I haven't checked this thread for a while, so I'll answer some questions that people have made (Sorry for the late reply Omega Amen)...
Saint Kevin wrote:Off topic: How is the church out in the UK? I have heard (but cannot confirm) that people in the UK are not as interested in God as they used to be, and that the church is on the decline there.
I'd say that as a rough guess 10% of British are Christians. That's probably a wildly innacurate guess though. It is very difficult to judge the situation as decline, because a lot of ground is being gained too. I think the church is going through a stage of transition - speaking from my position there are a lot of young people becoming Christians. God is definately moving among the students here.
Omega Amen wrote:1. Recently, you expressed your desire to enter in the field of nanotechnology? Why do you want to work/study in this area?
I think nanotechnology is a very exciting emerging field, which can be compared to the importance of electricity, or perhaps the industrial revolution. I have done a lot of reading on the subject - molecular manufacturing is predicted to appear within about 20 years time, and allows products to be made with every atom in the right place. I read a paper several weeks ago proposing a design for a desktop "nanofactory". This device would have the ability to convert raw chemicals (eg. acetone) into complicated advanced products (eg. computers) within about 2 hours per product. Designs would be downloaded from the internet. The user then needs only to hit a button and wait.
This technology is very exciting, powerful, and of course potentially dangerous too. If the molecular manufacturing is developed we'll see a revolution in manufacturing. We'll be able to get into (and colonise) space very easily too. That's why I'm interested in the field.
There are a lot of political issues to get past, so I can see myself as being a bit of an activist too. Hardly anyone is aware about the subject and I think that needs to change. ^^
A lot more info is available, and I haven't got enough space to write about it here.. so Google is the thing to use, along with the link in my sig...
2. What is currently your favorite linux distribution and GUI (desktop environment, window manager, etc.)? Why?
Would have to be Mandrake, because it has a nice tendency to work the majority of the time when you install it. My favourite WM is Fluxbox due to its nice, streamlined interface and low system resource usage. I use linux for web design work and science purposes.
3. What do you think about black hair?
Black hair is cool, but not as cool as green, pink, yellow, etc...
4. I have never visited the United Kingdom. Is there any information about that country that I should be aware about if I were to visit it? Also, if I wanted to try some British cuisine, what type of dishes/meals/foods/whatever would you recommend?
We don't have Mountain Dew... deal with it. However we do have something called Irn Brew, which is a luminous orange drink, well worth trying. If you want to eat out, trying Indian food is a must. Also, find a good pub (preferably somewhere in the country) and get yourself a nice English pub meal - the ultimate in British cuisine, IMO.
There's some very good nightlife here too, if you're into that kinda thing - Manchester, Bristol, and London are all excellent places to go out. A wide variety of musical tastes are catered for.
5. As an administrator of this site, I am sure you have a lot of responsibilities, and you try to be a good example for the rest of the members here.
So, why do this?
(I have read the FAQ before I joined, and I can assume that you "like doing this" in a general sense.)
I don't understand this question, perhaps you could clarify? Sorry. ^^]6. From the start of your involvement, what were your personal motivations, intentions, and goals in participating in this project? Have they changed since then? How are you holding up to them?[/quote]
God spoke to me one day, and gave me the idea of setting up a Christian anime community, so I had a look on Google and found Ashley's MSN group. After I got in touch we set up the forums and the domain, and the rest is history. I do this for the outreach potential. I guess that I also enjoy maintaining a big website - from looking after the tech side of CAA I've gained a lot of experience, which is great.
7. Finally, you might have had some expectations for this site initially. Are things going as expected?
Difficult to say. The success of the site has exceeded all expectations, but as far as directions are concerned, that's up to God. And He's had a fair number of surprises for us over the past year or so. I think God has some very exciting plans for this ministry, and that's definately one of the things that keeps us going, despite all the problems that we come up against.