mdbennett.net

Top #3 things about Android

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:19:00 +0000

It is probably no surprise to anyone that I quite enjoy little gadgets that can both entertain and make my life easier. One of the best things in this category is a smartphone as in addition to being able to communicate you always have your calendar with you!

However this post is about the Top #3 things available in Android (in my opinion):

Google to Chrome (get it here) - Every now and then I want something I'm looking at on my desktop available on my phone ... no problem just click a button!
Chrome Browser (in beta, get it here) - What I like about this is how it sync's all your bookmarks onto your phone ... magic!
Selection of phone - This is a bit of a good and a bad thing, but the premium Android phones are well worth looking at (not so much the cheaper ones). They have bigger (and in some cases enormous) screens compared to an iPhone and are really excellent with Android's Ice Cream Sandwich!

Winning #2

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:35:00 +0000

During to race I rang N to update her on how we were going (and hear what was happening at home). Part of this conversation included me saying, "if I'd known winning would hurt so much I don't think I would have been so keen to go for the podium." I knew I had to train before the race and I did. I went out in the cold and wet. When I was tired at night and in the morning. It was hard! I also knew that at the race it would be difficult to keep going when it was 3am, then harder still at 3pm after little or no sleep. I was right about these things. What I didn't realise was how hard it would be when the physical and mental challenges peaked simultaneously. Maybe this is because I've never pushed myself like that before. Maybe I wasn't ready and needed better preparation.Whatever the case, winning hurts, but the pain faded almost immediately.

I have a new level of awe for the athletes who reach the podium at world championships and Olympic games. And even more respect for those who return after not making the podium - the pain of defeat doesn't fade quickly.

Winning #1

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:34:00 +0000

First things first, technically this post isn't about winning, we only managed 3rd. However it was a podium finish which is a first for me and there are a few things I learnt along the way (mainly stuff that I knew theoretically but discovered the reality and practice of them)! The main lesson?

Winning is painful and hard both physically and mentally (but I've forgotten those things already)!

A quote I heard in the documentary film, Race Across America, says, pain is temporary but accomplishment lasts forever. This sums it up well for me. The pain that we went through couple with the hard work before and during the race (physically and mentally) is long gone. Not because of the prize (a medal), but because the achievement can't be taken away (unless they do a drugs test)!

The glory of our podium finish has erased the pain and the medal is tucked away, but the achievement? That will be with me forever.

Winners

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

How do you decide who is a winner? Or maybe how do you decide if you've won? Is it being first over the finish or just getting to the start line? Alberto Contador won but was subsequently striped due to a failed drug test (as did Ben Johnson and many other athletes). However Lance Armstrong making the start line after his battle with cancer surely is some definition of winning?

Today I start a race that will require me to either accept defeat or re-define winning (and by winning I mean placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd)!

Race Day

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:36:00 +0000

Tomorrow is race day and I'll be heading to Rotorua with a couple of thousand others ready to crowd the start line at 9:30pm. Many, like me, will hopeful of snatching a place on the podium. For others it will just be the accomplishment of finishing, and some just the fun you can have at a 24 hour race.

There are lots of motivating reasons to compete in a race like this and for more there are many involved. However I hope that this year we will beat our best previous placing of 4th and stand on the winners podium.

Backups

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:28:00 +0000

I remain stunned at the number of people who don't backup anything on their computer. It isn't hard or laborious anymore and it will save so much heartache should the unthinkable happen.

Maybe we don't backup because we weren't ever able to backup photo albums. We just looked after them to prevent anything happening to them. Perhaps this is the mentality we have brought into the digital realm. If I look after them they'll be fine.

Whatever you do backup your data (and if you're not don't complain and tell me how great your intentions were with that hard drive in the cupboard)!

Success

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:28:00 +0000

The secret of success is not in predicting the future. It's in creating people who will thrive in a future that cannot be predicted - Unknown

Faith Definition

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Through an email I got from BibleGateway I read some answers Lee Strobel had given to some questions (see the article here) and one jumped out at me. It was a definition of faith that served as a preamble to a question and looks like this:

I define faith as being a step we take in the same direction we believe the evidence is pointing. For instance, I’m sitting here at my computer while sipping a bottle of water. How did I know the water wasn’t poisoned? Well, the bottle came sealed. It bears the label of a reputable water company. It looks clear. There was no odor coming from the bottle when I opened it. My wife gave it to me, and she has no reason to want to harm me. So based on that evidence, it made sense to take a step of faith in the same direction and take a sip. Did I know for an absolute fact that it wasn’t poisoned? No, but all the evidence pointed in the direction that it was safe to drink and therefore it was rational to do so.

I guess this makes us all people of faith!

Education

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:09:00 +0000

I was listening to this week in Lotus (here) and the episode was discussing education. It was intriguing as one of the hosts has kids that older than mine and he was lamenting the fact they're being taught how to use PowerPoint. It was interesting because the implication was they're being graded on how good the presentation was (i.e. how many PowerPoint features were used).

