Coconut is Mmm Good!

Yes, I do love me some coconut.  Especially when you combine it with chocolate.  Give me a Mounds or even better an Almond Joy and I'll be a happy guy.  I even like the coconut milk, it's all good.

I recently discovered a new kind of coconut.  Actually it's a Mac app called coconutBattery.  What's cool about it that it displays the health of your battery.  My MacBook Pro is equipped with a Lithion-ion battery which I understood not to be subject to the battery memory affect which plagues the battery life of nickel cadmium batteries.  While at a customer site the subject of battery life came up while someone was admiring my MBP.  I boasted about the long battery life of my MBP (somewhat true) and added that it had Lithium-ion batteries which helped and had no memory issues.  I was quickly corrected that Lithium-ion batteries also suffer from the memory affect but just to a much lesser degree.  Also being a Mac user he then turned me on to this little FREE app called coconutBattery.

It's features aren't face melting but it is pretty cool that it can show you how much life your battery has lost since its purchase.  In my MBP, for example, I've owned it for 25 months now and have lost a little better than 10% of the battery already.  That sucks!!  It's gone through 569 battery cycles.  Hopefully that's not crazy high but could be giving the embarrassing amount of time I'm on the computer.

Anyway, I found it cool enough to share here.  I think the icon is pretty sweet too!

I'm getting organized, now!

Confession time.  My lack of attention to this blog is not from a lack of passion, writer's block, or anything of that sort.  Quite honestly, it's mostly just a lack of organization.  My mind tends to wonder quite a bit and I have a very short attention span.  I can't tell you how many times I've waisted what could have been a perfectly productive evening surfing the Internet.  My mind will go this direction and I totally forget all the things I told myself that I needed to do when I got home from work.

Sure, I make lists.  I even keep a little notepad in my back pocket to remind myself of all my to-do's and genius ideas!  The problem is I forget to look at my list or better yet I lose it!  I shudder to think of all my genius ideas that have ended up in the wash or in the trash.  [shudder]

My first worship videos!

Okay, so it's been over a month since I last posted anything and I promised I would be more active.  Oh well, such is life.

I finally got some time to publish two videos on YouTube that I created for a candlelight worship service.  So for your viewing pleasure here they are along with links for easy downloading of the full HD video files (Quicktime).  These are the first videos like this I've created so I'm still just learning.  I don't have any professional equipment or software; just a nice point & shoot Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS6 camera (shoots 720p HD video) and iMovie on my MacBook Pro.  I have dreams of learning to use After Effects but this is a start.

Looking Back, Marching Forward

Okay, so I know it’s getting a little late for a new year’s post but hey, I’ve been busy and it’s my blog so there.

2010 was a transformative year for me spiritually. As I reflect back on it what I realize now is that God planted many seeds in my life over the last several years that grew and gradually changed how I viewed other people and the world around me. Through Christian music I got inspiration to start making changes in my life and become a man of action instead of just going through the motions and settling for the easy road. Through my church and the Bible study group there I became a seeker of God instead of just taking the Bible at it’s literal interpretation. These things combined transformed me and allowed me to have a spiritual awakening that I haven’t felt since my youth. I have a sense now of what making God Lord of my life really means and I strive to live every day in the footsteps of His Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ. It isn’t always easy, but it isn’t supposed to be either.

Phase 1 Construction Complete!

The first phase of the BVCC website upgrade has been completed. We went “live” with the new website on Saturday, 12/18. Here are some of the new features incorporated in our website:

• BVCC Newsflash
• Blog for Rick - “Butler’s Pantry”
• BVCC Member Blog
• MCC Project Blog
• Disqus Commenting System for Blogs
• RSS Newsfeeds
• Online Newsletter Viewing & Archives
• Contact Us Form & Prayer Request Form
• Activites Calendar
• Search Feature

CAUTION: HARD HATS REQUIRED!

As you read this construction is taking place on the Blue Valley Christian Church website.  Heavy machinery may not be involved but there is still ongoing work.  We are upgrading the website to make it a more effective communication and outreach tool.  A considerable amount of thought and planning have gone into the website upgrade and this blog post is an attempt to unveil some of that.  But first an explanation of why this upgrade is needed.

The biggest reason is to make the process of updating the website easier.  Instead of having to know HTML formatting, the new website will allow non technical users the ability to change and add content much more easily.  The second reason is to give us a more flexible and dynamic website that will allow us to change the look and add different types of content and features more easily.  All of this will help us deliver a website that is more engaging, informative, and connecting.

So now that you know why, let me tell you how we are going to do this.  We have identified three phases to the upgrade of our website.  Here is a summary of those phases along with where we are and where there might be opportunities for you to pitch in.

We've Gone Wireless!!

It's true, Blue Valley Christian Church is now offering FREE WiFi service throughout the building! This will give guests and members easy access to the Internet while visiting BVCC.  It's our vision that this could be used to enhance Adult Formation Classes, expand upon the capabilities and uses of handheld devices, and add to our hospitality when we have guests using our building.  The signal strength is strong throughout the main level of the building so it should be very useful to guests and visitors.  For those "techies" out there we are broadcasting 802.11g (2.4 GHz) as well as the older 802.11b so people should have no problem connecting.  We hope that  guests, visitors, and members alike will enjoy this new offering.  So tell all your friends, BVCC is the latest WiFi Hotspot!

Sneak Peek of Projection System

On October 28th we finally got our video projection system installed at Blue Valley Christian Church.  Here are a couple pictures of me testing it out.....

This has been a long road of planning and talking with several audio/video professionals.  Our hope is that the system will enhance our current worship service and help us find new ways of experiencing God.  We plan to unveil the projection system on Sunday, October 24th during our regular morning worship.  

Other upcoming technology projects for BVCC will be a website upgrade, guest Wifi network, and video recording system among others.  I will be posting more information on these projects in the coming weeks.

BVCC Video Projection System Installation

Late last month we announced that a video projection system for Blue Valley Christian Church had been ordered. This follows our vision for Church transformed and will be used to enhance our worship services and experience of God at BVCC. There are many potential uses of this technology so we are very excited about this step forward.

We have been working with our installer, Stark Raving Solutions, on the details of the installation. The screen was already delivered this morning to the church and the installation of the system is scheduled for September 28th. The installation should take about 6 hrs and SRS will provide training at the end on how to use the new technology.

The projector we ended up with is the Mitsubishi WD-3300U. It is a DLP WXGA (1280x800) projector with a brightness of 4000 Lumens. We are fitting it with a special Navatar lens to project the image across the sanctuary. The screen is a Da-Lite Contour Electrol 54” x 96” (110" diagonal) 16:9 format screen. Computer and video connections along with screen controls will be installed in the sanctuary back wall adjacent to the visuals room. This will be the future location for all our audio/visual equipment for the sanctuary.

We are currently preparing for the installation by working with electrical contractors on installing the needed electrical outlets for the projector and screen. We will also be working on acquiring a media desk that we can use to securely house the audio/video equipment as well as purchasing a new computer to run the presentation software for the visuals. I am certainly excited about all the new possibilities this technology will give us and how God might use it to reach us in new ways.

A New Direction

I’ve decided to take my blog in a new direction. I’ve retitled it “The Way with Technology” and am going to post about how I’m leveraging technology to enhance my experience of God. The phrase “The Way” is an early Christian phrase referencing the way Jesus lived and the way He instructs us to live. This blog will also be a journal of how we will be using technology at my church, Blue Valley Christian Church, to enhance worship, to better reach out to people in our community (particularly tech savvy young adults), and to better serve our church members. So in the coming weeks and months you can expect to see our vision of how technology can be used to transform church along with how I am implementing it in my own spiritual journey.

Cutting the Chains

I got a couple funny looks recently when I walked into my Bible study group with a pair of bolt cutters in my hand. I quietly set them against the wall though without any explanation. You see that day was going to be the day I finally cut the chains that had been holding back my faith. My past prejudices would finally be broken and my heart would be free at last!

About four years ago my wife and I were very involved in a mission project with our church. Blue Valley Christian Church would periodically house homeless families through an organization called Interfaith Hospitality Network. Our role was to turn the church’s classrooms into temporary bedrooms and otherwise make the church a hospitable and welcoming place of rest for the families. During one of our volunteer group meetings someone presented the idea of putting a picnic table and/or chairs out on the church’s lawn so that our guests could enjoy the beautiful evenings outside during their stay. I thought this was a great idea and knew that Costco was currently selling folding picnic tables so I offered to pick one up for our next host week. It was a really nice table and cost us a couple hundred dollars so at the time I felt some apprehension about leaving it outside unsecured. Even though the church is in a community with a fairly low crime rate and there was no history of theft I thought the picnic table would be easy pickings for a would be thief. I discussed this with my pastor who tried to reason with me saying, “I guess if someone steals it then they must need it worse than we do.” Seeing the troubled look on my face after saying this he quickly receded and offered to secure it to a tree or something that same day. I was glad he came to his senses and protected our new purchase.

Old Website

I discovered an old archived version of my first website! It’s pretty embarrassing so I hesitate in sharing but here’s the link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050213032455re_/www.kc.net/~webguru/aaron/index.htm

Keep in mind I created this 13+ years ago. The graphics aren’t as cool as I remember them. Okay, pretty lame actually. But hey, it was my first attempt at a website and I learned a lot making it.

Freeway Witness

It was about 12 years ago or so when my faith journey took a turn that left a profound impact on me. I was living in Olathe but had been in the KC area for only a couple years and was six months into a new job. One day as I was driving home from a job site my car decided to stall at a very precarious spot on the freeway, near downtown, and during rush hour. I managed to get over onto the narrow shoulder but with all the cars whizzing by so closely I was a little nervous. As I attempted to diagnose what was wrong with my car I noticed a truck slowing down and then pulling over in front of me. I was amazed that someone was even able to spot me in time to do this. A man who appeared to be in his mid 30’s got out and asked me what he could do to help. Well, my car appeared to be a lost cause and would have to be towed so the man offered to give me a ride home since he also happened to live in Olathe.

My switch to a Mac (part 3 - the Bad)

I apologize for the hiatus I took on this blog series.  Life at home is much different than life on the road.  At the end of the day I find there is very little time or energy for things such as this.  So anyway, here's the bad..........

1. Keyboard Shortcuts
I didn't realize just how big of a hurdle this would be for me.  I've been working with Windows for a long time now and have gotten used to using a lot of keyboard shortcuts.  In fact, if a Windows box I'm working on loses all mouse function I can still navigate Windows pretty easily just with the keyboard; I prefer it actually.  The Mac keyboard, though, is missing some essential keys that I used regularly for navigation (Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, Windows key).  No problem, I thought, I can setup keyboard mappings in Fusion to address this.  I may have to re-train myself on some shortcuts but I can live with that.  Easier said than done.  I was tweaking the keyboard mappings in Fusion for a few weeks and I've finally just given in to the fact that I'll have to use the mouse, or trackpad, more in my Windows VMs.  I've been trying to learn keyboard shortcuts for the Mac too and it is sometimes hard to keep track of what shortcuts work where.  To compound the problem some of the mappings don't work all of the time like using the Ctrl key to do a Ctrl+select for instance.  So if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.  Here are my current keyboard mappings that I'm using in Fusion:

My switch to a Mac (part 2 - the Good)

This post and my next will detail the good and bad experiences of my switch.  So here's the good.....

1. Mac OS X just works.

The Unix foundation of Mac OS X makes it stable, secure, and super fast. There really is no comparison of a PC and a Mac (apples and oranges). I'm not running any ant-virus software to slow me down and I don't need to! It has only crashed once on me but I caused that trying to do some funky things with Fusion. I find myself using it most of the time (75%?) and only resort to my Windows 7 VM for Office applications, VMware stuff, and a few other .Net based apps. Now that Snow Leopard is finally here I'll have even less dependence on Windows with the new Exchange support. But more on that later.....

My switch to a Mac (part 1 - Why?)

I did it .... I switched to a Mac. Me, a PC guy since the early days of DOS & Windows. I established my early IT career around the PC and it has given me good job security over the years. So why switch? Well, there are a lot of reasons but here were the major ones for me......

1. Windows & Linux suck!

I was fed up with Microsoft's poor desktop OS releases. I tried running Vista two different times on my old laptop and eventually ended up switching back to XP because of application & hardware compatibility issues. Windows XP is nearly 8 yrs old now; how sad is that? Windows 7 looks promising but too little too late for me. Linux just didn't cut it for me either. I tried Ubuntu and a couple others but this was even more challenging. I did a dual boot scenario to try it out and always found myself back in my XP installation mostly because of hardware compatibility issues. I don't have a heavy Linux background so trying to recompile drivers, etc. was just too much and I didn't care enough to learn.