For those who remember Y2K, here's a quote for you, “I really didn't foresee the Internet. But then, neither did the computer industry. Not that that tells us very much of course--the computer industry didn't even foresee that the century was going to end.” ― Douglas Adams

Good Wednesday morning here on this March 20, 2019. Sorry about not posting anything for yesterday, but, The Home Office was being used as a bedroom since we had a couple of 20-something nephews who had been to a concert in Austin and were on their way back to Louisiana. The wife and I stayed up awaiting their arrival. They showed up at 2:30 a.m. What's that? Yes. That was way past my bedtime and us being up so long threw Mr. Bentley into a tizzy as well. We certainly enjoyed our visit with these boys and after a good breakfast, they were able to get back on the road. They had gone to see a group called Switchfoot that some refer to as a Christian Rock group. If I have ever heard even one of their songs I am not aware of it. I understand they have won numerous awards within their genre in the Christian music world. They have been around since the early 2000s but, again, that doesn't mean anything to me. We are thankful for our family including kids like these two that we do not get to see very often. I got to bed at 3 a.m. and was back up at 6 a.m. I may have taken a nap during the day yesterday. May have. Most likely I did. I have, after all, crossed that threshold where I can blame it on my age.

One of the things I learned from being up into the wee hours of the morning, we are oblivious. Unaware. Unplugged. Without a clue. I say that because every time I took Mr. Bentley outside there were people stirring. Cars going by. Young people walking down the street. What's the big deal? At 2 a.m. in the morning, I thought it to be somewhat surprising. We typically are both in bed no later than 10:30 p.m. We have the ceiling fan. We have a louder fan on the stand. Then, we each have a personal size fan on our nightstands. That pretty much puts us totally out of touch. Period. One of the two boys that stayed with us lives way out in the country. He seemed a little surprised when I asked if he had locked his car. He said he hadn't but he would if I thought it was necessary. I'm glad I advised that he should. Especially with people milling about at 2 a.m. That reminded me of how I grew up without locks for most of my early life. People didn't even lock the doors on their houses back in those days. In the summer, all the windows were wide open with only a screen to keep some of the bugs out. The attic fan as I recall was probably louder by itself than the four we have in our bedroom today. Oh yeah. I failed to mention the wife has a warming blanket on her side of the bed. Four fans and a warming blanket. Are we spoiled or what? My grandfather who was mired in The Great Depression recollection could not have tolerated any of that. He would not have been able to sleep. And, if anyone knows what those people are up to at that time of the morning please let me know.

We've come a long way, haven't we? I read where a $500 million dollar computer recently was able to do a quintillion calculations per second. (A quintillion equals a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.) Yet, I also read where between 400,000 and 500,000 people are murdered in the world each year. Or, as the statistics call it, intentional homicides. They can't really quantify the number of kidnappings in the world each year because the world can't agree on what constitutes a kidnapping. Those that attempt to track this category put it at between 100-180 per month. My point? No matter how much progress we make, and how much technological accomplishments we muster, the heart of the matter for humanity is still a matter of the heart. Jeremiah was inspired to give it to us straight: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Chapter 17, Verse 9) This means every human being meets this definition. By birth. How can this change? We need a new heart. We need a new birth. That comes only through the power of God when one accepts His one and only Son as their personal Savior. I am aware there are many who think our intelligence and technological prowess will someday solve every problem. Solomon had an answer for that, "Thinking anything in this world of human origin can deal with our greatest needs, well, it is nothing more than chasing the wind, an empty enterprise." (Book of Ecclesiastes) However, he doesn't leave us without a remedy for finding purpose and meaning in this life, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Chapter 12:13-14, English Standard Version, ESV) All of that after reading about the super fast computer? Yep. Some days are like that. Enjoy, and may God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.