Deceit and the Glory Thief

Staci and I have vowed to never lie to our girls.  There are things that we won’t tell them, or maybe not fully expound on as they aren’t yet ready or strong enough to understand them, but we explain that too.  And they trust us with their little hearts.  They believe what we tell them.  They know that we sometimes make mistakes, but overall we are the two people in the entire world that they will believe over anyone else.

 

And that is a responsibility whose weight can increase the more I think about it…

 

We don’t bring Santa Claus into our Christmas celebrations, and here are the main reasons why (I thought I had written about this in Christmas past, but looking back I saw I hadn’t yet).

 

Rule #1 – Don’t lie to our kids

We teach our kids about the real Saint Nicholas, and about the kindness he showed to people around him.  We also teach them about the concept of today’s Santa Claus, and that he is not real.  The men dressed up in Santa costumes in the malls are just regular men, and different ones at different malls in different cities.  The truth is, there is no such thing as Santa Claus today, and all of us adults know this to be true.  This is the truth we tell our girls.

 

If we had told our girls about Santa Claus in the way he is believed in by many little children in our culture, they would believe that Santa Claus gives them gifts at Christmas, receives their requests (and sometimes grants them), is somewhat omniscient, and flies about in a reindeer-driven sleigh.  It’s fine to imagine such things.  Our girls have very vivid imaginations and we encourage that.  But it’s not fine for me to tell them that these things are real and true.  Because one day they will come to learn that these things aren’t real and aren’t true.

 

We also teach them about a God they cannot see, but who receives their requests (and sometimes grants them), who gives them gifts, and who is omniscient.  If they had once believed us about Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny and later found all these to be false, what might they think of other things we have told them to be true?

 

Therein lay the main reason Santa Claus isn’t part of our Christmas celebrations.

 

The Glory Thief

It’s really important for me to have my kids give me the glory for the Christmas gifts that I give them.  And for them to also thank God for providing for us to be able to give these gifts in the first place.  I would feel robbed if my kids gave Santa Claus my glory, and thanked him for the gifts instead of me.  I so love the hugs and happy faces on Christmas day as they excitedly rip into their gifts, from the start knowing from whom they came.

 

We teach our girls about the significance of gift-giving at Christmas.  How that Jesus was the ultimate gift that God could give for us, so that we could be friends with God and one day be with him, together, forever.  Similarly, God wants all the thanks, all the glory for the almost-unbelievable sacrificial gift he gave for us.

 

The conceptual Santa Claus steals Christmas glory each season.  It is difficult enough to steer our girls’ attention away from the materialism and marketing around this time of year… we don’t need yet another glory thief.

 

There is Enough Magic

Christmas time is filled with sparkles and lights and shiny things that so quickly capture the imaginations and hearts of our little ones.  It truly is a magical time of the year that forever imprints strong feelings and memories… and in our home we are richly blessed to be able to make those memories wonderful and joyful.  Our girls have a mommy and daddy that love each other something crazy, and that love both of them to bits.  Our home is a sanctuary… a place of peace and strength amidst so many broken worlds around us… and this is only possible for us because of God’s great miraculous love for us, and his constant involvement in our every day.

 

My parents created a similar home environment and I was very privileged to be born into their home.  And of course I am extremely thankful that they relied on God’s strength to build and keep such a fortress.  And though throughout most (if not all) of our childhood our family was technically well below poverty level, we were provided for, and Christmas felt magical every time it came around.  We too didn’t invite Santa Claus into our Christmas celebrations.  And like our girls, I didn’t feel like I missed out on a thing.  I was actually glad I didn’t have to go sit on a stranger’s lap in a mall and get pictures taken with him… I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing that.

 

Christmas has enough magic on its own, enough that can distract or enhance the story, the real reason, that we don’t really need another key distracter.

 

To Sum Up…

So we don’t want to make our kids believe in something that isn’t real.  We want their thanks and the glory to go to the right places.  We help create joyful, warm, magical Christmas celebrations every year in our home.  And we’re more than fine with all that.  So are our girls.

