XionXolu

Blackberry 8350i Review

2009-01-01T19:38:00.001-08:00

Specifications

OS: Blackberry 4.6.1.83

Memory: 128 MB

Processor: A phoenix I ???

Weight: 135g

Network: iDEN/WiFi

Frequency: iDEN 800/900 Mhz

Size: 111cm/62cm/18mm

TT: 240 min

SBT:7 Days

Pro's (New Cool Stuff)

Browser is really cool, in that is views normal pages and allows you to zoom in and out on a page, similar to how Opera mini works. But keeps the mouse feel. Added mouse hand icons let you know when you hover over click-able links.
MMS is very cool. 500 character text messages with the ability to send pictures, audio, video and animations embedded in the message. No more having to send pictures as email attachments. Just click a pic, type a phone number and send
WiFi web browsing. Fast. The browser is extremely fast when utilizing the HotSpot browser in conjunction with a WiFi connection. YouTube streamed videos smoothly and quickly on WiFi
4.6 comes with docs to go including PDF. Also the font and screen resolution seem better. Also the menu options withing the OS seem more intuitive. for example to cancel a push service just high lite, menu, delete channel. Done |
Walkie Talkie. AWESOME! so glad to have the True Nextel Direct connect back. Under half a second connection to one or multiple Nextel direct connect users. Awesome. So cool
Groups. I can set up email, distribution groups, MMS text groups and Nextel Group connect groups. All accessible from main address book.

Same (Items that where cool, still cool and still work)

Facebook
Myspace
Google Sync 0.5.13 works better than 0.5.12 on 4.5. Much better.

Con's

Browser issues. One would think that as you moved from WiFi to iDEN the device would automatically detect the connection and move from system to system speed to slower automatically. Not so. Every time I move from iDEN to WiFi I have to manually switch my browser default from "Internet" to "hot spot". But first must go in and find the connection. If if it did not automatically assign DNS (Which it only did before I loaded my BES service books on the device) I have to disconnect then reconnect the connection. If that does not work then I must reset my WiFi router then re-establish the connection. After all that, It usually drops the connection after about 45 min. If I leave my house. I start getting "Page Cannot Be rendered" errors on all Internet connections. I must go into settings, change my default browser back to "Internet" and turn off my WiFi connection.
iDEN Internet is SLOOOOOOOOW Like 19.2kbps to 60 kbps. Slow enough that a lot of sites render "Server timed out" errors.
Push Web Services. Ok, I love the Web push services. specifically the push weather. I noticed that none of my push icons that where reloaded after the BES reinstalled my service books, where updating. I could click on the icons and get directed to the sites, but the device info was not correct. I attempted to install over and unsubscribe. On attempting to re-subscribe, I received several miscellaneous errors. I then went to the mobile.blackberry.com support page to modify my push settings. At this point i received the warning that "Your device does not support push service". If this is true, this sucks!
Text Lag. There seems to be a lag when typing. The spell check is active while typing, which I like, but there seems to be a delay that is noticeable on the screen.
Lack of software support. Very few at Nextel have had experience with the device so finding Blackberry 4.6 and Direct connect support. Either they know Blackberry or they know Direct connect. My first attempt at activating the device was unsuccessfully due to the fact that the care rep stuck me on the wrong rate plan. The Blackberry support had to research the plan and then discuss it with a care rep then applied the correct plan. Blackberry is not much better. They have NO postings on the processor speed. When I plug my device to my Desktop manager and have it check for updates it wont allow me to. When I go to the Blackberry HHUP site, it gives me a warning that my OS isnt supported by my carrier and sends me to a form to be notified with 4.5 becomes available. Realy, Like I'm using a 8330 curve on CDMA. This is the manufacture of the device!

BUG LIST

This is a list of know and discovered issues, outside of original design of RIM that I have gathered from my own experience and from various forums.

Bluetooth -
- In a call the audio will be transferred randomly from the headset to the handset speaker phone. Then the only way to get it off of speaker phone is to end call or pull battery
- Static and crackle in earpiece in Blue-tooth ear piece whenever any audio transmission occurs through the handset, phone call or DC
SMS/MMS - will not send receive sms or mms. will not consistently send mms. This is partly due to a Network Capacity issue. Has also been resolved in some handsets by deleting the mms service book then going to host routing table and re-registering the device. Also resending service books from the BIS can aid in rectifying this. This issue is effecting approximately 50% of all 8350i users
Audio issues. The following issues tend to occur after handset is registered with a BES or as a result of Network capacity. After experiencing these issues, i conducted a series of call tests during peak holiday traffic on New Years Eve at 6:00 PM. Note these issues where experienced on two separate brand new devices over two weeks over Christmas and New Years eve 2008.
- Network busy-20% of calls experienced this
- No Sound. This is where the call connects but the 8350i does not transmit or receive audio transmission. This occurs 30% of the time
- Taking into consideration when the Blue-tooth transfers audio, which was about 10% of the time. The handset connects voice calls successfully only 50% of the time.

UPDATE

12/22/08 - WiFi issue has seemed to resolve itself. I Changed BT headsets from the Plantronics Discovery 925 to a Motorola H-12. Now my device seamlessly switches between Multiple Wifi locations and gives me great connections speeds via regular browser.

12/26/08 - Just saw a post that AccutWeather is having issues, especially with BB os 4.6. some Bold users are also posting issues. Therefore the push issue is most likely not due specificaly to this handset.

12/27/08 - Twitter issue is rectified. I just redid, what I had done multiple times. I sent my activation code to 40404 but included the code in BOTH the subject and body.

Men

2008-10-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

I was eating lunch today. Looking around I saw several men eating alone. There was a similarity about all of them. The emblems on their shirts let me know they all worked at different jobs. They where different ages, had different hair styles and overall where not very similar. But still they had something in common. I thought for a few moments, contemplating what it was. Then it came to me. They all had a look of cynical pessimism and disdain. They all looked mad at the world.

A few moments latter a man in hospital scrub pants and a classy T-Shirt came in with his young attractive wife and family. He seemed different. He was confident, self assured and more pleasant. I thought of the other men I knew. A fireman who had muscles everywhere and an attractive family; he was almost always in good humor. A rich business owner, who I once saw break his leg, yet stay happy. And others who where struggling in marriages and hopping from one job to another, in disdain and depression.

