It occurs to me that the grass grows the most at the hotest time of the year. Since I was so busy, and it was so hot, I got about 2 1/2 weeks behind on mowing the lawn. I might add that my lawn is a little over twice the size of the average lawn. I think I sweat out about two gallons of water this evening (I might be exagerating) and I only mowed half of it. Why can’t the grass grow more when it’s cooler out?

So it appears that Google is taking over the world, and I don’t think I am doing anything to stop it either. I use Google’s Gmail, Firefox with Google Browser Sync, Google Chat, Google Reader for RSS and Atom feeds, Google’s personalized home page associated with my gmail account, and of course I use Google’s search engine exclusively. It would be very hard for me not to use Google’s FREE services. Here’s what I like about each of the services:

Gmail
I use Gmail for all my email because you can now send from any of your email addresses using Google’s webmail, a VERY awesome feature! So now, by having all of my email forward to my Gmail inbox, and setting up all my addresses to be able to send from Gmail, I can go to one interface (a very nice, easy to use interface) for all my email needs when I am away from my laptop, and therefore away from my software based email client. In short, Gmail is great, well thought out, and very user friendly!

Google Browser Sync
I used to use Safari almost exclusively, but there are a bunch of plugins not available for Safari that are available for Firefox. But when I discovered Google Browser Sync, it pushed me over the edge and made me switch! Google Browser Sync does more than just sync your bookmarks across computers, it syncs cookies, preferences, passwords, and if you set it to do so, it can even sync open sessions complete with tabs! The only improvement I would make is to make the bookmarks accessible through their web based bookmark utility (which I don’t currently use because it isn’t integrated), that way when I am not at one of my own computers I could still access my bookmarks.

Google Chat
Google Chat is of the jabber protocol and can therefore connect to all my other chat mediums through transports which is the main reason I use it. It is associated with my Gmail account as are most other services for Google.

Google Reader
I had been using Safari for RSS feeds, but again the problem with this was the feeds were only available to me on one machine, or rather the status of my feeds. Google reader is an online utility and works great. It is also associated with my Gmail account.

Google’s Personalized Home Page
Here’s the beauty, I have my Gmail inbox, Google Reader, Netflix, Weather and several other things all summarized on my Google Personalized Home page. It really is great. Can you guess? It is associated with my Gmail account.

Google’s Search Engine

I like Google’s Search Engine because it seems like they are the best at turning up what I am looking for.

Should all this be cause for alarm? Does Google have us right where they want us? Well sort of, but there is nothing forcing us to use their services. And while life wouldn’t be as easy without them, I personally would still be able to live life without Google. I choose to use Google because they make my life easier. I can understand the concern that some people have about Google, but at this point I’m just not buying it. One of the arguments is that Google is tracking everything I do. Well sort of… They can track what websites I go to from their site via what links I click on in their search. So? I’m not doing anything illegal! If I’m using their service, there is nothing wrong with them tracking how I use it! Every other website on the planet monitors what links you click on their site, why should it be any different with Google?

Anyway, I’m not planning on terminating my use of Google because it makes my life easier.

I may be a Mac head, but I still have one PC. It is a desktop machine, 2.0 GHz Celeron w/512 Megs of RAM, 2002 model HP Pavilion. I bought this computer before I knew much about Macs (yes I’m a relatively recent convert to Macs), I was planning on using it for my audio recording, which I did a little bit. I have an interesting history with this computer:

I buy the computer, proudly bring it home… plug it in, hook it up, press the power button. Commence Windows XP’s, “Wait while I make you wait for the first time startup waiting period.” (Windows was pre-installed you see… Windows XP HOME ugh). Stupid Bill! About the time you loose interest in computers alltogether (because you are now an elderly person in a wheelchair by the time XP decides to greet you for the first time) it finally gets to the set up process. The little round ball starts talking to me in the form of comic strip type bubbles!?! Go away little round ball, I want to use my computer. Stupid Bill! Spend 5 minutes telling Micro$oft how I want my compy set up. More waiting…...........................................................................................

If you ever set up XP for the first time you know what the dots mean… a succession of them across the screen make you think that when they get to the other side of the screen it will be done and you can now use your desktop… WRONG. When the dots get to the other side of the screen, they drop down a line and keep going! Stupid Bill!

Finally they reach the middle of the second line, then I see the desktop. Now mind you that I still can’t use the computer for 2 more minutes while it chugs away doing something! Stupid Bill!

