I came across this Concept art for a toaster today. Although it’s not a functioning appliance, the site the picture came from, www.inventables.com, says that it could be made with some research and development.
Why hasn’t anyone else thought of a clear toaster so you can see just how toasted your bread is? Genius.
Bethany was at a family wedding and left me home with the boys today. We had a great time playing games, going to the park and walking around the block. I love being able to spend time with the boys like this because it doesn’t happen very regularly. But they are definitely a handful. It’s not that it’s overly tiring, but by 5:30 I just wanted to be left alone for five minutes.
I’m sure this post will elicit some sort of “see, taking care of the boys is hard” comment from my wife.
We had a rough night with Parker tonight. Actually, it’s been a rough week. Granted, he’s was sick a few days ago, but our boy decided to develop an iron will over the past few days. Tonight was no exception.
We had planned on playing some games together, but because he didn’t listen and said “no” several times to our instructions, we sent Parker upstairs to his bedroom early telling him to think about how he acted. Bethany and I went on with our evening. We played a few games and then watched some TV. About a half hour or so into the night, we heard Parker calling down from his room: “I thought about it. I’m ready to play now!”
We had a decision to make. Do we let him come downstairs or do we follow through with our punishment?
Bethany and I both had that sinking feeling inside. We wanted to run upstairs and bring him down. But we also realized that we needed to help Parker understand the consequences of his actions. So I went upstairs and had a little talk with Parker. I explained to him that I forgave him and I understood that he was sorry, but that he couldn’t come down because how he acted earlier. Parker didn’t like this, but he listened and it seemed like he might have even understood.
As hard as it was, I’m sure we made the right decision. Even so, it’s days like these when I wish I had a manual to consult for raising kids.
Well, I realized last Saturday that I never did a tech tip last week, so here’s an extra long one for today. If you don’t know what a hosts file is, then you probably don’t have a custom one and I highly recommend that you read on. You also need to check out mvps.org.
A hosts file is like an personal address book. Whenever you type a website name into your browser (like www.thestonecrew.com) your computer checks your hosts file to find the IP address (a bunch of numbers) of that site, so it knows where to go. If the address isn’t there, it consults a DNS server (kind of like a large phone book for website names and IP addresses). Usually your computer ends up sending a query to the DNS server because you don’t typically put anything in your hosts file. A custom hosts file, when properly set up, can stop requests to IP address that are annoying (ads) or malicious (hijackers).
Are you lost? There’s a great explanation here.
Basically, a custom hosts file is a great thing to have because it adds a layer of protection to your computer by blocking annoying and malicious websites and ads. For example, the hosts file that I use from myps.org blocks the adds on myspace.com.
So here’s what you need to do:
We’re not done yet! Now that you’ve done this, your hosts file will be large and can slow your computer down a bit. According to www.mvps.org:
Editors Note: in most cases a large HOSTS file (over 135 kb) tends to slow down the machine. This only occurs in W2000/XP/Vista. Windows 98 and ME are not affected.
To resolve this issue (manually) open the “Services Editor“
Don’t worry if this seems a bit “techy”. It is, but it’s well worth it.
MVPS constantly updates there hosts file, so you’ll want to register for their email updates (it’s free). They’ll send you an email about once a month with links to the updated .zip file.
One more thing, this is all related to XP, and NOT Vista. If you use Vista, check out this page for detailed instructions.
Tonight in our youth service I had planned on speaking about the last habit in our series which was Study of Scripture. But during our worship time I decided to take a different route. I ended up speaking from 1 Kings 19:10-13. This passage comes right on the heels of Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal, the miraculous prayer for rain and his outrunning of a chariot in chapter 18.
Elijah’s at a low point, and God addresses him. He tells Elijah to go the mouth of the cave he’s hiding in because He wants to pass by him. Elijah does and there is a tremendous wind that rips rocks off the mountain, there’s an earthquake and then there’s a fire.
God is in any of it.
But then there is a gentle whisper which causes Elijah to cover his face and go out of the cave to listen to God.
I think we too often look to the wind, earthquakes and waves and in the process, we totally miss the gentle whisper. We talked about how our relationship with God isn’t just about knowing God in our head, but knowing Him in our heart. The head tells us to look for results, to understand and comprehend. But I think we are equally called to spend time in the silence and listen for His voice. To slow down and allow Him to work on us and to change us. They key is, we have to be attentive and listen to that voice.
