No Silver, No Gold: Peter Beddow's Weblog

The pathway to truth

2012-01-27T22:40:00.001-06:00

Stephen Crane's "The Wayfarer" (1899)

The wayfarer,Perceiving the pathway to truth,
Was struck with astonishment.
It was thickly grown with weeds.
"Ha," he said,
"I see that none has passed here
In a long time."
Later he saw that each weed
Was a singular knife.
"Well," he mumbled at last,
"Doubtless there are other roads."

Free Bird in Music City

2012-01-01T23:48:00.005-06:00

Lynyrd Skynyrd played the New Year's Eve Bash last night in Nashville. The stage was set up right on Broadway near all of the honkytonks. I didn't get close enough to hear them as well as this videographer did. I don't understand how he captured the sound as well as he did - amazing, near soundboard quality.

Before they start, the singer says, "Welcome to 2012! You know I just hope you a great 2012, and take care of your families and friends; and in times of need, folks, always look above; He's there for you guys."

Then this:

"Nashville, Tennessee: in the words of my brother, Ronnie Van Zant, what song is it you wanna hear tonight?" [Crowd yells "FREE BIRD" in unison, and the piano intro starts.] "You got it."

"In times of need, always look above; He's there for you guys."

"In the words of my brother, Ronny Vanzant, what song do you wanna hear?" [FREE BIRD] "You got it."

Psychology & Psilocybin

2011-11-30T17:46:00.004-06:00

This article in the Los Angeles Times describes how psychology researchers are studying hallucinogens (again). Specifically, they are administering magic mushrooms (active ingredient: psilocybin) to patients with a terminal diagnosis, blindfolding them, putting headphones on them and having them listen to classical music, and then studying the results.

Among the article's salient quotes is this:

Psilocybin resulted in "mystical experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance," according to the study, the first since 1972 to explore a hallucinogen's therapeutic value.

And this:

Delany said her "trip" awakened a deep and reassuring sense of "knowing." She came to see the universe and everything in it as interconnected. As the music in her headphones reached a crescendo, she held her breath and realized it would OK — no, really easy — not to breathe anymore. She sensed there was nothing more she needed to know and therefore nothing she needed to fear about dying.

What if - just what if - these "mystical" and "spiritual" experiences result in the acquisition of a false understanding of the truth? What if Delany's realization - that is, it's okay not to breathe anymore - is incorrect?

The "scientists" acknowledge the spiritual significance of the drug trips, but only insofar as the spirituality involves death.

What of Jesus Christ, the Author of life and eternity? What if the great understanding revealed through the use of psilocybin is, in actuality, a great lie?

Consider the possibility that the truth was spoken by Jesus Christ, the Author of life and eternity, when He said, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls."

Jesus is the Way to life eternal. All other roads lead to destruction. Until this Truth is revealed, death should be avoided at all costs.

Blue dream

2011-11-26T18:15:00.001-06:00

I spotted this Corvette on Main Street in Hendersonville yesterday afternoon. I guess it's a 1964, but I haven't done my homework to double-check. But wow!

Twilight of the narrow way

2011-11-21T22:35:00.005-06:00

CNN has posted an editorial by Jane Wells, who has written a book entitled Glitter in the Sun: Searching for Truth in the Twilight Saga. The post is entitled My Take: 5 reasons Christians should love 'Twilight'.

Wells' arguments include these two gems:

1. Humans crave divine perfection.

Yes, and only Jesus achieved it. We are able to approach God only under the covering He provides through His once-for-all, perfect sacrifice for mankind's rebellion against God and His ways.

2. You'll only really fit in after you accept what God has designed you for.

Jesus said we will not fit in - not in this life. Further, He designed us to love Him and serve Him only. It is through this relationship that we learn our purpose. Our purpose can be achieved only in God's divine plan, which is ultimately not designed for our glory, happiness, or pleasure (though all three inevitably result.)

My take: Jane Wells is looking at her faith through the eyes of the world, instead of looking at the world through the eyes of her faith.

Nezukare

2011-11-14T17:15:00.001-06:00

The Japanese have a word for the grogginess you feel when you sleep too long: nezukare. It translates "sleeping tiredness."

Oh, what a feeling!

A celebratory Coke

2011-11-09T15:01:00.001-06:00

...for finishing a complete draft of a manuscript for publication of the Test Accessibility and Modification Study, which was my doctoral dissertation. It took much prodding by my chair, Dr. Steve Elliott. It's hard to pick up a book and start writing it from scratch once you've already completed the last chapter.

There are numerous revisions to come, of course, and perhaps even a rejection or two. But tenacity always begins with a step. And, in this case, a Coke and a glass of ice.

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me...

2011-11-08T22:26:00.003-06:00

The authors of a UCSD study found children with autism have more brain cells in the part of their brains that control complex reasoning, planning, and language:

While typically developing kids had about 1.16 billion neurons in the prefrontal cortex, autistic children had about 1.94 billion.

I have always said kids with a diagnosis of autism "have a lot more going on up there than regular kids" and it looks like I may be right!

As someone once said, I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a prefrontal lobotomy.

Personhood

2011-11-08T10:35:00.004-06:00

Because there is no more important issue in modern discourse than the debate over the morality and legality of abortion, I thought I'd weigh in.

Embryos are people too.

To end the life of a human embryo is murder.

Previous posts:
Death Certificates for Babies Killed in the Womb
Survival Guide for Fetuses

Old Man Parker

2011-11-06T12:01:00.001-06:00

This is me as Old Man Parker, my recurring role in the Factory, Christ Church Nashville's children's church:

Is Cain able?

2011-11-04T06:25:00.002-05:00

As poorly as Herman Cain has handled the media in the days after his accusers have come forward (quite, in my opinion, and more poorly still with each passing newsday) it is remarkable how upside-down the media has begun to engage legal issues. The scandals that surround accusations of hate speech and sexual harassment must generate much more viewers/readers than boring, old-fashioned crimes that require the evaluation of evidence, etc.

