Amen.
[except in our case, insert 'almost' into the first point]
This is why my wife and I have a joint account
21 11 2007Penny Arcade on Facebook:
Robert suggested we create Facebook accounts, I think in an effort to establish that we were “down” with whatever “new jives” the kids were flexing on the mean streets. I refused. Gabriel buckled, and the **** that ensued verified my initial assessment: that maintaining Facebook would quickly constitute another job. Of which I already have several.
Kristy spends a great deal of time maintaining ours. I try to ignore it as much as possible.
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Categories : blogs, culture, tech
For the Hebrew nerds
18 11 2007מִי־אֶתֵּן וְהָיִיתִי לְבָבִי זֶה לִי לְבוֹן אֶת־עִבְרִי וְשְׁמַרוֹ לְעֲשֹׂתוֹ׃
(cf. Deut 5:29)
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Categories : language, nerdy, old testament
Research
15 11 2007
Research turns up the most amazing things.
I came across this little historical tidbit in the process of writing an essay earlier in the year, but it came up again in my study for a Reformation Church History exam next week. It’s taken from The Later Reformation in England 1547-1603, by Diarmaid MacCulloch (1968), in the context of continental theological divisions that existed between Lutherans and Calvinists in England:
“Amid these divisions, there were distinctive English theological priorities, but the English added little that was original; indeed, the English lack of capacity for abstract theological invention is so marked through national history as to constitute a dangerously plausible argument for persistent national characteristics.“
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Categories : christian, church, history
Youtube
14 11 2007
In light of a couple of recent posts of youtube videos, I thought I’d share with you a nifty utility I’ve come across in my travels.
Vixy.net asks you to enter a youtube url, and choose your output format (.avi, .mov, .mp4 for iPod, .3gp for mobile, or .mp3 for audio only). It will then convert the movie into your chosen format, and you can download the file for later enjoyment.
Nice. And handy.
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Categories : tech
More Tripod
13 11 2007Here’s another beautiful music clip from Tripod (with Eddie Perfect).
They’re singing Paul Kelley’s Middle of the Air.
The lyrics are a bit of a Psalm 23/1 Thessalonians 4/John 13 mashup, which is pretty remarkable given this recording is by (as far as I know) a bunch of non-Christian blokes on ABC’s The Sideshow, of all places.
I can sing a bit, but listening to this makes me wish I could, you know, sing.
Enjoy.
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Categories : music
Cover art
11 11 2007Tripod, meet Radiohead.
Radiohead, meet Tripod.
Beautiful. Brilliant. Everything is as it should be.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Categories : culture, music
Scrivener 1.10
10 11 2007
A new version of the excellent document organisation/writing program Scrivener is out.
I’ve been running the beta version (1.05.something) and it didn’t recognise the updated version, even when I ran ‘Check for Updates’ manually. Having installed the new version however, things are working out nicely. There’s a list of updates as long as your arm… longer, probably.
I use it for organising my lecture notes, writing exegeticals and essays, and even sermons. It’s good gear. Try it if you haven’t already (oh, it’s Mac only. Sorry).
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Categories : apple, nerdy, tech
Perplexed
10 11 2007
I was down at the local shopping centre earlier today. I was feeling pretty average, and my wife kindly made me go and sit down at a cafe while she did the first part of the shopping. This particular centre was a little short on decent places for coffee, so Gloria Jeans was the best I could find.
Yes, I am a coffee snob.
At the counter, I ordered a macchiato. That’s a shot of espresso, plus a dash of frothed milk on top. I started to suspect that things might not work out for the best when the conversation went like this:
Me: “A macchiato please, to have here.”
Shop assisstant: “Sure. Would you like that in a mug?”
Me: (perplexed). “Ummm…” (holding fingers up, about 2cm apart), “A macchiato is about this big.”
Shop assisstant: “Yes, but we also do them in mugs.”
Me: “Ummm… no, a small glass will be fine.”
I know that upsizing things is all the rage in chain stores, but needing a mug for what is a very tiny drink seems, to me at least, to be indicating that priorities are a little askew.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Categories : coffee
Helpful hints for college students
9 11 2007There’s a nice list put together at the Baptist Blogger on rules/advice for seminary students. Here are some I particularly liked:
5. Never, ever use an exclamation point for any reason whatsoever.
(!)
