Unusual Video and Apologetic Philosophy

As I went to an apologetics conference featuring Josh McDowell and Dinesh D'Souza last weekend, I began pondering some interesting ideas. As a paradigm of cause and effect in life, is this illustration I created yesterday accurate? I'm leaning towards relationships being contingent on actions and philosophy on ethics, but I'm not sure. In traditional Western philosophical thought, our ethics are dictated by our predetermined philosophy, but I'm beginning to think our fundamental ethics (e.g. truth) result in philosophy.

2008 Looking Differenet... and random sidenotes

Thompson is still unimpressive, Huckabee's fund raising is surging, and Giuliani and Romney are about the same. That said, how will we stand going into Iowa where Giuliani is in surprisingly bad shape and Romney's on top? Dick Morris says Huckabee could end up second in Iowa, while Romney's lead is still comfortable, and Giuliani looking rather shabby? We might actually have a shot at beating Giuliani, if a distant chance of a flank.

Now, a couple of random things. First, Miracles is now my third favorite CS Lewis book. Fantastic. If you want a "welcome to the supernatural" book, it's a great shot.

Second, House MD is the greatest show of all time. But you already knew that. Tuesday's episode was as hilarious as any (House to Cuddy: "By the way, I can tell when my Vicadin isn't really Vicadin. The question is, can you tell when your birth control pills aren't really birth control pills?"). But, more interestingly, the HDTV that has resided gracefully in the garage since we got it half off the morning after thanksgiving a couple of years ago finally got dragged into the house. Since I did the dragging, it ended up in my room. The whole "get something better, want something even better" saying is perfectly true. Analog cable looks quite screwed up on a digital TV. DirectTV HD perhaps?

"Surprisingly" Strong October Economy Numbers

Employers boosted payrolls by a surprisingly strong 166,000 in October, the most in five months, an encouraging sign that the nation's employment climate is holding up relatively well against the strains of a housing collapse and credit crunch.

The Labor Department's report, released Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent for the second month in a row. It's a figure that is considered low by historical standards.

My Feeble Attempt at a Video

Slightly cheesy, but hopefully beneficial.