I stayed up tonight to watch the news thinking that the President’s plane had been vandalized only to find that it was an elaborate hoax to promote some sort of graffiti website; the motivation behind this endeavor is really beyond me since this website has no stated agenda.

But a pretty good idea nonetheless—not the vandalizing of the President’s plane of course.

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Yeah, I know, it’s been a long time since I’ve updated my blog. Don’t get me wrong, I really do have a desire to blog often, but my life has been really hectic! My days pretty much consists of working late, making final wedding arrangements, eating and sleeping. So I really haven’t had any rich life-experiences or thoughts to share with the rest of the world.

I have however been working on implementing a new organization system that has REALLY help me “get my ducks in a row”. It’s called “Getting Things Done” or GTD for short. There is a great little freeware application available to help one implement this method (using OmniOutliner Pro) called kGTD. I cannot tell you enough how much this method has helped me get my tasks done, and not only done, but done on time.

That’s all I’m going to say about GTD for now, as I intend to write a more comprehensive post on this topic sometime in the near future. But I’m curious, what system, if any, helps you stay organized?

If the title hasn’t already given it away, I thought you might like to know what’s on my palm Treo 650 SmartPhone. Being a Treo user for some time now, I get asked quite frequently what such a large phone is good for, other than the obvious (making calls), the Treo is useful for a plethora of things. So, let me tell you, what’s on my Treo:

Always-on Internet In my opinion, the Treo’s greatest strength is it’s ability to provide the user with an always-on internet connection. By harnessing this ability, I have instant “push” email, access to thousands of web sites, a directory assistant in my pocket, streaming radio, and even online poker. For me however, the most utilized of these tools is instant “push” email provided by a great email client called ChatterEmail or “Chatter” for short.

Chatter (pictured below) keeps me connected to my friends and colleagues while I’m on the go. I have setup two IMAP email boxes (provided by DreamHost.com) one for “Work” and one for “Personal”. In Chatter’s Summary view I can see both mailboxes combined, color-coded and separated by days. The really great thing about Chatter is that it alerts me as soon as I receive a new email. People often wonder how I can respond to emails so quickly; Chatter is why.

Chatter Summary View	Chatter Composition View

Another great application I use on a regular basis is Directory Assistant. This true “411” replacement application allows me to lookup Residential and Business phone numbers and addresses, get driving directions, and perform advanced functions like reverse queries. It’s been especially handy when I’ve needed to find the nearest pizza joint on a Friday night. Sufficed to say, it’s an all-around great application, and one that I consider to be a “must have” on any Treo. Oh, and did I mention it’s free?

Directory Assistant Query Types	Directory Assistant Results Screen

One feature I could not do without is the Treo’s native web access application called Blazer. This included application provides a great, but arguably slow, web browsing experience. With a little bit of know-how and a pinch of patience all things web can be viewed through Blazer, my bookmarks include (all optimized for mobile viewing):

Sites I Frequent

• Google Mobile Site optimizer
• Google Search
• Google Local
• TreoCentral
• TUAW
• Engadget
• Fandango
• Salt Lake Weather

News

• Google News
• MACWORLD
• Treonauts
• CNET News
• PalmAddict
• SciFi Wire
• Wired

Reference & Tools

• Wikipedia
• Dictionary
• Thesaurus
• Translater
• Flight Schedules
• Movie Information
• Music Information
• WebMD
• Ping Tool
• Traceroute Tool
• WHOIS Lookup

Shopping & Other

• Froogle
• Amazon.com
• FedEx
• UPS
• DHL

Multimedia For many the Treo has become an iPod-replacement or mp3 player, however since I have a 3rd Generation iPod, I’ve found alternate multimedia uses for my Treo such as video viewing. TCMP is another free application that enables mp4 video playback. Unfortunately there is a bit of a learning curve to “rip” DVD’s and videos suitable for Treo playback, however there are number of good resources on how to accomplish this. For Mac users check out this thread on TreoCentral; this is the method I use so I know it works. For PC users you may want to check out this thread.

