Wired Up GOOD

Why I hate the new Google Reader

2011-10-31T22:49:00.000-04:00

If your a fan of Google Reader you might have noticed the web has been talking about the changes that were coming. Some people were upset that Reader was loosing the "social" functions. I only followed a few people and will miss some of the links they sent. Twitter is great for cool links so I won't miss it much. (although the signs make me laugh)
Up until tonight, even though I was reading about the changes, I hadn't seen the changes. But tonight as I subscribed to a new feed, I was forced into an "upgrade" - and I'm not happy.

Now I should say. I spend a lot of time in Google Reader. I have over a thousand feeds, sorted and filed and organized. Many feeds I read everyday - some I mostly skip, unless I'm in the mood. Some feeds post rarely (I have an MIA folder that can sometimes surprise me) and some feeds fill up if I don't read everyday. All that to say I read a lot of feeds.... and that is where I have a problem. The new design is terrible for READING.

Here's a screen capture of the "Before"

If you look at where the reading pane starts it is just below the Google menu bar... some space taken up for search and title bar, but nothing unreasonable.

Now look at the "After." see how much is wasted on the screen to give me things like a subscribe button and drop down menus? Come on.... I've only spent about 3 mins with it and I hate it. I know it looks like Google plus, but lets keep things functional.

I'm sure there is a script out there that will fix things (love you Firefox) and maybe even fullscreen mode will work. There is Full Screen Mode, but I guess I just don't feel like toggling back and forth.
The whole thing seems kind of monochrome as well... although as I type chrome, I think Chrome and wonder if that is the point. I know I'll get used to it, so not that big a deal.

In fact from the time I started typing about 4 hours has passed.... I still hate it, but admit that, much like a Facebook user, I'm just complaining and will go back to whatever they keep giving me.

(and wow a full screen shot gives you a lot of information about me)

Marketing and Branding

2011-10-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

Two different post have caught my attention in the last few days.

David Fitch asks should cease and desist with branding?

Roger Olson asks if it is possible for a Christian to be involved in sales and marketing?

Both are interesting thoughts as to what it means to market and build a presence.

Internet the new TV

2010-10-15T19:09:00.001-04:00

In the mix of an article looking at Malcolm Gladwell's examination of social networks and real social change... I saw this.

“If the Internet didn’t exist, Barack Obama would not be president of the United States,” says Ben Rattray, the founder of Change.org. “The fact that the most powerful person in the world wouldn’t be in that position without the Internet and organizing online says something.”

It reminded me of reading about how TV changed everything for elections. How the early leaders of both the USA and Canada would likely not have been elected in an era of TV (or radio possibly for that matter). The importance of how the visual changed debate. Marshall McLuhan said that the televised debate changed everything and likely the internet changed the landscape again.

One question I have is: did the internet really organize people? The answer is yes if you voted for (or were in favour of) Obama.   Or did the internet change the game again? Where TV made elections about how good you looked in a suit and how much you fidgeted and looked dishonest etc, did the Internet make the person with the most tech savey-ness, the best iPod play list or cool factor win?

I'm no Marshall McLuhan so I'm not going to state it as fact.   But I do think the "change" came it lots of places.

Working group sizes

2010-10-15T16:18:00.000-04:00

Picked this up from Bill Kinnon originally on Cult of Mac

The Mac team they were all in one building and they eventually got to one hundred people. Steve had a rule that there could never be more than one hundred people on the Mac team. So if you wanted to add someone you had to take someone out. And the thinking was a typical Steve Jobs observation: "I can’t remember more than a hundred first names so I only want to be around people that I know personally. So if it gets bigger than a hundred people, it will force us to go to a different organization structure where I can’t work that way. The way I like to work is where I touch everything.” Through the whole time I knew him at Apple that’s exactly how he ran his division.

It's an interesting statement about how many people we can work (live, cooperate) with. While I don't like to contribute to lifting up Mr. Jobs and Apple as bigger than necessary, this is an interesting quote from someone who's success is obvious. I do think that the 100 person threshold is important and so many people hang on what Jobs says (or at least sells) - so take it at the value you assign.

Technology and Education

2010-10-11T09:30:00.000-04:00

Q. Do you think it is our job as educationists to increase the capacity of the student to come to grips with this new experience of a new technology?

A. They are totally at grips with it and what we want to give them is some detachment.

--Marshall McLuhan, Education in an Electronic Age,

in The Best of Times/The Worst of Times:

Contemporary Issues in Canadian Education, 1970

(As posted by Benjamin Robertson over at Resident Alien)

Wake up and smell the iCoffee

2010-10-10T18:54:00.000-04:00

Ending the article - Is Facebook Killing Our Souls? Shane Hipps writes this...

Now it will be tempting to conclude after all this ranting that I am simply a Luddite, a technophobe bent on the dismantling of all digital technologies. This is not the case. Admittedly, I was hardly even-handed in my observations. However, to herald the virtues of our technology is mostly redundant, it would be like trying to argue the importance of breathing. It’s already here, and the value it adds is self-evident. This is why the technologies are so prevalent: we automatically know their benefits, otherwise we wouldn’t use them. My concern is that our culture seems only capable of seeing the benefit and utterly blind to the liabilities, the inevitable losses certain technologies bring. I have no interest in trying to end or stop such technological innovations; to do so is like trying to resist the wind or the tides. Instead, I want us to understand them with depth. Not with naïve embrace, or fearful rejection.
If we learn to wake up and understand, perhaps we will be able to use them rather than be used by them.

Neil Postman wrote about the one eyed prophet that could only see one side of the invention. This summary is how I feel every time I point out how the latest greatest anything might not be such a device of salvation to whatever.

But it still needs to be said.

Why the revolution will not be tweeted.

2010-10-06T21:46:00.002-04:00

Continuing a theme here.

Malcolm Gladwell is skeptically that social media is going to change the world. The types of inspiration and motivation that social media generate are essentially shallow in results.

Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.

If you want to change the world, you better make some real friends, not Facebook friends. It's the real friends that you will have some influence over in the long run

(HT to Ben Arment)

So many things to read.

2010-10-02T19:39:00.000-04:00

Malcolm Gladwell is becoming one of my favorite authors. If you haven't read Tipping Point... or his other work, you need to check it out.

Just saw that Adam at The Second Electric has posted a few interview quotes from Gladwell in a Q&A piece at The New Yorker.

I really do think he has some awesome thoughts on things.

On the Internet’s transience:

The essential fact of the internet is that nothing is permanent. AOL was once the king of online—remember? I doubt that anything that is done electronically will facilitate social activism all that much—at least not unless you’ve put a real world structure in place first.

I do love his skeptical nature about technology (good luck finding him writing anything much online) He just doesn't buy into the hype, yet has an excellent awareness of what is going on. He's not some cranky old Luddite - he's young and aware that maybe we're being feed a big hard sell on technology. (my words not even close to his)

On technology’s impotence:

This is what drives me crazy about the digerati. They refuse to accept the fact that there is a class of social problems for which there is no technological solution. Look. Technology is going to solve the energy problem. I’m convinced of it. Technology is going to give me a computer in ten years time that will fly me to the moon. Technology is going to build a car that goes 100 miles to the gallon. But technology does not and cannot change the underlying dynamics of “human” problems: it doesn’t make it easier to love or motivate or dream or convince.

I wish I could spell it out like that.... Isn't that the opposite of ever Apple commercial you've ever seen? (Actually most technology selling commercials) I think somewhere in there is the baked in truth of what is going wrong with a lot of the big show church stuff... You can't motivate change with technology... even when you try really hard.

On using Twitter to motivate social activism:

The issue isn’t informing people. It’s organizing people. Twitter is great at the first. But not so great at the second—and Dr. King and his counterparts needed organizations, not communications tools. Remember in the 1960’s you could reliably reach upwards of 95 percent of the black community in urban areas in the South through the church. And there you had their undivided attention for an hour! Who needs Twitter when you have sermons and regular prayer meetings?

I think the thing I notice most in that statement is the difference of information and organization. I need to think more of ways that different media do this (or don't)

What the bible says

2010-09-19T13:34:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some thinking lately about how different groups (of Christians) can be so close on what they believe and yet be so far apart and argue so much. There are lots of answers to that question, but part of it comes from how we read the bible and think about inerrancy

Roger Olson starts off a post with similar (but much more eloquent) thoughts. It focuses on where the bible sits in most people thoughts about how we view God:

I believe in the Bible as God’s Word BECAUSE I believe I encounter Jesus there and am taught by him there. For me it is the Book of Jesus. That means it is extremely important, necessary, valuable, indispensable, but not alongside of or even in the same category (being-wise) as Jesus himself. It is the unique written witness to Jesus and THEREFORE the book of the church.
I suspect this upsets some evangelicals because, even perhaps unconsciously, they believe in Jesus only because and insofar as the Bible contains him. In other words, functionally, the Bible is above Jesus.

It a good post and a great feed that I have just resently started reading, even thought I have a couple theology textbooks with him as author.

Who's tracking you?

2010-04-08T21:26:00.000-04:00

Kevin Kelly has this article on The Technium: As Much Privacy As You Can Afford

What we call privacy -- the non-disclosure or transmission of information -- is ultimately a matter of economics. To remain hidden in a connected world will cost money. You can always disconnect, but while connected you will be transparent. Under this regime transparency is cheap and ubiquitous, while opacity expensive.
Apparently there is a service that will provide the current location of any cell phone for $95. You give Best411 the phone number you seek and $95 and then they will tell you where that cell phone is located is between 9am and 5pm CST.
How is this possible? Obviously the cell phone company knows because it has to track your cell in order to deliver calls. But how does Best411 know? They claim:
We are a state-licensed private investigative agency and, as such, have access to many data bases that the general public is not permitted to access.
That doesn't really explain the deal, or the legality, or the process. My immediate question is: Why does it cost so much? Why $95? Technologically this is a trivial query. It's real cost is about zero. I wonder who or what is setting the price?
Second question: If I were willing to pay $100 could I prevent Best411 from tracking me? How much would it cost to have my location "unlisted"?
I am really asking the larger question of how expensive will it become to be unlocateble in the location-aware mobile future?

Makes you think who controls you data etc. and who has access to it when they want it.

Malcolm Gladwell on social media

2010-04-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

Over Christmas I read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. (I read it quickly while I was at my in-laws out west and didn't really make any notes, so I actually might get it out of the library again this weekend) It is about how ideas spread and how people are influenced.

This past week as I was reading dead tree version of the Globe and Mail, I came across this Q&A article in which he answers some questions about the latest social media. There were a few quotes I thought were interesting

"People aren't spreading ideas on Twitter, they're spreading observations."

I also like his thoughts on all the people that are ready to crown Twitter and Facebook social media champs.

