1970 spike in use of the phrase "Post Christian"

 

Source: https://books.google.com/ngrams/

No cigar

See the blue shopping trolley at the base of the steps?

See the chap who is walking away from the shopping trolley (let's call him Barry).

I watched as Barry tried a dozen times. At ten different points along that line of vertical columns, Barry tried to push the trolley past the vertical columns and into the plaza. At one point Barry playfully kicked at the wheels. After about two minutes Barry abandoned the trolley carrying his goods into the plaza.

Barry woke up to how the trolley had a wheel lock that activated at the point that he had reached. 

While Barry woke up, Jordan Peterson has not. In this Youtube video Peterson gets so close to "getting" Christianity yet there is no cigar.

Shalom,

Ozhamada

HECS mathematics

The mathematics they should be teaching in year 12 at High School:

Q1: Jocasta incurs HECS debt at 1 January and 1 July for three years while completing her university degree. Each time $5,000 of new debt is incurred. On 1 June each year any of the  outstanding debt that has aged past eleven months of the date that it was first incurred and any prior indexation of debt is indexed at 7% per annum. After completing her degree how long will Jocasta take to settle the debt if she repays $4,000 a year and indexation continues at 7%?

Q2: Wally has the money to pay his HECS upfront for his whole degree. If Wally incurs HECS at $6,000 at each of 1 January and 1 July for three years, and any outstanding debt that has aged past eleven months from the date it was first incurred is indexed at 7% per annum, how much should he put aside to repay the full HECS debt immediately following its final indexation of 1 June the year after he finishes his degree. Wally can invest his money at 5% per annum.

 

pexels.com, free and unattributable

Q3. Winona incurs HECS debt at 1 January and 1 July for three years while completing her university degree. Each time $7,500 of new debt is incurred. On 1 June each year any outstanding debt that has aged past eleven months of the date it was first incurred and any prior indexation is indexed at 7% per annum. If Winona pays an identity broker for new identification documents the day that she finishes her degree, thus abandoning any risk of being pursued for the HECS debt, how much has Winona saved net of the broker’s $10,000 fee?

Shalom,

Ozhamada

Mortice and tenon joint

An enjoyable experience at a Scripture Union NSW Beach Mission has been facilitating the adult's section. At the Beach Mission site that I attend the adults enjoy instruction, and participation in, a craft activity. While the children are occupied in vigorous games, the adults enjoy less strenuous activity. Where the children are drenched in sun, the adults reside in shade.

I've facilitated some interesting activities for the adults over the years. They have included:

- car maintenance,

- lawn mower maintenance,

- laying a concrete slab,

- making a lolly dispenser,

- making a velvet-lined storage box.

This year's activity was themed to the day's Bible reading. The adult's section follows the same reading assigned the children. The reading was from Matthew; the wise and foolish builder. The words of Christ from Matthew 7:

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The link to Biblical theme was formed by choosing a building activity. That activity was a mortice and tenon joint that was fixed by dowel. The adults where required to handle three pieces of timber as indicated in this image:

The three pieces of timber were prepared prior to the event. The tenon was deliberately concluded in a rough state so that the participants would need to shape it further before it sat neatly into the mortice.

The dowel acts as a pin that is tapped through the fitted tenon-in-the-socket - & holds the two pieces together. So, the joint can be dismantled and reassembled. In the assembled state the item looks like a mallet.

Participants had to make final cuts, sanding, fitting, hole drilling & insert the dowel. Equipment was provided including a bench dill.

A group of approximately twenty people enjoyed the activity. A skilled instructor  capably handled all enquiries and offered sound assistance.

Shalom,

Ozhamada

P.S. The Beach Mission site has a plant that is at time of renewal at the time that I am at site. You can read about that plant here.

Review of non-fiction book Tea in the Library

I found this book in a Street Library within the suburb that the author identifies as her own suburb: Lindfield, New South Wales. Indeed, there were approximately twelve copies of the book available in that Street Library. 

The book was disappointing. It exhibits the author's lack of preparation of a solid business plan. While the pre-commitment research was deep and wide, the execution was lacking. Notably, the business planning led to an impoverished decision as to business location (with Council limiting the signboarding options).

The book was also disappointing in that the author never really seemed to embrace the business as anything more than a sideline or hobby. I was left thinking that the author would have achieved a better business outcome had she made time to actively engross herself in the daily operations.

I was also struck by how I worked in Sydney Central Business District two blocks away for the whole time the business was open yet never knew of it. I certainly attended one of the other bookstores named in the book - and made purchases there - in the same street as the business in that time.

I returned the book to a Street Library (not in Lindfield).

Shalom,

Ozhamada

Note: this links from Goodreads.

Testing Bard on its BBQ knowledge

Richard Glover, Australian Journalist, identified on social media how AI engines were accessing his material:

"There's a data base with all the books they've used (without permission or payment) to train AI. I took a moment to check a few names familiar to me. They've ripped off Sarah Macdonald's Holy Cow; two of Debra Oswald's plays (Dags and Gary's House); four of David Marr's books (inc his 1992 biography of Patrick White); and 1 of mine (Flesh Wounds)." Facebook, 28 September 2023.

It was a short step from there to complete a test. Here is the question I set Google's Bard:

 and the response:

The Australian Backyard Barbeque: A Recipe for Disaster

By Richard Glover

The Australian backyard barbeque is a sacred institution. It's a time for family and friends to come together, relax, and enjoy some delicious food. But what happens when things go wrong?

Oh, the possibilities are endless.

