Serious Skill

This looks like fun!

The Fence Sitters

At work the past week or so we have been building a garage in South Hill, Moose Jaw. Every day we are "supervised" by 5 - 7 little pairs of eyes that, at some time in the morning, peek over the fence from their daycare to see what is going on. Lots of questions. "What are you making?" "Is it a garage?" "Is it hard to make a garage?" "What's your name?" "Which one is the boss?" "My brother works at McDonald's." "Can you pick up my sandle? I dropped it over the fence!" Most of the time we hear happy sounds as the kids play on their lunch break and after school. However, over the last couple of days, we have heard some more curious exclamations from over the fence. One squeeky little voice continuously yells, "I hate you!" to which the worker continuously replies, "Stop being so high maintenance!"

What can we do as construction workers but listen and enjoy! It's hilarious to hear such little kids trying to understand the world. For kids whose day consists mostly of going to school and playing in the back yard, it must be exciting to watch a bobcat dig, a concrete truck pour, walls go up, and a building appear.

One particular day (yesterday), when there was an over-average number of little faces peering over the fence, Phil the roofer, who was shingling the roof, decided to turn the hose on the kids while watering down hot shingles, which caused an eruption of shouts and screams and giggles, and another occurrence of "I hate you!"

Kids in the workplace. They definitely make the day interesting!

A new internet home for online exegesis!

Back in March, a wonderful online resource for biblical Greek, zhubert.com, was shut down because of copyright issues with the German Bible Society. I was deeply disappointed because Zack Hubert had put together a great online study-help for reading the Greek New Testament and the Septuagint. It was an interactive library with mouse-over parsing, word searches, vocabulary lists, and more. When it went down, it was a loss of a great tool.

But just this past week I stumbled upon a new resource that is on its way to being just has helpful! The Greek & Hebrew Reader's Bible lacks the Septuagint, but it offers the Greek New Testament (based on Tischendorf's text) and the Hebrew Old Testament. Mouse-over parsing is active for most words (though not all), and there are many ways to filter the amount of information you need to assist you in reading.

As of yet, there isn't a way to perform word searches, or to create custom vocabulary lists, but, much like the Reader's Greek New Testament and Reader's Hebrew Old Testament books, words appearing x-amount of times or less are give beneath the text. The benefit of this website is that the reader can determine that frequency number between 10 and 100 times.

Overall, it looks to be a handy tool. I'm sure it will continue to grow and evolve over time. Three cheers for the Open Source movement!

A Nun and Her 'Habit'

After work today I stopped in at Superstore in Moose Jaw for a couple of things. On my way out, I saw a most curious sight: a nun purchasing lottery tickets. I found this to be very surprising, because, I suppose, gambling is usually frowned upon in moral circles, and a gambling nun sounds like an oxymoron. Perhaps if I would have asked her why she was buying them, she may have said, "To give the money to those who need it," or, "our chapel really needs a new paint job!" But I didn't ask her... Instead, when I got home, I looked up what Vatican II has to say about gambling.

According to Catholics United for the Faith, "Gambling is not intrinsically evil and can be a legitimate form of entertainment so long as it is kept within the confines of virtuous conduct. Given the tragic consequences of habitual or excessive gambling, one should exercise caution and vigilance in this area."

According to this statement, if the nun was gambling to improve the chapel or whatever else, this would be allowed: "Since bingo and other forms of gambling are not intrinsically evil, they maybe used as a means of raising money for parishes."

And even if she were gambling for only her own gain, she'd still be within her right, as long as she does so for entertainment, and exercises discretion and moderation.

So then, based on CUF's interpretation of Vatican II, it would seem that a nun can gamble as long as it doesn't become an unhealthy habit.

Life is Good in Caronport

Yesterday Jenn and I enjoyed a funny evening with my little sisters. We had a scrumptious meal of chicken tacos and super soggy salad (it was soggy, but it was super!), played some volleyball, had a roaring bonfire complete with marshmellows, smores, banana boats, and impromptu song composition (always a favorite on these sorts of nights). It struck both me and Jenn how much my three little sisters have grown up. All my life, or perhaps more accurately, all their lives, I've referred to these three as "the little girls." But that seems to be less and less accurate as time goes on. They are now funny, witty, skillful, intelligent, grown-up young woman. Who would have guessed this could happen in such a short time! The great thing is, even as everybody gets older and figures out what they want from life, we can still sit around a fire and sing about silly things like a smore named Jim who just wants to swim, or a songful salute to "counsellors and supporting staff" at camp. Life is good in Caronport.

Call Me a Fan

This is sort of a big announcement for me. Ever since the Winnipeg Jets were sold back in '96, I've been wandering through the diaspora of hockey fandom. I grew up an hour outside of Winnipeg, cheering for the Jets and going to their games. My brother and I even got on TV once during the "Save the Jets" campaign because we happened to sit behind Gary Filmon, the Primier of Manitoba at that time. Over the years, I've tried to cheer for various teams (Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa... not Toronto - who would?), but nothing stuck. Finally, this year, I settled on Chicago. There are a few reasons why I've chosen to announce myself as a formal Chicago fan:

1. Old Winnipeg presence. As a player, I like Nikolai Khabibulin, the starting goalie for the Blackhawks. He was the last goalie for the Jets back in 1996. I've sort of followed him around a bit over the years (as I have with other Jets alumni like Temmu Selanne or Keith Tkuchuk). He's not Mr. Consistent like Brodeur or Nabokov and the like, but he can pull off some amazing stunts in net.
2. New Winnipeg presence. Two of the team's upcoming stars, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, are from Winnipeg.
3. Chicago is primarily a Canadian team, though it operates in the US. As you can see from their team roster, cheering for Chicago is just as Canadian as cheering for one of the teams that play up here. 1 French, 1 Russian, 1 Czech, 2 Swedes, 3 Americans, and 15 Canadians.
4. In a couple of years, I hope to be studying in the Chicago area, possibly at Wheaton College or Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, both a stone's throw away. I could be a game-attending fan again!

I don't think Chicago will be the champion in this year's playoffs, but with all their young talent, I think they'll be an exciting team to watch in the years to come.

So there you have it. Call me a Blackhawk. I'm in.

Mr. Spock's Kohanic Blessing

Here's an intersection of nerdom for you:

"Leonard Nimoy [a.k.a., Mr. Spock] . . . devised the Vulcan Salute - a raised hand, palm forward with the fingers parted between the middle and ring finger - based on the traditional kohanic [priestly] blessing, which is performed with both hands, thumb to thumb in this position: 

a position thought to represent the Hebrew letter shin ש. (This letter is often used as a symbol of God in Judaism, as it is an abbreviation for one of God's names, El Shaddai. This usage is seen, for example, on every mezuzah.) Nimoy says he derived the accompanying spoken blessing, 'Live long and prosper' from this source, as the last phrase of the blessing is 'May the Lord be forebearing unto you and give you peace' (Numbers 6:24-26)." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Nimoy#Stage_and_screen)

Who would have known that Vulcans are steeped in Jewish tradition?