I am totally taking up this hobby. Especially now I know puns are a mark of geekiness – not nerdiness. I am embracing my inner geek. With a little sci-fi I’ll be 10/10 in no time.
Author: Nathan Campbell
Nathan runs St Eutychus. He loves Jesus. His wife. His daughter. His son. His other daughter. His dog. Coffee. And the Internet. He is the pastor of City South Presbyterian Church, a church in Brisbane, a graduate of Queensland Theological College (M. Div) and the Queensland University of Technology (B. Journ). He spent a significant portion of his pre-ministry-as-a-full-time-job life working in Public Relations, and now loves promoting Jesus in Brisbane and online. He can't believe how great it is that people pay him to talk and think about Jesus. If you'd like to support his writing financially you can do that by giving to his church.
No pun intended
Can K-Rudd hear me
Some time ago I posted a link to one man’s audacious bid to be heard by google. Can Google Hear Me won the hearts and minds of millions. Including Google – who were interested enough to take this man’s journey to the next level.
And now – following news that the Federal Government will now trawl critical blogs I ask the question. Can Kevin Rudd hear me?
It hasn’t taken long for people to make a connection between trawling blogs for criticism and the clean feed/blacklist campaign – particularly because the Government’s own media release listed Whirlpool.net.au’s criticism of the blacklist as one of the examples the Government’s beady eyes were watching.
I have said several things about the Ruddster and his ability to make even the most clear things unclear through erudite obfuscation. That was Rudd speak for using simple words in a complicated way so as to make things impossible to understand.
Kevin, if you’re here, and you can hear me – of if your staff are and they can – let me know in the comments. Perhaps you’d like to give me a job making your unclear communication clear.
Who knows. Perhaps you’d like to read through all the things I’ve had to say about you in the past.
Regards,
Nathan
Miscellanea
The cartoonist behind this website is a raving atheist – but mostly a humourous one. Here’s a secular satire that could be extended to Christians who aren’t really prepared to back their beliefs by living recklessly and putting their lives on the line for the cause.
Here are some more good ones.
The obesity one is using data from 2007.
Godfather flow chart
I had a chance to watch The Godfather II with some guys from church a couple of weeks ago. I’d never really noticed this flow chart’s appearance in the movie (it’s not quite a family tree) – but I think it’s in the court hearing scene. Click it for a larger version.
There’s also this useful family timeline at the same site.
New math
I really really like morenewmath.com – here are some of my favourite mathematical equations of food and drink.
Our daily Fred: Leave it to cleaver
More awesomeness from Fred and Friends – a knife/chopping block combo in the shape of a cleaver. It’s such a cleaver idea.
Jensenisms
While I’m holding out against the young evangelical male norm and not signing up as a Driscoll fanboy – I’m unabashedly a fan of Phillip Jensen. His well balanced article on the abortion debate got a run on the SMH website today (thanks to Findo for pointing it out) – and I assume in the printed version. It’s nice to have a fairly moderate Christian voice in the debate.
I linked to this when he put it up on his site a couple of weeks ago – but if you didn’t read it then, read it now.
Here are three paragraphs to whet your appetite…
“Arguments that it is a woman’s right to control her body do not deal, adequately, with the differences between the mother and the foetus. There are two lives for whom the mother is responsible. The question is whether her responsibility for the life of the foetus extends to making the decision of life and death, or whether her self-interest undermines the legitimacy of this decision. Should the state have some say in protecting this life from her?
There is little purpose in demonising those who oppose abortion by claiming they are imposing their morality on others, for the entire legal system is an imposition of morality on others. Rather than an anarchic jungle of society without law, our society imposes a moral system on individuals.
Our society uses a combination of Christian heritage, rational discussion, political democracy and judicial wisdom to guide its choices. On a range of issues, it has chosen to limit individual freedoms. On others, it has allowed the citizens to make their own choices. It is not unreasonable to make life and death issues involving a defenceless victim a matter of moral discussion, political decision and judicial wisdom.”
Posts you might have missed
Too many posts to handle? Here’s a quick list of the posts you might have missed this week:
- A bunch of links – March 17, 2009
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 in OdditiesWedding cake made from 80 Pac-Man cupcakesSelf Destructing Pixel Coffee Table100 matches, carved out of a solid block of woodWaveforms as braceletsI would have blogged this yesterday – but my host was down so you’ll see it today (unless you’re seeing it in Google Reader now).
- Ahh… It’s a trap
Posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 in OdditiesNo it’s not. It’s a cheese knife and cutting board set. Shame it’s not actually for sale. I’d totally buy one. They’re available here. I’d love to buy one. And then my wife would totally make me give it to someone as a present.Found here.The guy behind the product design has some other cool ideas.Like this.And this.Update – it turns out a lot of the really cool ideas I’ve linked to before were designed by this guy and the company he works for – worldwidefred.
