Wow, I finally found something that Al Gore and I both have in common. Here is a picture of Al Gore’s desk from Al Gore’s American Life in Time Magazine.

And here is my favorite messy desk picture. This is philosopher Quentin Smith looking for something in his faculty office at Western Michigan University:

Having trouble with your desktop lately? You could try these 10 tips for keeping your desk clean and tidy from LifeClever.com.

Or you could try Nobel prize winner Robert Fogel’s ingenious solution:

When Nobel Laureate and University of Chicago economics professor Robert Fogel found his desk becoming massively piled he simply installed a second desk behind him that now competes in towering clutter with the first. (from A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder, by Eric Abramson and David Freedman)

As we messy-desk type people are fond of saying: “A messy desk is the sign of an orderly mind.” It must be true – how else could we posibly find anything?

  (Tacoma Narrows Bridge – video below)

My three sons and I were talking about this the other day. I was explaining to them how a marching band can potentially set up a standing wave in a bridge setting up a feedback loop in the bridge’s construction eventually causing it to collapse. (Who says physics can’t be fun?)

There are historical examples where this has actually happened. In 1831 cavalry troops marched in step over a suspension bridge near Manchester, England causing the bridge to collapse. In 1850 the Angers Bridge in France collapsed when 478 soldiers marched across it in lockstep. Because of instances like these, groups marching in formation are now instructed to break step when crossing bridges.

So what is the science behind all this? Here is an answer from the physics department at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

When troopers march in cadence across a bridge, the marching may match a natural resonance frequency of the bridge. Although only a small amount of energy is added with each step, because of the resonance effect this energy will be stored. As a result, the bridge will cumulatively absorb energy from the marching men, increasing the oscillation amplitude in the bridge (just as pushing someone on a swing, in cadence, increase the amplitude of the swing). Enough energy may be added this way to damage or destroy the bridge. (from: How to Cross a Bridge)

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge over Puget Sound in Washington is a famous example of a bridge that was destroyed by resonance vibrations. The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, also known as “Galloping Gertie,” was a concrete and steel suspension bridge. It was the third longest span bridge in the world when it was built. Construction on the bridge began in 1939, and the bridge was put into service on July 1, 1940. Just four months later, on November 7, 1940, the bridge was destroyed by resonance vibrations set up by winds acting on the bridge. The bridge that had taken a year to build was destroyed in a matter of hours.

Here is actual video footage from 1940 of the bridge’s vibrations and eventual collapse. I remember seeing the footage of this concrete bridge bouncing up and down like a piece of rubber back in high school, and it was fun to find it online again. (Click below for video.)

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Do you need to take a trip from Boston to Paris? Here is what Google Maps gives you if you ask them for directions. Pay close attention when you get to #5 in the directions.

I like Google’s disclaimer at the bottom of the page: “These directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, or other events may cause road conditions to differ from the map results.” What about sharks and jellyfish?

1. The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.
2. I spilled spot remover on my dog. Now he’s gone.
3. What’s another word for Thesaurus?
4. I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don’t know what to feed it.
5. Yesterday I told a chicken to cross the road. It said, “What for?”
6. If you are in a spaceship that is traveling at the speed of light, and you turn on the headlights, does anything happen?
7. When I turned two I was really anxious, because I’d doubled my age in a year. I thought, if this keeps up, by the time I’m six I’ll be ninety.
8. “So, do you live around here often?”
9. I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left earlier they wouldn’t have to go so fast.
10. I hate it when my foot falls asleep during the day because that means it’s going to be up all night.

Other Posts in the Series:

• Ten Steven Wright Jokes (1)
• Ten Steven Wright Jokes (2)
• Ten Steven Wright Jokes (3)
• Ten Steven Wright Jokes (4)
• Ten Steven Wright Jokes (5)

Are you trying to get out of debt? Are you looking for sound financial counseling? Here is some of the best (and funniest) advice on finances you will ever find, courtesy of Steve Martin and the Saturday Night Live gang.

