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.
Mar
9
2023
You should all be familiar with the phrase “All roads lead to Rome”, and some people have already made signposts joking about that.
Like this:
But I haven’t yet seen anything about what the signposts in Rome would look like. Wouldn’t roads from Rome thus go everywhere, and possible look like this?
but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me
2 Timothy 1:17
Mar
1
2023
I’ve been able to fit some book reading in during the long dark winter nights, so here are some more reviews.
First up: Aster and the Accidental Magic by Thom Pico and Karensac
This one was fine. It’s a graphic novel, aimed at the grade-school set. The drawing style took a little getting used to. No other problems here.
Next up: A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold
This book seemed to be mostly an insight into how an autistic boy thinks, trying to promote understanding and compassion for why he does the things he does. And by that measure, I think it succeeds. I don’t know that it’s the most compelling or gripping storyline, but it has its place.
Next up: The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson
Of these 4 books, this was the most entertaining. But it is also the one targeted to the oldest audience group, junior high+, so that might have something to do with it. A ragtag group of misfits bonds together in a common quest to [prove themselves to others / gain the family they miss or never had / redeem something for some debt / etc.] Standard adventure fare, but in a good way. Nothing objectionable, other than some peril and vague violence (with swords and clubs and such).
Next up: Granted also by John David Anderson
Same author, but much different. Different style, different type of book, different audience (although one could argue they’re both in the Fantasy genre). Whereas The Dungeoneers had a storytelling tone, Granted had a conversational tone. And, but for one word, nothing objectionable if you’re okay with the premise of fairies granting wishes. There was one word thrown in to promote acceptance of alternative lifestyles. The author didn’t make it a big point, but it just seemed enough out of place from the rest of the book that it stood out.
That’s it for this review. More book reviews coming up later this year.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother”
Zechariah 7:9
Feb
23
2023
For the family Super Bowl gathering, I made Puppy Chow. That’s right, I made Puppy Chow not Muddy Buddies.
Since I don’t have the recipe memorized, I turned to the internet for help. There were several results, so I compared and contrasted them. They were basically the same, so I went with the one that made the most sense to me.
But in my research, I came across Paula Deen’s recipe for Puppy Chow. It wasn’t much different from any of the others, but I found it not-so-useful. Here it is.
The reason it is not so useful is because it is too vague. “1 box cereal”, “1 bag chocolate chips”, “1 bag sugar”. For the cereal, I saw two options for box sizes. For chocolate chips, three sizes. I didn’t bother checking how many sizes sugar comes in, as I knew this was not the recipe for me.
I ignored this one and went with one that had actual measurements, like 2 cups of chocolate chips (although I bumped it up to 3 to increase the chocolate-to-cereal ratio, per the comments on the recipe site).
If you’re cooking, feel free to improvise and use whatever looks right. But if you’re producing recipes, please use unambiguous ingredient amounts.
Now there were six stone waterpots standing there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each.
John 2:6
Feb
15
2023
If everyone claims to be unique, what good is that? When everyone is unique then no one is unique, to paraphrase my favorite movie quote.
If you want to be unique, don’t claim to be unique, as that will just lump you into the crowd. Go accomplish something. No one ever got labeled as “unique” by doing nothing.
And these stick figures are not using the term “snowflake” in a pejorative sense that is common these days. It just happens to be the object that is most associated with uniqueness.
But He is unique, and who can make Him turn? Whatever His soul desires, He does it.
Job 23:13
Feb
8
2023
Here are some thoughts I jotted down that aren’t quite sufficient for their own individual blog posts. If you’re the type of person who likes Twitter, pretend each of these is a tweet.
you are not to be afraid of them; you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:18
Feb
1
2023
I was behind a Tesla the other day and noticed it resembled something familiar. So I decided to demonstrate that here.
First, start with the back view of a Tesla.
Second, make it the right color
Next, adjust the color of the glass
Then, expand the glass upwards.
Finally, give it a monocle and a mouth.
Tada!
Anyway, that’s what I usually see when I’m behind a Tesla – the roof rails remind me of overalls. It’s a Minion-mobile.
And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel.
Ezekiel 10:10
Jan
25
2023
This is a guide for how to play the game Herd Mentality. This is a game in the spirit of Apples to Apples, but you’re trying to please the crowd rather than one specific person. I like it better than Apples to Apples, because I’m not subjected to the whims of someone else’s mood. Some people may like it less, because they get less of a chance to be silly.
1. How do I win?
By being the first player to 7 (or 5, or 10, we change it depending on how the game is going and how people are feeling) points.
2. How do I get points?
You get a point when your answer matches the majority’s answer.
3. How do people answer?
Each turn, the leader/reader guy will take a question from the box and read it to the group. Everyone writes down an answer. Once everyone has an answer, you read them aloud and compare/tally answers. If there is a majority answer, everyone who has that answer gets a point. Slight correction, it doesn’t need to be a majority, just an answer from more people than any other answer.
4. How do I not win?
If, when the answers are tallied, your answer is the only one by itself, you get the pink cow (pink, because it stands out from the herd). Note that multiple lone answers cancel each other out and the cow does not change ownership. If you have the cow, you can’t win – you can still accumulate points but you can’t win unless someone else earns the cow away from you.
5. How do I let other people know they are taking too long to write down an answer?
You moo at them.
It is a simple game, and can accommodate a wide number of players. It used to be that for family gatherings with more than 10 people, the only game we could play was Apples to Apples. It’s nice to have more options.
There, now go play Herd Mentality.
A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock.
Exodus 12:38
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