RUNwithGOD

"You have a Zune?"

M$ Apologists... enjoy.

Video clip taken from NBC's Chuck... a show that I do not watch, but am starting to be intrigued about. Glad it's now available on the iTunes Store.

I did NOT have an affair...

Before I start getting hate mail...

Earlier today I was working on StoriesAboutYou.org - CF's blog that shares our members' real life stories of them overcoming trials, temptations, or how they came to God's saving grace.

While I was posting several stories, I was annoyed when a popup kept showing up that these posts were getting linked to my Facebook page. It had never done that before. I had to go in and delete each post off my Facebook page...

Come to find out, I wasn't posting them just on my Facebook page, I was also posting it on my blog. Oops... not that big of a deal, right?

Well, if you go onto your RSS Reader and see a blog title from me saying... "I did something I regret... I had an affair", or "During an exam, I discovered a lump..."

To repeat, I DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR ON MY WIFE AND MY ONE MONTH BABY! NOR DO I HAVE BREAST CANCER!

However, there are some great testimonies of people who have found God, who has helped them find their way. If you have not checked out Stories About You, right now log onto StoriesAboutYou.org and See how God is moving...

Update: 10/30/08 | 3:20pm - Eddy actually took a snapshot on his iPhone. This right here is why I am repeatedly saying... I LOVE MY WIFE!

Mental note, make sure you're logged into the right blog when posting... and try not to admit to an affair WHEN YOU'RE NOT HAVING ONE!

Love you BabyGirl(s)

World of Warcraft subscribers = Entire population of Ohio

GamePro has the story...

Blizzard Entertainment today announced that total World of Warcraft [WoW] subscribers has surpassed 11 million, equal to the population of the entire state of Ohio, according to 2007 census estimates.

The news comes as anticipation builds for the release of the game's second expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, which launches on November 13.

"Since debuting in North America in 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG in the world," Blizzard announced in a statement today...

World of Warcraft is unique (compared to most games) in that gamers must pay a monthly subscription fee of $13-15 per month to play, in addition to buying the game for $30. The MMO has also drawn criticism from disgruntled spouses and researchers for being abnormally addictive.

Jeff's Thoughts: No word on whether congress is going to allow the WoW state special representation in the Electoral college. Okay, that was stupid...

Yet another stat showing that the 2.0/virtual world is becoming more tangible.

There's 11 million people spending a TON OF TIME hanging out in a virtual world that I know absolutely nothing about... like I got time for that.

Anyone involved in WoW? Does it still live up to the hype? Do you see anyone from the WoW world in the real world? Someone once told me "What happens in Facebook stays in Facebook!" Is that true of WoW? Or does the virtual world bleed into the real one?

Do you remember your first iPod?

So, when did you jump on the bandwagon? Seven years ago Apple released their revolutionary device. I remember it like it was yesterday. Ironically, news of the iPod was received with mixed emotions. Mac purists were upset that Apple was messing around with toys and gadgets, instead of pouring it's resources into the then-struggling Mac OSX.

Amazing what 7 years can do for a company...

Check out the video below. It's Job's keynote for the iPod. They've come a long way since October 23rd, 2001.

Now for the real question. How many iPods have you owned?

What do you love this much?

 

ESPN broke the story about #53 Trevor Wikre, a Senior Offensive Lineman at Division II Mesa College.

Straight up, I love this guy. Why? Here's the short version... so to speak...

Dude is playing football in his Senior year of college... breaks his pinky during a practice... gets sent to the hospital against his will... while there, he was told bad news... that pinky is going to need a metal pin put in so that it will heal correctly... four month rehab for a pinky... college football is done in four month... so you're effectively out for the year... you've played your last football game... unless...

... unless you cut off your pinky... Meet Trevor, the nine fingered man.

Why do I love Trevor? Well, first off, he can never do the Dr. Evil impression (which is a huge plus).