"[The Internet] likes nothing more than to build someone up only to topple them. Who has an AOL account these days? Not that long ago, AOL was the single most powerful player on the Internet. Who has a MySpace account these days? MySpace sold fro billions of dollars not that long ago. I'm very reluctant to crown Facebook king of the future"

He also has some great thoughts on how social media can not build the same strength to organizations the way face to face contact can.... which I think I'll save for another post

Remembering Dan Fisher

2010-04-03T11:43:00.000-04:00

I got news today that one of the best teachers I ever had has passed away. We knew him as Dan Fisher, he was Daniel Fish in the non broadcasting world. (try saying Dan Fish with the news, and the 'with' can come out funny, that why he changed it for radio) The Waterloo Record has his memorial write up. As much as death happens, you're never quite ready for it. I sort of regret not talking to him more the last time I saw him at a get together of a bunch of my class mates a few years ago.   He will be missed by a lot of people

I had Dan Fisher as an instructor at Conestoga College. He was the teacher of the radio lab, training of all the on air elements of a radio station. He was a good teacher, both an encourager, but also not one to soften his evaluation. In a way I'm glad I didn't have to work for him in radio, because I still remember some of my classmates who got so upset about the review he gave of their on-air abilities. Some would say he had favourites, I think he had an ear for talent or at least potential, and knowing what the broadcast world was going to be like, pushed us and didn't coddle. I think he thought that if someone was going to quit because they were harshly evaluated it was better to see them quit in their first year of school, before the tried to get jobs in the industry. I wonder what it would have been like to have him as a PD or GM.... when money and rating were on the line.

If I was ever any good at announcing, I think I own some of it to him. He encouraged me and helped me to be good at what I do (did). He was a fun guy and actually cared about his students.   I'm sure there will be a lot of Conestoga BRT students that will miss him like I do.   He was a good man.

Being Easter weekend, I have to pause in thinking about how good he was, and wonder did he know Jesus? He was involved in church, but I don't know what his deep faith thoughts were.   It make me sad to not know.   I hope that Dan Fish loved Jesus and someday I will see him again.   To hear his laugh and see his smile would make me happy.   I pray that I do again.

Faking their fans

2010-03-31T17:07:00.000-04:00

Wrestling is so fake that they can even fake crazy fans and make it seem believable.

I don't know why but this made me laugh.

I know it's fake.... but oh if it was real that kid was going to get pounded
(if your new here, you will likely never ever see another WWF clip again.)

Crazy parents

2010-03-30T21:26:00.001-04:00

The world is just too scared. People are scared of shadows and have convinced themselves that the world isn't safe for anyone.

Today I ready this article by Lenore Skenazy over at ParentDish.com the basic story is this

The mother was at the library with her 5-year-old, the library where they go every week, in Rochester, New York.... They had only a few minutes before they had to leave to pick up Daughter #2 (age 3), giving the mom just enough time to run upstairs from the children's room to the adult room to check out her book..... [the mother retelling here story] "So I asked my daughter, 'Do you want to come with me or wait here for a few minutes?' 'Wait.' So I told the librarian, 'I'll be right back.' And the librarian said, 'Well ... okay. But I must warn you: the same dangers that are out on the street are here in the library.'"

I read the story and thought, wow people can be really reactionary.   I was mostly thinking about the crazy response from the librarian... "the same danger that are out on the street are here in the library"    Really? So the same things that happen in the street happen daily in the library?!?
Now first I don't think the street is as dangerous as the nervous hoards would like you to think. I'm not crazy I know stuff goes down.... In big cities like New York there are even shootings on the street, but not daily, not often or else you would never see people on the streets of New York.
But when was the last time there was a shooting in a library?
How about a mugging?
Knife fight?
And this is not the dark alley version of a library, this is one that the family visits weekly.

So anyway.... I stopped my thought with the idea of the crazy librarian.....

But then I started reading the comments...... so many of them all crazy parents aggreeing whole heartedly with the librarian.   "Never leave a 5 year old alone....not even for 5 seconds"    bla bla bla..... "What kind of a bad parent is she.

I couldn't believe my eyes.   She was going to run upstairs and check out a book.    The reaction was like she was leaving her infant in a den of lions.    People chill.   Nothing is going to happen.

Maybe I'm wrong...tell me so.   I'm not venturing back into the comment forum there, but would love to discuss it with anyone here.

Update:

Lenore has posted some thoughts on the response on her blog... Free Range Kids.
It's amazing how readership comments differ.....wow

Church Home

2010-03-28T21:16:00.001-04:00

A few months ago I had written about trying to find a church. I realized that I haven't filled in the gaps on where we have ended up.   The fact is that we have found a great church family at Gateway Worship Centre. They have welcomed us and helped us feel at home.   They aren't perfect, but in all honesty, if they tried to be we wouldn't be there There is no attempt to be something they are not and we don't have to be more than we are. They love Jesus and care about the town they live in.   I have grown tired of congregations that try to present as having it all together; whether that means on a personal level or a institutional level.

Gateway is led by the Spirit.   I feel each Sunday that the service could go anywhere if the Spirit leads.   It is an amazing thing to hear a senior gentleman pray out with great emotion, not on cue or as part of the script, but because he is moved. To have the band whisper to the worship leader, "you have to play that song you wrote" or the pastor cry out in emotion for the message he has.   I haven't experienced these things before, not in a genuine way.

I've watched a dear old senior walk to the front to serve communion, one pant leg half tucked into his boot. I think many churches wouldn't let this type of fellow near the front with the suits...but there he was serving with a smile. And each week he greets me and asks how the camp is doing and how we are doing.

They are so friendly. I feel like we have gained friends, parents and grandparents in the people that are there.
Today they threw a shower for our family on the arrival of Greyson.   So many thoughtful gifts from people that are just getting to know us, but have adopted us as part of their community. One older lady crocheted a whole blanket for him.... the type of gifts that grandmas give to grandchildren and it was given to our new son.

I'm not setting out to sell anyone on this church. But I have to say that people are coming and it's not because they have the best program or the coolest technology or a slick whatever..... the love God and the love people.   Sure there are rough edges but I am becoming more and more convinced that this is what Christianity looks like; a group of imperfect people loving one another, because Jesus said to love one another. And then together joining to love God and worship him in the best ways that know how.

On the off chance that you live in the Gravenhurst area and are looking for a church that will offer you love no matter what you state of being.... come and check out Gateway. End of endorsement

Extensions of the WHOLE man.

2010-03-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

Kevin Kelly has his thoughts on where tablets might end up going. He states two things that will make them different than the average cell phone or computer/laptop, the second being:

The tablet window goes two ways. You watch; it watches you. Its eye can remain on all the time, watching you as much as you like. Brian Eno once famously said (in the pages of Wired) that the problem with computers was that there was not enough Africa in them. By this he meant that computers as we knew them could “see” only the wiggling ends of our fingers as we typed. But if they could see and employ the rest of our body, as if we were dancing or singing, we could express ourselves with greater finesse. This window tablet injects some Africa into computers. It overthrows the tyranny of the keyboard. Gestures are king. Swoosh your fingers to scroll, wave your arms as with a Wii, shake or tilt it. Celebrate its embodiment. The craftsmanship of this device will matter. We’ll spend hours holding it, caressing it, stroking its magic surface, watching it. The feel of its surface, the liquidity of its flickers, the presence or lack of its warmth, the quality of its build, the temperature of its glow will come to mean a great deal to all of us.

This is interesting to my Marshall McLuhan (somewhat) obsessed mind. McLuhan always referred to technology as extensions of man (or woman) and here Kelly is pointing out that technology is going to feel better to us as it extends more and more of us. McLuhan saw our actual nervous system being eventually completely extended by our technology. Conventional computers have done a good job with sight and sounds... and maybe our thought...but now touch screens will start to take our whole body as extensions. Causing us to move, to dance. I think McLuhan would also see it as interesting that the newer innovation of touch screens and gestures overthrows the need to know the phonetic alphabet even more. The keyboard isn't gone completely, but I think this is a move closer to not needing to know written language. Which moves us farther from the visual to the oral community.

It's also interesting to see how Kelly describes the romance between the individual and the technology. The relationship is tangible to the user. Kind of scary in a way. You thought that people were already zealots about their Macs.... now their iPad is going to be their lover and best friend. That might be more scary, I'd hate to see Apple fanboys more obsessed with something.

I think McLuhan would have loved this stuff. I do too.... and I've only been thinking about it for a little while

Good news for baldy

2010-03-25T21:35:00.001-04:00

Going bald, cuts cancer risk

Men who start going bald at a young age are up to 45% less likely to get prostate cancer in later life, a study has found.

yeah win for me :)

The media

2010-03-25T16:34:00.001-04:00

Saw this come through my feed reader (found here)
Good point I thought

That'll never work....even if it has

2010-03-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

One of my favourite sites to read it TechDirt.... digging into the muck of copyright, patents and new business models etc.
This is from a post of about whether you can use free content as a business model

It's really stunning to see people who obviously should know better continually insisting that content can't possibly be free to consumers. We've been seeing a lot of it in the news business lately, as newspaper execs who have built up an ad business for many years seem oblivious to the fact that consumers have almost never paid directly for news. And now that same sort of ridiculous thinking is showing up in the video market. Christopher Schneider points us to an article written by Dan Rayburn, who apparently is an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, but who appears to be wholly unfamiliar with network TV in claiming that video content can't possibly be free:
Frankly, I don't see where this idea of "free" comes from. Video content costs money to produce, to distribute and to consume. Yet even with those costs, many seem hell-bent on the idea that business models can somehow survive based on the consumption of free video content supported solely by an ad model. But in reality, that simply can't happen.
It comes from basic economics, Dan, combined with knowledge of how network TV has worked for many decades. In some businesses consumers pay for stuff. In others, third parties do it. In network TV, advertisers have always paid the freight. You would think that a big-time analyst would be familiar with that. But, of course, it looks like Dan doesn't get the economics right either:
If people are not willing to pay a content owner for their content, then it's not worth anything. That's the bottom line.
Dan, how much did you pay for the air you breathe? Ok. How much is it worth? Your "bottom line" is flat-out wrong. Value and price are two different things. Value plays into the demand curve, but price is set by the intersection of supply and demand. If something is priced at zero, it doesn't mean it's valued at zero.

I'd also like to point out that good radio stations can make money providing content for free as well.

Introducing Greyson

2010-03-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Introducing Greyson Gordon Good. Born at home March 11. I'll try to keep the kid blogging to a minimum

Nothing new?

2010-03-10T12:00:00.008-05:00

From BW3

It has been said that what finally caused the Roman Empire to come crashing to a halt is that people were spending more money on chariot races, gladiator battles, and ever popular barbecuing of Christians, or throwing them to the lions than on necessities. Soldiers no longer wanted to fight in far flung frontiers, investors no longer wanted to invest in foreign assets, they preferred 'out sourcing' (!), and obesity had taken over the elites that controlled 96% of all the wealth. Oh yes, and the Senate couldn't decide anything because legislators were in gridlock and they were on the payroll of major investors....... does this sound familiar????

Someday archaeologists will be digging up the once great American landscape and they will find gigantic concrete sports stadiums, with all sorts of luxury boxes. And then they'll find churches made out of plywood and press board and siding. And homes made out the same thing. And they will ask---- why did they spend more money on entertainment than on food, clothing shelter, and God combined? And in the end----- who won???

Rob Bell on Video Preaching

2010-03-09T21:20:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I am a fan of Shane Hipps, and I also appreciate the teaching of Rob Bell. The latest Our of Ur has an excerpt of an interview with Rob about the Dangers of Video Preaching.

Your NOOMA video series has been popular. What do you think about the increasing number of preachers and churches using video technology to expand their reach?
It's powerful but there's also a dark side. Video is not church. You put images and music on a screen, and people will listen. But it's also dangerous. You're playing with fire. I think video technology deserves to be scrutinized heavily.
Go a little deeper. What makes video dangerous?
I don't think we know yet what the long-term impact will be on disciple-making. In 10 years we may discover what particular kind of Christ follower is formed by video preaching. I see warning lights on my dashboard. It's unclear what video may do to the ways we conceive of life together.
In the New Testament, there are 43 "one another" passages, and during a Sunday morning service you might be able to practice three or four of them. And as the service gets large, you can probably do fewer. A massive group setting is also dangerous. You can come, sit, listen, and go home and think, I've been to church, even if you haven't practiced any "one anothers." And with video that only gets more intense. I'm not sure that's the direction we want to be heading.

