Pet Peeves--Back with Sweet Vengeance!

Revenge, is, as they say, best served cold, and my peeves have quite a few dishes to serve up.

• When people say "Pop" when they clearly intended to say "Soda".
• When people pronouce "orange" (o as in saw) as "orange" (o as in more)
• Similarly, when people mispronounce forest in the same way.
• Whenever people say "whenever" whenever they really mean "when." (Whenever I was six, I used to...)
• When people say they were "up to" somewhere instead of "up at". (Well, I was up to the gas station...)
• Of course, saying "infer" when one means "imply".

Stay tuned for the up-and-coming sequels, coming with all the timeliness of The 10th Kimgdom's sequel and the Prince Caspian movie!

Bring Back Geography!

Bring Back Geography is a fascinating article I read recently in ArcNews, a periodical focused on Geospatial Technology. Geospatial Tech. often deals with GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and GPS. But the focus here is on geography. If you have any interest at all in geography or even education itself, I encourage you to read it. But here I will summarize what impacted me.


Geography is to space what history is to time.


So often people think of geography and they think of the names of countless insignificant countries--and remebering the difference between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. But place-name geography is only the "tip of the iceberg" with geography. It includes many other fields most people don't even consider. Saying geography is about "where things are" is like saying history is just about "when things happened" and not the study of these events. Geography studies culture, spatial analysis, information technology--in the words of J. Illick quoted in the article, it is "why people do what they do where they do it".



Many schools do not teach geography anymore.



Another misconception about geography is that it is only an elementary school subject. They do not understand the vast amount of careers in this field. Colleges even eliminate geography from study--when it is included it is given a new name like "area studies". This is completely due to ignorance--the universities think geography is only about remembering where the Yangtze River is and ignore it place in cultural and spatial studies. But this removal is not limited to higher education. Most schools either do not teach geography or include it in "social studies" that eliminates spatial thinking. Even place-name geography is ignored--how often have you heard children (or even adults) call Hawaii and Africa countries? How many children (or adults) do you know that could point to Romania on a map? Or even India or Russia? This lack of study is responsible for the gross isolation of Americans from other cultures. There are so many Americans who don't know or care that Tigers do not live in Africa and that China has a distinct culture from Japan. They don't know that there are many types of English accents or that Brazil is not a Spanish nation. There's little wonder world opinion of America is so low--we don't know anything about other people and cultures and we don't care.



Geography is pointedly ignored.



With the recent surge in the use of the Global Positioning System, especially to make interactive, multi-layered maps (the primay application of GIS), Geospatial Technology is "in". Yet many refuse to call it what it is--an application of Geography. Harvard specifically stated they would teach GIS but not geography. They did not realize their mistake--without Geography as a field in which GIS can work, GIS will be reduced to an application used by other fields--not an industry of its own. What institution would dare remove history from its classes? And where would its applications, like anthropology, fit? Yet this is happening with geography--it is not recognized as a field, and its applications, like GIS and GPS, will have no place once their fad is over.

The conclusion? Geographers must fight for this field--increasing world awareness that it is not just a physical science and bringing it back to the schools.

The Power of God--No, Really

When we think about the Power of God, we all have to admit we tend to understate it. To be truthful, our minds are too finite to do anything but understate it. But do we really attempt to fathom just how great God is?
I've been taking a Creation Science class this year, and it has really impressed me with how Great God Is. Just the fact that He Is (in Hebrew, YHWH) is too great for us to understand, because our existence is just a shadow of true Being. Before we were born, before time even was created, He IS. Not was, IS. When we die, and after time is no more, He IS. In the far reaches of the universe, and beyond the limits of space, and in the tiniest molecule, and in our hearts, He IS.
In my Creation Science class I learned that a single pinhead sized amount of the plasma from the center of our sun, if put on earth, would destroy everything within a hundred miles. The sun is but a tiny star in a tiny system, in a galaxy among countless others, in a universe that God created with His voice alone! If our entire universe, and the perfection of our own personal creation, and the complexity of the human soul, and the mystery of Christ coming to earth and dying for our sins--the greatest thing we can ever know--was all part of a single plan that God created with His voice, what else has He done? Can we fathom it? People often wonder if God has created alien life for His own pleasure, even if we never meet them. But I ask you this--what if God has created something even greater than life as we know it, something completely different from space and time? This is all completely theoretical, obviously, but the point is this--we have no idea how much God has done. We can never know--maybe even when we get to heaven--the full extent of His greatness.
The application? We are small people in a little world, around a dwarf star in an insignificant galaxy, all created by a God who did not even strain a muscle doing it. How Great and Incomprehensible His love that He puts up with us! And how dare we defy this God? How dare we do anything but love Him, and serve Him entirely?

