If a question is asked in good faith and reverence before God, God always gladly answers. Never in the Bible has God ever answered "because I say so." Unfortunately, many fundamentalist Christians take that approach. This is also resulting in, or caused by, the bad parenting tactic: Because I say so, against smart, inquisitive children.
I am reminded of Janet Mefferd's talk show, which always in every episode, intro with a preacher (Dr. W. A. Criswell, I think, in his Acts 20:19-21 1995-11-01 Sermon titled Old Time Religion @10:15) yelling: "But if the Word of God says it, I believe it!" Now that I found this preacher and sermon, the context of that phrase, though seeming meant as a joke, is of highly fundamentalist's narrow minded view: Two boys glued the preacher's Bible pages together so when he preached "Noah was married to his wife...and she was fifteen cubits broad" unknowingly that his pages were glued, the pastor continued "this is the first time I saw it in the Word of God. But if the Word of God says it, I believe it!" It's no different than Roman Catholicism: "If the Church says it, I believe it."
So it's not new, this anti-intellectual path.
This had been a series of encounters I've had with folks like Alex Tseng ("LGBT/"gay marriage is sinful because the Bible says so"), Pastor Chris of GCC ("God says so", "Your knowledge cannot save you, only Faith can"), on top of the preachers such as from the intro of every Janet Mefferd episode. I am not critiquing them for Sola Scriptura, but when it becomes Solo Scriptura or the tendency to be so, that's when the problem comes which I think all of them committed. It is usually a sort of narrow-mindedness, the inability to understand who they are conversing with, the incompetence of having a better answer, the pride of being self-righteous.
It must be noted that before they answer "Because God says so", the question already assumed God says so. So it is a redundant answer "because God says so," as if they need such reminder or to remind others themselves. But of course, they would all say: I am not against reason, I'm not against LGBT people, I have a lot of gay friends, I'm not perfect, etc. Textbook means of covering their own "humble" behinds.
So after all this, I dare to challenge even their theologians, that though we can always start with God says so, or the Bible says so, saying BECAUSE God/the Bible says so, is actually unbiblical, to any question asked in good faith and reverence.
Why forbid the eating of the fruit? Because God says so. That is an unbiblical response.
In fact, the strongest lesson on this topic in the Bible is the book of Job. When God rebuked Job in the end, it is exactly because Job did not, in all his fear of God and righteousness, ask the questions that God asked. Questions God demands man to seek answers to, so that man could fulfil the responsibility and the purpose of MAN. Rather than just being complacent with "because God said so." Mankind MUST ask WHY. Even Jesus called out the servant with the least talent (Matthew 25:25-30): Thou wicked and slothful servant...take therefore the talent from him...from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath...cast ye the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. Job asked something, but his problem was he did not ask God directly, he did not seek such relationship. He feared it. He feared not the works of righteousness, he feared the relationship with God. He wanted to just stick with "Because God says so, what else did God say, and I'll do." Pastor Chris misunderstood the parable of the talents even further from the truth, that he thought the parable was about being afraid to work. He saw the word "afraid" in verse 25, but he missed the point of "to every man according to his several ability" in verse 15.
To say because the Bible says so, or reason cannot save you but only faith can, is basically advocating superstition, or blind faith. Rob of GCC wanted to give a biblical example in defense: God says He is God. But that's off topic, because it begs the question: What is the question, that you need to answer "Because God says He is God?" The only response to that is in the presuppositional apologetics: How do we know God is God, because He says so. This is a statement of ontological identity, not an explanation of why.
These are example of the failed apologetics using the "Because God says so" tactic:
One of my favorite street preacher Ray Comfort, when challenged why homosexuality is sinful, he could only self proclaim himself to be a doctor in front of those who did not see themselves patients (Note: the apologetics target are usually not covenant children, which is probably why Ray's error come from, seems biblical because they thought Jesus said only the sick needs a doctor, but it's actually not how Jesus answered to uncovenanted people.)
This is a list of AI with interesting production in the arts that came across as popular or that I like.
