The Chronological Study Bible- Review

After starting a trial program with The Faith of Barack Obama and Through the Storm, Thomas Nelson has decided to formalize a program of allowing bloggers to receive free copies of books in exchange for a minimum 200 word review. TN does not require positive or negative; only that the book be read through and reviewed. Don't believe me? Here's a negative review of one of their books, with a comment by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson.

When Thomas Nelson rolled out their Book Review Bloggers site, there were 8 books up for review, two of which I had already reviewed. I decided to take on the Chronological Study Bible for review. I figured if I like it, it would be an asset to me. If I didn't like it, it would prove to me that I don't like chronological Bibles. I once downloaded a piece of software called "The Bible Planner." I don't know if it's still available. I never used the calendar, tasks, or other organizer utilities, but it came with a daily Bible reading plan. The Bible was arranged roughly in order. I read it for 3 months, but didn't like it. It was in the King James, which I was using heavily at the time. For some reason, I just stopping liking the trusty old KJV for daily reading (though it's still superior for quoting and memorizing) and settled on the New King James, which is the translation used for Thomas Nelson's Chronological Study Bible.

I Got To Touch The BlackBerry Storm

The BlackBerry Storm came out on Verizon last week, and I finally got to touch one. It didn’t really do anything for me though. It is a wonderful concept, but I doubt it will be dubbed an “iPhone Killer” anytime soon. One of my coworkers got one. He thinks a software patch will be coming out soon. He hasn’t had a chance to really play with it yet. I think the distinguishing feature is that the screen is a keyboard, that is, you have to push the screen to get the Storm to recognize your keypresses. I’m not sure that impresses me. If anything, it seems to require more force than necessary. I don’t have a problem with the lack of feedback on my iPod Touch.

The New York Times’ David Pouge apparently has problems with the Storm. However, to put things in perspective, he’s a tech journalist, and by nature he gets his hands on a large amount of tech. I always do find the journalists to be helpful (as long as they don’t use gimmicky words like “iPhone Killer”) but remember to keep in perspective that their needs and budget will likely differ from yours. I haven’t read David Pouge’s review yet. I came across a link to it as I was compiling this post.

TypePad Connect Is Here

I noticed recently that TypePad Connect had opened up. I had been looking for a better way to handle my comments, though I don’t get many up to this point. My level of membership on TypePad doesn’t give me the ability to do a lot of template customization, or if it does I don’t have the time right now to hack away at it. TypePad Connect allows the capability to reply to comments, to have profiles of my readers if they choose, and it also allows me to get rid of that darn CAPTCHA, which I hate on other blogs and feel mildly hypocritical for having on my own. TypePad Connect has a comment spam filter. I’ve noticed that since I started using TypePad Connect, I am getting spam comments, but they’ve all been properly filtered. I don’t know why, but my Comments on the movie Fireproof seems to be attracting all of the spam.

Some Thanksgiving Career Counseling

I got this from Michael Hyatt’s Twitter feed. I thought it was hilarious.

Tim Challies Reviews Twilight

My wife’s youngest sister got hooked on the Twilight series, and in turn so did my wife. I have no intention of reading the series myself, even if I didn’t have a sizeable stack of books and magazines to get through myself. Thankfully, Tim Challies “took one for the team” and read the first book and posted a review. You can read Tim’s review here. All I know is that after reading Tim’s review, I could never get through the book myself. I need to read some MacArthur or something to get that teen romance stuff out of my head.

Why Didn’t I Just Get An iPhone?

I do like my Samsung Epix, but I am starting to wish I’d just gotten an iPhone instead.I ended up hard resetting my Epix a couple days ago, after barely 3 weeks of operation. Then I started the process of syncing with my laptop at work. The next day, for whatever reason, my organization decided to ban the use of all removable media and demand we scan our computers, and leave them connected and turned on. Even if we take them home with us, we were told to leave them for the rest of the week unless a mission critical reason exists. I’m not sure what the big deal is, but apparently it’s organization wide (this is a very, very large organization). OK, I’d gotten tired of all the hassles with synchronizing a Windows Mobile device with 2 computers, but even though I had a good sync at work, I had to delete that relationship and sync at home. Of course, in the process, a whole buttload of appointments duplicated, but to top it all off, a bunch of my tasks deleted themselves.

