kodex ArticlesEssays by Brian and Melissa Koser2024-02-23T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/Brian Koserbrian@koser.usBridgeheads2024-02-23T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2024/02/23/bridgeheads/<p>https://groups.google.com/g/standardebooks/search?q=bridgehead</p>
<p>https://standardebooks.org/manual/1.1.1/7-high-level-structural-patterns#7.2.10</p>
<p>https://tdg.docbook.org/tdg/5.0/bridgehead.html</p>
<p>https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/4126/what-are-chapter-summary-phrases-called</p>
<p>https://badgermum.blogspot.com/2024/01/spoilers.html</p>
<p>https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/4126/what-are-chapter-summary-phrases-called</p>
<p>https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_(literature)</p>
<p>https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/25442/is-there-a-term-for-the-short-summary-at-the-beginning-of-a-chapter-in-a-novel</p>
<h1>Bridgeheads aka Chapter Summary Phrases aka Arguments</h1>
<h1>Books with Bridgeheads</h1>
<h2>Far from the Madding Crowd</h2>
<p>Chapter II.
Night: The Flock: An Interior: Another Interior.</p>
<h2>William Cullen Bryant's translation of The Iliad</h2>
<p>https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/homer/the-iliad/william-cullen-bryant/text/book-1
Book I</p>
<p>The Contention of Achilles and Agamemnon</p>
<p>The visit of Chryses, Priest of Apollo, to Agamemnon, asking the ransom of his daughter—Refusal of Agamemnon—A pestilence sent by Apollo upon the Greek army—A Council called by Achilles—The cause of the pestilence declared by the Seer Calchas—Dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles, which ends with the taking away of Briseis from Achilles—The daughter of Chryses restored to him—Visit of Thetis to Jupiter, who promises to avenge Achilles—Mutual chiding of Jupiter and Juno.</p>
<h2>The Divine Comedy</h2>
<h2>The Origin of Species?</h2>
<h2>The Phantom of the Opera?</h2>
<h2>The Aeneid?</h2>
<h2>The Odyssey?</h2>
<h2></h2>
What's the Name, Please2023-07-19T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2023/07/19/1/whats-the-name-please/<p>I'm reading <em>The Hobbit</em> to the girls at bedtime, and then reading the annotations from <em>The Annotated Hobbit</em> after they go to bed. The author, Douglas Anderson, <a href="http://ashiverinthearchives.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-to-correctly-pronounce-names-like.html">recently wrote</a> about an old book he found titled <em>What’s the Name, Please? A Guide to the Correct Pronunciation of Current Prominent Names</em>.</p>
<p>I immediately found a copy on <a href="https://archive.org/details/whatsnamepleaseg0000char/mode/2up">archive.org</a> and skimmed through looking for familiar names. Here are the names that I've been pronouncing incorrectly:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Bacardi</dt>
<dd>bah-cahr-dee'</dd>
<dt>Willa Cather</dt>
<dd>Rhymes with "gather"</dd>
<dt>Cholmondeley</dt>
<dd>You ask for the name of Lord Cholmondeley: / I ponder the matter quite dolmondeley; / For surely you know it, / And don't need a poet / To tell you it rimes well with *comely*.</dd>
<dt>Padraic Colum</dt>
<dd>pau'drig column</dd>
<dt>W. E. B. Du Bois</dt>
<dd>dew boys</dd>
<dt>Lord Dunsany</dt>
<dd>dun-say'ny</dd>
<dt>Mohandas Gandhi</dt>
<dd>mo-han-dahss gahn-thee</dd>
<dt>Vladimir Horowitz</dt>
<dd>hor'-o-vits</dd>
<dt>Alfred Knopf</dt>
<dd>k'nupf</dd>
<dt>Lascelles</dt>
<dd>Rhymes with "tassels"</dd>
<dt>Emmuska Orczy</dt>
<dd>em'moosh-ka or'tsey</dd>
<dt>Thomas Taliaferro</dt>
<dd>toliver</dd>
<dt>John R. R. Tolkien</dt>
<dd>tol'keen</dd>
<dt>P. G. Wodehouse</dt>
<dd>woodhouse</dd>
</dl>
<p>Also of note, the epigraph is a few fun lines from the poem <a href="http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/3187/the-march-to-moscow.html">"The March to Moscow"</a>, poking at the difficulty English speakers have with Russian names:</p>
<p class="poem">And last of all an Admiral came,<br />
A terrible man with a terrible name,—<br />
A name which you all know by sight very well;<br />
But which no one can speak, and no one can spell.</p>A Prayer for Trinity Sunday2023-06-04T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2023/06/04/1/a-prayer-for-trinity-sunday/<p>God, today we confess our belief in you, one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.</p>
<p>We know you are Love because of the love you have shown from Father to Son, from Son to Father, and because of the love you have shown to all mankind.</p>
<p>Draw us into yourself, transform us, and work your love through us into the world.</p>
<p>Amen.</p>
February 2023 Summary2023-02-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Drove with Lydia and Amber to Louisiana to watch the Super Bowl with my parents and brothers.</li>
<li>Visited the US Space and Rocket Center with Tim.</li>
<li>Finished the House of Humane Letters class <a href="https://houseofhumaneletters.com/product/how-to-read-fairy-tales/">How to Read Fairy Tales</a>.</li>
<li>Started the Couch to 5K program.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Roman Catholics criticize Protestants for simplistically arriving at solid doctrinal positions, where the Roman church allows a range of opinions by only defining boundaries through negative theology. They also criticize Protestants lack of a centralized authority, which prevents them from from arriving at solid doctrinal positions.</li>
<li>People like Peter Enns criticize Iron Age man for their primitive theology. From early scripture, they thought of God as a person (walking in the Garden with Adam, eating with Abraham). Later men developed the idea of God as a superman (like the Greek pantheon). The Greek philosophers reasoned that God was transcendant, the first cause of the cosmos. And when mankind had advanced and figured all that out, God became a man. Truly one of God's best jokes.</li>
<li>The irony of saying "I don't believe in Christianity because it's just a bunch of rules", but then making science your highest belief system, which is just a bunch of rules.</li>
</ul>
<h2>News</h2>
<ul>
<li>Eagles lost the Super Bowl</li>
<li>Tom Brady retired again</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
<div class="stack cards">
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/164-all-time-favorite-films-2023">№ 164 All-Time Favorite Films 2023</a><p>For the first time, Brian and Melissa reveal their favorite Hollywood-style video movies!</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-28">28 Feb 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">February 2023 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-28">28 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Mr. Money Mustache: <a href="https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2023/02/26/how-to-build-a-kitchen/">How to Build a Kitchen (and Why)</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-26">26 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/20230226165514/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/163-book-review-mrs-dalloway">№ 163 Book Review: Mrs. Dalloway</a><p>Brian's quick thoughts on the novel Mrs. Dalloway.</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-25">25 Feb 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/162-book-review-mort">№ 162 Book Review: Mort</a><p>Brian's fuller thoughts of the fourth Discworld novel, Mort.</p></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-24">24 Feb 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Chris Coyier: <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2023/02/23/adobe-podcast-tools/">Adobe Podcast Tools</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-23">23 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/20230223230435/">
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</p></svg> Permalink</a></div><p></p>
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Kelly: <a href="https://badgermum.blogspot.com/2023/02/strategies-for-reading-spensers-faerie.html">Strategies for reading Spenser's Faerie Queene</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-22">22 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/20230222050008/">
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/161-book-review-the-great-gatsby">№ 161 Book Review: The Great Gatsby</a><p>Brian tries reviewing a book. It went okay maybe? All spoilers for a 98-year-old book.</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-18">18 Feb 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Kelly: <a href="https://badgermum.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-to-read-faerie-queene-or-you-are.html">How to read The Faerie Queene; or, You are already qualified to read Spenser's masterpiece</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-15">15 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/20230215050447/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/02/are-merely-christian-colleges-enough">Are “Merely Christian” Colleges Enough?</a></div></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-02-07">07 Feb 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/02/28/1/february-2023-summary/20230207111646/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/160-chocolates-from-this-box-of-chocolates">№ 160 Chocolates from This Box of Chocolates</a><p>You know what translates well to a podcast? Eating. Eating little pieces of chocolate from a box of chocolates from Melissa's brother Michael. Thanks Michael!</p></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Wes Callihan: CS Lewis called himself the "last of the dinosaurs". Dorothy Sayers, GK Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Charles Williams, George MacDonald, and Edmund Burke were his fellow "last dinosaurs".</li>
<li>Charles Haywood:
<ul>
<li>Today's American liberals get meaning from politics. Conservatives get meaning from regular life, like family, religion, and making things.</li>
<li>Computer skills are important because computers aren't going away.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford:
<ul>
<li>CS Lewis wrote that characters exist for the story, not vice versa. He cited three authors to support that view: Aristotle (in Poetics), Bocaccio (medieval tradition), and Jung (whose archetype theory was further developed by Northrop Frye.)</li>
<li>True art reflects truth. Not what we want, but what is.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Jonathan Pageau:
<ul>
<li>Stories are events condensed into pattern. Even when telling a "factual historical account" we choose which facts to include and assemble into a narrative. The creation story is heavily compressed.</li>
<li>Bibles with footnotes like "this passage is found in X manuscripts" are missing the point.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"It is in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough--it's technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hear sing." --Steve Jobs</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Brick: a generous, helpful, reliable person</li>
</ul>
January 2023 Summary2023-01-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>First visit to Bookleggers Used Bookstore</li>
<li>Rejoined choir</li>
<li>Selected for the pastor search committee</li>
<li>Dan Underwood took me deer hunting, my first time hunting</li>
<li>Eagles won the NFC championship</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">January 2023 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-31">31 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/159-books-2022">№ 159 Books 2022</a><p>Another year of books! Brian and Melissa share their top tens and bottom ones from 2022.</p></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-27">27 Jan 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Douglas Wilson: <a href="https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/schizo-life.html">Except for That</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-26">26 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230126021702/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/01/a-divine-comedy-we-can-feel-in-the-pulse">A Divine Comedy We Can Feel in the Pulse</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-24">24 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230124111415/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Kay Pelham: <a href="http://kaypelham.com/2023/01/21/goodreads-review-how-the-irish-saved-civilization/">Goodreads Review: How the Irish Saved Civilization</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-21">21 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230121175706/">
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</p></svg> Permalink</a></div><p></p>
</div>
</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://xkcd.com/2727/">Runtime</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-21">21 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230121020936/">
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/158-films-2022">№ 158 Films 2022</a><p>Melissa and Brian discuss their favorite first-time-viewing films of 2022. Brian is now pretentious and calls them films instead of movies. Melissa has an unbelievable list; number 2 will shock you!</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-20">20 Jan 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Douglas Wilson: <a href="https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/church-rome-hubris.html">Missing the Point</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-12">12 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230112021042/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/01/are-catholics-and-evangelicals-really-together">Are Catholics and Evangelicals Really Together?</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-10">10 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230110110507/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</p></svg> Permalink</a></div><p></p>
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://maggieappleton.com/reverse-outline">Reverse Outlining with Language Models</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-08">08 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230108163509/">
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/157-new-years-resolutions-2023">№ 157 New Year’s Resolutions 2023</a><p>Start the year with Brian and Melissa! They review 2022 and set some new goals for 2023!</p></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-06">06 Jan 2023</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Douglas Wilson: <a href="https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/face-before-you-washed-it.html">Protesting Catholics</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2023-01-05">05 Jan 2023</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2023/01/31/1/january-2023-summary/20230105020849/">
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</div>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Bible Project podcast
<ul>
<li>The Torah is called the Law because is contains law; it is a narrative, not a law book. Talmud is necessary to fill in the gaps. Couldn't run the system just from the Torah.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>J. Daryl Charles (First Things)
<ul>
<li>Human nature is tainted by sin, not annihilated: the imago dei cannot be annihilated. Grace restores nature. We can keep natural law, and reason. People do not stop having children or joy from children because of sin; family and marriage is still sacred.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>Ambition is a vice, the opposite of vocation. Don't attempt great things for God, be faithful to your calling. Ambition is chasing a goal; vocation is being faithful and letting God work. Ambition is, "I will be the best plumber in my city"; vocation is, "I will be the best plumber I can be, for God's glory".</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Jonathan Pageau
<ul>
<li>When an atheist ascribes value to science, they are making a religious move: science does not make value hierarchies.</li>
<li>Popular rhetorical move: "that thing is just element 1 and element 2". E.g. "the Crucifixion is just a man dying on a piece of wood", "football is just men running around with a ball", "music is just major and minor chords". (BK: synergy-the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)</li>
<li>Christians do not die and go to heaven. Heaven is not a physical place. Resurrection is our future hope.</li>
<li>Ritual is inevitable. Even relationship is ritualistic: look at someone for a time then look away, stand a certain distance away, alternate who talks.</li>
<li>Your appearance is a choice: dressing casually says something just as dressing formally does.</li>
<li>Rebellion follows a pattern (tattoos, piercings, colored hair).</li>
<li>Why is making the sign of the cross wrong, but waving is okay?</li>
<li>Eastern Orthodox church doesn't believe in substitutionary atonement: salvation is healing and uniting with God.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Robert Nozick: in 1974 asked the philosophical question, would you hook up to the Experience Machine (aka, the Matrix)? Three reasons against:
<ol>
<li>We want to do, not just simulate experiences</li>
<li>We want to be real people, not just blobs</li>
<li>"Being plugged into the machine limits our experience to man-made reality, and cuts us off from anything outside of it."</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Alan Jacobs: Brad Gregory claims the Reformation smashed a millennium of shared Catholic intellectual thought, causing modernity. This ignores the Roman Catholic church's culpability through its failures, that Western thought was not uniform pre-Reformation, and that Protestants have also fought against modernity. (BK: reminds me of the idea that we were better off when we all got our news from Walter Cronkite: even if it was wrong, it was shared news.)</li>
<li>Carl Trueman
<ul>
<li>Roman Catholic criticism of the perspicuity of scripture fall flat when the only alternative offered is the papacy. Diversity of interpretation is matched by diversity of belief and behavior in popes.</li>
<li>The papacy was not viewed as authoritative in the first centuries of church history. Neuman's doctrine of development cherry picks.</li>
<li>Papacy was corrupt in the late Middle Ages, had multiple popes, and refused to reform itself. Medieval Christendom was a failure.</li>
<li>"One cannot blame Roman Catholics for disliking Protestants: our very existence bears testimony to Roman Catholicism's failure."</li>
<li>Italian Catholics pray more to Padre Pio and Anthony of Padua than to Jesus and Mary. Laity do not follow church teaching on birth control, Catholic politicians liberalize abortion laws, with no repercussions. Disagreement on papal infallibility and Vatican II.</li>
<li>Doctrinal disagreements go back to the New Testament; they did not start with Luther.</li>
<li>The printing press shattered the Roman Catholic church's "unified knowledge", not the Reformation. That's why the Roman Catholic church banned books in the 16th century and maintained the Index of Prohibited Books until 1965 (although it still retained its moral force, according to then-Cardinal Ratzinger). Les Miserables and Paradise Lost were banned.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Tim Challies: At Trent, the Roman Catholic church pronounced sola fide anathema. They have never rescinded.</li>
<li>Doug Wilson
<ul>
<li>Private judgment is inescapable, because we have competing authorities. The Roman Catholic church has factions, has not ruled on every Bible passage, has made contradictory statements that it hasn't resolved (Unum Sanctum vs catechism says Muslims can be saved). Its written documents must be interpreted. It has not compiled its infallible determinations.</li>
<li>The choice is not between countless sola scriptura Protestant denominations and Rome: it is between sola scriptura and infallible interpretation.</li>
<li>Schism and unity can both be sins.</li>
<li>Private judgment has been abused, and all good things have been.</li>
<li>Private judgment has led to chaos? Rome's rejection of private judgment caused the schism.</li>
<li>There are not 25,000 Protestant denominations. That number comes from the World Christian Encyclopedia, which also lists 223 Roman Catholic denominations. Their list of traditions is a better grouping: 21 Protestant traditions, 19 Eastern Orthodox, 16 Roman Catholic, 6 Anglican, etc.</li>
<li>In Romans 11:18, Paul reminds the church at Rome that is a branch, not the root.</li>
<li>Protestant churches can accept Roman Catholic baptism; the reverse is not true. The original Reformers did accept Roman baptism, while they were in mortal danger from the Roman church. A Roman Catholic that takes communion at a Protestant church doe sso on Protestant terms; refusing them would be replicating one of their mistakes.</li>
<li>Contradictory to criticize Protestants for having no sense of ritual, history, or place; and that we're too attached to our worship practices, revere the Constitution and the Founding, and have never left the state. Can't be both gnostics and nationalists.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Joffre Swait: Historically, the Reformed Presbyterian church has produced businessmen and accountants, but not artists.</li>
<li>Lord of Spirits podcast, Episode 1
<ul>
<li>In Ex. 21:6, elohim (KJV "judges") refers to dead ancestors (God is not the God of the dead, but of the living).</li>
<li>In Ps. 82:6-7, evil spirits can die (spiritually: separated from God at final judgment)</li>
<li>German liberal theologians invented the term "monotheist" and claimed Israel went from polytheism to monotheism (and religion kept evolving to German protestantism).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes because people only asked him for help if they were desparate (because he was associated by name with Judas Iscariot)</li>
<li>Lewis wrote the Narnia books in a different order than they were published:
<ol>
<li><em>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe</em></li>
<li><em>Prince Caspian</em></li>
<li><em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em></li>
<li><em>The Horse and His Boy</em></li>
<li><em>The Silver Chair</em></li>
<li><em>The Last Battle</em></li>
<li><em>The Magician's Nephew</em></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>"Protestant" doesn't mean "protestor" but "confessor" (Latin: protestari, to confess or profess). It was not used to mean "object" or "dissent" until 60 years after the term first appeared in English.</li>
<li>Protestants were originally called "evangelicals".</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Peter Leithart</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Eventually there will not be denominations, there will just be churches. Jesus prayed that his followers would be united, and it can't be eschatalogical because that is how we'll convert the nations. Protestants should do our part, sifting the riches from the dross: liturgial worship, weekly Eucharist, read Bible typologically, embrace ecclesiastical authority--all following the Bible.</li>
</ul>
<ol start="2">
<li>Doug Wilson</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>For ecumenism, one-true-churchism must be dropped, which is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox change, not a Protestant.</li>
<li>Sifting out the riches from the dross was the Reformation.</li>
<li>Two types of unity: Ephesians 4:3 unity we already have through the Spirit. Institutional unity is in the future; it can't be required for evangelism because we've been doing missions work all along.</li>
</ul>
<ol start="3">
<li>Peter Leithart</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Ecumenism would also be a big change for Protestants because "not Roman" is a big part of our identity.</li>
<li>Ironic that a post-millennialist says we must wait instead of trying for unity.</li>
<li>Spiritual unity must be institutional because humans are incarnate.</li>
</ul>
<ol start="4">
<li>Doug Wilson</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>Average Protestant doesn't know anything about Roman Catholicism.</li>
<li>Institutional unity is necessary, and will come, but moving that direction too early will cause less unity, not more.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"So you were thrown away," snapped Granny. "So what? She's hardly more than a child, and children throw us all away sooner or later." --Terry Pratchett, <em>Equal Rites</em></li>
<li>"Can't you see you're not making rock and roll better? You're just making Christianity worse." --Hank Hill</li>
<li>"I changed my mind, and it is a practice I commend to you." --Doug Wilson</li>
<li>"The real conflict is not between Scripture and tradition but between catholicism and one particular tradition (Romanism)." --Kevin Vanhoozer</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Brick: a generous, helpful, reliable person</li>
<li>Dun: dark, gloomy</li>
<li>Mercer: silk dealer</li>
<li>Perspicuous: clearly expressed</li>
</ul>
December 2022 Summary2022-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/12/31/1/december-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Amber got very embarrassed every time I sang, "This Christmas, baloo-bitty-boo" to the tune of the "Last Christmas" chorus.</li>
<li>Gave my testimony to the deacons.</li>
<li>Dinner with Terry and Dante, the caroled after.</li>
<li>Tijerinas visited for Christmas. The Space and Rocket Center were closed, so instead we went to Animal Trax, the exotic pet store.</li>
<li>Adopted a kitten: Arabella</li>
<li>Hosted a board game day on New Year's Eve.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Do Roman Catholics believe we can only know objective truth through the pope, councils, the magisterium? If so, how can we make objective statements about those items on which the Church has not spoken? (How can you say <em>Hamlet</em> is objectively better than <em>Twilight</em> without an authority?)</li>
<li>What are your hidden defaults? You have a choice in many areas of life that you never consider the options. You don't have to buy the cheapest option. You don't have to send your children to government school. You don't have to buy your child a smartphone.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
<div class="stack cards">
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">December 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
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</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-12-31">31 Dec 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/12/31/1/december-2022-summary/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2022/a-month-of-book/">A lot can happen in a month: on AI art and the fediverse</a></div></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-12-16">16 Dec 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/12/31/1/december-2022-summary/20221216135707/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">Playing with ChatGPT</h2>
<p></p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-12-13">13 Dec 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/12/13/1/playing-with-chatgpt/">
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Douglas Wilson: <a href="https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/cce-bce.html">Make It Even Clearer</a></div></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-12-03">03 Dec 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/12/31/1/december-2022-summary/20221203021250/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</div>
</article>
</div>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Ben De Bono
<ul>
<li>If your choice is between two bad options, there's a third option you haven't yet considered.</li>
<li>If you can get off prescription drugs, you should.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>C. S. Lewis, Learning in War-Time
<ul>
<li>Why study literature during World War 2? But humanity is never at peace. And spiritual warfare is constant.</li>
<li>Christians do the same actions as non-Christians, but to the glory of God.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Joffre Swait
<ul>
<li>Hold life lightly. Don't dwell overlong on tragedy or peril.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Everlasting Education podcast Ep. 20
<ul>
<li>Classical education is not a curriculum, formula, series of steps or stages. It is a pedagogy and a pool of knowledge.</li>
<li>Trivium is methods applied to each subject (BK: is that historically classical?)</li>
<li>Make students self-motivated to learn</li>
<li>Mastery before creativity</li>
<li>Study the whole, and the connections between parts of the whole.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Online Great Books podcast Ep. 159 Filling the Trough
<ul>
<li>Behaviorism: (BF Skinner) Carrot and stick, measured goals, students are blank slates for teacher to write on. Done when the correct behavior is reached. Most common in modern schools.</li>
<li>Cognitivism: observing cause and effect in nature or the lab. Making meaning. Participating in learning.</li>
<li>Constructivism: create meaning as a group, teacher is a "guide on the side" instead of a "sage on the stage". Taken too far, leads to subjectivism.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Literary Life Podcast: Witches, Wizards, and Magic
<ul>
<li>What is the difference between magic and miracles? What magic is forbidden? (Divination)</li>
<li>If you can't read stories about sinners, you can't read the Bible.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson: Every government is a theocracy; every government has a state religion. America's is secularism.</li>
<li>Ad Fontest podcast, Concerning Pipe-Weed
<ul>
<li>Alcohol and tobacco should accompany and enhance contemplation or conversation, not be enjoyed solely for their pleasure. Otherwise, they are masturbatory. (BK: not sure I agree with this but it's an interesting thought. Would this include solo video games, lowbrow books, dessert?)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Scott Hahn: Roman Catholic church believes vicarious satisfaction instead of penal substitution: Christ fulfilled the Law on the cross by loving God with all his heart, soul, and strength, rather than taking on sin and God's wrath. Taking Eucharist is how you fulfill the First Commandment and enter into Christ's satisfying justice. The Father did not put our sin on the Son and treat us as righteous.</li>
<li>Peter Kreeft: <em>The Brothers Karamazov</em> and <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> are the two greatest novels ever written.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him.For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." --J. R. R. Tolkien, <em>The Return of the King</em></li>
<li>"So you were thrown away," snapped Granny. "So what? She's hardly more than a child, and children throw us all away sooner or later." --Terry Pratchett, <em>Equal Rites</em></li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Wanderjahr: year spent by an apprentice travelling and practicing before entering the profession of his trade</li>
</ul>
Playing with ChatGPT2022-12-13T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/12/13/1/playing-with-chatgpt/<p>Played around with <a href="https://chat.openai.com/chat">ChatGPT</a>. It's fun, and way more advanced than the Markov chain-type text generators I played around with a decade ago. You could write newspaper articles with it. But I don't see it generating a novel that's actually good, like some are predicting. And if this is 10 steps forward in the last decade, General AI is on another planet.</p>
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<p><em>Tell a short story about a giraffe eating birds in the style of a gothic novel</em></p>
<p>The giraffe towered over the landscape, its long neck stretching out towards the sky. The sun had begun to set, casting a warm orange glow over the savannah. As the giraffe surveyed the land below, it spotted a group of birds perched in a nearby tree.</p>
<p>The giraffe's eyes narrowed as it watched the birds. It had never eaten birds before, but it was hungry and desperate. With a graceful and stealthy movement, the giraffe crept closer to the tree.</p>
<p>The birds, unaware of the giraffe's presence, continued to chirp and sing. The giraffe's heart pounded in its chest as it drew closer and closer to its prey. Just as it was about to strike, a sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves of the tree, alerting the birds to the giraffe's presence.</p>
<p>Panicked, the birds took flight, but the giraffe was too quick. It lunged forward and snagged one of the birds in its powerful jaws. The other birds squawked in alarm as they watched their comrade being devoured by the giraffe.</p>
<p>The giraffe savored the taste of the bird, its gothic soul delighting in the darkness of the act. It continued to stalk and hunt the birds, reveling in its newfound power and hunger. The giraffe had become a creature of the night, a gothic predator feeding on the innocent and unsuspecting.</p>
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<p><em>Write a poem in the style of robert louis stevenson about a sock</em></p>
<p>There once was a sock, so small and so neat
It lived in a drawer, amongst socks that were sweet
It was soft and it was cozy, and it fit on my toes
But then one day, it met with a fate that no one knows</p>
<p>It was washed and it was dried, and it was put away
But when I went to wear it, it had disappeared, oh my
I looked high and I looked low, but the sock was nowhere to be found
And so I was left with just one, and my feet were cold, unclothed</p>
<p>But the sock, it was not gone, it had simply taken flight
It had been whisked away, to a land beyond sight
A land of socks, of all shapes and sizes
A land where socks are free, and they live their lives in a paradise</p>
<p>So if you ever lose a sock, don't despair or be blue
It may have just gone on an adventure, to a land that is new
A land where socks are happy, and they never have to be alone
A land where they can be themselves, and they never have to be shown.</p>
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<p><em>Write a haiku about an agoraphobic manatee</em></p>
<p>Agoraphobic manatee
Trapped within its watery home
Afraid to venture out</p>
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<p><em>Write the intro for the podcast ten to one, the podcast where we make top ten lists about everything</em></p>
<p>Welcome to Ten to One, the podcast where we make top ten lists about everything! In each episode, we'll countdown our picks for the top ten best, worst, most interesting, and strangest things in a wide range of categories. From the top ten most beautiful cities in the world to the top ten worst excuses for being late to work, we'll cover it all. So join us as we count down the best of the best and the worst of the worst on Ten to One!</p>
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<p><em>Tell a joke about Herman Melville</em></p>
<p>Why was Herman Melville always at sea?
