Saturday, August 20, 2011
Feeling Superior
Liberalism is not a system for solving problems, it is a system for feeling superior.
Friday, August 19, 2011
National Aviation Day
Today, August 19, is National Aviation Day in the U.S.
In 1939, FDR established this holiday – the birthday of Orville Wright – to promote interest in aviation.
The web site of the Engineers’ Club of Dayton, OH has a 6.5 minute video of snippets from some of the early flights by the Wright Brothers -- see http://www.daytoninnovationlegacy.org/
In 1939, FDR established this holiday – the birthday of Orville Wright – to promote interest in aviation.
The web site of the Engineers’ Club of Dayton, OH has a 6.5 minute video of snippets from some of the early flights by the Wright Brothers -- see http://www.daytoninnovationlegacy.org/
Keeping it Human
From Time Magazine's 50 Best Websites of 2011:
Some of the biggest companies in the U.S. are in hiding - or at least, you might think so when you want to talk to a real person at one of them. Phone numbers are often tough to find, and if you do uncover one, it could lead to a voice-menu system that tries to placate you with recorded messages. That's why GetHuman is so essential. It provides numbers for thousands of companies, from AT&T to Zynga, plus information on which buttons to press to reach a human and how long you're likely to wait on hold. Users can also vent by writing customer-service reviews; they're pockmarked with phrases like "What a nightmare!"
Among the very worst companies out there? FaceBook.
* Average wait time: 61.9 minutes
* User rating: Horrible
See http://gethuman.com/
Some of the biggest companies in the U.S. are in hiding - or at least, you might think so when you want to talk to a real person at one of them. Phone numbers are often tough to find, and if you do uncover one, it could lead to a voice-menu system that tries to placate you with recorded messages. That's why GetHuman is so essential. It provides numbers for thousands of companies, from AT&T to Zynga, plus information on which buttons to press to reach a human and how long you're likely to wait on hold. Users can also vent by writing customer-service reviews; they're pockmarked with phrases like "What a nightmare!"
Among the very worst companies out there? FaceBook.
* Average wait time: 61.9 minutes
* User rating: Horrible
See http://gethuman.com/
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
No Thanks on the Turkey
Dinner tonight was almost a Mexican dish.
I walked into the restaurant, surveyed the menu, and then approached the counter. The ground beef burrito struck my fancy.
"We don't have ground beef any more," the lad behind the register told me.
"Oh?" I said in surprise.
"No, we switched to turkey. But then the turkey got salmonella, so now we don't have that either."
"OK, thanks, I'm good to go," I said, and promptly turned and left.
I dined at the BBQ chicken place instead.
I walked into the restaurant, surveyed the menu, and then approached the counter. The ground beef burrito struck my fancy.
"We don't have ground beef any more," the lad behind the register told me.
"Oh?" I said in surprise.
"No, we switched to turkey. But then the turkey got salmonella, so now we don't have that either."
"OK, thanks, I'm good to go," I said, and promptly turned and left.
I dined at the BBQ chicken place instead.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
42 for Matthew, 72 for Luke
In the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, the first 17 verses are given over to providing the genealogy of Christ. The sequence ends with this summation:
1:17: So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon are fourteen generations. And from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.
That makes for 42 generations from Abraham to Christ.
Meanwhile, the Gospel of St. Luke begins its genealogy in the third chapter at the twenty-third verse. And St. Luke lists 72 generations from Adam to Christ.
A contradiction? Only a seeming one.
St. Matthew's primary audience was the Jewish Christians; St. Luke, the gentile Christians (beginning with the "most excellent Theopilus"). The latter was the missionary companion of St. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles.
In his genealogy St. Matthew demonstrated that Christ was the Messiah, the son of David. In the Hebrew language, David's name has three consonants, D-V-D; like Arabic, written Hebrew does not record vowels. In the Jewish tradition, the letters D-V-D were given the numerical significance of 4-6-4, which added together equals 14. Adhering to the Jewish custom, St. Matthew lists three sets of 14 generations -- or 42 generations -- of the Davidic line.
St. Luke arrived at his number based on the Jewish tradition that the whole world was occupied by 72 races of men; thus, by naming 72 generations, St. Luke demonstrated that Christ had come to bring salvation to all men.
Or again, St. Matthew gave the juridical succession through which Davidic rights descended to Joseph, and then to his legal son -- i.e. Jesus. St. Luke, meanwhile, abstracted from this legal or juridical succession, and followed the real genealogy according to consanguinity.
1:17: So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon are fourteen generations. And from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.
That makes for 42 generations from Abraham to Christ.
Meanwhile, the Gospel of St. Luke begins its genealogy in the third chapter at the twenty-third verse. And St. Luke lists 72 generations from Adam to Christ.
A contradiction? Only a seeming one.
St. Matthew's primary audience was the Jewish Christians; St. Luke, the gentile Christians (beginning with the "most excellent Theopilus"). The latter was the missionary companion of St. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles.
In his genealogy St. Matthew demonstrated that Christ was the Messiah, the son of David. In the Hebrew language, David's name has three consonants, D-V-D; like Arabic, written Hebrew does not record vowels. In the Jewish tradition, the letters D-V-D were given the numerical significance of 4-6-4, which added together equals 14. Adhering to the Jewish custom, St. Matthew lists three sets of 14 generations -- or 42 generations -- of the Davidic line.
St. Luke arrived at his number based on the Jewish tradition that the whole world was occupied by 72 races of men; thus, by naming 72 generations, St. Luke demonstrated that Christ had come to bring salvation to all men.
Or again, St. Matthew gave the juridical succession through which Davidic rights descended to Joseph, and then to his legal son -- i.e. Jesus. St. Luke, meanwhile, abstracted from this legal or juridical succession, and followed the real genealogy according to consanguinity.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Slow Learners
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC
Updated 8/10/2011: The chap from Delphi wrote me that Cicero was not the author of the remark above. I did a bit of research and confirmed the fact; it appears the quotation was from a fictionalized history of the Roman statesman. Looks like the authority of Cicero can't be invoked for this one; we're just obliged to take the wisdom and good sense of the statement on its own merits.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC
Updated 8/10/2011: The chap from Delphi wrote me that Cicero was not the author of the remark above. I did a bit of research and confirmed the fact; it appears the quotation was from a fictionalized history of the Roman statesman. Looks like the authority of Cicero can't be invoked for this one; we're just obliged to take the wisdom and good sense of the statement on its own merits.
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