We want to be calling people to deep bonds of solidarity with one another. We may gather in a massive group, but from the stage I often say, "This is just a church service. Church is actually about caring for one another, and serving one another, and speaking truth to one another in love. Don't get the two confused."

It's great to see someone who has used video so well be aware of what it's dangers and limitations are. I think every church needs to examine each technology - even when it seems to be successful, because it might be wolf in sheep's clothing. It's interesting that over at Church Marketing Sucks they have an interview with Tony Jones about social Media. Mr. Jones seems to be the other side of the spectrum, in that he seems to think that pastors (churches) should be on everything new that is out there. Jones said:

There was a time when churches and pastors needed to decide whether they were going to wire the church for telephones. There was another time when they had to decide whether to bring microphones and amplification into the sanctuary. Those were decisions about using new technology to communicate. Social media is simply another step on that path--it's about communicating with people, and more and more people are using it, so churches need to decide how to engage that.

He seems to spend little to no time on what the results of those choices were. As far back as Marshall McLuhan there have been people pointing to what even microphones do for worship and preaching and community. (I don't have my copy of the Medium and the Light so no direct quote here)
I think I like the way that Rob Bell and Mar Hill are approaching technology... Others need to take notes (and read either of Shane Hipp's books)

Um sorry about that

2010-03-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend Ars Technica put up an article about why ad blocking software is killing good sights. There basic premise is that it is my fault that they don't get money when I block advertising and that it stealing content. At first I felt a little bad. But you know what I hate adds....and sometimes they are annoying (I toggled my adblocker off, looked at the site and turned it back on again)

Then Techdirt had a great article "Don't Blame Your Community: Ad Blocking is Not Killing Any Sites"
Essentially saying that if your Ads are driving people away you need to look at ads as the problem not the person leaving. In fact there was this great quote:

Mike Markson recently wrote up a blog post for entrepreneurs, talking about how every entrepreneur needs to learn the lesson that, whatever doesn't go right is your fault. It's a tough lesson for people (especially entrepreneurs) to learn. If you can't raise money, don't blame the investors. You were the one who failed to convince them. If you can't make sales, don't blame the sales people. You either hired the wrong sales people or didn't put together a compelling enough pitch or didn't have a good enough product. It's your responsibility as an entrepreneur to fix things.

Which I think is a good reminder to everyone that likes to pass the buck, but really we should find a solution over someone to blame.

Ok, so what did I do? I've turned off the ad blocking in my Google Reader. So if your RSS reader has ads I will see them.... because in all honesty I want to support great sites like Ars Technica and TechDirt. And when the ads get annoying I will just stop reading that RSS feed.

NBC's Tom Brokaw explains Canada to Americans

2010-03-01T16:04:00.002-05:00

Tom Brokaw does a great feature on Canada.

EDIT: Ok that was NOT the right clip.... YouTube seems to have it but is down right now....

EDIT 2
Here try this... It will likely be taken down

I may have to quit

2010-02-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

I spend a lot of time on the web. I love knowing all that is going on in the world
For while I would write blog post to speak about things that I had read else where. It's funny how quickly you can find the people or organizations that constantly search for mentions about them.   I've had comments from the lead pastor of a major Ontario church, a few different authors that have well know books and a few bloggers that are very well read.   But so what?   I think I got sucked in to feeling some significance becaue of a brush with 'celebrity'

A few years ago I stopped doing a job because I found myself seeking (and at times finding) my identity in that job.   Now life is simpler.   I still work hard at my job, but I think I have found a good balance in not looking for my value in the results of a job.   As a Christian I believe that God needs to fill in the part of us that is always seeking to know that we are "ok"   But I sense that I have started to feel tickled by getting the attention of the web.   I start writing blog posts to see what attention I can get and gosh that's not a good reason.

I guess I'm just struggling with what's the point of staying up on all these things... It there really any point to all the debate that happens on the web?   It often just seems like the pointless theological debates the would happen in the lounge at bible college, or a digital version of a yelling matches that would happen in grade school, only with stronger opinions and bigger words.

If I just dropped off the web, Twitter, Facebook would my life be any different...better....worse?
What if I spent the time attempting to get to know my community. Connecting with people who life in this little community of Torrance.   Would my life be different... better... worse?
Just thinking about it

Bass Licks

2010-01-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

I'm a bass player. I love playing bass and don't get to do it nearly enough. In moving to camp, living in an amazing place, and being blessed with all that life is now.....the thing I miss is playing with a band. Bass, unlike other instruments is as much about mixing melody with rhythm as it is about playing notes. Without at least a drummer, playing by myself is not always very fun. So I'm always on the lookout for ideas that will inspire me to try and new things on bass in the absence of other musicians.
So when I saw this...

I thought it was some inspiration (not that I can play it...yet)
J.S. Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" - Norm Stockton (Lincoln Brewsters Bassist)
By the way HT to mike for the video

Now Here's the thing.... (and follow me this is a bit of a tangent) If Norm Stockton can play like this, why does Lincoln Brewster not showcase him a little more in songs? Actually....maybe he does, I don't actually own a Lincoln Brewster album, I rely on the hits as supplied by LIFE 100.3 so the one song that I have heard quite a bit lately is Lincoln's version of "Salvation is Here" (here's a YouTube link) which is a cover of Hillsong United. In the Hillsong version there is one of the most amazing bridge/bass solos I have heard in a long time (in Christian Worship songs at least) but Lincoln passes it up for a pretty simple guitar noodle. (both can be heard at around the 2:20 mark). I know very few bass players that can nail that line. In fact most worship bands skip it, change it, etc. But Lincoln you've got a great bass player there. If you're going to cover the song.....cover the best part. And hey LIFE, why play a cover when he has his own great songs - and the original version is so good.

Maybe this should be a post about how I hate when the original song gets lost behind a cover by a more popular band.... but hey what do I know, I don't work in radio any more ;)

PS.... no offence to Life 100.3 They are a top shelf radio station......trust me I've lived other place that don't have good Christian radio. (just in case anyone from there stops by)

Richard Dawkin's voice on the radio

2010-01-11T16:21:00.000-05:00

Was Browsing Microclesia today and saw this post with imediatly jumped out to me

Camille Puglia writing in Salon
… I was recently flicking my car radio dial and heard an affected British voice tinkling out on NPR. I assumed it was some fussy, gossipy opera expert fresh from London. To my astonishment, it was Richard Dawkins, the thrice-married emperor of contemporary atheists. I had never heard him speak, so it was a revelation. On science, Dawkins was spot on—lively and nimble. But on religion, his voice went “Psycho” weird (yes, Alfred Hitchcock)—as if he was channeling some old woman with whom he was in love-hate combat. I have no idea what ancient private dramas bubble beneath the surface there. As an atheist who respects and studies religion, I believe it is fair to ask what drives obsessive denigrators of religion. Neither extreme rationalism nor elite cynicism are adequate substitutes for faith, which fulfills a basic human need—which is why religion will continue to thrive in our war-torn world.

It was interesting to me, because I've always wondered about why Dawkins was so focused on religion and his hatred towards something he doesn't even believe in. I think I've read the tone of the "some old woman with who he was in a love-hate combat" when reading his books.

2010 Begins

2010-01-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those people that spends a lot of time thinking about different ideas. My wife recently told me I should tell her more of what is in my head, "it's kind of interesting". I guess this blog is afflicted by the same problem. In both cases I don't like to verbalize (or type) my thoughts until I really have them all thought out. When pressed, I can give you my thoughts on Airline Security, Twitter, Technology, Theology, New Haircuts, The Death of the Emergent Church, and lots of other things. But often I never get around to writing those things down.

I've been thinking about raising kids and teaching them.... how we've deprived them of creativity because of technology and our terrible school system.

What a church should look like in my life.

What it's like getting ready to become a dad for the first time.

Hopefully, I'll spend some time in this year actually getting some of these things down

My Destination Christmas List

2009-12-07T18:20:00.000-05:00

Can you have a Christmas wish list for places you would like to go?

If there were I would have a giant circle in the catalogue for this one. I found the conference that, wow, I wish I could go to. It's called: The Electronic Gospel: How Technology Shapes Our Faith. It's at Dallas Theological Seminary and I know I would love it.

The main speaker is Shane Hipps and other than Marshall McLuhan no one around this blog gets more direct attention. It also features Scott McClellan of Collide Magazine and John Dyer of the blog Don't Eat the Fruit, both of which I have enjoyed various interweb posting from. All of them are asking great questions about how all this cool technology around us is effecting us on deeper (or not so deep) levels.

There is so much stuff being written about technology and the effect is has on our life, culture and faith. It would just be fun to be at a conference, where people wouldn't instantly glaze over when the things like the four laws of media are being talked about.

The price is really reasonable, it would just be the cost of getting there.... anybody what to donate a place ticket to Dallas?
Oh well, at least the Tweets and after posts (post posts??) will be fun to read.

HT to Jon for giving me something to get my hopes up

Preach it Shane

2009-11-26T11:38:00.001-05:00

Shane Claiborne has a great article in Esquire addressed to those who don't follow Christ.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

I'm glad to see a person like Share Claiborne get such a platform to be read by a wide audience.

reading Marshall and Me

2009-11-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

Found an excellent blog about the ideas of Marshall McLuhan written by Michael Hinton: Marshall and Me. I have just begun reading back in the archives of post, but am very pleased with his excepts, quotes and ideas from the past. I've added it to my RSS and will follow the thoughts.
I don't know how many people are as interested in the thoughts of McLuhan as I am..... but you should be ;)

Kid Blogging

2009-11-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

So just in case it is not (blog) public knowledge, Brea and I are expecting our first baby around March 13th. Acording to various pregnacy books, she is at the stage where she should be feeling the little guy kick and move (or yeah, we know we are having a boy). This morning before church she was lamenting that while the book was rather certain that she should be feeling him, she had felt nothing. He was quite a moving little guy when we saw him on the untralsound, so it's supprising that she wasn't feeling anything. We headed off to church (which I will post about as well), sat down and during the worship set an older man in front of us began praying out in a loud voice. Brea was already feeling the Spirit moving, but suddenly an the man began to pray she also felt the moving of our baby for the first time. A very emotional start to our Sunday morning. He has been moving all day, but so far it is not at a time that I have been able to feel it, but I am so happy to see Brea's joy.

Arguments against Virtual Church

2009-10-31T10:00:00.004-04:00

I love to follow and analyze the various arguments that go on in the Blogosphere about the various new methods that are being used under the banner of "church" I have commented myself on The Meeting House and things that I see around me, but one person I have loved reading is Bob Hyatt. If all the latest trends are smoke, he has his infrared glasses on to see through it all.

He has a great post responding to this article In Defence of Virtual Church

Virtual Church is STILL a Bad Idea
I recommend reading the whole article, but here are a few highlights:

What do we call a church that not only fails to engage in, but makes a practical impossibility, the idea of church discipline? How will discipline happen in Second Life/Internet/Sim Church, where anonymity reigns and screen names and identities are changed with a couple clicks?
What do we call a church that not only fails to engage in, but makes a practical impossibility, the equipping ministry of the church? What about discipleship and leadership formation? How does one become an elder in a virtual church? What do we call churches without biblical eldership?
Can true community be mediated by a screen, or is it forged in the times at table, bearing one another’s burdens, serving the poor and one another together, at weddings and funerals, births and deaths … all the stuff that happens when I turn the screen off.

