Let wonder replace worry

Got 2 minutes to spare? You've gotta try this.

I just did this, it is real and very funny.

Call Nestle Crunch at this number:

1-800-295-0051

First you'll hear a short & entertaining ad. When you are asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, don't push anything. Wait for about 10 seconds the next thing you hear will make you smile.

Press 4...Listen to the options…then press 7. I was laughing the whole time.

I have not tried the other options yet, but I am sure they are just as fun.

Great marketing from a company with a good sense of humor!

Bible in 90 Days

At the beginning of the year, Nicole joined with a group of women online to read the bible over the first 90 days of 2010.

During on casual conversation on New Years Day, she said "Why don't you do it with me?"

Without really thinking about it, I shrugged my shoulders and told her ok.

Now, 2 weeks into the new year, reading the bible has become such an important part of my day. Like many pastors, I am guilty of allowing my bible reading to, at times, consist of only preparing for lessons and studies.

I am using the 90 day reading plan on youversion.com

They have created an amazing community there, one I will continue using long after these 90 days are finished.

I invite you to join Nicole and me in reading the bible in 3 months.

It is amazing the number of people who have committed their life to following Jesus and living God's Word who have never even read it all the way through.

Let me know if you have any questions about the reading plan.

Now, I am off to finish up Deuteronomy.

iStopMotion2

I recently came across a deal where I got a great deal on a copy of iStopMotion2 for Mac. I've never done stop motion animation before, but can't wait to put together some youth group promos. I've been watching some of the amazing examples on YouTube. I'm excited to begin playing. Here is a fun example:

I Made a Custom Twitter Background in 10 Minutes...and You Can Too!

I've been noticing custom backgrounds on Twitter that include a personal picture and information you would find on a business card. I thought it would be a cool thing to have - and actually found a website that will design one for you. The catch is that it costs about $25.

I decided to give it a shot myself and was shocked at how simple it actually was. Here's what I came up with after 10 minutes. Not a fnished product by any means - I'll definitely be making tweaks and changes now that I know how easy it is. But not bad for 10 minutes.

FYI - I used my Macbook. Sorry PC folks....do some searching on Google. I'm sure it is just as easy.

First, I created a templet in Keynote with a box outlining the area (as close as I could) where status updates show up on the Twitter page. From both the top and left point of view. In other words, you'll want the top of your pic or text to line up with the top of the box and pushed all the way to the left. Same goes for the right, if you want to add anything on that side.

Download Twitter Background Templet. (Or just make your own.)

Second, I went to Shift Creative's library of free stock images to find my background. Go here to check out over 800 free images.

After I selected my image and drug it into keynote, it was simply a matter of dragging in a pic from iPhoto and adding some text.

Keep in mind that what you see in Keynote will show up much larger once you upload it to Twitter. Zoom in as close as you can.

When you are ready to upload it and see what it looks like, export from Keynote as a JPEG. The file must be less than 800k. If it is over this, export again and decrease the quality to 50%.

Then simply log into twitter, settings, design, and upload your picture. It took me 3 tries to get everything the right size.

Since this is a JPEG, different computer monitors may cut off part of your text. This is why it is important to push everything all the way to the left. I don't see cutting off a couple of letters of text as that big of a deal. If you do, use a small font size and never extend it past your pic.

I'm sure the $25 version would have been prettier, but I'll stick with free and simple. Should have done this over 2 years ago when I started using Twitter.

If you make one, or have made one, send me the link so I can check it out.

Pandora On the Verge of Closing Shop

Pandora On the Verge of Closing Shop

I've really gotten into Pandora this summer. I even wondered a few days ago if I needed 4000 songs in my iTunes library with this cool app playing most of the time I am working.

So needless to say, I was bummed to read this tonight. Not the least bit surprised though. It is obvious the music industry has distrust and contempt for its fans.

MediaShout on a Mac???

I have Windows XP installed via Boot Camp on a 15GB partition of my 200GB hard drive. This has worked well for playing PC games (which I rarely have time for) and running programs that are not compatible with Mac. Mainly Microsoft Street and Trips with GPS for road trips and MediaShout for presentations.

In April, I purchased the MacUpdate Promo bundle that included a copy of Parallels. I decided against installing it and keeping my partitioned drive and all of my windows files as they were.

The problem is that the few times I am logged into Windows, the only way for me to access any files in OS X is to reboot my machine. This usually only causes a problem when I am working with MediaShout.

I met a couple of MediaShout developers a couple of years ago and they were explaining to me that the hold up in a Mac version was getting Quicktime to play nice. I guess they have never resolved that problem because it is still a Windows only product.

I noticed a mention on a tech blog a couple of days ago about Parallels running your Boot Camp partition directly from your Hard Drive. I had no idea this was possible. I downloaded the copy I purchased in the promo bundle, followed the directions, and it ran perfectly.

Now, I can access MediaShout directly from OS X which gives me access to all of my files. Also, I feel safer running Windows through Parallels instead of booting directly into XP. I always felt like I was playing with fire if I ever needed to go online for anything- since I'm not going to pay for virus protection for something I use maybe a couple of times a week.

MediaShout runs great on a Mac running Windows through Parallels. A great solution if your church uses it and you use a Mac.

AT&T Is Certainly Not Apple

Boy, AT&T sure does have a way of taking every bit of the coolness out of the iPhone experience.

Rules of Thumb

Spent some time on a really clever site tonight called RulesofThumb.org. The goal of the site is to collect every rule of thumb together in one place. Many of them are amusing and hole at least some truth.

My favorite-

When giving instructions to a high school class, you should assume that three students will follow them incorrectly.