When striving to be a "better" Christian, keep in mind...

A dear friend of mine I really cherish, recently posted on his Facebook profile the following statement:
"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

Wonderful Statement! I'm often shocked at the limited bubble so many of my Christian friends have always chosen to live in; as if "the grace of God" had some scary, marginalized, man made limitations. You know what I mean, folks you can barely visit with before they say, "I just want to do (or live in) God's will." I often think, "Are you use to that being spelled out for you? And if not, is this just a continual search that you are on?"

To me, it often means they are not really enjoying today so much as living for tomorrow, in the hopes of a "better" day; one when they will "feel" they have finally "grown closer to God's desire in their life."

Seems to me, by making that a daily "search" or "goal", they are actually missing a HUGE point of the atonement which has graciously freed them TODAY! Point is, their relationship and path with God is as wonderful, grace-filed and rich as it EVER needs to be. To knowingly and constantly STRIVE FOR BETTER; while seemingly riotous in its original context and inspiration; is an AMBITION having much less to do with God's grace and DEATH (the Cross) and much more to do with man's own, somewhat careless, needs or ego.

Think about it - only an ego would tell us that we can be a BETTER Christian tomorrow than we are today. Just a funny notion to me, that flies in the face of God's very presence and therefor unlimited, unknown purpose for each of our lives.

TODAY is what it IS ALL ABOUT! And asking for a blessing beyond the riches of THIS very moment has always baffled me in many ways! But yeah - we are in America! And in this country, "If you work hard enough, anything is possible." That is our motto! ...If I do MORE, I become BETTER or "richer". I think some folks end up confusing that western, capitalistic motto, with thinking their relationship with God, today, at this very moment, LACKS something it will inevitably be tomorrow; if they simply "get closer", "work harder", "live in His will more", etc...

Seems if our walk as Christians were a "guessing game" up to us to "figure out" we would find ourselves a part of a faith; or should I say a RELIGION, since the entire notion lacks "faith" in God's own purpose for this very moment; a religion, with a God full of limits we have placed on him through our own ambition to be "better". And therefor, no real truth or blessing related to who I am NOW at this very moment will be fully accepted, appreciated and realized, if or when I am believing I must be "better", or "closer" or "more in his will" in order to MORE effectively apply his teaching and purpose for my life.

Really? So what God has done today, has some deficiency which YOU will one day fix? Or allow Him to fix?
I know you're trying to turn that around, and say, "No, it is what I have or have not done, which is causing the deficiency."
Oh! So God has limits, when I cause Him to? Cool - Who knew? <- Stated with friendly sarcasm.)

It is just not this complicated! And today is the day God has (or "hath", if you prefer) made for you! Soak it up! Cherish it! Strive no more in the since of expecting a "better" or "closer" love from him tomorrow, or you may very well miss out on your relationship with Him today!

HE DIED FOR A REASON - so anyone, EVERYONE could get, would realize, would understand, how much they mean to him RIGHT NOW! ...not later! Not when they are better! Not when they are wiser! Not when they are MORE holy! "IT IS DONE", let His grace fall upon you and give you peace!

Just take a good hard look at a cross, if this is still confusing to you. Now picture your God hanging on it for you! Now try taking for granted His day, today! The one he made for you and I. Don't get a big ego about where you will "one day will be!" If today is good enough for me then it is good enough for you, and for everyone else as well. Get over yourself - and let Him, His love, His grace into your life as it stands at this very moment.

May God bless you and keep you...

When striving to be a "better" Christian, keep in mind...

Rooting the smart phone that should be called a genius!

Rooted my Motorola ATRIX the day after getting it, via these instructions:
http://briefmobile.com/motorola-atrix-4g-root
(Now I am free to use sites like www.amazon.com/appstore - since AT&T restricts any such 3rd party stores.)
Crazy how fast "they" get on this stuff.

Turns out these instruction and files were released three days before the phone went on sale.

