AntoineRJWright.com: 03/01/2007

WINKing Goodnite
Just posted to the mobile blog. That has some potential. If coursr, if you are only looking at it on your desktop, you do miss the mobile end of things.

Metro Thought
Seeing on the Metro using their smartphone gives me a bit ofhope about the state of mobile computing, albeit, the state of the metropolitian mobile.

Yes, it is another one of those "I see a woman with a smartphone and wonder how she is using it." But, in this case I wonder because she types fast an whatever the reason, she has been going at it since I got on the metro. True, women are really under-represneted in the mobile world, but I have found that they would use it to solve an issue, rather than just for status.

I wonder then what the next changes in computing and socialization will bring. Will we say hello with out mobiles as well as we do with a look and a smile? Or, will the mobike become that second level of communication where it only comes into play to start a "longer than a moment conversation?

The Metro is an interesting place to think if you just look around a bit. There are laws and theories of interaction taking place all the time, and yet the mobile and the music player seem to be a common (unspoken) thread.

Search Added

Ok, so I have fnially gotten around to adding a search to this site. I honestly have no idea how well it's going to work, so this is basically a trial. Who knows how searchable this site is (yikes).

Revisiting that Mobile Lifestyle
I walked out of work about 10min or so before composing this and realized somehing as I looked at my reflection in the elevator doors, I had my phone in my hand and was walking outside to use it to engage the world for the rest of my day. It was at that moment when it hit.

I am already living in the mobile lifestyle that I have been wanting to live in. I am going to register my car using the mobile browser on my phone. I post and write articles (and would do more if I could view more than one page quickly). Heck, I have a photo gallery that is totally composed of images from my phone. No, not the greatest of quality, but its my point and shoot.

I read the Bible, and make sure that websites I design are usable on my mobile just in case I nees to view or change something while on the go. I am pretty much unattached from a normal user's idea of computing.

And as I looked in the reflection, it dawned on me that I am a part of a big aspect of change. And what's in my hands is a good part of that.

Now just imagine if Paul had a smartphone ;-)

Links and Notes for 3.29

This is some of what I have come across today that is basically something that is worth sharing. Hopefully, something here will make it into a full article or post.

Deepfish browser for Windows Mobile

New Approach of a Photo Gallery

A New way to embed images into a webite

Charlie Rosen on Greg Oden

Net Neutrality by Engadget

Trade in proposal - no spolier needed for mine

Speedy Priest

A Christian Rambo

Excellent photos at Flickr - man I wanna get a phone that can take better pics; I could do this kinda stuff for fun in a heartbeat

Labels: Links and Notes

Links and Notes from Yesterday

Something that I tend to do while at work is to get a chance to view some of the news that is out there. Most of the time, I make notes of this stuff and then send myself an email with a note to post it later. What I'd love to get into the habit of doing is posting these here so that you can share in some of the ideas and readings that I come across. Here are the links and notes fromm yesterday.

The Mobile Web is Still A Mystery
> http://www.frogdesign.com/?p=475

No one uses voice mail in India
> article
> site of the author of the article (very neat)
> I like this idea. I think that I might try it. Anyone with me?

You Are Your Cellphone
> article
> via http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2007/03/015468.htm

Thought: Taking Mobile Ministry Tech Away from the Techie Club
> article
> article 2

New Mobile Site to check out> http://cognections.typepad.com/lifeblog/
> because of article

Not a Palm Addict
> article (I have a few female friends that will like this one)

As a note, these links and notes posts won't always look this clean. But I will try to make a better effort in getting them up so that you might be able to see some of what I look at throughout the day. And yes, this is the reason why I say I read 30-60+ websites per day.

Labels: Links and Notes

A New Mobile Site

Ok, so now you can view my site on nearly any device. You can either come here and on most mobile/not-so-mobile devices you will get one view. Or, if you are still rolling with a simple phone and not a great browser, you can view my phone-optimized mobile site which is powered by the folks at WINKsite.

And if you are really on the mobile site and wondering where are some of these posts, its because of Mo:Blog and its inability to have correct titles for Blogger, therefore there are posts, but things are blank. If time allows, I'll figure that out. But chances are that I will move to another blogging plstform (and figure out how to get my skins there) for real mobile/not-so-mobile PC support.

A Real Light

Sometimes I have the thought of what it would mean for others when I do pass on. Granted, you cannot take anything with you to heaven or hell, but there has to be something said about you when people take just enough time out of their day when you are passed on, and they write in to bring proper perspective to what it means to have school spirit.

The article at ESPN finished like this:

And one last e-mail from an anonymous reader in North Carolina ...

I wanted to write you without my name or anything, just as a student of UNC. Our loss last night was tough -- some might say heartbreaking. But what's worse is that it may overshadow the death of a true Tar Heel. Jason Ray, our mascot, died this morning. He was the very first person I met at UNC. He was helping freshmen move into the dorms as a part of Intervarsity (a Christian ministry on campus). The elevators were all jammed up, so he helped me cart a refrigerator, futon, and all my other stuff (and girls have a lot of stuff) up NINE floors in the 100-degree heat. And he did it happily. We became friends and I spent a lot of time around him. He let me wear the ram head one time because I thought it'd be funny (even though I'm sure he wasn't supposed to). You've probably gotten a lot of e-mails about yesterday's game, but could you maybe mention Jason in your article, if only for a second. The world deserves to know who this person was. I don't just want him to be a 'UNC mascot dies' blurb on ESPN.com. He was such a good person. A true friend. What every Tar Heel should aspire to be.

Sure, there are a lot of things that we can do that gain notierity such as hit a shot or produce a movie. But this quote got me thinking about all the little things that we do that show not just who we are, but are a real light into another's life. That kind of light that speaks to Christ working in the weirdest places...