Shane Hipps is on the move

2009-10-30T11:57:00.001-04:00

I'm a big fan of Shane Hipps. His two books have played a significant role in my own journey of where technology needs to intersect with life and faith. Today I picked up on a little news that he is moving to be a teaching pastor at Mars Hill. That is pretty big news in a way I feel like the fan of the an indy band that has just made it big. It's cool that Shane will now be part of the Rob Bell big picture and I hope that Shane's teaching about technology and the effects will have a bigger audience. (Hey Shane, what are the four effects of NOOMA) But in some way I feel like the hipster kid that now has to share his favourite band/author with everyone. Any way.... Good hire Mars Hill.

FYI.... wow there are a lot of people that think Rob Bell and now Shane Hipps are teaming up with Satan himself. Gosh. I'd link to them, but then they'll just track back here and to be honest I don't need that kind of bother.... Just Google Rob Bell + Shane Hipps and see what you get.

The search for The Church

2009-10-28T15:34:00.000-04:00

One thing that has not really happend yet since moving to Torrance to take the job at Camp Crossroads is for Brea and I to find a church body to be a part of.   We really want to be a part of a community, to find a people that want to seek Jesus on a daily basis and also seek to be Jesus to live close by. A church body that is growing spiritually and is looking to make a difference (if not friends) in the community.
In the spring we went to the litle presbyterian church down the road.   The people there were very freindly and welcoming.   The worship service was pretty slow and mostly hyms out of the book, many at which even those in the pews didn't seem to know. The teaching was good, but notably in sync with a common passage in the denonmination and thus not exactly as passionate as something that was brough personally from the pastor.    One of the main reasons that we had started with the church in town is that we want to tap into this community we live in and get to know people. On thing about the church in Torrance, they weren't doing much to get to know their neighbours.   The pastor and his wife run a great afterschool program, but it's not something the community is interested in.   In the end we really felt it was right to look for other places.
The summer was crazy busy at camp and it wasn't untill fall that we had a few chancs to start looking at other places.   One church that often came up in searches and conversations was Glennwood Chapel.   It was a day in September that I went on my own, Teen Challenge was there and it was a really great service. (Since then we have started supporting them a little bit).   Brea was back for a few services on weekends that I couldn't and was excited by pastor Reg's preaching on what was the vision for the community that the church was in.   So a few weeks ago Brea and I finally had an oportunity to go together and were really looking forward to it. It started off well enough - actually Life 100.3 was there which was cool, hadn't seen Scott Jackson, the GM in a few years - but then pastor Reg got up for his "sermon" I have put it in quotations because it really wasn't a sermon at all. Really just a presentation of what direction Glennwood needed to move in to become a bigger church.   It was just that, how to go from being a small church, to a medium church, to a large church.   I really started feeling sick.    I couldn't believe that someone would actually take the time to lay out a plan that was so stuck on numbers of people attending on a Sunday morning.   He used one slide that in esseces said a small church moves from being "Relationship Driven" to "Program Driven" - I wanted to walk out.    He also had slides that said rediculous things like the pastor needs to move from "caring for people" to being and "administratior" So very quickly I was feeling like Glennwood is not the right place for us.

We are looking at other places and praying that God would give us a clue about what is the right place to be.
So more on the progression later.    Would you go to a church that activly wants to move to a program bias?
We just want to be a part of a group of people that want to change their community and be changed by the Spirit.... not fill seats and build programs that people will hopefully want to come to

Virtual Church ?

2009-08-26T20:03:00.000-04:00

“The problem, in my mind, with virtual community and Internet campuses isn’t that it’s not church… it’s that it is just church enough to be dangerous. Because it has all the easiest and most instantly gratifying parts of community without the harder parts, it ends up misshaping us.”

Bob Hyatt for the Out of Ur Blog via Finding Rhythm

Authority and the Internet

2009-08-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

I've started reading Don't Eat the Fruit and I like what I have read. It likely has something to do with his approach to media and how it influences us.

This was and interesting idea about what the internet does to authority and community

The Internet is not merely a means of communication, it is more fundamentally about giving individuals the power to choose what information they consume. The trade-off is that the more choices we have, the more decisions we make in isolation and the fewer we make either in community with others or under the authority of leaders.
Of course, I could claim that the Bible is my authority and that my view is more biblical than that of Piper, Boyd, or the iMonk. But everyone claims the Bible is their authority. Bible, Bible, Bible – everyone quotes the Bible. What’s really happening is that I “agree” with leaders when their interpretation of the Bible matches up with my personal views. The Internet simply gives me more views from which to choose.
And the more choices I put in front of myself, the more choices I make. The more choices I make, the more I believe in my ability to chose. In the end, my authority is not the church, nor the Bible, it is my will to choose.

A step in the right direction?

2009-08-19T20:50:00.001-04:00

Over at Church Marketing Sucks they have a post about a church that is taking a stand against abortion.

One Atlanta church has a bold challenge to anyone considering abortion: "Peachtree Presbyterian Church will care for any newborn baby you bring to this church."
So says Pastor Vic Pentz in a recent sermon. The church is partnering with the adoption agency Bethany Christian Services to make this happen and to start the education process for their congregation. Adoption is never simple and easy, but I love this bold action instead of the usual rhetoric around abortion.

I think it's great to know that a church is taking this kind of stand. I have always hated the "stop abortion" stance with out any real provision for what we will do with the unwanted babies. I hope the move is of right motivations and not a publicity stunt of some degree. But, asuming the have the right intentions it is interesting to hear of one church moving to take care of the unwanted babies.

Shane Hipps and Rob Bell

2009-03-11T23:35:00.000-04:00

Been a bit slack on the posting.... too many papers.

This video is great if you haven't read any Shane Hipps yet... check it out

Thinking about security

2009-01-29T10:08:00.003-05:00

A number of people in Stratford have had money stolen from their accounts as part of a large debit card scam. Even some people I know from the House of Blessing.

It has me thinking about passwords and such. As much as I am pretty geeky and like to think I am smarter than the average computer user, I have to admit that I use some pretty common passwords for just about everything. (not exactly the same, I'm a little smarter than that) So as of today I am going to change my system up. One of my favorite sites is LifeHacker.com - they have many articles on various software that can help create and keep passwords, this particular one seemed make sense to me:

You don't need to remember 100 passwords if you have 1 rule set for generating them. One way to generate unique passwords is to choose a base password and then apply a rule that mashes in some form of the service name with it. For example, you may use your base password with the first two consonants and the first two vowels of the service name. Say your base password is "asdf." (See how easy those keys are to type?). Then your password for Yahoo would be ASDFYHAO, and your password for eBay would be ASDFBYEA.

I'm also going to try out KeePass to help me remember the new passwords. I'll post a review of that once I have played around with it.

I don't want to cause a Twitter

2009-01-25T16:30:00.014-05:00

I've been thinking some more about Twitter and how it will effect the church. (You might want to read my last post) I did some reading of the reviews that are out there for Anthony Coppedge's book The Reason Your Church Must Twitter and I saw this quote by Jim Watson

"The beauty is that you can reach your people on their computer and/or on their cell phones, via SMS text messaging, which is a huge thing. Phone calls are tedious, email is often not read and fairly labor intensive for a church and in the end, ultimately, communication is key."

Communication is key, but I think that Twitter will eventually become like the things mentioned above, just another form of invasive annoying communication. Ultimately people respond to communication because they have an connection to it. (I already ignore text & Facebook messages from some people) The quote is actually quite telling of how quickly we forget how cutting edge the mentioned technologies once were.

I'm know at one point email was the saviour of communication....because the telephone was quite tedious
I bet the telephone was once going to save the church.... because visiting people took a lot of time.
Throw in how websites, signs outside our churches, radio broadcasts, pod-casting etc. were all going to save the world around us.

A new medium will not change the way most basic reason that people ignore your message....they don't like you or you're not important to them.

Being the McLuhan geek that I am I thought I would look at Twitter through MM's four laws of media:
ENHANCES: - the ability to communicate information, to convey quick information.
OBSOLESCE: - email, phone, talking to people, deeper connections
RETRIEVES: yelling across the street, passing notes in class....
REVERSE: reverses into constant barrage of short messages, devoid of personal connection

I'm going to contiune thinking about some of these.... feel free to let me know where I am wrong in comments.

Technology saving the church (again)

2009-01-24T13:04:00.004-05:00

Facebook and Twitter are going to save your church. No for real - it says so on the Internet.

Maybe it is just the type of blogs that I read. Maybe it is just the things that catch my attention. But, it sure seems that there are a lot of people out there that love to embrace each new medium that comes along.

I'm not even going to get into my usual mcluhanesque comments on media both being positive and negative* but there seems to be a rush lately to be the first person to literally write the book on the latest social network and how it will be the saviour of your church.

First there was Chris Forbes and "Facebook for Pastors" that would teach pastors how to "build relationships and connect with people using the most popular social network on the Internet."
Now recently we have Anthony Coppedge and "The Reason Your Church Must Twitter" who takes an even stronger stance with "a helpful, easy and practical guide to reaching the right people with the right message." I don't want to pick on these two authors. In fact they are both really smart men, that I respect a lot of what they have to say. I haven't taken the time to see if a few years ago someone wrote how MSN Messenger would save the church. I bet the Internet was going to save the church at one point, along with the computer, the automobile, and the printed page. All those things have had huge impact on both the church and our very core of culture, but the impact was not wholly positive. I could come up with lots of things about the comptuer, cars and print itself that have negativly effected the body of Christ.

Already I feel it. Somebody is muttering "ludite" and dismissing me as a technophobe. But stop and think about it, nothing has wholesale postive effects. Yes Twitter is great, people can track what other people are saying, eating, etc.... but what about depth? What takes people to a deep level of realtionship? I can as easily ignore the "This is the worst day in my life" tweat as I can engage that person. Being that I am disembodied here at my computer the person dosen't even know that I have ingored their call for help/attention/assistance. Maybe even worse I will make the mistake of dismissing them with a "don't worry tomorrow will be better"

I think us lovers of tech have to be (more) careful to not sell the latest and greatest technology as a fix for all that ails the church. We have see more than the benifits and see all the effects.

Always more to say...but that is good for now

* technically McLuhan has four laws (or directions) but most people really are only ready to focus on the positive and negative effects.

A new Shane Hipps Book

2009-01-22T16:54:00.006-05:00

I am really excited to see that Shane Hipps has a new book coming out.

Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith

Best I can see it is soon to be released (not available on Chapters or Amazon yet) and it seems that it will be in the same style as his previous book.

Without making a large gushing sound Shane Hipps really changed the way I look at this world... at least how I view technology, which tends to be a big part of my world. In many ways he is the one that turned me on to the likes of Marshal McLuhan, Neil Postman and others. So even if some of this material is rearranged from the first book, I will buy it as soon as it is shipping.

(and for the record this changes my mood from the last post)

January Blas

2009-01-21T10:51:00.003-05:00

I heard on the radio the other day that January 19th is the most depressing day of the year. I also heard it called "Blue Monday" and did a little digging and discover the science might be a little suspect. None the less, I certainly feel that this is a low time of the year. Over the last few years I have noticed a personal trend of feeling 'blue' in late January.

