some tangent that made it like he had some intellectual awakening while listening to Mr. Whitfield that Mercy was the one he wanted to marry. So, Mr. Master listened to a sermon on hell and repentance and fell in love. I have never read anything that absurd in a while.
My last problem with New York has to to with me getting bored with the reading. This narrative took me nearly two months to read, and not just because it was long. The last half seemed to drag on uncontrollably. The only interesting portions to me in the last half (basically from the Civil War era on) had to do with the whole financial market, and its kingpin: J.P. Morgan. Other than that, the 20th century was basically a dry telling of a well-off yuppie family that either wanted more money, or more recognition.
It saddens me somewhat, because this book, I think, had so much potential; but it falls short in my mind in so many areas. Some of Edward Rutherford’s other books appeared interesting to me (London, The Forest, Sarum, and Russka); but now, with the taste of New York in my mouth, I will hesitate before reading another work by this author.
Let me start out by saying that I am no scientist; nor am I a mathematical genius. Above all, I am a Christian–the kind of Christian that takes the Bible very literally. Along with that, I do understand the workings of nature that God has set in place, and have studied to some degree the origins of this earth, the laws that are set in place, and the utter complexity of things physical: especially biological matter.
Simply put, the point of this article is that God knew what he was doing when he created everything, and no man can ever fathom just how perfect everything has been set in motion. What has gotten me to think about this? Man’s imitation of God’s creation.
At work, I deal with probably some of the more advanced automated systems in the world. The level of imagination that dozens of highly intelligent individuals have drawn together is mind-blowing to me. Every day at work, I find new things to “wow” at: enormous mathematical algorithms, super-advanced computing, and highly precise robotics, to name a few. The whole idea behind the system is unfathomable to most people’s minds. And what is all of this? Simply a machine that tries to emulate human actions…and at times, utterly fails.
People often look at computers as highly complex pieces of machinery. In a sense they are; but truthfully, computers are very stupid. Did you know that a computer will only do what you (or the programmer) tell it to do? A computer cannot make a decision. Yes, it can be told to make a decision, or told how to make a decision, but it cannot make up its own mind. Thus, essentially, computers are highly unintelligent. Only the people who design the computers can truly be labeled as intelligent.
Photo Eye Sensors
Let me illustrate this: where I work, we have robots that have eyes–yes, I said eyes. They are unintelligent eyes, though. The photo-eye, as it is called, is a laser (not much different than those $3.00 laser pointers bought at flee markets) that illuminates a direct red beam of light to a reflector opposite the photo-eye, which reflects the light back, thus triggering a signal that says “clear” or “not clear”. The concept works great, unless that little photo eye is bumped a few millimeters; then everything goes “up in the air”, causing an exception. A robot cannot go around this exception by itself, unless it is built into the program, or a biological being (human!) tells the robot that everything is okay. The robot cannot think. True, it can run mathematical equations through its system, but it cannot make its own decision that everything is fine. It cannot say, “Okay, even though I cannot see, I know that everything is okay, so I’ll go ahead and do what I was doing before.” If it was able to think like that, some kind of utter destruction will eventually occur. Why? Because robots are unintelligent (sorry, Wall-e).
It’s the same idea when you get that dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” on your computer. What basically happened is that the computer came to a decision where it had no clue of what to do, so it shuts itself down, and requires the operator to restart it. Yes, and whatever you were working on just might be gone for good as well. The brains that created the machine might be considered intelligent, but for sure not the machine.
But can the brain behind a machine be considered intelligent compared with the Great Creator? Most definitely not. God created biological humans that can make their own decisions. God also made us with the potential to make errors because of the Fall. The potential to make physical mistakes (I am not speaking of morality) is humanity at its core. We can trip and fall because of a buckle on a sidewalk one day, which should trigger us to remember that buckle and either step over it, walk around it, or avoid it next time. A machine (human creation) cannot make these kind of decisions without being told to by something. A human (God’s creation) can make any choice that his free will desires: with the possibility of error.
Look at a tree. Could man every emulate a tree? Man can cross-breed trees. They can make look-a-likes out of plastic and rubber. But could we ever take raw matter, and craft a living, growing, reproducing, oak tree? I think not. And evolutionists think that it just happened by itself of all things!
Therefore, man can only try to emulate the creation of God. Robots and computers may seem highly complex and intelligent, but they are nothing in comparison to the miraculous creation of our Lord. He created every part of you to work in synergy. He created the universe according to his perfect plan. And at the same time, you can “error.” Perhaps after the fall we were made to physically error not just because of the curse of sin, but so we can see our helplessness, and come to Christ. He alone can make us whole! He alone that created the universe so much better than we could ever emulate!
“…Fearfully and wonderfully made!”
“For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created!”
I have to say: the title and cover of this book is what caught me. It was listed as a bestseller on Amazon.com under the “Religion and Spirituality” section; so I clicked on a few reviews, and ended up buying and reading it over the past week.
Son of Hamas is the autobiography of Mosab Hassan Yousef, eldest son of one of the founders of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas. Mosab grew up in the organization–steeped in Islam–through all of his childhood years, learning to hate and want to kill Israelis. One day, while on his way to school, he was captured by one of the Israeli intelligence services, and through many events, became a trusted informant and spy against Hamas, while still acting a terrorist. In the midst of everything, Mosab is given a Bible in the Arabic tongue, and invited to a Christian Bible study in Jerusalem. Over time, Mosab accepts Jesus Christ as God and Saviour: rejecting the teachings of Islam, and embracing the love of God. Mosab, still, continued to be one of the Israeli government’s most valued sources, and through him, dozens of terrorist plots were foiled, perhaps saving multitudes of lives on both sides of the conflict.
As a whole, the plot of Son of Hamas moves extremely fast, almost too fast in my opinion. The narrative could have been many pages longer. Nonetheless, the books leaves the reader feeling like he is actually a part of this gripping thriller, almost to the point where it seams like fiction: though most of the story has happened even in my recent memory. Political and military secrets are revealed, surprisingly, even though the conflict is still very much alive today. As an Islamic, Arab, Palestinian, Mr. Yousef captures the feeling of his people extremely well–making the reader better understand their culture and traditions, and how they affect the world today. He also shows true compassion for his people, and the true answer to the conflict in the Middle-East: Jesus Christ.