Why I Don’t Use an iPhone

It Isn’t About You

First I have to head off the hate mail, death threats, and horrified gasps.  This is why *I* don’t use an iPhone.  *Not* why you shouldn’t, nor about anything else you should or shouldn’t do.  I am not an Apple-hater… I want all technology to play nice together and get along.  You want to talk about how much you love your iPhone and couldn’t live without it?  That’s why you have a blog (don’t you?) or a Facebook page where you can write a note about it.

 

If you love everything iPhone and are still reading this, you must not be part of “The Cult”.  But that is really all I’ll say about that… much more should be said but in a different post.

 

I use the HTC Touch Pro 2 through Telus.  There are lots of people who use and love the iPhone, and there is a lot of information available out there telling their stories.  Here is mine.

 

Common Use on my Windows Phone

I use my phone primarily for business, but also a significant amount for personal use.  And that might be a key distinguishing reason as to why Windows works better for me.  I’m able to do more, with a larger breadth of functionality, and greater compatibility with the rest of my workspace.

 

My Windows phone wakes me up in the morning with an alarm that sounds even when the phone is muted.  This is nice, because my phone is muted all through the night so I’m not bothered by email notifications or phone calls.  Sleep is golden, and anything interrupting it generally shunned.

 

Every few hours my RSS reader is updated with the latest in tech, entertainment, and even a bit of regular news.  So it’s ready automatically with fresh news first thing in the morning.

 

So far, I could do most of this with an iPhone.  But here’s where the path really starts to fork…  During my workout I use a timer to keep my rest breaks within the proper time limit.  And during my rest break while the timer is going I switch to my RSS reader to catch up on news that I want to read (as opposed to being fed whatever is being filtered down through a cable or satellite feed on TV).  And if I find something I want to read about in more depth on the next biggest screen (my Windows computer) I can email myself the link.  So that’s now running three applications at one time… actually more, because there are other pieces of software running in the background to do yet other tasks, but these three are more foreground apps.

 

Multitasking

Reminding me of the Mac computers of yore and the days of DOS, the iPhone can run one third-party application at a time.  That is, if I had acquired a timer application from the Apps Store, and an RSS reader from the same, I couldn’t run them simultaneously.

 

After my workout, shower, breakfast I move into the workplace… but not before checking the weather, which although is present also on the iPhone, HTC’s implementation looks much better hands down.  You can see a screenshot here, but this doesn’t even show the cool animations that bring in each weather scene as you flick to another city, or just to the weather section.

 

I run an excellent business time tracking app called TimeTTracker MX on my phone.  It also has a desktop counterpart, and they synchronize nicely.  I’m able to rapidly switch to multiple timers, different customers, depending on the demands of my work day.  I might be running my RSS reader, time tracker, email, Excel (true Microsoft Excel on the Windows phone allows me to read and edit Excel spreadsheets at no extra charge), Google Maps, or any other host of applications at the same time.  I need my timer software to keep running.  If it quit randomly when a new app started up, I would have no way of tracking the many tasks I need to perform through the day and no effective way of billing various customers for work only relevant to them.

 

Yes, there are time tracking apps for the iPhone.  But I have yet to come across one that’s as comprehensive as this one, and with the ability to aggregate the data into a central SQL database so that multiple support personnel’s time is more easily managed.  It also integrates with QuickBooks if required.

 

And on Sundays I can have Pocket e-Sword (Bible software) open at the same time as I take notes in Microsoft Word, and not have either app quit while switching to the other.

 

Or if I’m needing to access secure information stored in SPB Wallet while working with another app I can do so without that app quitting, or SPB Wallet quitting.  I want my apps to keep running when I want them to, not to quit because the manufacturer of the phone decided they’d not allow me to run these apps at the same time.

