Have fun; updates possible until noon PT
- Without a rudder, the ship drifts. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics, while with one side of its mouth denouncing hypersexualized media, with the other side also denounces abstinence education. Hm. I wonder if that's also their policy on cigarette smoking? I'm thinking... no.
- B+H Publishing is launching a beta page for My Study Bible, using the CSB. Check it out.
- Reader Angus Nicholson notes that the Scottish Episcopal Church in its liturgy has "improved" on the Bible once again by removing masculine references to God... at least for "priests" who "have difficulties with a male God." Showing a rare gift for understatement, Rev Darren McFarland, convener of the church's liturgy committee, admitted that "The changing of God language is a little tricky." Oh, boy, you have no idea.
- Ninja prankster monkey.
- Interesting. Logos is coming out with a new commentary series called the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. Looking over the list of contributors, I see they've got just about all the books of the Bible sewn up... oh, except — Proverbs. Hmmm....
- Well, well, well. Says here that your faithful correspondent is — ahem! — an "astute Christian blogger." This is in the course of a healthy whacking of the eminently whackable Biologos site. Thanks to Fred Butler and Steve Drake for noticing.
- One groans. Ronald Reagan is the subject of a biopic. However, the projected tone is said to be "reverential." Yeah well, we'll see.
- You'll like this. Reader Lauren Krysti found us a Lego island. (No, not in the ocean; in the kitchen!)
- You'll like this, too. Nom.
- ConsumerReports says: try store brands over name brands. You might save 30%, and the quality difference may be negligible. That's my experience. Medicine such as pain pills and allergy pills = big savings; food often a fair trade-off. We've liked a number of Winco's store brands. And it's non-Union. (Thanks to Berry Davis for the link.)
- You heard that Dr. Stephen Hawking made a rule that says nothing created something out of nothing, so there, because I said so? Or, as more commonly reported, his book says that God is not necessary to explain the universe? Well, turn about being fair play, evidently the universe has stated that Hawking is not necessary to explain his book, either. So there.
- Reader Robert noted to me that the IRS seems oddly clear where some Christians are foggy. An electronic church is not a church. Yeah, well... duh. (This one, doubly so: it's Roy Masters' mess.)
- And now, a BibChr Public Service Announcement. Some of you good folks have lamented that don't know how to post links. It's actually fairly simple. Here is a tutorial. In fact, you don't even need the quotation-marks that the tutorial shows... but they won't hurt.
- Homeschooling parents in Botswana are feeling the hot breath of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, breathing down their necks. (Thanks to Pastor John for the link.)
- Government workers ("Green Police"), pawing through your trash? Believe it, notes reader Chris Carney.
- Chris is also hoping that a couple of whistleblowers could do some real damage to Planned Parenthood.
- Good-hearted, maybe (or bad-lawed), but...
- Who said, "The right to life is the most fundamental of all rights"? In a Have I Retired to Bedlam? moment, it was actually Arthur Spitzer, an attorney for the ACLU. "What?!" you exclaim. "Has the ACLU discovered rights for unborn humans?" No, no no. Just for terrorists.
- Reader Angie found a little explanation (and illustration) of the difference between laughter and "clapter."
- Terrific. A California judge, who was appointed (surprise!) by Bill Clinton, has just done what she could to make the return of the draft likelier.
- So the Qu'ran-burning has been cancelled. Or not. It's confusing. I don't think much of this pastor overall, but oddly the predictable barking, screaming, foam-flecked Muslim reaction has rather made his point, hasn't it?
- There are, I think, ironies in the juxtaposition of the previous two items. See them?
- Fake images of little girls, designed to scare drivers? Good heavens, how many ways can this brilliant idea go horribly wrong? No worries, though; David Dunne of the Safety Foundation said "that he doesn't think the illusion of the girl running through the road will be a hazard." Ah, I feel all better now. (Thanks to reader James Joyce for the link.)
