I’m one of those people who often makes fun of church signs. Many of them kill me, mainly because they are so poorly thought out and corny that any intended Good News Message is lost on me.
For instance, one of my all-time favorites read:
If you can read this, you can go to heaven.
I suppose if you can’t read, can’t see or can’t read English you are damned. I know I’m putting way too much thought into these signs, but it’s something I do.
That said, there is the little church on the Rankin County backroads I travel from Florence to Brandon all the time. It usually has great signs. And the one it had this weekend was the greatest I’ve seen.
Because it’s taken from a distance, it’s hard to read. Let me save you the visit to Flickr. It reads:
When Jesus spoke
people often asked
Who Dat Who Dat
Some may say, “That’s bad,” or, “That’s a bit blasphemous.” But I like it. It shows character and fun. And you can still go to heaven regardless of whether or not you read it (or cheered for the Saints).
I’ve been reading several books that hit along the theme of finding your interests and building a professional life around those. Most tend to have you look back at your childhood and young adult life, remembering the things that gave you the sweetest taste of life when you did them.
Over at Betterer, Jasmine does just this:
Remember when you were 13, 14 years old, and made little projects for yourself that really mattered? Learning a musical instrument, swimming competitively (Hi, Crystal!), painting banners for your annual Girl Guides campfire, learning web design … the list goes on, and my question is: Remember when all that mattered was doing your best? When your friends who were in the same courses or classes as you were supportive and real friends, not competitors?
As we grow older we’ve learnt to focus more on survival, less on self-cultivation. Surviving the next day at work, another promotion given to someone else, a friend or acquaintance getting more popular and self-confident; our egos shrink from perceiving that others are doing better, so we inflate that ego to increase self-worth for a mere moment, then divert our energies towards talking about others, criticising them internally so we can focus less on making our lives work just that little bit smoother, and perhaps better.
She goes on to write about her theme for 2010 being humility, which I think is a great theme for life in general. Lord knows I’ve lived it lately, purposefully or not.
As a parting gift, here are two books that I’d recommend if you are interested in reading/learning more about tapping into that sweet spot (affiliate links):
- Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin
The first approaches the subject matter from a Christian perspective. I’m not crazy about some of the Bible translations used (especially The Message Bible), but the verses are spot-on in backing up the message.
The second is one of Godin’s best books. I’m in the middle of it right now, and I recommend it highly.
Regi Campbell has one of the most interesting approaches to mentoring I’ve heard about. Each year he chooses eight young men who agree to a covenant for a year-long mentoring program. The covenant is strict and serious, and it binds these men not only during the year of mentoring but for the future, when they agree to mentor eight young men themselves.
Mentor Like Jesus is Campbell’s guide to his program, which he calls Next Generation Mentoring.
In 1983, Campbell began mentoring young men at his church. These were one-on-one sessions over lunch or coffee. He was beginning to be stretched thin with the number of young men who wanted his advice. Then one day he heard author Tim Elmore speak. What Elmore said changed Campbell’s approach to mentoring:
More time spent with fewer people equals greater kingdom impact.
Campbell has spent nearly 10 years with his approach to mentoring. He writes about how he woke up one morning and realized his approach was nothing new. In fact, it was a model designed by Jesus.
Throughout Mentor Like Jesus, Campbell explores the key elements to building a mentoring program that can have lasting impact on the lives of other people. Each step of the way he relates these approaches to the teachings and life of Jesus Christ.
Campbell outlines 11 “key ingredients” to Next Generation Mentoring:
- Mentoring on purpose.
- Making it a selfless endeavor.
- Creating a group mentoring environment.
- Handpicking the participants.
- Mentoring for a defined period of time.
- Placing Scripture at the core of the program.
- Encouraging both public and private prayer.
- Modeling your faith in a transparent way.
- Teaching from experience.
- Ensuring a mutual commitment from mentor and mentorees.
- Requring mentorees to pay it forward.
While Campbell writes mainly from the mentor perspective in an effort train others to become effective mentors, even those who are seeking a mentoring relationship with someone can gain much from this book. Ensuring this is one of Campbell’s mentorees, Richard Chancy, who writes a “Mentoree Perspective” at the end of each chapter.
