TV Commercials

I have to get this out of my system, so I can stop thinking about it every time these commercials appear on TV...which is frequently.

Worst Commercials - Hotwire.com. There are two that come to mind. The first is where the dad pushes his young and timid son off the diving board in a frantic attempt to retrieve a quarter from the bottom of the pool. The second is the airline passenger who lifts a pack of peanuts from his sleeping neighbor.

Both ads end with the tagline, "Hotwire.com's kind of customer." Hmmm... child abusers and thieves... sort of a "niche market," wouldn't you say?

Best Commercial - The Discovery Channel's ad for Shark Week. This is a sequence of scenes where various folks in swimming and diving attire stare dubiously... anxiously... fearfully... at their pools, hot tubs and other small landlocked containers of water. The melancholy musical soundtrack adds to the drama and humor, and the commercial assumes a level of intelligence on the part of the viewer that probably isn't warranted, but is certainly appreciated.

Whew. I feel better!

LLTPOH

I really did have a bunch of stuff to blog about tonight, but I got distracted by the installation of software on the new PowerBook. But I can't logout tonight without welcoming Jack Rich back from his vacation in Scotland, and pointing out his new blog layout. Very classy; goes well with the classy writing.

I think he's also in the running for the Blog With The Longest Name Award.

Why he'll win #6

I must admit that there were times this year that I thought Lance Armstrong had, um, met his Waterloo during the Tour de France. The things that normally happened only to mere mortals were happening to him, surely a sign that the universe had finally and irreparably come unhinged.

Maybe age had caught up with him; maybe the Cosmic Luck Scales were creaking back into equilibrium, meaning that he was due for a boatload of bad.

So it was with equal parts of relief and happiness that I watched him mount that podium for a fifth straight year. And it was with a little unbelief that I heard him say, in effect, "I'll be back."

How could he say that, so soon after such a tumultuous experience? Was the thrill of victory drowning out the tiny voice of realism?

Then I read this WaPo article by Sally Jenkins, who has collaborated with Lance on a couple of books, and I think I now understand. Read the article and learn more about the man than you might want to know. And if you're another pro cyclist with aspirations of winning the TdF next year, here's my advice: be afraid. Be very afraid.

Hat tip: Wall Street Journal

Blogathon 2003: Julie's a Gem!

Congratulations to Julie Neidlinger for her wonderfully creative participation in Blogathon 2003!

Julie drew and posted original artwork every 30 minutes for 24 hours, and in the process raised money for Doctors Without Borders. When you get a moment, stop by Julie's blog, check out her art and leave an encouraging comment. It's not even too late to add your sponsorship, as pledges will be accepted for about another 36 hours.

MacBragging

Since all I'm doing nowadays is working, I might as well blog about work. And since my work generally requires me to sit at a computer for hours on end, it's natural that work blogging would be computer-focused. Aaannnnddd, since my computer is -- as you well know -- a Mac...well, let's just say that Lileks isn't the only one who can brag about his Mac.

I just noticed that I've been working for the past several hours with 10 applications running simultaneously, moving back and forth among them, cutting and pasting and shuckin' and jivin'...and not just any ten run-of-the-mill apps. To wit:

• Adobe GoLive
• Adobe PhotoShop
• Adobe Acrobat
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Entourage
• QuarkXpress
• Netscape
• Fetch (Mac FTP program)
• Palm Desktop

In this list, I consider only the last two to be lightweights, in terms of demand on the system's resources. And Quark, in particular, is not known for playing well with others.

So what? you ask. Well, I'm impressed that I haven't had to reboot today. And, to be honest, that's not even normal for a Mac. But, it's one less aggravation to deal with in a more-than-full day. I'm thankful for small blessings.

Umm...today was a rest day at the Tour de France, wasn't it?

Tired...oh so tired...

How tired, you ask? This tired...

• I didn't turn on the TV this morning, didn't have any idea what went on in the TdF until the sports segment on the 6:00 p.m. news.
• It's almost 10:00 p.m. and I'm just now reading the Bleat.
• I haven't posted anything since last Thursday, and yet this is all I could come up with.

Forgive me, dear friends; I know not what I do.

TDF (Non)Update; Big Idea in Big Trouble

Too busy to blog about the Tour de France...nothing of note happened today, anyway. No changes in top standings. Here's a better TDF blog anyway, in case you prefer getting your cycling news from the blogosphere.

On an entirely unrelated note, I see where Big Idea Productions -- the company that produces the wonderful "Veggie Tales" videos and related kitsch -- is looking for a financial bailout/buyout after losing an $11 million verdict. Big Idea was sued by its former distribution company after it switched to another distributor. Big Idea claimed it had only a verbal contract, and that even that agreement was nullified when the former distribution company changed owners. The jury didn't agree.

The good news is that Phil Vischer and crew say they'll continue the creative end of the business, regardless of the ownership. That's good news for kids of all ages. If you've never watched a Veggie Tales video, you're missing something special. I defy you to view "Rack, Shack & Benny," and then go a week without constantly replaying "The Bunny Song" in your head!

Feast or Famine

My wife says I'm just like a farmer. A month ago, I was complaining because it was too "dry" (that is, I didn't have enough work to keep me busy); now I'm complaining because it's too "wet" (you can figure it out). I guess I'm not happy unless I'm complaining.

I've got nine (9!) design projects going (and another two unpaid volunteer projects with yet another waiting in the wings). Now, if I could only figure out how to make more than minimum wage for the time I put into each project! (Gripe, gripe, gripe...)

I'm driving My Lovely Bride to the booming metropolis of Denver City tomorrow so she can take two more parts of the Accredited Petroleum Accounting exam. Don't ask me why the test is being given in Denver City, population Not Very Many and Shrinking. If you're not familiar with DC -- and I'd wonder seriously about you if you were -- it's located in Yoakum County, southwest of Lubbock.

Its primary claim to fame is the Wasson Field, one of the largest onshore deposits of oil in the Lower 48. But this asset is aging, and not all that gracefully. Most Wasson production is in the tertiary stage, meaning that companies have to inject CO2 into the reservoir in order to sweep the oil to the wellbores where it can be pumped out. The operating cost for this production can approach $10/barrel (compare that to under a buck a barrel in many OPEC countries), and that doesn't figure in the depreciation of the significant infrastructure needed to engineer the process. But I digress...

I'm hauling the PowerBook (I've got to come up with a catchy nickname; I welcome any ideas. Think "brushed aluminum," "sexy thin," "huge screen.") with me and while she takes the exam, I'll find a booth at the Dairy Queen and do the work that I'm not doing now because I'm posting this.

It's not wireless access at Starbuck's, but it'll do for gettin' by. That's what we do well out here: get by. Feast and famine.

AOL Bloggers...and More

Dr. Steve over at Five Points links up with a post from a new (to me) blog called "Heal Your Church Website," which in turn is commenting on the advent of AOL-empowered bloggers. It's a hoot, and links to some equally funny stuff.