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23 comments:
Consumer Reports are idiots. Most of the time generic food items taste like crude. Hydrox cookies are probably the only legitimate knock-off I have found for Oreos, but they are still their "own" unique cookie taste.
With that in mind, you all may appreciate THIS
From that Green police article comes this citation by some green wiener bureaucratic wanna-be:
"By tagging bins, haulers can weigh garbage, and weighing brings accountability. Consumers that diligently recycle will likely become eligible for rebates in some jurisdictions," he wrote recently. "Conversely, those who throw away excessive amounts of trash may face steeper tariffs in the future ... recycling, meanwhile, will go from being something that gives the consumer peace of mind to a way to reduce household bills." (emphasis added)
"Peace of mind?" What sort of newspeak is this? If this program ever comes to my neighborhood, I'm loading my recycling bin with rocks.
I almost always get the store brand over the name brand, after I learned that oftentimes the store brand IS the name brand, in a different package. Pay close attention when there's a recall. Several years ago, for example, there was a recall of Peter Pan brand and Great Value brand peanut butter over possible salmonella contamination. Just a coincidence that both brands were contaminated separately? Of course not. Great Value brand is just Peter Pan brand repackaged and sold in massive quantities to Wal-Mart for greatly reduced price. There used to be a site that was tracking which store brand products corresponded with which name brand products, but I can't seem to find it these days.
Dan,
I'm looking forward to the release of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary series as well. Did you notice how many of the commentary authors are calvidispies? Sweetness.
Also: I don't normally get groceries at Wal-Mart, so I can't vouch for their store brands, but Kroger has some excellent store brands. For a long time, we used Kroger diapers, because we found them to be better than name brands like Pampers. (Now we just order Huggies in bulk through Amazon Prime for slightly cheaper than the Kroger brand.)
I'm guessing you mean the irony regarding 1st amendment rights? Our government is full of ironies, sadly enough. Glad my security rests in the work of Jesus done in His perfect life and His atoning death on the cross.
Great article, Fred. My wife doesn't let me go shopping with her because I analyze the per ounce cost of everything. However, I fail to take into account that my wife usually has coupons for any name brand products she's buying. And the generic brands maybe made by the same companies, but more often than not, the company doesn't use exactly the same formula for the generic version. All generic versions of cookies taste like crud. Same with chips, especially cheetos.
@DJP: That hologram of the girl sounds like a great idea. That is until drivers get used to ignoring it and run over a real girl.
Fred: I was thinking the same thing about the recycling bin. First of all, it's actually more expensive to recycle in most places (my HOA dropped recycling due to cost). Secondly, if people get a rebate for recycling, how quickly would people start weighting their recycling bins?
First reaction to the girl-chasing-ball hologram: “Crap! [screeeeech] ... what the heck?”
Second reaction: “Watch out for ... [slowing] ... never mind, it’s just another one of those fakes to make you slow down.”
Third reaction: “[tears] I’m sorry [more tears] I killed your child. I thought it was just another one of those holograms.”
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On store brands:
Absolutely, try them. Still, there are several brands I must have, e.g. cola, ketchup, mayonnaise (which I will only name if paid for my endorsement). Anyone remember generic beer?
The world became crazy...
Here's a link to ablogger comments help page. If you click "no" where it asks if the answer was helpful, it will allow you to leave a comment telling them how they can improve. I left a suggestion that they add a toolbar to blogger comments. Maybe if enough people do that they'll get the hint. It's ridiculous to have to use html tags for blog comments!
They should get those car flipper thingys for the demolition derby (6 days away!! Yay!!) How fun would it be to see a Delta 88 flipping over onto a 77 Maverick?
Ah, "don't ask, don't tell" is a violation of a soldier's 1st amendment right to free speech. I see.
Maybe prosecuting them for blabbing classified military secrets is also a violation of their first amendment right to free speech.
I wonder how that will play out.
Sir Aaron: I do the grocery shopping at our house precisely b/c my wife doesn't pay attention to the per-ounce values. (I cant figure out why not - it's almost always printed right there on the price tag.)