Wes Pruden writes:

Sexual harassment has been established as a crime that only the accuser is entitled to define, and then at her lawyer’s convenience. The accused is not necessarily entitled to know who accuses him, or even to know what he is accused of. The crime is so heinous that the mere accusation is enough to convict. Why waste time on evidence?

Rainbow in Clarksville

2011-11-03T15:37:00.001-05:00

This was the view as I drove toward a rainstorm in Clarksville this morning.

Alternate spelling

2011-10-30T00:12:00.003-05:00

I just remembered this neat puzzle I learned in fifth-grade from my teacher, Mrs. Reid.

Pronounce the word below:

GHOTI

If you pronounced it "goatee" or some variation, you are incorrect. It's pronounced "fish".

How?

GH as in rough
O as in women
TI as in patience

On the abolition of the computer progress bar

2011-10-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

Originally posted on September 15, 2006. I thought I'd give it a bump since I'm still waiting for the progress bar abolitionist movement to begin...

Every computer I have ever owned has used some type of progress marker to appease consumers as they wait for software to install, load, or complete a task. In the beginning, the message was, "Please wait," with no indication of how long this wait might be. I recall that it took approximately 5 minutes to load King's Quest on my IBM PCjr., and about 2 minutes to load WordPerfect 5.1 on my Zeos 386SX-16 MHz. In those days, the only notice that the task was nearing completion was a slight change in rhythm of the chattering sounds that emanated from the A drive. Other common messages were "Loading..." "Thinking..." or my person favorite: "Hold on, this may take a few minutes..." Those were the good ol' days.

Then, someone developed the progress bar (examples below.) It appears to have been first used by Apple with the II-GS in 1983, and was first patented by IBM in 1990 as a "dynamic progress marking icon."

This article is an attempt to demonstrate the futility of the progress bar and to implore software developers to bring back the glory days of computing when no one pandered to the user with progress bars that mean nothing. A secondary purpose is to illustrate how the person who invented this appeasement tool was foolish, as is every software developer who has thoughtlessly perpetuated its use.

Take for example the following modern example of the progress bar. This is a screen capture of my download of HLM 6.02 (Student Edition) this afternoon.

Let's assume for a moment that the time indicator is based on the speed of the present download. Download speed changes constantly, moderated by the user's network activity (e.g. navigating other websites, streaming video, sending and checking mail) as well as the speed of the upload by the host server.

Have you noticed that with progress bars like this one, the time indicator is variable, sometimes changing constantly? Have you ever seen the time indicator increase ad infinitum until it reads something like "13 hours, 12 minutes"? As you probably know, this was likely caused by either (a) a slowdown in the network connection, or (b) a lost connection. You were likely forced to cancel the download and restart it, because it never would have completed on its own. The computer, unfortunately, had no idea, and your progress bar time indicator was as useful as a watch with no battery.

It does absolutely no good to watch a blue progress bar fill up the white space, unless you happen to enjoy watching such things. The relative distance of the blue bar to the end has little (indeed, sometimes very little) relation to the amount of time the task is going to take.

How long is this task going to take? In order to know the answer, you need the following information:

1) How long has the task been going? and
2) Is the blue bar moving at a constant rate?

This one is a common version of a progress bar in Apple's Mac OS X, and it means absolutely nothing. It does not move at a constant rate, so the user cannot use this as a visual indicator to estimate how much longer the task might take.

This is an attempt to disaggregate the smooth increase of the blue bar into bite-sized chunks. Every time a new chunk appears, the software developers expect you to feel you're that much closer to the end. Unfortunately again, since each chunk does not take an equal period of time to appear, this chunk-type of progress bar means nothing. How many of us have sat watching our computer load something and at times, the chunks come flying fast and furious, and then there is a long pause while the hard drive clicks away and the computer does who-knows-what.

If you've used computers as long as I have (particularly Windows computers) you've undoubtedly seen the computer "hang" indefinitely on a certain chunk, with the only way out being a Ctrl-Alt-Delete or a cold reboot of the machine. What, then, is the point of having a progress marker in the first place?

Some might protest against the abolition of the progress bar by saying, "if it hadn't crashed, the progress bar would have finished. At least you knew at what point in the task you were when the machine experienced trouble." You're still expecting me to assume that the Progress Bar was some type of indicator of how close to finishing the task we were. What if the very last chunk took as long as the combination of all previous chunks? (I've seen this happen, more than once.) Then, as opposed to being a happy little graphic to watch while you wait, it actually adds stress to the process because the status of the progress bar bears no relation to whether or not the task is near completion.

This is a laughably creative version of the progress bar. Here, I'm supposed to be excited because I get two progress bars for the price of one! On the top, I am allowed to see which specific file is being copied, and the bottom is the aggregate progress of the entire task.

The only problem is, some files may be 10k in size, while others might be huge graphics or audio files which take much longer to copy. If you've ever watched carefully, these types of progress bars, while interesting to watch, are completely meaningless. Some files cause the top bar to fly across without even giving you time to read the file name, while some other files take as long as many of the previous files put together. Further, unless you are the software developer, you don't know (or care) what the file names mean, so this is extraneous and useless information.

Again, unless the bottom progress bar moves across at a constant rate, there is no sense in including it at all. In 22 years of using computers, I have never seen a Progress Bar that moved at a constant rate.

This type is very interesting. By including information on what specific task is being performed, I am supposed to feel more comfortable that the process is moving along as planned. In this case, the machine is "Generating connected components." Prior to that, it was probably "Checking system hardware" or "Optimizing file structure" using the same or a different progress bar.

Many times, the progress bar is reset with each new process. While I might feel comfortable seeing lots of blue bars fly across my screen, there is no information here: since I can't see the aggregate progress of all of the processes together, each new bar is another new piece of meaningless graphical eye-candy for me to watch while I have no idea how long my computer is going to take to finish its task.

