A Mac life in a PC world

Loving my family!

2011-07-23T16:59:00.002-04:00

Wow, been a while! About 18 months... With two little kids running around calling you daddy, your priorities sure change. I will be back on a more regular basis, just not yet :D

Always remember...

If you prioritize your life in this order:
1. God
2. Wife
3. Kids
4. Yourself
5. Friends and family
6. everyone else

You will get through this thing called life and be able to say, "I did my best!"

God bless!!!

Godaddy 2009 working coupon codes

2009-06-14T20:56:00.001-04:00

Godaddy.com 2009 working coupon codes works for domains renewals , buying domains ( com, net, org, mobi, info, co.uk etc), transferring domain names, web hosting coupon codes etc.

MTECH1
10% discount code

MTECH2
20% off $50 or more

emma25
25% off any order >50GBP

emma30
30% off .com domains

emma50
50% off .co.uk domains

RRTV1
10% off the whole order. (works for Godaddy Canada coupons too!)

RRTV2
$5 off orders of $30 or more.

RRTV3
COM domain name for one year for only $6.95.

Other GoDaddy promo code - some of these may have expiration dates, so if you find one that does not work, let me know in the comments and I’ll remove it from this list.

cjc695b2 $6.95 .Com (New Registration,Renewal or Transfer

gdp0518a Get a NEW .INFO, .NET and .ORG for $15.00

gdp0616a Save 15% saving on all web hosting plans

cjccabone / cjcheaone Save 1$

cjccab10 Save 10%

cjccab30 / cjchea30 Save 5$ off 30$ or more

cjccab50 / cjchea50 Save 10$ saving 50$ or more

gdp0615a Save 15% when spending 50$ or more.

cjcdeal Save 15% off 75$ or more

gdp0629b Save 20% 50$ or more

cjc20off75 Save 20$ off 75$ or more

gdp0609a Save 20% off 75$ or more

gds0124a Save 25% when you spend 75$ or more

gdp0616p Save an extra 15% on Web Site Tonight 12/24/36 Month plans!

gdp0601b .Asia 17.99$ per year.

gdp0611w 30% off .Co.Uk Domains

gdp0608c .mobi Renewal 12.99$

gdp0607c Renew .INFO for 6.99$ first year and 8.99$ other years

gdp0537m / gdp0616m 20$ off Basic super or pro reseller plans

cjchstsale Save 20% for Shared Hosting Plans

gdp0537c / gdp0616k 15% off Dedicated Hosting purchase

Youngest pool player

2009-06-07T01:35:00.002-04:00

Amazing skill in a little boy!

(Pardon the commercial before the real video!)

Watch CBS Videos Online

Mercy Me

2009-05-28T18:39:00.001-04:00

I really love these guys!

Build a Picnic Table - wikiHow

2009-04-15T18:49:00.001-04:00

How to Build a Picnic Table

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

One of life's pleasures is eating a simple outdoor meal when the weather is pleasant, whether you cook on a grill, or just prepare sandwiches and a salad for a light lunch. Here are the steps to build your own sturdy, functional picnic table on which to enjoy your meal.

Steps

Obtain a durable lumber suitable for the project. The project in the photos uses pressure treated southern yellow pine, recycled from an old deck. Choosing premium lumber, or even a synthetic material made from recycled plastics will afford a higher quality finished project. The table built for this article is 72 inches long, 32 inches wide, and 32 inches tall, and required the following materials:
- 14 - 2x6 72 inches long.
- 5 - 2X4 30 inches long.
- 3 lbs. 12d (3 1/2 inch) hot dipped galvanized nails. (Substitute 3 1/2 inch exterior (deck) screws for greater strength)
Cut the following boards, using a rafter or speed square to scribe the correct angles:
- Cut 12 2X6 boards 72 inches long. You may purchase 6 foot boards, but they will need to be cut to length and the ends squared so they will be uniform. Using 12 foot lumber will likely cost less, and because they are halved, there will be little waste.
- Cut 3 2X4 boards, 30 inches from long point to long point, with 45 degree angles on each end.
- Cut 4 2X6 boards 35 inches long from long point to short point, with a 25 degree angle on each end.
- Note that you will also have to cut the diagonal bracing underneath the table top, but it is best to scribe this board to fit after the rest of the top is fastened together.
Lay out the top boards on sawhorses, setting them so the best side (least knots, cracks, etc) is down, since this will be the bottom of the table top.
Nail the 2X4 boards with the 45 degree angle cuts to the bottom of the table top, spaced 4 inches from either end and the third centered between the ends. Toenail these to hold them in position until the table is flipped over, when you can finish nailing the top.
Position the 35 inch 2X6s so they are centered over the short point of the table top end rails as shown in the photo, and nail them securely to the rails.
Measure up (down from the top when the table is flipped) 17 inches. Drive a nail into the leg at this mark, half way to the head. This will support the seat rails, which you will install next.
Center the seat rails (also 2X6 72 inches long), centered between the inverted table legs, resting on the nails you have driven in at 17 inches. Nail these through into the legs.
Mark the centers of both the table top middle rail and the seat rails. Scribe a 2X4 to fit diagonally between these marks, as shown in the photo. Cut these, and nail them securely into place.
Invert your table so it is now standing on its legs. Lay your seat boards (again, 2X6s, 72 inches long, on the seat rails that should be sticking out from beneath the table on each side. You will want to try them out for size, shifting them in or out along the rail until they are comfortable for you. When you have these rails in a desirable position, mark the location of the outer seat board, remove them, and saw a 45 degree angle on the rail so none of it will protrude from beneath the seats.
Reposition the seat boards and nail them off. Drive nails through the table top boards into their rails to finish securing them.
Cut the corners of the table top at a 45 degree angle about 2 inches from the corners so they are rounded, to make it less likely anyone will bump into them.
Sand and finish the table as you want. You can use a silicone waterproofing sealer, an exterior polyurethane (many so-called polyurethane products actually degrade in ultraviolet light), or a semitransparent exterior wood stain for this purpose.
Set your table up in a shady spot and enjoy it.

Video

Tips

Using bolts and wood screws for the described connections will offer a stronger finished product.
Use a weather and rot resistant lumber, or even a synthetic decking material for a long lasting table.

Warnings

Do not build anything that a child can touch out of wood pressure-treated with chromated copper arsenate, or CCA. Most pressure-treated wood produced before 2003 contains CCA.
Avoid breathing sawdust from pressure treated lumber.
Wear safety glasses when using a circular saw and hammer.

Things You'll Need

Lumber
Nails
Circular saw
Hand tools including measuring tape, hammer, and square

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Build a Picnic Table. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Did you know...

2009-04-10T23:10:00.000-04:00

Michael Jordan having "retired," with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.

If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.

If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.

He makes $7,415/hour more than minimum wage.

If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.

If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $200 every second.

He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.

He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100-meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.

This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. past presidents for all of their terms combined.

Amazing isn't it?

However...

If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 500 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has at this very moment.

Game over. Nerd wins.

Missing HAL.DLL or Invalid Boot.ini

2009-02-27T19:36:00.002-05:00

After messin around with uTorrent a little too much I received the following error message on boot in Vista 64 bit...

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\system32\hal.dll.

Please re-install a copy of the above file.

After searching the internet a bit (on my Mac) I found these tidbits of information and thought I would share them...

If you are using Vista you can boot to the CD and choose "repair your system" and then "startup repair". Thats it, vista should auto repair your boot up problem.

Windows XP:

Boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console Run "Attrib -H -R -S C:\Boot.ini" Delete the C:\Boot.ini file Run "Bootcfg /Rebuild" Run "Fixboot"

Hope this saves someone else some time :)

109 Random Facts You Should Know.

2009-02-06T00:45:00.001-05:00

A friend sent me these in email. Many are quite interesting...

1
Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer.

2
A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.

3
40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

4
315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

5
On the average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

6
Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system. A few ounces is enough to kill a small sized dog.

7
Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as a medicine.

8
Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

9
Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

10
There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

11
Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.

12
Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow a film down so you could see his moves. That's the opposite of the norm.

13
The original name for the butterfly was "flutterby"!

14
By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand.

15
Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.

16
Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

17
The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

18
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than the entire Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

19
Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.

20
Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.

21
The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

22
To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, prick your fingers into its eyeballs. It will let you go instantly.

23
The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

24
The "pound" (#) key on your keyboard is called an octothorp.

25
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.

26
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

27
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

28
Dreamt" is the only word in the English language that ends in "mt".

29
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

30
In Chinese, the KFC slogan "finger lickin' good" comes out as "eat your fingers off".

31
A cockroach can live for 10 days without a head.

32
We shed 40 pounds of skin a lifetime.

33
Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines.

34
Mexico City sinks abut 10 inches a year.

35
Brains are more active sleeping than watching TV.

36
Blue is the favorite color of 80 percent of Americans.

37
When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying "yes" in Sri Lanka.

38
There are more chickens than people in the world.

39
It's against the law in Iceland to have a dog.

40
The thumbnail grows the slowest, and the middle nail grows the fastest.

41
There are more telephones than people in Washington, D.C.

42
The average four year-old child asks over four hundred questions a day.

43
The average person presses the snooze button on their alarm clock three Times each
morning.

44
The three wealthiest families in the world have more assets than the Combined wealth of the forty-eight poorest nations.

45
The first owner of the Marlboro cigarette Company died of lung cancer.

46
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

47
The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

48
Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our noses and ears Never stop growing.

49
You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

50
A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

51
Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

52
The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

53
When the moon is directly overhead, you weigh slightly less.

54
Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.

55
A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

56
"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language

57
Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."

58
Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

59
"Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters.

60
Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed People do.

61
The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every Letter in the English language.

62
If the population of China walked past you in single line, the line Would never end because of the rate of reproduction

63
China has more English speakers than the United States.

64
Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

65
Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.

66
An average person uses the bathroom 6 times per day.

67
Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our Bodies.

68
Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body. If the average Man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his Lifetime.

69
According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg.

70
The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenua---anatahu - a New Zealand hill.

71
If you leave Tokyo by plane at 7:00am, you will arrive in Honolulu at Approximately 4:30pm the previous day.

72
Scientists in Australia's Parkes Observatory thought they had positive Proof of alien life, when they began picking up radio-waves from space. However, after investigation, the radio emissions were traced to a Microwave in the building.

73
Wearing headphones for an hour increases the bacteria in your ear 700 times.

74
More than 40,000 parasites and 250 types of bacteria are exchanged during a French kiss.

75
Men can read smaller print than women, but women can hear better.

76
Coca-Cola was originally green.

77
The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

78
The name of all the continents ends with the same letter that they start with.

79
There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

80
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

81
Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!

82
You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.

83
It is impossible to lick your elbow.

84
People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

85
It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

86
The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

87
If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

88
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne, Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

89
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

90
If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

91
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

92
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

93
Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this? Ans. - Honey

94
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

95
A snail can sleep for three years.

96
All polar bears are left handed.

97
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

98
Butterflies taste with their feet.

99
Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

100
In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

101
On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

102
Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.

103
Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

104
The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

105
The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

106
The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

107
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants.

108
The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

109
Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Unclog and deodorize drains

2009-02-01T01:34:00.001-05:00

The combination of vinegar and baking soda is one of the most effective ways to unclog and deodorize drains. It's also far gentler on your pipes (and your wallet) than commercial drain cleaners.

To clear clogs in sink and tub drains, use a funnel to pour in 1/2 cup baking soda followed by 1 cup vinegar. When the foaming subsides, flush with hot tap water. Wait five minutes, and then flush again with cold water. Besides clearing blockages, this technique also washes away odor-causing bacteria.

Windows 7 direct links...

2009-02-01T01:28:00.002-05:00

If your having problems going through the regular MS web page...

Direct download links:

32-bit

64-bit

My new favorite soup recipe...

2009-01-15T17:41:00.001-05:00

16 Bean Soup

4 cups 16- Bean soup mix
5 quarts water 2-3 Tbs. cumin
2 onions 1/8 tsp. cayenne
3-4 diced potatoes 1 Tbs. salt
1 lb. baby carrots or diced carrots 1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ - 1 lb. ground beef (or chicken) 1 tsp. pepper
3-4 Tbs. bouillon (I use chicken)
3-4 cloves minced garlic

Brown ground beef (or chicken)and onions in large soup pot. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 8-10 hours.

All seasonings are really to your taste. Add your favorites and omit the ones you don’t care for. Be creative, you can hardly mess up beans!

Prepare for a Power Outage - wikiHow

2009-01-15T16:59:00.001-05:00

Prepare for a Power Outage - wikiHow

And finally, here's one for "next time"...

How to Prepare for a Power Outage

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If you need to know how to prepare for a power outage, then this is the article for you! Look to see what to do, the tips on preparation, and more.

Steps

Gather all the things that may provide light, such as a flashlight, candles, Glow in the dark objects,etc.
If there is a big chance of a power outage, you may want to tape the Glow in the dark objects along the wall.
Be sure to have the things you'll need nearby.
If the power outage occurs, turn on the flashlight or other light-up appliance that you have.
Put your power company's phone number into your mobile phone's contact list or speed dial. Then, if the power outage is due to a fault in the power grid, you can call the power company and inform them of the problem so they can fix it.

Tips

If the outage may last for a long time, be sure to have some snacks close if you are taking shelter.
Making your self glow in the dark can be useful.

Warnings

You may not want to light candles in a room with carpet as it may increase the chance of a house fire if the candle is knocked over.
IF you smell gas, hear gas, know of messed up gas lines, do NOT use candles.

If your water depends on a well it wont work with the power out. Fill your tub with water if an outage is likely. Then you can pour it into the back of the toilet for flushing.

Things You'll Need

Radio
- Preferrably a "Self Powered Radio" - This does'nt use batteries. Some are also solar powered as well as being "hand cranked"
Flashlight
- Preferrably a "Self Powered Flashlight" - Same as the radio mentioned.
  - Some models of both the Self Powered Flashlight AND the Self Powered Radios can now keep your cell phone charged.
Glow Sticks - SAFER than candles
Matches
Candles
Snacks
Keep a house key in a combination lockable key storage device OUTSIDE of your home. Electric garage doors do not work in a power outage.

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Prepare for a Power Outage. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Make a Power Outage Bearable - wikiHow

2009-01-15T16:59:00.000-05:00

Make a Power Outage Bearable - wikiHow

Here's another good one for our weather...

How to Make a Power Outage Bearable

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Power outages are more than just sitting in the dark. The refrigerator stops running and everything starts to defrost. If you live in the tropical climate, the air conditioning is the first to shut off and so are the ceiling fans. Then of course, the power that opens the garage door stops working, so you are stuck with the car remaining inside the garage. Out comes the flashlights, and portable fans, and you just sit quietly, waiting for the power to return. During the day of course, you can and should get out of the house, even if it means lifting the garage door by hand. Some power outages are caused by accidents that hit the power lines and are usually repaired in a day or two. We are talking about normal power supplies being cut off, and not when due to hurricanes and tornadoes, which might last for days or weeks.

