Dedicated to bringing forth the things that really matter, even if our society doesn't recognize it.
My seventh podcast episode, and my second episode about Lent, is now posted.
In this episode, I cram a lot of various thoughts on prayer together. I’m hoping to get in at least one, hopefully two, more episodes before Lent is over.
Earlier this week, I decided to join the discussion in the comment box of Matthew Warner’s article on church bulletins. For me, I must admit that it’s something that people may not think much about. However, I think he has done a good job stirring up discussions.
For the most part, the bulletin for me has been the means by which I remember what day and time a certain event will be held. It isn’t much more than that. I may have learned about the meeting or event somewhere else. However, I’ve reached a point where I don’t even want to pick up a copy of a paper bulletin. It’s just something that will get tossed in a pile somewhere. If I want to read the bulletin, I’m going to download it, even if we have a paper copy at home. It’s easier for me to look online than to try to find where we put our copy of the bulletin.
I’d love to see some parish have their bulletin online only. I am willing to bet that there are very few, if any, people who wouldn’t be able to access it today. Maybe a few copies could be printed for them. It just seems that it would save a lot of expense and could even be updated if an error were found.
It has long seemed to me that the days of print newspapers are numbered. Besides, many newspapers are putting out at least part of their content online for free. I’ve wondered how long that can last as the people who spend their time writing news stories have to make a living somehow. Last week, I got an e-mail that the New York Times is now going to be offering paid digital subscriptions.
There are some newspapers that I’d be willing to pay money to access. The New York Times is not one of them. Really, though, I think their main problem is with the way they are offering subscriptions. You get the web site access no matter what you buy, but if you want to use the iPad app, you have to pay an extra $5/month. At that price, you can’t use it on a smartphone unless you pay another $15/month on top of that. What were they smoking when they came up with this business model? Then again, I wonder if the problem is really caused by Apple’s in-app purchase rules.
On the iPad, one can easily just use the browser and pay $15/month for web and smartphone. Hey, NY Times, if you want to offer digital subscriptions, then just charge one price for access to the same content. Oh well, I think I’ll save my money for a subscription to a good Catholic publication.
There is a lot of great Catholic media out there showing us the real picture on the Catholic Church. However, many Catholic still aren’t aware of it. That’s why I will glady participate in Catholic Media Promotion Day.
I now have the longest commute to work that I’ve ever had. So, I use the opportunity to listen to Catholic podcasts. What do I listen to?
I am also thankful that my wife found iCatholicRadio as I now no longer need to subscribe to Sirius or XM to get EWTN Radio. The EWTN site never would work on my Mac, even with Flip4Mac installed and updated. As for my favorite blogs, it’s probably best to just check out my blogroll on the right-hand side of the page. I might add that the National Catholic Register (NOT the National Catholic Reporter) is a great place to get Catholic news and commentary.
Needless to say, I’m a big fan of Catholic media, and I even like to produce some stuff myself. Surely you have seen my podcast. I used to record talks for RCIA for a couple of parishes in the Memphis area, and I have links to talks I have given and recorded here.
Although I mentioned giving up the iPad 2 for Lent, I didn’t give up iOS4. In fact, I installed it on Ash Wednesday. So far, it is working great. Safari really is a lot faster. The home sharing feature also appears to work well. At first, I couldn’t find it, and here is a Macworld article on how to set it up. One thing that the article mentions but may be missed is that you’l need to go into the settings of iPad, go to iPod, and enter your Apple ID and password. Once you do that, you’ll see the option to use a library from a computer on your network in the upper left-hand corner of the program.
Enjoy!
The newest episode of the podcast is available:
Sure, the iPad is a great device, but it’s Lent. Besides, we haven’t had our iPads a year yet. I’ve only had mine since Christmas. It has some great features, and I’d recommend it to anyone who doesn’t already have an iPad. However, I start this podcast talking about why I don’t want one. Of course, in a couple of years, I’m sure I’ll want to upgrade.
Along those same lines, I begin talking about misunderstandings around giving up something for Lent. There is an article on my web page that I reference in case you’d like to read it.