I’m going to work on decentralizing my workflow away from Windows Mobile and Microsoft Outlook so that the next time I get a phone, I don’t have to talk myself into a Windows Mobile device again. I’ve used every version of Windows Mobile from 2002 to 6.1, and the amount of progress on this platform is not impressive at all. Yeah, I know, the iPhone got a non-recessed headset jack, 3G, and GPS along with a Stalinistic app store, but at least you don’t have to hard reset the darn thing every 3 weeks.

Follow-up on Lowe’s

I thought it would be fair to post a follow-up to my last post about Lowe’s credit somehow sending my 12 months no-payment no-interest purchase to collections. It wasn’t the local store’s fault. My wife and I went into the local store to check with customer service. The representative pulled up my account, and sure enough, the promotion was on it. Then she called the credit department. Credit had to run “maintenance” on my account to remove the late fee, add the promotion, and of course take my account out of collections.

As soon as I heard collections, I almost went into a panic. I listen to Dave Ramsey’s podcast. I’ve heard some of the things collections can do to people in an attempt to get payment. This is all the more reason to get rid of debt completely.

I don’t hold Lowe’s Sicklerville, NJ store at blame for this incident. Considering that the credit department is “GE Money”, it looks like once again, Lowe’s subcontracted out another function to remove accountability for it’s own behavior.

I’m About Through with Lowe’s

I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from a strange number. The number is (330)433-5996. For about the past two weeks, at least once per day, my cell phone has rung with that number showing up on caller ID. I answer, and get a click. I finally got annoyed and just started hitting “Ignore”. No message has been left. I did a search on Google for that number, and found that it is somehow connected to “GE Money” and Lowe’s. My wife and I recently bought a refrigerator and dishwasher at Lowe’s (I blogged about that traumatic experience here), but we bought on a “12 months, no payments, no interest” coupon, so I figured it was a pointless marketing call that I could safely ignore. I wish there were an easy way to block an individual number from my phone.

Today, as part of the routine, I got a call from that number. I hit “Ignore”, which has become part of my workflow in regards to that number. Imagine my surprise when I saw that a message had been left! I checked the message, which referred me to a 1-800 number. I called the number, and sure enough, I was routed into phone menu hell, although a computer helpfully read my account information to me. I was able to speak to an operator, when I found out what the problem was. Not only did Lowe’s do a terrible job coordinating delivery and installation with me, but they didn’t put the charge on the 12 months, no payment, no interest coupon! My account is past due, and interest is accruing. Obviously, the operator wanted me to make a payment right then. Normally, my wife handles all of the bills. I just get to make the calls when something goes wrong, whether I know anything about what is happening or not.

The outcome of the phone call is that I need to go to the store and find out why the heck they didn’t put this on our card under no payments, no interest for 12 months. If they won’t fix it, I’m just going to pay it off and I will not be shopping at Lowe’s again.

During the call, the operator went to verify my information. He had my cell number as my home number, he had a work number from several years ago. I said that my cell would be fine. He then, as part of the script, had to ask if it was OK for Lowe’s to call my cell phone with automated messages if my account goes into collections. I said “No, it is not acceptable. You may have a live person call me, but you may not have an automated call dial my number.” Seriously, they’ve been calling every day for at least two weeks. Had a live person been on the other end rather than a computer which hung up on me, I would have known about this two weeks ago and I could have fixed it.

I have an IT degree, and I LOVE technology. I can’t get enough of gadgets. There are many instances when I would much rather email or text somebody than make a phone call. I even prefer to text my wife back and forth rather than speak on the phone while I’m at work. However, there are times when a phone call is most appropriate. I would think that customer service would be one of those times.

I’ve been begging my wife to read Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover”. I’m going to step up that request. I want us to get on the same page so that we can set up a budget and pay off our debts and not have to deal with these idiotic credit services ever again.

