Hither and thither 7/30/10

Well, the week started rough, and today started rough. But my readers want their H&T and, doggone it, they're going to get it. (May be updates until noon PT.)

• This sums up my Monday:

• Then came Tuesday...

• Then it got better. And now, even thought it's being a rough day at work, still..

• My BSIL followed some HT links and found a list of the ten coolest Steampunk gadgets (definition)
• So Rep Charlie Rangel is accused of 13 violations by the House Committee, who says he stonewalled their investigation. The trial should start right around the time when Rangel faces a primary. Not so good for the Dems; probably good for America. (Wait... did I just say the same thing twice?)
• Here's a gent whose house has been hit by meteorites six times since 2007. His conclusion? "I am obviously being targeted by extraterrestrials." Well, obviously. Further: "I don't know what I have done to annoy them but there is no other explanation that makes sense."
• One reason to love cats is for their fluid, effortless, poetic grace.

• Another is that they can be funny to watch.
• Reader Susan found a site that re-captions photos from furniture catalogs.
• If you've never seen Iron Chef, you really should watch it at least once.  It's fast and it's fun. The only problem is... dude, I need to be one of those judges. Again and again, they get the most outrageously wonderful seafood feasts, such as mortals rarely enjoy. I want that job!
• This job? Maybe not so much.

• Reader Laura Kelleher thinks we all need Nacho Lip Balm.  (Also available in absinthe, corn dog, wasabi, and of course bacon.)
• Diversity? To a point — and "Jesus" is that point. (What's surprising is that this is North Carolina; thanks to Merilee Stevenson.)
• Which white racist conservative called American blacks "mongrel"? Hint: none.
• Two things President Obama is adamant about: (1) His refusal to prevent "undocumented Democrats" from flooding illegally over our borders into our states; and (2) his refusal to allow states to do what he refuses to do. So he won an injunction against part of Arizona's law, on some bizarre-sounding grounds. (Really, can states do nothing in matters that overlap with federal laws, such as kidnapping and such?) Next stop in the appeals process, 9th Court, and then after they do the wrong thing, it should head to the Supremes.
• The 'do changes, but the, er, smile don't. Well-Practiced Pose Girl is well-practiced:

• My mother-in-law sent me the link to some beautiful (and sobering) storm-related photography. Psalm 29 comes to mind.
• Similarly, reader Yurie Hwang found some ultra-slow motion video of lightning strikes.
• My family will vouch that I've never been a big fan of Target. Whoever designed the stores figured out which things I would ever want to look for, and placed them as far as possible from the front door... or, more to the point, that's where they should be, but Target doesn't have them. Plus their parking lots are designed by crack addicts. But, HSAT, this lady makes a good case for shopping more at Target.
• Bet these cave homes would save on cooling!
• Ahh, Science.

• Staying with (sort of) environmentalizing... the news about article that Fred found — admitting that Rush Limbaugh was righter about the oil spill than the president, the MSM, and envirowhackos — is not the story itself. It's where it was published. That's surprising.
• Meanwhile, more proof that Rush Limbaugh lives rent-free in the heads of White House denizens. Would that elected GOP leaders were half as effective.
• Hm. What do you think? Should I? Yes? No? Aw... what the heck?

• Oy. So here's an organization of women, calling on CBMW to repent of its sin of agreeing with God about wifely submission. The ladies feel that there are far more important things to be doing than hearing, believing and obeying God's word.
• So... do you think that even one of these ladies wakes up in the middle of the night, realizing that she's really, really not making much of a case that the Bible is better off in their hands as teachers?
• Mealworm-covered candied apples... deep-fried crickets... alligator on a stick...fudgy scorpions... what else can we be talking about other than exotic state fair foods?
• Geek readers (and their moms) will love this: really cool light-saber products. A few of my favorites:

• Relatedly, reader Sonja found a fellow who built an R2D2 to bring smiles to folks in the hospital. (From his reputation, I'm surprised Lucas hasn't sued.)
• Walllllldooooooooo!

