I'm sure you've seen the articles about Abby Johnson, the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic who resigned her position after witnessing ultrasonic video of an abortion in which the 13 week old baby tried to pull away from the probe the doctor was using to kill him/her. Here's what she told ABC News after resigning.
"I just thought, 'What am I doing?'" she told ABC News. "And then I thought, 'Never again.'"
"What am I doing?" That sums it up pretty well. And it is a question that I hope and pray everyone involved in abortions asks themselves. Because what they are doing is killing.
Planned Parenthood and those who are pro-abortion tell us that we're doing nothing more significant than removing an unwanted skin blemish - taking away something that isn't wanted. What they don't tell us is that the actual abortion procedure is barbaric and that it is killing an unborn baby. Not a lump of unwanted tissue - a baby. A baby that will recoil from a probe in a way that looks like he or she is experiencing pain from the probe. A baby that was a special creation of God.
The thing that struck me here is that question, "What am I doing?". It certainly isn't a question that applies only to those who provide or facilitate abortions. It is a question that applies to each of us because we all sin. What we are doing is moving against what God desires and against God himself.
Abby Johnson seems to have been confronted with that question for the first time after witnessing the true brutality and horror of an abortion. What does it take for us to be confronted with that question for the brutality and horror of our own sin? And how do we respond when we ask that question of ourselves?
"What am I doing?" indeed.
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A week or so ago, I had pondered whether to buy a netbook computer to use while traveling. I decided to do so, and bought one of the Toshiba models. I bought a Toshiba N205-N312BL model to get Windows XP and the relatively larger keyboard. So far, I like it.
The screen is smaller than the 15.4 inch widescreen Dell XPS1530 on which I'm typing now, but the system sure is slim! I've been carrying it to work in my laptop bag, usually with my work laptop. I do notice the extra weight (2 pounds or so), but not all that much. The computer is about the size of a slim hardcover book and probably doesn't weigh much more than that.
Its processor is less powerful than what I've been buying the last two or three years, to be sure, but it seems to run Windows XP just fine. I installed Office 2007 on it as well as ActiveWords and I don't notice any slowness. I needed to connect through my network and load the installation CD for Office into another computer, but that worked very well.
I went with a Windows XP model because Windows 7 Starter Edition seemed too much dumbed down. You can't do some rather basic things on it, like change the desktop wallpaper - and I like having nature scenes on my wallpaper. It just seemed to feature deprived. I could have updated to a better version of Windows 7, and I kind of wanted to do that, but I was worried that the 1GB of ram, in particular, might cause problems. It surely doesn't for Windows XP.
Battery life is phenomenal. Specs say the netbook will run for 9 hours on a battery charge and I believe it! I haven't been bothering to take the power cord with me to work, which is nice. My collection of cords is impressive enough without this one.
The speakers - or rather speaker - leave something to be desired. I bought an inexpensive set of speakers that I take with me when I travel. They plug into the headphone jack and give enough sound to let me play music in my hotel room.
So far, I like the system a lot. We'll see how well it does with my first trip.
Thanks to everyone who commented.
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What is the world coming to? Kiss playing bluegrass song Little Maggie.
Well, not exactly Kiss. Bluegrass band NewFound Road played their Saturday show (Halloween day, that is) dressed up as Kiss. Thanks to the Bluegrass Blog for pointing this out.
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Or at least a really good story writer. I can't say I've ever actually heard him tell a story, but he does know how to write a good story. Wil Wheaton, formerly of Star Trek fame (no, make that formerly of Star Trek, still currently of Star Trek fame) writes on his blog and demonstrates often how to construct a story well. As he did yesterday in a story of making soup and bread - oh, and a mess.
When I read this:
I probably would have taken a moment to stare at the resulting butternut squash soup geyser, if the explosion of hot liquid hadn't burned the &*#@ out of my hand, face, chest, and arm. I probably would have admired the CSI-like splatters of orange puree on the wall, the coffee maker, the microwave, and the refrigerator, if I hadn't been frantically stabbing at the buttons in an effort to silence the whirring blades which created it. But it wasn't until the moment had passed - really just a few seconds of chaos - that I was able to pause and appreciate what had just happened. I mean, it's not every day that a geyser erupts in my kitchen.
I think I get a solid understanding of what was going through his mind - and his kitchen - at that moment. He writes that way a lot. You really get a good sense of the picture he's trying to recreate in your mind.
Go and read, please. I think you'll find his reading enjoyable.
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I'm thinking about buying a netbook computer - mostly for when I travel. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations?
PCWorld reviewed the Toshiba NB205-310 highly. It tested with a battery life of nine hours, which is pretty good. Best Buy has a slightly newer version, the NB205-N325BL, that comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition. I like the thought of Windows 7, but I'm not crazy about the Starter Edition because I can't really pin down how de-featured it is. Its keyboard was pretty comfortable, too.
cnet rated the Asus Eee PC1005HA highly. It had a battery life of about six hours, which is still quite good. It runs Windows XP, which concerns me mostly from an ongoing support standpoint, since XP is now two full revisions old.
I'm interested in recommendations. Please leave a comment or click the Send a Message button with any input that you have. Thanks.
25-Oct Update: Toshiba has this chart showing the different features of the Windows 7 versions.
Kiss playing bluegrass song Little Maggie.
