reyes-chow :: FAITH

MacWorld Revew: meh

"Meh" pretty much sums up MacWorld this year.

Where to start.  I wish I could say it was exciting and all that, but it simply was not.  Whether it was the lack of any new announcement or THE announcement about Apple pulling out of MacWorld after 2009, the feel was simply not what is has been in the past.

I am not sure I would call it boring, but unless you were looking for some new case for something, seemed like there was very little to experience.  I am sure that is not the case, but with the huge number of case booths the tech energy seemed lacking.

But . . . lucky me I was looking for two cases.

I found a new iPhone cover from iFrogz (pictured above) that I absolute love.  It's sleek look, satin finish and burnt orange color finally sold me among the flood of possibilities.  It still has some grip and I can take it in and out of my pocket with much more ease than my previous silicon wrap. 

The other item I was in search of what a hard case for my Macbook Air.  I was pretty disappointed with the selection overall.  I suppose folks think if you have the Air, you wouldn't want to add anything to it, fair enough.  Still, compared to the iPhone and iPod case selection, not good at all.  I was teased by Speck when I saw that they had a see-through satin finished case, but of couse, not for the Air.  I finally settled on the basic clear case, which after a few days, I really like.  It gives me a little more confidence in handling the Air without fear of dropping or scracthing my dainty techno toy.

While I will still attend MAcWorld because it is in my backyard, I suppose there are folsk for whome the annual trek to mecca is coming to a painful end.  Should be interesting.

Advice for me and my 3G?

Yes, I am taking one more step deeper into the cult that is Mac.  If all goes well with some phone account gymnastics, there is a pretty good chance that in the next few days I will be in possession of a new 3G iPhone.  I know that there are some image/status issues going on here, so sue me, I like my mac and have fully gone over to the Jobs darkside.   I will not bore you with my justifications, it is what it is.  Google and Mac kinda own my organizational life.

The thing that makes me really nervous about the whole iPhone thing is that I have never really been a "phone guy" before.  I text some, but for the most part all of my online interaction has been via my lap top.  I wonder if I will be online more now and via what interface.  I so do like my MacBook Pro, so we'll see how fast I make the transition to using my phone more often.  Whereas before I could simply close my computer and exit bloglandia, now I will have to be even more disciplined about not interacting every single dingle second of the day.  Yeah, good luck with that.

But on we go.  So to help me get off on the right foot, I turn to those of you who have already learned the art of the iPhone.  Please feel free to offer your insights:

• What apps should I download?
• What usage or software advice do you have for using the iPhone most productively?
• What accessories, gadgets or add-ons have you found useful?
• Anything else you wish you knew when you first got yours?

I have a friend who blogged about the experience of his wife getting her iPhone, The iPhone 3G experience, so if you have other links and or stories to share, please do.

Thanks in advance my geekyfantastic friends!

Like the world needs another MacWorld Expo post

Yep, that's me sitting ironically sitting in the Microsoft Blogger Lounge here at the 2008 MacWorld Expo.   As I was on the muni this AM on my way here, I was practically giddy.  Irrational, childish, geeky, call it what you will, if you are a Mac person, this is as good as it gets.  After the last few weeks of crazy culminating with last night's festivities, it is great to just walk around without a purpose, other than to gawk and grab freebies of which there is not as much as I would have expected.  Oh well.

I look forward to seeing people's lists from the MacWorld Expo experience as there are always some great software announcements, but here are a few "reviews" from the first part of my day.

LiveWorship - Anyone use it?  I am not particularly fond of MediaShout and disparately want the church to go Mac.  The folks were really helpful and pointed out some key differences between MediaShout and LiveWorship.  May give it a go.

Electronic Frontier Foundation - If you are a non-profit, I'll always listen to the schpeal.  EFF - Protecting Rights and Promoting Freedom on th Electronic Frontier - seems like a good group to go with your Creative Commons License.

Susteen/DataPilot - TACKY.  Really?  Miniskirts, tight t-shirts and pumps?!?!?  Now I am the last person to claim Mac people to not thrive on outward imagery, but this is not it. 

It is good to switch bubbles if not for a few hours.

Jesus owes me big time

Okay, so tonight it finally happens.  All the talk, all the prep, all the reconnecting with friends and asking folks to give up even more time to something as crazy as a denominational moderator election.  5:30 today, it happens.  SF Presbytery will decide on whether or not they will endorse me to stand for Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA). 

Approved or not, the journey really has been a lot of fun even before it has become official in any sense.  Thanks to those who have helped me discern, pushed a little and have been the voices, faces and eMails of Christ for me over the past six months.

