Notice the next-to-last "feature" listed in this advertisement (I've circled it for you) for a hotel here in Topeka. It's a bit unusual, wouldn't you say? If you're having trouble reading the picture, click on the picture for a larger version.
Friday, February 23, 2007
An unusual amenity
Notice the next-to-last "feature" listed in this advertisement (I've circled it for you) for a hotel here in Topeka. It's a bit unusual, wouldn't you say? If you're having trouble reading the picture, click on the picture for a larger version.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Ash Wednesday 2007
I can't believe that Lent is already here! Being in a non-liturgical church certainly makes it hard to keep track of the times and seasons that have been traditionally observed by the church in much of its history.
While it is found nowhere in Scripture, I think that there is some validity in taking time (granted, we should do it frequently) to ponder the depths of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in anticipation of celebrating His resurrection in about a month and a half.
Traditionally, today has been a day marked by remembering our own weakness and inability to save ourselves. It is today, Ash Wednesday, that we remember that from dust God made us and to dust we will one day return. We can do nothing on our own to save ourselves. This makes the antoning sacrifice of Christ that much more amazing. Praise God for His amazing mercy, even to a ball of dust such as I.
While it is found nowhere in Scripture, I think that there is some validity in taking time (granted, we should do it frequently) to ponder the depths of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in anticipation of celebrating His resurrection in about a month and a half.
Traditionally, today has been a day marked by remembering our own weakness and inability to save ourselves. It is today, Ash Wednesday, that we remember that from dust God made us and to dust we will one day return. We can do nothing on our own to save ourselves. This makes the antoning sacrifice of Christ that much more amazing. Praise God for His amazing mercy, even to a ball of dust such as I.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Thoughts and Notes
You know it's a bad day when...
You dream that you go to an away basketball game, and the court's too small.
You snap at your students for no apparent reason.
You arrive home from working out and there are two police cars parked in front of your apartment building.
A couple of unusual headlines (with commentary) from today:
1. From CNN.com: "U.N. Needed to Thwart Asteroid Threat" (Right, just what we need--the U.N. After all, look at all the great work they've done in the last 10 years in dealing with problems in Iraq, North Korea, Iran, the Sudan, Rwanda, Israel...)
2. From FoxNews.com: "Sen. Clinton says South Carolina should remove flag from Statehouse grounds because U.S. should unite under one flag" (Exactly, the flag of a massive, centralized bureaucracy that provides low-quality nationalized health care and tons of other entitlements. Oh, I can't wait for the taxes. I'll have to make sure I move it into the 'hood before she gets elected President because I won't be able to afford to live somewhere even marginally safe anymore.)
You dream that you go to an away basketball game, and the court's too small.
You snap at your students for no apparent reason.
You arrive home from working out and there are two police cars parked in front of your apartment building.
A couple of unusual headlines (with commentary) from today:
1. From CNN.com: "U.N. Needed to Thwart Asteroid Threat" (Right, just what we need--the U.N. After all, look at all the great work they've done in the last 10 years in dealing with problems in Iraq, North Korea, Iran, the Sudan, Rwanda, Israel...)
2. From FoxNews.com: "Sen. Clinton says South Carolina should remove flag from Statehouse grounds because U.S. should unite under one flag" (Exactly, the flag of a massive, centralized bureaucracy that provides low-quality nationalized health care and tons of other entitlements. Oh, I can't wait for the taxes. I'll have to make sure I move it into the 'hood before she gets elected President because I won't be able to afford to live somewhere even marginally safe anymore.)
Friday, February 16, 2007
Snow?!
It's been a rough winter for weather forecasters. As late as Wednesday, they were saying that the temperature today was supposed to 40 degrees under partly cloudy skies. However, a small snowstorm moved through for about 2 1/2 hours this afternoon, <rant>causing our basketball Senior Night to be canceled because the other team didn't want to risk coming in from KC.</rant> Needless to say, I am displeased. It's not fair to the seniors, who have worked for four years and now won't get any recognition. Such is life, but it's disappointing that the forecasters can't do a better job.
So far this winter, every forecast of a major snowstorm even one day in advance has been a bust. Now, we have only a same-day warning about this mini-storm, and it's enough to scare our opposition out of driving in to play us. Sigh.
So far this winter, every forecast of a major snowstorm even one day in advance has been a bust. Now, we have only a same-day warning about this mini-storm, and it's enough to scare our opposition out of driving in to play us. Sigh.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Alternate Hot Drinks
I don't like coffee, and I don't like tea. However, there are some cold mornings when I would like to drink something warm with breakfast. Hot cocoa just isn't right for some reason, so I thought I'd try an experiment: hot cola. I normally drink pop at room temperature, anyway, so the thought of it heated to the same temperature as tea is not as repulsive to me as it is to some. Still, would it taste fine?