The gas bottle runs out

You've invited everyone over, the food is all prepared, and you're about to fire up the barbie. But then disaster strikes: the gas bottle runs out.

You frantically search the shed, but it's too late. The barbie is cold, and your guests are getting hungry.

You could always try cooking the food on the stove, but that's just not the same. A backyard barbeque is a barbie, not a stovetop cookout.

The food gets burnt

This is a classic barbeque faux pas. You're distracted by conversation, and the next thing you know, your food is black and charred.

There's nothing worse than serving burnt food to your guests. It's embarrassing, and it makes you look like a terrible cook.

The dog gets into the food

Your dog Clancy is a lovable mutt, but he's also a bit of a food thief. He's always on the lookout for a tasty snack, and he's not afraid to steal it from the barbie.

One time, Clancy stole a whole plate of sausages while I was distracted. He ate them so quickly that he got a stomach ache and threw up all over the patio.

The kids start fighting

No backyard barbeque is complete without a bit of sibling rivalry. The kids are always fighting over who gets the best piece of meat, or who gets to sit next to their favorite cousin.

One time, my kids got into such a big fight that they started throwing food at each other. I had to break up the fight and send them inside.

The neighbors complain about the noise

Backyard barbeques are known for being noisy. People are talking, laughing, and listening to music.

But sometimes, the noise can get a bit too much for the neighbors. One time, I got a knock on the door from a neighbor who complained that my music was too loud.

I had to turn the music down, which ruined the atmosphere of the barbie.

Jocasta gets drunk and starts dancing on the table

Jocasta is a friend of my wife's. She's a lovely woman, but she has a tendency to get overexcited when she's drinking.

One time, Jocasta got so drunk that she started dancing on the table. She lost her balance and fell off, landing in a plate of potato salad.

It was a hilarious sight, but it was also a bit embarrassing. I had to clean up the mess and apologize to my other guests.

The weather turns bad

You've planned the perfect backyard barbeque, but the weather has other ideas. Suddenly, the sky darkens and the wind picks up.

Within minutes, you're all soaked to the bone. You have to scramble to get everyone inside, and the barbie is ruined.

The power goes out

This is the ultimate barbeque disaster. You're cooking away happily, and then suddenly, the power goes out.

You're plunged into darkness, and your food starts to go cold. There's nothing you can do but wait for the power to come back on.

Conclusion

Despite all of the potential disasters, the Australian backyard barbeque is a great way to spend time with loved ones. Just be prepared for anything, and don't take it too seriously if things don't go according to plan.

After all, it's all part of the Aussie experience.

Ancient text

Many churches, with their babytalk modern services, Ladybird Bibles, trite preaching and kindergarten happy-clappy music, seem designed to drive away any thoughtful person. 

Peter Hitchens, in Daily Mail

Progressive Christians love nothing more than new exegesis and new hermeneutics. It serves them well to conclude that there have been thousands of years of penurious Biblical scholarship. “Only we can understand this ancient text” they say. It is a form of academic snobbery – that interpretations that come last, land best. As a result, none of the progressives have in recent years published anything that holds its worth against the poorest of writings of Tozer, Edwards, Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis.

Which brings us to the Perth Anglican Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy offering the novelty of interpretation of Exodus 15. Goldsworthy shared the novelty in Sydney. Goldsworthy was in Sydney to celebrate 40 years of Movement for the Ordination of Women. Where other visiting Archbishops may perhaps be given the pulpit of the Anglican Cathedral, Goldsworthy secured a spot at Christ Church St Laurence – a Anglo-Catholic parish church a cooee yell distant from the Cathedral.

Goldsworthy on Exodus 15 is proof alone of the need for continuity of male-only preaching. If Goldsworthy had introduced her Exodus 15 novelty into a formal debate on the “Worth of Women Preaching” the opposing side would rest their case. The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, who gave permission for Goldsworthy to speak at Christ Church, perhaps slyly reckoned that he need only offer enough rope.

So, to Goldsworthy on Exodus 15. Here is the part of Goldsworthy’s sermon that requires attention. It is copied from the transcript that Youtube usefully offers. I’ve emphasised the part of the text that piqued my interest. You can view the whole sermon on this link.

“Our reading stopped at the end of chapter 14, so we missed the opening verses of chapter 15 which English Bibles head the “song of Moses” after God's people land on the other side of the Red Sea. It's worth noting, and it may not be surprising, that the song of Moses is placed ahead of a more ancient text the song of Miriam. The song of Miriam is one of the very ancient texts of the Hebrew scriptures and appears a few verses on in chapter 15 at verse 20. It has Miriam taking a tambourine in her hand and all the women going out after her with tambourines and with dancing.”

The novelty is in the suggestion that the song of Miriam is “a more ancient text” than the song of Moses. That is a novelty in that Biblical scholars find both songs to be ancient text – older than the chapters either side of it – as measured of the age of the Hebraic language. Plausibly, the author of Exodus chose to deposit the songs in their original form directly into the book. Miriam’s song – which is possibly truncated – is effectively a repeat of the first stanza of the song of Moses.

A sketch that was included on Sydney Morning Herald's letter page 17 September 2023,
titled: "Arch Rivalry", by Simon Ketch

Goldsworthy assigns Miriam’s song prominence that it does not have. Putting Miriam’s song ahead of the song of Moses (the feminine voice is put ahead of the male) may have tickled the day's audience yet would not survive scrutiny of Moore Theological College.

The new exegesis, the new hermeneutic, merits no attention in Sydney.

Shalom,

Ozhamada