another one left behind

I have four e-mail addresses: personal, University, joint (i.e. my lovely wife and me), and Yahoo. The first is the one I prefer and use most often, the second is used out of necessity, the third is for random things, and the last is lovingly called, my “crap e-mail.” It’s the one I use when I have to sign up for things or give out a valid e-mail address. Thus, it’s the one that receives the most crap (or spam).

However, because it’s a Yahoo address this means I occasionally have to endure the Yahoo homepage, which is usually nothing more than a cesspool of banal dronings about superficialities masquerading as real news. Admittedly, every so often there is something important and newsworthy, but it’s typically late in the feed or sandwiched between useless slices of stale drivel. (Can you tell I have a slight disdain for Yahoo?)

In exceptional cases (and by that I mean their rarity, not their quality), I find something that is simply laughable–not because it is funny but because it is painfully pathetic. Case in point: this morning I was slapped in the face with this story. My angst is not with the story itself. I truly feel for the woman who was inadvertently harpooned and I do pray that she makes a full recovery. My beef, however, is with the ineptitude at keeping the details straight–let alone consistent. Or valid. Or right. Here’s what I mean.

Take a look at the way in which the story is advertised in the newsfeed:

Now, I ask you, dear reader: do you remember seeing anything in the original story about the women being “inches away from death”? I don’t. I do, however, remember seeing that “the harpoon came within 1cm of killing the woman.” In case you missed it:

Last time I checked, “1cm” is a far cry from “inches”–the plural form implying more than one inch. Come on, people; it’s basic education! You know, the stuff you learned when you were about 5. (Another child left behind).

I think what bugs me even more is that the newsfeed presents the “inches from death” as though it’s a legitimate quotation, but it’s not. No one in the article says that! Ever. So, not only are the technical details inconsistent (i.e. patently wrong) yet presented as though nothing’s really problematic, the quotation doesn’t even exist yet it is proffered as though it does. That’s just poor and painfully pathetic reporting.

I think I need more coffee….

a modicum of solace

Yesterday The Guardian provided the results of an American-based survey on various conspiracy theories. Interestingly, the headline focused only on one of the 26 questions: Obama as the Antichrist. Two things–one about the headline, and one about the survey–and then a third, which is less troubling.

With regard to the headline, it’s a bit misleading. According to the numbers in the results (the full break-down is here), only 13% believe Obama is the Antichrist. That’s hardly “one in four Americans.” The only way you can get close to a “one in four” charge (i.e. 25%) is if you lump the 13% from the “not sure” category, which is what Paul Harris does in the article. He does this on the basis that “not sure” = “possibly so” or “I could be convinced”. A bit shady on the method, but understandable. “One in four” sounds better and (slightly) more widespread than “one in seven(ish)”.

With regard to the survey, it too is a bit misleading. If we went on the title alone, we get the impression that 25% of (all) Americans believe Obama is the Antichrist. Given the population of the US (315,610,625, as of 8.30 this morning), that would mean something around 78,902,656.25. (Who is the .25 of a person!?). But that can’t be right. Outside of Garnier, who would survey that many people? Harris does explain that the survey involved only “a sample of American voters”. Okie dokie. According to this site, last year there were 146,311,000 registered voters in the US (a number that seems too clean for my taste, but no matter). So if we use that number, then, according to Harris’ “one in four” charge, that would mean 36,577,750 people surveyed believe Obama to be the Antichrist. (Thankfully, no fractions of people this time). But that can’t be right either.

Conveniently (or smartly), Harris leaves out the exact size of the sample, and he suspiciously leaves out any links to survey itself. Again, it sounds so much better and more–dare I say–condemning to say “one in four Americans” and let people assume that the number is huge. But what about facts? If you were to take the 12 seconds to do your own search and locate the survey in question (or just use the link I supplied–you’re welcome), you would see that the sample-size is . . . get ready for this . . . 1247. I didn’t leave out any numbers. 1,2,4,7. That’s all. Seriously, Harris: Asda’s got more stuff on sale.

Accordingly, if we use Harris’ bold figure of 25%, that would mean only 311.75 people believe Obama is the Antichrist. That’s not “one in four”. That’s like one in a million (I think; my maths are a little rusty this morning). But no one is going to care if Harris says that figure, so it’s no wonder that his misleadingly says, “one in four”. Things get uglier if we use the solid number of 13%, which would bring the total to a whopping 162.11 people. That’s just under one in every two million (again, I think). Seriously, Harris: you’re going to paint 1/4 of Americans with a brush admittedly used by only 162.11 people? Tsk! Tsk!