What was the difference. I'm not thinking about just on that day, but the difference between a man who, as a base line emotion, is happy content, strong and confident; and the man who is pessimistic, cynical and sad. I think it goes back to what degree a man perceives he has lived up to his self envisioned potential. Not the potential he feels he has now, but that vision of life he started out with before the world crushed it. Does the man live up to the expectation the boy inside him had of himself. That seven year old boy, looking at the stars and say " I wanna be an astronaut". Or the 5 year old with a red plastic hat and his parents garden hose who dreams of rushing into the flames and saving families from the burning embers. That boy stays in us all and measures us to his expectations. Does that boy find a firefighter or middle aged man in a cubicle. We measure ourselves by our ability to fulfill our personal life vision. I think many of us feel that kid inside of us looking at us, and we dare not look in his direction, for fear our eyes will meet and the disappointment will be crushing. That causes our cynicism and depression. That kicks the air out of our lungs and shrinks our shoulders.

So what can be done? It is carcinogen to the overall organism of humanity when our men do not live up to their dreams. Like muscles atrophying from a disease, our stability as a people is waned. So what can be done? I think there are multiple faceds.

First of all the man himself, must force himself to look that boy inside himself in the eyes, apologize to him and embrace him. Then realize that every bit the potential that was in the boy is still in the man today. Time and practicalities can not erode that. But he must first break off the crust of apathy and self pity. And stand strong, pot a course and hit it hard and unyielding, like a charging rhino!

Those around the man play a roll in his vision. Many a man will yield on his vision because of the perceived pressures of the world and the short term responsibility. The family unit as a whole must realize that the ultimate health and well beeing of the family is dependent on everyone reaching their full potential, and this begins with the man. When a man is working toward the vision there may be an intermediate time when immediate needs may go unfulfilled, this is where the support must come in. The pressure must be alleviated so the man can aspire.

I have been blessed to have a wonderful wife. I remember the day she said "get a vision and I will follow you anywhere, just get a vision. " So empowering and supportive. Her strength enables me to strive after my vision and look the boy inside me and the boy that's following me, in the eye.

-Xion-

Unfair Pay - Cool!

2008-09-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Matthew 20: 1-16 the parable of the works in the vineyard. Jesus has already told us this, No matter who you are and how long you have been saved, or what your back ground is, if you confess Jesus and Believe in him we all get the same wages. It’s by grace our reward is based, not on how we live.

Now there are all those scriptures that say “those that do this will be cast into outer darkness”. True, those that do not truly believe in Jesus and do those things will, those that have done those things or struggle with those things but DO truly believe in Jesus will have eternal life, and what Jesus declares “Clean” nobody can declare unclean. Gods grace is the power to not sin and his mercy is giving us what Jesus deserves even when we act like we do. So do we sin so that grace and mercy can abound no, but don’t freak out. Live life, Love God Love each other.

So the good news is the sinner and the saint get the same pay, if they love God and man, through Jesus. Cool.

My Wife

2008-09-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the sexyist moments is just watching my wife sleep. She is absolutely beautiful.
-Xion-

Apalachee Indians

2008-08-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 06:07:58

Today I went to Mission San Luis, in Tallahassee Florida. This was a location where Spaniards and Native Americans lived in harmony. On this site Jesuit and Franciscan monks built a church and very basic type of monastery. In 1604 the Apalachee Indians became disenfranchised with their Native American spirituality, this was mainly due to their perceived failure of their deities to protect them from a culmination of circumstances that had been eating away at their cultural peace. Seeking a belief that would provide a more mellifluous existence, they reached out to the local Franciscan monks. They converted to the more successful Christianity. An evangelism by success. I find this applicable for todays culture, in that this is exactly what is called for currently. Americans today convert to what works, whoever seeks to evangelize must have the real day to day goods, as far as the answers to day to day issues. Those who would claim to put their trust in God, must live a life that exemplifies what a heathen would expect to find in someone with unlimited power and resources dwelling within them. Evangelize by winning.

-Xion-

Energy Problem: Proposed Solution

2008-07-04T22:29:00.001-07:00

1) Fuel Source conversion

a) Design a clean running diesel hybrid engine that runs off of biofuel that can either be grown or recycled from restraint grease

b) Sign agreements with nation’s largest fast food chains to make available their extra fry grease for consumers to use in their vehicles at less than 0.99 per gallon. Cap and regulate this so that the fast food industry is still making money off of this but that the American public has a cost effective source of fuel.

c) Invest in our domestic agrarian resources as a source for producing bio-fuels. The bio-fuels that are developed should be a compensation of oils from corn, soy and other replenish-able crops. These should be grown traditionally (soil) and hydroponically. These should be grown in multiple locations to install redundancy in the system.

d) Redirection of major domestic oil and gas companies to focus on the agrarian growth and processing of bio-fuel. Making agreements with farmers as they would fossil fuel deposits and minors. The profit for the oil companies should stem off of quantity and quality of bio-fuels and as a result of their alignment with the farming community.

2) Reduce our overall consumption of liquid fuels in vehicles : It has been widely stated that one opposition to organic renewable fuels is that it is not speculated that we could produce enough biofuel to maintain the country’s current need for fuel. In a budget you can increase income or reduce spending. We need to reduce spending on liquid fuel. This is a plan for such a reduction:

a) Re-establish a national rail system for freight and commuter interstate traffic. Invest in fast high capacity mag rails and electric trains that run on existing, upgraded or newly developed rails. These should be power by nuclear, hydraulic and wind turbine power plants.

b) Migrate the majority of domestic airline and bus passenger traffic to train. Airline, train and bus are all part of the same union. A multi-year program to retrain and merge the majority of employees to train traffic and building out of train stations, infrastructure and facilities needs to be developed and implemented.

c) Interstate freight delivery of raw products, goods, vehicles, mail, packages, merchandise etc. needs to be migrated from Semi Trucks to trains. Truck drivers are currently experiencing lower profit margins because cost of fossil fuels for their rigs are is going up and the price companies and organizations are willing to pay is not increasing at proportional rates. Truck drivers, and others in the intrastate trucking industry could also be migrated into the train systems on the freight side. Rails should deliver cargo into the heart of most major cities in the country and a drastically reduced fleet of semi trucks could then deliver the freight in the final in-city or intercity leg of the journey. High torque, low install, low maintenance Diesel Hybrid engines should be developed and installed in these trucks within a 10 year period of time, utilizing enhanced biofuel production processes, such as hydroponics and accelerated growth research.

d) Overall, develop a 5 to 10 year plan to migrate most interstate traffic to clean rails from air and road.

