We're Moving!

Well, not in a physical sense, and not me and my family.  I merely meant that my weblog has moved to:

http://web.me.com/dougsmith

Please change your bookmarks accordingly and I'll meet you there!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Apps for Apple(s)

When I was a freshman at the University of Tulsa, the Student Council held a "Dance for Those Who Can't" event to raise money for muscular dystrophy.  If memory serves me correctly, the big-hearted (if somewhat insensitively-named) soiree was styled as an old-time dance marathon and students recruited sponsors who would pledge so much money for every hour the dancers lasted. 

Then, about 10 years ago, I was in Seattle and went to a Mariners game (in the dreaded Kingdome).  One of the scoreboards on the third-base side had a "K's for Kids" counter, sponsored by MicroSoft.  For every strike thrown by a Mariners pitcher, Bill Gates would donate something like $10,000 to a children's charity.  

I mention all this as a roundabout way to elaborate on my post this morning about the iPhone apps.  As far as I can tell, Apple's favorite charity is Apple.  Nothing wrong with that, I suppose (and there's always the possibility of "good things being done in secret"), but they must be raking in the dough.  Good for them. 

I recommended the Bible, Morse Code and Cowbell Plus apps earlier. Coach Jim also encouraged me to get the WeightTrack app (for our diets).  In addition, I have Shopper (for groceries) and iExpenseIt (to keep track of expenses).  All of these are easy to use and have proven to be a help in daily life. 

Two questions: 

(1) What other Apps have you found helpful?

(2) Who knows what the "i" before all the Apple programs stands for?

iTunes Saw Me Coming

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had downloaded "a few" things from iTunes the other night.  Well, I got the bill in the email this morning.  Between the songs and the new Apps for the iPhone . . . somebody tell Mr Jobs that he can order the new cabinets. 

Morse-It, v1.0, Seller: Francis Bonnin $0.99
Bible, v1.1, Seller: LifeChurch.tv Free
Prayer for Home  (Fernando Ortega) $0.99
Coyote (Joni Mitchell) $0.99
Song for Sharon (Joni Mitchell) $0.99
I Go to Extremes (Billy Joel) $0.99

Not Home Yet (Steven Curtis Chapman) $0.99
Fly Me to the Moon (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
Come Fly With Me (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
I've Got You Under My Skin (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
The Lady Is a Tramp (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
The Best Is Yet to Come (Frank Sinatra with Count Basie and His Orchestra) $0.99
Witchcraft (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
That's Life (Frank Sinatra) $0.99
You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon) $0.99
Graceland (Paul Simon) $0.99
Under African Skies (Paul Simon with Linda Ronstadt) $0.99
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police) $0.99
Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte (Boston Symphony Orchestra) $0.99
Seven Days (Sting) $0.99
Big Lie, Small World (Sting) $0.99
Pie Jesu (Sarah Brightman) $0.99
The Dangling Conversation (Simon and Garfunkel) $0.99
Punky's Dilemma (Simon and Garfunkel) $0.99
April Come She Will (Simon and Garfunkel) $0.99
Me and Julio Down By the School Yard (Paul Simon) $0.99
Kodachrome (Paul Simon) $0.99
The Boxer (Simon and Garfunkel) $0.99
Who's That Man (Toby Keith) $0.99
Cowbell Plus, v1.0, Seller: Frontier Design Group, LLC $1.99
In a Big Country (Big Country) $0.99
(Cross The) Heartland (Pat Metheny Group) $0.99
The Red Plains (Bruce Hornsby) $0.99

Grand Total: $32.68

As for the Apps, let me heartily recommend the Bible (it includes 30-some versions and it's free) and the Morse Code (because you never know when you'll be out in the woods and need your iPhone screen to flash out a message).  And, of course, if you've ever had that nagging thought that life "needs more cowbell", Cowbell Plus is for you.  It also comes with various other sounds, including a tambourine that would make Susan Dey and Davy Jones jump for joy.  You play the instruments by shaking the phone.

For a Friday evening's entertainment, I think it was money well-spent.

Top of the Thirty-First

I realized that I had forgotten to "post" an entry on the 24th - a look back at the famous "Pine Tar Incident" involving George Brett, his bat, Billy Martin, and the Royals-Yankees game on July 24, 1983.  That was 25 years ago, if you can believe it. 