I like MeanDean's comment:

I'm going to blogroll HYCW, since I maintain a couple of church websites (on a pro bono basis, of course...I figure that's good for at least a couple of extra rooms in my heavenly mansion). This guy appears to understand the close -- and obvious -- relationship between Scripture and website usability ("from God's mouth to my keyboard"). Who knows...I might be able to steal ideas for BUToWs (recognizing, of course, that I would then violate the 8th Commandment...and I'm back to a one-room bungalow.)

Netscape, R.I.P.

Big shock (not)...AOL has pulled the plug on Netscape. All the techblog titans are weighing in: Simon Willison, Eric Meyer (still has a job...for now), Zeldman (where I first found the announcement, btw).

Major bummer. But, Mozilla will continue.

Oh, and I'm enjoying the heck out of Safari on my new PowerBook! Ha.

TDF Recap: Stage 10

Today's stage was fairly uneventful, especially compared to yesterday's mountainous dramas. There was no change in the top overall standings.

A breakaway started early and succeeded well, with a group of nine riders finishing up to 20 minutes ahead of the pack. None of the breakaway were threats to the race leaders, so the peloton was content to let them have their moment of glory.

Just a few trivia items to note:

• A group of people moved onto the race course and stopped the peloton briefly. The group apparently consisted of supporters of jailed French "anti-globalization leader" Jose Bove. The pack lost 1 1/2 minutes to the lead group due to the protest, but race officials deemed the disruption an "Incident of the Race" and the time deficit was allowed to stand. Wonder if their ruling would have been the same had the race lead been impacted?
• Only seven of the original 22 teams are still at full strength; the USPS/Berry Floor team is one of them. As we've commented already, this will be a factor in the next Team Time Trial (Stage 19).
• Jimmy Casper has abandoned the race. As you may recall, he was one of the riders injured in the first stage, and was notable for riding the next day in a neck brace.

Tomorrow is a rest day. Go for a bike ride!

Sources for this recap are the OLN live TV feed, and the OLN TDF website.

TDF: One more thing

Tour doctors have reported that Josebi Beloki suffered a broken right leg, wrist and elbow in the terrible Stage 9 crash earlier today.

Also, as Lance Armstrong got back on the pavement after taking an unplanned detour across the field (see previous post), I noticed that one rider gave him a pat on the shoulder as he went by, encouraging Lance as a true brother-in-arms, so to speak. I couldn't tell the identity of that rider, but OLN reports that it was none other than Armstrong's former teammate, Tyler Hamilton. As we all know by now, Tyler continues to have a great Tour... even with a broken collarbone. In fact, he now stands in fifth overall, less than 2 minutes behind the yellow jersey.

I know I'm sounding like a broken record (you do remember "records," don't you?), but that Tyler dude is an amazing guy.

TDF Update: Stage 9

Stage 9 of the Tour de France provided some of the most dramatic scenes in recent memory. Alexandre Vinokourov of Team Telekom won his first ever TdF stage and moved into second place overall, 21 seconds behind Lance Armstrong.

But it's what happened behind Vinokourov that captures your attention. At the end of Stage 8 yesterday, Spaniard Joseba Beloki was just 40 seconds out of first place, overall. Beloki was considered a legitimate threat to Lance's dominance this year, and was proving that prediction accurate. Moving into the last few kilometers of today's stage, Beloki had hung tough on Armstrong's wheel, refusing to be shaken. Then disaster struck, literally.

In an attempt to chase down Vinokourov, Beloki and Armstrong were pushing the edge on the downhill run. Suddenly, Beloki's rear wheel began to slide sideways on the hot asphalt... then the tire popped off the rim... and Beloki went down, hard. Sadly, his Tour was ended, and we last saw him be carried off in an ambulance. At this point, we can only guess at his injuries -- elbow and hip is the commentator's guess -- and wish him the best.

Lance was on his rear wheel when this occurred, and in an amazing display of instinct and bike-handling skill, he made the split-second decision not to try to swerve back onto the pavement, risking the same fate as Beloki. Instead, he instantly recognized that he was at the beginning of a switchback -- and launched his bike across the open field, rejoining the course at the end of the turn. The road master turned cross country expert! Lance was able to get back in the pack and finish sufficiently well to retain the yellow jersey.

Luck. This year, most experts have been talking about how much of the good stuff Lance has experienced in winning his four Tours. Today, we saw that luck really is the juncture where preparation meets skill. Lance rides mountain and cross country bikes in the off-season. Why? Well, perhaps, just in case he might someday have to ride across a field during the Tour de France! (The fact that his fragile road tires didn't flat during this escapade...well, that I can only attribute to pure, blind luck! In fact, Lance just stated in an interview that he was waiting for the tires to blow as he moved across that field.)

Speaking of tires, let's return to Beloki's predicament. He might have saved himself from the skid, if the tire had stayed on the rim. Not everyone may be aware that the tire and rim combination that the pros ride differs from what you and I use on our street bikes (even apart from the $2000 price tags!). Pro racers use what's called a "sew-up" or "tubular" tire; the typical consumer bike uses a "clincher" tire. The differences are significant. The clincher tire has a stiff bead that locks into a channel molded into the rim. When the tire is inflated, it is very securely attached to the rim.

The tubular, on the other hand, is glued onto the rim. The rim is shaped to hold the tire, but the contact is much less secure than with a clincher. This can lead to the dangerous situation we saw today, where the hot weather may have softened the glue, and the sideways skid put it over the edge...literally.

Why use tubulars, if they have this tendency? They are lighter and have less rolling resistance, meaning they're faster. And, except for the most extreme conditions, they don't present a danger to the riders.

Today, of course, we saw that the entire premise of the TdF is extreme conditions. Beloki paid the price.

Tomorrow's stage 10 is 219.5 km, mostly downhill. Should be fast, and the strategy of attacking Lance and the USPS team will undoubtedly continue. The pace will be hard in anticipation of Wednesday's rest day. It's a cliché, of course, but still true -- there's a lot of racing to come, and as we saw today, no one should take anything for granted.

The Big 3-O

Today's a special day for me. I don't write much about my family, in order to respect their privacy (I got special dispensation from Abbye for the photos and the posts... and it's costing me big-time in the puppy biscuit arena). But there are some occasions which are so special that they cry out to be shared, and today is one of them. And it's not what you think...

Thirty years ago today, in a small Baptist church in a small west Texas town, My Lovely Bride had one of her amazingly rare lapses in judgment, and I was the beneficiary. She said "I do," and my life was forever changed for the better.

Three decades later, we're still in love. How much so? (Bear with me...I know this is getting sappy.) So much so that on Saturday, she agreed to go with me to see "Charlie's Angels." And so much so that I said, "oh, let's go see "Pirates of the Caribbean" instead." (I think you ladies will understand what I'm talking about here. The guys just hear "blah blah blah Charlie's Angels blah blah blah.")

Next to being able to stake my claim as a child of God, there's nothing that makes me prouder than being able to say that I'm married to her. Her marrying me just proves that there really is no justice in the world...and I thank the good Lord every day for that fact!

I love you, babe...happy anniversary!

BUToW: Rearranging Furniture

Summary: Be sure you have a good reason before creating links on your blog that open new browser windows.

OK, let's pretend I'm a traveling salesman and you're the farmer's daughter. No, wait...that's another allegory altogether. Let's say that I'm a door-to-door salesman and you're a homeowner. I've got some intriguing merchandise so you invite me in.