...even on a sports website.

Support Another Blogger

To any who more than a moment to read this post. Please take a moment to read this post at Creating Passionate Users and keep Ms. Kathy Sierra in your prayers. If you are involved in some way with creating policy for those things media and digital, please comment here or there as to what can be done to introduce legislation that will protect bloggers and other journalist types from fearing their life on matters such as these. Thank you.

The Mobile That Keeps Me Up At Night

I probably (still) should be in the bed, and yet I got online to enter my hours and ended up catching hold of a blog that I have only read maybe once before. What drew me to the blog? Well, only the phone that has literally kept me up the last 45min or so gawking at the possiblities of mobile computing.

The mobile device that I speak of is the Nokia N95. As I have probably stated way too many times on this and other websites, it is one of the few phones out now (the HTC Artemis is the other) that has more features than most people would ever know what to do with. But the thing is that the features in the N95 do work together (for the most part) to make the kind of lifestyle device that you could essentially record and communicate your world with.
Image: N95 and Artemis from My Symbian

Now, I could really write about what I could and would do with the N95 for the next many, many paragraphs. But, what I realized in sitting here at this hour is that I am in some respects not "using" my Treo enough as a lifestyle device. Sure, part of that has to do with the software that I am using and its respective abilites to do what I need it to do. But, another part of that is me actually being definant and using it.

When I got my first PDA (Aug 2000), I was pretty defiant. I said that I would not use paper at all unless my PDA broke down and I could not get it fixed quickly. And so in a matter of weeks, my first PDA became my college lifestyle device. I see the same thing that should be happening with my Treo, but even now I am on a desktop typing this post because I do not want to push the use of a browser that does not have tabs. I should be better at this than I am. Software nice or not, I didn't make excuses then, and I have a much better device now.

So at 5 minutes to 3am, where does this leave me? I said that a lot of what I do has to hit the cutting room floor. And it does if I am going to get in the flow with what the Lord wants me to be and do. But I know that even in seeing where I can go, a lot of what holds me back has to do with me. I know what abilities and determinations that I have, but just like using the Treo instead of lusting over the N95, I have to use what is right now, and press that use into something that God can craft for His glory.

Shame that this kind of thinking comes from such a mobile device. But if you saw the complete suite of what can be done on a mobile, you'd wonder why you are maximizing on your potential in Christ some too ;)

PS. You know, thinking about it. Maybe I can make a better committment to a mobile-enhanced lifestyle. I am considering just doing MMM all wee from the mobile, including the template edit that I need to do. Of course I also have to do some graphic things, but this could be a start of something just a good bit different and life changing for me. That - I need sleep on, because it could change things :)

My 2am Musings
Yup, its about 2am and I am still awake. I initally wanted to be in bed by about 12 but that did not happen as I was pining thru news and afew items.

I did happen to get a QR Code generator for my Treo. Of course that only does me a little bit of no good seeing that my Treo is not able to read QR Codes via its camera or any other software. That part kinda sucks, but maybe now that I have found the application, I will be able to convince a developer to look into making a PalmOS compatable QR Code reader.

You might not understand why I like QR Codes so much, but its all about making information digitally accessible from print and digital mediums. You can encode information into pictures and that too can be read. But if the tech is here to enhance the digital end of things and no one is using it, then why do it.

I am not in the boat of taking new tech and using old paradigms of getting things done with it. If the wine is new, then let's make those wineskins different, ya know.

Well, having said all of that, I'll be finally getting to bed. Nothing like a day of working in code ahead of me to remind me how much I think that code can be used better ;)

Fruit on the Bottom
I've been eating a lot of yogurt since getting into the mode of taking lunch to work for the past few months. And I always find myself getting the Fruit on the Bottom kind by Breyers. And not that there is anything wrong with that. But I wonder, if I am going to mix it, why then get the fruit on the bottom kind?

It almost seems like I am just adding a bit too much work for something that other yogurts alreaady have. And granted, the strawberry, peach, and pineapple flavors really are good. But, I really could enjoy this more if I did not have the work of mixing it before eating it.

That all being said, who would have guessed that the extra work of mixing yogurt could be passed off a a "feature" that people would easily by into? Gotta admit that was really clever.

Seasons: God's Approach to Consistency in Our Lives

I am doing a Bible study/discussion with some friends tomorrow called Seasons: God's Approach to Consistency in Our Lives

Here is the presentation as I have set it up both how I'll be speaking and what some of the main points will be.

This is based on Eric Meyer's S5. I have clearly broken some aspects of it and will try on my next presentation to knock those bugs out.

Comments are welcome.

Ah, Someone Else Gets It
Seriously, what all will it take before the US (or at least nearly every person that I come in contact with) understands that computing is not at all about what you can do when you are sitting down in one place, but how you can take that "one place" and make it an instance of community engagement. I am not talking about those that are doing that semi-ridiculous Twitter phenomena, but when we get the hardware, and the software, and begin to reshape how the word around us is engaged.

One of the things that I liked the most about this post at M-Trends is that the person did not have any indrance to use the mobile tech for what it is. Whether that is using his phone for a modem on a cheap pre-pay plan, or using a notebook almost anywhere in Italy; he gets it. Mobility is not just the technology, but how we use it to engage the world around us.

I am getting to the point where I am increasingly fustrated at the level of the applications that are being built for mobile devices. Not only because there is waing support for the PalmOS (which my Treo runs) but that even the "best apps" are nothing more than some graphics on top of an old idea.