The third thing, and this is the modicum of solace: only 162.11 people admit to believing Obama to be the Antichrist. I don’t mean to sound crass, but it’s comforting to know that only 162.11 people have a faulty understanding of the Antichrist. If we follow what the Johannine Epistles say, the “antichrist” (ἀντιχριστος) is anyone who “denies the Father and the Son” (1Jn 2.22) and/or denies “Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh” (2Jn 1.7). While the Johannine Epistle seem to suggest a solitary figure–i.e. the Antichrist–appearing in the last days (cf. 1Jn 2.18; 4.3), nothing definite is said about him (or her–sorry, I have to be PC these days). However, since the language of the Epistles on this matter is apocalyptic, we can safely assume that this solitary figure is understood in apocalyptic terms–i.e. he (or she) ain’t human. And if he (or she) ain’t human, then Obama can’t be the Antichrist. Same goes for the new Pope–contra this guy–or any other person.

parroting bad theories

Per my usual morning routine, and because I am not able to take classes anymore, I was listening to a lecture by a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, who will remain anonymous (to protect the guilty). The course, for the past 7 seven lectures has been rather good, and I anticipate its continued goodness for the remaining 17. We’ll see how it goes.

This morning’s lecture dealt with the twin topics of revelation (not the book of) and eschatology–two topics that often grab my attention. To begin the lecture, the professor (we’ll call him, “Bob”) recapped some of the previous discussions in order to show their relevance for the current one. In the midst recapping, “Bob” raised the point about names having “significant, historical, redemptive connotations”, and that sometimes names are purposefully changed by God to reflect this reality. Moreover, the name-change signals something about the person, namely: that person is now going to be used by God in the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan.

In an effort to illustrate (or even prove) his point, “Bob” listed off some key biblical figures where he sees this purposeful name-changing thing taking place–e.g. Abram –> Abraham.¹ And then it happened. I feared it would the moment he started this line of argument, and he proved my fears correct. He mentioned the apostle Paul as an example! I nearly came out of my skin, which would be a bit gross. And messy to clean up. I have heard and read this (bad) theory many times,² and each time it provokes the same response–i.e. the coming of the skin thing. I say it’s a bad theory because it is simply not true, let alone consistent with the biblical text. And “Bob”, being a systematic theologian, should know this–i.e. he should know better.

The only passage in the NT that refers to Paul as having another name is Acts 13.9. It is true that up to this point, he has been called, “Saul” and after this point he is referred to as “Paul” (excepting Acts 22.7 and 26.14). I’ll grant that, but only that. Nothing in the text suggests either 1) that the name was changed from Saul to Paul as a result of a direct encounter with God or with some divine, redemptive-historical assignment,³ or 2) that “Paul” was not already a name by which he was known. In fact, the text simply reads: “But Saul–who [is] also Paul–being filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Σαυλος δε ὁ και Παυλος πλησθεις πνευματος ἁγιου). Nothing about a name-change. Only that he had another name.

If such a name-change took place, as “Bob” and other parrot, and if such a changing is ordinarily linked with some divine encounter and/or redemptive-historical commissioning, then we would expect to see the Saul-Paul shift taking place after Acts 9.19 and not nearly 4 chapters later. But we don’t. And we don’t see it because it ain’t there, and it ain’t there because “Paul” was always one of his names, given to him at birth. Some 30 years prior.

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¹ This theory begins to fall apart when we consider the names of Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and even James (the brother of Jesus). All of these men retained their (original) names despite encountering God and/or being given specific divine commissions.
² Augustine seems to one of the earliest to suggest it (see Sermons, 225). After that, it can be found in the works of scholars, pastors, church-goers, and even skeptics–e.g. J. Stow, Reflections on the Epistles of St Paul (1847), 318; C.J. den Heyer, Paul (2000), 27; M. Dimont, Jews, God, and History (2004), 141; B. Organ, Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? (2004), 48; A. Scheil, The Footsteps of Israel (2004), 224; J. Carter, Faith (2008), 300; D. Ridges, Your Study of the New Testament (2008), 26.
³ Adolf Jülicher already made this point–see Introduction (1904), 34.

undergraduate theft?

To get the mental juices flowing this morning, I decided to skim Marsh-Moyise’s, Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction (1999),¹ partly because I’ve never read it and partly because it was the first book I noticed on the shelf. It’s (so far) clear, concise, and useful in its basic summary of the key issues in Gospels scholarship. For those wanting to meander around the field, Marsh-Moyise’s book is a decent place to start.

The only hiccup (so far) is that some details are mentioned as though they are common-coin and therefore unnecessary to footnote. In other words: there is a bit of “assumed knowledge” in what Marsh-Moyise present. This is fine for those familiar with coinage but not entirely helpful for those unfamiliar the currency, the latter being the intended audience of the book.

