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Comment Re:Is that us finding the right number (Score 1, Interesting) 379

True enough, and I thought of that.
However, they make it clear that the typical spelling was not used, which was the clue:

...the normal spelling [for "circumference"] would yield a numerical value of 106. The addition of the h, with a value of 5, increases the numerical value to 111. This indicates an adjustment of the ratio 111/106...
So it's not like they force-fit it in place - it's more that a clue was left:

In the Hebrew Bible, the scribes did not alter any text which they felt had been copied incorrectly. Rather, they noted in the margin what they thought the written text should be. The written variation is called a kethiv; and the marginal annotation is called the qere.

To the ancient scribes, this was also regarded as a remez, a hint of something deeper. This appears to be the clue to treat the word as a mathematical formula.
It's not definitive proof - we'd have to go back and ask the original authors - but it's a lot less shaky than doing some kind of wacky algebra like your "stadia" example used.
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Journal Journal: Update 1

So, I teased you all a while back.

It may've been obvious, but there's now a certain lovely young lady in my life.

She's great - and God's been directing this whole process. I'm excited to see where this goes.

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Journal Journal: Placeholder

This is just a placeholder JE so I don't forget to update you guys at some point..
I don't know exactly when I'll be passing along the info to you all, but it's good.

God is just too cool. I need to JE a lot more of these experiences.

Spontaneous grins are fun, and they're only a symptom.

More to follow as it enters the public domain...

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Journal Journal: Rabbit Update

Regarding my last JE...

I did a little research and found that cats usually eat their prey from nose to tail.

Also, when I came home, the cat had eaten more of the rabbit. I gathered up the remains in a bag and put them in the trash... then noticed that the cat was off in the corner of my yard, waiting to get another little snack.

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Journal Journal: What. 6

Last night, as I was sitting in my computer room, I heard something smack into my house - accompanied by a strange animal noise of some sort.
Since I've had a lot of experience with country living, I assumed it was a couple of cats having a mild disagreement.
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Journal Journal: My Slashdot CSS 2

Here's my Firefox userContent.css for Slashdot. It'll probably go through a couple more iterations, but I'm fairly happy with the results:

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Journal Journal: Power's back

A little under 72 hours. They had to plant new poles, the works.
I got to watch them close the circuit to bring it back on, too - it was cool. I thanked them afterward.

I'm still sleeping at the office tonight, though - this is where my ironing board is at the moment, and after doing 9 hours of storm cleanup today (read: raking), I don't want to move any more than I have to right now.

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Journal Journal: Earl Grey 1

I just sipped my first cup of Earl Grey in quite a while.

It brought a smile to my face - this stuff is awesome.

If anyone's looking for a non-carbonated source of caffeine, this is my recommendation.

Oil of Bergamot, thou art truly the most sublime of all the flavorings.
At the moment.

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Journal Journal: Two things

  1. Batman Begins. (no spoilers)

    As the credits rolled, I turned to the friend with whom I had seen the movie, and said "It's been a while since I had my butt kicked. It's good to be reminded every now and again."

    Michael Keaton had dark, brooding, and intellectual.
    Christian Bale has dark, brooding, intellectual, conflicted, and angry. One scene in particular made me think "Wow, this is just like I've seen him drawn..."

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