Here, iTunes 7.0.0 is expected to take "About 2 minutes" for a 25.7 MB download. If you look carefully, however, you'll notice that after iTunes downloads, I still need to download QuickTime 7.1.3. At 2 minutes, iTunes would be downloading at .2167 MB/second. At the same rate, QuickTime will download in 3 minutes, 49 seconds. Why, then, doesn't the progress bar say 3 Minutes, 49 seconds? My Texas Instruments TI-1706SV calculator could figure this out but my Powerbook G4-800 apparently could not.

Unless the user has some assurance that the current rate of progress will persist across downloads, the progress bar means nothing.

Finally, my personal favorite:

This is from Safari, but it's common in many browsers (I'll include an additional example below.) If you look, the blue bar is complete, right? Look again. No, not there. At he bottom of the page is a message that says: "Loading 'http://www.xxx.com/', completed x of xx items". Here, the number of items is the "true" progress bar. Unfortunately, I've seen countless websites where the last item takes the longest to load, so again, there is no constant progress, so the progress indicator is absolutely meaningless.

The most annoying one, in my opinion, is the type of progress marker that says, "Loaded 31/32 items..." and a few seconds later, "Loading 32/33 items" and then "Loading 33/34 items" until finally the process is inexplicably complete. What is the point of telling me how many total items there are if the total increases periodically? It is pure idiocy.

I rarely criticize Apple, but their Safari is a major offender with this kind of progress monitor.

Can you survive without Mr. Progress Bar? I can.

Pass it on. Let's start a revolution.

Update: Here is a very interesting research paper on the effect on perceived duration of the computer progress bar from Carnegie Mellon University. Conclusion: there may be instances when no visual cue is preferred.

iPhoto '11 problem: blank screen in edit mode

2011-10-28T21:24:00.008-05:00

If you stumbled on this link looking for a solution to an annoying problem whereby iPhoto '11 seems to be working fine, the database is functioning properly, all photos are in their proper locations, but you can't open them in Edit mode, I hope I can give you one more thing to try. The following solved my problem.

Before rebuilding your database, or following any of the other time-consuming and potentially futile (logical, but useless) strategies given on various threads, do this one thing:

Try using iPhoto on another of your multiple screens, specifically your primary or main screen.

I am using a Macbook Pro, with multiple monitors (three, in fact, none of which are the laptop screen). The first (heretofore referred to as my Main Monitor) is connected via Mini DisplayPort. The other two (Secondary Screens) are connected via USB using adapters with DisplayLink.

When I display iPhoto's main window on one of the secondary screens, the problem occurs (read: I can't see photos I've opened in Edit mode.) When I move the iPhoto window to the main monitor, the problem does not occur, and photos open normally in Edit mode.

The problem likely lies with Quartz, though I know not how. That is where our trip ends.

Please comment if this worked for you.

Update: Sometimes you have to move the window back and forth between your primary monitor and your DisplayLink monitor once for the graphics to "catch". I experienced this the other day: specifically, when I opened iPhoto on my primary monitor, the photos would not open in Edit mode (or, rather, I saw a blank grey screen where the photo ought to have been.) When I moved the window to my secondary screen and back again, the photo appeared normally. Stupid Quartz.

Also, I have found it sometimes takes SEVERAL retries of opening and closing the photo, even when the window is on the correct monitor, for the photo to display. Then, even when it displays, it may not display again the next time you open it and you have to open and close it a few times AGAIN. This is certainly a bug in iPhoto. Poor form, Apple.

Meet Rosita

2011-10-27T19:37:00.004-05:00

She's a beautiful dreadnought with an Englemann Spruce top (split from Colorado desert dryness, only adding to her character), abalone inlays, Honduran Rosewood back and sides, East African ebony fretboard and headstock veneer, gold Gotoh tuners, ivory nut and saddle (I know, but I didn't personally meet the elephants that helped make this guitar), Maple binding, and a Honduran Mahogany neck. She was made by hand in June of 1999 by a luthier named Bill Richardson who selected her materials personally.

Rosita sounds like a Martin HD-28, without even trying.

Happy birthday. Thanks Jesus.

A bright star for a season

2011-10-25T20:53:00.001-05:00

NASA solves 2,000 year-old mystery

A supernova lit up the night sky for 8 months, approximately 2,000 years ago. Chinese texts from that time confirm the existence of a star that appeared, and then was gone.

Could it be this same light that guided 3 kings to witness the birth of the King of kings?

The calf was made of gold

2011-10-17T14:15:00.001-05:00

From A. Ralph Epperson's The Unseen Hand (p. 81):

Click to enlarge.

My favorite Siri response

2011-10-16T22:41:00.003-05:00

Three arrested after handicapped adults found chained up in Philadelphia basement

2011-10-16T17:56:00.006-05:00

Three arrested after handicapped adults found chained up in Philadelphia basement

Chaining these tyrants up in the same basement in Philly would be a reasonable consequence. Don't you agree?

Let's also make sure the four adults receive their stolen disability money back, plus interest. I think that's fair. Probably good to throw in any other money the monsters earned during the adults' captivity, and all of their possessions as well.

Details emerge on the Seal Beach shooter who killed 8 people

2011-10-13T13:07:00.001-05:00

The LA Times reports:

The suspect in the Seal Beach salon shooting rampage, Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of a tugboat accident in 2007, according to court records.

Poor guy.

Perfection

2011-10-09T16:12:00.001-05:00

Apple: It's never too early to laugh

2011-10-07T09:36:00.003-05:00

Dark Side of the Moon

2011-10-04T10:04:00.001-05:00

Long Players, Mercy Lounge, 10/1/11. Covered DSOTM (1973) from beginning to end, no breaks.

The lady vocal soloist was incredible.

Location:1 Cannery Row, Nashville

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

2011-10-03T15:20:00.001-05:00

Since I use this reference all the time, I thought I would post its origin. It is found in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, Scene II.

