There’s an app for that

While at a local guitar shop, my brother-in-law Graham found a new use for his iPhone.

That’s right, slide guitar. Awesome.

The importance of a good Feed Reader

Trying to keep up with a bunch of blogs and website can be a real hassle. Especially if there are important ones you really want to read (like family blogs) and can’t always remember the website. That’s where a Feed Reader comes in handy.

I use Google Reader because it’s just that good. It’s free and has a great web interface. I’ve also got an iPhone app that syncs with it (for free) so I can get my latest news on the go.

Here are a few tips for how to use a Feed Reader effectively:

• Only subscribe to blogs and feeds you really want to read often. News feeds tend to send LOTS of articles every day and become quickly overwhelming.
• Organize your feeds based on blogs, family, corporations and other news. This makes it easier to remember who you’re reading so you know when to skip through headlines (corporations) and when to slow down (family).
• Check your feed reader, not their website. Checking the website gives them handy stats and lets them see who is coming. However, this can be overwhelming for the number of websites you have to check.
• Get to know Keyboard Shortcuts. These really help with flying through the feeds.
• Don’t keep everything just because it’s unread. If it was from a month ago, you probably don’t care that much. Keeping up with your reader could be a lot of work. Make it easier by only paying attention to what you REALLY want to know, such as the latest news. If it’s someone personal blog you really want to read up on, go through just that feed.
• Don’t be afraid to unsubscribe. I made this mistake early on. I was subscribing to BBC, CNN and the New York Times news feeds. I had hundreds of unread articles. I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t want to remove them from my list because every 1 in 1,000 posts were interesting to me. The time it took to scan the 1,000 posts was not worth the benefit of finding the one good feed.

If you want more tips on how to use social media and free computer tricks like a Feed Reader, check out my friend Aaron Marshall’s blog. He’s created two companies (TechSMO and ChurchSMO) that exist to teach people how to use technology effectively. He’s REALLY good.

Backpacking in West Virginia: Day 1

We all woke up a little early. I was up and working on a morning fire by 5:30 a.m.. We had coffee and oatmeal by 7. After relaxing by the fire and waking up, dad and I nursed our coffee while checking out the map. We decided to go to a different part of the forest called Seneca Creek. Much safer sounding than Bear Heaven! On our way to West Virginia, Stephanie and I read an article in Backpacker magazine that featured Seneca Creek and a 17 mile loop trail that follows the creek. As soon as I mentioned the part about abundant trout in the creek, dad was sold. However, he did take a fee minutes before “suggesting” we try out that area. We divided up our gear, packed our bags, and set out for Seneca Creek.

An hour and a half later, and quite a breathtaking drive by the way, we arrived at the trail head.

We headed in and the scene was picturesque! Evergreen forest, open meadows, a crisp blue sky. It was about 65 degrees, which was perfect for this sunny hike. About 12:30 we came upon a campsite that was straight out of Lord of the Rings. There was a 6′ fire ring in the middle surrounded by stone seats for 12. If I wasn’t so excited, it would have been creepy.After lunch, Dad and I setup our tents while Stephanie DIDN’T take a nap. After the setup, dad went fly fishing and I snapped a few photos before journaling a bit. Then, Steph and I jumped in the creek and had to warm up in the sun. By the way, the creek was about -12 degrees.

After returning to camp with dinner on my mind, we saw a group of 15 college students move in as our neighbors. We could tell by the way they paused and sized us up that they were aiming for our spot. After all, it is a sweet spot. Stephanie made Anniversary Stir Fry for dinner. It was great! After dinner, Stephanie and I got a private lesson in how to make several different knots. There’s the Taught Line Hitch, Clove Hitch, Bow Line, Fisherman’s Knot, and the Double Fisherman’s Knot. Then we sat around the fire pit until we were all dozing off.

Backpacking in West Virginia: Day 0

We left Louisville right after church to head toward the Monongahela National Forest to meet Stephanie’s Dad for some backpacking.  Of course I had a few responsibilities to take care of before hitting the backcountry. It was pretty awesome to be able to do a bunch of work on my laptop while Stephanie started the trip and then stop at a Panera to upload what I had done (Website post, sermon to publish, emails to new visitors, etc). Then, I was able to edit the rest from my iPhone while on the road. Mainly, I was able to make sure the website post I submitted was showing properly and didn’t have any typos. For this reason, I love technology. It lets me get out in the woods more often.