Mentoring programs are quite common in professional settings. Coming from smaller church families, I’ve never been involved in a Christian-based mentoring program such as this. The closest I’ve come is a men’s Bible study. Most of the “social” mentoring programs with which I’m familiar are for youths, and I’ve served as mentors in these before. Had only I read this book first, my mentorees would have likely been better served.
Past that, this book left me hungry for the bonds that can be forged with such a group. As a result, I started reaching out to a few friends who share similar interests and a passion for Christ to form a small group. It won’t be a mentoring group, or a Bible study, per se. Perhaps it will be more of a “support group” for life’s little challenges, or a mutually beneficial mentoring group. In the end, the idea will be the same: To forge meaningful, long-lasting relationships that offer opportunities for personal and spiritual growth.
Note: I received Mentor Like Jesus through a promotion from Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. While Thomas Nelson did not publish Mentor Like Jesus, Hyatt was so impressed with the book he gave away 100 copies. I wholeheartedly recommend subscribing to Hyatt’s blog. It is one of my most-read.
Apple’s release of iPad have led to a number of excellent pieces discussing where the new device fits into the computing needs/desires of people. The release also led to three excellent pieces that look not (only) at the iPad and its possible impact but instead on the future of computing.
All three of these pieces share a common theme to some degree:
The future of personal computing is here, and it is very different than the current omnipotent desktop model we have today.
First is my favorite piece, from Steven Frank:
In that really incredibly short space of time we’ve gone from punchcards-and-printers to interactive terminals with command lines to window-and-mouse interfaces, each a paradigm shift unto themselves. A lot of thoughtful people, many of whom are bloggers, look at this history and say, “Look at this march of progress! Surely the desktop + windows + mouse interface can’t be the end of the road? What’s next?”
Then “next” arrived and it was so unrecognizable to most of them (myself included) that we looked at it said, “What in the shit is this?”
Next up is Frasier Spears, a teacher and developer of FlickrExport. From Spears:
For years we’ve all held to the belief that computing had to be made simpler for the ‘average person’. I find it difficult to come to any conclusion other than that we have totally failed in this effort.
Secretly, I suspect, we technologists quite liked the idea that Normals would be dependent on us for our technological shamanism. Those incantations that only we can perform to heal their computers, those oracular proclamations that we make over the future and the blessings we bestow on purchasing choices.
Ask yourself this: in what other walk of life do grown adults depend on other people to help them buy something? Women often turn to men to help them purchase a car but that’s because of the obnoxious misogyny of car dealers, not because ladies worry that the car they buy won’t work on their local roads.
Finally is John Gruber. This piece is admittedly the most iPad-centric. From Daring Fireball:
That’s where Apple is taking computing. A car with an automatic transmission still shifts gears; the driver just doesn’t need to know about it. A computer running iPhone OS still has a hierarchical file system; the user just never sees it.
That’s not to say there aren’t trade-offs involved. Car enthusiasts (and genuine experts like race car drivers) still drive cars with manual transmissions. They offer more control; they’re more efficient. But the vast majority of cars sold today are automatics. So too it’ll be with computers. Eventually, the vast majority will be like the iPad in terms of the degree to which the underlying computer is abstracted away. Manual computers, like the Mac and Windows PCs, will slowly shift from the standard to the niche, something of interest only to experts and enthusiasts and developers.
Brent Simmons hits the nail on the head with my thoughts about how Apple adapted iWork for the iPad and how other apps should follow suit. His NetNewsWire for iPhone is a prime example:
My concern, though, is that people may think that Mac apps should include every possible feature and preference. The reasoning would be like this: “It’s not an iPad or iPhone. It’s a computer. Therefore it’s for power users. Therefore it should be totally customizable and have every feature anybody might want.”
That would be a big mistake.
My hope, instead, is that Mac users and developers (all developers are users too, by the way) learn even better the virtues of focused, opinionated software that pays attention to experience more than to long feature lists and heavy preference windows. I hope we see even better Mac software.
Via inessential.com: Bad Gravity.
After a long day of work yesterday and then the State of the Union last night, I finally got to read all the coverage of the iPad and watch the keynote and iPad video before going to bed.
Here are my morning-after thoughts:
- Really impressed with the way their native iPhone apps have been rewritten for iPad. Calendar looks awesome. Mail functionality looks great. Contacts… meh.
