Hey Windows Phone, I Need This App! Sponsored by Windows Phone

Yesterday was an extremely painful day. I learned that a good friend of our family, Nick, was killed in a car accident on his way to his new post in California. Tears have been shed, questions asked, but…there has been no doubt. My brother has gone home to his heavenly Father. Nick was an awesome example of…well everything. Father, soldier, husband, Christian, guitarist, ultimate Frisbee player.

Going ahead of the rest of his friends and family, he has reached the place we all dream of going to. Left here to carry on God’s will for their lives, are his wife Miranda, and two sons, Schriever and David.

Nick has left a legacy that none of friends will ever forget. Humble, quiet, sincere, strong, passionate (oh, how many times I have yearned for passion like his). He was such a godly young man, who, no doubt, fulfilled his earthly duties for the Kingdom. He will be sorely missed, as we wait our turn to join him. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Memories of Nick:

Read: News Article, my Sister’s post | Love Song by Jason Morant

 

This is one of those too-funny-not-to-post articles that I saw today, and just had to share:

•   Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
• Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
• Both were shot in the back of the head in the presence of their wives.
• Lincoln was shot in the Ford Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln, made by Ford
• Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
• Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
• Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
• Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
• Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
• Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.' Kennedy was shot in a car called 'Lincoln' made by 'Ford.'
• Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse. Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theater.
• Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

 

(This is for all my fellow tech-geeks out there). My personal battle between Mac and Windows has been raging since the beginning of the year. I am a traditional Windows user mainly because I grew up with it (what regular Joe in the nineties wanted a Mac anyway?). My family started out with a Windows 95, and boy the excitement when we bought a Windows XP in 2002! Now, I own my own Windows 7 laptop, which is sooo amazing (be quiet Mac-lovers). The thing is, I’ve never really played around with a Mac, so I couldn’t bring myself to call judgment. Well two weeks ago, I was able to play around with my friend’s Mac laptop (no- I don’t know what edition). I had the hardest time! First off it was backwards (or is Windows backwards?). Who knows! Anyway, it seemed, well, foreign. Now if I played around with it more would I like it? More than likely not. I have had way too many bad experiences with Apple software, mainly iTunes. However I really like the menu, and the gadget window~thingy. I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing those features were and wondering how I could get a similar one fro my Windows 7. Then last week, my mom replaced our 2002 Windows XP (it had a whole 256mb RAM and 40gb hard drive!), with a Windows 7 desktop by Dell. On it was a dock menu. It was perfect! The kicker? You have to have a Dell computer to run it (what?!?).  So I went in search for a replacement. After several bad menus, I found ObjectDock. This was it! Exactly what I’ve been waiting for. It’s a great replacement for the taskbar…only you have to move the taskbar from the bottom to the top (or the sides) check the ‘auto-hide’ button. It takes a little while to set up, but once it’s finished, it’s worth every minute spent on it. The only difference between ObjectDock (picture) and the Dell dock is that OD does not have a submenu. But overall is a great menu. I would totally recommend that you download it it and try it out. Let me know if you like it or what your thoughts are.

It has been two or three years since TobyMac’s release of Portable Sounds, and I waited patiently for his new release. Okay, maybe ‘patiently’ doesn’t quite describe how I waited. But I waited, nonetheless. Some call me obsessed, but I like to think of myself as- dedicated. I am dedicated to listening to an artist’s music, I am dedicated to seeing that artist in concert, and I am dedicated to promoting the artist (i.e. a blog post). So when I heard about it’s release date, I was even more excited. So my sister picked it up for me when she saw it, and I immediately popped it into the cd player. Let me tell you something: some people get worse as they go (in my opinion), and some stay consistant, but TobyMac just gets better and better and better. He is able to transition his style to make keep it modern for the ‘modern’ crowd, but he also keeps some of his personal style, which is mainly found in the lyrics. In a way he is similar to the Newsboys who have been around for how long? Being able to change your style in little ways, I think, will keep you floating longer. Tonight is by far the best of TobyMac’s works. While some songs are mirror images of previous one (“Showstopper” is very much like “The Slam”), there are still some really good songs on the cd. Some of my favorites are ‘Tonight’, ‘City on our Knees’, ‘Hold On’, and ‘Get Back Up. And there are the so-so songs ‘Showstopper’ and ‘Funky Jesus Music’. But all in all this is an awesome cd. TobyMac’s Tonight gets a five star rating from me, hands down.

 

 

It is so nice to succeed at something. You get the feeling of “Yeah. I did it!”, but it is really God that gets us where we need to go. And, oh, the Lord blessed me with some wisdom, yesterday, that led to (drum roll, please): THE INSTALLATION OF DOTNETNUKE ON WINDOWS 7. I was so happy! After a lot of technical errors (that I will not get into for the sanity of my readers), it finally installed. So, I will be working on my first two websites this summer, and hopefully be working with the Do Hard Things Documentary team in designing the graphics. Please check the ‘DHT Friends’ sidebar regularly, as I will be making a list of friends/acquaintances from my area and on the DHT Forum.

 

 

 

How beautiful the hands that served
the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful the feet that walked
the long dusty roads
and the hills to the cross.
How beautiful,
how beautiful,
how beautiful is the body of Christ.
How beautiful the heart that bled
that took all my sin
and bore it instead.
How beautiful the tender eyes
that chose to forgive
and never despise.
How beautiful,
how beautiful,
how beautiful is the body of Christ.
And as He laid down His life
we offer this sacrifice
that we will live just as He died:
willing to pay the price,
willing to pay the price.
How beautiful the radient Bride
who waits for her Groom
with His light in her eyes.
How beautiful when humble hearts give
the fruit of pure lives
so that others may live.
How beautiful,
how beautiful,
how beautiful is the body of Christ.
How beautiful the feet that bring
the sound of good news
and the love of the King.
How beautifull the hands that serve
the wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful,
how beautiful,
how beautiful is the body of Christ.

 

 

Google: v. to search the internet via the Google search engine. ex- He googled the person he had met at the party.

Oh, yes. We hear it all the time, “I don’t know. Let me google it”. Everyone recognizes the word, uses the word, hears the word, and writes the word (even though spell check doesn’t see it as a word…there added to the dictionary). I am a Google freak to put it mildly. I google anything I don’t know. Wikipedia is usually my second option, but I usually reach it by Google. I am not limited by it’s search engine, though. I use Blogger.com, Google Docs, Gmail, Chrome, Desktop, Earth,  Sketchup, News, Reader, YouTube, Analytics, Maps, Dictionary, Video, and Squared. Wow, I didn’t even realize how much I really use it.

This being said, maybe you can understand my utter disappointment. The other morning (April 1st), I saw the headline on my homepage (surprisingly its Google.com). Google was no longer, instead it was Topeka. Now, I can google something, but I refuse to topeka something. It doesn’t ring, it was the worst business move ever, and I will be saying google for the rest of my life! I was almost in tears trying to come to the realization of this life changing name switch. I was determined to find out Google’s reason for this. So what did I do? *Ahem*. I googled it. And who knew! It was an April Fool’s prank!

Oh, I was exceedingly happy over this discovery. I don’t know what I would do without Google. I just hope there are no real name changes in store for the future.

 

Learn more about Google | Google Something! | Join the Googlers

 

Yes. I have returned. A lot has been going on since my last post, like always. I have been pretty productive, though (ahem…not as far as my reading list, however). I have become very busy with some website stuff just now. I have also been struggling to install DotNetNuke on my Windows 7 machine. SQL has been the biggest problem with it. Someone said they think it is because I am using Windows 7, but I have seen a few people who have installed it with no problems. So while my own DotNetNuke problems have been lingering in the background, I am working with a fellow rebelutionary in building a website for his organization. We had a little trouble with that installation, too, but we got it to work. Right now we’re working on getting a skin together, and after that we should be able to start getting modules and pages together. So things have really picked up really fast. I am still in school and will graduate in May this year, and I have been planning and planting my family’s garden, and preparing for our farm business this summer. Oh, yes. My reading list for this spring…has gotten nowhere. I have not finished one book! I am a failure when it comes to a reading list. I mean, last year I read two books, Peace Like a River, and Rebecca. The kicker: none were on my list to read. Right now, I am starting to work my way through Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are. My summer list will probably not be completed either, because of working the farm, interning, and building the website. So this is the first of a few post I need to get out of my system. More will follow.

Well, I have been very busy recently revamping this blog. Not only does it have a new look with a new search box, but it now has pages! One of the first things I did was move 'My Jukebox' onto it's own separate page so now music does not immediately play when you enter my site. I also put a brief profile on a page, and a 'My Bookshelf' page to remove some of the clutter off the side bar. (Just as a quick note: if you have not noticed, the menu for the pages is located at the very top of this page directly under the Blogger navbar). Something else I did was create two Rebelution pages. iRebelution will house some projects of mine, but currently it has 'Start Here' promo material on there. Also, a temporary page, Rebelution Email Blast, is a page you can email to let friends and family know all about the Rebelution's new book. So, just in case you have not heard, there will be a Book Bomb on Amazon.com, February 23rd. So make sure you order on that day. To find out more about 'Start Here' visit the Rebelution. Other than that, not much else has been going on. I finally picked up my guitar for the first time in a over a month! And you can really tell I haven't picked it up in awhile. At least, that's what my fingers tell me.

Fifty-one years ago today, Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash. The inspiration for the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Don McLeon, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones, he was the pioneer of Rock-n-Roll.

To start off: I am not normal, and I have never claimed to be. So 'normal people' hold on to your seats: I have never watched an episode of American Idol. Whew, I'm glad to get that off my chest:) Brett and Alex, you are not alone. But it is from these guys that I heard about Maddy Curtis. The ninth of twelve kids (three of whom who have down-syndrom), she not only has a big heart filled with love for those three brothers, but an incredible voice, too. Check out her audition on American Idol:

Also, check out what the Harris brothers have to say about Maddy.

After a better-than-most sequel to last year's Cranford (Cranford Returns), Masterpeice presented Emma. I was pretty doubtful going in to it, especially after I saw Mr. Knightly (a very young Mr. Knightly). However, after last weeks's first episode, I thought it better than I anticicipated. Compared to the 1995 version of Emma, this one seems to be more comedic and modern. I just can't quite get used to the 'modern'. The rest are just little things I can forgive, but overall (so FAR), I can say this new version of Emma can slide by. My full review will come in two weeks, after it ends. To find out more about Emma, visit the Masterpiece Website.

The Beatles are a band that everyone knows about. I knew their name and their popularity, but not much else. Like, what made them so great or even what their music style was. Some of you might think I am deprived for having never listened to the Beatles until now (It’s okay. I get that a lot). I really had no interest in finding out more about them until I saw a spoof of one of their songs (Hey Jude sung by Hugh Laurie). Why did I listen to a spoof before I listened to the original song? I don’t know, probably the same reason I watched Chicken Run before I watched The Great Escape, I didn’t know there was an original. So, the past week I have been hanging out with Grooveshark listening to the Beatles, and I have to say that they have/had something. With a great rock/pop/original style and cryptic lyrics, they quickly made my ‘Favorites’ list, topping it is ‘Blackbird’. Anyway, they will be getting some attention from me for awhile. Have you listened to any of the Beatles? If so, what is your favorite song? If you have not listened to them*, here is your chance. This play list features some of their songs, that will hopefully give you an idea about what they are like. Enjoy!

*Even if you have listened to them feel free to listen some more!

A friend of mine showed me this really cool video about putting physical objects into the digital world. I found it interesting, not only how it was invented, but how it would totally affect daily tasks.

What do you think of this new technology? Is it overly ridiculous or just ingenious? A lot comes to mind about sci-fi movies with computer take-over plots. Should Sixth-Sense technology scare us to a certain degree? Will this give computers a bigger part in everyday life, or will they just become more accessible?

While it seems like this year just flew by, it also seems like it drug. It sounds crazy, but this is exactly how I feel. I have better hopes for completing more goals this year than in 2009. Writing a full list of most of the things I did last year is, to put it quite bluntly: embarrassing. I say it every year “I am going to create a list of goals, and I will complete those goals/projects before I pick up any more”. HA! Not only did I not stick to that plan, but I never wrote down that ‘list of goals’ in the first place. I hope, though, that this year, I will be more dedicated to completing my set goals (Don’t we all?). However, I did do some things in 2009 that were not goals at the beginning of the year. So, here are some highlights of 2009:

• Created The King’s Library
• Composed 5 instrumental pieces on guitar
• Saw Downhere in concert
• Read Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
• Read Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
• Traveled to Washington DC to the Rebelution Conference
• Began interning at my county’s Information Technology Services division

See what I mean by embarrassing? I mean, it looks like I was busy doing, well, nothing. But mind you, I was heavily involved in my county 4H program until September of this year. So between items on this list I was milking my dairy project cow, giving a presentation at three different levels, milking, planning some county fundraisers, milking, helping sew a 4H Centennial quilt, taking rabbits to the State Fair, milking, volunteering at the county fair, and…I’m missing something. Oh! Milking. Other than the holidays, things have quieted down quite a bit. Giving me some down time to actually make that list =)

Now looking ahead to 2010. Yikes. I have a lot more planned than I did last year, I think. So here are some things I will be doing and HOPE to be doing this year:

Books to Read (Jan-June):

• Team of Rivals by Dorris Kearns Goodwin
• Heart of the West by O’Henry
• So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger
• Captain Blood, Captain Blood Returns, and The Fortunes of Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Machine Stops by E M Forester

**Summer and Fall Reading to be announced**

Music Goals:

• Compose more instrumental pieces
• Write at LEAST 1 original song
• Record at least 2 songs by other authors/bands

Web and Graphics goals:

• Design my Family’s Farm Website
• Design 1-2 webpages
• Spice up this drab-of-a-blog
• Design some cool pics

MISC.:

• Graduate from high school
• Get more involved in the Rebelution movement
• Update this blog better

Well, easier said than done, unfortunately. But I am doing a lot of hoping. I’ll just need to keep to the grindstone to get it done. Any big plans for you this year? Do you have any secrets to completing some tough goals? I hope that whatever you have going on, you’ll have a good new year.