There is a guy who is making a new web browser for the PalmOS, something that would be "new" would be to make a browser that can "see" within the HTML of a page and give you a context-relevant menu towards what you want to do with what it sees. For example, you go to Flkr and the browser sees that some of the pictures have a geocode on them. So you get an option in the menu to look up that place on Google/Yahoo/Windows Live Maps. Or you see a date and time for an event and its all an image. But, because the person who made the website was smart, they also encoded a vCal (virtual calendar card) entry with it. The browser sees that and then you can just add it to your calendar (with the image).

It is thinking like that that I would like to think does solve a problem with the increasing amounts of information in the shrinking spade of time that we have. No, I am not saying that silm and good design, or cheap and more features is not a good thing. But there has to come a point in using all of this tech that we as a user group of consumers get past just what is affordable and start using it and asking for it to acutally solve a problem.

Imagine if you will a calendar that would show in colors automatically when your days are packed versus when they are not. That would be something simple, but it would get it. Imagine if you will a cell carrier made that same outrageous pre-pay deal that allows for an obscene amount of data to be done, but with little voice. Can you imagine what that would mean? It would mean that the ball is in our court to use this to change the world.

According to that one post at M-Trends, there is someone that gets it.

A Real Treonaut
Its one thing to be on the Metro and see people with BBs and smartphones. But it brings a bit of a smile to my eyes when I see people using Treos. Most of the time those people are doing more than email. And that is a great thing if you are Palm and looking to see if a product is not just selling, but being used.

Today, behind me as I type this, is a person with a Sprint or Verizon Treo.

Just took a minute to ask where he got his antenna adjustment. Should be cool to strike up a conversation.

off I go.

Poem: Psalm

I'm not alone
God has given to me peace of His alone
I am not in a place of want
In Him I have everything.

Labels: poem

Poem: Letters

Broken letters script their own endings
Howbeit masters pen such fine phrases
Token cares give way to foolish desires
Made simply the product of wrongful desire
Letters they say to bring quickly
And yet to decipher them belongs to no one
Many men have lost a heart for these letters
And fine phrases have jailed plenty more
So why the pursuit of such strokes
When the counting is not yet finished
For its between each line does man find his play
And for each letter penned does he perform.

Labels: poem

Thinking More...
Due to some things that came down the pipe in the past few days, I have had to sit and think on my timing and place both here physically and virtually. I've had to take into account what is possilble because of technology, and what is possible because of time and locaation. For the most part, there is this unbalance in me that says that the tools should enable me to do more than what I am doing, and yet, I am still in the same place playing by the old-school rules.

When I was in college, I did something that was at the time a needed thing for me, I took a step back from being a full time student and became a part time student. Like I've said before on this blog and other places, I did so in part to get my grades in order. The other part of that move got my life in order. No longer was I constrained by tiredness or being overworked, I could engage the community around me as I wanted to, yet still had the time to earn a (megar) living.

And so where does that leave this thought now? I just read another insightful post about the changing mindset towards engaging community that these tools I talk so much about should enable. Yet, like that writer, I am at my dining room table typing this. But not because I feel like I am a part of a greater community, because I feel too tired to enage the community I so much want to invest into.

When do I take the steps to make a change?

Cutting Things Out to Move On
When I was in my small group last week, one of the brothers mentioned that it might be a good idea to cut out of some friendships for a season while I am getting things together. While that has not happened just yet, what has happened is an audit of my entire life, and there seems to be a pruning needed all around.

And so what do I mean by cutting things out. Well, as something of a history into who I am, there was a point in my college career where I was not doing well. Basically, I was trying to stay involved in events and sports while trying to also be a full-time student. That was clearly not working for me physically as I was always tired and sleeping all kinds of weird hours. And then my grades were also on the "ew" side of horrible. I needed to make a change and that came in part when I got a PDA, but more importantly when I dropped into being a part-time student.

What began to happen was that I had more time to devote to the interpersonal aspects of being a college student, but also had ample time to be a student. My grades went up, and my prayer life was such that I knew better how to pray because I was not always crisis praying.

Fast forward to today and I am thinking again that some cutting back needs to happen in terms of working full time. Sure, living in the DC Metro area has its peerks, but its too expensive to live here if you aren't working overtime. I cannot hack that (though the pay is good). I am considering to changing that so that I can continue to be productive, and well rounded as well.

A recent post at Holy Culture Radio Forums talkled about how Best Buy implemented such a work system where people worked for results, not necessarly for a schedule. It sounds like something that would not only fit my work style, but also the way that I engage the world around me. Its my hope that the next job that I get into would have either that option, or a part-time option that does leave room for a better work/life balance.

So where does that leave me now though? Well, its safe to say that I need to make some drastic changes regardless, and cutting not only work, but activities and friends will just have to happen. Noting personal against any one, but it is personal for me. And for that reason, and to better see myself gloryfing God in all I do, I have to cut out to move on.

Fruity Thoughts

So what happens when you start getting hungry and run across a post about fruit, silly thoughts occur. Like, "what kind of fruit are you." and "which fruit is best for serving with steak." As for me, I'll just stick to this post and its enjoyable analysis of various fruits.

A Break in the Action
So what does a person do when sitting at work and then told that there is something that has to be done to my computer? Well, you blog. And what should I blog about? Uh...

Well, I can talk about what is going on with the upcoming Bible study, but that much is not at all too clear. For one, I wanted to make my notes available online via a CSS Presentation, but have not been able to do that just yet as I have not sat at my desktop any.

Speaking of writing, I have a few reviews to finish up this week with a few devices, and that should end well once I do.

In terms of mobile devices, there is really not all that much going on. There are always new devices and services being introduced and talked about, but there has not been much since the MyStrands app that I talked about before. Its a neat application and I can see it usable, but I am not sure that cellular and wireless penetration is there just yet for it.

