Color Discrepancy Crossing Over Browsers

While messing around on the computer this morning, I was starting to check out Safari, as I've been told it deserves a worthwhile look.  Typically, I'm an exclusive Firefox user.  However, that may change.  I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy, but I see a color discrepancy on my flickr page when using safari vs. firefox.  The safari colors are a bit richer and less flat.  Not that firefox is awful or anything, but I'd never noticed this.

So, questions for you computer guys

1) Do you see it in the image below? (or am I just crazy)

2) Is this even possible?

3) What could be causing it? (same webpage, same computer, must be different browers, right?

Any thoughts would be helpful...

Relating the Eucharist to the Passover

While listening to a John Piper sermon from his podcast, he mentioned that lambs in Jesus' time had two purposes. They were meant for slaughter or to be eaten. He then went on to say, when the writers of Scripture called Jesus the "Lamb of God", they meant he was to be slaughtered. This was a sacrifice offered to God, much in the same way actual lambs were sacrificed to God for atonement. This sacrifice was the ultimate one for the atonement of all peoples. He didn't take it any further though. For me, this was interesting.

If we are to relate the sacrifice of Jesus to a new passover, meaning he is a new sacrificial lamb, we must look at this situation as a whole. During the Passover of the Old Covenant, the lamb was sacrificed and then eaten by the believers. This was a time to share in the sacrifice together and eat of the lamb. What does this mean for the new Paschal Lamb? Let's look at it in the context of this passage

53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

- John 6:53-59

After Jesus says this, some followers leave him because of the difficult teaching. He doesn't ask them to come back, saying "Hey! Hold up. That was just a metaphor." It seems that we must not just let the Lamb be slaughtered, but eat of him as well. This is an interesting point as we look at what the sacrament/practice of communion is.

From all of this, I would argue that communion is not just a symbol. It is far more and must be held with a level of reference. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. This is not to go as far as to say that the doctrine of Transubstantiation is believable to me, but it does mean that Jesus is in communion and we must eat of it and know what it is. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29

For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

However, when St. Thomas Aquinas developed Transubstantiation, I believe he tried to explain something that cannot be explained. Instead, the mystery of communion will be preserved by God. Perhaps this is confusing to some of you and to others it is very clear, but I'd love to hear thoughts if you have any.

A Call for Help

All you U of I peeps out there, this one is for you.

I have a request of you. I am in a class called Psych 358: Human Factors. In this class, we are working on a group project where we are to redesign something with humans and our personal preferences in mind. The thing my group chose to change is the CITES EXPRESS email server. We are right now in the data collection phase and we need your help. We have 3 survey pages to have people complete on surveymonkey.com (the reason we have 3 is because they wouldn't fit on one). They will take less than 10 minutes TOTAL and will help us create suggestions to change the way the University does email. The three links are below. Your help is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, shoot me an email, or comment on here.

Please take the time to fill these out, as they will really help my group get the best sample pool

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Best of CU

Hey all,

Be sure to pick up Buzz Magazine today. It is the Best of CU edition and I've got about ten pictures in there. Pretty cool!

Alternatively, you can stop on over at the217.com to look at the Best of CU, although not as many of my pics are on there.



On a more intense note: While trolling 'the book,' I came across the anti-FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) group. In one of the message boards, the question was posed

If Life Doesn't Begin at Conception, Then When?

The thought here was, if you're not pro-life, when do you actually think life begins. The most interesting thought (and to me, saddening) came from a person who will remain un-named to defend their privacy.

Either way, it does not matter at all. Human beings are not allowed to use another human being's body without that person's direct and ongoing consent. A fetus could be human and abortion would still be legal.

Interesting. This person has basically described a fetus as a freeloader, and if we don't want it, it is ok get get rid of it. Aren't these pro-choice policies typically held by a group of people that believe it is good to help the less fortunate? And since when would it be ok to kill a free loader?