Steps

Consider the type of emergencies your particular home is most likely to face. A blizzard-prone area will be different from one in a tropical area that commonly faces hurricanes. Urban areas face different challenges than rural areas.
Keep the cold inside. If the temperature rises, take anything out of the refrigerator that might spoil and prepare to cook it or consume it before it warms up. Eat perishables before spoilage can occur.
Have stable food that does not require refrigeration. Those that do not require cooking are even better. Canned meats, fish, soups, vegetables, and juices will work, and can be kept for months at a time. Crackers, cookies and snacks for the kiddies are a necessity. Eat these items after the perishables are eaten or are unsafe to eat.
Have a back-up method of heating food and water. A camping stove is ideal (and be sure to know how to use it safely--see warnings). A barbeque grill will work quite well, but do not bring it into the house. A gas stove can often work if you have matches for ignition. Remember to have plenty of fuel on hand for you camp stove or barbeque in case this adventure lasts several days.
Water is actually more important than food, and if your water supply is pump-driven, it may give out in a power failure. Put aside many gallons or liters of drinking water. Fill your bathtub or pails with water for flushing the toilet, washing, and so on.
Have a back-up method for heating or cooling your home during a blackout, depending on your climate's needs. Do you need to stock up on wood for the wood stove? You should consider buying portable fans, and cold water rinses to stay cool? If your home runs on natural gas or propane, install a gas fired fireplace that has it's own thermopile electronic ignition. Should you get a gas-powered generator?
Prepare by equipping your house with automatic power failure safety lighting so that it does not go dark when the power goes out. Many of the commercial style emergency lights look pretty bad on the wall of your kitchen or living room, and they typically only last 90 minutes - day or night. Try to find power failure safety lights that sense darkness before going on otherwise the batteries will be dead before darkness comes. Some new power failure safety lights are either on the market or about to enter the market that deliver light for long periods of time because of the improvements in LED brightness and battery life. Look for power failure safety lights on the web and find ones that you can install in any room of your home without being an eyesore. Start with the kitchen and bathrooms - the two most used rooms of the house.
Power outages can mean 'get out of the house' during the day if it is safe to do so. Go to the mall, or take in a movie. Have a few good meals at a nearby diner or at a fast food restaurant. Unless you are snow bound, or ill, there is no reason to stay indoors and be uncomfortable. Plenty of time for that when it gets too late to stay out.
Remember that there will be no TV, no light, and games that need reading will not be able to be played. Turn on your flashlight only when you need to move about. You can make up your own games, sing songs, or talk to each other. Now is the time for 'togetherness', lost when each sit at the TV or at the computer.
Read a book to pass the time, but remember, this can only be done during the daylight hours. At night, the best thing is to go to sleep. Time passes faster when you sleep, especially when there is nothing else to do but wait.

Tips

When the power does fail and the lights go out leaving you in pitch black darkness, do not jump up immediately to find your flash lights. Take a minute or two to let your eyes adjust to the darkness before moving. You'll be surprised how much better you can see and you won't be as likely to hurt yourself by walking into a table, wall, door, etc.
Put luminescent stickers on flashlights. Have flashlights out where the stickers can "charge" when lights are on: bookshelf, next to the TV, bedstand, and so on. When the power goes off, your flashlight's location will be obvious.
Remember that portable phones don't work during a blackout. Make sure you have at least one wired phone in the house. A cell phone will usually work, but keep a car charger handy in case your battery runs low.
At the first notice of a loss of power, phone the power company to inform them. At times, you might be the first one to notice when others are at work, and if you do not alert them early, they will not start fixing whatever the cause might be.
Don't keep phoning the power company to find out how long you will remain without power. Once is really enough. The power company is most likely full of dedicated, trained individuals who know that your power is off, and are trying to fix the problem. Nagging them isn't somehow going to make the power go on any quicker, and can tie up phone lines in a true emergency.
Keep some board games like chess, checkers, or puzzles in the house...handy and keeps you and kids busy when no video or TV is available. Think of the ways in which people amused themselves before the invention of electricity.
Purchase and use "Self Powered Radios" and "Self Powered Flashlights" and glow sticks. Find these at the local Wal*Mart (for the self powered lights and the glow sticks), and at the local Radio Shack (for the self powered radios). These do not use batteries at all, and are safer to use than candles, and you'll be informed about what caused the failure, like some idiot who hit a pole, or an animal got into a transformer, shorting it out, or when power will be restored.
If you live in a area that has this problem chronically, it is a good idea to get a wind powered generator and solar panels, and a generator that uses "eco-friendly" fuel, such as "Bio-Diesel", a lot of 12v Deep Cycle batteries, power inverters, and make sure all of this is installed in a manner to AVOID killing line crews, and that you will have "Auxiliary Power"

Warnings

This guide refers to regular, few day long power outages only. This does not refer to hurricanes or tornadoes, or other storms that also cause power outages and tear down and destroy power lines. The preparation is more intense when power goes down because of storms and breakages. If this is the case, it may be time to evacuate the home.
Candles, if used improperly, can cause fire. More than 140 people die each year from candle related home fires according to the National Fire Protection agency - nearly one-third from using candles for lighting. Candles are not recommended as light sources during power failures. Flashlights are far safer.
Gasoline powered generators kill people when used indoors or in attached garages that allow the fumes to flow into the home. Carbon monoxide is odorless and your CO detectors will probably not work when you have no electricity. Never use a generator in your home, garage, or other closed environment!
Exercise extreme caution when using a generator and ensure all extension cords are properly sized and UL listed. Generators can and do electrocute people.
Barbeque grills and camp stoves kill people - from fires and carbon monoxide emmissions. Use with extreme caution and never bring gas fired equipment into your house or garage.

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Power Outage Bearable. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Save Food During a Power Outage - wikiHow

2009-01-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

Save Food During a Power Outage - wikiHow

This seemed very timely with our weather...

How to Save Food During a Power Outage

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

If the power goes out at your house, it is important to follow basic food safety rules. It is also possible to keep food depending on how long the outage is for and what you have done to prolong its ability to remain safe. Here are some suggestions.

Steps

Consume perishable food at room temperature within two hours. Perishable food is safe at room temperature for 2 hours when the temperature is below 25 degrees C (80F). Above that temperature, you only have one hour before bacteria start to grow in unrefrigerated food.
Keep your refrigerator and freezer closed. Open the doors as little as possible. An unopened refrigerator should keep foods cold for up to four hours, although you will still have to evaluate each item individually when the power comes back on. A freezer that is half full should keep foods frozen for 24 hours, and a full freezer should keep foods frozen for 48 hours.
Cover your fridge and freezer with thick blankets to insulate them and keep them as cool as possible.
For longer outages, try to find dry ice to pack into your freezer. However, you must take special precautions handling it. If the power outage lasts longer than 4 hours, remove milk, meat, and dairy products from the fridge and pack them into a cooler with lots of ice.
Have an instant read food thermometer. This is crucial to determining food safety after the power comes back on. If refrigerated products are still below 4C/40F degrees, they should be safe. Check to see if frozen foods still have ice crystals visible and that their temperature is below 4C/40F degrees. You can then refreeze these foods, but there will probably be some loss of quality.

Tips

Consider having an instant barbecue to save some of the food, and have the neighbors over. Feast under candlelight. Cooking outside during a power outage on your charcoal or gas grill is a great way to keep the temperature inside your house cooler in the summer months.

If it is cold outside, pack items into a cooler and place outside.

Warnings

And remember the most basic rule: When in doubt, throw it out. Any cost savings you may gain by keeping questionable food will cost you much more in terms of doctor and hospital bills if someone gets sick.

Things You'll Need

Blankets
Cooler with ice
Dry ice

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

Original source of article VideoJug, FioNate4ever1, Food Safety. Shared with permission.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Save Food During a Power Outage. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

FREE Sock Monkey!

2008-11-25T09:24:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!

Who likes sock monkeys? Well you are in for a treat! Lisa over at mostlymonkeys's Shop is giving away your choice of a sock monkey from her shop to one lucky winner to be drawn on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving). So don't wait another minute! Go to her blog and post a comment here to be entered into the contest! Good luck! (And Happy Thanksgiving to all!)

Codes to use with Palm Treo Phones

2008-10-13T01:04:00.000-04:00

Here is some handy Palm Treo information I found from several pages (mytreo, mobility today,etc.). Not sure who to give credit to, but I'm betting its one of the main two there...

Some of these codes work only on CDMA models, but most of them are for both versions of Treo. For SPRINT CDMA models you should enter "# # ..." before number the code, and for GSM models you have to enter "# *...", and for VERIZON CDMA, enter "# * # ...", where "..." is the number code. Enter the codes as if you are actually dialing the number from your Phone app.

Signal strength is given as "RSSI," which stands for "Received Signal Strength Indicator."

Please note: the function of many of these codes remains a mystery to enthusiasts. A lot of them were discovered through trial and error (yes, we have a lot of time on our hands) -- while the presence of some of these codes can be easily discovered this way, their purposes are often more difficult to understand. We have indicated some codes with which users should be particularly careful.

Very useful codes:

786
This the Phone Information Page. It tells you how many minutes the unit has on it, how much data has transpired, the warranty date, software versions, ESN, etc.

377
Displays the last error which caused a soft reset, and the program that was running, line number etc

Somewhat mysterious or less-than-incredibly-useful codes:

33284
This spells ##debug and is the CDMA phone info screen containing a bunch of technical data on your current signal and tower connection.

3282
Logon to vision data

633
Turns off the radio

7277633
Turns off passthrough

8778
Toggle "software download"

3424
Toggle "passthrough"

744
Signal strength for CDMA models only

744625
Signal strength for Tmobile (Treo 600 only)

83843733
Toggles tethered mode

8766
Voice privacy enabled

87633
Voice privacy disabled

Please exercise caution when using the following codes:

88722366
Note: You may need to softreset your phone after this command
Trace enabled

887223633
Trace disabled

28722366
Note: You may need to softreset your phone after this command
Trace enabled

287223633
Trace disabled

798722366
Note: You may need to softreset your phone after this command
Trace enabled

774
Note: This command can delete all data from your Treo. If you do not have recent backup do not test this code!
PRI Checksum and allowing you to reset phone to factory default settings

7987223633
Trace disabled

Adorable!

2008-09-08T14:39:00.001-04:00

To date, my favorite shot of Joseph. Spruced up with text by a good friend...

From Joseph

A job hunting we go....

2008-08-14T10:39:00.001-04:00

Well, I have been looking for employment for a month now. No solid bites. A few good leads. I have found plenty of "side jobs" working on people's PC's or doing basic house handyman things. Thank God for friends! Working about 20 to 25 hours a week with these odds and ends is bringing in about 50% of what I was making working 60-70 hours a week. Comparatively, there is no stress either.

Well, I am off to the job hunt again. Pray I will find the job God wants me to have next. Everyone have a great Thursday!

Post to your blog without ever leaving Firefox

2008-08-14T10:25:00.001-04:00

I found a new tool to make my blogging easier. If you use Firefox you gotta try this out. It is by far the easiest blog helper application I have used yet.

ScribeFire, an extension of Firefox ®, enables users to easily drag and drop formatted text from the Web into their blog(s), post entries, take notes, and optimize their ad inventory, directly through the Firefox browser.

Change... YUCK! Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart...

2008-06-07T10:06:00.002-04:00

Change.

I have never really liked change; unless it meant the next better, faster, smaller, cooler tech gadget. Change usually means learning something new. I like learning new things. It can mean the beginning of a great new friendship, or a raise, or a new family member, or the ability to do new wonderful things. I like all of that. So, why do I not like change? It also means facing the uncertain. It means giving up my false sense of control and security. I have, what I consider to be, one of the best jobs I have ever had. I work at my church, a place I love full of people I love. Working there has always seemed to be a win win for me. I like going to church. I like helping other people. I like teaching people to do new things. That is exactly what I have been able to do for five years now. They even pay me! Like I said... win win.

Change.

My church has spent the last 18 months moving from a great location, that was getting too small; to an even greater building that has plenty of room to grow. God painted this beautiful picture, where we bought an abandoned building, a smaller church bought our previous location, and a church based private school bought theirs to expand the school campus. This was a win, win, win!

Change.

I am a salaried property manager. Before the move, I managed a custodial department of around 20 people, a maintenance department with 2 people, a grounds/snow/ice removal crew of 6 people, the security of the building and grounds of our 90,000 square foot building on 12 acres, as well as the upkeep of our van/bus equipment. Oh, yeah, and a partridge in a pear tree. During the transition I morphed into a gopher for the contractors, a transporter for people and stuff between buildings, a demo "expert" for remodel at the new 150,000 square foot building on 25 acres, an installer for dispensers of anything one might need in a public bathroom, and a professional meeting attender (with a specialty in last minute unplanned ones). My weekly hours changed from an average of 45 to 50, to an average of 80 to 90. I became accustomed to a "second paycheck" in the form of my monthly mileage reimbursement checks. I learned to eat "fast food" three times a day so I could save enough time to sleep six hours that night. As crazy as that all sounds, I actually enjoyed most of it.

Change.

Most of the dust has settled. People in all areas of ministry are finding their new norm and developing new patterns to their days and weeks at work. The realization that the move/remodel actually cost 20% more than originally planned is sinking in. The reality that we have expanded our congregation 20 to 25% is a sign that growth has only begun. The truth that our offerings, in spite of the growth are down from numbers compared to those before our move; and our monthly expenses are almost double now are hard to avoid. All this while our national economic nose-dive screams at us.

Change.

The church board is faced with making some very tough decisions. Where can we save money? What can be changed, delayed, or cut that will have minimal impact on our reaching people for Christ? Can jobs be cut? Can programs be cut? Can events be canceled? These are all questions they have to ask AND answer. I do not envy them. I DO pray for them every day.

Change.

I have, over the last few months, become more and more aware that some of these cuts could very well mean my job will completely change, or possibly even be eliminated.

Change.

I am old enough to know, my "job" is to take care of my family foremost. This means looking for a new job. Whether I find one or not, will ultimately be up to God. Whether I need one or not, will also be up to my Lord. As my friends and family are so painfully aware, my opinion in matters like these is plainly, "My job is to do my best, then (and only then) God will take care of all the rest!". So I am putting together a new resume. I am becoming a member of all those employment websites that I never thought I would need. I am calling in favors for job interviews, and soon I will even be "cold-calling". I am in a unique spot. I have 20+ years of retail management experience, with almost half of that being in HR. I have five years of property management experience. I have a personal ministry of building and repairing PC's for people that cannot afford to go buy a new one, or have a "professional" fix there current one; that has spanned a decade. I am a Mac nut that "evangelizes" the Apple OS over Windows at every opportunity (and have done so since 1988). Yes, I'm a Mac guy that fixes PC's. (That's where I got the name for this blog, another story for another time.)

That being said, if anyone out there know of any job leads in Fort Wayne, Indiana; whether in HR, Property Management (building, maintenance, etc.), or the ever elusive "Wow he can do a lot of stuff with computers, even though he has no certification. I would love to hire him and train him to be our tech/installer/IT guy!" position; please leave a comment here or email/call me!

dNeero survey

2008-05-17T16:23:00.001-04:00

Must see TV! Hancock

2008-05-16T23:51:00.001-04:00

First, I love Will Smith. Second, I love superheroes. Third, I love the whole "Oops I screwed up, because I am human" themes for movies.... SO.... MUST SEE HANCOCK!

Joseph likes guitar

2008-05-02T22:34:00.002-04:00

Here is Joey's video introduction to the world wide web! Yeah! YouTube!

Reduce Expenses - wikiHow

2008-04-29T19:17:00.001-04:00

How to Reduce Expenses

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

"If by couetousnesse or negligence, one withdraw from them their ordinary foode, he shall be penny wise, and pound foolish."
E. Topsell: Four-footed Beasts (1607)
An important way to save money is to reduce expenses. There are a lot of ways you can stretch your dollars and help avoid that "too much month at the end of the money" feeling. Some of these steps will take a bit of planning and investigation but they will be well worth the effort. Others you will be able to implement immediately. Some will require a small up-front investment but have a substantial long-term payoff. Your ability to implement those will depend on available cash and your budget.
What you’ll need first, is a clear idea of where your money is going; then you can look at ways to cut fluff and lower the cost of your required living expense. Always keep in mind that it’s not just about cheaper; it’s about efficiency. Analyze your needs and do the math. Most importantly, however, is to understand that reducing expenses is a lifestyle change and a change in your thinking patterns. Never let yourself believe that pennies don't count.

