For my personal devotions for the next while (dunno how long) I'm going to go analog. That's right, I'll be using mostly books. You know, the paper codex thingies. Don't worry, I'll still use the LDLS and all sorts of cool resources for my Pastorals Study, but I'm looking to head a different way with my personal devotional time.

I'm planning on using at least three books:

• Culy's I, II, III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text
• Goodrich/Lukaszewski's A Reader's Greek New Testament
• Gingrich's Shorter Lexicon.

I'll also probably dig into Young's Intermediate Greek Grammar if I have cause to look something up that Culy doesn't address or treats ambiguously. I'm sure you're thinking I should use Wallace, and you may be right — but I don't have access to that in print.

I find that in my quest to improve my Koine Greek skills, I need to go through the Greek text a bit more slowly, really thinking about each word as I come across it. Since I have the Culy book, and since 1 John seems to be the standard fare for second year Greek classes based on reading, and since I never had a second year of Greek, this seems to be a good way to work through the text.

This morning went well, but then again the first morning always goes well now, doesn't it?

I've mentioned this before in other circles (Logos Newsgroups), but I wanted to mention it again: Galaxie Software's Theological Journal Library (TJL) is one of the most useful complementary products I have installed as part of my LDLS library.

In my working through the Pastoral Epistles, I'm trying to not consult too many sources until I get my first pass of the text complete, proofed, and revised. A second pass is the point to add (or correct) based on other sources (commentaries, primarily).

However, some places are just plain tough. I've been working on 1Ti 2.8-15 for a bit now, and know what I think. But some of the terms (particularly αὐθεντέω in v. 12)* are tough with very few citations in secondary literature.

Working on αὐθεντέω, I simply searched TJL for the lexical form. I was pointed to an excellent article by Douglas J. Moo in the 1980 Trinity Journal. This had a response article by Philip Payne, and a further rejoinder by Moo. It helped in thinking about the word, how to translate it, and determining the function of the word in the clause. Fun stuff.

All this to say: TJL is a valuable compliment to any LDLS user's library.** The producer, Galaxie Software, is set up to release new “volumes” every year, it seems. The initial package is TJL vols 1-5, at a price of $99.95 — which is a bargain for the sheer volume of journals included. Two supplimentary packages have been released: TJL Volume 6 adds the 2002 volume for many existing journals, and adds a few new journals as well, for the very reasonable price of $49.95.

Even better news: TJL Volume 7 has just been released at the price of $49.95. 2003 editions of many journals, plus yet again more new journals (including 24 years of Review and Expositor).

OK, commercial over.

Update: Yikes! Rubén is right (sounds of keystrokes making corrections). I s'pose that's what I get for posting late at night (and thanks again to my 2nd grade teacher for getting me started on phonics early ... )

* Also incredibly helpful is H. Scott Baldwin's article “A Difficult Word: αὐθεντέω in 1 Timothy 2:12” in Kostenberger, Schreiner, and Baldwin's Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Baker Book House: Grand Rapids. 1995. Many thanks to Vincent Setterholm for letting me keep this on indefinite loan.

** I even think Mac users can get in on the TJL action; Galaxie has TJL vols. 1-5 and TJL vol. 6 in Accordance format as well.

It's after Thanksgiving now, so that means one thing: Christmas music in just about every radio playlist you can think of.

There are some great Christmas songs that truly reflect upon Jesus Christ's incarnation. I'm sure you're thinking of a few of your favorites right now.

But there are some truly horrible Christmas songs too. Did you know Ringo Starr made a Christmas album in 1999? The title song I Wanna Be Santa Claus is ... er ... well, I listened to it, but I hope I don't have to listen to it again.

To those of you who read this blog and who have access to Real Rhapsody, I offer a challenge: Assemble a playlist of up to 15 of the worst, tackiest, most awful Christmas tunes you can find within Rhapsody's library. Send me your playlist or point me to a blog entry with your playlist (the actual file) on Friday, December 3. I'll compile them and pop up a blog article. We can vote in the comments or something after putting ourselves through the sheer (yet strangely pleasurable) horror of listening to them.

Are you in? Drop me an email, add a comment, or ping me via trackback to an article on your blog with a similar challenge. We'll assemble some lists and see what kind of crud we can dredge from the Rhapsody library.

