Daily Archives: November 13, 2011

Another reason for Facebook suicide.

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Part of what I do at work is confidential. It involves my clinical work and some contracted work. I really do not want any person going through my emails (on the university). Other people will be hurt.

My private life and blog lives on another server I hire from a web hosting company. Again there is stuff there that is private to others I have in trust. I don’t want people going through this.

I’m fairly paranoid about security. Whenever possible, I travel without a laptop (Though one is needed at conferences — I use cheap laptops with a fresh install of Sabayon, Arch or Xubuntu & a memory stick. The computer goes through customs clean and then I download what I need from the cloud).

But the infernal idiotic judges now want your social networks.

In “normal” discovery, a litigant is usually asked to turn over “responsive material” not the keys to access all that material and more, but it seems that judges are applying different standards to social networking accounts. Lawyer and tech blogger Venkat Balasubramani has written about several other civil cases 1) where judges have issued similar orders, including a personal injury case, 2) where judges have taken it upon themselves to sign into someone’s Facebook account and look for evidence, 3) as well as cases where judges have smacked down lawyers who asked for opposing litigants’ passwords, as in an insurance case involving State Farm,

While all may be ‘fair’ in love and war (and personal injuries), password exchanges like this are not kosher according to Facebook’s terms of service. I wonder if Judge Shluger is aware that his order violates Facebook’s TOS, which require that users not hand over their passwords to anyone else

via Judge Orders Divorcing Couple To Swap Facebook And Dating Site Passwords – Forbes.

Just don’t go there, folks. There is a reason my facebook account has been deleted.

In praise of boredom.

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I’m reflecting here on three things.

  1. This week I could not write. I have ongoing health problems, and had tooth abcesses the week before while also dealing with litigation with the ex-wife and boys getting ready for exams, plus doing extended hours on call. However, after about two or three down days I start thinking of research projects. While walking,staring at cups of coffee, checking the blogs, commenting, posting (trust me, academic writing takes more effort)… and ended up with two projects that can be done and will be worthwhile.  But I needed “down time” — with nothing scheduled — for hours — to get there.
  2. Today the passage at Church was the parable of the talents. The sermon was around the great generosity of the resources given and our duty to use them, and not to be lazy.
  3. Then I review Elspeth’s comments about people using home as a way station. She made a comment that people were concerned because she had been home for two days (as her car was in the driveway). I will ignore the nosy-ness (the cure for which, in NZ, is called a garage door) and I want to concentrate on the sense that activity == godliness.

There is a sense that we fulfil the commends to use our talents by being continually active. We need our day scheduled. We have to be doing something all the time. To not do that is to be seen as Lazy.

Now, I consider this an error. I know that I need down times. It takes me days to work through a project. I cannot do this fast. And during that time, it looks like I am doing nothing. In my life, this is followed by a burst of activity where I write down the proposal –moving what will be a pile of scribbled cryptic codes or nothing (as it often in my head) onto something that can be subjected to peer review. And once the first draft of that is done, it will take some time to polish… but then it appears that I am doing work.

With the boys, I limit their outside activities: they know I will support them in one sport and one artistic endeavour. This means they spend time doing very little. But during that time I get unanswerable questions, such as “Why are so many modern books about taming dragons?”.

I’m not here to micromanage their time. I’m here to give them guidance, and to answer their questions.

We spend a lot of time at home doing very little. I don’t do much ministry in my church. I don’t date. I don’t do home group. I work and I raise the kids… and have some hobbies… this is a hobby for me.

I think that a large part of the training in adolescence is learning to be comfortable with yourself, and to manage yourself. I want the boys to be able to structure their days and take responsibility for that.  Here, a bit of boredom helps.

Boredom and periods of rest are not Laziness. Laziness is not doing your duty, not working on your gifts. The bigger problem, however, in our time is being over busy, and not paying attention to the relationships we have with each other.

 

Routine works.

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Yesterday the text moved us to think about the Church. Well, it is Sunday, and this is short, because I have a service to get to. I am aware of the text for this morning (I Thess). We are asked to do some things as followers of Christ, that are not exciting

Luke 16:10-13

10“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

We are asked to be sober, of good judgment, to live so others can see. To have habits of godliness. To be righteous.

This requires routine and the practive of disciplines. As an athlete trains every day, so should we: as a monk prays regularly, so should we, As a missionary serves others, so should we.

One of the main reasons I will to and listen to Barry is because being around others encourages us to continue within the faith. We cannot do this by ourselves, We will either abandon our habits “for we are saved and all is free” or we will become over legalistic.

Or we will become tired, discouraged, and lose the joy of our salvation.

However, it is a bit like my son’s exams. They can study like crazy at the moment, but if they do not have the routines and disciplines of study, of practising their instruments, of attending school, no amount of natural talent will help them.

Routine works. And if the emergent church has forgotten this, then they need repeated reminders until they understand this.