Productive

It was an okay weeeknd, spent saturday at church working on video stuff. It wasn't the project I wanted to work on but it was still cool. I love doing the flanel board animations. Okay that may take a little explaination. Uh, never mind. I'll post one up here so you can see it for yourself:)

Ben
Currently listening to: Caedmon's Call- Share the Well...great music, great message. Really good work music.

FRIDAY!!!

It's the weekend! I get to sleep late again!!! I need a book to read in two or three nights. Something different and kinda long. I'll let you know what I get.


Thought to think about.
...time is God's way keeping everything from happening all at once.
A book I like alot.....

Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

After much hassle and frustration I think I've got the beginnings of the new look. Now, it dosn't seem to work quite right in Internet Explorer. However, Safari and Firefox present it just fine.
For those on IE all your missing is the frame for the blog entries. This really is just a test run and I hope to do more of these as time goes on.

I'm going to bed now.

Cool update delayed...

Okay so I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board....apparently IE 6 dosn't support .png transparency... dorks!
So yeah. It was a great idea, it's just no one would be able to see it. Let's try something else.

Agh!

Big Changes in store for Between The Monitors

Good morning ya'll,
I'm just sitting in the office right now making plans for the rest of the day. It's a moderate load with something to do at all times. I've got "Chicago" to work on and "Columbia Updates" to complete if approved by the client. I also may just have to tidy up in here it's getting to be a little messy.

In speaking of tidying thigs up, I will be developing a new "skin" for this blog...the code isn't too difficult to work with and I've always wanted to personalize the thing. So be on the lookout for Between the Monitors v2! IT will definately be unique, in a good way!

Also, it seems like quite a few people are dealing with life crap right now. Which really sucks, cuz no one likes that. Truth is, I've found Jeremiah 29:11 can only take me so far. It's a comforting truth, but I find the real healing and comfort comes from the Psalms (followed by a heathy dose of Proverbs). There you find more than a pat answer for all of life's ups and downs. You will find people, just like us, coming to God with thier fears, worries, joys, and passions. The situations may not be the same, but thier reactions and emotions often are. You could almost think of Psalms as the first blog written in a place where it would remain archived and relevant forever :) So explore this book, and find yourself in it. It's well worth the ride.

take it easy peoples.

Just waiting for tapes to roll

With all the FourTwelve bloggers coming together over the last few days, I'd just want to get an idea of how we want to link all these things together. Should it be a list of links that everyone has on their pages? Should we have a central community blog? If this network gets off the ground should we hook it up with the Ridgewood web site? Do ya'll want a FourTwelve icon to go on your sidebar? (I should be able to get that set up) How do we open this up to those who don't blog and want to be a part of it?


I'm almost done capturing the tape. I'd like to hear some ideas.

the pretty pictures

Here it is peoples the IRL photo post!









This is Dan Wheldon with the kids, he's really a geat guy.









The only real wreck of the race!









I caught this guy napping before the race.









My newest "cool thing". It's my ticket signed by driver Dan Wheldon.









Pretty picture... I couldnt resist!











Preping #10 for the race...











This is my favorite car (Marco Andretti's NYSE #26) it just looks great

Breaking geek news!!!!!!

Yeah I went to the IRL Race yesterday, I'll be making a superpost with pics when I get the time. But first, I just read about this tidbit this morning.

AMD to buy ATI

This could be good...

The beer post

Don't expect this again anytime soon, it isn't very often that I find a bevarage I need to post about. Guinness, I guess it's one of those things you either love or you hate... I for one love it. I try to taste a different beer every month and this month the dark smooth goodness was the choice. First thing I noticed was the relatively light taste (compaired to the usual dark beer I've tried). Then there was that great little bite, and then there was the real surpise, it's really smooth. Very drinkable, very dangerous, it's goes down like Iced tea :) If you haven't tried it, try it, it's way better than Green Beer ya'll.

Take it easy and be responsible. Next month: Liene's Sunset Wheat.

Crash...Well deserved Best Picture

In Hollywood there is this need to put a fairy tale ending racially driven movies. Crash ends with a smerk. It ends with one of the movie's "sane" characters slipping into the same hole that everyone seems to slip into. There is no pure character, everyone take their turn being the good guy and the bad guy. The networks between the people and the people themselves are wonderfully complex.

After seeing this film I needed to write and get everything out on paper. It's a question of where does one see themselves, and how much does one really know? It's about stories, and how those stories form the perspective of the person. The only story one can truly understand is their own, and most importantly every story is valid. It doesn't matter if your a majority or a minority, male or female, your story matters. Assumptions are the mother of all screw-ups and in this film it rings as true as ever.

