Category — Everyday Things

2009 Books

January
#1 The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Great book, highly recommended. It has definitely changed my perspective on food and farming. Hopefully we will apply much of what was learned from this book.

#2 How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization (audio)
Very informative. I got the feeling, though, that the author (a Roman Catholic himself) was SO positive about the Catholic Church that he must have skipped or glossed over some history. Also, he tries to argue that Socialism is a result of Protestantism.

February
Ø

March
#3 The Hobbit
Read it to the kids for the first time.

#4 The Shack (audio)
Hm. It’s essentially an attempt to answer the Problem of Evil. I give it a D-.

#5 100 Cupboards
Reread in preparation for Dandelion Fire.

April
#6 Ants At Work
Good little book. I’d say it’s about high school level or so, but it’s a good example of how science works. Observations are made, questions are asked, and experiments are designed to answer the questions. Didn’t learn as much about ants as I had wanted, but that’s okay. The book touches on a subject that we don’t know much about… colony behavior in social insects. She proposes possible explanations, but admits that we really don’t know why they act the way they do.

#7 The Fine Line: Re-envisioning the Gap between Christ and Culture (audio – free for a limited time here)
Pretty good, but probably could be half the size. Here’s my summary: We are relevant to culture when we impact people on an individual level. We are relevant when we love one another, and the world.

May
#8 Dandelion Fire

June
#9 A Primer on Worship and Reformation

July
Ø

August
#10 Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl
I gave it five stars with around 60 pages left. Having finished it, I wish I could give it six.

What I consider the major theme of the book from page 70:

Are we on a world kick-started by a god who doesn’t know how to drive? Is this god embarrassed? Did he not know that snowflakes would come with avalanches as well as the quaint village scenes they ruin?

Of course He did. This God is big, bigger than the world. Faith is hard on the back of a motorcycle, it is hard when the Tilt-A-Whirl reverses its spin, when the bright lights blur into confusion against the night sky. But faith brings with it the only possibility of peace and joy in this world–the only possibility of laughter on this mad, made ride.

#11 Jayber Crow

September
#12 Why Evolution Is True
a few posts:
Evolution/Creation/Intelligent Design
Millions of Years of Change
Final Review

#13 The Design Revolution
Audiobook from christianaudio.com. Often complicated arguments were hard to follow via audiobook. I would recommend hard copy.

October

November

December

So the Library very kindly and conveniently notified me yesterday that they were holding Richard Dawkins’ latest book for me. I barely made it in the door to get it… in fact, the only reason they let me in is because the book was held. If I had to get it off the shelf, they wouldn’t have let me (Thus, I do not have Tile Your World, which I would like to review before tiling my bathroom floor).

So, similar to my reading through Coyne’s book, I will be posting various thoughts and insights as I read the book. Last night I read chapter 1, “Only A Theory?”. Here is my summary of points:

• Creationists are idiots.
• Evolutionists are persecuted in schools.
• “Senior clergy and theologians” don’t have a problem with evolution, and so neither should you.
• Creationists are idiots.
• Defining terms: Theories and Facts.
• Creationists are really idiots.

We’re off to a wonderful start.

Here’s the review of Jerry Coyne’s Why Evolution Is True that I posted on goodreads.com when I finished the book:

I’d give it 2.5 stars if I could. Seeing how I think he’s wrong, though, I’ll downgrade rather than upgrade.

I probably agree with 70% of what’s in the book, which may be surprising, me being a creationist. I’m not going to try to untangle all the mixtures of agreement and disagreement.. but its interesting that I definitely am fully onboard with over half of the book, but still disagree with the major premise; that evolution is true.

Coyne succeeds in presenting a case for neo-darwinian evolution. By which I mean, he successfully explains observations in light a modern evolutionary theory. He paints a fairly complete systematic understanding of the history of life. I recommend the book to everyone for this reason. E.O. Wilson is correct when he writes in the blurb on the back that this is a “clear, well-written explanation of evolution.”

Unfortunately, he doesn’t begin to explain the serious difficulties of darwinism (he outright denies the existence of such problems!). That’s a major drawback of the book… it presents it more as a defensive boast rather than a scientific and critical examination of evidence.

A further detriment is the apparently intentional strawman portrayal of creationists. There is an endnote on page 33 that explains the creationist position as allowing for microevolutionary change within biblical ‘kinds’. But this is the only place in the book creationists are treated this honestly. Everywhere else ’special creation’ is caricatured as a special creation event for each and every species of organism. It is dishonest and, once again, takes away from the argument of the book.

