intersections: theology, technology, politics

The Divine Hours

January 23, 2008 at 11:11 am · Filed under Uncategorized

I don’t remember when we first received the PDF files for The Divine Hours, but it was during our Windows days (yes, the church, the entire church was a Windows only shop, I started with Ken’s migration and the rest is history). I remember Ken coming to me and asking if I could create an online version of The Divine Hours, that would automatically display the current office via our website. Because I always say yes to requests like this, I got started by manually converting the 8 or so PDFs that made up the four books of The Divine Hours. Since we were using a Windows computing platform, I used Microsoft technology to store the converted hours, first contained in a MS Access database, now The Divine Hours live on a hosted mySQL server in NJ. We have made minor improvements to the code and have finally verified the integrity of my translation of the hours into a digital form.

About two years ago, Bob Royce and I put our heads together to see if there was a business opportunity with the digital version of The Divine Hours. Bob wrote a brief business proposal and sent it onto Phyllis Tickle and her agent. We received some positive feedback, but decided not to pursue the opportunity. Since then I’ve been thinking about multiple ways to increase the traffic to the Ann Arbor Vineyard website using The Divine Hours as the vehicle. I’ve toyed with several ideas, like a Dashboard Widget for OS X, something with alerts that would remind you to pray the hours. At the time of our proposal, we were thinking about a Palm application, but Palm is dying, if not already dead.

I never got around to building the Dashboard Widget for OS X, and since Palm wasn’t a viable platform for development, I took no action there. Then Apple released the iPhone, and immediately thoughts about developing a version of the hours for the iPhone sprang to mind. As a platform, the iPhone seems to be the best bet for a delivery channel for the hours. You always have your cell phone with you, the iPhone can connect to the Internet where ever you are, and it sports a robust modern web browser. Also it’s a large platform with over 4 million with a goal of 10 million by the end of 2008.

At Macworld 2008, Steve Jobs presented updated firmware for the iPhone that supports web clips directly to the home screen on the iPhone. Right after the keynote, I decided to update the code for The Divine Hours to optimize it for the iPhone. This is a multifaceted development process starting with the creation of a iPhone home screen icon, then the updated CSS for the iPhone, and a retooling of the domain name for the hours hosted by the Ann Arbor Vineyard.

Today, you can add The Divine Hours, to the home screen of your iPhone and get a nice home screen icon that takes you directly to the hours. Later, I will attempt to improve the text display of the hours and associated documentation. After the release of the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone, I will attempt to build an application that will include custom alerts & reminders, localization of the hours for your time zone. Today, the hours use a small cookie to properly display the hours.

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The Identity Card: Being Black in America

January 20, 2008 at 6:14 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

I just finished reading a Time magazine article on Barack Obama that offers an answer to the question, ‘Is he black enough?’ This is an awful question posed mainly by individuals who have a very finite view of what it means to be black in America. It’s an unfortunate question with no real answer. How does one measure their blackness? Is there an acceptable scale of blackness published by the ‘black community’ where an individual might measure themselves against it?

If you are interested in race in America and the impact it has on individuals who seek to understand themselves and their culture, I would recommend that you take a look at this article. It was a quick read and breaks down the issue of black identity in America into two categories: those who bargain and those who challenge. The author posits that white America doesn’t want to be perceived as racist and therefore welcomes bargainers like Oprah Winfrey. They are glad to welcome someone who doesn’t rub American’s history of racism in their face. And Barack Obama is the first bargainer to apply it to the political arena (Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpon are challengers).

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January 18, 2008 at 3:57 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

The weather out here has been great, high 50s to low 60s with no rain and no wind. Each year it has been my tradition to head down to Cupertino to visit the Apple Company Store and pick up a few items. In the past, Dave and I have done this together, however, he didn’t arrive this year until Monday afternoon making a joint visit to Cupertino impossible. So this year, I convinced Maria to take the trip with me.

It was a great drive down to Cupertino and we enjoyed the extended time together in the car. We dropped into the Apple store, picked up a few items and then headed back to San Francisco so I could pick up my registration materials.

We met Dave at the Bart in Pleasant Hill and settled in for the evening. We had an early morning considering we needed to be on the first Bart train from Pleasant Hill at 4:17 am. We met up with some friends already in line and waited with them for about four hours before entering the main conference hall to hear this year’s keynote presentation by Steve Jobs.

I was about 50% on my Macworld predictions this year. I really wasn’t expecting an Ultra Portable Mobile Computer (UPMC) but that’s what Steve presented as one of the four items of his keynote.
It’s a slick device and I would love to have someone buy one for me, but I love my MacBookPro, so I don’t need an UPMC. Maybe if I was still working for IBM and was traveling weekly I could use one, but that’s not my life these days.

I like the announcement of iTunes Movie Rentals and I want to try it out soon. I have this gift card at the iTunes Music Store so I will use it for a movie rental. The only downside is I don’t have access to a reliable broadband Internet connection. The standard definition movies are about 1.6GB and will probably take about 2 hours 20 minutes to download.

After the keynote, Dave and I headed down to the exhibit floor and walked around for about four hours. I made a few purchases, said hello to some familiar faces, saw a lot of cool stuff and enjoyed the technology, and the show floor.

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Macworld Amusement Park

January 16, 2008 at 4:05 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Just before leaving for San Francisco to attend this year’s Macworld I was talking with my friend Amon, she asked me the funniest question I’ve received about Macworld. She asked if Macworld was an amusement park or just a place to buy stuff. I busted a gut. Can you imagine, Macworld as an amusement park, just like Legoworld.

I finally packed on time for this trip and was able to go to bed by 11pm for our 8:30am departure to California. Our flight was uneventful (exactly as you want it). We flew Southwest, and I really enjoyed the flight attendants on this flight. They were really funny and engaging.

We arrived 40 minutes early and sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes before we found a gate. Maria’s grandfather, Jim picked us up and headed back to Martinez. Maria and grandpa headed out for a game of Boccee Ball while I slept off my headache.

Sunday was church at First Presbyterian then a day in San Francisco with uncle Ken, Brian, and Linda. Ken and Brian picked us up from First Presbyterian of Berkley and we met up with Linda in Oakland. We took the Bart down to Union Square and took a cable car to the wharf. We had lunch at Boudin then took a ferry to Alcatraz. We took an audio tour of the prison then had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great arrival and a great time with family.

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intersections: theology, technology, politics

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The Divine Hours

The Identity Card: Being Black in America

Macworld Amusement Park

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