Because he was a whaler!</p>
November 2022 Summary2022-11-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Phillies lost World Series.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Jonah contrasts with Noah: both heard God's voice. Noah obeyed, Jonah disobeyed. Noah's preaching was ignored, Jonah's preaching was heeded. Ark preserved Noah, fish preserved Jonah. Noah lands on a mountain, Jonah lands on a beach.</li>
<li>Jonah is the prodigal son's older brother.</li>
<li>Saying God is throwing a fit when he punishes sin is like if I built an obstacle course for my daughters with a barrier to rope climb over, my daughter runs up to it and bangs her head repeatedly on it, and you say, "Brian is such a jerk for building this obstacle course!"</li>
<li>I am a dabbler.</li>
<li>The Dapper Dabbler would be a great Silver Age Batman villain.</li>
<li>On hell, in response to Preston Sprinkle
<ul>
<li>After Irenaeus (1st century), Ignatius (2nd century), and Athanasius (3rd century), why are there no proponents of annihilationism until the Millerites (from whom the Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists split)?</li>
<li>The crux of eternal conscious torment vs annihiliationism is are souls eternal. Immortal souls is apparently out of favor (even for Thomists and Neoplatonists?)</li>
<li>"Eternal doesn't always mean forever"; same goes for heaven?</li>
<li>Punishment is neverending but not the act of punishing - reasonable point</li>
<li>For all OT arguments: the Jews had no concept of resurrection until after the OT. You can't use the OT to argue for or against.</li>
<li>The Devil is tormented forever, but maybe not the wicked - why would the Devil be eternal if souls are not?</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Napoleon playing 3D chess: Russian army pursued him through Europe, realized Russia was behind Europe, planting seeds of revolution.</li>
<li><em>Gattaca</em>: humans can push past logical limits</li>
<li>Thinking medieval painters were poor artists because their art was unrealistic is like thinking the Simpsons animators are poor artists because people don't really have four fingers per hand and yellow skin.</li>
<li>Time management is a zero-sum game (you can't get more time).</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">November 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-30">30 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>John Gruber: <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/11/amazon-alexa-is-a-colossal-failure-on-pace-to-lose-10-billion-this-year/">Report: Amazon Alexa Is a ‘Colossal Failure’ on Pace to Lose $10 Billion This Year</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-22">22 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/20221122190203/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2022/remix-alternate-timeline-of-web-dev/">Remix and the Alternate Timeline of Web Development</a></div></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-16">16 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/20221116180353/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Rod Dreher: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/against-the-n-i-c-e-conditioners/">Against The N.I.C.E. Conditioners</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-16">16 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/20221116164704/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://seanmcp.com/articles/there-is-no-multi-tasking-on-the-raspberry-pi/">There is no multi-tasking on the Raspberry Pi</a></div></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-04">04 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/20221104113809/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Rod Dreher: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/big-tech-big-government-censorship/">Big Tech + Big Government = Censorship</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-11-02">02 Nov 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/11/30/1/november-2022-summary/20221102165514/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</div>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Bishop Barron, "Called Into the Depths" sermon
<ul>
<li>Sea is symbol of chaos (tohu wa bohu, Flood, Red Sea, Jordan, Job, Noah, Sea of Galilee)</li>
<li>Notre Dame looks like a ship: on an island in a river, flying buttresses like oars. Nave = ship.</li>
<li>Through our connection to God, we are connected to all creation. The Church is the ship/ark we sail through chaos.</li>
<li><em>Field of Dreams</em> is Noah retelling.</li>
<li>Build an ark, build the church. When the ark lands, open and let out the life.</li>
<li>Noah is about spiritual survival. Jonah is about spiritual mission.</li>
<li><em>Moby Dick</em> is the great American novel.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Literary Life podcast, Dracula episodes
<ul>
<li>Monsters are from pre-history and must be defeated before civilization starts. Monsters are solitary.</li>
<li>Enlightenment reacted against medieval superstition. Gothic novels reacted against Enlightenment, medieval sensibility.</li>
<li>Derrida deconstructed language: words do not have inherent meaning.</li>
<li>Through medieval period, monsters are Cain/sin/Satan. Modern psychology made them the Other: traumatized humans.</li>
<li>Magnanimous - magna anima = big soul, great mind</li>
<li>Pusillanimous - pusil anima = small soul</li>
<li>God is not in a snit; the Flood and Jonah's storm are spiritual physics. Fighting your mission/sin brings storms.</li>
<li>God through the fish swallows Jonah's will (constrains) that Jonah's will would be turned to God's - like Moses in the wilderness, David, Paul.</li>
<li>Becomes greatest preacher of repentance ever.</li>
<li>Disciples in boat (church). Jesus is asleep (gives peace in storms).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>ECMAScript 2022
<ul>
<li>static/private (#private field)</li>
<li>RegExp match indices</li>
<li>Top-level await</li>
<li>Object.hasOwn()</li>
<li>.at() (indexing, including negative indexing)</li>
<li>Static initialization blocks</li>
<li>Error.cause</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Ben De Bono
<ul>
<li>Not all objective truth can be reduced to math. <em>Moby Dick</em> is objectively better art than <em>Jupiter Ascending</em>.</li>
<li>When excercising, you can push past your limits to euphoria.</li>
<li>Time management: unlimited to do, limited time. Every time you do something, you're not doing something else (fixed amount of time).</li>
<li>Limits are positive because they let you express value: no limits means no values.</li>
<li>Butlerian Manifesto
<ul>
<li>
<ol>
<li>If technology progresses faster than humanity, we need to slow it.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<ol start="2">
<li>We need to redefine progress as "increases human flourishing".</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<ol start="3">
<li>We seek an abundance of life, not an extension.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<ol start="4">
<li>If we reach a point where the choice is all or nothing, we must choose nothing.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson
<ul>
<li>When the Constitution was ratified, 9 of the 13 states had an official denominational affiliation.</li>
<li>On the same day Congress finalized the first amendment, they proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving and prayer.</li>
<li>1892 "Church of Holy Trinity v United States" - Supreme Court: "These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian Nation." Cited state constitutions, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, course cases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>Tolkien and Lewis stopped talking literary theory in abstract and started writing stories. 1st gen. Inkling scholars focused on apologetics, 2nd on fictions. No one (except Angelina) is studying their literary theory.</li>
<li>T. S. Eliot declined to publish a C. S. Lewis article on his neo-Aristotelian literary theory in his magazine.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Preston Sprinkle: of all the passages for Origen to read literally, he read literally the passage in Matthew about becoming a eunuch for the kingdom.</li>
<li>Seth Studer: Eastern Orthodox church venerates icons because of the incarnation. It's not worship, it's respect, like the Japanese bowing to their elders.</li>
<li>"Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading", fun Charles Lamb essay</li>
<li>Sam Holbrook, who umpired in the 2022 World Series, played for Cindy Rollins's dad.</li>
<li>About 50 years after Shakespeare's death, women started playing the women's parts. Susanna Mountfort legendarily went mad after a love affair ended, escaped her keepers and lept onto a stage performance of "Hamlet", playing Ophelia spectacularly.</li>
<li>Thomas Betterton was the premier actor-manager of his day. Played Hamlet to great acclaim. Knocked over his chair when seeing the ghost in the queen's chamber, making that the standard (although it may go back further: his mentor saw the performance of the successor of Richard Burbage, the first Hamlet).</li>
<li>Siege Perilous was the empty seat at the Round Table reserved for the knight who found the Holy Grail</li>
<li>Mare Nostrum was the Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea (Lat. our sea)</li>
<li>Lockhart's Lament: "Mathematics is the art of explanation."</li>
<li>How to beat a knight: flood the plain (Flanders), traps, pikes, halberds</li>
<li>Trebuchets and cannons were named, like ships. Why are tanks and airplanes not named?</li>
<li>First cannonballs were stone, rounded by hand.</li>
<li>St. Petersburg was an artificial city. Peter I turned a swamp into the capital of Russia. Built canals not realizing they would freeze over in winter.</li>
<li>The term "ghost buster" precedes the movie: a 1952 short film invented the term (off of "gang buster").</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"When did the tool become a god?" --Martin Shaw, via Ben De Bono</li>
<li>"It should cost you something to encounter God." --Ben De Bono</li>
<li>"Machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work a man can do." --Herbert Simon, AI pioneer, 1965</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Bathos: the art of poetic sinking, ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, anticlimax</li>
<li>Dabble: play in water, do any thing in a slight or superficial manner, tamper (Heb. dip)</li>
<li>Farrier: smith who shoes horses</li>
<li>Fettle: order, repair (fine fettle = good spirits)</li>
<li>Fluvial: belonging to rivers</li>
<li>Lethe: oblivion, a draught of oblivion</li>
<li>Parasol: small ladies umbrella for rain or sun (Lat. sol: sun)</li>
<li>Umbrella: shade, carried by hand to shelter the person from sun, rain, or snow (Lat. umbra: shade, shadow)</li>
</ul>
October 2022 Summary2022-10-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/10/31/1/october-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Restarted <a href="https://sfc.blue/">sfc.blue</a> project</li>
<li>Chattanooga day trip: Ruby Falls gift shop, McKay's, Community Pie (excellent pizza)</li>
<li>Elected and ordained as a deacon. Joined HR committee.</li>
<li>Tim visited</li>
<li>Celebrated Amber's birthday</li>
<li>Day trip to Lyon Farms</li>
<li>Phillies down 5-0 in World Series Game 1, won 6-5. Most exciting World Series game I've seen.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>"Inimitable" and "illimitable" make a great pair</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">October 2022 Summary</h2>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-10-31">31 Oct 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/10/31/1/october-2022-summary/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Rod Dreher: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/is-the-military-woke-more-from-readers/">Is The Military Woke? More From Readers</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-10-26">26 Oct 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/10/31/1/october-2022-summary/20221026104440/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Rod Dreher: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/an-officer-dissents-on-woke-military/">An Officer Dissents On ‘Woke Military’</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-10-25">25 Oct 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/10/31/1/october-2022-summary/20221025084735/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://blog.jim-nielsen.com/2022/website-fidelity/">Website Fidelity</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-10-17">17 Oct 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/10/31/1/october-2022-summary/20221017144719/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/156-twelve-items-from-our-book-poster-of-books-from-the-sci-fi-christian-feat-the-sci-fi-christians">№ 156 The Top 10 (12) Items from Our Book Poster of Books from The Sci-Fi Christian FEAT. The Sci-Fi Christians</a><p>Our friends Ben and Matt have a book club, with which Brian has been reading along. Together they rank the 12 books they've read over the past couple years.</p></div>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://xkcd.com/2682/">Easy or Hard</a></div></div>
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Jason Baxter
<ul>
<li>Your goal in a debate is not to convince your interlocutor, but to make them wish you were right.</li>
<li>C. S. Lewis anticipated Plato scholarship by 50 years without the collected editions and translations available now, just reading manuscripts in the Bodleian.</li>
<li>Lewis said the Romantics Wordsworth and Coleridge were the last of the Medievals. Owen Barfield said the Inklings were the last of the Romantics.</li>
<li>The Romantics tried to recover a sacramental view of the material world.</li>
<li>Lewis said the material world's relationship to the supernatural world is like a symphony transposed for piano.</li>
<li>Heaven wasn't boring for the medievals: it was the barely-glimpsed glory that couldn't fit into our reality.</li>
<li>Freud was the epitome of modern thinker that Lewis was against.</li>
<li>Why study the medieval model? Get out of our mindset to recover humanity. Maybe science will eventually come around until the metaphors work again.</li>
<li>The diversity of the church through time: blind spots, but also strengths and treasures. Strengths of modern society are interiority, individuality, equity.</li>
<li>Aquinas only owned 200 books, but he had all of them memorized.</li>
<li>A medieval would not say he read a book until he could communicate its arguments step-by-step, chapter-by-chapter. They read with the intent to remember.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cindy Rollins
<ul>
<li>You don't want to be the voice in your child's head saying, "Read the Bible", "Do the right thing". If it's your voice they hear, when it's time for your child to leave the home they may also try to leave behind that voice.</li>
<li>Charlotte Mason said you only learn what you pay attention to. You can't make someone pay attention, you can only spread a feast. Respect the child and give them hard and good things.</li>
<li>Dumbing knowledge down to a child's level is the opposite of education.</li>
<li>Robert Farrar Capon said that in the Bible, the opposite of Sin is not virtue, it is Faith. Faith in a God who draws all to himself in his resurrection. (via Cindy Rollins)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>Education is one person sharing what the love with another person.</li>
<li>In Celtic storytelling, when a characters gets in an impossible situation, the way out is to go to the one person you trust and confess everything. Also seen with Louisa in <em>Hard Times</em>, the wife in Chaucer's <em>Franklin's Tale</em>.</li>
<li>At the lowest point in a comedy there is a miraculous death and rebirth image before the upswing.</li>
<li>Breakfast-lunch-dinner schedule was invented for British factory workers. Pre-Industrial Revolution, British people did morning chores then ate mid-day meal to break fast.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Ben De Bono
<ul>
<li>Frames: Compared to what (realism instead of idealism), is it worth the cost (cost-benefit analysis), 80-20 rules (Pareto principle), crappy first draft and 10% better (iterate), what feels human (intuition), directional accuracy (don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good), I might be wrong (strong opinions weakly held), look for two ways to win (agile)</li>
<li>Summary of Ian McGilchrist: right hemisphere deals with big picture, interacts with reality, makes us human. Left is details, constructs a virtual reality.</li>
<li>Music is the language of the right hemisphere.</li>
<li>Confront your shadow self to realize your potential. Don't settle for mediocrity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Dietrich Bonhoeffer
<ul>
<li>Jewish days began in the evening. Christian days begin in the morning because of the Resurrection.</li>
<li>Community Bible reading should be long passages; personal Bible reading should be shorter passages with meditation. Meditation leads to prayer. If your mind wanders, pray about what you wandered to.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Bennet Cerf
<ul>
<li>Television doesn't take people away from books. If you smashed all the televisions, the TV addicts would not be transformed into readers.</li>
<li>Publishers aren't censors because the make suggestions that the author can choose to take or ignore, and maybe publish elsewhere.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Wendell Berry: do something every day that does not compute. (via Angelina Stanford)</li>
<li>Northrop Frye: Sacred space shrinks from Garden of Eden, to Abraham's Promised Land, to Joshua's Promised Land (map of 12 tribes in Bibles was land they claimed, not permanently held), to Judah, to Jerusalem, to the Temple, to the Holy of Holies, to nothing after the Abomination of Desolation. (via Kay Pelham)</li>
<li>Heather Goodman: At the Ascension, the entire cosmos became sacred space: the kingdom of Christ.</li>
<li>C. S. Lewis: The author intends, the book means. Author cannot guarantee meaning. "The meaning of a book is the series or system of emotions, reflections, and attitudes produced by reading it." In his teaching, he emphasized not authorial intent (subjective) but the "receptive imagination" and the objective text.</li>
<li>Kelly Cumbee: Irish kingdoms always had a king, a bishop, and a poet.</li>
<li>Stephen Greenblatt: First permanent theaters were built in Shakespeare's lifetime. First was the Red Lion. Also had mystery plays (Bible story retellings); these were banned by Protestants because of association with Roman Catholics. Hamlet's phrase "out Herods Herod" refers to the bombastic Herod from mystery plays. Also travelling players.</li>
<li>Joffre Swait: Don't let children play or draw in church service because we aim for participation. Train to participate, not to sit still. Do what everyone else is doing. Don't send the message that church is onerous for children. Don't be too strict with staying quiet and still. Father should take the difficult children, out of service if necessary. Work up to full service. Take out before sermon, even when behaving, to regroup.</li>
<li>Stratford Caldecott: It is the memory of time that makes us old; remembering eternity makes us young again.</li>
<li>Malcolm Guite: Chesterton and Belloc mastered the ballad form.</li>
<li>The Seven Sisters of US mainline Protestantism: United Methodists, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PCUSA, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, American Baptists, United Church of Christ.</li>
<li>Hedonism is seeking pleasure for its own sake. Epicureanism is avoiding pain and anxiety, realizing unrestrained pleasure can bring pain.</li>
<li>The scientific name of the American Robin is <em>turdus migratorius</em>.</li>
<li>Leprosy was common in Elizabethan England.</li>
<li>In England, oaths were often sworn on swords; they are shaped like a cross.</li>
<li>Charles Wesley's hymn <em>And Can It Be</em> references Pope's poem <em>Eloisa to Abelard</em>: "Thy eyes diffus'd a reconciling ray, / And gleams of glory brighten'd all the day." Sight was thought to result from light sent out from the eye, as well as light received from the eye.</li>
<li>Powell's City of Books in Portland, OR is world's biggest independent bookstore.</li>
<li>Dutch Calvinist painters always included something rotting in their paintings, because the world is rotting. Quaker cross stitch samplers purposely included a mistake, because only God is perfect.</li>
<li>Europe and Africa cost of living is skyrocketing because dollar is strong, because Fed increased interest rates, because US inflation was high.
<ul>
<li>We need to decouple these economies.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"I have argued that Scripture is musical, and part of the significance of musical patterns is that it is not just a fundamental template that is lying behind all these different expressions of a theme. It is not that you have to get to that underlying theme and sweep away the particularities as remainder, rather, the significance is found in the variations and the union." --Alastair Roberts, review of Mathieu Pageau's <em>The Language of Creation</em></li>
<li>"To me the greatness of the story, the horror of the story, and the threat to humanity the story portrays lie in the fact that Frankenstein has usurped the power, not of God, but of women. He has made a man without a mother. His science has eliminated the principle of femininity from the creation of human life." --Andrew Klavan (via Cindy Rollins)</li>
<li>"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." --Gustav Mahler</li>
<li>"If you raise your children right, they will grow up to rob your library." --Thomas Banks</li>
<li>"Words are like Leaves; and where the most abound, / Much Fruit of Sense beneath is rarely found." --Alexander Pope</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Addle: putrid, barren (Heb. to fail)</li>
<li>Arrant: complete</li>
<li>Bewilder: to lose in pathless places (wilder: "wander"; from "wild")</li>
<li>Bourn: border</li>
<li>Garret: attic, turret, watchtower</li>
<li>Garreteer: inhabitant of a garret, a poor author</li>
<li>John-a-dreams: a sleepy idler</li>
<li>Orthodox: ortho ("right") + dox ("opinion")</li>
<li>Pith: soft center of plants, spinal marrow of animals, energy, importance, quintessence</li>
<li>Quintessence: fifth and highest essence of power (alchemy), extract which contains the virtue (most essential part)</li>
<li>Winkle: gleam intermittently; displace ("winkle out an answer")</li>
</ul>
September 2022 Summary2022-09-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/09/30/1/september-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Started learning Spanish with the girls, supplemented with Duolingo.</li>
<li>Eagles played Vikings on MNF and it felt like rewatching the 2017 NFC Championship.</li>
<li>Found out my dad had a dog when he was a kid: Duffy, a collie-German shepherd mix.</li>
<li>Hosted Sunday School class for lunch: tacos.</li>
<li>Neighbor Sandy identified front trees as silver maples: when they built the neighborhood, they planted two silver maples in every front yard.</li>
<li>First shoutout on the Literary Life podcast (for observations of harpy images with Mrs. Sparsit in <em>Hard Times</em>).</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Must be a heretic on some level to be human: Protestant Reformation was heretics diversifying the Church.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">September 2022 Summary</h2>
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<p>note</p>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Scott Postma | Rumbling Toward Heaven: <a href="https://feedbin.com/entries/af77a2cebb57cf0b2b2be952b4fe5e8affedd2b3/newsletter">Christian Humanism and Commonplaces</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/09/30/1/september-2022-summary/20220924153520/">
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Ben De Bono
<ul>
<li>Metric is top-down and artificial. Standard is bottom-up, natural, human.</li>
<li>Liturgy/ritual is the unspoken language between the Church and God. The liturgy gets you out of the way, out of your own head, so you can receive. The words are less important than the spaces between the words. Like a Malick film: the power is not in the plot but between you and the film.</li>
<li>Herbert: ideology has gone too far when you're embarrassed by the past.</li>
<li>"To be a human is to be a heretic on some level." If you adhere completely to an ideology, you are a machine. Being a heretic is dangerous (great saints and sinners are cut from the same cloth) but "be a heretic if you want to live."</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Bishop Bob Barron: The pro-life position is not dogma but moral, so should be legislated. All laws impose morality.</li>
<li>Michael Lynch (Ad Fontes podcast): classical teachers taught Latin because it was the lingua franca. Modern classical education should study English. Students should master it: vocabulary, writing poetry and prose.</li>
<li>Cindy Rollins: you must let children become independent. Let them make mistakes, be alone, solve problems.</li>
<li>Joffre Swait: Separation of church and state means no state-sponsored church. It's not a separation of state and religion, which is impossible (and if you try, the state becomes the religion).</li>
<li>Doug Wilson: The Salvation of Emeth: Westminster Confession says salvation is ordinarily through the church. Naaman was saved without becoming a Jew. Solomon's temple had Court of Gentiles. Luther was leery, but Zwingli said Socrates could have been elect.</li>
<li>Rogelio: Starting Strength is good (it's based on Bill Starr's classic <em>The Strongest Shall Survive</em>) but not the One True Workout. Rippetoe's "jump and shrug" power clean technique is bad.</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford: woman were freer in Elizabethan England than in Victorian England. The "angel in the house" idea overspiritualized and idealized women; they couldn't go out without a chaperone because the might succumb to tempation. They could be ruined by even a rumor of a scandal.</li>
<li>Isaac Watts published a translation of the Psalms in which every instanct of "Israel" was replaced with "Great Britain".</li>
<li>Exocentric verb-noun compound agent nouns: usually English uses the noun + verb formulation: firefighter, naysayer. In the 19th century, many were formed verb + noun: pickpocket, spendthrift, swashbuckler, turncoat, lickspittle, skinflint, turnkey, scofflaw, lackwit, cutthroat, sellsword, killjoy</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"I could not look on Death, which being known, / Men led me to him, blindfold and alone." -- Kipling, "Epitaphs of the War"</li>
<li>"It is very beautiful," I said, "and, as you say, it is very English. Charles Dickens, who was almost more English than England, wrote one of his rare poems about the beauty of ivy. Yes, by all means let us admire the ivy, so deep, so warm, so full of a genial gloom and a grotesque tenderness. Let us admire the ivy; and let us pray to God in His mercy that it may not kill the tree." --G. K. Chesterton, "The Riddle of the Ivy", <em>Tremendous Trifles</em></li>
<li>"In <em>Hard Times</em>, the pedantry of the obstructing society is associated with a utilitarian philosophy and an infantile trust in facts, statistics, and all impersonal and generalized forms of knowledge." --Northrop Frye</li>
</ul>
August 2022 Summary2022-08-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/08/31/1/august-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Started meeting the neighbors.</li>
<li>Attended first Lit Life reading and All Fellows Eve.</li>
<li>Re-learned how to solve a Rubik's cube.</li>
<li>Started the class <a href="https://houseofhumaneletters.com/how-to-read/">How to Read Literature</a> with House of Human Letters.</li>
<li>Dreamed the Phillies won the World Series. The victory highlight (a la McGraw leaping and Lidge falling to his knees) is a player sitting on home plate, slapping the ground with alternating hands.</li>
<li>Installed light fixture in study. That level of electrical work I can handle, apparently.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>I'd rather tilt at windmills than not believe in giants.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">August 2022 Summary</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://adactio.com/journal/19370">No code</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>John Gruber: <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2022/08/vin_scully">★ Vin Scully</a></div></div>
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Andrew Kern
<ul>
<li>Dewey wanted to progress education: education for all, fit for a modern world, allowing children to put emotion into words.</li>
<li>Americans have always been nomads.</li>
<li>Augustine: music is the science of modulation. We need to constantly modulate between conserving and progressing.</li>
<li>Every person is holy. Every person bears the image of God and reflects His beauty. Be noble and don't abuse others even in your mind.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Karen Glass
<ul>
<li>Reason provides "logical demonstration of mathematical truths" and "logical reasons for ideas which we have already chosen to accept."</li>
<li>Increase frequency before increasing length of written narrations.</li>
<li>Charlotte Mason: if you can't tell, you don't know</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Thomas Banks
<ul>
<li>Boethius and Pope Gregory have both been called "the last ancient Roman"</li>
<li>Maximianus, the last pagan Roman writer, was friends with Boethius</li>
<li>The scraps of Aristotle that survived in Europe were Boethius's translations</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson:
<ul>
<li>Seraphim are dragons. Nehushtan was called a seraph; snake + wings = dragon. Satan probably a fallen seraph.</li>
<li>Cherubim: winged bulls</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>James White: Some Thomists are defining God's simplicity as His attributes being identical ad intra (to God there is no difference between justice and love) instead of indivisible and harmonious attributes. Also say every action of God is taken by all three Persons.</li>
<li>Joffre Swait: education is immeasurable but observable</li>
<li>Monarch and viceroy butterflies are both inedible, protecting each other (Mullerian mimicry instead of Batesian).</li>
<li>Good trees to plant near a house: Japanese maple, Cornelian cherry dogwood, crabapple</li>
<li>Guerilla gardening is planting flowers on public or abandoned land.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"To humble a boy, put him in the presence of something greater than himself." -- Christopher Perrin</li>
<li>"Pants are not biblical." -- Thomas Banks</li>
<li>"It is at her [the Church's] centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is really closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine." -- C. S. Lewis, <em>Mere Christianity</em></li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Lambaste: beat severely</li>
</ul>
July 2022 Summary2022-07-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Moved into our house with a lot of help from our friends.</li>
<li>Taught the Life of David in Sunday School.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Omnilector: an omnivore of books</li>
<li>Sketch: gameshow called, "Hottentot or Huegenot?"</li>
<li>Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.</li>
<li>The belief that everything must be spiritual (for example, you should only listen to Christian music) is utilitarianism with "utility" replaced by "spirituality". Both try to optimize in a single aspect of life to the detriment of the others. But we're called to live good lives, not optimal lives.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
<div class="stack cards">
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">July 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>John Hirschauer: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/to-make-cities-safer-add-trees/">To Make Cities Safer, Add Trees</a></div></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-07-22">22 Jul 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/20220722170625/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>mcdermot@roanoke.edu (Gerald McDermott): <a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2022/07/harts-turn-to-heterodoxy">Hart’s Turn To Heterodoxy</a></div></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-07-18">18 Jul 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/20220718102546/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Chris Coyier: <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2022/07/08/squaring-up/">Squaring Up</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/20220708200243/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/05/myth-of-disenchantment">Myth of Disenchantment | Peter J. Leithart</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/07/30/1/july-2022-summary/20220705160511/">
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Jonathan Pageau
<ul>
<li>Pattern of Genesis is Eden on a mountain, clothes, thorns, pride. Repeats at Babel, Jesus walking on water. Most stories have death-resurrection.</li>
<li>Monsters lie at the edge and borders. They are extremes (giants, leprechauns) or mixtures (dog-headed men, chimera, dragons (lizards + birds + mammals)). Amazons.</li>
<li>Gargoyles are outside the church.</li>
<li>Monsters on the border guard against bigger monsters: Cerberus guarded against worse monsters in hell. X-Men guard against other mutants and cosmic monsters.</li>
<li>St. Christopher (Easter Orthodox saint) was a giant or dog-headed man.</li>
<li>Carnival celebrated monsters, spinning, opposite day.</li>
<li>Purim: Jews dress in costumes, get drunk, spin till they fall down.</li>
<li>Rainbows are fluid. They are the breakdown of light.</li>
<li>Eastern Orthodox baptize babies by immersion because baptism is a picture of death.</li>
<li>Medieval Byzantine kings had their star charts and knew their place in the cosmos. Astrology for soothsaying was forbidden.</li>
<li>Christian history is not linear. Genesis cycle repeats, Jesus fulfills, continues to Revelation when the City caps the mountain, fulfilling Eden.</li>
<li>Okay with martial arts but would not do yoga.</li>
<li>Eve comes from Adam, all mankind comes from Eve. Christ comes from Mary, the Church comes from Christ's side.</li>
<li>Lilith is the mother of the prehistoric monsters.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Jordan Peterson: Nietsche thought it a tragedy that God was dead</li>
<li>Doug Wilson: the line between good and evil is vertical, cutting through sex, class, race. Ideologies like socialism and CRT make the line horizontal.</li>
<li>Anthony Dodgers: We must give our children a Christianity to grow into, not a Christianity to grow out of.</li>
<li>Oscar Wilde was always interested in the Catholic church, and the priest attending him at his death says he converted.</li>
<li>The name "Cholmondeley" is pronounced "Chumley".</li>
<li>Tolkien said Hobbiton was at the same latitude as Oxford.</li>
<li>The Golden Age mystery writers started the Detection Club. They asked Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be the first president, but he declined due to poor health. Chesterton was the first president. Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Hugh Walpole, Margery Allingham were all members.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"Those who say our thoughts are not our own because they resemble those of the Ancients may as well say our Faces are not our own because they resemble those of our fathers." -- Alexander Pope</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Brown study: state of deep thought, melancholy with deep thought, mental abstraction or serious reverie</li>
<li>Den: cave used for concealment, shelter, protection; lair of a wild animal; secluded room for study or relaxation</li>
<li>Fuligin: a color darker than black (Wolfe's <em>Shadow of the Torturer</em>) (from Italian for soot)</li>
<li>Ham-handed: clumsy, tactless, having large hands</li>
<li>Hamfisted: clumsy handed</li>
<li>Lector: reader (Latin)</li>
<li>Mountebank: one who mounts a public bench selling fake healing elixirs</li>
<li>Paramount: superior to all others; possessing the highest title, as lord paramount</li>
<li>Quillon: arm of a sword's cross-hilt</li>
<li>Sumpter: pack-horse</li>
</ul>
June 2022 Summary2022-06-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/06/30/1/june-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Lydia invented the character and song, "Booty Dickinson"</li>
<li>Closed on the house!</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Strong opinions loosely held: "strong" means be decisive, "loosely" means be humble and not trapped by ideology.</li>
<li>Barn owl is the creepy owl</li>
<li>What does it mean that the dominant American pop culture genre has shifted from western to superhero?</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">June 2022 Summary</h2>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/06/30/1/june-2022-summary/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Chris Coyier: <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2022/06/13/full-site-takeovers/">Full Site Takeovers</a></div></div>
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-06-13">13 Jun 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/06/30/1/june-2022-summary/20220613145127/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Chris Coyier: <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2022/06/01/identifying-plants-is-built-into-ios/">Identifying Plants is Built into iOS</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-06-01">01 Jun 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/06/30/1/june-2022-summary/20220601154350/">
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>Charlotte Mason said don't put educational devices like worksheets between students and books.</li>
<li>The teacher is not the arbiter of all knowledge and shouldn't make all the connections for the child.</li>
<li>The teacher should lead the child to the stream and let them drink, not pour water into their mouth through a funnel.</li>
<li>But: some things you must teach, like phonics. Reading aloud is "putting yourself between the child and a book".</li>
<li>An expert teacher is a living book. They should incite curiousity and lead them to make connections. The teacher can also learn with this method.</li>
<li>Don't teach mastery of a book, expecting the student to give you back information verbatim. Model the big ideas.</li>
<li>Remove obstacles between child and book: cultural assumptions, ignorance of form, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Wes Callihan
<ul>
<li>Starting with Homer, every epic has a bee simile.</li>
<li>Read aloud. Move your lips as you read. Until the Middle Ages, no one read silently.</li>
<li>Men are made in the image of God. Even unregenerate men have some truth, beauty, and goodness. Lies work when mixed with truth. "Plundering the Egyptians" is separating the truth from the lies.</li>
<li>It's not ad hominem to distrust an argument made by a moral argument.</li>
<li>Reading fiction is emotional boot camp.</li>
<li>Qualities a teacher should have
<ol>
<li>Love - for knowledge, subject, students</li>
<li>Growth - read books, exchange ideas</li>
<li>Curiousity - engine driving growth</li>
<li>Diversity of interests - intellectual, physical, skilled</li>
<li>Direction - short- and long-term goals</li>
<li>Humility - allows learning more, debt to tradition</li>
<li>Perspective - God is ultimate goal, telos</li>
<li>Praying</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Bishop Robert Barron
<ul>
<li>Theme of scripture is orthodoxy: right worship</li>
<li>Sin is bad praise - Cain, priests of Baal</li>
<li>When you are liberated from worshipping pleasures, you can really enjoy them. - Chesterton</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson
<ul>
<li>Trumpkin knew the difference between giving advice and taking orders. He also vowed to leave if ogres were invited to join the army.</li>
<li>Feudal lords protected vassals in exchange for loyalty.</li>
<li>King George didn't protect colonies from abuses of Parliament. He broke covenant and the colonies were legally justified in declaring independence.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Martin Cothran
<ul>
<li>Hardest part of writing a story: setting. The best writing is regional, authors who know a place and the plants and animals of that place.</li>
<li>A good writer know the most exciting place is "here".</li>
<li>The Western is America's great myth, to us what Homer was to the Greeks and Virgil was to the Romans.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Scholé Sisters
<ul>
<li>Clement of Alexandria said philosophy was to the Greeks what the Law was to the Jews. All wisdom leads to God and we need not fear it.</li>
<li>Amusement and entertainment is a refreshment. A good transition from work to scholé.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kelly Cumbee
<ul>
<li>Reads of the Divine Comedy:
<ol>
<li>Listen while reading along to 3 cantos at a time of Clive James's translation</li>
<li>Read 1 canto at a time of Sayers's translation: intro note, end notes, canto</li>
<li>Anthony Esolen's translation</li>
<li>Longfellow's translation</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>During the Napoleonic Era, you could buy your rank in the British army, but not the navy.</li>
<li>We know nothing about the architect of the Chartres cathedral.</li>
<li>"A man of letters" = read the great books</li>
<li>"Lit" = letter (Latin)</li>
<li>"Gram" = letter (Greek)</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"The detective story differs from every other story in this: that the reader is only happy if he feels a fool." -- G. K. Chesterton, "The Ideal Detective Story"</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Anthology: garland or bouquet (anthos = flower, logos = gather), collection of flowers of literature (beautiful passages)</li>
<li>Chancellor: director of chancery. Originally Roman emperor's chief scribe or secretary, gained judicial power, became a bishop's chief judge, became a high officer of a European state, "keeper of the great seal of the kingdom".</li>
<li>Chancery: English highest court next to Parliament, jurisdiction mostly equity; US court of equity</li>
<li>Goosecap: silly person</li>
<li>Scholé: leisurely, creative work, not done for profit</li>
<li>Sebaceous: pertaining to fat</li>
<li>Vizard: visor</li>
</ul>
May 2022 Summary2022-05-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Started learning bridge on an app</li>
<li>Fed the giraffes at the Birmingham Zoo</li>
<li>Offer to buy a house was accepted!</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>George Washington was an epic hero. John Adams was a romantic hero.</li>
<li>Aragorn was an epic hero. Sam was a romantic hero.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
<div class="stack cards">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://matthewstrom.com/writing/how-to-pick-the-least-wrong-colors/">How to pick the least wrong colors</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220531161108/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">May 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-31">31 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div>John Gruber: <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2022/05/why-this-computer-scientist-says-all-cryptocurrency-should-die-in-a-fire/">Nicholas Weaver: ‘Cryptocurrency Should “Die in a Fire”’</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-17">17 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220517001832/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://xkcd.com/2619/">Crêpe</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-13">13 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220513140108/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Chris Coyier: <a href="https://chriscoyier.net/2022/05/09/a-bona-fide-cornucopia-of-dearth/">A bona fide cornucopia of dearth.</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-10">10 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220510043753/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Seth S.: <a href="https://orthodoxdiary.com/2022/04/18/the-medieval-fetish/">The Medieval Fetish: Online Christians and the European Middle Ages</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-03">03 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220503221213/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Larry Sanger: <a href="https://larrysanger.org/2022/05/if-truth-is-complex-why-is-fact-checking-so-simplistic/">If Truth Is Complex, Why Is Fact-Checking So Simplistic?</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-02">02 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/31/1/may-2022-summary/20220502221839/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">April 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
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<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-05-01">01 May 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/">
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</div>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Jonathan and Mathieu Pageau, What is Symbolism?
<ul>
<li>Symbols are not material and scientific, but also not personal and subjective. They are universal.</li>
<li>If you want people to care about your story, use universal symbols.</li>
<li>Symbols are inescapable. Scientists are mediators between heaven (theory) and earth (physical).</li>
<li>Patterns repeated at different level of reality.</li>
<li>You can abstract yourself out to do some physical study, but there are limits. Quantum: observers impact observations.</li>
<li>What does it mean, "go up into heaven"? Doesn't mean float into space. Can't interpret materialistically.</li>
<li>Dante says the cosmology of spheres is a condescension of heavenly reality.</li>
<li>"Earth" meant matter. When we realized there was matter outside earth, we split those terms. Word meanings shift.</li>
<li>"Jonah didn't get swallowed by a whale, because the Bible says it was a fish, and whales aren't fish." Definition changed.</li>
<li>Snake in the garden is a symbol of time. Time is the cause of transformation. Time is change. Cyclical transformation of things to their opposites. Not a metaphor. The snake caused a change.</li>
<li>Symbols are not metaphors and not arbitrary.</li>
<li>Symbols are more important that "what really happened".</li>
<li>The Bible is communicating truth, not history.</li>
<li>The Flood, the Red Sea, the Rubicon, the Deleware: crossing water to symbolize change of power. Doesn't mean Washington didn't cross the Deleware, but the symbol is more important than the "fact". Arguing if it happened misses the point.</li>
<li>It's okay if some Bible stories are fictional.</li>
<li>Symbolism is the union of fact and meaning.</li>
<li>Modernism isn't disenchantment: it is deincarnation, the splitting of the physical and spiritual.</li>
<li>Scientists care about theory and fact, and so are best at preserving the union. But they are materialists, so theory is not real.</li>
<li>Mathematical pattern is more real and universal than any observable fact.</li>
<li>Criteria for a real symbol/connection: exactly the same as determining valid science.
