The Next Story

Tim Challies has recently written an eye opening book, called The Next Story.



This is a book that needed to be written. It is especially interesting to me as it touches two major parts of my life, Christianity and Technology. I can identify with many of the things Challies wrote. While I am not certain how old Tim Challies is, after reading The Next Story I imagine him to be very close in age to myself. For the things he describes, from the introduction of cell phones and the personal computer to the current state of technology where we are all immersed in a world of screens, ring very true with me.

This book commands your attention starting with the preface. Here, he describes the ultimate devastation brought about by a Soviet bomb, called Tsar Bomba, detonated as a test in 1961. Describing a landscape that was changed forever, he likens the bomb of digital technology to this 26000 pound nuclear device.

The Next Story is divided into two parts. Part 1 covers theology, theory, and experience. Then in Part 2, he turns his attention to areas of application specific to the Christian life.

I was given a hardback paper copy of The Next Story. While I appreciate the gift, when I began reading it I immediately desired to highlight sentences, make my own comments, and share them to my Facebook account, like I've become accustomed to while reading books on my Kindle. I thought of the irony of the fact that I'm reading a book about technology using the "old fashioned" method of paper and ink. Yet, even in this experience Challies proves his points. He asks the question, "Do you own your technology, or does it own you?"

Challies gives us a brief history of technology, specifically as it relates to communication, discussing such subjects as the invention of the printing press, including its role in the Reformation. I had never considered that Gutenberg was a devout Roman Catholic, and that through his invention, the church he loved so dearly would suffer greatly as their monopoly on the Word of God was broken through the low cost distribution of Bibles to the masses. Challies made the point that up to the 1800's information could travel no faster than the speed of a horse. Travel took just as long in 1800 as it did when Christ walked the Earth. Yet that began to change in the 1800's. First, with the invention of the railroad, information and people themselves could travel much faster than the horse. Next, as the telegraph was invented, information could travel instantly across wires. Challies labeled the telegraph as the "Victorian Internet." With the availability of instant communication every area of life began to change; industry, crime, education, entertainment, and so on. Life would never be the same again.

History progressed up to the point of the computer age, where we find ourselves now. Challies described two groups of people in this world: "digital immigrants" who were born before 1980 and "digital natives" who were born in or after 1980. As the personal computer first came to the marketplace between 1976 and 1981, the world began to change again. I was born in 1968, so that places me squarely in the "digital immigrant" group. I was born into a world where computers only existed in business, education, and government. I remember clearly our Southwestern Bell issued telephone hanging on the wall of our kitchen. It was bright yellow, and it had a dial that you turned when calling someone. I remember playing early video games with my dad and brothers. First it was "pong" from a dedicated device that connected to our television, then not too much later, it was our Atari 2600 system. My dad was somewhat "ahead of his time" in that he went to Radio Shack and bought the cables necessary to run a power cord from the cigarette lighter in our van, under the seats, and to the back where my brothers and I had bean bags, along with our Atari and a portable black and white TV, would play games "on the road" as we traveled on vacation. I was the main "technology lover" in my childhood home. I was the one who saved my money to buy our first computer, a Commodore VIC 20. This machine had a whopping 3K of memory (2K less than our Atari 2600!). But using this machine I taught myself binary, learned elementary basic programming, and acclimated myself to living in the digital world that I knew was coming. Today, I support my family by writing computer programs. My degree from the University of Texas at Arlington is in Computer Science Engineering. I can also relate to Challies' description of the "digital native." My three year old can walk up to our computer, start iTunes, and begin listening to whatever he wants. He joins my other children in sighing when they see drivers "texting" while they drive.

Through the invention of the personal computer, our world has changed forever. Challies tells us where the term "luddite" comes from, and why it is next to impossible to completely avoid technology.

The computer, like many other technologies, can be a great tool to help Christians spread the Gospel. It can keep us connected as families and as churches. But like so many helpful things, the computer can quickly bring undesired results into our lives. Constant communication disrupts our family time. In fact, it gives us a constant stimulus to the point where we crave communication, and can't bear the thought of being "out of touch." So beyond the obvious evils that a computer may bring to a family, such as pornography, violence, or other such filth that may infiltrate our minds, the computer can often be set up as an idol in our lives. John Calvin said that the human heart is an idol factory. I'm sure that the computer could certainly qualify as an idol in many of our lives.

I am grateful to Tim Challies for writing The Next Story. It is something that needs to be said, particularly if you are 1) a Christian and 2) a technology consumer. It has given me much to think about as I spend most of my waking hours in front of one screen or another. I could certainly relate to the things he describes. Technology is here to stay. We can't control whether it is here or not, but we can work to make wise decisions on how we employ its services in our lives.

Linking to Facebook

Once upon a time every blog post I would write would automatically post to Facebook. Then I shut down my facebook account. Well, now I'm back, and the primary purpose of this blog post is to see if it will automatically update my facebook status. I did tweak a few settings first.

Why So Quiet?

I looked up and realized that I've not made a single blog entry for the month of November. Compared to 2009, 2010 has been a fairly "low volume" blogging year. No activity doesn't mean I'm sitting on the couch eating bon-bons. :-) Seven children have a way of keeping you on your toes. Besides that, however, take a look at the newest development:

AnswerSoft, Inc.

I've been pouring my evenings after getting the kids in bed into this. I think I've fixed all the broken links on my new site. If you find any please let me know.

I still need to spend a lot more time tweaking the site, adding more worthwhile information, and making it look nicer. Eventually I plan to start an IVR/telecom blog over on AnswerSoft's site.

