Photo by Don Norman This problem was originally investigated by usability expert Don Norman, and reworded into the form of a question by Gil Milbauer. In an attempt to provide a mechanism where someone is not left in a situation with no toilet paper, some establishments have installed dual toilet paper dispensers. The question is, […]
How should toilet paper hang? Should the end of the roll be in the front and drape over the top, or at the bottom and go under and behind the roll?
What is the optimum length of toilet paper needed to get the job done? Or, as my daughter would ask, how much can I use without clogging up the commode?
In preparing to use toilet paper, should one wad or fold? (Hint: Theoretically, one of these methods will help facilitate the dissolving of the toilet paper in water.)
I heard the U2 song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” on the car radio today. I used to like this song because I could identify with its continual searching for something. But now, I don’t like the song so much anymore. Probably because I have found what I was looking for…
Child number 4, almost ten months old now, has reached a milestone. He can now eat Cheerios on his own! Now that does not sound like a very big accomplishment compared to learning to walk, but learning how to eat Cheerios means several things. First, he is not choking on it. He has learned to […]
Within the course of a lengthy conversation covering a gamut of topics like retreats, Thomism, and his new parish assignment, I asked a young priest what was the best thing and worse thing about his new job? He said that the best part is being there for people, especially at some critical point in their […]
I was sitting in church last night and had one of those “duh” kind of moments. I don’t know how many times I have said or heard it. It just never occurred to me this way before. You know that line in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread”? The word bread […]
Over this past weekend, I felt compelled to get involved in an ethical debate on abortion in the comment section of Gil Milbauer’s weblog A Reasonable Man. The discussion has been mostly cool-headed with a couple stimulating comments from others. For me, I knew before hand that I was not going to change anybody’s opinion. […]
This quote about choices by C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, seems applicable to my previous journal entry: People often think that Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.’ I do not think […]
Before I found my faith, I had a real problem with the concept of original sin. The first time I attended RCIA classes with my wife, I used it as one of my excuses for dropping out of the classes. I remember someone describing original sin as a stain on humanity, that is all humans […]
Over the last month or so, little things have been popping up here and there that have reminded me of my old self—the self-reliant, skeptical agnostic. I used to believe in a Creator-God, the Initiator of the Universe. I was not sure if He interfered with things on this planet, and if He did, science […]
The song “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence as been playing on popular radio stations lately. It has an edgy rock sound, and the lead singer has an incredible voice. But when I read the lyrics (after my previous entry), it gave me goose bumps…
As a recent convert, I find great comfort in today’s reading of Matthew 20:1-16, The Workers in the Vineyard: Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them […]
Karl at St. Stephen’s Musings asked me five interview type questions. You are all invited to participate. (See directions at the end of the post.) 1) You have written some short fiction in the past. Do you have other stories in the works? Yes, I have been working on a story based on an incident […]
Brian, the senior religion teacher, delivered the morning prayer before an all-school assembly yesterday. Before the prayer, he told us this story: There was a farmer working out in his field one day. A traveler was walking down the road next to the field. The traveler motioned for the farmer to come over to talk. […]
Here are my questions for Caitlin: 1) As a junior in high school, what do you want to be when you grow up? 2) What is the best and worst thing about going to a small, catholic high school? Do you miss public school? 3) What is the best and worst thing about having your […]
This list has been making the email circuit. It is the Bible condensed down to only 50 words. This list hits upon the Golden Thread that runs throughout the Bible, but at the expense of the beauty in the story. God made Adam bit Noah arked Abraham split Joseph ruled Jacob fooled Bush talked Moses […]
Before school started, the faculty and staff of my high school had a retreat. Fr. Boyer lead a wonderful, insightful, and motivating discussion on the virtues needed to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus teaches these virtues to his apostles and disciples in Luke’s Travel Narrative: The Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27). What follows are […]
Fr. Boyer told this story about a time he was sitting on an airplane while it was loading passengers. A young man sat down next to him and noticed his cleric collar. The young man asked Father, “Are you saved?” Father replied, “Well, I would prefer to think that I am being saved.” The young […]
Last summer, I ran into a major frustration in my journey of faith. I had just found my faith the previous February, and everything about the Church was new to me. I was not sure what I was suppose to be doing as a “new” Christian, but I knew that I wanted God in the […]