For example: in the chapter on Mark’s Gospel, Marsh-Moyise point out that “[f]or much of church history, it [i.e. Mark's Gospel] was thought to be an abbreviation of Matthew” (p.14) but say nothing about who historically held that thought. Again, this is well and good if you know the history but potentially frustrating (or at least unsatisfying) if you don’t.

I could remember from when I took a Gospels course in College (eons ago) that St Augustine maintained the “abbreviated” view of Mark’s Gospel (see De consensu evangelistarum 1.2), but I did not recall anyone else. So, after reading Marsh-Moyise’s chapter on Mark, I decided to dig around (quickly) to see what I could find. This cursory search revealed no other proponents of the “abbreviated” view; Augustine’s name was the only one that continued to emerge.

However, I did discover something that troubled me quite deeply, and that something became the reason for this post. Before stating what that “something” is, let me quote the opening paragraph of Marsh-Moyise’s chapter on Mark (p.14):

Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels, beginning at Jesus’ baptism (nothing about his birth) and ending at the empty tomb (no resurrection appearances). For much of church history, it was thought to be an abbreviation of Matthew and hence less important. Over 600 of its 661 verses find a parallel in Matthew, and although early tradition suggests that Mark drew on the memories of Peter (see Appendix), the fact remains that it was not written by an apostle. This probably explains why so few commentaries were written on Mark in the early church and the book fell into neglect.

Now, having read that, have a look at this. Look familiar? My only hope is that the website is unable to show documentation and that this person “mitch106″ gave Marsh-Moyise due respect. However, the cynic in me thinks “mitch106″ simply lifted the material, changed a couple of words, slightly altered the punctuation, and reordered some of the sentences hoping that the teacher/professor wouldn’t notice.

Shame.

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¹ Yeah, yeah, yeah; I know the link is to the 2nd edition and my reference is to the 1st.

fuel leak

YahooNews released a story about the current costs of fuel/petrol (or, “gas”, for my American friends), which shows how various countries compare–i.e. who’s the most expensive? While it’s at the bottom of the page, here are the leaders (with conversions made for the American readers in brackets):

Country             £/litre             (US conversion: $/gal)*
1. Norway……………….1.64                             12.01
2. Turkey………………..1.62                             11.87
3. Netherlands………1.48                             10.83
4. Italy……………………1.46                             10.69
5. Greece………………1.45                             10.60
6. Denmark……………1.43                             10.46
7. UK………………………1.42                             10.37
8. Sweden………………1.41                             10.32
9. Eritrea…………………1.41                             10.32
10. Belgium……………1.40                             10.23

Notice who’s not on this list? America. Why? Because they’re not even close to struggling to the same degree.

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* This figure is operating on two variables: 1) one gallon = 4.55 litres, and 2) £1 = $1.61, which is today’s conversion rate.

how to change but stay the same

I try to keep watch for articles on Facebook’s every-adapting policies and accessibility, and what useful tips there might be on the subject. Yesterday I found this big-brother sounding article, “Who’s Watching You on Facebook?” (The use of phrases like, “being spied on”, “snooping”, and “prying eyes” really helps the motif). In many respects it unfolded in the usual way and reached the typical conclusion: “other people besides close friends and family see your stuff, so be careful what you post on Facebook, otherwise it’ll bite your keester clean off.” It then gave four examples from four different areas of life where the four seemingly hapless individuals got screwed.*

What troubled me about the article, however, and it appears in similar articles dealing with social media, is how it identifies the locus of wrongdoing. (I should say, how it inconsistently identifies it). In only one of the four examples does the article correctly name the real problem–albeit implicitly: if you owe money to debt-collectors, “[i]gnoring the problem won’t make it go away.” Conclusion: own up to what you owe and pay it. However, whatever standard or methodology used for that one is clearly chucked out the window when it comes to the two other big ones–i.e. “job hunting” and “legal snooping”.

With the first one, the fault is not with the person who drinks uncontrollably, reduces him-/herself to drugs, and/or brags about getting hammered or flying around in a yellow submarine; nor is it with the person who displays pictures where onlookers would otherwise have to pay a monthly fee. No, the fault is placed squarely on the decision to publicize such things on Facebook. And the reason why this act of publicizing is a bad move? It’s not because there is something wrong with the behavior itself, but because doing so might kill your chance for getting a job.

With the second one, the fault is not with Dorothy McGurk’s sinister decision to lie about the extent of her physical condition and milk the system for $850/month. No, the fault is placed on her thoughtless decision to post information and photos of herself, which show her to be getting on just fine–and enjoying things in the process. And why was this thoughtless decision bad? It’s not because Dorothy knowingly cheated the ones who otherwise seek to help those in (real) need, but because she will now no longer get $850/month.

