Wow, it has been a really long time since I’ve posted anything, so I thought I’d just give a little personal update…this will just be a very little update with hopefully more to come soon. So, I’ve started my new job which is good. I thought my server had crashed last Tuesday, but it ended up that RAID just wasn’t working right and it booted off the drive that had only been mirrored once and never worked after that. I think I will have to switch from hardware to software RAID as the hardware version does not seem to be doing anything after the initial mirroring. What other exciting things have been happening you ask? Well, we are planning to film the 4th episode of Wide Open Mind next weekend – that should be special. The one after that (the 5th) will hopefully be a brief comedy sketch and a critique of the previous episodes. OK, as exciting as this is, I will close this post now. I really need to sit down and write some quality material in the future.

It’s funny how sometimes you need to learn how to appreciate rest. Being Thanksgiving last week, we had a 4 day weekend. It was nice not to have to work on Thursday and Friday, but I think I have a hard time taking a break from everything. It’s like I need to have a schedule and be working on something so that I feel fulfilled or comfortable or something. We saw a lot of family this weekend which was really good. However, it’s sad that I felt more fulfilled from getting the yard raked than I did from hanging out with people. Talking to people can often be draining and seem like work, but shouldn’t it be fulfilling as well (at least some of the time)? I guess I need to get over the feeling that I need to accomplish a task or complete a project to feel like I am worth something as a person. I really do enjoy spending time with other people…especially family. I need to learn to live in the moment and not be thinking about what needs to be done at home or work or otherwise.

Anyway, back to the topic of rest. Because I am always thinking about what is next in the queue, I have a hard time enjoying the moments I get to just sit back and relax a little. It’s really really hard to not try to find something to occupy myself with when there are all these little projects just waiting to be worked on if a little bit of free time becomes available. Take for instance this blog post. I have nothing to do in the next couple of hours before going down to the C.R.A.C.K. House,  but instead of relaxing, I felt like I needed to do something…like write this down. If I am in front of the computer I feel productive (sometimes at least). Although, I suppose this can be relaxing as well.

OK, so enough hemming and hawing. I have two things that may help in learning how to rest or relax more effectively. One was suggested by Andy and Jocey at lunch today. They said that they enjoy spending time together playing a game. It can be something to do to keep you busy, yet still allow for time to talk – plus you are doing something together. A second thing is spending time reading the Bible together and discussing it. It’s amazing how sometimes by doing this, God will reveal something really amazing to you. Spending time with God can be much more fulfilling than raking the leaves, yet it can be harder to convince myself of this fact until I actually do it. We spent some time together on Thanksgiving afternoon in the book of 1 Timothy. There is a lot of good stuff in there and God brought some things out of it that really made sense in relation to the worship team.

Alright. That’s all. I’m going to go relax for the next couple of hours and try to live in the present and not so much in the future. Until then, you have this fragmented writing to enjoy =).

I love the culture that surrounds technology. It has gone from geek to chic to norm in the matter of a half-generation. Every clique, every cult that surrounds an aspect of the tech world has stemmed from and been perpetuated by a leader…a person so dynamic in their thinking that they influence millions – hundreds of millions in some cases. Of course a classic example is Steve Jobs. He is such a self-centered brilliant arrogant man who truly believes that all of his ideas are good and right and genius. Many of them are (genius that is), but not all. Despite his piety and total disregard for decency in how he treats other human beings, he has started the cult of the mac. His followers are those that respect his ideas, his products and his charisma regardless of whether or not they agree with how he treats others.

The other side of the culture coin is made up of the underground movements that could either have a charismatic leader or may be driven by the wisdom of the crowds. Take open source and podcasting as two examples. Open source software is driven by those who enjoy programming, see a need, figure others may have that same need and write software to give back to the people hoping that some will in turn give back to them by improving on the original code. Of course, there are leaders in this arena…Linus Torvalds (Linux), Richard Stallman (Free Software Foundation, GNU Project, etc…), and Cory Doctorow (CC supporter) are a few that come to mind, but the movement is largely driven by the masses. Podcasting is another “underground” movement (i.e. “big” media has not fully bought into the idea yet) that’s really just a fancy name for media/content creation (typically low-budget) with a feed to broadly syndicate it over the web. A huge leader in this area is Leo Laporte who operates the TWiT network of podcasts. I believe anyone who is interested in any sort of content creation (be that writing, audio, video, etc…) should definitely consider putting that on the web for others to view and critique. The large media corporations will soon catch on.

I don’t feel like talking about all of them right now, but there are so many other cultures in the computer world that are interesting to analyze or just be a part of. However intriguing they may be, it’s hard to imagine that any really have lasting value. Just think about how fast any culture changes. Some take longer than others, but they all change eventually. Think about church culture. Much of it has to do with style and style changes from generation to generation, between races, classes and interests. Belief on the other hand is timeless…or it should be timeless if the belief is in something that is true. So, don’t spend so much time worrying about your culture – put some effort into finding out what you truly believe. Enjoy your culture. Embrace what you believe. Is that cliche enough for you?