3) Transition stationary energy requirements to non-centralized sources.

a) Single Electric and gas companies should not be the main source of power for homes and offices within specific area or region. Power stations should be owned and operated by a minimum of 3 different and competing privately owned companies, with rates subject to government caps to keep pricing moving in a comparative direction.

b) Houses should be retrofitted with domestic generating systems consisting of items such as wind turbines, solar panels, rain refilled hydrogen fuel cells that should equal a minimum of 90% of the average energy requirement per foot of the square footage of that house. A way of calculating per square foot power consumption of a house needs to be developed. Then utilizing that number a system needs to be developed where new houses are required to cover at least 90 to 100% of their usage and older retrofitted houses need to produce a minimum of 70% to 90% of their usage. Sufficient insulation, storm energy efficient windows etc. need to be included in housing codes.

Modern

2008-06-12T07:20:00.001-07:00

The modern person does not believe in heaven, they do not believe in hell, nor sin or consequences of sin. Some may have an awareness of these, but practically and day to day, these concepts have no impact on their day to day life. So an offer by Christianity to "save from sins" or "deliver from hell" or "eternal life" has no real impact on the modern man. What the modern man wants, what Christ, Christianity, Christians and more importantly, the modern church, must provide in order to be relevant and effective; is to meet the modern mans felt needs. What people are looking for is: to be able to pay their bills, get out of credit card debt, have their cancer or AIDs removed, their astigmatisms healed, pay for gas. They want to have their business succeed, to be loved and to experience love. They want to have custody of their kid and to have child care taken care of and be able to send them to college. Real practical day to day needs must be met. In order for the church to be relevant in today's world, in fact to maintain the right to thrive in today's world, Christ's church must be able to meet these needs. Only then and after has the church earned the right to talk to people about concepts such as "salvation". If a church spends its time in internal social events, singing praise and worship, speaking sermons mealy about salvation and does not meet or pay for the communities energy issues, heal the sick, solve relationship and professional issues, than it is not serving Gods purpose, and should move on. Jesus said "the same things I have done and greater, shall you do." Jesus healed peoples practical needs, that's why people flocked to Him, that's why he could speak into peoples' lives and that's why he changed the earth.

Not so basic Instinct

2008-06-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, got a brief chance to touch on the new Samsung SPH-800, otherwise known as the Instinct. Overall the phone is fantastic. The touch screens sensitivity is somewhere between the iPhone and the HTC Touch. However the phone features Heptic feedback which allows you to actually feel when you touch a virtual key by a slight vibe. The phone switches orientation when entering text. This allows for a much more spacious typing experience over the previously mentioned devices. Other nice features include: Textual voice mail, voice interaction allowing navigation and operation with your voice, GPS navigation, Sprint TV and blazing fast EVDO-RevA connection. The unit uses the fast internet connection, allong with a decent browser, to allows .flv videos in some sites such as YouTube mobile. The instinct can be navigated via your fingers or the included stylus. The instinct email application supports pop3, and unlike the iPhone, easy access to MS Exchange corporate email. Setting up a pop account was very easy and the large graphics make the process seem friendlier to those less tech savvy. One thing that is easy to overlook, but is an important feature: Changeable battery. If the Batt goes bad, change it, not the entire phone. What a concept. One more really cool feature: while web browsing, if you hold down the camera button on the side of the phone, and tilt the phone, the web browser changes the angle of view and even the content around as you move the phone. It gives a "navigate by Wii" feel. really cool.

Ok, here was the main disappointing topic: Office Doc support. I sent an email with MS Word, Excel, Power Point and a PDF to the phone. The email showed the attachment but when attempting to open the Excel received an error that appropriate viewers where not installed. I sincerely hope this is a condition that will be either included in the production model (since I was using a pre-launch demo) or that plug ins for this option will be shortly available.

Overall, my opinion is, the phone is great for most moderate to psuedo-techie people. It is very sexy and is definitely a head turner. I would certainly say it is an upgrade from the iPhone in most areas. If you want serious corporate email with document view and even edit; and also plan on doing a tone of typing, I would still recommend a BlackBerry. And that's my 2 Cents on the Instinct.

True Religion

2008-05-29T23:07:00.001-07:00

I have had a great opportunity to study religion, in particular Christianity, since 1978; including reading the Bible cover to cover and multiple times. I have had the privilege to have studied in Bible schools and colleges under numerous modern theologians, fathers, pastors and teachers. Multiple conversations with multiple church leaders; with many "behind the scenes" discussions on reality of life and theology have been had. And now, still, I am faced with a frustration. There is a reality that is a quagmire that threatens to holds true followers of Christ stagnant. Those who would live in Christ, from the land of Christ … Christ-ians back. It is this…We focus on minor issues and not on what is truly important. Augustine first raised this point that we should not spend our time focusing on really insignificant issues and focus on the truth. We should not be bickering about theology (once saved always saved, speaking in tongues, cussing, sex before marriage, adultery, divorce, immersion, sprinkling, etc. ) as it is stated in 1 Timothy 1:6-7. But rather, what true religion is, is physically loving and taking care of people. James 1:27 says that true and lasting religion is to "…care for orphans and widows in their troubles…". Basically the entire Bible, all the commands all the teachings boil down to this: Love God & Love Man. I would go as far as to say that you express your love for God by loving man. In 1 John 2, God points out the futility of claiming to love God but not showing love, compassion, empathy and assistance to our fellow man. Love is so hard sometimes, especially when rules and rituals are so much easier. It is easier to say " Hope ya feel better…", "good luck with that electric bill…"," Hope that cancer doesn't come back…". Instead of giving real tangible and empirical hope. Real Christians should be able to give hope, be successful enough at what they do to have money to give (as opposed to begging for it on TV). Real Christians should have the power to lay hands on the sick and have them recover. "Awe, but that kind of power disappeared with the apostles.", "Christians shouldn't be ambitious.", "that wouldn't be living on faith, to be successful at work." Excuses I say, Excuses all, not even real theology but lame excuses the modern church has come up with to explain away our lack of power. We should not be as those who claim to know Him, but deny his Power, claiming to follow him but not living lives that serve him. And how do we do that? How do we live as He did? It is easy. Here is what Jesus says:

Love God and Love man. Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:26-28;

So we love God by loving man, all mankind. Even that guy at work you hate. Even that loved one who betrayed the most sacred of loves and turned it into something ugly. We love. Because "Whatever we have done to the least"¹ we have done to God. And you know, a lot of times we are the least, that are in need of loving. So I say, that the measure of your true character, as a human, is how you treat the person you like the least. You only love God, as much as the person you love the least. If we look at Jesus, he said, if you even look at a woman with lust you have committed adultery with her. This is the warning to stay away, but when the woman, caught in the physical act is brought to Him, He does not judge, rather he forgives and she joins His group of close friends. Jesus says If you hate, it is as if you have murdered someone, Yet he had murders, zealots, in his apostles. He laid out the path of a successful life, but never condemned when people fell short. He only ever was disappointed when people didn't act on what he said (faith), and was angry at those who claimed to know God but laid down rules and regulations instead of loving. Again, we need to tangibly:

Love God and Love Each other.

