Curious Meets Google

I occasionally get curious about random things and research the answers.

Today, I wondered why the letters "RX" are tied to pharmacies or prescription medication.

Here is what I found:

Once again, we can blame Latin for a curious term. In English, "Rx" doesn't seem to have any connection to "pharmacy." However it does in Latin, albeit in a roundabout way.

According to Yahoo! Reference, "Rx" means "prescription for medicine." The letters abbreviate the Latin word recipe, which is a form of the verb "to take."

Doctors write Rx in the heading of prescriptions as an instruction to "take" the medicine. The pharmacists filling the orders understand this shorthand (and hopefully they can read the doctors' handwriting) and print it on pill bottles with whatever else doctors order, such as "take twice daily with food." Somewhere along the line, pharmacists started using "Rx" on their storefront signs so patients knew where to get their doctors' instructions translated.

So there you go.

The $24 Crack

Jenny and I went to Home Depot tonight looking at materials for a bathroom project we hope to undertake in April.

We found the piece we want our sink to stand on, and the sink itself as a "this item only" price for a display model. It was the last one in the store. We decided we would get it, and then noticed the smallest crack on the corner of the sink. They had one more sink piece in stock (it was the last stand), and that crack ended up costing us an extra $24 as we looked to get the flawless one.

Overall, we were happy. Jenny enjoyed walking out of the store with a smile.

Why Is Fire Fun?

We had a going away party tonight for a friend who is leaving the state tomorrow. In doing so, we had a bonfire as part of the evening activities.

Guys in their late 20s have too much amusement with fire. We should not be trusted with lighter fluid, wood, gasoline, more wood, paper, boxes, glass, people, soccer balls, and more wood.

What is it about fire that adds immediate excitement to anything you were already doing?

Answers Please

I love when I get questions, particularly questions that ask about my interpretation and theology based on certain parts of scripture.

At the same time, I don't want to present my opinion as "the" answer when other people may vary greatly.

So I'm posting this question from MDK for anyone to answer. I'll answer eventually, but am hoping not to be first.

"Now that I am reading deuteronomy, it struck me that God doesn't seem very merciful to Moses in not letting him enter Canaan. Any insights to this?"

Photo Finish (a guest blogger edition)

Well, the time has finally arrived. Decisions have been made, photos have been printed and the framed product has been hung upon the wall. I must admit that no one was really capable of guessing all three photos that I eventually chose. One photo wasn't quite working the way I had hoped, so I added a new one into the mix. I created another one using a picture I had never shown before. Sorry.

Okay, here are the photos I chose and then a picture of them on the kitchen wall (the mattes I used are square so the signature is where it would show in the bottom right corner):

"But It's So Boring"

This was a response a family member gave me after hearing that I elected to use one of my elective classes to take an intensive on Deuteronomy.

It was the doctoral subject of this particular professor, and this particular professor is one of the better class room managers I've had, so learning comes easy.

I had that class this afternoon, and am giddy about what I get to be involved in. I'm actually looking forward to doing the work for this class.

Need Another Big Upset

As the March Madness tournament continues, I find myself relying on another upset in the future. I have by no means picked the games the best thus far, but I have the most potential remaining. None of my Final Four have been eliminated yet, which is something no one else in my pool can say.

Of those of us who still have our champions remaining (two teams have lost theirs already), I am the only one who did not pick North Carolina to win it all. Therefore, I need North Carolina to lose. Though I have them in the final four, they can lose any game now. That will help me immensely.

Happy Easter

It Actually Happened.

Couldn't Duke Just Have Lost

I would have been ecstatic had Duke not barely won their game today. Had they fallen out of the March Madness tournament to Belmont (whom I still don't know where their school is located), there would have been much celebration.

Oh well. Here's to hoping some of the other schools I don't need to see do well to win my bracket pool lose tomorrow.

Only 3?

March Madness starts tomorrow.

I'll be watching all the games.

Filling out my bracket tonight, I only picked 3 games of the first round to go differently than they are seeded to go.

Let's hope I get them all right, Swedish Meetballs are on the line.

Kings of the Castle

I had not been able to attend my church small group the last 10 weeks because of class at Seminary. Tonight was my return.

In honor of that, and another members birthday, the treat of choice was a White Castle buffet.

2 of the wives refused to participate. So the Kings enjoyed their food. Bountiful, wonderful, healthy food.

Rejoice and Be Glad

I just submitted my last paper of this quarter with 10 hours to spare.

No classes until next week.

Bring on March Madness.

Bible Buddies

Jenny and I enjoy numerous "reality" shows. Tonight on one of them, some of the contestants were reading the Bible on their own time in a bedroom. They were termed "Bible buddies" by the show and sappy music was played in the background.

It was fairly apparent that Biblical Studies had not been their major as they were discussing the size of Goliath, or the results of Jacob having numerous wives.

One said that the Bible is a good thing to know because of all the references made back to it, of which they came up with "David and Goliath" and "Easter."

I've always wondered what the average Biblical understanding is in America. I'm sure the spectrum covers a wide range, but what kinds of things do most people think of when they think of the Bible?

Any thoughts?

Some Decisions Take Time (a guest blogger edition)

It's time for all you readers to make your best guesses about what I decided about pictures for the kitchen wall. Did I choose the blue laterns (Nate's anti-favorite)? Or the red garden pot? Or maybe the yellow bucket? Though I have made some decisions, I have not yet hung them on the wall.

