The View From Here » Blog

Plans for the Future

Brian — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:25:19 +0000

Well folks, if you couldn’t tell my posts have slowed down here a bit. The amazing thing is, my traffic has gone up. I am glad that people are finding what I write to be useful in some way. The reason my posts have slowed is that I am working on a couple new and exciting projects that are taking my thoughts and time. But that is the nature of progress. Old things go and new things come to take their place. I will keep you apprised of any new developments as they arise.

Brian

Random Posts

I Bought an iPad

Brian — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:52:47 +0000

The Story

I remember the days (weeks really) leading up to the iPad announcement. There were enough rumors buzzing around the techsphere that, if you lived there, you might think you were in a bee hive. What would it be called? What features would it have? How much would it cost? You name it and there was a rumor floating around about it. As the info-junkie that I am I was up on all the news and excited to see what would be announced. I watched the announcement via Engadget’s live blog. And I was a little underwhelmed.

Then all of the commentary started hitting. “It’s just a big iPod Touch,” was the one that seemed to be repeated most often. And I agreed. That is what it looked like. My original conclusion was, “What can this thing do that I can’t do between my iPhone and laptop? Nothing. I’ll wait and see.” And then the iPad started selling – a lot.

I think that is what got my attention again. Not just that it had one month of incredible sales – that is to be expected. But each month after that saw the same trend. Then a friend of mine bought it and loved it. Then something called iBooks came to the iPhone which changed my opinion about reading eBooks. Then I got several opportunities to use my friend’s iPad. I was hooked and I wanted one. But I let it lie – until I could save up the money for it. So I saved. And then I bought it. And let me tell you – it is a big iPod Touch.

A Big iPod Touch

Now let me tell you why that is a good thing – even the thing that makes it a wonderful (probably not exactly magical as Apple describes it) device. Take an iPod Touch, blow it up (not literally please), and what do you have? A large, accessible, touch screen device with a great operating system and a huge battery. The combination of those things makes the iPad a great device.

The screen real estate on the iPad makes it capable of so much. Way more than on a phone. Reading books on it is a great experience. Typing on it is a breeze (for me, your mileage may vary). The screen makes reading lots of content a joy, not to mention some of the apps that have come along that are so innovative (more on those in a minute). The screen size on this thing matters – a whole lot.

The iPad is accessible. You can see what I mean by that by walking through the process of using a laptop. For me it was: get it out of the backpack, find a place to sit, open it up, turn it on. Using a laptop is a commitment. Once I have it out I am committed to sitting with the screen at an arm’s length while it makes my legs uncomfortably warm (read: sweaty). When my wife comes over to talk to me I have to disengage from the laptop and set it aside so she knows I am listening.

Not so with the iPad. Pick it up and it is ready to go, using just my fingers to do the work. And it doesn’t matter where you are. Sitting, standing, or laying. If my wife wants to talk I don’t feel nearly as committed to it as I do a laptop. It is easier to put down. This may sound funny if you have never used it but I promise it is true.

The iPad is built on the same operating system as the iPhone/iPod Touch. Granted, I miss the multitasking that I have on the iPhone now but I am sure that is coming. Aside from that you have the same ease of use on a larger screen. And you have the same great ecosystem of apps and developers to draw from.

This brings me to the battery. It just goes on and on which is key in a mobile device. Apple says that you can get nine hours out of it – that is a big deal. And there are reports out there of people doing better than that with their battery.

What I use it for

The best way to describe the way I used my laptop was causal. I browsed the web, and checked email. The iPad does these things and more in a smaller package. I read books on it, consume news and information, take handwritten notes with it, listen to a little music, and play some casual games. I browse the web, check email, and do some word processing. I could do most of these things on my laptop, sure. But normally I didn’t want to get it out so I would do these things on my iPhone. So now I have the accessibility of the iPhone but with a larger screen and I can do quite a bit more. I am sure the longer I have it the more useful it will become.

Apps

Here are a few of the apps I use that shine on the iPad:

ESV Bible +: The ESV Study Bible. It includes the study notes and cross referencing of the print version with some additional articles. You can also take notes in it. I can see myself using the iPad in church.
Notarize: An app that allows you to take handwritten notes using a stylus. They stylus works pretty well. You can import PDFs or other documents and mark them up. This will be a great tool at work.
Flipboard: News reader that is just plain awesomeness. It takes news feeds from Twitter and puts them in a magazine type format for you to flip through. This is one of the apps that sold me on the iPad.
Pulse News: Another News reading app. You can subscribe to twenty-five different websites news feeds and they are delivered to you in nice little presentation.
Carcassonne: This is a board game put to the iPad. I look forward to seeing many other board games come to this form factor. It plays great. Oh and this is an iPhone app and it looks great.

It Ain’t All Roses

Like everything else in life it can’t all be great. Here are the problems I see.

I am sure the lack of a physical keyboard will turn some people off but you can purchase a physical Bluetooth keyboard but that costs some money.
I would have liked to see a front facing camera for video chat especially now that Apple has introduced Facetime. I am sure this will be added soon.
To get the 3G enabled iPad you have to shell out quite a bit of money and I wasn’t willing to do that. Many apps lose their functionality without WiFi but I haven’t been in many of those situations yet.
There is a lack of printing functionality.
Apple is in control of the app store. This isn’t a huge issue for me but for some this is huge.
I would like to see some type of file system put in place so I can take files I have saved in Pages and move them to my Dropbox.
The iPad cannot stand on its own, meaning that it has to be synced to a computer through iTunes. We will see how this plays out but I’m not too happy about it.

Conclusion

No device is perfect. We can all point to things that need to be changed. But does the iPad deliver usable and innovative features that set it apart? Most certainly. I don’t see myself using my laptop very much anymore. If I want to do some real productivity work (like Excel) I will go back to the laptop or desktop. Otherwise you will see me with my iPad for all my casual needs.

Another question hangs out there as well. Will the iPad help usher in the time of the tablet? I think so. I am excited to see what other companies can bring to the consumer market but they had better hurry. Because the tablet for the masses is here in the iPad and it looks like an oversized iPod Touch. And I think that is a good thing.

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How to Lead Your Wife

Brian — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:17:38 +0000

Well, that isn’t a controversial title is it? I won’t pretend for a second that this topic doesn’t cause problems. Many women these days scoff when this is brought up and many men puff up their chests or shy back in fear. It is sad that these are the most common reactions.

