Ours can be a worldly religion, meaning that one can go a long way, impress a lot of people, simply through a facility with words. So it becomes easy to make promises, verbalize intentions, express one’s convictions with seeming passion. But behind the talk can be a lot of wasted time and energy. And so we sometimes meet people who do not keep their promises, finish what they start, or back up their verbal intensity with dependable performance. Reason: they do not know how to match their time with appropriate performance.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Sincerely,
Joshua M. Young, PE

(ha ha, that looks hilarious to me!)

Josh Young: KIN TWOm Pointers

Anyway. Not important.

It was time for us to upgrade our phones, so last week I started my standard research ritual. I see what phones are available, throw out all the ones I know aren’t for us, and then read as many reviews, watch as many videos and find as many things as I can about each of the phones until I find one I like. It’s like unleashing a machine. For some reason, I thrive on equipment manuals. Couldn’t tell you why.

Also not important.

As I was looking through our possible upgrades, there was one phone in particular that caught my eye. You see, I’m a bit of a cheapskate (like you didn’t know that), so I can’t bring myself to pay for the internet twice (I already pay for it at home). Therefore, any phone with “Data Plan Required” written next to it was automatically off my list. Traditionally this has meant that I’m stuck with basic phones. No bells and whistles. Maybe a QWERTY keyboard and a crappy camera, but that’s about it. Certainly no touch screen or anything like that.

Apparently that has changed.

I stumbled across the KIN TWOm. It’s made by Microsoft and Sharp. Technically it’s a Windows Phone, I supposed (since it says that on the back of the phone). It’s a nice looking little touch screen phone with supposedly a better camera, some standard apps, WiFi (woo hoo!), etc. And then I noticed that it didn’t say those game-changing words next to it. Could it be? Is Verizon really offering a phone like this and not requiring a data plan?

Indeed they are.

So I set out to watch and read all that I could about the phone. It got “okay” reviews. Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly nothing that would typically keep me from buying a product. That being said, I’m the kind of guy who wants to put his hands on something before he buys it. I mean, videos and reviews can only tell you so much. So I started calling Verizon stores. Problem is, I determined that there aren’t any stores that even carry it (at least not in the Cincinnati area). Sure, I could order it online and return it if I’m not happy with it, but Verizon would charge me that nice little $35 “restocking” fee.

No thanks.

I put a call in to Verizon via the handy dandy *611, and I spoke to a lovely representative who, after looking at their store inventory more closely, offered to waive the $35 fee if I decided I didn’t like it since it wasn’t in the stores. This pretty much made my decision for me. So I ordered it and waiting patiently until the next day when it arrived. You really can’t beat free next day shipping. And the phone only cost me $19.99 when I re-upped by 2-year contract.

Can’t beat that either.

I’ll spare you the unboxing details. If you want to see the packaging and all that, there are plenty (i.e., way too many) KIN TWOm unboxing and review videos on YouTube.

I’ll also spare you the details of the in depth features of the phone. You can watch the videos at the link above to get a more detailed look at what’s on the phone. But just to give you a basic idea of what’s on it, here are the standard “apps” of which you cannot remove or add any (hey folks, it’s not an iPhone – get over it):

• Messages (text, voicemail, etc. all in one place)
• Phone (an obvious feature for a phone)
• E-mail (you can set it up with several providers very easily)
• Browser (very similar to the iPhone – nice browser)
• Music & More (almost completely identical to the Zune HD)
• Camera (8.0 MP stills and 720p video with “flash” – although it’s not what I would call “great” video or pictures, it’s certainly better than most I’ve seen on phones)
• Calendar (don’t get excited – it’s just like your cheap-o cell phone – no syncing)
• Settings (change some basic stuff)
• Alarms (again, standard stuff)
• Calculator (it’s not going to replace your TI-89, but it’s handy)
• Search (your phone, contacts, apps, etc.)
• Contacts (more detailed than any phone I’ve owned)

Here are some other points of the phone:

• Full QWERTY keyboard (slides out – no virtual keyboard)
• Customizable lock screen (which shows each time you wake up your phone)
• Regular-sized headphone jack (this is pretty awesome)
• 8 GB of memory (not expandable)
• “Favorite” contacts that you can get to just by sliding your finger to the left (pretty handy)

One thing to keep in mind, again, this is not an iPhone. It’s 20 bucks. But you don’t need a data plan, and it has wifi, so it’s just what I was looking for.

