Tech Tips from the In-House Engineer
As you might have already realized, most electronic devices do not really have an OFF condition, they just 'go to sleep' until something tells them to 'wake up'. Any device with a remote control, in particular, can never be OFF. If it was OFF, how could it respond to the remote control to turn ON?
This is not usually a problem - the power usage is minuscule and the devices are ready to respond when you want them without physically having to push a bunch of switches. The process is usually so reliable that some manufacturers no longer include a real OFF/ON switch. (There is no need for it. Right?) A real physical switch costs money and serves no purpose. Yeah, right. Anyone who has had to 'push the button' on their computer knows better.
The Zenith DTT900 HD Converter Box has a problem which reminds us that OFF/ON switches always have a real purpose. At first, the problem seems to be connected to power outages or electrical storms, but now it just seems random. About once a week, the box stops responding to the remote control. It is still ON and still receiving whatever channel it is set on, but... It will not change channels. It will not change volume. But, most importantly, IT WON'T TURN OFF! Even pushing the 'real on/off switch' on the front of the box doesn't work because IT ISN'T A REAL SWITCH!
I'm sorry, you have probably guessed the punch line to this joke. The only way to reset the operating system of this computer (yeah... It's a computer.) is to TURN IT OFF! In this case, turning it off means unplugging it. Of course, since it is installed in an entertainment center, all of the electric cords are conveniently and esthetically well-hidden and inaccessible. In my case, near the ceiling.
After having to precariously stand on a chair (Don't try this at home? Where else would we NEED to try this?) for the 4th or 5th time, I finally decided that problem was consistently recurrent and required fixing. I put one of those switched extension cords in line with the HD cord so I could have a real switch where I could get to it. A real low-tech solution for my high-tech device. They should be readily available in any low-tech discount store, especially now since they are frequently used to switch Christmas lights.
Remember, sometimes low-tech is better. Paper may cover Rock, but Rock can beat the crap out of Paper later.
Update 12/6/2012 It just died completely. I wonder what will be wrong with the next one...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Don't Cry Anymore
Most Christians understand (intellectually, at least) that there is a distinction between happiness and joy. Joy is somehow a spiritual characteristic and happiness is carnal.
The Cathedral Quartet put it most dramatically in the song Romans 8:28:
Now Satan can rob me of my happiness
But he can't take away my joy
But most people would be hard pressed to give a clear example of the distinction.
In 1992, I was driving through a run-down neighborhood. I passed a little girl who was sitting on the curb with her head in her hands. This song immediately came to me:
Don't Cry Anymore
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're special to HIm.
So dry your tears,
And give your fears to Him.
__ ___ ____ ___
And let the healing begin.
The song came to me as fast as I could write it down -- with the exception of the one missing line. What was missing? What else do we have to do to enable God's healing? I could not come up with an answer.
About a week or two weeks later, I was almost killed in a car wreck. I was in the hospital for 21 days. I was in a lot of pain most of that time and there had been a significant possibility that I might lose a leg. My personal foundational scripture has always been Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." Naturally, I was asking fervently, "WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ME?" and "How does THIS work to my good?"
Immediately - when I asked, "Why..." - the missing line in the song came to me:
"Release your JOY
"And let the healing begin!"
The physical healing process took over a year. But as far as I was concerned, I was spiritually healed immediately. I have rarely felt as close to God as I did during those 21 days. I was certainly NOT happy. But I was never without joy.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to many of the churches while he was in prison in Rome. On several occasions he attempted to convey the dramatic distinction between happiness and joy.
He was so excited by the joy of his relationship with God that forgot where he was and said, "I wish everybody could be just like I am." [dramatic pause...] "Oh... Except for these leg irons and this prison cell."
I could honestly say, "I wish everyone could be just like me." "Oh... Except for the crushed leg and all the pain and stuff..."
The dramatic point that the Lord was trying to make was that joy comes first! Our natural assumption is that the joy comes because of the healing. But, that's not joy - that's happiness. Joy comes straight from the Lord, regardless of the situation. What God was saying was that Joy has to ALREADY BE THERE for healing to take place!
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're special to HIm.
So dry your tears,
And give your fears to Him.
RELEASE YOUR JOY!
And let the healing begin.
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're precious to HIm.
The Cathedral Quartet put it most dramatically in the song Romans 8:28:
Now Satan can rob me of my happiness
But he can't take away my joy
But most people would be hard pressed to give a clear example of the distinction.
In 1992, I was driving through a run-down neighborhood. I passed a little girl who was sitting on the curb with her head in her hands. This song immediately came to me:
Don't Cry Anymore
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're special to HIm.
So dry your tears,
And give your fears to Him.
__ ___ ____ ___
And let the healing begin.
The song came to me as fast as I could write it down -- with the exception of the one missing line. What was missing? What else do we have to do to enable God's healing? I could not come up with an answer.
About a week or two weeks later, I was almost killed in a car wreck. I was in the hospital for 21 days. I was in a lot of pain most of that time and there had been a significant possibility that I might lose a leg. My personal foundational scripture has always been Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes." Naturally, I was asking fervently, "WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED TO ME?" and "How does THIS work to my good?"