In all of this there seems to be an underlying accusation against those ostensibly doing the spying, snooping, and prying–how dare they invade people’s private lives!–while those who lie, cheat, steal, debauch and demean themselves are portrayed as victims. Moreover, the tone of the article’s summary comes across as, “Let me show you how not to make these rookie mistakes.” (This seems to me to operate on a modified version of, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”). Thus, the article seems to offer advice on making superficial changes without affecting what truly matters; how to change but stay the same; how to divert the attention off one’s own evil and focus entirely on the apparent evil of those who disapprove.

I would ask, “What the hell is happening with society?”, but I think that would begin to answer the question.

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* I will admit that the “password” example illustrates excessiveness on the part of the employer, and that type of power-play should be resisted.

cheeky chrome

Anyone have any suggestions for how to deal with the following problem? As you can see in the picture below, the wonderful(ly annoying) Chrome advertizement is situated on the page and seems to give the option of sending it to oblivion (i.e. the “x”).

However, the “x” doesn’t work. I hover over it; nothing. If I hover over other things (i.e. my profile thumbnail, the “+Share” button, and even the “install google chrome” button), then all things are normal. But the otherwise useful “x”; useless.  I even tried clicking on “install google chrome” in the hope that feigned interest would assuage pushiness, but no joy.  Any thoughts?

help, please

All right, this is a new one for me.  I went to save my work and was immediately confronted with this message:

I should say this was the second time I received that message.  On the first occasion, based on what the window says, I decided to close all of the unnecessary programs to see if that would help. (As you can tell, no blue dots [=open programs] other than Finder and Word). However, after I did that I still received this message upon trying to save.  I clicked “OK” and got this:

I then clicked “OK” here (mainly because it was my only option), and was confronted with this:

Here I clicked “Yes” (obviously because I want to save this–some how).  However, even after clicking “Yes” the lovely red dot in the top left corner (greyed out in this picture because of the intrusion of the warning) still indicates that the work is not saved.  I attempted to by-pass things by saving the file to my USB key (i.e. “Big Drive”), but I was slapped with the exact same set of messages.

This issue comes a very bad time (as they always do), seeing that this paper/chapter needs to be submitted by the 4th.  I don’t want to lose anything, including my mind, so I am begging for any and all help I can get.

déjà vu all over again

At the start of the year, I voiced this complaint about WordPress. I can no longer say, “I’ve never had this problem before”, because I have and now I’m dealing with it again. I just don’t get it. Anyone have any ideas on what might be causing it and how I might fix it?

need some geeky mac assistance, please

Because I’m pretty thick when it comes to computer stuff, especially stuff related to internet connections, I need some help/insight/assistance for a recurring problem. I’ll start with the details and then explain my issue/problem.

We have a fairly standard internet service in the house: cable runs out of the wall into a slightly dated router, and whereas before we were confined to a single ethernet cable (albeit c. 50 feet long) we now connect via a wireless router . . . one that’s rigged to the original router. By me. Without gaffer tape (surprisingly). While the logic of the rigging made sense, I didn’t know if it would work once connected.  Lo and behold, it worked.  (I was rather chuffed with myself).  That was nearly 2 years ago.

Shortly thereafter (maybe a month or two), I opened my laptop as usual, kicked on Safari, loaded a page or two and began my usual evening surfing. However, while bouncing around from one page to another I suddenly received a message saying I was no longer connected to the internet. I looked to the top of the screen and saw that my signal strength was full, so I presumed that much was okay. I then decided to click on the ‘network diagnostic’ button in the middle of my grim announcement, and followed the onscreen prompts. To give you an idea, my situation looked something like this:

For the moment, ignore the date and time.

At this point in the process, I clicked ‘continue’, was asked a couple more questions and then be given the suggestion: try resetting the router and/or restarting its power supply (my paraphrase). Naturally I complied and  the suggestion worked. Problem sorted.

However, about a month or so later the same thing happened. Armed with my new knowledge of how to fix things, I did as before and was met with the same result. Good times. But then, about a month or so later . . . (you get the idea).

Now for my problem: whereas this issue would happen only occasionally, it has become more like a daily occurrence. In fact, the screenshot above was the first of three that happened on that particular day. It’s getting a tad annoying, to say the least (and there is certainly more that I would love to say).

Now for my plea for advice: can anyone tell me if the connection problem is either my fault (either because of something up in my laptop or my rigging job) or the internet provider’s? My instinct is the latter simply because of the status window (see above), which shows the problem being linked with ‘internet’ and ‘server’. But then again, my knowledge in this areas is laughable at best.