EDIT: Again, I would like to emphasize that this is NOT an iPhone (or Droid or new Windows Phone or whatever other “awesome” phone you want to compare it to). It’s not as sexy as an iPhone, it’s not as fast as an iPhone, there are no apps to add, yes – there are lags at times when using this phone, and again, this is NOT an iPhone. I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t buy this and expect to get an iPhone. If you do, you will be SORELY disappointed. That being said, if you have appropriate expectations for this phone being what it is, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, especially for the price and the fact that you don’t have to have a data plan. So please don’t e-mail me saying that this phone sucks and I’m an idiot.

Now on to some pointers. These are some things I’ve learned just in the last 24 hours, so this isn’t a complete list. Just something to help you out a little.

1. Although you don’t have to get a data plan, if 3G is available and wifi drops out (even for 1 second), 3G will automatically kick in, and you’ll get charged for data (it usually won’t be much, but it’s still $1.99/MB). There are two approaches to get around that.

   One’s a pain in the butt and involves putting the phone in airplane mode and then turning on wifi every time you want to browse or check e-mail. Completely lame.

   What I did instead was to block all data services through Verizon. You can block data without blocking texting or anything like that. It prevents anything from being transmitted over the Verizon network when you’re in the browser, e-mail, etc. I would highly recommend this if you’re just looking to use your phone for internet when you’re around wifi and not when you’re out and about.

   You can do it by calling Verizon or logging into your account online and finding the block services section (which was actually kind of hard to find).

   To get there, go to the top menu, hover over “Account” and then click on “Plan.” Then on the right side column, about three quarters of the way down, there is a link that says “Manage Service Blocks.” This will allow you to completely block things like downloads, data, texting, etc. Pretty handy. You can turn them on and off whenever you want.

2. Call Verizon and ask them to mark your account to waive the $35 restocking fee since it’s not available for you to handle in the store. That way, if you don’t like it, you’re not out anything – just like if you bought it in the store.

3. To hook it up to your computer, you need to install the Zune software. This will allow you to sync music, videos, pictures, etc. I had a little trouble with this at first. For some reason, the driver didn’t get installed correctly, and Zune wouldn’t recognize that my phone was connected.

   First (don’t connect your phone yet), I would download and install the Zune software. The drivers for the KIN TWOm are in that software. Much easier this way. Go to the Zune website to download the software. Click the “Download Now” button near the top of the screen.

   A note on the software. Unless you eventually want to pay for it, don’t sign up for Zune Pass. It’s basically 15 bucks a month to stream music. It’s called Pandora, folks. And it’s free.

   This next step was very counterintuitive to me. I just download the most recent version of the software. However, it needed to do an update. Smooth move, Microsoft! To get it to update, go to the “Settings” link at the top of the player, go to “Software” and the “General” item (at the bottom). Click the “Check for Updates” button in the “Software Updates” section and let Zune update its outdated self (if necessary).

   Once you get the bloated software installed and updated, then hook up your KIN via the USB cable provided with the phone, and let it works its stuff. Once the driver is installed Zune should open up (if it’s not already open), and the front screen of your KIN should say “Connected.” If so, you’re in business. If not, take some time and walk through this KB article from Microsoft on your KIN and Zune problem. It actually helped me.

4. Make sure you charge the battery before you use it. A simple thing, I know, but the battery isn’t charged when you get it. They never are. You’ll get it to turn on, but won’t get much use before it dies.

5. In case you’re getting super geeky with me, take some time to download and ready the full user guide instead of just the quick start guide that comes with the phone. It only tells you about 5% of what to do.

6. Ringtones. They suck. And you can’t change them, add them, delete them. Not even with BitPim or something else. Want your phone to ring like a normal telephone? Sorry. Not your KIN. I’m still getting used to this one, but it was still worth it to me when I considered everything else I got. EDIT: Yes, you can text yourself a ringtone, although you cannot delete it once it’s on the phone. But I don’t have text messaging since I blocked it, so no can do for me. I’ve learned to live with it. My phone is on vibrate 99% of the time anyway.

7. Contacts. If you’ve used Verizon’s Backup Assistant in the past to transfer your contacts to your new phone, you can forget it on this phone. There is basically no way to import contacts. Some people have gotten them to successfully do it at the Verizon store, but some people report that their phone was wiped out in the process. I’m just typing mine in my hand. A pain, I know, but again, still worth it to me.

Those are just some basic pointers to get you started and help you if you’re considering the phone. Hope it helps.

