Collateral Bloggage

Just renewed my tags. Go me!!! However, Tuesday is *not* a good day to go to DEQ. Since it’s closed on Monday, going on Tuesday is like going on Monday. Wait, what did I write? Moving on…

One thing I like about the way the Cornelius Pass DEQ is set up is the lanes are all sloped downhill. Thus, after getting into the prodigious Lane 7, I turned my engine off and coasted whenever the line moved up. I figured that’d be just the logical thing to do.

Nope. There were probably 50 other cars in line, and I couldn’t spot a single one that *wasn’t* running. So basically, what we had was a bunch of cars burning fossil fuels and releasing pollutants for 30 minutes or so while waiting to get DEQ’d. Nice. I’m no Greenie or anything, but you’d think they’d put up a sign or something, right?

“Please turn off your car. This place is about reducing pollution…savvy?”

Have you ever heard somebody say something like this?

“I saw that the holiday shopping expenditures went from $9.5 Billion last year to 10.3 Billion this year, which begs the question of how the media can claim the economy is bad.”

If I asked you what was wrong with that sentence (other than its length), what would you say? Most folks these days would probably miss it, but it’s the little phrase “begs the question.”

So, a little primer for those who didn’t find a problem with it. Begging the question is basically another name for circular reasoning. It might go like this:

Person A: “We know the Bible is true.”
Person B: “Why?”
Person A: “Because God cannot lie.”
Person B: “How do we know that?”
Person A: “The Bible says so.”

So, in this case, the conclusion assumes the premise is true. And this is a no-no. This is begging the question.
A Plea for Sanity

Something Pastor Ron mentioned this weekend struck a nerve with me. He was attempting to show that the “spirits in prison” from 1 Peter were actual spiritual beings, not just deceased people. He showed that the Greek word “pneumata” was used, which is the plural of “pneuma”, which is translated “spirit” or “wind” (actually he didn’t mention the “wind” connection). In the course of his discourse, he referenced Genesis 6 and the “Sons of God”.

It’s a widely held belief that the “Sons of God” in Genesis 6 refer to angels or fallen angels, who came down to earth, mated with human women (”daughters of men”), and produced the Nephilim, a powerful race of giants. I have three problems with this:

1. First, there’s no actual connection in the text between the sons/daughters and the Nephilim. Look at it:

Ah, but you’ll have to click to see what I mean

You may be aware that I’m a zero-tolerance driver. But as much as I’m irritated by bad driving, I’m equally annoyed at bad pedestrians. Especially in parking lots. So, a few guidelines for getting along with your 2000 pound metal friends.

1. Remember to walk on the left.

more scintillating verbage after the cut

Today I was at the communal Vending/Fridge/Microwave/Sink area at work, scooping the seeds out of the middle of a papaya I was preparing to eat, when an acquaintance chimed in with this question:

“Are the seeds soft?”

Having never experimented in this way, I proceeded to evaluate the answer.

They’re not hard, but they have a slight crunch to them. And they taste like a really hot radish. I have to say, the flavor was neither expected nor welcome. Don’t get me wrong…I love radishes. But not in the middle of my papaya.

Does anybody else think papaya tastes a little like coffee? Or is that just me?

I figured I’d do a “getting to know me” post here in case anybody cares. Or even if they don’t or whatever. So, since my son is six years old, here are six things you probably didn’t care to know about me:

1. I’m Proudly Pedantic.

2. I’m *-handed.

More vital stats

I’m a huge baseball fan. I love watching the Mariners on TV with my son. I’ve now been to two major league parks (Safeco Field in Seattle, PETCO Park in San Diego), and one of my dream vacations would be to see a game in every park. That’d be wicked kewl.

Alex Rodriguez is a supremely talented player, and he’s a free agent. He’s also represented by Scott Boras, otherwise known as Mephisto. He’s trying to pull A-Rod a contract worth 10 years and $350 million. How ridiculous is that? Rodriguez just opted out of his previous $252 million, 10-year deal after 7 years of living under the burden of being the highest paid player in professional sports. Why would he do that again?

How about this, Alex? Sign for less than you can get. Prove you’re worth more by signing for three years at $15 million a year. Chump change, right? There’s a reason Average Joes like me have respect but also contempt for people like you…you live in a fantasy world. Of course, you’d call a $45 million contract “insulting.” Whatever, dude.

$30 million a year is too much. Don’t take it if it’s offered. Nobody can live up to it. Don’t put yourself through it. It’s not about respect. It’s about being worth more than you’re paid. At $350 million, that’s just not possible. Take the paycut and prove it’s really not about the money. Go to a team that can use you, and help them win the Series. Leave them with enough cash to actually bring in some other players, unless you plan to pitch, too.

Or, let Mephisto have his way. And take baseball down with you.

I discovered a corollary to this verse over the weekend. I would add another verse 5 and move 5 down. My verse 5 would look like this:

Yep, I wrapped my pinky toe around the leg of my nice leather chair on Saturday. It made such a disgusting popping sound that I was sure I’d broken it. Turns out it’s just severely bruised and probably sprained a bit.

Deep, no?

A while back, I asked a coworker if he considered himself a Christian. (He had previously mentioned going to church). He replied that he did, so I plowed forward with a question I typically ask people who self-identify as Believers (of any faith).

Me: “What makes you a Christian? What does it mean for you to be a Christian?”
Him: “I think it’s about what you believe. I believe in Jesus.”
Me: “So, does being a Christian mean you have to live in any certain way?”
Him: “I think if you believe the right things, you’re okay.”

What do I think of this?

BTW, RTFM = Read the Flippin’ Manual (meaning the Oregon Driver’s Manual or Bicycle Manual). Find them here

First, for the cyclists out there. And after you know and affirm this rule, you may call yourself a cyclist. Until then, you’re a bad driver on a bike. So far, I have just one rule for you.
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