Technology, iTunes and funerals

On Friday I met up with a family to arrange a forthcoming funeral service. They were great to talk to, and we ended up talking for an hour and a half. During our chat, we discussed possible options for music to be played at the beginning and end of the service at the crematorium, and once we had identified the songs, there was the question of which versions of the songs to use. After some discussion, it occurred to me that I could look up iTunes on my phone and play some samples. After a little searching we listened to some versions of the songs in question and sorted it out in a few minutes. I just had to download the tracks and burn a CD.

It would never have occurred to me beforehand to have done that, or even that it might be appropriate, but actually a bit of technology helped to put everyone's mind at rest. Hopefully everything will work fine on the day too.

I'll post what they chose after the service has taken place. What would you choose?

A test run

This blog post has no significance or value, other than to prove my mobile blogging software works. To finish the job, I'll photograph my dog using the picture option. Back to normal next time!




-- Post From My iPhone

Christian apps

A few months ago I spent some money I'd been given in lieu of a birthday present on an iPod Touch (16Gb by the way) It now serves as my diary, address book, to do list, Bible, and if I've got a Wifi connection I can check email, Facebook, Twitter, news headlines, etc. Nothing especially novel there I hear you say. In fact, I can now see why people get iPhones, given the extra flexibility it gives of not having to be near a Wifi connection.

However, here are three useful apps I have found, relating to my work as a minister.

Biblereader from http://www.olivetree.com/ Back in my Palm using days, I used this, but the iPod/iPhone implementation works really well. You can even display the same text in parallel versions, Greek, Hebrew, the lot. Reader is free, as are a number of non-copyright texts, and you simply pay for the other versions you require.

Methodist. Yes, I know I'm an Anglican, but it's a good and free app. News, thought and prayer for the day, Bible studies, podcasts and more.

My Diocese. An app which gives news from various dioceses of the Church of England, daily prayers and readings, information about the church, and you can locate your local churches. Not all Dicoeses (including mine) involved yet, but hopefully will develop into a comprehensive resource in the future. Well done Guildford Diocese for getting this off the ground.

Also a big thank-you to Simon Kershaw for his work in making PDA lectionaries you can load into Outlook and iCal. Synched to my iPod Touch, that means I always have the readings of the day and the Sunday and festival collects without even needing a book.

Any other suggestions out there?

A Church Near You

Just starting to develop our entry on this website. It's all set up for Church of England parishes to use, and by putting the data in, you can give people a lot of information about what is going on - one of and regular events.

Our entry is at http://www.achurchnearyou.com/mpc

Teccie Clergy Only

OK. This is for teccie clergy, ordinands and other churchy geeks. Apologies to the vast majority of humanity who don't fit those categories!

Just to say that Simon Kershaw has made PIM/PDA versions of the C of E Common Worship Lectionary available online. You can get versions for Microsoft Outlook (csv), Apple iCal (ics), Palm Datebook and for other vCalendar compatible calendar applications. He even provides instructions for importing into Microsoft Entourage on a Mac (a workaround using iCal)

You can also now choose how much data to import - both in terms of dates and also whether you just want lectionary or the collect/post-communion prayers. I went for Sundays, major and lesser festivals, lectionary and collects. It all imported into iCal fine, and then synched over into my iPod Touch. I could almost lead a service straight off the screen!

In the case of iCal you can also choose to synchronise with the online version, which means any errors and omissions which get corrected in the 'master copy' are automatically updated.

Simples

Software updates

We're always told to say yes to updates, as they maintain the security of our computers. I dutifully accepted iTunes 9 for Mac OSX and let the install go ahead. Synchronizing with my iPod then took ages, and eventually my ipod locked up. Yesterday afternoon it yielded and started working again, and I managed to get back to some sort of normality. Sure enough, an iTunes update popped up today citing sync problems and the time taken.

Just about to try the updated version and see if it's any quicker. Never mind - I could be using Windows...

Mpg

The US is planning on 35 mpg. Their gallons are smaller, but it's well within many European cars capacity. Maybe Ford & GM will be making Mondeos and Insignias in the US before long. They don't need new models; they just need to shuffle the pack.

