Jim's Fields of Observation

From an English Football fan: “The World Cup has turned out like World War II. The French have surrendered early. The USA arrived last. And we are left to fight the bloody Germans.

— Dr. Jon Weatherly’s Facebook status (6/36/10)

Police Arrest man near G-20 in Toronto, confiscate chainsaw, crossbow, sledge hammer, and baseball bat.  →

notthatkindagay:

Early reports indicate he is a super genius and was just trying to catch the road runner.

Be Positive Cincinnati

positivecincinnati:

Are you tired of hearing about all the negative things happening in Cincinnati?  This blog was created to publicize the positive events that happen in our beautiful city.  My goal for this blog is to be a positive public documentation of events in and around the city.  Every day there are great things happening but we don’t hear about them.  So, bring on the positive, Cincinnati!

dailyme:

Springmyer Elementary School students look at an East African pygmy hedgehog from the Cincinnati Zoo during the school’s enrichment day event, on Friday, May 21, 2010, in Green Township, Ohio. (AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Ernest Coleman)

Cincinnati FTW!

stickybits blog: Android 1.6+ update →

We’re excited to release our next version of our Android app! It’s now compatible with Android 1.6+ and has tons of improvements to it. It also has the brand new RedLaser scanner inside, adding a much improved scanning experience.

If you didn’t notice, scanning barcodes in our iPhone app is…

Mmm….

“‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’ And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Revelation 5:12-14 (English Standard Version)

Amazon Doesn’t Want My Money, I Guess

Image via Wikipedia

I’m blogging from my T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) Android phone right now. (In the year+ I’ve had this phone, I’ve become a great admirer of the Android platform. I really ought to blog on this topic more.)

One of the benefits many people find in owning a smartphone obviously is the many things one can do on a phone that used to be limited to the computer. Like downloading music. Our home computers hadn’t been used at all today; so when I wanted to look into downloading some music, I thought, “I’ll just use the Amazon app to see what I might like.”

Some time ago Amazon changed their Amazon MP3 app to just an Amazon app. At the time I thought they were just opening up more buying options from the phone. Today the app message said, “This mobile application does not currently support digital downloads.” It did until recently!

While I wasn’t a big Amazon MP3 customer I liked having a great alternative to iTunes, especially when my home computer wasn’t convenient. Now Amazon wants me to find mp3s I want, and them to my wish list, then purchase them through my laptop. And this on top of having to download their proprietary download-only software to download the music anyway.

I guess Amazon doesn’t want my money. I’ll see if iTunes does.

Amazon Doesn’t Want My Money, I Guess

Image via Wikipedia

I’m blogging from my T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) Android phone right now. (In the year+ I’ve had this phone, I’ve become a great admirer of the Android platform. I really ought to blog on this topic more.)

One of the benefits many people find in owning a smartphone obviously is the many things one can do on a phone that used to be limited to the computer. Like downloading music. Our home computers hadn’t been used at all today; so when I wanted to look into downloading some music, I thought, “I’ll just use the Amazon app to see what I might like.”

Some time ago Amazon changed their Amazon MP3 app to just an Amazon app. At the time I thought they were just opening up more buying options from the phone. Today the app message said, “This mobile application does not currently support digital downloads.” It did until recently!

While I wasn’t a big Amazon MP3 customer I liked having a great alternative to iTunes, especially when my home computer wasn’t convenient. Now Amazon wants me to find mp3s I want, and them to my wish list, then purchase them through my laptop. And this on top of having to download their proprietary download-only software to download the music anyway.

I guess Amazon doesn’t want my money. I’ll see if iTunes does.

When Free Isn’t Free

A Phone Conversation at work

Preface: My work, Standard Publishing, published a book a few years ago called Free Refill.