Things I Don’t Like About Christmas

I know, what’s not to like about Christmas? Actually, I’ve developed several annoyances regarding this upcoming time of the year.

1) Generic and Unmentionable Holiday

This is by far the worst offender. I can understand the point of referring to a “holiday season” which can encompass everything from Halloween to Presidents’ Day, but when referring to one specific day as “holiday” strikes me as the worst kind of intellectual cowardice. Simply saying the word “Christmas” does not make one Christian and does not in any way acknowledge Christ. When I see commercials or advertisements or movies that specifically refer to Christmas themes but cover with the “holiday” word, I can’t help but wonder if those behind it have ever seriously given this any critical thought. I hate when I go to a store that is decorated with Christmas decorations (lights and trees really don’t fit with Hanukkah or any other celebration this time of year) and I’m told by the cashier to “Have a nice holiday”, I often respond with “You too. You have a wonderful generic and unmentionable holiday yourself.” I’m not trying to be a jerk; I’m just trying to get people to think in the only way I can.

Don’t think this whole "holiday" thing is purely secular. My church is going to put on a "Holiday" program involving the children. My wife asked if we should involve our boys in it. I wanted to respond "Only if they call it what it really is." I think it has to be a bad thing when a church reflexively refers to Christmas activities with generic unmentionable holiday terminology.

To be fair, it’s possible that this could be a local thing. I notice in this region that during every holiday, people will say "Have a nice holiday." If I go to visit my dad in San Antonio, I’ll hear "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Easter" and "Happy Thanksgiving" rather than "Have a nice holiday". It could entirely be that I live in New Jersey, a state that I can’t speak of negatively enough even though it has somehow become my permanent home.

2) Christmas Music

97.5 FM in Philadelphia started playing Christmas music the first week in November. I’m already sick of it. Let’s face it, the collective artistic talent of mankind is not focusing one bit on improving the polluted gene pool that has become our reservoir of Christmas music.To top things off, I’m pretty much burned out on everything BUT Trans-Siberian Orchestra. There are a lot of Christmas songs that I simply can’t stand, and even if I once did like them, I’ve heard them way too many times in 34 years to tolerate them any longer. Most Christmas songs are not very good. The singing and the melodies are horrible, or the words are just plain stupid. "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas". Hey, did that guy have a literature degree from Yale or anything? Wow, seems like "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" had more intellect behind it than "Have a holly, jolly Christmas". "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" is another song that I really don’t like. The music starts out with an electric synthesizer that sounds like a small animal dying, then that woman with the raspy voice starts singing. I change the station or listen to music on my iPod when those start playing. I’ve heard "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" too many times and I can’t take it any longer either. It’s way too monotone for me. I lived in San Antonio for 7 years and spent the first several Christmases of my adult life going back there on leave, so don’t get me started on "Feliz Navidad".

Every now and again, somebody actually does come out with a new Christmas song, but it goes into the rotation of limited selection and grows old fast. In 2000, the song "Christmas Shoes" was thought provoking and tear jerking. Now, it gets the station switched as fast as "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas".

Believe it or not, I do like some of the classic or traditional Christmas music. Of course, those happen to be the songs that don’t get played very often.

I have little use for Frosty and Rudolf and Santa is coming, but I do remember enjoying them as a child so I try to put up with them for my own kids, but I will change the radio station if I can at all get away with it.

To all artists and musicians, I appeal to you: please, write some new Christmas music. If the record labels are stopping you, then release it as indies. We’ll find a way to get you the publicity that you deserve. If you have a new, Indy Christmas song, please send it to me and I’ll share it with my readers (I must have at least 2). Just make it Christmas. There is a song that’s been playing recently called "Happy Holidays". That’s like writing a doxology to atheism. Seriously, it’s a song about nothing. At least it’s a little upbeat, rather than the monotonous "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire".

3) Traffic and Poor Planning

We know that Christmas is on December 25 every single year, and has been for every single year in recent memory. There are people, every year, who apparently as I’m getting ready to leave work on Christmas Eve, suddenly look at the calendar and say "Oh, crap! Tomorrow is Christmas! I have 800 people to buy for!" Then they proceed to take out a second mortgage and pile onto the highway right in front of me as I’m trying to get home from work to my family.

