Mr. Rogers died today of cancer. Though the brunt of many jokes (including my own) he was a good and kind man who cared for children and gently taught them. My heart sank a bit when I heard.

I watched Fred on TV when I was child and I did get to see him once at a book signing in San Diego though I didn't get to talk to him. Thank you for you kindness, Fred.

It's official. Apple is going for more marketshare. The immediate goal is 5% and part of the plan includes lowering prices (which they've done) and more software from Apple. I am excited. I think Apple produces a superior OS and on the hardware side there are only a few products that come close. HP has a nice laptop out and the Sony Viso is cool. If I had to use a PC, I'd probably go with one of those.

I can't wait to see what this summer brings from Apple. They've recently introduced their own browser and presentation software, what's next?

From the assigned reading for PC 501, Intro to Counseling:

Jethro's advising Moses in Exodus 18:13-27 is an early example of short-term counseling, and there are some aspects of his technique that might be considered in a modern approach to helping...Pastors are especially commissioned to care for their flock, which includes their mental and emotional health as much as their spiritual well-being.

Uummmmmm....eeeeehhhh.....errrrrrrrr....AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH! Jethro provided Moses counseling and looked after his mental and emotional health?? No way! Counseling in the sense we understand it today is a pretty new phenomena. That doesn't make it wrong, it can still be helpful. But puh-leeze don't torture biblical texts to get some sort of justification for it. Second, I'm commissioned to care for my congregation's mental and emotional well being? Where's that in the Bible? I am to shepherd the flock but that doesn't mean I am their psychologist. And if we're going to lump emotional and mental health in there, why not physical as well? Maybe I should be taking some basic medical classes as well.

I am not dissing counseling in general. I think it is a valid and helpful thing and I don't even mind picking up some skills along the way. But this kind of attitude is just not helpful. It confuses theological issues and puts a burden on the pastor that he isn't necessarily called or gifted for. I'm not surprised that the article begins with a story of how the author helped someone with a sleep problem by telling her to read her husband's theology books when she couldn't get to sleep. I guess this was supposed to be funny but why should the study of God be sleep inducing? As a friend of mine said, "I study theology in order to worship God better. Theology is devotional." Exactly.

There are rumors that the next version of Safari will include tabs. That'd be great. What is really cool in this version is the spell checker. If you don't know what tabs are, they are...uh, tabs across the top of the display window. Each tab opens a different web page so you don't have to manage three windows. It is a very cool feature in Chimera and will be a great addition to Safari.

The other thing that would be cool to add would be something like the scrapbook function from IE5 for the Mac. You just drag the page to your scrap book and IE saves a copy of it so you can go back to it without an internet connection. That is the only reason I still have IE installed. That and some compatability issues.

In my slow (okay, nonexistent) effort to get my blog back up to snuff I am proud to announce that once again the comments are working. We have to take these things one step at a time.

Okay, now I REALLY feel sorry for Windows users. I just downloaded Konfabulator and some of the widgets that go with it. Maybe sometime I can do a screen shot and post it so you can see just how cool this is. I've got a weather widget, a battery monitor and a really cool transparent iTunes remote control. Wow.

Why go to seminary? Why not just take a qualified man and give him a pulpit or send him out as a church planter? One word: Greek.


Greek is needful for someone who will be held accountable for the souls of his people; he needs to be able to handle the word of God carefully. Yes, there have been great men who did not know Greek (A.W. Pink and John Bunyan come to mind) but we are not all of that same quality.


Greek is necessary, but it is also difficult. If it is a rare man that can carefully handle the word of God without knowing the original languages, it is an even more rare man who can adequately train himself in Greek or an exceedingly rare pastor who has the talent and time to train men in this. We need seminary professors to train us in this. I am a crummy language student and I need all the help I can get.

There are times when I really miss California. This week the temperatures here are in the teens. I really miss California. Beyond weather issues, I miss Edwards AFB for reasons like this.

Okay, the new layout is ugly and the comments are missing (for the time being) but my old style sheet crashed for some reason and this Blogger-provided template was the least ugly so it is in place for now. If I have time I'll work on a new template that leaves no lingering psychological side effects.