Can one be rich and devout?

I’m of the opinion that humans tends not to be wealthy and God-fearing.  I’m sure there are exception, but I’m fairly certain that this is true. Think about it: the most religious people tend to be in poorer nations…South America, India.  The resurgence of Islam is widely due to economic and social discontent, I think at least.  And take a look at how devout people in developed nations are.  Germany, Italy, England, the U.S…..you’d be hard pressed to find highly religious people.  So, I was particularly interested to read this article that kind of validates what I was thinking:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/nyregion/14churches.html?em

Switches Around the World

This is a weird post, but this is the kind of thing I ruminate on in the bathroom.

Why are switches around the world different? And I mean so vastly different?!

In the United States, there’s a standard switch used in all buildings which looks like it was designed in the 19th century. Dimensions-wise, they’re about the size of a 1.5″ french fry made of plastic that moves up and down. Pathetically ancient looking, not aesthetic at all and doesn’t seem to be good from a safety perspective either since it looks like someone with wet fingers could have an accident quite easily when using on of them. (picture to follow when blogger fixes its picture upload bug).

In Germany, the switches are these ultra modern looking panels. Each switch is a square plastic piece of 3″ dimensions. While it looks nice and is easy to operate, it does become difficult to have more than two switches together side by side. There is simply not enough place on the wall! Thankfully, most German rooms I’ve been to aren’t particularly large, thus necessitating just one switch to operate the light.

In India, the switches are plastic rockers, rectangular about 2″x.8″ in dimension. This allows for quite a few switches to be placed together in one location on a wall. The switches are terrible looking though…cheap manufacturing techniques probably. But hey, maybe they’re getting better back home – will have to check on my next trip!

I don’t remember what the switches are like in Singapore or Hong Kong. Will have to make a note to check them out on my next trip to the region.