Co-worker: Someone ordered Free Refills; why are we charging for them?
Me: (thinking she’s joking) Ha, you’re funny?
Co-worker: Did you call me “honey”?
Me: No, I said you’re funny! (still thinking she was joking) It’s like a mug you buy and the refills are free.
Co-worker: Oh, ok. Thanks. Bye. *click*
Me: I think she was serious.

I walked over to her and showed her a copy of the book. We all had a good laugh!

staff:

Now testing: Pages

You can now add static pages to your blog, with a few very useful options. Head to your blog’s Customize page and click the “Pages” menu to get started. There are currently three types of Pages you can create:

• Standard Layout. Create a simple page with a title and body using your current theme.
• Custom Layout. Create a page with a completely separate layout.
• Redirect. Forward a route to a page on another domain. Useful for maintaining links when moving your domain name over to Tumblr.

Developers: Check out the Theme Docs for instructions on implementing the new {block:Pages} tag.

A Review of Ted Dekker’s Green

[Disclosure: I received from Thomas Nelson a free copy of this book for the sole purpose of providing an accurate and unbiased review.]

In 2004, Ted Dekker completed an unusual feat when he released Black, Red, and White. The tag line was “Three novels. Two Worlds. One story.” The Circle Trilogy, as it came to be known as, cemented Dekker as my favorite author. Now, he’s pushed the boundaries again. While Black, Red, and White really ought to be read in that order, Dekker wrote Green to function as “Book Zero”, turning the Circle Trilogy into a real circle.

From Thomas Nelson’s site:

“…Green brings full meaning to the Circle Series as a whole, reading as both prequel to Black and sequel to White, completing a full circle. This is Book Zero, the Circle Reborn, both the beginning and the end. The preferred starting point for new readers … and the perfect climax for the countless fans who’ve experienced Black, Red, and White.”

Does he pull it off? How well does Green work as the linchpin for this series? Your answer to that will depend on how much you want things to make sense. I was constantly checking new information against what I remember from reading the Circle Trilogy as well as Showdown and Saint (from the spin-off Paradise series). There are more books (the six-volume Lost Books series and Sinner) that, as I understand it, would really help someone get the full appreciation of the story. Or maybe if Green was your very first foray into this literary universe that would be better, too.

I recommend you make it an all-or-nothing experience. In my opinion, it doesn’t work well as an in-between type of novel. Otherwise, you know enough for certain details to make sense but not enough to grasp the whole story.

Juxtaposition 1/16/10

Juxtaposition (noun) “an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.”

see more Friends of Irony

Metaphor Is the New Idiom

”_____ is the new black.”

”_____ is the new 50.” Or 40 or 30 or whatever.

I find it interesting how commonplace “new” metaphors have become, and I wonder why. Do we all want a part of recognizing the “next big thing”? Are these statements coping mechanisms to help us deal with the ever-faster change of pace pop culture takes in our hyper-connected world?

Perhaps. Another potential benefit these statements offer the speaker is a shred more of street cred, helping position the person as one “in the know”.

Since I am, of course, no sociolinguist I cannot offer a scientific explanation. As a member of society I would greatly appreciate moving past “new” metaphors.

Maybe we can move next to malapropisms, mondegreens, and eggcorns.

I posted this as a note on FaceBook:

thisiscashmoney:

Earlier tonight, a girl from Kent, Washington on Tumblr (a sort of blog/social networking site I frequent) posted her suicide note on her blog. Within seconds, at least a hundred of Tumblr users reblogged it to gain awareness. Using her IP address, they found out her name and where she lived. The Kent City Police Department got over fifty calls from all across the nation warning them about her plans. They got to her in time. A hundred of teenagers who had never met each other in real life, most didn’t follow this girl’s blog personally, saved a life. This is something that blows my mind, and I think that I’m a better person because of it. There is good in this world and on the internet, contrary to popular belief. <3 Thank you for reading this and please keep Haleigh Hess in your prayers.

I am not even sure why, I just want as many people as I possibly can to know about the pure love and awesomeness that happened tonight.

Powerful!