More than that, though, he's passionate about what he does. I know, it sounds illogical. He's not good enough to go pro. He's altering his body for a stupid game. For a couple month of joy on the gridiron, he's willing to sacrifice the ability to hit the letter "p" on a keyboard. Yeah, you're right, it does sound crazy. But I respect the man on this front.

He found something he loves, and he was willing to sacrifice anything to be able to continue doing it. Even a pinky.

Sometimes in life I find myself guilty of going through the motions... doing things out of habit, or out of obligation... but not at this level. Think of your own life. What would you be willing to sacrifice your pinky for?

My Mommy's not lying... it is as easy as clicking a mouse!

Had several people test-drive media today. Awesome. We picked up three more VJers (Center Screen Operators) this week. That's awesome. I'm especially proud of one of them...

My mommy.

After the Saturday night service, Amy and I had dinner at my parents house. Got to talking with Mommy. Next thing I know, I said to Mommy, "Hey, you should come try Media." Twelve hours later, I think she liked it. This is her direct quote: "Yes it was as easy as a click." So she's wants to regularly commit to serving in the Sunday 10:30 service as a VJ. AWESOME! Yes, Caitlyn's Grandmother is a Video Jockey! HAHAHA!

Media @ CFPB is a Reed family affair. My wife has been running Imag/ProPresenter for years. She's even dabbled in Camera Directing. Ultimately, she was tired of being a "Media Widow" - a spouse who never gets to worship with her husband (since husband is serving), so volunteered so she could serve alongside me. Rumor has it my Dad is going to learn the TV Cameras... okay, I started the rumor... but it is rumor nonetheless...

Thanks, Reed Family, for serving in Media @ CFPB. Looking for a place to serve? Look no further! Serving in Media? Invite your friends and family to join the experience!

SNL does Touchscreen Maps

I really need to get back into Saturday Night Live...

Hilarious video showing the power of new technology... and how we can easily get distracted by it. Fun part kicks in around 1:30

Woman Arrested After Killing Virtual Ex-Husband

Wired News has the story...

A 43-year-old Japanese woman, angry over a sudden divorce in the virtual online game Maple Story, has been arrested on suspicion of hacking into the game where she killed her once-virtual husband, authorities said.

Authorities said the Miyazaki woman illegally accessed the game with a password she hijacked from a colleague. That made it appear as if her coworker committed the online murder.

According to The Associated Press, the woman told police: "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry."

The hacking allegation carries a maximum five-year prison term.

Mental note... don't have affairs with people online. 

UPDATE 10/24/08 - 12:02am: Better yet, just don't have affairs...

The Philosophy Behind Teaching

I published one of our scripts from the worship portion of our wknd service earlier this week. Love the feedback. One reader (from another church) commented that CFPB has more light cues in one of our songs than they do for their entire service. That made me 1) laugh 2) appreciate the CF Staff, for allowing us to push the envelope 3) appreciate our volunteers, for running alongside and helping us raise the bar. (All light programming every week is done completely by Stephen Farr, a stud of a volunteer).

Anyway, met with most of CFPB's Camera Directors today. Great conversation. Love these guys, and their desire to do bigger and better things... within the context of church. I've met volunteers (and staff) that want to do super/huge/crazy/phenomenal stuff... but it doesn't fit in the context of church. So if it doesn't fit, you must acquit! why do it?

We talked about how much effort we put into "producing" the worship portion of the service. We NAIL worship every week! That 25 minute portion of the service, visually on camera, is awesome. A lot of work, both staff and volunteer, goes into worship.

Honestly, not as much goes into teaching. I felt guilty about it. Teaching is 40-45 minutes of our service, almost 2/3rds of our average service. We go through all this effort to plan out the worship, but then the teaching portion is very haphazard. Not that it's bad, but visually I don't think we were executing at the level we could. We just weren't using all the resources we have available to us.

Not anymore! Teaching is going to get it's due. Visually, there's a lot that cameras can do to help aid the message shared during teaching. A tight shot when the teacher is being open. A slow, gentle push when the teacher is building his point. We can use these visuals to tell a story, to reinforce/strengthen what the teacher is saying...