Hamlet's mother Gertrude is watching his play about a man who kills his brother and marries his widow. Hamlet's uncle did exactly this (as relayed to him by Hamlet's dad's ghost) and Hamlet uses the play to poke at his mom for marrying her husband's murderer. The mother in the play uses many words to defend her innocence in the matter, and Gertrude comments: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Read the scene here.

TMBG in Music City

2011-09-27T23:59:00.001-05:00

I saw They Might Be Giants at the Mercy Loung in Nashville tonight. The two Johns (Linnell and Flansburg) were as goofy and genius as ever. What surprised me most was that of all the songs they performed, the several that received the loudest applause were from their first, second, or third record, all pre-1991 (Dead, Birdhouse in Your Soul, Don't Let's Start, Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes, Ana Ng, and You and Your Racist Friend). This in spite of the mostly twenty-something crowd.

When I saw a balding, gray-haired gentleman singing all the words to Don't Let's Start (including the skat part) I felt older than I've ever been (and now I'm even older.)

And now I'm older still.

Slavery is owing a debt you can never pay

2011-09-22T12:27:00.003-05:00

From Power Line:

The Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee has put together a simple summary of the President’s most recent spending plan. Recall the claims that Obama made for his proposal:

"I’m proposing real, serious cuts in spending… All told, this plan cuts $2 in spending for every dollar in new revenues."

This is what the Budget Committee finds:

$1.4 trillion: Actual deficit reduction through 10 years under the president’s plan, less than half the amount promised

Zero: Percent of deficit reduction that comes from spending cuts

$1.6 trillion: Net tax increase over 10 years

$146 billion: Spending increase over 10 years above current law levels

$9.7 trillion: Additional gross debt that would accumulate over 10 years

$1.3 trillion: Projected deficit in 2012, a $300 billion increase over OMB’s last projection

$293 billion: Medicare “Doc Fix” cost that is assumed but not paid for

$565 billion: Projected deficit in 2021

24: Federal spending as a percent of GDP in 2021, a stunning 18 percent increase in the size of government relative to the historical average

$47 trillion: Total projected federal spending over 10 years

9.1: Percent of workforce currently unemployed

24.9: Millions of Americans unemployed and underemployed

25: Months during Obama presidency that the unemployment rate has been above 9 percent

Rhyming Bible

2011-09-16T12:19:00.001-05:00

The writers of the ESV must have had a sense of humor when they decided to create a couplet out of David's curse against his enemies in Psalm 69:

23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.

100 Days Til Christmas...

2011-09-15T12:12:00.001-05:00

...and Santa made an appearance at my local Starbucks this afternoon! The photo below may be a little blurry, but there's no denying it was him.

Location:Edmondson Pike,Nashville,United States

A couple of thoughts on Perry and debt

2011-09-07T10:47:00.001-05:00

I predict the people will champion someone who appears to be the antithesis of President Obama for the 2012 Election, and it appears their chosen champion likely will be Rick Perry. Perry is an evangelical man's man from the rebel state of Texas, quite a far cry from the Chicago politician we see in Barack Obama. My guess at this point is Perry will win by a landslide.

But is this right?

My evaluation is that just as hope and change did not flow out of Obama like the river we expected it to, we will not find it in Gov. Perry either.

Perry supported TARP, which was - to that point - the largest debt-increasing congressional act in the nation's history.

He has since claimed he was mistaken. Certainly it is an admirable man who admits when he was wrong. It is difficult, however, to reconcile Perry's belief just 3 years ago in the benefits of taking the nation deeper into debt by propping up failing corporations and banks with his purported change of heart just prior to his presidential candidacy.

To me, the exaltation of Rick Perry is the anti-reaction to the nation's earlier reaction to President Bush when they elected President Obama. My prediction is Perry will be almost as wont to try to spend us into prosperity as his 2 predecessors, and at the end of his tenure, we will find we have made no progress at all toward removing the financial burden from our descendants.

All the while, we will slide further into the pit of socialism, with an ocean of debt in which we all must tread water just to stay afloat.

A child who is born owing a debt he cannot pay is, by definition, born into slavery. Slavery is rarely, if ever, overcome except by armed revolution. Why would we put our children into this position? Moreover, why wouldn't we strive - fight, even - to keep them out of it?

My 600 year-old teacher

2011-09-06T15:53:00.002-05:00

Thomas à Kempis wrote:

"Often when you think I [the LORD] am far away, I am nearest to you....All is not lost when some difficulty arises. You ought not to judge by the feelings of the moment, nor to give yourself up to any trouble, and go out to meet it as if all hope of escaping it were gone."

(Imitation of Christ, Book III, 3)

Location:My 600 year-old teacher

Bootleg Geico ad

2011-09-01T14:02:00.001-05:00

I wonder why they didn't air this one?

Simple man joys

2011-08-23T15:55:00.003-05:00

I replaced my stock rubber shift knob with this one from Razo, and I am loving it! The metal, the leather, the roar of a 4-cylinder powerhouse in the palm of my hand...[insert Tim the Tool Man grunt here.]

Location:Knob Cir,Hendersonville,United States

Odd note: I just noticed the location for this post - inserted automatically by BlogPress, my iPhone blogging app - is "Knob Circle" in Hendersonville, Tennessee. I happened to be sitting in my car before an appointment when I created that post and just noticed the cool coincidence.

Disable the seat belt alarm on a 2005-2008 Toyota Matrix

2011-08-21T21:07:00.004-05:00

Before I give you these instructions, I should mention that I always wear my seat belt, and I always ask my passengers to wear theirs as well. My favorite cousin was killed in a wreck at the age of 19 when I was a little boy (he was ejected from the vehicle.) I have needed no further convincing.

The importance of seat belt-wearing notwithstanding, the seat belt alarm in my new 2008 Toyota Matrix is irritating, so I learned how to disable it. I found the following instructions on a ToyotaNation forum. They worked for me on the first try.