-- Post From My iPod Touch

MPG

Lots of people moan about the cost of motoring (often people with big thirsty cars in my experience) but there is lots you can do without changing your car. Hypermiler is a website full of information about economical driving, claiming that many of us could get up to 40% better fuel economy.

News on green cars, driving less and much more too.

West Coast Main Line

I usually keep my train-nerd side well hidden, but I did have a wry smile when I read about the WCML work being finished. Trains can now run at 125 mph! The fastest scheduled time from London to Glasgow is currently about 4 hrs 30, so we'll see how much it comes down. Ironically the old Advanced Passenger Train (APT) did it in 4 hrs 10 in 1980/81 when it was briefly in service. 140 mph too.

It's a pity about the APT. There were a few reliability issues (and it was a cold winter!) but the press took against it, with journalists saying they felt sick. Apparently other passengers didn't really complain about it, and the journalists coach had lots of free booze...

BR lost their nerve, pulled the plug, and sold the technology to an Italian firm that now makes, er..., Pendolinos which they sell back to us. WCML passengers were stuck with slow trains for another generation and even now can't travel as fast as the APT.

By the way, I gather they did a special run with a Pendolino for charity from Glasgow to London to set a record and it did it in 3 hrs 55mins - pretty good and only 3 minutes slower than the best APT time. What is it abut British inventiveness that means we (almost) always blow it?

DAB update

It worked. I woke up.

New Gadget

At the risk of being accused of seeking greetings, it's my birthday today. My new gadget is a DAB clock radio. Not only does it get all sorts of new radio stations with info, clear sound and scrolling text; it even uses less electricity. Looking forward to waking up being a bit more fun in future.

More predictive

Debs texted the other day, saying she was having tea and circuits. Better than coffee and bald, I suppose.

Predictive trouble

I was texting someone with the message:

I was driving when you phoned

This came out as

I was driving when you sinned

Luckily I noticed in time

Any other good alternative narratives, courtesy of predictive text?

facebook ads

One of the irritating (but inevitable) bits of facebook are the ads. There was a box advert today advertising veneer. Just as I was thinking of whether they were referring to teak or walnut, I realised it was a dental treatment advert.

Maybe some nifty bit of software analysed my photo and thought my teeth weren't white enough, or maybe they just do it by age.

But why me?

Emergent Anglicans

No - it's not about people coming out as Church of England adherents. emergent is a term that is used by people who are looking for new ways to be church that retains the best of what has been, but reshapes for the future.

Anglimergent is a new site, which works on a social networking basis, for Anglicans looking to the future. I have signed up, and I'll keep you posted if it proves useful.

The platform it used for social networking is called Ning - you can create a social network for a particular grouping. It's less swamped by stuff than facebook, but obviously doesn't have the universality.

Hmmmmmm

When writing a sermon, I keep the passage open at an online Bible site for quick reference. I usually use www.crosswalk.com which is a US site with lots of Bible versions available.

One thing you have to bear with is the selection of Christian adverts that come up. There are usually one or two very patriotic, conservative and in some cases Zionist looking banners that appear from time to time. On my last visit, it offered a 'Masters in Counseling' [sic] which you can get online.

Wondered how this would work. Had visions of saying "Mmm, that must be difficult" to my iMac. Must be more to it than that.

More impact

Decided my paper wasn't a policy or plan, and therefore impact free. Describing facebook using only words proved to be a challenge, however.

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21st Century domestic error

Something happened in our house the other day that could only have happened in the 21st Century. My pen drive went through the washing machine. It was in a shirt pocket that didn't get checked, and unlike tissues, which leave speckles of evidence over everything, it quietly endured this ordeal in without a visible trace.

I just shook the water out of the plug, stuck it in the PC, and all the files were there. No obvious damage incurred at all. Not bad for a freebie with the kids' computer from PC world.

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predictive posting?

I didn't realise Apple business results were due out, but it looks like I was on the ball. Mac computer sales were up, and Apple seems to be doing really well. The pressure's on to ensure the next version of the operating system lives up to expectations.

The Apple iRaq

Was sent this and had to share it.