Anyway, thanks to the Bach crew, specifically our host, John Bach, and his very understanding wife, Julie, we came up with these four little videos to help reinforce the characters from each lesson that Marie prepared. The kids loved it, and now John is somewhat of a movie star at ACC with the kids.

Looks like our little daughter, Nora Marie, could come any day (probably not), or it could be 4 or 5 weeks from now (also probably not). We’ll find out.

Any guesses?

I don’t know why this came about all the sudden, but I think I’m officially hooked on coffee. I even think about it when I’m sleeping. But who needs sleep when you have coffee?

Historically, I had never been a fan of the taste of coffee. I’ve always loved the smell. But for some reason recently I have really started to like it. I drank it a couple of times as I was weaning myself off pop, and now it’s stuck with me.

As with most things I like, and being the huge nerd that I am, I have spent plenty of time researching how to make the best coffee for the lowest price, doing as much of the process myself as possible.

That being said, I think I may be buying a French Press tonight, and I’m going to start saving up for a nice hand-crank conical burr grinder (not just any old cranker, but the beautifully handmade Camano Coffee Mill from the Red Rooster Trading Company, of course) so I can grind my own fresh beans. I’m also thinking of buying some green coffee beans and roasting them myself at home in either a cast iron skillet or a repurposed popcorn air popper, buying them from a local place, like Lookout Joe, of course.

I’m sure this will be a huge learning process for me, but I’m looking forward to it.

Anyone else using a French Press or anything besides the good ol’ drip brewer?

Well, today, for the first time, I hit my 40 hour listening limit on Pandora.

My big question is whether I should upgrade to Pandora One. I mean, I listen to Pandora pretty much all day at work, and it would be great to not have to listen to ads and to have unlimited skips, but is it really worth $36 for a year of that? I think it is, but I’ve been hesitant to do it. Maybe because I’m a cheapskate. I don’t know.

Have any of you used Pandora One? Is it really worth it versus just paying the 99 cents extra on months you exceed your 40 hour limit?

Netflix has released a free channel downloadable through the Wii Shop Channel that allows you to access your instant queue, etc. without having to put in the little red disc anymore.

It looks like it has a new interface as well, but I haven’t seen it yet.

Can’t wait to get home and try it out.

(via Lifehacker)

(Oh yeah, and I closed my twitter account too – gasp!)

I’ve decided that I’m going to invest more time in my offline life…because contrary to what a lot of people think how most people act (whether they admit  it or not), that’s the one that matters.

The thing that really bothers me is that while I was closing the account, deleting friends, pictures, etc., I had this sick feeling in my stomach. It makes me wonder if I was actually addicted to Facebook. Will I go through withdrawal symptoms? How sad is it that I just typed that?

Seriously. How much time have you spent wasted on Facebook in the last day? In the last week? In the last year?

Of all people, I know how awesome it is to harness the power of the web to get things done, to promote the message of Christ, to help people, and all kinds of good things. But when you spend minutes or hours a day reading status updates pointless nuggets of information from people you haven’t talked to in years, how much good are you really doing?

Here’s what I asked myself regarding the people I’m “friends” with on Facebook:

• How many of them would I intentionally seek out and pursue contact with and/or friendship with if Facebook didn’t exist?
• How many of them do I currently even have contact info for outside of Facebook (e-mail, phone, etc.)?
• How many of them do I see on a regular basis?
• Of the people I see on a regular basis, how many times do we have nothing to talk about because we “know” everything that’s going on with each other based on what we post on Facebook?
• Am I letting digital photos and status updates replace an actual personal friendship with that person?
• Of my close friends on Facebook, how would our relationship change if Facebook wasn’t in the picture?
• For how many of them do I just read what they write and look at their pictures without ever sending them a note or getting in touch with them? Isn’t that what stalkers do? Seriously. That’s a PROBLEM, and you know you do it too!
• Is Facebook the only way I’m connected to this person? Is that because Facebook has been our only option for connecting, or is that because there wasn’t a real reason to connect in the first place?

Look, I know Facebook can be great in a lot of instances. I’m just saying that for some of us (e.g., me and Jason Taggart) it has become a tremendous distraction and needs to get the boot. I’m all about connecting, but it needs to be for the right reasons in the right way.

I would dare say that before Facebook, some of my relationships were better and stronger than they are now. And that makes me sick.

Technology is a tool that needs to be redeemed, not used to create a life that doesn’t really exist.

Get off your butt and live.