I had a discussion with a guy about Christianity and this issue was his main beef. He had a major problem buying into something that taught that women should be silent and submissive in all things and that men should be domineering, dictatorial leaders. Here is the thing. I have a major problem with his description too and I think it is a misconception about the Bible’s teaching on roles in marriage that needs to be addressed. Both insiders and outsiders hold this misconception and so we must go back to the Bible to see what it says before we define these roles.

Eph. 5:22 – 30

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

Col. 3:18 -19

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Husbands

Let me focus on the husbands first as I think that a clearer understanding of their role makes understanding the role of the wives easier.

There is a constant parallel drawn in scripture between the way a husband should lead and the way Christ led. I don’t think anyone could argue that Christ led with a puffed out chest. It says in Eph. 5 that husbands should love their wives as Christ love the church and gave himself up. This is not a selfish kind of leadership. In fact it is sacrificial love that is evident here.

Here is my summary: a husband should lead in such a way that would best serve his wife. Not selfishly. Not dictatorially. Not harshly. Instead we husbands should be thinking first about our wives. We should cherish them as we do our own bodies. We shouldn’t lead in a way that best serves us. We should lead in a way that serves them, laying ourselves down.

This kind of leadership starts with submission to God. It is not something a person can call forth from themselves. If a man is to lead he must learn his proper place before God. A tough thing to do for sure but none of this will work if you aren’t in submission to God.

Something else, husbands. If we are to love our wives as we do our own bodies we should listen to them. They have valuable input to give. What man puts his hand on a burner, hears his body tell him that he should move it, and then leaves it there as the smoke rises from the skin? If we are to love them as our own bodies then we need to listen to them to know how to best serve them.

Wives

“Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” The question we must answer if we are to see how this submission looks is how do we submit to the Lord? Or why do we submit to the Lord? We submit ourselves to Christ because we trust Him. We trust our lives to him. So even when we aren’t completely sure of the outcome of a situation we trust that He has our best interest at heart. Not necessarily our happiness, but our ultimate well-being.

Let me tell you, that scares the snot out of me. Knowing that I have to live up to that standard. So it is not something I take lightly. At all! But the scariest part is knowing that I can never succeed perfectly. I have to trust that Christ will make up for my deficiencies. Talk about humbling.

My wife’s submission needs to look like trust. Trust that I am leading her in a way that best serves her. If you are trusting like this there is no reason to look out for number one because you know that someone else is looking out for you. And fortunately (as I mentioned above) Christ will make up for my mistakes. So trusting that Christ has your best at heart helps you in trusting your husband.

Wives, how many of you would like a husband you could trust to have your best interests at heart? If he is leading in a biblical way then you should be able to. Husbands, are you leading in a way that inspires trust in your wife?

Again, this role starts with submission to God first. If submission to God is not present first the rest will be difficult if not impossible. This starts (hopefully) before marriage.

What about a situation where the husband is not leading in a Christ-like manner? 1 Peter 3 tells us that a wife should still submit in hopes that her conduct will be seen by her husband and that this will point him to Christ. This is not an easy one to swallow in today’s society but it does make sense. It can be a very humbling thing for someone else to act right even when we are acting wrong.

Here is the kicker, I am human. I make mistakes. But if I do my best to approach every opportunity to lead my wife as an opportunity to serve her to the best of my ability the I am on the right track. Perfect? Not hardly. And if my wife knows this about me she can trust that I am trying to lead in a loving way.

Yikes! This got a bit long. But it is important. Comments?

Brian

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Despicable Me

Brian — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:20:27 +0000

The Best Part of the Movie!

In a world where Toy Story 3’s high standards exist it is very hard for other animated movies to live up to them. Nigh impossible. That doesn’t mean that other movies aren’t good. They just seem to pale in comparison with the likes of Pixar films.

That brings me to Despicable Me. In a world without Pixar this would be a really good animated movie. But we don’t live in that world. That makes Despicable Me a fun but not great movie.

The story is a simple one that never really struck a deep chord with me. Evil-bad-guy Gru wants to be the greatest villain in the world but he has some steep and younger competition. So he enlists (through adoption) some innocent girls to help him in his plan. But they pull his heartstrings and eventually he becomes good Gru (or loving Gru?). The only problem is, they never convinced me he was bad Gru to begin with so the story left me with an “eh” felling. More cute than good.

Where did it succeed? It was fun to watch. All of the characters are well voiced. Steve Carell did an especially good job with Gru. The little girls (especially the littlest) are very adorable and you feel for them because they are orphans.

Now for the best part of the movie: The Minions (the little yellow guys). Their antics were hilarious and they are probably the best “disposable-sidekick-type” characters I have seen. They don’t really talk. They just mumble and every now and then an intelligible word pops out like poop or idiot. They made me laugh throughout.

Despicable Me ends up being a typical animated flick lacking in-depth; something proven to be attainable by Pixar films. There are a few moments that shined about this movie (Gru, the littlest girl Agnes, and the Minions) but the rest was fun but pretty dull.

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Inception

Brian — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:36:33 +0000

How do you make a van falling from a bridge exciting for over an hour? Answer: I don’t know but Christopher Nolan does so go watch his new movie Inception.

Inception delivers one of the most multi-layered cinematic experiences I have seen. Think Matrix (real layer and matrix layer), but with more layers. In most movies this translates into an unintelligible mess. But Inception gives each layer its own unique feel which makes it easy to tell which layer you are in and to track with the story. Did I miss things? Absolutely. Which will make subsequent viewing all the more fun.

Let’s talk about the story for a moment (without spoilers). Inception is, at its root, a heist story. Build a team of specialists and steal something important (think Sneakers or Oceans 11) but all of that is done in dreams. But it rises so far above just a heist that the heist seems more of a backdrop to what is going on with our main character, Cobb. It is the canvas on which we are learning about him. But that doesn’t mean that the heist story couldn’t stand on its own.

I’m not going to tell you anything else about the story. I don’t want to ruin it for you. And I don’t know if I could adequately describe it without taking up many more pages and no one has time for that these days.

The cinematography is beautiful as well. Writer/director Nolan draws from such an incredibly diverse palate creating unique and vivid scenes. Memorable. The special effects are jaw dropping. There is one action sequence in a hotel that is completely astounding. It gives us a good look at how the different layers interact with each other and proves how well thought out this movie is. But that is just one among many times I had to pick my jaw up off the floor, and not just for the visuals. The ideas behind the movie are just as jaw dropping.

Inception is driven, not by the visuals, but by good, well fleshed out ideas. This is a sign of a well executed movie. Some movies have explosions just to distract you from the fact that the story probably doesn’t have many worthwhile ideas. Inception on the other hand has great ideas that the special effects support. They make the ideas shine. That is actually one of the main thrusts of the movie: that ideas are very powerful things. And Inception proves this to be true.