Graphics:
text prompts, etc. To 3D graphics: https://www.3daistudio.com/
Music:
Top down (quick generate): SUNO
Bottom up (DAW): Acestudio (realistic instruments) vs. MozartAI (vocal and lyrics control)
12/19/2025 Friday
Rob Reiner (famous director, murdered by his son recently)'s documentary: God and Country (2024) against Christian Nationalism (Reiner's definition = opposing abortion or LGBTQ ideology).
12/18/2025 Thursday
How Waymo technology works.
12/15/2025 Monday
Interesting article on Biomagnetism Advancement.
Motionik is great for screen recording. It a small program that tracks and record your mouse and its vicinity in the screen. Free version is just a watermark. I will consider if I should pay $60 for it (or 40% discount from EDU, lifetime access) later, but definitely not $30/yr for it. Price is still very steep, so I told the programmer.
Someone else compiled his experience list with screen recorders:
Actually usable:
Usable with caveats:
Skip unless desperate:
甘草： 润喉止咳，补脾益气
木贼：清热祛风，发汗解肌
缬草（Valeriana)：镇静安神，助眠
洋菊花：清热明目，疏风散热
番泻叶：润肠通便，缓解便秘
柠檬：治当时航海水手的败血症 (Vitamin C)
王老吉凉茶：
上火時，服 三花（鷄蛋花，菊花，金銀花），三草 （仙草，夏枯草，甘草）， 一葉 （佈渣葉/破布葉）。仙草&佈渣葉 = 嶺南道地藥材。
仙草：清熱消暑，潤腸通便，解渴
佈渣葉：清熱利濕，健胃消滯
君臣佐使：君藥（仙草），臣藥（鷄蛋花，佈渣葉），佐藥（夏枯草，金銀花，菊花），使藥（甘草）。
上火因素：1. 外邪侵襲（氣候），2. 不良情緒（精神壓力），3. 不良生活習慣（吃油炸辛辣）
陳皮之理：
3-5 年陳皮：果香爲主，理肺
8 年以上陳皮：藥香爲主，燥濕化痰
咳和嗽道理: 潘高壽的止咳到治咳知識：川貝枇杷露，枇杷膏，etc.
川貝母和枇杷葉就是君藥：清肺潤肺
川貝母：化痰止咳，散結消癰，清熱潤肺
枇杷葉：降逆止嘔，清肺止咳
桔梗：宣肺祛痰
半夏：燥濕化痰
薄荷：辛涼透表
12/11/2025 Thursday
Got the 2012 Honda CRV checked again because of the squeaks it makes in the rear tire (passenger side). This is the second time I took the car to check this at Topline Auto Care because they forgot to call me a couple weeks ago when I went to them for the first time to have my tire valves (pressure sensor) replaced so that I can screw on my bluetooth sensors. They promised to call me the following week after my first visit to give me the quotes for the break pads. But then they forgot everything, so I had to take the car back for them to check it again. After the free examination, this is the quote: $589 for each axle (front and rear) which covers break pads, rotors, labor and servicing the calipers. I recorded the whole thing (in my media drive). So total would be $1178. If the calipers need to be replaced, then it's $139 extra each, labor cost will be included if all done together with the pads and rotors.
If I do this myself, the pads and the rotors are around $200 for all 4x. And there are many videos for instruction. I also copied an instruction video in my media drive from AdvanceAutoParts.
12/10/2025 Wednesday
Stimbox, a technology that solves motion sickness problem: by messing with the inner ear balance. Nadia would love it. But it costs 1200 Euro.