Update 1: Eli is in. Any other takers? I have a few dupes with his “originals” list. I have, at this point anyway, deliberately stayed away from bad versions of traditional Christmas songs simply because there are so many horrid attempts at creating new “standards” to choose from. I mean, why go for Babs' idiocy when you can go for, oh, I dunno ... “Melekalikimaka” by the Beach Boys (couldn't find the Don Ho version ... )? Or, to add to Eli's mention of Kenny Rogers' oeuvre, “Kids”? Rhapsody truly offers a wealth of horrible music. I won't even link to the putrescence that is “Larry the Cable Guy” (not suitable for family listening).

Update 2: Jacob Carpenter and Daniel Foster might be in. This is a reminder to all to make sure to send me a playlist before tomorrow (Dec. 3, 2004), when we compare notes. I'll compile initial lists in the morning.

[NOTE: I'm not going to get into the substance of the story; I know folks who are reading the book and don't want to inadvertently spoil any of it for them. The review at Crooked Timber, which pointed me to the book in the first place (review linked below as well) will give you the basics.] 

This book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, is long. Too long. Despite what other reviewers have to say about Ms. Clarke's mannerly prose, she needs an editor.

She also needs a story. The last 200 pages actually had a story developing — coming to a rather quick end at the end of the book — but the first 600 pages that set the thing up were woefully boring and almost pointless.

I realize that she was likely going for an old-time mannerly feel in her writing, but she needed more story to pull it off. The footnotes with faked history and background info were helpful in this respect, but the main body was just too boring, at least for me. I would've been much happier with this story if I'd only had to read 400 pages to get to the end.

Next I'm reading The Reformation: A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch. 800 pages on the history of the Reformation — now that's a story!

Before I left for the ETS / SBL conferences a few weeks back, the tub in my bathroom developed a slow drip. I didn't really have time or desire to address it before the conferences, so I decided to just let it be and deal with it when I came back.

Upon returning, I found that the slow drip had developed into a steady trickle. It was time to address the problem. However, I know next to nothing about plumbing, so I turned to the web to look for answers.

I learned a whole lot about Delta single-faucet hardware and the innards. I went to the store and bought the biggest pair of channel-lock pliers I could find (needed to remove the large brass collar, as depicted here). Based on the stuff I'd read, I simply needed to replace a few small seals. So I also purchased some replacement seals and springs, hoping the fix would be easy. (Note: The seals and springs are RP4993 in this PDF graphic)

Now, unfortunately for me, my main water shutoff is in the most inconvienent place possible — under the house in the crawl space (no basement) opposite the entry-hole. So to turn the water on or off, it involved an excursion under the house. Not fun, but thankfully there is about 3 feet of clearance, so I didn't have to crawl the whole way.

So, I turned off the water. I ripped apart my faucet, removed the brass collar (needed to loosen it with some silicone lubricant/penetrant), and yanked out the innards (the whole RP19804 unit from the above PDF graphic), then ripped it apart and replaced the springs and seals.

Convinced I'd fixed the problem, I put it all back together and crawled back underneath the house to turn the water back on. I got back in the house, checked the faucet ... and it was still running at a slow trickle. Drats.

And then inspiration struck. I have two bathtub/shower units in my house, and they both have the same hardware. So, I went back under the house (ugh) and shut off the water. Then I came back into the house, ripped apart both faucets, and started to compare the two parts — particularly RP19805, which seemed to be the most likely piece to be faulty. I messed around with the seals again, and put each faucet back together. Then back under the house to turn on the water (that shutoff really needs easier access!) No dice, the trickle was still there.

Back under the house. Ugh.

Then I decided to get into serious problem-solving mode: It was time to switch the innards. I figured this action had four possible results, only one of which would cause me to have to crawl back under the house:

Result 1: Both faucets would have a steady trickle. This would cause me to go back under the house so I could switch the hardware back, and it would lead me to conclude that both the hardware and the plumbing on faucet #1 were faulty, and that the faulty hardware caused faucet #2 to begin a trickle. This was my worst-case scenario.

Result 2: Neither faucet would trickle. Not quite sure what would cause this, beyond serendipity. This result, while pleasant, wasn't necessarily desired because I wouldn't know what fixed the issue and there would be a high liklihood it would rear its ugly head again. But it would also mean I wouldn't crawl back under the house; at least not today.

