Thoughts on Hume

[Dave & Chelle, Brian & Connie, Jerry & Debbie, and Jesus & Mirtha] Gotcha didn't I? You figured a philosophy guy like myself would be posting something on David Hume with that title. Nope. Instead it is Hume Lake, where I went last weekend with a group of friends for a couples retreat. Over the years I have been to quite a few camps, retreats, seminars, and conferences on how to do this or that better, be more effective at something, communicate your ideas more clearly, or learn some new discipline. Unfortunately there are not a lot of new ideas to fix things. Mostly it comes down to us doing the hard work to put those ideas to work in our lives. Something a lot of folks are either reluctant or unable to do. Which brings me to why I went. I mean if I was only going to get so much out of the conference part of a weekend like this, why would I go? For the fellowship and community with a fantastic group of friends. And the time away, together with my wife, from the day to day stuff of life. More than any quick idea, or three step plan to improve a relationship, time away together is one of the most important building blocks of a successful growing relationship. You should try it. Thanks Chelle for a great weekend!

Tossing in the Chips

I was once a part of a small church start here in Las Vegas. Many times as the offering plate was passed, locals, having won a few extra dollars the night before would frequently put part of their winnings in as the plate passed. My father-in-law, usually at the behest of his wife, was one of those guys. If he had won big during his visit, you would see a bucket of quarters passing along through the church. I was reminded of this today when I read the following story in the local Las Vegas Breeze. Las Vegas Churches Accept Gambling Chips This may come as a surprise to many of you, but there are more churches in Las Vegas than Casinos. Many of those churches are Catholic. Not surprisingly, many worshipers at these churches have taken to giving their weekly offerings not with cash or check, but with local casino chips. Since the churches are receiving chips from many different casinos, the local diocese has had to develop a procedure to collect and cash in the chips from their various parishes around the valley. The diocese collects all of the chips from the local parishes and then sends them to the Nevada Franciscan Monastery in Boulder City for sorting. Once this is done, the chips are then taken to the appropriate casinos to be cashed in. This is all done by the Chip Monks.

Coffee Anyone?

I have been on the road the last couple of weeks in the Pacific Northwest and as is my routine on these jaunts, I drank a lot of coffee. Portland for all you uninitiated is Mecca for coffee drinkers. Now I know someone is going to write me and say it is really Seattle, but they are just wrong. And I can tell you why in one word, Stumptown. Stumptown Coffee in Portland is not coffee, it is a religion. A way of life. And with good reason. The java served by this place is fantastic. Couple that with free Wi-Fi, and they are hands down better than their main rival, Starbucks. I think one of the main reasons for this is their size. Because they only have a handful of locations around the city, they can keep an eye on their coffee quality. And believe me, for Stumptown, quality coffee is king. Another little place I visited is called Silk Espresso and Pastries. Now when you look at this place, it comes across as just another strip mall coffee joint, but it so much more. Owner Leah McMahon has done a fantastic job of putting together the neighborhood coffee shop. As I sat there working, again on the free Wi-Fi, [seeing a trend here?] I noticed that the employees working there knew almost every customer who came in by their first name and their drink of preference. It literally was like I was living in an episode of the old TV show Cheers, complete with Norm and Cliff. Finally, one place I stop every time I am in Portland is Papa Haydn's for dessert. Suffice to say, in my opinion, there is not a better place for a cup of after dinner coffee and dessert. Here is a picture of what I ordered. It is called Autumn Meringue and is Swiss meringues layered with rich chocolate mousse and pot de creme, wrapped in ribbons of chocolate. Know that it was fantastic and tasted as good as it looks.