17. Serve one year as a professor’s grader. There’s nothing like reading stacks of horrible research papers to teach you how not to write.
Amen. My UNSW Ethics classes have taught me well.
23. Skip chapel most of the time for early lunches off campus with friends. Hooky is liberating.
Now if only our chapels were before lunch…
36. Ask no more than three questions in class per semester.
Need I say anything?
48. Burn at least one textbook in a ceremony of private dissent. Most books on leadership make for good kindling.
How about this one?
Some, however, didn’t quite sit well with me:
14. Find a spot in the library away from high traffic areas and live there between classes. Stay away from the coffee shops. Do not waste your energies rutting with the spring bucks.
Coffee shops are wonderful. Newtown has some good ones.
16. Expand your knowledge base of art, literature, and music. Visit at least one museum a year, and spend the day. Attend a symphony. Read Shakespeare.
Sure. But don’t just be arty. Get into the culture of the people with whom you minister. Compare Mark Driscoll’s advice.
‘I would strongly encourage all pastors and Christian leaders to spend some time familiarizing themselves with the fast-growing sport [Ultimate Fighting] that is capturing millions of young men and ask yourself why.’
A friend suggested that we put a list together for Moore College. Any suggestions?
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Categories : christian, theology
What not to do when designing
8 11 2007My microwave is a case study in awful user interfaces.
Here it is, in all its matching stainless-steel glory.
For starters, it isn’t always in “I’m-ready-to-cook” mode, which is clearly what one uses a microwave for most often. To set the time you need to push the ‘Time’ button, then put in the time. Awkward, but perhaps forgivable.
Setting the clock, however, is a different kettle of fish. This is the process:
- press ‘Clock‘
- press ‘Cancel‘ (this, inexplicably, clears the current time from the display)
- key in the current time
- press ‘Clock‘ again
That sucks.
Pressing ‘Cancel’ after starting an action should cancel that action, not be an integral part of it.
This is what happens when electrical engineers design user interfaces.
Yes, I am aware of the irony.
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Categories : design, tech
What a difference a culture makes
6 11 2007
I’ve started reading Mark Driscoll’s Confessions of a Reformission Rev., his story of the birth and growth of his church in Seattle, Mars Hill Church.
In the introduction he talks about Seattle:
‘one of the nation’s least-churched cities, where only 8 percent of the population is evangelical Christian and 86 percent does not attend a worship service of any religion during an average week‘
(Confessions, p. 9)
Compare and contrast to the goal of the Sydney Anglican church mission (note that this is the goal, not the actual mission statement itself):
The second step was to adopt a primary ‘goal’ to help focus all the activities of the Diocese’s congregations and organisations. So, under God, and together with other like-minded churches, Sydney Anglicans have adopted ‘10% in 10 years’ as a memorable slogan to summarise their aims.
The Goal >>
To see at least 10% of the population of the region of the Sydney Diocese in Bible-based churches in 10 years.
(http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/mission/articles/what_is_the_mission/)
So in the US an un-churched city has ‘only’ 8 percent in church, while we’re hoping and praying to reach 10% of the population.
And people say that Australia’s culture is a copy of America’s.
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Categories : christian, church
Now this is a movie
5 11 2007
Just saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Absolutely brilliant.
Although quite brutal at points, this is a truly remarkable movie. The characterisation is deep and engaging, the story is wonderfully told, the scenery and cinematography is nothing short of breathtaking, and the director felt no compulsion to jam it full of stuff it didn’t need.
It’s not often you hear silence in movies at the cinema. At points I felt I was watching a foreign film (whose directors are not afraid of silence, but can at points let things drag far too much). The scope of the landscape was simply fantastic.
As I said, there are a couple of violent parts which are not really for the faint-hearted. As modern movies go they aren’t all that terrible, but the shock of something like that happening amongst these characters that you really care about, in a world where such a thing is both everyday and alien, is really part of the craft of the film. You will care when the title-scene happens.
You should see this film.
The official movie site will give you a taste of the feel of the movie, but don’t stop there. Watch this movie. It’s the best I’ve seen in a long time.
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Categories : movie