^{Matthew 519, Matthew 10:42, Matthew 25:40}

Frogs

2008-05-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Catching frogs with the kids. Beautiful day, lots of fun.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Belief

2008-04-03T16:14:00.001-07:00

Belief: Is a decision made within the mind, by the will and with the emotions that directly and instinctively mandate behavior and personality.

Belief: Bible New Testament Greek: pivstiß Pronounced Pis'-tis: "A conviction of the truth of anything" Translated in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 as "Belief" and 239 other times in the New Testament as "Faith". The word "believe" from the New Testament Greek is from the word peivqw, pronounced pi'-tho, and means to convince or be convinced or persuaded.

Merriam-Webster defines belief as:

"1: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing2: something believed; especially
: a tenet or body of tenets held by a group3: conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence" – Merriam-Webster Web site 2008.

We may say that we believe in something, but the real evaluation of the matter is if it is shown in our lives. It is not that a person is a hypocrite because they do not act out what they believe but they are a hypocrite because they claim to believe something that they in reality do not act out. Hypocrisy is lying to one self about what you believe. Not a deception of others but of self. Therefore it is not for anyone to evaluate another's hypocrisy or belief, but for each of us to evaluate our own life. Look at your check book, your calendar, your completed tasks, the eyes of your children. Take a snap shot of the last 3 months of your life, that is what you believe. It's not that our belief's motivate our actions, our actions are our beliefs. Don't look at how you want to be like, or at ideals you think grand or at the motivation of others for what you believe, look at how you act day to day. Now look at the ideals that you want to act out in your life, what you want to be. The degree that the two line up, is the measure of your integrate. If you are not happy with your integrate you have 2 choices: 1. Change your outward behavior until it matches your ideal or 2. Change what you think you claim to believe until it matches your behavior. The second option requires a realization and ability to accept reality. Option one, requires self-discipline, self-respect, self-motivation, self-confidence, the help of a core set of close friends and very often the help of "a higher power" (Bill W.)

So, what do you believe?

Wireless as a Utility

2008-02-21T16:03:00.001-08:00

It has begun. In 1999 I speculated that the wireless industry was going to migrate to a utility by or around 2010. So what are the components of the wireless utility? What does it look like? Most wireless carriers' offering flat rate voice access to nationwide no long distance charges, with a possible charge on tiered data usage. The actual carriers will not actually carry phones. They will offer the service for a nominal contract and better coverage than available in the 90s and even today. Handsets will be sold either directly from the manufacture or, most likely, via retail outlets; similar to how TV's, car stereos and cameras. Therefore carriers would not need to subsidize the handsets and not need to recover that expense with longer term contacts.

So what does that look like to the customer. The average customer will go to a Wal-Mark, Best Buy or specialty retailer to purchase the handset. The handsets will cost about $100 to $200 more for an equivalent phone today. If the phone broke or needed repair, it would be handheld similarly to how the service, repair or warrantee works on a TV you buy from BestBuy or another big box retailer. The consumer will then take the phone into the carrier to have it activated. Most likely, in the long run, this will be on line or over the phone. The need for a retail location would be only as necessary as the retail locations for you home phone, or home gas service.

The effects of this is tiered. For the handset manufacturer, such as Nokia, Motorola, Sanyo etc. the value is put back into the handset. Currently these manufacturers feel that their handsets are not perceived at their accurate worth, because a phone that should have a MSRP of $200 is often sold for free to the customer. So when the phone breaks the customer doesn't feel they should pay the $200 to have it replace it. This cost the manufacturer money. So when the carriers are no longer selling the phones the prices will more accurately reflect the worth of the handset, presenting a more honest view of the phone. The carriers should be able to focus on the network and the billing providing a better business plan for the carrier and better experience for the customer. Carriers should also be able to offer more advanced services with better coverage. Most likely they will give voice away unlimited and charge for the data services. The customer will get more selection on phones and better services and better service prices, but will pay for the better phones and service with higher handset costs.

The utility migration has begun.

Handsets: Steve Jobs power to make the industry sign exclusives on his much demanded iPhone swayed power back toward the handset manufacturer. Google's android and bid on 700 mHz, Verizon and AT&T commitment toward allowing unlocked phones all goes towards taking the phones out the carrier and into the retail and customers hands.

Plans: Just this week, Verizon and AT&T have announced flat rate unlimited nationwide voice plans starting $99.99; along with T-mobiles existing plans and the rumors that SprintNextel will launch a $60 national unlimited plan, moves us closer to the voice part of the utility. Carriers may be realizing that voice is just the commodity and data is the revenue.

So it has begun. Within the next 5 years. We may be using wireless like they do in Europe. For a good view on the future of wireless, look at Finland, Germany, Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa. Then you will see the future of the US Wireless Market.

History Channel asks …

2008-02-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

who are the Daughter n-Law of Adam and Eve

Really, can secular intellects be so stupid. Maybe they just haven read the entire text with an open mindset to get honest answers. They always go to traditional liberal theologians who either explain the Bible figuratively or use extra-textual , in some time non-biblical text. They treat multiple religions with equal weight on Biblical topics, which is to dilute and get skewed view with which no practical follower of any of the compared religions actually hold plausible. Only these theologians, for 15 min of fame and for flamboyant class lectures, take intellectual satisfaction from the scriptural contortions. However in Gen 5:1-5 it states that Adam lived over 900 year and had multiple children. Heck, my wife and I have been married 13 years and with birth control had 4 kids. Adam and Eve had more than 900 years and no birth control. Even just one child a year was born they could have had close to 900 kids. Now, does the Bible list each and every one? Some are listed but not necessarily all. Because a child is not listed, does it mean they did not exist, No! So doesn’t that insinuate Incest? Yes. But incest is not listed as a sin until Deuteronomy, recorded hundreds of years later. From an anthropological point of view incest, or a loose cousin of it, would have be the only way, outside of apparent age theory multiple creationism, would have been the logical option. Now assume that every year after 13 years, each of the 900 children have a child a year, and then there children. This group of humans would have multiplied exponentially. So Cain or Able may not have even known all of their immediate family. The answer is not fantastic , just common sense and already written in plain text in the current canonized Bible. All one has to do to find the answers, is to read the Bible, not watch the History channel. So, read the Bible.

