Here’s one for my cousin (and others with children) :-):
Unclutter and Lifehacker both have a number of great ideas for entertaining kids for cheap… without the TV.
For under a buck you can entertain your kids with:
Large cardboard boxes
Rubber band and pencil crazy bot
Paper poppers
Home Depot Kids Workshop
Planting something and more…
I have enough social networks that I ignore now – do I really need another one? Well…. maybe, maybe not.
I saw something about Roov.com a week or so ago but kinda bypassed it – thinking “great another Christian MySpace and Facebook.”
But Lee shared a post about Roov and I’m definitely more intrigued. Seems that Roov is more about building off-line communities than online communities.
It’s a social networking site that works locally. It connects people in the same geographical area based on interests AND it gets people off the computer and into each others’ FACE – as they hang-out and do fun stuff together. As social networking gains popularity, a few people have questioned whether this phenomenon is actually making us more isolated. I mean, we may have 300 friends now, but very, very little depth, and less human interaction. ROOV is a welcome remedy to that, using the internet to help you meet & connect in real life – facilitating conversations and experiences that have real depth and meaning.
I just joined ROOV.com, a new website to connect the Body of Christ. Why? Well, it sure wasn’t because I needed to be a part of another social networking site. No, in fact, it’s because ROOV is like the antithesis of what social networking sites represent these days – narcissism. Unlike facebook or myspace (which aren’t bad – I use both), ROOV doesn’t center around an individual’s profile. In fact, profiles don’t even exist. They center around groups and issues that matter, like “orphans and refugees” or “Impact Africa,” for example. I don’t think you’ll find any “I lost my digits” groups on this site – at least, I hope not.
Their goal is to connect people online so that they can connect offline. As someone who spends over 10 hours a day on the internet (that’s probably a conservative figure), this is something I need to do – unplug, detach, and really connect with flesh and blood.
I’m excited to find out more. Apparently you need to be involved in a local church body though – and encounter isn’t on the list yet – but hopefully I’ll get confirmation in the next day or so (or 5 min would be preferred) and I can explore the site for myself.
The site is also apparently limited to the US for now, and limited to the cities participating as well.
Are there ways that you are building off-line communities with the current “social networking standards” like MySpace and Facebook? Are there ways we can better utilize those tools?
btw – just got an email from Roov – they’re “reviewing the church you submitted. We’ll be getting back to you shortly.”
Just a quick plug for the podcast.
Episode 1.3 went live last night. I spoke with Dave McHam who’s heading up an after school ministry in Waco and has plans/vision to bring a similar ministry to Waxahachie.
I also flew solo this week, so Thomas’ Scottish charm will be noticeably missing – but if you choose to listen, we’ll tell you how you can win Shawn McDonald’s new CD, “Roots.” So tune in and check it out.
The Washington Post reported Friday that a big factor in the rising price of oil are oil investors who are less regulated today than they were 5 years ago.
That as these investors continue to buy long term investments on oil futures, the price of oil (and thus gas) continues to rise as a result.
According to more and more folks, the supply and demand of oil hasn’t changed that much over the last 18 months – especially not enough to make gas prices rise as rapidly as they have.
It would seem to me that as the US housing market has crashed over the last 18 months, investors are looking for other ways to spend all their “big pool of money” and are turning to the commodities market which they can invest in without many of the older restrictions.
And even still, at $3.85 a gallon, I can’t even fill my truck up with $75 worth of gas – but do you realize that’s more than billions of people around the world make in 75 days?! I don’t like paying high gas prices – but there are other options. I could ride my bike a lot more, I could walk, I can take public transportation, I could car-pool.
As Brian pointed out yesterday, if you make more than $35,000 a year in the U.S., you’re among the top 4% of the wealthiest people in the WORLD. If you make more than $50,000 a year – you’re in the top 1%.
Maybe we (I) should stop complaining and pointing fingers as much and start thanking God for my blessings.