Suppose, then, that while you're looking at my product line, out of the corner of your eye you see me rearranging your furniture. Then, I whip out a cordless screwdriver and start replacing the hammered brass faceplates on the electrical outlets in your stylish Southwestern-themed room with a nice gingham plaid number. You'd be pretty ticked-off, wouldn't you? You probably wouldn't care to have me stop by again, regardless of how cool my stuff looks.

This is an overdramatization, but it still touches on a couple of issues related to blogging. The primary issue is that of creating links that open by default in new browser windows. If you think of your computer desktop as your home, you probably don't like the idea of a website telling you what it should contain. But, isn't that what a blog is doing when it causes new windows to open in response to your clicking on a link?

In effect, your reader has invited you (via your blog) into her home (her computer desktop). Certain standards of propriety are expected (like, no rearranging of the furniture). If you violate those standards, you might not be invited back.

Why is this a big deal? Besides the principle of desktop sanctity, consider these issues:

• The creation of multiple windows can be confusing to navigate, especially to some disabled users of assistive technology.
• Depending on how you accomplish it, the new window may not contain URL information that tells the reader where he is.
• Your reader probably has her own preferred method of navigating links. For example, on some sites I prefer links to open in new windows, but in others I prefer them to open in new tabs...and in others, I just want to use the current window to view the new link. I'm old enough to make those decisions for myself.
• The code necessary to open a new window takes up bandwidth. It's not much for a single link, but consider the blogroll with 150 links, each of which has that extra coding. It adds up.
• And, last but not least, if you've been using the target attribute of the <a> tag to open new windows, you need to understand that this approach is no longer supported by the HTML 4.0 Strict and XHTML 1.0 Strict recommendations of the W3C. The code will validate under Transitional rules, but it's just a matter of time before browsers stop supporting it (well, if browsers behave like they're supposed to... which is a whole other topic).

I challenge you to think about why you want to open new windows anyway. Is it because you believe that your reader won't return to your blog once they "escape"? Is it because you want to improve your SiteMeter "stickiness" statistics, running the meter on your page while your reader is actually off consuming content elsewhere? If either of these describe your motivations, I respectfully suggest that you may have deeper needs than BUToW can address. (I'm not even sure that you're accomplishing the latter, depending on how SiteMeter measures "Average Visit Length.")

Now. If, in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary, you continue to believe that your links should open in a new window, at least do your reader the favor of announcing how you handle those links. Put a notice in a prominent place: "Links open in new windows." Put that same notice in the title attribute of the href tag. That way, your reader can know upfront whether he needs to override your site's attempt to jack with his desktop.

In closing, you may be wondering, "what's up with the faceplate thing in the lame metaphor above?" Well, actually, that touches on a related issue that was raised by one of the Gazette's esteemed readers, who pointed out the annoying (to her) habit that some blogs have of playing with your cursor, causing it to change into unnatural and unexpected shapes. Does it do any harm (other than possibly crashing your machine if the underlying script isn't palatable to your OS)? Not really, but it's another example of violating the sanctity of your reader's home. And you thought it was just a cool effect.

In the end, regardless of what you do with your links, if you have compelling content, you'll still have the readers. But why introduce any difficulty or potential aggravation, when you can avoid it so easily?

OK, OK...Enough already!

Since announcing the impending closing of the Gazette, I've received many emails, comments and trackback links regarding that decision. After reading and re-reading them, and upon further reflection, I believe the following sums up my reaction.

I've never seen such a simpering mass of whiny, infantile mewling since Hillary confronted Bill about Monica. As that great thespian, Bruce Willis, would say, it's time to call the waaahmbulance.

What? Oh, not you guys...you guys are great! Beyond great, really. I'm talking about me, and my dunce-headed decision to stop doing something that I enjoy just because...well, never mind why. It's not really important, after all.

When I made that post, I really intended to call it quits, and I really didn't think it would draw much reaction. Oh, I figured I might hear from a couple of folks -- most of you are too nice not to at least say goodbye. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect to hear from So. Many. People!

Sometimes, you just need a little help seeing the obvious. That help may come in the form of people you respect -- even though you've never met them -- taking time out of their busy lives to write a note of encouragement. Sometimes, you need the attention-getting advice burned into the side of a two-by-four and applied to the side of your head -- again, by someone who had no good reason to waste the energy, other than wanting to save you from your own foolishness. I got both, and more.

Thanks to you, my friends, I've decided to reverse my decision and keep the Gazette online. I really do need a break, to take care of some new things and to deal with some old ones, so I'm going to be posting less frequently for awhile -- let's think of it as an intermittant sabbatical -- but I'm not going away.

And I do want to express my sincere appreciation to each one of you who seemed to know me better than I knew myself. I really didn't expect what you did, and I owe you an apology for that, because it shows a lack of respect. I hope I can make it up to you, and I hope you'll continue to encourage each other like you've encouraged me.

I don't know if the blogosphere will be improved by this course you've set me on...but I am. Bloggers don't have to change the world in order to be important. Sometimes...often...it's enough just to change one attitude. You guys helped me do that, and I thank you -- again!

P.S. About four hours after El Posto Estupido, I met my My Lovely Bride for our biweekly lunch at Kuo's (Hot and Sour Soup and Hunan Beef). I didn't open my fortune cookie, so she put it in her purse for an afternoon snack. Later that evening, about the time some of your encouraging communications began to appear, she happened to mention that my fortune cookie contained a rather strange platitude. Now, I'm not one to attribute a lot of minor things to the intervention of the Creator of the Universe (and if I played the lottery, it sure wouldn't be with the numbers on the back of cookie fortunes). OTOH, the Almighty does sometimes move in mysterious ways. But, in a fortune cookie? Well, you be the judge...

OK, I'm not prideful enough to think that any of you actually look up to me. But, still...

Adios, Amigos

This is the final entry to the Fire Ant Gazette. Effective on Monday, July 14, I'm unplugging the press, shuttering the windows, locking the door and donating my parking spot to anyone who wants it.

Blogging has been fun, exciting, frustrating, time-consuming, depressing, uplifting, therapeutic, challenging, anger-inducing and educational. Like life, only a tad less real.

I've finally realized, however, that I'm not any good at it. Being able to string a dozen words together in a coherent sentence doesn't make one a writer any more than being able to fake one's way through a few waltz steps makes one Fred Astaire. Further, I have nothing to say about anything that isn't being said more eloquently and with more credibility in a hundred other places.

I've grown to appreciate and like many of you who have dropped by on a regular basis and left comments or sent emails about all manner of things. Working from a home office, staring at a computer for hours on end, I miss the normal face-to-face social interaction that comes with a more "mainstream" occupation. Blogging helped in that area.

Some of you have just begun to read the Gazette, and have even done me the amazing favor of adding it to your own blogroll. I feel like I'm letting you down by bailing, and I hope I'm not too presumptuous in relying on your understanding and forgiveness.

But, in the end, I feel I've just run out of time and out of imagination (not that I had much of either to begin with). I'll not disappear completely, as I fully intend to continue to visit and harass many of you through your own excellent blogs, and I encourage you to perservere, as you are making a difference, whether you realize it or not.