Yeah, yeah, in some ways this is HUGE: this under-40, pomo, urban, pastor looks create some movement for a 2million+ member denomination.  And yeah, yeah, in so many ways it is pretty insignificant in the whole scheme of the things.  Sitting with both voices in my head, I am.

If this should happen it all begins with some kind of sacrifice, willingly done, but a sacrifice nonetheless.

Mine begins with the fact that I have a ticket to opening day of MacWorld, but because of this whole moderator thing, I can't go until tomorrow.  Oh the sacrifices we make in the name of Jesus ;-)

Sad macboy, I'll try not to let it show at Presbytery today ;-)

And, if you care, check back on this blog at 8:00 Cali time to see how it went.

Say a little prayer that God's will be done AND we recognize it for what it is, not just for the moderator endorsement, but for our decisions regarding the ordination of Lisa Larges.

Will My Apple Go Green?

Apparently Apple will debate the "Greening" of Apple.  In addition to the investors that are pushing Apple to at least catch up to Dell's environmental commitments, Greenpeace has also been pretty active with the "Green My Apple" campaign.

Apple shareholders will vote on a resolution at the company’s annual meeting May 10 on a proposal to remove certain hazardous chemicals from their products.

Apple’s board says it opposes the resolution, arguing that it already has adequate environmental standards.

The resolution was submitted by Trillium Asset Management, of Boston, an investment firm that specializes in making socially responsible investments. It holds shares in Apple and also is a member of the Investor Environmental Health Network, which pressures public companies to remove toxic material from its products, including makers of computers, consumer electronics, fertilizer and cosmetics.

[Full Article]

If all goes well, we of the Mac cult can by Cool AND Green . . . just like Kermit.

My List of 10 Things

Just yesterday I received two similar posts, 10 Things to do Before I Die from Wayne and 10 Things to do to Improve Your Blog Karma from Rohit.   Like the previous "5 things you didn't know about me" thing there must be a "List of 10 things" thing going around.  And hating to be left out of the party, I figured what he heck, let me come up with my list of ten . . . Read on if you dare.

Now what will my list be . . .
10 most awesome muppets
10 ways to to look like you are working at a coffee shop
10 ways to shame your children while seemingly being a good parent
10 Cheesy "Chick Flicks" that I totally cried at
10 Ways to prove to haters that I still have testosterone after said movies

Aw, heck with it, "10 Random Things That Have Been in My Head" and in no particular order.

1. I love family // yesterday I had dinner with my cousin, Tiffini, and her beau after she spent the afternoon mallratting with Annie.  It is always fun to help further explain the intricacies of family systems to one who was not raised in said family system.  Hey, if you can't laugh at your own dysfunctions how will we keep ignoring them?
2. When blogging turns ugly // Damn, this sucks.  Brian Bailey tells the story of a blogger who has had to shut down because of death threats.  If you proceed to the the bloggers explanations, be warned that some of the stuff is graphic.  I guess it is bound to happen, but man, what is this about?!?!?!?
3. What does a yellow light mean? //  While "researching" for sermon clips, I ran across this clip from Taxi.  Quite possibly the funniest TV gag EVER.  It is the episode when Jim takes his driver's licence test.   It is five minutes long and builds up speed.  You will giggle in your head at every traffic light. [YouTube Clip]
4. So you think you're hip? // As part of my Doctor of Ministry program I am studying these people called the Cultural Creatives or Creative Class.  Mostly they are, well . . . YOU!  So as soon as you/we/I think we are these very cool with-it independent thinkers.  Guess again!  We are merely lab rats - although trendy, progressive-minded lab rats - for the sociologists, advertisers and church planters to manipulate and mold.  Case in point, Richard Florida's blog on the Creative Class of which he is "The Guy" - The Creative Exchange.  LOVE IT!
5. Even good transitions are hard. // What happens when the church one serves starts to grow even a little faster than one thought it would?  Hmmm . . . let me think, you run away and hide amidst the onslaught of administrative and pastoral duties . . . oh no, that's not it.  Oh yes, we are proactive and we talk, think, pray through stuff.  So at the end of this week I will recently have had Coffee Conversations - why do I capitalize that? - with 18 leadership and members about our growth and how not to stifle it.  For those churches on the way up or down in size, here is a MUST READ Alban Institute article on Church Growth Stages.  Invaluable.
6. I claim my dorky old-schoolness. // Yes, my 20th HS Reunion is coming up this year, but so what!  I love my MTV!  As a continuation of my sermon "research" I bring to you for your listening enjoyment and old school loving: Lakeside's [Fantastic Voyage] // Chaka Khan [Through the Fire] // Young MC [Bust a Move] // DeBarge's [Rhythm of the Night] // and before the principal nixed it, the original theme for my senior ball Freddie Jackson's [Rock Me Tonight]. I can't imagine why he felt it was inappropriate ;-)
7. It is a cult, because Wired says it is.  // Last week I posted two entries [#1] [#2] on this weird world of the Apple Macintosh "Cult."  Thanks to DJ Chuang who sent me this NY Times article Apple Cult Becoming a Religion and the Cult of Mac blog from Wired Magazine, I now know that I am correct.  Oh well, drinking our own kool-aid as they say . . . ew.
8. Quiet is over-rated. // With Robin, Evelyn and Abigail in France [See Blog] [See pics] and Annie with my mom, the house and life are eerily quiet for most of the day when I usually am with them.  Then comes the night . . . nope, still quiet.
9. Mid-terms are for losers. // I still have a paper that I have to write that I am disparately avoiding doing.  Of course today is really the only day to do it as I packed the rest of the week with aforementioned Coffee Conversations, meetings and other random church activities.  Hmmm . . . wonder if anything good is at the movies?
10. Play Ball!!!!! // Only six more days until Major League Baseball's - the only true American sport, that and competitive eating BTW - OPENING DAY BABY and only 13 days until the Oakland Athletic's Home Opener.  Oh yeah and just 12 days from the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, of course I remembered ;-) . . . hmmm, I wonder what position Jesus would play?