• Behold the Epic Breakfast Sandwich. I would eat it, but I don't think I want to make it.

• Cool Lego weapons.
• Dude is a fast, fast, fast walker.
• I tried to find a cartoon that Bill Bennett described, but couldn't. He says it showed someone representing Arizona repeatedly begging President Obama to do something about protecting their border. But Obama is asleep, and just snores as they beg. Ultimately the person says something like, "All right, if you won't do it, I'll do it myself." Whereupon Obama wakes up and cries, Hey! You can't do that!"
• Leaving only these:

Refuse-to-read commenters (a pro-active venting)

All regular readers know that, while I love blogging, there are a few things, a few comment thread events, that tick me off pretty fast.

There's the first-timer's "Nice post; see my blog, here's a link" comment, the first-timers who on the basis of one post make sweeping comments about the entire blog, the "That's refuted in (link) this post" comments who don't themselves engage the post, the "My dog smells bad; what do you think about that?" (i.e. wildly off-topic) comments, the broken-record (i.e. everything is about their pet-subject) comments.

But those are all fairly minor. Here's probably the two that bug me the most. Don't tell anyone, I'm sure no one suspects it. (Rolls eyes.)

The first is the "I don't really want to discuss the content of your post, but I demand you answer this tangential question" comment, and the second is the "I insist that I have thoroughly studied every syllable and punctuation-mark of your post, but I demand that you answer this question (which will require you in effect to re-write your post, because you already did answer it)."

I mention this today because I expect to get some on the Pyro post I just published. Few topics bring out these two sorts of comments like talking about Da Gifts.

I would wildly theorize that it is because charismatic-types attribute an excessively high value to their feelings, and an excessively low value to careful reading and analytical thought. So they (it seems) glance at an opposing post, react "Oh! this criticizes what I know in my heart to be true about The Gifts®! Here's my boilerplate response for when someone does that! Nothing will pry my fingers from that response, which gives me comfort and assurance!"

Both responses have in common a refusal to read the post. It is the sort of thing that does make me look out the window at the ledge, and ponder. I think you'd have to be a writer, and particularly a writer who tries to be a careful and clear and exact writer, to feel how that feels. It makes me think, "Why did I bother writing that? All that time, studying and thinking and picking the right words... why? I might as well have posted 'Bibble babble bop.' I might as well have told about the time I was fly-fishing and caught a bat. Why? Why?"

But it gets worse. It gets worse when you — you, the author of the post — tell the commenter that his answer is in the post, and he insists it isn't, and insists that you answer. He wants you to re-write the post, in the comment-thread, just for him. He has a reading-comprehension issue, but it is your problem, and you must solve it for him. After all, he's paying... well, he's paying nothing, but still, you must.

Similar is the other commenter, the "Here's my tangential question" person. You want to say, "Look, I know my post doesn't interest everyone. Really, I'm okay with that. But it does interest some people. Not you — I get that, and that's okay with me. Why can't it be okay with you? Just... get a hobby or something. Wait for a topic that does interest you to come up. This one was kinda important to me, so... dig in, or move on, and no hard feelings. Okay?"

Yeah, but it's never okay with this reader. I did a (still-unfinished) series about the sufficiency of Scripture at Pyro, and was plagued with a couple in particular who would not discuss the actual post contents, but insisted that I interpret their experience for them. Which was kind of the point of the posts... but they would not make that connection. Would. Not. No matter what I said. Sigh. The ledge... it beckons....


Well, I write all that while letting comments pile up at today's post, unread. I suppose I'd better go back and see what's happening.

Though I think I know.

Border Collie, fun outdoor dog

"Balance" is often a cop-out pc word concocted to provide shelter for the spineless.

But hey, in dogs and cats? I've learned to love cats, but not all my readers have. So for you doggie-lovers (and, btw, I love a well-trained dog, myself), here's a vid on Border Collies.