I did write about the mobile web development guide for the past few days, so I won't speak on that any more.

I could talk about friends, twitchy relationships, and the hopes and dreams I have; but I am at work and no more want to spill on that than any who do not already know what to hear it.

So what does that leave me with? The fact that I can dribble on for nothing and then take a moment to just chill in the peace of God for a bit. If there is anything that I have gotten from my reading of John (look up this book at zbible.mobi) it is that there is a tenderness and a graciousness about Christ's coming that we should not take for granted. Its quite easy to miss Him at various points in our lives if we are not careful. And even more to miss Him when we are not even looking at Him. Even for all that was written about Him, there is so much about our Lord that remains a mystery and a faith, and as He reveals Himself all the more, and we understand the Father all the more, so does life become a break in the action while we continue this walk towards Him.
posted via Mo:Blog

A Test of Sorts
So what happens when I make a change to my website and then try to make it so that this will work easily from my Treo? Well, either I end up with something that works, and in this case reads well. Or, I end up with the kind of issue that will just burn some more of my dwindling midnight oil. Let's see what happens.
I have this statement that I have said for a long time: forgiveness is not an option. Meaning simply that forgiveness is something that I am oblidged to give. I've realized though that forgiveness does not mean reversion. In the past, forgiveness was kind of like a reset button. Now, I see it more like a pause button. We pause life to adjust our tracking, and then continue knowing that things were adjusted along the way. But the rewind button never comes into play. Forgiveness is not an option, but you must hit the play button again in order to move on.

Yea, I think I've made good on this update. Here's hoping that it works well.
posted via Mo:Blog

Post Changes

Image: My hand holding a Treo 680, via Brighthand

I was going to write this from the Treo later, but I thought that I better explain things a bit now before these short posts get a bit annoying ;) whether you are on a cool mobile device or not.

Basically speaking, I want to make my personal site a bit more friendly to mobile devices when they visit my website. Sure, a lot of that will have to mean changing the sidebar as it has grown nice and long. But, until I figure out something with that, I am condensing my writing into an introduction and then the rest of the post.

What that basically means for you is that you can much easier decide if you want to read a post, since I am working on my introductions. And at the same time it makes inserting pictures and other items in a post something that occurs behind the page so that mobile-friendly is a modus operandi.

Another change happening with me and posting something that you've probably already noticed in that I am sprinkling in the personal, faith, and mobile posts together more. For now, I am not using categories to navigate thru this, but I just may do a search box so that one can find a few posts easier (and maybe drop that really long list of archive posts).

Regardless, that is all up in the air. This site needs more focus and to serve a vision of "the accessible and usable" web better than it has. Lord willing, I'll get this down packed enough that I will stop playing admin enough to talk about this in some kind of class or presentation soon.

Email Forwards and A Mobile Me

So right, I was sitting here and wondering in part what it was that i wanted to blog about here yesterday as I forgot, and then I remembered, email forwards and what they mean to me and my emerging mobile culture.
Now, I am not goign to bash, so if you read this and you are an offender, don't be mad, just take it with a bit of grace being spoken about manners with electronic media.

You see, most of the time that I get forwards, they get deleted from my Treo immediately. Nope, not even a read in most cases. I have to be nearly bored or at least with some measure of time on my hands to want to read. And if your forward is an attachment of an attachment of an attachment... it will find itself deleted faster than anything. It's your fault here, clean it up before you send it on. I don't really want everyone else's email addresses that sent this 20 sends ago.

And then there are those of you who send emails that have PowerPoint and Flash attachments. Ok, don't you all know that those formats are perfect virus and trojan carriers? So maybe you didn't, but now you do. Now, I cannot get viri on my Palm (there aren't any), but there is that size thing that is my main concern. Aka, if its more than 1MB, I will not open it. I won't sit and wait for the download, nor will I want it to take up space in my email queue. It will become one of the many that get sent to the forward folder I have in Outlook, or deleted outright.

So please, consider for a moment all of these forwards that you are sending out. Not just to me, but to anyone. Some of us have mobile devices and have better things to do with our time than scroll thru a small screen to read a forward that asks us to spam another 10-25 people. It's not happening, and you'd be best just letting it die with you too.

Poem: Songful

I do find, in the mist of peace
That your voice, rings a melody
That speaks of, rhythmic hands and feet
People rolling in joy and happiness

I do sing, of a time in dreams
I do hope, for a life that beams
Further than, reality could see
People rolling in joy and happiness

Fast for, forward to my life
The one I see, beyond my eye
Walking towards, moments I hope pure
Keeping my mind and heart upwards

Keeping my mind and heart upwards

This is my song
This is my prayer
Hoping life is made just fair
Keeping with
Each step of grace
Want no more to feel misplaced

This my song
This is my prayer
Hoping life, is more than a care
Keeping with
Each step of grace
Wanting my God hand and revealed face
posted via Mo:Blog

Labels: poem

And the Mobile Moving Continues

I've realized that the past many posts here have been utterly emotional and deep, and I like that. Twas good to get that all out and write different than mobile.

That being said, here I go again speaking about mobile. If you have not, check out the article that I did at Brighthand talking about mobile browsing and the mobile web. That is a good read if you are looking at using a mobile device to do some webbing here and there and want a slight view into some of the benefits and challenges of doing so.

Rob sent to me a link to a web developers guide for mobile devices that is certain to get a lot of attention from myself and lots of other web designers and developers who are moving into flexible website design (addressing mobile devices such as smartphones as well as the normal laptop/desktop paradigm). I just downloadded the guide to my Treo (smile) and so will have to get reading on that really soon.

