I'm not a fan of engineers. I especially don't prefer to socialize with them. Even working with them is frequently aggravating. The stereotype of the socially inept engineer is just too close to the truth. » read more »

Greetings,

This was sent in by an FCET member. It is "quite alarming" indeed and
relates to Oprah's "new gospel". You should be aware. I would encourage
you to pass this on to others, because huge numbers are evidently being
swept away by it. And it leads straight to hell.

http://www.carringtonsteele.ci...

There is also other literature out there concerning this and it is well
defended: Eg.

http://blogs.cbn.com/ChurchWat...

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Cult... » read more »

The die is cast. Really, it was cast when Microsoft released Vista, though I did not know it at the time. It wasn't long before I started reading about Vista, and negative impressions began to form. » read more »

TuscanyCircle is back again. We went offline for registered users (anything that used SSL for access) for over an hour due to a mistake by my hosting service. All should be well now. Let me know if you see anything not working fully, though.

I started this article to explore the effects of widespread illiteracy on our once-American culture. As you see below, I made several points about how we'll be adversely affected, only to discover these effects are already present. The decline of our culture, significantly due to illiteracy, is not a future event but a present one. I would dare say our peak as a culture and in literacy was probably two hundred years ago. » read more »

A project manager, hardware engineer and software engineer were in a car heading down a hill when the brakes failed. The driver managed to get it stopped by using the gears and a convenient dirt track. » read more »

http://freethejefferson1.wordp... chronicles the plight of a "freedom dancer" apparently arrested for--well, for nothing, really. You really have to read it to believe it. I'm sure there's another side to this, but I have hard to imagining it's markedly different than the account at this link. Check it out.

We're not to tolerate stupidity and foolishness. How are these juxtaposed with patience? Proverbs 19:11 clearly says patience is a good thing, as does Galatians 5:22. Isn't being patient just the opposite of intolerance of folly? If Scripture does not contradict itself (an axiom), how, then, are we to resolve these two commands which superficially appear to contradict each other? I think the answer lies in loving the sinner while hating the sin. » read more »

We are responsible for our own actions. Apparently, this is a concept rather foreign to many people. I thought jotting down a few supporting verses may be helpful. After all, if we are willing servants of the Lord, then His Word is to be obeyed. » read more »

Thank you, Dr. Richard Booker for your wonderful support of Israel. And thank you, Stan Goodenough, for remaining true to the Word of God and standing with Israel. With a few notable exceptions like Richard and Stan, all the world hates Israel. As a shining example, the French Ambassador in England says "Israel is nothing but a #*&*# little country." (Nice potty mouth, Frenchy.) Despite having 1/1000th of the world's population, Israel has had great accomplishments we all enjoy: » read more »

It's just a small thing, but it's a favorite peeve of mine. Newsmen, journalists, pundits, and other charlatans don't seem to understand the definition of a Congressman. The term is used as if it were synonymous with Representative. However, Congress consists of two houses, the House of Representatives and the House of the Senate. A member of either is called a Congressman. If you wish to distinguish one from the other, a Congressman may be called a Representative or a Senator. » read more »

IDF 'relieving' Samaria's Jews of weapons - In what some worry could turn out to be 'Step 1 of Disengagement 2' - IDF forces have reportedly recently been confiscating hundreds of weapons and other military equipment from Jewish communities in Samaria. » read more »

As Vox points out, it appears the leaders of the Massachusetts government could use one:

Apparently the Law of Supply and Demand still comes as a bit of a shock to some. What, you mean you can't subsidize the cost of health care without increasing the demand for it?

Now in Massachusetts, in an unintended consequence of universal coverage, the imbalance is being exacerbated by the state’s new law requiring residents to have health insurance. » read more »

I want to encourage you to prayerfully consider supporting PIM financially. I find few charities to be worthwhile, often because their stewardship is poor. However, PIM is exemplary, and I wholeheartedly endorse them without reservation. » read more »

Many credit/charge* cards accrue bonus points that can be exchanged for gifts, gift cards, cash, etc. Many of these cards also offer the chance to change these points in for a charitable contribution to any charity of your choice. Often, the exchange value for such contributions is better than the exchange value for cash or goods. » read more »

The difference between D and R - [Vox Popoli]

This is worthy of quotation in its entirety:

Rod Dreher sums it up:

The difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is the Dems will tax us to blow our money, and the Republicans will just put the shopping spree on a credit card. » read more »

