In this post, I played with embedding different types of information, including an OpenURL link resolver link for an academic journal article, a youtube video, a PressDisplay news article and a slideshare slideshow.

I also touched on an idea to integrate and brand document delivery service and article request together as a seamless service and ponder what happens to dead people’s social networks.

Open URL Link Resolver

This persistent OpenURL (http://ezlibproxy1.ntu.edu.sg/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02640470810910675?nosfx=y) is for this journal article:

Anandasivam, K., Anandasivam, C., & Cheong. (2008). Designing a creative learning environment: NTU’s new Art, Design and Media Library. The Electronic Library, 26(5), 650-661.

Embedding a Youtube Video using shortcode

The following video is an introduction to Mighty Linkout Machine, which is a fancy name for an integrated Document Delivery and ad hoc journal article requests.

It sounds a lot like what we are already doing for our users. Perhaps we should also re-brand our Document Delivery and journal article requests received by our librarians as a single seamless service and give it a big bombastic name.

Here’s a schematic diagram of how Mighty Linkout Machine works.

Embedding a PressDisplay News article

I wonder what will happen to my social networks when I pass on. Do I need to include what I want done to them in my will? Do social networks have clauses pertaining to what they will do if they found out that their subscribers or account holders are dead?

What happens to our social media sites after we die?
RICK MORTON SOCIAL AFFAIRS WRITER
The Australian
Feb 25 2013

THE constant, invasive threats on social media killed Allem Halkic and, not long after he threw himself off Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge in 2009, the online breadcrumbs he’d left behind kept him alive. Forever? Allem’s parents, Ali and Dina Halkic,…read more…

Embedding a slideshare slideshow

Coloribus is a cool advertising archive subscribed by NTU Library. Learn to maximize the coolness with this user guide.

In this post, I played around with retrieving top journal listings from Scimagojr and Journal Citations Reports. They are presented in a simple table and a table that has some mouse-over effects. With the new “Paste from Word” function in WordPress, adding content from Microsoft Word documents is now a breeze.

Alternative Metrics or altmetrics is new to me and I will need time to explore its usefulness to my work. For now, just to check the altmetric count of an article and embedding an image of that count.

According to its website, The SCImago Journal & Country Rank is a “portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus® database (Elsevier B.V.). These indicators can be used to assess and analyze scientific domains.”

The table below is created using Microsoft Word and inserted here using the “Paste from Word” function on the WordPress menu bar.

Top 10 Journals on Arts & Humanities (Miscellaneous) from ScimagoJR

This next table is created the same way as the first but beautified with colour and a mouse-over effect by generating the mouse-over script and additional styling code using the table generator found at http://textfixer.com/html/html-table-generator.php.

It is a list of top ten journals on Cultural Studies retrieved from Journal Citation Reports for 2011.

JCR 2011 Top 10 Journals for Cultural Studies

Installing “Altmetric it” bookmarklet to browser

Besides traditional scholarly impact metrics, alternative metrics or altmetrics for short are also taking off.

http://altmetric.com offers a web application called the “Altmetric it” bookmarklet to track online conversations about scholarly literature. The Altmetric score is a quantitative measure of the quality and quantity of attention that a scholarly article has received. It is derived from three main factors: Volume, Sources & Authors. More information about this concept and tool is available at ?

The following is a screenshot of the altmetric count for

Berry, R. (2006). Will the iPod kill the radio star? Profiling podcasting as radio. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 12(2), 143-162.(

http://con.sagepub.com/content/12/2/143.short

)

I bought a few skeins of cashmere yarns in 2 different grey tones from Taobao.com and they were fabulously soft and squishy.

Cashmere yarn from 温妃儿

It took me a while to decide what to use them for. In the end, here’s what they became.

Featherweight Cardigan

I used the Featherweight cardigan pattern designed by Hannah Fettig. It is a very thin lightweight cardigan with 3/4 sleeves. My modification was mainly the collar. Instead of stockinette stitch or single ribbing mentioned in the design, I went with a garter stitch.