Immediately - when I asked, "Why..." - the missing line in the song came to me:
"Release your JOY
"And let the healing begin!"
The physical healing process took over a year. But as far as I was concerned, I was spiritually healed immediately. I have rarely felt as close to God as I did during those 21 days. I was certainly NOT happy. But I was never without joy.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to many of the churches while he was in prison in Rome. On several occasions he attempted to convey the dramatic distinction between happiness and joy.
He was so excited by the joy of his relationship with God that forgot where he was and said, "I wish everybody could be just like I am." [dramatic pause...] "Oh... Except for these leg irons and this prison cell."
I could honestly say, "I wish everyone could be just like me." "Oh... Except for the crushed leg and all the pain and stuff..."
The dramatic point that the Lord was trying to make was that joy comes first! Our natural assumption is that the joy comes because of the healing. But, that's not joy - that's happiness. Joy comes straight from the Lord, regardless of the situation. What God was saying was that Joy has to ALREADY BE THERE for healing to take place!
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're special to HIm.
So dry your tears,
And give your fears to Him.
RELEASE YOUR JOY!
And let the healing begin.
Don't Cry Anymore,
Everything will be all right.
Jesus loves you,
And He wants you to know,
That you're precious to HIm.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
You Wouldn't Understand
I am outraged and offended.
I was listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air (NPR) as she interviewed Uta Hagen, a once-famous actress who, with her husband, ran a famous acting school. Terry started to ask her something about the way she prepared for a scene and she interrupted:
"Let me stop you right there. Are You an actor?"
TG: "No."
"Then it's none of your business."
She went on to give examples:
"You would not ask a violinist about his bowing arm. ...about his elbow position. ...about his phrasing."
"If he told you, you would not know what he was talking about."
Terry Gross, who is probably one of the best interviewers in the world, recovered very gracefully and went on to explain that she would ask exactly those questions. Her business is to ask those questions. She said, "Understanding more about (a) craft, helps me to perceive things about that craft that I would not have perceived before."
In fact, studies have shown that any knowledge in any area of expertise increases general intelligence in other unrelated areas of expertise. In other words, IQ is to some extent directly related to sheer volume of knowledge. It is never wrong to seek knowledge in any area. The Bible says that the wise seek knowledge because wisdom is based on knowledge.
As an engineer/apostle/teacher, a primary part of my calling is to learn as much as I can about EVERYTHING. To seek out correlations and interconnections between seemingly unrelated fields of study. To convey as best I can the wonder and delight of my discoveries to as many others as possible.
I do not believe that anything is impossible to explain. You may not be able to explain it to someone else, but you will understand and appreciate what I am saying (if I am truly any kind of a teacher at all). To appreciate the calling of a teacher, go watch Stand And Deliver, Dead Poets Society, or even School Of Rock! A real teacher considers it his fault if the student cannot understand.
As the interview continued, Uta Hagen talked about being blacklisted as a communist during the 60s. She taught acting because she was not allowed to act. I realized then that her response to the first interview question came from hurt and bitterness.
Not really called to be a teacher -- only arrogance and bitterness makes the statement, "I could tell you, but it wouldn't do you any good. You wouldn't understand."
I was listening to Terry Gross on Fresh Air (NPR) as she interviewed Uta Hagen, a once-famous actress who, with her husband, ran a famous acting school. Terry started to ask her something about the way she prepared for a scene and she interrupted:
"Let me stop you right there. Are You an actor?"
TG: "No."
"Then it's none of your business."
She went on to give examples:
"You would not ask a violinist about his bowing arm. ...about his elbow position. ...about his phrasing."
"If he told you, you would not know what he was talking about."
Terry Gross, who is probably one of the best interviewers in the world, recovered very gracefully and went on to explain that she would ask exactly those questions. Her business is to ask those questions. She said, "Understanding more about (a) craft, helps me to perceive things about that craft that I would not have perceived before."
In fact, studies have shown that any knowledge in any area of expertise increases general intelligence in other unrelated areas of expertise. In other words, IQ is to some extent directly related to sheer volume of knowledge. It is never wrong to seek knowledge in any area. The Bible says that the wise seek knowledge because wisdom is based on knowledge.
As an engineer/apostle/teacher, a primary part of my calling is to learn as much as I can about EVERYTHING. To seek out correlations and interconnections between seemingly unrelated fields of study. To convey as best I can the wonder and delight of my discoveries to as many others as possible.
I do not believe that anything is impossible to explain. You may not be able to explain it to someone else, but you will understand and appreciate what I am saying (if I am truly any kind of a teacher at all). To appreciate the calling of a teacher, go watch Stand And Deliver, Dead Poets Society, or even School Of Rock! A real teacher considers it his fault if the student cannot understand.
As the interview continued, Uta Hagen talked about being blacklisted as a communist during the 60s. She taught acting because she was not allowed to act. I realized then that her response to the first interview question came from hurt and bitterness.
Not really called to be a teacher -- only arrogance and bitterness makes the statement, "I could tell you, but it wouldn't do you any good. You wouldn't understand."
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