As for my favorite scene... It's a two parter, when Sandra Bullock's character says, "I'm always angry, Every day I wake up angry" then later recognizes that her maid was the only one there to help her when all her friends were "busy".
In the end, as much stupid hatred there was in the film there was also an air of forgiveness in an odd sense. There was an element of ingnoring the past and being in the present. I was not expecting that, a pleasant surprise. Too often in the racial debates, the past is all we look at.

I think this is an important film for this time. The civil rights movement is over and for the most part equality has been reached in a legal sense. The work now is to figure out how to live together. Live life with no assumptions, take one day at a time, accept everyone at face value, and be willing to forgive others ignorance (cause in the end you are ingnorant too).

Ah Vacation....

Sure it was a little less than 2 days, but I just had the best vacation I've had in years! It was just a little hop up to Minoqua, WI with some friends, but really, it was perfect! Absolutly nothing to worry about, no real drama, and sarcasim was kept to the light playful kind. I was introduced to a new musical addiction "Gaelic Storm", and I finally felt I might not be crazy after all. I wish I could write all the little cool things that happend down, but that would take forever.
(But I'll try)
- Fighting Ducks
- Towing a Jet Ski
- Thunderheads in the distance
- Floating on the lake for hours
- Apples to Apples
- Reading through Philippians...again
- Impromtu Fireworks
- Good peoples
- Staying up till 2am talking geek with awesome (that's a million hot dogs "AWESOME") peoples.

It was one of those weekends where you'd wish you could have just one more day of it, but not having that extra day is what makes it so great.

Dang I love "Johnny Tarr"!

Oil Prices.... some thoughts.

Okay, so raising oil prices based on risk from hurricanes, Iraq and Iran is perfectly reasonable. It's just a reality of living today. But the latest stint of price hikes are getting a little silly. Basing a price hike on North Korea or Isreal is just a bit far fetched.
So I have this to say to the futures types in the international banks...

Give us a break, give our oil companies a break, grow some balls, and stop flinching on every little world event. If nothing happens your little bubble is going to pop and that isn't going to be good for you or your investors. Uh oh Bush just caught a cold.. That's it! oil's going over $80 /barrel. The state of New York will love that one (gas tax there is based on price, not on quantity, how's that for gouging!). This could become a great game! Name a world event and estimate it's effect on oil prices.

edit-
So I guess I could see how North Korea and Isreal could have an effect actual oil prices in general. But seriously though, I still think the market is overreacting badly.

Why can't I post on my mac?

It's an interesting point. I cannot post on blogger from my mac, go fig. No great loss, that's why I put the PC online :)

The insanity is almost over here @ work and you know it wasn't all that bad. In fact, I may be able to get away with a little experimental graphics stuff at the end of today. On paper the last two days looked awful, but with some slick planning and effective back-up plans everything got done AHEAD OF TIME...WE ROCK!

The break really did break even, I mean I had the parents down and the fireworks were fun. But I was sick for the whole weekend with a killer headache. I wich I could have it back :) I tried to make the most of it.

Take it easy ya'll

Hey I can dream can't I?

Okay so I really want to see a next-gen iPod. The current gen is getting a little old and it is about time for an update. I mean a real update. Like a PSP type update. A 16:9 touchpad screen would be nice. Ability to export video to a larger screen onboard, an onboard iSight camera all with the good old apple sense of style, Safari Mobile web browser. It wouldn't have the "pocket size" image. Rather it would be a digital lifestyle device. Ideally it would combine Movies, music, books and online information sharing.

Then I got to thinking about it and realized for the most part this device kind of exists in the Nintendo DS Lite. All they really need to do is make a little deal with Apple to develop a version of iTunes for DS (they already have a deal with Opera. Now wouldn't that be interesting? It could happen, two companies that seem to have similar attitudes and cultures. Innovation, (recently on Nintendo's part) great design, and simplicity seem to be @ the heart of both compnaies.

Besides. I think a portableGaming/Media system would be a whole lot more apealing than an uber cell phone. Packing all that crap in a cell phone (i.e. the iTunes phone) is one of the most misguided concepts out there. PSP had the right idea, but unfortuantely it's made by Sony. They have great ideas but thier implimentation and DRM rules suck! Apple's rules are firm but simple, Sony's rules are just ridiculous.

I'm going to go out and get a DS lite now. I'll let you know how it goes.