Blessings on your heads, amigos, and on the heads of your families. Vaya con Dios!

More Abbye Pics!

Well, I just couldn't resist. Being the perceptive bloggee that I know you to be, you've noticed the new photo near the top right of the Gazette's front page. What you may not have noticed is that each time you visit the Gazette or reload the page (assuming that you've waited a few seconds between reloads), a new photo will appear, as if by random magic!

Yes, this is Abbye. After all, for a dog this cute, one photo just isn't enough.

Enjoy!

Just curious

Why would the Sierra Club have anyone with a mailing address in Midland, Texas, on its unsolicited mailing list?

Like I said, just curious...

Blogging MP on WMD

Tom Watson is one of at least two members of the British Parliament who blog (both are shown in the Gazette's "Misc" blogroll, marked with the parenthetical "MP").

Joe Territo of the National Interest Weblog was able to snare a brief email interview with Mr. Watson, and Joe asked several questions about his feelings regarding the "missing" WMDs and the justification for the war in Iraq.

Here's an example of the level-headed approach Mr. Watson takes on these issues:

I recommend reading the whole interview.

I don't envy the Brits a lot of things, but I wouldn't mind having at least one of their politicians and his common sense over here.

TdF Recap: Stage 5

The stage following the Team Time Trial is typically a bit anti-climactic, as the peloton is content to get a little on-bike R&R, leaving the competitive urges to the sprinters and points leaders. Today was no exception, as the pack finished the stage together and with no change in overall individual and team standings.

The power of Italian Alessandro Petacchi continues to be the big story of the Tour, as he whipped the world's best sprinters again to claim a third stage victory. His sprint today was remarkable in that it began much earlier than most such finishing bursts. But once he made his move, the other guys were powerless to match him. Pettachi (pronounced "Peh-tah'-kee") is now just one point behind Aussie Robbie McEwen in the overall points standings. Petacchi is not generally considered to be an overall contender due to perceived weakness in the mountains, but I doubt anyone is taking him too lightly at this point.

The most interesting trivia from today's stage is courtesy of the unfortunate German, Jens Voigt, who was stung on the chest by a bee as he and a couple of other riders were breaking away from the pack early in the race. This was just a minor interruption, however, as he dropped back for a quick med-check, then rejoined the breakaway group. I can relate to Jens' predicament, at least from the insect-encounter perspective. I remember a fast downhill section on a century (100 mile) route in the Texas Hill Country, and the bee that somehow made his way into my t-shirt. I'm not sure which hurt more...the sting, or the self-inflicted beating trying to wreak vengeance on the intruder.

Look for tomorrow's 230km stage to be a repeat of today's -- relatively flat and fast...one Cat 3 and one Cat 4 climb...no notable changes in race leadership. This is the last chance to take a deep breath before the first of the mountain stages on Saturday.

Tyler Hamilton Update: Tyler again finished the stage with the pack. No word on his plans for continuing the race, but he has posted a detailed report of his condition as of yesterday on his website. It's very interesting reading, from a guy who deserves a lot of respect as one tough hombre.

Sources for this recap included OLN's live TV coverage and the following website: OLN.com; Bicycling.com; CyclingNews.com; and Eurosport.com.

Uneasy is the head...

Julie is discovering the power of the press, and finding it a little intimidating... especially since she's the one wielding it!

Good for her, I say. If all journalists took the same caring approach to the subject(s) of their reporting, we'd be just as well-informed and much happier to pick up the morning newspaper from the driveway.

Texas Time...?

I was making the drag through some regular stops in the Texas portion of the blogosphere, and noticed that Roscoe Ellis is now using the meme "Texas Time" on his posts. Roscoe claims to have "borrowed" the idea from Kevin over at PubliusTX.

Now, I certainly salute these two gentlemen for their Unswerving Devotion to the Great Nation of Texas, but I have to sorta wonder... where does this leave El Paso? Last time I checked, it was still flopped over into the Mountain Time Zone.

OTOH, "99.9% of Texas Time" just doesn't have the same ring. Guys, I wouldn't sweat it. We'll call it "blogistic license."

(Oh, and by the way...muchas gracias to PubliusTX for blogrolling The Gazette. I guess this post proves that no good deed ever goes unpunished! ;-)

The Degree Confluence Project

From Jessica's Well comes this latest entry in the "Delusions of Significance" category. The goal of the "Degree Confluence Project" is "to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location." An integer degree intersection, in case you're wondering, is any whole number lat and long coordinate. For example, there's one just outside of Midland, at 32°N 102°W, in the middle of a rather drab alfalfa (when it rains) field.

According to the website, there's a confluence no farther than 49 miles from you, if you happen to reside upon the face of the planet. (If you're thinking that whoever came up with this idea was apparently not bound by this qualification, you should be ashamed of yourself.)

In what can only be viewed as sweet irony, Midland's antipode -- the confluence on the opposite side of the globe (32°S 78°E) -- is as yet unvisited, as it falls somewhere in the Indian Ocean, some 400 miles from the nearest patch of dirt.

TdF Recap - Stage 4

The Team Time Trial played out pretty much according to script, with the USPS/Berry Floor team taking an emphatic victory, 30 seconds ahead of 2nd place. Due to the closeness of the competition up to this point, and the relatively wide margin of victory by the Posties, we have the interesting situation where the USPS team now holds the top 8 spots (and 9 of the top 11) in the overall individual standings!

As reported yesterday, the overall leader is Victor Hugo Peña, the first Colombian to wear the yellow jersey in the 100-year Tour history. The Colombians have always been strong -- really strong -- in the mountains, but not necessarily the best all-around riders.

Lance is in second place, a single second back. Russian teammate Viatcheslav Ekimov is third.

The Posties finished the race with all nine riders still going strong; several had big grins on their faces as they approached the finish line. This is the first time the USPS team has won the TTT; they were second last year, and Armstrong was clearly psyched this year to put that behind them. The team averaged 32.8 mph over the 42.9 mile course.

Tyler Hamilton continues to hang in there, finishing the TTT with his team. However, due to the team's overall poor showing (10th place), Tyler is now 1'45" out of the lead, in 39th place. I wonder how much longer he'll last, although he says he's sleeping well at night. Any elite athlete or coach will tell you that in this kind of event, the rest and recovery phase is absolutely critical to being able to continue, much less excel. That's why even seemingly minor injuries -- as from an early stage pileup -- can lead to disproportionately serious consequences later in the race. Same thing with illnesses; exhaustion magnifies their seriousness, and a common cold can bring the strongest rider to the quitting point.

Stage 5 is tomorrow, 197.5km...hilly, but not too much so (two Category 4 climbs, the second most difficult in the admittedly subjective Tour rating system), so the sprinters will look to enhance their standings once more.

Sources for this recap included OLN's live TV coverage and the following website: OLN.com; Bicycling.com; CyclingNews.com; Eurosport.com; and the USPS Pro Cycling Team.

Medical Risks and Ethics

I was saddened, along with millions of others, to hear of the deaths of the conjoined Iranian twins during the surgery to separate them. Ladan and Laleh Bijani were intelligent, charming 29-year-old women who made an informed decision, fully aware of the risks. Unfortunately, the doctors who warned of the risks were also unable to overcome them.