 

Customization

I have used Windows PDAs and phones for years, and have enjoyed the vast amount of customizations I can do to make the interface act and appear how I want it to.  Yes, the core Windows Mobile operating system (especially until this year’s 6.5 release) is antiquated and rather boring.  But many apps, often free, are available to customize it to your liking.

 

Freedom

With my Windows phone I can use the Microsoft Marketplace to acquire apps.  But I can also acquire apps from anywhere else as well.  In the Windows world things are more open.  Apps don’t have to go through an odd approval process that disallows apps that are or appear too similar to ones Apple’s making you use; I can use my web browser to find an app I want, and try it out.  I want the freedom to use any app that a developer has made for my phone.  I want the freedom to be able to decide whether it suits my needs more than an included app.  A couple of notable recent examples are Apple’s refusal to allow users the freedom to run Google Voice (free phone over Internet) or Macromedia Flash (many websites use this, often to distribute video content).

 

Input Flexibility

I’m able to input text using a variety of methods on my Windows phone:

• HTC’s excellent on-screen keyboard… it borrows from the iPhone’s also-excellent soft keyboard.
• Handwriting recognition with a stylus
• Letter-by-letter rapid recognition with a stylus (“block” recognition)
• Physical slide-out, backlit 5-row keyboard

There are also many other innovative input methods that you can install to suit your preferences or requirements.  Although the “soft” keyboards on my phone and the iPhone are great, nothing beats a physical keyboard when I have to type out anything more than a sentence or two.

 

Support

I can remotely connect into a customer’s server, or my home computer, or Windows Home Server from my phone.  This has helped me be more responsive to my customers when away from my computer.  And I didn’t have to purchase any additional software to do this.

 

Options

The iPhone is a great phone indeed.  But personally, I think its looks are a little dated… I’m not much into the 70s/80s chrome in my gear.  And maybe I just want something that looks fresh and more unique, or at least different than what the lemmings have.  Again, with Windows phones you have all sorts of formats and choices to work with.  HTC with their TouchFLO 3D interface has amazing innovation in their latest phones.  And there are all sorts of flavors.  I enjoy the choice I have with Windows phones.

 

Lightweight

When I connect my phone to my computer, I’m able to synchronize additional data such as pictures, videos, time tracking, and SPB Wallet.  Microsoft has provided the lightweight ActiveSync in the past, and now with Vista and Windows 7 the Windows Mobile Device Center, which doesn’t strain the resources of a computer.  I would be loathe to have to install iTunes, which with each iteration adds far too much bloat to a computer that bogs it down, just to do things like update or backup my phone.  I use the beautiful Microsoft Zune software (sample screenshot below) on our computers for media playing and management (I don’t want to go to a spreadsheet-like interface to play my media), so I definitely don’t need iTunes for anything.

 

Cost

Like most everything Apple, the iPhone is expensive to own.  The infamous “Apple tax” needs to be there to feed Apple’s coffers… they make a lot of money from the inflated prices on their hardware and need to in order to stay afloat… that’s the main reason why they don’t allow people to install their operating systems on non-Apple hardware.  If you could, much less people would spend the high costs on Apple hardware.  So it is with the iPhone.  It’s locked down to the one, expensive phone.

 

Security

The latest iPhone has additional security for the business environment but up until then Apple made untrue claims about the encryption capabilities of the iPhone.  Still, there are other security enhancements in VPN (remote connectivity to a workplace) that I get on my phone that aren’t available on the iPhone.

 

Summary

I work with iPhones in the business environment for some customers, and even recommend them from time to time depending on customer and business needs.  I think they are nice looking and well-designed phones, and Apple almost always does excellent industrial design.  Their operating system is highly tuned and has spurred on much innovation in the mobile phone space.

 

But at least at this time, the iPhone doesn’t cut it for my work and personal requirements.  I’ve been spoiled by the freedom I have in the Windows platform both in the desktop and mobile space, and have no good reason to give all that up to lock into being able to do less at higher costs.

Getting Over the Top

Almost nothing is impossible.  The impossible just takes a little more time.  And effort, and competence, and… sometimes all it needs is a rocket launcher and a handful of grenades.

