Blog

WriteRoom For My iPhone

2009-05-28T05:53:48+00:00

Wide awake at 2:14 am. I can’t fall asleep so I’ve been looking at iPhone apps. I am writing this from an app I just downloaded for the iPhone called WriteRoom. The original WriteRoom is a desktop application for the Mac OS for distraction free writing. You know, something to keep you from checking Twitter every 5 minutes while you try and write. Wide awake at 2:14 am. I can’t fall asleep so I’ve been looking at iPhone apps. I am writing this from an app I just downloaded for the iPhone called WriteRoom. The original WriteRoom is a desktop application for the Mac OS for distraction free writing. You know, something to keep you from checking Twitter every 5 minutes while you try and write. The iPhone version of WriteRoom is pretty basic like it’s desktop version, which makes it so great to use. It also allows you to email your document or pull it up on your local computer using wifi which is pretty slick. I haven’t tried it yet obviously (still writing from in bed). It also lets you type in landscape mode! Hopefully a simple tool like this will allow me to write more when an idea comes to me. We’ll see. For now, I just need to find an app that will help me fall asleep. Hrm…Flight Control maybe? Maybe not!

PlanetWisdom DFW Photos

2009-03-02T07:33:04+00:00

Posted photos to my flickr page from PlanetWisdom this past past two weekends in DFW TX. Most of the shots are from the concert and worship times. Posted photos to my flickr page from PlanetWisdom this past past two weekends in DFW TX. Most of the shots are from the concert and worship times.

A Wii, an iPhone and 60 Days

2009-02-06T06:03:32+00:00

60 days ago in November I downloaded the application Lose It! on my iPhone. The next day, I opened up an early Christmas gift, the Wii Fit. I did my first weigh in at 180 lbs on the Wii Fit. The Wii told me my ideal weight was 162, which would make my BMI 22. 60 days ago in November I downloaded the application Lose It! on my iPhone. The next day, I opened up an early Christmas gift, the Wii Fit. I did my first weigh in at 180 lbs on the Wii Fit. The Wii told me my ideal weight was 162, which would make my BMI 22. I never exercise on a regular basis, and I don’t eat very healthy. In August, I started working out of my house instead of the office I was currently at. In an office you get some casual activity during your day, even if it’s just a walk to the copier or to someone’s office to ask them a question. Working from home, you roll out of bed and into your chair and sit in front of a computer all day. If you’re lucky, you’ll remember to get up to take a shower. After a couple of months of working from home, I could tell I needed more activity in my day. That’s why I wanted to get going on the Wii Fit. I also knew that I had to start eating better, so the Lose It! app allowed me to keep track of my calories. I’m a person who loves stats and graphs and trends. The Wii Fit and Lose It! provided great charts for me to follow as I progressed on this journey of eating better and exercising. On the Wii Fit, I would typically exercise around 30 minutes. There were some days I didn’t exercise at all, and even a week over Christmas where I didn’t have access to my Wii Fit. With Lose It!, I was able to keep track of my calories at all times, no matter where I was at. That was a huge help. I eventually started losing weight and just over all feeling better. I was still eating foods like Hot Dogs and Pizza, only now it was turkey dogs on whole wheat buns with carrots and Lean Cuisine Pizzas (which I think are really good). Fortunately I don’t usually like mayo, or any other sauces on my foods, so that made it a little easier for me to adjust. 60 days later, I now weigh 162! I couldn’t have done it without the combined tools of Lose It! and the Wii Fit. Now for the next trick, not losing any more weight! It’s hard to imagine that I used to consume 2,000 plus calories in a day after being limited to 1,500. I think tomorrow I’ll eat a donut!

The Dominos Pizza Vote

2008-10-10T00:16:12+00:00

Most Presidential candidates focus on different demographics like the female vote or the African American vote when campaigning. Unfortunately, there is one demographic that the candidates are over looking. The Dominos Pizza eaters vote. Most Presidential candidates focus on different demographics like the female vote or the African American vote when campaigning. Unfortunately, there is one demographic that the candidates are over looking. The Dominos Pizza eaters vote. Recently, I ordered a pizza online at Dominos.com and after my ordered was placed, I was polled on the 2008 Presidential Race while I waited for my pizza to be prepared. I’ve posted the results at that time below. What’s interesting is that there are 14% of those who took the poll who don’t plan on voting on election day. If all those happen to be Obama voters, then McCain and Obama are in a dead heat. That’s probably not the case though. So why are Dominos Pizza eaters more likely to vote for Obama? I have no idea, but I would like to see the results broken out based on pizza crust preference.

