What is going on?

Work is under way to replace the AV system. The existing system died, for all practical purposes, at the end of the fall semester. New parts are being assembled to get the system operational. It may take a few weeks to complete. This is our number one maintenance priority.

What do I do in the meantime?

We will park a standard mobile projection cart in the space until the new system is operational. The cart has a data projector, PC with monitor, laptop VGA cable, DVD/VHS player, and amplified speaker.

How will I operate the new system when installed?

Users will be alerted in advance via email. The new systems will operate in much the same fashion as in other campus lecture halls. Training opportunities will be advertised to the users. A short youtube video will be posted demonstrating basic operation. Instructions will be posted locally, on the AV web site, and via DoIT FAQ.

How do I get more information?

Please contact AV Services at #52461 (or enter an RT ticket).

Cake balls are the latest trend in fancy baked goods. Cupcakes are so 2011. I made this video over the holidays, but you could definitely still use the recipe for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, A Rainy Wednesday, etc. Just change the flavor or decorations to suit your needs!

2 Corinthians 4:1 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

Reflection:

Paul, more than anyone else, claims God’s mercy was the foundation for his calling as an Apostle. God’s mercy was not only the means (intended purpose), but the enabling (empowering) for such a powerful ministry. What is this ministry that Paul was called to? It is the proclamation and unveiling of the glory of the new covenant, so that we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord by the Holy Spirit. What an amazing calling! May we realize, just as Paul did (and even more so), how much we are in need of knowing God’s mercy, so that real ministry can happen! When we are aligned with God’s mercy as our source, we will not lose heart. May we receive encouragement, just as Paul did, because our calling is motivated by God’s mercy.

Responding to the Transmission:

Today let us pray with thanksgiving, for we have received this amazing ministry and calling through God’s mercy. May our hearts be strengthened and renewed once again, for it is here that we are empowered to live out this amazing calling together, on the campuses, in our workplaces, in our missional groups. Let’s pray that real ministry will occur as we take in more and more of God’s mercy.

UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller continues his commentary on the presidential election today with new columns in Salon and the Baltimore Sun.

In “Obama takes his case to the swing states,” Schaller explores the implications of the president’s post-State of the Union speaking tour. Schaller writes, “For the past three months, political eyes have been focused squarely on the Republican White House contenders. But after his State of the Union speech, the commander-in-chief shifts himself into campaigner-in-chief mode, whether or not the GOP has settled on a candidate yet.”

Schaller’s latest Baltimore Sun column explores the GOP field, arguing that so far “no Republican candidate has been able to consolidate the support of discontented conservative populists.” He suggests the first GOP presidential candidate to articulate a thoughtful plan that effectively appeals to middle-class Republicans “could very well claim the nomination.”

Is there water on Vespa? Timothy Stubbs and his colleague, Yongli Wang think so.  In a NASA special Web feature Stubbs talks about their findings.

“”Near the north and south poles, the conditions appear to be favorable for water ice to exist beneath the surface,” says Timothy Stubbs of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Stubbs and Yongli Wang of the Goddard Planetary Heliophysics Institute at the University of Maryland published the models in the January 2012 issue of the journal Icarus. The models are based on information from telescopes including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.”