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RIP Gideon - gavin

saddened to hear of my twitter buddy. can't believe it - gavin

Each year for the past fifteen years, The Last Minute Toy Store, a ministry of Sixty-First Avenue United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, has distributed free toys and other gifts to tens of thousands of low-income children and youth who live in Davidson County. Working in cooperation with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s “Toys for Tots” program and other local toy providers, the “Last Minute” Toy Store is for low-income families who did not pre-register with those other providers earlier in the fall. In December of 2008, the Last Minute Toy Store served 3,880 children and youth from 1,224 families – distributing over 15,000 toys/gifts to go along with books, oranges, and candy canes given to each child. - gavin

This DIY-er's method was simple enough. He bought a roll of Tyvek sheeting from Home Depot—though you can find it an any big hardware store—and rolled it on a support rod, then put a seam at the bottom for another rod to provide weight and pull the screen taut. Although you can see the Tyvek branding through the screen when it is backlit, as it is in the photo above, the author of the tutorial points out in the comments that when it is flush against the wall or when the projector is running the logos aren't visible and don't ruin the picture. - gavin

Time Magazine called it the "Decade From Hell." New York Magazine termed it "One Wild Decade." We want to hear from you. Help us document the decade by picking five important moments from the last 10 years -- possible subjects include news or political events, culture and entertainment, business, sports or technology. Send us photos that you have taken that help illustrate those moments, plus short personal essays that explain how they define your decade. Subjects might include signs of the recent recession in your community, an event such as the Sept. 11 attacks or the 2004 tsunami, yourself at the World Series or Olympic Games, or the impact of a recent technical invention on your life. - gavin

Facebook has been a great tool. But it’s also incredibly noisy. Even when I limit the information I get to “status updates” from my friends, I still get bombarded by everything from the tragic to the trivial. - gavin

Reports that Egypt is building a steel underground wall along its border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip have fueled speculation about what exactly Cairo intends to accomplish with the project, which British newspapers claim is being carried out with the help of the US Army Corps of Engineers. - gavin

Authorities started eying the Wests early this year after an anonymous tipster told police that students from a high school in Robertson County were being hired as prostitutes. - gavin

"Youth culture represents the brightest parts of China - passion, optimism and creativity. In contrast I find it hard to be inspired by politicians or rich businessmen," Leow says. - gavin

Cowart used the Internet months ago to spread his idea: shoot everyday people, especially the disadvantaged, the homeless, people down on their luck and struggling families. He wanted to make them feel special. - gavin

What is one of the most popular games for Chinese youth right now? It’s a combination of Chinese social networking site, Kaixin001’s “Farming Game” and an online action-strategy game. It’s called Plants vs. Zombies and is developed by Popcap for international gamers. - gavin

As Iraqi Christians prepare for Christmas, bombs have caused explosions at two Christian churches on Tuesday. More attacks are feared. - gavin

The results, published this month, portray a generation that, in some ways, is more traditional than some media executives might fear. - gavin

We should stop being shocked when male athletes – or politicians, or movie stars – are sexually voracious, because sex is one of the trophies of their power. - gavin

While a less-is-more parenting philosophy that encourages additional downtime and less adult interference might seem a little old-school to some, advocates say a crop of dependent young adults and stressed-out kids raised by hovering parents begs for some kind of change. - gavin

The worst toys are the opposite: overdesigned, overengineered, the product of so much imagination on the part of the toymaker that they require none from the child. - gavin

interesting look at the possible future of content creation - gavin

good point.. and rather obvious i'm surprised its not mentioned more - gavin

there's a few of you out there that i know want to get one of these for your 'kid' - gavin

i am so thinking of copying this!! - gavin

good point - gavin

excellent creativity!! - gavin

Roll Tide!! - gavin

truth is, before you get to what is next most people still need work on these core pieces - gavin

this is just good fun! - gavin

putting your butt & legs where your mouth is - gavin

thanks for the props john!! - gavin

Ask them to explain today's teenagers and twentysomethings. Invite them to your campus to describe this generation's traits. Just make sure that they don't all show up at the same time. They would argue, contradict one another, and leave you more baffled than ever. Figuring out young people has always been a chore, but today it's also an industry. - gavin

Generations, like people, have personalities. Their collective identities typically begin to reveal themselves when their oldest members move into their teens and twenties and begin to act upon their values, attitudes and worldviews. - gavin

One of the most frequently believed ministry myths has to do with budgets/objects/buildings as a derivative towards success. But is a large budget, building, and staff really that essential for sustainable ministry to occur? - gavin