There are lots of things in my head but right now, I just can't put them to words. maybe I'll get some inspiration when the sun comes out again

UrbanEx

2008-11-14T22:06:00.003-05:00

My friends Em and Alan over at UrbanEx have just launched the new site.

I can't speak highly enough of them or the vision they have. If you are involved with youth that want to stretch their horizon, or want to have your own life challenged the site is worth checking out.

From the new site... UrbanEx is:

..an active-advocacy organization for justice and dignity for all mankind that educates, empowers, enables, and mobilizes others in practical and effective advocacy that will actively meet the needs of any urban community by addressing the relief of poverty, awareness and appreciation of cultural and lifestyle differences, and our individual and corporate responsibilities to our communities through intentional actions with measured results that benefit individuals as well as the entire urban community.

In different ways Em and Alan have both influenced the way I think. I wish them nothing but the best in their on going ministry. And I hope the stories just grow and grow and grow

Am I the only one who wants to follow the rules?

2008-11-14T12:58:00.001-05:00

So at Sara's Place we have been trying to shut off the TV and play some games. Monopoly has been the choice a few times and I have come to a solid revelation.

No one plays Monopoly by the rules.
No one I know at least.
Growing up, I was taught the wrong rules, and have always thought I was playing by the rules, which leads me to believe that no one ever has read the rules.
For example:
1) Free parking is only free parking - no money, not even $500

2) You don't have to go around the board once before buying stuff
3) When someone lands on a property and doesn't buy it, it goes up for auction and anyone can buy it
4) ~~You can build houses on any property once you own it.... you don't have to own all the colours~~

(edit, Matt has quickly pointed out that I was wrong when I was attempting to get the rules right - hats off to Matt)

It is amazing how many times I have discussed this with people over the last few days and I have yet to find someone that knew all ~~four~~ three of the above rules. I'm not saying that no one does, but if you do....

Want to play?

The Highway of Hereos

2008-11-11T20:28:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel like we get sprayed with American patriotism, so it is kind of nice to see a major network notice and report on how we respond to our killed soldiers coming back. Admittedly I don't often think about the soldiers that are fighting and on a day like today, Remembrance day it is good to remember.

My grandfather, Gordon Good was killed in WWII. I never knew him, but I'm glad that people go to such lengths to honour the families of the soldiers that died in serving.

From Dan Cook over at the Globe and Mail

God's Will in an Election

2008-11-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

Tim over at Burnside has some great final thought on the election from a theological point of view - jumping off and interview between Sara Palin and James Dobson,

But let's say Dobson's interpretation of God's will is correct, that God's perfect will was for McCain to win. Does that mean we, the people, have the ability to, and in fact did, thwart God's will? If this is the case, then does this limit the power of God or our view of God's power and will in other areas of life and politics? This is a slippery theological slope, but not one that hasn't already been expressed by humanists and liberal Christians. But could this be why Dobson and others called for intervention or a miracle in the election because they felt we, the people, were about to thwart God's perfect will?

I can't quote the whole thing here, but his final statments were very good.

God will do the right thing each day, and we can be a part of that no matter what party we register with or what ballot we cast. In fact, until we separate God's will from the will of "we the people", it may not be possible to see what God is already doing. It matters not who is president, but it matters completely who we serve.

Yep.
I'm Glad the elections in both Canada and the US are over now we can get back on the topic of Christians working in GOD'S Kingdom right here on earth.

Glug glug glug

2008-11-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

That is my way of saying I feel like I am over my head. Not in a desperate, the world is bleak, kind of way - Just a "wow, I wasn't expecting all this" kind of way.

So to quickly review:
1) went back to school in September, and am just hitting crunch time in the semester when things are due
2) moved in to a new home to start a live in job as house parents.
3) jumped from family with no kids to having two teenagers that I we are responsible for.

Ok 2 & 3 are really the same thing, but I didn't want my list to be 2 things - feels bigger than that.

I know there are a lot of people that balance family and school. I now apreciate what they have done/ do more.

But at this moment I know I need to trust God and lean on Him. Funny thing is that wasn't my asnwer when I started writing this post.

Who says blogging is a wast of time

Friday Links

2008-10-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

I debated skipping posting links, because I have not been online this week. but I did see one think that was of interest. One of my favorite Authors - Shane Hipps has 3 new podcast posted.

So that's it for this week. I'll try to make it up next Friday... enjoy the sun (assuming you live between the east and west cost of Canada - I didn't pay attention to the rest of the world this morning)

I'm not totally M.I.A.

2008-10-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

So, we are moved to Stratford and will begin the new role of house parents on Saturday. There have been a few glitches in the moving process (not counting the things that delayed the move in the first place) the biggest being.... I will not have internet until Tuesday November 4th.

Thankfully I have access to the computers at EBC's library and the public library in Stratford.

I think my Google Reader is over 1000 posts to catch up on.... so between reading and posting I will have a lot to catch up on once the tubes are reconnected.

The Video Venue Church article

2008-10-23T12:23:00.003-04:00

Collide Magazine is doing an cover article on the pros and cons of the video venue churches.

We organized a debate between two pastors, one of whom is against the idea of churches video venues and the other of whom is the campus pastor at a video venue: Bob Hyatt and James Harleman, respectively

If you have been reading my posts you know that I am working through the less than obvious drawbacks, some of the comments are all over the map... worth checking out.

Was it something I said?

2008-10-23T12:16:00.003-04:00

It seems that for the last few days commenting was not working on this site.

Umm....yeah.... I think that was my bad.

Over the last few months I have been tweaking the site in different ways, and apparently that caused the comments to not work right. (I wanted them to show at the end of the post, not a pop up) but when I discovered that even I couldn't post I figured that maybe others had had the same problem.

So if you wanted to post a comment and could not... it should work.

Or nobody cares.

Friday Links

2008-10-22T15:26:00.005-04:00

Here a few links that might be worth your entertainment time

God doesn't like girls who play football (via BWB)
How Holy is you church logo
Heck while we're rating stuff What's you Twitter Score

enjoy

The Mentoring Project

2008-10-22T11:48:00.002-04:00

Donald Miller has founded what seems to be an excellent venture to link kids in families without dads with men who want to be mentors. It's called the Mentoring Project and I hope it will be quite successful. There is also a promo video over at Donald's Blog that is worth watching if you are more interested.

I think this hits close to home for me right now as Brea and I get ready to be the house parents of Sarah Place (a maternity home for girls). I have been thinking about the fathers that have a role in each girl that will come to live with us. Who is guiding them? Who are their mentors? I'm not sure how much I will be able to be an influence, but I see more and more the big role of mentors in our society.

So best wishes to Don and his team.

Analog to digital

2008-10-22T10:20:00.003-04:00

I can't tell you how many conversations I have had about digital TV and the end of analog.

Props to BWB for the link

If I had a hammer.....

2008-10-21T11:38:00.001-04:00

Hey iPhone owners! - yeah you!

Here's how I feel

you can go now.

Video killed the house audio technician

2008-10-20T21:51:00.004-04:00

I don't feel like writing another blog post about technology today. So here is the link and the short description.

Tim Stevens has a post in defense of a 100% video church service.

gosh... I think the thing that bugs me on this one, is they are propping it up as being all in the name of saving money.... umm how about doing smaller churches? or house churches?

Someday soon I am going to start discussing these posts in the virtual voices of Marshall McLuhan, Shane Hipps and Frank Viola
(and yes I linked to them all because I want them to see this)

iCommunity

2008-10-20T21:19:00.003-04:00

Brad Abare of Church Marketing Sucks has an article talking about the "Illusion of Community."
I think it is great thoughts from a website that by nature promotes the use of tools (technology) in communication.

If ever there was a buzzword for the past several years that the church--myself included--has been in love with, it would be the word "community." And rightly so because community is so desperately lacking these days. People are lonely and isolated. Today, 1 out of every 4 households in the U.S. has just one person living there. In 1950, it was 1 out of every 10. So while we may be more connected than any other generation, we're more detached than ever before.

Sure, Facebook an the like have the illusion of Community - their not all bad either, but it is great to see balanced coverage of the effects on our communities, one that is not "EVIL" and one that is not adopt everything because it is there.

Thoughts on the Meeting House

2008-10-20T10:49:00.004-04:00

The Gig had a farewell for us two weeks ago, because we were supposed to be living and working in Stratford by now. As we had said all our goodbyes we felt a little strange going there on Sunday morning and also thought it would be a great chance to check out another church community in Kitchener. So we decided to check out The Meeting House. I thought maybe I would post on my thoughts about my first time being a part of their Sunday morning gathering. First I have to say is was good to see so many familiar faces - looking over the staff list there are a lot of friends from the past (even an old roommate) - I think that they are all striving to do good work so I hope my criticism is not taken as an attack on what they are doing, more this is my analysis of how I think they are heading in the wrong direction.

First, the things that thought were good. The elements were all very good - worship music and presentation. It's all very coordinated and smooth. Bruxy Cavey was on his usual game as an excellent laid back teacher. I can see why people come out, the product is very good.

So what is my problem? well if you read my last post or have been following my thoughts on technology and the church you would know that I'm trying to look at the bigger issues than just what happen on the Sunday morning. One of the problems with the video venue is what it is saying (this is a medium is the message type thing) about who can speak to the church. Bruxy is an amazing speaker - no contest. But the meeting house just keeps adding sites. When you look at everything else, the meeting house is just about the same as many other churches, except they all watch the big screen to see a common message. So if you extrapolate the vision or goal - eventually you would have a Meeting house in every city or town. Or maybe the end expansion would (or should) be that every church is a video extension of Bruxy's teaching. I'm not saying the Bruxy shouldn't teach a lot of poeple, but what does it say when we enforce a message that only one voice is good enough to teach? Is there no person in all of the Golden Horeshoe or Western Ontario (and coming to Ottawa) that is a good enough speaker to teach the public? I think people would deny this as a statement, but you have to see this is what the "medium" is sending as a message.

What if Bruxy isn't the best teacher - what if say Rob Bell is a better speaker? The Meeting House had defined its existence on transmitting the best teacher they can find. Maybe they would have better results if someone else what the teacher and we could double the churches because someone like Rob Bell would draw more people (sort of sound like celebrity doesn't it?) do the people that come out care about who as long as it is deemed good? The motion is towards all sites digesting whatever come on the screen as truth. Whatever the Great OZ says is truth. There is the potential for the thing to get so big that only those at the top really have any control over what is said or preached. Right now, I assume there are good checks and balances in place, but how big does it get to be out of control? What if no one thinks it is out of control?

I'm not saying that the Meeting House has no checks and balances. I'm not saying that the teaching is wrong, all I'm saying is that they seem to think that growth by more sites is unlimitedly good (we cheered a new satellite location) But is this the type of growth that is good for the church? That we all tune in for directions? I think this is what the Protestant reformation was all about. Rome told people what their religion was about and they did not have a voice. I think the Meeting House model moves the average person in community farther away from having a voice or being a part of conversation.

I believe more and more in raising up new leaders, can you do this in a model where only the very best is heard? Is there room for learning and training - especially if you expand the method to it's extreme?

I hope that the Meeting House is making a difference in the community. I hope lives are change and Jesus is the centre. I also hope it doesn't ever go where I think it could.