In the end Inception is an intertwining of many good ideas, each of which that could support a movie on their own, but combined create a movie experience seldom beheld.

So, should you go see it? (I hope it is obvious by now but I’ll tell you anyway.) Unabashedly yes! Any movie that can make the audience give a collective and audible “Oh!” at the end is worth your time and money. It is my favorite movie of the year thus far and I want to see it again. Inception is about dreams and I left the theater feeling like I was in one. Don’t forget your totem. You will need it afterwards. (You will get that bit after you see it.)

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Toy Story 3

Brian — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:52:14 +0000

Every time a new Pixar film comes out there is much ado about how incredibly good it is. Every single one. Then the question comes up, “How do they do it?” I think that Toy Story 3 holds the answer, and it is very simple. The second Toy Story released in 1999, more than 10 years ago. Based on that, I would say that their secret to releasing good films is that they wait until an idea is mature enough that it will be good. The key word is “wait”. Pixar seems to incubate a project until it is ready to hatch. They don’t just put out a sequel as quick as they can because the previous one made a bucket of money. I think other movie studios should take note of this and not shovel sequels out at break neck speed just because the first one did so well. Wait until you have a compelling idea then do the sequel. Alright. I’ll stop. But it’s true! On with the show, err, the review.

More than likely if you are reading this and you haven’t seen the movie yet you already know what you need to do: go see Toy Story 3. Really. The only way I would recommend holding off is if you haven’t seen the prior two entries in the series. But if that is the case, well, just go watch them. All three of them.

What can I say that you probably don’t already know? As with all Pixar movies the animation was beautiful. The acting was superb as usual. The story was wonderful (Andy is headed off to college. What will happen to the toys?). But that is nothing new. Pixar achieves these things in all of its movies. So what sets it apart?

It is the scope of the film that sets it apart and makes it not only the best Toy Story but the best Pixar movie to date. But that greatness is built on the foundation of its predecessors. The first Toy Story dealt mainly with the toy’s bedroom politics. The second dealt more with ownership and loyalty. Both of them were fairly toy centric. The third installment zooms way out and deals more with who these toys are in respect to the people who own them. And because of this we get the biggest emotional payoff of the series and a fitting end.

In a word, Toy Story 3 is masterful in its concept and execution. And well worth the wait.

Are you still reading this? Go see Toy Story 3!

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iPhone 4 and iOS4

Brian — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:52:21 +0000

This is the most recent update of my continuing iPhone Review. If you want to see any of the older portions of it click here.

It is about that time again: time for another iPhone hardware and software refresh. Amazingly enough I am still with this phone after almost three years. This is all thanks to Apple’s steady hardware updates and frequent software updates which include new features that keep me interested in the phone and the platform.

First I want to talk about the reasons I use the iPhone over the other options out there.

The iPhone and its accompanying software are both extremely elegant. There are very few rough edges anywhere to be seen and I really appreciate that. Sure, there may be some features that other phones have or had first but in terms of polish I doubt there is anything that comes close. I am sure that the other options out there are catching up. That is what happens in a market. Bring it on.
Apple is committed to ongoing support of this platform. Before the iPhone it was extremely rare if not impossible to find a phone maker that supported both hardware and software in an ongoing and unified way. There are several options out there now that do this but I think Apple has done the best job of it. There has been a major OS update each year alongside a hardware update.
It does the things I want my phone to do well. Multimedia is well integrated. My experience with AT&T has been very good. I don’t have the dropped call or data connectivity issues that others have experienced. The web browsing experience is great. I can read a book on the go. If there is something you want the phone to do that isn’t baked in, there will be an application that will cover your need. I also really enjoy multitude and variety of quality games on the iPhone platform. It is a true multimedia device, not just a phone.

As of right now those are my reasons. If another platform comes along that fits my needs better then I will switch.

On to the iPhone 4 itself.

First let’s talk about the physical design. This may sound weird, but the iPhone 4 is the most attractive gadget I have held in my hand. Everything from the materials it is made from (glass and metal) to the way the buttons work is simply amazing. The front and back of the phone are made from a hardened glass material that is supposed to be fairly scratch resistant, not scratch proof. Care and a case will still be needed to keep it from getting beat up. The edges are a stainless steel material that looks great and doubles as an antenna. Form and function in one. Very nice. The iPhone 4 is noticeably thinner than its predecessors yet it has nice heft to it which makes it feel sturdy.

The internal hardware has received a large upgrade as well. Apple doubled the memory from the 3GS and iPad up from 256MB to 512MB in the iPhone 4. This means more things going on at the same time and aids in the HD video capture (more on that in a bit). The processor has received an upgrade as well to the same processor running the iPad. In normal OS use I didn’t see a huge increase in speed but it seemed a bit faster. The new processor really helps out when loading large apps like games. Apps that might take 5 seconds to load on the 3GS now load almost instantly. Other tasks like loading up an ebook was noticeably faster as well. A welcome update.

The most important hardware piece from a user standpoint on a touch screen phone is, without a doubt, the screen. This is what you will be interacting with for the life of the phone so it had better be good. The screen on the iPhone 4 is nothing short of amazing. It continues to wow me with its crisp text and clarity. Why is it so good? The resolution of the phone is 960×480 which means that there are enough pixels per inch that you can’t see them. I don’t think I can stress how big a difference this feature makes in usability. I have been reading a book via the new iBooks app and have had no trouble reading for an extended time period. Not only does it look good it is very touch responsive just as all previous iPhone have been. The screen on the iPhone 4 is incredible.

Another big upgrade to the iPhone 4 is the camera. It is sporting a 5 mega pixel camera (up from the 3 mega pixel on the 3GS) and it captures great images and not just for a phone. They are great images period. Coupled with a flash and a low light sensor the iPhone can now take very competent shots in dimmer areas. It also has a 5x digital zoom that increases the camera’s flexibility. Along with a better camera comes the ability to shoot smooth HD video (720p). I got to use this feature quite a bit this last weekend when my 6 month old nephew came into town. It captures great videos which will turn into great memories. The camera and video capture both work as advertised with no hiccups.

This brings me to the larger battery in the iPhone 4 which, I have to say, I am quite impressed with. Under normal use (for me that means internet browsing, book reading, listening to music and podcasts, playing a few games, checking email, and texting) the battery lasted over 33 hours without seeing a charger. That is a great result considering that my 3GS would have been shot after less than 20. Very impressive. To top it off it recharged in less than three and a half hours.