(Their embed code may/may not work; so here's the vid.)

Sounds like a great dog if you're outdoors a lot; not so much a house-dog. Hear some owners' comments here.

Finally, I may have linked to this before, but here are some shepherds and their dogs having buckets of fun:

And this is your surgeon, Dr. Mechanitron (robot takeover update)

CLICK

Monday music: "Bassoforte"

Staying with last Monday's musical unorthodoxy, today we have some strange "spaghetti Western" type music from a strange instrument cobbled together from a keyboard and some spare parts.

When I say "Follow"....

(h-t Josh Harris)

Hither and thither 7/23/10

Here's your weekend reading, kiddies, with knee-slappers and teeth-grinders galore. (Updates until noon PT.) Have fun!

• Fred Butler found some excessively cool variations on Darth Vader's helmet.
• My only question about the video to which reader Gil Senenste pointed me is: What screen name does the ibex use when he comments at PyroManiacs? (I have a guess or two.)
• Barbara points us to an update on the missionaries who were arrested in Dearborn.
• So what do you have to do to graduate the counseling program at Augusta State University? Well, you have to come in with your pre-reqs completed, you have to maintain a good grade average, complete the required courses... oh, and ditch those Christian beliefs of yours.
• Say it with me: "Sci-i-i-ience."
• Tangentially, reader Chris found a story suggesting that Michelangelo worked various organs, including a human brain, into his painting in the Sistine Chapel.
• Hunh. Never knew escalators could be so much fun.

• (Gee, I hope Julie's grasshoppers don't see that.)
• Speaking of Julie, this guy needed a bigger boat. (Thanks, Julie.)
• Whatever one should say about the Bible, the fact is that cooking instructions should not always be taken literally.
• Hard-left Democrat (tautology?) 20-term congressman Charles Rangle received multiple ethics violation charges (more). We know the MSM will do its best to minimize and cover up, and the GOP will be inept in pressing any valid political point that could be made... but there may be a bit of hope even beyond Rangel's departure. Pastor Michel Faulkner, a self-described pro-life, pro-family Reaganite from Harlem, is running for Rangel's office. See a short Fox piece on him, and his talk to volunteers. There's a possibility for a really positive switch-up there.
• No surprise that Gallup says Congress has hit a new low in public confidence.
• I hope that folks who are still on the elitist Palin-bashing bandwagon driven (on the right) by raised-pinkie sorts such as Peggy Noonan and George Will are beginning to realize how badly they've been played. A concentrated effort on the part of mainstream journalists painted Palin as a dangerous, ignorant hick, and handed the most powerful nation on earth to a dangerous, educated hack. Yet, defying all predictions and precedent, Palin continues to lead. I have only this prediction for the future: it will be interesting, more heads will explode, and that part at least will be fun to watch.
• In Palin's own reflections on "Journolist," she aptly dubs the participants "sick puppies."
• Courtesy of Sacred Sandwich:

• Speaking of "sandwich," Berry Davis found our British readers a lasagna sandwich. (Not a health food.)
• Think about this. Christianity Today reports that, in 2002, 2000 clergy were looking for jobs. In 2009, 5000 clergy were looking for jobs. Yet let one personality become popular, and what do churches do? Beam that one personality to multiple locations. Hm... are the two phenomena related?
• The five-second rule... good science? Which is safer for dropped food, sidewalks or kitchen floors? Here are the answers.
• Taxpayers in Mississippi are being forced to pay a girl for choosing to pursue sexual perversion. And they say it's hard to get work?
• Similarly: isn't money supposed to be tight? So how does Home Depot have money to sponsor homosexual demonstrations?
• More depressingness, this time from reader Berry Davis, who discovered a site called The Real Damage — which will compute what credit card debt really ends up costing. Er... thanks, Berry.
• But then again, Berry also shows us what our food looks like in an MRI.
• Ooh... ray guns!
• We've got one just like this:

• Fed Chairman Bernanke notes that the economy is "unusually uncertain." So what will Obama do? Cut government spending, and stop punishing moneymakers and job producers.
• Just kidding! You didn't believe that, did you? Nah, the O-solution of course is more government spending and more punishment of those who drive the economy. Silly peasant.
• Although there is hope. Even some Democrats are becoming dimly aware of what a negative effect would result from allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire. (More here.) Elections can be great motivators, eh?
• Paula notes a Roman Catholic group working hard in election season to oppose the efforts of pro-life and pro-freedom Christian (and other) organizations.
• Meanwhile, thousands of workers are waking up and saying "Rats! I should have gone to work for the city government of Bell, California!"
• Closer and Closer Alert. Reader Chris notes an ordinance introduced in Memphis, TN, discriminating against anyone not granting civil rights to a particular set of sexually perverse behaviors. The sponsor's name? Janis Fullilove. I don't make these things up.
• And a Glad I Don't Have to Defend Being Anglican update, as a female "priest" serves communion to a dog. And why not? The dog had every bit as much right to be where he was as the female "priest" did.
• Now for this week's Exercise Is Bad For You update:

• Lego Hoth Hotel?
• You've heard about the Shirley Sherrod matter, where the White House prematurely pressured a woman to resign from the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture over a snippet from a story she told the NAACP? Matthew Sheffield has a pretty full, well-documented roundup.
• Reader Aaron notes a woman so influenced by characters on "Sex and the City" that she set, and met, a personal goal. "Ah, young people settings goals," you say? "That's great, TV at its best," you say? Not so much. The goal was 1000 different sexual encounters within 10 years. Now? She just wants a man to love her for herself, not just for sex. Guessing it won't be one of the 1000 men she used, and who used her.
• Reader Tim Margheim found some nice eye candy: an physics engine called Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0, that realistically simulates all sorts of motion and impact.
• This is an amazing read about the Senate race in South Carolina. Especially note the paragraph that begins, “Another thing we can do for jobs is...."
• Behold some beautiful species of wild cats.
• Thinking aloud: if people who break into our country against the law and suck up its citizens' resources are "undocumented immigrants," then why aren't poachers "undocumented hunters"?
• And, by the way....

Family prayer: brainstorming

"The richness of the Word of God ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our hearts."

(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Psalms: the Prayer-book of the Bible, 9-10)

So,  you're challenged in this. In your prayers, you incorporate Scripture, you pray for your prayers, you seek to have ardent and deep encounters with God. But then in family-prayer, what you hear often never rises above a laundry-list. "Dear heavenly Father, thank you for doing/giving this thing, this thing, this thing. Please do this, and this, and this."

You exhort, you try to model praying otherwise, praying for Kingdom-related, spiritually-oriented things, praising and petitioning; you urge your kids, you point it out in the Bible again and again, you dwell on the 9's (Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9, Daniel 9)... but it defaults to the laundry-list, the "heavenly-Father-do" list.

It feels ugly and wrong to even seem to be criticizing your children's prayers. That is not where your heart is, it is not what you want to do. But do all the above, the more indirect things, and nothing happens. Try to be more pro-active, and you run the risk of being accused of legalism, of forcing your children to pray prayers that please you.

What is there between or beyond laissez-faire and legalism?

Have you found anything effective in turning that around? Share. I'm sure that even those of my readers with perfect families could use pointers and ideas.

Robot takeover update (virtual pastor?)

Meet Milo, Microsoft's virtual four-year-old.



I have a bit of fun here from time to time about the "robot takeover," but this one's worth a more serious ponder. Here's a woman getting into a "virtual relationship" with a make-believe character. You think people won't get sucked into that? You think innocent little "Milo" won't be followed by not-so-innocent "Misty," or eventually "Megapastor"?

Just think: not only can Pastor _______ preach to church-congregations he never sets eyes on nor watches over in any meaningful way; all those disconnected individuals can talk with him in their living-rooms. They can even (delude themselves into believing that they) obey the "one-anothers" with Virtual Chuck Churchgoer and Virtual Sally Seeker.

