In part one here, we’ll configure the Mac for presentations. You should only have to do this part once for a given machine or user on that machine. It must be done [again, only once] before the trip or presentation – not when it’s time for the show. Plan smartly!

Download the Presentation setup files (info below). Zip, 2mb.

Initial Mac setup

We need to do a little setup in general before doing presentations. A few quick setting adjustments will make future presentations go smoothly. Run through these steps at least once before doing anything. In fact, since we’re gettin’ all tweaky here, consider creating a “Presentation” user in Preferences > Accounts and just using that user for presentations. Putting the presentations (Keynote files, etc.) in the /Users/Shared directory makes sense for that use.

Display Prefs

First, open up the System Preferences Pane. It’s under Apple > System Preferences. Select “Display Preferences”.

Check “Show displays in Menu Bar”.

This makes it easy to switch resolutions:

Here you can see my two displays connected, which is like having the Mac and a projector

Trackpad Prefs

Go to System Prefs > Keyboard & Mouse > Trackpad. Select the two Trackpad Options at bottom:

Important: If you use a remote “clicker” like our presenter remote, you must plug in a USB mouse in order to use the Mac while the remote is plugged in. The remote acts like a 4-button keyboard, and with no trackpad you can’t do much without a mouse. Run with both during a presentation.

Energy Saver Settings

In the menu bar, where the power indicator is, select “Better Performance”. This will keep the lazy Mac from sleeping on the job during your fabulous presentation.

Okay – you’re ready to hook up that projector!

Plug in to the projector (or second display)

If you’re at a facility, they may just have the VGA cable to plug into, but it’s the same. You need your VGA adapter:

If it’s one of our projectors, you can use a DVI cable (no dongle needed), but it’s more common to use the VGA.

When you plug in, the screen will flash to blue and back. Go check your resolution with the Display Menu you set up earlier:

Check the arrangement

The Mac “knows” where the other screen is. In Displays > Arrangement you can select the second display and move it to the side you want. I like mine on the right; just be consistent. If you have to use the mouse on the second display, you’ll know where to head.

See that “mirror displays” item? Don’t do it, it’s evil. Don’t be evil. If your display is all “huge” and the same image appears on both, this is why.

Note: if you like the Dock on the sides (like me) you’ll need to set it to the opposite side, or else it will appear on the second screen, which you don’t want.

Set screen background

This is sort of a setup step, but you have to have a second display connected to do it. We need to set a black background (or logo) to the second desktop screen, so when switching programs, setting up, or if a crash happens (to the best of us!), it’s not disruptive to the show.

First, download a black swatch. These are a part of the Setup Files zip if you haven’t downloaded them yet.

I prefer setting the screen to black. It’s simplest, and least disruptive if there’s a problem. For some reason, it’s not default with the Mac. You’d think, with Apple’s Presenter-in-chief and all.

Put the black image in /Library/Desktop Pictures/Solid Colors (’/’ is the hard drive root).

Since the second display is now connected, the Desktop Picture pane appears on each screen. On the second screen, go Solid Colors > the black one.

Setting up Keynote

Before we get further, we need to set up Keynote properly. The default settings may work fine, but check against the following screens. Application preferences are in the Keynote menu > Preferences.

Slideshow:

Presenter Display (what shows on your screen when the show is running. Great for solo presentations):

The Mac is now ready for the next step: the actual presentation! Look for part two soon.

Here’s what Trinity did today! Click the “tv” icon to view full-screen.

Note: all footage © 2008 Luis Palau Association. This was done for educational purposes.

“Hairy Girl” (like it sounds), “Fabulous” (U-GLY!), “St. Jimmy”, “Elvis”, “[Black] Jesus” (looks Indian, actually), “Pipsqueak”, “Con Man” (nick for C), “Banana” (wears yellow), “Giraffe”, “Toothfairy”, “Skunk”, “Stranger”, “The Teacher”, “Man”, “Mr. Funny” (think Picasso face), “mr.little (very diminutive), “Red Hot” (wears red), “Goober”, “grammy”, “Joe”, “Krash”, “Dad™”, “Fief” (Fiona), “Fun Boy” (Looks like Ringo Starr), “Barbi”, “bug eyes”.

If you subscribe already, make sure you update the feed in your feed reader.

If you don’t use a feed reader, consider it! It’s a great way to keep tabs on people’s blogs or status updates, all in one place. I like Google Reader, NetNewsWire (Mac) or FeedDemon (Win). If you use Internet Explorer 7 or Safari (Mac), they can read feeds, too.

I know the blog has been quiet for a while, I’ve just been really busy. I have lots of stuff pinging around in my brain! I’m hoping to grab more action from what I write in Twitter and Facebook.

I have generally been ignorant of economics, both the personal and the global. It seemed dry, uninteresting, disconnected from my personal experience, and impossible to understand. Over time, several things have drawn me toward this once-impenetrable subject: owning a home (home prices affect some very big decisions); learning more about the business world and how it’s affected; and a general interest in systems and how they work. The more I learned about history, the more economics seemed to surface as a character in every big story. And, most pointedly of late, the global economic crisis made me intensely curious: what the heck is going on? How did it come to this? How will it affect me, my relatives, my friends? How bad will it get?