Ice Week

2007-12-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

Well, its 1:20 AM. there is a little snow left on the ground and the temperature has continued to fall. What an end to an interesting week. The ice still has many people with out electricity. It is always interesting how a persons situation can effect their attitude. This then effects multiple people that then spreads throughout the community. Even more amazing is when a group within the community makes a conscience effort to have a great attitude in spite of great discomfort and help others. Extremely impressed with teamrelief who, even without electric and trees down in their own yards, got out and cleared over 150 yards in our area.

My week was phenomenal. my classes where canceled, my finals where turned to A's or averaged into our grade, my work is only on the weekends and some serious financial concerns where taken care of. On top of that I have a great wife and family. Life is pretty great.

Nextel - Burried Treasure

2007-12-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Something slightly frustrates me. Years ago, before the merger of Sprint PCS and Nextel Communications into the new SprintNextel, Nextel emphesized there group Walkie-Talkie services. The service known as "Talk Group" allowed groups of up to 100 users in a common industry to talk to everyone with the push of a button in under a second. It was inter operable through departments. First responders in public and private sector utilized the service, extensively. Nextel, in 2005, started to offer a handset based service, more focused on the consumer market, called Group Connect. This is simular to Talk group, but is handset based, can use multiple accounts and Fleets (ill come back to the fleets later), but is also limited to 20 users. Both services, but especially the Talk Group service, could be tremendously helpfull for many solutions but especially public sector. For example, when aquiring new service, every fireman, poliece man, ambulance crew member etc, could replest that there radio ID have the first responder fleet ID. then they would request to be added to thier local areas first responder group. at which point any emergancy that was transmitted to the group, they could participate in, reguardless of thier specific departmetns exisitng radio network or technology. This would mean clean communication to all those who needed to be in a critical loop.

Let me define Radio ID. Each Nextel unit came with two numbers, 1. the cell phone number and 2. the radio ID. The radio ID was divided into 3 parts. Area number*Fleet ID*Unit number. For example a common radio ID for North Easter OK with a 918 area code would be 142*90*12345. Everyone on the 142*90 could apply to be on the same Talk Group.

Momentum for these services where gaining ground up until around 2005. Third quarter of 2005, Nextel and Sprint PCS merged to from SprintNextel. At this point the focus of the business shifted from Nextels business customers, which comprised 96% of their customer base, to consumer. So many of these special, yet crucial, services took a back seat. About 9 months ago I saw an interview with Dennis Leary, about his work with fire fighters. They where desperate for a quality instant communication for first responders. I was flustered, knowing that there is great product already in effect, but because of commercial corporate capitalism based finance, has been hidden from public view. Now the same sentiment is being echoed in the FCC's public safety requirements in the new 700MHz auctions. The effective solution has already been created and implemented and has a proven track record but has been tucked away in a back closet some ware, where only a few are aware of it and even fewer utilize it. A great analogy would be the the final scene in the movie Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark where they hide the Ark in the back of a warehouse. Now SprintNextel is wanting to re-emphasize their Direct Connect walkie-talkie service, but still are not focusing on their public safety Talk Group service.

So If you are a first responder, especially a decision maker for a department, go to a SprintNextel store, ask for a Nextel rep and have then explain Talk Group. Not Group Connect, but Talk Group. If they cant, shame on them, find another rep. This is a service that can benefit every metropolitan community in the US. The service was there for 9/11 (never went down, but not all responders had the phones), It was the most reliable service in Katrina and in the earthquake in Hawaii last year. All landlines networks can go down and users would still have 128bit Triple DES encrypted secure communication. Instant, Secure, Interoperable Nation Wide, First-Responder ready, communication is available, Right Now.

Motorola Q9c Review

2007-11-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Got the chance to play with the newly released Motorola Q9c. I say newly released, because a music version has been available from Verizon for a few months now, but this is the business class verson launched through SprintNextel on Nov 23rd.

This device exceeded my expectations. This is due, in part, because I had pretty low expectations; mainly because of the fact that the new version of the Q has a new OS, but no increase in internal memory or RAM; both still at 64 MB. The HTC touch has 128 MB of ram, 256 of internal memory and a higher than 400 mhz processor in it. Where the Q was left at the same memory and processor power. Also i was a little dissapointed that while other manufactuors are siezing opprotunitys to upgrade the mini sd capabilities, the new Q still only supports up to 2 GB, where as the HTC Touch supports up to 8 GB. That being said I was pleasantly suprised.

Here are the highlights:
Active GPS with navigation, no need to purchas optional blueooth puck. The device performed live GPS Navigation through the speaker. It was very sensitive, even moving the icon as i waved the phone arround.

Sprint TV siupport, you can watch live TV on your phone.

Inhanced PIM in mobil 6 supports better calander and task and memo support

Better memory management lists large memory hoging software with a delete option.

Great preloaded IM client with preset support for AIM, Yahoo & WIndows/MSN.

Phone comes out of the box with extended life battery.

New keyboard is made of a better material and laid out better than previous version.

All in all good phone. Yet to be seen how it will react when laden with 3rd party sotware. Owever not as much need because of the pre loaded apps.

Ill give it a 3 out of 5 stars. ***

Church Coffee

2007-11-04T08:02:00.001-08:00

This is how you do coffee at church. An actual Starbucks, with actual Starbucks coffee & employees!

The History of the Knot, AT&T Mobility

2007-10-12T22:38:00.001-07:00

Many jokes and some confusion have arisen from the AT&T/Cingular/AT&T sell, merger, purchase and rebranding. Just ask Richard Childress, the driver of NASCAR car Number 31. What sticker will be on the car and is it legal? But in everyday life customers are sometimes questioning the stability of a wireless carrier which many may have had and enjoyed for years. So here is an overview:

1983 to 1984 - FCC deregulates Ma-bell Company AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph) and Splits it into AT&T long distance and seven local phone companies, two of which are South Western Bell Corp. (SBC) & Bell South

1994 - Purchases Craig McCaw's Cellular One and renames it AT&T Wireless

2002 – SBC & Bell South merger their wireless holdings to form Cingular

2004 – Cingular purchases AT&T Wireless from AT&T and rebrands both networks as "New Cingular Wireless Service, Inc."

