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| Gross food | Jun 21, 2006 |
Yesterday, I read two posts about really disgusting food. The first one was about a Beer Battered Deep Fried Bacon Double Quarter Pounder.  The second one was about chocolate-covered bacon. It sounds like somebody thought, "Ya know, I like bacon, and I like chocolate. Why the heck don't I combine the two?"  |
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| Beat-up cars (2) | Jun 21, 2006 |
| When I'm driving, I always know who to stay away from: Beat-up cars. Cars with broken tail lights, dented door panels, and scratched bumpers are always good to steer clear of. It's almost like they announce it: "Don't come near me! I can't drive! And I wear these injuries as a warning to others!" Sure, maybe these people were involved in a hit and run where they were the hit-ee, or maybe they got bumped in a parking lot. Or maybe they just had a little fender bender and they're on their way to get it repaired. Either way, a car's appearance is a good indication of a driver's ability. If the car is in bad shape, chances are that the driver was somehow involved. Obviously this isn't always the case (bad drivers have good cars, and good drivers have bad cars), but it's a good rule of thumb. Another good indicator is the never-ending blinker. If a car's blinker is on for a long time without making a turn, it's usually safe to say that the driver is an idiot and is paying no attention to driving. #travel | |
| WordPress keyboard shortcuts | Jun 20, 2006 |
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One thing I really like about WordPress is its ability to handle keyboard shortcuts in post-writing (assuming you're using the plain text editor, not the WYSIWYG editor) and comment-writing (assuming you have the Comment Quicktags plugin enabled). The shortcuts can be seen (and edited) in the /wp-includes/js/quicktags.js file. Here's a list of some common ones: Alt+a - Link Alt+b - Bold Alt+i - Italics Alt+u - Unordered list (or in my case, Underline) Alt+s - Insert (or in my case, |
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| Underlying | Jun 20, 2006 |
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[Sometimes I feel like Milhouse from the Simpsons when he said, "Bart, remember when I was crying at recess? I think I'm finally ready to tell you why."] I can't help but notice that there's almost always an underlying meaning/message/theme/etc. behind any thought, action, word, or problem. A few weeks ago, I lost something in my house (I think it was a cable that connects a camera to a computer). Not a big deal; not a big ticket item. But the weird thing is that I had quite a bit of trouble getting it off my mind. And when it came right down to it, it had nothing to do with the cable. It had everything to do with the fact that I lost something. I'm a pretty organized person, and I tend to have most things in order and under control. That's how I am, and that's how I like things. But losing something is like a shot in the face of my organized lifestyle. It says that I'm not that organized and I don't have everything under control. This really got to me. The drinking showdown I just wrote about yesterday is another good example of this. The fact that I can't convince people of what I believe is nothing new to me. That didn't really upset me. What really got to me was the fact that I was arguing against a bunch of Christians who I think should have been agreeing with me in the first place. It showed me that the group isn't as hardcore as I thought, and that kind of made me unhappy. And it also had something to say about me as a leader, seeing that when people aren't following, it doesn't look like I'm leading. And whether or not any of these notions are true is beside the point. Truth often has nothing to do with feelings. When I was in high school, I was told by a friend that I didn't have an opinion about a certain issue because I didn't think. This got me really mad and broke communications between the two of us for a while. And when I think about it now, I realize that the reason the comment affected me so much was because it was true. I don't think about things. I claim to have a lot of thoughts and opinions, but there are certain huge topics that I conveniently glance past because I'm not interested or because they're threatening. But to be called out on it was beyond what I could handle. I keep encountering new examples of this idea. I feel like I'm Superman and I'm able to see through solid steel, or in this case, the veil of a problem. Something comes up and I try to figure out what the solution would be, and then I realize that the problem isn't what I originally thought. In fact, it's often far from what it seems. #psychology |
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| Mathematical oddity (5) | Jun 20, 2006 |
Does 0.99999... (0.9 repeating) equal 1? Most people think so. And this guy proves it. I think the best proof he provided was this: The awesome part about this little mathematical oddity is that people get really mad about it and ferociously fight to explain their point of view. I personally think we should burn at the stake anyone who doesn't agree. At least I'm not angry about it. (via Digg) #math10x = 9.9999999999... |
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| Hindsight (2) | Jun 20, 2006 |
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The saying goes, "Hindsight is 20/20". For a while now, I've disagreed with it. How can you say that, if given the chance, you wouldn't do things the way you did them? But then it came to me last night: The saying is true for small things, but not for big things. For example, I can think back to But then there are the big things. There was the time I got arrested; the time I drank until I puked; the time I drank until I puked; the time I lied to my parents about a road trip and they found out. These are mostly bad things, and I have my regrets about their respective outcomes. But I can't honestly say that I would do things differently if I had the chance. In reality, if I was in the same situation at the same point in my life, surrounded by the same people, and involved in the same circumstances, I would most likely make these mistakes over again. Sure, I can say that these things were "mistakes" and "I should've known better", but I'd probably do them all over again. So maybe hindsight is 20/20 in these cases too, but if I had the opportunity to redo or undo these things, I wouldn't. #psychology |
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| Groupthink (2) | Jun 20, 2006 |