Damn, there is a lot of useless crap rolling around in my head.  Enjoy!

It is a CULT and they are following me!

Last week I blogged about the weird mac cult that I felt like I was part of.  The usual suspects sent me notes, plus some random folks who clearly have too much time on our hands . . . like I am one to talk.

But check this out, my narcissistic "Mystats" from StatCounter.com spiked  to almost 700 views that day, almost 600 being unique visitors.

Weird, just weird.  What i am trying to figure out is what they were searching for that got them to this post . . .

I think I inadvertently joined a cult

As I sit here on a Thursday evening at yet another quirky little SF cafe, I suddenly look around and notice a bunch of little glowing apples looking at me.  Yes . . . out of seven laptops being used at the cafe, six of them are Macs.  We are all sitting there with smug, "I am so cool hanging out at a urine-smelling bohemian cafe in the mission typing on my mac" kind of look.   Scaaaaaaary . . . and while I do love my Mac, if one of them offers me kool-aid, I am out of there.

Who would watch this crud?

Okay . . . mbcc has moved into the world of vod/pod/casting.  Thanks to intern nick, we have put out our first two podcasts and now that I have solved my camcorder/mac issues, the first VODcast is ready to go.

I just watched the video and I have this very strange feeling inside that makes me wonder, "Who would watch this?" and "Would it mean anything to someone who did?"  While clearly I am game to see if folks actually do take advantage of this, I have some three reason why this casting thing needs to be examined.

CONTEXT // The Pastor - I like to think I am pretty aware of the context in which I serve.  This is not just the demographics of this uber-bobo community, but also the life situations that are taking place.  I don't consider myself a particularly proficient preacher, but rather my effectiveness comes from my knowing, understanding and appreciating what my "peeps" are going through.  I am afraid I just may sound like a rambling idiot - don't say it - without a pastoral/personal connection.

CONTEXT // The Community - As I said before, I am pretty aware of the short-comings and assets of the congregation.  I do think we are pretty unique for an urban, presbyterian, postmodern, emergent, sarcastic, critical, snarky and slightly left of middle congregation and I wonder if the way I communicate with this group of folks will just not be accessible to others.

CONTEXT // The setting - Our worship gatherings can be pretty conversational and interactive.  Not only do we loose some of the sound, but if one does not know something about the person who is sharing, something is lost.  It is just another story without any of the background.

So, if you have and extra 30 minutes of your life that you want to risk sending into oblivion . . .

green my apple

so i have become a mac lover.  i didn't realize what i was missing in my life until dear sweet macbook pro walked in and showed me what was possible.  sorry about the gushing, but after a few short months, i can say that i am sold.  in the end, i suppose you can love your mac you just can't LOOOOOOOOOOVE your mac.  in any case i still love my mac.

though, there is this dilemma . . . i preached a sermon on the environment this sunday as part of a series, "no easy answers" and brought up this idea that apple is not all that it is cracked up to to be.  now for you apple-haters out there this is just fodder for the cannon, but just keep in mind that jesus says something about dealing with your own spam/virsuses/crashing before casting hater-posts at another. now that MAY just be a paraphrase, but i am sure if JC were at mac world that is what he would be saying . . . that and, "apple, get a friggin right click"

but i digress . . . if you believe greenpeace, what do we do about apple's record on not being green?  You can check out their "greenmyapple" campaign.