Feb 24, 2006 - Granite Carvings
I visited Bucknell University with my son. They have an art gallery on campus with works in it by William Lasansky, one of their faculty. He works with granite that he finds on an island off the coast of Maine. There used to be a large granite industry there, and he is able to find loose pieces of quarried rock for raw materials.
Very interesting combination of angularity and curves, polish & rough, finished & raw.
More images from a sculpture park.
Feb 09, 2006 - Origins World Views
Christians have a world view that includes allegiance to a Creator. They are a subset of those people who have a world view that our physical reality was designed. Those in the Intelligent Design (ID) group think this way because the world shows the hallmarks of good design: durable, adaptive and complex systems working in harmony.
Darwin imagined a way that complex organisms could be "designed" without a designer. He did so because he desired a world without responsibility to a designer and needed a way to make it rational. So because of his prejudiced world view, he conceived a theory to validate it.
Feb 07, 2006 - The Answers of Science
Science answers very limited questions.
Science is not in the business of answering "why". If "science" claims to answer "why", it is most likely not science! "Why" answers are the realm of religion.
Science's main answer is to the question of "what". "What is the acceleration of a falling object?" "What is the effect of sunlight on a leaf?"
If science answers "how", then the answer is limited to inside the world of a scientific model. A model is a simplification of the real world and therefore it is an imperfect representation of the real world. In fact I think we can question whether the model's mechanisms are reality. Even though the model might make an excellent simulation of the real world, does the model actually describe "how" the real world does it?
Feb 06, 2006 - I wish I could buy a generator
When our boys were little, winter storms often seemed to knock out the electricity of people in our area. One time (Jan 1993), ours was out for over a week. It was a good thing that it was a mild winter and not freezing, but it still was cold! The power was quickly restored to my work at the bottom of the hill, so I was gone during the days. But Melanie & the boys would spend the days huddled on the the couch under a pile of blankets watching their breath.
In the end, we went to a friend's house and camped in their living room for a night. Our power was back the next day. And in the years since then, there have not been blackouts like that in our area.
Feb 04, 2006 - Regarding virus emails
This was written to a friend regarding a chain email that they forwarded to me. The chain email warned about some other email out on the Internet that claimed to contain pictures, but instead would contain a computer virus:
"I think the real issue of virus emails is fear and control.
"The world of computers and email is complicated. It is confusing to many - to me also sometimes. In this case, the world of computer viruses in emails is a particular mysterious unknown. We have heard that the most insidious kind of viruses can infect your computer just by innocent opening of mail. And they usually come hidden in something else. The highly technical people might be able to recognize which emails carry bad stuff, but most people don't have that confidence. This creates a fear that we could be hit any time without being aware.
Feb 03, 2006 - What is Science?
In the wake of struggles over origins instruction in schools (evolution vs intelligent design) a new definition of science has been promoted by Judge Jones of US District Court in Pennsylvania. On page 64 of his opinion he said that "science has been limited to the search for natural causes to explain natural phenomena".
That is not what I was taught in school. And that is not what I find when I research for the definition of science:
Dec 30, 2005 - Andrew's Lazy Lizard
Andrew has a pet bearded dragon. It likes the warm places. It found the back of our PC and was basking in the warm air. Life is good!
Dec 08, 2005 - Men's Bible Study: Killing vs Serving God
Jesus was instructing his disciples in the time just before he was arrested. Warning them of troubles they would face, He said, "a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (Jn 16:2).
Who are the actors in this statement? If you accept that Jesus is an authority on the identity of God, then this relates to the one real God. Jesus was speaking to his disciples the very first Christians. And he was talking about killers that would not be acting as agents for God.
Nov 24, 2005 - Men's Bible Study: A Promise
John 14:8-21 is a discourse with a famous verse in it ("ask for anything & I will do it").
What does this verse mean? Often this is interpreted for things like ministry accomplishment, etc. Does experience bear out that Jesus does what we ask regarding ministry advancement? -no it does not. Even the most godly people that we know do not receive everything for which they ask from Jesus. This promise is unequivocal, so it must be a promise of something else. I think the promise is more simple and basic than the popular interpretation.
Nov 15, 2005 - Christmas Satire
To: dwestneat@seattletimes.com
Your "Losing our battle for Christmas" column was funny. (note: See his also followup column that prompted this letter.) I could see the satire, and I agree with you that Christmas isn't about shopping and Macy's store ads. But humor can be just as easily for something as against it.
Sep 02, 2005 - Back to School Newspaper Column
To: kberger@seattleweekly.com
Knute Berger should study more. Natural selection and intelligent design don't conflict.
Natural selection is like a multiple choice test: if the right answer isn't already there, it can't be selected. It never makes better answers, but throws lots away. Intelligent design is like an essay - the writer can create a wonderful body of new information.
Natural selection works well on existing genetic information. However, Darwinian evolution needs beneficial new information continuously injected into the genes to explain the origin of the species. Science just isn't observing this.