- Likewise, smart move to make iPhone apps port to iPad.
- I see the potential for big changes to print media industries, which I suspected all along. Surprised more time was not dedicated to that. (i.e. Magazines or comic books)
- Did you notice that Apple “built” a mapping app? All but confirms what we’ve heard about Apple splitting as much from Google as they can. (Have to keep YouTube, though.)
- Jobs pitched it as fitting between the iPhone and the MacBook, and it shows in several of the apps, such as Safari, Calendar, Photos, Video and iTunes. All have more Mac-like functionality than iPhone versions.
- Notes is still ugly, despite the ability to have a list of all the notes beside it with the current note circled.
- iBook looks a bit like Classics. The book formats are ePub, which rocks! And the iBook Store is integrated, which is great.
- iWork for iPad. On one hand, I’m not sure that I’d do a lot of presentations or spreadsheets on the iPad. On the other hand, it’s great to be able to do so. Furthermore, it’s a hint toward the future of what apps can be ported to the iPad.
- App icon spacing on the Home Screen seems a bit wide. Too much dead space.
- 10 hours of battery life? Sold!
- Love the keyboard dock and the case. Love more that it has Bluetooth and can connect to wireless Apple keyboards.
- Pricing blew me away. Even the 3G service prices, with no contracts mind you, were impressive.
- That Apple is sticking with AT&T for the 3G service special pricing is a good indicator that their relationship will continue. That iPad is open could indicate either a) next version of iPhone is open, or b) a second version of iPhone for Verizon. (I’m betting the former rather than the latter, if either.)
Like with any new Apple product, I’ve enjoyed reading the speculation and seeing the hype. I’m an Apple fanboy, no mistake. That said, I’ve not been overly excited about the iPad. I haven’t seen exactly where it fits in for consumers. My best assumption — and, as a former journalist, my greatest hope — was that it would revolutionize printed media like the iPod did music.
While it is way too early to pass judgement on such an idea (especially seeing as how the iPad is not even yet for sale), it does look astoundingly possible. The New York Times app displayed, which is essentially the Times Skimmer, seems to be the first step toward what actual newspaper and magazine apps will be. The major difference, of course, being the inclusion of ads.
If the print industry is smart, the ads will not be the gaudy, annoying ads of their websites but the more elegantly designed ads of their print product, full of color and eye-grabbing design, perhaps with a bit of animation.
In the end, what I see in the iPad is the first generation of the next generation of computing. I see elegant apps that are more powerful than their iPhone counterparts but not as “feature” rich as their Mac versions. These are streamlined apps, superb at one or two things and joyously absent of bloat. In other words, Mac-like.
As was observed many times yesterday, the iPad is Apple’s netbook. It’s what “stripped down, mobile computing” should be. And, in my opinion, it’s one incarnation away from what mobile computing — faster paced, more productive and more entertaining — will one day be.
Tonight’s State of the Union address was different than I expected. I had no doubt the President would deliver a good speech, that I would agree with most of his policy points and that he would strike the right tone given the political and economic climate we face right now.
What was more uncertain to me was how forcefully he would push the more politically charged aspects of his agenda (health care reform, his jobs bill, etc.) and what bipartisan olive branches he would offer.
In some ways, I feared he might be too reconciliatory with a Republican opposition that is growing exponentially more negative and abrasive. Given what happened in Massachusetts and the increased concern being expressed by some Blue Dog Democrats over their re-election bids, a placating speech of platitudes was easy to fear. My fears were misplaced.
President Obama delivered a speech that offered policy concessions to the Republicans while at the same time making clear that he was not backing down from his agenda. In fact, he challenged Democratic leaders in Congress not to back down but to move forward, and he made clear to Republicans in the Senate that if they acted as obstructionists they would bear the burden of an ineffectual government before the voters.
In other words, he acknowledged the political reality of the Senate and signaled his willingness to accept Republican proposals on key issues like energy policy and health care. At the same time, he made clear that Democrats were overwhelmingly elected to lead Congress based on the pledges they made and the policies the proposed. It’s not time to run from those policies but to stand and fight.