Once I get some suitable clothes on, I'll be going to the apartment office to get my 8GB memory card. That will be a trip having so much space on here. I think that it won't just be music though for me. I have most of my docucments on here, as well as a slew of PDFs. Having this much space will definitely take some more of the fun away from being on a desktop any.

Going on a trip this weekend and all I am taking is a phone charger and batteries for my keyboard. I love how much my tech weighs when I travel now. Much better than trying to swing a laptop bag and all that other stuff.

So what about you; does all this talk about mobiles get you thinking any? If not, then there has to be a good reason for that. Share please.

posted via Mo:Blog
EDIT: Added a post page feature.

Seasons, A Preview of Sorts

I am going to be doing a bible study on the topic of seasons with some friends of mine in a few weeks but just posted at Holy Culture Radio a response of some of what I shall be speaking on. Here it is for you to chew on (these are incomplete notes on my end):
...Our lives are not meant to sit in one place for a long time. Due to maturity, growth, or whatever you want to call it, we are designed to mature and transition. Sometimes that is to something bigger, sometimes that is to something smaller and broken down. The inevitable point being that we are being conformed into the image of Christ (if we are following Him) and that thru each stage of life, the deconstruction of what we hold dear is not ever a time to grieve, but one where we must change with the season in respect to following the 'commanded purpose.'

...we see that there are these seasons in our lives where we are designed to reap from the word around us. These are summer and fall times. Times when things that had been planted in us have bloomed to the point of sustaining us, and developing a sharper understanding of the impending cold and dreary times. It is also in these times that storms can feel the most uncomfortable, but they are too preparations for the impending time of hibernation (winter) where we are being all that more prepared for a blooming into something that the new year has never seen in likewise before, and at the same time is recognizable as "who we are" and "who we are becoming in Him."

...it is therefore best not to always look for the change, the "new season" so to speak. Its best to find the flow of the season that you are in irregardless of weather around us or the feel of the soil under and around us. The point of maturing in Christ is not that we become more beautiful, develop a louder siren, etc., but that we look more like the product of an Eternal Root. We are ones who have been pruned and aligned in the mold of our Lord. It is not Him nor His timing that has to change around us, but us change towards His. So whether we are changing locations, moving towards or away from relationships, the point is to find where God is and flow there. Is God not speaking? Then probably it is a time of hiddenness, where you are to live according to the promises that you know and to not move any further than where His Word has already directed. Is He speaking louder than ever? Then probably it is a time of manifestation. Where God is no more present than He was when His acts were hidden from you; but where you get to rest on His personhood and learn how to "see" Him for who He is.

...the seasons were established long ago, at the foundations of the world. Not so that we have uncertainty about the future, but that we have certainty about an unchanging God, forever hoping in Him and not the works of our own hands.

Spamalot, Why I Blog

Two things before I get to bed for the night.

Thanks to my friend for asking her friend about the ticket to Monty Python's Spamalot. I realize now that I did not get a playbill, but really did have a great time. Again, your friends are really cool and I am glad that you introduced me to them.

That brings me to my second thing: why I blog.

I see this blog as one part my musings on those things web and mobile tech oriented that I have either not thought about completely, or have, but do not want to blast on other sites just yet. And then I also see this as the part of my journal that I am willing to share with the world. Granted, there are many things that I think about throughout the day that I should write about, but do not. But at the end of the day, or a random moment when I can steal the time, this is the place I come to share what is on my heart, and before my eyes.

I do not plan to edit much of what I journal except in the case where I am horribly wrong, or a link is not pointing to the right place. But I do want to make it clear that this is my journal. Whether you agree or not is not my concern, but whether you can see me or not is.

So do keep reading (how ever many of you do read); and occasionally let me know how I am doing. Sometimes its good to know that everything in public domain isn't just a cow thrown over a wall :D

EDIT: Fixed link
posted via Mo:Blog

My Faith's Dressing - Part 3

Here's where I stand on things concerning walking with other believers

Do we agree on Christ, if so then we walk together.
Do we agree on the Godhead, if so then we walk further.
Do we agree on this and that (whatever), sure, and we walk some more.
Do we agree on (for example) tongues, no. Ok, is this necessary for salvation (getting back to the first point we agreed on), no. Well, I won't moderate your use except to ask that you observe the Scripts in respecting those that would judge you for being in disorder.

That being said, can we walk together, if so then we do.
If not, we part, knowing that it was not Christ, but ourselves that were the cause of contention.

Hence why i don't argue with people and online, I am intent on walking together with the Body, but will not let me get in the way of Christ by any means.

Poem: How I Feel (Words on a Page)

Ever read words on a page
And see a voice instead
Ever catch hold of a dot or a cross
And be attached to the same exclamation
Ever find yourself line by line
Swaying another's tongue and lips to a story of moment's past
And then end that brief trip with a smile
If so then you know how I feel

Ever read words on a page
And hear letters instead
Ever loop and kern constant consonants
And be attracted to the spacing involved
Finding yourself line by line
Loving the display of vocabulary's harmony
Until the bottom of the page comes
And the song ends
The applause in your eyes of another great performance
Eyes towards the rafters
Encore
The words on the page ready to play again
Yet the next verse will be different
The words written share of heart's pain and delight

Ever feel the words on a page
And write
Praying that the curtain call never comes
I feel like I do
And you read these words
I hope the overture rings familiar
And yet is something you've never heard before
My joys
My pains
My dreams
My gains
My moment in yours
Our place in His story
Ever read the words on a page
And see a voice instead
Catch hold of His peace
And be led.

Labels: poem

Dreams, Reality

I'm probably a lot more of a dreamer than most people I know. I tend to imagine and see myself in an out of things that most people would just brush off as childish fantasies. Part of that is because I was taught to dream and reach to realize those dreams. Another part of that is the faith that God's given me to see aspects of Him and (sometimes foolishly) walk out on it. Its a precarious way to live life I know, but I don't want to know any other way except to follow my dreams.