How are we going to achieve this?

1. We've added a third, economical camera (thank you Hector!) that will enable us to get a much tighter shot of the teacher
2. We are scripting the message portion. We were scripting before, slide numbers/etc. But why not go into greater detail for teaching. Mark points and do the legwork for our volunteer directors and cameramen. Writing it out helps to produce a coordinated effort on the message portion at CFPB. Scripting allows for a consistent level of excellence, regardless of what service you attend.
3. You're going to help us. Yeah, you. Click here, and see how easy it is to help out in Media, and then come join us! It's simple. We'll tell you what to do and when to do it. All you have to do is be willing to do it.

...we even tell you when to click

The other day I thought back to where CFPB services were twelve months ago, versus where they are now. In the midst of launching three other campuses and losing key volunteers...CFPB continues to raise the bar. HD Camera upgrade, ProVideoPlayer on Center Screen, Tighter integration of Stage Lighting, Digital signage on stage during Teaching portion of service...

The more we push, the more difficult communication would be, right? Not here...

Maybe a year, or even six months ago. Back then we had lots of "halos". Sound, Lights, Cameras, VJ, ProPresenter... we weren't operating as a cohesive unit as much as we were individuals doing their thing. And for the most part it worked, but the services didn't really come together with the same "pop" as they do now.

This is a sample of our current "script". About a year ago I don't think we had a "script". There were words on a page, but it was a guessing game whether they were accurate, much less what was happening during each of the songs. Now everything is scripted. Why is it scripted out in as much detail? Because we as staff put a LOT of effort into our services and we want it executed it properly. And CF Media volunteers have a built-in standard of excellence (oftentimes higher than the staff's standard). Volunteers want it done right, and as long as we communicate what needs to happen, our volunteers do it! It's exciting to see that level of ownership!

Take a look at our "script". Realize 1) the amount of work that goes into prepping a service and 2) how easy it is for CF volunteers to execute a service with this level of info.

Together CF Staff and CF Media Volunteers continue to raise the bar EVERY WEEK! It's phenomenal to see God use this group of people to reach the city of Miami. Thanks, everybody!

CFers, seriously. If you can click a mouse, push a button, type on a keyboard, or flip a switch... get involved in Media! Media is so easy we even tell you WHEN to click! Email media@cfmiami.org.

If you're smart enough to read this... we need you in Media

Seriously, not kidding. First off, we need Media Support on all five campuses/eighteen worship venues. See the first video below.

I'm not exaggerating here. It's not rocket science at all. We've done a great job simplifying the system. If you can click, you can help! Come help! Email media@cfmiami.org

So, if you can click... join Media. If you're a little more advanced in your knowledge/experience... come be a Hero. "Heroes" is a volunteer multisite tech support team that will help our multisites stay afloat when problems pop up for the weekend... check the video below.

If you're have experience in audio, or video, or networking, or familiar with Macs, or electrical... come be a HERO for our multisite venues. Email hero@cfmiami.org.

We need you at CF Media. No matter what your knowledge/experience is, there's a place for you here. Come be a part!

Call me Pessimist

Sadly, I'm seriously considering this...

Consider the joys of being a pessimist, if you're wrong, it's usually a good thing.

Max Hsu

Nvidia + MacBook Pro = Reason I'm Bald

I cannot even start to tell you how many man-hours I've wasted on this problem. I've blogged it. I've twittered it. I've talked to multiple tech support people. I've yelled at people. I've been yelled at by my bosses... This is one of the two biggest technical guffaws Christ Fellowship has experienced this year.

Evidently several brand new MacBook Pros at CF Multisite venues would not connect to a brand new Samsung projector. Why? Because of the stupid friggin NVidia graphics card. To come to that conclusion took me 40-60 business hours and probably over 100 total man hours.