One of the big things that Apple is touting about the iPhone 4 is Facetime, a way to do video calling using the new front facing camera. Apple has been talking about this feature (video calling) like it is something new. My response is yes and no. No, video calling is not something new. It has been around for a while but hasn’t really caught on. Yes, in terms of Facetime’s implementation, with a caveat. There is no signing in to a service. When you are on a call and want to switch to a video call you click the Facetime button and there you are. It is smooth and works great. The caveat is twofold: as of now you must be on WiFi and you must own an iPhone 4 in order to use Facetime, two very limiting factors. Since Facetime is an open standard other platforms can make use of it and I hope they do. And I am sure that Facetime won’t always be tied to WiFi. But for now it is.

There are quite a few new hardware features on the iPhone 4 but those are the biggies for me for now. The new gyroscope may be well used at a later date but as of now it is pretty useless to me. I have also noted that the speaker quality is much higher on the iPhone 4 than with previous versions.

Let’s talk about some issues with the phones that have come up recently.

Many people have noted a signal/antenna issue. If you hold the phone a certain way your bars seem to disappear. I have been able to replicate this issue but I have also found that call clarity is not affected. Despite what the signal strength indicator shows I have not had signal problems. But still, how did this slip through?

There have been quite a few reports popping up about the fragility of the phone. There have been pictures all over the tech blogs showing broken glass on the front and back of the iPhone 4. Apple is good at delivering quality products but that doesn’t mean they are unbreakable. As with any device you should be careful with it or it will break.

Alright, let’s talk about the features in iOS4 that matter to me.

Folders – Organization of apps on the iPhone has been clunky in the past. It wasn’t too bad at first but as the App Store grew I ended up with more and more apps. I think at one point I had eight pages of apps. That is a pain. I pared it down to around five or six pages before Folders came along. Now, with folders, I only have two pages. I really like this addition.
Fast App Switching – Switching between apps before wasn’t too bad. But it was a little clunky. Now, with a double tap of the home button, you can switch to recently used apps very quickly and easily. On top of that, as long as the app supports it, the apps are saved when you exit them so that when you switch back to them they come back just the way they were when you left. I am sure the more I get used to it the more useful it will become.
Multitasking – Before iOS4 if you were listening to Pandora and wanted to check out something on the internet your music would stop playing because you had to exit the application. No so anymore. Most situations when you want to exit an app but have it continue doing something in the background will work. All this while maintaining battery life. A great solution tailored to a mobile device.
Faster Camera – This is a little biggie. Cameras on phones are notoriously slow. When you are trying to take a picture of, say, a baby and you are waiting for that perfect moment it will usually pass you by because the camera takes its time. Not so anymore. It is very much an instant thing. I am very happy with this little-big improvement.
Background Images – To me this is a small thing. But it is a thing nonetheless. It is nice to have a picture in the background instead of a black nothing. That is all.
Editable iTunes Playlists – This is simply more functionality in an already very functional iPod application. You can now create new playlists (besides just the “On-the-Go” lists) and edit ones currently resident on your phone. More options are better in this case.
Unified Inbox/threaded messages – Email has always been usable on the iPhone but just so. Now they are adding more functionality in the way of unified inboxes and threaded messages. You can now have all your mail from multiple email accounts show up in a unified inbox. Very handy. Emails that are response to others show up in threads which makes following a conversation through email very easy. Both very welcome additions.
Orientation Lock – I check on the news before I go to sleep that means I am laying in bed. If I happened to roll over on my side the screen would rotate when I didn’t want it to. Rotation lock fixes that. It is located on the far left of the fast app switching dock (just a double tap of the home button away). This has turned out to be very handy and the rotation lock is on most of the time.

These are the main things that will have a great impact on the way I use the phone. Are there more things they could have added? Sure thing. Am I happy with what they did add? Sure thing.

I have one more thing to talk about. iBooks. I am a book reader. I love the feel of a physical book so knew that transitioning to another medium would be hard for me but it is something that I at least wanted to try. I have almost completed reading a book on the iPhone 4 and I am impressed. I do not want to switch completely away from a physical book but I can see the appeal of reading on a device like this. It is nice to be able to look up a word instantly or to make a note about a particular passage. Do I want to read on a device like this all the time? No. Can I read on it sometimes? Absolutely. And I think it will continue to grow on me.

I want to quickly address some of the previous issues I had with the iPhone and its software and let you know if any of these have been fixed.

Battery life – As mentioned above this has been taken care of in a big way. Solved
Multitasking – Again, taken care of. I think the way the iPhone balances battery life with multitasking is a great way to handle it on a mobile platform. Solved.
Adobe Flash – Still non-existent. I wish the option was there although there have been fewer and fewer times that its omission was felt. With HTML5 on the rise this will become even less of an issue. But I still wish the option was there.
Ability to use the phone as a USB drive – Again, non-existent but I don’t really care if they add this functionality or not now. I have found a better solution. Dropbox. There’s an app for that. If you don’t know what Dropbox is you really should check it out. Solved.

Here are some areas that I think still need improving.

Notifications – This is an area that many people are asking for improvement in. I don’t have a huge problem with the pop up notifications that exist now, but I do know that it could be better so the system could use a facelift.
Facetime – I can really see this service being very useful but because of its limitations (iPhone 4 and WIFi only) it just isn’t yet. Remedy those two things and it could be great.
Widgets – I would like to be able to look at my phone for quick information like weather. Right now there is no good way to do this without loading up the app. Also, the lock screen seems like some seriously wasted real estate. Widgets on the lock screen would be nice. Throughout the OS would be nicer still.
Settings shortcuts – This could go along with widgets. It would be nice to have quick access to some settings that are buried in menus right now. How about a screen you can drag some setting widgets to.
Home Screen options – This has been alleviated somewhat by the new Folders features. But it would be nice to set whichever screen you want to be your home screen. For example, if you had 5 pages of apps it would be handy to set the third one as the home screen so that when you clicked the home button it would take you to the middle screen instead of the far left. Spotlight could also be changed to a swipe up or down from any screen providing much quicker access to searching.
Data plan caps and additional fees – This involves AT&T more than Apple but since they are in an exclusive relationship this relates. AT&T has moved to cap data usage. This will not be a huge issue for most people and will, in fact, save money for most users. Fortunately I still have my unlimited data plan since I had it before they changed to the capped plans. But, if I ever want to use the tethering feature (which has an additional fee associated with it) I would have to change to the capped plan. I don’t like the implications of this.

