How WordPress Graded My Blogging For 2011

Posted by deohsan on

I recently got this message on my Gmail.

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Crunchy numbers

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

In 2011, there were 144 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 503 posts. There were 134 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 45mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was May 20th with184 views. The most popular post that day was The World Will End Tomorrow (If You Believe Harold Camping).

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Wow.

Thanks to everyone!

This is Why I Miss Architecture

Posted by deohsan on

Architect Gary Chang lives in a small, 344 square foot apartment (roughly 32 square meters, which is about the same size of the apartment my beloved M and I live in).  By installing sliding panels, and employing not quite a little ingenuity, he manages to create 24 (count ‘em!) different desings in that one small space.

He calls his creation, the “Domestic Transformer.” I’m sure his future designs will have things all automated (right now you have to make adjustments by hand).

I could have done that, but living in a rented apartment in this country makes it impractical.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak

Ciao!

I’m a Sucker for These Things

Posted by deohsan on

(Typing this while listening to a Gregorian Chant Christmas CD.)

The “these things” in the title refer to lists. I’m a sucker for lists. Random lists, freaky lists, lists of things that I probably won’t do. Give me a list and I’ll give you the whole world.

From the land down under (Really, what bad thing can come from the country that’s also a continent?) comes this very practical list: 25 Clever Ideas to Make Life Easier. My beloved M’s favorite: Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila – you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream. (See picture below.)

© somebody else

For another list: Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter. My personal favorite is Rule 10: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy outside of Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car-there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Ciao!

The Saturday before Christmas 2011

Posted by deohsan on

One of my favorite Christmas poems has to be A Visit from St Nicholas (also known as The Night Before Christmas). Depending on your understanding of history, the poem was written by either Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr.

Those who know me are probably wondering how an ambivalent-towards-Christmas curmudgeon like little ol’ me could possible like a Christmas poem. The answer is simple–and it has absolutely nothing to do with religion or the Bible–simply put, the poem is nice. It’s fun to read (and listen to) and it carries with it an almost inexplicable magical aura of mystery that surrounds the holidays.

If you haven’t done so, read the poem aloud.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house;

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap;

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and Saint Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney Saint Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

 Ciao!

 

 

Freaky Friday 122311: (I Am Not a Scrooge)

Posted by deohsan on

…or so I keep trying to convince myself.

During my off hours, I surf looking for the odd site or two that would hopefully provide limitless hours of fun and frivolity to my monochromatic lifestyle. There are Snopes and Listverse, two sites I’ve linked to already. Another site I stumbled upon is Museum of Hoaxes. If you’re the type who is interested in hoaxes, you won’t be disappointed.

In the meanwhile, how much do you know about Christmas? Go here to find out. Tip: the answers aren’t as easy as you might first think.

Ho-ho-ho, and all that!

Merry Nativity!

 (And thanks to Unique by Rasterboy, for my new avatar look.)

An Early Christmas (Part 2)

Posted by deohsan on

As a follow up to my post yesterday, I’m showing more pictures of my new Bible plus a few comments on what I like and what I don’t like about it.

First off, apologies to my readers for the poor quality of some of the pictures–the camera I used was having one of its “black moods.” Or should I say “purple moods.”

The pros:

The picture below shows my new Bible on top of one of my older Bibles. The lower Bible is a Reformation Study ESV. Because the latter is a study Bible, it’s a bit thicker than the new ESV. It also has a denim cover (black of course) made by one of our ninangs. The new ESV, being thinner, is lighter and I noticed, as I practiced a preaching pose with it in front of a mirror, that it was very good as a “hold-as-you-preach” Bible. The leather is really soft and curves beautifully to the sides as you hold the book up.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I like single column formats (and if I haven’t mentioned it, I’m mentioning it now). The picture below shows the Bible opened to 2 Chronicles 24 (page 601) and you can see the single column format. It’s very attractive and a lot more readable than two-column formats.

Another thing which I really like about this Bible is its being non-red letter. For those who are not familiar with the term, in red-letter Bibles, the words of Christ are distinguished with red ink (hence the term). While I have no extremely strong reactions to red-letter Bibles, I don’t find them particularly useful and sometimes can be quite confusing. (John 3:16 is a particular example; are the words “For God so loved the world…” a direct quote from Jesus or is it a sort of commentary on the clear words of Christ to Nicodemus earlier in the chapter?)

I also prefer black (duh) so I find the crisp monochromatic page quite delightful in a utilitarian sort of way. See the picture below for what I mean.

The font too is quite readable. The picture above shows it quite plainly. My Galaxy Guide tells me it’s a size 10. Sadly, I can’t distinguish the font type, but the serif makes it very easy to read.

 Two more things that I like, though I’m not sure how much this will resonate with others. Unlike my previous Bibles, which either had one or no tassels at all, this ESV had three (wow!) tassels. Certainly gives a reason to do away with bookmarks, especially when preaching.  Also, there’s a gilded line on the inside yapp. Again, not something everybody will look for, but they add plus points as far as I’m concerned. (See pictures below.)

The Cons

Now for the nitpicks. I find myself very disappointed with two things in my new ESV. Again, if there’s anyone out there thinking of buying this particular edition, please don’t think I’m being dogmatic about the cons. The following are just a couple of items of note which I believe the publishers/printers could have improved.

While I think many people enjoy the presence of reference verses in the margins of their Bibles, I don’t find them particularly useful. My gut reaction upon seeing them for the first time was worry that the use of them could lead to taking verses out of context. After years of being in the ministry, I find that my gut reaction has been justified many times over. Every once in a while, you do get a good reference to a particular passage, but those instances are very rare.

Also, for a Bible that costs as much as this one does, the maps look kind of, well, cheap. Except for the size these maps found at the last few pages of the Bible are the very same maps found in my older and way cheaper ESV. Never liked them. The maps look too plain and simplistic compared to other maps in other Bibles

Looking at the picture above, the reader can see that the India paper is quite thin. You can actually see the words on the other side of the page. This isn’t a big concern for me but it might be for others.

Overall, this is a very good Bible. I would heartily recommend it to anyone.

Ciao!