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.
Orlando Recap, Part 2
Mar
18
2014
Day 2
We left Knoxville, TN and drive a few hours to Atlanta, GA. Our destination was the aquarium. We spent all afternoon there, then headed to our hotel about 30 minutes away in McDonough, GA.
At the aquarium:
Archive for 2014
Orlando Recap, Part 1
Mar
17
2014
To get away from the land of ice and snow, we took a trip to Orlando, FL. I’d say we timed it right – it was 5 when we left (-5 with wind chill), and it was sunny and 80 in Orlando when we were there. It was very easy to adjust to the nice weather. The only problem was that we had to come back, although it had warmed to about 15 degrees when we returned. And I can’t take too much credit for timing it right – that’s just when the kids had their break from school. And the week after we left, Orlando had rain just about every day and it was in the 70s.
This is part 1 of a series.
Day 1
We drove all day.
Tune in tomorrow for more.
But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.
Genesis 33:13
Cause of the Polar Vortex
Mar
13
2014
The midwest and northeast parts of the USA had a disastrous winter, due to the effects of the polar vortex. Some would have you believe the abnormal polar vortex patterns are due to global warming. Some would have you believe it is due to fracking, or Putin, or cell phone radiation.
But I have the real story.
I stumbled upon the cause by accident. I was thinking about how this was a prolonged, dreary winter. One might even say it is like it is always winter but never Christmas. Which means that the polar vortex is being caused by
Jadis
That’s right – the White Witch of Narnia fame.
She has somehow travelled between worlds and ended up in ours again. She setup her reign in the arctic north and is gradually expanding her kingdom.
That’s my theory anyway. It might need a little more research.
If that doesn’t pan out though, the other option is that the polar vortex is a massive publicity stunt for Disney’s Frozen.
As if that needs any more publicity …
He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
Psalm 147:17
Like Father, Like Son
Mar
11
2014
Transcript
Father: Are these your mobile devices?
Son: Look, dad, it’s not what you…
Father: And what is this? Minecraft??
Son: Dad, I …
Father: Answer me!
Father: Who taught you how to do this stuff?
Son: You, alright!
Son: I learned it by watching you.
Partnership for a Mobile Device-Free America
What are you teaching your kids?
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.
Mark 9:42
Football: MPWHFA
Mar
6
2014
The last time I added a method of predicting the winners of NFL games, it wasn’t all that impressive. That was YPP, and it was not an improvement over MPW.
MPW has been the leading indicator for the last few years, better than any other automated, statistics-based predictors.
But now MPW is pushed to second place, because MPWHFA has taken the lead.
I added MPWHFA (and its results) to the list of NFL game-predicting methods.
It wasn’t just slightly better than the old leader – it averaged a full percentage point better.
Of course, that’s not entirely fair to MPW. HFA stands for “Home-Field Advantage”, and MPWHFA is really just an improved version of MPW. Take MPW, add a few points to the home team, and see which team has the larger number. That team should be the winner.
Next step: predicting not just the winner, but also the point spread. MPWHFA does that too (and at around a 60% success rate, I might add). MPW and MPWHFA are based on net points. That should be all you need to know to figure out point-spread predictions.
Enjoy!
As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.
Daniel 1:20
Harold Theme
Mar
4
2014
It’s March, the start of the spring quarter. Time for me to update the theme on this blog. This one was inspired by … well, if you don’t already know then it won’t matter if I do tell you.
As is usual, it’s not much of a new theme – all I did was replace the images.
Anyway, here’s a slightly new look.
The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
Jeremiah 31:3
Seating Configuration
Feb
27
2014
A recent department meeting was held in a conference room with dozens of folding chairs. I ended up near the back, and I found myself staring at the back of the head of the person sitting in front of me. There was no comfortable way for me to sit so that I could see the speaker at the front of the room.
That got me to thinking about how the seats could be arranged to improve sight lines.
Problem:
If the audience were somewhat transparent, it would be okay because you could see through them in order to see the speaker. Like this:
But they’re not, so sitting directly behind people is a problem.
One that can be easily solved though.
All you need to do is offset each row by half a chair.
Solution A:
Maybe it would be better to offset each row by a third of a chair.
Solution B:
If you’re ever in charge of setting up a conference room for an audience, be sure to stagger the chairs a bit. Thanks.
They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
Mark 6:40
