Comments, lovely comments

I do enjoy reading peoples feedback.  After all what's the point of typing all these words if no-one ever reads them.  So I was very pleased indeed to have received a response to one of my older technical posts. It is also gratifying that my solutions work for other people, sometimes the technical posts are simply put there so that I can remember what I did.  That IS one reason for writing all these words of course.  The solution to the Vista DVD drive problem I have used many times.

I've also received a number of spam comments written is Chinese and leading to some sites that I would rather not be connected to. So the comments process has been tightened up - please don't let that stop you though. It must be considered that everyone is not after the same thing - either in life or on the web.  I am not averse to publishing relevant comments - even if they disagree with what I'm saying.

Expanding in the blogosphere / Sermon posting

I received a message from Bebo this morning, it was the equivalent of spam, I think. I'd almost forgotten that before facebook I had signed up to Bebo.

I've been signed up to Sermon Central for a long time, but decided to try and post my sermon there. So last weeks sermon is in the usual place here and also on sermon central. Sermon central claim to vet their content before it is published - but I assume that's so that the content is not offensive and really is a sermon.

Blog Shock!

I think I've spent too much time flicking channels and getting the porgram adverts for channel 4 and channel 5 - Body Shock!, Nature Shock! - I don't think I've ever watched them. So that explains the title, now here's what its about.
I follow a number of blogs. The other day I commented on a blog, beacuse it had a good message, the next I read my name in the blog. The person concerned - I'll call him John, because that's his name - John, had been praying for me, and that very day I commented on his blog. What a coincidence. I prefer to call it a Godincidence. Those things that just come from nowhere and make you day! Its always good to be back in touch with someone.

Doesn't reading your name in something wake you up? Just as on Sunday, hearing my name in the notices unexpectedly brough my attention back fully on what was happening. My first reaction was - "What have I done?" - meaning how have I transgressed - as though I'm still eight years old and the teacher is shouting at me to be quiet. It wasn't that, of course, it was simply a thankyou for helping out - but I wasn't expecting it. So once I had put my 8 year old self back where he belonged, I can also appreciate the good feeling that receiving thanks gives.

Perhaps I should remember to do the same for others more often?

What should I call this post?

Blogger Arrrrrrrrgh! was my first thought. Perhaps I should stick with "Sunday, April 15th @ 10:00am at Christ Church". The story is of technology and buses.

We arrived at church early, because I was helping with the technology, and Jo was doing Tea/Coffee and Singing. The Tea/Coffee went well, so did the Singing, but the technology was awful. The DVD player I was given doesn't do timed indexing, and it creeps on pause. That's probably a way of stopping me frying the track. Our projector is next to useless, and the clip was of a man in a cave - all very dark. However the talk was interesting, if only that it highlighted what tradition does to our beliefs. A very good point. Thomas, far from lacking faith, was merely refusing to trust his friends when they told him something that sounded entirely unreasonable. Look at his reaction when he met the risen Jesus.

Anyway back to the story. As the prayers were led a sunflower seed was given out. It caught the imagination, and hopefully should be a good was of reminding us to pray. A few jokes about Sunflower cam, and the blogging idea came out. Take a look at http://sunflowerprayers.blogspot.com. In a conversation over coffee I said, "Oh yes, I'll just add to the Tanzania Blog". Simple! Login, ceate a blog - 2 minutes - doddle! Couldn't be easier.


RUBBISH

Hadn't reckoned with Blogger. (yoda voice required for the next bit) Moved it to the new blog they have. Very unhelpful it is. ( OK, back to normal) So I have to sign up with a new gmail address, which seems to be the only way to make it work. All that's done - but what a waste of time. Haven't they heard of "migration script".


Any way if you've got this far - Well done! Here I hope is the good bit. I have been trying to get Christ Church people into blogging. We should add the blog addresses to the A-Z. I'd like to run multiple Christ church Blogs, one for each of the organizations we have. Let people create their own content. Thats what the web should be about. Lets hope that has started.

Buses
So there I was, finally getting on with my meeting minutes. I've had a busy week, of four official working days the shortest was 11.9 hours. So, I've not been doing all I should. The phone rings. I answer it "Hello."
"Dad, What are you doing?"
"Talking to you on the phone, Mike"
"Yes cut the sarcasm. Are you busy?"
"Of course. What do you want?"
"If I give you some money will you pick us up from Lakeside. The bus hasn't come"
"When's the next one?"
"Tomorrow"
So I do the return trip to Lakeside (about 15 miles each way). The last bus should never be cancelled - cancel the one before if you have to, but never the last one.



I haven't had any money yet.

Things I do

One of the things I do, when I supposed to be working, is blog. Another is to sit with three or four Firefox tabs hitting next blog, just to see what there is. How annoying is it when people remove the header! If you're one of them -put it back! I won't read your blog, I'll just hit the back button. By the time I get to this, it's usually late or very late. Last night it was just late. Some of them are just distasteful, or gross, lots are in languages I have no understanding of (being mono-lingual). (that should be ... languages of which I have no understanding). Some are interesting and a very few get book marked. Last night I found this amarylis #3. Apparently, these amazing flowers can be forced to bloom twice a year. Very interesting to see the pictures and read the comments. Mine is on its last flower. The earlier pictures are here. Nearly time to cut off the stem, and feed them like mad.

A fatherly duty, and a pleasure, is to take the children out for 'top-up' driving experience prior to their driving tests. Mike (who you can see below as Luigi) has just failed his, and is therefore keener than usual to practice with his Dad. We have just come back from such a practice, and there will be another tomorrow, I expect. More likely, as the football pitch is waterlogged. He does very well, and I don't understand why he didn't pass. Only one thing to fix from my point of view. He really must look in the direction of travel, not at the good-looking girl going in the opposite direction.

e-mailed blog

So here is the first e-mailed blog, As I can't think of anything special for the third blog of the evening, I'll just say how wonderful the eldest daughter solo was the other night.