James's Weblog

Stopping Word capitalising the first letter of 'the'

Fri, 03/08/2018 - 15:35 -- James Oakley

Here's a problem with Microsoft Word that's bugged me for ages.

Quotation marks in Word

Sometimes I write a document in which I quote either another document (a book, for example), or report direct speech. I might do this with single-quotation marks (') or with double-quotation marks ("). It's useful to have the choice here, because you sometimes quote a document in which something else is also quoted. Having single and double quotation marks allows or this to be made clear.

"She said, 'What's that you're eating?'"

as opposed to

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Cold Brew Coffee

Thu, 19/07/2018 - 14:50 -- James Oakley
Iced Coffee

Iced coffee is usually prepared by chilling hot-brewed coffee. Cold-brew coffee can taste great if prepared well. Here's my very simple recipe and some commentary.

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LGBT - choose any 3

Mon, 09/07/2018 - 16:10 -- James Oakley
Protest

The BBC reports a fascinating development at this year's Pride march in London, which took place last Saturday (8th July 2018).

Here's the summary from the beginning of that BBC report:

Members of lesbian and feminist group Get The L Out demanded to march behind the rainbow flag, which marks the start of the event, organisers said.

The group argues the trans movement is attacking lesbian rights and said it protested to protect those rights.

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Kettle Review: AEG EWA7800-U 7 Series

Mon, 25/06/2018 - 13:10 -- James Oakley

Yes, I really am writing a review of a kettle.

For those who don't know, I love my coffee. A kettle is one of the most fundamental pieces of kit you need. The right kettle helps when it comes to brewing with a cafetiere, pour-over filter, chemex or aeropress.

Mid-Range

The AEG EWA7800-U 7 Series Digital Kettle is a mid-range kettle. What I mean by that is that it sits between the cheapest and the most expensive.

Preaching seemingly irrelevant issues

Thu, 17/05/2018 - 10:30 -- James Oakley
Microphone
Image Credit: Jackson Lewchuk

The other day I was asked why we spend time in church (during sermons) talking about issues that may not be relevant for us today.

Unpacking the Question

On the face of it, it's a good question.

If I look out at the church family here, I can think of many subjects that speak directly into needs we know and feel. Maybe there are issues about unemployment, family life, over-demanding employers, ageing and dementia, the housing market, and so on.

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Choosing a Bible Translation for Church Use

Thu, 10/05/2018 - 10:00 -- James Oakley
The Bible needs translating

500 years ago, William Tyndale lost his life in his campaign to give the English people one Bible in their own language. Today, we're spoilt for choice, with many excellent English translations of the Bible. Here's a paper I wrote in 2013 to help us decide which translation we should use in church.

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