Potter's Wheel :)

>CQ> Stop the presses! The International Earth Rotation Service (IERS - and you thought the Earth rotated all by itself without the help of some committee) has announced the introduction of a leap second to occur at the end of December 1995.

The earth "is turned as clay" according to the Author of the Bible, and "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth" (People that claim the Bible teaches a flat immovable earth obviously don't have much breathin' sense. :)

>CQ> The committee regrets the extra second you will grow older with nothing to show for it.

Considering I became a year older at the last day, a second is hardly any time at all by comparison. :)

I sure wish that people wouldn't celebrate on my birthday by getting drunk and turning the roads into a demolition derby. The best gift anyone could give me on my birthday would be to stay sober and SAFE!

(God be gracious to us all for Jesus' sake. Amen. --Richard :)

Up on the circle

>KQ> Hi Richard and Happy Birth Day...

Hi Kat, (and THANKS! :)

>KQ> Circles are NOT spheres, so essentially, the bible would still be referring to a flat surface.....like a dish, or some such, I guess. At any rate, it doesn't really matter.

Oh, really? Here, have a seat at the potter's wheel with a ball of EARTHEN clay already "wedged" and at the proper consistency. Now, get the wheel spinning with your foot. (Relax! the turn-table has enough weight for the momentum to keep it turning awhile yet. :)

NOW, dip your hands in the "waters" and cup your hands around the earth that is "turned as the clay", and first just gently adjust it so that it turns true without wobbling too much. (There ya go! :)

NOW put the flat of your hand on the north pole of the clay and, "As the potter's wheel turns, the hand presses the clay down." (Gently now... :) "The downward pressure forces the clay to expand outward." (There, that's good. :)

NOW step away from the wheel and look at your clay from the side, and tell me, is the OUTLINE a circle or an oval? Right, an oval. The ball is no longer a sphere, but an oblate or flattened spheroid, due to the flattening of the poles and the bulging of the equator.

NOW lean over the wheel above the north pole, (with a "heavenly" viewpoint "in the sides of the north" :) and, is the outline a circle? Of course. And even if you were to shape the sides into a cylinder or vase, from the polar view it would still be circular!

Still think it don't matter? (What? Clay on your hands? Sorry. Here is a towel if you wanna wash your hands of the whole mess. SMILE! :)

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." And the earth just keeps hanging around the sun with no visible means of support. May your new year TURN into the best yet! by the grace of God, for Jesus' sake. Amen. --Richard

(P.S. That's it for to day's episode of, As The Clay Turns! :)

"round" too! :)

>KQ> Thanks for the pottery lesson, Richard. It made me smile.

You're welcome, Kat. ("A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." :)

>KQ> When I said circle, I meant it as meaning what it means: two dimensions, and sphere as three dimensions. Which makes your flattened oval still three dimensions. But that is ok.

Yeah, but when you (WINK,) you see only two dimensions: (A sphere looks CIRCULAR then, due to lack of 3-D stereo depth perception. :)

>KQ> And no, I dont mind making my hands messy! Ceramics was one of my three undergraduate majors so I do know wherein you speak! I love clay.

Good for you! Sounds like you know more about ceramics than me. My sister is the ceramics (& painting) expert around here. Most of my pottery work is with store-bought pots for growing all sorts of nifty-keen plants in (And I don't mind getting my hands messy! :)

>KQ> It takes so much more to do it than most folks realize: far more discipline, concentration and consistency. But thank you for your analogy, which I will accept on your terms here.

You're very welcome, Kat. My sister goes so far at times as to use a single hair paintbrush to put in itsy bitsy details on her ceramics. (My kitten Becky just hopped on my lap, and says, "Me-hour!" Time to give my cats their second "round" of tuna & chicken, "Erm-ow!" :)

Thanks for sharing your food for thought & think for drink with me. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen. --Richard