Coffee = high gas prices!

Gas prices are rising and traffic is consistently nightmarish. Why? I used to blame things like aggressive driving, gas guzzlers (especially SUVs), overcrowding. But according to this MSNBC article, it’s all the fault of Starbucks. That’s right, coffee is the culprit of traffic nerfdom!

Actually the article is not that harsh, but it makes an interesting point, that in an effort to escape the rush and stress of mornings, people are willing to go out of their way, take a break on the way to work, and stop to smell the coffee.

Mmmm…coffee……

They chose a pope!

The new pope will be Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joeseph Ratzinger from Germany.

(That name seems familiar -- wasn't he Cliff Clavin in Cheers?)

Thoughts on direction of the Catholic Church

I've been hearing/reading a lot of people say that they hope the new pope will lead Catholicism into the 21st century, or at least out of the 14th. Big issues include women as priests, married priests, gay rights, contraception, and abortion. But I'm not sure that I believe the church should change. Wait, don't start the flames yet! I'm not saying that I agree with the Catholic church on these issues! So what is Javasaurus talking about then? According to the Catholic church, based on a combination of history, dogma, word of God, of Jesus, etc., these things are wrong. It is not the place of the church to keep up with modern perceived morality, but to direct it, and to act as a moral rock. They should not determine what is sinful based on what mankind desires, nor on what is practical for mankind, but on their best interpretation of the will of God. For the church to change on such big issues, it will take the deep belief amongst the pope and cardinals that such changes are the will of God, not just the desires of the people. And then they have to cope with saying either, "we were wrong" or "God changed his mind."