- Atheist Hunting
Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 in ChurchOccasionally nasty parody site Landover Baptist has a great list of tips for how to spot them atheists that needs some converting (sic)…Here’s a summary of their five tips so that you can dob your local atheist in to police: Five Tips on How to Spot an Atheist1. Usually Atheists are pale of skin.They spend a lot of times indoors, because they are afraid to come outside. They believe the preposterous lie that Christians are trying to kill them, when in fact, all that we really want to do is force a quick conversion or to kindly place them in a maximum security prison for their own protection from devout Christians who may try to kill them.
- Be my friend
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in LifeYou can now be my “friend” here via Friend connect (unless you’re a subscriber then you’ll have to actually physically visit my blog) or see if this link works.I only really added this friend connect thing to see if it made a difference when valuing my blog. Largely because Chris’ blog is worth over $5 million and mine’s only worth $500 and I want to figure out what made the difference. Also, it’s made by Google – so it must be good right?
- Clean feed ship listing due to leaks
Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 in PoliticsThere’s a lot of debate still raging about the proposed clean feed. We all thought it was dead when Nick Xenophon decided he didn’t like it. But no. It’s alive and kicking. And costing money for anyone who dares link to the leaked blacklist.Obviously there’s a fair bit of support from the Christian side of the fence for anything limiting people’s access to pornography – particularly child exploitation material. But these objections are, in my opinion, misguided.
- Election day
Posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 in ChurchThe countdown is over. We voted this morning. Robyn told me afterwards that she’d voted for Family First. It was a funny joke. We laughed. Here’s why I don’t vote for Family First… While I appreciate that Family First put the family first and often that means supporting things that are good for Christians and Christianity – I think their very presence dilutes the conservative vote and is counterproductive for Christians looking to vote on their issues.
- Ethical dilemma
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in CultureLittle sister number two asks:How much money are you ok with keeping if you find it on the ground?Discuss.
- Fruity protest
Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 in ChurchHere’s a novel protest against perennial protesters Westboro Baptist (the hateful “God Hates Fags” mob). It’s pretty Biblically sound – but the Bible has a fair bit to say about homosexuality and sin.
- Geek checklist
Posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 in LifeContinuing the vein of discussion about whether I’m a geek or a nerd (and in fact whether the distinction is necessary) – here’s a list of ten habits of a geek spouse from Wired. And here’s how I fare…1. Punning.Guilty as charged. Really, really guilty. I had no idea that this was a geek thing. 1 point.2. Swearing in Klingon.Nope. Not interested. Not really interested in sci-fi – but that doesn’t stop me wearing my Star Wars inspired “Milk I am your Father” shirt.
- Good water use
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in CoffeeLast time I posted something pointing out how awesomely unsustainable the use of water in production of coffee is people jumped up and down screaming and we ended up talking about the plight of battery hens.Here’s another picture from Good (click it for full size) highlighting how coffee is not the worst of the bunch, and suggesting giving up steak as well. Greens arguing for not eating meat… that’s original.
- Gruen man
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in LifeThe Gruen Transfer returned to TV tonight. It’s a brilliant show. Tonight’s topic – tourism advertising. A subject close to my heart. Made some interesting observations about how tourism marketing works and the basic formula. A couple of years ago at a marketing workshop with Virgin Blue marketing guru Sean Cummins (from Cummins and Partners) showed two tourism advertisements from different states with the soundtracks switched – and it was almost impossible to tell the difference.
- Knowledge of all font
Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 in LifeHere’s a list of the 100 best fonts of all time – written in German – Helvetica takes out top spot. UPDATE: Here’s an English version of the 100 best fonts with a bit more info on how the list was compiled. If lists aren’t your thing and you’re more a periodic table type here’s a periodic table of fontness (click it for the full sized version).
- Pictures and words
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 in ChurchGordo has issued the challenge to demonstrate how a picture can paint 1000 words. There’s my entry.
- Plant rant
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 in ChurchThere’s a lot of chatter around the Australian evangelical blogosphere (that’s a pretty narrow field really) about a future church planting movement in Australia. Some people are over in the US with Mark Driscoll and other renowned church planters right now. And they’re blogging up a storm. Most of the posts are buzzing with fanboyism. They’re chock full of quotable quotes, photo ops, video interviews and summaries from talks given at conferences. It’s no doubt very exciting for those caught up in the movement.
- Shirt of the Day: Pacman redux
Posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 in OdditiesI posted a Pacman shirt from Glennz.com last week. This one is funnier. And it’s from BustedTeesRunners up in the almost shirt of the day category (which is generally weekly and completely arbitrary)… from the same site include the following.And this one is too rude for me to display – even though I think my mum would approve. And my wife would relate.
This one poses the important questions
- Stimulus rains on cats and dogs
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in PoliticsApparently “literally hundreds” of cats and dogs will be receiving stimulus money inherited from pensioners who’ve died since filing their last returns. If these pensioners bequeathed their estates to their feline or canine companions and a tax return was filed the animals get the one off payment.Joe Hockey is jumping up and down crying fowl (because chickens don’t often get these sorts of rights)… he thinks it’s a waste of money.But really, the stimulus is only effective if the recipients spend the money.