The final failure of the book I will mention is the last chapter, where Coyne attempts to deal with philosophical and metaphysical implications of evolution. It is a sad attempt… while he should be praised from recognizing the need to deal with these issues, he should have stopped when he honestly stated the case: “How can you derive meaning, purpose, or ethics from evolution? You can’t.” (p225)

The innovative and always fun band They Might Be Giants has a new album releasing next Tuesday. It is geared towards children, similar to their recent albums Here Come the ABCs and Here Come the 123s. This one, though, is about SCIENCE. It’s called… predictably… Here Comes Science. Being a science nerd kind of guy and loving their other albums I have (which includes a few non-kids music records), I preordered it. I just heard for the first time one of the songs on the album, Science Is Real. It’s as catchy as I expected, but also more disturbing. Here are the lyrics:

Science is real
From the Big Bang to DNA
Science is real
From evolution to the Milky Way
I like the stories
About angels, unicorns and elves
Now I like the stories
As much as anybody else
But when I’m seeking knowledge
Either simple or abstract
The facts are with science
The facts are with science

Science is real
Science is real
Science is real

Science is real
From anatomy to geology
Science is real from astrophysics to biology
A scientific theory
Isn’t just a hunch or guess
It’s more like a question
That’s been put through a lot of tests
And when a theory emerges
Consistent with the facts
The proof is with science
The truth is with science

Science is real
Science is real
Science is real

Science is real

Now, I suspected (to put it lightly) the album would talk about evolution and billions of years and other Scientific types of things that I don’t agree with… but I wasn’t too concerned with that. I’m not afraid of exposing my kids to evolutionary thinking even though I disagree with it. I have them watch nature documentaries pretty regularly, and have even had real, actual conversations about evolution with them. It’s not even that I completely disagree with everything under the umbrella of evolutionary biology, which seems to be hard to understand for even the experts (like Jerry Coyne), who either don’t understand or refuse to accept that I actually believe what I do. But that’s another story. The point, again, is that I wasn’t worried about the scientific sorts of things on this new album that are not in line with my own thoughts and beliefs.

However, it seems to me that this so goes far beyond just the ’scientific’ sorts of things. What is the implication of the repeated lines, “science is real” and “the truth is with science”?

Science is real, so what is that opposed to? A few things are made explicit in the song, and cheif among them is angels. Angels aren’t real? Well, where’s the scientific evidence of that? And what’s this about only using science when you’re seeking knowledge? Huh? Logic? Philosophy? Anything that is abstract is now ruled as incapable of producing knowledge?

I’m bothered by how far this song is going. It’s much further than science can ever go, which just goes to show you that there’s a worldview behind every idea, guiding and directing it.

Earlier in the month Derek Webb’s fifth studio album, Stockholm Syndrome, was released digitally with much interest and controversy. Posted here is a review of the album by my friend Melanie Seibert. Follow her on Twitter @melanie_seibert.

A Review of Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome is a disease.

Ever since the famous 1973 bank robbery, experts in human psychology accept the fact that hostages sometimes sympathize with their captors. Its surprising frequency does not negate the fact that Stockholm Syndrome is a sickness. This is the pathological backdrop that Webb presents his fifth solo studio album.

Sonically, the album is mature; Webb isn’t afraid to contrast atonal choruses with melodic verses, as in “Black Eye,” or throw a straight-up dance party, like he does in “Cobra Con” and “Jena & Jimmy.” Old-school fans of Webb, who expect to hear him accompanied by acoustic guitar, with an occasional electric guitar track added in, may be taken aback. This is not Caedmon’s Call-era Webb, but a much more reflective, provocative, and confident solo artist.

Surprising as the sonic jolts of Stockholm Syndrome may be, though, they cannot match Webb’s lyrical ability to unsettle his listeners. A minor frenzy has erupted surrounding the song “What Matters More,” in which Webb criticizes Christendom for its intolerance and hypocrisy toward gays. Worse than that, he uses a swear word.

Careful listeners, though, will find much more disturbing fare here. In truth, “What Matters More” is simply one facet in Webb’s depressingly accurate gem, which functions as an extended meditation on human depravity. This album is best viewed as a whole, and it’s designed to be a testament to humanity’s demented affection for everything that robs us, holds us captive, and ultimately destroys us.

Webb is no pharisaical finger-pointer, either. He numbers himself among the depraved — for instance, the album cover is a close-up of him with a black eye. Trackwise, “Black Eye” is the strongest evidence of this, as Webb sets up his theme, making our skin crawl by calling a violent captor his “lover.” He clarifies that a “black eye is all is gonna take for me to love you. It’s written in my constitution.”

And it’s uncomfortably impossible to forget the violence inherent in the album’s theme when you hear “Jena & Jimmy” – probably the most rollicking date rape song ever recorded.

Perhaps most fascinating is the way the theme of sickness invades Webb’s portrayals of human love. In every single instance of the word “love” in this album, the concept bears no resemblance to the biblical standard of sincere care for another individual. Rather, it’s a sick obsession or a selfish act of pride. Case in point: “Freddie, Please,” a scathing ode to Fred Phelps (you know, the “God hates fags” guy) in which Webb, playing the role of Jesus, asks, “How can you tell them you love Me, when you hate Me, Freddie? Please.”

But for all this album’s painful truths about how sick we are, the hope of redemption is not absent. It is subtle, but the light at the end of the tunnel is there. Specifically, Webb declares in the last track that, “in the end, it’ll all be okay… So, if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end… There’s hope for everyone.”

And long after the music has finished playing, when the album’s story of sin and redemption still haunts you, you will cling to that last phrase. It’s a necessary reminder.