Health care reform. Higher education reform. A jobs bill. Ending the war in Iraq. Strengthening our forces in Afghanistan. Protecting our civil liberties. These are all ideas on which Senator Obama campaigned, and on which the American people elected him President Obama. He’s made clear, he’s not backing down.
Over the weekend I decided to follow the lead of Patrick Rhone over at MinimalMac. I downsized my iPhone homepage to the 11 apps I use daily — eight apps on the homepage and three in the dock.
I then moved my other most-used apps to the second page. My plan had been to move whatever apps I used regularly throughout the week to the homepage. But a funny thing happened: I started enjoying the 11-app homepage. The minimalism of the homepage keeps me from going to my phone for one thing and then saying, “Ah. Look. I have something new from Facebook.”
At the same time, I never felt hassled by swiping over to the second page for anything there.
In reality, I use the apps on the homepage several times per day. Some of the apps one the second page are used daily — a few more than once daily — but are not “critical”.
As for my dock, I moved Mail and Safari to the homepage because I was often tempted to jump on them — especially Mail when I saw the badge saying I had several email.
Instead, in the dock I went with Phone, Things and Tweetie. Phone, for obvious reasons; Things, because it keeps me productive; and Tweetie because I love it so much. (I honestly believe Tweetie is the most enjoyable app to use that I have on my iPhone.)
So there you have it. That’s my Top 11 apps. It may grow someday, but for now, I’m good.
Glad to know I’m not the only person whose prayers often wander from their original intent.
Via Meditation for (Christian) Dummies from Shrinking the Camel:
I’ve never meditated like that before, although I do try to find a quiet place from time to time, first thing in the morning, to read a passage from the bible and possibly even to spend a few minutes praying. I like those quiet times. But praying is difficult because my mind tends to go all over the place, just like he said.
Dear Jesus, Lord in heaven, thank you for this new day. I pray for my daughter today, that you would give her safe travels today as she leaves for that school ski trip, and that you would help her to be open to you and that you would help her to become a strong, fine, young Christian woman who remains chaste and doesn’t have sex until she gets married or at least for a very, very long time, and I hope she doesn’t make any mistakes- even though I of course have made mistakes, but doesn’t everyone? So why should I be so controlling over her? She’ll be OK. Oh my Gosh! Today is the meeting with the attorneys about the joint-venture! Oh Lord, I pray that it goes well! Please let it go well. Hmmm, I wonder if Jeff has printed out all those documents. Did I review everything? I hope Barker isn’t there. He’s such an idiot. Oops, sorry Lord! Um…what was I praying about? Oh yeah, the ski trip. I pray that she doesn’t get hurt and that you would protect her. I wonder what time it is? Geez, I better get going if I want to get Starbucks before work…”
If you are interested in meditating, the entire post is worth a read.
On Wordpress Backups and Disqus Comments
February 8, 2010 · Comments
in Technology
Wordpress and I are not getting along lately. Don’t get me wrong: I love Wordpress. To me, it’s the best blogging platform around. I’ve toyed with Tumblr, Posterous and Blogger. And I’ve never left Wordpress.
It started last week when some of my tables corrupted. I knew I had not backed up in a few days, maybe a week. I didn’t realize I had not done so in two months. (That’s what happens when your weekend schedule gets messed up over the holidays.)
At the first of the year, I did a lot of work on the site. Most of it was backend work, like redoing all of my categories and reassigning posts to them. There was a bit of visual work, too, but that didn’t take as long to replicate.
After getting my site back up and running, I made two changes:
After installing WP Database Backup, I noticed I was not getting my daily backups. I checked my settings, and everything was as it should be. When I had logged into my dashboard, I had noticed a new comment. Checking my email spam folder, I found no database backup and no notice of my new comment.
I tinkered for quite a while and discovered that I could get updates to my MobileMe address but not to my domain email address. Finally, I searched the Wordpress.org forums and found others have the same problem. They all share another similarity: No solution.
Thus, I installed Disqus for comments. So far, I really like the functionality. I’m not crazy about the aesthetics, which somewhat clash with the rather minimalist look of my site. But as Ian Hines said via Twitter:
Now I get my comment notifications just as I should, but Wordpress is still refusing to email me. As a work-around, I’ve got my WP Database Backups going to my MobileMe account.
Nonetheless, everything is “working”, even if it’s not all working right. Getting it right will be for another day.