 

I’ve often wondered how many people are stuck far behind their dreams under wet blankets of poor management, life situations, taxes, and other seemingly uncontrollable factors.  Yes you can change your perspective, gain motivation, and soar beyond your circumstances to reach for your dreams… to meet and exceed your expectations.  And then there are those who are relatively satisfied to remain where they are, contributing what they can to society, their family, and their workplace, with little or no desire to change the infrastructure that supports their mindset and their life.

 

But to those of you – those of us – who get increasingly dissatisfied and irritated with the musty air of complacency… worse yet and more accurately, daily regression, I would like to offer a candle of hope.  If I could find one.

 

Most of us have considered what grandiose things we would accomplish “if I had a million dollars”.  Things that include maybe buying a house outright, going on some sweet vacation(s), helping out family, and maybe buying that car of our dreams.  And maybe we wouldn’t have to work for the rest of our lives, living off the interest.  Well, I’m guessing it would have to be a lot more than a million to make that happen.

 

But for me, I would want to work.  Not because I’m noble, or a workaholic.  I would want to refine what I do so that I’m really enjoying it, but work still.  A bunch of my million would go to building a business and team of people that have similar passions and interests.  I believe there can actually be a company where ideas are respected, people are valued, progress is success, learning is a priority, mentoring is a reality, and teamwork is the framework.  I would want people to come to work on Monday morning, looking forward to the things they would inevitably learn that week.  And that ideas they present will be seriously considered and many of them incorporated.  I would want them to leave on Friday evening with an overall feeling of accomplishment for the week, that has been reinforced by their peers and managers.  I would expect great things from my people, as they would expect great things from me, and we all would know that as a team we could accomplish whatever we set our minds to.

 

Now that’s probably similar to many an entrepreneur's dream, and I’m sure there are companies out there that work like this.  Not as many in this locale though… not in my field.  Too many times I encounter the small business (in varied fields) that has somehow grown despite its valiant attempts to thwart any positive vertical movement.  And the larger it gets it seems to choke out the most important necessities for growth… it’s like a weed with cancer.  It can’t help but grow despite the fact it’s killing itself and sucking untold resources from things around it.

 

But oddly enough these give me hope.  I know that if businesses can survive and actually grow by generally ignoring/disrespecting their employees, by offering shoddy products and services, by hemorrhaging efficiency whenever they get the chance, by overloading any worker that even appears productive, by rewarding those who are a strain on the business, by paying employees as little as they can get away with, and overall demotivating as many as they can, that I can one day do far better.

 

So why not?  Why not proceed with the dream?  What’s the razor wire?

 

“If I had a million dollars.”

Under the Floor

Ever feel like you’re so overloaded or busy that you’ve got to look up to see the bottom?  I wonder sometimes how it is that usually we expect “life” to just be like that, because at least in our Western culture it seems to be that way.

In the workplace there is often the taking on of multiple job roles due to factors such as “cost savings” where employees are let go, or where it’s cheaper to get you to wear another hat than hire a new employee.  Or we get a more efficient way of doing something, which allows us for more time to take on more.  That’s usually what it is for me.

 

There are really no platitudes that work here.  “Work smarter, not harder.”  Sure, then you’re smarter and you find all kinds of other issues that need to be dealt with, that you didn’t realize before because you weren’t as smart.  Or, now that you’re working smarter, you can tackle TWO buckets at a time to try to bail out the sinking AIRCRAFT CARRIER.

 

No, something else is at work.  Not sure exactly what though, but it seems like it has to do with incompetence, though that might just be my perspective because competence is an important thing with me.  I think there is generally a lack of good “systems” in place so people find workarounds.  Then when new tasks or requirements are added, new workarounds are added to the existing workarounds.  And before you know it, someone’s using a spreadsheet to do what an email program should be doing.  And all this trickles down, up, and sideways, and spreads like cancer.