A prize will be awarded to the person who can guess what 3 pictures I chose, or get the closest. The winner will receive a copy of one picture of his or her choice. So go ahead, and make your guesses carefully (exclusions apply: anyone who was part of the decision making process and/or who has been informed of the decision is not eligible for contest prizes).

Do you really want a great picture taken by an up and coming artist, but you're not sure you can make a winning guess? Not a problem. Anyone can receive a copy of the photo of your choice simply by making a donation to World Servants (donations can be made online by clicking here, I will contact you about details on receiving your photo).

Click here to see the post with the photos up for discussion and to see others' votes.

More Fun Papers

When I woke up this afternoon I had 9 assignments I had to complete (with various different due dates) by noon next Tuesday. It is currently 4:30 in the morning. I have finished 5 of those assignments.

I finished the easy 5.

1 of the remaining 4 is also "easy" in comparison to the three that follow.

Those three require 32 pages of writing.

10 Pages about my own journey (simple) related to the class material (it'll be hard to fit my journey into some of the material, as some of the material was dreadfully boring and seemingly inapplicable).

10 Pages on reflection of visiting a Oneness Pentecostal Revival Service given in Spanish. The visit was a while ago in my past, but is vivid in my memory. Not painful to write, but not something I'm looking forward to.

12 Pages on the homosexual understanding of sexual sin. Actually, it is a 12 page paper where I will explain how many homosexuals interpret parts of scripture to allow for monogamous, covenantal, same sex relationships to not be considered sinful for the first 8 pages. The last 4 pages will be me interacting with the material presented in those 8 pages. I'm pretty excited about doing the research for this project, as it is a hot button issue with lots of implication, but won't be as excited about having to formulate it into a well done research paper with footnotes galore.

Good luck me. If any of you want to volunteer to write one of these papers, that would be gracious and loving of you.

A Glimmer Of Hope

The weather was teasing today. Spring like enought to drive with the windows down, but still snow everywhere.

I even forgot my coat when I stopped for lunch. I had to drive back to the restaurant later in the day to retrieve it as I apparently didn't feel the need to put it on after eating.

7 Sins, Classic and Modern

The Catholic Church released a statement today which affirmed the continuation of the "Classic" 7 deadly sins (lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride) while also adding a list for the age of globalization.

The 7 modern deadly sins are these:
polluting
genetic engineering
being obscenely rich
drug dealing
abortion
pedophilia
causing social injustice

I was happy with the list. Some statements read (as i've found on news websites) the pursuit of generous wealth instead of the having of generous wealth which I like better, but this list was taken directly from Fox News.

You're Kidding Right?

How is it called "Spring Ahead" if the country is being hit with snow storms. More like "added winter depression."

Someone needs to change the phrase. This isn't springtime. There is nothing "springy" about losing an hour of sleep.

Yes, I'm bitter. I like sleep too much for this to happen without at least a glimmer of spring in sight.

Sometimes We Think The Same

In looking for something to do tonight, Jenny and I both agreed that Ice Cream cones was the best idea.

We thought this after picking the same movie we wanted to rent.

Sometimes, things just go easy and we think the same. Life feels cheery then.

Life feels cheery now.

Is It Spring Yet

I want to golf. I want to chip and putt for hours at the practice green before waisting those balls away on the driving range.

I want to score in the 80s more than once this year, and to do so, i'd need lots of practice.

Spring needs to get here. I'm done with winter.

Ugh, But I'm Long Winded

I tend to be a long winded preacher. Tomorrow I'm giving another sermon in class. We are allowed 22 minutes. I want more though. The 12 verses I am covering took my senior pastor 42 minutes when he covered them, and he generally only preaches for 30 minutes.

I don't know how I'll fit everything I want to say into 22. It took me 26 when I practiced it tonight.

If I Were a Cat

Tomorrow I have lots of homework to do. Instead of starting it now, i'm wondering what I would be like if I was a cat.

I think I figured it out though...

Quote of Disgrace

I try to make it a habit to write down quotes that stand out to me. Tonight in class, I had that opportunity.

I'll refrain from giving the name of this quotes author for now, as I don't want it to taint anyone's evaluation of the quote. What I haven't decided yet, is to what level I agree with this quote. Nonetheless, it stood out to me.

"Our disgrace is not that we have not worked enough for God to increase His glory, but that we have failed to delight in God and in doing so, reflect His glory."

What do you think?

HomeShow Sunday

We spent the afternoon today browsing the Home Show with mom and dad.

With our upcoming attic in mind, some info from some insulation guys was helpful, but some shower ideas were the most enticing to us. They however, were not the entertainment.

That instead was provided by the parents, one finding himself like a kid in a candy store and the other, struggling to control said child.

We all laughed. We all smiled. Some of us played with stress balls, some of us walked away with all we could hope for.

Dinner Was An Omen

There was a poker game scheduled to be played at our house tonight. During the afternoon, a friend called to see what our dinner plans were and if we wanted to make Cashew Chicken before the game.

I knew it would be a good night.

Dinner was wonderful, but poker started bad. I busted out of the tournament early to have to buy back in, but 4 hours later, I left with the big bucks.

Dinner was an omen for the night that would be.