Mercy Not Strained (November 1, 2021)
As we conclude our exploration of Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple, we’ve returned multiple times to our failures and need for forgiveness. Solomon also speaks of justice. How do we balance justice and mercy?
52 Verses, 52 Books, 52 Weeks (Week 44: Judges)
Join us on Reformation Sunday (and Halloween) as Melanie Haynes takes us to Judges as we continue our journey through the Bible.
Please Don't Go Brandon
The phrase kept showing up in my social media feed, probably as it has for you. I’ve been busy, so I kept putting off finding out the reason for the latest social media fad, but finally bit: just who is “Brandon” and why is everyone cheering him on? It seemed like everyone was having lighthearted fun… at first.
tl;dr: The phrase is shorthand for “f—- Joe Biden.” And that seems like a problematic statement coming from believers.
The Missed Third Act of the Apple Touch Bar
I might be in the minority, but I actually like the Apple Touch Bar:
The way we use the alphanumeric and function keys on a keyboard are quite different. We pound letter and number keys repeatedly by feel when touch typing, so tactility is paramount. The butterfly keyboard failed the “Design is how it works” test, trading an appearance problem for a how-it-works problem.
The Touch Bar isn’t just for looks; it also solves a how-it-works problem in the more cryptic regions of a keyboard. The “F8” label tells me nothing about what it does, say, in Adobe Photoshop.
Diverting F-keys to be “multimedia keys” has been a decent solution for most users, but limits the utility of a significant part of a laptop’s real estate. While in Word, one sixth of the control area of my computer is devoted to functions like “play” and “pause” rather than “bold” and “italic.”
Read my whole Touch Bar eulogy and case for a third edition of the same here.
No "Ist," "And" or "Buts." (Octobert 25, 2021)
As we continue to explore the prayer dedicating the temple, what does that prayer reveal about its purpose? Was the temple merely a way to encourage Israel’s worship of the Lord or did God direct them (and us) towards something more?
52 Verses, 52 Books, 52 Weeks (Week 43: Jonah)
For this week’s 52 Verses entry, I turned to Jonah for a consideration of God’s vision of ministry.
The Year When the Cheapest Mac was the Best
Apple's M1 Ushered in High End Performance for Average Users
My take on the Apple M1 line of systems as the sibling M1 Pro/Max systems emerge:
Since its introduction, no one has ever mistaken the Macintosh as the cheap option for computers. Nor would anyone who watched Apple’s launch of its insanely fast M1 Pro and Max chips on Monday argue that the new MacBook Pros are cheap. However, when the dust settles, the previous reigning top Apple Chip — the M1 — will still be the one that created a year when the cheapest Mac was the best Mac and one of the best computers, period.
The Mirage of Victory (October 18, 2021)
Solomon prayed for victory, but does his prayer mean whatever “victories” we want are just a prayer away?
52 Verses, 52 Books, 52 Weeks (Week 42: 1 Peter)
This week, Jim Krenning takes us to 1 Peter 2:16 to think about Christian freedom for our journey through 52 Verses from 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
What's Old is New Again (October 11, 2021)
Failure and forgiveness. It’s in the center of Solomon’s temple prayer and it is in the center of our actions and God’s response to them.
