Salt and Light: 10 Salt and Pepper Shakers to light up dinner at your house

Salt and Pepper Shakers are almost infinitely customisable. And they’ve been that way for years. Here are some “modern” takes on the humble salt and pepper dispensers from one of my favourite product sites… sadly these guys don’t ship to anywhere outside the US. So I’ve also tried to track down some links for Australian customers.

Turn your meal times inside out with this inverted shaker available from Perpetual Kid and Amazon.

If everything in your house functions by switch – bring that to the dinner table with the switch operated shaker – from Perpetual Kid or Amazon.

For the adventurous, or those who believe salt should be shaken – not stirred, there are these vibrating shakers.

For the tweeps (Twitter Peeps) there are these nice little birdies (Amazon)…

… or these ones.

This salt man in pepper pants (Amazon) is perhaps my favourite set of all.

If I had listened closer in science I’d know how accurate the idea of salt or pepper operating as a battery is… but I didn’t. So I’m fine with these.

If efficiency of space is your thing, or you’re a regular Jekyll and Hyde – then check out these split personality shakers (Amazon).

Your grandma might like these peas in a pod (Amazon).

Finally, salt and pepper should puzzle your guests – what better way to do that than to provide Rubiks Cubes for both salt (Amazon) and pepper (Amazon) and let them figure it out for themselves.

March 18, 2011

If Mario’s story was modern and based in reality

There’s a slight language warning on this one…

March 18, 2011

Did you hear the one about the “non-Christian news anchor” who made Rob Bell look dumb

This video is doing the rounds. It’s painful viewing.

There are a couple of things I don’t like about it – one is the dichotomy that Bashir sets Bell up with. Bell can’t win with the question the way it’s framed. So it wasn’t particularly nice.

The other is that people keep calling journalist Martin Bashir a non-Christian, when he’s not. He, like me, is a reformed, evangelical, Presbyterian. A good Presbyterian no less. Who would doubtless be accepted for candidacy for holding orthodox theological views and having no characteristics that disqualify him from ministry…

This also explains why Bashir has such a grasp of Christian theology and why he sounds like he has a dog in the fight. Because he does. This Guardian Profile from 2003 is one example of Bashir’s Christianity being well known.

March 17, 2011

Feeling like…

If a good job offer came today I’d take it. Pack this ministry thing in, and become jaded and burnt out before my time.

This feeling is not helped by an incredibly fun PR consultancy role I picked up a couple of weeks ago promoting a major motorsport event in Townsville which is engaging, and exciting, and takes ten hours a month, and pays monstrously better than church work.

This is the reality of ministry though. Right? Sacrifice. 1 Peter 3 is my theme chapter for today. This is how to live, and why… and how I need to work at responding when people disagree with me, or find me disagreeable.

“8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. “

March 17, 2011

There are times I wish I blogged anonymously

One of my core commitments to taking part in the world of the Internet is that I’ll almost always put my name to what I write. Sometimes I don’t for the sake of humour. Be it coffee reviews or opinions. I will always own them.

Sadly, this means that in times I really, really, really, want to explode into a personal rant, I can’t. So you get vaguery. Sorry.

If I ruled the world things would be different.

March 17, 2011

Cee-Lo Sanctified

Christian music fans rejoice! One of the biggest musical hits of last year was Cee-Lo’s catchy number that was far too rude for Christians to wander around singing along to. So here, as a piece of public service, is a Christian version for you to learn and hum along to.

And if anybody asks, upon hearing your humming. You can tell them the gospel as told by this song.

March 17, 2011

My mind. Blown. And my eyes too…

I don’t often post gifs here. Their constant movement makes my eyes bleed. We’ll see how long I keep this one up. It is absolutely mesmerising.

Amy sent this one to me on Twitter. I don’t know where it’s from originally. Some tumblr somewhere.

March 16, 2011

Can’t touch this math – The MC Hammer Theorem

MC Hammer was too legit to quit. Allegedly.

Now, you can see that song expressed mathematically. Though equating too with 2 is somewhat dubious.

Via PopChartLab

March 16, 2011

Mario hits the wall: Super Mario Bros from start to finish projected on an outdoor wall

This is extremely clever and well produced.

Super Mario Bros. from Andreas Heikaus on Vimeo.

There’s also a making of video.

Super Mario Bros. on a Sidewalk – Making Of from Andreas Heikaus on Vimeo.

Found via ChurchCreate.

March 16, 2011

How to inspire a movie scene

Izaac, who knows more about Pixar than anybody else I know, sent me this little story that warmed the cockles of my heart.

In Toy Story 3 there’s this great scene where Mr Potato Head’s parts get put on a tortilla. And he sways around everywhere. He can’t stand up. It’s funny.

Funnier still is this little story that the animator of that scene tells on his blog:

The animation supes took me into a room to tell me the news ‘We are giving you Mr. Tortilla-Head’ Its one of those moments where your really happy then really nervous. How was I going to animate that thing? Sure it plays funny in boards, but to bring it to life! The Supes knew it was going to be a challenge, being the great leaders they are said ‘these are your last shots, take all the time you need!’ I kept telling myself, you’ll be happy you animated this once it over.

I sure was – although they were extremely hard shots to pull off, I’m really proud to part of that character. There was a small team of us, 3 animators helping each other. Showing each other what works, what didn’t. Some reference that really inpired us was Drunk Guy Buying Beer. I wonder if this guy knows he was in a movie?

Drunk Guy Buying Beer is an hilarious little clip on YouTube that made me laugh. So here you go, this is how you inspire a movie scene:

March 16, 2011

Happy Blog Day To Me… My blog is five.

My blog turned five yesterday. I thought it was today. But I checked. Here’s my first post. Sure, it has been called a few different things, and things have changed since the old blogger days. But there’s continuity. 4,600 posts of continuity.

I don’t think, when I started out, that I knew what I was getting myself into. Or how much I’d come to enjoy being a blogger.

March 16, 2011

What is this?

Answer on this post this time tomorrow. Or when I remember.

What’s your best guess.

March 15, 2011

Inception in 60 Seconds: Pop up book style

This is clever, but one can’t help but think there are a few details missing from such a succinct rendition of a complicated movie…

March 15, 2011

Apple stock v Apple Stock

Where would you be at financially if you’d stocked up on Apple shares rather than Apple products over the last 15 years? Rich. That’s where.

This is quite an amazing little comparitive study that almost has me convinced to fork out as much for my iPad 2 in Apple stock as it costs to buy it (this, people, is why I got my summer job).

“Now imagine that instead of buying the Apple PowerBook in 1997, you decided to spend $5,700 on Apple stock. You would have done a little better. Indeed, today your Apple stock would be worth $330,563. Probably makes you think twice buying about that laptop.

Kyle Conroy, a computer science student at University of California, Berkeley, has hundreds of other examples on his personal Web site that show what would have happened if you had decided to purchase Apple stock, which is at around $350 a share Thursday, instead of buying the company’s products when they were announced.”

Via the NY Times.

March 15, 2011

The South Park kids in real life

I enjoy South Park on the occasions I manage to see it (not often). So this artistic rendering of the characters in humanoid form tickled my funny bone.

From Deviant Art, Twenty Two Words has a few more.

March 15, 2011