1. Turn the key to the ON position, foot off the brake

2. Cycle the odometer with the trip reset button until the ODO is displayed (not trip A or B )

3. Turn the ignition to the LOCK (OFF) position

4. Unbuckle the driver's seatbelt if it was buckled.

5. Turn the key to the ON position. when the dash lights have come on, press and hold the trip reset button and count a slow 12 seconds. (I've heard people that have had a hard time with 12 seconds ......Try 20 seconds....works for me every time.)

6. While still holding the trip reset button, buckle the driver's side seatbelt.

7. The odometer display should read "b ON" or "b OFF". toggle the beep OFF with the trip reset.

8. The process should be completed when you unbuckle or turn the key to the LOCK (OFF) position.

Note the seat belt light will still flash until you buckle your belt, but the alarm will no longer sound.

Ah, the sweet sound of silence.

A fun music video

2011-08-14T21:31:00.002-05:00

This is the most fun music video I've seen in a long while: The video for Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue" is embedded below.

I'm a Japanese car owner

2011-08-10T15:48:00.001-05:00

I just bought a blue 2008 Toyota Matrix, 5-speed. I haven't enjoyed driving a car more since my dad let me borrow his 1990 Audi 90 Quattro to go to Prom in high school. Though my new car has fewer cylinders than that car (4 versus 5), it brings back memories of his old all-wheel drive ride:

Rioters aren't angry, just spoiled

2011-08-09T10:36:00.001-05:00

Envy is a sin, not because it is wrong for a man to want something, but because when he feels entitled to it, it leads him to do rotten things. Cain killed Abel because of envy.

The London Telegraph published this text message sent by one of the rioters/looters yesterday:

Tonite nw london gets hit. Starting with staples corner (currys etc) den brent cross(head for da jewels). Y not take this opportunity to EAT. Riot starts at 10… da rest of london is eating now its our turn. Let’s go out and eat BIG. C u 2nite B-)

Does that sound like it was written by an angry person, or just a spoiled brat?

Jobs: good news, really?

2011-08-05T14:29:00.001-05:00

I suspect most of the media will trumpet the new jobs report as positive, but this deeper analysis of what's beneath the surface statistics tells another story (emphasis mine):

Before getting too excited about the modest uptick in net job creation and a slight downward move in the unemployment rate, it’s probably worth a look under the hood.

As is usually the case, there is far more than meets the eye to the Labor Department’s report that the economy added 117,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 9.1 percent.

Let’s start with the reality that fewer people actually were working in July than in June.

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics breakdown, there were 139,296,000 people working in July, compared to 139,334,000 the month before, or a drop of 38,000.

But the job creation number was positive and the unemployment rate went down, right? So how does that work?

It’s a product of something the government calls “discouraged workers,” or those who were unemployed but not out looking for work during the reporting period.

This is where the numbers showed a really big spike—up from 982,000 to 1.119 million, a difference of 137,000 or a 14 percent increase. These folks are generally not included in the government’s various job measures.

So the drop in the unemployment rate is fairly illusory—stick all those people back in the workforce and you wipe out the job creation and the drop in unemployment.

For once, some of the government’s other tools of economic voodoo didn’t help the count.

And the so-called “real” unemployment rate, which adds in discouraged workers and others not counted as part of the headline unemployment rate, actually pulled back one notch to 16.1 percent.

But there’s plenty of bad news to go around otherwise.

The average duration of unemployment rose for the third straight month and is now at a record 40.4 weeks—about 10 months and now double where it was when President Obama took office in January 2009. The total number unemployed for more than half a year now stands at 6.18 million, 130 percent higher than when the president’s term began.

This is what occurs when people, irrespective of party, willingly cede their personal responsibility and freedom to their government in hopes that they will in turn receive provision and security. The same happened when Israel demanded a king. The Lord warned them, as follows:

1 Samuel 8:10-20 (NCV):

So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king what the Lord had said. [11] Samuel said, "If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of the king''s chariot. [12] The king will make some of your sons commanders over thousands or over fifties. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. [13] He will take your daughters to make perfume and cook and bake for him. [14] He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. [15] He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. [16] He will take your male and female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them all for his own work. [17] He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. [18] When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. But the Lord will not answer you then." [19] But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, "No! We want a king to rule over us. [20] Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge for us and go with us and fight our battles."

The following three graphics tell the story pretty well, visually:

We get to keep borrowing!

2011-07-31T19:48:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the strong leadership of the Democans and Republicrats, a debt deal is done: America can continue to borrow from its grandchildren.

Doorbell

2011-07-30T00:31:00.001-05:00

The magic stethoscope

2011-07-29T19:33:00.001-05:00

Double double this that

2011-07-28T15:32:00.003-05:00

I've gotten really involved in acquiring a new skill of late; namely, I've had several opportunities to study under some great teachers of an age-old art: hand-clapping games.

It started with "Lemonade, iced tea, Coca-Cola, Pepsi..." which was quite difficult for me. It took me all of one lunchtime to get it right. Then I progressed (actually regressed, since it was easier to learn) to "Double-double-this-that" (only, in my case, my mentor taught me to say the more modern "Boom-boom-this-that," which turns out to work almost as well.)

I learned these from a couple of 7 year-olds, who apparently received their education in the same place: an academy they referred to as Recess. Based on their degree of dexterity, I don't think I would make the cut.

For more information on hand-clapping games, visit http://hubpages.com/hub/Recess-is-BACK-Hand-Clapping-Games.

35 year-old dog, new tricks

2011-07-27T01:02:00.002-05:00

Good looking scam alert

2011-07-24T20:10:00.009-05:00

I just received this email from "VBV" that looked pretty legitimate. It says my VISA card was used to attempt to purchase a Samsung Galaxy Tab but was refused due to security concerns.

Notwithstanding the fact that I do not have a VISA card, the link (which looks legitimate, beginning with http://www.visa.com) actually sends you to the URL http://59.4.116.7/eng/data. I have not visited the link, but I am confident it will NOT transport me to a legitimate VISA site.

