:: Thursday, September 04, 2003 ::
Friday Five
Before I head out the door for a road trip/meeting:
1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Does laundry count? I hate doing laundry. I never really learned the right technique. Dyann does all the laundry and won't let me anywhere near the washing machine.
2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
Vacuuming is cool.
3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
Yes, I have a weekly routine. I simply do as little housecleaning as possible.
4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
I'm a pack rat. I can't stand to throw away anything.
5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
The computer desk in my office at home. I really should do the same here at work.
:: Andrew 07:29 + ::
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Cut the bull
I've been using Bullfighter for about a month now, and it's helping me de-bureaucrateseize my memorable office memos. It's a free download from Deloitte Consulting, whose web writers could benefit from a Bullfighter install to rid themselves of such terms as "reengineer," which is right there on the corporate website.
Here's what Bullfighter's biggest fans aren't saying about the product.
"A value-added, leverageable global knowledge repository."
"Repurposeable, leading edge thoughtware that delivers results-driven value."
"A future-proof asset that seamlessly empowers your mission critical enterprise communications."
"Bullfighter could be all of these things," the website says. "Except that we have no idea what any of these things are."
Me either. But I think I'll hear a few of these phrases in this afternoon's staff meeting.
Bonus item: Need to obfuscate? Longing to communicate in big, meaningless IT buzz? Then you need this. Think of it as the anti-Bullfighter.
:: Andrew 10:24 + ::
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I found this empty spot on my blog where I must have mistakenly opened a post but I never put anything in there. And I can't stand having an emply slot on the blog. So now I've filled it. I feel much better. All is right again in my world.
:: Andrew 10:09 + ::
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:: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 ::
The recording industry wakes up
Universal, the biggest gorilla in the music industry, announced it is cutting prices on CDs in hopes of stemming the slump in sales, and "to battle the explosion in Internet music downloading". By Oct. 1, top-of-the-line CDs from Universal will cost $12.98.
"Our new pricing policy will blah blah allow us to take the initiative in making music the best entertainment value and most compelling option for consumers blah blah blah blah," said Universal Chairman and CEO Doug Morris. "We strongly believe blah that when the prices are dramatically reduced on so many titles blah, we will drive consumers back to stores blahblah and significantly bolster BLAH! music sales." (Blah blah's mine, inserted to add a bit more liveliness to the standard canned corporate quote.)
Well, this is good news for the music consumer. But will it "significantly bolster" sales? And will it stem downloading? Will it end these addictions?
Meanwhile, back at the file-swapping corral... The RIAA is planning a "scare and awe" campaign against college students who download music. Link via Relevant.
:: Andrew 07:41 + ::
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Technical difficulties.Still.Again.
Estimated ETA for fix:September 3.Which is today. Make that September 8.
Please stand by.
Update: The comments forms are now fixed. I await your thoughts.
:: Andrew 09:18 + ::
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:: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 ::
Congrats to Iphy
YouthSpecialties, a branch of Zondervan, is going to publish a book by the author of I Took the Red Pill. It's said to be "a first-person narrative, combined with 'faith musings' -- very much along the lines of Anne Lammot's writing, but with an extra dose of pain." If it's anything like the blog, it'll be worth reading. Look for it next September from the emergentYS line.
:: Andrew 09:13 + ::
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An open letter from a pastor to his new congregation
Before we begin this relationship, tell me the truth.
What do you want from me?
Do you want me timid and wearing little spectacles, droning from a dusty prayer book while people nod in the pews? Do you want a gentle eunuch, tamed and kept by the church gentry? Do you want to pull my chain and watch the pretty Jesus words come out?
Continue...
From Real Live Preacher, via Dan Hughes (Aug. 29, 2003).
:: Andrew 13:07 + ::
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Daily Snopes
From the urban-legends debunkers at Snopes.com comes a new blog with links to all sorts of oddities. Link via Pop Culture Junk Mail.
:: Andrew 12:59 + ::
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:: Monday, September 01, 2003 ::
Green Like Envy
When I received yesterday's email notification that the latest edition of Next-Wave was online, I panicked, for I had planned to submit a review of Don Miller's book Blue Like Jazz for this edition. The piece was more or less done (aside from the fact that I hadn't yet written it), so I fired up the PC, smoothed the rough edges and sent it to Charlie Wear, who was kind enough to post the review on his weblog. Thanks, Charlie!
:: Andrew 07:48 + ::
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No comment
At least, not until Tuesday at the earliest. Please save your witty comments for posting at that time.
:: Andrew 12:18 + ::
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A new-wave Next-Wave?
New editorial team, new look, new approach. New wine and wineskins?
:: Andrew 12:04 + ::
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This made me smile
Just this little throwaway line from Mikao's blog:
i don't like u2. i think i'm the only one.
Such honesty! A Nathanael for our times. Have a great cross-country trip, Mikao.
:: Andrew 12:01 + ::
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Almost famous (registration required)
This blog was mentioned in Saturday's Dallas Morning News piece about spiritual blogging (registration required). The author, Susan Hogan/Albach, interviewed me for the piece a couple of weeks ago. I actually thought I was going to be quoted in the story. I even told my good friend in Fort Worth to be on the lookout for the story and to pick up a couple of copies of the paper for me. Boy, do I feel like a conceited ass. I almost blogged about the fact that I was interviewed for this story before publication, and boy, would I have felt like a true doofus if I had done so. Ms. Hogan/Albach used one of the oldest tools in the journalistic craft: flattery. She told me how all of the other bloggers she'd interviewed fawned about my wonderful blog, and in my vanity I fell for it and gave what I thought was a decent interview. But nothing came of it. *sulk* At least bloggedy blog was mentioned first in the list of Christian weblogs, so that is some consolation. But it's nothing like having my name in the story, dammit!
Oh well. One of my favorite bloggers, Tim Bednar (erroneously called "Ted" in first reference), is quoted extensively. So that's good for Tim. Tim's a good guy and deserves the recognition. (By the way, Tim riffs nicely on my little "emerging church/blogosphere" rant and links to his own earlier and more articulate post about it as well as to Shirkey's Power Law, which describes the emergence of new cliques and social strata among emerging electronic communities -- something that has happened among BBSs and various forums and is occurring among bloggers -- and wow this is a very long parenthetical thought that I should put an end to right now.) I thought the author might have interviewed a couple of Dallas-area bloggers, particularly Dan Hughes and David Hopkins. Maybe they're not, um, I don't know, spiritual enough? Or perhaps too spiritual, in that they blog more about topics outside our little pigeonhole of spirituality/religiosity.
Anyway, about the same time, I was interviewed by another newspaper journalist for another story -- not about blogging -- but I'm not going to tell anyone about that until it's off the press. Stay tuned.
P.S. From the small-world department: Ms. Hogan/Albach, it turns out, is from a small town about 24 miles north of my hometown and she graduated high school with a women I once dated from that same small town. I'm not sure whether that fact helped or hurt my cause. But it made for interesting small talk before the interview.
:: Andrew 11:52 + ::
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Simon Dawes, 
