new software

I’m trying out Dragon NaturallySpeaking today.
For those of you don’t know what it is, it’s a software program to translate yours voice into words.
So far I’ve only been using it for approximately an hour and I’m finding that the voice recognition software is actually quite incredible.
There are a few things that I have to figure out such as punch relation online capitalization. But other than that, it seems to be working fairly well.
For instance, I have put in this blog post in approximately 30 seconds.
had I been typing it I think it would’ve taken a great deal longer
the main reason I bought the software is for Jackson and schooling.
I can see now that I may use it a fair amount as well.

Not sleeping well?

Could be related to the fact that I am overweight.
I have been sleeping with a feather pillow and some mornings I wake up and it is a hard lump under my neck. I may have to try something different.

I wake up a lot in the night. I am trying not to complain, but boy o boy it is annoying. At least I get a lot of thinking done.

Am I creating monsters?

I have been able to pick up some golf clubs for the boys in the last year. Nan as well.
We really enjoy going to the driving range as a family and knocking some balls out there.
Yesterday afternoon we went out to the range and had a lot of fun. Well mostly….
Golf is one of those funny sports to me. You can enjoy it immensely but man it is frustrating sometimes.
William and Nan feel the same way at times I think.
Periodically it becomes very frustrating when you cannot hit the ball right, or your swing dynamic simply leaves and does not return for a week or two. William has a tendency to be a first born in his reaction and boy he does NOT like it when he cannot hit the way he would like to.

I wonder sometimes if I am giving them a good outlet in doing this or am I forcing them to live through something that only masochists enjoy. I mean, if I did not like golf so much, I am sure that they would not have cared about it at all.

Jackson on the other hand is the happy-go-lucky kid who seems to have taken hold of the mantra “Bloom where you are planted” The kid just has fun pretty much anywhere he is. He is funny.
Yesterday when he was getting bored of hitting balls, he decides to try to sit on one of the racks that hold golf bags up. Cool. Then he gets the idea that because they are made from metal, and are somewhat tubular, he should flip around on them like they are monkey bars. Awesome. I love it.
Make fun wherever you are kid.

So, I hope I am not creating golf monsters in my sons. I hope that they enjoy the game for enjoyment sake and it does not become simply another thing to master. I need to learn more of that. I should be doing it for enjoyment. That is where I started out with this game. I do want to better myself, but I want to enjoy myself along the way.

All Done….

I wanted something different to go with the ink so I asked the artist Dane to make it look like it is cut in.
I am pretty stoked about the result.
It should look like it is cut in and hurts for all time.
Sweet.
“Virtue is the Safest Helmet”

tattoo

TED

I cannot remember when I first saw the TED conference, but it is pretty cool. Once a year people who are brilliant or have something of importance to say get together and have a series of talks and discussions about where we are at in this big ol’ crazy world.

I have enjoyed browsing through some of the talks. Very specifically the technology section. Some of the presenters have some wild ideas. Some bring prototypes of technology, some are theorists. Pretty awesome stuff.

Check it out if you are interested in seeing what the brightest are seeing in the future.
Link here

Ink

I have been thinking about another tattoo lately.
A few years back I had my first one done and I have really enjoyed it. I had always wanted one but decided to wait and wait and wait. I am glad I did. Originally, I had wanted a budgie for a tattoo. That would have been a bad decision I think. Eventually I settled on my Dogfish symbol. I believe that it is very appropriate for me.

Lately I have been thinking about the following:

This is the Britton Family Motto - it means “Virtue is the safest helmet”. Over the last couple of years, Nan, the boys and I have discussed this motto at length and how it would be good to adopt it fully.

So, I think this might be the next ink. I tease William about getting a tattoo. I don’t think he ever will. I could be wrong, but the kid absolutely despises needles. (he gets completely wiggy over them). Jackson, maybe.

Nan and I have talked about the fact that we would like to get signet rings made for the boys at some point with the motto on them. That would be cool.

Branding a ministry

I was going through some archived emails this morning looking for something.
I found the following list of questions.
Nan and I had the opportunity to attend an Internet Ministry Conference a couple of years ago now. We really enjoyed it. I am not sure how much we took away from it in terms of concrete ideas but it was interesting nonetheless to see what others are doing with technology (specifically the web) for their internet presence.

Nan went to one seminar that talked about branding your ministry.
I tend to do a few ministry websites a year.
I need to keep these questions around to ask the ministry staff.
I realize that branding as a word might be out of date now, but the ideas that come from the questions are key in promoting a ministry I believe.

18 Questions to discover your brand:

1. Why was your ministry created?
2. What is your ministry’s mission?
3. Who are you called to reach?
4. Rank your target audiences in order of importance.
5. How do you want to be perceived by each audience?
6. What are your three most important goals?
7. What is unique about your ministry?
8. What does your ministry do better than anyone else?
9. What values and beliefs unify your staff and volunteers and drives their performance?
10. What other ministries do you admire most and why?
11. Why would someone who is unchurched want to attend your church?
12. How do you market your ministry?
13. What are the trends and changes that affect your ministry?
14. Where will you be in 5 years? In 10 years?
15. How do you measure success?
16. What are the potential barriers to your success?
17. If you could do or be anything in the future, what would it be?
18. If you could communicate a single message about your ministry, what would it be?

I am not sure whether I feel ALL of the questions are great, but it is a good start.

after much consideration…

As soon as I brought the new bike home, I removed the windshield and put on the loud exhaust that came with it. I have now been able to ride the bike 3-4 times. I have not been really really impressed with them because of the fact that they are REALLY loud. Enough to the point that Nan had considered wearing ear plugs when we go out. That is not cool.
So I was going to go out this afternoon. Got 5 minutes out of town and then turned around, came back to Dennis’ place and put the other pipes back on. Phew! Now I can think when I am riding!
I was able to go for an hour and a half tour. It was really nice.

I certainly do feel the wind without the windshield. That and I am wearing a half-helmet.
So, my bike is not so loud. I think it was almost obnoxious. Glad that is no more.

The long long road

I am sick with a cold. Blech…. I do not like being sick. It normally takes me a long time to recover from colds. boooooo!!!!

The snow is coming down outside and we are supposed to get up to 6 inches today. Will the insanity ever stop??????

I am so looking forward to spring. I am beginning to understand the feelings that snowbirds get every year. Yep, I am getting old.

C’mon spring!!!!

So most of you know that I purchased a motorcycle last year. I love riding. I had wanted one for well over 20 years but had never gotten to it. I finally did. Two of the issues I had was a set budget (read limited funds) and no real idea of the style of rider I was.

I bought the 84 and it is a good bike. Just not the bike that I see myself on for a long period of time. This year through many circumstances I have been able to find another bike at a FANTASTIC price that I can ride for the next 15 years!!!

The new hog...

Man, now I want spring to come like, today!!!
Well, I do not have it home yet, but when I do…. Spring had better come the very next day I tell ya.