PS: BTW Burnout 3 is the best game I've played in a really really long time.

So it's been about a week

Yeah it's been a week since my last post, and what a week it's been! Alot of leaarning, a little humbling, all sorts of good stuff. Finding new weaknesses, as well as new strengths. And for the first time in a while I can honestly say I'm happy with life. Plus I've found a some new scripture that has really helped. Check out Psalm 108. Sure some of the imagery dosn't exactly work with 21st centuray america, but the ideas and truths behind it are amazing and encouraging.

Take it easy ya'll

Unique, just like everybody else

Initially I thought I was going crazy, but the more I look @ it the more true it is. I'm staying up later and sleeping in later too. Never thought that would happen. for the past year and a half or so I developed a reputation of being an early to bed early to rise type. But something snapped and I'm back to my midnight creative binges of the WWTC days. Not that I'm complaining. In fact it's kinda nice. I just wonder what it is that causes these shifts in natural pattern. hmm

Now let me draw your attention to the links section!

I've added two new ones. Threadless.com (As far as I'm concerned the best T-shirts on earth!)
And Benjamin Walker's Theory of Everything.
ToE is a weekly podcast that I have come to love. Sure he is an NPR lib type, but he not a snob about it (Maybe that's why he couldn't get a contract with them). Somtimes his shows can be a litttle edgey othertimes they can be LOL funny, sometimes they are did-he-just-say-that funny, comtimes they are thoughtful, and on occasion they can be offensive. No matter what, I know it's going to be a great ride and well worth the 10-30 mins.

take it easy.

Music Moment

Good news. That new Nelly Furtado album just came out. BAD NEWS, I'VE CHANGED MY MIND. This album sucks beyond all reason. I was initally a fan until I popped in some of her older stuff. What happend!? She's just like everyone else now! What's with the Spanish? Before she sang in Portuguese. Sell Out!
In other music release news. Paris Hilton has, in fact, released a single. Out of curiousity and a total disreguard of my well being I listened to the iTunes clip. I will be regretting that for the rest of the day. ugh.

And now for the current playlist:
Circles- BT
Land of my Sojourn- Rich Mullins
Tragedy- Celldweller
International Love Song- Caedmon's Call
(insert random 90's alternapop tunes here)
On Ice- Chris Thile
La Vie Boheme- RENT
Dissapear- Jars of Clay
Modulation- Ani DiFranco
Real Life-Aurora

So that's it for now.

Thoughts on National Events

Okay so this journalist guy is out there saying that terrorists were going to gas the New York City subway system...but they didn't. Now you'd think that this was an example of success in America's war on terror, but no! This is somehow a bad thing, or a neutral thing or I don't quite know what he's trying to say. The media is treating it like some kind of a scandal. No wait I get it... this has to do with the anti-terror funding reduction in New York. I get it. I don't think you can find anyone outside of Washington D.C. or on the editorial pages of the papers who would be pissed about this.
Let's look at the facts here. This revelation proves that the government wasn't off it's rocker when it elevated the orange alert on New York in 2003. It shows that there is a possibility that our intelligence gathering does work. And maybe just maybe the terror alert scale may just work not only as it was designed, but also as a deterrent.
I love this country. (rolleyes)

Okay

So it's been a while...

Hey ya'll It's just been a kickin' week here. Mostly good news on all fronts. Except for the car thing, but I plan to find out about that this weekend. I just hope it isn't the gaskets.

Anyway I usually don't do this but perhaps I shout start. Here is my news quote for the day. It was found in The Jerusalem Post (AP): (in the process of going through the debris of the recent air strike against al-Zarqawi they found a number of of items including a thumbdrive.)

When asked how he could be sure the information was authentic, al-Rubaie said "there is nothing more authentic than finding a thumbdrive in his [al-Zarqawi's] pocket."

The whole story is really good, I recommend the read.

That's it for now, Have a great day!

A little prayer request here...

Today @ work I found out that I acciddentaly shipped a project Ground instead of Next Day Air. So we shipped it again today via NDA + Saturday delivery. Now, the TV station that we are shipping to requires a number of steps in order to recieve that package on Saturday. If the delivery doesn't happen I have a lot of work to do,.and alot of unneded stress. So yeah it's kind of a practical prayer, but I'd really line the package to arrive on time and as planned. I'll give you an update as soon as I find out.

So yea, eventually everything panned out. It took a while with a number of moments of near disaster, but it really did work out.
Now I need to eat and put together some new furnature! I love Ikea!

-Ben