Anyway, scroll down to the posts on the 24th for some detail and a picture of the bat in question. 

Of Peaches and Pavanes

I have so much to be thankful for - more than I could ever possibly put down in writing - so let me just offer two things from this evening:

Porter Peaches:  For those of you outside of Eastern Oklahoma, may I commend to you these slices (no pun intended) of Heaven?  We made our annual trek to Porter a week ago, and bought a few bushels.  They have continued to improve with the passing of time. I have at least one a day. Yesterday for lunch, I had a peach and a homegrown Beefsteak tomato that Jan Honaker so kindly gave me.  The Lord knew what he was doing when He made Summer!

Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte: The other night, my friend Michael Homan was over. We were practicing for Michael to sing (and me to play piano) at a house blessing that our buddy Jim was going to. As we listened to the song on iTunes, one thing led to another and I got in a buyer's mode, purchasing songs I hadn't thought about in years. Michael (who is technically young enough to be my son) surprised me by knowing the lyrics to "Punky's Dilemma" by Simon & Garfunkel. I then learned that he and his best friend growing up were huge S&G fans in Minnesota. So there was more downloading and great rejoicing by all!  But I'm getting off the subject. I also (as I was pressing "Buy Now" for everything from Sting to Frank Sinatra to Toby Keith) thought of Maurice Ravel and, sure enough, found the Boston Symphony Orchestra's recording of the Pavane. In fact, it's playing now. I like this version because it takes 6:19. By contrast, the Chicago Symphony recording lumbers along for 6:48.  Normally, I think the world of the CSO, but the Boston recording is darn-near the perfect tempo.  And the music!  It's like Porter peaches for your ears!  I think it is my favorite piece of music ever. 

Single Digits

You all know I'm a huge fan of James Lileks' daily Bleat.  Yesterday, he had a picture of a new Flintstones-based cereal.  I was taken aback at how scary Dino (the pet dinosaur's) hands were.  And that got me thinking about digits.  

The President's latest approval number stands at 28%.  Wow, that seems low. But hold on.  Congress is at a whopping 9%.  For those still keeping score, that's one-third of the President's.  It's the lowest ever. 

And remind me again . . . who controls Congress?

"We Know Where He Stands"

Bob Tyrrell's latest piece in The American Spectator makes a case for Senator McCain, even as it points out the deficiencies of Senator Obama's resume.  The main point of the article is to elaborate on McCain's integrity - and to contrast his life of public service with Obama's "community service". 

Mr Tyrrell also seeks to assuage some of the fears of those of us on the right:

Ironically, and notwithstanding McCain's waywardness, he is conservatism's best chance to win the White House: for he can attract Reagan Democrats and independents. Many conservatives have been understandably critical of some of the Arizona senator's feints to the Kultursmog, but for the most part he is conservative, a maverick conservative yet one who will be campaigning on a platform shaped by four decades of the modern conservative movement's policy desiderata. Moreover, whereas the Republican backsliders on the Hill have deceived us, McCain has been forthright in his disagreements with us. We know where he stands.

The article also touches on McCain's Naval record and the "richly heritage" of service he inherited from his father and grandfather.  It is a story that should receive more play. 

Mr Tyrrell ends with this suggestion to Senator McCain:

Still, in the months ahead John McCain needs to speak more to his base and reassure its members. Then there is one thing more. John, find a dramatist among the Republican image consultants to present your extraordinary life of service as the heroic narrative that it is. Humility has no place in modern politics.

Ich bin ein Beginner

Senator: You're no Jack Kennedy.

The Pine Tar Incident

Here's a shocker: it was 25 years ago today that George Brett was ejected from the Royals-Yankees game for supposedly putting too much pine tar on his bat.  Well, technically, he was ejected from the game for threatening the umpire to within an inch of his life - he was merely erroneously called out for using too much pine tar. 

It's hard to believe that this all took place a quarter of a century ago. 

