05.09.09
Mother’s Day 2009
These arrived today from Joel and Jasmine for Kathleen. 
04.19.09
For Sale
Well, we’ve decided to see our beloved 2001 Camry. It’s been the best car we’ve ever had — bar none! But, with 185,000 km and at 8 years, it’s time to move on. This time around, we live in a larger community and selling it privately shouldn’t be a problem. Stay tuned!
04.11.09
Fire Rainbow
From www.snopes.com
The National Geographic News website states that this so-called fire rainbow was photographed June 3 2006 near the Idaho / Washington state border. Snopes.com states that a “fire rainbow” is called a “circumhorizon arc” or “circumhorizontal arc” by weather scientists.
Apparently, this phenomenon only appears when a specific set of atmospheric conditions occur. Light entering hexagonal ice crystals in the clouds is refracted. The sun must be very high in the sky, the clouds must be high altitude cirrus clouds and the ice crystals must be shaped like thick plates and aligned with surfaces parallel to the ground.
03.28.09
Critics and Friends
After the famous scientist, Carl Sagan, died, a funeral was held for him at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City. The pastor, the Rev. Joan Campbell said:
“Carl Sagan was one of religion’s most severe critics and best friends. Carl demanded of religion clarity, honesty and excellence — qualities we would do well to demand of ourselves… He would say to me, ‘You’re so smart. Why do you believe in God?’ And I would say to him, ‘You’re so smart. Why don’t you believe in God?’”
02.14.09
25 Days
25 days. That’s how long I’ve had my smartphone. Here are some impressions –
First, the software’s a little flaky. When you have a phone that cost a pretty penny and it freezes up and won’t do anything, that will definitely catch your attention! It’s time to take the battery out, put it back in, restart the phone and pray!
My phone has a bug connected to the operation of the camera. I’ve figured out a way to work around it. Problem solved.
Second, it’s great to have your calendar and contacts with you at all times. I’ve got over 800 contacts, which means I’ve got phone numbers for all of my church members, which I can access when I’m away from my laptop. Love it!
Third, the battery doesn’t stay charged very long. With a lot of use, it needs to be recharged daily.
Fourth, an unlocked GSM phone is the way to go if you are a Rogers customer in Canada. Take the SIM card out of your old phone, put it in the new one, and you’re on your way. You own the phone and don’t have to worry about contracts.
Fifth, the Samsung i8510 Innov8 is a solidly-built phone. The slide-out keyboard works flawlessly.
Sixth, the firmware can be updated by using the newest version of Samsung’s PC Studio software.
Seventh, I really like the Symbian operating system. Easy to get around the menus.
THE BOTTOM LINE — although it’s got a few software glitches, the Samsung i8510 Innov8 is a great phone! Feature-loaded. A great productivity tool. The software problems will hopefully be ironed out soon.
01.21.09
Samsung i8510 Evaluation
I’m impressed with the Samsung i8510! My first impression when I took it out of the box was, “Wow, it’s much smaller than I thought it would be!” It’s a quality device, solidly constructed. So far, I’ve got the wireless LAN working at home and figured out how to access the internet. I’ve also sync’d my calendar, over 800 contacts, and notes (via Bluetooth) from my laptop to the phone. I also bought a carrying case for it today. All in all, it surpasses my expectations.
01.16.09
New Phone
Well, the deed is done. I’ve purchased a smartphone. After weeks of doing my homework and narrowing down the field to 2 or 3 candidates, I’ve bought a Samsung i8510, 8 GB model. It’s got consistently good reviews and even won an Editor’s Choice Award from Cnet’s European website. I looked at Nokia’s N96 and Samsung’s Omnia before deciding on the i8510. It runs the Symbian operating system common on Nokia phones, rather than the Windows Mobile 6.1 platform that many of the other Samsung phones have. It’s supposed to be delivered early next week. Stay tuned.
12.19.08
Christmas Blur
Yes, I’m still around. This time of year is a difficult time to keep up with posting to the website. December especially is like a double month for me. Twice the number of services, usually a couple of funerals, too. Kathleen and I are looking forward to some days off between Christmas and New Year’s. I’ve still got some Christmas shopping to do, so I’m not out of the woods quite yet.
11.04.08
Obama’s Prayer
Here’s a post from July of this year that I think is very much appropriate for tonight:
Recently, U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama visited the sacred wailing wall site in Jerusalem. As is the custom of those who visit this site, Mr. Obama slipped a prayer between the cracks of the huge stones. It is apparently forbidden for anyone to remove those prayers or reveal their contents. The million prayers or so that are placed there each year are gathered by Orthodox Jewish authorities and buried on the Mount of Olives.
After Senator Obama left the site, his prayer was retrieved from the wall and published. These are the words of the prayer:
“Lord, protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”