philisha.net

Wow—even Nepalese yak farmers are getting Wifi. This whole Internet thing is really catching on, wouldn’t you say?

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Essays are a wonderful form of knowledge: http://douglas.min.net/essay/newessay.jpg. Thanks for the link, Dan.

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Posting a list of your top ten books seems to be the thing to do nowadays. Note that these are not necessarily my favorite books, just the ones that have influenced me the most.

1. The Cosmic Trilogy: Lewis’s science fiction series has shown me a great deal about Christian cosmology. It also shows which parts modern science fiction has gotten wrong and which it is right about.
2. Farenheit 451: This one scared me when I read it. I had read distopian novels like 1984, but they hadn’t seemed plausible to me the way Bradbury did. I saw the future portrayed within as inevitable. (And in some ways still do.) Reading it makes me want to read more.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Delightful to a child’s imagination, these books can still fill me with awe and remind me of important truths. “Aslan is not a tame Lion.”
4. The Foundation Trilogy: I read these in junior high, and Asimov’s arguments concerning fate and determinism has stuck with me ever since.
5. The Divine Comedy: Dante is Christendom’s best poet, and his masterpiece is so full of good stuff in so many fields it’s almost unbearable. I still can’t read it as it deserves to be read.
6. Ecclesiastes: My favorite book of the Bible reminds me like The Dream of Scipio that life on Earth is fleeting and its pursuits should not be our focus.
7. A Severe Mercy: Vanauken paints such a vivid picture of joy, love, and sacrafice that it is almost too much to behold.
8. Le Morte d’ Arthur: I wish life could be more like this book.
9. The Confessions of St. Augustine: Augustine is my favorite saint. His autobiography first showed me how passion and intellectual pursuit interplay in Christianity.
10. The Lord of the Rings: This book first taught me how to face evil even in the onset of despair. I admire Theoden’s determination and tenacity. It also showed me how a cause like the West can be worth fighting for.

Honorable mention: The Discarded Image, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Ender’s Game, Tom Swift series, The Geography of Thought, Snow Crash, The Man who was Thursday, Dune, Dandelion Wine, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

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One: what exactly is a number one pencil?

Two: why is it so much less useful than a number two pencil?

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My Calculus class isn’t actually done yet; I still have to take the exam. Still, the fact that I never will have to listen to another word from the professor of that infernal class gives me great joy. Great misfortune still may befall me, but I will always be able to take comfort in the fact that at least it’s not Calculus class. Huzzah.

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Feminist: Men and women should be treated as equals in all situations.

Gentleman: But men should act differently around women; they should strive to behave well and not to offend them with harsh language.

Feminist: Not so! Women and men are equal. I demand to be offended.

Gentleman: But don’t you see, m’dear: you are.

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Become an international arms trafficker!

http://online.offshore.com.ai/arms-trafficker/

I’m researching ridiculous laws, in case you couldn’t tell.
It’s almost comical.

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Woot:

On Fri, 14 May 2004 17:39:28 -0700
“John Reynolds” wrote:

> […] You are a web god and I long to be like you.
>
> JMNR
>

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