21 Jun 2017
As a blog platform, Jekyll has a number of positive features:
- The speed and security of a static site,
- The convenience and future-proofing of plain text, and most importantly for educators,
- Free hosting on GitHub.
For me, the one drawback has been finding a convenient way to post using my iPad. There are a number of good Markdown editors for iOS, so writing posts is very easy, but publishing them can be a challenge. Working Copy works well to manage the Git repository, but it doesn’t have the convenience that I wanted, and I really don’t need to store my whole Jekyll repository on the iPad. I can post using Prompt 2 and my Linux server on Digital Ocean. Neither of these are the simple write-and-post workflows that the iPad calls for, though.
Yesterday, I found this workflow by Max Jacobson. The first time it is run, it takes you to Github to generate an access token. After giving it the access token, the workflow will generate a file name in the correct format, prepare a commit message, and push the post to Github.
Now, I’m one step closer to being able to use the iPad as a desktop replacement.
03 Jun 2017
A prayer for tomorrow’s sermon at Spring Creek Baptist Church:
God of life,
Sometimes our prayers are as parched as the desert
and our hearts as dry as the dunes of sand.
We take offense at things that don’t matter,
but ignore the ones that do.
When others are hungry,
we are full.
When others are hurting,
we are numb.
When others are cold,
we rest comfortably
beneath warm blankets of apathy.
But even in our self-righteousness,
we still feel something,
a deep ache of longing,
a thirst for something
greater than ourselves,
a lingering thought
that you are still there.
Emmanuel,
God with us.
Despite our weakness,
you have called us to be your people,
ambassadors of your kingdom.
On this Pentecost Sunday,
lead us once more to the well of your grace,
bathe us again in the streams of your mercy.
Open the floodgates of your love,
and let the rivers flow.
Amen
18 May 2017
This is now my favorite 1-star book review on Amazon. It’s a review of R For Dummies, a book on the R statistics programing language:
If you’re looking for a book to explain the letter “R” to you, keep looking, this isn’t it.
I hope that person eventually found what they needed.
16 May 2017
It is finals week here at Oklahoma Baptist University. Here is a prayer for students:
Dear students,
May God calm your anxieties,
refresh your minds,
and honor the faithfulness
you have shown this semester.
Remember that God has gifted you
more than you can imagine,
and you are capable of more
than you’ve ever dreamed.
May the great wisdom of the Father,
the incomparable love of the Son,
and the mighty power of the Spirit
be with you all this week.
Amen
07 May 2017
A propensity to hope and joy is real riches; one to fear and sorrow, real poverty.
David Hume, Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary, Part I, Essay 18