in the front seat

So Pope Benedict XVI resigned.  What will happen to the office of the pope?  Someone must sit in the Chair of Peter.  Who?  How will the Church decide?  This infographic first published on http://dailyinfographic.com/ will hopefully clear up the how.  We will only know the who when we see the white smoke.

We've known for some time that the North East States have the highest cost of living when compared with the rest of the country.  This morning I came across this simple graphic illustrating that high cost.  Consider first that each adult works to live.  By live I mean we must pay for housing, food, utilities, clothing, transportation, education, and if possible our enjoyment.  Too many adults these past few years have been forced to work part-time jobs to pay for those costs.  Many others work a two to three part-time jobs because they cannot secure full-time employment. One night I went to my local dollar store to pick up batteries, striking up a conversation with the clerk, I discovered that she works three jobs and was beginning another that week.  This greatly bothered me.  According to this graphic a person/household must work 96 minimum wage hours to pay for the average rent for and apartment in Rhode Island. Graphic was...

Taken from Word Among Us blog. To All Our Brothers and Sisters: As you probably know, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign at the end of this month....The weight of responsibility that he has carried on his shoulders these past eight years is simply overwhelming. ... Throughout his papacy, and especially during this Year of Faith, Pope Benedict was persistent in his call for Catholics to commit themselves to a New Evangelization. Here again, as in so many other ways, we see the Holy Father’s desire to encourage us to live for Jesus and to further the mission of the Church. 

Each year, Google invites kids to draw original works of art for its Doodle 4 Google contest . In this video, the Doodle team shares their advice for young artists. To learn about the Doodle 4 Google contest, visit doodle4google.com . Submissions are due by March 22, 2013 . This year, we ask students to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, “My Best Day Ever…” One talented student artist will see their artwork appear on the Google homepage, receive a $30,000 college scholarship, and a $50,000 technology grant for their school along with some other cool prizes Download the Entry Form

My sister,  Theresa, who is discerning a vocation to the  Capuchin Sisters of Nazareth drew this for us.  It is funny how many people made Lord of the Rings comments, but it was Theresa who made it fit a wedding. Two rings to rule them.   Two rings to find them.   Two rings to bring them,  and in LOVE and PEACE, bind them. January 12, 2013

My family was not one of the first to dial-up and start surfing the internet.  I  remember using the internet first in 1993.  We had a large white screened Gateway computer with three dial-up services: AOL, Prodigy, and Comp-u-Serve. Also at this time, adults (including my parents) were all discussing what to do about chat rooms.  Its much the same at today's discussions about Facebook, Google+, and other such sites.  We are trying to figure out how to allow our children safe and teach them how to communicate appropriately. I was reminded of this because of today's "Daily Infographic".

Artwork from one of my students.   I'm sure we will see the resurrection of the bunny this Spring.

While catching up on the news this morning, I came across a new Android app, detext .  Many applications for smartphones have an entertainment or productivity element to them.  This one is all about safety.  The creators say that it "uses GPS  to monitor for speed. When the phone is in motion, detext automatically restricts text messages, phone calls, and other apps that may distract the driver." This life saving app works on Android 2.2 and higher devices.  Parents cannot only stop texting-while-driving, they can also monitor their teen's speed.  My big question is, what happens if your teen is a passenger in the vehicle?   Detext has that covered too.  If your teen is a passenger and they receive a text, all they have to do is solve a simple puzzle to respond.  Remember you can customize these options and it's all free.