Instant America

Unfortunately today marks the end of Spring Break for a lot of us, meaning the fun is over and it is time to get back to work. This week meant South by Southwest was here in Austin and there was a lot to be seen and do. Today’s infographic seems appropriate considering a large portion of SXSW are the interactive days. Personally, I think Interactive is the most entertaining of the three (Interactive, Music, Film) it is full of people working on cool projects, handing out free stuff, and showing off their cool products. One of the cooler gadgets I saw at SXSW this year was a touch table I got to play air hockey on.

Interactive attracts exactly who today’s infographic covers, people who are impatient with load times. All through downtown Austin I heard people complaining about how slow the internet connection was on their phone, the frustration I saw was actually pretty entertaining. You don’t realize how real first world problems until you see people losing their cool because the internet on their phone is running a little slow.

According to today’s infographic Instant America 50% of mobile users abandon a page if it does not load within 10 seconds and 3 out of 5 will not return back to that page. With today’s infographic we also see the increasing trend of choosing mobile over tablets, laptops, or desktops to access the interwebs. [via]

हर आदमी मरने के बाद जॉम्बी

मौत के बाद आदमी भूत-प्रेत, ड्रेकुला या जॉम्बी बन जाता है, इस तरह के कई कहानी किस्से मशहूर हैं। फिर भी इंडोनेशिया के टोराजा गांव के आदिवासियों की ये परंपरा देखकर यकीन नहीं होता है। इसके अनुसार तो हर आदमी मरने के बाद जॉम्बी बन जाता है। इस गांव के कई लोगों के पास मुर्दों को चलाने की शक्ति है।



टोराजा गांव के अंतिम संस्कार के तौर तरीकों को देखकर लगता है कि यहां इसकी दो तरह की थ्योरी हैं, जिनसे यह परंपरा शुरू हुई। पहली तो ये की यहां माना जाता है व्यक्ति को मौत के स्थान पर नहीं बल्कि उसकी जन्मस्थली में दफनाया जाना चाहिए। ऐसे में पहले जो लोग अपने गांव से दूर हो जाते थे, उनके लिए शव को वापस अपने गांव पहुंचाना मुश्किल हो जाता था।

Do you Love Me?

One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise.

 

Ah the beauty of God’s creation is beyond description.

 

As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work.

 

As I sat there, I felt the Lord’s presence with me.

 

He asked me,

 

“Do you love me?”

 

I answered,

 

“Of course, God! You are my Lord and Savior!”

 

Then He asked,

 

“If you were physically handicapped, would you still love me?”

 

I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs and the rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn’t be able to do, the things that I took for granted.

 

And I answered, “It would be tough Lord, but I would still loveYou.”

 

Then the Lord said,

 

“If you were blind, would you still love my creation?”

 

How could I love something without being able to see it? Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and how many of them still loved God and His creation.

 

So I answered, “Its hard to think of it, but I would still love you.”

 

The Lord then asked me,

 

“If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?”

 

How could I listen to anything being deaf? Then I understood.

 

Listening to God’s Word is not merely using our ears, but our hearts. I answered,

 

“It would be tough, but I would still listen to Your word.”

 

The Lord then asked,

 

“If you were mute, would you still praise My Name?”

 

How could I praise without a voice?

 

Then it occurred to me: God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul. It never matters what we sound like. And praising God is not always with a song, but when we are persecuted, we give God praise with our words of thanks. So I answered,

 

“Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise Your Name.

 

And the Lord asked,

 

“Do you really love Me?”

 

With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly,

 

“Yes Lord! I love You because You are the one and true God!”

 

I thought I had answered well, but God asked,

 

“THEN WHY DO YOU SIN?”

 

I answered, “Because I am only human. I am not perfect.”

 

“THEN WHY IN TIMES OF PEACE DO YOU STRAY THE FURTHEST?

 

WHY ONLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE DO YOU PRAY THE EARNEST?”

 

No answers. Only tears.

 

The Lord continued:

 

“Why only sing at fellowships and retreats? Why seek Me only in times of worship? Why ask things so selfishly? Why ask things so unfaithfully?”

 

The tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

 

“Why are you ashamed of Me? Why are you not spreading the good news? Why in times of persecution, you cry to others when I offer My shoulder to cry on? Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in My Name?”

 

I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.

 

“You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw this gift away. I have blessed you with talents to serve Me, but you continue to turn away. I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain in knowledge. I have spoken to you but your ears were closed. I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes were turned away. I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by as they were pushed away. I have heard your prayers and I have answered them all.”

 

“DO YOU TRULY LOVE ME ?”

 

I could not answer. How could I? I was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse. What could I say to this? When the tears had flowed, I said, “ Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child.”

 

The Lord answered,

 

“ That is My Grace, My child.”

 

I asked, “ Then why do you continue to forgive me? Why do You love me so?”

 

The Lord answered,

 

“ Because you are My creation. You are my child. I will never abandon you.

 

When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you.

 

When you shout with joy, I will laugh with you.

 

When you are down, I will encourage you.

 

When you fall, I will raise you up.

 

When you are tired, I will carry you.

 

I will be with you till the end of days, and I will love you forever.”

 

Never had I cried so hard before. How could I have been so cold? How could I have hurt God as I had done? I asked God,

 

“How much do You love me?”

 

The Lord stretched out His arms, and I saw His nail-pierced hands.

 

I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Savior.

 

And for the first time, I truly prayed.

10 Documentaries You Haven’t Seen But Should

Documentaries are probably the most unappreciated film genre, even as the viewing public seems increasingly enamored with every flavor of reality television. Even worse is when high profile, rabble-rousing pieces from people like Michael Moore or Al Gore discredit documentaries as a whole and steal publicity from smaller, more honest, and more interesting movies.  This article will give some well-overdue attention to less famous docs that would, in a fairer world, be better known than all the blockbuster fiction movies or the Ken Burns-type movies.

10. Sunshine Hotel (2000)

A short film about the closing down of New York City’s last flophouse.  The sight of mostly old men, in some cases driven somewhat crazy by their standards of living and addictions, shuffling through lives most of us would consider a living hell is predictably depressing.  But there are many surprising sparks of life in these people, especially Bruce, a guy who makes alcohol runs for the other tenants and takes time to make a succinct and surprisingly inspiring speech about how “work works.” This documentary is available on Volume 1 of the DVD series Full Frame: Documentary Shorts which you can get with several other excellent but not quite as good documentaries on Netflix here.

The Many Wonders of the Neem Tree.

The Neem tree is a fast growing evergreen that is native to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. This amazing tree is claimed to treat forty different diseases. All the parts of the tree is used for treating illness, the leaves, fruit, seeds and even the bark all contain medicinal properties. The use of neem as a medicinal herb dates back over 5,000 years. Today it’s benefits have been proven by scientific research and clinical trials. And, although few of us have access to a neem tree, it can be purchased in the form of oil, powder and pills. To give you an idea of the healing powers of the neem tree, here are a few names that the people of India have given it, “Divine Tree”, “Village Pharmacy”, “Heal All” and “Nature’s Drugstore”. With the almost ending list of uses for neem, I think it could be called, ” The Tree of Life”! In treating diabetes, neem has been found to actually reduce the insulin requirements by as much as 50% without altering the blood glucose levels. Take 3 to 5 drops internally each day.