This got me thinking about the role of education around technology and I don't think it is in the arena of teaching clicks. They don't teach kids how to use a paper and pen. Rather they let them experiment with lots of drawing and writing implements. Surely it should be the same with technology?

I guess what I'm saying is the important part of anything is demonstrating you understand the concept. Then to apply the knowledge you should ask for a recommendation. Oh and to wrap it all up and prepare them for jobs (that don't exist yet), they should have to present their ideas using different methods (speeches, essays, posters, videos, etc). After ll in fairly sure I got marked on presentation!

iPhone vs Android

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000

I use my phone a lot because it does so much more than just calls and text messages. More than email and calendar (although the calendar is essential for me to get to where I'm supposed to be)! I've long preferred Android over the iPhone but have had an iPhone for the past 6 months (possibly more). There are lots of things I like about the iPhone but prefer in Android.

HOWEVER there seems to be some applications on the iPhone that aren't available on Android (which bugs me). Why? Because applications are the critical part of making a phone useful and in my mind there isn't any such thing as the best phone, just the best apps. Unfortunately the best apps for me are mainly on the iPhone (yes best is a very subjective measure and what you're trying to do might mean you choose one platform over the other).

HOWEVER if you were to ask me what is the best phone I would probably still answer Android (but only if you get the actual Google one - with no manufacturers bloated skin over the top). You are more able to configure it how you want than on an iPhone and there are lots of really good apps (maybe not the best apps, but very good nonetheless)!

Genesis 6

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:30:00 +0000

This is where the story of Noah starts, but to be honest I was far more interested in the first part of the chapter. I've always been puzzled by emperor's in history who have claimed to be sons of the gods. What I didn't know is that the bible backs this claim up.

There are beings referred to in the bible as Nephilites. I wasn't 100% sure what these were so turned to Google (this was a time I needed an answer so I could ask another question)! Turns out Nephilites are a race of half breeds of angel and human, demons and humans, immortal beings which give morals the nudge to do heroic or demonic actions!

Maybe the Highlander isn't so fictional after all and I'm impressed with this cool new biblical fact I have!

Questions vs Answers

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:23:00 +0000

I'm intrigued at how I've changed from being a person that needed to know the answers to being someone who wants to ask questions. In this stunning (to me) turn around I'm less impressed by answers and more so by the questions. In fact I would rather wrestle with a good question for weeks, or months, or years, or longer, than hear one good answer.

Seems it isn't only times that are a changing (Bob Dylan) but also me who is a changing! And so to finish is a quote I like:

it isn't the answer that illuminates, but the question

So if I was to offer any advice it would be in the form of a question ... is there anything further you need to ask or know?!

PS: Best question that you should ask yourself before telling anyone what you think? Am I actually able to say anything? (check out John 8:7 MSG).

My 3 Boys #2

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:11:00 +0000

Using a little app I've put some of my favourite photos of my boys together.

My 3 Boys

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 02:35:00 +0000

Here they are in the back of the car as we drove to the airport to drop N off (she is away for the weekend).

Jesus

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:09:00 +0000

I remember reading an article about Time magazine's Man of the Millennium (way back in 1999). It was an intriguing read because of why they had Jesus at 2nd. It stuck with me and to be honest I completely agree with it. They said that Jesus on his own was quite possibly the man of the Millennium BUT he couldn't possibly win because his followers did such a bad job of representing him.

Why recall this now? Because we're quick to extend grace and mercy upon ourselves yet quick to exact judgement (and curses) upon others. In many ways we (all of us) have become the brood of vipers obsessed with the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law (Matthew 23:23-25).

Who should be gracious when dealing with people, someone who has been treated graciously or someone who has not? I would have thought that purported followers of Jesus would be more gracious. I am often wrong.

Magnificent Backyards

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:13:00 +0000

I've written previously about the magnificent backyard that is Wellington. Yesterday was a public holiday (ANZAC day) so in the afternoon we headed down the street to a new waterfall (new to us)! While we were exploring (there is an awesome cave with lots of big wetas in it), we found the lookout in the picture (yes that is Wellington Harbour and Somes Island you can see).

However the best part was the short walk through to the waterfall. It is a relatively easy walk although they have put in a number of stairs now. Lots to see and touch for the boys before the magnificent waterfall (more than 10m high).

Genesis 5

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Genesis 5 and we're already into one of the boring bits. I say boring because I tend to glaze over whenever someone is reading a genealogy from the bible. I'm not sure why, but it does seem to happen. So I did the same when I was listening to Genesis 5 and realised I was thinking about family trees! What I realised (while Genesis 5 was being read) was that we all tend to LOVE genealogy and family trees ...

It isn't that we're all tracing our ancestories or drawing up family trees (although some people go this this extent). It is that we love to know how people are connected and how we're connected to them. We use this so we can understand people (by judging them according to their family members)!

