Web Theologian

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>Sent from my iPhone

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Okay, so tonight Aidyn learned to drive a two wheel bicycle!  This is huge.  I asked Aidyn where she wanted to walk tonight.  So she said down to her school and she wanted to ride her bike.  She had not gotten up the courage since a really bad wipe out last year.

So we went down, I took off the training wheels.  And the first 30 minutes were tough.  We tried both the pavement and on the grass neither were working and I could tell it was mostly in Aidyn’s head.  So I continued to ask  her what she wanted from me.  Then she said, Dad you  need to let go when I tell you.  I took a deep breath because that was as hard for me as it was for her.  I did it and she cruised across the lawn. 

As you can imagine she had the greatest look of accomplishment on her face.  I sang my version of Queen’s, We are the Champions!  She was all over the place after that, grass, blacktop, she even rode the entire way home.  This is one of those events that make you realize how special kids really are!

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This title line is used by the many yet unsuccessful companies that are trying to create a better product than the iPhone.  I am using it differently. It is a confession that, yes, I am an iPhone Killer.  On top of that I am one of those people who are defined by their phone.  Two days without my iPhone I realize (1) what a remarkable device the iPhone actually is and (2) that I have become defined by my phone.  In the same way that the American car manufacturers did an amazing job of making us feel like we are our cars, and back in the day you wanted to be a Cadillac.  The phone companies have done the same, and I want to be an iPhone again.

The story is lame, it all comes down to a stupid mistake, as they all do it seems.  I ran the SeaFair Marathon last Sunday.  Now I have run many times with my phone and I have run many times with my phone in my pocket.  This time I did not take into account that the race takes me four hours, and it was 90 degrees by the end.  My short were soaked and so was my phone which in previous races was on my arm band but not this time.  Therefore is is dead and I am an iPhone killer.

Two days away from my iPhone routine and I realize how much I had wired in on that Phone.  Beyond the checking email for work and taking phone calls, there were many other activities which I am now feeling bummed out in not having as a part of my routine.  First there are my podcasts.  I daily listen to Steve Brown’s podcast each morning, I considered it part of my devotional time and it is helpful in preparing my heart for facing the world.  There are a number of weekly and every few days podcasts that I listen to that keep me up with general knowledge (This American Life) and what is happening in technology (The Gilmore Gang), as well as others including my pop culture fix (Best Week Ever).   The there is the ultimate iPhone benefit…being in the know.  Last week after a sales appointment with my boss he wanted a cup of coffee.  We were off 101 in Sunnyvale, so I hit the fo-GPS key to locate myself, then typed in Peet’s Coffee.  I was able to find the closest Peet’s (my bosses favorite coffee) that was on the way to our hotel.  That is being in the know.  My google news feed also became my waiting activity, I was able to prospect for work, keep up with current events, and read what my friends are up to, the amount of information I was able to consume was amazing.  The newspaper has no appeal to me because I don’t want anyone telling me what’s going on with their spin, I want to choose specifically who tells me what and read it when I want.  I have become one of those people, a phone snob, even worst, and iPhone snob.

Which leads me to my frustration because of my stupid choice.  This is on me, now.  Work does not pick up the tab.  The only reason that I have an iPhone is because I hit a sales goal at the end of last year and work bought me one.  Now I have to spend my own money on it.  Today if I were to get a ‘service replacement’ as the Genius at the Genius bar suggested it would cost $200.  If I wait until July 11th, I can get a 3G phone for $200.  Genius is hardly the word I would use for someone who is recommending that I spend my money on a phone today that I’ll regret having in ten days.  On top of this I am dealing with the fact that I am upset over a phone.  Yes, it was great for work, it had all my contacts in it, it was easy to use, and really looks nice.  But it is a phone.  I like it so much I really believe that it is worth $200.  That concerns me.  I am writing about my phone at 9PM at night on my blog.  Anyway I feel one part stupid and one part dirty, something about this entire ordeal makes me think Apple has me right where they want me.

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Imagine being newly married, serving in the military, and not connected like we are today.  My grandfather spent plenty of time waiting in lines to make a phone call to my grandmother who had moved back to Tacoma Park, MD to say with my great-grandparents while my granddad was training.
The men he trained with were from all over the country, many poor from rural areas of the south or hills of Appalachia who had never lived with modern indoor plumbing facilities (that just means they were from my mom’s side of the family;)  One classmate did not even have a pair of winter shoes until he was seven years old, and he lived in Tennessee…it snows there.  In March 1944 my grandfather graduated primary pilot training.  Lt. Stevens went to George Field in South Carolina.
At George Field my granddad conducted more advanced training on the Vultee BT-13.  This plane was nicknamed the Vultee Vibrator because of how it would shard and rattle. 

>CIA ‘Bonds’ With ‘Get Smart’

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8:1 Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
and my cry is to the children of man.
5 O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense.
6 Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right,
7 for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
9 They are all straight to him who understands,
and right to those who find knowledge.
10 Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold,
11 for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

Where does wisdom get you?  That question can be looked at two ways, the first is what is in it for me.  If I seek wisdom all the days of my life what is the promise.  Proverbs says, long life, wealth, and a good family.  Yes there are exceptions to this rule the Bible is filled with them both because we are sinful and we live in a fallen world, but that doesn’t make the rule not true.

The other way to look at is where does it get you.  Like the other woman wisdom cries out, she calls to fools.  The offering of wisdom is truth, righteousness, knowledge, all of which is very valuable.  A desire for fast cash doesn’t square with what wisdom gives you, simply because you would probably spend it as soon as you get it.  I just listen to This American Life from last week where they covered the U.S. mortgage crisis.  There were people just out of college earning $100K a month during the boom, who now are on the brink of bankruptcy during the bust.  Not wise. 

My desire is for wisdom, and I am constantly frustrated with what a slow learner I am.  May God give me the patience to get there.

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