A Nathaniel Hale Shot

Most people who play golf have an amazing shot every once and a while. Then, there are those people who tend to get smiled on more than the rest of us when it comes to golf breaks. Nathaniel Hale is one of those guys on our staff. He has hit more shots off trees, out of ditches, etc, than we can begin to count. I know skill is involved, but sometimes it just gets frustrating to see someone be so fortunate when the rest of us have to really pay for our mistakes. This golf shot reminded me of him, so I dedicate this to you Nathaniel!

Rhett Butler

Another great performance by an amazing musician.

Microsoft Surface

Well, several years ago I made the switch to Apple. The primary reason was for the ease of use and stability of it's video editing software. Although I'm now a "mac guy", I still enjoy the latest technology, even if it's Microsoft that's producing it. I got a link today from my dad that pointed me to just that. Microsoft Surface promises to be an amazing tool for sharing photos with friends, uploading content to your phone or mp3 player, as well as paying for your evening meal. Check out this short video that shows some of the cool features that should be here in the not to distant future.

Where do you stand Politically

Not sure who to vote for this year? I must admit, it's been an interesting year so far in the primaries. So...are you lining up with one or another of the candidates? Do you know where they stand? If not, take this little test. It was pretty revealing to me.

Take the test

Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

Well, it looks as if the war is finally coming to an end. All signs are pointing to Blu-ray technology as the next big thing to replace the current DVD technology. Here is what I'm finding out:

Seven of the eight major movie studios (Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate) are producing for the Blu-ray technology, whereas HD-DVD only has support from two major movie studios (Paramount and Universal).

Just some of the companies that support Blu-ray technology EXCLUSIVELY.
1. Sony/Sony Pictures
2. Wal-Mart
3. Warner Bros. (this is a recent big announcement)
4. Disney
5. Fox Home Entertainment
6. Netflix (this is a big one)

Toshiba has been the leading producer of HD DVD software and hardware until now. They just announced the following on Blu-ray.com:

"Toshiba will announce that effective immediately, production of HD DVD hardware, software, and authoring tools will cease, and that sales and support of existing products will end sometime in March."

Another quote by Samsung:

"Samsung is expected to show more interests in Blu-ray products than rival HD DVD."

Some key differences in Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

1. Blu-ray's total disk capacity is 50GB while HD DVD is just 30GB.
2. Blu-ray has adopted a higher data transfer rate for video and audio (54Mbps vs 36.55Mbps). The greater capacity and data transfer rates for Blu-ray will allow the movie studios to release their movies with higher quality video and audio than the HD-DVD format.
3. Blu-ray sounds cooler

I would still wait until the technology goes through a couple of upgrades (Blu-ray is getting ready to release an updated version soon). As the upgrades come and the companies all begin competing for your money, the cost will come down soon. For now I suggest just using your current DVD player and downloading your HD content through Tivo, XBOX360, iTunes, or just check out your favorite network on the web.

God is at work!

It has always been a pleasure to serve at FBC, but never has the time been more exciting than right now. This past week we saw nearly 800 students take part in our Middle School and High School outreach events, Rush Hour and Fuel. Over 70 students indicated that they had received Christ for the first time! What an amazing event. Then just two short days later we celebrated marriage at our annual Romance and Roses. Over 300 couples joined together to make the statement that their marriage was a priority and wanted to make it even better. Following that we went into our weekend services where we saw 11 people baptized...that's 19 in the past two weeks with more coming up! Wow, God is amazing! Following that we entered into a time on Sunday Night called Sacred Gathering. What an amazing time as over 600 people gathered to commit to two and a half days of fasting and prayer to seek God and His direction for our lives and church. I look forward to the next two nights as we gather and seek God for His will! What an exciting time to be serving at FBC!

Me in a nutshell