Pet Peeves (first installment)

Yes, some things just bother me. Many things that polite society considers acceptable. Many things that I must endure, because I cannot change them. But perhaps, by voicing these concerns, I can throw back the proverbial starfish, and maybe--just maybe--be a part of the solution to these problems.

The first of my peeves is this--products, especially beverages, that announce something to the effect of: "New Look, Same Great Taste". Obviously it has a new look. That is quite apparent. If it had a different taste, it would say so. Undoubtedly the title would change, or be added to. We can figure out for ourselves whether or not it tastes the same--especially since the name of the new taste (i.e. the words "Code Red" on Mountain Dew) is much larger than the words declaring "New Look, Same Great Taste."
Furthermore, a new design is in itself a marketing ploy. Do not market your marketing ploy. This is akin to television advertisements informing you of an online ad. (and yes, these exist)
Finally, the addition of the words, "New Look, Same Great Taste" is part of the design. Part of the design advertising the design itself creates a paradox. When you remove these words, as the design becomes no longer new, the product, now free from these unnecessary words, has a new design. Will the company then re-add the words? Or will it just choose to change designs again? As long as the design has a similar color scheme (as new designs should, if the company wants loyal customers to be able to find it) one can tell it is the same product. Please, just keep the words off.

More peeves coming soon.

Wild Cherry Pepsi

I feel the need to include in this blog a few short words about Wild Cherry Pepsi. Wild Cherry Pepsi is one of the world's most under appreciated beverages. Many do not even know of its existence, or think of it simply as another cherry variant on a cola product. Some are so audacious as to refer to it as "Cherry Cola" or even "Cherry Coke". I will not discuss Pepsi's universal superiority to Coca-Cola in this post, but even if Coke were worthy to be compared with Pepsi, Cherry Coke would still pale in comparison to Wild Cherry Pepsi. The proportion which with Wild Cherry Pepsi improves on its root, Pepsi, is far greater than that of Cherry Coke, Pepsi Blue, or any of the myriad Mountain Dew variants. Wild Cherry Pepsi is so different, so much greater, than its root, that it becomes a drink of its own, one which is rarely seen. Few vending machines boast this great flavor, though they often contain at least two different Mountain Dew types. But when I walk up to a drink machine or look into a filled cooler, I always hold on to the hope that I will see that telltale band of red around the top, ready, no matter what the time of day or the condition of my stomach, to snatch up the can before it is taken, and partake in this glorious nectar of kings.

Mario Brothers--of the Super variety

Observe now the image I have chosen for my desktop wallpaper. A simple image, representing simple game. Yet this image captures the essence of, perhaps, the most famous video game of all time. One almost pities Mario forever frozen in midair, with what may be the final steps before reaching the first castle and coming that much closer to his goal.

Jumping, of course, is a key move in the game--Mario cannot go far without it. This image shows a pose Mario takes often--he is usually in the air longer than on the ground. The Goombas marching angrily back and forth portray the friendly hazards along the way, and the warp pipe shows a classic means of skipping over levels. We can never know what hides behind that Surprise Box...a growth mushroom? A Coin? Maybe even a beanstalk!

But to the heart of my discussion. One immortal question has long plagued my mind--just what genre does Mushroom Kingdom fal under? Other games are obvious in this respect--Metroid is Science Fiction, Zelda is fantasy. The original Platform Mario brothers, or the game Donkey Kong, boasting Mario's first appearance, were too short to require a "genre", but Super Mario brothers had an elaborate, if unusual, world to play in.

The presence of princesses, castles, and even a "dragon" (if Boswer can be called one) would imply a fantasy, and evil mushrooms and turtles could fit this mold. Yet one finds it hard to justify the existense of plumbers in this place. Bullets, bombs, and elevators would almost qualify the game as modern day or science fiction.