The Jackson 5

2008-10-04T00:22:14+00:00

Recently I purchased EyeTV 250 Plus from Elgato. I’ve been going through my old tapes and have started converting some classics. First video I captured was The Jackson 5 performance. Recently I purchased EyeTV 250 Plus from Elgato. This new piece of hardware allows me to record my old analog VHS videos to my computer. I’ve been going through my old tapes and have started converting some classics. First video I captured was The Jackson 5 performance I did when I was at Biola University in 1997. Here it is in all it’s glory:

Alien Drawing

2008-06-19T03:54:00+00:00

Experimenting with scanning in my doodles and then painting them in photoshop. Here is one of my early tests. Experimenting with scanning in my doodles and then painting them in photoshop. Here is one of my early tests of an alien in front of a moon. I don’t doodle aliens much. To paint this picture I used some Photoshop brushes. I’ll continue to post more of my doodles once I get around to scanning them.

PlanetWisdom 07/08 Stage Design

2008-02-07T03:48:00+00:00

In the summer of 2007 I began work on the stage design for the 2007-2008 PlanetWisdom Tour. The PlanetWisdom Tour is a conference event for junior high and high schoolers that travels nationally to 13 cities. I thought I’d post the process of the stage design from sketch to reality. In the summer of 2007 I began work on the stage design for the 2007-2008 PlanetWisdom Tour. The PlanetWisdom Tour is a conference event for junior high and high schoolers that travels nationally to 13 cities. I thought I’d post the process of the stage design from sketch to reality. First came the sketch: This sketch is based on the standard size of our stages. It shows overlapping swags of fabric with a projection screen off to the right. Next came coloring this sketch in Photoshop: This process of coloring my sketch is important because it usually helps in selling the concept to the rest of the PlanetWisdom staff. It’s also helpful in showing the desired outcome so the lighting director can help make it come alive. Once the sketch was colored, I had to make a final decision on what colors the swags would be, and how those colors would play off the lighting that would be added later. I decided to go with three colors, dark gray, silver and a fuchsia. After calculating how many swags I would need to hang from the top lighting truss, I then placed the order for the swags to be custom made by Rose Brand. I’ve been working with Rose Brand for the past three years and it’s always a great experience. After the pieces arrive, myself and the great crew from B&L Sound & Lighting put up the pieces to make sure we received everything correctly. Everything looks good, but it’s still not quite right until we light it up. With the help of lighting director Camron Ware from Visual Worshiper, the stage comes alive and the vision becomes reality. Thanks to the help of Rose Brand, B&L Sounds and Lighting and Camron Ware, we were able to take a pencil sketch and make it live!

Updating the Site

2007-12-13T01:47:00+00:00

I just switched my site over from WordPress to Expression Engine. There is still much to be done, but I figure I might as well switch now. I began designing a new site using Expression Engine for my publishing system this summer. I just switched my site over from WordPress to Expression Engine. There is still much to be done, but I figure I might as well switch now. The current design has at least, if not more, than what I was doing with my other site using WordPress. I have found Expression Engine to be much more user friendly and fun to work with than WordPress. I’m currently using the free version of EE Core, but may upgrade soon to taste some of the modules that come with a paid license. Hopefully over the next few months I’ll be able to continue to finish out my intended design for this site and add some more “features.”

Collecting Icons

2007-05-05T06:04:00+00:00

I’m a big fan of collecting things. Comic books, Nightmare Before Christmas stuff, Nutcrakers, Pez, Glow Worms, etc. It is always a challenging thing for me to not start a new collection. I’m a big fan of collecting things. Comic books, Nightmare Before Christmas stuff, Nutcrakers, Pez, Glow Worms, etc. It is always a challenging thing for me to not start a new collection. This month I find myself on the site IconBuffet collecting digital goods, icons. I was first told about this site from friend Dave J. Lowe. It’s like collecting trading cards. Instead of using cash, you use tokens. Tokens are given out every month. Regular members get 10 tokens each month and VIP members receive 30. I started out as a regular member, but today I upgraded to VIP, which means I’m paying $6 a month. I don’t know how long I’ll keep that up though. Some of my collections die out quickly, but some last for a long time. What makes it fun is you get to interact with other like minded people who are also collecting these icons. There is also a points system. Not only are you collecting icons, but you are also collecting points too. It can be very addictive at first, so if you’re thinking of joining, proceed with caution!

Twitter Spam

2007-04-14T06:26:00+00:00

I think I’ve just been spammed on my Twitter. I think I’ve just been spammed on my Twitter. I’ve been away from my blog because I’ve been in the world of Twitter. I was just checking and found I had a new follower…turns out, the follower is from Nigeria and is most likely just a spammer. When will Twitter add the “Report Spam” button? Hopefully it won’t happen, but if you can post links on Twitter you are asking for spam. We will see what happens.