Download links to all Motorola ATRIX rooting files, drivers & extras:
System LIB Package
System APPLICATIONS Package
Super One Click ROOT
32 Bit ATRIX Drivers
64 Bit ATRIX Drivers
ATRIX 4G Gingerbread Theme Package
How to Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_JINF__UKg
The phone is absolutely unbelievable, so far beyond the functionality of ANYTHING else on the market, I'm blown away! Used it and the "Laptop Dock", for the last three days while at a business conference. Hard for even me to believe mobile computing has come this far.

Working now on utilizing the newly “Rooted” status of the phone to disable the ridiculous requirement to maintain the special “tethering” plan. This plan is not required to do tethering on the unlocked device, but rather ridiculously to utilize the “Laptop Dock” accessory.

However, since the “Laptop Dock”, is nothing more than a portable keyboard, mouse & monitor - with additional battery, in the form of a super thin 11” net-book; there is no “tethering” occurring with AT&T’s network during it’s utilization. All data downloading is handled directly within the hand-held device; which are then simply displayed on the “Laptop Dock’s" external monitor.

Rooting the smart phone that should be called a genius!

Is accountable media really a future posiblity?

My faith that true accountability will one day be applied to the rampant, irresponsible, destructive impact, our current versions of "News / Media Outlets" have on this country, has been restored! See if you can understand the implication of the technology being demonstrated here, in one of the most fascinating videos you'll ever see.

You can skip to the 11 minute marker in this video to more quickly learn of the broader implications of these genius efforts at MIT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE4ce4mexrU

• This amazing combination of unified technologies, now provides the ability to analyze all speech happening on every station (satellite and local) in the U.S.!
• Yielding a monthly database of over 3 billion recorded, analyzed and linked comments from our entire media spectrum.
• This vast record of real data is then mapped into "event structures" and their common links between people.
• (Also imagine the implications for tracking terrorist organization, if that is your bigger focus.)
• Common ground and interconnectivity between the content viewed on TV and the resulting commentary from the public may then be analyzed.
• These relationships are able to be measured and linked in ways which create viewable results.
• The results of these real media / date analysis are able to illustrate for the first time the actual "Cycle" of mass media effect on the commentary of its viewers and oddly enough the inverse reaction of mass media FROM the public commentary.
• A feedback loop of sorts.
• In other word the "News" media outlets simply giving us what they eventually think we want to hear and are entertained and titillated by.

Perhaps a future with non-duped voters really is a possibility.

UPDATE:
I do still think such CRAZY tech, will start auto-magically, holding more and more people and media outlets accountable one day... A maturity of our information if you will. Information which is now quite overwhelming, (and unfortunately confusing and riddling the less discerning sub-cultures within our society with more conspiracy driven thoughts, than facts;) will one day surface and evolve.

A form of "automagic" footnoting of how our information is being sourced and why it is "popular" or deemed "important" if you will, must come to our rescue.

A credibility and understanding of any resulting perpetuation of freely available  disseminated  distributed and edited information (or prevention of such abuse, in the cases when inaccurate information is fortified with bad facts or lies;) will one day be a reality; and perhaps very ironically, such discernment will be granted via the further and deeper usage of the very tech which currently leads so many, naively astray. The software just has to catch up.
     As usual these days: More power to the programmers...  :-)

Is accountable media really a future posiblity?

3 videos which inspire a new outlook on solving our U.S. education epidemic!

Want to be versed in better possibilities and a better future for your children's education? Take the 45 minutes required to view this set of multimedia information in order to gain a broad insight into the predictable problems and some game changing, amazing solutions.

Our future has a good chance of improving if we take the time required to become an educated democracy. This improvement must start with the vast amount of adult voters improving their own education as to how we arrived at this treacherous state in our countries history.

1.) Learn about the history of how our "modern" educational system started, and some insight on why it has run a muck. (12 Minutes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

2.) Learn about the future of our education when it itself is taught how to embrace and use current technology. (20 Minutes)

 http://youtu.be/nTFEUsudhfs

3.) Consider a warning from one of the riches men in the world; explaining, the a 3-5 year projection; if state and local school budgets remain operating the way they do, will make college educations "unaffordable". (11 Minutes)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiUKpX09zo4

You may want to join some of the organizations which are already initiating these changes and allowing you to participate in "The Future" or education today!

