Archives for April, 2007

Under the Hood: The Software That Make My Word Go Round

Operating System

  • Windows XP: I know I should be using Vista but how many blue screens of death can one man endure? I’ll wait for a couple of Service Packs.

Office and Productivity Software

  • Open Office.org 2.x (freeware). I have been a fan of Word since Word 2.0c and have used the full office software since Office 4.2 came out. (this is kind of crazy but Microsoft offers Word 5.5 for DOS as a free download). After Open Office.org 2.x came out I found myself using it more and more and liking it more and more. While Office has some advantages, it is a lot of money to shell out for software that may or may not be more effective. Here is a comparison between competing office suites. The one thing worth noticing is that Open Office Writer is a superior desktop publisher than Word is with more control and easy export to PDF. (I used to love and use Microsoft Publisher but everytime Microsoft updates Publisher, Staples updates their software and they can’t update older software while everyone can read and print PDFs)
  • Abiword (freeware). I am doing more and more writing with Abiword and I find I like it a lot. It is small, fast, and free. While it doesn’t have the formatting options that Word or Open Office Writer does, it gets out of the way when I am writing longer articles. Recommended.
  • I also use Google Docs and Google Spreadsheet off an on, especially if I am at work. Wendy is actually writing her novel on Google Docs. (freeware)
  • Google Earth: A lot of fun showing Mark where Wendy is from, where we are travelling to, and where our friends are (freeware) Celestia is like Google Earth but for space which is kind of fun (freeware)
  • Celestia is also a lot of fun. It is like Google Earth but for exploring the solar system. Just call me Captain Kirk but without the over acting. (freeware)
  • Gmail: I don’t have an e-mail client installed. I just use Gmail. I access my e-mail from work and three different computers and Gmail just works. It allows me to send from my resonate.ca, jordoncooper.com, and exileschurch.org e-mail addresses and blocks several thousand spam messages a day. If I flew more, I would probably go with Thunderbird as I have come to despise Outlook. I just wish it worked on my cell phone. (free)
  • Google Calendar is my calendar of choice. I can view mine, Wendy’s, TheOoze’s, Church of the Exiles, and other calendars easily. It also allows me to publish them as a RSS feed. If just had my own calendar, I would be tempted to use the Palm Desktop or Mozilla’s Sunbird. The one thing I don’t like about Google Calendar, it doesn’t sync with my Palm. (free)
  • Bloglines: I tried Google Reader but I have to admit, I am fond of Bloglines. (free)
  • LibraryThing: A fun web app to track your books online. It uses Amazon.com to get all of the information about your books (author information, covers, dates) and then you get to rate them. ($10 a year or $25 lifetime).
  • Hallmark Card Studio: At work they make some great cards for the staff that are personalized. I downloaded the demo version and was impressed and later Wendy and I were in Office Depot and we saw it. I asked her how much we spent on greeting cards and it was more than what the software cost (about $20 with the mail in rebate). It is fun to use although you do need to set the United States as your region or it won’t print.
  • Google Talk and MSN Messenger: I used to use Yahoo! IM but haven’t even installed it for a couple of years. Google Talk works well with Twitter which allows me to send updates to everyone who cares.

Photos

  • Kodak Easyshare: Imports my photos in and organizes them by date (free)
  • Picasa: Quick and easy photo editing (freeware)
  • Flickr Uploader: Since I tend to upload 20-100 photos at a time, I just let it go and upload in the background.

Media Software

  • Ulead Cool 360: This came as OEM on a couple of driver disks for cameras over the years. It allows you to create 360 degree panoramas using Quick Time. I have used it a couple of times and the most memorable was out in Manitoba where I stepped off a trail into about 5 feet of snow and drive the camera stand into my mouth and nose before disappearing from sight making Wendy think I had fallen through the ice. Not my best moment. You can download a demo here. The software is just okay but it can be fun doing panoramas.
  • Ulead Video Studio: Now owned by Corel, this is another bit of software that came on some OEM disks. No where near as powerful as Adobe Premiere but is free and isn’t bad for editing videos with. Not sure if I would have bought it if it didn’t come with some other software but now that I have it, it isn’t bad for YouTube videos. I have been playing with Windows Movie Maker, while it isn’t as nice as iMovie, it has improved quite a bit and is worth checking out. Microsoft has available on their website as a free download a collection of enhancements for the program that you may want to check out as well.
  • Audacity: I will admit, one of the reasons I wanted a Mac was GarageBand but until someone comes out with a cheap PC competitor, Audacity will have to do.
  • The main reason I use Audacity is for podcasts and if they are not in the same room with me, I find Skype and Power Gramo works pretty well. Skype for the phone call and Power Gramo records it. The main reason I used Power Gramo is that it is free and it works. Most Skype recorders cost from $20 to $50 but this one is free which is always good.
  • Google Sketchup: I love architecture but I don’t have the talent of a Frank Gehry. This free piece of software allows me to play around with some easy to use 3-D software which will come in useful for a future Freehouse we are planning.
  • Adobe Photoshop 7: I used to use Paint Shop Pro but as the program developed, I liked it less and less. I found a cheap copy of Photoshop 7 last year on eBay and bought it. I haven’t tried GIMPshop as I really don’t like Gimp and if push comes to shove, would use Photoshop Elements.