Steps

Determine where you spend your money. If you don’t know where your money is going, you are most likely spending too much. You can get a solid idea in as little as one month and as you continue, you’ll see patterns develop that you can address. Write down everything you buy down to the last dollar. Don’t stop at the obvious things like rent, utilities, gasoline and food – include the ancillary items like sodas and snacks as well as gum or tobacco. What about happy hour? Did you rent a movie? Use a Row-by-Column ledger, spreadsheet or other software to keep track every month.
Immediately eliminate unnecessary routine purchases. While it’s likely this won’t be the largest savings area, it’s important and easy. Is the coffee shop on your way to work really necessary? How critical are the three sodas or snacks a day you buy from the office vending machine at $1.50 each? A cup of coffee that you made at home is only 25-35 cents, as is a soda you bought in a store as part of a 12 pack. Do you seriously have to rent all those movies (and pay those late fees) each month? Have you checked to see whether your library has movies, or calculated the cost of switching to Netflix? Those ten lottery tickets… the odds against you are astronomical. This is quick and most of it is habit. There will be some psychological pain at first but when you add up the dollars you’ll see a big difference instantly.
Address your utilities.
- Heating and cooling (gas or electric): When you leave the house, set your thermostat to an "away" setting (a note of caution here: don’t set it so far from comfortable that it takes an inordinate amount of time to return to comfort when you get home: 65°F or 18°C in the winter and 80°F or 27°C in the summer might be reasonable numbers to use). Consider investing in ceiling fans – you can get these for as little as US$20 and they dramatically reduce cost of heating and cooling by circulating the air more efficiently.
- Electric: Lighting is expensive. When you leave a room, turn off the light. The idea that it takes more energy to turn on a light than to keep it on is completely false.[1] Energy efficient bulbs really work. This is an investment that will pay off over time but there is a significant savings to be gained (there is an energy calculator that will help). Turn off your computer when you’re not using it – (probably) the only reason you leave it on is convenience. Unplug the iron. If you’re not watching the TV, turn it off. Open the drapes during the day for light instead of burning electricity. Only use electricity when you absolutely need it.
- Water: Save water, save money. Invest in a shower-reduction kit – they cost nearly nothing and will start saving you money immediately. They work by reducing the flow to the shower head and the change is barely noticeable. Learn to take quicker showers – an inexpensive egg timer is a good way to help. Repair leaky toilets and faucets – this is an enormous waste of water and easy to fix. Reduce your lawn watering to minimum needs. If you have a pool, keep it covered when it’s not in use to reduce evaporation – also, if it’s heated that will dramatically increase evaporation as well (only heat your pool to keep it from freezing, and invest in a thermal blanket).
- Gas and Miscellaneous: Do laundry as often as necessary but as little as possible – for a lot of people this is a pleasant step. Reduce the temperature of your shower by a couple of degrees; the less work your water heater does the more money you’ll save. Use the microwave instead of the oven whenever possible – the cost just to preheat an oven is more than the cost to cook a meal in the microwave. Open the windows when it’s nice outside to reduce heating (and cooling) costs.
- Cable and Telephone: Seriously, do you really, really need a thousand channels and every single premium channel available including the high definition packages? If you want to save money take a close look at your priorities. For your telephone, shop around based on your use. If you make a lot of long-distance calls to family and friends, perhaps one of the unlimited plans would save money. If all your calls are local you probably can get by with a bare-bones option. Consider that your cell phone may have free long distance; therefore, removing the necessity of having long distance on a land line.
- Cell phone: "wat r u up 2" "nm gtg ttyl" Text messages cost money. "Oh no, I have unlimited text!" Oh? How much does that option cost you? Do you actually even need a cell phone? Does everyone in your family actually need a cell phone? Parents – lay down the law on cell phone usage – is your eleven-year-old sitting around the house texting… are you? Another thing to consider is if you really require a cell phone then do you really need a land line at home? Consider consolidating. If your cell phone use is occasional only, consider a pay-as-you-go plan.
Reconsider Gasoline and Miscellaneous Auto: When gas was rationed during World War II, a popular slogan was "Is this trip really necessary?" Ask yourself that every time you get in your car. Make a list before you go to the store so you don’t have to make additional trips. Don’t go for a drive for pleasure – walk instead or choose other forms of entertainment (read, perhaps). Check the pressure in your tires. Convertibles get better mileage with the top up. A poorly running engine is a huge waste – even a spark plug change can make a big difference, as can clean oil. Also, the less you drive the less frequently you’ll change tires, oil, require maintenance, etc. That’s a savings-over-time, of course, but it will mount up. Another way to save gas (and money) is to change your driving habits. By simply driving more slowly, and/or less aggressively, you can save significant amounts of money (calculate for yourself at this web site [2]).
Cut Down on Entertainment: It’s astounding how many people complain about money then describe the latest release of a movie along with the cost of theater popcorn. Also, professional sports event, a music concert or tickets to a play can run hundreds of dollars for a couple on a date. Seriously, can you really tell the difference (blindfolded) between a $30 bottle of wine and a $9 bottle of wine? When you do dine out, actually think about the prices on the menu first. Consider a meal share if the restaurant offers that option. Never, ever order delivery. Look for vacation bargains – consider taking the kids camping instead of one of the super expensive amusement parks.
Focus on Food: The only real difference between a $1.99 can of corn and a $0.63 can of corn is $1.36 (sure there are exceptions; people on low-sodium diets will definitely have to pay more). The grocery store is a place you can save big.
- Look for foods that are marked "WIC" for savings. Those have been approved for the Women, Infants and Children program by the USDA Department of Food and Nutrition Services… healthy, nutritious and inexpensive. That ring of cooked shrimp is on sale and sure looks tasty… how about a nice grilled chicken breast with green beans and rice? Make dining in an experience instead of just a convenience. It’s quite possible to spend as much on home food as you would by eating out if you are wasteful.
- Consider taking your lunch to work instead of buying lunch each day. Even an inexpensive lunch out is several dollars a day – do the math.
- Use coupons whenever possible. Make sure these are on items you would normally eat so you don't purchase things that will be wasted by sitting in your cupboards forever or spoil in your refrigerator. Also use buy store specials and use store customer cards when possible toward food purchases.
- Look into joining a warehouse club. The price of the membership is usually made up in the first shopping. They carry name-brand products and will take coupons. Also, by not having to shop as often, you spend less money by not being in the store every week and risking impulse purchases. Warehouse club shopping must be done with discretion or you will not save money.
- Avoid large packages fresh produce to avoid spoilage; frozen produce will extend the shelf life of all your fruit and vegetables.
- Measure product use carefully (like soap powder); don't be wasteful with the products just because it comes in a large container.
- Buy products you will actually use instead of substituting just because it's on your list and the only item available. Are you really going to enjoy that box of cereal that's not your regular brand, or is it going to sit on your shelf?
Address your insurance costs: The fastest way for some people to reduce monthly expenses will be in the area of health, auto and life insurance. Companies that sell those are incredibly competitive. Get some bids from different companies. When you do this, bear in mind that lower initial premiums will not always be the most cost efficient!
- Auto Insurance: Look at your deductible. Don’t jump to increase your deductible – analyze the entire plan based on your needs and expectations; do a risk analysis first. If you have an inexperienced driver in your house and you don’t have savings, having a high deductible might not be the best choice – also if your car is financed you may have minimum insurance requirements. However if you have a long history of good driving and you own your car, outright, you might consider a high deductible to save on premiums.
- Health Insurance: Investigate alternatives. Shop around for plans that are consistent and cost efficient with your lifestyle. Consider your actual needs vs. what you have. A single man in perfect health in his mid-30’s might choose a plan with a higher copay or co-insurance and lower premiums, whereas a married couple wanting to start a family might do better with higher premiums but more extensive coverage. In other cases, prescription benefits might be the most important. The point is to look at what you must have .
- Life Insurance: There is no question that this is important – for many people. The rule of thumb for someone with a family is three to five years' replacement income. However, if you’re a 20ish single consider carefully and determine if you’re over-insured. If you’re married in your mid-60’s have you looked at comparative plans from places like AARP? If you’re most interested in "burial policies" then, again, these companies are incredibly competitive. We all would like to leave our loved ones wealthy in the event of our demise, but not at the expense of your quality of life right now.
- Home (and Renter’s) Insurance: This can be a large expense and many home owners have no idea how much they’re paying because it comes out of their house payments – out of sight, out of mind. Review your plan with your agent. Are your personal possessions really and truly worth the $250,000 you have on the policy? Also look for areas that are lacking. Is water damage covered; snow damage; hail damage? Think whether or not you’ll need those. Is anything important excluded? Is anything irrelevant included? Yes, Great-Aunt Martha’s rocking chair has sentimental value but do you really need a special rider to cover it?
Consider pre-owned items: This is a great way to save significant amounts of money while recycling! If you absolutely must buy something, there are options other than a mall anchor store or a big-box superstore. There are large thrift stores (e.g. Goodwill) and smaller church-run stores that have some incredible bargains on everything from home knickknacks to appliances to clothing. It’s amazing how fast a 4-year old will outgrow shoes (when that happens, re-donate them so somebody else can benefit). Look for garage sales – your neighbors will definitely not think less of you because you bought the winter jacket they are trying to sell – hold your own garage sale and they just might want what you no longer need. There are online sites that often have bargains (like Craigslist.org, Overstock.com and eBay.com).
Actively manage your credit: A poor credit score costs 10s of thousands over the years in increased interest rates and insurance costs. You may even lose your job or lose out on a job application. Pull all three reports; challenge everything that appears incorrect. Pay all bills on time or early. Pay off revolving debt (credit cards) and put those cards away.

Tips

Recycle and reuse. The plastic bags for your groceries make good trash bags too. If you really want to become efficient, consider things like saving your cooking grease (baby boomers already know that) or reheat that half-full pot of coffee… if you want two cups of hot tea tonight, one bag is probably sufficient.
Insulate. Insulation for your attic, walls (even electrical outlets) will absolutely save you money over time. Much of this, you can do yourself.
Consider investing in reusable items. Rechargeable batteries are a good option if your battery consumption is high – the question you should ask yourself is: why is your battery consumption high and what can you do to reduce that?
Quit smoking. OK, this is obvious. Aside from the $150 a month, there are the enormous added costs to your health and life (and possibly auto and home) insurance and a very strong (almost guaranteed) potential for extraordinary health costs.
Limit alcohol. Alcohol is an added expense you may be able to eliminate altogether, or at least significantly reduce.
Stop gambling. If you gamble (unless you are consistently making money and you know that from tax returns, of course)… stop. Quit. Nix. Never. The odds against winning the Powerball lottery are around 150 million to 1 against you.
Stop using paper napkins and paper towels. Cloth towels are more absorbent and can be used over and over again. Cloth napkins can be made from an old table cloth. They also clean much better than paper.
Think about every purchase before you make it. If you have 10 of something (i.e. shades of eyeliner) do you really need another? If an item is superfluous, just say no.

Warnings

Do not only consider the least expensive option – that is certainly not always the best option. Many, many times, an initial savings will cost you more later. Carefully consider life cycle cost in addition to the acquisition cost.
If you buy pre-owned, check carefully… this is especially true of cars. It’s worth the investment to have a mechanic check the car (unless you’re perfectly competent in that area – are you sure?).
Don’t go completely overboard. It’s great to be frugal; it’s not great to be a mean-spirited miser. If your child (or you) must have new shoes or new glasses then definitely look for bargains but keep your priorities straight.

Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

↑ http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/12/episode_69_22000_foot_fall_lig.html

↑ http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/savegas/#speed_calc

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Reduce Expenses. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

What is "Evangelical"?

2008-03-23T11:57:00.003-04:00

“Evangelical” Christian is defined by George Barna as:

“Born-again Christians,” for the sake of clarification, are Christians who say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today and who believe they’re going to heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. “Evangelical Christians” are Christians who are born again plus seven other conditions. Those include:

1. saying their faith is very important in their life today;
2. believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
3. believing that Satan exists;
4. believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
5. believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;
6. asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches;
7. and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.

Christian Social Networking

2008-03-17T12:32:00.001-04:00

Social networking is all the rage of the net. Christians can feel squeezed in the middle. You want to have a social platform to interact with friends, family, and others that are like minded. You also want to filter some of the "junk" that the Internet can bring and that can be so prevalent on some of the popular social network sites. Here are some sites that Christians have built and maintain. They offer a great alternative to those unfiltered sites. This is by no means all inclusive, but includes all I have found. There were more, but several have gone by the way side. Personally, I think it is a good thing to consolidate a bit. With too many options, we might never meet each other. :^)

4marks.com (Catholic focus)

5loaves.net

battlecry.com

bornagainster.com

christianspace360.com

christianster.com

christunion.com

crossconnector.com : missions trip management and web tool

ministryhome.org : with a Missions focus

Missionaries.in : missionary to missionary

people2pray.com : prayer buddy focus

praize.com

spirittag.com

xianz.com

yourchristianspace.com

church tools

dating services

You are the light to my soul!

2008-02-24T15:47:00.003-05:00

I am not sure what this video's title is, but it is an incredibly moving video. Thanks to Troy for pointing me to it! Enjoy...

Strong in the Force, he is...

2008-02-08T13:54:00.000-05:00

Joseph John Spears

2008-01-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

It is with an explosive amount of joy and gratitude, that I anounce the birth of my second son; Joseph John Spears. He was born today at 12:32PM at 9lbs. 5ozs. and 21" long. Yes, praise God!

My Interactive Johari Window

2007-12-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

Here is something of a personality awareness profile. The greater number of other people you have comment on your profile, the more detailed it becomes. Feel free to add your opinions to mine! ;^)

Arena

(known to self and others)

calm, logical, patient, trustworthy, wise

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

able, adaptable, bold, caring, cheerful, clever, complex, dependable, energetic, friendly, giving, happy, helpful, ingenious, intelligent, knowledgeable, loving, religious, warm

Façade

(known only to self)

Unknown

(known to nobody)

accepting, brave, confident, dignified, extroverted, idealistic, independent, introverted, kind, mature, modest, nervous, observant, organised, powerful, proud, quiet, reflective, relaxed, responsive, searching, self-assertive, self-conscious, sensible, sentimental, shy, silly, spontaneous, sympathetic, tense, witty

Dominant Traits

80% of people think that macable is intelligent

All Percentages

able (10%) accepting (0%) adaptable (10%) bold (10%) brave (0%) calm (20%) caring (10%) cheerful (10%) clever (10%) complex (10%) confident (0%) dependable (20%) dignified (0%) energetic (10%) extroverted (0%) friendly (30%) giving (20%) happy (20%) helpful (10%) idealistic (0%) independent (0%) ingenious (10%) intelligent (80%) introverted (0%) kind (0%) knowledgeable (10%) logical (50%) loving (10%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (0%) organised (0%) patient (40%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (30%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (20%) warm (10%) wise (40%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 30.12.2007, using data from 10 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view macable's full data.

Palm Treo Applications

2007-12-28T15:17:00.001-05:00

I recently had a friend ask for advice concerning add-on software for the Treo line. I remembered I had done something similar a couple of years ago when I first got my 650. I have since upgraded to a 680. The two phones are very similar and only a few applications are better suited for just one or the other. The biggest difference will be on board available memory for the end user. The 650 has about 21MB available (depending on if it came from a specific carrier, or was an unlocked phone and whether it is the GSM model or the CDMA model). The 680, on the other hand, has 64MB. So without further adieu, here is my updated list of recommended software for the Treo phone line...