Mostly a plug for Shane Hipps

2008-10-16T18:22:00.003-04:00

I have been doing a lot of research on the effects of technology on culture (both church and everyday regular life) I happened across an article in Slate about video venues and mega churches and was happily surprised to find that Shane Hipps was quoted:

Using video goes against a critical tenet of Protestant faith: the priesthood of all believers. Instead of a real experience, it offers a mediated one that inherently puts the pastor in a position of greater power over the masses. "It's actually undermining their theology,"

in his book Shane has written about the effects of video - not necessarily the separate venue site, but certainly it pertains. The above statement is pretty strong, but I think it needs to be. While I have been expanding my thoughts on media through other authors (Postman, McLuhan etc.) I strongly recommend Shane Hipps as a place to start to become aware of the influence of media on our culture. (I think I have to steal my book back from Rob)

I want to write more on the things that I am learning and thinking, but they will have to wait - check out the article in the meantime.

Patrol Magazine

2008-10-03T22:00:00.002-04:00

Just discovered Patrol Magazine

and the scanner
I'm not sure how to describe it just yet...but man I like what I see

You know you want to.

2008-10-01T15:53:00.003-04:00

Not having enough fun googling yourself in real time

now you can see how you googled in 2001

http://www.google.com/search2001.html

excellent fun...for me the page didn't exist anymore but the description reminded me of old times

More stuff on "stuff"

2008-10-01T10:23:00.002-04:00

Jonathan Brink writes

The coolest thing I heard today was while reading, “The Tangible Kingdom.“

“We have to remember that the ancient faith communities that set a course to change the world did so without church programs, without paid staff, without websites, and without brochures, blogs or buildings. They were lean! The point of going without all the stuff is simple but profound. When you don’t have all the “stuff,” you’re left with a lot of time to stpend[sic] with people.”

I liked that quote, I think that is very in tune with how I feel lately, but the statement does seem to indicate that everything we do is bad. Frank Viola (and others) would certainly agree that we need to return to a first century way of doing things... but then we admit that we don't mind having some technology to work with. I don't think we want to return to the days before the printing press, which the ancient faiths did not have their own personal bibles for study. I doubt the author above was including bible studying as "stuff" that get in the way.

I agree our "stuff" does get in the way at times - but it is more than a soundbite to agree on what "stuff" is good and what is bad.

Pro Life - All Life

2008-09-22T23:05:00.002-04:00

I watching American politics and some of the usual controversy over the abortion issue. I wondered to my self about all the issues that come into play if every unwanted child were kept...what would our society do with them. Sometimes we don't know what to do with Single mom or their kids.

As usual other have said it better:

Take Will Samson:

I started paying attention to how both scripture and the Church define life, this thing that we are all in favor of. Life, from a Christian perspective, is the unborn child in the womb. But it is also the child born in poverty who desperately needs a community to help raise her. From the perspective of both the Bible and the Church, life is the 18 year black male whose only perceived choices are illegal activities or joining the military to fight in Iraq. Christian social teaching rejects the simplistic definition that sees life only as the first nine months, the time in the womb.
We have, to our own discredit, conflated being pro-life to being pro-anti-abortion legislation. Has this made life more sacred? Has this improved the conditions for those most likely to have an abortion, the economically and educationally disadvantaged?

Some day soon I'll come up with some more concrete thoughts of my own

VIA

crap

2008-09-22T22:14:00.003-04:00

I know somewhere - probably not too far away, someone has it worse.

But, tonight I feel like crap.

First, Brea is gone for 10 days. So aside from the obvious that I miss her... I'm not eating very well.

Second, I was somehow squeezed out of playing bass at the college. I don't even understand how really other than I think it was a big case of bad organizational structure. I was so looking forward to being part of one of the groups at school...now I just feel like and kid watching the party from outside.
I think my bass is older than the girl that got my spot.

Third, today I felt really old and irrelevant. (Giant kudos to anyone that has gone back to school after something like 15 or 20 years.) Not just because of the bass thing.... more because I suddenly feel like people walk around me like the strange guy in the hall. I used to know everyone or would get to know them...but something changed.

Ever try to get rid of all the things that define you only to feel like maybe you were better of being defined by them?

Everything??!

2008-09-18T15:00:00.007-04:00

I know that some people think I'm crazy already.
Some people think I'm crazy because I am a follower of Christ.
Some people think I'm crazy because I quit a perfectly good job to go back to school.
Some people think I'm crazy because I have a collection of frog stuff

So that being said, I have been doing a lot of reading of Jesus' teachings lately. Do you know how many times he said to sell everything and give it to the poor? I don't have the number right in front of me but it was a lot.

Take Luke 12:

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?....Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And later in Chapter 18

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"
"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

there are lots of other places Jesus said the same types of things...go ahead look it up, I won't be offended.

So the question is.... was He serious?
I'm sure I could finally read the book that someone gave me by one of those Christianity = Blessing guys and blessing guy would explain that Jesus didn't mean EVERYTHING.

That would be crazy. There is likely some rational explanation to explain this strange code that Jesus is using when He says "Sell it all"

hmm... But what would the world look like if all Christians did this? Call me a crazy idealist.
Ok forget everyone else. Do I have the faith to sell everything and trust that God would take care of me?

I'm not there yet.... just in case you pass by my house and see the for sale sign.
But maybe I'm getting there.

edit - after I posted - I read this... striking evidence that I have it wrong

Promises, Promises

2008-09-18T15:00:00.001-04:00

From Dan Cook - Globe & Mail

April 4, 1990 — Liberal MP Paul Martin: "I would abolish the GST.''

Sept. 14, 2008 — Paul Martin: Tories' promises worthless.

I love when they do that.

What would Bobby LaBonte do?

2008-09-17T08:04:00.005-04:00

Lots of people stick things to the back of their cars. I think I could do a whole series of post on thought I have driving (or sitting still) in traffic...maybe I will.

Some people like to stick those little Fish stickers on the back of their car. You know the ones that are based on the Ichthys. I guess the reason is to identify themselves as Christians and must think such a prominent display on their back tailgate will announce to the world their personal beliefs. Unfortunately, I think most people are worse drivers than they know. We've all cut off someone when we suddenly realized be are about to miss our exit... even the most religious person makes mistakes. (I'm not a deep theologian, but I think speeding is even considered a sin) So then there goes on them Fish-y Religious people cutting people off and driving like a blind man

As a person that does identify him self as a follower of Christ, I would hate to sour fellow commuters to the idea of Christianity simply because at times I might like to pass on the right (but that is likely your fault) or simply be a little brain dead that morning.
So no fish for me.

At times I have thought a little about some reverse psychology - you know maybe throw the Darwin fish on to make the Atheists look bad... ah but then I would have to explain to little old Christian ladies that I don't really think Darwin had all the right ideas. I tend to avoid aggressive Christians with purses.

So that leads to what I have on the back of the van. My NASCAR friends tell me it is a Bobby LaBonte number 18 sticker*. It was there from the prvious owner. It is obviously a NASCAR sticker you know how they look... stuck right there in the left hand corner of the back window. I think this is the perfect solution. When I drive like a jerk, people see the sticker and think "Oh a NASCAR fan, no wonder he drives like an idiot" - Real NASCAR fans will not feel guilty by assosiation because they will say "Look that guy is trying to drive like Bobby" and I think it is ok.... unless maybe I was turning right, because I don't think NASCAR Drivers are allowed to go that direction.

*Because my friends that love NASCAR, to my knowledge, do not have web pages I will simply list their names so that when they figure out the web and Google their names they may find this post: Trevor Belec, Roger Lichti, Brant White - It should also be pointed out that apparently Bobby LaBonte has change his number, so I have his old number... which is good because I will only offend people that used to be Bobby LaBonte fans

Better words than mine.

2008-09-15T10:19:00.003-04:00

I pass on these words of Mother Teresa posted by Brad Culver. Means a lot to me today.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Kind words may be short... but their echoes are endless.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Good works are links that form a chain of love.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.

Higher Education

2008-09-08T09:01:00.003-04:00

Today is my first day back to school. Over that last few weeks I have had many conversations with people about my (and our, Brea and I) plans. I explain that I previously graduated with a diploma from EBC, but those two years were also the required classes for the first two years of a Bachelor of Religious Education Degree. If this year goes well, I will graduate with my BRE. Upon explaining all of this the question I next get is, "and what are you going to do with your degree?" (the exception being my friend Denny who exclaimed "you not going to be a Pastor are you!?)

It's amazing how tied education is to a goal of a job. Did I just miss this the last time I went through school? What if I'm just going back to school to push my brain? Granted, I am going to get a degree, which requires taking specific classes and involves some structure. I could have just hung out in Chapters for a year. I know that a degree could come in handy - but not any more than the experience I already have. I have yet to land a job using a resume, let alone be hired on my education.

I've been reading Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in it the main character experiments with his students - going a semester with out handing out grades. An attempt to have them learn for learning sake, to not just regurgitate what the professor wants to hear, but think their own thoughts and to make a statement .

That's what this year is for me. I chance to continue being stretched as a person
Actually I guess that's what I want life to be

And so it begins....

2008-08-30T12:26:00.005-04:00

Friday was my last day working for Yake Engineered Systems.
For those of you who don't know me outside of this blog (or just didn't know me that well) Yake Engineered Systems is a company that for the most part works with churches on audio, video and other technical media related stuff. If you know me even a little, you know I love the knobs and wires, so working through some of the little and big technical issues was fun (most of the time)
The last little while - say the last year or so - I have started to reevaluate what life should be. Things like:
How have I let my identity be defined by my career?
What kind of real impact do I have on my world?
What are my goals?
Does living in a true Christian world view involve goals?
Does technology play too big a role in church/religion/worship?
Can you do ministry while selling products?
Have most churches gotten too big or too much like businesses?

There might be some other variations, but that is a good starting point. They are all thoughts that I would like to develop farther and love to read other thoughts on. So over the next little while, if you stay tuned will see stuff on those themes or links to similar thoughts.

So what is next? I'm actually going back to school. It's not that I feel I need more education to get somewhere, but I really feel like I am in a place where God is pushing me to grow. I guess I could do that on my own, but sometimes being pushed by academics is a good kick in the pants. So as of September I'm back to student life.

What else is next? Glad you asked, because I almost forgot. Brea and I are taking a position in October with Stratford House of Blessing as the house parents of Sara's Place Maternity Home. We attempt to stand in the mom and dad role for up to three women ( likely age 16 - 24) while they transition into the role of being a mom. Brea will be the one that works with the girls during the day in the various programs that are necessary. My role will be to be the father figure - encourage, enforce the rules and hopefully get to know the fathers, if they are still in the picture. It's a big step for us... Excited is the word I use most - but scary is exciting too.
I'm not sure how much I will ever blog about that, I would never want to compromise the privacy and security of the home - but I expect that it will be a stretching experience.

1 Good Read....200 Bad reads

2008-08-28T15:16:00.006-04:00

So I saw that Donald Miller had a first post at his new blog

as with most things Donald Miller writes, I laughed. It's worth the read. Go read it before you read the rest of this post..... no really.

Ok.

So I scrolled to the bottom of the comments and wrote a witty reply.... after which after I read some of the other comments I realized something.... Everyone thinks that Donald Miller could be their close personal friend.... I think somewhere in my delusion I thought, "oh maybe he will read my comment and then know that I exist" Wow sometimes celebrity is so goofy.

I hope Donald Miller continues to write short posts on his blog - but gosh, if it were me I think I would just eliminate the comments section. (Some people are mean too...wow American politics!)

