Outliers is the latest in a series of captivating books by Malcolm Gladwell dealing with how things happen, how people succeed, and how decisions are made (his other books are Tipping Point and Blink). Gladwell begins Outliers with the remarkable story of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Nearly all the citizens of Roseto are descended from immigrants who [...]
Archive for July, 2009
You can’t do it alone
Posted in Uncategorized on July 31, 2009 | 2 Comments »
How to misuse a Strong’s concordance
Posted in Obama nation, bad hermeneutics on July 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »
10 ideas
Posted in Calvinism, it's all about change on July 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Time magazine’s latest issue lists “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.”.
Guess what #3 is.
I love animals in their natural habitat
Posted in Uncategorized on July 28, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Baboons are so cute.
The wisdom of Solomon
Posted in Apollo 11, seeing ain't always believing on July 20, 2009 | 5 Comments »
I still remember what I was doing when I heard about the Apollo 11 moon landing. It was 40 years ago today and I was playing in a pickup basketball game with some old teammates. We had taken a break and I walked outside the gym and turned on the radio in my car . [...]
How to practice
Posted in work and then work some more on July 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One more comment on the book, Talent is Overrated before I move on to Outliers. This book has basically the same message as The Talent Code: The key to reaching world-class levels of performance is hard, “deep” practice and expert coaching. Probably the most valuable section concerns the nature of effective practice, what Colvin calls [...]
No comment
Posted in Uncategorized on July 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Summer fun
Posted in Uncategorized on July 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Having fun in the sun? Be sure to remember some basic safety rules . . . . . . uh . . . . . . nevermind.
Happy birthday Pastor Calvin
Posted in work? you call that work? on July 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with a University student who grew up in Geneva. When he told me where he was from, I asked him if he had ever heard of John Calvin (he was not a Christian). He reacted to my question as if I had connected jumper cables [...]
Kill the swine
Posted in Uncategorized on July 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Uh, no. That’s NOT the wicked witch of the West, it’s Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Ginsburg, silly. But then again . . .
Justice Ginsburg just gave an interview to the New York Times Magazine (to be published this coming Sunday) in which she acknowledges she always thought that abortion was originally intended to rid [...]
Pixar awards
Posted in Pixar amazing, the movin pitchers on July 8, 2009 | 8 Comments »
ok, we’ve had a little discussion on the Facebook page about the top five Pixar movies and here’s my top 5 (and the order is not significant):
Up
Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson
Score by Michael Giacchnio
Ratatouille
Directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava
Score by Michael Giacchino
The Incredibles
Directed by Brad Bird
Score by Michael Giacchino
[...]
In praise of death and destruction
Posted in praise the Lord and kill those stinking Southerners on July 8, 2009 | 12 Comments »
Boy, July is just chock full of wonderful things isn’t it? Fireworks, watermelon, picnics, and getting to hear Christians rejoice over the destruction other Christians suffered in the 19th century — what could be more fun that this?
What’s that? You didn’t catch the last one? Oh sure you did. Who has a “patriotic service” nowadays [...]
Time on marriage
Posted in marriage and family and the soundrels who despise them on July 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It’s been a while since I praised the mainstream media (hint to aspiring writers: understatement is a very effective device) but this week’s Time magazine has a cover story on marriage that is worthy of praise. Caitlin Flanagan writes “Why Marriage Matters” and it is one of the most pointed rebukes to the modern propaganda [...]
The silly season
Posted in Uncategorized on July 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
[FV post warning: Feel free to ignore if you're as sick of hearing about this subject as everyone else is]
Well, just when I get to thinking that everyone is tired of Federal Vision stuff, the various Presbyterian and Reformed denominations have their General Assemblies and Synods. I don’t know why I continue to hope that [...]
Philadelphia, July, 1776
Posted in Uncategorized on July 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Today is the day we celebrate the approval of the Declaration of Independence. The story is more interesting than we usually hear, however. Here’s a brief synopsis:
The last paragraph of the Declaration (which announces that the colonies are free and independent states) was adapted from a motion that had been brought by Richard Henry Lee [...]