(Video length – 2:28)

They say humor hits hardest the closer it hits to reality. I am going to order my copy of “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford” as soon as I can!

HT: Bradley Wright’s Weblog

You know the type. In fact, maybe you are one yourself! I am talking about people who attend church only twice a year, usually at Christmas and Easter.

There is a whole slew of jokes about them, including the one about the person who complained to the pastor on the way out of the service: “Every time I come to church, you are always talking about the same thing. It’s always either the birth of Jesus or his resurrection!”

I was talking with a pastor friend this week who shared with me that one person on his way out of church this past Easter Sunday greeted him with a hearty: “Merry Christmas!” Whoops, wrong holiday.

And then you’ve got to appreciate the honesty of the couple who told my wife on their way out from our Easter service, “See you next year!”

You know, sometimes you just have to laugh.

Click here for more Christmas related posts.
Click here for more Easter related posts.

Note: A number of my message series are now available as print books and ebooks. Click on the book images below to view on Amazon.

 
Click here for all books in the Understanding God’s Word series.
 
___________________________
 
Johnny Hart, the creator of the B.C. comic strip series, died Saturday of a stroke at the age of 76. He was at the drawing table in his home when he died.

I have always enjoyed the B.C. series (as well as the Wizard of Id, the other series Johnny was involved in). Johnny had a keen sense of humor, and his comics almost always made me laugh, and often made me think as well.

Johnny was a Christian, and he sometimes injected his faith into his B.C. strips. Here is his comic from Easter Sunday yesterday.

Thank you Johnny for sharing your life, faith and humor with us over the years. We will miss you, of course, but how magnificent for you to celebrate Easter Sunday 2007 in the presence of your resurrected Lord!

(Click here for more B.C. Easter cartoons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Click here for Johnny Hart’s book I Did It His Way: A Collection of Classic B.C. Religious Comic Strips.

Legendary cartoonist, Johnny Hart, created two of the most popular comic strips in history: B.C. and Wizard of Id. When he became a Christian in 1984, Johnny turned his trademark wit and humor to matters of faith. Johnny passed away the day before Easter 2007 while at his drawing board. “This book is a dream that Johnny and I shared,” says his wife, Bobby. “I knew I had to finish our dream.”
 
 
 

Articles:

• Fred Sanders at the Scriptorium from April 10, 2007
• World Magazine article from April 8, 2000
• Today’s Christian article from March/April 1997

Recent comic strips:

• April 3, 2007
• April 2, 2007
• April 1, 2007 (Palm Sunday)
• March 25, 2007
• February 23, 2007
• February 17, 2007
• January 20, 2007
• December 25, 2006 (Christmas)
• December 23, 2006

Related posts: B.C. Easter Cartoons – Part 1

Tomorrow is April Fools’ Day. (Honest – no fooling!) Here are a couple links to the best April Fools’ Day jokes of all time.

• Top 100 April Fools’ Day Hoaxes Of All Time
• April Fools’ Day Pranks at Family Fun
• Family Fun’s Top Ten
• April Fool Zone

And just to balance things out:

• Top 10 Worst April Fools’ Day Hoaxes Ever

Have you ever played a favorite April Fools’ Day joke … or had one backfire?

Related posts:

• ¡¡¡ʎɐp slooɟ lıɹdɐ ʎddɐɥ
• Don’t Be an April Fool!

My 13-year old showed me this the other night:

“The following statement is true / The preceding statement is false.”

(Don’t spend too much time on this one. It is really not that important.)

Click here for more Random Thoughts.

This is a fun video. Three brothers and a cousin play Maurice Ravel’s Bolero on a single cello. Watch and be amazed. And, as an added benefit, you get to enjoy Ravel’s Bolero while you’re at it.

(Video length: 2:58)

The band’s name is Stringfever. They are from Great Britain.

Related post: Four Hands, One Guitar