In addition to some occasionally good reporting in the media, some of the podcasts I’ve come across have a done a really good job of unraveling the mess for the average person. Here’s a few that helped my education tremendously.

The Economist

While the cover of this mag looks pretty dry, the writing inside is of high quality if a bit academic in flavor. The podcasts seem a little more accessible. They’ve also made the jump to full-length overviews of the text of many articles - longer but more in-depth. Listening to the Economist has really helped explain some of the bigger factors influencing the economies around the world, and also dives into culture and politics as a matter of course. If you want to read what the heads of state worldwide are reading, pick up the mag or the podcast.

NPR: Fresh Air & All Things Considered

I’ve mentioned my love for All Things NPR. While they’re not explicitly about economics, it’s certainly covered well by these and other NPR podcasts. Fresh Air with Terry Gross ranges across an incredibly broad range of topics (one reason I love it!). The interviews are longish and very in-depth. I found the interview with nobel laureate Paul Krugman on the value of public spending in the financial crisis interesting. There was another one (can’t recall which) which delved into the twin deregulations of the oil and financial industries, and the vast implications of both in recent events.

My history can beat up your politics

Bruce Carlson’s podcast is devoted to examining the relationships between history and politics, specifically American political history. So, yes, I’m cheating a bit by putting it the “economics” category, but there was a supremely educational episode on the Great Depression and the history around it. When asking the question, “how bad is it?”, this episode helps give us perspective and draw parallels to today’s problems (short answer: not even close). While it’s not as professionally produced as Dan Carlin (room echo and a lack of editing), the insights are fascinating. There is simply no better tool than an examination of history to understand current events and what possibilities might unfold in the future.

Now that I’m through looking at those, I’m struck by how the lines between economics, politics, culture and history barely exist. They’re simply facets of the same study of human experience.

Up next: Politics, or technology? Tune in to find out.

However, since picking up an iPhone (and the fact that I’ve been lazy and not installed the radio in my car that my wife graciously bought for me), I’ve found myself drawn to a growing list of excellent audio content.

Upon moving to Oregon in 1994, I quickly became a fan of Oregon Public Radio (one of the nations’ best, it has a fanatical regional following). It awakened a love of the spoken word: stories, debates, reasoned arguments and analysis. I found myself lost in more than one driveway moment, listening to some slice-of-life tale or news story from the other side of the world.

Podcasts have crept into the small cracks of time in my life - the commute (by bike, rail, or car), and in particular when doing chores. These are moments I don’t need to focus on my wife or kids, and I find it helps me power through whatever I’m doing. The real benefit, besides cleaning more thoroughly, perhaps: a new constellation of teachers are deeply educating me on faith, politics, economics, history and culture. While some are right to criticize the lack of silence in our lives, I’ve found these to be worthy additions that have opened up new corridors in my mind.

It began with getting the NPR daily news summary - the five minute headline overview, and grew from there. Upon writing this post, I realized that explaining the value of some of these could get wordy, so I’m going to break this up into several posts.

Hardcore History

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History has quickly become a favorite. A self-described “fan” of history (as opposed to an academic), his deep love for the stories and drama of the past comes through clearly. A former radio personality, the production is excellent (clear, well-edited, some nice foley for effect). Usually monthly and clocking in at nearly an hour, he ranges from topics on thoughts on great men of history such as Churchill and Alexander the Great, to moments like the year 1066. His three-part exploration of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage are epic in scope and as dramatic as any film. It’s simple storytelling with thorough research and lots of great stories.

History, in its best form, is just that - great storytelling, with the added benefit of a deeper understanding of what went before and what might come. I’ve found that no other field of study has shed more light and supplied context to current events.

My grandpa Jack taught history for decades at San Angelo State, and I inherited his love of story and history. That love of history has been renewed and taken in new directions with these great history podcasts.

Up next: when history beats up politics.

Do you have any favorite podcasts? What do you think of when you think of “history”?

I’d love to hear what you think. You can see more ministry-related videos on Blip.tv after the jump. You can subscribe to the new videos feed in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

You’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg here. This piece took enormous effort, and wouldn’t have happened without the following people: Bill Dolan (shooter & producer on related pieces that went into this report); Dan Hyatt (event director); the crack team of shooters who deliver consistently (Tyler, Barry, Jeremy, Dave); and our LPA staff of Sarah Bruce (writer/producer) and Doug Steward, our seasoned Media Group Director and master storyteller. I’ve learned an enormous amount from these people over the last 3 years - you have no idea! It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with them all.

Co-hosted by Digg and Twitter, with video from 12seconds.tv, and with a Live DJ set by Diplo, Current is uniting the best of social media with a real-time broadcast of the most important results, facts and information and giving you a completely new way to experience election night.

I’m not sure what data they’re actually going to use - if it’s Digg comments and twitters (“LOL just passed @johnmccain at the Arizona Biltmore party”), perhaps sticking with CNN would be best for actually useful analysis.

However, the idea of real-time data visualizations and a DJ spinnin’ wax is a great way to celebrate America in the 21st century. What are you doing tonight to celebrate (or cry)? I hear people are waiting up to six hours to vote. That is awesome - what a great country!

Time Warp on the Discovery Channel.