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Groupthink is "the act or practice of reasoning or decision-making by a group, especially when characterized by uncritical acceptance or conformity to prevailing points of view." I first learned this term in a psychology class in college. It was new to me, but I quickly understood its meaning and relevance. I'm in a lot of groups in life. At work, I'm on integrated product teams. I take grad classes, so I have to do group projects. But most importantly and most significantly, I'm in a lot of Bible studies and other similar Christian groups. The thing with these kinds of groups is that they're full of lackluster Christians who don't have much of an opinion about anything and hardly want to be there in the first place (that's not always the case, but that's often what it looks like). When it comes time for the group to make a decision, it's often tedious and drawn-out, and often ends with a forced suggestion by the leaders of the group. But one thing I've found is that when an idea is suggested, it's often selected by default. Since no other options are presented, the group goes with the only one on the table, even if it's ridiculous and nobody really likes it or agrees with it. "Let's all drink some Kool-Aid and jump off that bridge." Any other ideas? No? Ok, we'll go with that one. In groups like this, a single person can have a lot of influence because they often encounter no opposition. #religion |
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| Drinking showdown (1) | Jun 19, 2006 |
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I was involved in a little "showdown" last week, trying to convince a group of Christians that drinking might not be the best activity to include in their free time. I suggested that drinking isn't the whole issue: It's more about the cursing, dirty-joking, and other things that follow. And it's also about the Christian's image in the eyes of outsiders. If I'm at a bar with a drink in my hand, do my actions and words say that I'm a Christian? Would I be able to give a reason for the hope I have? If so, would it be intelligible? I brought up a few other points, and all in all, I felt like I had a pretty solid case (I felt a bit like a lawyer, which was strangely fun). And even if any of my points could be argued against, I felt that I still had a pretty solid case because it involved drinking, and in the world of Christianity, drinking is one of the gray areas that usually leans towards black instead of white. Most of the people agreed with me. I expected a few questions, and I got these questions from the very people I expected to get them from. I had answers to these questions, though I didn't think I would completely convince anyone of my point of view. And that's fine. One person's main point was that he liked beer. Understandable. I can't blame him for that. But what I found amazing, just completely astonishing, was the vociferousness of the arguments from the people that disagreed with me. As I was speaking, I watched one guy's reactions to everything I said, and I was surprised how much of a stir it caused within him. He would twitch in his seat as I said certain things, and his face would contort as he attempted to hold back his angry expressions. I invited comments and suggestions in the middle and at the end. One of my points was that Christians' hypocrisy is one thing that turns people away: Some Christians say one thing and do another. His main argument was that Christians' legalism is what really turns people away: Some Christians adhere to such a strict set of laws that it bores people and sends them looking for something more interesting and less damning. I could see his point, but I asked him, "So do you think Christians should drink so that they don't appear legalistic?" I don't think drinking will solve our problems with legalism. If anything, I think it would make things worse. But I guess my main point is that I was completely and utterly shocked by how much criticism I received (though none of it was actually voiced, I could "sense" it). Here I was, trying to persuade a group of Christians to be good Christians, to not blend in with the rest of the world, and to honor God with their actions and words. It wasn't like I was trying to convert a bunch of devil-worshipping pagans. And it also wasn't like I was trying to force my beliefs about abortion and stem cell research. The things I was talking about were ideas that any Christian would agree are good ideas. These ideas are Biblical. They cross the boundaries of denominations, people groups, and even the Christian/Catholic/Orthodox divide. And yet these ideas were met with a brick wall. And it just really got to me. Part of it might be the fact that I like to be right. I admit it. I enjoy being on the winning side of an argument, and I try to form rational and logical thoughts that will help prove my point. But I think I am right in this situation. I haven't always been this gung-ho about not drinking, but my opinions have grown stronger and stronger over time. But besides my little stint with selfishness, I'm at least a little saddened by the message that was being sent: People are too proud or too stubborn to change, they'll argue their way out of tight places, they'll justify their actions until they're red in the face, and they'll fight to the death to prove their point of view. So the whole discussion about drinking is thrown out the window. It has almost nothing to do with drinking. It has everything to do with pride. And convincing someone that their pride is getting in the way of their relationship with God is a very hard thing to do. I guess I just feel a little helpless. #religion |
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| Live Comment Preview | Jun 19, 2006 |
| I just enabled the Live Comment Preview plugin. I thought about it in the past, but couldn't really see a use for it. But I just recently realized that it could make html markup easier for non-geek users. Plus, it was really easy to customize: I just changed a single line in the plugin file to make it blend in with my theme. #technology | |
| Sand | Jun 19, 2006 |
I went to the Jersey Shore again this weekend, but this time I didn't deal with any traffic or boardwalk freaks. The key was to leave on a Friday afternoon and come back on a Saturday evening. Also, I went to Island Beach State Park, which is a bit less crowded than some other places. This picture is actually from Point Pleasant, but either way, it's just some sand.  #nature
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