If you remember, on July 24, 1983, the Yankees were hosting the Royals and it came to the ninth inning. The Royals were down 4-3 and George came to bat against Goose Gossage. He hit a two-run homer, seeming to put the the Royals up 5-4. As Brett rounded the bases, Yankees manager Billy Martin walked out and complained to the umpire that George's bat had too much pine tar on it.  (Pine tar is a legal substance that helps a batter's grip, but it is not supposed to extend more than 18 inches up the bat - George had 24 inches on his). The bat was produced for inspection, and the Umpire Tim McClelland called George out.  

That's when the fireworks started. Brett charged the field. I still remember the look of his body: as he streaked toward the umpire, every possible square inch was smashed up against the leading plane of his motion. It was like he was a massive, two-dimensional object about to flatten the ump. There was a huge row and George was thrown out of the game. The Yankees appeared to win the game 4-3.  

It turns out that Billy Martin and the Yankees had been noticing George's pine tar usage for some time and were waiting for the opportune moment to protest it. The problem is that the rule does not allow for the batter to be called out, merely that the offensive bat be removed from the game. 

The Royals protested the game and American League President Lee McPhail (a former Yankee executive, by the way) allowed the protest. The teams came back together later in the season to finish the game.  Sly old Billy Martin had one last shot: he now appealed the play and said that the umpires had no way of knowing if the runners had touched all the bases.  

Now, you all know I'm a huge Yankees fan, but here's where I think justice was still done, even with a comic touch. The umpires then produced affidavits stating that the runners had indeed touched all the bases on their way to home. The score stood at 5-4, the Yankees failed to produce any runs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Royals won the game. 

So, 25 years ago today, baseball gained another bit of folklore for the ages.  The bat in question even resides in Cooperstown (thanks to "mattingly23" on Wikipedia for the picture):

This is all a great diversion for the Dog Days of Summer, and it also got me thinking about a couple of current things. Seeings as how I can still love the Yankees even when they were dead wrong about the bat, I think that's how I feel about both Senator McCain and the Presbyterian Church (USA). I already know that I'm going to disagree with a President McCain about 35-40% of the time, but on the fundamental issues, I trust him. 

And the PC(USA)? Boy, are they making some bone-headed calls lately. But I don't think this is the time to jump ship.  For the present, I'm planning on staying within the denomination - at least until they kick me out. But, like Umpire Tim McClelland, they sure are misreading the "Rule Book".

Maxfield Parrish at 9 o'clock

While this post may sound like a World War II fighter pilot's declarative, it's actually a statement about the beauty of the evening.  After dinner at McGill's, I stepped outside and witnessed a beautiful post-sunset blueness on the western horizon. You expect icebergs, even though it's ninety.  If there had been a cornfield, Shoeless Joe Jackson would have stepped out of it. It makes you wonder if, on the evening of that first Pentecost, Peter and his friends encountered just such a sky, and then talked for a while about all the amazing things that happened that day.  

A special wish for my friends Jim and Diane, celebrating 24 years of marriage today!

Top of the Third

I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.
I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame
- Psalm 119:44-46

Top of the Twelfth

The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.

- Philippians 1:18-19

The Shape of the Union

To all my fellow cartographers:

I love maps. I can sit and look at them for hours. I had a AAA membership for years just so I could pick up a map on a whim.

If you suffer from this disorder like me, you know that it's more than just the quest for knowledge or information about a particular region. The maps themselves take on an almost living quality. The interplay of the boundaries, the movement of the rivers and roads - they set up a rhythm and resonance of their own.

And, just in time for Fathers' Day, here comes the book How the States Got their Shapes by Mark Stein. Please note the spelling: this is not the Mark Steyn I often reference, but this fellow is equally well-versed in his field. David Mark's review of Mr Stein's book begins:

While Mark Stein's University of Wisconsin classmates were protesting the Vietnam War, he had a different set of concerns: How come Michigan has that whole separate section that's actually attached to Wisconsin? Why does Delaware
exist and why isn't it just part of Maryland?

If, like me, you've ever wondered about such matters (and had the same set of priorities in college), enjoy!

Running Water and Fireflies

Two things were clarified today:

First, we have been blessed with a plethora of fireflies this early summer. I've always known I love fireflies, but this season has been a special favorite.

