Formula One words

Sunday night. Watching the taped last race of the season. I have noticed a couple words that I very rarely hear outside the F1 broadcasts.

Monegasque – a native of Monaco.

Penultimate – next-to-last.

ESPN is carrying the Sky Sports feed from England, which may influence the novelty of the verbiage. Very much enjoy the reporting team, and greatly appreciate Mothers sponsoring the commercial-free shows.

And yes, I know that tape isn’t involved in the delay of a show via YouTube TV. Similarly, ESPN isn’t broadcast – it’s a cable channel. And it isn’t even cable-only, since we get it streamed. *sigh*

Waiting in line to vote

6:17 arrival for a 6:30 open.

It was the worst of times

By strange coincidence, Bettie is watching “A Tale of Two Cities”, the source of “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”.

It’s not the worst, despite the title, but it’s not the best.

One of my treasured pieces of ancient electronics is my Palm Pilot, a Tungsten E. This was before smart phones. It was also before non-volatile ram, which was introduced with the E2, which Bettie has (and uses). So I have to keep mine charged, which I have done for years. Until now. Tonight, when I plugged it in, I found out the default year for the calendar is 2003. And I found out that I had lost all the stuff I had on there. Bummer.

What was it? Lists of important Bible verses. Some notes I had taken for myself at a significant time of my life. Shirt sizes. Stuff. And now it’s gone.

A good lesson on the transience of things, and the need to pay attention to the passage of time.

He’s not totally right, but he’s also not totally wrong.

My Father’s house

I have been missing a lot of church services lately – my work has kept me away about half the Sundays.  I participate online, but I have to say that there is something joyful in corporate worship – singing, taking communion together, hearing the Word preached.

And that reminds me of the words of King David, in Psalm 122:1: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  He was happy, joyful.

Then on one of those “compare and contrast” moments, we have Jesus cleaning out the Temple.  In the book of John, it is recorded that Jesus made a whip out of cords, and used it on the people.  And in John 2:16-17 “Then he said to the pigeon-dealers, “Take those things out of here. Don’t you dare turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered the scripture — ‘Zeal for your house has eaten me up’”.  Jesus wants to be joyful in the temple, but cannot be when it is being used for other purposes.  He needed the temple to be holy.

We come now to the time of communion, where Jesus said “Do this in remembrance of Me”. This is a time of joy and happiness, as well as a time of becoming more holy. 1 Corinthians 11:28 says “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”  That is not Jesus coming in with a whip.  It is an invitation for us to take a look at how we have been keeping our own temple, an invitation to be holy, and an invitation to joy.

Let’s pray.

Father God, You know us, better than we know ourselves. Thank You for loving us, thank You for sending Jesus to die in our place, and thank You for continually calling us to holiness.  Thank you for the ever-present reminder of communion, whether in the church house or wherever we are – because you are with us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Debate loser

The mess of a debate has been sticking with me. Again, both Trump and Biden showed less respect for the office they attain to (or hold) than is proper.

But Biden calling Trump a “clown” is bothersome. I think he would have been better to follow the example of Job, from the Old Testament. Job had been afflicted greatly by the time this interaction takes place.

Job had already been through a rough day. His livestock, servants, and all his children had been killed – one day. Later on, Satan has given him boils – skin infections – from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Ouch!

Then his helpful wife offers him some advice. “Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!”. Wow – with friends like that, who needs enemies?

But Job doesn’t take his frustration out on her. He gently says “You are talking like a foolish woman”. Not “You are a foolish woman”. He notes the similarity and leaves it there.

Biden would do well to spend more time in the Bible. Just sayin’ . . .

Debate winner

Chris Wallace, who managed to keep two unruly children – well, not under control, but headed in the right direction.

Trump had trouble controlling his impulses – no major surprise. He was more steamroller than tank – kept rolling, but (to me) not a lot of offensive blows.

Biden goofed major when he called Trump a clown. Regardless of the truth of the statement, that’s childish, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see that showing up in an attack ad. Biden generally seemed to be reactive. His talking to the camera and lowering his voice worked (again, to me) about as well as Obama’s beer sit-down. Theoretically wonderful, practically awkward.

Surprised me that both sides used the term “Obamacare”.

I predict more civility next time. I hope handlers on both sides will sit their guy down and rub their noses in video of tonight. If this is how the next leader of the USA acts, when they know they are being televised and analyzed…

Mosquitoes before the Fall

That would be the fall of man, in the Garden of Eden. Not the seasonal change a few days away.

Mosquitoes are meat eaters – well, blood-suckers. Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of the flesh is in the blood”. In Genesis 1:29-30, God is speaking to Adam and Eve. “And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.”

We are left with two choices, from my perspective. Either the mosquitoes were sap-suckers, or they didn’t exist then.

Not an argument in favor of evolution. Things change over time, yes. Things die out – the dodo for one, and I don’t know of any current creature that fits the description of Leviathan. And as cute as a Shiba Inu doge is, I really doubt that there was one (or two) in the Garden.

I don’t find mosquitoes specifically mentioned in the curse when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden. I also don’t see mention of the Blue Screen Of Death that can plague computer work, nor do I see those little yapping ankle-biting dogs that are surely a physical part of the curse, if not part of the spiritual side.

If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that hummingbirds were part of the sinless, pre-Fall garden, and mosquitoes came after the banishment. Pure speculation, and I can be convinced otherwise. I also don’t consider it a test of fellowship (if anyone has thought about it and has an opinion).

A matter of scale

One lizard is interesting.

A thousand lizards are a massive bother.

We don’t have lizards. I was just thinking of how a thing could be both good and bad. And that’s about how deep my thinking goes when I’m on-call.

Good news, bad news

I recently renewed my driver’s license.

The good news is that across the four years since the last one, my weight had not increased. Pound-for-pound the same.

The bad news is that about a year ago, I weighted thirty pounds less. So in about a year, I picked up thirty pounds.

The good news is that only about ten pounds of that came after the quarantine – so once that is lifted (or I get the gumption), it will go away.

The bad news is that means there’s about twenty pounds that I don’t have an excuse for. Woe is me.

Three views of pizza – a scientific experiment

I like science. I like pizza. I really like it when I can combine the two.

Today’s subject is self-rising Supreme pizzas. Freschetta, Meijer, and Digiorno. All prices are the same – $5.49.

I started with the odd man out. Lighter color box – neat wrapper, great toppings.

Baked on a pan, the Freschetta was tasty and a touch spicy. Not too far off pizzeria pizza. I’d buy this one again.

Next up: Meijer. Surprisingly low end, given that it’s the same price. Baked directly on the oven rack, the edges were closer to burning while the center was barely warm.

It came in plastic shrink wrap, and the toppings could have been from a three dollar pizza. Pass.

Finally, Digiorno. In a comfy plastic enclosure like the Freschetta, this one went straight onto the rack. Toppings looked fresh.

Pizza was good, but ingredients weren’t evenly distributed

Am I looking for pizza perfection? No – this is not Giordano’s. But these are being positioned as upscale pies. One must have pizza standards.

So anyway, here’s my judgment. Bottom rung is the house brand. Then Digiorno, and Freschetta coming out on top. Even with the spicier sauce, that’s my top choice.

And that’s how you do science.