What I don't understand is the plethora of stories (the one on NBC's Dateline just ended) addressing the "serious ethical issues" accompanying this situation. I don't see where there's any ethical question when a sound-minded, legally-aged, well-informed patient makes a free will decision to undergo a legal medical procedure that is clearly intended to improve the patient's quality of life...regardless of the inherent risk.

I think the bigger ethical issue arises when someone else tries to make that decision for them, and that includes removing their ability to make the decision for themselves.

Granted, in this case there is the question of whether the $200,000 surgery represented money well-spent... and if that money was taken away from other "needier" patients, then I might grant some legitimacy to the question. But I doubt that's the case here.

We can hope that Ladan's and Laleh's decision resulted in some incremental increase in medical knowledge and skill that will make the next such decision a little less risky.

More blogrolling

The Parson's Pantry is a relatively new blog originating from the Dallas area, and, like most Texas blogs, is a low-stress, inviting place to visit. Paul Carter, aka The Parson, is a bivocational pastor at a church in Lucas, Texas. Now, I lived in the north Dallas area for seven years, and I never heard of Lucas...but I now know where it is. See, blogging is not only fun, it's educational!

Anyway, he's put The Gazette on his blogroll, and we do appreciate it.

Also, the lovely lasses over at Right We Are! have reinstated the Gazette on their blogroll. When they did some industrial strength housecleaning a few weeks ago, we were dropped (due, no doubt, to either a technical glitch or a left-wing conspiracy), but now all is right with the world (and, yes, that pun was intended, which makes it all the more pitiful).

Attracting the smartest audience

John Gruber has an excellent post over at Daring Fireball dealing with his strategy for making his blog a paying proposition. Whether you want to emulate his business model or not, he makes some good points about the advantages (and challenges) of being an "independent publisher," why Google's AdSense program is superior to other approaches, and how good website design is like a good hairpiece. He also has a thoughtful perspective on why blogs are blowing their "mainstream" counterparts out of the water:

What is most remarkable is that the web is the only medium where independent personal publishers are delivering superior-quality products than the giant media conglomerates. Motion pictures? Forget about it. Even a low-budget film costs millions of dollars. A shoestring budget film might have a good story and engaging characters, but it isn’t going to look good. It’s an extremely expensive medium. Broadcast? Low-budget independents can only dream of producing broadcast media.

Print? Independents can fight to a draw here, in terms of quality, but it’s difficult to scale on a low budget. Paper and printing, and the distribution thereof, is much more expensive than internet bandwidth.

The web is where independents shine. Independent web sites tend to look better and are better produced. Their URLs are even more readable. This isn’t bluster about the future, this is a description of today. With a text editor and an Apache web server, you’re on equal footing with any web site in the world. Even if you can’t design worth a lick, the default templates for most major weblog packages are decidedly more readable and better designed than typical corporate media web sites. For short-form opinion and analysis, the web cannot be beaten as a writing and reading medium. The immediacy, linkability, lack of word count restraints (this works both ways, short and long) and direct connection between writer and reader puts the independent producer at a decided advantage over media corporations.

Go read the whole thing. And forget that he's basically a Mac-guy at heart; some of the nicest smartest people you know are, as well.

TdF: One more thing

I forgot to mention this in my recap. It's interesting to note that in the event that the USPS team wins the team time trial tomorrow by a margin sufficient to put one of its men in the yellow jersey, that man will not be Lance Armstrong.

Lance's Colombian teammate, Victor Hugo Peña, has a one-second lead over Lance, due to his picking up a couple of extra points more than Lance, and since all team members get credited with the same time for the TTT, Peña would wear the yellow jersey, with Lance in second place.

I suspect Lance would be content to let Peña wear the yellow jersey until he decides it's time to asset his leadership over the entire field.

Just another of the many sub-plots within sub-plots that makes the TdF so fascinating.

TdF Recap: Stage 3

For the first time since 2001, the Tour de France has a French leader. Jean-Patrick Nazon picked up enough points during Stage 3 today to claim the overall lead by 8 seconds over previous leader Brad McGee (Australia). David Millar (Great Britain) remains in third place. Lance Armstrong is now in 12th place, 19 seconds out of the lead.

Today's stage was relatively uneventful, with Alessandro Petacchi (Italy) winning the stage by a hair in another madhouse sprint that had at least one spectacular crash. Rene Haselbacher (Austria) was the main victim; while he didn't appear to be seriously injured, he did leave quite a bit of skin on the pavement, and presented the finish line crowd with an unforgettable view as most of the rear half of his shorts also vanished in the crash. Occupational hazard, you know.

The TdF is always good for some bizarre scenes. Take this blurb, for example, from OLN's live web feed, about two hours into the race:

The rider who finished 2nd in last year's Tour, Joseba Beloki, has dropped back to his team car. He has removed his shoe and the mechanic is now clipped [sic] the toenails of his right foot.

Didn't say whether Beloki stopped pedaling; these guys are pros, you know.

OLN also reported that the motorcycle rider and cameraman who caused Lilian Jegou to fall while on the attack yesterday has been given a one-day suspension.

Tyler Hamilton continues to grind it out, fractured collarbone and all. He remains in the top 10, and is riding without the benefit of painkillers, according to a report on Bicycling.com. That report questions Tyler's ability to continue to ride once the race hits the mountains, where the climbing requires the rider to continually pull up on the handlebars for maximum power. Tyler's injury is such that this will be extremely painful, if not impossible.

Team USPS/Berry Floor retains the team lead going into tomorrow's 67km team time trial. This is perhaps the most painful stage of any TdF, as it requires all-out effort by every team member, and each member lives or dies by his team's performance. Strategy is essential, as the team members must understand their individual roles in advance. Some members will be called upon to — in effect — flame out for the good of the team. Since the team's time is taken from the finish of the fifth member of the team, four members (if the full 9 member team is available at the start; remember, not all teams are at full strength, due to some abandons) are expendable. These guys may be asked to provide the all-out effort at the beginning to permit the others to draft behind them, conserving energy as much as possible. They know in advance that they will experience extreme pain, and then be allowed to drop back or out, and let the rest of the team carry on.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Ummm...not so fast. Those "expendable" guys might also be your best climbers... absolutely essential in the upcoming mountain stages. You don't want them to burn out to the point where they can't recover in time for the mountains. It's a fine strategic line.

But, if you want to feel sorry for anyone, pity the Rabobank team. They lost two of their top riders on day one (American Levi Leipheimer being one), so their energy "reserves" are practically non-existent.

Sources for this recap included OLN's live TV coverage; OLN.com; Bicycling.com; CyclingNews.com; Eurosport.com; and 30,000 cycling miles of my own.

Blogathon 2003

I noticed that Julie Neidlinger is participating in Blogathon 2003, on behalf of Doctors Without Borders. I figured...what the heck?...and signed up as one of her sponsors. Why not think about doing likewise...if not Julie, then pick another of the 400+ who've agreed to blog-til-they-drop on July 26.

