because the Ensign doesn’t have an Op/Ed page
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To the delight of genealogy buffs like me, scientists recently announced in the journal Nature that they can trace European ancestry to within 192 miles by analyzing tiny inherited markers in DNA. That means someday we’ll need look no further than our own genes to locate our motherlands.
[via Instapundit]
CNET’s Matt Asay on “Mormons for open source.”
It does my heart good to see my church putting its tithing dollars to work in an inspired cause: open source. A friend just sent me a job posting on the LDS Church’s website calling for a Linus Torvalds-like figure to lead open-source development efforts for the LDS Church and its IT projects.
Home and Visiting Teaching Reporting Application: If this became a reality, I would have a deep and abiding testimony that the internet was created to help the Elders Quorum do its job. It sure needs it. 
Google Maps’ Iowa Caucus results.
The map displays live news and events from across the state, and beginning tonight, both the Democratic and Republican parties of Iowa will be partnering with us to present real-time caucus results by county and by party. Users across America will be able to watch a stream of results show up on Google Maps at the same time as these important decisions in Iowa are being made.
Not only did Elder Ballard say the (ugly) word “blog,” the 79-year old Apostle invoked iTunes (with correct capitalization), podcasts, Facebook, and text-messaging. Kudos to Bookslinger of Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon for specifically being mentioned as a great example of the good a blog can do.
Much of his talk focused on how we can responsibly use the tools of the new media and to worthily represent the Church. I thought his comments served as an excellent reminder of how to be a good blogger:
Every disciple of Christ will be most effective, and do the most good by adopting a demeanor worthy of a follower of the Savior. Discussions focused on questioning, debating and doubting gospel principles do little to build the kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul has admonished us to not be “ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ: for it is the power of God unto Salvation” (Romans 1:16). Let us all stand firmly and speak with faith in sharing our message with the world. Many of you are returned missionaries and can carry on meaningful conversation in the language you learned on your mission. Your outreach can be international.
As you participate in this conversation and utilize the tools of New Media, remember who you are–Latter-day Saints. Remember as the Proverb states that “a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). And remember that “contention is of the devil.” There is no need to argue or contend with others regarding our beliefs. There is no need to become defensive or belligerent. Our position is solid; the Church is true. We simply need to have a conversation, as friends in the same room would have, always guided by the prompting of the Spirit and constantly remembering the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ which reminds us of how precious are the children of our Father in Heaven.
It’s a little chastising for me too, as this blog gets too mired in the crude politics of the day, it is too easy to get defensive and perhaps belligerent. He even quotes the scripture from which this blog takes its title but fails to live up to.
While the Bloggernacle has its good and bad, I think it serves the Church well for the most part. It’s exciting to see the Church recognize church blogs and to encourage members to join the effort. But also, good for those who have already started the conversation in the Bloggernacle and did not wait to be “command[ed] in all things.”
Could all the world’s content fit in an iPod by 2020?. “The price of data storage has fallen by a factor of 3.6 million. To put that in context for you, if gas prices fell by the same amount, today a gallon of gas would take you around the earth 2,200 times.”
I’m no CSI guy myself but I’d like to think I could determine the cause of death better than this: “It turns out that the [tiny cell phone] LG battery which had initially been blamed for the “accident” wasn’t the cause at all, rather, a co-worker of the victim has admitted to hitting the man with a 15-ton hydraulic rig while driving in reverse, and has been charged with manslaughter.”
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