Result 3: No change. Faucet #1 continues to trickle, faucet #2 continues with no trickle. This would be unfortunate because it would mean that the faucet hardware is fine, but there was a deeper problem in the plumbing somewhere — and I'd probably have to call in a plumber. But then he would be the one crawling under the house, not me.

Result 4: Opposite. Faucet #1 would have no trickle and faucet #2 would develop a new trickle. This was my desired result, because it would narrow the problem to the faucet hardware, and I would be able to order a replacement part (the Lowes/Home Depot/Hardware Sales sort of stores don't stock RP19804, the part I would need to replace). I would still need to crawl under the house, but I'd do it later with a hopefully reasonable expectation that the problem really would be solved.

Logic is so cool. Yes, I actually did think through these options; I'm not making it up — though there is a little embellishment above, and I only thought of the worst option (Result 1 above) as I was getting ready to crawl back under the house again to turn the water back on.

The result of the switch? We have a winner behind door #4! This was my best-case scenario. So, I hopped onto the web and ordered the necessary part. Should arrive sometime next week, and the tub spigot in my guest bathroom will be trickling until I get the part.

This means I'll have to crawl under the house at least two more times to shut off the water for the repair. But hopefully that'll be the end of it. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to call a plumber. I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

The Thanksgiving festivities at James' house went well. I think I had the turkey in the oil just a little too long, but all in all it turned out fine. The stuffing was good, the gravy turned out all right, and the masses of food brought by other folks was all excellent. Here are some pics of the deep-fryin' process. Clicking on the thumbnail will open a larger version of the picture.

The setup: a large pot, a propane burner, and a thermometer to measure oil temp. I was able to mooch from my folks as they're in Arizona and they left the necessary equipment at home in Washington.

Step 1: Get the oil to 350 degrees farenheit. I got it higher, when the turkey gets put into the oil, the temp goes down. This was just about right to settle the temp at 350.

Step 2: You need a turkey. Note the apparatus the turkey is on, also note that the cavity is facing up, not down.

Step 3: Lower the turkey SLOWLY into the heated oil. Take your time, there's no reason to rush this step.

Step 4: Nibble on some more of James Van Noord's fabulous cheese-ball.

Step 5: After appropriate frying time (3 minutes per pound) remove turkey from oil.

Step 6: Check temperature. The bird should be at 160 degrees farenheit.

Step 7: Bring bird inside, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then carve it up.

More photos from the day (including Vincent Setterholm preparing Creme Brulee!) are online at my photo site.

Seems like a good idea to blog about my Thanksgiving plans.

My folks are in Arizona this year, so I'm orphaned. I'm heading over to James' house where a few other friends/co-workers are gathering. I think there will be 10 of us there, perhaps more.

We're going to be deep-frying, as I've mentioned before. I'll be bringing my camera and may post photos of the process later on today or tomorrow.

In addition to the turkey fryin', I'm also in charge of the stuffing and the gravy. I made the stuffing this morning (it just needs to cook in the oven) so all systems are “go” there. I'll make the gravy later today at James' house. Rumor has it I may be the one carving the turkey too.

All in all, this should be a feast to be remembered, provided the turkey turns out well. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed ...

I know I said I was done, but I'd forgot about this bit.

While most of the presentations of papers were good, some were simply awful and tough to sit through. This is to be expected. However, my primary beef is that not all presenters gave their audience something to evaluate and take home with them.

I'm not talking about a copy of the paper, I'm talking about a handout that has the basic outline / major points of the paper so that one can follow along. After attending one of Edward Tufte's seminars this past summer, I now see how valuable this aspect really is.

In my mind, Ken Penner (I went to both of his papers; one on purpose and one on accident) was on the right track. He had a handout / synopsis of the major points and evidence of his work, and then read his paper. While listening to someone read a paper isn't the best (Mark Goodacre's reports of going extempore in his presentation are interesting and provocative; hopefully more folks try just such a thing next year) it is at least less of a trial with a synopsis.

The folks working through “Discourse Grammar of Mark 13” in the Greek Language and Linguistics seminar had it right as well. A large handout with lots of information that one can revisit to evaluate argument, as well as a presentation that, while much of it was read, wasn't necessarily presented that way. These folks worked through the text, knew it, knew their point in presenting, and made their case in an engaging manner. It was one of the best presentations I was able to attend. Cheers to them for their work and their engaging presentation.