She, however, collects coupons to send with me to the store, so I can decide if the coupon'd product is a good deal or not.
Ounces! Duh! There are people who don't compare per-ounce prices? Goodness.
I hope it is not too late to weigh in on the comment thread from yesterday in which someone suggested that all nut-jobs hail from FL.
This may be true, but please understand that this is only because the nut-jobs from YOUR (I can say this as a native) states come here because of the beaches and weather, etc. I mean, even NASA and Mickey Mouse agree that this is a nice place to be (hurricanes, alligators, sharks, an deadly lightning strikes notwithstanding... and don't get me started on the Buccanneers).
I mean, it's like saying that liberal, Clinton-appointed, judges from California bearing the last name of Phillips represent the values and morals of all of the Californian Phillipses... which is clearly NOT true.
On a serious note, Dan, what is leading you to the conclusion that repealing DADT will lead us closer to the Draft? I am not challenging you on the point, but evidently I am deficient in my ability to follow your logic on my own.
Thanks for the post!
Nice rollbars.
Real nice. As long as you don't flip sideways.
I expect that: the more that men obsessed with having sex with other men are forced down enlistees' throats, the fewer "straight" men will voluntarily enlist. Numbers will dwindle, and the draft will be renewed. Particularly with the dangers that this weak, clueless President will spike up for his successor.
Thanks for the clarification. I had not considered that point.
I don't think you are wrong, I just hope that you are. It is hard to imagine the military tolerating open sexual displays of any kind. Their rules against heterosexual fraternization are fairly tough. It would have to relax a lot for the environment to become hostile enough for "straight" soldiers to be unwilling to continue in their military careers; or, as you said for new recruits to be unwilling to sign on.
I am not saying that this won't happen, just that the conditions of the military will have to deteriorate beyond my imagination... and I pray God that day never comes.
My brother is serving in Afghanistan right now, and according to him, many soldiers are volunteering for back-to-back tours because the economy and the job-market is so bad in the States right now. Heck of a thing to feel that unemployment or war are your only two options.
When I saw the pic of the handicapped urinal with the dividers between the, I recalled a recent enlightening conversation I had with my sons. I had no idea there were unwritten urinal rules. Like you never, ever, take the middle urinal. You never talk to fellow urinal users (this brought up another interesting question b/c DS's friend recently had the opportunity to "stand" next to LeBron James in the mens room...do you break the no talking rule if it's a celebrity at the next urinal??)
Anyway, I've had some conversations with my sons about the trends for "gender neutral" bathrooms and the possibility that they may run into a "transgendered" person in the men's room. My 16-year-old is understandably alarmed at the possibility of a woman in drag in the men's room while he's standing at the urinal.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the cans of worms the military is opening by repealing DADT. Gays serving openly are not going to settle for living quiet and peaceful lives. They will not stop until they gain full acceptance and accommodation for their lifestyle.
They will want to choose which bathrooms & showers they're allowed to use, they will demand "married" housing, health benefits for their "partners," and our tax dollars will subsidize their statistically unhealthy lifestyle.
It most certainly will be a deterrent to enlistment. There are most certainly young men and women who would avoid signing up for a social experiment in extremely close living quarters for extended periods of time.
[on Vicodin - excuse any typos today]
You haven't lived until you've had Honey Nut Spins.
On the cat on bed graphic. Bruce has to get up at 3:30am for work so he goes to bed earlier than me. When I go to bed...our KING size bed, the cat is on Bruce's side, Bruce is on my side, and I crawl in and cling to the side.
@SandMan
I was being semi-facetious with my comments. I'm sure other states have strange stories/people as well, but Florida might have a little more than the statistical average..
My working theory is the slightly strange taste in the water...
Dan,
Thank you for the link on how to link in a blog comment. I appreciate the help. Now, to test my ability out, here is the link that I tried to post on the Koran-burning. Hope that worked.
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