Kahn Academy:  http://www.khanacademy.org/
Try a few "courses" / videos yourself.
**Are you smarter than a 5th grader? :-)

Big History Project:
http://www.bighistoryproject.com/Big-History/~/media/BD691221050D4D54B4EEF5A955D63DA3.ashx
From: http://www.bighistoryproject.com/Big-History/Themes

Now that you have a taste (bad or good) of how we arrived at this point; and perhaps how things should be done, as well as why most institutions seem so completely antiquated and unaccountable; what will you do to influence and guide the future of education within your community, your state, your country? Sitting on the sideline will sideline this country's potential and your children's ability to function or even compete within a global market.

3 videos which inspire a new outlook on solving our U.S. education epidemic!

23 years of innovation no OS company can touch!

Very cool! A reminder of Microsoft's incredible Out-Of-The-Bubble thinking. Selling an OS, which could be installed and perform on any mix (or price point) of standardized hardware over a 23 year period of time!! This philosophy has truly been a revolution in computing.

It is so hard for most people to understand why folks are foolish not to choose Microsoft again and again; unless they have actually ran a company or made significant investments in technology over the years. Companies MUST depend on TRUE innovation, rather than hype... A company (or a successful capitalist, artist, student or developer) must be able to depend on platforms which allow for flexibility and an ability to change and move quickly with changing trends, product demands, and development tools. And anyone responsible for making the purchasing decisions must appear to understand built-in-obsolescence (and the HUGE overhead expended on technology each year.) Stable investments must stand the test of time, not appear to be foolish money spent year after year.

A slogan I wrote and have used as a heading for my own website for years, goes like this; "The innovation of new, successful ideas is seldom as challenging as assuring their acceptance & adoption."

No company who has simply "branded" and assembled their own commodities driven, hardware mix, and then restricted the use of their brand to a single in-house OS, will ever compare to BIG PICTURE level of technology Microsoft has innovated and established. However, I understand there will always be those who feel sporadic, attention grabbing marketing, is the greatest accomplishment they know of in this arena. And while I might agree to the notion, convincing less than 15% of the average U.S.'s consumers that you are the most innovative or the most advanced, is impresive; I personally believe it is a better technological and even financial accomplishment to actually BE THE MOST innovative and advanced.

Ease of use or minimalism aside; consider the fact any MS OS consumer is allowed, and piratically encouraged, to slap together or upgrade any unlimited mix of 1000's of core & peripheral products; and now with Windows 7, even this incredible challenge has now been made to look seamless, and so easy even an Apple fan boy could use it's full potential!

Lipstick and rouge (or aluminium and white plastic) is no where near as impressive to me as driving and evolving an OS which meets the needs of 90% of every business on this planet.

Side Note: In 2006 I actually bought over $150,000 in Apple, XServe, OSX machines to be utilized in our back office; (took loads of begging to convince our IT department to support my effort;) only to be met with one of Apples typical announcements, that Apple will no longer produce or support (this not so legacy) sever-level, hardware platform. (Can't imagine how a University of Virginia must have felt about this announcement; who utilized the same hardware around the same time to build one of the worlds most powerful super-computing, clusters of CPU's)

This is a typical slap in the face, from a company that is more interested in corralling and controlling media sales and consumption, over creating products all of us can use to support capitalism and ongoing profitable business practices. As if built in obsolescence isn't already a large enough hurdle, which loyal customers are already over coming and ignoring in order to make repeated investments into a company's "trendy" technology. The very LEAST these company's should do, is understand their responsibility to innovate to an extent to produce lasting ideas which can be built on for years!

Heck, ask those add agencies and universities who have spent years utilizing Macs within their production and teaching environments through the use of suites and volumes of Adobe products, such as Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc... Only to more recently finding Apple deteriorating and sabotaging their relationship with even its most impressive software partners. Again the goal has rarely been true innovations, "Standards", a focus on customer loyalty or even a common since understanding for protecting customers investments for some of these technological and consumer electronics firms. It is typically about chasing a very temporary fad, or convincing average consumers of what is "cool". Not a very high-end, high-tech, stable, approach to product development and on-going value adds for your loyal customers.

23 years of innovation no OS company can touch!