Actually, I picked Julie because -- while DWOB is certainly a good cause -- she wished she had thought to pick her own charity, and she would have chosen Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse. In doing so, she made big-time points with moi. In this case, good intentions paved the way to a pledge!

TDF: One more thing

I didn't realize until today that the US Postal Service has a co-sponsor for this year's Tour de France team: Berry Floor, an international company that makes laminate flooring. It's headquartered in -- get this -- Belgium.

Whatever. They're keeping a low profile in the US TV market, anyway. I see lots of ads by the USPS, but haven't noticed anything for Berry Floor. I guess that makes sense. It's probably hard to get an exciting tie-in between cycling and wood laminate.

TDF Recap: Stage 2

Another day, another crash...and another Australian stage victory. Baden Cooke won the sprint at the end of today's 204.5km race, ensuring that his Aussie teammate, Brad McGee, will wear the yellow jersey of the overall Tour leader in tomorrow's stage.

For a while, it looked like a French rider might claim a rare stage victory, as Frédéric Finot and fellow Frenchman Lilian Jegou broke from the peloton at the 5km point in the stage. Jegou couldn't hang on, but Finot stayed in front of the pack for almost 120 miles, an amazing feat of strength and determination. However, a solo rider is almost never a match for the aerodynamic advantage of a paceline, and Finot was swallowed up a couple of kilometers from the finish. He still finished with the peloton, in the 58th position but not losing any time. Contrast that with poor Jegou, who finished 187th and lost more than 7 minutes. Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor (although, in his defense, he did tangle with a TV motorcycle and took a spill during the stage).

And, speaking of valor, it was amazing to see Jimmy Casper and Tyler Hamilton still riding in this stage, albeit at the back of the pack. Tyler is riding with a fractured collarbone from yesterday's crash. Casper was one of the first men down in yesterday's spill, and he was fitted with a cervical collar when he was loaded into an ambulance. But there he was today...still wearing the neck brace. American Levi Leipheimer was also injured yesterday and couldn't make it back onto the bike. Can't understand that; how badly could a fractured hip affect your cycling, anyway?

One interesting trivia note: Finot's team is Jean Delatour, the French jewelry chain. The team's bike? Scott USA. OK, so the bike's built in Europe. Still...

The overall standings are little changed after today's stage. McGee keeps the maillot jeune, 4 seconds ahead of David Millar of Great Britain. But Baden Cooke moves into the third spot. (I'm trying hard to keep politics out of this, but how grating is it to the French to have two Aussies and a Brit in the top three?) Lance is tenth, 11 seconds out of the lead (and Tyler Hamilton hangs onto eighth). The USPS team continues to lead the team competition, moving toward the critical team time trial on Wednesday.

Tomorrow's stage is a little shorter than today's -- only 167.5km. It's got one pretty good climb near the beginning, but overall is rolling hills and should be another fast race.

The America Channel: Program Lineup

OK, I admit it. I'm intrigued by the new cable TV network, The America Channel, introduced below. This idea could have some legs, although not for the same reasons that the creators envision.

Face it, there aren't a bunch of TV shows about Middle America because Middle America is, indeed, boring. I live in Middle America, and I like being boring. I'm more than happy to cede the ground-breaking, cutting-edge, out-on-a-limb, adrenaline-slurping lifestyle to the Two Coasts. They have the caffeinated beverages and mirror-fixated personalities to support it.

But, if the good folk in Orlando, Florida really want to get serious about putting together a quality network lineup, I think we should pitch in and do our best to help them. I think we should give them some solid, Middle America-originated programming ideas, and then turn 'em loose. For example, I'd like to see the following ideas fleshed out a little more:

• "LRPD Khaki" - Little Rock's finest fight crime throughout Pulaski County. Features occasional cameos by a certain influential local politician and her husband. [Will be accompanied by a Parental Guidance warning, as a result of said cameos.]
• "Acquaintances" - A wacky group of 20-somethings in Joplin, Missouri, wave at one another in the grocery store, and often cross paths in the mall. In the pilot, one of the main characters, Bill, thinks he spots Fred in the neighborhood barbershop, but it turns out to be someone else.

• "CSI Des Moines" - State-of-the-art science is brought to bear in the Heartland to solve perplexing crimes. In the pilot, electron microscopy is combined with good old common sense to bust a cow-tipping gang.

We can't make this stuff up

I noticed a couple of interesting items on this morning's CNN Headline News crawler, so I did a little research in order to keep you abreast of the things that are really important. To wit...

• As if being the smallest state wasn't bad enough, Rhode Island stands to lose another 22 acres to Connecticut, pending the outcome of a new border study. The original border was established in 1840, but the line apparently "shifted" over the years.
  
  Rhode Island Democrats are blaming Texas Republicans for the boundary shift.



• A new cable TV network is on the drawing boards. It will be called the America Channel and will show "real American life between the East and West coasts," according to a spokesman.
  
  Interestingly, the new network is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. An unnamed source with the network was overhead to say, "just because we show it on TV doesn't mean we want to live there. Those guys are boring!"

BUToW: MT Comments Window Tweaks

Most higher-end blog publishing systems provide an option whereby visitors can post comments regarding a specific entry. An unscientific survey indicates that most bloggers choose to activate that option, which enhances the interactivity of the site. It is, however, equally obvious that many blog owners either don't know or don't care that they can make the process of leaving comments more visitor-friendly with a couple of simple template tweaks.

Movable Type uses a simple Javascript to open a new window in which comments are to be input by the visitor. I assume that other blogging systems do likewise, but you'll need to verify this for yourself. If you open your MT blog's "Main Index" template in the "Manage Templates" window, you should see the following code:

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
function OpenComments (c) {
window.open(c,
'comments',
'width=480,height=480,scrollbars=yes,status=yes');
}
</script>

This little Javascript instructs the visitor's browser to open a new window when the "Leave a Comment" link is clicked. It also gives some basic instructions on how that window should look: the size will be a 480 pixel square, there will be scrollbars (usually only vertical), and the status bar will be present. This is a simple, barebones window; surely it's good enough for everyone?

Well, yes and no. It is workable, but is it optimal? It's a matter of personal preference, but I like to have more control over my desktop...I like to be able to re-size my browser windows, and this script creates a new window that cannot be re-sized.

Why allow re-sizing of the blog comment window? For one thing, it can make it easier to see more of the previous comments, which is important if the visitor is replying to one of them. Also, if your reader increases text size to improve readability, the ability to proportionately increase window size is helpful. Finally, don't discount the subtle goodwill gained from the fact that you took the time to provide the reader with a little more control over her browsing environment than she might otherwise enjoy.

So, to add resize capability to your MT comment window, insert one additional parameter, so the line of coding looks like this:

'width=480,height=480,scrollbars=yes,status=yes,resizable=yes'

If you like this approach, be sure to implement it on all the pages where popup comment windows appear. In MT, that means making the same changes to your Date Based and Category Based Archive templates, in addition to your main Index template.

And, finally, note that you can add the identical feature to the popup TrackBack window if you wish. Just look for a similar Javascript that refers to OpenTrackBack instead of OpenComments. A resizable TrackBack window is probably less useful -- I don't use it, for example -- but it's a detail worth noting.