Well, months after I've resolved the situation on my end - the nice people at Nvidia finally got their act together and acknowledged the problem... which now allows for Apple to develop a system to fix the problem...

And here we are, Apple is finally offering a Nvidia graphics repair program. CFWK, CFDT, and CFR venues with a MacBook Pro - your laptop could be affected! If you are noticing or experiencing any issues with your laptop not working with your projector or screen, please let me know and we'll figure out how to get the problem resolved.

Insert Caption v3: The Pastor

I really like this "Insert Caption" type of post. Unfortunately, as JR pointed out so rudely in the last contest... I don't exactly have the jingle to keep giving away giftcards...

SOOO.... no rewards on this one, but feel free to caption away! Post-em as a comment below.

Oh, and for those of you out-of-town, that's me (the attractive, bald one) and Dr. Rev. Rick Blackwood, Sr. Pastor @ Christ Fellowship. This photo was taken October 4th during a tech walkthrough before our Saturday night service.

Enjoy. And keep it clean. Well, kinda clean. I'll be sure to "censor" the bad ones out.

Photo Credit: Ministry Stud Tommy Parke, using my Canon 40D. I love that camera!

I missed an inch

I may be a bad parent, you tell me.

A week ago at the doctor's appt, myBabyGirl weighed 7lbs, 1 oz and was 19.5" long.

Today she had another doctor appt. She's 8lbs, 1 oz and was 20.5" long.

In one week, she grew an inch. At this rate, she'll be All-Star center for the WNBA before she's out of diapers.

Here's my problem. I stopped taking pictures last week (I got too busy again)... so I don't have any documented photos of myBabyGirl when she was exactly 20"...

I'm a failure, what can I say?

Nah, I'm probably kidding. I just wanted another excuse to post a pic of myBabyGirl without making it look like my blog is becoming a "Caitlyn blog"...

Alright, enough blogging. Time to go spend some quality Daddy/Daughter time before she goes night night.

Will your Wireless Mic work in March 2009?

Some of ours won't.

I've heard some conflicting reports whether we would be impacted or not. I think just about all of our multisites are okay. The new gear is compatible. Some of our old gear, however, isn't compatible. D'OH!

Here's the deal. Evidently the FCC sold public domain frequencies, and several of our Shure Wireless Handheld/Beltpack Microphones run on the frequencies that the FCC sold to AT&T and Verizon.

Officially, the transaction doesn't complete until February 2009... but even at that point, it could be a number of months/years before AT&T and Verizon publically release devices that would use that frequency...

So, essentially, our wireless mics are on borrowed time.

Does your microphone run on "borrowed" frequencies? If you're not sure, get the model number of your wireless receiver and contact the manufacturer. I've found them to be quite helpful!

Saluting Media Volunteers

Crazy weekend. This week the CFPB Media Crew produced the Saturday sermon portion of the service to be distributed to every multisite venue. Literally, more people will see the Saturday night message on tape than will see the service live.

We nailed the visual elements of the service. We introduced digital signage on the stage during the teaching... a plasma on a rolling cart that is a mirror image of our center screen... and pushed any sermon illustrations (videos, photos, graphics) on that plasma/center screen instead of putting them on the side screen. Very effective. (Already had several people mention to me that they liked it).

And as hard as we worked to nail the visual elements, we had an audio problem (most likely an interfering frequency) with Rick's wireless mic. Sounded like Rice Crispies (Snap, Crackle, Pop) for the majority of the sermon. Not bad live, but HORRENDOUS on tape.

Our plan (as discussed) was during video teaching weeks if the quality is sub CF standards... we need to reshoot the message Saturday night after the service. And that's what we did. 'Til about 10pm Saturday night.

Thanks to Rafael F, Mike C, Charlie B, Keith T, Hector H, Anthony P, and Brian L for sticking around, working through the problems, and helping us produce the message for Video Teaching. CF Media Volunteers are STUDS!

Mental note: Always have a backup plan in place. And don't be afraid to use it.