My First iPhone App: Wedding ClinkMy first iPhone app, Wedding Clink, was approved on Saturday. It's pretty simple--mostly about making that "clink your champagne glass" sound by shaking the iPhone. On the iPhone, you can also immediately snap a picture. The picture and captions can also be customized.
Title Screen:
Default Congratulations:
Default Clink (hit "Clink" button):
Shake the iPhone from side-to-side to clink!
Change Background (hit "Background" button):
Change Text:
With changed background and text:
 
I wrote the app because my sister, Beth, is getting married this Saturday and I thought it would be cool to have a wedding app for her wedding.
I was also curious about how the whole app process works. The app has been downloaded about 100 times in four days. (It's free.) I'm assuming that if it's not promoted, that daily download number will only decrease, as it's competing against all the other apps (about 30,000) in the app store.
If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, please download and rate my app!
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WiiI got a Nintendo Wii last week. I was amazed at how difficult they still are to find. I had to watch multiple web sites and finally got a bundle from Toys R Us. The Wii itself is pretty cool, very easy to play with, and I was actually a little bit sore after playing Wii Sports. I did have one problem when it arrived, because it only comes with a composite video out, and my TV only has component in. So I had to get a component video adapter , but that improves the video quality, so I didn't have a problem with it.
The Wii is mostly an in-person social (party) and kids platform, so I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of it, except when people come over. In contrast, I play on my XBox 360 all the time. What I'm trying to get now is the Wii Fit, because I think I'll use a Wii Fit a lot more than most of the Wii games. I like the idea of a video game that includes exercise and working on one's balance. Unfortunately, the Wii Fit is also very difficult to find.
The Wii bundle included Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
I'm not impressed by this game at all. It's a side scroller, in the
same genre as video games going back to the 80s (reminds me of Street Fighter or the like), and the way it zooms
in and out makes it difficult to follow one's character. Mostly it
seems to be an exercise in button-mashing.
Why is it still so hard to find these toys? I don't know, but I read somewhere that Nintendo is shipping more units to Europe, because they make more there then they do with the weak dollar. I don't know if that's true, but the German and Swedish guys from my meetings at work last week both said that Wii's and Wii Fits are easily available in their countries.
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Elder Training BeginsMy church started elder training on Sunday. It's a big deal for us. Our denomination is Presbyterian, so it is representative in its government. Elders are elected, and then lead the congregation. Although elders meet together in a presbytery and a general assembly, there are no higher levels of church offices (like bishops in an episcopal system), nor are the elders beholden to the majority rule of the congregation (as in congregationalism).
In our denomination, the PCA, there are two types of elders, ruling and teaching. Teaching elders are ordained pastors. Ruling elders are ordained laymen. Until now, we have only had teaching elders (pastors), so our church organization has been provisional and temporary. With the ordination of these men, we will finally move away from our dependent missions-church status. Of course it's more than just a status change. These elders will lead the church for years to come.
I was encouraged by the strong attendance at the training. The pastor walked us through the PCA's Book of Church Order, chapter 12, "The Church Session."
Required Materials for the training include:
The Bible
The Book of Church Order
How to Read the Bible Book by Book by Fee and Stuart
According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Goldsworthy
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change by Tripp
The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes by Williamson
Though I attended the elder training, I will not seek ordination. The
PCA is a strongly Reformed denomination, but I'm not a Calvinist.
Although some doctrinal flexibility is sometimes allowed by the
presbytery, it usually involves issues like one's view on creationism
or Sabbath observance.
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Buying Jeans OnlineI obviously haven't blogged in a while. I've been on Facebook mostly, playing a lot of Scramble.  Also, I've recorded, along with Chris and Jay, a bunch of podcasts. Feel free to suggest topics for the podcast, btw.
So I was looking for an easy topic (or series of topics) to get back into blogging, and it occurred to me that I got Amazon Prime a while back. What's that, you ask? It means that I paid Amazon one annual fee of $79 to get free two-day shipping or one-day shipping for $3.99 per item, for all the items that Amazon sells itself (i.e. not the items that Amazon's partners sell). No more trying to get to $25 for free shipping.
As this has totally transformed my use of Amazon (and since I have an affiliate account), I figure I can write up all the stuff I order. For example, a few weeks ago I noticed that my jeans were wearing out (not a surprise, since I wear jeans every day to work). So I just ordered Wrangler jeans and even a belt from Amazon and had them delivered. I didn't have to go to the mall (ugh) or search for my size. Plus, Amazon has a variety of colors (so I could get those ever-so-stylish black jeans, too). Admittedly, jeans are a commodity item, and I know already the kind I like. I probably wouldn't be exploring new fashions if I were ordering from a website. But for simple stuff, I think it works pretty well.
Test
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Thoughtful Geeks PodcastSome friends and I have started a new podcast. Check out Thoughtful Geeks. We're still working out all the kinks, so feel free to make suggestions and give us your thoughts.  We've recorded three episodes, but we're not aiming to widely publicize it until we have at least five.
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