Monthly Archives: February 2012

Authors

Alternative View of the Good Life

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Author Gabe Lyons talks about his son, age 11, who has Down’s.

Cade’s life, and those like his, offers an alternative view of the good life.

These individuals alter career paths and require families to work together.

They invite each of us to engage, instead of simply walking by.

They love unconditionally, asking little in return beyond a simple acknowledgement.

They celebrate the little things in life, and displace the stress that bogs most of us down.

They seem to understand what true life is about, more than many of us.

They offer us the opportunity to truly value all people as created equal.

(via Andy Crouch)

Uncategorized

Galvanic meditations

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Today we had our biennial (I think that’s the right word. Once every two years. For some reason I find it impossible to get biennial and semiannual straight) CPR and AED training at work. You probably all know what CPR is. An AED is the defibrillating machine various institutions (including ours) keep available in case of emergency.

I was deeply embarrassed to realize I had only a vague recollection of the previous training. If somebody had dropped in front of me with a heart attack yesterday, I’d have been useless. Now I’m up to speed again (sort of) and the instructor told me where to look on YouTube for a refresher video.

Old dog. New tricks. It’s a challenge.

The term “light bill” came to my mind today. Do you young folks know what a light bill is?

When I was a kid, my dad used to talk about paying the light bill. He meant the electric bill. Because back when rural electification came in, in the wake of World War II, that’s what everybody called it. There was one main purpose for getting your house hooked up to the grid, and that was to run electric lights. No more oil lamps (I don’t think they used gas in the country. That was a city luxury) with their smudge and bother and fire risk. Suddenly you could bid the fair day linger a while indoors, and read into the night.

Even then they did other things with electricity, of course. I believe they had a radio before they got electric power, but now they could feed it off an outlet, rather than buying batteries. I’m not sure what else they would have run off electricity in the early days. Ice boxes kept food cold, and clothes washing was still done by hand, at least at first. Dr. Heppelmeyer’s Patent Miracle Nerve Panacea and Hair Growth Stimulator might have warranted a plug-in, at least until it turned the cat’s hair white.

My great-grandfather, whose farm was across the road from ours, was one of the first farmers in the area to have electric light (he was a strict pietist, but loved technology and innovation. This was not uncommon), but he ran his off a battery of batteries, kept up in the attic. When I showed the Norwegian relatives that house at Christmas, one of them asked how they recharged the batteries, and I hadn’t the faintest idea. Perhaps they had to refresh the acid periodically, or scrape off the lead plates. Probably it was something else.

Blogs, Socials, Fiction

A free plug, and a freebooter

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“Lars Walker proves prescient,” says Grim of Grim’s Hall.

I knew he was going to say that.

He shares a passage from Troll Valley that he enjoyed. I’m fond of that one myself.

You too can enjoy this clairvoyant e-book. Kindle here. Nook here.

Not all Norwegians are dull and conventional.



I’ll admit I am, but clearly there are exceptions.

Take the case of Jarle Andhoy, who recently set off from New Zealand in his sailing yacht for a visit to Antarctica, in spite of a lack of the proper permits, and the presence of a repair man who was unfortunate enough to be on board when Jarle and his crew fled the harbor in order to avoid the authorities.

Mr Andhoy told the Norwegian public broadcasting service NRK that the presence on board of the unnamed New Zealander was not part of his plan, but was the result of “a hectic departure” from Auckland last week.

He said it was “a somewhat tricky situation” because the man did not have a passport or papers with him.

But Mr Andhoy insisted: “Everything is on schedule and the atmosphere is good on board.

“We are well prepared for what may befall us.”

It’s almost a fun story, except for the plight of the the repair man, who very likely had other plans, and the fact that three men died the last time Andhoy tried this.

But hey, what do I know? I’m dull and conventional.

Tip: Neatorama.

Non-fiction, Reviews

Answering Big Questions and Overcoming Fear

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I respect Dr. Edward Welch from some of his earlier works (a good example, Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest). Now, he has a book for teenagers and young adults in which he answers a few fundamental questions. What Do You Think of Me? Why Do I Care?: Answers to the Big Questions of Life leads a reader into the reasons he may pander to his crowd by asking:

  1. Who is God?
  2. Who am I?
  3. Who are these other people?

Whatever answers we give to these questions point to what we worship, and that’s the heart of the matter.

Welch offers a gentle path to freedom to anyone wise enough to walk with him. He describes true and false worship as being those things that are worthy of our love and those that aren’t. “Love the approval, acceptance, or love of other people; they will be like a god to you and control your life,” he writes. “It is a basic principle: the more you are controlled by God, the less you are controlled by other people. The more you love God, the less you will love the acceptance or recognition of others. So grit your teeth and get to work! Just kidding.”

I look forward to giving my daughters this book to help guard them against the fear of men, which I still find threatening. It’s probably the main reason I don’t feel as if I’ve fully grown up yet.