One of the online areas I lurk in is the Joi Ito IRC channel. I was told that AKMA was coming to Pasadena and asked if I could help him out. AKMA is A. K. M. Adams, he's just called AKMA by everyone. I had heard of AKMA before but had never really chatted with him or even really read his weblog.

We chatted briefly on Sunday night and on Monday morning decided to grab breakfast together. I wasn't sure what to expect. AKMA is a theologian and a priest. I'm an Engineer. Faith & Science. Can the two mix?

Happily, they can. We had a great chat and it was wonderful to expand the circle of my friends. He had eggs and pancakes, I had French Toast, and we both had coffee.

I am not a religious man. I prefer logic, reason, and method over faith and belief. Why? No real reason. I've come to see it simply as the way my mind works and accepts things. The conversation suprised me at the depth of topics within the world of philosphy.

I was content to categorize theology as a simple science of debate over a minutae and other trivial matters while the big picture things were agreed upon. That is not the case. I was interested to see that AKMA had to deal with many of the same issues I deal with in business, that he deals with in religion. Ego, power, control, even branding.

We agreed on that the connectivity of the internet is changing some of the base assumptions about what a community is, how it works, and what a friend is.

Next time, I hope to meet over beers and get an even more lively discussion going.