So there you have it. My take of iOS4 and iPhone 4. What do you think? What do you like about it? What would you change?

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Dying of Thirst

Brian — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:30:52 +0000

Ps. 42:1-2

As a deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Ps. 63:1

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Since I have been in church my whole life I am far from ignorant of whom God is. He is all satisfying. He is thirst quenching. Besides him there is nothing that is good and everything that is good flows from him. I know these things. I know them well. But knowing is not enough.

I realized as I read those verses that I know that God is an all satisfying stream but that very rarely do I recognize myself as thirsty. I very rarely see myself as in a “dry and weary land where there is no water”. Instead I see myself in a land that has wonders aplenty and that satisfaction is but a debit card swipe away.

A good definition of insanity I have heard is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. In that respect I am indeed insane. I keep going to the fountains of the world hoping to be satisfied only to find that they are spewing sand. Maybe flavored sand but sand all the same. Mmmmmm. That sand tastes a little different from the last. But it is still sand. All the wonders of the world promise to quench my thirst but they all fail in the end. And yet I keep going back to them. Insanity.

But since I keep fluttering from one world-fountain to the next I get this feeling like I am satisfied. Illusion of illusions. And scary to boot. So when I come to worship the Lord I recognize his awesome power but I don’t recognize that I am thirsty and that he is the only thing that could possibly eternally satisfy me.

What I need to realize is that I think I am satisfied on sand but I am not. I am dying of thirst and in need of the living God. I need his soul-quenching, heart-washing water to flood over me and satisfy me completely. If a man dying of thirst realized that he was filling his mouth with sand when there was a spring of water welling up next to him would he still go to the sand? Not if he realized that he was thirsty.

I need to know this: that I am dying of thirst every day and Christ is there every day to satisfy my thirst if I will but go to Him. Nothing else will quench apart from the pure water that springs forth from God. I run to him. I can do nothing else.

Brian

Isaiah 55:1-2

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in rich food.

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Renovations: The Library

Brian — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:25:06 +0000

Well folks, it is time to reveal our mostly completed library. That is right; we converted our “garage” (our front bedroom) into a library. Why was it a garage? Take a peek at the picture below and you will see why. The room tended to gather miscellaneous items and turned into something pretty unusable and hideous. That needed to change.

Thankfully we had inspiration from my sister. She had just recently moved into a new house and was going to be doing some redoing. This got the wheels turning in my wife’s head. We knew that we didn’t have enough money to do something like the kitchen so she turned her attention to the front bedroom. We had already been going through a purge of sorts, getting rid of all the “stuff” in our house that we don’t need or use and this room was on the chopping block.

So on a Thursday evening we decided to paint the room and most of the furniture in it and get a new smaller desk. It’s a good thing we had a long weekend ahead of us ‘cause we would be needing it. Thursday night we unpacked the room. It’s amazing how much stuff was in there.

We spent Memorial Day weekend priming, paining, and putting together a new desk. The result? A room that is very usable and soothing to boot. What is better than cool tones of grey on the wall and being surrounded by books? I love it.

The next step was to find some chairs, lamps, and a few flat surfaces to set some things on. We found an end table and bookseller bookshelf at Pier 1 to add to the room and my mother-in-law was kind enough to donate a couple chairs to the room. On top of that we picked up a Keurig coffee maker so that we could have a nice cup of coffee with our books.

So what do you think of our library? I love this room! The difference is amazing and it is wonderful to have another usable and very functional room in the house. A library.

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Quick Take: Alice in Wonderland

Brian — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:09:24 +0000

I must say, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. Keep in mind I am not familiar with the source material but I am familiar with some of the movies out there that attempt to retell it. This Alice in Wonderland is my favorite of the lot. I heard some complaints that this movie was just plain weird. What do you expect from Alice in Wonderland and Tim Burton? Throw Johnny Depp in the mix and the weirdness is complete. But it is a good weirdness.

Some things I enjoyed. The characterizations of the two queens were great. Alice was very good. The dialog was fun. The setting was dark and moody. The music was really good. As my wife said, “It’s a movie that really does take you somewhere else completely.” (I think I got that right) And she is right. It is a complete departure from reality. I liked that for this movie.

There was one thing that didn’t quite fit. There were moments in the weirdness that they tried to pull away from it and provide a broad, epic feel. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. It just seemed that the change of gears wasn’t quite as smooth as it should have been when introducing the epic parts. It pulled me out of the movie for a moment before I could get settled back in.

In the end I was very impressed with the movie. I enjoyed the parts in Wonderland more than the parts in the real world. Alice in Wonderland takes a very nice detour from reality to step into a weirdly comforting weirdness. I am sure we will be watching it again soon.

Brian

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Keeping It Off

Brian — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:36:58 +0000

I have been working on a weight experiment. I wanted to see if I could lose weight by simply eating less. No complicated diets. No huge exercise program. All I did until the last couple weeks was eat healthier and eat less and I have lost 24 pounds. I was already doing push-ups and pull-ups before I started so I kept that exercise and I tried to stay active doing work around the house. So it doesn’t take a complicated exercise program or diet to lose weight. You can do it by simply eating less.

So now I am about the weight I want to be. The question I have now is: how do I keep it off? This is something many people don’t consider. They get to the end of a diet and just go back to the way they ate before only to need to go back on the diet a year later. The answer for me is trial and error at this point. I need to be eating more than I was to lose weight but still less than I did to get to the weight I was before.

The truth is there is no simple answer. Just as you are vigilant in losing weight you must be just as vigilant, perhaps more so, in keeping it off. One thing is for sure, you can’t just go back to the way you ate before. That won’t work unless you drastically increase your exercise or physical activity. It is about calories in – calories out. One size won’t fit all. You have to do your work and figure out what works for you.

Here is what I am doing.

I am keeping track of my weight. I’m not weighing every day but I am weighing regularly to make sure I am where I want to be. If I am not I adjust what I am eating.
I am eating a bit more than I did before. I have started running again so I am taking that into account.
I am keeping my level of physical activity up. I don’t want to live a sedentary lifestyle.

I am a firm believer that weight isn’t everything. There are plenty of skinny people who are “fat” on the inside. Skinny does not always equal healthy. So I am eating healthy too. I am trying to make sure I eat lots of fruits and veggies. I don’t eat many sweets and when I do I eat very little. I very rarely eat fried foods (but I do on occasion). I still only eat at work what I bring from home. This keeps me from eating more than I plan to during the time of day that I am least active.

I have been successful the last couple weeks maintaining my current weight and I will keep you posted on how I do. In the mean time I probably need to go shopping for new clothes. The old ones are getting a little loose.