Begin Standard Windows challenges. I want to print using my HP Deskjet. The CD says plainly on it, do not connect printer until you have inserted the CD and installed the printer driver. I insert the CD, it starts installing, it tells me exactly when to connect the USB cable, I follow all instructions to the letter. Print one test page… Now I’m ready for action right? NOPE! So I open my Word document, click print, and watch while Windows wonders out somewhere to sit under a tree and take a nap (or thumb its nose at me I’m not sure which). In other words, Windows locks up stone cold! This is a new computer, just turned it on for the first time! I shouldn’t have to hard kill the stupid thing! Stupid somebody (Not sure this one is actually on Bill). Restart the computer, expected Windows to gripe at me about an improper shutdown. Nope, didn’t do it. It just started right up. Can Bill actually do just one thing right? And like the oaf that I am, I try printing again. Same thing happens. This time, I uninstall the printer and re-install it. Same thing again! This is getting old! Call HP support. “We can’t help you!” “We don’t like you” “Who cares” Etc. etc. I hate tech support people!

Finally talk to someone who KNOWS SOMETHING! They say, what OS are you using. Says I, “Windows XP.” Says they, “O, just plug in the USB port, Windows has it’s own driver and will install it automatically. Installing the driver from the CD was causing some sort of conflit.” I’ll say it was. Gee Thanks!” So, I go plug in the printer’s USB cable, and presto, it works like a charm. That’s the last time I ever follow instructions. I knew the male instinct was right all along!

Next day, I’m messing with some sound stuff. I go the Windows Explorer for some reason I can’t recall, but I do recall the warning message I saw shortly thereafter. It says, are you sure you want to delete such and such file. I told XP I was absolutely not sure since I had made no deletion request. Screen goes black. Can still move my mouse. That’s it? I can mouse over a black screen? This is what I paid for? Hard kill! Restart… “Windows cannot start because such and such file is missing.” (the one I told it not to delete I’m guessing). Stupid, stupid, STUPID BILL!

Friend has a copy of Windows 2000 he’s not using (He’s a Microsoft programer and he had several more licenses than he was using). I used that for a while and hated it. It was ugly and had no multi-media features (2000 is a business OS you know). Stupid Bill!

Service Pack 1 is released. One month thereafter I go back to XP. This time, I bought a copy of XP Pro (no more of this Home user garbage says I.) XP Pro worked okay for about 3 months. Started getting slow and sluggish. I can’t have that, I’m trying to do audio. Backup files, fresh re-install. 3 more months, same thing. This is supposed to be better than 98? (well okay so it is, that doesn’t make it good though!) Stupid Bill!

Buy a Mac, Powerbook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768 Megs of RAM. Hello lovely, beautiful OS X. Get my laptop out of the package, press the power button. One minute later I’m looking at the, “Give me your info screen.” This is good, that didn’t take long at all. 2 minutes later I’m looking at my desktop, READY TO USE! Thank you Steve! (I’m still using that same laptop to type this post at 2 years old).

So now I have this computer that I want to make use of somehow. It sits for quite a while, but finally I re-install Windows and make it a network storage server and music server (Via iTunes). Long story short, I re-installed twice since that time. This last time I re-installed was about 2 months ago. A couple of weeks ago I got it a virus that I could not get rid of. I’ve had enough, I downloaded PCLinuxOS and installed it on the PC. It’s taking a little time to get used to, but it’s much more stable and more usable than Windows save that I have not yet cracked how to serve music over my network with it yet. I have been unable to get iTunes to run on it VIA WINE yet (WINE is supposed to allow you to run Windows programs on Linux). But I’m sure I will crack it soon! While Linux has a way to go to be anywhere near as good as OS X, it’s a far better OS than Windows. May my Windoze days be over FOREVER!

My Rating:

Language content: 3
Sexual Content: 2
Violent Content: 6

Overall Rating: A

Okay, call me a geek or a dork, but I went to see this movie at it’s first showing here where I live… at 10:00 pm at night! I was not disappointed. This is a great story, one that holds my attention. There is not one boring part of this movie, and it follows logically in the footsteps of Superman 1 and 2, which is where it’s supposed to pick up… after Superman 2. They made the decision to pretend like 3 and 4 had not been made, a wise choice I thought since those were both stupid!

As far as characters go, Brandon Routh does an excellent job at filling Christopher Reeves’ shoes. He did as believable a job at convincing us that Clark would be hard to recognize as Superman as Reeves did, and he portrayed the man of steel with many of the same traits that Reeves did. Since I thought that Reeves always did a good job as the man of steel, this was a plus in my opinion.

Kate Bosworth is so much better a choice to cast as Lois Lane it’s not even funny. I always found Margott Kidder the most annoying version of Lois Lane ever! She always left me thinking, “Now how on earth can Superman like this woman?” But Kate Bosworth’s Lois Lane is not annoying at all. She plays the role with just enough intelligence, and yet she can still get herself into trouble! Of course the man in the red cape can pull her out of anything she gets into anyway right?

And now we come to the villain, Lex Luthor! Lex is portrayed by Kevin Spacey who knocks it clear out of the park! Kevin manages to pull off a much more mature and evil Lex Luthor than Gene Hackman did, and still keep the character’s basic traits, and at times goofiness. I really enjoyed Spacey’s performance as Superman’s arch-vilain.