I read stories about people doing well and being blessed. Its safe to assume that I am sometimes jealous of those people that have families or have the opportunity to create and travel. I sometimes feel like I have this "success" that I am entitled to, and at the same time, I realize the abilities I do have and wonder how those will ever translate into something more than dreams of the future.

But that is not the Gospel. It's not a state of being molded, molding, and broken at the same time. It's not that place where broken hearts are mended and the poor are given reprieve from their struggles. My dreams are this place of constant peace, and constant challenging to do "different" from the inside out. But what I live is the challenge from the outside in. The challenge of hearing the Word, reading the Word, and wanting to be like the Word, but falling far short. Very rarely does my dream end with failure, and yet in being measured towards the real-dream of the Gospel in my life, I have not yet passed this test.

Flawless thoughts are nearly impossible without being shaped and constrained by Jesus. I wonder if the expanse of my dreams is just that last great plane where I need to be bridled to seeing what reality is.

And I Am Not the Only One
When a friend of mine IMed me today about how to find a wireless card for her desktop, I started to wonder why she would not just resort to using her PDA a lot more often because that already has the wireless abilities, and can do nearly everything that she would do on her desktop. But of course, I didn't say that and recommended a few places that I knew of to find one and just let the thought go some.

Then tonite I read this post at Lifehacker about all the things that you can do with your mobile phone and it hits me that I am not the only one. Yes, I am probably ahead of many of my friends and family with how I use mobile tech, but I am by no means anything more than a paradigm shifting dude.

Now that I think about it, it just might be possible for my friend to use her wireless PDA as a Wi-Fi finder and modem and then "reverse network" it with her PC so that she could be wireless and not even have to purchase a wireless card.

Then again, I don't know many such as myself who use their smartphone as a modem for their desktop...hehehehe.
posted via Mo:Blog

LOL - Just Had To Post This

From Textually, The "Other" iPhone Lawsuit:

Image: sorry, you have to be able to read this as its a graphical comic

Bruised
Last night I beheld two kinds of bruising. The first kind was physical and happened to me. I was playing bball and came down on my right heel quite hard. I ended up limping throughout most of the game and had an extrermely difficult time driving home. In getting to bed, I did the elevate and wait thing and this morning I am now with a bruised heel and some tightness around my ankle. Its quite difficult to walk, so much so that my cane has come out. But even moreso to drive.

It reminds me a bit of the Scripture in Genesis where it says that "...and he shall bruise your heel." Well, now I know what that feels like. And its every bit of one of those things that keeps you from moving for a time and leaves you exposed in other areas.

The second bruising came in a conversation after the bball. However, it was not me that received or felt the bruising. I listened to the brused heart of another. It was a hearing that I was not unfamiliar with as my heart had been through similar emotions many months ago. It was though something to behold from the other side. It really does seem like there is emptiness when a person does not give back the love that you gave them. It feels even worse when that person knew love with you, but moved away from it to "move on with life" after being bruised themselves.

A bruised heart puts you in this place where you are so verry much vulnerable, but all that much more defensive about the people that come around you. I can remember how I was both timid and attacking in the months after breaking up with Kyera. I can see that for this person that similar might happen, though maybe not as long as it was for me. She has a better head and heart about things and it does seem that she is on the right path to find peace and comfort for herself in God's arms.

Amazing how one word can totally shape one night. Even moreso how that word has more short-term pain than long term effects if you let it. I hurt like crazy now, and cannot even drive into work. But I know that bearing the pain now, not being defensive about being hurt and just sitting down, that things will get better in time. God has to heal my heel, just as he had once healed my heart.
posted via Mo:Blog

Just A Moment or Two in Thought

In a little bit, I shall be getting ready for XR tonite. I've been here a bit earlier than usual and have therefore had some time to rest my mind as well as get some review ammo in for this Samsung Q1b TabletPC. Might as well be just chilling though, I haven't written a thing yet.
Image: Photoshop

I need to find a way to spend more time with graphics/design. There is absoutely no attention paid to design on a lot of things that I have done in the past year plus. Most of that is lack of quality software. Open source and free is good for when you have no funds, but having a real deal Illustrator or Photoshop would just be a lot nicer for the really neat things. Good thing I know how to do a lot with CSS, but I still do need more time in the graphics kitchen so to speak. I'd serve things better here and at MMM if I did so.

Funny how Safari is supposed to be one of the better browsers, but there are so many sites that leave support for it out. Sheesh, even Opera gets more props than Safari (best mobile browser is Opera's though).

Thought for the day about seasons:
Is it that we take too much time thinking about what is next, and not spending enough time in maturing where we are, thereby making what is next something we are already ready for?

You know, I should be typing this on the Tablet or Treo now, but the big Apple monitor just calls to me to type much :)

Ever wonder if new friends can be better than old friends despite not knowing them as long? I had that thought last night. First time in a while that I felt comfy and overwhelmed at the same time. Cool peoples too, dang near made me reconsider aspects of leaving. Thanks for the good time.

Just Thoughts

One of my friends is over in London this week and I am thinking about whether things over there are such that she (or anyone for that matter) would be more receptive to using mobile technology here in the US after being exposed to some things there. Now granted, mobiles are much more a fact of just the way that life is for some people on the other side of the pond; but it would be interesting to see if that is something that would have an effect on someone after they have traveled to places like Belgium, London, or even the tech heavy places of Japan and South Korea. I just wonder if mobile tech is really that galvanizing technology that I'd like it to be, or if it is just something that people take on as it is needed.

