"Dina Won't You Saur With Me?"

I had to chuckle. The hip bone's connected to the knuckle head...

"http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312212,00.html"

New Dinosaur Found in Basement of British Museum

The 140 million-year-old specimen — actually just one bone, and a partial one at that —

"I've spent the last five years doing nothing but looking at sauropod vertebrae, so I immediately realized it was something strange," Taylor said. "It was unmistakably a dorsal vertebra from a sauropod, but it didn't look like any dorsal I'd ever seen before."

He and colleague Darren Naish figured the bone came from near the animal's hip area, which allowed them to estimate the dinosaur's size and shape and to establish that Xenoposeidon proneneukus is a new genus and species, and possibly represents a new family (a larger group) of dinosaur.

This is very much like identifying a tasteless, odorless poison by its smell. Inconceivable.

Mike Taylor and Matt Wedel (Picture from Fox News)
Where the found vertrebra would have been in a live Xenoposeidon; size and shape are approximate.

First snow of the winter of 2007-2008

Yessiree!

Veterans' Day 2007

Despite the fact that I believe that the LORD's requirement that we love our enemies precludes the use of deadly force in personal combat, I have reason to believe that the use of force may at times be necessary for the protection of the weak and innocent. Because GOD has ordained government, and rulers have a responsibility to protect those in their care, the exercise of police powers within a realm and in defense of that realm appears to have some legitimacy.

However, the act of war, one realm against another, has no justification in our LORD's teachings. The concept of a "just war" is a human rationalization. At its heart lies an assumption that one side of the conflict has the blessing of GOD, and that those who fight against that side deserve to die. Governments on both sides of the conflict press into service those who are brothers in Christ; to be willing to kill one's brother rather than to die for one's brother is an alien concept for the true children of GOD.

Nevertheless, it is more in keeping with our LORD's example that we would give our lives for our enemies rather than take their lives, even while enforcing laws. That a life might be taken to prevent the killing of others is a possible action under this scenario, but never that a life might be taken in self-defense.

There are those who have loved their country and obeyed their LORD. They have served bravely and quietly in the armed forces of our nation, more often than not suffering persecution for their refusal to kill other men, as they labored to save the lives of battlefield casualties. Most are unsung; few speak of their service. I would like to dedicate this post to my brave brothers who were willing to give their lives that others might live.

Desmond Doss was a Seventh-Day Adventist who believed that GOD would not want him to take a human life, but that GOD also expected him to do his duty to his nation. He enlisted, became a medic, suffered abuse from his fellow soldiers (because he would not carry a weapon), fought a Section 8 discharge (because he was accused of insanity for not working on Saturday), and became the only World War II CO to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His story can be read here :

http://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_doss2.html

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Tom Bennett was a Southern Baptist who believed that it was wrong to take the life of another person. He was drafted (1-A-O), trained as a medic, and was posted to Vietnam and killed in action, and was the only Vietnam War CO to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His story can be read here:

http://www.historynet.com/magazines/vietnam/3026546.html?page=1&c=y

Rest in peace, my brothers.
"Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends"

Bugs in the Oatmeal

Yesterday we found little weevilly things crawling around in the oatmeal. They did not taste any different from the oatmeal. When they were cooked, they were hard to find -- but you could find them, and we dug some of them out and lined the edges of our bowls with them. But I quit looking for them, because it was just too much bother, and went ahead and ate them.

Maria has been blogging about oysters and how they resemble boogers. S'not much difference in the way they look or feel. Me, I'm not an oyster eater (why does the word oyster seem to connect itself to the word mountain?) or I would have clammed up about the subject.

I did read an interesting SF piece that had people eating bugs as big as cows (part of Planets of Adventure) and I started wondering about toasted grasshoppers and such but I really do prefer a nice steak. Or a broiled chicken breast. This idea of eating an invertebrate, guts and all, pales in comparison. It could bring up other items as well, if you did not have enough chili peppers to buffer the contents of your stomach.

Warped thought for the day : the love of oatmeal is the root of all weevil.