This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
Jun
3
2008
As if the water enhanced by minerals is not enough, now some company has come up with water that is infused with positive energies and powerful mantras. I wonder how those appear on the ingredients list.
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
– Luke 6:45
May
28
2008
Some misguided countries are banning or considering banning the good-old incandescent light bulb (GS) to force people to use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). That is a bad idea. Not that CFLs are a bad idea, but banning GSes is a bad idea.
The article linked in the ‘bad idea’ phrase above recommends taxing incandescent bulbs instead of banning them. This would have a similar effect of forcing people to CFLs, but people could still choose GSes if they wanted. I agree that a tax would be better than a ban, but I disagree that the recommended action for governments is to add taxes. I do agree that if you want less of something, tax it, and if you want more of something, then subsidize it.
But I believe the government shouldn’t need to do anything in this case. CFLs should have to earn their place in a competitive market like any other product. If they are truly worth it (“a CFL can save you $45 in energy costs”), then people will use them. Most people don’t want to spend more money on things than they need to spend. But if they are not worth it (“but a CFL won’t work in my unheated garage, in my refrigerator, with my dimmer switch, etc.“) then people will reject them. If CFLs are worth being bought, then advertisers are fully capable of getting the public to buy them.
“But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things under the ban, so that you do not covet {them} and take some of the things under the ban, and make the camp of Israel accursed and bring trouble on it.”
– Joshua 6:18
May
21
2008
Upon reading the label on a bottle of a well-known brand of water, I noticed that pure water doesn’t taste like pure water.
For those who can’t see the image, it says “Enhanced with minerals for a pure, fresh taste”.
Doesn’t the word “pure” mean “not enhanced or modified”? I suppose it does say “pure taste” not “pure water”. Why does water need to be enhanced? Why can’t water be just water? The answer is this: they filter the water first, to take out the minerals. Since the minerals have been removed, they must be added back in. Otherwise, the water would not taste quite right. Oh, the days of drinking well water from a hose, water that comes straight from the earth to you. Great taste, and lots of minerals.
A similar concept is at work in the flour and bread industry. You may have noticed that there is such a thing as enriched bleached flour. This is flour that has had all the nutrients bleached out of it, so they need to be added back. Why all the work and fuss to take stuff out and then replace it? Just give me whole-wheat bread that doesn’t have to be enriched or enhanced (note: the link in that sentence leads to a site that may ask you to sign up for a newsletter. You should be able to skip that offer and go right to the article).
I know, I know, processing and bleaching the flour makes for softer bread, bread that holds peanut butter and jelly better. But I have learned to go for the whole wheat. Save the squishy bread for the occasional treat, but don’t live off it.
“You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.”
– Deuteronomy 2:6
May
8
2008
As I was looking at washing machines in an undisclosed big-box store, I noticed a certain price tag.
For those who can’t see the image, I will give the text here. It says “New Lower Price $648 Was $648”. I am glad they reduced the price, as $648 was a bit much for that washer.
“The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud.”
– Hosea 12:7
May
5
2008
Why is the saying “24/7/365”?
It is meant to show that something is continuous, all the time, and never stopping. It gets the point across to the listener, but upon further analysis, I found some problems. Translated into plain English, the saying would be something like “Every hour of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year.” But that would be “24/7/52” since there are 52 weeks in a year. For those who are wondering: 365 weeks is a little over 49 years.
You could say that it means “Every hour of the day, every day of the week, every day of the year.” But that would be redundant (if it is every day of the week, then it would already imply every day of the year) and inconsistent (the progression is from smallest to largest – repeating the unit of day ruins the progression). Why not just say “Every hour of the day, every day of the year”? So an alternate to “24/7/365” could be “24/365” instead of “24/7/52”. Neither one of the alternates has the same ring to it, but I think such ring is acquired by repeated use.
“Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.”
– Psalm 145:2
May
1
2008
In North Myrtle Beach, there are discount beach stuff stores every other block. The main two are Eagles and Bargain. The main tourist item to buy is a shark tooth necklace, which is essentially a string with a shark tooth attached to it. It looks decent enough, and it impresses young children. Yes, we bought a couple of necklaces for the kids. But they are cheap, as in less than a dollar.
I saw an advertisement for airplane advertising – you pay this company some money and they will fly a banner with your message up and down the beach. It’s a common form of advertising anywhere there are a bunch of people, and the seaside is no exception. One of the beach-stuff places employed this method of aerial advertising. They paid someone at least $300 per hour, plus the fee to create the banner, a one-time fee of at least $100. So assuming they had the plane for one hour, that would be $400.
They were advertising for the shark-tooth necklace – a 70-cent item. Assuming a profit margin of 50%, the would make $0.35 per necklace. They would have to sell 1,143 necklaces, to new customers who would not have otherwise gone to the store, in order to break even. And the beach wasn’t even that crowded. What I expect is that the necklaces are their loss leaders and the stores lure you in for those but pitch other higher-priced items to make up for them. So if you go buy a shark-tooth necklace, beware the other items in the store.
“The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, `Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'”
– Matthew 25:20
Apr
22
2008
Staying at a touristy/vacationy-type place, I was in search of a good wireless internet connection. I was not expecting anything, but a strong Wi-Fi signal appeared – a pleasant surprise. And it was unencrypted! So I connected to it and fired up my browser of choice (Opera), and saw a welcome screen for the pay-per-use internet service. Foiled again! The reason I am writing about it is that the name of the service is Connect Freely. I thought the name choice was rather ironic. They mean free as in hassle-free, not cost-free. I would rather have a little bit of hassle with no cost.
“but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need {in} whatever he lacks.”
– Deuteronomy 15:8
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