1. DateBk6. ($27.95) This takes the Calendar app and pumps it up on steroids. It has become an extension to my brain. This is THE app to install if you can only install one.
2. PowerRUN. ($15) Moves most applications to your SD card. Almost no added delay. This little app was the make it or break it for me to move from my "Batman utility" belt of phone, camera, and Sony Clie´to an all-in-one. This is also only really needed for the 650. The 680 has so much more internal memory I have yet to fill it with applications.
3. Butler. ($14.95) Great for simple alarm interface, turning off that annoying blinking green light, and all sorts of "interface management" options.. I cannot recommend this enough for the 650, but it has proven very buggy on my 680 and I no longer use it there.
4. MyBible. ($ varies depending on Bible version bundled) A great Bible program that allows multiple versions (NLT, NIV, etc), adding of notes, highlighting, bookmarking, and much more. Laridian, the makers of MyBible, offer a free verse memorization tool and a free specialized book reader that can be used for daily devotions or reading plans. Both of these free-bees integrate very well with MyBible.
5. VolumeCare. ($14.95) Tweaks the volume settings so the volume can be doubled and the settings can be separate for handset, speaker phone, or hands free.
6. pTunes. ($37.95) Turns your Treo into an iPod. You are only limited by the size of your SD card.
7. FileZ. FREE. The best file management utility I have found. It has been my only means for deleting some stubborn file bits from trialware gone bad. It is great for beaming applications or files that may otherwise be restricted. And did I mention it's FREE?
8. BackupBuddy VFS Pro. ($24.95: card app only; $44.95 also includes Mac/Windows app) The best money I have ever spent on any Palm app EVER. You can back up everything (yes everything, including registrations, passwords, hidden files, all of it)to your SD card to restore from when bad things happen. Also comes with a computer app (both Windows and Mac) to backup everything at hotsync. This application has saved my bacon many many times. I have gone six months without a hotsync, knowing I am safe because I have this automatically back everything up in the middle of the night every night.
9. Documents to Go Premium Edition 10. ($29.99-89.99) Now you can open/read/edit/compose Word, Excel, Power Point, and PDF files on your Palm. With this latest version you can even move the apps to your SD card!
10. Ringo. ($29.99) Now you can use MP3s as ringtones. It also allows you to assign ringtones to individuals or groups.

There are also a ton of free games out there. Here are some...

Astraware

Bang! ( a duck shoot game)
Round Up (a marble game)
T-Blaster (improve your keyboard skills)
TacTic (tic tac toe on steroids)

Danny Newport

BibleGameC (Bible book memorization)
BowlingSol (Combine math and bowling...)

Absolutist

HeartsOS5 (Tetris-esque grid game)

Seahorse Software

Pyramid (pyramid solitaire)

Mirek Wojtowicz

Yahdice (Yahtee clone)

(and available on many palm software sites)

Solarwars (get rich through the buying and selling of cargo)
The Prison ( a Breakout remake)

OK, have fun. Leave a comment if you have any favorites and if you find any other free games I have not mentioned!

Super Brian!

2007-12-19T16:40:00.001-05:00

CompUSA closing all stores

2007-12-08T08:33:00.000-05:00

Computer and electronics retailer CompUSA announced on Friday that it would start winding down its retail operations after being acquired by an investment firm, which is looking to sell the company's business and assets.

Gordon Brothers Group is discussing with different parties the sale of stores in key retail markets and CompUSA's other assets, including the Internet retail unit CompUSA.com and technical-support-services business CompUSA TechPro.

The retail stores that don't sell will be shut down, CompUSA said in a statement. The 103 stores will remain open during the holiday shopping season and provide heavy discounts on products.

Glad I don't work there anymore. God bless those that are loosing their jobs/careers.

Turkey Day Help & Hints

2007-11-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

Do you need help preparing your turkey? Help is just a click away. At Butterball. Thank you to Butterball for sharing their turkey tips with everyone.

Here are some Thanksgiving resources:
Butterball Hotline - 800-323-4848
Butterball's email - bbturkeyco@aol.com
Butterball's Top Ten Asked Turkey Questions
Oceanspray Cranberry Recipes
Thanksgiving tips from Chefs
Martha Stewart
The true story of Thanksgiving
Ecards, riddles, pics, thanksgiving games for kids @ Kidsdomain

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! God Bless!

Angel Food Ministries

2007-11-09T23:21:00.000-05:00

"Serving Neighbors One Box at a Time"

This is a "new-to-me" concept. It is similar in some aspects to some sort of co-op, but no membership is required. Here locally, it is offered through my church and a few other churches in the city. It boils down to very inexpensive restaurant quality food available once a month on a pre-order basis. You can participate once, occasionally, or every month. There are multiple "add-on packs" to expand the monthly offering and variety for a custom fit to your tastes and the size of your family. I highly recommend them. You can check their website for your local area location.

From their website:

Angel Food Ministries’ mission is to help relieve hunger throughout the United States.

Angel Food Ministries, a non-profit, non-denominational organization, began in 1994 as a small outreach ministry serving a rural community in Georgia. The goal was to help neighbors who needed a hand up in a tough economic time. Today, Angel Food Ministries can be found in over 3,200 communities in 34 states and helps feed over 500,000 families a month.

Angel Food partners with churches and community organizations throughout the country to help distribute food to those in need. For $25.00* you can receive a box of food containing both fresh and frozen items. Our food items are first quality. No seconds or out-of–date items.

For more information on Angel Food, take a tour of our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Angel Food Ministries
1620 South Broad Street
Monroe, Georgia 30655
1-770-267-7015
1-888-819-3745
Fax: 1-770-267-8031

Or call our Angel Food hotline at 1-877-FOOD-MINISTRY for answers anytime!

website: www.angelfoodministries.com

Your Credit-Contacting the Three Major Credit Bureaus

2007-11-01T08:59:00.000-04:00

Well, here we go, installment number 2 in the "Your Credit" series.

Listed here are the three credit reporting agencies. I have found, at least for myself, calling them can be tedious (it is a long drawn out "automated" phone call). I much prefer contacting them via the free-once-a-year Annual Credit Report, as mentioned below.

Equifax
Post Office Box 740241
Atlanta, Georgia 30374-0241
Order Credit Report 1-800-685-1111
Report Fraud 1-800-525-6285

Experian
Post Office Box 2104
Allen, Texas 75013-2104
Order Credit Report 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Report Fraud 1-888-EXPERIAN

Trans Union
760 Sproul Road
Post Office Box 390
Springfield, Pennsylvania 19064-0390
Order Credit Report 1-800-916-8800
Report Fraud 1-800-680-7289

Everyone qualifies for one free credit report per year. You can get this credit report through email at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228.

You can also ask for your free credit report by mail by sending a letter to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348_5281 or by filling out the form available at the Federal Trade Commission's Web site at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/docs/fact_act_request_form.pdf.

Email or snail mail, it can take anywhere from 5 weeks to 8 weeks to get your report from each bureau.

In part three we will cover some basics of how to clean up your report.

Testing.... Testing....

2007-10-18T22:10:00.001-04:00

Hello all! Here is a short test post to see how my Blogger Widget does...

Counting down the days for my vacation to begin!

I will be able to dive back into the block when I get back. My next big post will be the part two of my credit series. (Just to get your drooling started) :)

Assemblies of God Mega Churches

2007-10-07T11:39:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to wet your whislte for a few days...

Richard Alan Tatum's site, BlogRodent, is a great site; but this particular link
lists the 100 largest Assemblies of God churches in the US. (Mine is currently #85).
The best part is he has links for all of them and their blogs (if they have one).
Browse around there for a few days, then check back here. I will have some new stuff by then.

Enjoy!

website.

ICE - In Case of Emergency

2007-07-05T18:54:00.000-04:00

Have you heard of the idea where you put an emergency contact entry into your phone to make it easier for Paramedics/E.M.T.s/etc to find out who to contact for you in case of an emergency? Well here is the official website.

Don't pay good hard earned money to get stickers or forms or the like anywhere else! They have all of those and more FREE on this site.

Here are the basics...

You can make their job easier by adding an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under the label ICE with the names and phone numbers of people that should be called in case of an accident or injury. Simply put the acronym ICE before the names you want to designate as key contacts or next of kin ― creating entries such as ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

By adopting the “ICE advice” your cell phone may help emergency and rescue services quickly contact a relative or friend ― which could be vital in a life or death situation. It only takes a few seconds to do. Responders at the scene will now know right away who to notify.

90's Flowchart (a humor break)

2007-07-02T18:00:00.000-04:00

Your Credit-What is a good credit score?

2007-05-27T15:38:00.000-04:00

This question really depends on the lender and how they rate individual scores. It is a good idea to speak with your lender, who would be best able to answer that question; however, we can make some generalizations when speaking about FICO (most widely used) scores that range from 300 to 850:

770 or above - This is considered to be an excellent credit score. At 770 and above you can generally obtain the best lending rates.
Between 700 and 770 - With 725 being the average score in the United States, this range is usually considered to be between very good and excellent credit, and can be looked at as the medium.

Once you go below a 700 score, however, it becomes difficult to categorize credit as good or bad.

Between 650 and 700 - Considered very good credit, although some institutions may consider a score of 650 to be excellent credit. Again, this is specific to the industry and the target market the institution is after.
Between 620 and 650 - A good credit score. This is generally considered the cutoff point for a prime rate loan. Lenders generally view people with scores between 600 and 620 to be a much higher credit risk.
Below 620 - Lenders see you as a high credit risk. While you can still obtain loans and credit cards in this range, they will often be secured credit cards and loans at the highest interest rate. If you have a score below 600 you are generalized as someone with having credit problems and probably have open credit problems that need to be addressed.
Below 550 - Any FICO score below 550 is considered to be awful credit (multiple bankruptcies, loan defaults, past-due accounts, judgments against, etc.)

As I said, this is a general list for FICO scores that are calculated to 850. There is also your Experian score (330 to 830) and your TransUnion Score (150 to 934). There is no “standard” for estimating credit risk by companies, so this information should be used only as an overview when determining your likelihood of being approved for a credit card or loan.

Next time we will get into contacting the three credit agencies and possible ways to clean up your file and improve your scores.

News: Not what it used to be

2007-05-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

OK, no links today. No fancy pictures. Just commentary, and a rant. I took my wife to breakfast this morning, it was a treat for both of us. In the seating area was a TV, and it was turned to the news. After eating, while we were sitting and chatting a few news stories caught our ears. I was quickly reminded why I no longer listened to the news for anything other than weather, and I was also reminded of the sad state this world is in.

One story tells of a teacher that left the classroom, only to return to a physical fight two students were in. The teacher broke it up, reported the students and received a surprise reaction from the school, the media, and now it seems from the local government. What was her surprise? She was suspended for allowing the fight, then fired for leaving the room, and now she is facing criminal charges. THIS IS CRAZY! I know teachers. I know their workloads, and the many hoops they must jump through to receive far less then average wage for far more than most accomplish. There is no teacher in America, and possibly the world, that does not find themselves in a situation where they must step out of the classroom on occasion. To be held accountable for students that have not been taught right and wrong at home is not only STUPID, but irresponsible on the part of the authorities in question. It is NOT a teachers job to parent their students. The actions of these students should be the responsibility of the students, and their guardians (parents, extended family, whomever). If you fight at school, then you are punished for doing something wrong. Your parents are punished for doing something wrong, NOT the teacher who is doing their best to make do with inadequate tools, support (from homes, and schools), and in this case students. What part of teaching these kids they can get away with doing wrong while someone else pays the price is right or good or beneficial to themselves or society at large? WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ACTIONS! Wow am I steamed!

Dear God, have mercy on us all!

Who likes Etch-A-Sketch?!

2007-04-30T16:41:00.000-04:00

Here ya go Etch-A-Sketch fans... Now you can draw online!

300GB laptop hard drive!

2007-04-27T19:15:00.000-04:00

Hallelujah!

Not only has Apple started making a stock 200GB drive available to configure in the MacBook Pro, but now Fujitsu is manufacturing a 300GB drive!

copied from site:

MHX2300BT SATA

2.5-Inch, SATA, 4200 RPM
MHX2250BT - MHX2300BT

PDF Datasheet

Ultra-high capacity, 2.5” hard disk drive series features perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology.

Unmatched capacity of up to 300GB⁽¹⁾ in a 2.5" form factor
Features best in class read/write power consumption at 1.6W
Mobile 2.5” series features high shock tolerance and low power consumption
Delivers outstanding reliability and durability
Engineered for audio/video computing applications as well as the high-end PC market

Oh how far we have come....

2007-04-11T12:38:00.000-04:00

Here is a 5MB hard disc from 1956. It weighed over 2000 pounds!

In September 1956 IBM launched the 305 RAMAC, the first computer with a
hard disk drive (HDD). The HDD weighed over a ton and stored 5MB of
data.

By comparison... a CD can hold 700MB, or 140 times more space!

If we keep going at this rate, in another 50 or so years we will have hard drives the size of a mustard seed that hold more information than all the combined libraries of the world.

Laws still on the books

2007-04-09T13:04:00.000-04:00

Indiana

"Spiteful Gossip" and "talking behind a person's back" are illegal.

A three dollar fine per pack will be imposed on anyone playing cards in Indiana under the Act for the Prevention of Gaming.

All males 18 to 50 years old must work six days a year on public roads.

Anyone 14 or older who profanely curses, damns or swears by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, shall be fined one to three dollars for each offense, with a maximum fine of ten dollars per day.

Auburn: It is illegal to bike, roller-skate, skateboard, or inline skate in a commercially zoned area. For these offenses, there is a fine of no more than $5 or the impounding of one's bicycle for a period not to exceed 30 days.

Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March.

Beech Grove: It is forbidden to eat watermelon in the park.

Check forgery can be punished with public flogging up to 100 stripes.

Citizens are not allowed to attend a cinema or theatre nor ride in a public streetcar within at least four hours after eating garlic.

Drinking from your own bottle in a bar can lead to your arrest.

Drinks on the house are illegal.

Elkhart: It is illegal for barbers to threaten to cut off kid's ears.

Evansville: While driving on Main Street you may not have your lights on.

Fort Wayne: You may not sell or play on a radio broadcast, the record "It's In the Book".

Grocery stores may not sell any type of cold liquor.

Hotel sheets must be exactly 99 inches long and 81 inches wide.

If any person has a puppet show, wire dancing or tumbling act in the state of Indiana and receives money for it, they will be fined $3 under the Act to Prevent Certain Immoral Practices.

In Indiana it is illegal to sell laughing gas with the intent to induce laughter.

In South Bend, Indiana, it is illegal to make a monkey smoke a cigarette.

It is against the law to pass a horse on the street.

Men are prohibited from standing in a bar.

Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans.

No one may catch a fish with his bare hands.

One man may not back into a parking spot because it prevents police officers from seeing the license plate.

Pedestrians crossing the highway at night are prohibited from wearing tail lights.

Smoking in the state legislature building is banned, except when the legislature is in session.

State government officials who engage in private duels can be dismissed from their post.

Taxpayers of Bainbridge, Ind., used to have to swear a solemn oath that the values they placed on their taxable property were the fair market values.

Terre Haute: No one may spit on the sidewalk.

The value of Pi is 4, and not 3.1415

You are required to pour your drink into a glass.

You can get out of paying for a dependent's medical care by praying for him/her.

Ohio

According to Ohio law, it's against the law to kill a housefly within 160 feet of a church without a license.

A policeman may bite a dog to quiet him. However, the reverse is not true, even if it's a police dog.

Bay Village: It is illegal to walk a cow down Lake Road.

Bexley: The installation and usage of slot machines in outhouses is prohibited.

Breast feeding is not allowed in public.

Cars are not allowed to scare horses in Centerville, Ohio.

Cleveland: It's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license!

Cleveland law forbids you to operate a motor vehicle while sitting in another person's lap.

In Cleveland, Ohio, women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see reflections of their underwear.

Clinton County: Any person who leans against a public building will be subject to fines.

In Chillicothe, Ohio it is illegal to throw rice at weddings.

Columbus: It is illegal for stores to sell corn flakes on Sunday.