Throw a comment my way and let me know what has worked for you in keeping weight off.

Brian

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Fast FiveFinger Bikilas

Brian — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:19:26 +0000

That is correct. I now own three pairs of Vibram FiveFingers. I have a pair of KSOs, Treks, and now the new Bikila. Can you tell that I really like these things? I bought my original pair of KSOs for the purpose of running but have ended up using them for pretty much everything. The Bikila’s have become my new running shoe. Why run (or do anything else) in these things? If you want to know the reasons for running in FiveFingers I have written a whole post on that (there are some very good reasons).

Before I get to the Bikila’s specifically, I want to give you a few real world examples of the health benefits of wearing FiveFingers . The buddy I am running with these days had knee problems when he ran previously. These problems kept him from running. Fast forward to today and he is running in a pair of Bikilas without any pain. Another gentleman that I recommended them to suffered from back pain. He told me recently that it has been gone since he started wearing the FiveFingers on a daily basis. My mom bought a pair and they reduced the pain she experienced while healing from a foot injury. It is pretty amazing to see how letting our feet work the way they were meant to can help out many areas of our bodies.

Ok, on to the FiveFinger Bikila.

In short, they are amazing. They are the best built FiveFinger model that I have worn. The outside has fewer seams than the KSO. The inside is made of a soft sock-like material that is very comfortable. The opening is wider which allows more ankle mobility. Wonderful for running or just wearing around.

Here is where the rubber meets the road. Should you buy them? That is what you are here for, right? If you are a runner and don’t own a pair of FiveFingers yet, then absolutely. Buy the Bikila’s. You won’t regret it. If you already own a pair of Vibrams for running (probably the KSO or Sprint) then they aren’t as necessary. Sure, they are a bit more comfortable than my KSOs but I don’t know if it warranted buying a whole new pair of shoes. I don’t regret getting mine at all. It’s a “do I have the money” kind of decision.

All in all, Vibram has made another great pair of minimalist shoes that, while they are made for running, will work great for just about anything.

If you want more information on the Bikila or other Vibram footwear then check out my other posts on the topic or head on over to BirthdayShoes.com. Or you can ask a question in the comments section below.

Brian

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Happy Endings

Brian — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:56:27 +0000

Imagine this: you walk into a theater and sit down to watch a movie. People are crunching popcorn as you wait anxiously for the previews to end and the movie to start. You have been looking forward to a good movie for a while and this is going to be it. The lights dim. People get quiet. The screen lights up. The story ensues. The characters go through so much. Action! Drama! Great joy and great sorrow! Heroics! Love! All the hallmarks of a good movie flash before your eyes but here comes the best part: the ending. You are so sure it is going to be the best ending ever full of problems solved, boy gets girl, and neatly tied up moments. Then everybody dies arbitrarily. Huh? Surely that wasn’t the end. The credits roll. That couldn’t be the end! But it is. Where is the happy ending?

As many of you know, I am an avid reader and watcher of movies. To be specific I am a story connoisseur. It really doesn’t matter what the genre, if it has a compelling story driven by well-rounded characters I will enjoy it. One thing I have noticed about stories is that most of them end happily. That movie mentioned above wouldn’t be made. We humans are hard-wired to want happy endings. We want to see the characters in our fiction end their story on a happy note.

In the same way we are looking for happy endings in our own lives. Do you remember being a kid and anticipating Christmas? There was that one thing that if you got it your life would be whole and complete. Then Christmas Day comes and you got it! Happy ending. We love to anticipate things and events and watch them come to pass. Our lives are full of little stories and we want them all to end happy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But some end up happy and some don’t. When they don’t we move on as best we can and look toward the next happy ending.

Here is the rub. Our lives can be full of small stories that end happily but when it comes to our life as a whole there is no other ending but a bad one. We will all die. Loved ones will be taken from us and we will all someday be taken from those we love on this earth. So, ultimately, every one of our stories here will have a sad or bad ending.

So how do we reconcile these two things? We all desire happy endings but all we will get is death on this earth. And even when death is a relief it is still a bad ending.

Could it be that we were made to desire happy endings and that they were meant to be fulfilled? But how is that when the only thing absolutely sure in life is death?

If we get a bad ending in life we look beyond that to our next story. There is something bigger than that one event. If all we did was focus on that one bad event we would be consumed with the fact that our life is pointless and not fulfilling. In the same way, if we look at the end of our life as the end of our story we could easily become depressed because we want the happy ending. There must be a bigger story going on.

The reconciliation point between these two things is Jesus Christ. If we try to solely fulfill ourselves here on this earth we will ultimately be dissatisfied. Everything we work for will be lost when we die. If instead we realize that our hope for a happy ending is with Christ then we have something glorious to look forward to. We will get our happy ending in Christ.

If we look at the end of our life as the end of the story we will be disappointed. If we look at the end of our life as just another ending in the bigger and better story of our eternity then our desire for a happy ending will be fulfilled. We will have an eternity to be happy in Christ.

Death is not the end of the story. If it is we have nothing to look forward to. If Christ is our treasure then we have everything to look forward to.

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You Weigh What You Spend

Brian — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:47:32 +0000

Fixing a problem or achieving a goal usually means focusing on it, sometimes to the detriment of other things in our lives. One of my goals is to write. In order to do this and be good at it I need to spend quite a bit of time at it. This means less time for other things, even things that are important to me. Every now and then, though, we come across goals that work together. When we achieve one it will help us achieve another. If you find these kinds of goals grab them up.

Two goals that I have found to be complementary are budgeting and weight loss (or health gain, as I like to call it). The first part of the budgeting process is finding out what your expenses are. Then mold your budget into what you want it to look like. You tell your money what to do. If you live by this then you are successfully living by a budget.

The logical extension to weight loss would be limiting the amount of money you have to spend on “junk” food or cutting it out all together. This includes eating out and snacky foods from the grocery store. If you follow your budget in this area then you will eat less and will lose weight.

So you are spending less on food. How does that help you lose weight? Weight loss has developed into a large industry. There are so many ideas being sold out there about how to lose weight that it can be confusing and, therefore, discouraging. It doesn’t have to be. I have lost weight simply by eating less. I promise it works. I have lost 20 pounds just eating less. All it takes is some self-discipline but if you are disciplined enough to budgeting your money then I am sure you can do it.

Don’t let your budget (or lack thereof) contribute to your weight problems. Control your budget, live within it, and you will find your weight will come under control as well. Spend less, eat less. Your wallet will be happier and your scale will be too. It’s a win, win.

