Tag Archives: iPad

Aug 8 2012

8 helpful iPad/iPhone apps you might not know about

 

DuckDuckGo. We all know and use Google, right? But what if you just want a quality search engine that doesn’t play “big brother” and keep track of everything for which you search?Try DuckDuckGo. “The DuckDuckGo search app will give you way more instant answers, way less spam, and real privacy.” DuckDuckGo doesn’t “track you like other search engines do” and they make use of “over fifty sources like Wikipedia and Wolfram|Alpha to give you relevant information with zero clicks.” DuckDuckGo is a very good alternative to Google.

Fast Camera. When you’re trying to take a picture of the kids at play, you had better be either (a) ridiculously expert at knowing when to press the shutter button or (b) use Fast Camera. Fast Camera starts taking a burst of pics the instant you press the button and doesn’t stop until you tell it to stop. More often than not, the key to getting that one truly great pic is all about taking a bunch of shots. Fast Camera enables you to do just that. No more “I almost got it” pics when you really want to get it.

iHurricane HD. When I lived in Oklahoma, I didn’t pay much mind to hurricanes. But since I now live near the Gulf Coast, hurricanes have my total attention. I assure you, having a hurricane (Ike) put a tree through your house only a couple of minutes after you left the room it came through will do that for you! Most weather apps with let you track hurricanes, but iHurricane HD does this one thing and does it well. Me like.

Marine Traffic. Since I live rather close to the port of Houston, I see all sorts of ship traffic all of the time. Consequently, I’m constantly wondering “I wonder where that ship came from and where’s it’s going?” Marine Traffic tells me. Think Google Maps meets WolfRamAlpha (see below) for ships.

Oh Ranger! Park Finder. This is “the most comprehensive database of public lands in America, including national parks, national forests and all other federally-managed recreation destinations, as well as every state park in the nation.” They’ve recently added 50,000 local parks to their database, too. “Each location is cross-referenced with information about available activities, so you can search for the park nearest you with your favorite activities.”

Nudge! While there are all sorts of reminder apps available, this one “lives somewhere in the space between the built-in Clock and Calendar apps. It’s perfect for when you just need a quick pop-up reminding you” of something. Nudge! is quick, easy, and flexible.

Peterson Birds of North America. “What kind of bird is that?,” you wonder. Now you’ll know, know all about it, and be able to keep a record of it to boot.

Remember what I said about ships and the Port of Houston? I could say the same thing about living in the flight path for Hobby Airport and Bush Intercontinental. Type “flights overhead” into WolfRamAlpha and you’ll be instantly presented with the flights above you and all sorts of details about them. And that’s only one of a great many things this truly unique search engine can do for you.

xQuestions enables you to create questions and answers in an Excel spreadsheet you upload to your phone or to share with others. Test yourself and truly learn what you’re studying.

Aug 1 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Archaeology: That’s not a sling stone… THIS is a sling stone

“Excavated a couple of days ago at Khirbet Qeiyafa …”

Church & Jesus: Churches Converted to Jesus by Terry Rush

“We in the Church of Christ have lost our way along with any other group who has elevated stance and status over Jesus.”

Culture: Unwrapping Our Imaginations From The American Dream

“American preachers have a task more difficult, perhaps, than those faced by us under South Africa’s apartheid, or Christians under Communism. We had obvious evils to engage; you have to unwrap your culture from years of red, white and blue myth. You have to expose, and confront, the great disconnection between the kindness, compassion and caring of most American -people, and the ruthless way American power is experienced, directly and indirectly, by the poor of the earth. You have to help good -people see how they have let their institutions do their sinning for them. This is not easy among people who really believe that their country does nothing but good, but it is necessary, not only for their future, but for us all.”

Employment, happiness & ministry: The Ten Happiest Jobs

“#1. Clergy:  The least worldly are reported to be the happiest of all.”

Global warming: * The Conversion of a Climate-Change Skeptic; * Global Warming, a New Study

“Three years ago I identified problems in previous climate studies that, in my mind, threw doubt on the very existence of global warming. Last year, following an intensive research effort involving a dozen scientists, I concluded that global warming was real and that the prior estimates of the rate of warming were correct. I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.”

“A Koch-funded reanalysis of 1.6 billion temperature reports finds that ‘essentially all of this increase results from the human emission of greenhouse gases.’”

iPad/iPhone apps: Aesop for Children by the Library Of Congress

“The Aesop for Children interactive book is designed to be enjoyed by readers of any age. The book contains over 140 classic fables, accompanied by beautiful illustrations and interactive animations. The Aesop for Children interactive book is designed to be enjoyed by readers of any age. The book contains over 140 classic fables, accompanied by beautiful illustrations and interactive animations.”

Knowledge: The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge by Maria Popova

“In an age obsessed with practicality, productivity, and efficiency, I frequently worry that we are leaving little room for abstract knowledge and for the kind of curiosity that invites just enough serendipity to allow for the discovery of ideas we didn’t know we were interested in until we are, ideas that we may later transform into new combinations with applications both practical and metaphysical.”