The special effects in this movie felt well integrated, and really enhanced the film. Again, this is a huge plus. With some films it almost seems as if the special effects we are able to accomplish these days gets in the way. But not in this film. It’s just the right mix in this film to make us believe what is going on, and to enhance what is going on without us really focusing in on it, or inhibiting the story. In fact, the only reason I noticed the special effects was because as a filmmaker I was looking at them. They really feel transparent in a way that makes you concentrate on the movie as a whole.

As I said, this was a very enjoyable movie and I think we are all set to make another one! I’m looking forward to it!

It has really come to my attention this past week how much Rachel really does around here. She left for Peoria to visit her family and left me behind here in Tennessee. At this point, you should see the pile of mail and other stuff that has accumulated on her desk since she left. O, I keep up with where our money is going for the most part, and I know roughly how much money we have, but I hate dealing with bills and balancing and all that (I’m the creative type remember?). So she does all the bills, balancing, bookeeping etc. And then we sit down every so often and I look over things, and she tells me what’s going on in our world. Well, there’s so much paper work sitting on her desk right now it makes me sick to think about. All I can say is I’m glad I don’t have to do this by myself!

She’s driving back home as I write this. I’m expecting her around 10:30 tonight.

Anyway, for any married men who might need a reminder, cherish your wife… I know I will do so all the more with this reminder, and especially with our anniversary in two days!

The Waller Family (featured in the film A Journey Home from Franklin Springs Family Media) returned from Israel this past week and shared with us this past Sunday during our Church Service at Covenant Family Fellowship about their trip and work in the “Holy Land” as it is called.

The problem in Israel is that they won’t even look at a New Testament. They don’t know what it says. They are told that it is wrong to read a New Testament and so they don’t. These people don’t even know what a Christian is, and are under the delusion that they are God’s chosen people so all will be alright. What they have failed to realize is that under the New Covenant (which they don’t even know exists), there is neither Jew nor Greek! God only has one people, one called out and chosen Holy people, not two. He doesn’t have a chosen physical people who don’t accept Jesus as the Messiah, and a chosen spiritual people who do.

Under God’s New Covenant that he has made with his people, we no longer have animal sacrifices because God’s sinless Son has paid for the covenant with his blood. Christ died to save His people. We as Gentiles have been grafted in because God did not spare the natural branches.

There is only one way by which we can come into this New Covenant, and it is through the blood which Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

Tommy and Sherri Waller are there to live among these people, and to show them what Christians are. They are ministering in Israel as God’s instruments to reach those whom God would have them reach, that some may be brought into the New Covenant. To bring them out of the delusion that because they have some Old Covenant connection that they will somehow be alright.

This is what the Wallers are called to do, and let me tell you that they certainly have a zeal for doing it. Though I do not agree with all of Tommy’s doctrine or beliefs, particularly in regards to how God’s covenant works, and who God’s people are, I can support them in the effort to reach the Jews with the gospel of Christ. For this is one of the things we are called to do as believers.

Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

May the the Lord continue to strengthen and bless the Wallers, as they minister to these people!

Covenant Family Fellowship will be hosting a mini conference featuring Geoffrey Botkin at the United Methodist Church in Leipers Fork. The topic will be Family Vision, and this conference promises to be a blessing to those able to attend.

Pre-registration is required as space is limited. For more details, and to register CLICK HERE

Well, I’ve now been married to my beautiful wife for almost a year. It’s pretty unbelievable actually. On June 18th we will celebrate our first anniversary. I have to say that this has been the best one year of my entire life. I don’t understand this thing about the first year being the hardest… that’s what they say about the first year anyway.

Scale for language, sex, and violence is as follows:
0 would be nothing offensive, 10 would be unwatchably offensive.

Overall rating scale:
A would be the best, F would be the worst.

Here’s how I rate this movie:
Language Content: 5
Sexual Content: 4
Violent Content: 8

Overall Rating: C-

WARNING, there will be a few plot spoilers ahead. I’ll try to keep them few…

This movie was almost not worth seeing. It felt very contrived and Hokey!!! They felt a need to kill off key characters early in the story for NO APPARENT REASON. I don’t mind the death of a character if it serves a purpose, but I didn’t see a purpose in the death of… argh, that would be too much of a plot spoiler.

Well anyway, I also felt like all the characters except Logan were out of character. And while Storm is decent in this movie there were times when she felt out of character as well.

The new things introduced into this movie felt contrived since they were never mentioned before, like Jean’s split personality, and the levels of Mutants.

Some of the dialog is horribly cheesy!!! This movie could have used a real script and a better director, like maybe the director that directed X-1 and X-2.

All in all, it was not worth the money I spent to see it nor the time. If you want to see X-men worth watching, go rent the first or second one!!! I was very VERY disappointed with this movie!