Oh and just in case Donald Miller actually reads my post, clicks on the link here.... wanna have coffee some time?

A review of Rob Bell's new book

2008-08-28T13:04:00.003-04:00

If you are a fan of Rob Bell, he has a new book coming out in October - Jesus Wants to Save Christians, by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Ben Witherington has a review of it. I'm a big fan of Witherington's reviews - but be warned it is a long one... but worth the read for sure.

With the right marketing anyone can be smart.

2008-08-27T13:20:00.002-04:00

I sometimes marvel at how companies can spin things to make their products seem better than everything else - when usually most of their competitors product works equally well. Yes, I'm aware that is the most basic priciple of marketing, but sometimes the end result is just goofy.

I the world of sound system there are a lot of great speaker, amp and processing companies - not matter what you read, there is no one company that will sound good no matter what. Each system requires a talented designer to choose the right componets.

So that being said here is a quote that I read.

"I've been in a couple of hundred rooms, and, to me, this is the best-sounding system in the best-sounding room I've ever been in. In so many other rooms, the first thing I would notice as a sound engineer is the system. But here, the first thing I hear when I walk in is the band jamming, the vocalist singing, or a pastor whispering into a mic. Ever musician is communicating directly to me and every word is crystal clear"

- Chris Gille, Audio Department Head
Willow Creek Community Church

First - I'll let you in on a trade secret...every Audio guy that walks into any room will analyze the system. My wife still cringes when I'm critiquing the audio system during a wedding or at any event we are visiting.... so Mr. Chris Gille is no different. What is different is the craziness that the system at Willow Creek is beyond analysis, that in that room, with that system - you just hear the sound.

That is like saying my car runs so smoothly that when I get in I just zoom down the road forgetting I am in a car - while everyone else in the world is aware they are in a car.

OR My forest is so great - I don't even notice it has trees.

Sure he doesn't notice the system ANY MORE. But this is an add using Willow Creek to sell line arrays to churches that would be better off using traditional speakers (my own oppinion).... but if the Mecca of Willow says do it, the clones will follow (ok, that is a different rant)

The reality is every company markets like this to some extent...this one jumped out at me.

I never have the words

2008-08-25T20:50:00.005-04:00

So I've read a few people writing about how they haven't blogged much lately. I get that...

For me it not that I don't have a lot of great thoughts rolling around in my head.

Brad Culver spoke at The Gig on Sunday, so now I've been thinking about being call "Christian" vs things like "Follower of Jesus" He made some great comments on how NOT calling ourselves Christian so that people can't assume they know what that means. Been kicking around in my head today

Thanks to Kamp Krusty I found out Frank Viola has a new book out. I still have to comment on his last one

I've also been thinking lots about Technology and how much we really need it. Been selling off some of the tech toys that I have acquired over the last few years (don't ask what I have - the good stuff is gone)
Why do people think I'm strange for moving to a paper calendar... maybe I'll talk about that some time.

Throw in some Identity stuff that seems to continually be a working process right now and that should give me lots to write about....but not tonight.

Hey did I mention 4 days till I'm done my job?....

Knowing and Being Known

2008-08-21T16:32:00.004-04:00

Brad Abare has an interesting article in Catalyst

First, Everybody Knew Everybody
For thousands of years, communities were made up of interdependent individuals that knew everybody within their vicinity. Lacking long distance communication and the ability to travel far, you didn’t know anybody else except the people in front of you. Everybody knew everybody.

Then, Everybody Knew Somebody
As travel and communication increased, we moved away from everybody knowing everybody to everybody knowing somebody. As cities increased in population and as people spread out, it wasn’t possible to know everybody in your world because your world was getting bigger. As long as we knew somebody, life would still be livable.

Next, Somebody Wanted to Be Known by Everybody
Enter the dawn of pervasive marketing and celebrity, especially post-1800. P.T. Barnum immediately comes to mind as a master of publicity. Revival preachers were also good at positioning themselves publicly so that people wanted want they had. It was no longer possible to know everybody, and knowing somebody was a given. It was now time for everybody to know me. The more people knew me, the more I would be associated with wealth, influence and fame. Yes world, you need to know me.

Now, Everybody Wants to Be Known by Everybody
With the immediate and permeative nature of communication, we’re now living in a period where everybody in the world wants to be known by everybody in the world. The Facebook population alone is as large as the fifth most populated country on earth. Facebook’s entire premise is to be known by everybody. Why else would people spend so much time updating, uploading and upchucking everything about themselves? Yes folks, we want everybody to know us. We’ve come full circle because this is how it started. Everybody knew everybody. Only this time our world is in the billions, not the barrios.

This seems to resound with the type of thoughts I have been thinking.
How many people to I really need to know? the world seems to be focus on quantity not quality of the relationships that we have. I don't know if I have something so interesting to say that I need everyone to know....he writes on his blog ;)

Donald Miller speaks , wish I was there.

2008-08-18T15:01:00.004-04:00

Tim Stevens took notes at the recent Echo Conference where Donal Millar Spoke on the power of story. Some of these are great quotes, mind you I tend to find anything he says compelling...or at least better than I could have said it.

- My friend said, "Life is meaningless." I said, "No, life is fine. Your life is meaningless." It's the story my friend was writing with his life that he didn't like.

- Very seldom are humans happy. They only look back on a moment and think they were happy, even though there weren't. They also look forward and think they'll be happy when they get something or do something. Humans are happiest in the past or future but rarely in the present.

- I think the reason that God made it difficult for men and women to communicate is because he wanted to introduce conflict in the story. Because when it works, it is a beautiful thing

- If you are working in order to fund a better story, that's great. But if your working is your story, then I'm not sure that will be very satisfying.

Church or Football?

2008-08-18T13:57:00.003-04:00

I got started reading Good Magazine because of the name similarity...but they do have some really interesting stuff...and every so often something really king of fun

Every Sunday during football season, rabid fans gather to root for their team. That same day, people are going to church to pray. This is a comparison between attendance at megachurches and attendance at football games in the five states with the largest megachurch attendance.

View Section 3, Pew 16

Just as a side note, I'm not really a fan or mega churches or football.

Hint hint

2008-08-18T09:06:00.002-04:00

I love when they track this type of stuff......

Dan Cook (Globe and Mail) Posts:

December 2, 2006: "You have before you a Liberal dream team. Stephen Harper, we are counting the days to the next election." — Liberal Leader Stephane Dion

November 30, 2007: Dion hints there could be a spring election

December 23, 2007: Opposition hints at 2008 federal election

February 10, 2008: Dion hints budget might be election's trigger

July 23, 2008: Dion hints at possible fall vote

August 16, 2008: Liberal Leader Stephane Dion criticizes Stephen Harper's election hints

To Gear or not to Gear

2008-08-15T13:48:00.002-04:00

Matt at 37 signals writes:

Years ago I read a book about guitar effects pedals. Something the author wrote in the intro stuck with me: “Tone is in your fingers.”

He went on to explain: You can buy the same guitar, effects pedals, and amplifier that Eddie Van Halen uses. But when you play that rig, it’s still going to sound like you.

Likewise, Eddie could plug into a crappy Strat/Pignose setup at a pawn shop and you’d still be able to recognize that it’s Eddie Van Halen playing.

Sure, fancy gear can help. But the truth is that your tone comes from you.

I often think of this story when people fixate on gear over content. You know the type: Wannabe designers who want an avalanche of fancy typefaces and Photoshop filters but don’t have anything to say. Amateur photographers who want to debate film vs. digital instead of what actually makes for a great photo. Startup folks that worry more about software and scaling issues then how to actually get customers and make money. They all miss the point.

Aspiring podcasters consantly ask Gary V about the tools he uses. He responds:

It’s not the camera that I use, it’s not the blogging software, it’s not the widgets, it’s not the SEO. It’s the two C’s: content and community…There are so many crap podcasts out there with billion dollar cameras and editing tools for days. It’s about giving from your heart with content you really understand and, more importantly, giving back to the community that supports your show.

Figure out what you have to say that’s interesting and then unleash it. Use whatever tools you’ve got already or what you can afford cheaply. Then go.

It’s not the gear that matters. It’s you and your ideas that matter. Tone is in your fingers.

Crap - gotta go sell my bass gear again.

Want the good news or the bad?

2008-08-15T12:56:00.003-04:00

Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. writes:

Sometimes the bad news is the good news. So it is with the report that retail sales are down by 0.1 percent in July, the sharpest drop in many months.

Why good news? It means that consumers are starting to cut back. They could be going into less debt. They might be saving more. They are being more careful about long-term plans pending short-term trends.

I don't know if people are really learning anything - or if things are just so bad that something has to change....sort of reading the manual after you have spent hours claiming you "know what your doing" reading it once dosen't mean you will pick it up the next time you open the Ikea box.

The article isn't actually annoucing that any big change is happeing, but more challenges the way we somtimes interpret data. It caught my attention because I sort of hope that maybe people will start to change the way they spend money.... well I can hope right?

Direction of the Spiral?

2008-08-14T11:27:00.003-04:00

Jonathan Brink writes:

I’m reading this morning and something hit me.

Beneath the subtlety of religion (which is a system of performance) is the lie that I’m not really broken, that secretly I’m okay. And that if I just learn the right thing, know the right material, read the right book, do the right thing, or pray a certain way that I will be okay. Nobody will notice my indiscretions. And the very nature of the lie is to convince me that it is true, and because I’ve believed it I hold out hope that the lie is actually true. The search for those things leads me down the spiral to captivity, yet to admit the truth is to let go, which I don’t want to do because then I will have to admit I am broken.

Just thinking out loud.

I think that is me too. I seek knowledge to enhance my faith, but the knowledge leads me to rely on knowledge not faith. The question is - can that become a cycle of growth and not a downward spiral?

Better and faster at meaningless

2008-08-14T11:18:00.002-04:00

Jordan Cooper posts:

"We can talk on the phone as we eat fast food while using the ATM. Not only are we better at multitasking and becoming more productive and efficient, along with the increased pace, more is required of us. And so we hurtle through life faster and faster, becoming busier and busier. The result is that in our busyness we are becoming increasingly efficient at leading meaningless lives."

Don Whitney, professor, Midwestern Seminary

Yep... that's what it seems like.

The Junky Car Club

2008-08-06T15:12:00.003-04:00

I came across the Junky Car Club today... This seems like a neat idea to me

Junky Car Club members are learning to live with less so we can give more. We're a bunch of happy drivers who are politely rebelling against consumerism by driving junky cars. We encourage our members to use their dough to support social justice causes instead of making fat car payments. We believe in environmental stewardship and hanging onto things a little longer. Junky Car Club members sponsor kids living in poverty through Compassion International.

I ride the bus for a similar reason. We switched to a 2000 mini van as part of our on going goal to just spend less on "things" If junky cars, saving money and donating to the poor can become cool - I think I'm in favour.

via

iThoughts and cool culture

2008-08-03T13:47:00.003-04:00

I have been thinking about technology and consumerism a lot lately. It plays into my decision on why I am quitting my job at the end of the summer* There have been a number of great post on it in the last few days.

Empire Remixed has thoughts on media interviewing people people that slept out side to be the first to have an iPod

Why is it that we celebrate those who sleep on the street in order to consume, and yet shun those who sleep on the street because they can’t afford to be anywhere else…what is wrong with us?

Jordon Cooper takes on the culture of cool.