The armpit pick up could be a little neater but nobody is going to snoop down there, so I am not that worried.

Nimbus in 2-tone grey cashmere

Nimbus is a shawl designed by Lisa Mutch. I like the way the shawl grew in 6 parts and wrap around the shoulder when it is done.

My Nimbus was knitted with 2 strands of yarn to achieve the weight required. I started off with the darker grey yarn but ran out before reaching the desired length. I then used 1 light grey strand and 1 dark grey strand to continue. I didn’t think the difference would be too obvious. Unfortunately, it did.

I also wore it like a scarf on a recent trip to a cold country.

I modified the pattern slightly by omitting the extra increases at the back of the shawl to reduce the pointiness in the original design. My friends teased me that it looked like a Batman cape.

This short study on Luke chapter 14 and 15 is actually my highlights of a sermon entitled “Enjoy Jesus’ Supply and Delight His Heart” by Pastor Joseph Prince of New Creation Church, Singapore.

Luke 14 contains some hard sayings by Jesus. For example, verse 26 and 27:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Why did Jesus say these? Why did he make discipleship seem so tough? What does he mean by saying all these things.

Pastor Prince see both Luke 14 and 15 as a continuous line up of the different groups of people that Jesus encountered. They are the Pharisees, the party guests, the multitudes, and the sinners and tax collectors. When we compare his reactions and words towards these 4 different groups of people, an interesting pattern emerges.

Pharisees and Party Guests

In Luke 14:1-24, Jesus was at a party threw by a ruler of the Pharisees. It was also the Sabbath day.

Verse 1 already hinted that he wasn’t genuinely welcomed for they were scrutinizing Him.

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.

We can also say that Jesus wasn’t comfortable and happy at this party. Who would be when they are closely watched. Jesus reacted to a couple of things at the party. Let’s see what they are:

1. Jesus chided the Pharisees for their legalism (verse 1-6)
   And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

   But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

   Jesus healed a man with dropsy and he knew that the Pharisees were unhappy that he broke the Sabbath law for they kept silent when he asked them whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

   Why keep silent? They could have either say yes, it is lawful or no, it isn’t lawful. The problem is because healing is such a tricky thing. If they say no, it is not lawful, they appear unkind and heartless, but in their hearts, they disapprove because they are legalistic.

   Jesus chided them by comparing the healing to the rescuing of a donkey or ox in a pit. Jesus couldn’t stand their legalism.

2. He spoke out against the party guests’ behavior of choosing the best seats for themselves (verse 7-11)
   So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

   Jesus disliked the way the party guests vy for the best seats in the house for themselves. He saw their pride and he couldn’t stand it.

3. Jesus tell his host to be truly generous (verse 12-15)
   Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

   After speaking against the party guests, Jesus turned on the host, the ruler of the Pharisees. He saw through his motive of throwing the party. It isn’t out of generosity but out of political motivation. Of wanting something out of it for himself.

4. He told the parable about the Great Supper (verse 17-24)When he had finished speaking to the host, a man responded by saying the following:
   Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

   What this man said deeply affected Jesus for He told the parable of the Great Supper to illustrate man’s rejection of God’s bread.

   Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”

   Look at the excuses. So lame.

   Who buy land before seeing the land first?
   Who buy oxen without testing them first?
   Who marry without seeing the bride first?

   In the end, God has to compel people to come to the feast. He went out into the streets and the lanes, the highways and the hedges to force people to come and fill His house. He didn’t just invite, He compelled. What it is about man that they need compelling to receive the blessings of God? Don’t focus on man, focus on God. Why should God bother with man to compel him?

I hope I have demonstrated how unhappy and uncomfortable Jesus was at the party where he met people who were proud and suspicious and fake.

The Multitudes

The next 10 verses recorded the encounter he had with the multitudes (Luke 14: 25-35). He said some of the hardest stuff here to the multitudes.

Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Why did he unleash such difficult demands for people who want to follow Him? It seemed that He was deliberately dissuading them from following Him. “Who doesn’t sit down first and count the cost?” He is literally telling them to think carefully. Of the builder, he spoke of mockery. Of the king, he spoke of surrender.