Utilities

  • EZ Cleaner: I run this a couple times a month to clean out my registry and delete any junk files on my system. (freeware) It also gives you a satisfying feeling of evicting files that may be slowing down your computer.
  • AdAware: I don’t install unknown software but I do run this once in a while to give me some piece of mind that there isn’t spyware on my machine. Working at Computer Boulevard we would get computers in that had thousands of spyware programs which kind of blows my mind. In the latest install, I also added AVG Spyware as well.
  • Foxit Reader: Reads PDFs but is WAY faster than Adobe Acrobat Reader (freeware)
  • AVG Anti-Virus: I have been using this for years and haven’t had a virus since I have been using it. It is free for non-commercial uses and updates daily. Recommended (freeware)

Games: I am not a big gamer but I do like to kill some time once in a while. Here is what is on my computer.

Related: Matt Haughey has a great blog post on living only with web apps.
Also, roll your own Adobe CS3

Am I missing anything that I should have? Let me know your favorite programs in the comments below.

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04/28/2007 | Resonate, photography, podcasting, technology | 7 Comments

Contextless Links

04/28/2007 | Saskatoon | No Comments

Robert Webber has died

I just got word that theologian, author, and friend of the emerging church, Robert Webber has died after a long battle with cancer.  Over the years I enjoyed our e-mails back and forth as well as his many, many books.  Like many, many people I will miss his voice, wisdom, and love for the church.

Please keep Joanne and the family in your prayers.

Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world; in the name of God the Father Almighty who created you; in the name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you; in the name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you. May your rest be this day in peace, and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God. Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Bob. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Go in the peace and joy of the Lord.

Here is the official notice.

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04/28/2007 | emerging church | 3 Comments

The Legacy of Grant Devine

It was 25 years ago that Grant Devine swept into power in Saskatchewan

“I wonder if history will sort of see his grander vision as the right one, just conducted way, way too fast,” Mandryk said.

I remember meeting Devine for the first time in 1986 and he made a huge impact on me (I was 12 and I still have the picture) I think his legacy is mixed at best and it is always hard being the last one of an era (deficit financing) but I think at the same time, he saw something great in Saskatchewan that others haven’t always seen. A couple of the members of his cabinet were huge influences on me growing up and in many ways, I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for them (and yes they were among those involved in the Tory Fraud Scandal). Odd how things turn out.

04/27/2007 | Saskatchewan, history, politics | 7 Comments

Set women on fire and you get probation

From the CBC

The Crown had asked for a sentence of 16 months in a youth facility followed by eight months of supervision. Tucker rejected that, noting her age and his belief the crime was not premeditated. The girl, whose name cannot be published, has also been ordered to make a personal apology to the woman.

Yes she was 12 at the time but she lit a women on fire. While the idea of tougher punishments does appeal to some people and in this case, I don’t think it would be a bad thing, longer sentences do provide more time for reflection, treatment, and programming that will help you deal with the issues. One of the things that I have learned here from the guys I work with is that prison gives you some time to think and reflect and with counselling, offers a chance for restoration and some healing. I don’t know all of the deals of this case but giving some conditions that won’t be enforced doesn’t seem like a great idea.

04/27/2007 | justice | No Comments

My Soothing Day Off

I have been looking forward to my day off this week for a long time. A whole day of nothing was planned other than some painting of one of Lee’s adirondack chairs and I had offered to take Mark to the arcade.

Last night I was in charge of both the residential side of the building but also I was the after hours emergency worker for four hours while my co-worker was in a team leadership training seminar (umm, “real team leaders don’t leave me alone for four hours” was my comment). I was run off my feet by crisis after crisis last night and a lot of time was spent with addicts last night. I was looking forward to a day to recharge.

