Archive for 2023

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Zipper Merge

Nov

8

2023

I was driving yesterday on a freeway that I’m familiar with but haven’t driven in a while. The traffic report said there was a slowdown, so I knew to be ready for that.

Sure enough, there were some brake lights and both lanes slowed. The orange construction sign said “Left lane closed ahead – 2 miles”. I was in the left lane, so I decided to stay in the left lane and see if I could promote the zipper merge.

I stayed in the left lane. The next sign said “Left lane closed ahead – 1 mile”. Stayed in the left lane still. “Left lane closed ahead – 1/2 mile”. Still stayed.

Then the next sign (about T minus 1/4 mile) said to merge. It had no text, so I can’t type what it said, but it was the two lines getting closer picture. So I merged at that point, because that’s when the people setting up the construction zone said to merge.

There were people who merged into the right lane back when the first sign said “left lane closed ahead”. And people merged after that too.

And then there were people who didn’t merge when I did – they kept going in the left lane. And I wondered when they were going to merge. The 1/4 mile came and went, and there was no lane closure. Both lanes stayed open – there weren’t even any barrels set out on the side of the road.

Then I realized one of the benefits of waiting until the merge point to zipper merge, rather than merging at the first sign of an upcoming lane closure: if the lane isn’t actually closed, then you don’t cause unnecessary traffic slowdowns by filling up only one lane.

I wish I could have seen around the larger vehicle in front of me to see the lane never closed, before I merged right.

Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard; we will not even drink water from a well. We will go along the king’s road, not turning to the right or left, until we pass through your territory.

Numbers 20:17

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SCL Old Guest Post – Making People Feel Welcome

Nov

3

2023

Here is a guest post I wrote for SCL back in the day (2011 in case you’re wondering). It wasn’t run because I didn’t actually write a full blog post for Jon, I just sent him an outline of ideas. But I decided to fill it out and present it to you today.

Back when I was a Sunday School student, a visitor to the class would have a song sung to him (“There’s a welcome here…”) and get to pick out a prize, like a pencil or a sticker.

Now, as adults, if we get a visitor to the church we just let them know there’s a card they can fill out with their information.

What fun is that? Let’s have prizes for the adult visitors too!

Our church is small enough that it would work for them to come to the front and pick a prize from a box, but those of you in larger churches might have to come up with different ideas.

But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.

Luke 9:11

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Lessons from a Pool

Oct

26

2023

I was always impressed with people who could make life lessons out of things.

“Wow, that’s a really good way of looking at that.”
“How did they think of that?”
and so on.

But then I discovered that you can make anything a life lesson if you want. You can even make the same thing two opposite lessons. People just make them up.

This realization came to me last summer as I was figuring out how to keep our pool clean.

I read something about how you should stir the water and brush the sides so the gunk doesn’t settle and can get pulled into the filter. It won’t stay clean unless you keep things active. And I was reminded of relationship advice – not to let problems fester, but to get things out in the open. You can’t resolve any problems by ignoring them.

Then we went away on vacation, and the pool sat unattended for a week or two. And all the gunk settled and congealed into a mat at the bottom of the pool, and it was easily scraped up in large chunks. And I was reminded of relationship advice – not to keep bringing up disagreements and hurts, but to give things time to heal.

No, it’s not a perfect analogy, but I never was that good at making life lessons out of things. But the life lesson here is that you can get lessons out of anything. Like Ratatouille – not that everything can be a life lesson, but that a life lesson can come from anywhere.

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all offenses.

Proverbs 10:12

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What to Watch

Oct

18

2023

With the daylight hours diminishing, I can’t spend all evening working outside on yard projects anymore. So I’m stuck inside after dinner.

I’ve found myself wondering if I should catch up on some of the movies I’ve been thinking about watching. But then I remember that it’s football season, so half the time the evening could be spent watching football.

I then got to comparing watching sports versus watching a movie. If I have to spend two hours of my evening, which is better?

With movies, they have different characters, but the plots are generally similar and the ending is about the same.

With sports, they have the same recurring characters and the plots are generally similar, but the ending is unknown.

I usually end up watching football because it’s live. I know the movies aren’t going anywhere, and it’s not very fun watching a game a week or two later after you know the outcome.

Yes, there are still plenty of projects inside the house to do, but it seems my motivation sets with the sun.

My eyes anticipate the night watches, So that I may meditate on Your word.

Psalm 119:148

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Consistent Interface

Oct

12

2023

One of main complaints with the iPhone is the inconsistent interface for clock notifications. I use both the alarm (for waking up in the morning) and the timer (reminders during the day) just about every day. And I never know which button to press to get it to stop.

Here’s the alarm:

image of an iPhone's alarm screen

And here’s the timer:

image of an iPhone's timer screen

My problem is that I want to press the larger, more colorful button. But Apple has made the decision that for the two parts of its clock app, the larger, more colorful button will have two different meanings.

So when my iPhone starts making clock noises, I have to look at it, figure out which button means “stop” and which button means “remind me again soon”, and press the one I want.

One of these days, I’ll change my alarm setting to turn off the snooze option…

Then when you sound an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be sounded for them to break camp.

Numbers 10:6

Posted in Life, Technical | No Comments »

Stefani’s Store

Oct

4

2023

This one is about 19 years late, but I didn’t see that anyone’s done this yet, so here it is.

If Gwen Stefani ever needs an idea for a store, she should open a Jewish bread store.

image of Gwen Stefani's challah back bread store, not hollaback

And, of course, all sales to females are final.

Because …

you can’t take that challah back, girl.

When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.

Leviticus 26:26

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The 5 Hows: Othello

Sep

29

2023

1. How do I win?
By having more chips showing your color than the opponents does of his color.

2. How do I get the chips to show my color?
Place your chip down at the end of a row. All the chips of the opponent’s color in a line between your newly-placed chip and an existing chip of your color, you get the flip them to your color.

Note that you must have a chip of your color in the line – if it’s a line of all the other color, then nothing happens.

Also note that you can convert only the chips in that line until the first of your color. If the line of the other color is interrupted by one of your color, then you must not flip any chips after that one, even if you have another chip later in the line.

3. How do I prevent the opponents from taking over my chips on the board?
The only way to truly prevent it is by getting to the corners. A corner is the end of all lines, so no one can place a chip after it to flip it.

The edge of the board is better than the middle, but the corner is the best.

4. How does the game end?
Keep taking turns until the board is full. Or, if you have an older game and lost some chips, until you’re out of chips.

5. How do we start the game?
Place 4 chips in the middle of the board, 2 of each color and alternating, like this:
XO
OX

Then the first player places a chip wherever he wants, and you take turns.

There, now go play Othello. Or Reversi, they’re similar.

So he removed on that day the striped or spotted male goats, and all the speckled or spotted female goats, every one with white on it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in the care of his sons.

Genesis 30:35

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