Sunday, January 27, 2019

"Fart when people hug you. It make them feel strong."


Lots of people in class this morning and I'm wondering if they left feeling totally buried. I screamed through a lesson on Hebrew poetry and the three kinds of parallelisms it's based on.
They have an assignment this week in addition to doing their scheduled reading. They're to write an acrostic on their name in the form of Hebrew poetry. I hope they have fun and learn as they do that.

Debby gave me a book, The Food Lab - better home cooking through science. It's a large book of just under 1,000 pages that approaches cooking and baking from the perspective of science. It's fascinating. I just started the first chapter and I've learned about the ways heat is transferred from one material to another: conduction, convection (not what I thought it was), radiation, and microwaves. Different methods are best for different cooking situations.
I'm gonna learn a ton.

Brett's sermon this morning was the next section in the book of Mark, the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. That includes, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

The topic of the Sabbath and if/how it should be observed today is a fascinating and worthwhile topic to work through that's conveniently ignored. I'll write the discussion questions for our church's small groups first thing tomorrow, questions that are always based on that week's sermon.
I wish I could eavesdrop on each group as they discuss the Sabbath.

I worked on the chicken run this afternoon. The tarp I put over the run had deteriorated to the point that it no longer shed water so I bought four 26"x12' panels of corrugated fiberglass as a replacement. I got the tarp off and cut off the hardware cloth, then got three of the panels up. Tomorrow when I get home from work I'll put up the fourth panel and add some bracing.
This should keep all the rain out. The dirt in the run is a thick muddy mess so I'm curious to see how long it takes to dry out. Once it does the run will also be healthier, won't stink to high heaven, and the straw in the coop won't get gross & require cleaning as often.

Anecdotal evidence - citing examples in support of the author's point.
If I want to show how unfair the faculty are at our local elementary school I find mothers who tell stories of their child being mistreated by their teacher. Maybe the kid was given a time out for throwing a spit ball (do kids do that anymore?) when according to the boy it was the kid behind him. Next up we hear about a girl who got a failing grade on her quiz because her writing was illegible. The mom tells the story with her distraught daughter standing at her side.
These two stories, in the absence of any that praise the skill and integrity of the teachers, leaves the impression that the faculty at Elmira Elementary are indeed unfair and united in their mistreatment of the poor little boys and girls who attend there.
Anecdotal evidence.
It's cheap and easy. You can always find someone to tell a story to support your agenda, whatever it is. A skilled reporter can choose the best stories from the most effective tellers and leave the readers or viewers convinced of the accuracy of the report.
Never mind that the individual financially devastated by the shutdown had $56.23 in savings along with two cell phones, a huge mortgage, and two new cars on leases.

I'm surprised that anecdotal evidence is as effective as it is in controlling public opinion.

2 comments:

Ellen said...

We had corrugated fiberglass over a back deck at one house where we lived. It was really hot under there in the summer when the sun was shining (no shade nearby). We never spent time out there during the day in the summers.

Craig MacDonald said...

The sides of the run are just wire mesh so I *hope* I won't have that problem. Plus, most days the chickens are out and free range so the temp in the coop and run doesn't matter.