Archive for the ‘Current Events’ Category

Mask Analogy, Updated

There is a certain infographic that made its rounds a while ago and was a popular way for people to describe why it’s important for everyone to wear a mask.

But the analogy bothered me.

First of all, I didn’t like it because it was crude and used urine to make a point. Not what I wanted to work with, but that is what the internet has served up.

Second of all, I didn’t like the attitude with which it was presented.

Third of all, it’s wrong.

image of covid-19 mask bad analogy - red circle slash over the infographic that is the urine test for wearing facemask to prevent coronavirus spread

It might have been right at the time it was made, based on what was known then. But now that we know more, it’s time to update the analogy.

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Holiday Stereogram

For our Christmas card this year, I was playing around with some ideas. I thought I’d make a stereogram out of the typical coronavirus image, since that’s what 2020 was about, and I was going to have the hidden text that appears when your eyes are correctly aligned. I was partially successful in that endeavor – the online stereogram generator did generate a stereogram with my text, but it didn’t look good and my son reminded me I already did a magic eye thingy before so I moved on from that.

But in my iterations of stereograms, I made this one that does not have any text – just blobs of virus that get a depth effect when you cross your eyes just right.

stereogram of covid-19 depiction

For those of you who did not get a Christmas card from me, consider this as your holiday greetings.

And the Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not inflict upon you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will give them to all who hate you.

Deuteronomy 7:15

Simulations All the Way Down

I’ve written about life as a simulation before, but it came up in the news again recently so I want to add another thought to it.

It’s supposed to be an explanation of how life on this earth got started and continues, but it is limited in its explanation to this earth and what we can observe from here.

I’m reminded of the story of the world being supported by a turtle, but what supports the turtle? Of course, it’s turtles all the way down.

If we’re in a simulation, then someone must have started (and be running) the simulation.
No, silly, that person is also a simulation.
Ok, then who started that simulation.
Obviously, it’s simulations all the way down.

It’s just an existential version of kicking the can down the road.

Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were exposed By the rebuke of the Lord, From the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

2 Samuel 22:16

My Way

I was inspired to modify a song to fit with recent news about President Trump. Imagine Frank Sinatra’s voice before you peruse the following image.

image of Donald Trump singing the Frank Sinatra song My Way but about rejecting Huawei

Note: if the image is too small to read easily, click on it and you should be able to zoom in better.

For those of you not keeping up on things, the Huawei company has been banned from doing certain business in various countries. Trump has weighed in on things, and around that time I saw a comic of Bucky Katt singing his version of I Did It My Way, and the two things just clicked. I left a bit of the song out, keeping just the most memorable and applicable lines to the situation.

I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

Psalm 119:59

Silver Linings

There are plenty of downsides to the Covid-19 pandemic, but there are also some benefits to how things are going. Here are some of the silver linings I’ve seen.

1. Teens get enough sleep. Enough studies were showing that schools have their start times backwards that some schools around here were looking at changing things so the elementary schools start earlier and high schools start later. It’s better for teenagers to be able to sleep in. But the district that was seriously considering it decided it didn’t want to mess with the status quo so it dropped the matter.

Then the coronavirus arrived.

Now, my teenagers get up whenever they want to. Although if the oldest one isn’t up by lunch we remind him to wake up. Their developing bodies get all the sleep they need. They do their schoolwork in the afternoon, and still have time for whatever in the evenings.

2. The open office plan is dead. Before this, the company where I work was just about to convert our office from standard cubicles to the open floor plan for “increased collaboration”. We’re an engineering department, we need decreased distractions. No one in our building wanted the open office, but headquarters decreed it so it was going to happen.

Then the coronavirus arrived.

Now, an open floor plan means “increased contamination” and CDC guidelines make it a bad idea. When I do go back to the office (see point #3) it will remain old-school cubicles for a while longer until management decides what the new CDC-friendly trendy office plan will be.

3. Work from home is required. Working from home was always an option, but it was frowned upon if one took too much advantage of it. It always helped to have an excuse of why you needed to be home that day, such as a sick child or an appliance being delivered. I suppose a sick appliance or a child being delivered would also have been valid. Officially, no excuse was needed – the excuse was just to avoid being seen as a slacker.

Then the coronavirus arrived.

Now, those of us who can work from home are discouraged from going to the office. In fact, we must get approval beforehand if we want to go into one of the buildings. I’m saving hundreds of dollars on gas each month, I’m getting to enjoy hours of my life each week not commuting, I eat lunch with my family, I don’t have to think about packing a lunch – I just open the fridge, I get to sleep in, I get to be outside while it’s sunny, I go days without combing my hair, etc. Work-from-home is a major part of social distancing, but it’s good for many things besides that.


I might be able to come up with some more benefits, but those are the main things to me.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Philippians 4:11

Slogans in Context

It’s interesting how much difference context makes. For example, consider these slogans:

  • Keep your laws off my body
  • My body my choice
  • Politicians make bad doctors

What does that make you think of?

What if I said the context is Covid-19 and government-mandated wearing of masks?

The interesting part to me is that the two sides of those slogans flip if you change the context from abortion to quarantine.

Talk about public health and social distance and masks and shutting down gatherings, and all of a sudden the conservatives are the ones saying

  • Keep your laws off my body
  • My body my choice
  • Politicians make bad doctors

and the liberals are welcoming laws and executive orders that limit what they can do with their bodies and they are trusting politicians to make good medical decisions.

Of course that’s a generalization and there are exceptions, but in general that’s how it appears these days.

So it seems to me those slogans are not true because people don’t believe them across the board. Also, “if you don’t like masks then don’t get one.”


P.S. I was going to submit this as an idea to the Babylon Bee, but I couldn’t find anywhere to send it. Their contact form has a dropdown list of reasons to contact them but the glaring omission of “article ideas” made me think they did that on purpose.

I would have reformatted it first – something like “Conservatives and liberals are engaged in negotiations for who gets to use which slogans. The initial proposal was to have the conservatives return ‘My body my choice’ on June 1 and retain ‘Politicians make bad doctors’ throughout the summer, but talks have stalled over ‘Keep your laws off my body’.”

I didn’t fully write the article, as you can see, but it’s mostly there.

Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

Proverbs 26:5

No Baby Names

For those of you keeping track, you were expecting this week’s post to discuss the most popular baby names of 2019. I know I certainly was.

But, alas, that is yet another effect of the coronavirus – no more baby name lists until further notice. Don’t blame me – that was the decision of the Social Security Administration.

Here is their reason for not fulfilling their annual tradition: “Out of respect and honor for all people and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement of the 2019 most popular baby names is being rescheduled to a to-be-determined date. ”

Now there are several reasons that would have made sense to me – reduced staff, higher priorities at this time, etc. – but “out of respect and honor”? That does not make sense to me. How are people honored by not being able to see what names are popular? Maybe some medical workers are pregnant and want to check their possible names against the list – how are they respected by withholding the list?

I just don’t get it. Why that reason? Did they not want to tell us the real reason they don’t have the list?

Anyway, my annual post of the real most popular baby names is postponed until the SSA agrees to release their list.

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?”

Judges 13:17