Lust: * Lust: A Topic We Just Don’t Talk About…and Are Dying Because of It by Matt Dabbs; * Hey Married People: Quit Checking Out People You’re Not Married To by Trey Morgan; * Can Porn be Used Responsibly? by Kurt Willems

* “The only thing I can really remember really being taught about lust in church  growing up (aside from the above story) was that it was the phrase, ‘It is okay to let a bird land on your head but don’t let it build a nest.’ In other words, seeing someone and thinking they are attractive is one thing but taking that a step further in your mind was a sin. The next logical question in the mind of a teenage boy is this, ‘at exactly what point does the bird’s nest building begin?’”

* “Whoever you’re married to, is what you should be ‘into.’”

* “… porn always removes God from the center replacing the Divine with lustful desires. Porn never glorifies God or embodies what St. Irenaeus proclaimed: ‘The glory of God is humanity fully alive.’ Porn distorts God’s image-bearers, thus misrepresenting our perception of God’s glory.”

Politics & morality: Parting the Red (and Blue) Sea by Cameron Nations

“The Church remains its strongest and purest when it holds a ‘from the margins” mindset.’”

Relationships: 21 Ways to Upgrade Your Relationships by Jim Martin, parts one, two, three & four.

“What are some practical ways to invest in the relationships that really matter?”

Small groups: Create a Caring Church by Brett Eastman

“If you want to create a church community that really cares for one another, the best way to do it is through small groups. When small groups become the vehicle for care-giving, the whole church gets involved in sharing one another’s burdens—a much more personal approach than relegating the task to a committee. The whole congregation should be making hospital visits, taking meals to people when they’re sick or something’s happened, doing childcare when someone’s in crisis and giving money when somebody’s lost a job. The best way to make this happen is to get everyone in groups where they love and care about each other.”

The Christian objective: Who Moved the Goalpost? by Dan Bouchelle

“… somehow, the goal of becoming fully formed in Christ got reduced to ‘going to heaven.’”

Violence: And Brief (and let’s hope final, but If I know me probably not) Comment on God’s Violence in the Old Testament by Peter Enns

“I am taking the time to talk about God’s violence in the Old Testament because it is a window onto a large and perennially central theological topic that can be expressed as follows: What is the Bible, anyway, and what are we supposed to do with it? To put it another way, What do we have a right to expect of the Bible as the Word of God? Or yet another way, Does the Bible give us unerring, brute factual information, or are we seeing something more complex and subtle there?”

Feb 18 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Compassion: Cost-Effective Compassion: The 10 Most Popular Strategies for Helping the Poor by Bruce Wydick

“… what are the best ways to help those living in developing countries? By ‘best,’ I mean most effective: things that actually help people rise out of poverty, and that carry with them a sizable ‘bang for your buck’—programs in which the impact on the poor is significant per donated dollar. … A World Health Organization study estimates that the availability of clean water in a rural village reduces infant mortality by 35 to 50 percent, at a cost of roughly $10 per person per year. … Of all the long-term development interventions, child sponsorship received the highest rating.”

Fellowship: Chairs of Fellowship by Rick Atchley [10 min. video excerpt]

“… this video excerpt … illustrates the folly of basing fellowship on doctrines generated by man.”

Growing up digital: American Families See Tablets as Playmate, Teacher and Babysitter

“According to a Nielsen survey of adults with children under 12 in tablet-owning households … seven out of every ten children in tablet-owning households used a tablet computer … Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed said children play downloaded games on their tablets and 57 percent said children used tablets to access educational apps.”

Leadership: Basic Church Leadership Instinct by Terry Rush

“Marginal leadership neuters church ambition and potential when it is declared that we go by the Bible; yet truly monitor most closely the collection plate. It is not unusual that church doctrine is not first determined by biblical authority; but rather by the big givers who may opt to leave if not pleased.”

Marriage: Young Mothers Describe Marriage’s Fading Allure

“Young parents spoke of an economy that was fundamentally different from in their parents’ time, and that required more than a high school education for fathers to be stable breadwinners. They talked of how little they trusted each other to be reliable mates, and of how the government safety net encourages poor parents to stay single.”

Miscarriage: Naming the Loss by Jonathan Stormented

“Because the emotions swirling around inside me were so hard to define, I sat down a couple of nights after we got the news and wrote a letter to Mary (our little baby who would never be born). I never planned on sharing this publicly, but I am doing so in hopes that it might bless others who are going through, or have been through, similar situations. Here’s how we named our loss. I hope this helpful to some.”

Parenting: 35 Things I Hope My Kids Will Say About Their Dad by Joshua Becker

“Children learn more from watching their parents than from listening to them – more is caught than taught. As parents, this puts great weight on how we conduct our lives. It requires us to be intentional about how we live. It requires us to self-reflect and evaluate if our lives match our words. And it requires us to be intentional about identifying the lessons we hope our kids will take from us.”