However that isn't the only thing that jumps out of Genesis 5 to me. A couple of other things are Adam dies (as do most others mentioned in this chapter). People lived a long time (hundreds and hundreds of years) ... why doesn't this happen now? However Enoch doesn't die (check verse 21-24 here), he is taken away by God. Doesn't something like this deserve some additional explanation? Or is this the first case of an alien abduction?

Slow progress this cover to cover project ... I think it will take place over more than just 1 year! However it is interesting how much I've never noticed and how many questions I have!

Alterations

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:33:00 +0000

This is a bit of a whine post really (just so you know)! Working in IT you get a lot of complaints. There is always something people aren't happy about and more often than not it seems they aren't willing to take responsibility for their action (or inaction)!

My office has had a couple of minor alterations undertaken. Today it will be 2 weeks since we moved out. We are back in the office but it isn't complete (it isn't even close)! Now if IT was involved it would be our fault and it would be unacceptable. But because it wasn't an IT project things just coast along quietly with nobody particularly upset that we can't work!

We're too quick to forgive ourselves and too slow to forgive others.

Best use of a Church

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

There are lots of good uses for churches, I'm sure you can name a few and I've got plenty of ideas for things they could (or perhaps should) be used for. Not the traditional uses either, but helpful things like providing shelter and food for people (cliche). It isn't like I'm looking for different ways to use a church building BUT this one particularly tickled my fancy!

Cohabitation

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

In reading this article about people who live together before marrying I was left with a question. My question isn't related to the article itself. That mentioned all the statistics, all the stages relationships progress through to living together, and all the gender differences I'd be interested in knowing in relation to this topic. I'm not even questioning the findings of the article (which I'll let you read to find out).

No! My question is how people view breaking up with someone you've lived with as being different to divorce? Yes there is one less legal hoop to jump through should you separate, but other than that what is really so different you would choose one over the other?

Family Support

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I read an article in the news about an unemployed man who is a member of Mensa. Unemployed when he is in the top 2% (IQ wise) of the population, how can this be? (Yes, yes, I realise there are dozens of reasons for unemployment).

However my little rant today is why pay people an unemployment benefit? Why not have them rely on family and friends? (Yes, yes, I realise lots of people have no family or friends - minor point while on a high horse)! If one of my brothers was unemployed and relying on me for support they would very quickly get a job (as would I should the shoe be on the other foot).

Of course this isn't my policy proposition ... just a rant from a high horse.

Training Stats

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

There should be no surprise to anyone (especially N) that I'm bust preparing for a the Moonride race (I hesitate to call it training - that implies far more effort and commitment). I even set some goals (I can't see me making 30 workouts this month) but I was startled to see some of the stats of last month compared with this month. Keep in mind these stats are based on the entire month of March compared with just 18 days of April (I might update them again later this month).

Before you ask how I know all this detail, it is because I use an application called endomondo. This lets me log each ride and get all this kind of information as well as seeing average speed on a ride, compare my commute times, separate out the commutes (faster) from the mountain bike rides (a little slower).

	*March*	*April*
Total km	464km	199km
Total time	20h 22m	11h 51m
Total workouts	27	13
Elevation ascended	2118m	2278m

Unbelievable! ... Less than half the total km's, less than half the workouts and already I've done more hill climbing than last month. Not long until the Moonride where I will find out whether or not it has paid off!

Genesis 4

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I've never noticed the timeline in the bible before. I've always thought it kind of ran through each book like a story (beginning to end). I know that the books of the bible aren't arranged chronologically, but until listening to Genesis 4 hadn't realised just how jumbled they can be. Rather than being a beginning to end story line it is far more like the movie Memento that jumps back and forward playing almost in reverse! While you can follow this it takes a bit of effort as you constantly wonder where in the timeline the scene you're watching should be.

Chapter 4 starts off with the story of Cain & Abel which turns out to be the story of Cain. It continues at a fast pass through to his (Cain) great-great-grandson (Lamech) and begins to tell his story.

However for some reason after the story of Cain and his great-great-grandson, a story that spans a significant period of time (60-100 years one would guess) we suddenly in the closing verses (25 & 26) are back with Adam and Eve ... having another son!

It took me a triple-read of the verses to connect those verses with Adam and Eve because in my mind we'd moved forward through time beyond the bounds of their (Adam and Eve) story.

Around the Wel in 80 Cups #2

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

If I'm honest this little series started years ago when I first stumbled upon my addiction to espresso based coffee. The smooth velvety taste combined with the inviting aroma and eclectic edgey culture that cafes had meant I was hooked pretty quickly. Hence this series on my blog.

Emporio was the cafe I went to this morning (although to be fair it is a roastery with a cafe tacked onto it). It is a pretty decent coffee that they make (it is my new regular should I require I hit during the work day). They're consistent in the coffee they produce and it is always smooth.

RATING (out of 4):
Coffee - 3 cups // Atmosphere & staff - 3 cups

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (mdb) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:00:00 +0000

The western world is very self-centred and obsessed. Twitter is evidence of this as this cartoon so aptly depicts!