Like I said before, I don’t use my Treo as an mp3 player all that much, but I do use it to listen to internet radio when on the go. This is provided by an arguably “must have” application called Pocket Tunes Deluxe.

Pocket Tunes “Home” Screen	Pocket Tunes Internet Radio Selection

The stations that I currently have in my Internet Radio “playlist” are:

• NPR - New York Public Radio
• NPR - Boston Public Radio
• Talk - Republican Broadcasting Network
• Talk - Air America
• News - MSNBC
• Music - Classical
• Music - Jazz
• Music - Smooth Jazz
• Sky.fm - Mostly Classical
• Sky.fm - New Age
• Sky.fm - Classical Guitar
• Sky.fm - Smooth Jazz
• Sky.fm - Top Hits
• Sky.fm - Hit ’70s
• Sky.fm - Modern Jazz

Productivity The one thing that my Treo helps me do best is stay productive and organized while on the go. I’m not going to delve into this topic now, because I believe it deserves a post of it’s own. Not to mention, my system has recently undergone a major revamped, and I’m still trying to get a firm grasp on it.

A final word… So that about wraps up my took-me-way-too-long-to-write Treo post, but don’t be surprised if I come back and update this from time to time as my Treo continually evolves as new applications and uses are discovered.

I heard on the radio that today is National Compliment Day where supposedly everyone is encouraged to give five verbal compliments to other people. Now, after doing a bit more research, it doesn’t look like today is actually National Compliment Day, but rather, as stated in the tag-line of the website I mentioned above, “Every day is a good day for a compliment.”

You may think me crazy for even mentioning this, but it got me thinking; how many compliments have I given recently? Not nearly five compliments a day; I don’t think I even give out five compliments a week! The funny thing is, I like giving compliments, not for sake of “kissing up”, but to confirm or acknowledge an attribute of a person that is worth recognizing or paying special notice to. I usually pay someone a compliment when I haven’t seen them for a while, so that would explain why I give out very few compliments—everyone I have been seeing lately I have seen a lot of.

So, I’m going to try something new, I’m going to try giving out five sincere compliments a day, because “you cannot give a sincere compliment without feeling great [yourself].” I will definitely report my findings here.

If you’re reading this wondering what a compliment is you may want to check out this list, or if you haven’t given a compliment recently a refresher course might be in order.

Happy complimenting!

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I recently attended a Cambodia missions get-together in Greeley Colorado, hosted at the the Vineyard in Greeley. First off, I have ALWAYS loved attending any event that has to do with missions and bringing hope, and consequently, the good news to another people group. I find myself leaving all jazzed up about what God’s doing and what we can do to get involved. At this meeting a couple of very exciting things were discussed and addressed:

• Cup of Hope International: An organization that’s mission is to bring clean water to third-world nations. This group is going to start pioneering in-home water filtration systems in Cambodia March of this year.
• InnerWork Cambodia: A project geared towards creating a relevant presentation of the gospel for the Khmer people.
• Aquaculture: A long-term fish farming project designed to give partnership churches in Cambodia a means of monetary self-sustenance.

A trip has been planned for March of this year, but unfortunately I will not be able to attend (I need all the vacation I can get for my honeymoon). I can’t wait to visit sometime next year (2007) and see everything that God is doing and has established!

…Or lack thereof.

I started this blog with every intention in the world to write at least one post a week, but to my dismay (and perhaps the dismay of others), I have fallen grossly short of my goal.

The interesting thing is that I read a lot of other blogs on a regular basis. Some include:

• Jason Coker (pastoralia)
• A Religious Liberal Blog
• Wil Wheaton (WWdN: In Exile)
• The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
• Engadget

The reason why I don’t write so much is because I like to write about things that I have settled in my own mind, and as of late, most of the things I’ve wanted to write about have been “unsettled”. I can’t tell you how many unfinished posts I have sitting in my “Drafts” folder. So, perhaps, I’ll take a different approach, and just start writing about life and the random thoughts that creep around in my head.

So here’s to blogging! …and hopefully there will be some more coming from me.