Just a heads-up for anybody out there who may get a similar email and be concerned. Here is the text of the email:

Dear Visa customer,

A recent review of your transaction history determined that your card was used at www.ebay.com from 90.236.35.200, an IP located in Peru

ORDER DETAILS

Website: http://www.ebay.com
Reference Number: 10165714
Time: 23/07/2011 05:37:36
General Order Total: $559.79 (USD)

Product Name: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Product Code: 9305
Quantity: 1
Price / Unit: 559.79 USD

Total: 559.79 USD
For security reasons the requested transaction was refused.
Please carefully review electronic report for your Verified by Visa account at :
http://www.visa.com/en/security/online_security/shop_safely_online.aspx

Verified by Visa Support Team.

Ticket ID: #F2312l66W98l0l68A39l15l14lF5l0l0l1l5P60l2V671l

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

This message is confidential and it is property of VISA. It is exclusively destined to the person mentioned as addressee, as well as to any other person authorized to receive it. In case you are not the intended addressee, we hereby inform you that the disclosure, copying or distribution of the present information, or the initiation of any action based on it, are strictly forbidden and determine legal responsibility. If you have received it by mistake please let us know by reply and then delete it from your system. We appreciate your cooperation. Thank you!

Update: According to this site, this is a verified phishing scam. The site urged anyone to forward the email to spoof@millersmiles.co.uk, so I did.

OS X Lion: there and back again

2011-07-24T12:50:00.003-05:00

I have discovered there are bounds to my love for all things Apple.

I Installed OS X 10.7 Lion on its release day. There are enough reviews out there already, positive and negative, including some very insightful and well-written ones. I don't intend to add anything to those, but I will share a few brief observations.

Lion made my experience slower (less snappy). It is fraught with useless graphics and animation that I am reminded of my persistent dislike for Windows 3.0 when it arrived in the 90's (bouncy scrolling, sliding screens, popping application windows). It broke functionality that has become indispensable for me (full screen QuickTime on an external monitor). It feels unnecessarily ostentatious in some places (iCal) and depressingly austere in others (the Finder sidebar, Safari's toolbar). It caused the fan on my brand new high-end MacBook Pro to spin constantly (I recall my beloved G4 PowerBook).

Last night, I used Time Machine to restore my system to 10.6 Snow Leopard. I love it. It is very fast, fun, and pretty. The only remnant of my misguided journey is a small recovery partition (I understand some mistakes leave scars.)

There is a high likelihood this may be the first version of Mac OS X I skip. No thanks, Steve. I love your company, but I think you took a wrong turn this time.

I will try to learn from my bad experience going forward and hope Apple comes along for the ride. I was there, and I am back again.

Best friends, 1980s-style

2011-07-10T17:17:00.001-05:00

Uploaded by coolhandpete

Me and Todd Sanford, circa 1982 (7 years old).

I think this was taken the night before Todd moved away, to Baton Rouge (which stands, even today, as one of the hardest events of my life!)

Todd, are you out there?

Great deal!

2011-06-29T11:01:00.001-05:00

I was so excited when I saw Lowe's had this terrific sale on plastic chairs:

Then I found out it was for a boring gas grill instead:

Some deals are just too good to be true.

Ugandan Thunder with Christ Church Dancers

2011-06-20T13:23:00.001-05:00

Franklin nostalgia

2011-06-17T20:15:00.001-05:00

The reopened historic Franklin Theater:

Franklin dreamworld

2011-06-14T22:12:00.001-05:00

What a place! (Five Corners)

Location:Main St,Franklin,United States

Best lunch spot in Music City

2011-05-27T14:12:00.001-05:00

Chladni patterns

2011-05-25T23:31:00.004-05:00

Something about the effect of sound frequencies on grains of sand has thoroughly blown my mind tonight. Watching this affirms my suspicion that there is a spiritual component to music:

A presidential decision I agree with

2011-05-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

Location:Moneygall, Ireland

Slackjaw

2011-05-18T12:41:00.001-05:00

A box of real books!

Commencement 2011

2011-05-13T22:35:00.001-05:00

The Upper Room Tapes (AD 4)

2011-04-30T12:56:00.001-05:00

Oh, for a chance to hear the master tape of this session:

Matthew 26:30 (KJV)
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

His status symbol

2011-04-30T12:18:00.001-05:00

Frances J. Roberts, from Come Away, My Beloved:

Gotta remember

2011-04-19T08:48:00.001-05:00

From Frances J. Roberts' Come Away My Beloved:

My favorite anagrams

2011-04-11T09:21:00.001-05:00

DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters: DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters: BEST IN PRAYER

SLOT MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME

ELEVEN PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE

THE MORSE CODE: When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS

A 600 year-old teacher

2011-04-07T11:58:00.001-05:00

Thomas a Kempis, circa 1424:

Stephanie rises again

2011-03-29T18:52:00.001-05:00

I just uncovered this photo of the doggy, the last time I saw her. This was taken just after her 17th birthday last Christmas. She had just retired to her kennel and I was about to leave in my car to return to Music City.

Bye Steph!

In memoriam Stephanie 1994-2011

2011-03-27T09:29:00.001-05:00

She was born on Christmas (a gift).

We loved her for 17 years.

She passed away after Valentine's Day.

Sweet Stephanie! I will miss you, Puppy!

Listen and learn

2011-02-21T12:23:00.002-06:00

I challenge you to listen to what this reporter has to say.

PhD

2011-01-26T13:33:00.000-06:00

Wol spotted at Radnor Lake

2010-11-12T09:33:00.001-06:00

Pooh's wise old friend did a photo shoot at Radnor Lake on Wednesday:

Once Drew and I took over his advertising campaign, Wol attracted quite a crowd:

The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends.
Proverbs 11:30 (NLT)

The chicken or the egg?