<ul>
<li>Consistent: works everywhere</li>
<li>Comprehensive: many examples (if it's fundamental, it will appear many times)</li>
<li>Insightful: gives more understanding instead of just a code for something else
<ul>
<li>Symbols are meant to reveal, not hide</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Orthodox Diary
<ul>
<li>Moderns simplify medieval Christendom, overly-demonize modernism</li>
<li>Crusades were not wholly bad or good</li>
<li>Wokeism is moral absolutism, not relativism</li>
<li>If Aquinas is Catholicism, Catholicism started in the 13th century</li>
<li>Catholicism is a response to Protestantism</li>
<li>Great Schism didn't change much in practice</li>
<li>"Much of the Catholic 'development of doctrine' that occurred after Thomas Aquinas and especially after the Reformation is an attempt to grapple with emergent modernity."</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>Epic hero is semi-divine, fated for greatness, withstands the gods. Romantic hero is everyman, set apart by character not birth.</li>
<li>World War I was caused by Christian, classically-educated leaders. You still need virtue.</li>
<li>Since all knowledge is connected, there is no such thing as a sidetrack.</li>
<li>Picaresque is a wandering journey, not a quest.</li>
<li>Stories don't work mechanistically. You don't become a murderer by reading murder mysteries. Not everyone that reads the Bible becomes virtuous.</li>
<li>Modern Christians say we need to take sin more seriously: medievals said we take sin and ourselves to seriously. We should laugh at evil, like we do at Mr. Toad.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cindy Rollins
<ul>
<li>Will reading about bad characters make children bad? Too late, they're already bad.</li>
<li>The Bible isn't a character study.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Bryce Young: Everyone is in Adam or Christ: a child cannot be un-elect and in Christ.</li>
<li>Alastair Roberts: Baptism compared to a wedding, a coronation, an adoption</li>
<li>Thomas Banks: If books can save your soul, Jesus should have become a novelist.</li>
<li>Peter Zeihan via Doug Wilson: The US has 17 thousand miles of navigable rivers. The rest of the world combined has 16 thousand.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"How did a magical, spiritualist, mesmerized Europe ever convince itself that it was disenchanted?" -- Jason Ānanda Josephson-Storm</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Amble: horse gait where both legs on side move at the same time</li>
<li>Avuncular: pertaining to an uncle</li>
<li>Bilious: pertaining to bile; disordered in bile; choleric, irascible, irritable, angry</li>
<li>Cantle: to cut in pieces</li>
<li>Grabass: horseplay</li>
<li>Hassock: stuffed cushion or footstool</li>
<li>Humor: moisture; four ancient humors:
<ul>
<li>Blood: ardent (sanguine)</li>
<li>Phlegm: watery, sluggish, indifferent (phlegmatic)</li>
<li>Yellow bile: irritable (choleric)</li>
<li>Black bile: gloomy (melancholic) (melan (melanin, malice) + choly (cholic))</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Marmoreal: pertaining to marble</li>
<li>Nadir: lowest point, opposite of zenith</li>
<li>Patrimony: right or estate inherited from father or ancestor</li>
<li>Riparian: pertaining to a river</li>
<li>Sanguine: having the color of blood, red; characterized by abundant and active blood, warm, ardent</li>
<li>Spangle: small metal ornamental plate; therefore, any little thing that sparkles</li>
<li>Tussock: dense tuft of grass</li>
<li>Yawl: small ship's boat; to howl</li>
</ul>
April 2022 Summary2022-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Article with Dad's interview published in Defense Times: <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/04/05/heres-the-new-name-of-the-us-air-forces-next-gen-nuke/">Here’s the new name of the US Air Force’s next-gen nuke</a></li>
<li>First church Wednesday night supper</li>
<li>Attended first Literary Life Conference</li>
<li>First communion by intinction on Maundy Thursday</li>
<li>Easter!</li>
<li>Melissa had two kidney stones</li>
<li>According to the DNA test, Dad is 1/4 English. Probably from his maternal grandmother, Ella May Risser.</li>
</ul>
<h2>News</h2>
<ul>
<li>I'm still mad Tom Brady and Sean Payton are not Dolphins.</li>
<li>Eagles drafted Jordan Davis, traded for AJ Brown.</li>
<li>Sixers eliminated Raptors.</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Of all denominations, Baptists place the greatest importance on the method of baptism, and the lowest importance on the effect of baptism.</li>
<li>Great events don't create great men, they reveal them. The man was formed in a hundred small ways before the apotheosis.</li>
<li>Nothing kindles generousity in me as much as a meeting request for next week.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
<div class="stack cards">
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">Mathematics for the Nonmathemetician - Chapter 2</h2>
<p></p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-30">30 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/04/30/1/mathematics-for-the-nonmathemetician-chapter-2/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.christinenorvell.com/blog/on-teaching-poetry">On Teaching Poetry</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-29">29 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/20220429010212/">
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</article>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Jared Longshore: <a href="https://jaredrlongshore.com/2022/04/26/a-follow-up-to-the-white-wilson-paedocommunion-debate/">A Follow Up to the White / Wilson Paedocommunion Debate</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-26">26 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/20220426180905/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</article>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.circeinstitute.org/blog/why-we-need-frog-and-toad-more-ever">Why We Need Frog And Toad More Than Ever</a></div></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-19">19 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/20220419023608/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/155-potty-training">№ 155 Potty Training</a><p>Melissa's ten best tips for potty training your little tyke. Recorded on Maundy Thursday, but not posted until Easter because of a kidney stone attack! Pray Melissa passes it soon.</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-17">17 Apr 2022</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-podcast h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/154-movies-2021">№ 154 Movies 2021</a><p>Only one-third of the way through 2022 before we talk movies we saw in 2021! That's okay, we talked about most of these in November after we did our scary movie list. You can probably skip this one, to be honest. Unless you want to hear Brian's theory on how No Country for Old Men is a hopeful movie.</p></div>
<div class="card-sidebar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/ttocdn.koser.us/img/logo-album.png" /><div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-08">08 Apr 2022</time></div></div></article><p></p>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.lavocedinewyork.com/en/arts/2021/10/13/penguins-new-translation-of-pinocchio-aims-to-recapture-collodis-original/">Penguin’s New Translation of Pinocchio Aims to Recapture Collodi’s Original</a></div></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-08">08 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/20220408013745/">
<svg class="icon icon-url" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/04/05/heres-the-new-name-of-the-us-air-forces-next-gen-nuke/">Here’s the new name of the US Air Force’s next-gen nuke</a></div></div>
<div class="card-sidebar">
<div class="card-author">
<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#male-user-1"></use>
</p></svg> Brian</div>
<div class="card-date">
<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
<p><use href="/img/orion/orion-svg-sprite.svg#time-1"></use>
</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-07">07 Apr 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/05/01/1/april-2022-summary/20220407143818/">
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</div>
</article>
<article class="box card sidebar-card card-article brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">March 2022 Summary</h2>
<p></p></div>
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<svg class="icon icon-male-user" width="0.75em" height="0.75em">
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<svg class="icon icon-time" width="0.75em" height="0.75em"><p></p>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-04-01">01 Apr 2022</time></div>
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Angelina Stanford:
<ul>
<li>Literature won't lead us to virtue. Literature is meant to develop a moral imagination.</li>
<li>Stories don't exist for characters. Characters exist for images and metaphors.</li>
<li>Nature also gives us symbols ("the book of nature").</li>
<li>Teachers as just facilitators of discussion is modern and wrong.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Seth Studer:
<ul>
<li>Moderns divided flesh from thought, "inventing" the mind. Also invented time as a sequence; progress and regress; linear narrative; character development; division between history and myth, natural and supernatural, fact and fiction; universe instead of cosmos.</li>
<li>Believed physical things are allegories for higher objects.</li>
<li>Believed God's existence was self-evident.</li>
<li>Crusades were military campaigns for spiritual and financial profit. Atrocities were similar to other contemporary wars. Offensive not defensive, because Muslims held the Holy Land for 500 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cindy Rollins:
<ul>
<li>Don't make children judge literature characters.</li>
<li>Modern education makes children the judge of morality: what do you think? What would you do?</li>
<li>"It's all about the relationship" is wrong because relationship doesn't exist in a vaccuum.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Ben De Bono:
<ul>
<li>The flaw of postmodernism is not claiming untruth, but claiming a truth and denying all other truths. (For example, reader response does matter to literary analysis, but so does authorial intent.)</li>
<li>Diversity and equity are opposites.</li>
<li>Communism and capitalism destroy diversity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Thomas Banks:
<ul>
<li>When Dickens died, a little girl stopped Trollope in the street and asked if Father Christmas would die, too.</li>
<li>E. M. Forster kept a complete set of Jane Austen's books in every room of his house.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Vigen Goroian:
<ul>
<li>The ugly duckling experiences what C. S. Lewis called "sehnsucht": non-utilitarian longing for inherent good, sadness to be separated from it, and joy when the longing is fulfilled.</li>
<li>The ugly duckling was always a swan; his transformation is to become more of a swan. Contrast with the Frog Prince and the Beast, humans changed to and from animal form.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>C. S. Lewis, "On the Reading of Old Books":
<ul>
<li>Classics are readable because great writers write clearly.</li>
<li>Old books are wrong, but they're wrong in ways we know, unlike books from the present, which are wrong in ways we don't yet know.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson: Fight like cavaliers, not like thugs.</li>
<li>Giles Frasier: Education is like friendship, something that is valuable in and of itself, and not for what else can be gained by it.</li>
<li>Northrop Frye: the only question you should ask an elementary student about a story: what does this remind you of?</li>
<li>John Williamson Nevin: Reformation did not take the Church back to the fourth century. It's a continuation of Catholic Christianity.</li>
<li>Robert Alter: humans are both the "zenith and nadir" of the cosmos.</li>
<li>Charlotte Mason: education is the science of relations</li>
<li>Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles were only split into two books each because they couldn't fit on a single scroll.</li>
<li>Bestiary is "A treatise on beasts; esp., one of the moralizing or allegorical beast tales written in the Middle Ages."</li>
<li>The medieval cycle of fables featuring the character Reynard the Fox became so popular, the "renard" replaced the previous French word for "fox".
<ul>
<li>Other characters were Isengrim the Wolf, Tibert the Cat, Noble the Lion, Bruin the Bear, Grimbard the Badger, Baldwin the Donkey, Kyward the Hare, Chanticleer the Rooster, Bellin the Ram, and Martin the Ape.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevinism">Kevinism</a> is German prejudice against trendy Anglo names such as Kevin.</li>
<li>There's an area outside of Dublin called, "the Pale". Hence, "beyond the pale".</li>
<li>Explorer John Cabot had a son named Sebastian.</li>
<li>King James I wanted his title to be, King of Great Britain. Parliament thwarted his attempted legal union with Scotland.
<ul>
<li>He thought witches attempted to drown him by conjuring storms while he sailed home from Denmark in 1589.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Argue like you're right and listen like you're wrong.</li>
<li>Edwardian tradition: name firstborn (son?) after mother's maiden name</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"We hunger to inquire of each other, to compare notes and assure ourselves that it was all really true, as one by one the scents and sounds and names of long-forgotten places come gradually back and beckon to us." --Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows</li>
<li>"Roe was also the abortion of marriage--although it took a few decades for Obergefell to put the clown nose on it." --Doug Wilson</li>
<li>"The acquisition of knowledge always involves the revelation of ignorance--almost is the revelation of ignorance." --Wendell Berry</li>
<li>"Vocabulary in communication is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." --Mark Twain</li>
<li>"[The Bloomsbury Group] lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles." --Dorothy Parker</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Apotheosis: deification, glorification, exaltation</li>
<li>Atavism: resemblance to remote rather than near ancestors</li>
<li>Badinage: banter</li>
<li>Deasil: clockwise (before clocks existed)</li>
<li>Enormous: exceeding the usual rule, norm, or measure; out of due proportion; inordinate; abnormal (Latin: out of rule)</li>
<li>Groat: old English silver coin</li>
<li>March: borderland</li>
<li>Marquis: sentinel and defender of a march</li>
<li>Massif: dominant part of a mountain range</li>
<li>Scarp: slope of the ditch nearest the parapet</li>
<li>Tawdry: bought at the festival of St. Audrey; very fine and showy in colors without tast or elegance; cheap and gaudy</li>
<li>Widdershins: counter-clockwise</li>
</ul>
Mathematics for the Nonmathemetician - Chapter 22022-04-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/04/30/1/mathematics-for-the-nonmathemetician-chapter-2/<h2>Chapter 2 - A Historical Orientation</h2>
<p>China's math was not extensive or influential.</p>
<p>Egyptian priests may have known that the 365-day Egyptian calendar was short a quarter of a day and kept it a secret.</p>
<p>Egyptians and Babylonians did only basic math. What about the pyramids? "A cabinet-maker need not be a mathemetician."</p>
<p>Greeks created new branches of culture: "philosophy, pure science, applied science, political thought and institutions, history writing, almost all literary forms except fictional prose". Their biggest contribution was the elevation of reason. Math only advanced after applying reason.</p>
<p>Romans were practical and didn't spend time on theory (math vs science, philosophers vs engineers).</p>
<p>Arabs contributed little. They incorporated Hindu Indian concepts, which they developed from contact with Greece.</p>
<p>Turks captured Eastern Roman Empire, causing Greek scholars to flee with manuscripts to Europe.</p>
<p>Gauss invented non-Euclidean geometry, with different axioms. Later supported by general relativity. "With the truth of mathematics undermined, realms of philosophy, science, and even some religious beliefs went up in smoke." One step away from a "Carl Gauss DESTROYS Priest" YouTube video. I'm skeptical and wish Kline provided examples.</p>
<p>"Although most Greeks did believe that mathematics existed independently of human beings as the planets and mountains seem to, and that all human beings do is discover more and more of the structure, the prevalent belief today is that mathematics is entirely a human product." Believing math exists independently from humans has been called the "romance of mathematics". The problem to be solved by those who reject it: the "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics". We have developed math that has led to physics theories that were later verified by observation. If math is just a human tool, how can it predict physics that we have not observed?</p>
March 2022 Summary2022-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/04/01/1/march-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Day trip to McKay's Books and the Nashville Zoo</li>
<li>First month in our Sunday School teaching rotation</li>
<li>Grilled shrimp for poboys</li>
<li>Watched <em>Star Wars</em> with Lydia</li>
<li>First business trip in two years</li>
<li>Men's activity: first time at Top Golf ("keep your eye on the ball" is a cliché for a reason)</li>
<li>Memorized Donne's Holy Sonnet XIV</li>
<li>Three-day trip to Mobile to visit family and attend a work dinner</li>
</ul>
<h2>My Thoughts</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tanagers are beautiful birds.</li>
<li>There is a special joy in arguing minutia.</li>
<li>God told Moses to make cherubim on the side of the Ark of the Covenant: Moses knew what cherubim looked like.</li>
<li>Atheists argue that Christians are 99% atheist, and atheists believe in only one fewer god. That's like someone who believes that no one wrote the Shakespeare plays arguing that they believe in only one fewer author than the Shakespeare believer.</li>
<li>Moderns make a strong divide between fiction and non-fiction, but communication is never objective. The dryest history book's factions were filtered by the author.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Rod Dreher: <a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/disney-queers-children-says-disney-exec/">Disney Queers Children, Says Disney Exec</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/04/01/1/march-2022-summary/20220330064419/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2013/11/the-end-of-protestantism">The End of Protestantism | Peter J. Leithart</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-03-24">24 Mar 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/04/01/1/march-2022-summary/20220324211618/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>John Gruber: <a href="https://laurenhough.substack.com/p/a-question-for-lambda-literary?s=r">Author Lauren Hough Loses Lambda Prize Nomination After Suggesting People Read a Forthcoming Book Before They Condemn It</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/04/01/1/march-2022-summary/20220322152623/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">Mathematics for the Nonmathemetician - Chapter 1</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>ScottHambrick: <a href="https://www.scotthambrick.com/article/prepper-book-list/">Apocalypse book list</a></div></div>
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</p></svg> <time class="dt-published" datetime="2022-03-14">14 Mar 2022</time></div>
<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/04/01/1/march-2022-summary/20220314123508/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/153-flight-of-the-conchords-songs-feat-colten-jernigan">№ 153 Flight of the Conchords Songs FEAT. Colten Jernigan</a><p>Brian and special guest Colten Jernigan share their love of New Zealand comedy musical duo Flight of the Conchords by listening to their ten favorite songs.</p></div>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">February 2022 Summary</h2>
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<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Angelina Stanford
<ul>
<li>When he died, C. S. Lewis was considered the best-read man in the world.</li>
<li>Moderns see classics as museum pieces; medievals saw classics as living soil from which could grow new Christian culture.</li>
<li>Monks dies to preserve Homer, Virgil, Aristotle, and Plato.</li>
<li>C. S. Lewis said literature is not a line, but a circle. You need not read chronologically.</li>
<li>Let students make the literary connections.</li>
<li>No one in the Middle Ages read children's versions of Dante or Homer, they read the stories that prepared them for the classics.</li>
<li>Education is not a box to fill. Education is eyes to see.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Ben De Bono: Leaders must empower followers instead of making all their decisions.</li>
<li>Cindy Rollins
<ul>
<li>If Shakespeare and the other classics are elitist, why wouldn't you want to give them to your children (and as many children as possible)?</li>
<li>Charlotte Mason said self-consciousness is part of the Fall. We should never contribute to a child's self-consciousness.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Doug Wilson
<ul>
<li>You are saved by justification by faith. You are not saved by believing in justification by faith.</li>
<li>Catholics believe grace is infused, Protestants believe grace is imputed.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Pam Barnhill: A child is not a problem to be solved.</li>
<li>After World War II, American churches raised funds to help rebuild European churches by buying their shattered stained glass, which they used to make new windows.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Quotes</h2>
<ul>
<li>"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." -- Francis Bacon</li>
<li>"The greatest thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life--the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one's 'real life' is a phantom of one's own imagination." -- C. S. Lewis</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words</h2>
<ul>
<li>Lemniscate: figure-eight shape</li>
<li>Tintamar: uproar</li>
<li>Knickknackatory: collection of knickknacks</li>
</ul>
Mathematics for the Nonmathemetician - Chapter 12022-03-18T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/03/18/1/mathematics-for-the-nonmathemetician-chapter-1/<p>I'm reading through Morris Kline's 1967 book <em>Mathematics for the Nonmathemetician</em>. I got a math minor in college, eking through two semesters of calculus, but would like a refresher both for personal improvement and for the eventual education of the children. This won't be in-depth explanations, but notes on whatever I find interesting.</p>
<h2>Chapter 1 - Why Study Math?</h2>
<p>Mathematics is difficult to define. Kline's attempt is: mathematics is what mathemetics does. It concerns the work of reason, primarily to study nature. We study nature to understand nature, fulfilling intellectual curiousity (and I would say, as part of the dominion mandate and the journey to become as human as possible).</p>
<p>It's practical purpose is to aid science. It also aids art, particularly music.</p>
<p>It helps us acquire truth and has affected our philosophy and religion (although Kline admits to not having a final answer on what truth is, or how it is acquired.)</p>
February 2022 Summary2022-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>I'm all in on Bullet Journaling. Still exporting from Google Calendar, Trello, and Bear notes.</li>
<li>Taught Lydia the rules of chess.</li>
<li>First hike with Suzy. All six of us went up and down Rainbow Mountain for a couple hours.</li>
<li>Continued juggling. Already met 2022 goal by juggling 3 balls for 1 min 6 sec.</li>
</ul>
<h2>News</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tom Brady retired</li>
<li>Washington Commanders lol</li>
<li>Simmons, Curry, Drummond for Harden</li>
<li>Russia attacked Ukraine</li>
</ul>
<h2>Words and Phrases</h2>
<ul>
<li>Preposterous: with the hinder part before (Latin)</li>
<li>Much of a muchness: similar (British)</li>
<li>Snickersnee: large knife</li>
<li>Solemn: marked with religious rites and pomps</li>
</ul>
<h2>Ideas</h2>
<ul>
<li>Determine which environment to deploy to with a pachinko machine.</li>
<li>SSA: It's Ass Backwards™</li>
<li>How is a key like a thundercloud? They both shoot bolts.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>The two major fairy tale plot structures (separation and reunion of husband/wife or parent/child) are present in the Gospel: the Father is reunited with His children, the Bride is reunited with Christ. (Literary Life podcast)</li>
<li>Medievals didn't become Greek or Roman, they synthesized and expanded. (Online Great Books podcast #148)</li>
<li>Constraints are enabling: cars, art, marriage.</li>
<li>Documentaries and textbooks are secondary sources. (Scholé Sisters podcast)</li>
<li>Language has historically been and should be the center of education, not history. (Angelina Stanford)</li>
<li>History is not beautiful. Language is beautiful. (Stanford)</li>
<li>Myths, fables, fairy tales, Bible stories are the gateway to the Great Books. (Stanford)</li>
<li>Classics say society is man writ large. Moderns say man is society writ small. (New Humanists podcast #8)</li>
<li>If we are just cause and effect machines, reason is an illusion. (New Humanists #8)</li>
<li>Plutarch and Herodotus made some distinction between myth and reality (e.g. Plutarch wrote there was no proof Lycurgus existed)</li>
<li>Hammurabi's and Draco's law codes prescribed death for every crime. The Mosaic Law was more lenient toward petty crimes.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Writing, Links, Podcasts</h2>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Ryan McCormick: <a href="https://mereorthodoxy.com/christian-historiography-and-american-history/">Christian Historiography and American History</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/20220224121456/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="http://robinrendle.com/notes/webster%E2%80%99s-1913/">Webster’s 1913</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/20220222004320/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">Humanity in the First Dune Trilogy</h2>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/02/08/1/humanity-in-the-first-dune-trilogy/">
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<article class="box card sidebar-card card-feedbin brian h-entry">
<div class="card-content e-content"><div><a href="https://www.c82.net/work?id=388">Iconographic Encylopædia</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/20220206204305/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><a href="https://tto.koser.us/152-books-2021">№ 152 Books 2021</a><p>We didn't read 100, but we did read some books in 2021. Here are our favorites and least favorites.</p></div>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Scott Postma: <a href="https://scottpostmawrites.com/2022/02/02/dont-ask-your.html">null</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/20220203031434/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Larry Sanger: <a href="https://larrysanger.org/2022/02/on-a-philosopher-defending-pedophilia/">On a Philosopher Defending Pedophilia</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-url small-caps"><a href="https://koser.us/articles/2022/03/01/1/february-2022-summary/20220202050236/">
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<div class="card-content e-content"><div>Noah Diekemper: <a href="https://mereorthodoxy.com/the-case-for-rearranging-the-old-testament-books/">The Case for Rearranging the Old Testament Books</a></div></div>
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<div class="card-content e-content"><h2 class="h3">January 2022 Summary</h2>
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</div>Humanity in the First Dune Trilogy2022-02-08T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/02/08/1/humanity-in-the-first-dune-trilogy/<p><strong>Major spoilers for <em>Dune</em>, <em>Dune Messiah</em>, and <em>Children of Dune</em>.</strong></p>
<p>The series starts with the gom jabbar, a painful test of humanity. Humans will suffer for a cause: animals have no concept of the future, but humans will endure pain for a future benefit. Gaius Helen Mohiam's example is an animal caught in a trap chewing off its limb to escape; a human would stay in the trap to kill the trapper and protect their kith.</p>
<p>In <em>Dune</em>, Duke Leto is human. When caught in a trap (Yueh), he attempts to kill his trapper (Baron Harkonnen).</p>
<p>The Baron is the least human: he indulges in pleasure to an unhealthy degree, refusing to suffer for even his own future good.</p>
<p>The Fremen are the most human. They bear the pain of Arrakis for the future reward of Paradise.</p>
<p>In <em>Dune Messiah</em>, the tragedy of Paul's victory is that he made the Fremen less human. No suffering, no humanity.</p>
<p>In <em>Children of Dune</em>, Leto II sees the future and the necessity of the Golden Path: humanity must stop suffering for so long that they learn for all time that suffering is essential to humanity. Leto is more human than Paul, as he's willing to walk the Golden Path, suffering for a future benefit. Ironically, this requires that he reduce suffering and become less human himself.</p>
<p>I predict that the end of the Golden Path will be reached at the end of <em>God Emperor of Dune</em>. Leto will give humanity a goal that they must suffer to accomplish, restoring humanity to the Fremen and elevating the other subjects of the empire.</p>
January 2022 Summary2022-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/02/01/1/january-2022-summary/<p>I'm giving bullet journaling another try. After one month, I think it's going to stick. I don't miss the digital benefits like I did 10 or so years ago.</p>
<p>I'm also going to try sharing highlights for each month here.</p>
<h2>Personal</h2>
<ul>
<li>Started bullet journaling</li>
<li>Fourth daughter was born! Susanna Carol Koser, named for her grandmothers.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Projects</h2>
<ul>
<li>Started a project related to Lancelot Andrewes's daily prayers. Step one is to get a transcript.</li>
<li>Started learning to juggle. Best to date is 3 balls for 10 seconds.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<ul>
<li>Experts have narrow knowledge. Generalists have broad knowledge. Leaders should be generalists. (Haywood)</li>
<li>Modern man is too abstract, always imagining what they look like on camera. (Jason Farley)</li>
<li>Be incarnational (Swait)</li>
<li>Cain spilled Abel's blood on the ground. The blood called to God from the ground. Cain's punishment is banishment from the ground.</li>
<li>Hidden education assumptions: must meet 5 days a week, must separate by age, teach to the middle, different teachers and rooms for different subjects (Rusty Olps, Digressio podcast #7)</li>
<li>The best things in life are useless. (Karl Schudt, Online Great Books Podcast #49)</li>
<li>Western music is tension, then release--starting from a note, moving away, then returning to the starting note. Comedy is tension and release--setup and punchline. (Karl Schudt and Jimmy Carr, different times and places but serendipitously heard by me the same week.)</li>
<li>Shakespeare's only original play was his last, The Tempest. Originality in story telling is a modern preoccupation. (Literary Life Podcast, Intro to Shakespeare and Midsummer Night's Dream)</li>
<li>Tragedy arc is shaped like a frown (∩); comedy arc is shaped like a smile (∪). (Ibid)</li>
<li>Wodehouse wrote Roman comedies. (Ibid)</li>
<li>Pagan literature was mostly tragic. Christian literature, comic. Deep comedy is when the end is better than the beginning. History is a deep comedy: from the Garden to the City. (Ibid)</li>
<li>Spenser was the first to synthesize Greek myth and fairy tales (Shakespeare and Lewis followed). (Ibid)</li>
<li>Original biggest days of the Christian calendar: Christmas (winter solstice) and the Feast of St. John the Baptist (summer solstice). (Northrop Frye, Ibid)</li>
<li>Puns are the comedy of words; irony is the tragedy of words. (Harold Goddard, Ibid)</li>
<li>Fairy tales start with:
<ol>
<li>Bride and bridegroom are separated, reunited at the end.</li>
<li>Parent and child are separated, reunited at the end.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Comedy ends in a wedding, feast, or dance. (Ibid)</li>
<li>Kepler: "I was merely thinking God's thoughts after him."</li>
<li>Circumcized Israelites were in the covenant, but still needed to believe by faith. Baptized Christians are in the covenant, but still need to believe by faith?</li>
</ul>
The Bear2022-01-08T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2022/01/08/1/the-bear/<pre>The bear is all covered in hair
And eats and cheats in his own way
And sometimes goes astray.