I married a woman who is good at planning for Christmas. It’s November 14, and she’s already done. She has me, the kids, her parents, and our extended family taken care of. She even has presents wrapped. She’ll go out on Black Friday if there are some good deals, but we won’t be stuck in traffic or crammed into the malls the last few weeks before Christmas. We also won’t be thousands of dollars deep in credit card debt like a lot of you come January. We’re done, and we did it out of pocket. I’m thinking about getting my wife a new laptop for Christmas (I don’t think she reads my blog) and I won’t have to go into debt for it either. I have time to research and find a deal if I go that route.

It’s become a staple of the news to go to the mall the last few days before Christmas, and rather than actually report on anything that’s going on in the world, they interview the people who looked at the calendar on Dec 23 and said "Doh! Christmas is coming!"

4) Christmas is Coming…

I’ve hated this one since I was a kid. There’s a difference between a want and a need. Somehow after August, when I mention to my wife that I need a certain item, I’ll hear "Well, Christmas is coming." Seriously, I’m a grown man (at least, by most definitions). If I mention in September that I NEED something, chances are that waiting until Christmas is not desirable. Just let me get what I need and I’ll tell you what I WANT for Christmas.

Of course, I realize that Christmas is not about me. This blog, however, is. Have a merry Christmas, a happy Thanksgiving, or have wonderful generic, unmentionable holidays, whichever you prefer.

We Made Them Smart, Now Where’s the Phone?

As I was scrolling through my RSS feeds during a “break”* today, I came across this post by Paul Thurrott on his Supersite for Windows Blog about the iPhone. I think Paul raises some good points in his post. I have an iPod Touch which I find to be a great iPod with Internet capabilities. I’ve never used an iPhone for much, but my last 3 phones have been Windows Mobile. I had an iPaq 6945 for about a year, a BlackJack II for three weeks, and an Samsumg Epix for the last three weeks. I’m finding, as Paul did, that the “smart” parts of the phone work fairly well, but the “phone” part of the phone doesn’t work that great at all and I’m finding this not to be isolated to any particular model. The reception is sub-par, the connections aren’t that great, it’s not always easy to bring up the phone application, sometimes calls won’t disconnect, sometimes the phone app locks up while trying to answer a call and the call goes to voice mail. My wife reports that she has to routinely pull the battery from her BlackJack II to end a call. If I told you that, you could assume that I’m just running too much on my phone, but my wife uses it for little more than phone calls and text messaging. Last night while trying to get my Epix to disconnect a call, it somehow decided to dial 911 on me. I freaked when I heard 911 on the other end, and I profusely apologized for my phone somehow accidentally dialing. I have no idea if that was a glitch or something that I did, and I have no intention of attempting to reproduce the problem.

Prior to the iPaq 6945, my to previous phones were SonyEricsson. One was a Z500a and the other a z525. Both were wonderful phones, but that was about it. I really enjoy having a “Smartphone”, but at times I wish the phone part worked better. So what are those of us who like Smartphones to do? It seems that we can either go back to using a decent cell phone, or we can live with a crappy phone while we enjoy mobile email, web surfing, and tethering capabilities. My Epix, when tethered to my laptop, almost feels like I’m at home on my cable modem. I guess for the few phone calls I get, I can live with that until those of us who love these devices decide we’re fed up and we expect the manufacturers to produce devices that work better on the phone ends.

I agree with Paul, a “fix windows mobile now dot com” site would be fruitless. At least we can copy and paste, and our MMS messages work the same as our SMS. Score 1 for Window Mobile. I guess until we get better phones in our smartphones, we’re reduced to whining on our blogs about them.

*Break- being a veteran, I decided to take Veteran’s Day off. I’ve been a veteran for 10 years, and have not yet had this day off. I ended up taking a vacation day as I have yet to work for a company that considers Veteran’s Day as a paid holiday. My wife interpreted that as being a great day to run errands, so I’m eager to get back to work tomorrow where the pace is slower and I can relax a bit. My day of “vacation” has left me exhausted.