Archive for February 2007
We’re still without hot water. The plumber came today and declared our tankless water heater obsolete — he couldn’t get parts to fix it. So we’re having a new water heater installed… we’re hoping on Friday, but probably Monday. Ugh.
In the meantime, some neighbors let us use their bathroom for a hot shower and bathes for the kids. Thank you Rick and Kathy!
As Jonah was getting ready for his bath, his friend Sydney (also 4 years old) spots him and declares in her sweet, slight Southern-drawl, “You look cute, Jonah!” By this point, Jonah is as naked as a jay bird… he just stands there and grins. I told him to enjoy it now, because if the same thing happens 12 years from now, he’s in big trouble.
February 28, 2007 at 10:09pm
Jordan
Comments are a good thing… we want you readers out there to comment on our posts. You may notice, though, that your comments will not appear right away. That is because we moderate and approve all comments. Why the big brother like policy? Are we just control freaks? Yes we are, but that isn’t the reason.
Believe it or not, there is comment spam out there… people write programs that troll the web looking for blogs where they can “comment” with advertising for things like hair loss remedies and enlarging certain areas of one’s body. Believe it or not, this new site just went up a couple days ago, and already this morning we had comment spam. We don’t like that sort of thing, so we moderate the comments to make sure only real people are commenting. That, and this is a family-friendly site, so if someone gets out of line we can control for that too. So, I guess it is a control issue. We’re working on it.
February 28, 2007 at 11:59am
Jordan
James Cameron, director of films such as Titanic, Aliens and The Terminator, has turned his attention to biblical archaeology. Cameron produced a documentary called “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” that is scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, March 4. Based on DNA evidence taken from 10 ossuaries (small caskets used to hold bones) from a tomb in a Jerusalem suburb (not even in the Old City!) found in 1980, the documentary will claim that Jesus and his family were buried there, including Jesus’ son, Judah, that they claim he had with Mary Magdalene. The assertion that Jesus even had an ossuary sparks opposition to His resurrection and ascention into Heaven. Served up just in time for the Lenten season.
But not all archaeologists are on board with Cameron’s views. (Side note: interesting that it isn’t just the Christian community that don’t buy into his claims.) For example, Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the tomb and its contents, says that the idea that Jesus and his family was buried there doesn’t meet archaeological standards, but makes for good sensationalistic television. All of the names found on the ossuaries are common Jewish names of the day, and besides… how would a humble carpenter afford a luxury crypt like this? (Kloner’s views discussed here, here and elsewhere - I can’t do everything for you!)
I also stumbled upong this article from FoxNews.com that had some fun dissenting commentary:
Stephen Pfann, biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land (Jerusalem), commenting on the possibility of the story:
“How possible is it?” Pfann said. “On a scale of one through 10 — 10 being completely possible — it’s probably a one, maybe a one and a half.”
William Dever, professor emeritus, University of Arizona (near eastern archaeology/anthropology expert) commenting on why it took 27 years for this ‘announcement’ to be made:
“The fact that it’s been ignored tells you something,” said Dever, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. “It would be amusing if it didn’t mislead so many people.”
In fairness, it appears as though it didn’t take 27 years… the BBC aired a documentary called “The Body in Question” making similiar claims in 1996, beating Cameron and his team by 11 years. The response back then? I’m not sure, but last time I checked, Christianity is still around and going strong.
February 27, 2007 at 01:03pm
Jordan
We just moved the website to a new host, and with the move came the opportunity to update the design (not by much, but a little) and the software that allows us to manage the content (thanks WordPress!). In the near future, we’ll try to get the photo gallery back up. Enjoy the “new” site!
February 26, 2007 at 03:58pm
Jordan
Some of you may recall our ordeal when we lived without hot water for a week or so in 2005 during our kitchen remodel (while we waited for the slow home buyer’s insurance company to find someone who had heard of a knew how to fix tankless water heaters). Well, we’re one again with hot water, but this time it isn’t due to any remodeling.
After a lukewarm shower Sunday morning, I checked in the crawl space to see if all was well with the water tank only to find a minature Niagra Falls taking residence under my house creating a mud pit. Now, we have a unique set-up for hot water at our house, thanks to the previous owners. You see, the old electric water heater isn’t connected to the electrical… it only serves as a holding tank for hot water, which is heated by a tankless water heater. The tankless unit was fine, but the tank had sprung a leak. I then spent all day draining the tank (which is below grade), removing it from the plumbing lines, rolling it out of the way (the crawl space is only 3 feet high), and then tried to connect the old supply/return to the tank directly to the tankless water heater (making the system, well, tankless). Well, I couldn’t get the water out of the return pipes so the solder wouldn’t take. At midnight I gave up, tired of sitting in wet, muddy red clay.
I spent this morning calling plumbers, and the earliest I could get one was for Wednesday morning — two days from now. The plumber that is coming has worked on our system before and is good, so hopefully all will be well. Let’s hope. I don’t think we’ll be able to stand the smell of unbathed toddlers much longer.
February 26, 2007 at 12:05pm
Jordan
Congrats to my cousin Josh, who is now a published author with his recent article in CrossFit Journal. Josh is the head strength and conditioning coach at UC, Riverside and essentially the total opposite of me when it comes to physical fitness and strength. He’s a machine.
February 22, 2007 at 11:49am
Jordan