Unplanned Obsolescence

Is email becoming obsolete? Yet another tech article raised the issue recently and this time it struck a chord with me, as I've been trying to position email, blogs, Facebook and Twitter in my mind. One of my friends is is always on the cutting edge of web trends and has been prodding me to get connected via each. Well, I finally did and now am trying to figure out what to do with them. I've now staked a claim to my own name in multiple parts of cyberspace, but what's next?

This post isn't intended to be a definitive guide to any of these mediums, but more of a notepad as I (publicly) sort out my thoughts. It may have some value to others as they do the same, or explain to those who have tried to communicate with me via various methods why they haven't received instantaneous responses. If neither of those is of interest to you, like any post, feel free to stop reading and move on at any time. OK, now you've been warned!

Email of course is the no brainer of the bunch. Maybe because its what I understand best, but nothing seems to be better at one-to-one asynchronous communications of non trivial size or substance, for either personal or professional communication. It does have its limitations such as threading long conversations.

Blogging is good at one-to-many asynchronous communication. I originally started using it as a replacement for the "group emails" that I might occasionally have sent out on various topics. The RSS syndication and ability to subscribe (or not) provides a level of control for the reader. As a public medium, I'm always careful not to "over share", particularly in respecting the privacy of my family members.

Facebook's semi-public implementation of many-to-many conversation, both asynchronous, threaded and random - seemingly all at once - hasn't quite "clicked" for me yet. It has elements of blogging, with it's own feed reader in the form of a Wall and the ability to comment on posts. Facebook as a whole seems to invite a lot of "over sharing" on personal topics and relationships, which is probably what makes it addictive for many people.

Twitter I'm the most lost on. It seems to be some cross of IM and SMS messaging, but (mostly) sent out into a public void. I know it has ways to tag tweets for certain users, but it seems to be a really restrictive melding of Facebook and blogging.

The bottom line that while there may be overlap and crossover between the various communications channels, there is no right or wrong answer. Just choices and preferences. The irony is that all of them have ways to be alerted via email when one is updated. That tells me email probably won't be obsolete any time soon. So don't be surprised if that's how I continue to respond!

Making It Right

We recently celebrated my birthday in a way that has become a tradition thanks to my wonderful and understanding wife. This celebration however, involved a couple of twists that made it even better than expected. The tradition is in searching out a new barbeque restaurant that we've never eaten at before (or maybe just not in quite a while). My wife plans these culinary outings as a surprise and some do require a bit of planning - and driving.

Last weekend the tradition didn't involve too much driving, only up to Concord, NC. The restaurant selected this time was R&R Bar-B-Que, at 755 Pitts School Rd NW. There were some good reviews on the net about it and everything on the R&R web site looked like it was the real deal.

So up to Concord we went and arrived after the dinner rush on Saturday. When we arrived there was a good sized crowd, noisy but relaxed. It looked like we'd made a great choice. There was some confusion when we first ordered, about the type of bbq that R&R specialized in and some other things that seemed a little out of place. Nothing to really be concerned about but we began to wonder if they were as serious about bbq as we'd been led to believe.

To make a long story short - at this point, we asked to speak to a manager. Instead we ended up talking to one of the co-owners - Rob Elmore. Even though there was still a good crowd in the restaurant, he took his time with us explaining the bbq he specialized in (Eastern Carolina) and its preparation at R&R (in a state-of-the-art, spotless operation). We even swapped a host of other stories related to experiencing local food specialties while traveling.

They are serious about barbeque at R&R. Rob's personal involvement to make things right for two guests he'd never met before really spoke volumes. When the plates of food arrived, we can attest to the fact that the food is made right too - pulled pork shoulder, lean but not dry, lightly spiced - exactly what we came looking for. The ribs were probably the best either of us can remember having, a real unexpected find. The chicken, bbq slaw and beans were great along with everything else.

I'll stop short of making this a full restaurant review (which I'm not formally trained to do anyway!). The real point is that it was great to meet someone who was good at what they do and enjoyed it. That comes through loud and clear.

Anyway, give R&R a try - you won't be sorry. And remember, barbeque is not a verb!