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The Robin Hood You Didn’t Expect

Brian — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:32:59 +0000

Most people are familiar with the traditionally told Robin Hood story. Noble turns outlaw to help down trodden-peasants fight tyrannical government entity in medieval England. Thievery and romance ensue and you end with a show down between Robin and the Sheriff/Prince. Am I right? Well, this newest Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, is not that often-told Robin Hood. So don’t expect that story going in.

What you should expect is a great movie with very realistic characters, setting, and a unique but sometimes thick plot. The movie opens with a wonderfully depicted castle siege. King Richard is on his way back from the crusades and is trying to secure some money on his way home to England. What makes this scene so wonderful? The way it presents medieval combat.

Our main character, Robin Longstride, is introduced to us as an experienced archer in the Kings army taking his part in the action. That is providing covering fire for the boys setting up explosive bags on the gate of the castle and then igniting them flaming arrows. In the meantime, the warriors in the castle are being served lunch while they fight. I really enjoyed the realism here. People need to eat especially if they are to continue fighting. Once the English have set fire to the gates Robin and the other archers retreat back to the English tents to play games while the attack continues. Their part of the siege is done. This scene did a great job of setting up the realistic tone for the rest of the movie.

What is different about this Robin Hood Story? For one, there isn’t much robbing the rich and giving to the poor. There isn’t much outlaw action. Instead we are treated to a look at how Robin Longstride becomes the Hood we all love. Along the way characters are driven by their own internal motivations and not the plot that people expect. The love story between Robin and Marian has a very unique twist to it.

The medieval setting is very well drawn, and not in an idealistic way. It is real. Life is very much tied to seasons and crops. Men and women do what they have to do instead of what would make them look cool on the screen. And all the while, it was fun to watch.

The only drawback to this movie for me was that the plot was hard to follow in some areas , particularly in the politics. This is not a persistent problem and I am sure a second viewing will help, which I am more than willing to give it.

Everything considered, Robin Hood may not give you exactly what you want. It does better than that. It gives you what you didn’t know you wanted.

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Iron Man 2

Brian — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:55:25 +0000

First off I want to say that I enjoyed this movie. But Iron Man 2 was more fun than it was good. I really enjoyed the first Iron Man. It had a great character arc in Tony Stark and a good plot. Add great special effects into this and you had a winner.

Why was the second movie more fun than good? They fumbled the character arc they set up in the first movie, and the plot was disjointed. But the action was great fun. If some mostly good performances, clever jokes, and great action is what you want then look no further. You will enjoy this movie.

Superhero action is always fun and once Tony Stark got his head back on straight with about a third of the movie left it got very good. From this point you get lots of action, great special effects, and better characters. It feels like they finally got the movie in gear. The Iron Man/War Machine sequence at the end is really good. Lots of robots die.

The first two thirds of the movie had some problems but it had some bright points as well. Robert Downey Jr. delivers a strong performance. The dialog is pretty good most of the time. There were some awesome one-eye jokes.

So let’s talk about the problems now. If you haven’t seen the movie yet then don’t read what comes next. See the movie, form your own opinions, then come back and read the rest and agree or disagree with me.

[SPOILERS begin here]

The first thing that bothered me is that they seemed to have thrown out most of Tony Stark’s character arc from the first movie. At the end of the first movie he had gone from arrogant jerk to confident hero. At the beginning of the second movie he is back to the arrogant womanizing jerk. It may be typical for a person to revert back to the way they were before but the writers could have provided a reason for it to happen.

I think one of the reasons the writers felt the need to make Tony more like he was at the beginning of the first movie was that it succeeded. Give the fans more of the same. This can be clearly seen in the annoyingly out-of-place clumsy robot arm. It fit in the first movie because there were robot arms all over Tony’s garage. Having one of them be the comic relief worked really well. In the second movie they are all gone. Except this one. It was still there being as inept as ever. Why would Tony keep this one around after all the others are gone? Inexplicable and annoying. Moving on.

Next,what happened to the relationship between Tony and Pepper? It isn’t explained. It is just understood that there is awkwardness between them. If they had explained why they weren’t hitting it off it would have provided a reason for Tony to revert back to his old self. But at the very end Tony realizes that he loves her. And she loves him. And they kiss. Why? There is no relationship building in the movie at all.

How about conflict in the story? Can you pick out the central conflict? Here are your choices.

Russian dude with daddy issues who is coming after Tony
Tony dealing with his mortality
Rival businessman Hammer has it in for Tony
Tony vs. the US government that wants his technology

So which one is the central conflict? The answer that the movie wants you to pick is number 1. It bookends the movie. It opens with the Russian guy building his own suit and ends with Tony Stark beating him. But it was too easy and it didn’t deliver any kind of emotional impact. It was anticlimactic. So the answer to the question is that there really is no central conflict. This is what made the movie feel disjointed to me. It couldn’t decide what problem it was trying to solve. Or maybe it was trying to solve too much yet didn’t do a great job with any of them.

How could they have fixed this? The answer is in the dads. The Russian guy’s dad died not giving his son the life he thought he should because Tony’s dad kept him from being able to. Tony on the other hand apparently has always felt that his dad never loved him. But this bit of information is given to us late in the movie. If they had made this more central in the conflict between Tony and the Russian guy it would have delivered a greater emotional impact and made the fight between the two meaningful.

Last on my list is Tony’s depression. This is a pivotal part of the movie. He is dying and doesn’t quite know how to deal with his mortality. This occupies a good portion of the movie but all we get as a resolution is some technobabble about the creation of a new element that will save him. They wrap this up too quickly and don’t get any impact out of something that dominated Tony’s character for much of the movie.

Maybe I am being too harsh. Or maybe I am just flat wrong. This is an action movie. They don’t have to make sense right? But I like them too and there is proof out there that it can be done.

[End of SPOILERS]

I will say it again, I enjoyed the movie. I really did. But coming off the first movie I was a little disappointed in some of the plot and character decisions that went into this movie. I wanted to like it more. Should you see it? If you were a fan of the first movie then yes. If you are a fan of good superhero action then yes. If you absolutely require the story and characters to make sense to enjoy a movie then maybe not. Regardless, it was a fun movie that I will watch again.

Note to parents: As I mentioned before Mr. Stark is back to his normal self in this movie including his horrible treatment and use of women. He is a womanizer. This may be true to his character but it is not a good example for men of any age to see. Also, during a downturn in Tony’s mood we get a pretty bad example of how to deal with down times in life. He drowns himself in alcohol while giving the advice, “Don’t think, drink.”