Trump USA finally done it with its crazy deportation of immigrants who are now supposed to live cleaner live than normal citizens. This time, they deported a U.S. veteran, Sae Joon Park, green card holder, but served and received Purple Heart medal in 1989 after being shot twice in Panama, but due to his PTSD and drug addiction, he was made to self-deport to Korea earlier this year. As an immigrant myself, this topic is close to my heart. I would still have voted for Trump because Biden & Kamala were really something else, but having the opposition challenged the Trump administration like this is what I love about America! It's great to tighten the border security because Biden really screwed it up, but we cannot just go to the opposite extreme because of Bamala:
And this clip shows more of such case (deporting wife of veteran):
Erika Kirk and Candace Owens battle: Owens (apparently saw herself to be BFF of the late Charlie Kirk, and has videos to show for) responded to Erica being over protective of TPUSA against Owens' conspiracy questioning of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, "This is why there are many people who do not believe that women are equipped to lead companies. Because what you're watching here is an unbelievably emotional response that is absent of any logic."
And my comment to Ana Kasparian's reaction: Well Ana, Candace could very well mean that Erika Kirk was an embarrassment for women, rather than standing against women being equipped to lead companies...gotta keep that open mind.
12/09/2025 Tuesday
Intellectual property is stupid. And this is another turn of event proving something similar: Informational property is also stupid. When I first heard of selling information, I thought, this is stupid. But it worked for those trading information as a business. Even if both parties can agree to trade, it doesn't mean it's a legitimate business. I have to wait for the age of A.I. to proof it. Of course, the losers are not giving up, and they may well still win, because this world serves $, not God. They do not care about true ethics:
@23:25 But what really adds insult to injury is not only are they losing all those viewers, the AI that Google is using learned everything it knows by reading those online articles. And as the publishers see it, from stealing that information, I mean, it's a bit like a pop star being told, sorry, we're not going to pay you for performing anymore, but thanks very much for teaching our computer how to sing your songs. Now, Google's parent company is also accused of harvesting material that people upload to YouTube, which they also own. And in all of these cases, they say people don't have the chance to opt out of having their material exploited.
The above analogy is so lame. If you are not the one performing, of course you are not getting paid, even if someone else is performing what you taught them.
12/08/2025 Monday
Love Holy Post Media's take on Pastor Doug Wilson the problematic Christian Nationalist who claimed to be Presbyterian. This time, Wilson is justifying the South over the North in the Civil War, calling the South, Calvinists, and the North, Utopians. Endorsing slavery yet contradicting himself by saying slavery is bad. Wilson probably has high EQ but very low IQ. Phil rightly criticized Wilson's approach in evangelism is really just using Jesus to sell himself, his own political agenda.
A history of Japan, the legend of Chinese settlers 2000 years ago. Something to do with Emperor Qin of the Qin dynasty looking for the elixir of immortality.
Google AI: 徐福是秦朝方士，传说他奉秦始皇之命率童男童女出海求仙药，最终东渡日本，在日本留下了深刻的文化印记，被尊为“农耕神”、“医药神”，与日本许多地方（如和歌山、佐贺）的徐福神社、徐福墓、地名（如秦野、羽田）紧密相连，被视为中日文化交流的重要象征，尽管他是否是日本人的直系祖先仍有争议，但其传说已深入日本文化。
保濟丸，相傳光緒22年 = 西元 1896，在佛山開設涼茶鋪的李肇基得到一位僧人贈送的藥方。
丸劑 - 出自春秋戰國時期 - 長沙馬王堆出土的《五十二病方》，比《黃帝内經》早大約兩百年。
丸劑 vs. 散劑 vs.膏劑 vs. 丹劑
散劑 (powdered form) - 起效快，但作用時間比較短
膏劑 (liquid form) - 滋補力强，但不容易保存
丹劑 (ball form) - 起效俊猛，但局限
丸劑 (beads form) - 綜合以上三劑的一些不足：起效緩慢，但持續長，携帶方便
For Windows 10 & 11, this can be done using Windhawk's taskbar-thumbnail-reorder mod.
Windows can natively support rearrangement of taskbar active thumbnails of different groups, not individual windows of the same group. For that, You need this hack.
I need this because I usually have minimum of two chrome browser windows opened and I need them arranged according to my 3 monitors in the taskbars and sometimes, windows mysteriously (low memories?) rearranged them in the taskbar automatically.