First I had to run into work for 10 minutes this morning and get some staff set up on our new internal weblog system, after that I was heading home for a coffee on the deck. That was at 7:45 a.m. I am still at work.

My co-worker was sick but I didn’t really want the overtime and another co-worker does so I said I would hang out and run my desk until he got in on the condition I didn’t have to do anything or help anyone ;-) So I drank some coffee and commented on how over inflated the prices seemed for housing in today’s real estate insert while avoiding work. I tried to convince myself that instead of working, I was relaxing in an easy chair and reading the paper and enjoying the scenery of people walking by drinking their booze out of a paper bag (who knew people actually do that?)

It is now 1:40 p.m. and I am still here. The paper is read. I have actually helped a couple of people (apparently I do have a tender heart) and it looks like I am here all day. Most of the senior management is at a funeral for someone who used to work here so it all is quiet on the “boss” front. The only bad thing is that I doubt I can convince my co-workers still here to bring me drinks with little umbrellas in them.

Wendy is going to bring Mark by when I am done work and him and I will hit the arcade as promised. Oddly enough while I would much rather be at home, being here doesn’t seem like the worst place to be today.

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04/27/2007 | work | 2 Comments

The new notebook

The G3 iBook arrived last week and I was excited until I opened it up and saw the screen was bruised. I called the vendor who told me to UPS it back collect tomorrow. So I played around with it and realized it was too slow for me. I thought of getting a MacBook or a G4 iBook but I can’t really afford one on my budget so I sent it back and asked for a refund. I started looking around for a notebook and went over to Computer Trends. They had a Westinghouse notebook that were made for Wal-Mart that were refurbished.

It has enough RAM, was small enough and thin enough for me and has a DVD burner in it. After shipping and exchange and a airport card, it was only $40 more than the G3 iBook and a lot more computer. While not 12 inches, it is a 14 inch wide screen which isn’t that much bigger. The only bad thing was that when I go to Computer Trends, I say to Rob Chura, “I need a notebook computer” and he sells me one right away without a fuss. This time I found out his is moving on and won’t be there anymore. I think he has sold me every computer I have bought over the last five years.

04/26/2007 | technology | 2 Comments

The woodpile

Wendy, Maple, and Maggi
Wendy, Lee, and I finally finished moving all of the logs from the maple tree to a pile in the back of the yard. Here it is. Excuse me while I go and take some back medication.

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04/26/2007 | photography | 1 Comment

The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson

I have been enjoying Eugene Peterson’s latest book, The Jesus Way. The book is based on this article published in Christian Century. Here is are a couple of quotes from the introduction

The popularized acronym WWJD (”What would Jesus do?”) is not quite accurate. The question must be “How does Jesus do it?” - page 8

More often not I find my Christian brothers and sisters uncritically embracing the ways and means practiced by the high profile men and women who lead large corporations, congregations, nations and causes, people who show us how to make money, win wars, manage people, sell products, manipulate emotions, and who then write books or give lectures telling us how we can do what they are doing. But these ways and means more often then not violate the ways of Jesus. North American Christians are conspicuous for going along with whatever the culture decides is charismatic, successful, influential–whatever gets things done, whatever can gather a crowd of followers–hardly noticing that these ways and means are at odds with the clearly marked way that Jesus walked and called us to follow. Doesn’t anybody notice that the ways and means taken up, often enthusiastically, are blasphemously at odds with the way Jesus leads his followers? Why doesn’t anyone notice? - page 8

If Christ is King, everything, quite literally, every thing and every one, has to be re-imagined, re-configured, re-orientated to a away of life that consists in an obedient following of Jesus. This is not easy. It is not accomplished by participating in a prayer meeting or two, or signing up for a seven-step course in discipleship at school or church, or attending an annual prayer breakfast. A total renovation of our imagination, our way of looking at thing–what Jesus commanded in his no non-sense imperative, “Repent!” is required.

The ways and mean promoted and practiced in the world are a systematic attempt to substitute human sovereignty for God’s rule. The world as such has no interest in following the crucified King. Not that there isn’t plenty of lip-service offered along the way across a spectrum ranging from presidents to pastors. But when it comes down to an actual way of life, most of the language turns out to be court protocol–nothing to do with the way we actually order our affairs.