Second, we've been - maybe not blessed, but - experiencing a lot of rain this past month. It's maybe not up to Biblical proportions yet, but there's been a lot of it. But as I was taking Chester for a walk this afternoon, we walked by a storm drain and the sound of running water reminded me of how much I love to be by a brook. I am determined now to incorporate some sort of water feature on the patio.

And, if "plethora" is not the correct descriptor for a group of fireflies, please let me know.

Top of the Second

. . . so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
- Hebrews 9:28

Walk-Off Single

As we head into the new game of June tomorrow, here's a thought:

I need to replace the light bulb in the lamp by my bed. After an unsatisfying presual of the light bulbs at Sam's (every single one was the new, mercury-laden, compact flourescent kind), I decided to look elsewhere. But it got me thinking:

Pretty soon, the government will be telling me what kind of lightbulb I can use in the lamp on my bedside table. Also, they will probably be telling me where I can set my thermostat at night.

So, the next time the so-called "liberals" in our society tell me that they want to get the government out of our bedrooms, I'm ready to tell them what a bunch of liars I think they are.

But then, I've always known that they were liars.

St Paul's "Desiderata"

To our graduates:

I'm showing my age here. Back when I was in high school, there was a little "prose poem" that was all the rage, called the Desiderata. The word is Latin for "desired things", and for a while in the late 60s and early 70s, you couldn't walk into a gift shop, poster store, or - most likely - a mainline church without seeing the words on a poster.

The poem's origins were shrouded in mystery at the time, adding to its popularity. That seemed to be a recurring theme, about annually there for a while, where the popular culture would get all involved in trying to decipher ambiguous or mysterious song lyrics. Ask your elders sometime about the whole "Paul is dead" thing, or about Don McLean's American Pie song.

Anyway, the poem Desiderata was actually penned by Max Ehrmann, an attorney from Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1927. In his diary, Mr Ehrmann wrote: I should like, if I could, to leave a humble gift -- a bit of chaste prose that had caught up some noble moods. And then he began with the now famous line, "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence . . ." In 1969, the Rev Frederick Kates, the Rector of St Paul's Church in Baltimore, used the Desiderata in a series of devotionals for his congregation. As the devotional materials were passed around and the Desiderata gained in popularity, people believed that the poem was found in the church because of the devotional's heading of "Old St Paul's Church AD 1692".

Wikipedia reports: "As of 1977, the rector of St. Paul's Church was not amused by the confusion. Having dealt with the confusion "40 times a week for 15 years," he was sick of it." It seems that "Exasperation 101" was a required course in Episcopal seminaries even back then.

So even if Old St Paul's Church was merely a clearinghouse for the poem and not its source, the church's namesake nevertheless wrote of similar "desired things" in the twelfth chapter of the book of Romans. I offer you St Paul of Tarsus' "humble gift": some "chaste prose" that definitely catches some "noble moods":

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not think you are superior.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
On the contrary:
If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

- Romans 12:9-21 (Today's New International Version)

And so, dear graduates, "go placidly amid the noise and haste" and know that "whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." In other words, the Lord reigns and he loves you. My prayer for you is that you make it your heart's desire to love and serve Him all your days.

Line of the Night

Speaking of Return of the Jedi, Jason had the line of the evening. We were watching the scene where Han and Leia are trying to hack into the control bunker for the big parabolic dish. C3PO and R2D2 are up the hill and the Ewoks are all around. C3PO gets the idea to draw the Imperial Storm Troopers away from Han and Leia. He calls to the Storm Troopers and they come running to them. Then, the Ewoks begin their ambush of the Storm Troopers.

Jason said, "I always thought they missed an opportunity for a line here. When the Storm Troopers see C3PO and R2D2, one of them should have said, 'Son of a bitch - these are the droids we were looking for!"

Common Ground

Here's something I never would have thought: Rambo, the Ewoks, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have a lot in common. Spike TV was running an action marathon last evening and we saw Rambo: First Blood, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and Predator. And what was the common thread? In all of them, the good guys improvised with items found in nature to devise methods of attack. There seemed to be a theme of making large horizontal poles with deadly wooden spikes - even the furry little Ewoks got into the act.

I went to bed after Predator - maybe there was a MacGyver episode to round out the evening.

Top of the Twentieth

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Romans 15:5-6