Blogrolled...and grateful!

Just noticed that the Gazette is now on the blogrolls of the following joints:

• From Behind the Wall of Sleep
• Mookie Riffic
• Reverend Mike's House of Homelitc Hash
• Julie Neidlinger
• Matrix Reborn

Muchas gracias, amigos!

TDF Recap: Stage 1

I didn't watch any of the Tour de France coverage on TV this morning -- I was doing my own television work, operating a camera for our worship service broadcast -- but for those who don't have time or access to stay on top of the race, here's a quick recap based on VeloNews reports.

No changes in overall standings for either individual or team competition. The Aussies continue to do well, with Brad McGee retaining the race leader's yellow jersey, and Robbie McEwen wearing the green jersey of the points leader. Lance Armstrong remains 7 seconds back. The USPS team kept its slim lead over Team Bianchi.

Today's stage proved that you can't take anything for granted in the TdF. There was a massive crash at the end of the race, with over 60 riders going down. There were several relatively severe injuries, and it appears that American Tyler Hamilton may be out of the race with a broken collarbone. This is just terrible news for Tyler, as he was expected to make a strong run at a top 3 finish overall. In addition, it was reported that American Levi Leipheimer was also taken to the hospital; no report yet on his condition or status for the rest of the race. Lance was at the back of the pack and thus didn't get caught in the main pile-up.

The silver lining is that because the crash occurred within the last kilometer of the stage, there were no time penalties assessed. Thus, any rider who went down and who can continue tomorrow will not lose any time. That's little consolation, of course, for the unfortunate riders who are injured too badly to continue.

Tomorrow's stage is 205 kilometers. Should be a routine, fast stage. Yeah, right...

Long Weekend, Short Attention Span

So I lied. My lovely bride is studying (on a Saturday night!) for her Accredited Petroleum Accounting exam (like the CPA exam, only focused on oil and gas accounting), we've got "Soapdish" playing via laserdisc (yes...the big silver platter), and I've got a new PowerBook. So what would you do in such a situation? Yeah, that's what I thought.

• Have you seen the results of the recent Sports Illustrated poll of over 500 major league baseball players? I thought the most interesting response was on the first question of the survey, where the players were asked to name the greatest living ball player. 1.5% of the respondents named Babe Ruth [1895-1948], who will hereafter be referred to as the "Elvis of Baseball."
• Went to see "Terminator 3" last Thursday. Couldn't help wondering about a couple of things. First, how is it that old and busted always ends up whacking new and hotness? I guess there's a lesson there for all of us, but I'll be danged if I know what it is. And, second, I couldn't help noticing that whenever we got to see one of the bipedal machine soldiers doing battle against the humans in the future, said machine soldier has a hinged jaw and teeth. Why does a robot need teeth? Am I the only one asking these questions?
• Went to see "The Italian Job" this afternoon. I found it more entertaining than T3, although I did notice that one of the souped-up Mini Coopers managed to regrow an entire door from one scene to the next. But the outing didn't start well, as the concession stand lines were like a scene out of "Soylent Green." And as we finally made our way to the head of our line, They. Ran. Out. Of. Popcorn. How does this happen, exactly? How challenging is it, really, to understand that when you dump a load of popped popcorn out of the big silver hopper, you replaced it with a cup of unpopped popcorn? On the other hand, we got to miss the lame commercials before the movie started, so it wasn't all bad.
• Was reminded again this evening that most laserdiscs have better picture quality than most DVDs. I'm sure there's a good technical explanation for this, although it could also just be due to a latent desire to return to the golden age of the 80s. OTOH, DVD audio beats the socks off most laserdiscs.
• And, finally, the Tour de France is underway, after a short (four mile) individual time trial in which Lance finished a few seconds behind the leaders. Would have been nice for him to claim the yellow jersey at the start, but the fact that the USPS team finished in first place is really more strategically important. If they can continue to hold on to this ranking until the team time trial on July 9, they'll get to start last in that stage, which allows them to know exactly what time they need to beat. It's a great advantage to a team...and to the team's lead rider. A lot of time can be gained via a good team trial showing.



Posted by Eric at 09:18 PM | Permalink

Gazette on Holiday

My lovely bride has a four day weekend, starting en la mañana, so I will not be blogging again until next week. For those of you in the good ol' US of A, have a safe and healthy Fourth, and ponder the manifold blessings of living in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!

In-flight Cell Phone Usage

Today's Wall Street Journal carries a story about a study to determine once and for all if there's any real danger associated with passengers using cell phones and other wireless PEDs while in the midst of commercial flights.

The FAA has commissioned RTCA, Inc. (a private non-profit organization that provides "consensus-based recommendations regarding communications, navigation, surveillance, and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system issues") to study not only cell phones, but also other electronic devices that have wireless networking capabilities via Bluetooth™ IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11b.

Despite occasional anecdotal evidence to the contrary, there doesn't seem to be any hard data indicating that the use of such devices has ever interfered with commercial flight operations. When the results of the study are finalized within a couple of years, many experts seem to think that the ban on in-flight usage will be lifted.

This will be, of course, just one more reason to either (1) invest in some high-powered noise-canceling headphones, or (2) avoid commercial flights altogether (particularly the weekday redeye from Midland to Houston).

Duck Painting & Lycra

I ran across an entry at Signposts -- one of several excellent Australian blogs that I read regularly -- in which the author, Dan, takes the Anglican Church to task for its public and acrimonious debate over homosexuality. He suggests that the only equitable solution to the arguments is to stage a winner-takes-all "Death Match," complete with lycra and with the winner being able to "set the theological agenda."

I think Dan may be on to something with this idea, but more about that later. His post was a another in a string of similar entries in which the basic premise is that the Church should not be singling out homosexuality as its "Poster Child Sin" when there are so many other sins meriting equal attention.

Anyway, I left a comment on the post, asking a serious question: "How would you advise the Church to respond to the issue of homosexuality?"

Dan has replied to my comment via another post, the content of which merits further discussion. First, though, I want to thank him for taking the time to formulate such a thoughtful (and creative) response to my question. This is obviously an issue on which he's pondered at length, and his sincerity is obvious and appreciated.

That second post is entitled "The sin of duck painting," so now you know where I got the title for this entry. In this post, Dan constructs a fictitious situation as an allegory about how the Church should interact with society. He makes several good points, none of which I disagree with in total, although I might pick a few nits here and there with some of the details. I suggest you read the post in order to set the context for what follows here. Go ahead...I'll wait...

Back so soon? Good. Now, I don't intend to dissect Dan's post sentence-by-sentence. Actually, I don't intend to dissect it at all. I'd really like to move the discussion back to where I hoped it would go in the first place... the place that Dan describes in his first bullet point of the "Painting Duck" post, in which he writes: "If the church wants to publicly oppose duck painting in the community (supporting laws against duck-painters, opposing laws which permit duck painters to go about their business etc) then it needs to take the same stance with all sin."

Thus we return to the fundamental question that led to my original comment that led to the "Painting Ducks" post": why should the Church be more concerned about homosexuality than other sins, and what should its stance be?