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Death’s Role in Life

Brian — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:32:57 +0000

Life and death. Polar opposites. I have long pondered the role of death in our everyday lives. Think about it too much and you get depressed. Think about it too little (or not at all) and you lose sight of the preciousness and brevity of life. The only thing sure in life is death. People sometimes add taxes to that list but there is plenty of proof that those can be dodged. That leaves death and it cannot be dodged.

When a death occurs around us we are briefly reminded of our mortality. Oh yeah, my time here really is limited. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget. Usually we are so caught up in life that we don’t think about death. Why think about the event that will end the life we love? Most people just avoid thinking about it altogether. But maybe we should. Maybe we should use the inevitability of our deaths in a positive way.

I don’t mean that we should live our lives obsessing about our deaths. It should not dominate our thoughts. But it should always be in the back of our brains motivating us to do things that matter. That is deaths purpose in our everyday lives. It is a motivator; a reminder that life is not permanent so we should use it like the precious resource that it is. It should motivate us to live life as if tomorrow might not exist.

Thinking like this should motivate the believer in Christ even more. Our time on this earth is short. Eternity is not. Everyone faces the same certainty of death. Those who trust in Christ will go to be with Him and our lives should be about helping others know Him.

So, ponder your death but instead of letting it depress you let it motivate you to do great things with the life you have been given. Find something worth dying for and live for it.

Brian

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Sherlock Holmes

Brian — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:41:33 +0000

Who would have thought that Robert Downey Jr. would become one of my favorite actors? And only after two recent movies. Iron Man and now Sherlock Holmes. Of course I have seen him in other movies but it is these two recent ones that make him stand out in my mind. It is the way he plays his characters and delivers his dialog. He really sinks into the character. And he does it again in Sherlock Holmes.

But this isn’t a Robert Downey Jr. review, this is a Sherlock Holmes review. What about the other actors? Jude Law played a wonderful Watson. Rachael McAdams was good but not great. I enjoyed Mark Strong as Lord Blackwell. His wardrobe really fit the dark disturbing character he played. This leads me into the next piece of the movie I want to talk about.

The feel of the movie was great. London was wonderfully, dark, gritty, and real feeling. As mentioned before the wardrobe was really good. The soundtrack was unique and amazing as is the usual for Hans Zimmer and really added to the movie. Let me also note that there are some genius camera shots.

I read some reviews of Sherlock Holmes that criticized it for being focused too much on action. It definitely had a good amount of action but I think that it was also a very good mystery movie. Holmes is depicted as a logical quick thinker who can take action when he needs to. Even during the fights the movie makes it clear that Holmes is logically thinking through what he is doing. This is done in a very unique and entertaining way.

I enjoy movies that have a big reveal at the end provided that it is backed up very well by the rest of the movie. The Prestige is a great example of one I liked a lot. Sherlock Holmes does this very well. I never could quite predict what was going to happen next but in the end it wraps up very nicely. I always felt that Holmes was one step ahead of me. This is the kind of movie that you watch the first time for the ending and the second time to pick up all the details that you missed the first go around. Sherlock Holmes worked great on first viewing. We will see how it performs the second.

Was the movie perfect? Probably not. But it knew its strengths and focused on them to the point that it hid any weaknesses had. We will see how it holds up on the second viewing because I definitely want to see it again.

Note to Parents: There is a spoiler ahead. Just fair warning. The movie is rated PG-13 for a little language, violence and a couple awkward scenes. Nothing explicit is shown during a clothes changing scene and Holmes wakes up naked in a bed but he is covered and the scene is brief.

The only other thing I think would be a good topic of discussion for parents to have with their kids about is the use of the occult in the movie. The bad guy in the movie uses magic gained through occult ceremonies to obtain his goals. At the end of the movie it is all shown to be a fake but I still think that this is good discussion material. At a follower in Christ I do believe that there is spiritual evil out there. The real deal is not fake and we need to be aware of that as Christians. Don’t use its inclusion in the movie as a reason to skip the movie. Instead use it as a teaching opportunity to talk to your kids about the reality of spiritual evil in the world.

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How To Train Your Dragon

Brian — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:24:04 +0000

I have to say, I went into this movie with high expectations. Several writers that I read highly recommended it and it has received very good reviews from the press. I was a little worried because of this. I figured my expectations would be a little too high and I would be disappointed. I was wrong. This is one of the best animated flicks I have seen in some time. In fact I want to see it again. Right now.

I am a big fan of animated movies, Pixar in particular (honestly, who isn’t). They always deliver. DreamWorks animated movies have all been pretty good but not great. I enjoyed the Ice Age movies and I would watch them again but they never were quite as good as most Pixar movies. How To Train Your Dragon has broken that mold.

The animation is beautiful. The actors are great. The writing was superb. The pacing was perfect. The humor hit all the high notes. From the first scene to the last I was enthralled. I don’t know what else to say. This is a movie you should see. That is all.

Brian

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On Perfectionism in the Church

Brian — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:12:03 +0000

I would wager that 99% of you that attend a church on a fairly regular basis have experienced the following at some point or another.

You walk in to a room full of smiling people in nice clothes. Everyone loves Jesus. You wonder why it is that you are struggling so much and everyone else appears to be three levels above you on the spiritual scale. So you act like you are too.

Shouldn’t Christians be the most real people? Why does it seem that, many times, they aren’t? Christians should be the ones that realize they are really messed up. If we aren’t, as many posture, what was the point of Jesus coming, dying, and rising again? Didn’t Jesus say that, as a physician, he came for the broken and the sick? People who are well don’t need a physician. So when we act as if we aren’t hopelessly lost we are essentially saying that we don’t need Christ.

Am I saying that we should all walk around with droopy mouths and down on ourselves all the time? Nope. If we have our hope in Christ then we will have immeasurable joy. But that joy doesn’t come from our perfection, ‘cause we aren’t perfect. Instead, it comes from the grace that is poured out on us from Christ. When we were enemies with God he showed us great love by offering us a way to him through his Son. There is nothing that we could do to merit this. It is a free gift. That is the source of our joy, not our fake perfection. Acting perfect doesn’t work. So quit. If you are struggling then please don’t act like you aren’t. One of the greatest joys in the Christian life comes from supporting those in need. If we can’t see when someone is in need we can’t gather around them to encourage them.

Churches should not be the place that perfect people gather. Instead it should be a place that people who understand their brokenness gather and share the joys and sorrows of their walk toward Christ. Don’t put on a mask. Put on Christ and realize that the reason you must do this is your imperfection.

Brian

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God is Faithful