2006 – AT&T Buys SBC & Bell South and rebrands everything, Long distance, Local, Yellow Pages and Cingular Wireless back to AT&T. Technically the name for AT&T cellular service is now AT&T Mobility (not AT&T Wireless). The actual wireless rebranding date is not until 2007 and occurs nationally on the same Friday the iPhone is launched in stores.

2007 – AT&T Mobility purchases Dobson Communications which is a wireless carrier operating under the Cellular One brand but more importantly is the brand owner.

So basically we have the entire circle of life for AT&T Started out as one company, bought Cellular One was split up or sold off almost all of its part and has slowly remerged back into it original giant. AT&T is now the largest wireless provider in the country. As a side note on the new NBC TV Show Journey Man the main character travels back through time. In the present he owns an Apple iPhone (currently this phone is under a 5 year exclusive contract with AT&T Mobility). He travels back into the early 90's and 80's. At one point he goes into his apartment and gets an old Motorola DPC 550 flip phone because his iPhone has no service. The no service situation is accurate because AT&T (McCaw/Cell One) was AMPS in the 80's early 90's. They converted to TDMA/CDPD in the latter 90's then to GSM in the 2000's; so the iPhone works off of technology not available in the states at that time. However, technically speaking a customer could have obtained service and an account number with the wireless carrier (Cellular One) in the Baltimore/DC area as early as 1989 and have continuous service with that theoretical account until the present as long as they upgraded equipment and billing systems along the way. So theoretically the oldest wireless account on a singular (no pun intended) wireless network would be 18 years. So the Journey Man could have had the same number in 1994 with "AT&T" then as he does now.

Cell Phone Info (An Industry in Entropy)

2007-10-11T23:51:00.001-07:00

I would like to pass on some helpful observations and make the information as plain and to the point as I can. Over the last 15 years I have worked in various capacities in the telecommunications industry, mostly in wireless. I have seen customers go from one carrier to the next looking for an illusive level of satisfaction from wireless in the United States, only to bounce from carrier to carrier and end up where they started. I hope this will give anyone who reads it objective information to make an informed and quality decision on wireless service. This is not ubiquitous but a concise recommendation from my experience on the eve of my exit from the industry .

What carrier should you chose?

Need Great Coverage, in US with Moderate travel to Europe, Asia, Africa & Mid East: Go with AT&T Mobility
Wireless For business Connectivity with multiple services to fit business needs; Including Fastest and Largest Data network, National instant Walkie-Talkie, GPS, And Mobile Video and Radio; or need to talk to or go to Mexico: Go with SprintNextel
Want Cool US coverage Phones with Music & Multimedia and good East Coast major City Coverage. Go with Verizon
Do you want the Best Customer care with fewest billing issues and the most inexpensive rates with best minutes to dollar ration: Go with T-Mobile U.S.A.
Do you live in a rural area and need good coverage locally and do not care much about national or international travel: Go with a rural regional provider like Alltel or US Cellular
Live in a Medium to major city, are most likely 13 to 25, need unlimited talking and texting but call quality and coverage are not mission critical to life, neither is the ability to travel out of an approximate 55 mile range of your home town: Go with Metro PCS or Cricket

Now you may be saying that I want a carrier that will do all of this. Well most do, they just don't do it all well. If you go in with the understanding that you have to give up something you want to gain something you need (or really want), and get to a place of peace about that, your relationship with the carrier will be more enjoyable for you.

State of the Industry

I just want to say a quick word about the wireless industry in the USA. The US and Japan deliver wireless service to the public different than most of the world. We have different frequencies and in some carriers case, different technology. Our business model is different. Rather than a true wireless operator model, we are more revenue generating models. To this end most of the big carriers are more focused on Wall-Street performance than in wireless performance and customer satisfaction. This is evident in how a consumer purchases a phone in the US. They get a free or cheep phone and sign a long (12 -36 month) contract. A Free phones actual MSRP is usually between $150 & $200. The Carrier Subsidizes that cost using the handset as a lost leader unit, then recovers the cost in revenue over the period of the contact. It is, in reality, less like a retail purchase and more like a 24 month signature loan from a financial institute that is publicly traded on the stock market. This benefits the carrier at the expense of the handset manufacture (who is selling the carrier and not the customer) and the consumer (who now is in a long term contract and has limited handset selection with most rate plans even between carriers, resembling each other).

So here is my 2 Cents

Here is my thesis on what the industry should evolve to, either voluntarily or via regulation. I would rather it come about via competition over customer care and wireless service rather than government intervention.

Carriers should stop selling equipment
Handset manufacturers and retail outlets should sell equipment directly to the public
Carriers should move to a single technology. I suggest a SIM based WiMax service. On a side note European, Asian, Middle Eastern, African carries should also consider this.
Open access should become a reality
Specific, universal and standardized support for public sector first responders should be supported by ALL wireless carriers.
Customers should be able to take there phone to any carrier
No long term contracts. Nothing longer than 12 months
Carriers compete on feature sets, Network coverage and call quality, Data speeds and customer care.
Handset manufactures provide retail locations to sell and Repair their phones.
Customers are willing to pay for the value of a handset instead of insisting on FREE or Cheap phones (you get what you pay for)

Well that is my two cents.

I hope you found this useful.

-Xion

Bee Good

2007-10-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Watching a spider catch, wrap and eat a Bee on the side of my house.

RiverWalk

2007-09-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Man the river is alive tonight!

Music

2007-09-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

It is always interesting when you meet someone new or in a group the question is asked, "so what kind of music do you like?" Some time you get a response stating rock, country rap etc, but most of the time you get I like all types of music. I enjoy it all. What a cop out! We all enjoy different types of music from time to time. But we all have natural preferences that resonate with our soul and move us. Something that motivates you to be better than you are or to comfort you in times when you could use encouragement and should help you celebrate life and teach us lessons in life.

I do want to make one comment. I have often been asked about the state of "Christian" music. Here is the deal. Bad theology put to a tune does not make good music. It is also true that bad music with decent theology is not necessarily helpful either. And just because an artist has there music distributed on a "Christian" label doesn't make it Christian. To the same point just because a song plays on a "secular" station or label doesn't exclude it from being a good song. My dad used to say that "Christian Rock" was similar to sang "Christian Porn". I don't know if I would go that far but I will say we cannot check our brains, ears, soul or spirit at the door when it comes to listening to music. It is not benign but a very powerful forum, with huge potential for good or evil in our world.

All I want is music that has great theology, including excellent hermeneutics, context and homely, drops a hard beat, with guitars that wale and base the booms, regardless of style or format. Words and tunes matter.