Why? Because amongst the multitudes are people who didn’t see Him as Messiah, they see Him as a banner for their political causes. They see Him as an example to follow. He is telling them that they are wrong. He is turning them away with His demands and this thins the multitudes. He weren’t what they expected so they left.

Tax collectors and sinners

Then, in the beginning of Luke 15, we see the following:

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.

Now only the tax collectors and sinners drew near. Not that the Pharisees, party guests or multitudes have no sin but these people knew that they were sinful and was looking for salvation. They have nothing to offer Him. They didn’t come to Him looking for a teacher or a king or an example to follow. They came looking for a saviour.

The Pharisees and scribes started to complain:

And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

What was Jesus’ reactions to their complaints? He told them 3 parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin and The Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The essence of the 3 parables is the same. All 3 parables speak to the Lord’s joy when he encounter sinners. In the 3 parables, He never demand any renouncement or counting of costs. He never ask for humility and generosity. The lost was found, and that was sufficient.

What about repentance? Surely the lost or the sinners repented and that’s why God was happy.

Pastor Prince asked, “How did the sheep who was lost repent?” Let’s look at the parable (Luke 15:4-7)

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

We read the parable and then define repentence in terms that we understand. Is that right? How did the sheep repented? Did it do it the way we are taught to do it? No.

Read carefully, the parable focuses on the actions of the man who lost the sheep. He went looking. He found it. He carried it back. He rejoices. He threw a party. What did the sheep do? Nothing except to lay quietly on the man’s shoulder. It didn’t writhe and struggle to get away.

The same spirit of the Lord can be found in the other 2 parables. He was happy when He found sinners. So, why wouldn’t He receive sinners and eat with them?

To conclude

We have seen Jesus’ reactions to 4 different groups of people – Pharisees, Party Guests, Multitudes and Sinners/Tax Collectors. From chiding to teaching to demanding and rejoicing, can we not notice what delight His heart?

Isn’t He concerned with holiness? Of course he is. But holiness is a result of knowing that we are forgiven unconditionally and not a condition for salvation. I want to be in that group that Jesus eat and party with. Nothing to do, just see Him as saviour.

Prayer:

All things that are ready are mine. Father in heaven, your holiness is now justifying us by Jesus blood. The holiness that condemned our sins in the body of Jesus now justify us. Let your light flood into our lives. Break into the darkness and let revelations flow. Father. I come and give you all the glory for my supply. I take now and enter into rest.

Download the full message of Enjoy Jesus’ Supply and Delight His Heart from iTunes.

This knitting pattern for the Aran cable tote bag is inspired by the Aran laptop cover pattern at Canadian Living’s website.

My Aran cable tote bag sitting on the dashboard of my car

 It is not a very big bag, just enough for my wallet, mobile phone, tissue and some knick knacks. The central panel is made up of a wild oak cable “borrowed” from the Aran laptop cover. It is knitted in the round so you need to mark out the left and right side of the bag and then repeat the pattern twice.

Materials

I used 1 hank of Wool of the Andes Bulky Yarn (color: Storm) from Knitpicks. I like the feel of the Peruvian wool on my needles and it blooms slightly after washing. You can use bulky yarn from any brand but wool is probably best.

Equipment

4mm circular needle (16 inch)

Sewing needle for weaving in the ends

Stitch markers

2 cable needles

If you do not have a 16 inch cable needle, you can use the 40 or 47 inch ones and use the magic loop technique to knit in the round.

Body

Cast on 80 stitches. Join in the round and knit 1 row. Place a stitch marker to indicate the start of the round. Count 40 stitches and places another stitch marker.

The instructions in the square brackets are for the wild oak cable central panel.

