Random Thoughts 8/26/11

• Are working-class Americans abandoning church?  Compared to 40 years ago, yes.  And at a higher rate than college-educated Americans.  I haven't seen much of change in the last ten years from my perspective; I've always seen about half of the people I'm around never go to church.  A quarter go to church all the time and a quarter go to church sometimes.  People who struggle with church:  single adults looking for a spouse, adolescent boys whose fathers don't attend, young couples before they have kids, men whose fathers didn't attend, people who've been burned by past church experiences, and finally people who are just busy "doing what they want" and don't want to be challenged on it.  I think most of those trends have going on for thousands of years.
• Steve Jobs retired from Apple this week, sort of…  He's been sick for the last five years and hasn't been running Apple on a daily basis for months.  That said, he's not really walking away either.  He'll remain on the board and "his people" are still running Apple from top to bottom.  Apple likely won't be any different, or any less successful, for years to come.
• If you get a lot of business cards, this is a great mnemonic device so you remember how to follow up with each individual.
• Did you hear in the news that struggling computer company, Acer, said that this who iPad/tablet thing is just a fad?  Wow, that sounds like sour grapes.
• I think we're real close to a deal to sell our house.  It's so nerve-racking!
• My Kia van has the same problem my brother's van had, corroded lines running to the rear of the vehicle for the rear heater that are leaking coolant.  It turns out that vans need coolant to run properly.