To find out, I took about 4 ounces of a name brand cola, poured it in a microwave-safe cup, and heated it for the appropriate amount of time. The resulting beverage was unpleasant to drink. It lost some of its carbonation due to heating (the carbon dioxide is already loosely embedded in the drink, heating only exacerbated the degassing process). It lost the crisp, sweet taste that I normally associate with this particular cola. Instead, it was more of a semi-flat, semi-syrupy, mostly disgusting concoction. I now know why people do not serve colas hot. They taste terrible.
The question to solve now: what to drink? What warm beverage could I drink in the morning that is neither tea nor coffee nor cocoa? That question will have to be put on hold for another day.
To find out, I took about 4 ounces of a name brand cola, poured it in a microwave-safe cup, and heated it for the appropriate amount of time. The resulting beverage was unpleasant to drink. It lost some of its carbonation due to heating (the carbon dioxide is already loosely embedded in the drink, heating only exacerbated the degassing process). It lost the crisp, sweet taste that I normally associate with this particular cola. Instead, it was more of a semi-flat, semi-syrupy, mostly disgusting concoction. I now know why people do not serve colas hot. They taste terrible.
The question to solve now: what to drink? What warm beverage could I drink in the morning that is neither tea nor coffee nor cocoa? That question will have to be put on hold for another day.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Better Late Than Never?
I received something quite unusual in the mail today. Arriving in a specially-designed envelope was my own shrink-wrapped copy of ETS's GRE PowerPrep (tm) software. This fancy software is designed by ETS to help people who are going to take the GRE prepare for the rigors of the test.
Now, there's just one little problem with me receiving this software: I already took the test! In fact, I took it over a month ago and already have received my scores. So, what, exactly, am I supposed to do with this CD-ROM? I already have enough coasters (thank you, AOL), and CD-ROMs don't make good frisbees. So, I guess I'll just store it in case any I know ever decides to try his hand at the GRE. I can probably get the software to him faster than ETS apparently can.
Now, there's just one little problem with me receiving this software: I already took the test! In fact, I took it over a month ago and already have received my scores. So, what, exactly, am I supposed to do with this CD-ROM? I already have enough coasters (thank you, AOL), and CD-ROMs don't make good frisbees. So, I guess I'll just store it in case any I know ever decides to try his hand at the GRE. I can probably get the software to him faster than ETS apparently can.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Where Have I Heard This Before?
Which is Better: Persuasion or Force?
Abstract
People have always been trying to make each other do something that they do not want to do. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force.
This experiment examines these two methods and attempts to determine which is better. It was hypothesized that force would work better than persuasion because force works no matter how willing the subject is. The experiment, however, showed the opposite, that persuasion is better than force. The implications of this result are far reaching.
Paper
Which is better: persuasion or force? This experiment examines these two methods and determines which is better.
A little background is required first. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force (Nonymous, 15). Force is defined as "to compel through pressure or necessity" (Dictionary, 522). Persuasion, on the other hand, means "the act of persuading or being persuaded" (Dictionary, 926). Thus, these methods taken together show different paths that one can take in order to enforce one's will upon someone else.
Force has been used for a long time. The Israelites took the Promised Land through force (Joshua, NIV). Alexander the Great used force when he conquered much of the known world (Heroditus, Books I-VI). Other examples include... [Editor's note: The remainder of this paragraph removed because of space considerations.]
Likewise, persuasion occurred just as often. Satan persuaded Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, bringing a curse on all humanity (Genesis 3, NIV).... [Editor's note: Section removed due to space limitations.] Finally, modern politicians often persuade the public to vote for them by making all sorts of bizarre promises that they have no hope of keeping.
My hypothesis for this experiment was that force would be better than persuasion, since force can work even when the subject is unwilling. To test this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted using a man, the north wind, and the sun. The man had a loose-fitting cloak that he wrapped around his shoulders. Then, the north wind and the sun would each take a turn attempting to get the man to remove his cloak. The participants would be timed with an ordinary stop watch. This process was repeated three times to ensure reproducible data. A coin was flipped to determine who would go first for the first trial. After that, the participants would alternate throughout the remainder of the experiment.