Row 1: K3, P2, K3, [P2, K3, P4, K6, P4, K3, P2] K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 2: K3, P2, K3, [P2, K3, P4, slip 3 stitches to a cable needle and hold it at the back, K the next 3 stitches, K the 3 stitches from cable needle, P4, K3, P2], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 3: K3, P2, K3, [P2, K3, P4, K6, P4, K3, P2], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 4: K3, P2, K3, [P2, slip 1 st to a cable needle and hole at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, P2, slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, slip 1 st to a cable needle and hole at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, P2, slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, P2] K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 5: K3, P2, K3, [P3, K3, P2, K3, P2, K3, P2, K3, P3], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 6: K3, P2, K3, [P3, slip 1 st to a cable needle and hole at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, P2, slip 1 st to a cable needle and hole at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, P3], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time.

Row 7: K3, P2, K3, [P4, K6, P4, K6, P4] K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 8: K3, P2, K3, [P4, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at back, K3, K3 from cable needle, P4, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front, K3, K3 from cable needle, P4], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 9: K3, P2, K3, [P4, K6, P4, K6, P4] K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 10: K3, P2, K3, [P3, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, Slip 1 st to a cable needle and hold at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, P2, slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, Slip 1 st to a cable needle and hold at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, P3], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 11: K3, P2, K3, [P3, K3, P2, K3, P2, K3, P2, K3, P3], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 12: K3, P2, K3, [P2, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, P2, Slip 1 st to a cable needle and hold at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, Slip 3 sts to a cable needle and hold at front of work, P1, K3 from cable needle, P2, Slip 1 st to a cable needle and hold at back of work, K3, P1 from cable needle, P2], K3, P2, K3.  Repeat one more time.

Row 13: K3, P2, K3, [P2, K3, P4, K6, P4, K3, P2], K3, P2, K3. Repeat one more time

Row 1 to 13 makes up one complete cable pattern. Repeat the pattern 3 or more times till desired length.

If you prefer the chart version, I’ve attached a screenshot of the chart from the original pattern. Source: Canadan Living.

The wild oak cable chart

Legend for the chart

Shaping for the handles

Knit 10 stitches, bind off 20 stitches and knit 10. Repeat one more time

Knit 10 stitches, cast on 20 stitches and knit 10 stitches. Repeat one more time

Knit all stitches for 10 rows.

Bind off.

Finishing

Sew up the bottom seam of the bag using back stitch or mattress stitch.

To finish, line the bag with fabric.

I will be here is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. When I first heard it, I thought it makes a wonderful wedding song. And it did appear in one of the weddings I attended.

Sometimes, I imagine Jesus singing this song to me, reassuring me of his loving presence in my life. If you are having a tough time right now, spend a little time and listen to Jesus telling you how close He is to you and He will be your strength to ride it out.

Lyrics of I will be here

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear
‘Cause I will be here

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin’
Through the winning, losing and trying
We’ll be together
I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we’re older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here.

This song is in his #1′s Volume 1 album and can be downloaded on iTunes.

Another rendition by Gary Valenciano

I signed up for Trinity Broadcasting Network Israel 2012 tour and programme in April 2012. I was told I had secured a place in June 2012. It was my first package tour in a very long time. I’m a free-and-easy person and dreaded the strict itinerary of a package tour. The draw of seeing and listening to Pastor Joseph Prince preaching in the Holy Land was enough for me to ignore my dread.

I wasn’t disappointed. Pastor Prince preached his heart out for Jesus in 3 separate events. I was reminded again that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb and My Righteousness.

The last event at Caesarea by the Sea was most important to me.

I was so blessed and hope you will be too.

The clip of the first event at the Haas Promenade is no longer available.

Pastor Joseph Prince at Southern Steps on 12 September 2012

There wasn’t any seats left when my bus reached the Southern Steps. We walked all the way up to the top of the Southern Steps. There were already a few ladies from the US standing against a railing. They moved their belongings a little and gave us some room. We stood together there singing and worshipping Jesus. Awesome.

Pastor Joseph Prince at Caesarea By The Sea on 13 September 2012

I was very touched when Dr Paul Crouch prayed over his son Matt and handed over the TBN work to him. Pastor Prince said that it was like Moses passing the leadership to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land to Joshua. If you want to zoom in to the sermon, fast forward to 1:41:00hr.

I pray that you are deeply loved, highly favoured, greatly blessed!