Monthly Archives: November 2019

Best of Holiday Posts: “The Two Best Christmas Gifts Ever for the Skeptic Who Has (Almost) Everything” (2016)

Posted on November 30, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila THE BEST GIFT The Online Etymology Dictionary reveals that the compound word, “Christmas” (Christ + mass, combined and shortened), introduced in the mid-fourteenth century, refers to the “sending, letting go” of Christ (kind of like somebody or even … Continue reading →

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Phyllis Beveridge Nissila Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us… (Ephesians 1:4)  For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or … Continue reading →

Posted on November 28, 2019 by pbn | Leave a comment

Best of Holiday Posts: A Timeless Thanksgiving Story–“The Travelers”

Posted on November 24, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila I first posted this story written by my brother-in-law Gene Taylor six years ago. It continues to be my favorite Thanksgiving offering, not only because it is an ageless story of hope lost, then found, but also … Continue reading →

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Is it God “in the Details,” or is it the Devil? Why it Matters

Posted on November 22, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila To answer the title question, based on an English idiom, both God and the Devil are in…details. What follows is why, in my view, it is important to know which one is behind what is being investigated, … Continue reading →

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Advent (“Yet Out the Shrouds of Winter…”)

Posted on November 20, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila Advent “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land… Yet out the shrouds of winter a candle flicks and calls to passers-by bereft, whose hearts long iced … Continue reading →

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Best of Holiday Posts: “Where Were You?’ (2017) Featuring “O Magnum Mysterium”

Posted on November 18, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila As the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons approach, I will be featuring past posts that remind me look up, regard the “bigger picture,” reflect, resist (and take a breather from) all that would keep heads down, hearts angry, … Continue reading →

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From Boomerland: Finding Love After “A Certain Age”…

Posted on November 16, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila WARNING: Gen-X-ers and below, you may wish to avert your imagination before proceeding because…parents and grandparents just…never…I mean, eeewww… My dear, long-term friend “Jan,” who has been widowed for several years, now, wants to get back in … Continue reading →

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On the Dunning-Kruger Effect on “Open Data” Algorithms, or Beware the Technocracy

Posted on November 15, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila I came across an interesting article, “THE POWER OF OPEN DATA TO TRANSFORM AND ENGAGE COMMUNITIES: A CALL FOR IDEAS,” linked below, featured in a recent Technocracy News online issue. The introduction by TN editor, Patrick Wood, … Continue reading →

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On Those Slow-Grinding “Mills of Justice” (yet Be Encouraged)

Posted on November 14, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.* The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at … Continue reading →

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On AI, HI, and GI (Not That GI*)

Posted on November 13, 2019 by pbn

Phyllis Beveridge Nissila AI In my ongoing fascination and fun around the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), but NOT because I am any kind of math-tech person (math is known as “The M Word” in my wheelhouse), I found this … Continue reading →

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