Rock On!

Covenant – 1 (Confederation)

2007-09-12T04:45:00.001-07:00

9/12/07

Gen 14.

There was a war between two lands one with 5 kings against a land with 4 kings. The land with 5 kings was composed, among others, with nations of Sodom and the nation of Gamora. The battle took place in the valley of Siddim. The valley was full of pits and wholes in the ground. As the battle turned the kings of Sodom and Gamora ran and then fell into these pits. The other warring nations then invaded Sodom and gamora and took their wealth and food. Lot was living in the land of Sodom and Gamora, and he and all of his stuff was taken. A messenger got a way and ran to tell Abraham. Now Abraham lived in a neighboring region in a land with a man named Mamre and his brother Aner. The word says they where in "confederate" with Abraham. That is like a covenant where one is the boss. So Abraham and Mamre and their men got together, trained and went out to bring back Lot. There where 318 men. They went by night and destroyed the Chedorlaomer, And brought back lot, the wealth and the women. On the way back

Points of interest

Confederate בַּעַל‎ (ba'al) a master; hence a husband, or (figurative) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense) :- + archer, + babbler, + bird, captain, chief man, + confederate, + have to do, + dreamer, those to whom it is due, + furious, those that are given to it, great, + hairy, he that hath it, have, + horseman, husband, lord, man, + married, master, person, + sworn, they of.—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
1. When something effected Abraham it affected the land
2. This covenant was not equal but had one person as boss or landlord, or master.
Abraham attacked at night and was overwhelmingly victorious
On his way back he is greeted by the King of Salem and the concept of Tithe is introduced in the Word.
Abraham also did not take any wealth from the king of Sodom, so that the king of Sodom could not say he made Abraham Rich.
Abraham, in this order
1. Stepped out in faith by believing God's promise to him and moving to this land (Believed and took action based on that belief)
2. Became rich and made covenants with men around him
3. Became powerful because of his wealth and alliances (Covenants)
4. Tithed to God a Tenth of his wealth

Declined wealth from the evil around him rather trusted God for his wealth

Hope

2007-08-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

"From the depths of despair, O lord I call for your help. Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer.

Lord, If you kept a record of our sins who, O Lord, could ever survive?

But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in His Word.

I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn,

O israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is umnfailing love. His redemption overflows.

He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin. "

Psalms 130

I have been asked how I can quit my career of 15 years and go back to school in the pursuit of a better future for my family. My answer is, "I am counting ont the Lord, I have put my hope in His Word.

Transformer

2007-08-16T21:16:00.001-07:00

I got Z man his first Transformer toy today. He has been asking for one for about 3 weeks now; ever since he played with his cousins in Florida. I got him the Jet. When I suprised him with it as i got home from work, he squealed with excitment and ran with it to show his mother. We spent the next 45 minutes or so opening and transforming the toy. My son and I had so much fun. I will say that this toy is cooler and more complicated than the Transformers I had as a kid. Truely a fun evening. I think now I should get one so we can play together with more detail:)

XionXolu

Ocean Night

2007-08-01T22:17:00.001-07:00

This is beautiful. There is a mostly full moon moving behind a partly cloudy sky. Moonlight is reflecting off of the Gulf of Mexico and shimmering on the water. There is a rhythmic and surging, but subtle crashing sound as the waves roll onto the shore. The night is dark. The beach houses have their lights off to prevent confusing the baby sea turtles. It is quiet and peaceful other than the motion of the sea, that suggests a unseen powerful world. So thrilling to sleep where the earth meets the ocean.

XionXolu

Day at the Beach 7/28/07 6:00PM

2007-07-30T04:51:00.001-07:00

This is truly awe inspiring. For an okie at the beach the ocean is phenomenal. I was raised off and on in Florida but have spent most of my adult life in the midwest.

Today my family arrived for our annual vacation on St. George Island, Florida. At dusk the water line is retreating as the waves pound the shore. The wet glossy sand is dusted by currents of a wispy layer of dry sand as the wind works hard to build new dunes. Our footprints our quickly recovered by the beach. Small fish swim in the shallows as seagulls glide a few yards above the small breaking waves.

I love this place. This is such a picture of living water. There is such warmth, peace and joy here.

"The sea belongs to him [Jesus], for he made it..." Psalms 95:5a emphases added

XionXolu

Quote of the Day

2007-07-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

"Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety"

Solomon (Proverbs 29:25)

Black Widow

2007-07-23T17:07:00.001-07:00

This was pretty cool. We are currently in Florida. My girls came inside excited, stating that they had found a Black widow spider. I was skeptical. However my oldest is very scientific and usually knows her animals. Sure enough they had found a Large (body about 1/4 inch long) Black Widow Spider. It was dying from a bug spray treatment. We kept a respectful distance and observed it. So cool what you can learn when you don't have fear, just respect.

XionXolu

Moto Q Key

2007-07-17T21:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, after about 5 months of use I believe I have found the key to the Motorola Q. The device works great for sms, Email, web, music, media and office documents. However you throw phone features, like making and receiving calls, and the device freezes up. I timed outbound call connection at between 20 & 34 seconds. My estimate is that inbound calls experience the same type of delays in responding to the network. However some times the phone works great. It seems to be the device needs a minimum of 14mb of ram. This doesn't seem like a big obstical until you realize that after the os, and what I consider basic software (Docs to go, spelling sw, Coreplayer etc) it leaves you with about 20MB out of the max 64MB RAM. I find push email & PIM a neccesity. So even with all non-os sw loaded and run off of a 1 gig transflash card, and Good link loaded on my device, I have about 13.8 Mb.

I tried a new HTC-6800 "Mougle" for a weekend. I was impressed by the Sprint Music Store, 2mp camera, bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. I really enjoyed the new email and PIM capabilities found in the Windows Mobile 6 system. Now the PIM allows you to invite attendees to meetings and the calender is much more comprehensive. The office documents where very similar to desktop applications with features like spell check. The Mougle increased the ROM to 128 MB and the processor to 400MHz, however the device only has 64 MB RAM, like the Q. And like the Q when attempting to run multiple apps like media, text & phone, the device started to freeze up; even to the point of not being able to display default background graphics.

So how about a Windows Mobile 6 device with a 400 MHZ processor, 1 gig of ROM and 128 MB of RAM that also supported up to a 4 Gig Trans flash card like the LG 570 Muziq.

Or I could just go back to a Blackberry.