Various sequels to this game take different approaches. Super Mario Brothers 2 and 3 take a fairy-tale-like view of Mushroom Kingdom, with random, strange creatures abundant. Various Mario RPGs take a strong stance either on fantasy or science fiction, or a strange cross between the to. Luigi's Mansion even takes an almost suspenseful or horror theme, with ghosts being the main enemies. The Super Mario Brothers film is not mentionable in polite society.

So what conclusions can we draw? As always, the end decision is this--Mario lives in a world of his own--one that has never been matched by any other game, nor will it ever be. As has been the rule since 1981, when Mario first appeared in the arcades in Donkey Kong, we do not ask questions. We just...play...the game...

My Testimony

This blog is about me, and so I am obligated to tell about the one thing on which my entire life must center--my faith. My faith is not merely an identifying characteristic about me, like my race or hair color. It isn't something I inherited from my parents, or belong to because of where I'm from. It isn't a faith that only exists on Sundays or when I go to church. My faith is every bit of who I am-because without the Object of my faith, I would be nothing.

There are many different branches of Protestant Christianity, but many of the differences are over minor issues. I am not part of any denomination, because I believe that the church should not be divided over unimportant things.

However, there are some aspects of my faith that are uncompromiseable. This is not a very popular idea in today's world, but if I back down on one issue I know is right, my faith is meaningless. I believe what I know to be true, and will not lie in order to be tolerant or politically correct.

Here are the things that I cannot waver on.

God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, has existed since the beginning of time, and is a single entity (not nature, or the minds of men). He created the world in six days, and continues to work in the world. He is completely holy and cannot abide in the presence of evil. Yet he loves all men and desires to make them holy so they can experience His presence.

All men hav sinned. Sin is not just acting unnaturally evil. Sin is doing anything contrary to the will of God. This includes doing something seemingly good for the wrong reason, and even includes thoughts not pleasing to God.

Our sin has separated us from God. God cannot allow sin into heaven, because then He would have to leave. The only place where God is not present is Hell, so a sinner must go to Hell rather than God's presence. The only way a man can go to heaven is to live a life free of sin, which is impossible for humans, because of our sin nature.

Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. He has always existed, yet at an actual point in history He came to earth as a human, born of a virgin woman named Mary. Mary was a human who was chosen to be blessed with His birth, not because she was worthy, but because God is gracious.

Jesus lived among men, was accused or heresy for claiming to be God, and was killed by crucifixion. Because He had led a perfect life and committed no sin worthy of death, His death paid the penalty all sinners must pay. Any man who accepts Jesus' payment for his sin will have this sin removed and his debt cancelled. When he dies, he will go to heaven. Nothing else is required, though the Christian is encouraged to serve God in order to bring others to Christ and for rewards in heaven.

Three days after being crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. His life, death, and resurrection were real events in history and have been recorded as such. After appearing to men Jesus ascended into heaven, where He is now preparing a place for all who have accepted Him.

God is three Persons in One--A Trinity of character that we can never fully understand. The third part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, who comes into our hearts when we accept Jesus and enables us to live for God.

Finally, God's Word has been faihfully preserved in the Bible. Men who were eyewitnesses of its events were inspired by the Holy Spirit, meaning everything they wrote is true and applicable to all periods of time. The Bible takes authority over all else--including the church or any church leader. If anyone contradicts or adds to the Bible in what he says, the Bible must take precedence.

This testimony turned out longer than I expected, and not every detail is necessary for one to have true belief. But here is the heart of the matter--Jesus is the Son of God and has paid for our sins with death--we need only to accept this gift to inherit eternal life. There is no other way to heaven, but God will accept all who come this way.

Okay, so I got a blog...

Let's face it. I'm far too White&Nerdy(tm) to not have a blog yet. Plus, I'm in College now! I'm an Intellectual! I must share my learnedness with the world. We'll see where this goes. If ever you see a completely nonsensical post, ignore it. I probably wrote it one minute before lights out in the mad scramble to jump into bed. (Those Resident Assistants can be pretty strict about rules...)

Feel free to post comments, postive or...otherwise.

The adventure begins...