"Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them." - P.J. O'Rourke

A Facebook friend sent this to me in honor of my recent carb rebuild experience.

Poe Puree:

It got down to 30 degrees last night and started raining early this morning, coating everything with a layer of ice. Michigan flashback. But it warmed up by noon so the rain that kept coming took care of everything. The guy on the radio this morning said he wasn't going to bother giving us the details of the long range forecast. "Rain. Lots and lots of rain."

As part of yesterday's Pearl Harbor coverage I heard a story on NPR about Senator John McCain's grandfather. His name was also John, and he was an Admiral and in charge of carrier operations in the Pacific during WWII. His widely recognized role in our eventual victory over Japan was so demanding that when the war ended he weighed less than 100 pounds. When Japan announced they would surrender he asked for "home leave" so he could return to the States to physically recover, but was told by Admiral Halsey that he was to attend the official surrender ceremony at Tokyo Bay. He did, left directly after the ceremony for the States, and died four days later of a heart attack.
His son, also an Annapolis grad, was a sub commander during WWII. Grandson John graduated from Annapolis, because a Navy pilot, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and now is the senior senator from AZ.
Great grandson John, son of Sen. McCain, is also an Annapolis grad and a Navy pilot.
Pretty impressive family tree!

Our pastor is preaching through Acts, doing roughly a chapter each Sunday. Last week we were in Acts 23 which includes Paul defending himself before the Sanhedrin. This was a hearing called by the ranking Roman official in Jerusalem in an effort to find out why Paul was the apparent cause of violent demonstrations at the Temple. He brought in the Sanhedrin (a "court" composed of selected Jewish leaders) so he could hear first hand why they were so angry at Paul. Early in the proceedings the High Priest ordered that one of the other Jewish guys smack Paul on the mouth for something he'd said. Paul looked at the High Priest and called him a "white washed tomb" - not exactly a compliment when you think about the imagery - which brought gasps of horror from the rest in attendance. "How dare you speak that way to the High Priest?!" Paul immediately apologizes, explaining that he didn't realize the one he accused was the High Priest. It's probable that the hastily called council meeting meant that the High Priest wasn't dressed in his official robes, thus leaving Paul unaware of his position. Paul then quoted Ex. 22:28, "Don't curse the ruler of your people." Paul clearly took his epithet as inconsistent with that prohibition.

I figured Brett would do something with this exchange vis a' vis our contemporary situation, but he passed. So you make the call. Is that prohibition from Ex.. 22:28 still in force? You can't say no because it's something from the Mosaic Law, because that would have applied equally to Paul in Acts 23. His submission to this command seems to put it in the category of others not affected by era or dispensation (like murder or adultery).

If it does apply many Christians have violated it over the last eight years, and some are doing the same in anticipation of the next four.
Discuss.

One of the challenges of wood stove heat is finding and maintaining an appropriate room temp. Each piece of wood burns at a different rate and puts off a different amount of heat. Managing the fire such that it keeps MoHo warm, but not "open the front door" hot is a skill I have yet to master.

The DIYer in me is drawn to projects like this. It's a shorty, which is, IMO, a good looking van. It's also a blank slate providing all kinds of options. Retro look with shag carpet on the walls? Clean, efficient RV conversion? Speed machine? And think of the options for the exterior.
His starting bid price is too high and he might not get any bids at that level.
Good thing it's not close by.

Jared Kushner married Ivanka Trump, who then converted to Judaism. In Judaism conversion is done under the direction of a rabbi who then certifies it as legit. Now there's a bit of a dustup in Israel over whether Ivanka's conversion should be recognized because Rabbi Haskel Lookstein in New York is accepted as authorized to oversee conversions by the Sephardic Jews in Israel but not by the Ashkenazi Jews.
Just interesting, that's all.

The Eugene Symphony Orchestra is currently without a conductor and has narrowed the field of candidates down to three individuals, with each coming for extended interviews and to direct a concert with music of their choosing. The first of those concerts is tonight and will be conducted by a woman from Montreal. Before the second applicant shows up on Jan. 26th they're doing a special concert this Sunday at which they'll show the movie Amadeus on a big screen over the orchestra while the orchestra plays the soundtrack. It's been so long since I saw that movie that I can't imagine how that will work, but it seems like a cool idea. Alas, as is so often the case for arts events, ticket prices for this one are outside of our budget.
Oh well. Football!

About 11 a.m. I went down and turned on the heater in Fred. When I went back down to work at 1:30 it was up from 32 degrees to a balmy 50.
The rain continued all day, and fairly heavily most of that time, the temp only rose a couple of degrees above freezing, so I skipped my run. I did a little extra distance yesterday anticipating this might happen so I only feel moderately guilty.

Marta sent Pam a message this morning. The next two does are scheduled to go into labor Saturday or Sunday. We just might have goats soon!
Never thought I'd have kids in diapers again.