Fairview Park: It's against the law to honk your horn "excessively". A grandmother was fined for honking her horn twice at her neighbor. Items left on a tree lawn become city property. A young man was fined for removing an item from a tree lawn even though he had the owner's permission.

Funeral jargon seems to have crept into the wording of a cemetery fee regulation in Norton, Ohio. There regular plots are $33, but "creamies" are $75.

In Columbus, Ohio it is illegal to sell cornflakes on Sunday.

In Marysville, Ohio it is illegal for a dog to urinate on a parking meter.

In the hippy-dippy late '60s, Youngstown, Ohio, briefly had a law making it illegal to walk barefoot through town.

In ohio it is illegal to ride on the roof of a taxi cab

In ohio it is illegal to run out of gas

In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00.

In Oxford, Ohio, it's illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man's picture.

In Oxford, Ohio, it is unlawful for a woman to appear in public while unshaven. This includes legs and face.

In Xenia, Ohio, it's illegal to spit in a salad bar

Ironton: Cross-dressing is against the law.

It is against the law to roller skate without notifying the police.

It is illegal for more than five women to live in a house.

It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday.

It is illegal to get a fish drunk.

It is illegal to mistreat anything of great importance.

It is legal to throw a snake at someone but it is illegal to shake a snake at someone.

Lima: Any map that does not have Lima clearly stated on the map cannot be sold.

Lowell: It is unlawful to run a horse over five miles per hour.

Marion: You cannot eat a doughnut and walk backwards on a city street.

McDonald: Your goose may not paraded down Main Street.

No one may be arrested on Sunday or on the Fourth of July.

North Canton: It is against the law to roller skate without notifying the police.

Owners of tigers must notify authorities within one hour if the tiger escapes.

Participating or conducting a duel is prohibited.

The Ohio driver's education manual states that you must honk the horn whenever you pass another car.

What color is your brain?

2007-03-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance.
You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver.
You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns.

You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

What if people bought cars like they buy computers?

2007-02-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

Well, leave it to a blizzard to slow me down enough to post a blog. Apologies for my absence...

A friend sent me this in email and I could not stop laughing! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

General Motors doesn't have a "help line" for people who don't know how to drive, because people don't buy cars like they buy computers - but imagine if they did...

Helpline:
"General Motors Helpline, how can I help you?"
Customer:
"I got in my car and closed the door, and nothing happened!"
Helpline:
"Did you put the key in the ignition and turn it?"
Customer:
"What's an ignition?"
Helpline:
"It's a starter motor that draws current from your battery and turns over the engine."
Customer:
"Ignition? Motor? Battery? Engine? How come I have to know all of these technical terms just to use my car?"
Helpline:
"General Motors Helpline, how can I help you?"
Customer:
"My car ran fine for a week, and now it won't go anywhere!"
Helpline:
"Is the gas tank empty?"
Customer:
"Huh? How do I know?"
Helpline:
"There's a little gauge on the front panel, with a needle, and markings from 'E' to 'F'. Where is the needle pointing?"
Customer:
"I see an 'E' but no 'F'."
Helpline:
"You see the 'E' and just to the right is the 'F'."
Customer:
"No, just to the right of the first 'E' is a 'V'."
Helpline:
"A 'V'?!?"
Customer:
"Yeah, there's a 'C', an 'H', the first 'E', then a 'V', followed by 'R', 'O', 'L' ..."
Helpline:
"No, no, no sir! That's the front of the car. When you sit behind the steering wheel, that's the panel I'm talking about."
Customer:
"That steering wheel thingy -- Is that the round thing that honks the horn?"
Helpline:
"Yes, among other things."
Customer:
"The needle's pointing to 'E'. What does that mean?"
Helpline:
"It means that you have to visit a gasoline vendor and purchase some more gasoline. You can install it yourself, or pay the vendor to install it for you."
Customer:
"What? I paid $12,000 for this car! Now you tell me that I have to keep buying more components? I want a car that comes with everything built in!"

Helpline:
"General Motors Helpline, how can I help you?"
Customer:
"Your cars suck!"
Helpline:
"What's wrong?"
Customer:
"It crashed, that's what went wrong!"
Helpline:
"What were you doing?"
Customer:
"I wanted to go faster, so I pushed the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor. It worked for a while, and then it crashed -- and now it won't even start up!"
Helpline:
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's your responsibility if you misuse the product."
Customer:
"Misuse it? I was just following this damned manual of yours. It said to make the car go to put the transmission in 'D' and press the accelerator pedal. That's exactly what I did -- now the damn thing's crashed."
Helpline:
"Did you read the entire operator's manual before operating the car sir?"
Customer:
"What? Of course I did! I told you I did EVERYTHING the manual said and it didn't work!"
Helpline:
"Didn't you attempt to slow down so you wouldn't crash?"
Customer:
"How do you do THAT?"
Helpline:
"You said you read the entire manual, sir. It's on page 14. The pedal next to the accelerator."
Customer:
"Well, I don't have all day to sit around and read this manual you know."
Helpline:
"Of course not. What do you expect us to do about it?"
Customer:
"I want you to send me one of the latest versions that goes fast and won't crash anymore!"

Helpline:
"General Motors Helpline, how can I help you?"
Customer:
"Hi! I just bought my first car, and I chose your car because it has automatic transmission, cruise control, power steering, power brakes, and power door locks."
Helpline:
"Thanks for buying our car. How can I help you?"
Customer:
"How do I work it?"
Helpline:
"Do you know how to drive?"
Customer:
"Do I know how to what?"
Helpline:
"Do you know how to DRIVE?"
Customer:
"I'm not a technical person! I just want to go places in my car!"

Gas Saving Driving Tips

2007-01-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

We Test the Tips
What Really Saves Gas? And How Much?
By Edmunds.com Editors

With gas prices so high, the media is awash with lists of gas-saving tips. Well how's this for a tip? If you listen to us, you can see hybrid-type savings without having to buy a new car.

By changing your driving habits you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away (depending on how you drive). Combine several tips and perform routine maintenance and you will save real dollars, not just pennies.

A miracle? All we did was take several of the most common tips out there and put them to the test over a remote 55-mile route in the high desert of California. Some of them worked like a charm. Some of them didn't work at all. We'll give you the breakdown.

These tests were done under real-world conditions — not in a government lab somewhere. Our results can be matched by anyone — even you.

The wonderful part about what we found is that improving your car's mileage is just a matter of changing your habits. Stack a few of these winners together and we'll bet that you'll see a substantial savings at the pump — without the need for a new car."

Care for Your Poinsettia

2007-01-04T22:54:00.000-05:00

Did you buy or receive a Poinsettia for the Holiday season? Do you want to keep it alive and well? I did, and I do. Here is some of the information I have found on the topic:

Bract Color
* Choose plants with thoroughly colored and expanded bracts. (Bracts are the colored portions of the plant, while the actual flowers are the yellow centers). Avoid plants with too much green around the bract edges, as this is a sign of a plant shipped before it was sufficiently mature.

* Look for plants with dense, plentiful foliage all the way to the soil line. An abundance of rich green foliage is a vital sign of good plant health.

Shape and Proportion
* Proper proportion of plant height and shape relative to container size is the key to an aesthetically pleasing poinsettia.

* Plants should appear balanced, full and attactive from all angles.

* A generally accepted standard is that the plant should be 2 1/2 times taller than the diameter of the container.

Durability and Freshness
* Select plants with stiff stems, good bract retention and no signs of wilting, breaking or drooping.

* Be wary of plants displayed in paper, plastic or mesh sleeves, or plants that are too closely crowded in a sales display. A poinsettia needs its space, and the longer a plant remains sleeved, the more the plant quality will deteriorate. Crowding can reduce air flow around the plants and cause premature bract loss or other problems.

* Examine the plant's soil: it's best to avoid waterlogged soil, particularly if the plant appears wilted. Such a condition could signify irreversible root rot.

* When transporting the plant, protect it from chilling winds and temperatures below 50° F. Re-inserting the poinsettia into a sleeve or a large, roomy shopping bag will usually provide adequate protection for transporting the plant home when it is cold and windy.

The Do's and Don'ts of Poinsettia Care
* DO place your plant in indirect sunlight for at least six hours per day. If direct sun can't be avoided, diffuse the light with a shade or sheer curtain.

* DO provide room temperatures between 68 - 70° F. Generally speaking, if you are comfortable, so is your poinsettia.

* DO water your plant when the soil feels dry to the touch.

* DO use a large, roomy shopping bag to protect your plant when transporting it.

* DO fertilize your plant AFTER THE BLOOMING SEASON with a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer.

* DON'T place plants near cold drafts or excessive heat. Avoid placing plants near appliances, fireplaces or ventilating ducts.

* DON'T expose plants to temperatures below 50° F. Poinsettias are sensitive to cold, so avoid placing them outside during the winter months.

* DON'T overwater your plant, or allow it to sit in standing water. Always remove a plant from any decorative container before watering, and allow the water to drain completely.

* DON'T expose your plant to chilling winds when transporting it.

* DON'T fertilize your plant when it is in bloom.

How to Re-Bloom Your Poinsettia
When the poinsettia's bracts age and lose their aesthetic appeal, there's no reason to throw it out. With proper care, dedication and a certain amount of luck, you too can re-bloom your poinsettia!

By late March or early April, cut your poinsettia back to about 8" in height. Continue a regular watering program, and fertilize your plant with a good, balanced all-purpose fertilizer. By the end of May, you should see vigorous new growth.

Place your plants outdoors, where they can bask in the warmth of spring and summer, after all chance of frost has passed and night temperatures average 55° F or above. Continue regular watering during the growth period, and fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks.

Pruning may be required during the summer to keep plants bushy and compact. Late June or early July is a good time for this step, but be sure not to prune your plant later than September 1. Keep the plants in indirect sun and water regularly.

Around June 1, you may transplant your poinsettia into a larger pot. Select a pot no more than 4 inches larger than the original pot. A soil mix with a considerable amount of organic matter, such as peat moss or leaf mold, is highly recommended. In milder climates, you may transplant the plant into a well-prepared garden bed. Be sure the planting bed is rich in organic material and has good drainage.

The poinsettia is a photoperiodic plant, meaning that it sets bud and produces flowers as the Autumn nights lengthen. Poinsettias will naturally come into bloom during November or December, depending on the flowering response time of the individual cultivar. Timing to produce blooms for the Christmas holiday can be difficult outside of the controlled environment of a greenhouse. Stray light of any kind, such as from a street light or household lamps, could delay or entirely halt the re-flowering process.

Starting October 1, the plants must be kept in complete darkness for 14 continuous hours each night. Accomplish this by moving the plants to a totally dark room, or by covering them overnight with a large box. During October, November and early December, poinsettias require 6 - 8 hours of bright sunlight daily, with night temperatures between 60 - 70° F. Temperatures outside of this range could also delay flowering.

Continue the normal watering and fertilizer program. Carefully following this regime for 8 to 10 weeks should result in a colorful display of blooms for the holiday season!

The Poinsettia is NOT Poisonous
The widespread belief that poinsettias are poisonous is a misconception. The scientific evidence demonstrating the poinsettia's safety is ample and well documented.

Studies conducted by The Ohio State University in cooperation with the Society of American Florists concluded that no toxicity was evident at experimental ingestion levels far exceeding those likely to occur in a home environment. In fact, the POISINDEX Information Service, the primary information resource used by most poison control centers, states that a 50-pound child would have to ingest over 500 poinsettia bracts to surpass experimental doses. Yet even at this high level, no toxicity was demonstrated.

As with all ornamental plants, poinsettias are not intended for human or animal consumption, and certain individuals may experience an allergic reaction to poinsettias. However, the poinsettia has been demonstrated to be a safe plant. In fact, in 1992, the poinsettia was included on the list of houseplants most helpful in removing pollutants from indoor air. So, not only is the poinsettia a safe and beautiful addition to your holiday decor, it can even help keep your indoor air clean!

Negative Calorie Foods

2007-01-02T00:57:00.000-05:00

First, I should point out negative calorie food is somewhat of an oxy-moron. The food does not really have negative calories. Actually, the human body burns more calories digesting it than the food contains.

Here is a list of some of those foods. Eating them, or more of them; with or without other foods will increase metabolism naturally. This will result in weight loss.

It can also help to eat protein with these foods. Good protein will help control your appetite and increase your metabolism.

Here is the list:

Vegetables

broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, chicory, cress, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, gourd, leek, lettuce, marrow, peppers, radish, spinach, tomato, turnip.

Fruits

Apricot, blackberry, blackcurrant, cantaloupe, clementine, damson, grapefruit, guava, honeydew, lemon, mandarin, melon, orange, peach, plum, raspberry, rhubarb, strawberry, tangerine, watermelon.

I have no accent...

2006-12-28T13:20:00.000-05:00

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The South
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 for Mac

2006-12-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine gave me a first generation iPod shuffle that could not be recognized. They had given up trying to fix it and knew I tinkered. Soooo..... if I could fix it, then I would have my very first iPod! Woo Hoo!

I dug around on the internet for a bit and came accross this magical tool on Apple's website called the iPod shuffle reset utility. After a few minutes of downloading, installing, and running I know am the proud owner of my first iPod. If your in a similar fix, follow me down the rabbit's hole....

(From Apple's website...)
About iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 for Mac

The iPod shuffle Reset Utility restores First Generation iPod shuffle. The restore process completely erases all music and data on iPod shuffle and reinstalls software version 1.1.5.

Note:
iPod shuffle Reset Utility is only for First Generation 512MB and 1GB iPod shuffle. Any other iPod, including Second Generation iPod shuffle is not supported. If you are not sure which iPod you have, see Apple Support document 61688: Identifying different iPod models

Use the iPod shuffle Reset Utility to fix the following issues:

With the iPod shuffle switched on, pressing the Play button will cause amber and green LEDs to flash for a few seconds, and the unit will not play any music, nor can you sync music to it from iTunes.

On a Windows PC, iPod shuffle will appear in My Computer as a “Removable Disk,” however the iPod shuffle volume will not mount correctly. The unit is listed in Device Manager under “Disk Drives” as “Apple iPod USB Device.”

On a Mac, the unit will only be recognized in Apple System Profiler under Hardware -> USB and will not appear or mount in the Finder.

When attempting to restore, the unit may not be recognized at all. However, if it is recognized, the restore may fail with an error dialog “Firmware update failure. Disk write error” or another error. It may take 3 restore attempts before the error appears. Note: iPod shuffle may take several minutes to be recognized.

Troy likes the Ponies

2006-12-10T15:53:00.000-05:00

Here is my friend Troy on his trusty steed, Giblet.

Happy Birthday Nathaniel!

2006-12-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

In honor of what would have been my son's first birthday...

Men Do Cry

By Ken Falk

I heard quite often "men don’t cry"
Though no one ever told me why.
So when I fell and skinned a knee,
No one came by to comfort me.

And when some bully-boy at school
Would pull a prank so mean and cruel,
I’d quickly learn to turn and quip,
"It doesn’t hurt," and bite my lip.

So as I grew to reasoned years,
I learned to stifle any tears.
Though "Be a big boy" it began,
Quite soon I learned to "Be a man."

And I could play that stoic role
While storm and tempest wracked my soul.
No pain or setback could there be
Could wrest one single tear from me.
Then one long night I stood nearby
And helplessly watched my son die.
And quickly found, to my surprise,
That all that tearless talk was lies.

And still I cry, and have no shame.
I cannot play that "big boy" game.
And openly, without remorse,
I let my sorrow take its course.

So those of you who can’t abide
A man you’ve seen who’s often cried,
Reach out to him with all your heart
As one whose life’s been torn apart.

For men DO cry when they can see
Their loss of immortality.
And tears will come in endless streams
When mindless fate destroys their dreams.