Among the first things from our pastor's mouth this morning was another attempt to guilt "tithes" from congregants. He started with jokes about the price of fuel and used them as a segue into "tithing" (i.e., just because gas is expensive, don't short your "tithe"). It was all the more disgusting--perversion of the Word aside--coming from the man who "earns" his living by those largely guilt-given "tithes". Shameless. » read more »

I have been told on occasion that I don't show enough grace in my blogs. It's true, of course, that I can be blunt, brutal, and confrontational. (Thanks. I try.) However, as for showing grace, let's remember the definition. » read more »

In my experience, it is a very bad sign when supposedly intelligent people clearly demonstrate that a) they have no sense of humor, and b) they cannot laugh at themselves.

First, check out this video. Now, have a look at this summary of Richard Dawkins' reaction to the video. Recall that this guy is supposed to be an "intellectual."

Sorry, Dick, but you don't get it, and we do. Too funny.

Hello? Is this thing on? Is anybody out there? It seems I'm alone at last. Nobody else has posted on TuscanyCircle for over three weeks. Several of the recent posts should have stirred some interest in discussion or debate, but...nothing. » read more »

I recently posted this verse as one of the revolving quotations on TuscanyCircle:

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs 26:4-5 » read more »

Muslims seem intent to prove Islam's peaceful nature, even if they have to kill you to do it. Dave wrote about this a year ago, but the Dutch may have finally found a backbone :

A Dutch parliamentarian who believes Islam’s massive global growth is feeding on the worldwide fear of denouncing the violence-based religion, this week did what few men have had the courage to do, and confronted it. » read more »

Just as Stan writes to Condi, I, too, warn Americans of the account they will soon give for their support of an administration that stands opposed to Israel and the Word of God:

All Christians who believe the Bible and strive to live by it are responsible for conveying its truths. We have a calling, a duty, a responsibility; and a day is coming when we will have to give an account. » read more »

Stupid scientists (which is the bulk of them, I'm afraid) regularly conflate science and naturalism as if they were synonymous. Science is a process (and a body of knowledge and a career, but these are beside the point), that's all. This process may be used within the context of many worldviews. Naturalism, on the other hand, is a worldview and a religion. Naturalism assumes a priori that the physical world (dark matter and dark energy notwithstanding) is all that there was, is, or will be. There is no scientific process behind this presumption; it is as much or more of a leap of faith as is a belief in the supernatural. » read more »

Vox posted a fun entry about his own cuss-o-meter score. With an average of 10%, his blog came well under at 6.2 percent cussing. I tested TuscanyCircle and we came up with 0.3%. So, I turned on the word filter, a module I've had for a while but hadn't used yet. I filtered out 3 or 4 of the more popular cuss words, and TuscanyCircle's score dropped to 0%. (The originally intended words should generally be pretty obvious.) » read more »

Most people I know believe Messianic Jews to be a tiny, insignificant minority of Jewry. These same believe the opposite about Christians, that they are a very significant minority if not an occasional majority. Let's look at the numbers. » read more »

I pray that all who hate the city of Zion will be made ashamed and forced to turn and run. And don't let anyone who passes by say to them, "The LORD bless you! I give you my blessing in the name of the LORD." (Psalm 129:5,8 CEV)

From http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/... ...

Incompetent People Really Have No Clue, Studies Find
They're blind to own failings, others' skills

Erica Goode, New York Times

Tuesday, January 18

There are many incompetent people in the world. Dr. David A. Dunning is haunted by the fear that he might be one of them.

Dunning, a professor of psychology at Cornell, worries about this because, according to his research, most incompetent people do not know that they are incompetent. » read more »

There's been a lot of press these last few years about torture being used by the U.S. against prisoners in the "War against Terror". Most definitions of torture define in terms of physical or mental pain, usually inflicted to extract information or for the pleasure of it. I don't care to debate the definition--it's not terribly important--but I am interested in discussing the morality of torture. » read more »

Last Sunday, my pastor tried to equate Judaism to a number of false faiths. To be sure, the modern perversion of Judaism is at odds with the TNK (Bible) in many ways. However, my pastor didn't mention modern Judaism but essentially named Abraham as father of a false religion (akin to Buddha, Confucius, and Muhammad). I'm sure he's not cognizant of just how much he violated Biblical/Godly doctrine in so doing. » read more »