Sunday 18 January 2009

Bible Puzzle



There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them?

This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much; he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving; she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people however will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "the books are all right there in plain view, hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.

Enjoy the challenge; I did...
For those looking for answers - Here they are Bible answers

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Friday 9 January 2009

Ask the expert.


It is surprising just how many thoughts, fly through this empty head of mine during the course of the week. Then it comes time to write a little and it is nowhere to be found! I believe I am not alone with this? I am not too good at giving straight answers and if you were to ask me a question I would probably first find you another one and then go away to check it out.

Imagine my embarrassment, I am in my element, spotting birds in the wilds of the North York Moors; equipped with my new hi tech scope and camera, when along come some walkers. "Hi, have you seen anything"? I clearly look like the real thing, an expert, with all the trimmings. It is at this time I wish my Italian was better, I could say something and they would just pass by. Yes I had just seen this amazing bird but I don't know what it is till I get back home and look at the book, quite common really, a redshank. What would it be like to be invisible?

I guess we assume great knowledge from those who have the gadgets and the dress. Priests, Doctors, Garage mechanics and Teachers; would we ask a man in the street, when is the next eclipse of the moon? Does God really know how many hairs left on my head? Yet, bump into an "expert" and out pop these questions.
Note to evening office: Give thanks for not being an expert, and not being invisible.
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