Culture and coolness is local. It’s all local. When I am in rural Saskatchewan, a leather John Deere ball cap is cool and a very important part of culture. Yet when I hear people in the church talk about culture, we talk about “emerging culture” (there is no such thing), or global culture (sorry, culture is awfully localized). The thinking is what is cool in San Francisco or New York is going to be cool in Saskatoon or Calgary is incorrect. I always cringe when I read my blog as being listed as an important blog to read for understanding culture. That is totally incorrect, you don’t understand culture by reading a blog about culture, you learn about culture by observing it or living in it. Now there are those that are completely oblivious to popular culture but they aren’t trying to be cool anyways.

I've been walking through this sort of stuff and should really get my thoughts down, but for now others continue to give me good things to think about

* Sorry if you haven't heard the news on the job change, I should really get around to writing about the eh?

I'm being tracked

2008-07-31T09:46:00.003-04:00

I've been noticing the content of the user specific ads that appear all around us - Google, Gmail, Facebook etc.

Today on Facebook I saw the following Ad title

"Is someone tracking you?"

umm...yeah.... Facebook

Please think of your reading public

2008-07-28T13:42:00.004-04:00

Public Service Reminder to the People that blog

IF YOUR BLOG IS NOT ABOUT YOUR KIDS (or family) AND SUDDENLY YOU HAVE KIDS. DO NOT START POSTING EVER PICTURE YOU TAKE OF YOUR KID.

I read you blog for the tech/theology/wit/knowledge/whatever. I love your blog and that's why you're on my RSS feed. One picture was nice - now.... stop.

......hmm do I link to the offending web site? sure

Because I have yet to say something cool.

2008-06-06T14:14:00.002-04:00

I have yet to read much (ok, anything) of G.K. Chesterton, But I have read many quotes from him in my reading of Marshall McLuhan - So in the interest of the "sound bite" here are some excellent quote that I stumbled on...

Happy Birthday, G.K. Chesterton! «:

"Here are a few of my favorite G.K. Chesterton quotes:

- “The point of an open mind, like having an open mouth, is to close it on something solid.”

- “Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”

- “The artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs.”

- “By a curious confusion, many modern critics have passed from the proposition that a masterpiece may be unpopular to the other proposition that unless it is unpopular it cannot be a masterpiece.”

- “The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do not say.”

- “You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion.”

- “It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.”

- “All science, even the divine science, is a sublime detective story. Only it is not set to detect why a man is dead; but the darker secret of why he is alive.”

- “There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.”

- “These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own"

Maybe I should go to the library tonight... and try to find some of these.

Stoopid Stoopid Stoopid

2008-06-04T13:36:00.002-04:00

I should know better than to leave chocolate covered almonds on my desk before I eat lunch (maybe just in general too)

I think I just ate a half pound.

mmmmm....

Turn up the Computer

2008-06-03T14:58:00.002-04:00

I just recently was told I should tell people about some of the little things that I use on my computer that "normal" people don't know about.

If you like music.... never have enough new or old tunes check out LAST.FM

It plays music based on an artist or a style you tell it you like and it does a great job of learning your tastes. I started with U2 and was not surprised that it found a bunch of similar music - Sting, REM, etc. But, when I went back to my obscure tastes it found knew - The Prayer Chain... and suggested other music that I loved back in the 90's

You don't have to create an account to test it out, but if you do it starts to remember you tastes and make your own stations. I think I'm going to add the Facebook app.

Robotic Arms of the Present

2008-06-02T12:12:00.001-04:00

It is not often I see a video clip that impresses me. The following link has clip of some of the robotics work that will help people that have lot/never had arms. It is really cool to see where technology is at.
I'm too lazy to embed the video myself - click through to enjoy.
Dean Kamen's Robot Arm Grabs More Publicity | Gadget Lab from Wired.com:

(For the McLuhan fans... this is a case of a technology being a literal extension of man.)

A new message on this old medium

2008-05-14T20:44:00.006-04:00

So look here is a post.
I'll give you a minute to recover.

It's been a long time since I've written ANYTHING. Not here - Not anywhere.
It's not like nothing has happened. umm let's see.

Got Married. - could have written about that eh?
thought I should at least write about that. I will keep Brea's mentions to a minimum because she like to keep a low web profile.

But - I am back wanting to write. I think, what I care about has changed, or is in the process of changing.

It started with a book by Shane Hipps and his thought on media, faith and the church - but also his focus on the writings of Marshall Mcluhan on the laws of media. I've started to look at how the church adopt technology with out much thought as to the effects. It has really caused me to think about how we use technology in our faith - in our lives - everywhere.

I don't want to say that this is the beginning of some new blogging experience. Been there done that But I do want to start some conversations about how I think we are just buying into the flow of technology and consumerism (yeah, I'm on that pony too)

Not sure what that is going to look like yet... but here we go.

Don't worry it's gone

2007-11-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

This site has never seen so much traffic as when I attempted to post something from my friend (who will remain nameless to keep him out of trouble) who is passionate about the homeless.

Organizations that SAY they are out to help to help people (they will remain nameless because they tend to get upset) get upset when a passionate guys tries to alert people to what it is really like out there.

I know how hard he works to help people find housing and get off the streets - and these organizations that SAY they are about serving people spend more time Googling their organization's name than actually serving people. So the post is gone. So is my support of the organizations... I would name them and tell people how much they suck, but that would go against my friends desire to see basic human needs addressed - while organizations chase unauthorized use of first names that of people I doubt they even know, because they are too busy on their computer... I won't tell you how long it took you to see it...gosh

luckily for us all no one reads this blog... except the vain organizations - so you all go back to your computers - a homeless person can curl up against it for the heat.

By the way.... the post. Full of Truth.
If the truth hurts, then do something about it already. I know how many meetings he goes to where you TALK about doing stuff... sheesh. worry about that already.

mmmm... Bar - be - que

2007-03-22T21:46:00.000-04:00

I am supposed to be doing mt tax return.

Instead I am posting BBQ links for your reading pleasure.

The BBQ Report
Texas Barbecue Festival
How to BBQ Canadian Bacon
The Canadian Barbecue Association
BBQ Bill

Ok... back to productive life.
(I hear that laughing)

When the day is said and done

2007-03-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

The day was a stressful one. I won't get into it but it was... But tonight at The Gig we had a meeting where we (those leading the charge) had a chance to talk about the vision of the venue side - The Gig Theatre - and all that it's about.

I feel God saying, "This is what you are about" - I felt relaxed and calm and ready to change the city. There were excited faces and people that get it - and I believe more will come. When you stop and tell people about all that has happening in 15 months - wow cool things are happening.

I saw the excitement in the eyes of a guy named Doug. He said "I didn't think such a place existed" - this is not the first time I have heard this from people. It is so cool that people are coming to discover The Gig (and sometimes from such strange circumstances or referrals) But here is a guy that is passionate about art, music and tech and is (was) looking for a place to be in community and worship God. :)

Thanks to everyone that has seen my stress over the last little bit -it's not going away just yet. But I know that God is changing the way that I look at life... we'll see where that goes.

Sunny Flordia - I think...

2007-03-15T22:54:00.000-04:00

I left Kitchener thinking that I would blog about my fine trip to Florida and post pictures and write about the ups and downs. Well obviously that hasn't happened.

Here's the nutshell:

-Drive 12 hours with a backseat driver that is way too excitable and has to go to the bathroom much too often. Stopped for food at Cracker Barrel and KFC woo! (sarcastic woo)
- Had to sleep in bed with Trevor Belec.
- Drive 12 hours (see above only I can't remeber the food now)
- Arrive. Nice house we have rented, pool six bedrooms (no more sharing a bed)
- Wednesday - a day of absolutly nothing that Trevor and I managed to have the house to our selves. Sat by the pool with two laptops and music and pizza. Now THAT'S a day off. (and no backseat drivers to be found) - although it took us most of the day to figure out how to get online... no stealing WIFI this year. I don't recomend netZero, but it is working for the three days we need it.
- Thursday. Trade show day one. Trevor and I headout on our own to take on the show floor. lots of audio toys and cool stuff. Not quite Christmas like...but lots of neat stuff for sure.
- the company was taken out for supper. Some neat place that serves all these different forms of meat right off the BBQ slab (Not quite a Texas BBQ so no need to be jealous Mike and Em) certainly I night of fine food. I am not going to bed hungry.

Tomorrow we have a consultants breakfast at.....7:30 crap! I should be in bed. see my dedication to you people.

THAT'S IT I QUIT !!!

2007-03-11T23:35:00.000-04:00

no, I've not quit my job or anything like that. I have decided that no matter what, the next week is going to be stress free. Well, as stress free as a business trip to Florida can be. Tomorrow morning the gang from work and I head out for sunny Orlando. (Figures that we leave just as the weather get nice)

I decided today that because the last few (87) weeks have been stressful, I am going to enjoy this trip. It is my kind of gadety, tech filled greatness that I enjoy. And even better I have Trevor with me so it's not me and the old folks like the past few years. Maybe we find something to do at night other than sit around the house.

Anyway... to everyone around me that has put up with my stressed out person the last few weeks, sorry about that. I hoping that I can leave that below the border.

Might even try and post some touristy shots if I have some time.

This is the stuff that make me mad

2007-03-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

There is a story in the Toronto Star about a church called the Prayer Palace. To people in my family we will know this name because my uncle (and the company I work for) has a long history with the pastor and his dirty business dealings. Paul Melnichuk is the so called pastor in this sell proclaimed church. This "church" collects money in the name of God and seemingly does little to nothing for the communities that are around it. The article goes on to document the ways that Melnichuk and his sons are seeming ripping off a primarily low income congregation:

[Hyacinthe Houghron] scrapes together $600 of her own money each month to keep up the program because the Prayer Palace – one of Canada's largest evangelical churches – stopped running it five years ago. Other charitable works, like a promised orphanage in Brazil, either dried up or never materialized.
Meanwhile, the three white pastors – Paul Melnichuk and his 40-year-old twin sons, Tim and Tom – lead lavish lives in contrast to the mainly working-class black families that make up the bulk of the church.
Between them, the pastors have amassed a real estate fortune worth about $12 million. Each owns a multi-million-dollar country estate north of Toronto (Tim's is worth as much as $5.5 million), they share a Florida vacation villa, and the pastors and their wives drive luxurious cars – among them a Porsche Cayenne SUV, a Lexus RX 330 SUV and a Mercedes-Benz CLK 320 convertible.

This guy and his family are everything that I don't want to be associated with, yet they march around calling themselves Christians. Someone in the article is quoted as saying God will judge if they are truly doing something wrong. I do believer that is true, but there is a part of me that wishes that guys like this would come face to face with Jesus in real time... much like the money changers in the temple courts.

It is things like this that turn people off of God. But I think God hates this abuse of leadership more that we can imagine, and I will take some peace in knowing that someday these men will get what is coming to them.

It also makes me mad that these things get the press and the churches and organizations that are working hard to feed and shelter the poor will could be painted with the same brush. Grrr.

Sad sunny day

2007-02-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

I'm sad today because I can't find my suglasses.
They were the neat blue ones I wear in my avatar --->

I know I lost them sometime last Thursday. I've looked everywhere I can think that I might have put them down. But, I have a bad feeling they have fallen out of my pocket. The worst part is that because they are prescription no one has stolen them, so somewhere they are just sitting.

I hate to think about spending money to replace them... and I should go get my eyes checked, which is just more money. DOH.