Um sorry about that

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.