That all being said, the US could use a better and smarter emphasis on mobile tech. Ringtones and wallpapers is not a mobile strategy. For all of the money and minds that go into mobile promotions, one would think that ringtones, games, and wallpapers would be the last thing chosen. I'd personally like to see a "where's Waldo"-type approach where QR codes are mixed in with ads and you have to put a puzzle together by reading the codes of different ads. Each ad gives you a wallpaper, song, coupon, or other prize, but if you put them all together, you get something like a free month of calling or free month of unlimited Internet. That would be my idea of mobile enablement and mobile advertising.

One would think that people would think like that right?
posted via Mo:Blog

Site Maintenance This Weekend

If the site is down at some point this weekend, its only because I am changing the files around to PHP ones so that I can manage a few things on the site a lot easier.

Here's hoping that goes without a hitch, because MMM would be next.

A Peek In

I should probably not let it come to taking an early 'break' to get a post up, but I have really had that little bit of time this week. Taking time off for being sick means that some will eventually get lost in the shuffle, and for me phone calls and posting have been the two lost items.

So what's up? I went out with a friend last night and had another enjoyable conversation over dinner. Definitely one of the more pleasant aspects of living in the area.
Image: HTV Vox, from Mobile-Review.com

I've just finished reading a review of the HTC Vox phone at Mobile Review and I have to say that just as it did at CES, I am impressed with the design and package. Priced right, this phone could easily be a 'Treo' for many people who want a messaging phone but the small size.

Other than that, getting better health-wise and finding a way to keep concentrated at work seem to be on the plate. Things are happening in other areas, but nothing worth speaking of until they bloom.

It sometimes is true that the bathroom is the best place to think. I am finding that out now, even as my fingers do most of the speaking.

posted via Mo:Blog
Edit: corrected friend's link, added picture for phone

A Rebuttal
Maybe I am trying too hard here.

In tech:
I have a device that is a good phone, good organizer. And yet I push it to replace a laptop. What I should be using costs in that $600-$1000 range, and its not available in the US (yet, if ever). I know what it is that I want to do with mobile computing, but it just does not seem that my actions or wants have any bearing with reality. Maybe I should put this down...

In relationships:
I've taken a good amount of time since Kyera and I broke up to look at my life. I went to the conclusion that I should not live my life with regrets, and at the same time should not live recklessly without God. And yet this battle between my heart, my dreams, and my faith just keeps going on an on. What I dream for, I have faith for, and yet nothing has happened. I feel that in terms of relationshps, I live in a better part of a dream that has long been over. I wonder...

In work:
There is too much that I want to say about work that I can and cannot. I enjoy some aspects of how I work, and other parts I wish that management or technology was better served. I want to travel to stories more, I want to teach more, I want that quiet time, and that time in front of mounds of research, talking back and forth with thought and action leaders, not just about what is next, but how to enable someone who never had any idea of "next" to take "next" to places we cannot even think of. I see work as the ultimate education, the best school. And yet my dreams are overrun with the reality of better attention to detail, bills, temperments, and ego-politics. I wonder indeed if I am cut out for the very work that I do like to do...

I wonder how many people will read this and wonder if I am happy, sad, or not yet directed. I wonder how few will read it and see themselves. I wonder if no one will ever read it. And my voice becomes a quick ripple-less echo into cyberspace.

What if I were wrong and God heard everything? What then?
posted via Mo:Blog

I Know What I Want To Write About
The failures of some/most if the mobile software that I use to be usable.

I don't mean in the sense that I need a manual either. But in that sense that I trying to be productive on a smaller screen with a different or muted input method, and I am having to jump thru the same hoops as if I were in front of a 20in screen with a mouse and keyboard.

Don't developers know that the devices are different though the output is the same? Ahhhh, its reall fuatrating.

Having said that, here is some of the software that I use that should be designed for mobile use, not repeating desktop use:
- Documents to Go: a word processing, spreadsheeting, and presentations application that uses too little space for controls, too many taps to get to common commands, and is too bloated with size despite not having nearly any of the features of the just as powerful Office 97 package.
- VersaMail (Pocket Outlook fits here too): email clients on mobile devices should do a few things really well. They should be able to read HTML emails easily, but give the option whether to download images or not in every instance (better safe than spammed). They should have two click access to making a reply and adding some type of attachment. Adding a contact should be as simple as Menu, Add Contact, or get a global option that asks you when you open or close the email if you want to add the person and any information from that email from them, into your contact book. Adding an option to export emails into tasks and datebook items would be great too.
- blogging: should be a part of the SMS/MMS application for every phone. But should not be tied to one service. Whenever I want to blog, I have to come into MoBlog. However inserting pictures into SMS messages is easy, and some times I can just take the picture right there and go. I'd love a better blog client that integrates with the SMS/MMS client on mobile devices.
- web browsing: needs two modes at least (optimized and mapped). Optimized mode would be akin to what Blazer and some other browser do. They stack the page into a one column view but make it easy to load and view. If the page already is adaptable for handhelds, that is what the optimized view shows (developers use @media handheld in your CSS please). In the Mapping mode, you get the page as it would appear on a bigger browser, but like the Nokia and Safari Mobile browsers, you get a mini-map mode where you can pan and zoom into sections of a page that then are looking just fine for your mobile device. I'd add a text view only option for those that are on data tariff plans. Add a built in RSS reader and replace the bookmark feature with it. Or make bookmarks = RSS feeds unless the user just wants a page only. Tabbed browsing too please (I'd like to get some work done in the browser on my mobile, instead of turning on the computer).
- QR Codes and mobile payment: seriously, what can be so hard about using a 2D code to give me coupons and special info about items. I thought about this the whole time I was at an art gallery. Using QR codes with the art work would have really made the exhibit interactive, not just a ooh ahh moment. Then give me mobile payment so that I can just buy things via my debit account that is already wirelessly enabled. Sheesh, I don't want to have to pull out a card if I don't have to. And SIM cards are authenticated. It really cannot be that hard for these things can it be.