I have seen so many people out today wearing Ohio State paraphernalia. I thought the next game wasn’t even until tomorrow? As I sit here looking outside, I’m beginning to go blind staring at a massive OSU sign made out of Christmas lights in the hardware store window across the street. It’s sad to me that people get more excited about a football team than they do about any other major event going on around them. I understand being a fan of a sports team (well, not really, but I can compare the experience to my excitement about an event like Leopard being released to the general public today). What I don’t understand is the rabid froth that seeps from the mouth of Columbus every fall when football season goes into full swing. We have redefined the definition of the word fanatic. Or maybe we are just living out its original intended meaning.

I have become more of a sports enthusiast in my later life. Well, that’s a lie. I occasionally watch golf or feel my heart rate go up a couple of beats per minute when I watch a good skateboard competition. Hey, I even like to run and I’m beginning to understand why someone could geek out about a sport they are into. I guess to most that is not being a sports enthusiast, but if you knew me in my middle school days, by comparison it puts me into this category.

Regardless Columbus, I still don’t get your obsession. I mean, do I go around telling anyone who is in earshot the pros and cons of GPLv3 or praising the innovations of ZFS? Ok, don’t answer that. If I do bring up a conversation like this with you, don’t roll your eyes until you think about the fact that maybe there are others who feel the same way when you start drooling about “your” football team.

Alright, I don’t really despise you or your football team as much as it may seem Columbus…after all, I still live here don’t I (even if that means I am labeled a Buckeye)? Every once in a while, it’s good to just rant about something no matter how petty it may seem or if anyone else agrees with you.

My final questions: Can you appreciate the music of U2 without being a member of the cult of Bono? Can you enjoy a Mac without blubbering like a little Mac fanboi? Can you watch 24 without being lumped into whatever category those 24 watchers are put into? Can you cheer for the Buckeye’s and not be a crazy person? I will leave these questions for you to answer.

Episode 1 of Wide Open Mind has been posted (http://wideopenmind.com). Please remember that this is only a first episode, but leave your comments and suggestions as to how we could improve as we keep going with this project.

Chew(x4) chewing gum…I want some chewing gum. Do you remember that old song? Well, it’s been running through my head all day. You know what else has been running through my head as of late? I’ve been thinking about what affect chewing gum has on people. It’s something subtle, but interesting none the less. Have you ever noticed that people tend to be more confident when they are chewing a stick (or wad) of gum? I first noticed this when watching The Love Bug as a kid. I always thought that Dean Jones looked so confident when he was racing Herbie, but I couldn’t figure out why that was. Years later, I realized that it was because he was chewing gum. His helmet strap accentuated his chewing to the point that he looked twice as confident as anyone else I had ever seen chewing gum before.

I don’t know that it’s necessarily intentional, but there is also a very slight air of superiority that is exuded from the chewer of gum. This is usually offset if others present are offered a piece of the gum (preferably not pre-chewed) and can join in the act of chewing, thereby reducing the superiority level via the lowering of the ratio of chewers to non-chewers.

Then there is the problem of getting rid of the gum once the flavor has been totally exhausted. My preferred method is to spit it in a trash can if there is one nearby. If not, I will usually swallow the gum. I’m told it sits in your stomach for 7 years, but what do I care: I already have stomach problems as it is, so what is one more? I think spitting it out anywhere is a terrible habit. Think about all the times you have stepped in someone else’s gum. Nasty!

As I sat to write a hypothetical conversation with Jesus, I had a very hard time coming up with what to say. I just kept thinking to myself that He knows everything about me already, so what would a conversation with Him really look like? If I saw Him in person, would it feel like I was talking to a friend I had known my whole life, or would it be like talking to that distant relative that I have never met, but have heard a lot about? I began to get the feeling that the conversation would be somewhere in between the two extremes. This got me wondering what it would take to get to know Jesus in a closer way – to know Him as well as I know my wife or my family. So, here is that conversation:

“Hi Jesus. Thanks for coming over to hang out this evening.”
“Sure thing Steve. You know I’ll always make time to spend with you. In fact, since I am in control of time, it’s not like I really have to clear my schedule or anything.”
“That’s true…I never really thought about it that way. Or, I guess maybe I never really pictured you clearing your schedule because I often just imagine you as some kind of being that is very real, but not someone I can really relate to like I do my friends. In fact, that’s actually kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I kind of figured that might be it.” (Jesus smiles a warm smile and I can almost see a twinkle in His eye – or maybe it was just the reflection of the bright lamp in the room)
“Well, now that I’m seeing you in person and having this conversation, I feel kind of silly bringing the whole thing up.”
“There’s no need to feel that way”, said Jesus. “I’ve told you before that you can feel free to talk to me about anything. I may already know everything about you, but there is something different about you wanting to talk to me about your life and your thoughts. Just think about how it would be if both you and Leigh knew that something was wrong between you, but you would not talk about it.”
“I guess that makes sense…I just find it hard to talk to someone who I can’t see or hear – at least in a physical sense.”
“You’re right. I don’t always communicate with you in the way you are used to. The more you talk to me though, the more you will see and hear the ways I communicate with you.”
“Well Jesus, thanks for hanging out some with me tonight – I might not completely understand all about communicating with you, but that’s OK for now. Talk to you tomorrow? Same time, same place?”
“Sounds good…we’ll continue our conversation whenever you are up to it.”

OK, so I don’t know if that’s how it would really go, but that was what was on my mind today.