It has been so hard to hold our news inside me. Thankfully, the time to announce has come. Are you ready? Well, you probably already figured out from the title that our news is . . . (drum roll please) . . .
Yana and I are expecting our first baby in September!
This baby has already been to Disney, though in utero. We didn’t know we were expecting at the time. During our first weekend in January, we went grocery shopping. Yana noticed that she couldn’t stand the smell of the fish in the seafood department or the sight of the chicken in the meat department. Then, she noticed she was getting unusually tired. Well, these symptoms were a little suspicious based on what we know. The next morning, it was time for a little test. You can probably guess the results. Yana wanted to get to the doctor’s office the next morning, but it was closed due to a snowstorm. Two days later, she got in and confirmed what we already knew. Four days later, we saw a little one and a little heart beat on ultrasound.
Things have been going well, and we are excited! Of course, prayers are very much appreciated.
Last weekend, Yana and I took a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to be at a party for a friend. It’s kind of ironic that I’d go there just after taking the test to become licensed there (which I passed, by the way), but I digress. After the party, we went to the mall. There I found what has to be the best Apple store that I’ve ever seen. I got to play with quite a lot of stuff there.
Since I’ve been on Verizon, I hadn’t really been interested in the iPhone 4. Now, with its availability, it may be an option some time in the future. The retina display really is a sight to see. The ones in the store have service on them, so I got to send my wife an e-mail from one of them just for fun. After that, I played with a MacBook Air. It is a lightning fast device since it has a solid-state drive. It will be a while before I’m in the market for a laptop, so we’ll see how it evolves.
The best thing, of course, is the 27-inch iMac. I will be getting one of those before too long (after Lion is released). The display is beautiful, and it’s lightning fast. I’ve been doing some high-definition video since getting married, and I want something that will allow me to preserve it in high-definition.
I was not impressed with the Magic Trackpad. Maybe it is because I’m just not a big fan of trackpads. It is too hard for me to have precise control. I tried it with Indesign on the demo unit, and it was a little difficult to place an object just where I wanted it.
The new Magic Mouse is something that I have played with off and on, and I have mixed feelings about it. I currently have the old version of the Magic Mouse. The new one does not have a scroll wheel that can get clogged up and quit working, but it also lacks the squeeze buttons that I use to call up Expose. The gesture concept isn’t the best for me because I tend not to memorize stuff, and I hope that Apple won’t get to a point that learning the gestures is necessary to use Mac OS.
It’s hard to believe that, just ten years ago, I would have called the Mac a “Macintrash” computer. Now, I find that it is faster, handles multitasking better, and is so much less of a headache to maintain. Let’s just hope that the absence of Steve Jobs doesn’t hurt their creativity. They need to keep it up.
My employer has asked me to get licensed to practice pharmacy in Kentucky. The reason has to do with the way we do business and the way pharmacy is regulated in some states. I’ll spare you the excruciating details.
Pharmacists have two different tests that they must pass to become licensed. There is an exam called the NAPLEX, which is the test of general drug knowledge. As far as I know, it’s used by every state in the United States. Pharmacists also have to take an exam on pharmacy law. Most, though not all, states use an exam called the Multistate Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE).
The NAPLEX isn’t much of an issue. Normally, one can get by with taking it just one time. After that, one can just use a license by exam as the basis for getting a license in an additional state. However, the MPJE is another story. Since laws vary by state, one normally has to take it again for every state in which one desires a license.
I have taken and passed the MPJE for three different states, and today I just took the one for Kentucky (still awaiting the results). How I have passed it in the past is usually a mystery to me because I could swear that I failed it when I walked out of it. It’s just a weird test, and sometimes I have a sneakin’ suspicion that they grade it by rolling dice at the NABP office. We’ll see how this one goes.
Episode 5 is now posted.
I got an new iPad for Christmas thanks to my wife and parents. I have been having a lot of fun with it, and I thought I’d weigh in on the Android vs. iPhone (and also the Microsoft vs. Apple) debate. I’m a switcher to Macintosh myself and have been since 2006.
I’ve heard a lot about The Rite. I have not seen it and don’t know if I will, but it did give me inspiration for my little “side note” about demonic influence.