Brian Spears?

2006-11-25T15:20:00.000-05:00

I always wondered how many of me there were. (grin)

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
177
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Amazon.com Customer service #

2006-11-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

I like to get this out at least once a year. If you are dealing with Amazon for holiday purchases and need customer service on a phone, this is the phone number 1(800)201-7575

(It is not available from their website)

Happy online shopping!

Why are young adults not finding their places in their parents’ church?

2006-10-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

I found this on "Out of Ur", one of the blogs I read regularly. This article hit close to home, as I am heavily envolved with the Young Adults group at my church.

Many churches struggle to reach the ever-elusive young adult demographic. Are 20-somethings simply disinterested in church? Not according to Brian McLaren. He believes we are failing to listen to the questions young adults are asking.

This post is a preview of McLaren’s commentary in the upcoming Fall issue of Leadership. Here the Emergent leader encourages churches and parents to begin investigating why young adults are leaving the church—not to argue them back into the fold, but simply to understand their perspective.

There was irony in the title of the old TV game show Family Feud. The irony was that the feuding between families was much less intense than the cheering within families as members tried to answer the same trivia questions.

In our churches, family feuds of another sort arise when members of the same family are asking different questions. For example:

In the third row, left side, mom and dad are asking how they can raise their 14-year-old daughter so she will never rebel and never get in trouble. Meanwhile, their daughter, seated with her friends in the last pew, is asking how she can get out from under their control.

Or in the ninth row, another mom and dad are wondering how they can be sure their 18-year-old son will (a) go to a good college and get a good education so he can have a good job and a good life, and (b) not be exposed to philosophical, scientific, or political questions that may cause him to question his faith. But their son, sitting with his girlfriend in the pew directly behind them, is asking how he can find a college where he can ask the philosophical, scientific, and political questions he has already been exposed to in high school.

These families share something in common: their young

Bypass The Windows XP Log On Screen

2006-10-16T19:16:00.000-04:00

Here is a nice way to automate the Windows logon process if you are on a single user machine that is secure in your home or office...

To make logon an unattended process:

Click [Start] [Run] and type
control userpasswords2
Click [OK]
The [User Accounts] Property Sheet displays.
On [Users] tab, clear the [Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer] check box.
Click [Apply].
Enter a user name and password that should be used to logon automatically in the dialog box that appears.
Click [OK].
Go to [Control Panel] [User Accounts] [Change the Way Users Log On and Off].
Uncheck [Use the Welcome Screen] and [Use Fast User Switching]"

Palm Treo Tricks

2006-10-15T18:55:00.000-04:00

Here are som great tips for
the Treo 650 and newer models
running the Palm OS that I have
found everywhere on the net...

* Shift + Space = TAB which can also cycle through fields on a form in places where 5 way nav-Down is not supported.

* You can delete any single message that is contained within a SMS thread. - Use the navigation up arrow to outline the dialogue portion of the SMS thread window. Once outlined pressing the center button will highlight individual messages within the thread. Use the up/down arrows to select the message you want to delete and then the center button again will pull the message into its own window, giving you the option to delete or forward.

* Opt + Right Shift on the keyboard will dim the screen

* The "call Back" option and Icon in the OEM SMS app

* In Blazer, if your cursor is on a webpage you can move it up to the menu bar by hitting the space bar. Once you are done hitting the space bar again brings right back to the same spot on the webpage. No need to use the stylus at all in Blazer.

* In Blazer, if the page is in the process of loading, space bar moves the cursor to the Stop button. Much easier than left-arrowing all the way there.

* The delete (backspace) key in Blazer goes to the previous page.

* When running Blazer in optimized display you can select the Back button with the 5-Way (Space, Up, Left, Center) and it will give you a choice of backing up to any of the last several pages you've been to instead of just backing one page at a time.

* In Blazer, if you come across a photo on the web and you want to save it, just click and hold on the image, and it will automatically transfer to the built-in Pics&Video application.

* When in Bookmarks view in Blazer, spacebar brings up the same box as Menu | G, which is Go to Web Page.

* OPT + P = screen dimmer

* When you are in phone favorites if you hit the space bar, when one is highlighted, it will give you a list of other contact numbers for that same person, if you linked them via contacts.

* When popping up the 'Alt' character menu, instead of 5-way up/down you can repeatedly press the 'Alt' key to cycle through the choices - When you get to the desired character you don't have to travel up to the center button, just press the "space" bar to type the selected character.

* When typing an SMS, holding center brings up the smiley menu. I found this when trying to access my alerts manager

* You can use a favorites button to save an address group for multiple SMS recipients.

* You can send an SMS while on an active phone call.

* I hate the little asterisk* which keeps popping up when you have an alert. You can't 5-way to it and the only way to open it to clear it is to tap the asterisk on the screen. I found out if you press-hold the center button it takes you right to the alert screen!

* OPT + Left Shift brings up Global Find

* OPT+5way up/down lets you scroll page by page in Contacts and Call log

* The Delete Duplicates menu choice is on Addins, but that is on the Tools menu of Palm Desktop, not the View menu.

* OPT + Power Button automatically unlocks the treo too.

* From most programs you can press Menu + L to perform a 'phone lookup'. Useful for inserting numbers into messages (except it doesn't work with Messaging - d'oh!)

* When you are typing text and need to get your cursor relocated; OPT + 5way will navigate by words instead of by characters.

* Using VersaMail:

To quickly delete a message, put the highlight onto the message, then press backspace.
While viewing a message: pressing the space bar will go to next message, pressing 0 will go to previous message. And pressing h will toggle long/short header. And of course, pressing backspace will delete that message.

* You can press [L-Shift] + [Hard Btn 3] in VersaMail to cycle among the several email accounts you may have set-up; very useful and saves time.

You can use the same combination or [Opt] + [Hard Btn 3] to switch between the SMS Inbox and Chat mode.

* A nice way of quickly deleting large amounts of text: SHIFT + BACKSPACE deletes the entire contents of the field that you are editing.

* When using (global) search [option + left shift] if you know the app you think your answer will be in, start the search in that app, it'll search there first.

* You can assign a specific ringtone to an individual contact using a favorite button.

* You can assign a specific web page shortcut using a favorite button.

Hello FiOS!

2006-10-13T01:00:00.000-04:00

Just got Verizon FiOS! WOO HOO!

Apple iPhone to be Cingular exclusive

2006-10-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

"Apple and Cingular have signed an agreement that will make the US' largest cell phone provider the exclusive carrier of Apple's forthcoming phone, sources report. Apple's iPhone remains on track for an early 2007 release. Apple's phone will feature a candy-bar design with a 2.2-inch display and 3 megapixel camera. Robust iTunes and iSync support will also be delivered with the phone.

Apple's exclusive contract with Cingular is said to be good for the first six months, sources report, meaning other providers will be able to sell the phone in the second-half of 2007. Cingular had an exclusive on the Motorola ROKR—the first phone to feature iTunes—when it launched last year.

Sources say Apple is in talks with providers in other parts of the world on exclusive deals, but are short on specifics. O2 had the exclusive on the ROKR in Europe, however, suggesting that provider may again be tapped to launch Apple's phone.

Meanwhile, insiders say Apple is internally estimating that shipments of the iPhone will top a staggering 25 million in 2007 alone. Motorola's RAZR, by contrast, has sold more than 50 million units since its launch in late 2004. Apple is betting a phone with Apple's iconic design, elegant interface, and iPod-matching functionality will be a strong draw for users who currently carry both devices on them."

Bypass The Windows XP Log On Screen

2006-10-01T20:59:00.000-04:00

To make logon an unattended process:

Click [Start] [Run] and type
control userpasswords2
Click [OK]
The [User Accounts] Property Sheet displays.
On [Users] tab, clear the [Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer] check box.
Click [Apply].
Enter a user name and password that should be used to logon automatically in the dialog box that appears.
Click [OK].
Go to [Control Panel] [User Accounts] [Change the Way Users Log On and Off].
Uncheck [Use the Welcome Screen] and [Use Fast User Switching]"

Suggestions For Christian Growth

2006-09-26T22:43:00.000-04:00

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

G
Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).

R
Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11) - begin with the Gospel of John.

O
Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).

W
Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).

T
Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).

H
Holy Spirit - Allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).

Too Much To Handle?

2006-09-25T00:39:00.000-04:00

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

-Mother Teresa

Me Got Brain!

2006-09-20T23:03:00.000-04:00

I have an IQ of 157!
I am in the 99th percentile!
This means that I did better than 99 percent of the people who have taken this test!

The average score for this test is 100.
The maximum score is 167.
The minimum score is 66.

My look-a-likes

2006-09-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

MacFixIt - Tutorial: Installing Classic over a current Mac OS X installation

2006-08-30T19:11:00.000-04:00

If you have a Mac capable of running Classic (i.e., not an Intel-based Mac) but either reformatted the drive and installed only Mac OS X, or acquired the machine with only Mac OS X installed, you may want to install the Classic (Mac OS 9) environment overtop the Mac OS X installation. Doing so is a surprisingly daunting task, but there are several options for doing so.

The first thing to do is determine what type of Mac OS 9 installation disc you are using.

First, if you have a bootable Mac OS 9 Software Restore CD, Apple recommends that you erase your hard drive and start with a clean install to perform the multi-disc restore as described in Knowledge Base article #60847.

However, if you don't need to boot Mac OS 9 but only need to run the Classic environment, you can work around having to do a clean install via the following process:

1. You will need to temporarily make all folders visible -- this can be accomplished with a utility like TinkerTool or via the Terminal command: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool TRUE (You will need to re-launch the Finder after toggling this option by logging out and back in)
2. Next, insert your Mac OS 9 restore CD. You will see a folder called ".images" on it. Open that folder.
3. Double-click on the file "OS9General.dmg." This will mount a Mac OS 9 system disk image.
4. Inside of this disk image will be a folder titled "System Folder." Copy this folder to the root level of your Mac OS X startup drive.
5. Re-launch TinkerTool and make hidden folders invisible again, or use this Terminal command: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool FALSE
6. Log out then back in again. You should now be able to start Classic from its pane in System Preferences.

If not, you may need to re-bless the Mac OS 9 System Folder per this Knowledge Base article.

Second, if you have a non-bootable Software Restore CD which includes Mac OS 9.2.2, you can simply insert the dic, open Software Restore, and select to restore only Mac OS 9.

If you have a standalone Mac OS 9 retail CD, you can try the same steps listed for the restoration disc, though you may run into issues depending on how new your Mac model is.

Caveat: Mac OS X 10.4.x upgraders Note that if your Mac originally shipped with Mac OS X 10.2.x or Mac OS X 10.3.x and you updated to Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger), you may run into issues restoring from original (Software Restore) media. In that case, you will need to perform an erase and install of Mac OS X 10.2.x then re-update to Mac OS X 10.4.x per Knowledge Base document #301468, or attempt copying the Mac OS 9 system folder as described above.

Installing a bootable copy of Mac OS 9 If you have a Mac that is capable of booting Mac OS 9 (any system that shipped before January 2003) and would like to do so, you may need to install the Mac OS 9 disk drivers.

This can be accomplished by either erasing your hard drive and installing Mac OS 9/Mac OS X from the media that came with your Mac, making sure to check the "Install Mac OS 9 disk drivers" option

Otherwise, you can clone your drive to an external volume using a utility like SuperDuper, then erase your normal startup drive, install Mac OS 9 disk drivers on it, then copy that data from the cloned drive back.

Our testimony, this year...

2006-08-27T00:59:00.000-04:00

After a few requests, here is the first of my three part series on faith. This was more a testimony of what my wife and I had gone through in the past 8 or so months and how God changed us and grew us and got us through it all.

First, thank you for allowing us to come and speak to you. I consider this a great honor. May God bless you by the telling of our testimony that He has given us.

Lets pray….

My name is Brian Spears; this is my lovely wife Trisha Spears. We were married last year on March 19. We were blessed with a pregnancy right away. Early in the pregnancy, our son was diagnosed with a diaphragmatic hernia. This means part of his stomach and intestines had formed up in his chest cavity and were impairing the growth of his lunges and possibly his heart. After he was born on December 9th, 2005 at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, he was rushed to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis; where he lived for 53 days. Nathaniel Gabriel Spears died February 1st, 2006. We would like to tell you some of this story, what it has meant to us, and how it has changed us.

Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

God knew exactly what Nathaniel would go through, before he had even been born. God had a specific purpose for him. He had a job to do.

First, I need to tell you a little about me. You must see that God has saved me from my sin and myself. His mercy and grace are changing me every day. I was born in an unhealthy abusive home. My mother tried to push a legalistic view of Christianity down my throat, while my father verbally abused me, beat me, and ran away from God himself. When I turned 18, I swore I would never walk into a church again. This is where I ran away from God. I began smoking and drinking heavily. I started using people, both friends and family. I began a life of deceit and theft, first from those close to me, then from strangers and work. I was miserable and constantly looking over my shoulder for trouble coming my way. The patient love and unconditional acceptance from my sister and brother in law brought me to Indiana. Here I found salvation. Here I found my wife and my church. Here I have started my relationship with God.

Romans 8:31 (NIV)
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

We all have jobs to do. And God stands with us, guaranteeing that we can get them done.

Within weeks of being married, Trisha and I found out she was pregnant. We could not have been happier! A short time into the pregnancy, we were told our baby had a birth defect. His internal organs were not growing where they were supposed to grow. He would need surgery very soon after birth. From my childhood, I had memorized one verse: Proverbs 3:5-6. (NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. This became my lifeline to God. I knew that if I trusted God and did my best, then He had promised to take care of everything else. The tests had just begun. When Nathaniel was one day old, I followed an ambulance down to Indianapolis. A good friend drove, because I had not slept in two days. Trisha had had to have a c-section, so she was forced to stay in Fort Wayne for several more days. I was torn, between being with my wife, or being with my son. That was hard, but we both knew Nathaniel needed me more. By the time I arrived at Riley hospital, he already had many tubes and wires connected to him. They were preparing him for the first of possibly many procedures. He did not have the luxury of crying. There was a tube down his throat from minutes after birth, for all the rest of his days.

God did not hesitate. On the drive down, I began looking for a place to stay when I got there. We could never have afforded a hotel. I called the Ronald McDonald house at the recommendation of nurses at Lutheran hospital. The lady I spoke to, gave us a room and told me it was their last. I later found out that the normal waiting list was one or two months. We were the only people that they could remember in years getting in that easy. Thank you God!

Psalms 118:1 (NIV)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

I went to Nathaniel’s room for the first time and found 6 or 8 nurses taking care of 10 or 12 babies. I was overwhelmed to learn that there were five more rooms in this wing of the hospital like Nathaniel’s and there were four more wings on our floor. We were on the fifth floor. There were hundreds of very sick babies with hundreds of scared, tired, worried parents there, all being cared for.

Trisha arrived two days later. She was wheelchair bound as she healed. Because of a limitation in parking, I would push her wheelchair over to the hospital and back everyday for weeks. Once again, God took care of us. We found out Trisha actually had a choice of free meals. The Ronald McDonald house had a stocked kitchen and pantry so we could cook our own meals for free. The hospital also made three meals a day free available to any mother that was breast-feeding. Trisha could not yet, with the tubes in his throat, but was pumping and remaining ready for him when he could.

A week turned into a month. A month turned into almost eight weeks. Our days blended together. We would spend all the time we could with him. Sleep, or at least try, between visits and emergency phone calls rushing us back over to the room. We were blessed with many friends that came down regularly and spent time with us. Prayed for us. Visited with us. Cleaned our house in anticipation of our return. Took care of Trisha’s cats. Even removed snow from our drive in case we would get to come home before it melted. Thank you God!