But he doesn't like us very much
And also doesn't like to be touched.</pre>Brian's 2021 Year In Review2021-12-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/12/31/1/2021-year-in-review/<p>First time doing one of these Years in Review! I'm subtitling 2021, "Restart".</p>
<h2>Life</h2>
<p>COVID-19 was still a thing, but by the end of the year, it's direct effect on us was close to none. I continued to work from home, and now have an office!</p>
<p>I dropped my phone in a lawn mower and couldn't get it replaced for a couple months. It's a long story...but the upside is I broke the habit of checking my phone incessantly.</p>
<p>We moved from southern Alabama to northern Alabama. New church, new friends, new adventures.</p>
<p>I got heavy into Christian classical education as we started our first grade homeschool with Lydia.</p>
<h2>Articles I Wrote</h2>
<p>Only wrote one article this year, based on a presentation I gave at work on <a href="https://koser.us/articles/2021/08/19/1/astro-static-sites-30/">Astro static sites</a>.</p>
<h2>Favorite Articles I Read</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210325095900/">Thoughts on Narrative Framing Devices</a> by Chris Gerwel</li>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210321171400/">Which type of novelty-seeking web developer are you?</a> by Baldur Bjarnason</li>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210426160800/">How to Write Things people actually want to read</a> by James Sinclair</li>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210525172100/">Embrace the Grind</a> by Jacob Kaplan-Moss</li>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210704095700/">Own the Tools</a> by David Cain</li>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210922062215/">Fertility And Humanity’s Failure</a> by Rod Dreher</li>
</ul>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<p>My biggest contribution to the world was <a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210427131500/">Koser's Theory of Leftovers</a>: At midnight, leftovers are redistributed evenly.</p>
<p><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20211013111100/">I wrote some APIs, which were correct 200% of the time.</a></p>
<p>My broinlaw Josh introduced me to this <a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210426153900/">Starburst Berries and Cream</a> ad. As much as I was in to silly commercials in college, I have no idea how this one escaped my notice.</p>
<h2>Books</h2>
<p>Stay tuned for a podcast episode on my 2021 books (coming January)</p>
<h2>Film</h2>
<p>Stay tuned for a podcast episode on our 2021 films (coming January)</p>
<h2>Podcasts</h2>
<p>We recorded only 14 episodes for <a href="https://tto.koser.us/">Ten to One</a> this year, but we did appear on 10+ episodes of <a href="http://thescifichristian.com/">The Sci-Fi Christian</a>.</p>
<p>Listening-wise, I got into a bunch of classical Christian education podcasts: Consortium Podcast, The Everlasting Education, Digressio Podcast, and New Humanists. All recommended.</p>
<h2>Metrics</h2>
<ul>
<li>Unique books read: 1173</li>
<li>Books to read: 713</li>
<li>Books to reread: 83</li>
<li>Podcast episodes to listen to: 83</li>
<li>Podcasts to start if I get caught up on the ones I'm already subscribed to: 12</li>
<li>Github koser.us issues: 97</li>
</ul>
<h2>2022</h2>
<p>I'm going to stop tracking metrics that, on reflection, I don't really care about, like how many to do tasks I'm accomplishing.</p>
<p>Fewer goals, but build some daily and weekly habits with longterm effects, like reading a poem every day.</p>
<p>Continue developing our homeschool curriculum, and create a web page for it.</p>
<p>Be more social. Basically I need to cultivate more male friendships to offset the upcoming addition of another baby girl to the house. :)</p>
<p><a href="https://koser.us/notes/20210611110700/">Spend more time outside.</a></p>
Power through Naming2021-10-11T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/10/11/1/power-through-naming/<h2>SLOB</h2>
<p>I wake up feeling exhausted, sore, and old (I’m only 32). My kids have been asking me for about 20 minutes to get up and fix their breakfast, so I finally drag myself out of bed. I put on the clothes I wear every day, a t-shirt and some shorts. As I comb my hair and brush my teeth, I gaze at the pale skin on my face, the bags under my eyes, the lifeless cheeks and lips. I sigh and trudge to the kitchen.</p>
<h2>LAZY</h2>
<p>There are only eggs to eat since I didn’t plan ahead properly. The sink and counter are full of dishes, with food fossilizing on them from the last five days. I better wash some today, or I won’t have any clean dishes to cook dinner with.</p>
<h2>DISORDERED</h2>
<p>After breakfast we get ready for school. To make space for my husband and kids, I move the clean laundry pile that has been immobile for two days to a different part of the couch. I make a mental note for the next time I go upstairs: take out the load that’s still in the dryer, and wash and dry two more loads so we’ll have something to wear tomorrow.</p>
<h2>PROCRASTINATOR</h2>
<p>My two oldest children ask me if I’ve finished fixing some dearly beloved broken toys; I snap irritably that I haven’t, but that they’ll be the first to know. The damage occurred weeks ago, but they still ask me every day and receive the same answer.</p>
<h2>TYRANT</h2>
<p>The baby later comes by screaming and pointing at the cereal box, demanding that it be her snack. I yell back that she needs to have a healthy snack since we had some sugar earlier, and anyway she should have asked nicely.</p>
<h2>QUITTER</h2>
<p>After dinner I leave all the crumbs on the floor around the table. I’ve already swept four times today, and there will just be more added first thing at breakfast tomorrow.</p>
<h2>LOSER</h2>
<p>Once the kids are in bed I crave forgetfulness and oblivion, so I spend the next 2 hours scrolling through Facebook and Pinterest. I eventually lose interest and flip through a novel, but can’t muster any real desire for even this slight productivity.</p>
<h2>UNLOVING</h2>
<p>As I shower I remember some “thinking of you” notes, unwritten and unsent to my family members, and with a sinking heart I realize today was the deadline those notes were needed.</p>
<h2>FAILURE</h2>
<p>At the end of the day, I am a failure. Can’t keep a clean house, even though I stay home all day; on the days I could, I instead waste time. I want my kids to know I love them, but I don’t show them by fixing what’s really important to them. I want them to grow into emotionally and mentally stable adults, but proceed to lose my temper with them. And what good am I as a friend, when I can’t even do right by my family? For that matter, when was the last time I really put any effort into my relationship with my husband? I’m a waste of space as a person. What’s the point of me and my life?</p>
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<p>These have been my thoughts many a night. I finally broke down and bewailed my worthlessness to my husband. His response: “You bear God’s image. You’re special to Him, and He loves you. I love you, and your family loves you.” And he hugged me as long as I needed.</p>
<p>As I rolled over to go to sleep, a truth from sci-fi and fantasy books presented itself with sudden clarity: names have power. I am the wretch described above; but I am also more.</p>
<p>I may be a slob compared to some women, but I am <strong>PRACTICAL</strong>. Wearing nice clothes would be ludicrous while washing dishes, cooking dinner, washing clothes, changing diapers, and cleaning the house. I certainly have good hygiene—when it comes to my body, it stays clean. I don’t put on makeup because there’s not really time for more than the basics of good hygiene in the morning, and anyway it would get rubbed off throughout the day on furniture or clothing as I play with the kids. Ditto for putting my hair in an updo. I’m going to be less harsh in judging my appearance.</p>
<p>I am lazy; not gonna sugarcoat that one. But I’m also <strong>RESTING</strong>. When I’m tired my body starts shutting down, turning any task I’m performing into a difficult chore that takes 2-3 times as long. If I wait a day or two until I have the energy, I can complete the task much more efficiently and cheerfully. And since I’m my own manager, I’m going to stop caring that my house isn’t run like “everyone else’s.” I’m performing according to my strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>I am disordered, but I’m <strong>IMPROVING</strong>. Disorder comes naturally out of having 3 kids under the age of 6, but each night I strive to have every toy belonging to the children put away. I encourage them to put things away as soon as they’re done with them, and I apply that rule to myself. The laundry may sit a couple days on the couch, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting the whole house fall to ruin either. And in my room at least, I’m doing my very best to keep my stuff tidy and neat.</p>
<p>Procrastination goes hand-in-hand with laziness, so there’s a lot of truth here. But I do <strong>REPAIR</strong> things. Much gets broken in a house with kids, and some of it is more pressing than another broken toy. There are pages torn out of books, holes torn in clothes, screws taken out of furniture, dishes shattered, carpet torn up, shoe racks falling apart, and on and on. And my kids aren’t demons, just ordinary kids. Heck, even my husband and I break things. So it’s no wonder I don’t want to spend all my free time fixing stuff. Add to that my natural forgetfulness, and sometimes stuff stays broken awhile. But I do eventually get things fixed, and there is satisfaction in bringing back to life what I can. And the gratitude and love in my children’s eyes tells me that they forgive the wait.</p>
<p>I have a dreadful temper. I don’t recall having one before I had kids, but its presence is undeniable now. There are days I am a tyrant. But I am <strong>GROWING</strong>. I always apologize for yelling, and tell my children that losing control was wrong. I explain how their behavior made me want to respond wrongly, but that it doesn’t excuse my own misbehavior. I do not succeed every time with controlling my temper, but there is improvement. Wrong habits are easy to form, and difficult to break, but I will not give up trying to break this one.</p>
<p>I’m done feeling pitiful for not sweeping the crumbs up for the fifth time. There are times we need to recognize when to quit, and this is one of them. Plus, I’m <strong>PREGNANT</strong>. There’s only so much energy for each day; redoing the same task times infinity each day is unsustainable. I’ll feel like it tomorrow. Or I might have the kids sweep up their mess; they’re old enough.</p>
<p>I do seek the comfort of total oblivion far too often, but I’m <strong>HUMAN</strong>. Objects at rest tend to stay at rest, after all. One thing that has helped is to set a time limit on my mindless activities—10 minutes per day for Facebook and Pinterest each. By reserving a smaller time slot, I become more invested in the friends I read about, and more focused on the projects I want to start. Setting this cap has also forced me to begin looking elsewhere for mental pursuits—I’ve been doing research in several areas that interest me, and I’ve made some progress on projects I’ve long put off.</p>
<p>I don’t stay in touch with people like I should. But I am <strong>LOVING</strong>. It’s precisely because I do care about the different people in my life that I do reach out to them, even if it’s only once a year. Again, this area needs improvement. Yet again, that doesn’t mean I am heartless. I have the satisfaction of knowing that any promise I make to my friends and family I fulfill, because I love them.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, I am <strong>FORGIVEN</strong>. More than anyone else, my God and Savior loves and forgives me, in spite of knowing me better than anyone else.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, I am <strong>BLESSED</strong>. I have a husband who sees me at my worst, yet chooses to see the best in me (and helps me see it, too). My children think I’m the best mommy in the world, horns and all. My friends have yet to be scared off, so my luck still holds in that regard. There’s certainly room for improvement in the life of Melissa Koser; but there’s also room for <strong>GRACE</strong>.</p>
Astro: Static Sites 3.02021-08-19T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/08/19/1/astro-static-sites-30/<p>This month is my 8-year anniversary with <a href="https://github.com/briankoser/kotangent-jekyll/commit/5d0d8780a00a84b8cc63cb1a775bc6a9e989d7c5">static site generators</a>. I'm not using Jekyll anymore, so I don't have to buy a gift, right?</p>
<p>The static site <a href="https://css-tricks.com/a-look-at-building-with-astro/">hotness</a> right now is <a href="https://astro.build/blog/introducing-astro">Astro</a>, and it deserves the attention. The progression from 11ty et al. is big enough to warrant a "3.0" moniker (writing HTML manually would be 1.0 and Jekyll until now is 2.0). I predict React and Vue at least will develop similar offerings (although maybe they think Next/Nuxt is close enough).</p>
<p>To learn Astro, I returned to my favorite technology learning method: create a deadline, create a project. The deadline was a Lunch and Learn at work, the project a fantasy football stats report demo. Check out the resulting <a href="https://slides.com/bkoser/deck-08fbdf/">slide deck</a> and <a href="https://github.com/briankoser/fantasy-football-report-astro">code</a>.</p>
<h2>Astro is good</h2>
<p>This is how I want to build websites. It's the <a href="https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/leastPower.html">Rule of Least Power</a> in project form. It's progressive enhancement baked into a framework. My personal projects are almost completely static...almost. JavaScript inevitably creeps in, and that's now okay.</p>
<p>Vue sold me on the component model. Grouping code by feature instead of file type makes the project easier to understand, which is more maintainable.</p>
<p>Almost everything feels intuitive (two exceptions, keep reading).</p>
<h2>It's not finished</h2>
<p>Now in my thirties, with three little girls and a fourth imminent, I'm too old for beta software.</p>
<p>I implemented my Collections demo page three times: once based on the docs, the second time based on a <a href="https://daily-dev-tips.com/posts/how-to-render-individual-pages-from-an-external-collection/">blog post</a> linked from a <a href="https://github.com/snowpackjs/astro/issues/973">Github issue</a>, and the third time based on the docs again because that was actually the new correct syntax. Then the day I gave my presentation, Collections were scrapped and replaced with <a href="https://github.com/snowpackjs/astro/issues/1004">Dynamic Paths</a>. Which looks good! But could possibly change again.</p>
<p>I also couldn't get components to work with the few chart libraries I'm auditioning (tune in this fall for "Koser's Next Top JavaScript Chart Library"!). That one is probably my fault. I thought I could slap on a <code>client:load</code> attribute and always have access to <code>document</code>, but I must be getting confused somewhere in the chain of:</p>
<p>JS browser module → node package → Astro component → hydrated Astro component</p>
<p>Last, when I tried to deploy the demo to Netlify, it failed. Probably easily fixed, but since I'm abandoning the project for now, not worth the time.</p>
<h2>setTimeout(useAstro, forNow);</h2>
<p>Those aren't real negatives, just negatives for me, today. Building software is iterative and Astro will be better for the changes. Heck, ten years ago when I had free time to spare, it wouldn't have been a big deal to me. Now I just want to use your product.</p>
<p>I won't be rewriting any existing projects in Astro for now (<a href="https://www.robinrendle.com/notes/2021-08-11-redesign-everything-broke/">like Robin did and regretted</a>). But I'll be ready, when Astro (or one of the <a href="https://slinkity.dev/">current</a> or future competitors) is ready.</p>
“Fulfilled” Motherhood2021-04-16T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/04/16/1/fulfilled-motherhood/<p>“Motherhood is difficult, but it’s so rewarding. It’s the most fulfilling job there is!”</p>
<p>I’ve reflected long and bitterly over this blithe, thoughtless statement when I’ve been locked in an endless cycle of dirty diapers, dirty dishes, dirty laundry, dirty unwashed hair, and kids that fight dirty. I’ve also reconsidered it when my children <em>finally</em> settled a dispute through talking (like I’ve been teaching them to for their whole lives!), rather than engaging in a pitched battle of Darwinism. I’ve accepted its truth when my 3-year-old <em>finally</em> went to sleep without some sort of tantrum at bedtime (after 1 year of hopelessness on our part).</p>
<p>Here’s the thing. Motherhood is fulfilling eventually, if you’ve done it right. Whoof! That’s an overwhelming thought. You need to model good behavior and emotional control for your kids every day, and have the humility to apologize and ask forgiveness when you blow it. Now do that for 5 years straight, sometimes through enormous amounts of stress, peer pressure, and exhaustion, and finally your children should not need your intervention perhaps twice a day (out of 400 needed times). Now do that for another 5 years, and watch your children’s needs start evolving overnight into more complicated and stressful problems. Rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>My goal with this is to remind those in the later stages envying (or laughing at!) the mother with “simpler problems” of how you hated hearing how fulfilled you should be feeling. All you remember are the sweet sleepy snuggles, the daily wildflower offerings, the excitement and joy and thrills at new experiences. The young, new mothers are enjoying those too, but time and age have not yet dimmed the difficulties of early child-raising.</p>
<p>I also intend this as a message of hope for those seeing the years stretch in an endless dark tunnel of whining and messes--buckle down and hang in there, it does get better. By 2 years old the baby will be feeding themselves much more cleanly; by 3 they can dress themselves and actually be helpful with simple chores (cleanup, folding laundry, some baking); by 4 they’re learning some emotional control.</p>
<p>Motherhood (all parenting, really) is either a lesson in patience, or a slow descent into madness if you refuse to learn. Galatians 5 tells us to not be weary in well doing; it promises that in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. But we want much more immediate results—days, weeks, months at most. Waiting years is hard, especially when you don't feel you have the control needed in your own life.</p>
<p>Step back now, and see how God is changing not just your children over the years; He’s changing you. Through daily decisions to stay calm in order to teach your children, you’re also being taught to grow as a person. Be patient. Patient during the 1,000th inane question; patient during the constant interruptions; patient when the children climb on you yet again though you’re all touched out; and patient when a grandmotherly stranger smiles fondly at your screaming child in the store and says, “Enjoy this stage; they grow up so fast.”</p>
Another Nursery Rhyme2021-03-09T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/03/09/1/another-nursery-rhyme/<pre>Lucy Lockett lost her mommy
Kitty Fisher found her.
Not any soul was in her
Only a dress around her.</pre>My Nursery Rhyme2021-02-03T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/02/03/1/my-nursery-rhyme/<pre>Little Tommy Tucker
Sings for his supper
What shall we give him?
Spread his butt with butter!</pre>Christmas Letter 20202021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2021/01/01/1/christmas-letter-2020/<p>Greetings friends and family! We have successfully made it through 2020 with all its surprises and turns.</p>
<p>January began with a bang: Melissa’s brother Michael and his family moved from California to Mobile! It was a blessing to be able to help through the hassle of moving across the country, finding a job, and moving into a new house.</p>
<p>Melissa taught a cooking class at our local homeschool co-op from January until the March lockdown. It was her first time teaching in a formal setting, but she feels that all things considered, she rocked it!</p>
<p>In February, we attended a stunning performance of Shen Yun by Chinese acrobats and dancers. It was a great date night; highly recommended if they travel to your city.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/shen-yun.jpg" alt="Shen Yun poster" />
<figcaption>5,000 Years of Civilization Reborn</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the coronavirus quarantine started in March, Brian switched to working at home full-time. With the increase in family time, we made fruit sushi, held a glow-in-the-dark party for Brian’s birthday, and made a zombie apocalypse video.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-04-29-work-from-home.jpg" alt="Brian wearing shirt, tie, jacket, and pajama pants" />
<figcaption>2020 work from home attire</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-03-26-fruit-sushi.jpg" alt="Fruit sushi" />
<figcaption>Fruit sushi</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<div class="iframe-container">
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/419277518?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479" width="3840" height="2160" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" title="Day ?? Coronavirus Quarantine"></iframe>
</div>
</figure>
<p>In May, Brian got Lasik, so he has been without eyeglasses and contacts for the first time in over 20 years!</p>
<p>Also in May, we saw family for the first time since the March outbreak. We rented a four-story mansion AirBnB with Brian's mom, most of his siblings, and their spouses for a week of billiards, swimming, movies, board games, and just catching up.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-05-28-airbnb.jpg" alt="Brian and Matt playing billiards" />
<figcaption>Billiards at the AirBNB</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first Saturday in June saw the inauguration of <a href="https://koser.us/articles/2020/06/06/1/koserstag-2020/">Koserstag</a>, a family holiday celebrating us! We decided on official food, traditions, dress, songs, and even art. It easily became a favorite holiday, and we can’t wait for it to come again in 2021!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-06-06-koserstag.jpg" alt="Kosers wearing hats to celebrate Koserstag" />
<figcaption>Happy Koserstag!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>June also featured Lydia's ballet recital and a cheese party where we sampled over 20 different cheeses with friends.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-06-08-ballet.jpg" alt="Lydia and Amber holding flowers after the ballet recital" />
<figcaption>Ballet dancers after the recital</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lydia requested a tea party for her birthday in September, attended by Amber, cousin Ruth, and friend Livvy. The girls dressed up, ate hors d’oeuvres, decorated a cupcake, and behaved beautifully for a perfect birthday.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-09-05-tea-party.jpg" alt="Lydia and friends at the birthday tea party" />
<figcaption>Lydia celebrates her birthday with a tea party</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>September and October brought two fierce hurricanes, but thankfully we only lost power for a day and internet for a couple days.</p>
<p>November was full of family! Melissa’s parents, sister Melody, brothers Tim and Michael, and their families drove with us to Gatlinburg to spend a week at the Westgate resort. While there we enjoyed an indoor waterpark, complete with a lazy river, waterslides, and giant bucket. We rode open-air gondolas up to Anakeesta (quite frightening for parents with three young children) where we experienced a two-person roller coaster (Lydia and Amber’s first!), climbed rope bridges and tree houses, and saw a black bear foraging in the distance. Another day, we drove high up into the mountains toward Clingman’s Dome, hiking the last mile or so. It was frigid that day and the path was often steep, but somehow we made it up to the incredible panoramic view at the top, even while pushing Penny’s stroller. On the last day, we played some mini golf in Pigeon Forge.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-11-18-gatlinburg.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa in an observation tower in the Great Smokey Mountains" />
<figcaption>Atop Klingman's Dome in the Great Smokey Mountains</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Melissa’s parents alternated staying with us and the Binzels for the remainder of their visit. Christmas Day was perfect—we had a terrific breakfast on a beautifully-laid table, read the Christmas account in the Bible, opened presents, and spent the rest of the day at Michael and Esther’s house playing games. The next day, Melissa’s parents flew out of New Orleans to return to Honduras, and after dropping them off Melissa, Tim, and Michael visited the Lego store.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-12-25-christmas.jpg" alt="Lydia, Amber, and Penny dressed in homemade dresses" />
<figcaption>The girls in their Christmas dresses</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another year brings new accomplishments: Lydia can read better than many ten-year-olds. Amber is speaking (mostly) clearly and can jump off the top of the couch. Penny can climb everywhere and is surprisingly good at hide-and-seek.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-11-16-lydia.jpg" alt="Lydia in Gatlinburg" />
<figcaption>Lydia</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-11-17-amber.jpg" alt="Amber in Gatlinburg" />
<figcaption>Amber</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-12-14-penny.jpg" alt="Penny with a silly costume" />
<figcaption>Penny</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brian and Melissa each read 100 books and <a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/136-books-2020/">podcasted about their feat</a>.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-03-07-brian.jpg" alt="Brian with glasses and a long beard" />
<figcaption>Brian</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Melissa attended a Ladies’ Bible Study during the first half of the year, and they discussed the book “Lies Women Believe” by Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth. She recommends it for women of all ages. Melissa was also given the opportunity to begin leading the church children in choir, and has enjoyed their sweet playfulness and desire to learn.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2021-01-01-christmas-letter-2020/2020-04-04-melissa.jpg" alt="Melissa wearing a bicycle helmet" />
<figcaption>Melissa</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What a year! God knows where 2021 will lead us, but we know that it’s in His good hands. May the new year be a time when we all grow closer to each other and trust more in God’s sovereignty.</p>
<p>Much love from Brian, Melissa, Lydia, Amber, and Penelope</p>
Swinging2020-10-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2020/10/31/1/swinging/<pre>My feet are touching the sky and the trees.
Oh! What a breeze!</pre>Koserstag 20202020-06-06T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2020/06/06/1/koserstag-2020/<p>Known to some as St. Kosers' Day, Koserstag is a holiday rich with meaning and tradition.</p>
<h2>Quick Facts</h2>
<p>Koserstag is always held first Saturday of June.</p>
<h2>All Kosers' Eve</h2>
<p>The day before Koserstag is known as All Kosers' Eve. Traditionally, we call family members (Kosers and honorary Kosers), eat pizza, watch a movie, and camp out in the living room. (Well, mom and dad sleep in bed. The girls camp out.)</p>
<h2>Koserstag Traditions</h2>
<p>Koser Calendar: Koserstag marks the beginning of the Koser New Year</p>
<p>Koser Year Animals: each year is represented by an animal. Everyone draws a picture of the animal.</p>
<p>Everyone wears their favorite color and a traditional hat.</p>
<p>The Procession of Kosers: a parade through the house to the traditional playlist</p>
<p>Koserstag Playlist: a playlist of songs, contributed to by each Koser</p>
<p>Traditional Artwork: we do portraits of the family</p>
<p>Traditional Food: Everyone picks a dish to contribute toward dinner. Traditionally, something is grilled.</p>
<p>The Toast: the traditional toast at the start of dinner</p>
<h2>2020</h2>
<h3>Calendar</h3>
<p>Date: June 6, 2020
Year of the Panda</p>
<h3>Playlist</h3>
<p>Brian: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3EE83q6tzw">Calypso</a> / John Denver</p>
<p>Melissa: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsReWx9XdNs">Hoedown</a> / from "Rodeo", Aaron Copland</p>
<p>Lydia: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7UmUX68KtE">Pöpcørn</a> / Gershon Kingsley (and The Swedish Chef)</p>
<p>Amber: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrsIX-OajaY">Sesame Street Theme</a></p>
<h3>Portraits</h3>
<p>Powerpuff Portraits, via <a href="https://powerpuffyourself.com/#/en">Powerpuff Yourself</a></p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-06-27-powerpuffs.png" alt="Penny, Amber, Lydia, Melissa, and Brian as Powerpuff characters" />
<figcaption>Penny, Amber, Lydia, Melissa, and Brian: Powerpuffed!</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3>Dinner</h3>
<p>Brian: Shrimp</p>
<p>Melissa: Corn on the cob</p>
<p>Lydia: Grapes</p>
<p>Amber: Marshmallows</p>
<p>Dessert: Brownie à La Mode</p>
<h3>The Toast</h3>
<p>To all Kosers, everywhere!</p>
Coronavirus Will Change Our Lives2020-03-18T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2020/03/18/1/coronavirus-will-change-our-lives/<p>Friday, March 13, 2020 is when I realized that COVID-19 was serious. (Of course it was Friday the 13th.)</p>
<p>Wednesday, March 18, 2020 is when I realized life <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615370/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing-18-months/">will never be the same again</a>.</p>
<p>Hopefully we get back to a normal soon. But it won't be the same normal, just like we can never go back to before 9/11.</p>
<p>What will my children's lives be like? How different will their childhoods be than mine? How different their adult lives? I always blithely assumed they would live the same life I lived, even though that's obviously rubbish since I didn't have cell phones, social media, self-driving cars, or a hundred other things.</p>
<p>It's impossible to predict where all of this will lead, but I suspect that this is an inflection point for my generation. We have a lot to figure out so our children can live normally again.</p>
Christmas Letter 20192020-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2020/01/01/1/christmas-letter-2019/<p>What a year! In January we went on our first-ever cruise, a Dice Tower cruise with Royal Carribean. While Grandma and Grandpa Koser watched the girls for a week, we traveled to Haiti and Jamaica and back to the States, playing board games, hiking across the ship, watching dolphins, hiking some more, eating great food, and hiking till we wore out! In Haiti, we went snorkeling (Melissa’s first time!), and to this day it remains one of her most treasured memories. Another fun activity was a murder mystery dinner. One morning we decided to watch the sun rise over the ocean, but almost missed it due to losing each other on the enormous deck of the ship. We certainly got our exercise that morning! In Jamaica, we got to eat authentic Jerk Chicken, and it truly can’t be replicated out of the country. On the last day or two, we took a dancing class where we learned the cha-cha. While we can’t claim to be graceful, at least we kept up with the rhythm.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-01-16-lords-of-hellas.jpg" alt="The board game Lords of Hellas" />
<figcaption>The "bigatures" for the board game Lords of Hellas!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In April, we took a road trip through South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The first stop was to see Matt Koser graduate from college! We considered moving in 2020, so we took the long way home to check out the area. We used AirBNB for the first time; some of them were truly delightful. Our favorite had a hammock, rope swing, seesaw, zipline, and some animals for the girls to play with. There was a burger restaurant named Al’s that had perhaps the best burgers we’ve ever eaten, all of it from locally-sourced farms.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-05-06-hammock.jpg" alt="Lydia and Amber in a hammock" />
<figcaption>Relaxing</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During our travels, Brian still had to work, so Melissa spent the days visiting local attractions with the girls. One of their favorites was a Discovery Museum in North Carolina, filled with different play stations such as doctoring stuffed animals, running a farm, sailing a pirate ship, and much more.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-05-07-girls.jpg" alt="Melissa, Lydia, and Amber eating breakfast" />
<figcaption>Dessert for breakfast</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the end of May, we flew out to Colorado to visit Melissa’s sister Melody, and her husband Nate. We had a great time playing board games and reconnecting. One day we drove to a fair in Boulder, where we ate greasy food and bought great stuff we didn’t need. Another day we drove from Denver to Fort Collins and back, checking out the towns in-between.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-05-28-tijerinas.jpg" alt="Melody and Nate" />
<figcaption>Melody and Nate</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One last highlight of our trip was attending a Rockies baseball game. We rode the monorail to and from the game, and even though the Rockies lost, we still had fun.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-05-25-lydia-baseball-game.jpg" alt="Lydia smiling in the bleachers of the Colorado Rockies game" />
<figcaption>Lydia at the Rockies game</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In August, our precious Penelope June was born, on the day after Melissa’s birthday! She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and seems to resemble Brian the most. She is very mellow and happy—she loves watching people and playing with her family. She almost never fusses: her goal seems to be to make life as simple as possible for mommy and daddy.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-08-11-penny.jpg" alt="Penny at the hospital" />
<figcaption>Penelope June Koser</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inspired by a trip to a <em>Little Mermaid</em> ballet in May, Melissa signed Lydia up for ballet classes, which she began in September. She is more agile and balanced, and is excited for her recital in May. Amber of course can’t wait to participate in classes next year!</p>
<p>Lydia also started learning how to read, and by December was reading short sentences and writing many letters.</p>
<p>Amber’s achievements in the fall were potty training and using full sentences! Her diction is good for her age, and she’s developing so rapidly.</p>
<p>Melissa accomplished several goals for the year! She and her friend Tristan Wedge repainted Lydia’s old crib into a beautiful toddler bed for Amber the month before Penny was born.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-06-22-crib.jpg" alt="The crib Melissa painted" />
<figcaption>Fun crib!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During November and December, she converted an old chair into a toy kitchen for the girls, which we presented at Christmas. By the end of the year, she finished reading a 900-page book on the science of cooking, called <em>The Food Lab</em>. She will be teaching a homeschool co-op class based on much of it in the spring of 2020.</p>
<p>Speaking of projects, Brian has worked hard to update our podcast <a href="https://tto.koser.us/">Ten To One</a>, and his brother Matt designed the bold and fresh look it currently sports.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-12-17-tto.jpg" alt="The redesigned Ten to One website" />
<figcaption>The Ten to One redesign, the first Brian and Matt Koser website collaboration</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brian has become an integral and respected member of his company. In 2019, he coordinated getting his company into a recruitment even at our alma mater, and it's now a part of their annual recruitment schedule. He also won the office Halloween Costume Contest by dressing up as his co-worker, Peter!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-11-01-peters.jpg" alt="Brian dressed as his co-worker Peter for the office Halloween contest" />
<figcaption>Peter and Peter!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’ve enjoyed some precious parent-daughter dates this year. In March, Melissa took Lydia to a Fancy Nancy party at our local library. They danced, decorated a cookie, made jewelry, and had fun being girly. In May, there was the <em>Little Mermaid</em> ballet. In July, we attended one of the last games of our former local Minor League Baseball team, the Mobile Bay Bears. In October, Brian took the girls to dance with and meet Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other princesses at the civic center downtown; they still talk about it, and ask when they can do that again.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2020-01-01-christmas-letter-2019/2019-10-05-princess-party.jpg" alt="Lydia and Amber with Rapunzel" />
<figcaption>Princess party!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A few weeks later, Brian went on a date with Lydia to see <em>Spirited Away</em> in theater, a movie which they both love. And just a couple weeks after that, Melissa and Amber attended a Sesame Street Live performance, again at the civic center.</p>
<p>Tim Binzel joined us for Christmas again this year, and two days after we wrapped up the year by visiting Brian’s parents in Louisiana. One highlight was that the girls got to meet their Great-Grandma Sabol! She and Mom Koser took them to see <em>Frozen II</em> in theaters on the last day of the year, and it’s become one of their favorite memories.</p>
<p>It’s been a full and exciting year, but we know that it just gets better with each new day. God has blessed us so much, and we are thankful to have each other. We’ll see you next decade!</p>
My Verse2019-11-20T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/11/20/1/my-verse/<p>Kids, don't eat a live fish. And fish, don't eat girls.</p>
Ping Pong Rules2019-10-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/10/30/1/ping-pong-rules/<p>The International Tables Tennis Federation (ITFF) sets the official ruleset for ping pong, <a href="https://www.ittf.com/handbook/">"The Laws of Table Tennis"</a>. I modified their 2019 handbook by removing rules for doubles and handicapped-player matches, and by rewording rules for clarity.</p>
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<ol>
<li>
<p>Definitions</p>
<ol>
<li>A rally is the period during which the ball is in play.</li>
<li>The ball is in play from the beginning of the serve until the rally is decided as a let or a point.</li>
<li>A let is a rally where the result is not scored.</li>
<li>A point is a rally where the result is scored.</li>
<li>The racket hand is the hand carrying the racket.</li>
<li>The free hand is the hand not carrying the racket; the free arm is the arm of the free hand.</li>
<li>A player strikes the ball if they touch it in play with their racket (held in the hand), or with their racket hand down to the wrist.</li>
<li>A player obstructs the ball if they, or anything they wear or carry, touch it in play when it is above or travelling towards the playing surface, not having touched their court since last being struck by their opponent.</li>
<li>The server is the player due to strike the ball first in a rally.</li>
<li>The receiver is the player due to strike the ball second in a rally.</li>
<li>The end lines are the lines on each end of the table. They extend indefinitely in both directions.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>The Service</p>
<ol>
<li>Service shall start with the ball resting on the open palm of the server’s stationary free hand.</li>
<li>The server shall toss the ball near vertically upwards, without imparting spin, so that it rises at least 6 inches and then falls without touching anything before being struck.</li>
<li>As the ball is falling the server shall strike it so that it touches first their court and then directly touches the receiver's court.</li>
<li>From the start of service until it is struck, the ball shall be above the table and behind the server's end line, and it shall not be hidden from the receiver by the server.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>The Return</p>
<ol>
<li>The ball, having been served or returned, shall be struck so that it touches the opponent's court, either directly or after touching the net assembly.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>The Order of Play</p>
<ol>
<li>The server shall first make a service, the receiver shall then make a return and thereafter server and receiver alternately shall each make a return.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>A Let</p>
<ol>
<li>The rally shall be a let:
<ol>
<li>if in service the ball touches the net assembly, provided the service is otherwise correct;</li>
<li>if the service is delivered when the receiving player is not ready, provided that the receiver does not attempt to strike the ball;</li>
<li>if a disturbance outside the control of the player interrupts play.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>A Point</p>
<ol>
<li>Unless the rally is a let, a player shall score a point
<ol>
<li>if the opponent fails to make a correct service;</li>
<li>if the opponent fails to make a correct return;</li>
<li>if, after they have made a service or a return, the ball touches anything other than the net assembly before being struck by the opponent;</li>
<li>if the ball passes over their court or beyond their end line without touching their court, after being struck by the opponent;</li>
<li>if the ball, after being struck by the opponent, passes through the net or between the net and the net post or between the net and playing surface;</li>
<li>if the opponent obstructs the ball;</li>
<li>if the opponent deliberately strikes the ball twice in succession;</li>
<li>if the opponent, or anything the opponent wears or carries, moves the playing surface;</li>
<li>if the opponent, or anything the opponent wears or carries, touches the net assembly;</li>
<li>if the opponent's free hand touches the playing surface.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>A Game</p>
<ol>
<li>The first player to score 11 points wins the game, unless both players score 10 points, when the first player to next gain a lead of 2 points wins the game.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>A Match</p>
<ol>
<li>A match shall consist of the best of any odd number of games.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>The Order of Serving, Receiving, and Ends</p>
<ol>
<li>The right to choose the initial order of serving, receiving and ends shall be decided randomly and the winner may choose to serve or to receive first or to start at a particular end.</li>
<li>When one player has chosen to serve or to receive first or to start at a particular end, the other player shall have the other choice. </li>
<li>After each 2 points have been scored the receiving player shall become the serving player and so on until the end of the game, unless both players score 10 points, when the sequences of serving and receiving shall be the same but each player shall serve for only 1 point in turn.</li>
<li>The player serving first in a game shall receive first in the next game of the match.</li>
<li>The player starting at one end in a game shall start at the other end in the next game of the match and in the last possible game of a match the players shall change ends when one player scores 5 points.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<p>Out of Order of Serving, Receiving, or Ends</p>
<ol>
<li>If a player serves or receives out of turn, interrupt play as soon as the error is discovered and continue with the correct player serving.</li>
<li>If the players have not changed ends when they should have, interrupt play to switch ends and continue.</li>
<li>All points scored before the discovery of an error still count.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
When will I see the Sun?2019-10-14T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/10/14/3/when-will-i-see-the-sun/<p>Rain poured down outside the car, and the little boy squirmed unhappily. "I'm tired of this!" he complained. His mother smiled tenderly as she answered, "It won't be long now; these things usually clear up in a day or two." Sure enough, just a few days later the sun was shining brightly again, and the little boy was happy. But some time later, dark clouds began to boil overhead, and gusts of wind lashed fiercely at the car. Full of fear, the little boy whimpered, "How much longer is this going to last?" His older sister leaned over from her seat and hugged him. "It's OK," she reassured him. "Sometimes you just have to let things run their course. It'll pass eventually." And just as she had promised, the frightful weather was replaced with peace and calm. But again, as time went on... "Please, make it stop!" screamed the little boy, as lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Hail pummeled the car, and night made it impossible to see anything outside. His father gently stroked the little boy's head, and gathered him in his arms. Calmly, the father spoke of their journey together. "We're in here for the foreseeable future, son, and only God knows how long this will take. But He's the One we're relying on to get us through, and He won't fail us." The little boy remained quiet all that evening and all through the next, content to rest in his father's loving embrace. Just before dawn, the car rolled to a gentle stop, and the little boy got out. As he lay down on a grassy mound, a beatific smile blossomed on his face. "Look, Daddy," he said, closing his eyes, "I can see the Sun."</p>
<p>The little car rolled on, carrying three hearts which grieved (and yet were lighter) toward a glorious sunrise.</p>
Six Degrees of Ioan Gruffud2019-10-14T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/10/14/2/six-degrees-of-ioan-gruffud/<p>Are you familiar with the theory of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation">six degrees of separation</a>? It seems that everyone on Earth is within six social connections of everyone else on Earth. For fun, I'm tracking here the various ways I'm connected to my favorite actor, Ioan Gruffud.</p>
<h2>5 degrees</h2>
<ol>
<li>My former coworker Bryan has a</li>
<li>girlfriend who worked as a personal assistant at conventions for</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000579">Ron Perlman</a>, who appeared in <i>Pottersville</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574534">Ian McShane</a>, who appeared in <i>Man and Boy</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435">Ioan Gruffud</a>.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>My podcast friends <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1795989">Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono</a> are podcast friends with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2460886">Brady Hardin</a>, who appeared in <i>Logan</i> (as Brady Lovesou) with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1795989">Leo Howard</a>, who appeared in <i>Shorts</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0106534">Jonathan Breck</a>, who appeared in <i>W.</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435">Ioan Gruffud</a>.</li>
</ol>
<h2>4 degrees</h2>
<ol>
<li>My podcast friends <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1795989">Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono</a> are podcast friends with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2671766">Jayce O'Neil</a>, who appeared in <i>Sudden Death</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427964">Doug Jones</a>, who appeared in <i>Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435">Ioan Gruffud</a>.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>My coworker Mike is the nephew of</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0335173">Chris Granlund</a>, who produced <i>Isaac Newton: The Last Magician</i> which stars</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0404993">Jonathan Hyde</a>, who appeared in <i>Titanic</i> with</li>
<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435">Ioan Gruffud</a>.</li>
</ol>
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<p>It's easy to do this yourself if you are connected to someone with an IMDb page. At that point, you can use <a href="https://oracleofbacon.org/">The Oracle of Bacon</a>, which used to calculate connections to <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon">Kevin Bacon</a>, but now calculates connections between any two actors with Wikipedia pages.</p>
In Scorn of Frogs2019-10-14T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/10/14/1/in-scorn-of-frogs/<p>Bulky and droopy, slimy and gloopy, frogs are a blight to the eye.</p>
<p>Constantly croakin', with voices all broken, they're rude, nasty, and sly.</p>
<p>With tongues that zip out, and webbed feet which they flout, so ugly they make us all cry.</p>
<p>The tadpole swam off, his head held aloft, "A frog I'll never be, no, not I!"</p>
The Glory Days2019-09-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/09/28/2/the-glory-days/<p><em>The bold, brave warrior bellowed his challenge as he charged towards the dragon, cloak streaming behind him and sword held high aloft. Unmoved, the great beast roared back its own defiance and swung its mighty tail at the knight, who nimbly rolled under it even as he swung at it with his blade. A great gout of blood gushed forth from the severed stump, and the enraged dragon snarled in pain. As the warrior sprang to his feet, a lash of claws sent him flying backwards, tunic rent and blood spraying. The dragon howled in triumph, while the princess it grasped in its fearsome talons screamed in despair. It lumbered over towards the fallen man and prepared to deliver the death blow. But as its teeth came crashing down, the knight thrust upward with his sword straight into the dragon’s maw. The beast was vanquished, the damsel was saved, and great glory was won!</em></p>
<p>Shadows fell as the sun went down, and the man wearily stumped through his land, shutting the gates, checking the locks, restocking the defenses. It had been years since any attacks had come, yet every night he methodically went through the routine. Each night it took a little longer, each night it drained more energy; he was getting old. Sometimes, in his deepest fears which he tried to dismiss, he wondered if he would be able to repel an attack should it ever come. As he entered his dwelling, the simple closing of the door became more of a collapsing against it from weariness. He closed his eyes a moment in despondency. Where was the strength of his youth? What of the courage that once had burned so fiercely within him? No more did acts of valor define him, no more did great renown surround him; the foes he fought of late were aching joints and halting movements. He trudged through the halls, thoughts heavy with gloom. An open doorway caught his eye, and he paused to glance inside. Peace and contentment flowed from this room, where slept an ethereal queen and a young boy. The lady’s fair beauty stirred him as always, more lovely now than the day of their wedding. Their son curled trustingly in her arms, doubtless dreaming of grand adventures to come. A smile creased the man’s face as he thought on how the lad watched him, clung to his tales, and mimicked them later with his toys. He gazed once more at his beloved family, who wholly trusted and believed in him.</p>
<p>The warrior gently closed the door and moved to his own chamber, setting the lamp down beside his bed. Gone were the years, gone the creases, gone the faltering steps. As he climbed into bed, the shadow cast by the lamplight was that of a tall figure, cloak streaming out and blade held high aloft.</p>
Motherhood2019-09-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/09/28/1/motherhood/<p>"I'm tired of being pregnant," I thought as I watched my husband eat all the sushi he wanted. "Tired of watching what I eat, and watching my husband eat what I can't have but so desperately desire. Maybe we should be done with children after this one."</p>
<p>"That was awful!" I groaned after going through yet another Pitocin-heavy labor, and enduring lonely hours during recovery in the hospital while hooked up to machines. "I don't know that I want to go through it ever again."</p>
<p>"I'm done with this!" I cried as I dealt with breastfeeding issues all over again, all while sleep-deprived and hormonally unstable. "We're not having any more children!"</p>
<p>"Maybe just one more child," I thought as I snuggled my baby's soft head against my cheek, and gazed down at her tiny, trusting face.</p>
Chik-fil-A Hires Atheists Part-Time in Order to Open on Sundays2019-06-22T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/06/22/1/chik-fil-a-hires-atheists-part-time-in-order-to-open-on-sundays/<p>MOBILE, ALABAMA—Chik-fil-A has announced a new pilot study, titled "One More Day", at three Mobile, Alabama locations. The three selected franchises will hire part-time atheist employees to work one day a week, allowing the famously Christian organization to remain open on Sundays.</p>
<p>"This initiative will allow us to serve all members of our community every day of the week, and still retain our convictions to honor the Lord's Day," said Cathy Belmont, Chik-fil-A public relations spokesman. "These workers of no faith will allow us to honor our faith."</p>
<p>Local evangelical pastors have been quick to criticize the move. "I just completed a seven-week sermon series on 'Keeping the Sabbath'", said Reverend Lincoln Hereford. "We had finally committed as a church to only eat canned foods on Sunday, but all of that progress has been erased by Chik-fil-A. How am I supposed to keep the flock away from crispy chicken sandwiches after the morning service?" Reverend Hereford declined to comment when asked if he would be protesting the change with a boycott.</p>
<p>Chik-fil-A sees no conflict. "The reality is that Christians like to go out for Sunday afternoon lunch," said Cathy Belmont. "Would it be better for them to purchase the burgers of this world, or to worship God together over a plate of waffle fries?"</p>
<p>Local Chik-fil-A management is also in favor of the move. "I will of course be on call every Sunday," said Angus Kerry, manager at the Airport Boulevard franchise. "It will be a spiritual hardship, but Chik-fil-A has worked with my schedule and remuneration to ensure that I can shoulder the burden."</p>
<p>The manager does not foresee any conflict between the current and incoming employees. "With cross-training and schedule substitutions, it's inevitable that there will be some mixing of the employees," said Mr. Kerry. "But all our full-time employees will go through sensitivity training to learn how to interact with the new employees. And we will strongly discourage proselytizing on the job to reduce turnover in the non-faith-practicing portion of our staff."</p>
<p>Chik-fil-A has also faced renewed criticism from synagogues and Seventh-Day Adventist churches. "We've held a few rallies to demand that Chik-fil-A close on Saturday," said Pastor Bill Miller of Gilmore Creek Seventh-day Adventist Church of Mobile. "So this is definitely a setback. But I'm taking it as a sign to redouble our efforts."</p>
<p>Other Christians see no problem with working on Sundays. Local pastor Moses Jones explained, "Well, the Sabbath was actually on Saturday, and it only applied to the Jews. There's no reason a Christian couldn't worship God and work on Sundays."</p>
<p>Cathy Belmont cautions critics that this is only a pilot program and will not necessarily be continued throughout the country. "We'll look at the numbers after the trial, and who knows? Maybe we'll draw some customers that would never darken the door of a church. To me, that would be a success."</p>
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<p>I got the idea for this article back when <a href="https://babylonbee.com/">Babylon Bee</a> took submissions. Unfortunately, they now only publish articles written by their paid contributors.</p>
The 5 Whys2019-06-21T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/06/21/1/the-5-whys/<p>Have you heard of <a href="https://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/cause-effect/determine-root-cause-5-whys/">The 5 Whys</a>? It's a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma">Six Sigma</a> technique for discovering the root of a problem. Each "why" gets you past surface effects and closer to the cause.</p>
<p>It sounded good in theory, so I tried it on Lydia the other night when she didn't want to put her pajamas on.</p>
<div class="dialog">
<p>
<b class="speaker brian">Brian</b>:
“Why don't you want to wear pajamas?”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker lydia">Lydia</b>:
“Because I don't want to.”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker brian">Brian</b>:
“Why?”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker lydia">Lydia</b>:
“Because I don't want to.”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker brian">Brian</b>:
“Why?”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker lydia">Lydia</b>:
“Because I don't want to.”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker brian">Brian</b>:
“Why?”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker lydia">Lydia</b>:
“Because I don't want to.”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker brian">Brian</b>:
“Why?”
