Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

The Same Inside

Jul

25

2018

Sometimes people say “We’re all the same inside” to remind others that all people are human and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.

While I appreciate the intent, I do find fault with the statement. For instance, roughly half the population is born with some different internal organs than the other half of the population. And even then, many people are different inside.

One woman might be different from another because she had knee-replacement surgery and now has artificial knees. That makes her different inside from most people.

Or one man might be different inside from another because he had his appendix removed so he’s missing an organ. That makes him different inside from most people.

“No,” you may say, “not physically the same, but emotionally and stuff. Everyone has the same non-physical needs.”

Then I have the same objection. I know some people who are natural optimists and others who are natural pessimists. Or morning people versus those who stay up late. Everyone is different – different hopes and dreams, different likes and dislikes, and so on.

“But Shakespeare!” you may object. To which I must assume you are referencing the line “if you prick us, do we not bleed?”

And my answer is that there are multiple blood types – we do not all bleed the same stuff. It’s close though.

We’re similar inside, but not all the same.

But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.”

Luke 11:39

Posted in Life | No Comments »

Herd Unimmunity

Jun

27

2018

I’ve heard or read about the term “herd immunity” with regard to vaccinations. The concept is that once enough people (a large enough percentage) are vaccinated against a certain disease, then that disease can’t spread freely because there aren’t enough hosts. It kind of dies out naturally because there is no place hospitable. Any new member of the community is then safe from the disease just because no one else will have the disease.

I’m trying figure out the opposite effect. What if everyone is infected with something and any new members of the community are not safe? Plague? Epidemic? That’s how I feel about social media.

I’m not on Facechat, but enough people who know me are on Facechat, so anyone can still learn about me through Facechat. Same thing for Instabook and Snapgram.

How can I avoid appearing on social media when everyone around me is infected? It’s nearly impossible unless I avoid people.

They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Mark 6:32

Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

O. Henry

May

30

2018

I just finished reading a compilation of short stories by a certain author who is listed as O. Henry. No, actually, The Gift of the Magi was not one of the 68 stories in this particular compilation.

I found I liked his writing style better than I had anticipated. I had to break up reading the book over a couple weeks though, because reading too many short stories in one sitting got tedious.

Here are my favorites in this collection (simply called “Selected Stories” and compiled by Guy Davenport, but with O. Henry listed as the author of course):

  • The Ransom of Mack
  • Hostages to Momus
  • The Fool-Killer
  • The Reformation of Calliope

    • There were some other good stories too, but those are they that stood out.

    He had three main settings that he liked to use: New York City, Texas, and the South. A nice variety. And for some reason he seemed fond of Ann Arbor, Michigan – he mentioned it in more than one story.

    He wrote his stories shortly after the time when Little House on the Prairie was set, but his stories seem more modern. Probably because they included more cities and trains and even cars.

    Also interesting to note is that O. Henry to the Civil war is like us to the Vietnam war – about 40 years after. But everyone was familiar with it and everyone knew someone who had been in the war as a lot of them were still alive. So he wrote about slaves somewhat. Of course they were now freed, but their roles in his stories reflected how their lives were back then – still mostly servant-type roles. And he used several different terms to describe them, some of which are quaint and others of which would not go over well today.

    O. Henry seemed sympathetic to the working-class girls and unfavorable toward the factory owners who paid them so little. And he really did not like national bank examiners.

    A number of his stories focused on children finding their long-lost parents or vice-versa, so that got a little formulaic after a while – well of course this lady is going to be his daughter he thought died years ago.

    But for the most part the stories were engaging enough that they were interesting to read even though you know how they’ll turn out.

    For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

    2 Peter 1:16

    Posted in Life | 1 Comment »

    Spring was Here

    Apr

    18

    2018

    We had spring once. It was about 70 degrees and sunny for a day or two.

    That was last week.

    Now we have ice and snow. Not sure how the plants are going to like it, but this is how they look.

    Some tulips:

    image of tulips covered with ice

    These should be daffodils soon.

    image of daffodils covered with ice

    Well, they’re daffodils now, just not quite blooming yet. I meant they should be blooming soon.

    And a Japanese maple tree.

    image of a Japanese maple tree covered with ice

    I think this one is my favorite, for the coated-in-ice photos.

    He casts forth His ice as fragments; Who can stand before His cold?

    Psalm 147:17

    Posted in Life | No Comments »

    Foolishness of Crowds

    Mar

    13

    2018

    There are some things that everyone just knows, like tetanus is caused by rusty metal and planes can fly because of the Bernoulli principle. And of course everyone knows that the wisdom of crowds means that a bunch of people who agree on a topic must be right.

    Not so fast though.

    I learned something recently about the supposed wisdom of crowds. The book that started all this – by James Surowiecki – highlighted that phrase but the concept is a little more nuanced. Crowds are not wise because they are a large group of people, rather, crowds are wise because (or more correctly, if) the individuals bring unique information.

    Consensus is useful if all parties have arrived at the conclusion independently, using their own methods and data sets. If everyone looks at the same data, you don’t have a wise crowd – you have a crowd of average intelligence.

    When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

    Matthew 22:33

    Posted in Life | 3 Comments »

    When to Brush

    Mar

    1

    2018

    I’ve noticed a disconnect between the standard practice of brushing one’s teeth before going to bed and the standard recommendation from dentists to brush one’s teeth after meals.

    I never paid much attention to it, but I was trying to eat a little healthier and I became aware that I was tempted to snack in the evenings. What I found is that by brushing my teeth after dinner, rather than waiting until bedtime, provided enough of a mental barrier to prevent the temptation.

    I know that I could have easily just brushed my teeth again later, but the psychology of “I already brushed my teeth” was good enough for me. Your mileage may vary.

    Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror.

    Job 41:14

    Posted in Life | No Comments »

    Dance Like

    Jan

    26

    2018

    I am amused and perplexed by people who like to dance. I am not one of those people. And I think it’s presumptive of those who are dancy to think that everyone else must be.

    My main example of this is the saying “Dance like no one is watching.” I’ve seen it on T shirts and on internet motivational posters. They assume that everyone secretly likes to dance and is held back by the fear of what people will think.

    I don’t dance, whether I am by myself or in public. See me standing still? – that is how I dance when no one is watching.

    and say, “We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”

    Matthew 11:17

    Posted in Life | No Comments »

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »