Saturday night Questions:

1) Will I be able to edit the template myself, for example with quotes in the the banner area?
2) Will I be able to use Frontpage 2000 to edit the template?
3) Will all my blogroll entries show up, or should I randomize them?
4) How often does MT update, and is it a big deal to update the software?
5) Spellcheck?
6) What is a Google API application?

Now I’ve gone and done it. Check out the new IM piece: “In Love With Jesus?” Then let’s hear your reactions.

On trauma with the BHT move: Most of the BHT is made up of people who I believe are fairly committed to being part of this community as an expression of their own need for Christian fellowship. People who plug in to IM are usually looking for like minded souls, and getting to those friendships through the web is important to them. When we are done, everyone will have the opportunity to post with no more trouble than on blogger or w.bloggar, but with considerably more options for enjoying the total contribution of the community thorugh archives, categories and links. I do see this as an expansion of our community’s ability to interact. The new MT whistles and bells should make the experience more interesting for fellows and lurkers alike. I know this group pretty well, and I don’t think we will lose anyone in the move due to any technical changes.

I was initially afraid that the change might spoil the community by the inclusion of lurkers and by more technical hoops to jump through than I thought were necessary. I also recognize a certain loyalty to blogger on my part, but the last two weeks is doing away with that! My shakes are over now.

So I am more fickle than a gay interior designer, and I am infested with a serious case of MT blogger envy, but my goal is for much of the new BHT to resemble our previous digs. I’m not hearing whining. Just good comments.

JimN: Cross-posted! I’ll list some specific nits I have:

BHT wasn’t designed for titles, and few people have used them. Introducing them now causes two problems that I can see: Many of the old posts have bogus titles (that were never seen). For example, when I first joined, I posted irrelevant titles on a couple of posts, just to see if they showed up. And tools like w.bloggar apparently auto-create titles, even if you don’t want them. (?) The primary difference on most blogs between a comment and a post is that a comment doesn’t have to have a title. BHT has primarily functioned like a big list of comments, and changing that now does more harm than good (in my opinion). Categories on the hands, are swell. RSS feeds and so on are easy to do without mucking with the overall look, of course. I’ve got severely mixed feeling on comments, but that’s a personal choice for Michael to make.

Sticking close to MT’s basic CSS by using style classes and ids with the same names is one thing. Looking almost exactly like the basic template that ships with the product seems to be something different, and not a good different.

However, it really sounds like I’m whining, and I hate that. So I’ll go with whatever you guys come up with. However, Michael, might I suggest doing as close as possible to one thing at a time? I’ve got a somewhat selfish motive in this. As one of the names now associated with the move to MT, I’d be happier if the move resulted in as little discomfort as possible. As it is, I forsee a long laundry list of complaints that might just rouse a few people’s inner Angus, and I know I’ll take some of the blame. :)

If everything switched over to MT and the w.bloggar people never saw a difference and the web-based people used the ‘Basic’ interface of MT, things would be peachy and who could possibly complain? Then, after a week or two, you could experiment all you wanted, and people would blame you! Okay, I guess that’s not exactly the sort of suggestion that appeals to you, I’m betting. Oh well.

I’ll shut up now. Obviously I’m too bored on a Saturday. I should get a life. And despite the complaining, I’m really impressed with the work you’ve accomplished, Jim. I hope that doesn’t get lost amidst the whining. :)

One other thing.. where you see old posts, or blogger-imported posts with titles, that’s an artifact of the import process. Eventually, I’ll clean up the database and remove them. The basic concept we had for titles was: if you’re posting, and you want to give it a title, you can. If you don’t, then is shouldn’t show.

Michael: It’s all good, then. I was just surprised to see titles on posts, to name but one example. Especially since tools like w.bloggar apparently automatically create titles based on excerpts from the contents (I think), which makes things look…odd. :)

MT does rock, and is essentially infinitely flexible, so order up all the changes you want. Jim is super-savvy, and I’ve pulled off a few tricks with MT in my time, so you should end up with your dream list pretty much all crossed off eventually.

Phillip, the template you provided was excellent. It faithfully reproduces the current look and feel of the site on top of MT. I’ve kept the template as you provided it intact, and linked it to ”/bht/oldstyle.html.” From my perspective, there are two issues with that template that, while they take nothing away from your technical achievement, make using it problematic. Let me try and explain:

In the Blogger word, you only have to worry about two templates. One is for the main page, and the other is for the archives. There are no comments, no category archives, no individual pages, no monthly archives, etc. So if you change the look and feel, you can just edit the two templates and be on your merry way. And if you’re like Michael and don’t bother with archiving, you have only one to change.

In MT, things are different. There are several different templates. MT attempts to apply a more sophisticated site design principle. In the MT world, a “template” is a more of a semantic description of a page. Most of the “presentation” details are handled via CSS, including things like positioning sections on the page, etc. For example, using the default MT templates, you can make fairly drastic changes to a site’s appearance simply by switching style sheets.

We’ve been trying to meet a couple of objectives with the site design:

Take advantage of MT features. Thus, titles and categories, dynamic content, comments, RSS feeds, etc.

Stay close to the MT default templates where possible, and use CSS like MT does. This one is important, because a lot of the MT plugins we’ll be using assume that the basic styles as defined in the default templates are availible. If we diverge from the default styles, we have the problem of needing to both maintain our own style definitions for the BHT-ish things, plus the defaults for those things that assume they are around. I sort of made an executive decision, since at some point I assume Michael is going to want to take over the look and feel himself, that sticking to the defaults was best. I’m not religious about this – XMLHead runs on MT, and it certainly doesn’t use anything like the default templates. But I figure that if something happens and Michael goes looking for MT help, it will be more forthcoming if BHT stays within the general framework.

Keep up with Michael’s requests. Once you satisfied him that MT could make a site that looks exactly like BHT today, I suspect he became less worried about still having a blog up and was free to consider experimentation. The result is, our target shifted from “make it look like BHT” to something else – something more difficult to define, because it’s verbalized with statements like “I like this site. We should make it look this this.” or “I’ve been thinking we should change the font.” I’m trying to react to those, help him experiment.

Phillip

I am ordering up some changes based on MT sites and MT capabilities that I’ve seen and liked. It’s a long way from finished, but any changes are basically my increasing case of MT blog envy :-) There will be plenty that is familiar. As I said, it’s a long way from done.

Jim/Michael: I hate to say this after acting as a proponent of change, but I don’t like the look of the new BHT. I sent Jim an MT template that more or less exactly reproduced the current look of BHT. Is there a reason it’s switching to something else? Or is it just a “Be patient, Phillip” thing?

I know I sound like I’m whining. Sorry.

“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to completely deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power. We know he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.”- Al Gore

BTW, w. bloggar is working for me even though it appears to NOT be working. Odd.

Let’s update everyone on where we are.

Looks like about half of the gang has gotten the new passwords. There is no deadline on this, and it is no big deal. You will log in at an address, type in your name and the password you select, and post much like you did on blogger. Or you can use w.bloggar. (We can mail you the settings for that if you don’t know what to do.)

Jim is still working on the look at the new BHT, but the posting function is working fine. The address is www.internetmonk.com/bht/. I would like us to hold off posting, and especially take heed to Jim’s request to not double post at both places.

There are some options we would like you to be aware of, and all that will come later. Most notably, we are going to do something interesting with categories. We aren’t going to try and categorize all posts, since most BHT posts are just conversation, so primarily, the category will be by name, so you can go back and look at all the posts of any fellow. We will create a few special categories: Profiles, BHT Menu, Tech, Chick Tracts, Arguments.

I appreciate the time and detail Jim is putting into all this. Phillip did the initial work on the template, for which we are both grateful. Stay tuned!

Also, you may have noted a new look at IM. That’s in anticipation of one day using MT to run both IM and BHT.

I’m working on a new IM piece that should be up later today or tonight: “In Love With Jesus? (Come follow me and I will make you all mushy.)”

Well we’re movin’ on up . . .

What the . . . ? I go to Texas for a few weeks and the whole place falls apart!

Everyone, do me a favor.

I’m currently manually moving posts from the Blogger site over to the new BHT every day. It’s a complicated thing, but I can do it.

What I need is this: please don’t post the same thing to both blogs. Nobody has done this yet, but believe me it makes it MUCH harder to do the import.

I’m not sure what Michael’s schedule is for Saturday, but I’ll be out of pocket most of the day. If you haven’t got your new password info yet, I’ll get to any requests as soon as I get back.

Michael, the default setting “Convert Line Breaks” is similar to what blogger does. If you hit “enter” in a line
it inserts a
tag. The other option – “None”, treats the entry area pretty much as raw HTML, allowing you to control your breaks, paragraphs, etc.

I like the MT approach, because it’s more flexible. I tried hard not to disturb the formatting of the posts I brought over from blogger, but I can’t say that I’ve read all 11k of them to be sure. One thing I did do is translate any occurance of a string of dashes into

---

tags, because those strings were messing with the import function.

Oh, and it’s Jim. I created a “tester” account so I could see what MT looks like to those who have the “default” permissions; it helps me to answer questions that come up.

Great work so far, Jim and Phillip. Everything looks good. I have a question. There seems to be a lot of discussion about “line breaks” and text formatting in MT. Can anyone tell me briefly if there are any isues about formatting that are really different from what we’ve done in blogger?

And I really like the Scripturizer! I’m in Matthew 6 this Sunday at church. Do I need to do anything other than type it? We’ll see.

Jim N: The Bush administration went against a Clinton administration mandate to lower the standard and Bush just recinded it. There was no increase in the amounts allowed, and the amounts allowed are extremely low. I sure would like to see no arsenic, or any dangerous chemicals, in my water, but there are certain chemicals that occur naturally.


As for the standards, the amount is < .002 mg/L. Clinton wanted this pushed to < .001 mg/L. The WHO (World Health Organization) standard for toxicity is > .05 mg/L. In perspective, the current EPA standard is 25 times more stringent than the WHO level. Under the Clinton plan it is 50 times more stringent. I am not sure than any standard will make everyone feel happy. I personally have a whole house water purifier, with reverse osmosis on the drinking water.


Scott: What about. Which part of the pitcher plant is the water absorbed through?

a) flower

b) stem

c) roots

d) flower


DUH! I want to buy a clue! I actually see the argument for the Spanish speakers, but I think people should learn English in the country, so I am torn. For those whose only claim to a foreign language is ebonics, I say “fine! When you decide you want to actually earn a living in the United States, you might want to a) learn proper English and b) get an education.” If the test were really hard, I might agree with you, but it isn’t.

I have spent the day on conference calls for work. Since this doesn’t meet my mental image of “productive”, I’ve distracted myself with making enhancments to the new site. I’m tired now, so I’m going to give myself the evening off. Before I do, here’s my encyclopedic recap/response to all the fun you were having while I was working.


Ken Boyd’s hotdog post somehow connected in my overworked mind with the furor Bush administration’s plans to “increase the standard for acceptable arsenic in drinking water by 200%” (or some such figure). Ah, the good old days, pre-9/11, when liberals had important things to gripe about. I remember a longish NPR piece full of deprecations launched at Bush, Whitman, the EPA, Republicans, white Southern Calvinists, etc. At the very end, some scientist was allowed to point out that what was happening wasthat the standard would move from allowing .00000000001 parts per million to .0000000002 ppm, and that the FDA had determined years ago that something like .0000005 ppm was considered “pure.” (I probably have the numbers wrong here, but in my defense, so do the liberals usually.)


On the other hand, I insist on Hebrew National hotdogs for myself and my kids. Somehow I figure that God’s standard for hair and monkey lip parts in hot dogs is an improvement over the USDA’s, although I have nothing empirical to back that up…


On yet another hand, Ken, a lot of those sorts of objections to food processing go away when you’re in a position of having to eat what you kill. Ever plucked a chicken? (hint: make sure it’s dead first.)


On still yet another hand, in the early days of our marriage, my wife and I would amuse ourselves at the grocery store by seeing how close we could come to building a complete pig from off-the-shelf products. Fortunately, we can afford cable now.


On the unwashed hand that Janet Reno is allowed to shake after I spit on the palm, after listening to Dr. Paul McHugh take the whole “repressed memory of child abuse” industry to task, I’m convinced that Reno should have been indited long before …

WACO!

(to which we might add…)

Ruby Ridge!

I’m out of hands now.


Kevin, you’re safe. I was targetting the folks who had their shorts pulled up over “blasphemy.” My unsent response began with:

Piss.

Probably best I decided not to send it.


Scott, since you brought up end-of-year testing for students, I’ll brag:

My 10-year-old completed 7th and 8th grade math this year, and will be starting Algebra in the fall.

My 8-year-old will enter the 6th grade in all subjects.

My youngest daughter, who turned 6 in March, completed 1st and 2nd grade this year.


We seek out independent testing for our kids, as a sanity check on our own evalutations. Our “promotions” are currently based on evaluations from Covenant Home. And lest I leave anyone out:

My 3-year-old son runs around the house singing the names of countries and their capital cities.


Of course, home schooling may not be for everyone….


The answer to your questions, though is: 1: B; 2: Danny and Charlie shouldn’t be gambling, even if it’s only over marbles. It’s a habit that can lead to embarassment later in life.


Phillip, we probably should also point out that anyone using w.bloggar today will be able to use it on the new BHT.

Kevin: Yum. Try bacon-wrapped tube steaks for extra fun. One piece of bacon and two toothpicks make a bonus treat


Michael: That address will be switching to something @ comcast.com soon, according to my mail.


Judson: I don’t doubt Oscar-Meyer is the picture of cleanliness. The pigs are slaughtered elsewhere! That said, I love a good burger, and if you get it hot enough, how much (edited to preserve illusions) is in the meat doesn’t matter much. So I avoid many fast food places now, but I’ll grill up hotdogs and hamburgers on my grill all weekend long. And maybe the grill at the lake, the way the weather is looking!

Judson: Wouldn’t that be nice? Amusingly, some comments I’ve seen on the web have been from people who totally missed the point of that scene. I presume those viewers are young enough to be disinterested in that half of the equation…


My the way, Movable Type has a very nice web interface. You can even set it to ‘Basic’ mode which provides a very simple interface with a title (which can be ignored for the purposes of BHT), an entry box, a Draft/Publish box and preview/submit buttons. And while I can appreciate that you’ve had no trouble with Blogger, many people have. :)


For that matter, my first attempt to post this from w.bloggar errored out, so I switched to the web interface, and lo and behold, there it is. Oh well.

Sean Penn’s email address: clyde1234@attbi.com. The guy bought a full page ad in the NYT to lecture the whole country on his political views. Needs to enter the ego Olympics with Clinton.

Regarding the server switch thing—Michael, go ahead and email me a username and password. However, I must note I have posted to the BHT for about a year now, and I have never had a single serious problem with Blogger.


Also, I should note, no matter what happens, I will require the ability to make posts from some kind of web-based thing, because here at work I cannot install programs. So keep that in mind. Unless you just don’t want to hear from me for 3 weeks at a time ;-)

One of my colleagues was an electrician at an Oscar-Meyer plant for years. He constantly talks about how impressed he was with the extremely clean operation, and the use of high-grade meat in all their products. Frankly (ha ha) I’m not much of a hot dog eater (knockwurst), but I absolutely love a charcoal-grilled bratwurst.

WACO! ELIAN!


In other news, apparently, there are some parents in Florida who are upset at Gov. Jeb Bush’s requirements that students pass the infamous end-of-grade testing. To quote the director of the African-American Leadership Institute, Florida is instituting a “testocracy”. Of course, anyone who actually PASSED the end-of-grade tests will immediately recognize that “Testocracy” is not a real word in English…


“Black Baptist pastor Victor T. Curry, who likens President Bush to a “neo-Nazi” and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to “the godfather, the devil,” launched a boycott this month of the state’s major citrus and tourist industries. The action was in response to news that 12,794 out of 138,000 seniors are not receiving diplomas because they had, in part, failed the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test .”

...

“High schoolers have as many as six opportunities before 12th grade to pass the exam administered in 10th grade. Twelfth-graders who have failed so far can take the test again in June.


State officials say FCAT scores this year have actually increased for the first time overall among minority students, and call the boycott a politically motivated protest against the Republican governor, a frequent target of Democratic voters in the black and Hispanic communities.”

...

“Earlier this month, the state announced that 41 percent of African-American students scored at or above grade level in 2003, compared to 23 percent in 1998. At the same time, 51 percent of Hispanic students scored at or above grade level in 2003, compared to 38 percent two years before; and 73 percent of white students scored at or above grade level, compared to 65 percent in 1998.


Frances Marine, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education, said at least 40 percent of students who aren’t graduating because of the FCAT haven’t passed other criteria — like credit hours and grades.”

...

And finally, the liberal approach to education: ”“There’s something deeper here,” said Siplin. “I want to see the test suspended until we can figure out why these kids are flunking.””. Translation: every student should pass. Public education is perfect, and there’s no reason any student should be left behind. If they are, it’s Jeb Bush’s fault. It certainly isn’t Lauton Chiles’ fault, even though he was governor for most of these kids’ lives.


For those who don’t remember the difficulty level of the FCAT, here are some sample questions:


1. Alex was paid $4 per hour for her first 10 hours of work one week. She earned $8 per hour for an additional 6 hours of overtime work.


Which number sentence would you use to determine how much money Alex earned for the week?


A. (16+12)=X

B. (4×10)+(8×6)}=X

C. (10+6)(4+8)=X

D. (4×10)+(8+6)=X


2. Danny and Charlie have a cup filled with seven orange marbles and eight blue marbles. Danny says his chances of pulling out an orange marble from the cup are 7 in 15. Charlie says the chances of pulling out an orange marble are 1 in 7. Who is correct and why?

I don’t understand any of you guyses philosophical questions about the Matrix. WHOOSH over my head. All I want to know is…


WHERE CAN I GET THAT CAKE RECIPE?

Fascinating piece on how Asians and Westerners are switching religions. It’s certainly true with my second generation Asian-American students.

Test of scripturizer:

John 3:16 is a verse

Psalm 38 is a chapter

Isaiah 46:13 is another verse

Matthew: Welcome back to Arkansas. My daughters will be attending ATU band camp this summer. Maybe we can get together sometime.


Enjoy your trip to the beach.

Ken, Heather and I are now residents of Russellville. We’ll have to get together and eat several Whattaburgers.


Heather and I are off again, this time to Myrtle Beach!!

WACO!

Michael: (The Blogger API server spit up on me when I tried to post this earlier – that move to MT will be nice!) About corn dogs: Won’t a much cheaper deep fryer work well enough while we scrape up our pennies?


On fast food in general, try reading Fast Food Nation. You’ll never eat a burger anywhere but Jack In The Box or In-N-Out again! Or you will, but you’ll be disgusting. :)


Still, I do like the Ball-Park All Beef Bun-Length hot dogs. Last weekend I had one, but somehow I ended up with weiner-length buns, so the hot dog stuck out of each end.

What happens when you shoot a less-than-two-pound piece of foam at a fiberglass wing, at 570+ mph? A 22 inch dent, a broken seal and most likely the Columbia disaster.


“O” magazine tells us what women really want in a man, and names names.


Eric: Time to reconsider that career in the theater. “Finally, we’re about to get an answer to the centuries-old question: Can Hobbits do the Shipoopi? The Lord of the Rings is being adapted into a $13 million London musical. Slated to open in spring 2005, the project will feature a cast of 50, lavish sets, a full orchestra and, like the movie, will be nine hours long.”

The Bush Administration is apparently about to begin construction of death camps. According to Janet Reno.


“One part of Reno’s speech, which touched upon issues such as classroom sizes, health care and the criminal justice system, seemed to speak directly to Goldfarb. Reno spoke about visiting the Dachau concentration camp in Germany as a child and learning what had happened. “I went back and asked my adult German friends, ‘How could you let that happen?’ ” Reno said. “They said, ‘We just stood by.’ ” She looked right into the the audience and told them that’s why she was there. She had no intention of just standing by. “And don’t you just stand by,” Reno said.


Let’s all say it together so Janet can hear: WACO!!!!


Ken: Here in Ky, there is an entirely without collar or sleeves class. I am proud to be a member.


I love this picture!!

One of the funniest segments that I ever saw on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was a piece where some teenage boys sang a song entitled “What Part of a Pig Does a Hot Dog Come From”.


Though, they are indeed tasty.

Michael: Bro. you are livin’ too close to the Mason-Dixon line. Why what you have written prit near comes to fightin’ words, and I am almost offended by them. I, sir, am white-collared. (JN)

(JN) Now Ken, I am generally kind to the conspiratorially minded, but you are getting close to the edge. Liberal nonsense about the content of hot dogs has been making the rounds for years. I see the dark hand of PETA at work, hoping to turn the appetite of the blue collar class in Arkansas to things green and mulchy. (Cuddish, even.) I have a personal relationship with over 300 swine on the OBI farm, and each one assures me that to achieve the status of a Field’s Weiner would truly be all a hog could hope for.


Might I remind you, Mr. Smarty-Pants, that I have eaten Ball Park Franks in both Wrigley Field and Fenway Park!! I count these moments in the top 3 sensual experiences of a lifetime. Further, the spiritual- yes, I said SPIRITUAL- pleasure derived from a Kentucky State Fair Polish Sausage or Corn Dog is more than mortal words can describe. Where is my hymnal? One must sing to even approach the truth.


I suggest you consider pulling your child from public schools as soon as possible. This is further evidence of what is really going on behind closed doors in education today! What next? Lessons against Mom, Apple Pie, Baseball?

Speaking of food, a co-worker of mine used to be a buyer for a large regional food chain. He once got to tour a Hormel plant (now Swift Hormel). He described the process he saw of making ‘Lil Sizzlers sausage links. Needless to say, I haven’t eaten a ‘Lil Sizzler since then.

Michael: My daughter learned, this year in eighth grade health class, that the frankfurter (dog) portion of that corn dog is now guaranteed by the USDA to contain 25 percent less hair than previously contained in hot dogs. Something like over the last 5 years. Not that I am a hot dog expert, mind you. But I have eaten only one hot dog since learning this valuable information.

I have taken the GRE twice, at $75 a hit. I have no idea what I made, and I do not care. I am now equipped, however, to ruminate and pontificate on questions such as this: “As Jim is to Willie, so _________ is to colon.” Education is a wonderful thing.


I have just partaken of one of nature’s perfect foods: The Corn Dog. In fact, for $740, which you major playas could drop in a second, we could have a Corn Dog Fryer here at the BHT, and that would be better than…..well, it would be great.

This MT thingy pegs the ole’ Wizzometer. Maybe just cuz it’s new and I was getting bored with Blogger. (I am so jaded.)

Kurt: I have taken the GRE, wonderful scam that it is (your undergraduate degree is not enough to prove that you can make in grad school. Evidently, a four-hour test for $100+ is the true indicator). Where was I? Oh yes. I prepared by using GRE for Dummies book. It’s slightly humorous (though at times grating), and it gets you very familiar with the format of the test, which is the unnerving part. Sure, the questions are difficult, but your education should have prepared you for those. But, as with a lot of tests, part of doing well on the GRE is about knowing how to take the GRE, and I thought that book did a good job of preparing me for that part. In fact, I have loaned that book out to a lot of people who are taking the test, and I would lend it to you as well, except that someone else who is taking it soon has it right now. But if they give it back soon, do you want a go at it? I can mail it to you if so.

I’ll have to take the stupid thing again (subject test) whenever I get started on my PhD. Grumble, grumble. What a scam.

Kurt, that comment was hilarious. Unfortunately, some of the rest of the comments are good examples of why I hate Christians.

The Ethics of the “Tentmaking” strategy: The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (moderate/liberal SBC) is rethinking the “tentmaking” strategy of sending Christians into closed countries without saying they are there to evangelize. This has been a fundamental part of the missions picture since the 1980’s. The question of ethics is a viable one, and I am not comfortable with lying in the cause of evangelism, which goes on. It is one of the reasons I gladly support GFA and their commitment to NOT send in westerners, but to use indigenous Christians. This is a strategy that works! (It’s pragmatic!) And it leaves behind the cultural and political baggage. On the other hand, it is not unethical or inappropriate for a Christian to go into China to teach English, and it is not ethically necessary to say “Oh by the way, I’m here to evangelize!” CBF most likely has some theological issues at work as well. They need to look at the mainlines, who have now become missions dinosaurs or government puppets because, at the root, they think the world doesn’t need to hear about a Savior.

For those of you who are Rich Mullins Fans, you will probably be very interested in the long-awaited release of “Here In America.” This collection is made up of an audio CD of live material and demos (some unreleased,) and a DVD of an in-studio concert (not long before Rich’s death) and a set of live “talks” by Rich at a retreat. For those who consider Mullins to be a significant musician, a significant Christian, and a great companion on the Way, this is a wonderful set. It’s bittersweet to see and hear Rich, and realize how much we are missing in his absence.


If you have never read Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing To Heaven, you will be amazed at several things. You will be drawn to Rich’s humanity and struggle, but you will also be moved by his salt-of-the-earth approach to the Christian life. Most people don’t know that Rich lived in poverty and gave away the majority of his money to ministries. Where most Christian artists are big on the talk, Rich was a man who walked the walk. You will also appreciate his insightful Biblical lessons. He was a great teacher, who knew how to make powerful points without ranting or whining or skewering. A wonderful man was on the earth. Learn more about him.

If y’all need a cheap laugh (hey, who doesn’t?) go to this Razormouth article and scroll down to the comment that is titled “YO YO YO WASSSSSUP??”


Ah, I’m so easily amused….

One of my all time favorite posts:


(Scene opens… the Tavern is filled with its normal gents and gels… a fire is crackling, continually feeding off the flamable materials from the collected works of Bruce Wilkinson and Benny Hinn… The crowd begins to sing as a midget with an accordion plays a merry pirate tune…)


Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyy


Blog, Nog, and DVD

Such a wonderful life fer ye

Listen me mates so carefully

‘Bout me blog, nog, and DVD.


(scruffy-looking chap jumps on the table in the center of the room… as the song slows to a storytelling-crawl)


When I was just a young lad

I had me a thought or four

I’d open up me a tavern

And sweep peanuts off the floor

But I was called to preachin’

And some said my beerin’ wasn’t God.

So I said, “Dear chaps, if ye want to

You can join me at my blog.”


(crowd sings a rousing round of the chorus again, as another gent climbs on the center table)


It came to be ‘bout Christmas

The birthtime of Our Lord

And a spirit of peace came ‘pon me

Shut up… I wasn’t bored

It was something real and sturdy

Didna come from ale or grog

And it was then that I knew

That Mike had spiked the nog…


(crowd sings yet another round as a third gent climbs to action…)


I know you’ll think me nutter

For watchin me DVDs

But I’m tellin’ you, it’s so much fun

Watchin’ ‘em flap on the line in the breeze

I like the kind you box in

And the kind for other sports…

What? Oh DVDs..

Not BVDs

Oops.

Dandy embarrasing one, that one…

‘Ere I go on talkin’ about me underwear, and you’re wantin’ a song about an entertainment format, not hearin’ about me drawers. I mean… if you’d wanted to hear about me drawers, you could’ve just asked me, I guess. That way, I wouldn’t have been makin’ a fool o’ meself in front of everyone here. Talkin’ ‘bout me drawers flappin’ in the wind, and how much I like watchin’ them… right peaceful, you know… Like watching a giant flag, proudly waving… Makes you want to stand tall for your country, right, mates? Nothin’ quite like watchin’ your bloomers dance on the air like ballet dancers at a really windy performance of Derfendunse Acknodriben. ‘Ello, ma’am.


Right then.


(He steps down from the table, and the Tavern resumes normal business.)


Scott Ward: December 6, 2002

I was just browsing through the archives and found my first BHT post from February 12, 2002:


It’s too early to think heavy thoughts.


I have a sugesstion for Hilary’s 2004 campaign slogan: “Did the last Democrat President leave you with a bad taste in your mouth? Vole Hilary in 2004. This Clinton may give you an earful, but she will never give you a mouthful.”

Paid for in part by the committee for the proper use of cigars and other tobacco products and DAMM (Drunks Against Madd Mothers).


As far as what to look for in a President—how about the ability to perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself using the back of a chair.


That’s all for now, folks. I’m going back to bed.


I should have stayed in bed.

Michael:

Does this mean that Jim finally gets his “Jim is being sarcastic” rule added to the rules list? Speaking of big events, I’m sure my expulsion is in the wings. “We had to get rid of him. He was too boring and dull.”


Oh, and its Gandalf, not Gandolf. I mean, I hate to pick nits, but y’know, when a man puts a Balrog in its place, he deserves to get his name spelled right. Sho’ nuff.


Everybody:

On a selfish, and unrelated note, has anybody here taken the GRE? If so, I wanna know what you know about it, and how best to prepare.

Hey! I still post. I’m just not witty and erudite anymore. (The pharmaceuticals are working…)

Well, I am truly moved. Courtesy of our very own Gandalf, JimN, I have just read the very first BHT post. Feb 7, 2002. Did you know there are over 11,000 BHT posts? And every last one of them will be accessible on the new MT BHT? What will you get to read?

The booting of Laura.

The Wisdom of Steve S

Irrefutable proof that I have run off a number of good people

The Kingdom Now debacle.

The posts of Jack Heald, back when he used to post

And more…... Stay tuned!!!

“I’m committed to building—as best I can—a clearly evangelical basis for spiritual direction and to probe the mystery of the human soul, to understand our capacity for the passion and enjoyment of God, to understand sin as our treasonous pursuit of joy from some other source than God, and to understand what Trinitarian-like community really is so we can join each other on the journey.”- Larry Crabb speaking at SBTS. JimN and I have disagreed about Crabb a bit. This article says a lot of the things that I appreciate about his message. (He is NOT just another Christian shrink.)

This was posted by a good guy over at Pipertalk, and this link is what he is referring to in his comments: Frank Garlock says CCM Is Just a Cultural Thing, but it’s promoting the wrong culture. I replied over at Pipertalk.

I would appreciate help with this issue. I am really struggling with the whole CCM movement. Is a Christian who listens to it unwise and compromising the purity of the Gospel by wedding Christianity with “worldiness” ? I really enjoy the music of Caedmon’s Call, Shayne Barnard, Fernando Ortega, Jacob’s Cross, and others. I thought I was pretty well settled on this issue until recently when a few people whom I respect highly for their work’s sake shared their concern for my music standards.


It has seemed to me that Western Christianity has been greatly (?) influenced by neo-platonic thought (spirit good, matter bad). Thus, Western Christians are quick to condemn that which moves the emotions much more than it connects with the mind. It seemed to me that this kind

of thinking was what was driving the anti-CCM movement in large measure. Now I must say that there is much about CCM that I am not happy with. Much of it lacks substance and is full of froth. But articles like the one given to me below have made me wonder if I am missing something. I want every aspect of my life to be pleasing to Christ. Can anyone help direct my thinking?

Michael: Your question sounds an awful lot like the dead horse to me. From the standpoint that man is not in control, one might say no. After all, the matrix people are just veggies that have over active imaginations. Of course, Jesus stated that sin begins in the mind, so the argument that these people sinned via their thoughts could be put forth and still have man having free will. Then, there are some who do have control. Perhaps they are the only one’s that can be held accountable.


Here is another question: Assume we are living in the matrix right now. Would the matrix allow us to dream up a movie about the matrix? HMMMM!

Ken B: On Noah – We know (Ge 5:32) Noah was 500 years old when his sons were born. Noah was 600 when the floods came (Ge 7:11) and the waters flooded for 150 days, so he was either still 600 or was 601 when the waters receeded. We know he had faith as he built an altar to the LORD (Ge 8:20), but also got drunk (Ge 9). By the New Testament, we know Noah was a man of faith (Heb 11:7 – of course, with the altar, this is no surprise), that water saved Noah, as it now symbolizes the salvation of man through baptism (1 Pe 3:21) and that he was a preacher (2 Pe 2:5).


Did he preach salvation prior to the flood? From human experience, we can assume this, but there is no scriptural proof in the authorized canon. This is what Gospelcom asserts, however, so you might read that article. There are also sites that quote him preaching for hundreds of years and attribute the Q’uran.


Note that the scriptural reference to 120 years comes from Genesis 6:3: Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” – Most commentaries state this is the maximum life span of man, and not the number of years the LORD gave man before the flood. As such, it is a risky assertion to state he preached to man for 120 years, especially in light of the other references to Noah’s age.

Repeat- But how about a REALLY STRANGE QUESTION OF THE DAY? (Questions actually.)


Suppose the worldview of “The Matrix” were true. Would human beings in the Matrix be “sinners?” Could God hold them responsible for their sins and justly judge them as guilty?

Michael: On holodecks, we really are into a fantasy world now, eh? Mark me down as a skeptic that anything that involved will ever work. But assuming it did, yes, I think one would be responsible for one’s sinful actions within such an environment. Adultery with an unreal human is still adultery. Murder is touchier, since you would theoretically “know” that you weren’t really killing a person.


Like most things, I guess it comes back to heart attitude. Someone who kills a construct in a holodeck probably has some sin issues in there somewhere, else why bother? But maybe not, there are probably perfectly good and valid reasons to kill someone. Er, virtually, that is. :)


Obviously I believe that we are more than animals, with greater potential than the sum of our parts. It seems like perhaps the Matrix trilogy might be heading in that direction, too, if it isn’t already there. Why else would 1% not accept the matrix? And so on.

Ok, we should be back

Another quick test – hold those posts for a while. Sorry.

Michael, too much of Hentoff’s arguments make no sense to me:

His view that Bruce’s conviction led to his drug problems and eventual death sounds suspiciously like the old liberal idea that people are basically good, but society’s structures force them to become bad. I don’t buy it. Bruce was responsible for his actions and his reactions. He killed himself. Nobody within the state of New York’s judicial system should feel guilty for that.

Even worse, how is a constitutional argument over how obscenity laws intersect with freedom of speech in any way related to discussions of free speech on campus? College speech codes are enforced by academic cliques; attendance at those colleges is voluntary. Obscenity laws are enforced by the police and the judiciary; compliance with them is required of all citizens. While I agree that campus PC speech codes are a great evil, I don’t see how overturning Bruce’s conviction (or worse, issuing a pardon) sends any meaningful message to tenured liberal university profs with an axe to grind against white European males. If Bruce’s conviction was wrong, it should be overturned by the courts. Pardons were intended as a corrective, part of the system of checks and balances that would be invoked when all recourse under the normal judicial process had failed. I don’t see how that applies here – where is the string of rejected appeals? Where is the continuing instance of abuse?

PhillipW: I can see that if the “reality” dimension of video games increases to becoming a full sensory experience it will raise moral issues. For instance, take the holodeck scenario on STNG. What kind of ethical quandaries would I be entering into to program adultery or murder into the “game?” Hmmm…. What if we show up at judgement and we are responsible for the realities we create and not just the ones we are given. At the end of the day, we are brains receiving signals aren’t we? Or are we more? :-)

I agree that the illusions we live in are the creations of our self-deceptive hearts. But whatever the “reality” of the universe, God is ultimately responsible and his character is just and good. He isn’t beyond Good and Evil, but the essence of good. In that sense, the Matrix of our lives is far more complex. There is the truth of God’s original creation, broadcast to us in scripture, and in God’s intrusions into history, most notably in Jesus. Then there is the illusion of our own hearts and the collective Matrix of the “World” that lies in corporate rebellion against God. Then throw Satan into the mix!!! Wow.

Geldof seems to have Clinton pegged: “Clinton was a good guy, but he did f*** all.” I guess Ol’ Bill did get around.

Too bad we Christians are so opposed to the use of condoms that we insist on abstinence. Sheeze. Not even the hint of a nod to the idea that the US might oppose condom distribution because it’s not effective in preventing AIDS as well as abstinence.

I know this stuff shouldn’t bother me…

Michael: We are already victims of illusion. Our hearts are deceitfully wicked, who can know his? We sin as we are led away by our own lusts and enticed, but we are still guilty of the sin. I suppose that the key difference might be that currently the illusions are generally our own, while within the matrix scenario, the illusion is externally imposed by God, correct?

By the way, my answers are coming off as pat, but it’s actually a great thought-provoking question.

As far as God’s ethical situation, I’m not sure I see an appreciable difference between this scenario and the ones spelled out in several parables, where a small test serves as an indicator for larger actions. Did the men given a number of talents know that they were being tested under what might be seen as artificial conditions? Or for that matter, since we are eternal beings temporarily earth-bound, is this not already an unnatural “testing ground” that will bear little resemblance to our eternal “real life”?

Slightly off-topic: My wife isn’t fond of violent video games, but I think I spent far too much of my life playing Doom and Doom II to ever judge the violence of the games my kids play. :)

Anyway, when your son kills somebody in a game, he isn’t really fully on that level of abstraction. He is not personally involved in murder, he is playing a role. If he woke up a la Resident Evil in a strange house and found himself in an underground government facility and started killing people, then we could talk about whether he could claim self-defense or not. But playing a game is a radically different level of presupposition than believing yourself to really be “there,” wherever “there” is.

I would say that if somebody truly believes that they have killed someone, then they can be judged (by God) for having done so from an ethical position. (Not a legal one.) Remember that humans are eternal beings, so when we kill someone now, we don’t actually end their existence either!

A posthumus pardon for Lenny Bruce would send a message to those trying to scuttle free speech today. It was wrong when they convicted Lenny. It’s wrong when you enforce PC speech codes today.

The secret life of Ronald Mcdonald.

Can God please come to the phone? Gee, I know several people who have a direct line. No dial up needed.

Bob Geldoff likes GWB’s Africa policy.

Phillip: Certainly our original corruption is still a problem. But how about the ethics of God? (Just to poke a wasp’s nest.) If, in fact, I did nothing wrong, but had the wrong desire, then I am guilty. But if the entire construct is an illusion, then I am a victim of that illusion. Preceding all my choices is the presupposition of reality. What if that presupposition is altered? Reality is me in a bunch of goop. For instance, when my son kills someone on a game, he assumes the presupposition of the cyber-world. Is he guilty of murder? Or does the presupposition make all the difference in how he would be judged?

Michael: Yes, He could and would and should. After all, while the jury is still out on the extent of perdeterminism in the second film, a human who believes he is encountering reality is still choosing to sin. (Or, er, is compelled to sin by his own sinful nature and all that. Humor me, please.)

To my programmer mind, it’s all about layers of abstraction. While objectively we can say that the person is in a tub of goop, within the layer that person sees, he is free. The interesting thing is, can we prove that we are not all in a matrix right now? Since if we are, we’re within that layer of abstraction, I’m not sure how we could prove otherwise. And yet we’re still responsible, ‘cause God says so. :)

BillM: Blogger addiction will be a casualty of this transition. But you’ll have to look at it from my end: Blogger dependency sucks. Being dependent on Blogger’s server is not something that makes computing fun. Because MT resides on my server, it will allow me to take total control of what goes on. Hopefully, the improvement in the BHT experience will be worth it for all of us. On lurkers- the people who write me are great folks. I’ve had a minimum of idiots. Many of them are people who read EVERYTHING on here. I do believe the lurker interaction can be a positive, if we learn which posts to “turn on” comments for, and which ones to leave them off. So enjoy your blogger window while it lasts! :-)

Phillip, The template looks good. We should chat, so we can coordinate efforts. Send me an IM or and email and let me know how to get ahold of you.

Just to let everyone know what is going on: JimN and Phillip have converted me, though I have no idea what religion I’ve joined. There is a MT BHT in existence as we speak. Phillip and Jim are working to get it as identical to the current BHT as possible. There will be some changes in the transition.

1)Everyone will have to sign up as an author by sending either Jim or me your name and a password.) Unlike Blogger, all the authorization happens on my end. DON’T DO IT YET!! But it will happen.
2) We will be turning “comments” off initially, and then my plan is to turn them on later when we have demonstrated we can have a good running blog conversation without them. When comments come on, interaction with lurkers will occur, which is a mixed bag.
3) There will be a “Two BHT” era in the very near future. Until I am comfy with tweaking the new template, I won’t be shutting down the blogger operation.

But how about a REALLY STRANGE QUESTION OF THE DAY? (Questions actually.)

Suppose the worldview of “The Matrix” were true. Would human beings in the Matrix be “sinners?” Could God hold them responsible for their sins and justly judge them as guilty?

It just occurred to me that I should say that I read all the BHT in blogger, so my preference of newest at the bottom might not be feasible at all on the BHT page.

Michael: You’re the boss here and I’ll go with whatever you come up with, but I have to agree with Phillip and say that I prefer the way the BHT is now over posts with threads. I have often thought that I’d like to see the format we have now reversed, ie: newest posts at the bottom instead of the top. But, you’re doing the work here and I’m adaptable so go with whatever you think best.

Michael: You said, “If I move to MT, the gang and the lurkers need to know that conversations will change to a comments thread under posts, and not one continuous post. Don’t know how you feel about that.”

I’ll tell you how I feel about it: I don’t like it. But I’ll also say that you don’t necessarily have to do that. One thing about MT is that it is nearly infinitely flexible, and while a series of posts with comments is the norm for MT blogs, it doesn’t have to be that way. You could disable comments (at least by default, with the option to enable them at certain points for certain notes) and I could tweak the template such that the BHT would look no different than it does now. You aren’t required to have a title for each post, or an individual archive. All posts could go crammed together on one page with timestamps, just like Blogger does for you now. In fact, I’ll set up the templates on that test blog I emailed you about yesterday to do just that. :)

Ok, it’s back to normal now, sort of.

Everyone, I’m going to be playing with blogger settings for the next 30 minutes. Don’t post until I give the all-clear.

Testing…

Buy this book. Don’t argue with me. Just buy it. It is without question a treasure, an arsenal and a friend. If you can find a used copy, fine, but this TBS price is worth every nickle. Here’s a whole page on Bishop Ryle, including the Intro and first five chapters of Holiness. One read through this book will have more impact on your life than reading almost any 500 books published the last 20 years.