Very Best Chocolate Cake.

It only took 700 miles of driving through 3 states to find the Very
Best Chocolate Cake, 15 minutes from my parent's house. Please google
and visit your local J. Alexander's, you won't go hungry or be
disappointed.

Ruminate, a pictoral.

Vending machines have changed.

A vending machine in Madison, located near a bike path and who's
original purpose was to serve cyclists (think spare tubes and energy
bars), has now 'broadened' its product selection. I'm not sure how
this was chosen, but it really came out of a vending machine, just as
you see it here.

Results, Poll #60, Bicycle as Transportation.

So, it's about time I wrapped up this little gem. Here's how the t.c readers voted for using bicycles as transportation:

> 3 (16%) people chose 'this week' - wow. kudos to you. what kind of bike do you ride? are you thinking of a new bike soon?
> 3 (16%) people chose 'this month' - that's really saying something. what incentive/conditions would get you to do it more? better weather? better fitness? better bike? what about the bike above?

> 3 (16%) people chose 'this year' - not too bad, but not great. what if you replaced all trips from your house up to 2 miles with a bike (or walking)? how many would that be? would you save alot of gas and money? would you get rid of some extra weight over the course of a year? would the opposite sex find you even hotter?

> 7 (38%) people chose 'this century' - well, at least you have done it once, presumably.
> 2 (11%) people chose 'i don't know how to ride a bike' - this hurts my heart. do you want to learn? let me know, maybe i can help somehow.

Thanks for voting and waiting for results. New poll up now, I encourage everyone to help me out with this new one. Someone must have some idea(s).

Good to be home.

A beachfront shot in Evanston. Boy, were the winds and waves whipping it up. I miss it.

Where's God now?

As many of you know, I was raised Catholic and these days only seem to
be a C&E Catholic.
Well, a friend forwarded an interesting article written by Ben Stein,
of Visine fame.
I thought some of the t.c readership may find points of interest, but
don't take my word for it.
And no, I don't know where God is now - do you?
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Remarks from CBS Sunday Morning - Ben Stein
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS
Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it
does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful
lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I
don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I
don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a
ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me
at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection
near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crèche, it's just as
fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think
Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think
people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around,
period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an
explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I
don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that
we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as
we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.
But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities
came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is
a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny,
it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane
Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this
happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely
profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply
saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God
to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out
of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly
backed out How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His
protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc.
I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her
body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our
schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the
Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not
steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we
might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We
said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why
they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to
kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it
out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the
world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say,
but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school
and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many
on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or
what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us
than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you
discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what
bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

John Hancock, Chicago.

Start the day off right.