Archive for October, 2008
Question Asked: What Is The Origin Of Halloween?
I figured it was appropriate to answer this today.
I Googled around a bit, and the majority of stuff I found, all lead back to the same places. Rather than reiterate what others have said, I’ll quote someone else.
The origin of Halloween dates back before Christ. The Celtics’ mythology taught that with the coming of winter, a season of the dead, came a night in which the spirits of the dead could freely roam about with humans. Some of these spirits would inflict suffering and violence upon man. To appease the spirits and the gods that were worshipped, the Celtic people would put out their best food offerings on the doorstep. Celtic priests would also offer sacrifices, animal and human, to the gods to ask for a return of the sun and in hopes that the gods would chase away the evil, frightening spirits. Often, the Celtics would wear dreadful costumes, hoping to fool an evil spirit with the disguise. There are practices from the history of Halloween that are still being practiced today. Click the links below to take a Halloween Quiz.
While the history of Halloween explains much about where modern day Halloween customs come from, (the origin of Halloween customs were brought to this country in the 1800’s by the Irish) what about the modern day practices of the occults? Occults find their rituals associated with the same source, a time when the dead can easily communicate with the living therefore making divinations and sacrifices during the fall season opportune. In truth, the origin of Halloween has its root in Satan, the author of deception. “…. for he (the devil) is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
It is interesting how much the modern day American practices and the modern day witchcraft have in common with the ancient beliefs of the Celtic people. Considering that Satan is the father of lies for all time, it can be seen how we are continually deceived. “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through fire, or that useth divination or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.” (Deuteronomy 17:10) Study more about the history of Halloween and how the origin of Halloween negatively affects how we honor God today.
Question Asked: What’s The Best Way To Track Down An Old Classmate?
Many people rely on Classmates.com, where their primary business model is reconnecting old classmates with each other.
My gripe with that website is that you can’t actually communicate with your classmates (once you’ve found them), without “upgrading” to some ridiculously overpriced “premium membership” plan.
If it’s really important to you, you could pay the money, and use their service.
You’ve got other options, though. Depending on the year you graduated high school, you may have better luck looking for your classmates on Facebook. While it’s certainly geared towards younger people (and current college students), you can still have pretty good luck finding some of your old classmates on there. I was in the class of 1997, and quite a few people I went to high school with are on the site, and more are joining every day.
What many people don’t know, is that you can head back to your high school, too. High schools tend to keep a “last known address” around for most of their students, so they can invite them to school sponsored reunions. They may be willing to tell you where you can find that old classmate you’ve been searching high and low for.
As a last resort, you can try a simple Google search for a person. Many people grew up to have businesses of their own, or gotten arrested and are on police arrest log webpages. If they’re on the internet, Google will help you find them, most likely. Keep in mind, that women often get married, and their last names change, so it may prove tougher to find that head cheerleader to tell her “I told you so!” now that you own your own billion dollar company.
Question Asked: Is It Cheaper To Print Photos At Home, Or Have Them Printed?
Great question. As someone who takes and prints a lot of photos, I’ve often asked myself this same thing.
Let’s evaluate some printing options, shall we?
Shutterfly: 4×6 print: .15 cents.
Kodak Kiosks: 4×6 print: .15 cents.
Rather than listing them all out, I’ll just say that the majority of printing services I looked at were at, or about, 15 cents per print. (Cheaper if you pre-pay for a bunch at a time.)
Printing at home: If you were to purchase the exact amount of paper, and ink, to print, say 110 photos (for example: Hp 110 Paper/Ink Photo Value Pack - 4×6
That brings us to roughly .36 cents. Factor in the electricity to run your PC, and printer for the amount of time to print 110 pictures, and you’ve probably bumped up the cost by a few cents, at the least.
Let’s call it .40 cents.
Looks like printing via Shutterfly, or a kiosk at WalMart or CVS is almost 3 times cheaper than printing at home. And all this time I thought I was being smart by printing them at home. Looks like I’ll be ordering them from Shutterfly now.
Question Asked: Is It Legal To Copy A DVD?
Assuming, like me, you’re in the United States, it’s a yes and no answer.
No, if you plan on giving said copy to anyone.
Yes, if you plan on making that copy solely for the purpose of backing up a movie that you’ve legally purchased at a retail establishment.
Under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Law), you’re allowed to make one digital copy of a DVD (or CD, for that matter), for your own personal backup use. This is to ensure that if your original copy breaks, goes missing, or malfunctions in some way or another, you don’t have to purchase a second copy.
While it may not be legal to copy, and sell, DVDs, it happens. I’d guess in the hundreds of thousands of times a day. Many countries have little or no copyright law protecting copyright holders. Those countries run rampit making copies, and selling them cheaply in the black market.
If you happen to purchase one of these movies, you may be committing a crime, and not be aware of it. Your safest bet is to get your movies at a trusted retail store, and not from the guy on the corner in New York City.
Question Asked: Do I Need To Buy A New TV By February 2009?
No, definitely not. Sure, it wouldn’t hurt to step up to HDTV, but that’s not absolutely necessary. The majority of televisions in homes today will continue to work, with the help of a “converter box”, which you can pick up at any store that has an electronics department.
The “digital conversion” isn’t as big of a deal as they’re making it out to seem. Sure, it’s a change for some people, but not everyone. The commercials seem to try to scare people into getting a new television. (Which is appears to have done, since you asked this question!)
Your old tv should continue to work just fine, with the help of the converter box. If you pop into Best Buy, or Circuit City and ask for a converter box, they’ll know exactly what you need, and get it to you. And they’re pretty simple to plugin, too. Just a quick cable from your antennea, to your box, to your TV. Just one more stop in the chain, and you’re all set.
To reiterate, you don’t need a new tv, no matter what the salesman at Best Buy tries to tell you.