There are 50 rooms for families at the Ronald McDonald house. We got to meet many people. We saw parents disappear into thin air, only to find out their child had passed away in the night and they had left to go home. We saw parents leaving with tears of joy, when they got to take their babies home. We saw some return, when new problems arose.

I kept everyone I knew with email up to date as often as I could. I asked for prayer. I gave good reports and bad. I want to read you one I wrote two days before he passed.

email below...

Hello all,

I want to give you an update on Nathaniel.

Nathaniel is stable today. He has been for two days. This does not mean what it meant last month. Last month stable was good. Today it means he is still not using his kidneys and the toxins in his blood are attacking his major organs. Until two weeks ago, our primary focus in prayer and all we thought about day and night was “Please God grow his lungs”. That has become secondary. If he does not pee, he will die. The most encouraging thing any doctor has said was said today. Doctor Little told us he considered Nathaniel a strong fighter and he was surprised (pleasantly) that he was still here. Over the last two and a half weeks, Trisha and I have had many “meetings” with doctors. We do not look forward to them. After the first few we knew exactly what we were in for. They sit us down and tell us there is nothing more they can do for him, unless we want them to pull the support early. Trisha and I have had many long hard talks about this. We have asked that he be listed as a “partial code”. This means the doctors and nurses will do everything they can if his heart stops again, except manual chest compressions. As it has been explained to us, they can use drugs and paddles without pain and with possible help, but chest compressions cause him pain and leave him worse off than before. Trisha and I look at it this way. He is fighting right now. Nathaniel is beating his heart (with the strength of the Lord) on his own without aid from machines or medicine. When he can no longer do that, we feel God will be saying “let him come home to me.” Until then, in spite of doctor opinion, as long as he fights, we stand by him. Please continue to pray for us all. Pray that God will give Nathaniel the strength to live the life he is called to, whether it is 90 days or 90 years. That God will give him comfort and not allow him to hurt during this fight. That God will give Trisha and I the wisdom, the strength, and the unity to do the jobs God has given us. I firmly believe God has put us all here for a specific purpose, we are each puzzle pieces of a giant jig-saw puzzle for God. No two pieces are alike. We all have our own assignment. I believe Nathaniel is in the spiritual battle of his life, and doing the assignment God has given him. Please pray that Trisha and I will continue to do ours. This is the hardest thing either of us has ever done. I would not trade it for anything. As I have said many times, I have been given the best gift of my entire life. It does not matter if the gift lasts days or years, I am so happy to have received him.

The next day, we both got a pleasant surprise. If you were to line up all the parents that were staying at the Ronald McDonald house and choose the least likely person to have anything to do with God, that person would have been Roger. As we were walking home early that morning, Roger came up to us and asked if we wanted to be part of a prayer circle. It seems he had spoken to a missionary that was also staying at the house while his son was being treated. The missionary had offered to pray with Roger about his daughter that was there. She needed a bowl movement to signal her recovery was starting. They prayed, and the next day she had that bowl movement! Thank you God! Now, Roger wanted to get as many parents together as he could, so we could all pray with each other and for our children. Trisha and I looked at each other with that confused “Why didn’t we think of this eight weeks ago?” look. We smiled and told Roger we would definitely be there. A few hours later we were sitting in a circle with about 15 parents. The missionary and his wife were there, and we even found an evangelist in the group. Roger started. “I don’t know much about this prayer stuff, so if someone wants to start go right ahead.”, he exclaimed. Several of us took turns, and before it was all said and done, even Roger had put in his two cents. Afterward, Trisha and I helped the evangelist lead a young mother to Christ. It was as if God stopped everything just to give us a glimpse into the “why” of it all.

The next morning, the last morning, after Nathaniel had passed away in my arms; one of our nurses stopped us and said she had worked there 15 years and had never seen what she had seen in us. She was touched by the way we handed Nathaniel back to God. She commented that we would be surprised at the faces we would see in heaven because of what they had seen in us during our stay. Thank you God!

Proverbs 10:6 (NIV)
Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.

Proverbs 2:7-8 (KJV)
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV)
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

“in season and out of season”. This is not talking about fall or winter. Here it is saying, “Live a life of example for the glory of God, whether you feel like it or not.”

God always takes care of the righteous. The reason we get confused when something doesn’t seem to go our way, especially when we think we are doing everything the right way, is because we have a warped sense of what righteous means. Literally, it means “right” or “in right standing with God”. Our opinion of what is right and wrong, what is fair, and what is just; tells us when to consider something righteous. Many times Trisha and I have asked God “Why did this happen to Nathaniel?”, and “Why did we have to go through this?” We have told Him, “This is not fair!” But the truth is, if we put our trust in God, the One that made us all, then try our best-whether we feel like it or not; God has promised He will take care of everything else. When God takes care of our situations, it does not always mean He will do what you expect. Usually, it means we will be surprised.

Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Matthew 6:8 (NIV)
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

What do you want?
Ask, according to His will, and He will give it to you.
God knows what you need even before you ask.
As you draw closer to God, you will stop asking for things.
“But”, you say, “Why do I ask for things, then?”
So you can get to know HIM!

Last fall, my care group came up with something that rhymes. It is something I told them over and over again. I want you to repeat after me,

“If I do my best, God will take care of all the rest!”

Let’s pray

Faith

2006-08-24T00:45:00.000-04:00

Here is the third installment from my series on faith...

What is Faith?

We are told in Heb 11:1-NOW FAITH (or trusting) IS THE SUBSTANCE (or assurance, or being confident, or being sure) OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE (or the conviction, or being certain, or convinced) OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
✟ Faith is SUBSTANCE. God’s Word tells us, all things are possible to them that believe (Mark 9:23). The Bible shows us that mountains can be moved by faith (Matthew 17:20). The next words tell us, FAITH…THE SUBSTANCE - of what? - OF THINGS HOPED FOR.
✟ And then the verse continues to tell us that, FAITH IS…THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. Faith is substance and evidence.
✟ Faith is a shield. You have a shield as the result of faith.
✟ You have a breastplate as a result of faith and love.
✟ Eph 6:16-THE SHIELD OF FAITH, WHEREWITH YE SHALL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS OF THE WICKED.
✟ 1 Thes 5:8 tells us, BUT LET US, WHO ARE OF THE DAY, BE SOBER, PUTTING ON THE BREASTPLATE OF FAITH AND LOVE.

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Romans 3:27
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.

What can faith do?

Faith, backed by the will of God can do enormous things. We can move mountains; we can overcome impossible obstacles, when we have faith.
Luke 17:5-6
The apostles said to the Lord, "Show us how to increase our faith." The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,' and it would obey you!”

How do we get it?

God gives us a measure of faith. God gives some a gifting of “special faith” that goes above and beyond anything we can produce. When we are saved, by God’s grace; it is through faith. So if you are saved, then you know you have some faith that you can now grow.
Romans 12:3
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
1 Corinthians 12:9
The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
Ephesians 2:8-9
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

How do we get more?

After receiving the initial measure of faith from God, we grow our faith by studying God’s word, through fellowship with others that are after the same thing we are (growing closer to God). We can grow our faith through prayer and praise (worship).
2 Thessalonians 1:3
Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Can you loose faith?

We can loose faith through things we do and say. If we are lazy, or gossip; if we listen to lies and partial truths; if we do not seek God and fellowship with other Christians, then we can loose our faith faster than we grew it.
2 Timothy 2:15-19
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith. But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: "The LORD knows those who are his," and "All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil."

Where do I get help?

Our help comes from the Holy Spirit. This help can come directly by us seeking Him in prayer and praise or through us reading the Bible. This help can also come indirectly though other Christians as we fellowship with other believers at church our in small groups or even just going to a movie or getting coffee.
2 Timothy 1:12-14
That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return. Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up.
Ephesians 6:16
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

What is not faith?

Broadly speaking, anything that is defined as sin is not faith. More specifically, doubt, fear, doing something you have personally been convicted not to do is not faith.
Romans 14:23
But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

What will God look for in the end?

Without faith we cannot please God. Faith is what He will be looking for in each of us when He returns. God is looking to give each of us a free gift of salvation, which we cannot receive without faith. He wants to use us, once we are saved, to share this good news with everyone we interact with, to allow them the opportunity to be saved and to grow our faith, so we may be used for larger and larger accomplishments for the glory of God.
John 20:26-27
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you," he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"
Hebrews 11:6
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Luke 18:8b
I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?"
Romans 4:16
So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.

How to access/enter Motherboard BIOS

2006-08-19T00:54:00.000-04:00

How to access/enter Motherboard BIOS: " The information on this page can be used to access the BIOS from all the major suppliers of BIOS chips and the Computer Manufacturers that use them.

During the initial boot of a computer the BIOS supplier will be displayed. If OEM logo splash screen is displayed, press ESC key to see the boot up information. Press the Pause/Break key if text displays too fast.

The major BIOS suppliers are listed below and can be used to search for special BIOS updates not supplied by the Computer vendor.*

For a very comprehensive and visual look at the BIOS, follow the link below from Eric Legge's www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/ web site.

The BIOS: the 'Basic Input Output System' Setup Program used in a computer

R-Name - Rename / Pad Tools for Maya

2006-08-15T17:50:00.000-04:00

R-Name - Rename / Pad Tools for Maya: "R-Name is a free batch-file-renaming utility. You simply drag-and-drop files (or folders) onto R-Name and they are automatically renamed based on your settings. You can even preview the changes before actually renaming the files!

R-Name can rename files in various ways.

# Find and Replace characters (with regular expression)
# Add, remove or replace file extensions like .jpg or .html
# Add characters at the beginning or end of the filename, or even before a file extension
# Sequential numbering "

Men Do Cry

2006-08-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

Many of you who know me, know my wife and I lost our first son earlier this year. A good friend of mine emailed me this poem and it has really meant a lot to me. I wanted to share it with all or you as well...

Men Do Cry

By Ken Falk

I heard quite often "men don’t cry"
Though no one ever told me why.
So when I fell and skinned a knee,
No one came by to comfort me.

And when some bully-boy at school
Would pull a prank so mean and cruel,
I’d quickly learn to turn and quip,
"It doesn’t hurt," and bite my lip.

So as I grew to reasoned years,
I learned to stifle any tears.
Though "Be a big boy" it began,
Quite soon I learned to "Be a man."

And I could play that stoic role
While storm and tempest wracked my soul.
No pain or setback could there be
Could wrest one single tear from me.
Then one long night I stood nearby
And helplessly watched my son die.
And quickly found, to my surprise,
That all that tearless talk was lies.

And still I cry, and have no shame.
I cannot play that "big boy" game.
And openly, without remorse,
I let my sorrow take its course.

So those of you who can’t abide
A man you’ve seen who’s often cried,
Reach out to him with all your heart
As one whose life’s been torn apart.

For men DO cry when they can see
Their loss of immortality.
And tears will come in endless streams
When mindless fate destroys their dreams.

What is Your Definition of Irony?

2006-08-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

Eight life tips...

2006-08-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

1. An apology is a good way to have the last word.

2. Pick your friends, but not to pieces.

3. Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it.

4. Usually people are as happy as they make their minds up to be.

5. You cannot leave footprints in the sands of time while sitting down.

6. You will never offend a person by returning a smile.

7. Gentle words fall lightly, but have great weight.

8. Anybody who thinks talk is cheap never argued with a traffic cop.

Macworld: Feature: Software Bargains: Tweak Your System

2006-08-11T17:41:00.000-04:00

Macworld: Feature: Software Bargains: Tweak Your System: "Software Bargains: Tweak Your System
Must-Have Utilities for Next to Nothing (or Nothing at All)

By Dan Frakes and Rob Griffiths

Mac OS X may be the best operating system around, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t stand a few under-the-hood alterations. We’ve looked far and wide for the best system utilites available for less than $50. Here are 17 low-cost utilities that will fine-tune your OS."

Bleezer Test

2006-08-10T21:13:00.000-04:00

Here is my first atempt at a post using Bleezer. It is blogging software (Mac, Linux, and Windows too) with a few more options than just using a Blogger window to post.

Technorati: Bleezer Mac Blogger Blog Freeware OSX

del.icio.us: Bleezer Mac Blogger Blog Freeware OSX

Trust and Faith in God

2006-08-10T00:44:00.000-04:00

I was recently asked to share with our Young Adults group on three separate nites in a months time. I gladly accepted and was telling a pastor friend of mine. He smiled and told me he felt I would be teaching a series. He told me it may not seem like a series, but in the end, I would look back and see a series. As it turns out, I seem to have taught on a series, faith. Here is the second installment...

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him,
And he will make your paths straight.

2 Corinthians 3:4,5
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

Jeremiah 32:17, 26-27
"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

1 Chronicles 29:10-13
David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
"Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, From everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Psalms 27:8
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Psalms 27:13-14
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalms 91:1-2
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 20:24
A man's steps are directed by the LORD.
How then can anyone understand his own way?

Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Lamentations 3:22-24
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Psalms 37:1-7
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalms 42:5
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and

Psalms 73:23-24
Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalms 50:15
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Psalms 36:5-9
Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find [a] refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

It's so easy to feel overwhelmed by life. When we consider our responsibilities in family, work, church and extended family or friendships, feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness can rise suddenly and envelop you like a thick fog.

Yet you can keep from being overwhelmed by focusing on the sufficiency of Christ. He is alive today, and He stands ready to guide you along the way.

There's a great poem that says:

Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You with my empty cup
Uncertain of asking for any small drop of refreshment
If only I would have known You better,
I would have come running with a bucket.

God wants us to know Him and to receive His blessings and to live a life of peace, purpose and forgiveness. The Bible contains many wonderful principles and truths, but these principles will be only stale words and doctrine to you unless you allow the person of Jesus Christ to be at the center of your life. As A. W. Tozer states, "The most important thing about you is what you think about God."

No matter how inadequate you feel in helping those you care about, God is completely able to do what appears impossible. His power is most evident when we are weakest. As Paul says in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Elevator Hack

2006-08-09T00:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a nifty one to try from hackcanada.com....

The designers of some elevators include a hidden feature that is very handy if
you're in a hurry or it's a busy time in the building (like check-out time in
a hotel). While some elevators require a key, others can be put into "Express"
mode by pressing the "Door Close" and "Floor" buttons at the same time. This
sweeps the car to the floor of your choice and avoids stops at any other floor.
This seems to work on Most elevators that I have tried! Most elevators have the
option for this to work, but on some of them the option is turned off by whoever
runs them. This is a rather fun hack, so the next time you are on an elevator,
give it a try, you have nothing to lose, And this concludes Hacking Elevators 101!

Funny Things from the US Air Force

2006-08-02T15:50:00.000-04:00

After every flight, US Air Force pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet, "which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by the US Air Force's pilots (marked with a P); and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

Study: Tech Replaces Diamonds As Girl's Best Friend

2006-08-02T00:29:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK - Diamonds are no longer a girl's best friend, according to a new U.S. study that found three of four women would prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace.

The survey, commissioned by U.S. cable television's Oxygen Network that is owned and operated by women, found the technology gender gap has virtually closed with the majority of women snapping up new technology and using it easily.

Women were found on average to own 6.6 technology devices while men own 6.9, and four out of every five women felt comfortable using technology with 46 percent doing their own computer trouble-shooting.

"People make the assumption that women are not as advanced as men when it comes to technology and I was surprised at the parity men and women now have in terms of technology," Geraldine Laybourne, chairman and chief executive of Oxygen Network, told Reuters.

The Girls Gone Wired survey of 1,400 women and 700 men aged 15 to 49, which was conducted by market researcher TRU, found that given the choice, women would opt for tech items rather than luxury items like jewelry or vacations.

The study found 77 percent of women surveyed would prefer a new plasma television to a diamond solitaire necklace and 56 percent would opt for a new plasma TV over a weekend vacation in Florida.

linux kernel monkey log

2006-07-30T00:02:00.000-04:00

linux kernel monkey log

Great article by Greg Kroah-Hartman on the current state of Linux.