</p>
<p>
<b class="speaker lydia">Lydia</b>:
“Because I don't want to.”
</p>
</div>
<p>I'm not impressed with the technique.</p>
Travel2019-06-19T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/06/19/2/travel/<p>We've traveled quite a bit over the seven years of our marriage. We've hit 3 of the four corners of the U.S. (and much in between), taken a cruise to Haiti and Jamaica, and flown to Honduras. We travel because we have family and friends widely spread around, or because we're looking for new job opportunities, or because we like to experience new adventures. But mostly we travel because we itch to. After months, or weeks, or perhaps mere days of the same routine, we desire something fresh to tantalize us. We may travel to see that movie we've been anticipating, or finally get over to a local friend's house that we've never visited during our many years of residence, or even just check out a new store whose sole novelty is its newness. Why? Because there's something so delightful about the unknown, so thrilling about being in a new environment with new sights, sounds, smells, and sensations. Even places we've previously been to can be exciting, if they're not well-known or haven't been visited in some time: a house you've just moved into (but haven't yet unpacked), a store whose merchandise changes with the seasons, a different street explored on your daily walk. Bored with your life? You needn't leave town to experience change. Simply...travel.</p>
Case by Case2019-06-19T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/06/19/1/case-by-case/<ul>
<li>this is lowercase</li>
<li>THIS IS UPPERCASE</li>
<li>This Is Title Case</li>
<li>tHIS iS rEVERSE cASE</li>
<li>tHiS iS cRaZy CaSe</li>
<li>ThisIsPascalCase</li>
<li>thisIsCamelCase</li>
<li>this_is_snake_case</li>
<li>THIS_IS_SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE</li>
<li>this-is-kebab-case</li>
<li>this|is|pipe|case</li>
<li>this🍩is🍩donut🍩case</li>
</ul>
A Celebration of Language2019-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/04/01/1/a-celebration-of-language/<p>Alec, mensch solitario, 🍺. Arahkun appears, Alec > tushy. Biiru ^ schnozz.</p>
<p>“Oy! Eres loco?”</p>
<p>“Ich bin es Yosef!”</p>
<p>:-[]</p>
<p>“Je suis acrobatique en uniforme.”</p>
“Friends” Poem2019-03-23T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/03/23/1/friends-poem/<h2>Rachel</h2>
<pre>Vivacious, friendly, and warm,
Creative, helping, and bright.
She does much, without much thanks,
But when she’s gone, she’s greatly missed.</pre>
<h2>Holly</h2>
<pre>Mild and cheerful, caring and kind,
She is a friend you can always rely on.
Balanced in mind with a sweet charming humor,
Time spent with her is ever a pleasure.</pre>
<h2>Catherine</h2>
<pre>Laughing and cheeky to bring out your grin,
Sparkling with fun is this girlfriend to me.
Always a hand she is willing to lend,
Along with her smile that brightens the mood.</pre>
<h2>Judy</h2>
<pre>Quiet, shy, not craving your notice,
Witty, fair, a pearl among pebbles.
Her thoughts are of others, never herself,
She’s the gentlest and sweetest of any I’ve met.</pre>
<h2>Tina</h2>
<pre>Often the start of a fun, hearty joke,
She’ll cheerily laugh at her own traits and quirks,
While caring and service are foremost in mind,
To shoulder your burdens and lighten your load.</pre>
<h2>Charity</h2>
<pre>Sassy yet kind, fervent yet grounded,
Complex in spirit and sincere in soul.
Lovely of face and more lovely of heart,
Her family is ever her aim to uphold.</pre>
<h2>Theresa</h2>
<pre>Exquisite in looks, such as only is dreamed of,
Yet pride or conceit will not ever portray her.
Strongly intelligent and musically gifted,
Talents and wits are delighting to all.</pre>
<h2>Tristan</h2>
<pre>Recently met, yet such a dear heart!
Her smile is sunshine in every room.
A mother she is, and the word is high praise,
For she’s gentle and firm, tender and fun.</pre>Christmas Letter 20182019-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2019/01/01/1/christmas-letter-2018/<p>Hello again, friends! It’s been a great year in the Koser house, full of activities that have brought us closer together as a family.</p>
<p>Three birthday parties were among the highlights of the year. In February, we hosted a murder mystery escape room for Melissa’s brother Tim’s birthday. Melissa set up the escape room and enjoyed watching everyone try to solve her riddles and clues.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2019-01-01-christmas-letter-escape-room.jpg" alt="Murder Mystery Escape Room characters" />
<figcaption>The Murder Mystery suspects</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brian’s birthday in April featured a root beer tasting party! We certainly hadn’t realized there are so many distinct kinds of root beer.</p>
<p>Melissa got a surprise birthday party in August where we played The Last Banquet, a game for up to 25 that we’ve been trying to play for years.</p>
<p>Maybe our most memorable outing was to the National Shrimp Festival. Brian and Melissa went for the food (fresh shrimp, crab cakes, Brian’s first taste of shark, and fried Oreos), while Lydia really enjoyed getting her face painted for the first time!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2019-01-01-christmas-letter-rainbow-kitty.jpg" alt="Lydia with her Rainbow Kitty face paint" />
<figcaption>Rainbow Kitty!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some other unique experiences from 2018 were petting a kangaroo at the Gulf Coast Zoo, attending a deluxe movie theater (complete with recliners and waiters who bring you fancy food!), and visiting New Orleans with Brian’s sister Megan and her husband Josh to check out the Audubon Aquarium.</p>
<p>By far some of our best memories came from our summer travels. In late May, we went on our Midwest Road Trip: 14 states, 12 stops, and lots of friends and family crammed into two weeks. The girls handled all of that driving like champs. You can hear all about the trip <a href="http://tto.koser.us/episodes/079-midwest-road-trip-2018/">on our podcast</a>.</p>
<p>One week after we returned home, Melissa was able to fly out to Colorado with baby Amber and surprise her sister Melody.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2019-01-01-christmas-letter-union-station.jpg" alt="Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri" />
<figcaption>Union Station in Kansas City</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>September saw us check an item off our bucket list: we attended a standup special featuring Brian Regan, our favorite comedian! That night may have been the hardest we laughed all year.</p>
<p>The last big event we attended was our first NFL game in November. We met up with Brian’s family in New Orleans and watched the Eagles play the Saints. Since half of the family are Eagles fans and half are Saints fans, only half left the game happy. 🙂</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2019-01-01-christmas-letter-eagles-game.jpg" alt="Kosers and Tim at the Eagles-Saints game" />
<figcaption>Fly Eagles Fly!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brian also made it to his first NBA game with Tim to see Tim’s Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans. Tim also finished the year with us, spending the Christmas week playing board games and introducing Brian to some Binzel-favorite Christmas movies.</p>
<p>Amber started walking and knows what cows, pigs, and sheep say.</p>
<p>Lydia was finally potty trained this past February! It has been so nice to only have one diaper to change in this house. She also started doing some preschool classes at a homeschool co-op hosted at our church. At the end of the year she sang her first church special with Melissa.</p>
<figure> <div class="iframe-container"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/309018670" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div> <figcaption>Melissa and Lydia singing “God’s Been Good”</figcaption> </figure>
<p>Melissa accomplished several home projects, including a busyboard for Amber, an apron for Lydia, a dice tray for Brian, and a framed board game for them all.</p>
<p>Brian started being more health-conscious and lost 20 pounds. At work he got a promotion and started a ping pong league. And his major project was <a href="http://sfc.blue/">sfc.blue</a>, a listener’s guide for our favorite podcast, The Sci-Fi Christian.</p>
<p>It was a great year, and we’re very excited about all that 2019 has in store for us. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!</p>
Christmas Letter 20172017-12-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2017/12/25/1/christmas-letter-2017/<p>Merry Christmas 2017!</p>
<p>2017 was a busy year with lots of changes for us.</p>
<p>In March, Brian travelled to Pennsylvania for his first business trip. The best part of the trip was that it took him close enough to visit family.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-grandpa.jpg" alt="Brian with Grandpa Koser" />
<figcaption>Holy cat!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We got to see a lot of family this year. The first event that brought a lot of us together was brother Matt’s graduation from Air Force training.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-matt-graduation.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa and Lydia with Matt Koser at his graduation" />
</figure>
<p>We’ve enjoyed continuing to podcast. It has certainly helped us get to know each other better, bringing out things we’re either very united or very divided on. One of our proudest moments was hyping Oreo O’s in our <a href="http://tto.koser.us/episodes/046-breakfast-cereals/">cereal episode</a> and then learning less than a week later that it was returning to stores!</p>
<p>In May we got to use one of Melissa’s Christmas gifts and see Celtic Woman in concert! While we enjoyed every minute of it, our favorite parts were when they sang old favorites such as “Orinoco Flow”.</p>
<p>We’ve stayed busy with different church activities, some of the more memorable being the Mother/?Daughter Luau and a dessert auction. Melissa enjoyed making crab appetizers for the former, and a gorgeous cake for the latter. We also got to participate in our yearly Neighborhood Bible Time, this year helping teach the preschool class. It was both precious and interesting; you just never know what those kids will say or do at any given time.</p>
<p>Another couple big events were Brian’s siblings weddings. Congratulations Matt and Amanda, and Josh and Megan!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-matts-wedding.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa, and Lydia with Matt and Amanda" />
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-megans-wedding.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa with Josh and Megan" />
</figure>
<p>Melissa’s brother Tim finished his service with the Navy, staying with us for a few months while also driving across the country to visit family and friends. While he visited we took our summer vacation in Orlando with friends Micah and the Smiths. It was a fun week filled with a Pirate Dinner Adventure, a trip to Disney Springs, a spur-of-the-moment movie theater trip, and lots and lots of games.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-orlando.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa, and Lydia with the pirate captain" />
<figcaption>Arrr!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A couple weeks after vacation we moved to a house in preparation for baby #2. The move went smoothly with help from our church friends, and we are now located a 10-minute walk away from Brian’s workplace. We took the opportunity of a fresh start to split our two bookshelves into his and hers, drafting all our books to determine where they’d be stored. Nerdy, but it’s how we get our thrills.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-book-draft.jpg" alt="Our books piled on the floor" />
<figcaption>Books stacked by author and genre</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A few other highlights of the year were our birthday celebrations. For Brian’s, we got a babysitter, ate at a fancy restaurant overlooking the city, and stayed overnight at a local bed and breakfast. The next day we toured downtown Mobile, then headed back to the apartment for a surprise birthday party! For Melissa’s, we ate escargot (first time) and schnitzel at a local European restaurant. For Lydia’s, we had friends over for a Sesame Street party.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-sesame-street-birthday.jpg" alt="Sesame Street-themed snacks" />
</figure>
<p>In October, Hurricane Nate cleared the way to the hospital so we could welcome our new addition, Amber London Koser! We were blessed to have Tim, Mom and Dad Binzel, and Mom Koser helping us the first few days after she was born.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2017-12-25-christmas-letter-lydia-and-amber.jpg" alt="Lydia and Amber on the bed" />
</figure>
<p>Two weeks later, our church held its annual pie and cake competition. Melissa was still recovering from childbirth, but at Brian’s encouragement she sent a blueberry cream pie with him and entered it in the competition. It won! This is her second year in a row winning first place in the pie division.</p>
<p>Hope your 2017 was as memorable as ours, and we hope to see many of you in 2018!</p>
Support Creators: My Media Experience2017-02-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2017/02/15/1/support-creators-my-media-experience/<p>I’m in the middle of setting up a Home Theatre PC for my living room. When I’m done, it will back up files from our other devices, record TV from our antennae and remove commercials, play music and Blu-Ray discs, play Steam games, and a few other tricks.</p>
<p>It’s a little tricky setting up the hardware and software for an HTPC, but I’ve found some good information online.</p>
<p><a href="http://mymediaexperience.com/">My Media Experience</a> has been the most helpful resource. Tuukka provides some pretty in-depth tutorials for free, and to thank him, I’ve made My Media Experience my February creator donation.</p>
Support Creators: The Dice Tower2017-01-05T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2017/01/05/1/support-creators-dice-tower/<p>Melissa and I have been into modern board games for a few years now. We’re hovering at around 100 games in our collection, keeping about 95% of our purchases. The main reason for this great success rate is <a href="https://koser.us/articles/2017/01/05/1/support-creators-dice-tower/www.dicetower.com">The Dice Tower</a>.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-06-25-dice-tower-con.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa at Dice Tower Convention with Sam and David Healey" />
<figcaption>Us with Sam Healey, one of the Dice Tower crew</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Dice Tower is the biggest board game media company (at least in English) and certainly the best. They do a podcast where they talk about all things board games. Another great resource is their video review channel on YouTube. For most games we’re interested in they have a video showing the basics of how the game is played and talking about whether or not they like the game.</p>
<p>Another fun series is their Top Ten lists: check out the Top Ten Essential Games if you’re new to the hobby.</p>
<p>For those interested in hearing about new games on a weekly basis, the most efficient way is to watch the Week In Review videos, where the Dice Tower crew gives 15-second overviews of all games reviewed that week.</p>
<p>For being a great resource of information, as well as some of the kindest and most fun people around, I made The Dice Tower our Creator Donation for January 2017.</p>
Christmas Letter 20162016-12-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/12/25/1/christmas-letter-2016/<p>Merry Christmas 2016!</p>
<p>Greetings to all of our friends and family! We are all well at the time of this writing, and we hope you are too. It has been another good, full year for our little family.</p>
<p>We have really enjoyed watching Lydia grow into the walking, talking (a little!), happy 15-month-old apple of our eyes. We are blessed that she is very observant, quick to learn new skills, and rarely sick. Her newest skill is being able to point to different body parts when named. 👶</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-12-25-christmas-letter-lydia.jpg" alt="Lydia making a funny face" />
</figure>
<p>Melissa is still enjoying the best job ever—being a stay-at-home mom! Since Lydia is constantly growing and changing, Melissa always has new challenges to encounter and new skills to learn. In between that she is starting to get back into reading books, practicing piano more, and doing a couple of crafts. 📗🎹</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-12-25-christmas-letter-melissa" alt="Melissa holding Lydia" />
</figure>
<p>Brian has been keeping busy at work, although he still finds time for ping pong on his office’s new ping pong table. 🏓 One of his goals for the year was to get back into reading books; including audio books, he more than doubled his goal by reading 45 books. 📚🏆</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-12-25-christmas-letter-brian.jpg" alt="Brian in the woods" />
</figure>
<p>Here are some of our highlights, activities and achievements of the year:</p>
<p>In March, we did a thrift store date night with some of our church friends. Each couple picked out a $10-$15 outfit from a thrift store for their spouse, and then we all went out to eat together looking ridiculous. It was a blast, and we caused a lot of people to smile (and probably run for their cars!).</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-03-12-thrift-store-date-night.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa, and their friends dressed in their thrift store purchases" />
<figcaption>High fashion from the thrift store</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In April, Brian attended a Men’s Advance Conference with the church, and thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship and teaching. We also took a day trip to New Orleans with Micah Bucy, where we tried some local food, got some beignets, and listened to a local jazz band on the street. We also checked out a costume shop. It was interesting to see all the creative ways people were making money, from juggling and magic tricks, to music performances, to being a living statue. It was a very fun day! 🎷</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-23-melissa-with-living-statue-in-new-orleans.jpg" alt="Melissa with a living statue in New Orleans" />
<figcaption>Melissa with a living statue in New Orleans</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Much of May and the month or two preceding was spent hanging out with Micah before he left for California. We miss you, Micah! In memoriam. 👨⚕️</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-05-10-micah-graduation.jpg" alt="Brian with Micah at his Medical School Graduation" />
<figcaption>Micah at his Med School Graduation</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>June saw the launching of our podcast, <a href="http://tto.koser.us/">Ten to One</a>! We were enjoying making top ten lists of different topics, and decided it would be fun to record and share them with you! We are up to 25 episodes now, and look forward to recording again after our Christmas hiatus. 🎙</p>
<p>July was a busy month! Our church hosted its annual BBQ, Cake, and Pie competition. Melissa won first place for her delicious Baklava Pie, improving on last year’s third place finish. Even now she is planning which new recipes she will use as she continues to mow down the competition. 🏆</p>
<figure>
<iframe class="video-embed" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pNFToAqpqL4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption>
Crossroads Bake-Off 2016 - News Report on Melissa
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also celebrated Cow Appreciation day at Chick-Fil-A! This year Melissa convinced Brian to join her in dressing like a cow. 🐄</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-07-12-chik-fil-a-cows.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa, and Lydia dressed up as cows at Chik-Fil-A" />
<figcaption>Moo!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Somebody died in August, and Melissa was a part of it! Masquerading as the erratic world leader Genesee Glasco, she hosted a murder mystery party for our Sunday school class. A fun time was had by all, and we look forward to possibly doing another next year. 🕵</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-08-28-murder-mystery.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa at the Murder Mystery Party" />
<figcaption>Genesee Glasco and Alfred Einstein</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>September was go, go, go. First we celebrated Lydia’s first birthday. Brian’s family was able to attend along with our church family, and we had a fun day complete with pizza, cupcakes, and a watermelon smash. 🍉</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-09-03-lydias-birthday.jpg" alt="Brian and Lydia at her birthday party" />
<figcaption>Happy Birthday Lydia!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Next we took a trip out west for a vacation and a wedding. Our first stops were to visit Melissa’s family, first flying to Colorado to see Melody and her fiancé Nate, then to Los Angeles to visit Michael, Esther, and their children. ✈️ Next we drove up to visit Micah in Northern California, then to Washington, where we visited Dale and Donita. 🚗 Last we got to see Patty and Abe get married.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-09-24-penner-wedding.jpg" alt="Brian, Melissa, Lydia, and Patty at her wedding" />
<figcaption>Congratulations Patty and Abe (not pictured, but he was there!)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of our best vacations yet, and we were so glad to see everybody. For those asking when we will visit next: it’s your turn to visit us in Alabama. 😀</p>
<p>At the end of October we traveled back to Colorado to see Nate and Melody get married. So happy for you both!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-10-29-melody-wedding.jpg" alt="Lydia newly born" />
<figcaption>Congratulations Melody and Nate! 💒</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>November saw us planning and making a full Thanksgiving meal for only the second time of our adult lives, and we started a new tradition: naming the turkey! This year’s esteemed bird was granted the moniker of Micah. 😆</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-11-24-micah-the-turkey.jpg" alt="Micah the Turkey" />
<figcaption>Micah the Turkey 🦃</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Joining us and Micah were Mom and Dad Binzel and most of Brian’s family. The next day, Melissa partook of her very first Black Friday shopping experience. It actually was not too bad; people were polite and stores were not too crowded.</p>
<p>December, one of our favorite months! We celebrated our 5th anniversary by purchasing wooden board games, Crokinole and Quoridor. We also enjoyed lunch at Steak ’n Shake, saw some Christmas lights and ate homemade hot wings.</p>
<p>0</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-12-10-homemade-hot-wings.jpg" alt="Homemade hot wings" />
<figcaption>Homemade hot wings are delicious 🍗</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tomorrow we will be driving up to Lousiana to have a Very Koser Christmas. 🎄 All of Brian’s siblings and their spouses, fiancés, and children will be under one roof, along with Grandma Sabol, making a party of seventeen! 🎉</p>
<p>We are looking forward to making 2017 an even better year than 2016. Thanks for your part in making our year, and hopefully we will see you again in 2017. Merry Christmas! 👨👩👧</p>
The Magic Thread2016-12-17T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/12/17/1/magic-thread/<p>Too often, people want what they want (or what they think they want, which is usually "happiness" in one form or another) right now. The irony of their impatience is that only by learning to wait, and by a willingness to accept the bad with the good, do we usually attain those things that are truly worthwhile. "He that can have patience, can have what he will," Benjamin Franklin told us, and this French tale bears him out.</p>
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<p>Once there was a widow who had a son called Peter. He was a strong, able boy, but he did not enjoy going to school and he was forever daydreaming.</p>
<p>"Peter, what are you dreaming about this time?" his teacher would say to him.</p>
<p>"I’m thinking about what I’ll be when I grow up," Peter replied.</p>
<p>"Be patient. There’s plenty of time for that. Being grown up isn’t all fun, you know," his teacher said.</p>
<p>But Peter found it hard to enjoy whatever he was doing at the moment, and was always hankering after the next thing. In winter he longed for it to be summer again, and in summer he looked forward to the skating, sledging, and warm fires of winter. At school he would long for the day to be over so that he could go home, and on Sunday nights he would sigh, "If only the holidays would come." What he enjoyed most was playing with his friend Liese. She was as good a companion as any boy, and no matter how impatient Peter was, she never took offense. "When I grow up, I shall marry Liese," Peter said to himself.</p>
<p>Often he wandered through the forest, dreaming of the future. Sometimes he lay down on the soft forest floor in the warm sun, his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky through the distant treetops. One hot afternoon as he began to grow sleepy, he heard someone calling his name. He opened his eyes and sat up. Standing before him was an old woman. In her hand she held a silver ball, from which dangled a silken golden thread.</p>
<p>"See what I have got here, Peter," she said, offering the ball to him.</p>
<p>"What is it?" he asked curiously, touching the fine golden thread.</p>
<p>"This is your life thread," the old woman replied. "Do not touch it and time will pass normally. But if you wish time to pass more quickly, you have only to pull the thread a little way and an hour will pass like a second. But I warn you, once the thread has been pulled out, it cannot be pushed back in again. It will disappear like a puff of smoke. The ball is for you. But if you accept my gift you must tell no one, or on that very day you shall die. Now, say, do you want it?"</p>
<p>Peter seized the gift from her joyfully. It was just what he wanted. He examined the silver ball. It was light and solid, made of a single piece. The only flaw in it was the tiny hole from which the bright thread hung. He put the ball in his pocket and ran home. There, making sure that his mother was out, he examined it again. The thread seemed to be creeping very slowly out of the ball, so slowly that it was scarcely noticeable to the naked eye. He longed to give it a quick tug, but dared not do so. Not yet.</p>
<p>The following day at school, Peter sat daydreaming about what he would do with his magic thread. The teacher scolded him for not concentrating on his work. If only, he thought, it was time to go home. Then he felt the silver ball in his pocket. If he pulled out a tiny bit of thread, the day would be over. Very carefully he took hold of it and tugged. Suddenly the teacher was telling everyone to pack up their books and to leave the classroom in an orderly fashion. Peter was overjoyed. He ran all the way home. How easy life would be now! All his troubles were over. From that day forth he began to pull the thread, just a little, every day.</p>
<p>One day, however, it occurred to him that it was stupid to pull the thread just a little each day. If he gave it a harder tug, school would be over altogether. Then he could start learning a trade and marry Liese. So that night he gave the thread a hard tug, and in the morning he awoke to find himself apprenticed to a carpenter in town. He loved his new life, clambering about on roofs and scaffolding, lifting and hammering great beams into place that still smelled of the forest. But sometimes, when payday seemed too far off, he gave the thread a little tug and suddenly the week was drawing to a close and it was Friday night and he had money in his pocket.</p>
<p>Liese had also come to town and was living with her aunt, who taught her housekeeping. Peter began to grow impatient for the day when they would be married. It was hard to live so near and yet so far from her. He asked her when they could be married.</p>
<p>"In another year," she said. "Then I will have learned how to be a capable wife."</p>
<p>Peter fingered the silver ball in his pocket.</p>
<p>"Well, the time will pass quickly enough," he said, knowingly.</p>
<p>That night Peter could not sleep. He tossed and turned restlessly. He took the magic ball from under his pillow. For a moment he hesitated; then his impatience got the better of him, and he tugged at the golden thread. In the morning he awoke to find that the year was over and that Liese had at last agreed to marry him. Now Peter felt truly happy.</p>
<p>But before their wedding could take place, Peter received an official-looking letter. He opened it in trepidation and read that he was expected to report at the army barracks the following week for two years’ military service. He showed the letter to Liese in despair.</p>
<p>"Well," she said, "there is nothing for it, we shall just have to wait. But the time will pass quickly, you’ll see. There are so many things to do in preparation for our life together."</p>
<p>Peter smiled bravely, knowing that two years would seem a lifetime to him.</p>
<p>Once Peter had settled into life at the barracks, however, he began to feel that it wasn’t so bad after all. He quite enjoyed being with all the other young men, and their duties were not very arduous at first. He remembered the old woman’s warning to use the thread wisely and for a while refrained from pulling it. But in time he grew restless again. Army life bored him with its routine duties and harsh discipline. He began pulling the thread to make the week go faster so that it would be Sunday again, or to speed up the time until he was due for leave. And so the two years passed almost as if they had been a dream.</p>
<p>Back home, Peter determined not to pull the thread again until it was absolutely necessary. After all, this was the best time of his life, as everyone told him. He did not want it to be over too quickly. He did, however, give the thread one or two very small tugs, just to speed along the day of his marriage. He longed to tell Liese his secret, but he knew that if he did he would die.</p>
<p>On the day of his wedding, everyone, including Peter, was happy. He could hardly wait to show Liese the house he had built for her. At the wedding feast he glanced over at his mother. He noticed for the first time how gray her hair had grown recently. She seemed to be aging so quickly. Peter felt a pang of guilt that he had pulled the thread so often. Henceforward he would be much more sparing with it and only use it when it was strictly necessary.</p>
<p>A few months later Liese announced that she was going to have a child. Peter was overjoyed and could hardly wait. When the child was born, he felt that he could never want for anything again. But whenever the child was ill or cried through the sleepless night, he gave the thread a little tug, just so that the baby might be well and happy again.</p>
<p>Times were hard. Business was bad and a government had come to power that squeezed the people dry with taxes and would tolerate no opposition. Anyone who became known as a troublemaker was thrown into prison without trial and rumor was enough to condemn a man. Peter had always been known as one who spoke his mind, and very soon he was arrested and cast into jail. Luckily he had his magic ball with him and he tugged very hard at the thread. The prison walls dissolved before him and his enemies were scattered in the huge explosion that burst forth like thunder. It was the war that had been threatening, but it was over as quickly as a summer storm, leaving behind it an exhausted peace. Peter found himself back home with his family. But now he was a middle-aged man.</p>