Sugar: Should Sugar Be Regulated Like Alcohol? [Ira Flatow's interview of UCSF pediatrician Robert Lustig]

“Americans consume 450 calories of added sugar every day, and that is not counting fruit. … all that extra sugar, especially fructose, can be toxic and hard on your liver, just like alcohol.”

Theological training: Theological Education and Tomorrow’s Church by Mark Hamilton (parts one, two & three)

“There is a problem here, and we must name it.”

Unwed mothers: For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage

“After steadily rising for five decades, the share of children born to unmarried women has crossed a threshold: more than half of births to American women under 30 occur outside marriage. … The fastest growth in the last two decades has occurred among white women in their 20s who have some college education but no four-year degree … Among mothers of all ages, a majority — 59 percent in 2009 — are married when they have children. But the surge of births outside marriage among younger women — nearly two-thirds of children in the United States are born to mothers under 30 — is both a symbol of the transforming family and a hint of coming generational change. One group still largely resists the trend: college graduates, who overwhelmingly marry before having children.”

Weddings: Some Thoughts for Young Couples Who are Planning Their Weddings by Dave Barnhart

“Before we get into wedding season, I want to share some thoughts and opinions that I hope will be helpful to couples doing wedding planning. This is from a pastor who has done more weddings than he can count, and who has given pastoral care to people before their weddings and after their divorces.”

Dec 21 2011

4 reasons to use your mobile device & not your bound Bible in church

 

To say that a recent post of mine entitled 5 reasons to use your bound Bible & not your smartphone in church is the most frequently read article I’ve ever posted on my site is a huge understatement. I’m glad you found it challenging. However, today I’d like to offer you the other side of the coin: going electronic, not bound. Why? Because you just might be electrified by the experience! But if you need more reasons, here are five.

1. You’ll find it more convenient. If you own a mobile device – smartphone, e-reader, tablet, etc. – you likely use the daylights out of it seven days a week in all sorts of situations. It’s become so valuable to you that if you lose it or have to go a couple of days without it that you feel like someone tied one of your hands behind your back! So why not leverage that indispensability factor and put it to good use in a church assembly, too? Precious few people will carry a Bible with them very many places, but how many of those people carry their electronic devices with them nearly everywhere? Many! Or think of it from this angle: witness also the dramatic shrink in the market the past few years for even pocket-sized New Testaments; you can hardly even find them anymore on the shelves of Christian bookstores. Folks don’t use them anymore. If the Bible is on your device, you’ll be far more likely to actually read it, in a church gathering or elsewhere. And that is the point, isn’t it? Need I mention that you’ll be far less likely to forget it and leave it on the church pew?

2. You’ll find it feeds your curiosity. Certainly, bound Bibles can do the same, but they’re very limited in terms of study aids that can be accessed. After all, just how large a study Bible are you willing to carry with you to church? Even if you tote the thickest one on the market, you’ll have access to only a drop in the ocean compared to what’s available to you via the Internet on your mobile device. Inquiring minds want to know and curiosity not followed up on in the moment is often not followed up on at all. What preacher or teacher worth their salt wouldn’t give up a digit, or even a hand or foot, for their people to be on a growing, insatiable quest for knowledge of God’s word? By using your device in church, you just might help grow that hunger.

3. You’ll be contagious. That is to say you’ll encourage folks seated around you to engage the word as you engage it on your mobile device. The shining light of your device’s display can’t help but be noticed by those seated beside and behind you. It typically won’t be too hard for others to discern, even from a distance, if you’re truly using your device in connection with what’s going on in the assembly or if you’re just using it to mentally and emotionally check out of the gathering. As folks notice your truly engaged interest and authentic participation in the assembly, they just might be moved to pull out their phone and do the same. “If they can do that, I can, too.” Think of it as a fresh angle on the song many grew up singing: This Little Light of Mine.


4. You’ll send out the ancient words in contemporary clothes. Like it or not, one of the biggest battles we face in sharing Scripture with others is that of perception. We’ve all heard, or thought to ourselves, this question: “What does a two thousand year old book written in foreign languages on the other side of the planet have to do with me?” As believers, we trust the correct answer to that question is, in a word, “Everything!” However, as believers we’re also very interested in helping others overcome all hurdles to belief, and this very question is one of them. Like it or not, bound books are rapidly going the way of all the earth. Electronic publishing isn’t the future; it’s here and now in a big way. We’re at the point now in our society that many children have spent far more time engaging books in electronic form than they have on paper. This all feeds the growing perception that bound books in general, especially the Bible, are primitive and passé. A Bible in electronic form is still the good news it has always been, but now extends this good news in a format that helps break down needless barriers in the minds of people.

What it all boils down to is that users of bound Bibles and electronic Bibles must learn to peacefully coexist. As the statement on the back cover of a paperback edition of the Common English Bible puts it: “The best translation of the Bible is the one you will read.” Reading your Bible is primary; what format you read it in is secondary. And never forget, the only translation of Scripture many will ever “read” is your rendering of it with your life. May God grant us grace to that end. Amen.

Question: What other advantages come to mind as to using an electronic Bible over a bound volume?