Download of the Day: GeekTool - Lifehacker

2006-07-29T17:45:00.000-04:00

Download of the Day: GeekTool - Lifehacker: "Mac OS X only: GeekTool is a nifty utility that incorporates text files, the output of shell commands and images onto your Mac's desktop.

GeekTool ranks up there with Quicksilver in my 'Oh my, why doesn't this exist for Windows' list. Especially indispensable for command line lovers, GeekTool is fantastic for keeping tabs on your system or tracking your life in .txt right on your desktop.

Mac OS X System Utilities Compared

2006-07-28T12:13:00.000-04:00

7 Mac OS X System Utilities Compared

7 Must have System X utilities.

Mac Geekery - Optimizing AirPort Connectivity

2006-07-28T02:08:00.000-04:00

Mac Geekery - Optimizing AirPort Connectivity

A great website tutorial for tweaking your wireless network to increase and possibly double your signal strength!

Let's Say Thanks

2006-07-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

Here is a wonderful website that lets anyone send a thank you card to the troops stationed overseas. It is free and they get a real paper card (not just an email or electronic wannabe).

King Test

2006-07-24T20:38:00.000-04:00

JESUS
My King was born King; the Bible says He's the seven-way King.
He's the King of the Jews- that is a racial King.
He's the King of Israel - that's a national king.
He's the King of righteousness,
He's the King of the ages,
He's the King of heaven,
He's the King of glory,
He's the King of kings and
He is the Lord of lords.
Now, that's my King.

"Well, I wonder if you know Him do you know Him?
Don't try to mislead me - do you know my King?
David said, "The heavens declare the glory of God
and the firmament shows His handiwork."
My King is the only one, whom there is no means of measure can define His limitless love.
No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supplies.
No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.
He's enduringly strong, He's entirely sincere, He's eternally steadfast, He's immortally graceful, imperially powerful, He's impartially merciful.

That's my King. He's God's Son, He's the sinner's Saviour. He's the centrepiece of civilisation, He stands alone in Himself. He's awesome, unique, unparalleled -
He's unprecedented.

He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He is the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathises and He saves.
He foreguards and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?

Well, my King is the King of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom, He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace, He's the roadway of righteousness, He's the highway of holiness, He's the gateway of glory.
He's the Master of the mighty, He's the Captain of the conquerors, He's the Head of the heroes and He's the Leader of the legislators!
He's the Overseer of the overcomers, He's the Governor of the governors.
He's the Prince of princes, He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords.
That's my King.

His office is manifold and His promise is sure. His light is matchless,
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting and His love never changes.
His Word is enough, His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Well, I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable!
He's incomprehensible, invincible, irresistible.

I'm trying to tell you the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him,
let alone a man explain Him!
You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands.
You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him!
Well, Pharisees couldn't stand Him but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilot couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree and Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him.
That's my King!

He always has been and He always will be.
I'm talking about, He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor.
There was nobody before Him and there will be no one after Him.
You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign.
That's my King!

Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.
Well, all the power belongs to my King.
We around here talk about black-power, and white-power, and green-power, but it's God's power! Thine is the power and the glory!
We are trying to get prestige and honour and glory for ourselves but the glory is all His.
Yes, Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever and ever
and ever (how long is that?) and ever
and ever and ever and ever.
And when you get through with all of the forevers, then - "Amen!"

-As inspired by Pastor Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge.

10 Things You'll Learn by Visiting Other Churches

2006-07-20T16:53:00.000-04:00

Great post by Michael at Oak Leaf Church at his blog:

Over the past four weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to check out some other church plants. A couple of times, I was able to take some people from our launch team as well, which was really cool. I wanted to post an overview of some of my thoughts in no particular order and not necessarily reflective on one particular church.

1.Ridgestone wins the award for best setup in a movie theater. Mill Creek did a great job at creating a children’s environment in a movie theater, and their children's pastor was awesome. Lake Point was very friendly in a school environment...friendly and helpful. Center Point Church in Lexington was doing a great job of spreading the word about the church.

2.Start on time. Get in the habit of starting on time no matter what and your people will get in the habit of being on time. Have something great right off the bat, so if people are late, they miss it. I’ve heard from a couple of different places that people make their decisions to come back or not to come back VERY early.

3.Put friendly people at the doors and on your stage. We went to a couple of churches that really didn’t come across friendly right from the beginning - it took a while for them to welcome us. Your people that are just welcoming and friendly and friendly looking…they need to be greeters. Where's the rule that the pastor always has to do the welcome? You can’t put a price tag on creating a welcoming environment. It takes a lot of work, but there's a big payoff.

4.Lighting helps creates environment. A couple of the movie theater churches I attended were just too dark. This was great for video and worship, but not so good for the message. It’s hard to write things down in the dark. Shoot some par lighting at the ceiling, I don’t know…I’m not a lighting guy. But too much darkness (or too much daylight) can really affect the atmosphere.

5.Coffee and fruit and muffins and bagels at several churches were really nice touches. They were done with excellence nearly every time, and it looked like some sharp volunteers were all over this. This went a long way towards creating a welcoming environment and increase the “hang-out factor” before the service. Rigdgestone had a great coffee area. Mill Creek had Krispy Kreme donuts.

6.Look for some little ways to create wow experiences. Maybe it’s a sticker on a baby’s diaper that says “I’ve just been changed.” Maybe you make pens available (that’s not all that exciting, but if you ask people to take notes or write things down, give them a pen). Make your bulletin and signage match your series. We’re going to take a staff meeting and just talk about the little things we can do to create wow experiences. (Share yours.)

7.I’ve got lots of thoughts to post later about words on the screen. But if you have a special song that the band plays, always put the lyrics on the screen. It’s hard to understand words to songs you don’t know. And you should never have more than four lines of text on one screen.

8.Signs are important. Figure out how many signs you need to direct people to parking, childcare and bathrooms, and then double that number. Put signs outside and in hallways and in front of rooms. Signs aren’t that expensive and they make things a ton easier on guests. If you’re meeting in a rented facility that already has signs up (school signs, movie posters, etc.) you need bigger and better signs that really stand out.

9.Make sure you have enough stage lights. Setting lights only at wide angles creates distracting shadows. Again I say unto you, lighting is important.

10.Relevance and truth are not mutually exclusive. I know modern, post modern, emergent, contemporary, etc. churches often get a bad rap about this, but these two words are not polar opposites. Most of these churches were relevant as well as being true to God’s word. Lots of scripture references. Lots of sharing God’s truth not just man’s opinion. When this is done in a relevant, excellent way, it really hits home. It’s possible to throw truth out there and make no difference because people don’t understand it.

11. Bonus: I’ve got a pretty short attention span. Unless you’re Andy Stanley, you probably shouldn’t teach more than 45 minutes. (And if you ARE Andy Stanley, thanks for reading my blog.) That’s just a long time to teach and people tune out and forget everything you say. I'm not saying you need to teach for 20 minutes, but you cannot talk for an hour and expect to keep people's attention.

Psalm 18:2

2006-07-03T15:57:00.000-04:00

"The LORD is my rock,
and my fortress,
and my deliverer;
my God, my strength,
in whom I will trust;"

What is Your Dominant Intelligence?

2006-06-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things.
Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments.
You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it.
You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle.

You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Bin o' Bacon

2006-06-25T14:46:00.000-04:00

Here is a shot just for Troy! I know you love bacon, well here is a whole bin full at a recent breakfast buffet. Drool, drool.

The Dark Tater

2006-04-25T18:43:00.000-04:00

Mr. Potatoe-Head (Darth Vader Edition)Says...
"Come, join the starchy side!"

Pastor Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge

2006-04-22T23:53:00.000-04:00

Dr. Lockridge was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, San Diego CA from 1953 - 1993. He entered heaven in 2000.

JESUS is My King

2006-04-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

JESUS My King was born King;
the Bible says He's the seven-way King.
He's the King of the Jews- that is a racial King.
He's the King of Israel - that's a national king.
He's the King of righteousness,
He's the King of the ages,
He's the King of heaven,
He's the King of glory,
He's the King of kings and
He is the Lord of lords.
Now, that's my King.

'Well, I wonder if you know Him do you know Him?
Don't try to mislead me - do you know my King?

David said, 'The heavens declare the glory of God
and the firmament shows His handiwork.'

My King is the only one,
whom there is no means of measure
that can define His limitless love.
No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility
the coastline of His shoreless supplies.

No barriers can hinder Him
from pouring out His blessing.
He's enduringly strong,
He's entirely sincere,
He's eternally steadfast,
He's immortally graceful,
He's imperially powerful,
He's impartially merciful.

That's my King.

He's God's Son,
He's the sinner's Saviour.
He's the centrepiece of civilisation,
He stands alone in Himself.
He's awesome, unique, unparalleled -
He's unprecedented.

He's the miracle of the age.
He's the superlative of everything good
that you choose to call Him.
He is the only one able
to supply all of our needs simultaneously.

He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathises and He saves.
He foreguards and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent,
and He beautifies the meek.
Do you know Him?
Well, my King is the King of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom,
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace,
He's the roadway of righteousness,
He's the highway of holiness,
He's the gateway of glory.
He's the Master of the mighty,
He's the Captain of the conquerors,
He's the Head of the heroes
and He's the Leader of the legislators!
He's the Overseer of the overcomers,
He's the Governor of the governors.
He's the Prince of princes,
He's the King of kings,
and He's the Lord of lords.

That's my King.

His office is manifold
and His promise is sure.
His light is matchless,
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting
and His love never changes.
His Word is enough,
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous,
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Well, I wish I could describe Him to you,
but He's indescribable!
He's incomprehensible,
He's invincible,
He's irresistible.
I'm trying to tell you
the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him,
let alone a man explain Him!
You can't get Him out of your mind.
You can't get Him off of your hands.
You can't outlive Him
and you can't live without Him!
Well, Pharisees couldn't stand Him
but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilot couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree
and Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him
and the grave couldn't hold Him.
That's my King!
He always has been and He always will be.
I'm talking about,
He had no predecessor
and He'll have no successor.
There was nobody before Him
and there will be no one after Him.
You can't impeach Him
and He's not going to resign.
That's my King!

As inspired by Pastor Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge.

OK here is a little quiz; let me know your answers...

2006-04-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

Would you rather:

1. be an evil genius OR a super-spy?
2. be addicted to eating raw eggs OR sticks of butter?
3. be ten years older or ten years younger?
4. have bionic eyes OR one bionic arm?
5. have a photographic memory or one million dollars?
6. be able to read faster than anyone else or type faster than anyone else?
7. know a lot about animals or electronics?
8. have a big yard or a big house?
9. be funnier or smarter?
10. have lots of "toys" or lots of "tools"

1. super-spy.
2. I like butter, so I guess butter.
3. younger! definately younger!
4. bionic eyes. Then I wouldn't need these glasses!
5. A photographic memory. Then I could easily earn a million dollars!
6. Read faster, then I could learn to type fairly fast as well.
7. electronics, DUH (if you know me).
8. big yard, you don't have to dust and vacuum grass and shrubs!
9. smarter, I think I have funny under control.
10. If "toys"=electronics, then toys; if not then "tools".

Great free driver sites

2006-04-09T16:31:00.000-04:00

Here are a few sites to get drivers. They are free to use, unlike many of the links you will find when searching Google.

winguides
driverguide
driversearch
drivermagic

Flashback!

2006-04-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

from the old days of 1999...

Top 10 Tire Care Tips

2006-03-31T12:01:00.000-05:00

Source: Rubber Manufacturers Association

1. Don¹t wait until it¹s too late - Make it a habit to check your tire pressure at least once per month and before every long trip. Under inflated tires causes excess heat build-up that can damage tires and lead to a failure.
2. Know your pressure point - The correct tire pressure is found on a sticker on the driver¹s door, doorpost or owner¹s manual NOT on the tire sidewall that¹s the maximum pressure for the tire.
3. Keep your cool - To accurately measure your tire pressure, check tires when they are cold. Wait at least three hours after driving.
4. Take care of your spare - Check your spare tire each month and keep it properly inflated so it¹s ready to go when you need it most.
5. Penny for your thoughts - A penny can tell you if your tire is bald. Place a penny upside down into a tread groove. If you can see all of Lincoln¹s head, it¹s time for a new tire.
6. Keep yourself in line - Be aware of potholes that can not only damage your tire but can also jar your car¹s alignment.
7. Pick a date and rotate - Make sure you rotate your tires every 6,000 miles to promote uniform wear and longer tire life.
8. Don¹t take a spin without a cap - Driving without your tire valve cap allows for a slow leak of air from the tire and eventual underinflation.
9. Don¹t lose your balance - It is important to have your tire balance checked periodically to avoid irregular wear.
10. Be a weight-watcher - Overloading your vehicle stresses your tires and can lead to damage.

How to uninstall Windows XP SP 2

2006-03-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

This is for all my PC friends. I woke up this morning to an error dialog on Trisha's computer telling me that after auto update had tried to install Windows XP SP2 the computer would no longer boot. So, if you are installing SP 2 and it fails, leaving your computer unbootable, here is a fix using your XP disc...

How To: Uninstall Windows XP SP 2 using Recovery Console:

Please note: If the computer cannot start in either Normal mode or Safe mode, then the Service Pack 2 removal can be started through the Recovery Console.

1. Turn on the computer with the Microsoft® Windows® XP disc in the CD/DVD drive. When prompted to start from the CD, press any key. If you miss the message and arrive at a blinking cursor, restart the computer and try pressing any key again when the message appears.
2. Windows XP Setup prepares to run. If you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver, press the F6 key during startup.
3. The option for an Automated System Recovery appears momentarily.
4. Setup loads the files necessary for the installation, and then starts Windows.
5. Press the R key to run the Recovery Console for Windows XP.
6. Press the number for the corresponding Windows installation for which you know the administrator password. (For most users this will be 1)
7. After selecting the appropriate Windows installation, type the administrator password when prompted.
8. The screen displays a C:\WINDOWS prompt.
9. At the C:\WINDOWS prompt, type: cd $ntservicepackuninstall$.
Press the ENTER key.
10. At the At the C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$ prompt, type: cd spuninst. Press ENTER.
11. At the At the C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$\SPuninst prompt, type: batch spuninst.txt. Press ENTER.
12. The batch file manually removes Service Pack 2 from the computer. This process takes several minutes.
13. At the C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$\SPuninst prompt, type: Exit. Press ENTER. The computer restarts.
14. From the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type:
Regedit. Click OK.
15. Locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ServicesRPCSs.
16. In the right pane, double-click ObjectName.
17. An Edit String dialog box displays. In the dialog box, type:
Localsystem. Click OK.
18. From the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.
19. Restart the computer.
20. Open Control Panel. From the Microsoft® Windows® XP default Start menu, click Control Panel. From the classic Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
21. In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs. If you are in Category View, click Add or Remove Programs. If you are in Classic View, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
22. In the Add or Remove Programs window, select Windows XP Service Pack 2, and then click Remove.
23. In the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Removal Wizard dialog box, click Next.
24. Service Pack 2 inspects the configuration, checks for necessary disk space, stops services, restores catalogs, and then runs processes before removal.
25. The computer deletes installed SP2 files and copies backup files to the hard drive.
26. In the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Removal Wizard dialog box, click Finish to restart the computer.

Note: If removing the Service Pack 2 through Recovery Console does not properly work, a repair installation of Windows XP will restore the original Windows XP files.

make money with my blog?!

2006-03-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

OK, I know everyone has a " Make Money. Use AdSense to earn money with your blog." link on your blog page, but the question I have is, "Has anyone really made money with it?" and a very important follow-up,"Does this turn your blog into the Giant cyber billboard in the sky and run all your readers away?"