The north wind won the toss and thus went first. Using all his force, the north wind blew as hard as he could against the man, causing his cloak to flap around like crazy. The man, however, only held onto his cloak harder. The man never removed his cloak. The results from each of the three trials for the wind are summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1 -- North Wind's Results
Trial Time
1 Infinite
2 Infinite
3 Infinite
Overall, the north wind's three trial times averaged out to infinity. He failed to dislodge the man's cloak.
The sun went second during each trial. Instead of using force, he beamed down gently on the man, causing him to become warmer and warmer until eventually the man took off his cloak. The results from the sun's trials are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 -- Sun's Results
Trial Time
1 5 minutes, 23 seconds
2 8 minutes, 10 seconds
3 1 minute, 1 second
Overall, the sun's average time was 4 minutes, 51 seconds. The sun successfully dislodged the man's cloak during each trial.
Based upon the data, my hypothesis has been proven incorrect. Persuasion is better than force. The results of this experiment are far-reaching, affecting parent/child, student/teacher, and even dictator/oppressed-peasant relationships.
Bibliography
1. American Heritage Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
2. God. The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: International Bible Society/Zondervan, 1984.
3. Heroditus. Histories. Athens: Ancient Greek Scribes, 440 BC.
4. Nonymous, Alexander. Methods for Enforcing One's Will upon Others. Tehran, Iran: O-PRESS-ion, 2007.
People have always been trying to make each other do something that they do not want to do. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force.
This experiment examines these two methods and attempts to determine which is better. It was hypothesized that force would work better than persuasion because force works no matter how willing the subject is. The experiment, however, showed the opposite, that persuasion is better than force. The implications of this result are far reaching.
Paper
Which is better: persuasion or force? This experiment examines these two methods and determines which is better.
A little background is required first. Ever since Satan tricked Eve in the Garden of Eden, there have been two primary methods for enforcing one's will upon someone else: persuasion and force (Nonymous, 15). Force is defined as "to compel through pressure or necessity" (Dictionary, 522). Persuasion, on the other hand, means "the act of persuading or being persuaded" (Dictionary, 926). Thus, these methods taken together show different paths that one can take in order to enforce one's will upon someone else.
Force has been used for a long time. The Israelites took the Promised Land through force (Joshua, NIV). Alexander the Great used force when he conquered much of the known world (Heroditus, Books I-VI). Other examples include... [Editor's note: The remainder of this paragraph removed because of space considerations.]
Likewise, persuasion occurred just as often. Satan persuaded Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, bringing a curse on all humanity (Genesis 3, NIV).... [Editor's note: Section removed due to space limitations.] Finally, modern politicians often persuade the public to vote for them by making all sorts of bizarre promises that they have no hope of keeping.
My hypothesis for this experiment was that force would be better than persuasion, since force can work even when the subject is unwilling. To test this hypothesis, an experiment was conducted using a man, the north wind, and the sun. The man had a loose-fitting cloak that he wrapped around his shoulders. Then, the north wind and the sun would each take a turn attempting to get the man to remove his cloak. The participants would be timed with an ordinary stop watch. This process was repeated three times to ensure reproducible data. A coin was flipped to determine who would go first for the first trial. After that, the participants would alternate throughout the remainder of the experiment.
The north wind won the toss and thus went first. Using all his force, the north wind blew as hard as he could against the man, causing his cloak to flap around like crazy. The man, however, only held onto his cloak harder. The man never removed his cloak. The results from each of the three trials for the wind are summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1 -- North Wind's Results
Trial Time
1 Infinite
2 Infinite
3 Infinite
Overall, the north wind's three trial times averaged out to infinity. He failed to dislodge the man's cloak.
The sun went second during each trial. Instead of using force, he beamed down gently on the man, causing him to become warmer and warmer until eventually the man took off his cloak. The results from the sun's trials are shown in Table 2.
Table 2 -- Sun's Results
Trial Time
1 5 minutes, 23 seconds
2 8 minutes, 10 seconds
3 1 minute, 1 second
Overall, the sun's average time was 4 minutes, 51 seconds. The sun successfully dislodged the man's cloak during each trial.
Based upon the data, my hypothesis has been proven incorrect. Persuasion is better than force. The results of this experiment are far-reaching, affecting parent/child, student/teacher, and even dictator/oppressed-peasant relationships.
Bibliography
1. American Heritage Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.
2. God. The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: International Bible Society/Zondervan, 1984.
3. Heroditus. Histories. Athens: Ancient Greek Scribes, 440 BC.
4. Nonymous, Alexander. Methods for Enforcing One's Will upon Others. Tehran, Iran: O-PRESS-ion, 2007.
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