It isn't alarmist to think that technology is taking us to another divide, and those portions of evangelicalism that have capitalized on personality via "virtual campuses" are already going the wrong way on the issue.

Summer listening bonanza

A well-placed request, and I persuaded Kevin Stilley graciously to post an extensive list of lectures and lessons on theology, exegesis, church history, and Biblical studies. All online and (I believe) all free.

Of them, I've listened to and enjoyed the lectures by John Frame, as well as a lot of  Douglas Kelly and some Richard Pratt.

Right now I'm on about the 100th lecture of a long series; when I'm done, I plan to dive into these lectures Kevin has pointed out.

(Of course, neither I nor [I'm sure] Kevin agree with all the lecturers.)

Enjoy, profit, bear more fruit!

Monday music: unorthodox (air-tapping) guitar from Canada and Botswana

From last week's Korean-kid kuteness, to some creative approaches to the guitar.

First, Erik Mongrain from Canada.

Then a chap named Ronnie from Botswana.

Hither and thither 7/16/10

In spite of a sopmewhat harried week, I have a bumper crop for your weekend. Enjoy, check back for possible updates up until noon PT.

• Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken, say some scientists, offering some ultimately non-falsifiable proof. This time, I think they happen to have hit it, given Genesis' depiction of the creation of functioning creatures and objects. Broken clock, you know. (Reader Matt Kleinhans provided the link.)
• Justin Taylor has a very cool analysis of Christ's high priestly prayer from John 17, with graphics and charts.
• Joe Carter has a list of Best Dads in TV and Film, including some fun categories like "Best Conservative Dad," "Best Liberal Dad," "Best Dad to an Alien," and "Best Dead Dad."
• Unholygram. New idea, bad idea. Because there aren't enough gifted, qualified, burdened, mature, Christ-centered, passionate flesh-and-blood pastors available to preach to sheep? Or because goats just wanna have fun? Pah. (Thanks to reader Gil Sebenste for link.)
• Now, sit quietly and take in this week's Physical Prowess is Overrated moment:

• Thanks to reader Berry Davis, you too can be the proud owner of a Sushi Popper. Yum!
• Don't really love sending traffic to the Huffington Post, but these are some pretty cool inventions.
• If you only look at the article and not the sidebars, here is a pretty cool set of nineteen facts you may not have known about Star Wars.
• Fred Butler found a pretty cute Star Wars opening done in the style of Dallas.
• Aww.

• Stop, and reflect. What has your life come to, if the only character-witness you can find for yourself is... Whoopi Goldberg? Oy.
• Would you guess that a Christian pastor praying in the North Carolina House would be banned for planning to pray in Jesus' name? You would? Cynic. (Thanks to reader Chris.)
• My FRiend Elliot Silverman pointed me to a very clever essay, in which a critic mentions watching Babylon 5, then the non-credible Doctor Who, and then he gets onto this really ridiculous TV show. It's on the History Channel, and it's called World War II. The plot doesn't make any sense, the main characters are ridiculous, and it involves a lot of absurd leaps and "convenient" Deus ex machina solutions suddenly introduced just to wrap things up.
• That piece is worth reading and a remembering, for the next time you read critical essays about Biblical narratives. It seems as if the unspoken criterion of many academics is, "If it's unique, it couldn't have happened." On that basis, of course, nothing could ever have happened, because there literally did have to be a first time for everything. And, as the first girl I ever kissed could tell you, just because there is a first time, there won't necessarily ever be a second time.
• (Thank God, on both of our behalfs.)
• Reader Mike Pettengill notes that, though science is a "fact," the problem is the facts keep changing.
• Noms Alert (depending on how you feel about Carl's): a foot-long hamburger! (More, and pix.)