 

Inefficiencies breed worse inefficiencies and worse still, some folks get so stuck in their rat-infested tangle of workarounds that they won’t accept that there’s a much easier way to do things, that provides less chance for error and gets the job done properly… because, “this is the way we’ve ALWAYS done this.”  So what?  That somehow means it’s the most efficient way?!  But once you open the tangled web, you realize there’s a rabbit hole so deep the wafting scents of Chinese food confuse the whole issue.

 

Those inefficiencies then block and hamper the efforts of anyone attempting to bring clarity, because unless you’re the owner or empowered to effect institutional change nothing will really change.

 

And inefficiencies breed unnecessary busyness.  But then if we clean up those things, will we just have more “stuff” to fill in their place?  Sure.  But maybe more interesting stuff.  Different stuff.  Stuff that you’re passionate about, stuff that keeps you intrigued with your work and with life.  I’m all for automating the things that can be, and especially the things that humans aren’t good at, to free time for things that we excel at.  I don’t so much mind being busy, so long as it’s busy with stuff that I’m interested in, and passionate about for the most part.

Fresh Morning Walk

I had a decent sleep last night, and today is our “break” day from working out.  But I still had a few threads of sleepiness in me so I thought I’d take the girls on a Fresh Morning Walk.  I am starting to get more of a natural “liking” to the after-workout feeling of being more awake and energized…

 

It was already 11 degrees outside and the sun was shining, lighting everything up so invitingly that who could resist?  Of course, I told the girls to dress warm anyway.  They had just yesterday pulled out all the winter clothes they were so excited about… as if bringing them out might bring snow sooner.  Nevermind, girls, snow will come all too soon, and make us look forward to spring even more fervently.  But I let them have their excitement around snow and winter.  They have a long time before feeling it’s effect on their safety and free time (i.e. shoveling the driveway), but I digress.

 

Tasia loves the mountain scenery just outside our front window, so walking along she wanted me to take a picture of it.  Something about the low angle of morning and evening sun that really warms up scenes…

We walked to the park, and they asked if we could go in… of course!  Who could deny?  Then they asked to play on the see-saw, and again I wasn’t about to say no… but it was cute that without planning they both ended up on the one end.  So of course I wasn’t staying off the other end:

 

 

Fresh Morning Walk.  Fall time has its moments.

If They Would Just Obey

I miss my little family.  I’ve been only away for most of the day, and am back now, and the work week is coming to a close.   And our girls have needed some more reminding about being considerate with the noise level… oh, and to clean their rooms… again for who knows how many times today…

 

Don’t get me wrong.  These sweet, strong, soft little ones are very well-behaved generally… which doesn’t come naturally, by the way.  It has taken a ton of work; they are humans, after all.  Still does, and it’s totally worth it.

 

But I couldn’t help thinking, “If only they would just obey, they would have such a happier day!”  We’ve told them this many a time.  And pretty much every time, Someone else reminds us at that same instant of the same truth, applying to us.

 

Isn’t it so true?  Obedience yields a settled joy that feels so good.

Sometimes Forgetting

After this morning’s workout we were on our way upstairs when Katiana started telling me about an apparent problem in a computer game we recently bought for her.

The game is Windosill (www.windosill.com) and is very cool… it has a number of levels to try for free and then it’s $3 to purchase.  It’s a quirky puzzle game, just what our girls find intriguing.  Brother-in-law David referred us to it.  Within 15 minutes of putting it on our girls’ computers, they finished the free levels and asked if we were going to consider buying it.

 

Well of course we did, and they love it.  Today she told me that there was a problem and that she couldn’t get past a level that she had gotten past before.  I wondered if maybe she had forgotten a key piece in the puzzle of a level, so I asked her a bit more about it.  She tried to explain again, and summarized,

 

“I think maybe my computer doesn’t remember me.”

 

When I went upstairs, sure enough; for some reason the game had forgotten it was activated and just needed the activation code entered in again.

 

I just like the way our girls explain hurdles they run into.  Little smarties.