Feeling Catholic

This past weekend, I went on a retreat with Newman Hall here on campus at the U of I. I really haven't done much with Newman in the last couple years, as after I moved out, I would go to Mass and that is about it. My involvement with Illini Life has really been my spiritual community. Throughout my spiritual walk I have felt more Roman Catholic or Non-Denominational. This week, after the retreat, I feel quite Catholic. It is a neat place to be. In all honesty, this retreat was the first time I felt like I'd seen a devotion to Christ and a devotion to Community in the same place in the Catholic church and I've felt part of it. There are times when I've seen one, the other, or both and not been a part of it, but this was a good experience for me.

The theme of the weekend was God's Divine Mercy. The painting above was inspired by Jesus in a vision to one Saint Faustina. It represents God's mercy. The red is the blood of Christ spilt out for our sins and the white is the water that washes us clean. I'm really glad that I went on this retreat. It was truly a blessing and God helped me work through a lot of things. Now, this isn't to say that I'm going to jump into anything specific, but it was a great way for me to balance my life.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Alan got a job offer this week. He has to decide by Friday. Stressful much? This offer is with an engineering company. I'll let those that care know in a while when a decision is made. I did have this thought presented to me today though...

Our very word "decide" comes from the Latin decidere which means "to cut off."

Something must be cut off in my life this week. Some dream of a future, some possibility. It must be pruned away so other dreams can flourish more readily.

A New Era

(I love that this second pic is the 3rd one on Google image search 'obama')

President Elect Obama: Congratulations! You ran a nearly flawless campaign, and you have earned the right to become our president. I do not remember a time when a Bush or Clinton was not in the white house (I wasn't even 3 when Bush Sr. was sworn in). And, yes, it is most exciting that we are this much closer to the passing hurdles of racism and bigotry in our nation. This shall be an interesting time for our nation.

Everyone: Now, I will say I did not vote for Obama, nor his opponent (I did vote though), and this is for reasons that are legitimate. I believe his ideas of hope and the direction he wants to take us are brilliant.

I hope the church can keep pace with the government aide.

I hope that Americans still will have the freedom and encouragement to succeed.

I hope that higher taxes for businesses won't force them overseas leading to less American jobs.

I hope Obama learns more on the issues while in office and really plays a role of bringing parties together and not being as liberal as his voting records show.

I hope that we will realize the weight and difficulty of instantly pulling out of wars.

I hope that we will realize the delicate economic balanace that exists and changing it without careful consideration could lead to failure or success.

I hope we really look into what is happening with the environment, and try to limit our own impact on it in good ways.

I hope that energy policies will be enacted to both reduce consumption but to also increase production (cough *nuclear* cough)

I hope we realize Barack Obama is not our hero, and we should not worship him.

I hope that people who voted Obama didn't vote for government handouts.

I hope that people who legitimately need government aide will receive is in this presidency.

I hope that America realizes the 'we' in 'yes we can' is you and I. Anyone can rise above. That is what makes this country so great.

And most of all, I, as a Christian and person who believe in life from conception to natural death, hope that this...

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." -- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007

...and this don't lead to this.

President Bush: Thank you for your service to our country. This article really inspires me to thank you for all you've done and tried to do. You have held the highest office, and despite criticisms, have led well.

Everyone: YAY, election season is over! Let us move toward unity. This doesn't mean getting behind every policy because that is what our leaders say, but let us really look to the good of each other and the good of the country. Let us look at the whole picture and not tow our party lines. I mean, after all, Barack told us 'yes we can.' Let's start to do it.

Voting Today

It isn't like everybody else is doing the politics thing..........

"If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain" - Winston Churchill

This quote has been attributed to the former Prime Minister of England. However, I can't confirm if he actually said it. The one thing I can confirm is that this tends to be true, especially on facebook, where the population is young, and strongly leaning Obama. We shall see how the end product turns out by tonight perhaps when all the votes are counted.

There is something inherently neat to being on a team. The idea of having an evil to fight against; the opponent breathing down your neck, and the opportunity for glory. Just remember, after all is said and done, we are on one team in this nation. We may have different beliefs about how to fix things, and one of the things that worries me about this election is its strong polarizing nature. I hope we can come together as a nation and support our future leader. Fight for what you believe, but respect where we're going. and remember you individually are called to affect change and to bring about good.

(see what I did there...I combined two logos...I'm funny. and clever)