<p>For a time things went well and Peter lived in relative contentment. One day he looked at his magic ball and saw to his surprise that the thread had turned from gold to silver. He looked in the mirror. His hair was starting to turn gray and his face was lined where before there had not been a wrinkle to be seen. He suddenly felt afraid and determined to use the thread even more carefully than before. Liese bore him more children and he seemed happy as the head of his growing household. His stately manner often made people think of him as some sort of benevolent ruler. He had an air of authority as if he held the fate of others in his hands. He kept his magic ball in a well-hidden place, safe from the curious eyes of his children, knowing that if anyone were to discover it, it would be fatal.</p>
<p>As the number of his children grew, so his house became more overcrowded. He would have to extend it, but for that he needed money. He had other worries too. His mother was looking older and more tired every day. It was of no use to pull the magic thread because that would only hasten her approaching death. All too soon she died, and as Peter stood at her graveside, he wondered how it was that life passed so quickly, even without pulling the magic thread.</p>
<p>One night as he lay in bed, kept awake by his worries, he thought how much easier life would be if all his children were grown up and launched upon their careers in life. He gave the thread a mighty tug, and the following day he awoke to find that his children had all left home for jobs in different parts of the country, and that he and his wife were alone. His hair was almost white now and often his back and limbs ached as he climbed the ladder or lifted a heavy beam into place. Liese too was getting old and she was often ill. He couldn’t bear to see her suffer, so that more and more he resorted to pulling at the magic thread. But as soon as one trouble was solved, another seemed to grow in its place. Perhaps life would be easier if he retired, Peter thought. Then he would no longer have to clamber about on drafty, half-completed buildings and he could look after Liese when she was ill. The trouble was that he didn’t have enough money to live on. He picked up his magic ball and looked at it. To his dismay he saw that the thread was no longer silver but gray and lusterless. He decided to go for a walk in the forest to think things over.</p>
<p>It was a long time since he had been in that part of the forest. The small saplings had all grown into tall fir trees, and it was hard to find the path he had once known. Eventually he came to a bench in a clearing. He sat down to rest and fell into a light doze. He was woken by someone calling his name, "Peter! Peter!"</p>
<p>He looked up and saw the old woman he had met so many years ago when she had given him the magic silver ball with its golden thread. She looked just as she had on that day, not a day older. She smiled at him.</p>
<p>"So, Peter, have you had a good life?" she asked.</p>
<p>"I’m not sure," Peter said. "Your magic ball is a wonderful thing. I have never had to suffer or wait for anything in my life. And yet it has all passed so quickly. I feel that I have had no time to take in what has happened to me, neither the good things nor the bad. Now there is so little time left. I dare not pull the thread again for it will only bring me to my death. I do not think your gift has brought me luck."</p>
<p>"How ungrateful you are!" the old woman said. "In what way would you have wished things to be different?"</p>
<p>"Perhaps if you had given me a different ball, one where I could have pushed the thread back in as well as pulling it out. Then I could have relived the things that went badly."</p>
<p>The old woman laughed. "You ask a great deal! Do you think that God allows us to live our lives twice over? But I can grant you one final wish, you foolish, demanding man."</p>
<p>"What is that?" Peter asked.</p>
<p>"Choose," the old woman said. Peter thought hard.</p>
<p>At length he said, "I should like to live my life again as if for the first time, but without your magic ball. Then I will experience the bad things as well as the good without cutting them short, and at least my life will not pass as swiftly and meaninglessly as a daydream."</p>
<p>"So be it," said the old woman. "Give me back my ball."</p>
<p>She stretched out her hand and Peter placed the silver ball in it. Then he sat back and closed his eyes with exhaustion.</p>
<p>When he awoke he was in his own bed. His youthful mother was bending over him, shaking him gently.</p>
<p>"Wake up, Peter. You will be late for school. You were sleeping like the dead!"</p>
<p>He looked up at her in surprise and relief.</p>
<p>"I’ve had a terrible dream, Mother. I dreamed that I was old and sick and that my life had passed like the blinking of an eye with nothing to show for it. Not even any memories."</p>
<p>His mother laughed and shook her head.</p>
<p>"That will never happen," she said. "Memories are the one thing we all have, even when we are old. Now hurry and get dressed. Liese is waiting for you and you will be late for school."</p>
<p>As Peter walked to school with Liese, he noticed what a bright summer morning it was, the kind of morning when it felt good to be alive. Soon he would see his friends and classmates, and even the prospect of lessons didn’t seem so bad. In fact he could hardly wait.</p>
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<p>Written by Anonymous</p>
<p>Excerpted from <i>The Book of Virtues</i>.</p>
Support Creators: WinSCP2016-11-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/11/28/2/support-creators-winscp/<p><a href="https://winscp.net/eng/index.php">WinSCP</a> is the best Windows FTP client. That is all.</p>
Personal Website Manifesto2016-11-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/11/28/1/personal-website-manifesto/<p>I’ve had a personal website for years. Back in college I snagged <a href="http://briankoser.com/">briankoser.com</a>, put up some short programming articles, and experimented with HTML and CSS.</p>
<p>In 2015 I picked up <a href="http://koser.us/">koser.us</a> as a place to put Melissa’s recipes and our Christmas Letters. I’ve slowly added more and will eventually move all of my online output here.</p>
<p>People assume it’s because I’m a software developer. If you make web sites for a living, you have to have your own website, right? Well, no. Most software developers, even web developers, don’t have their own site. In 2016, most people just use Facebook (along with Twitter, Medium, and some others).</p>
<p>I have a Facebook account myself. Why isn’t that good enough?</p>
<p>Here are all the reasons I have my own website.</p>
<h2>To own my content</h2>
<p><em>Hey Facebook, you can use my lawnmower whenever you want.</em></p>
<p>Posting on Facebook allows Facebook to use your words for free. Some people have handed Facebook multiple novels-worth of work. You still own the content, but Facebook can use it for whatever they want.</p>
<p>“Who cares if Facebook uses the status updates about my cat?” you say. I grant that this is more of a philosophical argument. But just because it’s philosophical doesn’t mean it’s not important. This point leads into:</p>
<h2>Facebook isn’t free (as in “free beer”)</h2>
<p><em>Let me get you some free chips and salsa. I will also increase the cost of your entree by 10%.</em></p>
<p>One of the first principles of economics is: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. When you use a website, someone is paying for it. koser.us is paid for by me, to provide myself a platform. Facebook’s business model is:</p>
<ol>
<li>You give personal information to Facebook. Facebook gives you a place to find your friends and share your activities.</li>
<li>Facebook gives your personal information to advertisers. Advertisers give Facebook lots of money to run the website.</li>
<li>Advertisers target you with personalized ads based on your information.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you’re OK with this system, fine. I think there are people that wouldn’t be OK with that trade, but don’t realize they’re making it.</p>
<h2>Facebook isn’t free (as in “free speech”)</h2>
<p>You cannot say whatever you want on Facebook or Twitter. As private companies, they have every right to delete your account if you say something they don’t like.</p>
<p>This is a good thing. Without any moderation, obnoxious users would drive others off the platform.</p>
<p>However, if you ever disagree with Facebook or Twitter’s standards on what speech is acceptable, you’re out of luck. This is one reason that social media sites are:</p>
<h2>Facebook is an unstable platform</h2>
<p>Social media sites can delete your account at any time, without explanation. This has happened multiple times on Youtube and Twitter: a user promotes and builds their brand, gains followers, their account gets deleted. Sometimes they violate the Terms of Service; sometimes it’s just a mistake. Either way, people have lost <a href="https://marie-antoinettequeenoffrance.blogspot.com/2015/10/why-twitter-permanently-suspended-my.html">their followers</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/google-has-deleted-an-artist-s-blog-with-14-years-of-his-work">their content</a>, and even <a href="https://www.maxlaumeister.com/blog/google-is-deleting-your-favorite-youtube-videos/">their source of income</a>.</p>
<h2>For an easily-searchable archive</h2>
<p>Can you find that casserole recipe you posted on Facebook a few years ago?</p>
<h2>To own my presentation</h2>
<p>Websites like <a href="http://www.positivecomputing.org/2014/03/design-for-conflict-resolution-and.html">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://medium.design/crafting-link-underlines-on-medium-7c03a9274f9#.syb8bp65v">Medium</a> put a lot of thought into presentation. They come up with solid defaults that work for what most people want to do. But what if you want to do something unique? I couldn’t do my <a href="http://koser.us/games/">annual board game reports</a> on Facebook. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/11/magazine/isis-middle-east-arab-spring-fractured-lands.html">This New York Times article</a> couldn’t be done on Facebook. With your own website you can present your content however you want.</p>
<h2>To avoid lock-in</h2>
<p>You buy a service from Company A. Company B starts providing the service better, but you the cost of switching is so high you stay with Company A. This is called <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendor_lock-in">vendor lock-in</a>.</p>
<p>If tomorrow someone builds a better Facebook, would you be able to switch? If Twitter changes their Terms of Service to disallow your speech, will you leave? If you do you’ll probably be leaving all your content behind.</p>
<h2>For a wider reach</h2>
<p>There are over <strong>1 billion</strong> people on Facebook. That’s a crazy number. But it also means there are six times that many <em>not</em> on Facebook. Do you want to restrict who has access to your content?</p>
<p>“But my audience is on Facebook, I can’t ask them to move.” A solution is to put your content on your page and link to it from Facebook. This allows you:</p>
<h2>To create one canonical source</h2>
<p>Where can people find your content online? Facebook? Twitter? Medium? All of the above plus others? Using a personal website is the best way to consolidate your content. To consolidate you will need to:</p>
<h3>POSSE</h3>
<p><a href="https://indieweb.org/POSSE">POSSE</a> is “Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere”. With POSSE, you post your cat picture to your site, then your site automatically creates a Facebook post linking to your cat picture. This way your audience on social media will still see your content.</p>
<h3>Consolidate comments</h3>
<p>What makes social media “social”? Comments. And if someone comments about your content on Facebook, you want that on your site as well. Right now the best way to do that seems to be <a href="https://brid.gy/">Bridgy</a>. I haven’t used it yet but I plan to start in 2017.</p>
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<h2>You’ve convinced me. But I’m not technical. Can I have my own site?</h2>
<p>I haven’t used it, but the best non-technical solution right now seems to be <a href="https://withknown.com/">Known</a>. Of course, “build it yourself” will always be the most customizable option, so that’s in the works for koser.us in 2017.</p>
Support Creators: Inkscape2016-10-31T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/10/31/1/support-creators-inkscape/<p>Inkscape is vector-drawing software. Vector graphics are different than the more common raster graphics. A raster graphic like a JPG says, “The top left pixel is blue. The next pixel to the right is red. The next pixel…” A vector graphic says, “There’s a blue line from the top left to the right of the image. There’s a red circle whose diameter is half the length of the line.”</p>
<p>Vector graphics are superior to raster graphics for things like illustrations. You know how when you zoom into a photograph it eventually gets blurry? That’s because you’re just making the pixels bigger. A vector graphic is just a description of how to build an image, so you can zoom forever without getting blurry; the image will just re-draw at the new size.</p>
<p>Inkscape is really the only game in town for free vector drawing. I’ve used it for things like the logo of our podcast, <a href="http://tto.koser.us/">Ten to One</a>. That’s why I donated my October creators donation to Inkscape.</p>
Support Creators: Launchy2016-10-02T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/10/02/1/support-creators-launchy/<p>Did you know on Windows 8 and 10 you can hit the Windows key then start typing to search for apps, settings, and files? I’ve been using <a href="https://www.launchy.net/">Launchy</a> to do just that since Windows XP. In fact, I still use Launchy, for two reasons: first, it’s faster than the Windows search on my five-year-old laptop. Second, it includes directories in its index, and I find myself searching for directories more often than files. For it’s consistent greatness, I made Launchy my September creators donation.</p>
Support Creators: Book Catalog2016-09-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/09/28/1/support-creators-book-catalog/<p>Hi, my name is Brian Koser, and I have a problem. I can’t resist used book stores, used book sales, flea markets…to be completely honest I even browse through the used books at Goodwill. 😳</p>
<p>Sadly, Melissa suffers from the same affliction. Happily, we comfort each other by purchasing books. We’re up to 542 now. How do I know the exact number? Let me introduce you, fellow book-lover, to a handy little Android app: the aptly-named <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eleybourn.bookcatalogue">Book Catalog</a>.</p>
<p>This app lets you create a personal database of books. Books with an ISBN barcode can be scanned in; you can also type the ISBN code or title to enter books. The other killer feature for me is that it synchronizes with <a href="https://koser.us/articles/2016/09/28/1/support-creators-book-catalog/www.goodreads.com">Goodreads</a>, the social network for readers. With Book Catalog I can avoid coming home with a stack of books, only to realize that we already own half of them. That’s why my August creators donation went to Philip Warner, creator of Book Catalog.</p>
Support Creators: Paint.Net2016-09-26T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/09/26/1/support-creators-paint-net/<p>You probably don’t need Photoshop. I certainly don’t. For the basic work I do <a href="http://www.getpaint.net/index.html">Paint.NET</a> is more than enough. You can work with layers, adjust colors, and do simple effects like blurs. For basic image manipulation Paint.NET is the best, and that’s why I supported it with my June creators donation.</p>
Podcasting, Start to Finish: How to use a mixer2016-08-16T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/08/16/1/podcasting-start-to-finish-mixer/<p>A mixer (also called a “mixing console” or “mixing board”) is necessary if you record with more than one input, like two microphones or a microphone and an instrument. It can be intimidating to start, so let’s just look at the basics.</p>
<h2>XLR</h2>
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<p>The XLR inputs are where you plug in your microphones.</p>
<h2>Gain</h2>
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<p>If you’re interested in a slightly technical discussion, <a href="http://www.offbeatband.com/2009/08/the-difference-between-gain-volume-level-and-loudness/">this is a great article</a> about the difference between gain, volume, and loudness. The oversimplified explanation is: gain is the volume of your audio coming in to the mixer. Adjust it so that the audio signal is loud enough, but stays in the green (20, 0) and doesn’t go into the yellow or red (6, CLIP).</p>
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<p>With this board and the mics listed in the <a href="https://koser.us/podcasting-start-to-finish-equipment">last article</a>, I put the gain almost all the way to maximum.</p>
<h2>Phones</h2>
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<p>This knob controls the volume coming into the headphones without changing the volume of the audio going into the computer.</p>
<h2>The rest</h2>
<p>You can read about and experiment with the other settings, but to start you can leave everything else at the default:</p>
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<li>COMP at 0 (left)</li>
<li>EQ at 0 (center)</li>
<li>FX at -8 (left)</li>
<li>PAN in middle</li>
<li>LEVEL at 0 (center)</li>
<li>AUX RETURN at -8 (left)</li>
<li>TO PHONES/CTRL ROOM button depressed (up)</li>
<li>TO MAIN MIX button depressed (up)</li>
<li>Phantom power (red button) depressed (up)</li>
<li>MAIN MIX at 0 (center)</li>
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<h2>That’s all</h2>
<p>Sorry if you wanted more in-depth explanations of the settings, but I’ve only experimented a little and have ended up sticking with defaults. My main point of confusion was not realizing how high the gain had to be (almost to maximum with my setup). Hopefully I saved you a few minutes of confusion.</p>
Pinterest-perfect!2016-08-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/08/15/1/pinterest-perfect/<p>She smiled as the sounds of girlish giggles and laughter filtered through the house. Her daughters were having friends over for a sleepover and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. She was glad everything was going so beautifully. First, they’d had a princess tea party, complete with costumes, china cups and petit fours. Then they’d watched a movie playing off a bedsheet in the backyard, and shrieked in mock terror at the tires in the yard set to look like alligators (last month’s project). Now they were leaning out of the teepees she had arranged in their bedroom, gazing at the stars on the ceiling and discussing which boy they thought was cutest.</p>
<p>Yes, it had been a full and busy day, but much had been accomplished. The finishing touches had been added to the stairs, so that they now looked like book spines rather than just plain stairs. Her son’s room still needed some work done on it, but she had added the bookshelf decorated like a green pipe from the Mario-verse. Tomorrow she would start painting the tunnels through the Bowser’s Castle play area.</p>
<p>The last rays of the setting sun winked off the marbles she had set in the garden fence, and she smiled a good-night at the golf ball ladybugs she had placed to add some charm—</p>
<p>“It’s late. Let’s go to bed.” Her husband’s voice cut through her bliss, and with a sigh she headed toward the bedroom. As she trudged down the barren hallway in their apartment, she reflected on how quickly the evening had gone by. But she’d get through tomorrow’s chores of housework like she always did, and soon the evening would come and her child would go to sleep. Then she could again relax as she scoured Pinterest for tips and tricks, ideas and projects. And then off to bed again, to dream of all that she would never do.</p>
Support Creators: KeePass2016-08-14T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/08/14/1/support-creators-keepass/<p>You should never reuse a password. That means a different password for every computer and website account you have. If you’re like me, that means over 100 different passwords to keep track of. There are two solutions to this problem:</p>
<ol>
<li>Use the same password everywhere.</li>
<li>Use a password manager.</li>
</ol>
<p>Option 1 is bad bad bad. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link: if you use the same password everywhere, then a hacker only has to break into one site (the least secure) and they now have access to your email, bank, and credit cards.</p>
<p>Using a password manager is much more secure. I use <a href="http://keepass.info/download.html">KeePass</a>. All of my passwords are stored in KeePass, which requires a master password to access. Now I just have to remember one password. To keep it backed up and to use it on all my devices, I store my KeePass database in Dropbox.</p>
<p>To make it easier to enter passwords into websites, I use <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chromeipass/ompiailgknfdndiefoaoiligalphfdae?hl=en">chromeIPass</a>, which automatically fills the username and password fields when you open a web page.</p>
<p>To make the mobile experience easier, I use <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=keepass2android.keepass2android">KeePass2Android</a>. This works similarly to chromeIPass: you share the URL with KeePass2Android, which then pops up a notification which allows you to easily copy and paste the username and password into the website.</p>
<p>KeePass is a solid open-source project that is providing free security to tens of thousands of people. That’s why KeePass was my July creator donation, and KeePass2Android was my May creator donation.</p>
S3Stat is ridiculously easy download tracking for Amazon S32016-07-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/07/30/1/s3stat/<p>After recently starting our podcast (<a href="http://tto.koser.us/">Ten to One</a>, where we make top ten lists about everything), one of our first questions was: is anyone listening? Now, we’re just podcasting for fun, so we’re not concerned with getting a bunch of people to listen. But we’re still curious. Since the podcast files are hosted on Amazon’s S3, I started looking into ways of tracking downloads.</p>
<p>Let me save you some time: there’s no easy, accurate way to do it yourself.</p>
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<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-07-30-oldbookillustrations-rudder-fatum.jpg" alt="Tracking Amazon S3 downloads" />
<figcaption>Me, calculating Amazon S3 downloads</figcaption>
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<p>Thankfully, you don’t have to do it yourself: <a href="https://www.s3stat.com/">S3Stat</a> will do it for you! After a fifteen-minute setup, all I had to do was wait for the data to come in.</p>
<p>S3Stat collects the data and gives you some wonderful tables and graphs. You know I love graphs.</p>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-07-30-s3stat-graph.png" alt="Graph of Amazon S3 downloads" />
<p>For a hobby podcast like ours, I can’t justify paying $10/month for tracking download stats when we pay only pennies a month for website hosting and file storage. However, S3Stat has offered to give a free license to anyone who blogs about their product. Very generous!</p>
<p>To conclude: tracking S3 downloads yourself is ridiculously hard; S3Stat makes it ridiculously easy. For both businesses and hobby users using S3, their service is a no-brainer.</p>
Support Creators: Dan Carlin2016-07-29T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/07/29/1/support-creators-dan-carlin/<p>I like books, blogs, podcasts, and software. <a href="http://tto.koser.us/">I’ve</a> <a href="https://github.com/briankoser">created</a> <a href="http://briankoser.com/">some</a> <a href="http://koser.us/">myself</a> (no books, probably never a book). And I like to support people who create things that I like. Free services are great, but if you made a useful and well-designed app, I’m happy to pay a few dollars for it. We also have a budget item called “Creators”. It’s not a huge amount, but I make sure every month to give back to a creator who’s given me either practical value or just enjoyment. In addition I’m going to start writing about these folks each month as a further “Thank you”.</p>
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<h2>Dan Carlin</h2>
<p>Dan Carlin is one of the most successful professional podcasters. Both of his podcasts, Hardcore History and Common Sense, are quite popular (in the millions of listeners), and deservedly so.</p>
<p>Hardcore History is basically a series of audiobooks on topics such as the fall of the Roman Republic, World War I, and the Persian Empire. Dan is an excellent story teller with a great radio voice. He’s a self-proclaimed amateur historian, but he does a ton of research and presents a balanced view of history.</p>
<p>Common Sense is his political, current events podcast. The topics vary but civil liberties, terrorism, and government corruption are some of his favorites. We don’t agree on everything (who does?) but it’s always thought-provoking and, quite often, really just common sense.</p>
<p>Dan is able to make a living podcasting through donations. You can listen to his shows for free, so check them out. If you enjoy them as much as I do, you might even donate $1/?show to help him continue.</p>
Podcasting, Start to Finish: Equipment2016-07-23T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/07/23/1/podcasting-start-to-finish-equipment/<p>Recently we started a podcast: <a href="http://tto.koser.us/">Ten to One</a>, where we make top ten lists about everything (<a href="http://tto.koser.us/">check it out!</a>). We try for the highest quality possible; for content, of course, but also for the audio quality and editing. In case you want to start a podcast, or just do some intermediate audio recording and editing, I’m going to write a series of articles detailing how we do it. Let’s start with the equipment.</p>
<p>You can record audio on your smart phone or laptop, but high-quality audio requires better equipment. If you’re just recording one person you should get:</p>
<h2>Microphone</h2>
<p>We use the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QJOZS4">Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB</a>, a cheap but good quality mic.</p>
<h2>Microphone stand</h2>
<p>The ATR2100 does come with a small stand, but we wanted something sturdier that wouldn’t pick up every table bump. The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000978D58">On Stage Tripod Boom Microphone Stand (MS7701B)</a> is a floor-standing tripod that works with our mic, although it requires a:</p>
<h2>Microphone clip</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ZO60I">On Stage Microphone Clip (MY325)</a> attaches to the stand and actually holds the mic.</p>
<h2>Pop filter</h2>
<p>To prevent plosives (“P” and “B” sounds, which are made with a burst of air from the mouth) from making a popping sound when they hit the mic. The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008AOH1O6">Dragonpad USA Pop filter</a> is big and cheap and works.</p>
<h2>Headphones</h2>
<p>Not a necessity, but it does help you know exactly what your mic is picking up. You can plug them directly into the ATR2100.</p>
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<p>The nice thing about the one-person setup is how easy it is to plug everything together:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-12-03-scarlet-pimpernel.jpg" alt="The Scarlet Pimpernel cast" />
<figcaption>Megan and her boyfriend Josh Hutt, who played the Scarlet Pimpernel</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-07-23-podcasting-equipment-one-mic-diagram.png" alt="Diagram showing how to connect one microphone to a computer" />
</figure>
<p>Just plug the mic into the computer and you’re off to the races.</p>
<p>However, with two people it’s a little awkward recording into one mic. The downside to adding a mic is that you can’t just plug it in to a second USB port. It’s important that the audio from both mics goes in simultaneously, but USB does not transfer at consistent speeds. You’ll need to plug the mics into a mixer which will combine the audio and send it to the computer. Our new setup includes the existing equipment plus:</p>
<h2>An additional mic, stand, clip, and pop filter</h2>
<p>Same models.</p>
<h2>Mixer</h2>
<p>We use the <a href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Q802USB">Behringer Xenyx Q802USB</a>. The mixer will take the audio from both mics and pipe it into your computer through USB.</p>
<h2>1/4″ to 1/8″ cable</h2>
<p>Like the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O3C">Hosa 1/8″ TRS to Two Mono 1/4″ Cable</a>. We use this to connect audio from our laptop to the mixing board. This allows us to record Skype conversations or other audio played from the computer.</p>
<h2>Headphone adapter</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005T3GH">RCA AH216 Stereo headphone adapter</a> allows you to plug your headphones into the mixer.</p>
<p>The new setup looks like this:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-07-23-podcasting-equipment-two-mic-diagram.png" alt="Diagram showing how to connect two microphones to a mixer and computer" />
</figure>
<p>I’ve never used a mixer, so I’ll have to go figure it out before I write part two. 😎</p>
Practical Typography2016-07-07T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/07/07/1/practical-typography/<p>If you use Microsoft Word or build websites and have never learned the basics of typography, I’d like you to check out Matthew Butterick’s <a href="http://practicaltypography.com/">Practical Typography</a>
. You’ll learn about things like margins, punctuation, bold vs. italics, fonts, and get specific recommendations for documents like résumés. Each section is short with practical recommendations and examples. Butterick does present these topics as rules, even when much of the subject matter is opinion. But that’s a good thing for beginners: you’ve got to learn the rules before you can break them. Not interested in typography? At least check out his <a href="http://practicaltypography.com/typography-in-ten-minutes.html">Typography in ten minutes</a> cheat sheet. Consider this an intervention.</p>
Number or String?2016-06-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/06/25/1/number-or-string/<p>If a value contains only numeric digits, when should you store it as a number in the database, and when as a string?</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-06-25-number-vs-string.png" alt="Flowchart for when to store value as number or string in the database." />
</figure>
<ul>
<li>Phone numbers, US ZIP codes, and credit card numbers can start with a zero: store them as strings.</li>
<li>Product prices can be added (multiple products), subtracted and divided (coupons): store them as numbers.</li>
<li>Store as number any sortable report column values. Otherwise you’ll get “1, 10, 2” instead of “1, 2, 10”.</li>
<li>This one is debatable: if you are storing e.g. a US ZIP code, and you are validating that it only contains numeric digits, should you store it as a number even though you don’t need arithmetic done? I would probably still store it as a string, but I wouldn’t argue if you make it a number.</li>
</ul>
The Bible on Broccoli2016-06-11T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/06/11/1/broccoli-in-the-bible/<p>Matthew 14:16-19</p>
<ol start="16">
<li>Then saith he unto his disciples, Give unto these provision.
</li><li>And his disciples saith, Lord, wherewith shall we feed these? We have but five loaves, two fishes, and some broccoli.
</li><li>The Lord saith, Give me the bread and fishes. And the disciples marvelled at his wisdom.
</li><li>And again he saith, Get thee behind me broccoli. Unto his disciples he saith, Let it alone: it is from the Devil’s garden.