Those of us who understand ourselves as followers of Jesus seem to be particularly at risk of discarding Jesus’ way and adopting the world’s ways when we are given a job or a mission to accomplish, when we are supposed to get something done “in Jesus’ name.” Getting things done is something that the world is very good at doing. We are hardly notice that these ways and means have been worked out by men and women whose ambitions and values and strategies for getting things done in this world routinely fail the “in Jesus’ name” test. Once we start paying attention to Jesus’ ways, it doesn’t take us long to realize that following Jesus is radically different from following anyone else.

The one positive thing that can be said for the ways and means approved and rewarded in this world is that they work, something magnificently, in achieving grandly conceived ends. Wars are fought and won, wealth is accumulated, elections are won, victories posted. But the means by which those ends are achieved leaves a lot to be desired. In the process a lot of people are killed, a lot of people impoverished, a lot of marriages destroyed, a lot of children are abandoned, a lot of congregations defrauded. - page 9.

04/26/2007 | Christianity, discipleship, theology | 3 Comments

Contextless Links

04/26/2007 | Contextless Links, politics | No Comments

Contextless Links

04/24/2007 | Contextless Links, photography, theology | 1 Comment

Contextless Links

04/23/2007 | Contextless Links | No Comments

The backyard

There has been a lot of plans made regarding our backyard over the last winter and today after work I had plans to go to the Home Depot and start working on my backyard bar. On our way over, I started thinking about how much I would actually use it. Five or six times a year at the most. We use our backyard a lot but we don’t have people over every evening so I don’t think we are going to build it but concentrate on some other areas.

So after Wendy and I debated and pondered while wandering through Home Outfitters, Canadian Tire, and eventually back into the Home Depot. While at Canadian Tire we looked at some gazebos which were nice but the important thing they reminded me that that they do is make a larger space into a smaller one which we are working on without that. The plan is to move our fire pit closer to the patio and add a couple of plastic adirondack chairs to the mix and redo some older patio furniture, add some more shrubs for a hedge, expand the patio, and sit back and relax. A lot of work but I think it should be fun.

Of course the first thing was to move the maple wood from our now gone maple tree to the back of the yard to dry out. Under the mess there is my landscape pond, a destroyed juniper, and part of my patio. When we moved it, there was still snow under all of the sawdust. Apparently it provides better insulation than what we thought.

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04/23/2007 | design | 4 Comments

The Covenant Church

While in Prince Albert, I managed to find some time for lunch with Randall Friesen of Gateway Covenant Church and Steve Menshenfriend of Blackstrap Covenant Church in Dundurn. It was a good time of sharing, laughing, and exchanging ideas. Steve and Blackstrap Covenant Church has the same problems that Church of the Exiles in that neither one of us has a physical location and we had a good discussion about that.

It was a nice experience being at Gateway in Prince Albert. It was one of the few churches that I have ever seen that wasn’t painted white or eggshell inside and actually has colors. The other thing that struck me was the art hanging on the walls in the sanctuary which gave a great vibe to being in there. Randall has some interesting plans as well which I think would be interesting for other churches to watch. Wendy and I hope by to stop by this summer and take in a service.

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04/22/2007 | Saskatchewan, friends | 2 Comments

What pastors need to be reading by Leslie Newbiggin

Bishop Leslie Newbiggin writes this as a suggestion for what pastors should be reading…

The second difficulty is to decide what to read. There are thousands of books published every month. Even if we can find the money to buy a few, how shall we decide what to read? On this I give these four suggestions which I think are sound.

(a) Always try to have one big book on which you are working. It may have to be read a few pages at a time over many months. You may have to read each page several times. But’ just as the physical needs of the body cannot be met by a continuous series of snacks, so your mental and spiritual needs cannot be met by a continual series of little devotional books, sermons and booklets.

(b) Try to read original works rather than summaries and digests. Read the people who were really struggling to say something fresh, even if you finally disagree. You will learn far more by doing so than by reading the second-hand opinions of those who came after.

(c) Always keep some Bible work going. Try to take one book of the Bible and work through it with commentaries slowly and thoroughly.

(d) Keep on always reading something which is not theo-logy. Salt needs to be in the food, and theology needs to be in contact with the secular. Have some secular interests of your own which you keep up and develop. Your theology will be kept fresh if you do so.

The aim of it all is that we and our people may grow in wisdom, understanding, discernment, that we may be no longer children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, but may grow up into mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

04/22/2007 | quotes, theology | No Comments

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