Karma vs. Grace - Bono's View

I ran into this quote today and thought it was perceptive. What make it even more interesting is that Bono of the band U2 said it.

“You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the Universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘As you reap, so will you sow’ stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff. . . . I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

Read the whole article Rock Star as Theologian at Breakpoint.

Some (more) Inconvenient Truths

I am not an environmentalist, but rather a conservationist. I believe we need to set aside areas and manage them to the best of our abilities. As a hunter, I understand the balance that needs to be struck between over-harvest and over-population of species and habitat. I gladly obey the laws that have been established so I can continue to enjoy the beauty of nature, the challenge of the hunt and a hope of passing both appreciations down to my children.

I see in nature and the environment a deeply intricate design of God which man has only understood a fraction of its complexity. Because my Worldview is so oriented I am skeptical of the broad "scientific" claims made in the name of global warming. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Here are some quotes that I appreciated in a recent article I read.

"From the technical perspective, if anthropogenic [man-made] warming is real, then why is Earth’s closest neighbor warming? According to recent studies, the Martian climate is not only undergoing a dramatic change, its caps are melting “at an alarming rate.” Could it be the naysayers who claim that sun spot cycles and solar winds are major drivers in this phenomenon are onto something?"

"It’s also important to realize that every group has its special interests, be they financial, political, or spiritual. Mr. Gore noted, "You can't make somebody understand something if their salary depends upon them not understanding it." That’s well said; but it applies equally to him and his camp as it does to his critics."

"Having said all this, let me add that I agree with many of the recommendations in An Inconvenient Truth. Recycling more, driving less, adjusting our thermostats, reducing consumables, planting trees, and the like, are the right things to do. All are in keeping with biblical stewardship, regardless of global warming. "

Read the entire article Some Inconvenient Truths by Regis Nicoll at Breakpoint.

Find SQL Objects

I am constantly playing detective with our Data Warehouse. We have so many reports using so many tables that without a good data dictionary we have trouble knowing what processes touch what destination tables. The following SQL helps me find most of the Tables, Stored Procedures, Views and SQL Agent Jobs based upon my Search parameter. The exception to this is SQL tied up within a DTS package.

-- Search Criteria
DECLARE @Search varchar (200)
SET @Search = 'seach_keyword'

-- Variables
DECLARE @SQL varchar (500)
DECLARE @DBName varchar (30)
DECLARE Databases CURSOR FAST_FORWARD FOR
SELECT name
FROM master.dbo.sysdatabases

-- Temp table for clean presentation
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb.dbo.#FindObjects') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #FindObjects
CREATE TABLE #FindObjects
(
Database_Name varchar(128) Null,
Obj_Name varchar(128) Null,
dbType char(1) Null
)

-- Find SQL Objects
OPEN Databases
FETCH Databases INTO @DBName
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET @SQL = 'INSERT INTO #FindObjects '
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'SELECT DISTINCT ''' + @DBName + ''', [Name], a.Type '
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'FROM ' + @DBName + '.dbo.sysobjects a '
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'LEFT JOIN ' + @DBName + '.dbo.syscomments b ON a.ID = b.ID '
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'WHERE a.Type IN (''P'',''U'',''V'')'
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'AND (b.Text LIKE ' + '''' + '%' + @Search + '%' + ''''
SET @SQL = @SQL + 'OR a.Name LIKE ' + '''' + '%' + @Search + '%' + ''')'
EXEC(@SQL)
FETCH Databases INTO @DBName
END
CLOSE Databases
DEALLOCATE Databases

-- Objects Results
SELECT * FROM #FindObjects order by Database_Name, dbType, Obj_Name

-- Find SQL Agent Jobs
SELECT Job_Name = b.name, a.step_id, a.Step_Name, a.subSystem, a.command, a.database_name, a.output_file_name
FROM msdb.dbo.sysJobsteps a
Join msdb.dbo.sysjobs b on a.Job_id = b.Job_id
Where Step_name like '%' + @Search + '%'
or a.command like '%' + @Search + '%'
ORDER BY b.name, a.step_id