</li></ol>
These verses mean a lot to me.Lobotomized Owl2016-05-22T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/05/22/1/lobotomized-owl/<p><code>* + * { }</code></p>
<p>The “<a href="http://alistapart.com/article/axiomatic-css-and-lobotomized-owls">lobotomized owl selector</a>” is one of those things that seems obvious in hindsight. “Why didn’t I think of that?” It changed how I think about CSS layout. Check it out.</p>
SILO: Snakes on Sticks2016-05-21T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/05/21/1/silo-snakes-on-sticks/<p>I’ve started bookmarking the interesting Wikipedia articles I stumble on. You’ll see them pop up here with the prefix “SILO”: “Stuff I Learned Online”. Enjoy the tidbits.</p>
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<p>What’s the deal with medical organizations and snakes on sticks? Why is it sometime one snake and sometimes two snakes?</p>
<h2><span class="giga">⚕</span> Rod of Asclepius</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius">Rod of Asclepius</a> is a wooden rod with a single snake entwined around it. It’s a common symbol for medicine, used by entities such as the World Health Organization. Asclepius was the Greek god of medicine, son of Apollo. Why did he carry a snake on a stick? Some think it was symbolic; for example, the way snakes shed their skin could symbolize rejuvenation.</p>
<p>Possibly related (although there’s no way to know), the Rod of Asclepius resembles the rod with a bronze serpent (1) that God told Moses to erect in the wilderness. Israelites bitten by poisonous snakes could be healed by just looking at the bronze snake. Fifteen-hundred years later, Jesus said that the snake was a picture of himself:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. John 3:14</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John 12:32</p>
</blockquote>
<h2><span class="giga">☤</span> Caduceus</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus">caduceus</a>
is a rod with two snakes wrapped around the rod and each other. It was given to Hermes (2), god of commerce and the messenger of the gods, by Apollo (3), the father of Asclepius. Why did <em>he</em> carry snakes on a stick? The world is full of mysteries. The caduceus is also used by some modern organizations as a symbol of medicine, although the Rod of Asclepius is more common.</p>
<p>So why is the caduceus used as a medical symbol when it had no connection to medicine originally? Apparently in the late 1800’s the US military confused the two and started using the caduceus as a medical insignia. Oops.</p>
<p>I keep them straight in my mind by remembering that “ca<em>duce</em>us” has a “deuce” in the middle, and it’s the one with two snakes.</p>
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<ol>
<li>The brass serpent was later called “<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+18:4&version=KJV">Nehushtan</a>”.</li>
<li>Mercury is the Roman god that corresponded to the Greek god Hermes.</li>
<li>The god Apollo was called “Apollo” in both Greek and Roman pantheons.</li>
</ol>
Please2016-04-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/04/30/1/please/<p>This is why I use an ad-blocker:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-oorah.gif" alt="A disturbing animated ad of three creepy children and an old man eating some unidentifiable substance" />
<figcaption>Megan and her boyfriend Josh Hutt, who played the Scarlet Pimpernel</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if someone asks nicely, I don’t mind turning it off.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-pony-foo.png" alt="Nicolás Bevacqua asks that you whitelist his ads" />
<figcaption>PonyFoo asks nicely</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No problem, Nicolás.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-impressive-webs.png" alt="Louis Lazaris asks that you whitelist his ads" />
<figcaption>Impressive Webs asks nicely</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sure, Louis. Glad to do it.</p>
<p>Sometimes they give you a choice:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-wired.png" alt="Wired asks that you either unblock ads or pay $1 per month" />
<figcaption>Wired makes you choose</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whitelist or pay. That’s fair. Nothing is free.</p>
<p>Sometimes they don’t ask:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-smashing-magazine.png" alt="Smashing Magazine says they use ad blockers" />
<figcaption>Smashing Magazine makes an observation</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>OK…so you don’t mind if I use an ad-blocker? Cool.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2016-04-30-blocker-washington-post.png" alt="The Washington Post tells you that your ad-blocker is on" />
</figure>
<p>Why yes. Yes it is on. And it will stay on. Developer tools, inspect, delete element.</p>
Pocket Supercomputer2016-04-18T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/04/18/1/pocket-supercomputer/<p>Now that I have a supercomputer in my pocket (currently a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_5">Google Nexus 5</a>), life is less cluttered. I no longer need to carry:</p>
<ul>
<li>paper</li>
<li>pen</li>
<li>flashlight</li>
</ul>
<p>Travel with:</p>
<ul>
<li>maps</li>
<li>GPS</li>
<li>laptop</li>
</ul>
<p>Own:</p>
<ul>
<li>calculator</li>
<li>camera</li>
<li>video recorder</li>
<li>Gameboy</li>
<li>dictionary</li>
<li>encyclopedia</li>
<li>MP3 player</li>
<li>watch</li>
<li>pager</li>
<li>alarm clock</li>
<li>level</li>
<li>barcode scanner</li>
<li>calendar</li>
<li>day planner</li>
</ul>
<p>Memorize:</p>
<ul>
<li>addresses</li>
<li>phone numbers</li>
<li>social security numbers</li>
<li>license plate numbers</li>
<li>birthdays</li>
<li>credit card numbers</li>
<li>first aid</li>
</ul>
<p>It could replace:</p>
<ul>
<li>TV</li>
<li>books</li>
</ul>
<p>…although I still own a TV and shelves of books.</p>
<p>I expect it will eventually replace:</p>
<ul>
<li>keys</li>
<li>wallet</li>
</ul>
Eternal and Undying Fame2016-03-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/03/15/1/eternal-and-undying-fame/<p>In 2005, <a href="http://www.quirksmode.org/about/">Peter-Paul Koch</a> launched a small <a href="http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2005/09/addevent_recodi.html">JavaScript contest</a>. The contestants re-implemented an <code>addEvent()</code> function originally written in 2001. As a prize, PPK offered “eternal and undying fame” and asserted, “your name could become a household name”. The <a href="http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/2005/10/_and_the_winner_1.html">winner</a>? John Resig, who the following year wrote jQuery (<a href="http://libscore.com/#libs">the world’s most popular JavaScript library</a>) and went on to become the most well-known JavaScript developer in the world.</p>
Ten Characteristics of My Spouse2016-03-04T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/03/04/1/ten-characteristics-of-my-spouse/<p>In honor of Valentine’s Day, Melissa chose to do this list of things we love about each other. Melissa ranked her list; Brian just alphabetized his.</p>
<h2>Melissa</h2>
<ol>
<li>Sense of humor
<ul>
<li>He laughs when I do/say stupid stuff.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Respectable</li>
<li>Positive</li>
<li>Hardworking</li>
<li>Forgiving</li>
<li>Even-tempered</li>
<li>Listening spirit</li>
<li>Fun</li>
<li>Ability to admit when wrong</li>
<li>Prudent
<ul>
<li>He thinks ahead.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Brian</h2>
<ol>
<li>Cheerful
<ul>
<li>😀</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Forgiving
<ul>
<li>Good thing for me!</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Fun
<ul>
<li>She’s fun to be around.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Giving
<ul>
<li>She is always coming up with nice things to do or give to people.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Industrious
<ul>
<li>😣</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kind</li>
<li>Romantic
<ul>
<li>😗</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Smart
<ul>
<li>🤓</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Supportive</li>
<li>Thoughtful
<ul>
<li>She thinks about others.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
Ten Top Ten Lists2016-02-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/02/15/1/ten-top-ten-lists/<p>I like making top ten lists of everything. Melissa isn’t as big on lists (she didn’t have a favorite color or animal until I made her choose), but I think she’s coming around. 😁 Here are our top ten Top Ten lists we’re going to post here on koser.us.</p>
<h2>Brian</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/014-animals/">Animals</a></li>
<li>Movies</li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/018-hymns/">Hymns</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/096-tv-show-intros/">TV Show Themes</a></li>
<li>Places to Visit</li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/108-animated-shows/">Cartoons</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/044-pop-culture-quotes/">Quotes</a></li>
<li>Emoji</li>
<li>Fiction Authors</li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/013-top-ten-lists-well-never-do/">Top Ten Lists We’ll Never Do</a></li>
</ol>
<h2>Melissa</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://koser.us/article/2016/03/04/1/ten-characteristics-of-my-spouse">Characteristics I Love About My Spouse</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/021-bucket-list-experiences/">Items On My Bucket List</a></li>
<li>Fictional Universes</li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/004-villains/">Qualities of a Good Villain</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/019-memories/">Memories</a></li>
<li><a href="https://tto.koser.us/episodes/047-bible-verses/">Bible Verses</a></li>
<li>Superpowers</li>
<li>Alternate Vocations Spouse Could Have</li>
<li>Places to Go</li>
<li>Activities I Like Doing</li>
</ol>
Web 2.0(16)2016-02-06T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/02/06/1/web-2016/<p>It’s interesting to read Paul Graham’s <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html">Web 2.0</a> ten years later. Some thoughts:</p>
<ul>
<li>The websites Paul most praises—Google, Wikipedia, Reddit—are stronger than ever in 2016.</li>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve noticed for a while that the stuff I read on individual people’s sites is as good as or better than the stuff I read in newspapers and magazines. And now I have independent evidence: the top links on Reddit are generally links to individual people’s sites rather than to magazine articles or news stories.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>This is no longer the case. ☹️ Today’s top stories on Reddit include no individual people’s sites.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>Craigslist has largely destroyed the classified ad sites of the 90s, and OkCupid looks likely to do the same to the previous generation of dating sites.</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>OkCupid is still one of the most popular.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if ten years from now eBay had been supplanted by an ad-supported freeBay (or, more likely, gBay).</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Nope. eBay has fewer and fewer auctions, and more and more people just sell directly, some on eBay and some on competitors like Amazon.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<blockquote>
<p>The ultimate target is Microsoft. What a bang that balloon is going to make when someone pops it by offering a free web-based alternative to MS Office. Who will? Google? They seem to be taking their time. I suspect the pin will be wielded by a couple of 20 year old hackers who are too naïve to be intimidated by the idea. (How hard can it be?)</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Google, of course, did come out with the free web-based Google Docs, but Microsoft and their web-based Office 365 are doing fine.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
ES6: The Future is Now2016-01-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/01/15/2/es6-the-future-is-now/<p>Last month I gave a presentation at work about ES6 (<a href="http://slides.com/briankoser/deck">view the slides</a>). Giving yourself two weeks to prepare a talk on a subject you don’t know is a great way to learn. 😀 But, I learn best when actually building something, so I converted <a href="http://github.com/briankoser/thomas">thomas</a> to ES6. Now I’m missing the new features in my work projects, especially arrow functions and string interpolation. I’m not yet sure I’d want to add a transpilation step to production JS, but I’m definitely using it on as many future personal projects as possible.</p>
2015 → 20162016-01-15T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/01/15/1/2015-2016/<p>Squishy goals are bad. When you set a goal, like a New Year’s resolution, it should be concrete. Instead of “I’m going to eat healthier” your goal should be something like “I’m going to eat under 2000 calories six days per week.”</p>
<p>My resolutions from 2015 concrete; does that mean I got everything done? Let’s see how I did:</p>
<h2>1. Work on to do list before work in the mornings</h2>
<p>I was doing well here until Lydia was born. Since then I’ve been getting to bed later and haven’t been getting up early enough to do anything before work.</p>
<h2>2. Exercise 5 days every week</h2>
<p>Same as above. I was exercising in the morning a couple days a week, but haven’t even once since Lydia arrived. I did play racquetball on weekends, but not as much as I’d like (my goal is twice a month).</p>
<h2>3. Daily Family Meetings</h2>
<p>I purposely delayed this one. Keep reading.</p>
<h2>4. Make dent in To Do items</h2>
<p>I have a <a href="http://trello.com/">Trello</a> board where I keep track of items I need to do. At the beginning of the week I’ll choose several to get done that week. I did make a dent, but I’m always coming up with more things I want to do. (I have too many hobbies.)</p>
<h2>5. 5 hours a week on websites</h2>
<p>Did I really want to do 5 hours a week? I didn’t spend that much time, but I did:</p>
<ul>
<li>complete a small redesign of <a href="http://briankoser.com/">briankoser.com</a></li>
<li>completely re-write <a href="http://koser.us/">koser.us</a> with a new back- and front-end</li>
<li>make <a href="http://koser.us/antonio/">Antonio</a>, a small project for a few BGG users (No longer maintained. Move along.)</li>
<li>start making <a href="http://github.com/briankoser/thomas">Thomas</a>, a board game ranking tool</li>
</ul>
<p>So I’m going to count this as a success.</p>
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<p>So apparently I’m not great at keeping New Year’s resolutions. Let’s see if I can do better this year. Keep me accountable! Since I had five resolutions in 2015, I have six for 2016:</p>
<h2>1. Read 20 books (including at least 2 audio books)</h2>
<p>I read 9 books in 2015, and some of those were graphic novels. Lately I’ve been reading more online: technical blogs, political and sports news, board game forums, reddit. I also didn’t finish listening to the audio book I started, favoring podcasts instead. In 2016, I’d like to cut back on the online reading. Until I’ve listened to a couple audiobooks I’ll slow down the podcast pace. That way I can finish half the books that I’ve started, read some more that are sitting on the bookshelf, and listen to those I have on my phone.</p>
<h2>2. Finish 9 epics</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.scrumalliance.org/why-scrum">Scrum</a> is a project planning system that I’ve used at work. I’ve borrowed some of the <a href="https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2014/march/stories-versus-themes-versus-epics">scrum terminology</a> for my to-do lists. Quick items (done in a week or less) I call “stories”. A project made up of multiple stories I call an “epic”. I currently have 18 epics on my to do list, and I’d like to finish 9 in 2016.</p>
<h2>3. 30 minutes a day, 21 days a month on to do list</h2>
<p>To work on those epics and other stories, I’m going to set aside a half hour per day for three weeks out of the month.</p>
<h2>4. Blog once per month at briankoser.com and koser.us</h2>
<p>I’m going to start posting my non-programming writing on koser.us, which is probably where you’re reading this.</p>
<h2>5. Family Meetings</h2>
<p>I had this as a goal last year and decided to postpone it until after Lydia was born. When she starts eating solid food and we start eating at the table again, we’re going to start having family meetings. We’ll be able to keep up with what’s getting done and what still needs to be done. We can keep each other accountable so we don’t keep putting off important things like getting our wills signed (oops!).</p>
<h2>6. Start a podcast</h2>
<p>I really enjoy the medium of podcasting. The switch from the “push” model of radio and television to the “pull” model of podcasts and web video is a huge improvement. In 2016 I’d like to start a podcast. I’ve got a few different ideas but haven’t decided which to follow through on yet.</p>
<p>I want 2016 to be a year of getting things done, and the best way for me to make sure it happens is concrete goals and accountability. Let’s do it!</p>
Programming Punctuation Poem2016-01-02T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2016/01/02/1/programming-punctuation-poem/<p>I’ve been on somewhat of a punctuation kick lately, and I remembered a poem:</p>
<pre>< > ! * ' ' #
^ " ` $ $ -
! * = @ $ _
% * < > ~ # 4
& [ ] . . /
| { , , SYSTEM HALTED</pre>
<p>This doesn’t seem like much of a poem until you realize that programmers have different names for punctuation than English professors. When reading code it’s much easier to say “bang” than to say “exclamation point”, and programmers are nothing if not efficient (which is to say, we’re lazy). Here’s the translation:</p>
<pre>< > ! * ' ' #
Waka waka bang splat tick tick hash,
^ " ` $ $ -
Caret quote back-tick dollar dollar dash,
! * = @ $ _
Bang splat equal at dollar underscore,
% * < > ~ # 4
Percent splat waka waka tilde number four,
& [ ] . . /
Ampersand bracket bracket dot dot slash,
| { , , SYSTEM HALTED
Vertical-bar curly-bracket comma comma CRASH.</pre>
<p>Kudos to the authors Fred Bremmer and Steve Kroese, who got the poem printed in the May/June 1990 issue of <em>Infocus</em> magazine.</p>
IoC2015-12-28T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/12/28/1/ioc/<p>I just watched an <a href="http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/inversion-of-control">Inversion of Control course</a> on Pluralsight. I get it now, but I’m writing this down to make sure I get it tomorrow.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dependency Inversion Principle</strong> - accessed items should not depend on accessor items</li>
<li><strong>Inversion of Control</strong>
<ul>
<li>a pattern to “solve” the Dependency Inversion Principle</li>
<li>accessor tells accessed how they will interact</li>
<li><em>Interface inversion</em> - accessor creates interface rather than accessed</li>
<li><em>Flow inversion</em> - event-driven instead of procedural programming</li>
<li><em>Creation inversion</em> - object is created outside of the class it is used in -
<ul>
<li>factory pattern (<code>Button button = ButtonFactory.CreateButton();</code>)</li>
<li>service locator (<code>Button button = ServiceLocator.Create(IButton.class);</code>)</li>
<li>dependency injection</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dependency Injection</strong>
<ul>
<li>dependency is created outside of class that depends on it</li>
<li>differs from creation inversion because it specifies that the dependency is not created by the dependent; in e.g. the factory pattern, the dependent is still responsible for creating the dependent by calling the factory</li>
<li><em>Constructor Injection</em>
<ul>
<li>most common</li>
<li>dependency is passed into constructor and stored as field in object</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em>Setter Injection</em>
<ul>
<li>dependency is passed into setter and stored as field in object</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><em>Interface Injection</em>
<ul>
<li>class has interface which requires a setter</li>
<li>when calling cast the class as the interface and call the interface’s setter</li>
<li>more explicit than just a setter</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>IoC Container</strong>
<ul>
<li>framework for doing dependency injection</li>
<li>resolves the chain of dependencies</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>They aren’t difficult concepts. Really, the most difficult part is keeping all the terminology straight.</p>
Christmas Letter 20152015-12-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/12/25/1/christmas-letter-2015/<p>Merry Christmas 2015!</p>
<p>Greetings to all our family and friends! It’s been another full and blessed year for us. January had an exciting start: when we returned from visiting Melissa’s family in Honduras, we discovered that a couple of rats had been using the apartment in our absence. The next few weeks were somewhat stressful as we washed and wiped everything that was out in the open, and learned to hide all our food. We were very glad to discover the rats had not gotten into any of our drawers or cupboards, which saved a ton of work. Eventually we found all their holes, sealed them, and managed to trap one rat and, er, remove its presence from the house.</p>
<p>In June we were privileged to host missionaries, the <a href="http://kingsinafrica.com/">Jason and Ashley King family</a>, during our church’s Missions Conference. We enjoyed getting to know them and the other missionaries. The conference was a great blessing and challenge, and ended with a BBQ/cake/pie bake-off at our church. Melissa placed third with her prize-winning Swiss Roll Cake, dethroning many previous champs. She looks forward to placing first next year.</p>
<p>We spent our summer vacation in Orlando, FL, attending the Dice Tower board gaming convention. For three days we enjoyed playing board games, meeting new people, participating in Dice Tower activities, and just being nerdy among others like us. We even got to play a couple games with one of the founding members of the Dice Tower!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-06-25-dice-tower-con.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa at Dice Tower Convention with Sam and David Healey" />
<figcaption>Dice Tower Con! With Sam and David Healey!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The last night of the convention we attended a pirate dinner show, featuring swashbuckling acrobatics and piratical romance!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-06-27-pirate-dinner-show.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa at the Pirate Dinner Show" />
<figcaption>Arr!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From June to July we got to spend a whole month with Melissa’s brother Tim before he shipped out to Japan. We had a great time of board games, movies, and just having fun. We also toured the USS Alabama, exploring throughout the entire ship.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-07-24-uss-mobile.jpg" alt="Melissa and Tim on the USS Mobile" />
<figcaption>Tim showing off his Navy knowledge to us lubbers</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Around Christmas 2014, we discovered we were going to have a baby! The wonderful ladies of Crossroads Baptist Church threw a baby shower for Melissa in August, and Mom and Megan Koser got to attend. So many wonderful gifts were given, and once again we say thank you!</p>
<p>Our little Lydia was born September 3rd at 7 pm, weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz. and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. Brian was wonderful during labor and delivery, and the staff at Springhill Medical Center were very supportive. The birth went well with no complications, and recovery was swift. Melissa’s parents and sister were present for the birth, and Brian’s family arrived the day after. We also got to see Melissa’s Uncle Leland and Aunt Marty, and a week later her brother Dale and his family visited as well. It was a very exciting time, and we were so glad to see everyone! Many thanks again to everyone who helped us with meals and housework those first few weeks.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-09-03-lydia.jpg" alt="Lydia newly born" />
<figcaption>Lydia on her first day</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just after Lydia was born, Brian switched to a new job. While before he was doing database work in the medical field, now he works for a consulting firm, doing many different projects in many different fields. Although he can no longer walk to work, the new office is close enough to still come home for lunch every day.</p>
<p>Since Lydia was born, Melissa has not tried as many new or challenging recipes, preferring to stick with those that are quick and easy. However, earlier this year she did make deep dish Chicago-style pizza, <a href="http://koser.us/recipes/fried-ice-cream">fried ice cream</a>, and from-scratch <a href="http://koser.us/recipes/strawberry-glazed-buttermilk-donuts">strawberry donuts</a>. She also made some cinnamon candy for Christmas. The links lead to those recipes on our website, where you’re also probably reading this Christmas letter! Speaking of which, Brian has made a few changes to the website, improving the appearance and adding recipe tags.</p>
<p>We’ve enjoyed getting more involved in our church this year. Melissa is now playing the piano full time. Until Lydia was born we taught the 3rd-grade class of our Wednesday night children’s Bible club and taught a Sunday morning preschool class once a month. We also got to help out with Vacation Bible School this summer, teaching lessons, songs, and Bible verses. Working with children can be challenging, but it’s always rewarding.</p>
<p>Brian’s family was able to visit for Thanksgiving again this year, and we enjoyed a hearty meal together. We also got to watch his sister Megan perform in a production of The Scarlet Pimpernel at <abbr title="Pensacola Christian College">PCC</abbr>.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-12-03-scarlet-pimpernel.jpg" alt="The Scarlet Pimpernel cast" />
<figcaption>Megan and her boyfriend Josh Hutt, who played the Scarlet Pimpernel</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Logan Harding took our Christmas photos; hire him to do video or photography at <a href="http://www.shadowpointmedia.com/">Shadowpoint Media</a>. Bekah Haas made Lydia’s scarf and booties; get your own at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/softlysweet14/">Softly Sweet Facebook page</a>.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-12-06-lydia.jpg" alt="Lydia in her knit hat and scarf" />
<figcaption>Our precious girl</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today is Christmas, and as we post this, we’re enjoying spending Christmas with Brian’s family again, in Louisiana.</p>
<p>If you pass through Mobile in 2016, please stop by and see Lydia (we’ve found that she’s the main reason people visit nowadays 😊). Looking forward to a great 2016!</p>
Top Ten Punctuation Marks2015-10-24T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/10/24/1/top-ten-punctuation-marks/<p>I like punctuation marks. Why? Well…maybe because they shape language so much while going mostly unnoticed. Maybe because they’re never spoken* and their names are unknown to laymen, giving them a mysterious air. Probably just because they look nice. Here’s my favorite ten, from 10 to 1.</p>
<h2>Honorable Mentions</h2>
<ul>
<li>÷ Obelus</li>
<li>/ Solidus</li>
</ul>
<p>How cool are the names “obelus” and “solidus”? Answer: very.</p>
<h2>10. {} Braces</h2>
<p>[More graceful than stodgy brackets.] (More refined than the common parentheses.) {Braces are the Audrey Hepburn of the punctuation world.}</p>
<h2>9. … Ellipsis</h2>
<p>Not three periods. See the difference?</p>
<p><span class="giga">…</span> (ellipsis)
<span class="giga">...</span> (three periods)</p>
<p>What do you mean, what difference does it make? Pistols at dawn, sir!</p>
<h2>8. | Pipe</h2>
<p>I don’t really use the pipe. I’m not really sure what the pipe is for. But I feel safer knowing the pipe is there in case I ever need it.</p>
<h2>7. & Ampersand</h2>
<p>So the name “ampersand” comes from when “&” was included at the end of the alphabet, so you would say, “X Y Z, and, per se, ‘and’” because if you said “X Y Z and ‘and’” it would sound awkward, and so the Latin phrase “per se” was added…and then it was abbreviated over time…part of the alphabet…fine, I’ll stop. Anyway, look at that swoop! Chic.</p>
<h2>6. * Asterisk</h2>
<p>Some refer to the asterisk as the “splat”, which, though lacking respect, is still preferrable to “aster<strong>ick</strong>”. (To those “asterick”-sayers: please note the second “S”. And please note my stern disapproval.) My favorite asterisk is the one in the typeface Source Code Pro:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-10-24-source-code-pro-asterisk.png" alt="Source Code Pro asterisk" />
</figure>
<p>I don’t know why, but it makes me smile every time.</p>
<h2>5. » Guillemet</h2>
<p>My college English 101 professor mentioned that she used this symbol when taking notes to indicate a definition. That advice is the single-most life-changing advice—related to note-taking—I have ever received (thanks Mrs. Twigg!). Just one reason the dashing guillemet deserves a more prominent spot in our language.</p>
<h2>4. ¢ Cent sign</h2>
<p>What makes the cent sign so beautiful? Is it the sublime combination of curve and straight? The swelling of nostalgia for the days of newspapers and horse-drawn carriages and top hats? The reminder of the Horatio Alger-esque rags-to-riches tales which have inspired our nation since its founding? Whatever the reason, it occupies a special place in my heart.</p>
<h2>3. § Section sign</h2>
<p>It’s a crime that the section sign is not seen in more literature. We’ve sacrificed the section sign and its milieu for the sake of clarity, of conciseness. Instead of “ch. 3, § 102(a)(1), para. 4, subp. 13” we use the banal, mechanical, and sensible “1.3.1”. But at what cost to our souls? The section sign is overwrought, archaic, pretentious…and wonderful.</p>
<h2>2. ¶ Pilcrow</h2>
<p>Ah, the pilcrow; know today chiefly as Microsoft Word’s formatting marks icon. Best named of all punctuation. But mere words will not suffice, so I give to you a montage of pilcrows:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-10-24-pilcrows.png" alt="Pilcrows in multiple fonts" />
</figure>
<h2>1. ? Question mark</h2>
<p>Unlike its workaday brother the period, the question mark does not wear out its welcome with overly-frequent visits. Unlike its melodramatic sister the exclamation mark, it does not stay out all night partying and then bang around the house obnoxiously when arriving home. The question mark is the cat that you almost forget is living with you; it occupies a happy medium, familiar but not constantly present.</p>
<p>Its functional precision is matched by its form. The curves of the question mark speak of mystery, of the great unknown, of the riddles we ponder on stormy nights. The question mark bypasses the mind and the heart, and speaks directly to the soul. It stands alone, not in the dusty library of Tedium or atop the mountain of Narcissism, but in the grey alleyway of Ambiguity, dimly lit by the flickering lamplight of Truth. The question mark is not a king or a fool or a workman. In the Kingdom of Punctuation, the question mark is the grand vizier, the power behind the throne, content to rule from the shadows.</p>
<p>The question mark works its craft with poise and panache. What more could you ask from a bit of punctuation?</p>
<p>*Well, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=victor+borge+phonetic+punctuation">almost never</a>.</p>
Link Digest — September 20152015-09-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/09/30/1/september-2015-link-digest/<p>Here are all the interesting links that I found in September 2015 that I deem worthy of being preserved for the future.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d">We Don’t Sell Saddles Here</a>
<ul>
<li>A Slack internal memo that from 2013 detailing the strategy of “selling horseback riding instead of saddles”.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.broken-links.com/2015/09/14/innovation-in-mobile-browsers-and-the-iphone/">Innovation in Mobile Browsers, and the iPhone</a>
<ul>
<li>I read this and immediately uninstalled the Facebook app from my Android. Now that the website supports push notifications, I’m perfectly happy to use the website.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://nypost.com/2015/09/19/how-ahmeds-clock-became-a-false-convenient-tale-of-racism/">How Ahmed’s clock became a false, convenient tale of racism</a>></li>
<li><a href="http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/">Beginner Body Weight Workout</a>></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/blog/2019-how-to-undo-almost-anything-with-git">How to undo (almost) anything with Git</a>></li>
<li><a href="http://www.troyhunt.com/2011/12/free-ebook-owasp-top-10-for-net.html">Free eBook: OWASP Top 10 for .NET developers</a>
<ul>
<li>Good primer on web security for ASP.NET devs.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/103487/why-arent-there-any-sieges-in-lord-of-the-rings">Why aren’t there any sieges in Lord of The Rings?</a>></li>
<li><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4176520/what-is-the-difference-between-strategy-pattern-and-dependency-injection">What is the difference between Strategy pattern and Dependency Injection?</a>
<ul>
<li>Still trying to get my head wrapped around DI.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://degradingdisgracefully.com/messy-uis/">Messy UIs</a>
<ul>
<li>“A developer had to make a design decision.” 😀</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.troyhunt.com/2012/06/our-password-hashing-has-no-clothes.html">Our password hashing has no clothes</a>
<ul>
<li>Am I the only one that didn’t know that SHA hashing wasn’t good enough any more? ☹️</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Browser Wars: A New Hope2015-08-24T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/08/24/1/browser-wars-a-new-hope/<p>Firefox 1.5 is the first browser I specifically remember using (discounting AOL, which was a little more than a browser). Back then Firefox users were hip, the cutting edge. We’ve got tabs, man, so you can visit <em>multiple web pages in one window!</em> Eventually Firefox got bloated, taking up too much memory, and my brand loyalty only lasted until about six months after the release of Google Chrome.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-08-24-bloated.jpg" alt="A chubby prairie dog" />
<figcaption>The definition of bloated</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now Google Chrome is bloated. And ever since Google Reader was dropped, I’ve wondered if it’s wise to have all my eggs in one Google basket.</p>
<p>So I’m open to using another browser, but I do have some prerequisites for switching:</p>
<h2>Evergreen</h2>
<p>This should really go without saying, and all major browsers do fall into this category. Evergreen browsers update frequently & incrementally, instead waiting years in-between releases, and then needing to uninstall the old version and install the new version from scratch. Barbaric.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-08-24-versailles.jpg" alt="An old photograph of two men talking" />
<figcaption>“I installed the latest version of Netscape Navigator last fortnight!”</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With as quickly as things move in web land, we need browsers that stay up to date.</p>
<h2>Sync</h2>
<p>I want to use the same browser at home and at work. I want to bookmark an article at work and read it at home. I want to search my entire browsing history, not just my history in that location. And I don’t want to install extensions separately on each different computer I use (although if I disable an addon I don’t want that synced; I don’t need my Chromecast extension at work for example). This leads right into…</p>
<h2>Mobile</h2>
<p>It makes sense to use the same browser on desktop and mobile, but I don’t have to, as long as I can still sync bookmarks between desktop and mobile. Right now I’m on Android, so it has to work well there.</p>
<h2>Dev tools</h2>
<p>On desktop I need web developer tools. Partly for work. Partly for developing personal sites, like this one. Partly for when I come across an interesting feature or font and want to look under the hood.</p>
<h2>Ad blocker</h2>
<p>I disable ad blocking for sites that I like, and that ask nicely. But for sites I don’t know, or don’t trust, or don’t like, or that don’t ask, ads are gonna be blocked.</p>
<h2>KeePass</h2>
<p>My one essential extension. <a href="http://keepass.info/">KeePass</a> is a password storage app that I love. However, I love it less each time I have to open the application, log in, search for the website, copy the username, paste it into the browser, copy the password, then paste <em>it</em> into the browser. Much nicer to have it automatically fill in credentials (<a href="http://keepass.info/plugins.html#chromeipass">chromeIPass</a>). On mobile, it would be nice to remove as many of the above steps as possible (<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=keepass2android.keepass2android&hl=en">KeePass2Android</a> + Google Chrome Mobile is currently the best solution on Android).</p>
<h2>Site search from the address bar</h2>
<p>I can’t remember the last time I had to use the old Google trick of prepending "site:" to a search to get results from a specific website. I love being able to search sites from the address bar.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-08-24-amazon-search.png" alt="Searching Amazon.com for Richard Scarry" />
<figcaption>It’s a busy world</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I don’t think these are unreasonable requests. I’m willing to give everyone a shot, and see who meets all seven requirements. Except Safari for Windows. Not gonna do it.</p>
Jon Skeet Strikes Again!2015-07-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/07/25/1/jon-skeet-strikes-again/<p>Quick background on <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">Stack Overflow</a> and <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/users/22656/jon-skeet">Jon Skeet</a>: Stack Overflow is a website where you can ask and answer computer programming-related questions. Everyone votes on the questions and answers, and you get points when someone votes for you. Jon Skeet has the most Stack Overflow points, which means he asks and answers a lot of questions, and he does it well. He’s become a celebrity on the site; you can think of him as the computer programmer’s Chuck Norris:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Jon Skeet can recite pi. Backwards.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So I was on Stack Overflow looking up information on C# verbatim string literals when I came across <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/556133/whats-the-in-front-of-a-string-in-c">these answers</a>:</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2015-07-25-skeet.png" alt="Stack Overflow question with two answers, the first by Richard Everett and the second by Jon Skeet" />
<figcaption>Stack Overflow question and answers</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I thought, <em>that’s rare to see Jon Skeet as the number two answer on a question, kudos to Richard Everett</em>. And then I clicked the link in Richard’s answer, and realized it linked to a book. An actual printed book. Authored by Jon Skeet.</p>
Antonio, a Board Game Geek trading tool2015-05-30T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2015/05/30/1/antonio-a-board-game-geek-trading-tool/<p><ins datetime="2016-08-06">I’ve decommissioned Antonio; it was really only used briefly. You can still access the repository at <a href="http://github.com/briankoser/antonio">Github</a>.</ins></p>
<p>If you’re into designer board games (you should be!) and you’re online (…you are!), then you’re probably aware of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/">BoardGameGeek</a>, which is <em>the</em> board game website, where aficionados discuss, trade, and celebrate all things board gaming.</p>