Ok, I have to stop complaining. I neeed to write up some items for Brighthand but I don't want to get on a bigger computer to do it. I'd rather work on the simple effectiveness of a mobile...

..if the dang software could be simply effective as mobile software.
posted via Mo:Blog

Just Thoughts...Forgotten
I had a few thoughts in head that I was ready to write about, but just forgot them. Dang, I hate when that happens.
posted via Mo:Blog

The Mobile Lifestyle: Its Future
Having the bulk of this weekend in my apartment only and sick has left me a lot of time to sit and think about some other possiblities of living a life where mobile technology integrates into your life in various ways. Here are just a few of the thoughts that I have for the future possiblities of things just based on being home with a mobile and wanting to be "connected" in various ways.

The Docked Info-tainment Station
One of the things that probably most struck me about my Treo and the Samsung Q1b UMPC that I am reviewing is how they could each easily fit into a dock and then become an information center for news and other information. I found out this weekend that the ability to stream a podcast without hiccups was present. And then that led me to the idea of something that could plug into a DVR or TV and then stream the content that I would want to watch (in my case, games and cartoons). It would be pretty easy I am sure to make such a device happen, I just do not think that the cable and phone companies would like losing that revenue at all.

Browsing the Internet, or Not
I had a conflict of interests of sorts this weekend. While it is that I did do some browsing of the Internet on my desktop and the Q1b, I found that I was less likely to want to browse as much as it was that I just wanted to see what was going on. Weirdly enough, when I did resort to some browsing today, I ended up grabbing the RSS feeds of the sites and then added them to the list of news sites that I normally read. If you will, my browsing has turned from being so much "browsing to see what is out there" to "browsing to collect websites that would have something of value for more than just one article."

Though, I do admit that a better web browser on my Treo would make me a lot more apt to browse the net. The fact that so many sites were not designed with mobile devices in mind makes it a lot harder to do anything except view sites via RSS.

Not Based on Just One Device
Probably the most stern conclusion that I can say about the mobile lifestyle is that it is not something that will be defined by one device. It will be defined by how the web is intertwined, but the devices will begin to matter less and less.

A UPMC/TabletPC type device really is good enough for some casual browsing and emailing when round about the house. And for those who visit areas where there are hotspots, this kind of device makes a lot of sense towards being free to use the Internet, but not confined to a small screen.

The smartphone sect will be here as those that want the phone to do more and more. Whether that is the phone as an email device, GPS device, or music player, there is that option for the phone to be as much a real "personal computer" as the original Macs and IBM clones wanted it to be. The key with these devices will be price and just how much does one want to do. Because for as much as one wants to do, there needs to be some way to power the device to do it.

Then finally the laptop folks. These are the folks who may or may not be on the go as much, but require something with a lot larger of a screen and something more of an intent towards some level of power computing. For now, I can say that the laptop folks really should be those that need it for specific job functions, but again, the software side fo tablet and smarpthone devices does leave laptops more in the hands of work that they probably need to be. I can imagine that in the next 3-5 years though that there will be a phasing out of laptops and a move towards tablets and docked smartphones for smaller levels of work where one does not need to be tied to a desk for extended periods. I know that for me, if I could just come home and dock my phone and continue to use its software and services with just the bigger screen and keyboard, I'd probably be sold on working like this too.

Concerning this series, I'll probably do one more session and then place a link over in the sidebar so that you can revisit all of the traits of a mobile lifestyle. In looking at the scope of what is and what can be mobile, this is certainly an interesting time.
posted via Mo:Blog

Sick Day #3
Well, so much for this flu & allergy thingy to last for a day or so. Its day three and I still feel horrible. I won't complain too much though because I feel good enough to go out and get some meds and then get to church (where I will so be staying away from people). I've been cooped up in the crib way too long.

Good thing for some aspects of mobile tech though. I've stayed connected with what is going on and have learned a few things in the process. I've also gone back to reading some more of the book The Blogging Church. Eh, that opinion will come later.

Now if I can only solve the clown nose thing that I have going on, that would be great. This thing is as red as the upcoming cherry blossoms.
posted via Mo:Blog

Sick Day
The last time that I felt this sick and called out of work, I was called back in. I am very grateful for being able to rest my body today. I hope that I get better soon, its no fun laying around drinking fluids all day :-posted via Mo:Blog

AntoineRJWright.com

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Friday, March 30, 2007

Search Added

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Links and Notes for 3.29

Links and Notes from Yesterday

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

A New Mobile Site

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A Real Light

Monday, March 26, 2007

Support Another Blogger

The Mobile That Keeps Me Up At Night

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Friday, March 23, 2007

Seasons: God's Approach to Consistency in Our Lives

Poem: Psalm

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Poem: Letters

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Fruity Thoughts

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Post Changes

Email Forwards and A Mobile Me

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Poem: Songful

Saturday, March 17, 2007

And the Mobile Moving Continues

Friday, March 16, 2007

Seasons, A Preview of Sorts

Spamalot, Why I Blog

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

My Faith's Dressing - Part 3

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Poem: How I Feel (Words on a Page)

Dreams, Reality

Monday, March 12, 2007

LOL - Just Had To Post This

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Just A Moment or Two in Thought

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Just Thoughts

Friday, March 09, 2007

Site Maintenance This Weekend

A Peek In

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Friday, March 02, 2007

Archives

MMM/Inner-Linked

Photos

Connect