This does seem like a cool idea. So I’m checking whether or not you need to be signed in to play

And it would appear the answer is yes.

Just a test, nothing to see here, unless you want to subscribe to Computeractive, which woudl be a win all round

Small version

My M-Audio MobilePre has done sterling work over the years. Barely perceptable latency has made recording in music software easy (or at least limited only by my skill) and as an external box it’s easy to access all the sockets.

Only I changed the sample rate, for no sane reason, and then discovered that I couldn’t turn it back again. That wouldn’t have been a problem apart from the fact it did something unpleasant to the sound output.

Every time I opened the control panel the latency and sample rate options were greyed out. Thankfully I found a solution from the M-Audio forums here, though if you keep reading I’ll explain for Windows 7 (should work on Vista as well).

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I’d have to concede that I’m not really a proper programmer, but I know enough that this reimagining of PHP made me laugh out loud no fewer than four times in a busy office.

Replacing if and else with perchance and otherwise is an act of genius, and there’s more if you just click on this link.

HT to the Codeproject newsletter. I highly recommend it.

So my job this evening was to recreate a little PHP script I wrote a little while ago that would automatically display the streets that a church is praying for in any given month. It’s actually very simple to do, though you will need to install a plugin in WordPress as the standard Text widget doesn’t work with PHP.

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Just playing around with Roxio 2011, and the hamster.

I must remember to turn more lights on before recording videos.

I tend to think that good preaching/teaching should consist of both comfort and challenge. It’s that latter that I’ve received over the last few days, probably with good reason.

First there was Ian’s sermon on Sunday. The text and recording should be going live on the recorded sermons page soon. The emphasis was on living well even when it doesn’t seem convenient or even make sense. I picked up a similar message when I was listening to the Stuff Christians Like audio book on the train.

That rather pricked my conscience into doing my Bible notes, and they didn’t let up either. Firstly I caught up on the weekend’s WordLive notes on Proverbs 6 about the ant. I’d only been thinking the other day about re-reading Bill Hybel’s Excellent book on Proverbs called Making Life work (link to Amazon). It’s one of the most challenging books I’ve read and so worth reading more than once. I must confess to having frittered away quite a lot of time recently. It’s far too easy to get sucked into playing browser based games or reading web comics. Maybe I should be handing the OpenDNS passwords to my wife so that she can block all those unhelpful timesink websites.

Finally there was today’s reading on Mark 6:6b-13 on WordLive. What challenged me was how little the disciples were to take with them on their mission. I went on a press trip last week and probably took almost as many gadgets as I did clothes (certainly by weight), and that was without a laptop.

Would I be willing to go to a strange place without loading the local GPS maps onto my phone? I didn’t last week.

Would I go without money? Not last week; I loaded up with local currency and made sure I had my credit cards with me.

Would I share their boldness? Perhaps. I’d certainly like to think so.

Funny thing is, I’m not resenting the challenge. Hopefully it’ll be an opportunity to grow.

This was a quite exciting find. It’s a plugin for OpenOffice that gives it the ability to access MySQL databases online.

Databases for websites such as this one are something I regard as a means to an end rather than something I’m an expert in. The usual tool, phpMyadmin, is very powerful but not always the  most friendly to the newcomer. An alternative that works with a familiar program got me quite excited.

Installation is as simple as installing any other OpenOffice extension although you will need to do this from a different program in OpenOffice than Base, unless you are willing to create a database first.

After that, there’s an option for MySQL in the ‘Connect to an existing database’ menu. You can test the connection before finishing the wizard. A useful touch I’m always pleased to see as it avoids significant frustration in the event of typos.

You can find my day job review and the download link here.

OK, I probably shouldn’t get excited about such things, I’m only human.

PCEO-DGB-PUBLIC-DR01-EditedTSStuff Christians Like
Stuff Christians like is what blogging is meant to be. Some of the posts are laugh out loud funny (a good way to start conversations in the office I suppose) but others are more challenging. A common post is a questionnaire with points to score, such as you might find in a magazine.

For example, one attempts to solve the problem of two apparently contradictory statements in the Bible. Passages from the Old Testament score 1 point, New Testament 2 points, something Jesus actually said 3 points. Another offers advice on what people think about your prayers (5. Your wife or husband give you the “wrap it up” tap during your prayer = minus 2 points).

Collide Magazine
Collide is a good place to look if you are interested in using computers and technology in or around church. Sadly there is no print magazine in the UK but you can subscribe to the blog that includes regular round ups of internet news and videos.

LifeHacker
This isn’t a Christian website, but is still worth a mention. Lifehacker is a blog with advice on getting the most from your computer and the internet. The tips cover everything from new ways to use software such as Office, free stuff on line and new software that you might not have heard of before.

Magnatune
Magnatune.com is an online music shop that proudly announces “We are not evil”. They certainly don’t look that way from the customer’s point of view. You can listen to the music on the site and then choose exactly how much to spend on albums from £3 to £10. Delivery is by download only but CD quality versions are available at no extra cost. The range is somewhat eclectic but is worth the search as there are some real gems. I can strongly recommend the American Bach Soloists, or Drop Trio, if your tastes include jazz.

Internet Evangelism Day
Held on the 26 April every year, this day aims to get us talking about our faith online, be it on social networking sites like Facebook, or by giving local websites a brush up. There is a monthly newsletter that is full of interesting links and stories, some spiritual and others of a more technical bias. If you are thinking about reviewing your church website, there is a very useful questionaire and checklist.

First published on The Sheep Dip,  a Christian-run website offering quality material for church newsletter and magazine editors to use for a small fee.