<p>Recently, a fellow named Scott Jaworski <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1369255/there-some-way-see-what-someone-who-wants-what-i-h">asked</a> if there’s a way to find a list of board games he could get in a trade if he traded one of his away. <abbr>BGG</abbr> doesn’t support this functionality, and it sounded like an interesting and easy project, so I went ahead and did it. Meet <a href="http://koser.us/antonio">Antonio</a>. Here’s how he was formed:</p>
<p>Most of the necessary data is availalbe from the <abbr>BGG</abbr> <abbr>API</abbr>. Rather than using the official <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/BGG_XML_API2">BGG XML API</a> directly, I decided to use <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1139853/ajax-ready-bgg-api-any-web-programmers-out-there">E. Strathmeyer’s JSON API</a>, which is built upon the former. I considered <a href="http://bgg-json.azurewebsites.net/">a different JSON API</a>, but it was down when I started coding. Maybe next time.</p>
<p>One item not provided is the list of users that want to trade for a game. So, I wrote my own <abbr>API</abbr>. Having never written a web <abbr>API</abbr> service, I started researching technologies. The best option looked to be an <a href="http://www.asp.net/web-api">ASP.NET Web API</a>, so I read some of the Microsoft tutorials and got started. The <abbr>API</abbr> itself was surprisingly easy to set up, as was deploying to Azure. I used <a href="http://htmlagilitypack.codeplex.com/">HTMLAgilityPack</a> and <a href="https://code.google.com/p/fizzler/">Fizzler</a>, which made screen scraping easier than expected. In fact, while I expected this to be the most difficult piece of the puzzle, it turned out to be one of the easiest.</p>
<p>I did get tripped up by <abbr>CORS</abbr>, cross-origin resource sharing. This had to be enabled so I could call my <abbr>API</abbr> from a web page. Once I identified the problem it was <a href="http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/security/enabling-cross-origin-requests-in-web-api">not difficult to fix</a>.</p>
<p>Next I set up a simple web page, grabbed jQuery, and started writing the client-side portion of Antonio. This portion took the most time, and had some challenges of it’s own, a couple of which were solved by new-to-me features: the <a href="http://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Function/apply">apply</a> function and <a href="http://api.jquery.com/deferred.done/">promises</a>.</p>
<p>One disappointment was that, while you can get the games a user wants to trade from <abbr>BGG</abbr>’s <abbr>API</abbr>, you can’t get it on demand. The data has to be generated, which in my experience takes up to 24 hours. My solution was to display a list of users whose data is being generated, but it’s annoying that a user could type a game into Antonio and then have to wait until the next day, come back to the page and search for the game again. Oh well.</p>
<p><a href="http://koser.us/antonio">Antonio</a> was a fun project to write, and I learned a good bit about <abbr>.NET</abbr> and JavaScript to boot. Check it out, and let me know if you have any questions about anything. You can see all the code at <a href="http://github.com/briankoser/antonio">Github</a>. If you experience problems, you can <a href="http://briankoser.com/contact/">contact me</a>, <a href="http://github.com/briankoser/antonio/issues/new">open an issue</a> on the Github project, or reply to <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/article/19376164">my post about Antonio on BGG</a>.</p>
Christmas Letter 20142014-12-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2014/12/25/1/christmas-letter-2014/<p>Merry Christmas 2014!</p>
<p>Greetings to all our dear family and friends! We’ve had quite a full year, most of it fun-filled, and we praise the Lord for His goodness throughout every moment of it. Since this was our last year of working at PCC, January through June was marked by how many times we could have friends and campus kids over before we went our separate ways. One fun landmark was in April: we threw a computer-themed surprise birthday party for Brian and had a blast! Many thanks to those who came and made it such a special day.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-04-12-brians-birthday.jpg" alt="Photo from Brian’s birthday party 2014" />
<figcaption>Friends at the birthday party</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In June we launched a small dream of ours: a recipe website, at <a href="http://koser.us/recipes">koser.us/recipes</a>! Currently it only contains Melissa’s recipes, and the design is very basic, but in the coming years we’ll continue to make improvements. In the meantime, feel free to browse for ideas (or just for fun!).</p>
<p>It’s been a pleasure working with such fine folk at PCC, and we do miss the good work atmosphere. Brian enjoyed working in children’s church at PCC, and Melissa misses playing in the church orchestra. We also enjoyed attending a Couples’ Bible Study, taught by Dr. Dale Adkins. Our last day of work at PCC was July 18th, and we moved out the very next day. We praise the Lord for His grace in holding off the rain as we loaded the truck. Huge thanks (again!) for everyone that made it a short move—45 minutes to load the truck, and another 15 minutes to finish cleaning the house. Several of our friends also drove to our new house in Mobile, AL and helped us unload everything into the new apartment.</p>
<p>Some of our friends got married this year (woohoo!). In July we attended the wedding of Jonathan and Janae Sparks, and in August that of Andrew and Carrie Olsen. Since then, we’ve been able to keep (somewhat) in contact with our campus kids at PCC, and roughly once a month we are able to bring Megan Koser over for a weekend of relaxation.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-07-05-sparks-wedding.jpg" alt="Jonathan and Janae Sparks at their wedding reception" />
<figcaption>Jonathan & Janae Sparks at their wedding reception</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-08-13-andrew-olsen-wedding.jpg" alt="Andrew Olsen" />
<figcaption>Andrew Olsen…one of his better pictures 😉</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>God has led us to <a href="http://www.crossroadsbaptistmobile.com/">Crossroads Baptist Church</a>, a wonderful church with caring people. The fellowship meals each month have helped us in getting to know our new church family, and already we feel right at home! There are also many service opportunities, and we’re excited to see what the Lord will do in this ministry.</p>
<p>These later months have been full of family (always a good thing!). In October we got to spend a few days with Melissa’s parents, as well as introduce them to our church family. In November we spent Thanksgiving with nearly all of Brian’s family, and we enjoyed watching Megan Koser perform in Pirates of Penzance at PCC.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-11-29-pcc-with-danny.jpg" alt="Danny Koser" />
<figcaption>Danny, Brian’s 21-month-old brother</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>December has so far been a busy month with decorating, making goodies, preparing for a piano recital, and making more goodies. In the middle of this we took a weekend to celebrate our third anniversary with horseback riding, followed by dinner at the Oyster House. The following weekend Megan Koser spent a few days with us after her semester at college was over, and willingly did a photo shoot for us. Thanks a bunch, Megan!</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-12-13-christmas-photos-at-park.jpg" alt="Brian and Melissa at park" />
<figcaption>Megan’s photography skills making us look good</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Last Christmas was spent with Brian’s family (including a surprise visit from Matt and Lindsey Rhoades), so this year we’ll be flying down to Honduras to celebrate the New Year with Melissa’s family.</p>
<p>If you’ll be anywhere near Mobile in 2015, please stop by and visit! And please make use of our guest bedroom; we wouldn’t want it to go to waste. 😊 Looking forward to seeing many of you this coming year!</p>
A Complex Query2014-07-17T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2014/07/17/1/a-complex-query/<p>I’ve written a lot of SQL, but most of it tends to be pretty simple. Even most of the large queries that I’ve written aren’t complex, they just have a lot of tables and columns to deal with. Probably the most complicated and interesting query I’ve written calculates dates based on a hierarchy of date offsets.</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">WITH eventdatesrecursive(eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid, eventyear, eventdate) AS
(
SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid, eventyear,
(SELECT api.GetSourceDate(eventname, eventyear) FROM dual) AS eventdate
FROM (SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid,
EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2 /*Gets last, this, and next year*/AS eventyear
FROM eventdateoffsets
CROSS
JOIN table(integers(3))
WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL
)
UNION ALL
SELECT childdates.eventname, childdates.displayname, childdates.offsetid,
childdates.parentoffsetid, eventyear,
(SELECT calendar.api.GetEventDate(eventdatesrecursive.eventdate, childdates.offsetid, childdates.eventoffset, eventyear) FROM dual) AS eventdate
FROM calendar.eventdateoffsets childdates
JOIN eventdatesrecursive
ON childdates.parentoffsetid = eventdatesrecursive.offsetid
)
SELECT nvl(overrides.eventname, offsets.eventname) AS eventname, offsets.displayname,
nvl(overrides.eventdate, offsets.eventdate) AS eventdate
FROM eventdatesrecursive offsets
FULL OUTER
JOIN eventdateoverrides overrides
ON offsets.eventname = overrides.eventname
AND offsets.academicyear = overrides.academicyear;
</code></pre>
<p>Recursion, a cross join, a full outer join…there’s a lot of interesting pieces here. Let’s break it down:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid,
EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2 AS eventyear /* Gets last, this, next year */
FROM eventdateoffsets
CROSS JOIN table(integers(3))
WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL
</code></pre>
<p><code>integers</code> is an alias for a simple function that returns a pipelined array of numbers from 1 up to the parameter provided:</p>
<pre><code class="language-tsql">create or replace function integers(n in number default null)
return number_array pipelined
as
begin
for i in 1 .. nvl(n,0) loop
pipe row(i);
end loop;
return;
end;
</code></pre>
<p>So <code>integers(3)</code> returns an array containing 1, 2, 3. <code>table</code> is an alias for a function that converts the array to an Oracle table, which allows us to join to it. A cross join (aka Cartesian join) matches every row in table A with every row in table B, so no join conditions are necessary.</p>
<p><code>eventdateoffsets</code> is the table holding all the event information:</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>eventdateoffsets</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>offsetid</td>
<td>Number (PK)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>eventname</td>
<td>Varchar2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>parentoffsetid</td>
<td>Number</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>eventoffset</td>
<td>Interval</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The parentoffsetid is the offsetid of the date that this date is based on. The eventoffset is how much before or after the parent date that the event takes place. This allows us to set up relations from our business rules like “registration always takes place two days after Labor Day” or “students can cancel courses until one week after classes begin”. The data looks something like this:</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>offsetid</th>
<th>eventname</th>
<th>parentoffsetid</th>
<th>eventoffset</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>Labor Day</td>
<td>null</td>
<td>null</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td>Registration Begins</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>+ 00 08:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td>Registration Ends</td>
<td>2</td>
<td>+ 03 14:00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Here registration begins at 8 <abbr>am</abbr> on Labor Day and ends three days later at 10 <abbr>pm</abbr>. Notice that Labor Day doesn’t have a parent; that will be important later.</p>
<p>Back to the query:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid,
EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2 AS eventyear /* Gets last, this, next year */
FROM eventdateoffsets
CROSS JOIN table(integers(3))
WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL
</code></pre>
<p><code>EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2</code> gets the current year (as of this writing, 2014) and adds the value from the integers table (1, 2, 3) and subtracts 2. In effect, this adds -1, 0, and 1 to the current year, giving us last year, this year, and next year (as of this writing 2013, 2014, and 2015).</p>
<p><code>WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL</code>: remember in our example how Labor Day didn’t have a parent? This query is getting all the dates without a parent; I call them “source dates”. These are our foundation. Some are holidays like Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Others are dates determined by Business Rules which haven’t been integrated into this system. This part of the query gets all the source dates with an <code>eventyear</code> of last year, this year, and next year. Let’s go one level higher:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid, eventyear,
(SELECT api.GetSourceDate(eventname, eventyear) FROM dual) AS eventdate,
(SELECT api.GetSourceAcademicYear(eventname, eventyear) FROM dual) AS academicyear
FROM (SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid,
EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2 AS eventyear /* Gets last, this, next year */
FROM eventdateoffsets
CROSS JOIN table(integers(3))
WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL
)
</code></pre>
<p><code>api.GetSourceDate()</code> calculates the date for a source date for a given year. It basically is a giant <code>CASE</code> that looks something like:</p>
<pre><code class="language-tsql">v_StartDate DATE := trunc(to_date(i_Year, 'yyyy'), 'yyyy'); -- First day of the year
CASE p_EventName
WHEN 'Labor Day' THEN
dbms_scheduler.evaluate_calendar_string
(
calendar_string => 'FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTH=SEP;BYDAY=1MON;',
start_date => v_StartDate,
return_date_after => v_StartDate,
next_run_date => v_Date
);
…
END CASE;
RETURN v_Date;
</code></pre>
<p><code>api.GetSourceAcademicYear()</code> calculates the academic year (which starts in September when the fall semester begins) for the event.</p>
<p>Now that the parent dates are set, we can determine the child dates. Since child dates can be parents for further dates, we need to calculate the hierarchy recursively:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid, eventyear,
(SELECT api.GetSourceDate(eventname, eventyear) FROM dual) AS eventdate
FROM (SELECT eventname, displayname, offsetid, parentoffsetid,
EXTRACT(YEAR FROM SYSDATE) + column_value - 2 /* Gets last, this, next year */AS eventyear
FROM eventdateoffsets
CROSS JOIN table(integers(3))
WHERE parentoffsetid IS NULL
)
UNION ALL
SELECT childdates.eventname, childdates.displayname, childdates.offsetid,
childdates.parentoffsetid, eventyear,
(SELECT api.GetEventDate(eventdatesrecursive.eventdate, childdates.offsetid, childdates.eventoffset, eventyear)
FROM dual) AS eventdate
FROM eventdateoffsets childdates
JOIN eventdatesrecursive ON childdates.parentoffsetid = eventdatesrecursive.offsetid
</code></pre>
<p>This the the <abbr>ANSI</abbr>-standard way of doing recursion. You have a query to calculate your starting data, which is then <code>UNION</code>ed to your dependent data.</p>
<p>The <code>GetEventDate</code> function basically adds the child date’s offset interval to the parent date’s date to get the child date’s date. It also takes Leap Year into account for dates that are set up to be run on a certain day every year (e.g. Independence Day is always July 4).</p>
<pre><code class="language-tsql">FUNCTION GetEventDate
(
i_ParentDate IN DATE,
i_EventOffsetID IN NUMBER,
i_EventOffset IN INTERVAL DAY TO SECOND,
i_EventYear IN t_Year
) RETURN DATE
AS
k_NewYearsDayEventOffsetID CONSTANT NUMBER := 3;
BEGIN
RETURN i_ParentDate + i_EventOffset +
-- Case statement handles leap year
CASE
WHEN api.GetUltimateSource(i_EventOffsetID) = k_NewYearsDayEventOffsetID
AND to_char(last_day(to_date('02' || i_EventYear, 'mmyyyy')), 'dd') = '29' /* Is Leap Year? */
AND i_EventOffset > NumToDSInterval(58, 'DAY') /* Is after Feb. 28? */
THEN 1
ELSE 0
END;
END GetEventDate;
</code></pre>
<p>With the recursion tucked out of the way in a <code>WITH</code>, the rest of the query is easy.</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT nvl(overrides.eventname, offsets.eventname) AS eventname, offsets.displayname,
nvl(overrides.eventdate, offsets.eventdate) AS eventdate
FROM eventdatesrecursive offsets
FULL OUTER JOIN eventdateoverrides overrides
ON offsets.eventname = overrides.eventname
AND offsets.academicyear = overrides.academicyear;
</code></pre>
<p>There is an overrides table which allows any calculated date to be overwritten by entering a row into the table. I’m doing a <code>FULL OUTER JOIN</code> so that the override will create an event even if it isn’t set up in <code>eventoffsets</code>.</p>
<p>Phwew! And this is actually a simplified version of the query because there were some business rules I didn’t want to get into, just because I wanted to focus more on the <abbr>SQL</abbr>. Really though, when you break it down, there aren’t any concepts that are too advanced. The difficulty comes in understanding the query as a whole.</p>
Adulthood and Maturity2014-03-11T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2014/03/11/1/adulthood-and-maturity/<p>Children are always watching their parents. I remember watching my dad as he watched the nightly news on TV. I would sit there and think, “Why would you watch the news when you could watch cartoons? When I’m an adult, I’m going to stay up late and watch cartoons.”</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2014-03-11-looney-tunes.png" alt="Looney Tunes logo" />
<figcaption>Looney Tunes title card</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That was many moons ago. The older I get, the more I look back at my past self and realize how immature I was (I Cor. 13:11). But I’ve never thought that I was immature; it’s always past Brian that was immature. Of course, a few years later, I realize that what I thought was mature was still young and immature (this time I really am mature though!).</p>
<p>The same goes with “old”. There’s a direct correlation between my age and my definition of “old”. I remember in grade school thinking high schoolers were old. Now I lump high schoolers in to the “kids” designation. The same cycle with college students and college graduates. Now my definition of old is “has grandchildren”, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be changing that definition eventually.</p>
<p>I assume that this cycle continues your whole life. You never feel old, but you always feel mature. You never feel like you know exactly what to do next. And yet, somewhere along the way you become an adult, though there’s not a day where you wake up and think, “Now I’m an adult.”</p>
<p>When I was planning my last vacation, I stopped and thought, “This is something my parents did. When they were my age. My parents were just like me.” And it hit me: adults just make it up as they go along. Nobody knows exactly what to do next; everyone gives it their best shot, but nobody <em>knows</em>. And you might never feel like an adult: because you thought adults were so different from you, you expected to feel differently when it happened to you. But you won’t. Everyone is just making it up as they go along.</p>
<p>But I <em>am</em> an adult. I make decisions. I plan vacations. I’m responsible for people other than myself. I can choose whether to watch the news or cartoons. And now that I’ve reached that point, now that I am an adult, now that I can choose…I stay up late and watch cartoons. Because why would you watch the news when you could watch cartoons? 😉</p>
<p><ins datetime="2014-05-21">Apparently this is known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-of-history_illusion">end-of-history illusion</a>.</ins></p>
12 Reasons I Hate SQL Developer2014-01-02T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2014/01/02/1/12-reasons-i-hate-sql-developer/<p><ins datetime="2015-07-25">I haven’t worked in Oracle for a year now, and I know many of these problems were fixed in later versions. <a href="http://www.thatjeffsmith.com/about/">Jeff Smith</a> sent me a very nice email and offered to help me work through any remaining issues; if I still worked in Oracle I would have taken him up on it.</ins></p>
<p>I don’t like Oracle’s SQL Developer. It’s hard to like a <abbr>GUI</abbr> with so many usability problems. The first version was released in 2006, but the interface feels much older. It’s certainly not bug-free, let alone polished.</p>
<p>I’m told that it’s better than our office’s previous Oracle <abbr>GUI</abbr> (possibly Oracle Enterprise Manager?), and apparently Toad has it’s own problems. And hey, it’s free! At such times I imagine someone saying, “I know you don’t like getting punched in the gut, but it’s a lot better than back in the day when we got punched in the face. And hey, it’s a free punch in the gut!”</p>
<p>OK, so I’m using hyperbole. A better analogy would be death by a thousand tiny cuts. Here is my personal list of the most annoying of the cuts, in no particular order.</p>
<h2>Tabs</h2>
<p>Attention makers of programs with tabs: all I want to do with tabs is move them left and right. I don’t want to pull them out and snap them inside the program window à la Windows 8. I don’t want them to float in front of the program window. And I certainly don’t want to only be able to move my tabs to the far right of the tab well, Oracle.</p>
<h2>Copy/paste</h2>
<p>Normally you can copy/paste a field from a table without problems. However, sometimes, for no apparent reason, instead of copying the contents of the field, the field will go into edit mode without placing the contents onto the clipboard.</p>
<h2>Collapsing procedures</h2>
<p>One of my favorite Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts is <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>M</kbd>, <kbd>O</kbd>, which collapses methods so you can browse method definitions. SQL Developer kind of supports this; there’s no keyboard shortcut but you can right-click the gutter and select “Collapse procedure declarations/bodies”. Unfortunately, collapsed procedures will not stay collapsed for long; they’ll expand if you copy/paste into the package. Or if you expand other procedures nearby. Or sometimes if you just hit the return key. Or if it’s raining on a Tuesday.</p>
<h2>Search</h2>
<p>When I’m searching in a package header, I often want to search for the same thing in the package body. The search bar should do a global search, not just the current file.</p>
<h2>Undo function</h2>
<p>When you compile a package header, your undo history is deleted. Why does SQL Developer assume I would never want to undo code that I’ve just compiled? Also, the undo history is very limited; I estimate the last 50 changes.</p>
<h2><kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + click</h2>
<p>If you hold <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> and click on a function name in a package header, it will take you to the function body in the package body. Except when it doesn’t. There are some packages it just never works for. Sometimes it “works”; it takes me to the package body, but nowhere near the body of the function I clicked on. Even when working correctly, the navigated-to function is at the very bottom of the screen. Why can’t it be in the middle of the page, like when I search for the function name?</p>
<h2>Table scrolling GUI</h2>
<p>If you scroll through the contents of a table, switch tabs, then come back, you will be at the top of the results instead of where you had scrolled to.</p>
<h2>Error log window</h2>
<p>When you double-click on a package compilation error in the error log window, often it will bring up the line of code at the bottom of the worksheet…underneath the error log window. This is unavoidable if the code is on the last line of the package, but I’ve also noticed it for functions right in the middle of the file.</p>
<h2>Font Choice</h2>
<p>I like to be able to customize the font for programs, and in SQL Developer you can change the font used for the <abbr>SQL</abbr> editor and table data. I like to use a monospace font for code editing (<a href="https://github.com/adobe/source-code-pro">Source Code Pro</a> is my current favorite.). However, when you edit data with the table <abbr>GUI</abbr>, SQL Developer always uses a proportional font. This is the opposite of font best practices: <a href="http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000063.html">editing text in a monospace font is much easier</a>. Proportional fonts are easier to read, so you would expect to find these used for display text, not for editing text.</p>
<h2>Table filter autocomplete</h2>
<p>If you start typing a column name into the table filter box and then accept the autocomplete, the column name will be put in place of what you have typed. Good. However, if you <em>finish</em> typing the name of the column and you accept the autocomplete (which still pops up even after you’ve typed a valid column), what you have typed will remain and the autocomplete will be tacked on to the end. Not good. For example, if I type “tableid = ” and the autocomplete offers “tableid = 123”, when I accept the autocomplete I end up with “tableid = tableid = 123”.</p>
<h2>Code templates</h2>
<p>Code templates are SQL Developer’s brand of text expansion. My main annoyance with them is that they don’t work in stored <abbr>PL/SQL</abbr> windows, only in worksheets. Since most of my time is spent in packages, I was never able to rely on this feature. However, this doesn’t really bother me anymore, because I now use <a href="http://www.16software.com/breevy/">Breevy</a>, which works everywhere. Highly recommended.</p>
<h2>Lack of column mode</h2>
<p>Nowadays I consider this a must-have text editor feature. Visual Studio and Notepad++ have a basic support of the feature, although neither compares to Sublime Text’s superb column mode. Even Geany has a column mode. Why doesn’t SQL Developer have column mode?</p>
<p>In the end, SQL Developer does the job, and perhaps these points are all quibbles. I still think that there’s no reason that a seven-year old program (albeit a free program) should have so many usability problems.</p>
Oracle Numbers to English2013-10-16T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2013/10/16/1/oracle-numbers-to-english/<p>Oracle has built-in methods for a lot of things. Converting from Arabic to Roman numerals? <a href="http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E16655_01/server.121/e17209/sql_elements004.htm#r15c1-t61">Check</a>. Generating a byte string containing all valid 1-byte encodings between two given bytes? <a href="http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E16655_01/appdev.121/e17602/u_raw.htm#ARPLS71430">Sure</a>. Generating ASCII-art llamas from the statistics gathered on crossedition triggers? Well, maybe in 13c.</p>
<p>You can also spell numbers out in English, although I’m not sure if that was an intended use of the functions we’ll be using today. Nevertheless.</p>
<p>The magic that makes it all happen is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar">Julian date</a>.</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT to_char(to_date(4321, 'J'), 'J')
FROM dual;
-- result: 0004321
</code></pre>
<p>This code converts the number to a Julian date (format specifier “J”) then to a string representing the Julian date, which is the number again.</p>
<p>Why convert the number to a date before converting to a string? Well, <code>to_char(string, format)</code> doesn’t accept the format specifiers we’ll need to use; the date version, <code>to_char(date, format)</code>, does accept those specifiers, so we first convert to a date before converting to string. And in this case Julian dates are easier to work with because they are stored as a number of days since January 1, 4712 <abbr>BC</abbr>. This allows us to easily go from number to date to string, as you saw above.</p>
<p>Caveat: for a number to be converted to a Julian date it will need to be between 1 and 5,373,484 (the highest valid number will have increased by the time you read this). The highest valid number is the number of days since January 1, 4712 <abbr>BC</abbr>. If you need to handle 0, negatives, decimals, or numbers larger than about 5 million, you’ll need to write additional code.</p>
<p>Once we have our date, we’ll convert it to the string we want:</p>
<h2>Spelled Out</h2>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT to_char(to_date(4321, 'J'), 'Jsp')
FROM dual;
-- result: Four Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-One
</code></pre>
<p>The format specifier, “Jsp”, can be broken down into two parts:</p>
<ul>
<li>“J” gives us a Julian date</li>
<li>“sp” (short for “spelling”) converts the number to English</li>
</ul>
<p>You can also use “JSP” (gives you the string in all caps) and “jsp” (gives you the string in all lower case).</p>
<h2>Ordinal</h2>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT to_char(to_date(4321, 'J'), 'fmJth')
FROM dual;
-- result: 4321st
</code></pre>
<ul>
<li>“fm” removes leading zeroes</li>
<li>“J” gives us a Julian date</li>
<li>“th” adds the ordinal suffix, so we can get 1st, 2nd, 8th, etc.
<ul>
<li>I assume that “th” is used because most ordinals end in “th”.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Spelled-Out Ordinals</h2>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT to_char(to_date(4321, 'J'), 'JspTH')
FROM dual;
-- Result: Four Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-First
</code></pre>
<p>And if we combine the two, we get spelled-out ordinals.</p>
<p>So get out there and spell some numbers. I’m sure you’re excited to take advantage of your new-found knowledge; if you can’t think of a use for this code, why not add the below to a report?</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">SELECT CASE
WHEN trunc(SYSDATE) = to_date('04-01', 'MM-DD') THEN
to_char(to_date(reportcount, 'J'), 'Jsp')
ELSE reportcount
END AS reportcount
FROM ...
</code></pre>
Preventing Duplicate Selections with C# and jQuery Validation2013-09-05T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2013/09/05/1/preventing-duplicate-selections-with-c-and-jquery-validation/<p>A few days ago, while working on a web page, I got to write my favorite type of code: validation.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2013-09-05-validation.png" alt="jQuery validation" />
</figure>
<p>Ha ha. Actually I’d rather floss with a brick than write validation.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was writing validation for an ASP.NET/C# registration page. The page has three dropdown lists, each with the same list of courses. Students can register for up to three courses by choosing a course in each dropdown list. The validation I was writing needed to prevent a student from registering for a course multiple times. It seemed like there should be a simple solution, but it wasn’t jumping out at me, so I started to pseudocode a naive solution.</p>
<pre><code>valid if:
1 != 2 and
2 != 3 and
3 != 1
</code></pre>
<p>Okay, not very elegant. And not easily scalable <del>if</del> when I’m asked to add a fourth dropdown. I started coding it out a little more in the hopes of seeing a pattern.</p>
<pre><code>if 1 = "" && 2 = "" && 3 = ""
valid
if 1 != 2 && 1 != 3
1 is valid
</code></pre>
<p>Then I had a “eureka” moment: I could put the values in an array, get the count of unique items, and check if the number of values is equal to the number of unique values.</p>
<pre><code class="language-csharp">var courses = new[] { ddlCourse1.SelectedValue, ddlCourse2.SelectedValue, ddlCourse3.SelectedValue };
e.IsValid = courses.Length != courses.Distinct().Count();
</code></pre>
<p>This works because I don’t care how many duplicates there are, or which values are duplicated. I just want to know if duplicates exist.</p>
<p>However, it’s not quite complete. If a student registers for only one course, say “History 101”, dropdown list 1 will have the value “HI 101” and dropdowns 2 and 3 will be empty strings. Since <code>"" == ""</code>, I’ll need to allow multiple empty strings.</p>
<pre><code class="language-csharp">IEnumerable courses = new [] { ddlCourse1.SelectedValue, ddlCourse2.SelectedValue, ddlCourse3.SelectedValue };
courses = courses.Where(x => !String.IsNullOrEmpty(x));
e.IsValid = courses.Count() == courses.Distinct().Count();
</code></pre>
<p>Boom. And in jQuery:</p>
<pre><code class="language-javascript">var courses = $('.Course option:selected').map(function() {
if (this.value) {
return this.value;
}
return null;
});
var uniqueCourses = $.grep(courses, function(value, index) {
return $.inArray(value, courses) === index;
});
e.IsValid = courses.length === uniqueCourses.length;
</code></pre>
<p>I still don’t like writing validation, but…it has its interesting moments.</p>
Oracle Parameter Precision2013-08-22T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2013/08/22/1/oracle-parameter-precision/<p>When I first started writing Oracle PL/SQL, I tried to define function and procedure parameters in the same way I defined SQL table columns:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">PROCEDURE MyFunction
(
Param1 NUMBER(2),
Param2 VARCHAR2(32)
);
</code></pre>
<p>Of course, you get a compile-time error if you try to specify precision for parameters. Instead you have to do:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">PROCEDURE MyFunction
(
Param1 NUMBER,
Param2 VARCHAR2
);
</code></pre>
<p>Ah, but you can also define parameter types in terms of tables:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">PROCEDURE MyFunction
(
Param1 myschema.mytable.column1%TYPE,
Param2 myschema.mytable.column2%TYPE
);
</code></pre>
<p>And I assumed this enforced the precision of the table’s columns, if it had any.</p>
<p>Never assume.</p>
<p>The parameters will not enforce the precision of the columns they are based on.</p>
<p>Why doesn’t Oracle allow you to specify precision for your parameters? I assume (ha ha) that there’s an actual reason, but I don’t know enough to guess what that reason might be.</p>
MVC (My Viewpoint Changes)2013-06-25T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2013/06/25/1/mvc-my-viewpoint-changes/<p>Last time I wrote about how much I like the beginning of a project. Opening up all the cans of tech and getting a big whiff of that new technology smell…<em>sniff</em> Aaaah. Well, I liked choosing the technologies for my new project so much, that I decided to do it again!</p>
<p>Ruby on Rails seems like a great framework. I had fun messing around with it, reading blogs, doing the tutorials. Great fun. But it’s June. Almost July. Four months later, and I’m still working through tutorials.</p>
<p>This isn’t really a Ruby on Rails issue so much as a technology-that-I-don’t-know issue and a I-don’t-have-copious-amounts-of-free-time-to-learn-this-technology issue. I do have a life beyond programming, and at this point, I just want to start building this website. So, new requirements:</p>
<ol>
<li>Something I already know, or at least close, so I can actually get the project done</li>
<li>Something new (to me at least)</li>
</ol>
<p>And, most importantly,
3. Something the cool kids are using</p>
<p>Yes, 1 and 2 are contradictory, thank you for pointing that out. Before you get too smug, let me say that I found what I was looking for.</p>
<figure>
<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.koser.us/img/journal/2013-06-25-mvc4.jpg" alt="ASP.NET MVC" />
</figure>
<p>Behold, ASP.NET MVC. Careful, don’t let the sheer power of all those capital letters overwhelm you. For me, ASP.NET MVC is sort of a compromise between learning something completely new, like Rails, and using something I already know, like ASP.NET Webforms.</p>
<p>So I’ll be using ASP.NET MVC with Azure. I’ll still probably use Ember as well. We’ll see how far I get this time before deciding to switch to node.js or meteor or…</p>
Ruby on Rails, I Choose You!2013-03-09T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2013/03/09/1/ruby-on-rails-i-choose-you/<p>I don’t know about you, but the beginning of a programming project is one of my favorite times. And one of my favorite parts of the beginning is choosing the tools. The possibilities are limitless, and you can easily spend days (or weeks!) browsing Github repositories, reading blogs, trawling through Stack Overflow questions, etc.</p>
<p>I recently started a personal project, and, after the prerequisite soul-searching, decided to use Ruby on Rails. Now, professionally, I’m a Windows stack guy. Intellisense. C#. Oh yeah. But for this project, I wanted to try something different. Leave the minivan in the garage, and take the convertible out for a spin, so to speak. So I went with the polar opposite of .NET WebForms: Ruby on Rails.</p>
<p>It also helped that Rails is FOSS. (<a href="http://www.sublimetext.com/">Sublime Text</a> isn’t free, but it’s worth it.) I’m not a drum-beating, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman">Stallmanesque</a>, “Rah rah Open Source!” person, but neither am I a spendthrift. Since its just a personal project, I wanted to go with a low cost solution.</p>
<p>Also, Ruby on Rails seemed to be a good fit for this project. It’s basically going to be a CRUD app for now; maybe it will be more later, maybe not. But I don’t think I’ll be needing cool kid <a href="http://nodejs.org/">node.js</a> and his new-fangled ways. If I do end up adding more dynamic functionality (and what website doesn’t these days?) I’m planning to use <a href="http://emberjs.com/">Ember</a>.</p>
<p>And, I’ll admit it, I chose Rails because Rails is cool. Maybe it’s not so cool here in 2013 as it was a few years ago; in fact I went through the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle">Gartner hype cycle</a> myself while I was researching options:</p>
<ol>
<li>Hey look, Ruby on Rails. Ruby is cool.</li>
<li>No, it’s <em>really</em> cool. Rails is the One True Path!</li>
<li>Wait, a guy on a blog says it’s not cool.</li>
<li>Another guy would rather write PHP than Rails (this is the lowest point of the disillusionment trough). I don’t like Rails.</li>
<li>Wait, Rails isn’t that bad. These people are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. (And really, who throws out their bathwater these days? Let it run down the drain, sure, but actually throw it out?)</li>
<li>OK, Rails is pretty good. Not perfect, but good.</li>
</ol>
<p>Anyway, a week or so after I settled for sure on Ruby/Rails/Ember, <a href="http://www.discourse.org/">Discourse</a> launched. And what do you know, Jeff Atwood et al. chose the same tech I had. That’s good enough confirmation for me. Yes, Ruby on Rails is not a panacea; in our lucid moments, I think we all know that nothing is. But it’s a solid framework, it will work for me, I’m going to learn a lot, and—most importantly—it’s going to be fun.</p>
Loop through Gridview data keys2012-08-23T00:00:00Zhttps://koser.us/articles/2012/08/23/1/loop-through-gridview-data-keys/<p>Today I was adding an “Export to Excel” option to a Gridview. I wanted to mark each exported record in the database, but it wasn’t immediately apparent how I would do so. After far more searching than I expected, I came up with the following solution:</p>
<pre><code class="language-csharp">foreach (DataKey dataKey in myGridView.DataKeys)
{
MarkRecordAsExported(dataKey.Value.ToString());
}
</code></pre>
<p>I was thinking I would need LINQ and casting and such…and it turns out you can just loop through a Gridview’s data keys.</p>