I like finding tips around the web – and I like making up my own tips and posting them as lists. Here are five that I particularly liked from 2009.
My six favourite arguments from 2009
The little post that stirred up a hornets net of atheists and caused a shift in service providers was almost worth the effort of blogging for a year all by itself. Here are my six favourite debates from 2009…
- Five things that would make atheists seem nicer
- The one where I admit to not enjoying U2 and then suggest some alternatives
- The one where I suggest it’s ok to treat subjective issues objectively.
- The one about an “open source” approach to producing ministry resources (music especially) that sprung out of this amazing discussion at Simone’s blog.
- The one where a pastor I don’t know took my doctrine of creation to task – and I didn’t like that very much – and my apology for being rude about it.
- The one where I dared to suggest parents shouldn’t overshare on Facebook.
Thank you to those of you who commented here throughout the year – I do enjoy a good verbal stoush.
Benny on “Experts”
Another thing I would like to touch on is quoting experts in arguments. I don’t like it when people argue that, as their stance is backed up by the word of an expert, they must be right. Most knowledge is quite readily and easily obtainable. Most people who do research have a tendency to promote their findings (I know, it’s crazy). So, if anyone is willing to really find out about a topic, if they are willing to spend the time to trudge through the literature, there wouldn’t be too many points of view, arguments and supporting evidence they wouldn’t have stumbled across. Researchers may add to the pool of knowledge, but I think most people will be able to understand the current pool of knowledge, and make their own inferences once properly informed.
Benny on the environment
During the campaign of the last federal election, the top issue of the day was the environment, specifically climate change. My friends and I used to bicker about the usefulness of having so much campaign time dedicated to the issue of the environment. They were of the belief that finally politicians were focused on something that mattered. I was of the opinion that the hysteria building around the campaign about the environment was leading to mostly empty, reactive bantering, and no matter how much focus was put on the topic, the additional impact on Australia’s environmental policy was going to be minimal.
I don’t think it has been the governing domain where any perceived failures in environmental activism have occured. I think, prior to becoming a media staple, the environment received adequate consideration by government. I would even go as far to say that the government was the platform where much environmental awareness was raised, discussed and launched.
Then came along the GFC, which took some of the momentum out of the environment’s pillar of current issue drive.
A lot of people have been quick to say that climate change is such an important issue, other issues should be given very low consideration in saving the environment.
One idea raised was that Australia should stop exporting coal.
During the GFC and its aftermath, job retention became a key issue. I still believe that Anna Bligh won an election by stirring peoples fears of lowering job security. In 2008-09, coal represented well over half of Queensland international merchandise exports (PDF).
I still think a lot of people need a reality check when it comes to the impacts of some of the policies being flouted. Proposed energy trading schemes, taxes, quotas, etc etc is going to have a real impact on the costs of basic provisions. Queensland is already suffering from heightened costs associated with basic infrastructure (transport, water). Queensland’s future is looking increasingly precarious. It’s strong population growth, inadequate and increasingly expensive infrastructure will need to be repaired over the coming decades, and Queensland needs to ensure that it can cope with a changing landscape of the resource sector.
Super Mario Mac
Mac decals are fun. I’m not sure if I’d ever deface my beautiful computer. But this one’s a cracker.
From Etsy.
Wholesome fun
Would your youth group go to the beach if it wasn’t for issues of purity? Perhaps you should purchase a swag of wholesomewear swim suits for the ladies…
Because encouraging the wearing of board shorts and a sun shirt is just too much hassle.
If Picasso drew comics…
I’m not surprised that Picasso style comics haven’t taken off. You can’t cheer for a guy who looks like this…
…or this.
From this gallery here.
If you did want to try your hand at creating Picasso-esque comic characters you could do worse than use the “Mr Picasso Head” webapp… I’ll post my Picasso picture when it gets added to the gallery.
Avatar = plot avarice
Turns out that not only did James Cameron rip off Fern Gully, but Pocahontas as well. Perhaps there are only six unique plots in the world after all…
At the core of each of these stories is a greedy person trying to rip off the naive and innocent.
Here’s a reworking of a Pocahontas synopsis or script or something for the purpose of making the point.
Via boingboing.
Bacteria future
This little picture of Mario might look like any old picture of an old time game character…
But looks, as we know, can be deceiving.
This little Mario is made from bacteria.
My top five posts about ninjas
You probably didn’t see these first time around. But ninjas are sneaky – so that’s understandable.
The black parade
Shirt of the Day: Ninja Code
For people who know CSS and like ninjas… Buy it here.
Ninjitsuit
My first thought when reading about this new, controversial “Burquini” the Islamic bikini invented by an Australian and banned in France (two things that make something more likely to be awesome) was that it looks pretty much like a ninja suit.
Am I right? Yeah. Which got me thinking further – firstly, I didn’t know what a ninja suit was actually called – which was a bit of a gap in my ninja arsenal. For the record it’s a shinobi shozoko. But it’s always dangerous to put a ninja in a box.
Ninjafy your car
After you’ve got things in the kitchen to a dangerously ninjafied status it’s time to turn your car into a lean, mean, killing machine (figuratively not literally).
Pirates v Ninjas: Black and white issue
First there was ninja v ninja checkers – and now a chance to settle the age old question – pirates v ninjas.
My top five posts about bacon
Declaring a love for bacon is tantamount to declaring a love for oxygen.
But here are some posts about Bacon that I just want to relive.
Bacon jam helps you eat, like, a pig
Pig + Blender = Bacon Jam. That’s the equation celebrated by this shirt.
How to top Bacon Jam
Breadwinners
The perfect BLT.
The winner was an American chef living in Sydney… here’s the concluding post from the competition.
Here’s his winning sandwich – but the best bit is the photographic flow chart he made (and the fact that he harvested his own salt from the ocean)…
BBB sandwich
This is what you should get if you order a BLT with no L, no T and extra B.
It hasn’t made it to “This is why you’re fat” yet – but it will.
And finally – a very useful flow chart…
There’s nothing wrong with this picture
Plenty of bacon to be found here in this “what to eat” decision making flow chart from geekologie.
How to choose what beer to drink
Do you know your lagers from your pilsners? If not, this chart will be really helpful – if so – you probably know what sort of beer you want to drink and may have even dabbled with matching different beers to different meals.
I am constantly appalled that Fosters is Australia’s most famous beer export. Does anybody actually drink it in Australia? And for those who think Jesus drank non-alcoholic wine – here’s a soft drink flow chart.
Spreading the love
Everybody loves getting comments.
I’m aiming to comment on 100 other people’s blogs today. So far I’m at 62. Have I been to yours?
Do you feel less special knowing that you are part of a mammoth social 2.0 experiment?
January 8, 2010