Worldview Matters

The Washington Post has an article Three Minutes to Fort Totten which describes the actions of four individuals who were on the Metro train 112, car 1079 which crashed last month.

On the surface it is a great human interest story. It portrays four people who gave of themselves and helped others while overcoming fear and obstacles in the midst of a tragedy. Its the kind of thing that you don't see much of, but when you do, its inspiring.

I find it interesting that two of the persons who stayed behind to help were US military personnel, one was directly identified as a Christian. I don't think that was a random correlation. As BreakPoint points out when referring to this same incident, the military is one of the last places in America where men and women are taught to put others first. As also should Christians.

Worldview matters. Thankfully few of us are called to live out our beliefs in the middle of a crisis. So what's our excuse in everyday life?

Not Until You're Twelve

Or maybe 10, in the state of Wisconsin.

For those who may miss the pop culture reference in the title of this post, it is from the original 1971 version of Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. A permissive parent (to say the least) interacts with his son in the following quote from the movie:

Mike Teevee: Wait till I get a real one. Colt 45. Pop won't let me have one yet, will ya, Pop?
Mr. Teevee: Not till you're 12, son.

There was a lot of satire in the original that probably was intended to give the children's film broader appeal for adults (similar to the sexual innuendo and double entendres in today's "children's" movies). However in this case, the satire seems to be lost on this group of lawmakers.

Just to make sure this is taken as irony and not an anti-gun position, I'll make the following disclaimer. As a registered gun owner and sport shooting hobbyist, I am clearly in favor of protecting Second Amendment rights. Although I am not personally interested in hunting as a hobby, it should also be afforded the same protection.

Raising responsible children has many facets and at the proper time for the individual child, can include gun safety. Just not in any 10 year olds I've known.

Alternate tag: Things that make you go "hmmmm"...

Which is the Imitation?

I'm a fan of (selected) comics. Not the type that are called graphic novels these days, but simply the small amusement from those in the daily paper. Some like Family Circus are cute, or funny like Garfield, or simply amusing like Frazz.

The best ones to me take a piece of daily life and find something amusing in it. Although I don't agree with many of their political views, Non Sequitur can be like that. Their recent series on Non Conceptual Scientists is a case in point. The last strip in the series contained the following quote:

...as a Pre Conceptual scientist, you reach a conclusion to a theory first then just ignore all evidence that proves you're wrong...



That was amusing to me from a number of worldview perspectives, but then I didn't think too much of it until I saw a feed today from The Times. It reports on one in seven scientists faking data to support a pre-conceived conclusion, usually in order to secure funding.

Life imitates art?

Easter in June

Not in the traditional Christian sense of celebrating the risen Savior of course (what did you expect) but in the tradition of software developers to put hidden features in their programs - usually that have nothing to do with the programs primary purpose. Those hidden features are typically known as "Easter Eggs".

Google has produced some amazing services and tools, not the least of which is the most comprehensive search the web has yet to see.

Hidden among all those offerings are a good number of "Easter Eggs". PC World put together a list of the top 17 from Google, including my favorite: the flight simulator inside of Google Earth.

I don't know how much of a hidden feature this is since it is actually well documented in the Google Earth User Guide but the list as a whole is a fun Friday diversion.

Enjoy.

Encouraging A (Perpetual) Mentality of Adolescence

All parents want better for their children than they had for themselves.  Some parents go to great lengths to make this possible in the short term for their children.  Others try and shield their children from the realities of life and consequences of their actions far into the child's teen years.  Many times that shielding is not just from external challenges, but internal as well - from having to think critically.

Just as failing to let children learn from the consequences of their actions will lead to wrong actions in an adult world, failing to challenge them to think will lead to their acceptance of wrong ideas.  Students, particularly at the high school level, are capable of much more than the popular media gives them credit for, with its encouragement of perpetual adolescence.  If we can teach biology and chemistry in high school, why not real theology?

A recent article by John Stonestreet, writing for BreakPoint addresses these and several other issues in a high level outline for challenging students.  Reading this article might raise some questions on how we're preparing our children, students and ourselves to respond to the issues in our culture.