Seven hours later we arrived at Bear Heaven Campground in Elkins, WV. Yeah, I love the name too. Dad had already secured a campsite for us and built up a nice fire. Lucy went crazy not only to see him, but to be out of the car after 7 hours of sitting still. We were really excited to be here and ready for our great backpacking adventure.

Tonight’s agenda: talk trails, final trip decisions, catchup over the campfire, bask in each other’s company.

Because of the wonders of technology (and the GPS capabilities of certain toys), I’ve been able to capture our trip via GPS. Here’s a link.

GPS coordinates: 38.930213, -79.68037

Home screen

Sometimes, with new technology comes the ability to get more things done, more quickly. The only danger is that you become so obsessed with the speed of things that you don’t ever stop and unplug. It’s traffic to see a couple at a nice restaurant sitting silently as one or both of them use their smartphone to connect with people who are not there.

The flip side of the argument is that some new technologies allow us to communicate more quickly or work remotely so we can spend more time with others.

For me, The iPhone is one of those technologies that allows me to be more connected so I can spend more time talking with Steph and engaging with those around me. It also helps me organize and communicate with others so we can continue good conversations and meet face to face.

I use the email function of my iPhone at least twice a week to confirm meetings with friends to get a cup of coffee and talk about life. Without instant access to email, it would not be as beneficial.

Instead of blaming thetechnology, let’s focus on the user. It’s the user tar decides to ignore those around them and pay attention to the toy.

So, for productivity’s sake, here’s what is on my homescreen. What’s on yours?

Standard Apps:

• SMS – for all my texting needs.
• Calendar – I use this most frequently. EVERYTHING I do is in here. That way, I can usually schedule and reschedule on the fly. Quicktip: If you use iCal & the Calendar App together, you can add meeting agendas or talking points to the notes field of an event and it works well to keep your meeting on track. I only suggest this for more casual meetings. You can also use it to give yourself a list if you’re going out to do many errands…
• Contacts – self explanatory. I currently have 627 entries. 
• Notes – This is WAY helpful. I am really looking forward to the iPhone 3.0 software release, which will let you sync notes with Apple Mail. Even more useful!
• Camera – of course. 
• Weather – faster than any other weather app. I keep tabs on Louisville (where I am), Hollywood (my family), Philadelphia (in-laws), and Orlando (brother-in-law). It comes in handy to remember how nice the weather is down there and how cold it is up here.
• Maps – every week I am amazed at how this has changed the way I meet with people, pick places to go, find closer routes, and find my way anywhere.
• Clock – alarms, stopwatch, timer. Always helpful.

Additional Apps:

• WordPress – to do this jazz on the go. Also, I can use it to approve/check comments. I have both my personal and work websites on here. Helps when there is a typo and I need to fix it quickly.
• Facebook – why not?
• TwitterFon – my favorite Twitter app. Keeps me in touch.
• RTM – Remember The Milk. The best to-do application (both computer and iPhone) out there. And it’s web-based, so I’m always up to date.
• Instapaper – lets me save websites that I want to read later. Currently, I have three books on there, two by A. W. Tozer. A bookmarklet in my browser lets archive a page for reading later. This app makes it text-only and lets me read in my spare time, and keeps my place. 
• NetNewsWire – best RSS reader I could find for the iPhone. It syncs with a web-based reader and downloads the articles to my phone for off-line enjoyment.
• Car Care – My favorite way to keep tabs on my car and Stephanie’s car. It alerts me when tires need to be rotated, oil changed, and lets me keep an eye on gas mileage. It also keeps a service record, get for cars that are business expenses!
• TWC – The Weather Channel. I love the speed of the native weather app, but when I need an hourly forecast to decide if I should put the top down on the jeep or not, this one comes in real handy.

Across the Bottom:

• Phone – of course.
• Mail – keeps me connected to my work, personal and school email.
• Safari – because it’s just so cool to read the NYT on an iPhone.
• iPod – you can’t forget your roots. 8 Gigs isn’t a lot for a music collection, but you need your tunes!

 

TIP: to take a picture of your homescreen, press the power and home buttons at the same time, then release. The screenshot will be saved in your photo roll.