It’s a new year! Yeah, I know, I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. You see, I am REALLY good at starting things, but not so go at following through. Perseverance is somethiing that I have been working on since what seems like forever. But the Lord has been faithful to convict and encourage me when and where I need it.

So here’s to NEW YEARS and NEW BEGINNINGS!

I’m preparing a couple of entries that I should be posting soon—that’s if I can find the time to finish them…

I watched Finding Neverland the other night and throughout the entire movie I was reminded of the wild imagination I had as a kid. When I was young, I would dream up all kinds of crazy adventures, and often times, with friends, pretend or “imagine” them. We would go to space, visit the old Wild West, and pretend we were in distant lands. We always found ourselves on a great adventure, solving mysteries and becoming heroes. I remember telling myself “when I grow up I want to visit the farthest reaches of the earth.” I had grand adventures planned for my adulthood; I wanted to experience everything good life had to offer. Sufficed to say, I still have the “wild” spirit somewhere deep (or not so deep) inside of me, but I’m afraid the cares of everyday life have weighed me down. In many ways I have lost my unwavering reckless abandonment for adventure that was once embodied in my childhood imagination.

During the Thanksgiving holiday I visited family in California, and to my surprise, I observed how both my cousins have nearly all but lost their childhood innocence. They’ve taken up smoking, work at dead-end jobs (with no plans to go to college), and, from what it seems, engaged in unhealthy relationships. It was no less than a year a go that they had high hopes of going to college, becoming engineers, and living out their childhood dreams; they appeared to be destined for great things. To be honest, my heart really does break for them. It would seem that they are yet another shocking product or our society. I’ve been asking myself the question “why is our childhood innocence, our unharnessed dreams and ambitions, so easily stripped away?” Lets face it, you never hear a child say “I want to be a stripper when I grow up.”

So how can we return to innocence, distance ourselves from the world and regain childhood inexperience? Most would say it’s impossible, but Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:2-7 lead me to a different conclusion:

Matthew 18:2-7 (NASB) And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”

So what does it mean to become like a child? Is Jesus asking us to become innocent and inexperienced? Unfortunately, all of the conjuring (or perhaps head-banging) in the world can not remove experiences from memory, but we can cast our cares upon him (1 Peter 5:6-7) and by doing so render ourselves unaffected by the world, lacking worldly experience, and becoming completely helplessness.

The one thing I miss most about being a child is the “care free” attitude I had. There was nothing to worry about; no money, cars, wife, job etc. I was free, I could imagine anything, play anything, laugh at anything; within reason I could do whatever I wanted. But at the very same time I was completely helpless; I relied on my parents for everything. Christ, in the same way, is asking us to take on child-like helplessness and become totally reliant on Him. By relying on Christ for everything and giving Him control of our jobs situations, relationships and money, we’re freed up; we’re not the boss, he is! Jesus exhorts us in this way:

Luke 12:23-34 (NASB) “For life is more than food, and the body than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why are you anxious about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O men of little faith! And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Life in Christ frees us to dream, to experience, to run with reckless child-like abandonment! This is my prayer: “Oh God, give me the strength to lay all of cares upon you, to rely totally on you. Give me the grace to dream before you, the endurance to run after you, the compassion to serve you, and the love to encourage others to draw close to you. Plant your word in my heart and your vision in my mind. I love you Lord and I thank you for all the blessings you have given me. Continue your work in me, that my life might resemble child-like reliance on you.”

Downtown Salt Lake City was the place to be this morning if you’re an Apple nut like me. Below are some pictures of the ALL NEW Apple Store grand opening at The Gateway in Salt Lake.

Sufficed to say, it was quite the event. I even got a free t-shirt.

Gotta love the fact that there are people in the world, however few, still using the first Mac I ever bought.

This guy was looking to upgrade recently at an Apple Store. Speaking of which, Apple is opening a new store in Salt Lake City Utah at The Gateway this weekend. The grand opening is at 10am on Saturday and the first 1000 guests get a free t-shirt.

You can find more information about the Apple Gateway Store here.