Satur-deja Vu

Artificial Intelligence? In Terminator 2: Judgement Day the T-101 model has a telephone conversation with the T-1000, both of them pretending to be someone else. Arnold does a spot on John Conner impression and outwits the more advanced T-1000 who doesn’t know the name of the family pet. Artificial Intelligence in the Terminator franchise, like The Matrix and I, Robot, has advanced to a level that threatens the existence of humanity. Most of the AI we see today is used to make creepy near-photo realistic pictures that are given away by the fact it doesn’t know how many fingers human beings have on each hand. Have you had AI offer to write for you? AI makes claims that it can boost productivity by creating blog posts and even generate social media buzz by posting to social media on your behalf. The same software that thinks people have between 8 and 12 fingers on one hand wants to write my blog posts. If you read the story above you probably recognize Hulk Hogan in both pictures. Those are real images featuring a fan that met Hogan twice, once as a kid and then recreated the photo years later as an adult. That’s not his son, he is not a computer geek as far as we know, and Hogan’s real first name is Terry. The AI simply made up a fake story but had no idea Hulk Hogan is a celebrity that the vast majority of Americans would recognize whether fans of wrestling or not. It can write words and sentences but just like the images there is always a tell. Maybe AI is not as dangerous as dystopian sci-fi movies led us to believe.

Or maybe that’s what the AI wants us to think.

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Satur-deja Vu

Yeah, no – I guess if you live in the State of California where they have rolling blackouts during peak usage times this might be necessary. The last time they opened a nuclear power plant was 1985. The population increased from 26 to 39 million in the years since. If you live in Texas, 78 degrees inside would feel a lot better than the 105 degrees outside. I live in Georgia and 78 at 100% relative humidity is sweltering. Our temp setpoint is 72 degrees during the day and we turn it down to 71 at night. Don’t get me wrong, I love summer. I would rather sit inside with the AC on than sit inside during the winter with the heat on. I love baseball games, swim parties, grilling out and late sunsets. I would rather cut grass than shovel snow. Everything people claim to love about fall – hoodies, bonfires, pumpkin spice lattes, snuggling up in blankets – those are all just attempts to keep warm.

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Satur-deja Vu

I mentioned the National Day of Prayer last week and even included a link to the National Day of Prayer Task Force website. Shown above is the poster for one of two events I will be attending. The Rome Area Prayer Breakfast, which I think I mentioned, has invited Lee Strobel to speak this year. The Advent Health prayer event will have several individuals from the community offer specific prayers for ministers, educatators, government officials, etc then a corporate prayer time. Chances are there is an event in your area; check with your church leaders and extend your search to include newspaper and radio (and their respective online presence) if necessary.

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Satur-deja Vu

The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang is demanding $1 million ransom be paid for each of the 17 missionaries they hold hostage or he has vowed to begin executing them. Pictures and video have been released that appear to confirm all 17 are still alive. The US State Department believes the video to be legitimate. Christian Aid Ministries does not want to make any comment that may endanger the lives of those missionaries being held. I have a pastor friend that has traveled to Haiti many times both for humanitarian relief and to train local pastors to be effective in their ministry. Haiti is an impoverished nation with government corruption and mismanagement of the highest order. Pray for the people of Haiti, these 17 missionaries in particular, and the political situation which prevents conditions from changing.

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Satur-deja Vu

The Blackwood Brothers Quartet was the first music group of any genre to travel by tour bus. Shown here is a replica of their 1939 cross city bus they upgraded and took on tour in the 1950’s. It was air conditioned and had bunk beds and recliners. J.D. Sumner is given credit for first promoting travel by tour bus. Before that groups traveled in cars, with musicians inside and trunks full of instruments and equipment.

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Satur-deja Vu

Apple Cider Donuts are a cake type of donut with a pretty soft texture. Oreo’s have a crunchy cookie on either side but it’s crazy how much these things taste like apple cider donuts. This was an impulse buy. Fall doesn’t last long, do something wacky.

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Satur-deja Vu

Disaster relief leads to salvation. Let’s start off with some good news, that ought to be a welcome change of pace. Natural disasters often bring destruction of property and sometimes loss of life but they present opportunities for the church to step up and act like God’s children. Disaster relief is a real world application of putting others’ needs before our own and doing things for the least of these, expecting nothing in return. Click here to read the Christian Index story shown above.

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Satur-deja Vu

Today is Holy Saturday also known as Black Saturday. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a legal and moral obligation for the Jews. Some Christians believe Jesus was other places doing other things during that period of time; I will not get into whether or not he literally descended into hell and preached to the condemned. Tomorrow is Resurrection Day, Easter Sunday to many although not everyone agrees on that title. If you are in the Calhoun, GA area the Gordon County Christian Ministerial Alliance is having a Sunrise Service at BB&T Park in downtown that begins at 7 AM. We will have prayer, two or three songs everybody knows and a 15 or 20 minute sermon. At 36 degrees I will remind our speaker the shorter the better. Hopefully 2020 taught us not to take so many things for granted, including worshiping together and visiting family.

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Satur-deja Vu

There’s something you don’t see every day. We had a visitor at church Sunday morning. This girl stayed for the whole service. As a matter of fact she was still wandering around the front yard Monday evening. Back in the day it was not uncommon to give the preacher a chicken but I would not have expected it to still be alive.

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Satur-deja Vu

It’s gettin’ to be that time. Let me clarify my position on fall. I’m not just an old grouch that complains about everything and I do not hate fall. There are things I like about fall when it actually gets here but if you start talking about hoodies and pumpkin spice in the middle of July I will grouch a little because summer is my favorite. Maybe spring, then summer then fall in that order. Spring and fall are transition seasons. During the springtime the days get longer, the grass and trees come back to life, we start getting ready for baseball, grilling out and opening the pool. In the fall I enjoy hot cocoa, smores, bonfires, sunsets and colorful leaves as much as the next guy. Many of the most popular fall activities are centered around keeping warm. I don’t love hoodies as much as I don’t like being cold. Fall is the transition season from summer, which is the best, into winter. That season doesn’t make my list of top 3 favorites. I would rather mow grass than shovel snow, and wear shorts and sandals than sweaters and parkas. I do all of the autumn things and enjoy it while it lasts; big sucker for a hayride, seriously. But it saddens me to know what’s coming, which is basically an end of all things. At least until April.

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