BTW - If you have a need for a phone system (and what small business doesn't?) check out AnswerSoft. We use ifbyphone technology. AnswerSoft is an official reseller for them. Not only will you save $5/month vs. signing up with ifbyphone directly, but you will also get the personalized service of yours truly customizing your application to fit your needs. I'm also available for more in depth programming work. I use SQL Server 2008 with Visual Studio 2008, C#, .NET.

The "pizza demo" is going to be reworked here in the next week or so to utilize SQL Server technology. I'm excited and I can't wait to help you out with your own particular phone application needs.

Give me a call if I can help you out:
877-891-1836

AnswerSoft, Inc.

To see a little of what I've been up to lately, click on the image below.  If it's between the hours of 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM CDT you'll get to hear the phone greeting for my new business venture.  If it's outside of those hours, you'll be transferred to my voice mail box.

I can help with phone automation for your small business.  Click to call me!

Using Filters in Reporting Services

This is a technical post, but I discovered something very helpful today and I wanted to share it with whomever it may help.  I had a need within Reporting Services 2005 to display a table, and only display a line of text if a particular value populated at least one row of that table.

I didn't want to alter the stored procedure because I don't have permissions for that, and to request it and wait is more trouble than its worth.  So I wanted to handle this within Reporting Services itself.

I tried to use the "Count" function.  However, the Count function only returns the total number of values returned in the dataset.  I wanted to do something like this in the Hidden property of the table row containing my text:
=IIF(Count(Fields!ActionCode.Value=21)>0, False, True)

However, since Count only returns the total about of data it was always returning a false value whether ActionCode equaled 21 or not.

My solution:
I defined another dataset that queried the same stored procedure as my dataset used to populate my table.  However, in this dataset I clicked on the Filters tab.  In that field, I filter the data to only return records where the ActionCode = 21 (In the "Value" field, be sure to specify =21, because simply entering 21 treats it as a string value).

Now, back in the hidden property field I can use the "Count," but I specify the new dataset:
=IIF(Count(Fields!ActionCode,"dsCheckForRemoved")>0, False, True)

Now...since 21 represents a "removed" condition I only get back records in this dataset if that condition exists.

This gives me what I need and I can display that message independent of the other rows in the table.

Hope this helps someone.

Which Kindle?

For months now I've been saving for a Kindle.  However, all this time I was saving for the DX, mainly due to the fact that the DX had a native PDF reader.  A lot of the stuff I like to read is in the public domain and is readily available in PDF format.  This is mostly because they are scanned images of very old books.  Some of these books use the "old English" format where the letter "s" looks like the letter "f."

There are new developments recently announced by Amazon that have caused me to perk up.

First of all, the standard Kindle 2 now includes a native PDF reader on its own.  Plus they've lowered the price to $189!  What a deal:


Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 6" Display, White, 3G Works Globally - Latest Generation

They also have a new version of the DX out. And that price has been reduced as well! ($379)

Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 9.7" Display, White, 3G Works Globally – 2nd Generation

So, it seems like it's getting harder to choose between the two. The main (only?) advantage of the DX over the standard one now is a bigger screen, and more memory. The standard Kindle holds 1500 books. The DX holds 3500.

The other thing I'm really wanting to do is to access my Logos 4 library from it. I've heard that you can get to it through http://library.logos.com

I've got enough money saved to get the standard Kindle today.  So, should I take the plunge, or hold out for the DX?

Leave a comment with your opinion.  Also...click through the links above to check out the specs at Amazon's site.  If you buy through my link I'll get a small commission.

Thanks!
Mike

Win a Copy of Bible Works 8!

There is a very good Christian blog that I like to follow called Cal.vini.st. This month they are giving away two copies of Bible Works 8 software valued at $349 each. Visit this link to visit their site and sign up:

http://cal.vini.st/2009/06/cal-vini-st-first-anniversary-giveaway/

This is awesome software that will certainly help you in your study of God's Word.

If you happen not to win the prize, there is a free software package I have used for years called E-Sword. While it may not be in the same league at Bible Works, I can tell you that it is certainly a great piece of software to have on your system, especially if you have no other package. Visit this link to download it free of charge:

http://www.e-sword.net/

Error Installing Visual Studio 2008

In addition to being a homeschool dad and a Reformed Baptist Christian, I am also a Systems Engineer. In my "day job" I have been stumped on an issue since last week, and found the answer this morning.

I was trying to install Visual Studio 2008 on a machine that I inherited when I got this job. Yet everytime I tried the install, it would fail with an error message about not being able to install the Microsoft Document Explorer.

This morning I found a solution that got me past that roadblock. There is a file called rgstrtn.lck that is located in the following directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft Help\

In my case the file was zero bytes and it had a date time stamp of June 2008 (before I started working here). After deleting that file and rebooting I was able to progress.

Now on to the next issue...a digital signature problem... Computer programming is just one challenge after another. It's a big puzzle. It's up to programmers to find the solution.

RSS Feed Messed Up

I've been told, and I've confirmed, that my RSS feed is shot. I've spent several hours tracking this last night and this morning. Bummer! If anyone has any experience with resolving an issue of FTP Response 421 received. Server closed connection when trying to republish my entire blog, I'd be most grateful if you drop me a note at mike@mikesoutherland.com. In the meantime, if you click on the subscribe link at the bottom, you'll get routed to an error page. It's weird that I can still publish blog entries. I just can't seem to get the feed working. If this isn't resolved soon, it may be time to start shopping servers.

Mike