XionXolu

The Basics

2007-07-01T10:13:00.003-07:00

Mercy is God forgiving me of sin.
Grace is the supernatural power of God given to mankind to live a sinless life.
Church is the covenant with Christ’s body.
The Kingdom of God is Gods way of doing things and a living of the greatest life ever.

XionXolu

Perfect Phone

2007-07-01T10:13:00.001-07:00

I have been a user of wireless tech for about 15 years and have spent a good portion of that time consulting with companies and individuals alike to aid them in wireless solutions. When it comes to my personal mobile device I tend to use a device to the utmost of its capabilities. Often I find myself frustrated by the limitations of consumer available devices, especially with the current capabilities of some of the networks in the US today having such great capabilities. Currently we have networks capable of delivering greater than DSL speeds for both transmitting and receiving, GPS location/navigation, Push to Talk, Wireless PIM synch and numerous business capabilities that most consumers are not aware of. I currently use Sprint Nextel as a user who was obtained from the Nextel side. Currently I would have to bounce between 3 devices to get the core items I use. I want one Item that does it all well. If I could build it here is what it would have:

Rich HTML tabbed browsing
Java based, C++ operating system
Active Enhanced GPS
iDEN Push to Talk
Push Email and Wireless PIM synch with both corporate, POP & IMAP email & wireless synch with all Google apps.
MS Office synch, attachment viewing, creation, editing save.
Multimedia Wireless Download, Playback and Synch.
Camera
Video - over the Air
TVMovies - Over The Air
Military specs for Drop, Dust, Vibrate and Moisture.
Qwerty key and scroll wheel or trackball navigation.
Minimum of 1GB internal memory.
Micro SD transflash card slot, compatible with 4GB cars.
Host of available third party apps like spell check, Pocket Quicken etc.
Screen is QVGA auto orientation touchscreen

All of the above features are found on at least one phone on the market currently or slotted to come out in the next 45 days.

I mean, is perfection to much to ask?

XionXolu

Life in Detail

2007-05-27T12:32:00.001-07:00

I came upon a realization today. People can be viewed in two basic lights, based on how they view life. There is a basic thought and deciscion making process that leads people, who are exposed to identicle catalyst, to react in different ways. This leads people to diferent destinatons even though they are presented with simular backgrounds. Basically life is like viewing an impressionist painting. Some see the beautiful painting, the scene the collors the captuing of life. Others see the individual dots or brush strokes. Some see the picture and some see the strokes. Obviously most say we must see the big picture; I present however that the artist sees the strokes. So life is in the big picture but the big picture is of the details. We should know the vision of our life, and those that realize that vision also have a grasp on the details. To quote Steven Covey "A goal is a dream with a deadline."

XionXolu

2M

2007-05-20T17:25:00.001-07:00

Success is found in the second mile. The enemy of greatness is not evil but average . We are not those who stop when things get tough, but instead those who use the friction of resistance to chose correct choices that make us tougher; that in turn enables us to change the world.

XionXolu

Farewell

2007-05-15T19:53:00.001-07:00

What a sad commentary on our modern society, when an indivdual who has built a successfull life on conservative moral values, is labeled as extreme. Ironically if such an individual would have varied in the implamentation of their moral stance, they would have been labled as a hypocrite. Therefore our modern majority society is not actually interested in hypocrisy, honesty or morality, but more into conformity of opinions that excuse slobbish self-centered behavior.

XionXolu

i hear God

2007-05-12T11:14:00.001-07:00

We came upon this statue today. It was a bronze sculpture of Jesus teaching college students. My son Zadok immediately said, "Look its Jesus!” It was very neat that he knew with immediate familiarity the image of God. I read the caption "The MasterTeacher". My son then said to me "I hear God, but I hear Him all over the world"; my daughter Natasha wanted to touch Him and look into His eyes. How cool.

Fearless Happiness

2007-05-07T13:41:00.001-07:00

It is amazing the simpe joys you can experiance when you expell fear fom your life fear is like a weed if you let it in at all it will spread to bigger more important areas. The fear of rats or spiders can open a door in your life for fear of people or future which can be disableing. 2 Timothy 1:7 GOd dosent give us fear but power. So we should not fear, anything, live in power and love life.

XionXolu

Rainny AM

2007-05-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

Son enjoying a brief stand in the rain, on a rainny Monday morning. Simple joy.

XionXolu

Lust, Flesh, Pride & Eyes of Life

2007-05-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

Man I love this song. It was written in the early 80s by the 77s (Mike Roe and co.) It is a song that comes from the Bible, 1 John 2:16 and reads:" For the World offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and the pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil World."

How true. How many times do I find myself worn slick trying to obtain things that will make me "feel" better or to get more stuff or to make others think better about me. If God wanted me to care about what people thought He would have given me the ability to read minds. Basically, live for a higher purpose not our own lives; this is the meaning of life.

Philippians 2:3-4 says "Don't be selfish, don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing"

I can't get distracted by me. I need to focus on God by focusing on his creation which are all those around me. If want to help God I do that by helping man. Like Mathew 25:40 says I only love God as much as the person I like the least.

Courage

2007-05-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

I had a coach tell me once; "Courage is not the lack of fear, but doing the rite thing in spite of fear". What a great lesson. Many times there is the thought that something I want to do or need to do is too big or out of reach, but it is the rite thing to do for my family, friends, co-workers, humanity or myself. Very often the enemy of good is not evil but laziness and self centered-ness. Another great quote, which goes with this, is "All that is required for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing". I must constantly remember that good is required of me, it must be active and take effort and be based on a solid inner knowledge of what is good. Then I must act out good, even when it seems confrontational, objectionable or detrimental to me. I must do rite even when faced with fear; override my emotions with knowledge of truth. I must have courage.

The Drive Home

2007-05-03T17:01:00.001-07:00

I have a nice drive to and from work each day. Each way is about 45 minutes. The drive takes me through the rural Oklahoma countryside. Along the way i have the opprotunity to take in many interesting sites; farms, horses, little leage baseball games and the like.

Last night i saw a long chain of large ambiguously shaped vehicles traveling in the opposite direction under police escort. I called my wife and we had fun jokingly speculating as to what they may have been. Today on my way home the image became clear; i passed the escorted convoy of STREET SWEEPERS. Funny if not slighty anti-climatic.

XionXolu

Mobile xion 1

2007-05-01T21:02:00.001-07:00

I want to test out mobile blogging.

XionXolu

Q

2007-05-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

Motorola Q + Sprint = Cool Time . I was able to Surf the Net, Listen to music and work on a Excel all at the same time.