• 4WD heli. I want one.
• Ever had a high-risk friendship? Probably. But not like this.
• Any Kevin Spacey fans? I think he's a good actor — but who knew he can do a truckload of dead-on impersonations? (One bleeped word, and sound a bit out of synch towards end.)
• Ultra-Obscure Reference of the Week in three... two... one....
• Evidently it's Dr. Cthulhu now.

• Isn't It Ironic? alert. Am I the only one who raises an eyebrow when an organization that calls itself the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People calls the Tea Party movement — or, for that matter, any person or movement — "racist"? Where's that dictionary?
• On the same tone, did you hear about Laura Bush telling that meeting of the People for  White Progress that white people need "to increase our intensity, and to increase our discipline and our focus and keep fighting for a better future for our children and our grandchildren”?
• And did you hear the howls of outrage in the media over Mrs. Bush inciting violence against blacks?
• No? You didn't? That's because (A) it wasn't Mrs. Bush, it was Michelle Obama; and (B) it wasn't the (fictional) PWP, it was the NAACP, and (C)... well, it was Michelle Obama to the NAACP! So that makes it okey-doke with the MSM.
• Seems like the Obama Justice Department is increasing its intensity, and fighting.
• Panderlock? Obama's Hillary Clinton may find herself in a tight place between her/her administration's twin goals of pandering to Muslims and to one particular sexual perversion. Still waiting for aggrieved rapists, child molestors, practitioners of bestiality and other "other-lovers" to demand (and compel invention of) their "rights."
• Depressing that (A) Mitt Romney is still considered a presidential possibility, and that (B) his "war chest" is growing. Assuming Obama doesn't resign or get impeached, I'd really like to see a credible, rational, conservative candidate positioning himself to win the presidency. Romney comes short in all three respects.
• Oh heck, why not? Continuing on the subject of succession, "Reverend" Robert Schuller is retiring, again, leaving his business, er, ministry, this time, to... his daughter (thanks, Julie Garrett). Schuller hasn't let that old Bible-thingie stand in his way for 55 years, isn't going to start now.
• Did you know? Robert Schuller said he learned to be a "possibility thinker" from Norman Vincent Peale; and Peale said he learned "positive thinking" from Ernest Holmes. Who's Ernest Holmes? Founder of Religious Science, the cult from which the Lord saved me.
• Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem. It is a fragment in Akkadian, dating from the 1300s BC. This discovery validates the existence and prominence of Jerusalem, later to become the city of King David.

• From the folks who brought us Conan: the Musical now comes Total Recall: the Musical. (Brief violence.)
• Fishing: more dangerous than it looks! (Subtitle: It's A Carp!)
• Hokey smokes. My longtime friend (and best man at my wedding) Tom Lusby alerts us to something that would depress a hyena: the U. S. National Debt Clock.
• No... no no no no no.....

• This is actually pretty interesting: conversation with a robot. A reporter tries out the attempts at artificial intelligence embodied in Bina48, modeled after the experiences and thoughts of an actual woman. I marvel at the technology in Dragon Dictation; this goes a step further, to enable a sort of conversation. HSAT, however, notice the casual revelation of THE REAL AGENDA at 2:48!!!  (The caps and exclamation points are essential.) Also, note the casual slip at 5:05 (is "garden" a sinister euphemism?)
• Counter-intuitive Amish story, thanks to reader Paula.
• Academic Freedom Alert. So, you're hired to teach a class on Roman Catholicism in a university. What do you figure you should teach? I'll take a stab here: oh, I don't  know... maybe Roman Catholic views on things? Evidently not, not at the University of Illinois, where a professor was fired for explaining the Roman Catholic view on homosexuality. Assuming the Catholic News Agency is reporting it straight (no pun intended), apparently a complain was lodged by a non-attendant, on behalf of an anonymous attendant, who got his tender little feelings hurt. Now the guy's fired. Whee, freedom in a universe of ideas — well, except that one. And that one. And certainly not that one....
• Leaving us with these visuals, one of which hails from one of James Kime's idle blogs.