It's important to state some premises upon which my position is based. First, Scripture clearly labels homosexuality as a sin; it's not my label, it's not my decision. I'm under the authority of Scripture and its Author, which provides both responsibility and comfort.

Second, all sins are equally...um..."sinful" in God's eyes, and they all carry the same penalty. "For the wages of sin is death." [Romans 6:23a] God is holy, His justice is perfect and unchanging, and we take lightly His view of our sin at our eternal peril.

Third, there's no sin we can commit for which God's grace is insufficient to forgive and remove from us "as far as the east is from the west." The blood of Jesus Christ is all ("all"? The understatement of eternity!) that's needed to make us holy in God's eyes, and to give us standing as His adopted children and heirs to the throne.

Fourth, Scripture seems to tell us that different sins -- or, perhaps more properly, the manifestations of different sins -- do call for different responses. And this is where the rubber meets the road, at least for purposes of this post.

I suggest that we can look at Jesus' reactions in two different situations, and take our cues from what He did. Grab your Bible and look up these two passages: John 8:3-11 and Matthew 21:12-13. If you don't have a Bible handy, the passage in John deals with the woman caught by the Pharisees in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus to get His reaction. The passage in Matthew describes Jesus' righteous anger in throwing the corrupt moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem.

These passages contain many lessons on a number of levels. I'm not a trained Bible scholar, so I don't speak with any sort of academic or intellectual authority, but I do believe that both have something to say about the question of how the Church should deal with sin.

The key, I think, is the distinction between "individual" and "corporate" sin. In dealing with the adulterous woman, Jesus displayed the grace and forgiveness that is offered to any and every person who comes to Him, seeking those gifts. This is the perfect example of the cliché "love the sinner, hate the sin." (Note that in my translation of this passage, Jesus tells the woman to go, but stop being adulterous.)

In the second passage, we see a picture of Jesus in "death match mode," (and, believe me, you don't want to tangle with the Creator of the Universe, no matter how good you look in lycra!). Instead of taking aside each one of the offenders and gently explaining the error of his ways, He chose to kick serious tail. Why is that, do you suppose? Could it be because this was an attempt by a particular segment of society to "mainstream" and "institutionalize" behavior that ran counter to God's will? Moneychanging for exorbitant profit was, by then, something that was forced upon the people and allowed to exist by the religious authorities of the day. I have no doubt that Jesus would have forgiven each individual moneychanger who asked Him to do so, but as a group -- as an organized movement -- He offered nothing but righteous judgment.

You can decide for yourself if these examples are stretched out of reasonable shape to serve as examples of how the modern Church should respond to organized and aggressive attempts to grant acceptance and validation in all areas of society to an ongoing and willful sinful lifestyle. When I see the "Organization for the Advancement of Lying and Stealing" make similar moves against and into the Church, I will likewise support an equal and proportionate Church-wide stance against it. We might find legitimate complaints about the manner in which such a stance is implemented... humans will always be able to find the wrong way to do the right thing... but that shouldn't invalidate the correctness of the stance.

Now, getting back to Dan's original post. If what I've written still fails to make an impression on you, then, by all means, let's get readdddy to rummmmble!™ I don't have lycra outfit, but I did manage to find a tatoo, which should count for something. How about it, mate? (Oh, and don't be intimidated by that photo on the right...I'm not nearly that tall! ;-)

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Imagine my extreme embarrassment earlier today when the kind folk over at Jessica's Well pointed out to me that ever since the Gazette shifted to Movable Type (about a week ago), all our posts have been center-justified, at least in IE 6 for Windows.

It's so weird...everything was properly justified in all the Mac browsers (Netscape, IE and Safari), as well as in the MT Preview pane. It looked fine in Netscape for Windows. And even though I always check client designs in multiple browsers on Windows, especially IE, I never thought to do so on my own blog.

For those of you who saw the weird layout and wondered about my design sensibilities...well, now you know. I just wish someone had pointed out this faux pas sooner.

Tempted as I am to put the blame on IE, I really have no one or nothing to blame but me.

Physician, heal thyself...

Tour de France Update

I just popped over to the USPS Cycling team website to check the latest news, and was happy to see that Floyd Landis (again, the only Mennonite pro cyclist in history, AFAIK) has been selected as the final member of this year's USPS Tour de France team. That's quite an achievement for a guy who fractured a hip on a training ride in January.

Eight of the team's nine riders are back from last year, and the new guy is another monster climber from Spain, Manuel Beltran. This will only enhance Lance Armstrong's awesome dominance in the mountain stages. Of course, his performance in the mountains has never been his vulnerability.

Getting back to Landis and his injury...just how tough do you think these pro riders are? Try this on for size. In this month's edition of Bicycling Magazine (link n/a), it's reported that American Tyler Hamilton was in such pain after crashing and breaking a shoulder last year in the Giro d'Italia, he had to have 11 teeth capped or replaced after grinding them down to fight the pain while continuing the race!

Hymns - Same words, different tunes

Something different occurred during our Sunday School class time last Sunday. It's worth noting that the term "different" is not usually associated with anything of Southern Baptist origin, as we tend to like things nice and orderly and predictable. We're the Texas Aggies of denominations.

But on this Sunday, we had substitute song leaders; they had come to us from the distant land of North Carolina and had brought strange new customs into our midst. One of those new customs involved singing "Amazing Grace" to the tune of -- get this -- "Peaceful Easy Feeling," by those bastions of religious tradition, the Eagles. All the familiar words of the hymn were used, but we added a chorus, lifted right from the Eagles' song:

OK...I'm kidding about almost everything up to this point, except the music itself. (And Southern Baptists. And Aggies.) Our church happens to be very open to different styles of music and worship, and our class itself is a model of religious and cultural diversity (for Midland, anyway) which often leads to interesting discussions.

Anyway, as we sang this version (and sang it quite well, I might add), I looked around the room and thought, "we're a bunch of old hippies!" Indeed, no one in the room had to be prompted to recall the tune.

This wasn't the first time that we'd "mistreated" this wonderful old hymn. At a previous party, we sang it to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun" (which always presents an interesting constrast of images, considering the subject matter of the song from which the tune is taken). It actually made for a very touching rendition.

Growing up in a churchy environment, I've always heard that many of the original old hymns were set to the popular tunes of the day, and many of those tunes had, shall we say, less-than-holy origins, namely taverns and other Shoppes of Ill Repute. Now, I'll admit that I've always been a little skeptical of these claims; surely the good tavern-goers of the 17th and 18th centuries could come up with melodies a little, um, peppier than what we hear. But perhaps the standards for peppiness were different back then. (Also, I couldn't find any confirmation of the "tavern origin theory of melody" when I employed my standard focused in-depth research methodology: a review of the first 10 hits in Google.)

Nevertheless, even if the tunes we associate with these hymns didn't arise from secular origins, the hymn phrasing often lends itself to a new, updated treatment, ala "Peaceful Easy Feeling" or "HOTRS." And, indeed, it would seem that this approach would lend itself to making such music more relevant or accessible to those with no church or religious background, and perhaps make it fresh to those who now sing it by mindless rote.

I suspect this musical "customization" goes on a lot more than I realize. I'd like to hear from others about similar examples of setting hymns to different tunes.