- The Costa Coffee
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 in CoffeeA British coffee taster has insured his prime asset for $14 million. His tongue. So he’ll no doubt be steering clear of overly hot coffees from now on. From the ABC.”Gennaro Pelliccia is the chief taster for Costa Coffee and tastes every batch of raw coffee beans the company uses.He says his 18 years of experience in the industry has made his tongue a valuable asset.
- What’s black, white and read all over
Posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 in MediaYes, the humble newspaper. Thanks Peter Combe. If you want to track down the leading daily (or in fact any other dailies) from the 400 biggest cities in the world – here’s a nice aggregator.
Why not subscribe to the RSS feed so that you don’t miss a beat. Or a post
Pacman sited
Pacman has found a new home. In Russia.
He has been spotted wandering the streets of Russia in cohorts with a blue ghost. Thanks to these Russian bloggers.
The video is pretty long. But amusing.
Our daily Fred: On a knife’s edge
Fred and friends have produced some pretty amazingly cool products – I’ve featured a number of them before – and now, in a special series of posts I’ll be sharing my favourites from World Wide Fred…
The Evidence Knife…
A bunch of links – March 22, 2009
- Six Latest Firefox Addons You Should Check Out
- Monster creature had circular jaw, claws on head
- Joint partnership was an imaginary marriage | smh.com.au
- WHO WE ARE: Going forward, lets iterate our nuances | Who We Are | Sun Herald Blogs
- It#39;s heaps serious: Kevin went mental | smh.com.au
- Super Nintoaster Makes SNES Games Om Nom Worthy
- Watchmen VFX Reel
No, this story is not about Anna Bligh.
A MAN so muddled by years of marijuana dependency believed he was married to his former flatmate for nearly a decade – a mistake that threatened to derail his wedding to a new partner.
Buzz word of the year? Apparently it’s nuance.
Ever wondered what political commentary would look like were it reported by a ditzy teenage girl? No. Well check out Annabel Crabb’s Binge Drinking report.
Coolest. Case mod. Ever.
Geek checklist
Continuing the vein of discussion about whether I’m a geek or a nerd (and in fact whether the distinction is necessary) – here’s a list of ten habits of a geek spouse from Wired. And here’s how I fare…
1. Punning.
Guilty as charged. Really, really guilty. I had no idea that this was a geek thing. 1 point.
2. Swearing in Klingon.
Nope. Not interested. Not really interested in sci-fi – but that doesn’t stop me wearing my Star Wars inspired “Milk I am your Father” shirt. 0 points.
3. Weird or over the top ways of celebrating mainstream holidays.
Not that I can think of off the top of my head. I do however celebrate federal budget night with an annual beer and budget celebration featuring only myself (and my wife who is there in presence not spirit). I’ll give myself half a point.
4. Dissecting movies.
I’m not really a movie geek/film buff. In fact I like really stupid movies that would no doubt annoy those who are film geeks. I certainly don’t point out continuity errors or any time a movie breaks natural law. So no points.
5. Wearing obscure geeky t-shirts to “normal places”.
Well yes, I do that. Lots. It shows just how clever you are. If you understand them. It’s like an idiot filter. 1 point.
6. Requiring extra space in the house for geeky things.
Yes. I have a coffee machine that’s more than a metre wide. I have a breadmaker set up on the back patio for roasting coffee, and I have four archaic consoles sitting in our TV unit. 1 point.
7. Geeky toys/decorations can be hard to explain to kids.
Well I don’t have kids. But I can’t imagine explaining why I own a plastic Bob Hawke drink dispenser will be easy. 1 point.
8. Looking up information while a discussion/argument is still in progress.
In the internet age who doesn’t do this? Really? Maybe it is just me. Very, very guilty. Especially when I know I’m right and I’m just doing it to back up my argument. 1 point.
9. Needing to watch certain TV shows ASAP to avoid spoilers.
Well, I actively seek out spoilers at times – just to stay ahead of the curve. But there are times when I guess this could be true. 1/2 a point.
10. Geeky projects that take over the house and whole weekends.
I guess ripping apart a breadmaker to install a switch bypassing the circuit board is pretty geeky. I like little DIY challenges – like the restoration of my coffee machine. 1 point.
Things aren’t looking so good. Lets count up those points. Drum roll.
6 7 out of 10 by my count. I guess that makes me an annoying geek spouse.
Burger masterpiece
Not since Jason Statham in the Transporter 2 has grease been used so artistically.
This is quite phenomenal. It’s an advertisement for a pure and natural burger chain – Arbys.
Wow.
Ahh… It’s a trap
No it’s not. It’s a cheese knife and cutting board set. Shame it’s not actually for sale. I’d totally buy one. They’re available here. I’d love to buy one. And then my wife would totally make me give it to someone as a present.
The guy behind the product design has some other cool ideas.
Like this.
Update – it turns out a lot of the really cool ideas I’ve linked to before were designed by this guy and the company he works for – worldwidefred.com – you can buy their stuff from Amazon and a host of other novelty kitchen suppliers. Like here.