Category: Of Random Interest

“The scientific mind at such times does not try to think up precautionary measures. Rather it says: Yipes.” (The Straight Dope)

Interesting comparison of the American and European work ethic. If that article interests you, also take a look at our earlier Religion and Economic Growth Linked. (hat tip: OxBlog)

A Bible study at Hooters? Seems like the gents there might get distracted by the bobble and lose sight of the Bible… (hat tip: Nathaniel)

If you’ve read the Da Vinci code, you’ve got to read Dave Barry’s relentless mockery of it. I laughed out loud in Tresidder Union several times.

hat tip: twentysomeone)

Just ran across this and found it interesting: the average student seems to be paying around $900 for their books each year. 

I was reflecting on the story of Jesus turning water into wine and began to think about the amount of wine involved. I was trying to figure out how to describe it to college students in a way they could visualize easily.

So what represents lots of alcohol to a student? 

All in unison–“a keg!”

So what is the equivalent number of kegs to the six stone jars Christ transformed (or as a tongue-twister, how many kegs could Christ convert)?

A simple internet search helped me discover that Jesus created about 10 kegs of alcohol.

Just in case you ever need to know that.

Best quote about the story:

Nympha pudica Deum vidit, et erubuit — Richard Crashaw
The modest water, seeing its God, blushed. 

Best joke I know about turning water into wine:

Did you hear about the Baptist deacon who was driving along when he was stopped by the local police. Seeing an empty bottle on the floor, the officer said, “Sir, have you been drinking?”

“No officer, just water,” replied the smiling deacon.

“Then why do I smell alcohol on your breath?” asked the policeman.

“Praise the Lord!” shouted the deacon. “He’s done it again!” 

Check out this amazing new service from Flickr–it groups pictures by keyword and provides an RSS feed for you to keep up to date. Check the Stanford photos (there’s also a XA tag, but it doesn’t have much).

new O’Reilly hacks book on the brain coming out, looks fascinating.

I used to hold all comments for moderation, but that was annoying. I’ve started using a WP plugin that strikes a balance between ease of commenting and spam prevention.

So if you want to make a comment, go right ahead!

Please let me know if there are any problems.

campus groups get specific