2010-10-17T23:44:00.003-05:00

Tennessee in the the fall

2010-10-06T02:20:00.001-05:00

Uploaded by coolhandpete

Arizona skies

2010-09-23T00:30:00.001-05:00

Arizona State University campus, Tempe:

Location:S 52nd St,Tempe,United States

Isaiah's coin

2010-09-09T10:34:00.001-05:00

Isaiah 3:16,25-26 (NASB):

Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes [25] Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle. [26] And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit on the ground.

Photo: Commemorative coins issued under Emperor Vespasian, struck in AD 71 after the siege of Jerusalem. The back shows a woman sitting on the ground in mourning.

Asleep in a powder keg

2010-09-08T12:52:00.004-05:00

I find it astonishing that Eric Holder (Justice Secretary), Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State), General Petraeus (Top Brass), President Obama, the Vatican, the State Department, and others are using terms like "shameful", "un-American", "disgraceful", "dangerous", and "perilous" to describe the future action by a little Christian congregation in Florida while saying nothing about the protesters around the world who wave banners that say "Death to America" and burn effigies of the pastor of that little congregation. The first intends to burn books, with no threat of any further action. The second openly calls for the extermination of an entire population. Moreover, the prominent general says there are likely to be attacks on America's troops if the pastor in Florida exercises his right to free speech.

America's message to her people: Go ahead and burn a Christian Bible, but don't dare destroy a Muslim one, for that would be un-American.

What is the desired end of America's clear strategy of appeasing radical Islam? Does she anticipate the eventual reconciliation with a people that openly hates her and all she stands for? Really?

Can a child go to sleep in a powder keg and expect to waken in the morning unscathed?

Rascal and friends

2010-08-30T20:43:00.001-05:00

YouTube Video

Legacy media

2010-08-28T10:09:00.010-05:00

The Center for Responsive Politics has analyzed the political contributions of those who identified themselves as employees of CBS, NBC and ABC in 2008. The result: 88 percent of those contributions went to Democrats. The Presidential contest was even more lopsided: network employees made 710 contributions, worth a total of $461,898, to Barack Obama, and 39 contributions, totaling $26,926, to John McCain. If you're counting, that's 94 percent for Obama.

I suspect you'd find the opposite if you polled Fox or talk radio networks. The difference, of course, is those typically are transparent about their political biases.

Source: Power Line

I'd rather have a gizmo than a monkey

2010-08-23T22:53:00.002-05:00

I had planned to use SurveyMonkey to deliver the survey component of my dissertation (the Testing Accommodations and Modification Study) but after I met some folks from SurveyGizmo I decided to go with them instead. They are a tiny little company, and oh-so-friendly! Plus, they offer free accounts to students (always a plus.)

So, here's an interesting story. If you see the post below this one, you'll note that I don't use Facebook. Unfortunately, the SurveyGizmo people, in an appropriate effort to ramp up awareness of their business, ask students to "Like" SG before their accounts are upgraded to the highest level free-of-charge. So I emailed them with a plea for a free account notwithstanding the Facebook requirement, and within one minute (I'm serious, it really was just one minute) Marybeth responded and said she had upgraded my account!

The strangest part about it was that I had logged back onto SurveyGizmo just after I sent the email, and I noticed that my account had been upgraded. In other words, not only did Marybeth respond within one minute, she upgraded my account in less than half that amount of time!

Anyway, that's why I'd rather have a gizmo than a monkey.

Why I quit Facebook

2010-08-23T21:18:00.001-05:00

...at least the first 1:50 or so -

The baby who stole the heart of America

2010-08-12T18:57:00.002-05:00

How is it that a grown man can act like a child and steal the top headline on the national news?

(Note to self: If you dislike your job, give your two weeks notice, and leave like a man!)

Lazy summer Sunday

2010-08-02T14:16:00.001-05:00

The return of Rascal

2010-07-29T16:24:00.000-05:00

YouTube Video

It's not the heat...

2010-07-27T13:57:00.001-05:00

Look at the 'Feels like' indices between the two cities. Perhaps the Arizona heat is overestimated.

After all, Yogi Berra once said, "it's not the heat, it's the humility."

The web means the end of forgetting

2010-07-27T01:18:00.002-05:00

This article is worth reading (even if you only browse the first page):

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25privacy-t2.html

Jax the Geriatric Balloon Dog

2010-07-26T10:51:00.001-05:00

This is how old dogs party:

YouTube Video

Is this how cat ladies are made?

2010-07-26T10:49:00.000-05:00

Another little cat found out about my tendency to feed stray felines. Am I being manipulated?

YouTube Video

Duck, duck, Maverick...

2010-07-23T19:08:00.000-05:00

YouTube Video

A deep thought from a not-so-deep source

2010-07-23T14:08:00.000-05:00

"What do you think the Devil is going to look like if he's around? Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail. … He will look attractive and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation and he will never do an evil thing ... he will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important. Just coax along flash over substance. ... And he'll get all the great women."

— Aaron Altman ( Albert Brooks) in "Broadcast News"

Rascal at my front door

2010-07-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

You know that cat I've been feeding? Well, somebody else is trying to get in on the free food. I told him he ought to be sleeping, but he didn't listen:

YouTube Video

Victory! Videos with sound

2010-07-19T23:06:00.001-05:00

I have won my disputes with Warner Music Group and my YouTube videos are now complete with sound! No more Lon Chaney silent movies! Check out the videos I made in Italy below, now with their actual soundtracks.

Three Coins in the Fountain:

Finding the Colosseum:

The Long Journey:

Summer nights

2010-07-19T20:34:00.000-05:00

The view from my friend Darin's porch:

Location:Allendale Dr,Smyrna,United States

Peter's keys

2010-07-19T15:53:00.001-05:00

In most traditional Roman Catholic paintings and statues depicting St. Peter, he is holding two keys: a gold key signifying the key of Heaven, and a silver key signifying the key of time.