It was a month over four years ago that I got my free weather channel laptop. I polled some friends on their computer life expectancies, and I think 4 years was pretty much the end of the line. Which my experience agrees with… the lappy can’t keep up with day to day things anymore… lots of lag and lots of noworkyworky.

So I’m pretty excited about a new computer I ordered on Saturday. I was this close to getting an iMac, but went with the PC instead. Mostly because it was cheaper and had several hundreds of dollars worth of extras that I would have wanted to add to the Mac. What I’m upset most about in not getting the iMac is that they’re having their free iPod Touch promotion now, and I’m not getting one. I guess, though, that’s evidence I made the right choice about the computer.

Here are the specs…

HP Pavilion Elite m9500t customizable Desktop PC
* • Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* • Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q8300 [2.5GHz]
* • 6GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM [2x2048,2x1024]
* • 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
* • 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
* • Blu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burner
* • Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet, No wireless LAN
* • 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio, video (for TV Tuner)
* • TV tuner, dual format ATSC-NTSC with PVR, remote
* • Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports
* • HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse
* • Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* • HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
HP w2558hc 25.5-inch Vivid Color Full HD Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

So, there we go. The monitor has already shipped, and is scheduled to arrive Wednesday. The Computer is supposed to ship by Wednesday, and will probably get here Friday or (if they deliver) Saturday.

We moved to Verizon DSL just about 4 years ago exactly. Looking back, it was May 3rd 2005 when it was turned on.

Since then there have been various plan changes and price changes. We ended up at the 3Mbps plan for, this past year, $31.99 a month for a one year contract. I never get more than 1.4Mbps, though.

So, fed up, I called today trying to get them to either increase my speed or lower my price or something.

First the lady checked to see if I could upgrade to the 7Mbps plan (which I’d be willing to do if I could actually get those speeds)… I couldn’t. So she offered me a better rate on my current plan. I was very interested in that, I said, because even at the 3Mbps plan, I don’t ever get that speed. She came back with $24.99 a month for a 1 year contract. Hm, that sounds good I say.

Then she asked what my current speeds are, and when I told her she said i might want to just downgrade to the 1Mbps plan for $14.99 a month (for a year contract). So I took her up on it. It’s less than half of what I was paying, and I don’t know that I’ll notice the 400k down so much. My up speed will probably change, because I did get decent up speeds. But i don’t upload a whole lot. I asked if the 1Mbps plan was actually going to be less… since my 3Mbps never lived up to it’s name. She said I should get it since I already get over 1Mbps.

I have 30 days to cancel the account completely if I’m not satisfied… and I can always upgrade again if I feel the need for that 400k of speed. Comcast offers cable around here, and while I’m not excited about a bandwidth cap… I would not be sad to leave Verizon. Although, I must say, the lady I spoke with was polite and gave me a decent deal (after they’ve been fleecing me for four years).

Another month, another 50 downloads…

Andrew Bird-emusic exclusive bonus track ‘Take Courage’, to append on Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast (which I got from amazonmp3 for 2.99)

Greg Laswell-Through Toledo

The Nadas-The Ghosts Inside These Halls

Faunts-Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.

Nick Flora & Film at Eleven-Great Escape

Bon Iver-For Emma, Forever Ago

Now if you’re a nitpicky/attention to details sort of person, you might notice that totals 51 downloads. that’s because one of them was free… because emusic offers a free song every day, and they’re often enough really good, which lead me to get the rest of the album. Just another reason to sign up for 50 free downloads.

Despite never having owned a gun or gone hunting ever in my life, last Fall I got it into my head that it was something I wanted to do. I actually know the specific moment when the idea came to me… it was when I read my friend’s facebook status update: David Cooper is hunting a turkey.

I thought it was very exciting, and decided soon after that I was going to hunt our 2009 Thanksgiving turkey. Turns out Mr. Cooper was just being figurative. Oh well, I’m still after the bird.

So, I’ve got a rather unscheduled and thrown together map of what I need to do to reach my goal.

Step 1: Buy a gun. Completed. A few weeks ago I bought a Remington 870 Express Super Magnum shotgun.
Step 2: Complete the VDIF required Hunter Education course. Check… I was certified this morning.

Now I need to a few more very important steps… shoot my gun and learn how to hunt. I’ve decided to forego the spring turkey season… it’s a bit too much to process at this point, and I don’t want to purchase a bear/deer/turkey license that will expire in a couple months. I’ll just wait until July, and then it will be good for a year (they run July 1-June 30). So that gives me some time to learn the ropes.

A friend has talked about building a shooting range on his property, and I really hope he does it, because it would be great to have a place to shoot a bunch to really learn my gun, and know how to shoot it and how it shoots.

I’ll be doing some reading of how to get a turkey, and maybe also some deer and waterfowl hunting in the fall, maybe some upland game birds whenever that season is. Some friends from church do some hunting, so I’m going to beg and plead they drag me along with them to teach me.

In another attempt to revitalize my blog, I’ve replaced the theme header images with 18 various biology related ones (that load randomly). I took half of the photos, the other half I collected from license free websites for the college’s online biology lab classes.

Can you guess which ones I took and which I scrounged?

Well, that theme was short lived. But my thanks to Michael for the now unused image are eternal.