BabuLife

Real Media Rocks

Here at Grace Church we've partnered with different organizations to meet various weekend service needs.  One of the companies we've partnered with is Real Media.

One of our electric guitar aficionados happens to be the owner of Real Media. I couldn't let this pass without posting a link to one of our local news affiliates here in town that did a story on Real Media.  Not only do they work with major league sports franchises, colleges or even commercials, they create video elements and documentaries for ministry organizations as well. 

Check out the link here to watch a video on Soakie and his company.  Visit their blog for more info.

Here's a video they did for Grace Church that we use during our services:

Twitter Bug

So I've been at it now on Twitter since March 10.  I'm hooked.  Here are some things I've noticed about Twitter:

• The world is even smaller than it was with blogging.
• I can keep up with what's happening with friends (I'd love more friends on it).
• Instant networking and communication with my fellow worship leading buddies.
• My wife knows what's going on in my world...instantly...this one freaks me out a bit.

I've utilized the nifty Twitpic feature which allows me to upload photos taken from my cell phone.  Why would I do that?  I have no idea.  But what I do know is that every time I post a photo there are at least 15-20 people (sometimes more) clicking away to see the snapshots.  Glad you 15 or so people care enough to see what I'm eating for lunch.  For those who follow the BabuLife blog, you can see my Twitter updates on the right side bar along with my two most recent snapshots from Twitpic.  You can comment on photos (be nice please).

One warning to those of you considering adding Twitter to your internet life.  If you're a person who holds highly the value of Facebook Friendships, blog stats or anything similar, be ready for some disappointment.   When someone follows you, don't hold it personally when that person elects to click the "remove" button.  Figure out why you want to join Twitter, who you want to see following you, and what you want to twitter about.  I've discovered the same taboos in one on one conversation apply to Twitter as well. 

Overall I've found this to be another great way to simply network, inform and communicate to those who care enough to pay attention to what I have to say...not like a blog...but instant communication.  Interested in getting yours started?  Get your own and follow me!

Check out David's post on his Twitter experience here.

Mac Attack

It looks as though the PC market is on the offensive against the Mac following.  Check out the entertaining jab from IBM to the Macbook Air.  Admittedly, I'm not a computer aficionado, however, I do find the commercial battle between these companies rather entertaining. In this "return fire" ad IBM has provided a message that I can understand...whether right or wrong.

Their message: Everything I need in a computer is built right into the IBM Lenovo X300.

Anxiously awaiting Mac's return volley.

HT: Percussivity

MuxTape.com

You remember them if you were a child of the 80's.  The classic mix tape with all your favorite tunes.  Check out MuxTape.com and get yours.  You can listen to my current online MuxTape at BabuLife.MuxTape.com.

Enjoy!

HT: MudPuppy

You Version Beta

A nifty Bible study tool that is not your typical search engine or reader.  Inspired by the idea of community and connecting with others through the web, You Version takes Bible study to a new level.  Let your friends see your notes and see others comment on scripture as well.

I signed up a few days ago.  Check out YouVersion here and let me know what you think.

Stop by the YouVersion blog here.

Mud Bathing In front of Grace Church

So I went ahead and finally put our Easter banner out on the major intersection that sits near the church.  Big deal you say.  Oh yes...it's a big deal.  You see, the city of Overland Park has begun the project to widen the intersection at 159th and Antioch due to the booming growth in southern Johnson County.  This is good news for us as it creates even more opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with more people.  What this means temporarily, is that our perfect corner for banners at this busy intersection is going to disappear for a time while construction is under way.  Since it's Spring Break, it appears the city decided to take a vacation from the project.  The corner is ours for the week...until someone tells us otherwise.

During the lunch hour I ventured out to the corner and found a way to put up this banner showing our Easter Service Times (8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m. this Sunday).  Due to the construction we've got quite a bit of mud on the corner there.  As I climbed the giant hill (I say giant because it felt like it) I worried about falling.  You see, I'm a guy who (believe it or not) does not like attention.  I don't like being watched on a corner as the wind blows a banner while I'm trying to rig it up.  So to the person in the blue van who smiled at me while I grabbed the banner falling to one knee in the mud...I forgive you for smiling.  You know not what you did.  It's okay.  If I was in your position, I probably would have done the same thing.

The mission ultimately was a success.  We'll see if the banner stays up for the next four days.

By the way, here's the intersection looking towards the church.  Google Maps has this incredible new "street view" feature.  Feel free to click right on up to the entrance of the church. HT: The Hammer.

View Larger Map

Twittering

I've avoided the Twitter factor for awhile.  Not really sure of it's usefulness or if I'd even have time for it.  After reading David's post on it, I found out that there really isn't any time involved at all.  I admit I'm easily intrigued by the latest web tools and hip ways to communicate.  So if you're at all interested in updated info about what's happening in the life of Babu...check out the "Twitter Updates" to the right of my blog or follow me on Twitter.

Check out the great video about Twitter below.  Big Fat Ol' Hat Tip to "The Hammer".

I Broke the Church eNewsletter

Yeahhh...I um, broke the GraceLink eNewsletter last week.  This is what happens when a worship guy who may have some creative abilities is put in charge of the web stuff on staff at the church.  While my intention of cleaning up stuff in our web files was a good gesture, I somehow unintentionally broke...no not broke...but completely discarded the entire eNews file. That means all 300 some subscribers were deleted along with the previous eNewsletters.  It also meant rebuilding the newsletter.

What I ended up having to do was recreate a subscriber list using our church database adding all who were in the status "Attendee and Member".  It was great news that I had the ability to do this...however, it meant that there were going to be people who may not necessarily want the newsletter.  I figured it was easier to ask them to "unsubscribe" than go around asking people to once again sign up.  Plus, I may have actually hit folks who may not have realized it even existed.  Anywho...

If you were once a subscriber and suddenly haven't received anything for more than a week, you can resubscribe here.  If you still have trouble, be sure to shoot an email to [email protected] and we'll get you set up.

Now..what else can I break?  Stay tuned...I'm sure I can find something.

Feedburner Burns my Hide

I don't know what happened yesterday with my feeds. After my post and switching around my feed info, all of a sudden Feedburner brings back my original feed.  So....please disregard my plea for you to resubscribe using my new feed.  If you did...I'm sorry...you may want to re-re-subscribe back to the original feed.  You can do that by clicking the RSS feed chicklet below.  Sorry guys!

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Resubscribe to BabuLife...C'mon...Do It!

Well after some hunting and pecking in the world of Feedburner...it appears that my original feed died.  Therefore my subscriber numbers went waaaay down and who nows how long my feed has been dead.  So here's what I'd like you BabuLife subscribers to do.  Resubscribe to the new feed by clicking the little orange icon under my picture.  If you notice my Feedburner subscriber number has been reset to "0".  Would you mind helping me get it back up to some numbers that give me a false sense of affirmation?

My apologies for the inconvenience.  I have no idea how that happened.  Thanks!

UPDATE

Please disregard this post above.  It would appear the issue is on Feedburner's end as they have suddenly added back subscribers to my count.  Sorry!!!!

Babu

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