Like Peter, I, too, often carry a set of keys:

My scaredy cat

2010-07-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

My scaredy cat, who has been freeloading off me for over a year, still won't let me pet it! Can you believe it! The nerve!

YouTube Video

IPhone antenna problem?

2010-07-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

For the record, my iPhone is fine. I don't need Senator Schumer's (D-NY) help. I don't need Apple to give me a free case, an in-store modification, or an apology.

My iPhone has yet to drop a call. And I am left-handed, so I naturally use the "death grip".

Consumer Reports: really? I know it's been awhile since you've had a Suzuki Samurai to condemn, but did you really have to do it?

Good news about my presentation

2010-07-10T06:47:00.000-05:00

In spite of the absence of available irons, my dress clothes were not unwearably wrinkled.

Platform 17

2010-07-09T17:08:00.004-05:00

Between 1941 and early 1945, the Nazi government of Germany ripped millions of Jewish German citizens from their homes, packed them into trains and shipped them to concentration camps like cattle to slaughter. For about 50,000 of these people, the last experience they shared with their families was on Platform 17 at Grunewald Station, just before they boarded the last train they would ever take.

Today, I stood alone on that platform.

Location:Grunewalde Station, Berlin

Prego

2010-07-09T17:08:00.003-05:00

As far as I can tell, the word 'prego' is the best Italian expression there is. It simultaneously means:

Please...
How can I help you?
What would you like?
You're welcome.
Of course!

If you're confused, you're not the first! I have spent the past four days researching 'prego' and I think my study is far from complete.

By a long shot, the best use of 'prego' is as follows: when you sit down at a restaurant, the server may approach you and say, enthusiastically, "Prego!" In this context, the meaning is, "Whatever you ask, I am prepared to oblige! Before you even have a chance to thank me for my service, I tell you that you are welcome to it!" If you can imagine saying, "The pleasure is all mine!" before you've even been introduced to a stranger, I think you're on the right track.

The Key

2010-07-09T17:08:00.002-05:00

...was that I packed light. Indeed, everything I truly needed (wanted, even) was on my person: iPhone, passport, train tickets, wallet, and a flash drive with my presentation on it. What was in my bag was expendable: clothes, toothbrush, contact lens solution, nothing that can't fairly easily be replaced nor that would prevent me from getting to my next destination or back home.

The result? No worries, even when I put my bag down somewhere or didn't watch it as carefully as I would if it contained valuables. I could walk anywhere, as far away as I wanted, nearly weightless. I could imagine getting something stolen without the feeling of dread over having lost something precious. I gave my hotel key back to the front desk each time I left my room, so I had not to worry about it. My only job was to find my hotel at the end of the evening (not as easy as it sounds, especially in Firenze near la piazza del duomo!)

Indeed, even every possession on my person was replaceable, even more so as I was able to post videos on my weblog. No one likes getting their camera stolen, but I did not have to care. It contained little that I cannot retrieve elsewhere.

I have learned a new way. Now to remember it and practice. That is the key.

Firenze = Florence = Art

2010-07-09T17:08:00.001-05:00

My favorite pieces from the Uffizi are listed bcmnbselow. I'll try to find images of each online since I was not permitted to take photographs inside the gallery. Each was made around the 16th to 17th centuries (i.e., 1500-1699), except the krater and relief, which were created around the time of Christ.

If I had a house, I would like each of these to be displayed in it. But copies only, because if I had the originals I would probably spill grape juice on them or something. Incidentally, it is for this same reason I drive a Saturn and not a Lamborghini.

Here they are, in the order I saw them:

Bagliacci - (I think). Joseph introduces his father and brothers to the Pharaoh.

Bazzi - Christ and his tormenters

Granacci - Joseph is led into prison

Fiorentino - Moses defending the daughters of Jethro from the Shepherds

Vecellio - Madonna and child with Young St. John and St. Anthony Abbot. "Madonna of the Roses"

Semolel - The Road to Calvary

Vasari - Adorazione del Pastori

Agnolo Tori - Cristo Deposto

Herri de bles met decked o il coverts - la miniere di rame (wow!)

Alessandro Allori - San Pietro cammina sulle acque

Pottier fiorentino - Ulisse nell'isola di Circe

Giovanni Girolamo Salvodo - The Transfiguration

Boccaccino - Head of an old man

Pontormo - Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Earthly Paradise

Volterra - Massacre of the Innocents

Relief with Horse and Squire

Neo-Attic work - Krater with sculpted base-relief decorations

Honthorst - Cena con Sponsali

Honthorst - Adorazione del Bambino

Honthorst - Adorazione dei Pastori

Rustici - Miracolo del Tributo

Dandini - San Gerolamo nello studio

Suttermans - Il Guardarobiere di Pratolino con cuochi e cacciatori della Corte Medicea

Tarchiani - Davide e Golia

Location:Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze

Thought di Giorno: Travel

2010-07-09T17:07:00.000-05:00

Given the spirit and mind of Jesus Christ, travel opens the eyes to unseen aspects of Creation that have already been redeemed, and thus offers another glimpse of the Creation to come.

Three Coins in the Fountain

2010-07-06T08:10:00.001-05:00

This version should have sound! Consider the first draft a tribute to all who are deaf and hard of hearing.

YouTube Video

Basillica de San Pietro

2010-07-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

I have been trying unsuccessfully to post a slideshow to YouTube. Internet is fickle here. Hopefully I will get it to work when I get to Firenze tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this panorama of St. Peter's Square, the largest square in the world. Click to enlarge.

Patience

2010-07-05T19:10:00.001-05:00

...is knowing what is happening now has happened before and will happen again, and worrying will not change the result.

(an 'epiphany' over dinner a Campo de' Fiore, Roma.)

Finding the Colosseum

2010-07-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

Enjoy!

YouTube Video

An epic movie

2010-07-04T00:34:00.000-05:00

What else can you do with 27 hours on planes and in airports except make a movie about it?

YouTube Video

Location:Italy