.: What’s Bruin :.

I just don’t get it. Pretty lame to give up the game in the last 27 seconds. Was the Bruin defense even awake during the last 62 seconds?

Tags: football, Sports, Television, UCLA

My new Dell 2407WFP 24″ LCD widsecreen flat panel monitor

This monitor is so cool. I can attach my USB mouse and thumb drive to it because it has two USB ports on the side. There are also two other media readers. One of them is a compact flash reader, from which I downloaded this picture to my PowerBook from my camera. And most of all, I love the high-quality picture and colors. In this shot I have two Word documents open at the same time both magnified at 150%. The resolution that my PowerBook supports on this is 1920 x 1200 px. I’m pretty sure that the monitor can go higher, but I will have to wait until I get a new Mac Pro or something like that.

Oh and yes, I still have my stupid Windows machine attached to this monitor also via a VGA cable.

Tags: 2407WFP, Apple, Computers, Dell, flat-panel, geek_stuff, LCD, monitor, PowerBook

I decided to backup all my data on my Windows computer. I actually turned on this computer earlier this evening because this chat software that we use on Blackboard did not work on Safari. (I found out through a classmate that the software will work fine on my Mac if I use Firefox.)

But anyways, in order to participate in the chat I subjected myself to using a PC. When I turned on the computer, it said that there was a hard drive failure. So I decided to reboot. It worked, but now I’m not taking any chances. I’m backing up all my old data, even stuff that I have not used in a couple of years like all the teaching files that I’ve accumulated over 11 years of that god-awful “profession”.

Fortunately, all the data fits on one DVD. Mission accomplished.

… It is your destiny.

Tags: Announcements, backup, Computers, data, geek_stuff, hard-drive

Last week I “tried” one of those new Apple iPods with video, a black 80GB model from Fry’s Electronics. On the first morning I was watching a vodcast from Mars Hill Church on the train. I got tired of holding the iPod to watch the video and just put it back in my shirt pocket and listened to the sermon instead. I returned the iPod the next day and removed my iPod Nano from eBay. I’m gonna stick with the regular iPod because if I don’t like holding the iPod to watch the video, then there’s no point to it right now for me.

Instead I decided to upgrade my monitor. Upon recommendaton from Mark, I ordered one of these from Dell. When it arrives, I’ll post pictures.

It did take some convincing on my part for Josephine to agree, but I think we’ll be able to manage. It should increase my productivity and enjoyment. Now I can bring the 19″ CRT monitor that I have to work to have the ability to view two documents on the screen simultaenously.

Tags: Apple, Computers, Dell, geek_stuff, iPod, LCD, monitor, widescreen

Ouzo kai Blouzo: Bottles @ the Greek Festival
photo • teknis | Flickr’s Friday Foto

Skipping Waves: Oceanside
photo • teknis | Flickr’s Friday Foto

Tags: CoolPix , Friday_Foto, Photography

Remind me never to procrastinate again. I finished my humungus assignment about 15 minutes ago. The professor let me turn it in a couple of hours after midnight.

Tags: Announcements, education_and_training, Life

I am so sick and tired of school. This attitude is exacerbated by my recent discovery that I have a 1500-word paper due tomorrow — the joys of procrastination. It’s not so much that I dislike school, but rather, I’m tired of getting more degrees. If I had my choice I’d take only recreational classes in graphics arts and photography.

By the time I’m done with my education I’ll have multiple degrees after my name - whoop de do.

Tags: education_and_training, Life

Obey the law: Interesting parking scene in downtown Minneapolis
photo • teknis | Flickr’s Friday Foto

Bubba Gump: Cool table (restaurant inside the Mall of America in Minneapolis
photo • teknis | Flickr’s Friday Foto

Tags: Bubba-Gump, CoolPix , downtown, Friday_Foto, Mall-of-America, Minneapolis, parking, Photography, Travels

I’ve finished tagging all my photos from the trip. I’ll try to pre-date some of my thoughts from the conference in the next few days, which will include some reflections on what I experienced and learned.

But in the meantime, enjoy the pics:

Mall of America
Desiring God National Conference

Tags: Announcements, Blogging, conference, Desiring-God, Life, Minneapolis, Spiritual, Travels

On this, my last day of the conference, I decided to make the most of it. I woke up early, but I chose to skip breakfast and get to the main auditorium door so I could be one of the first ones in line for a good seat. As I walked the streets of downtown Minneapolis towards the Convention Center, I shot a few pics in the early morning light. It was not cold as I thought it would be, but nevertheless, I wore jeans.

Early morning in downtown Minneapolis

I found a Starbucks on the way and stopped inside to order a Venti Iced Mocha and some kind of a pastry - my breakfast. When I finally arrived at the convention center (after getting a little lost of course), I was one of the first people in line waiting to get inside. So I sat down on the floor and promptly knocked over my coffee, spilling about a third of it. One of the convention staff workers cleaned it up and I thanked her for cleaning up my mess.

We were allowed to enter at 7:45 am with the first talk of the day beginning at 8:15 am. I chose the front row center. Half of the seats in the front row were reserved for the conference speakers. Justin Taylor sat next to me, but I did not introduce myself. I know he must be a nice person, but he just seemed a little unapproachable to me as compared to Tim, to whom I introduced myself last night. As the auditorium started filling up, I looked for another blogger, Joe Thorn, in futility. From the front row, how could I possibly find a total stranger I have never met. In any case, I just want to introduce myself and shake the guy’s hand. But with over 3,100 people in attendance, the chance of that happening was unlikely.

View looking back from the front row

I called John who slept in and ate breakfast to tell him that I saved him a seat in the front row center. He would not make it in time to take his seat before the worship began. The first session was so awesome. What I got from it or what touched me deeply was the fact that I am the crowning glory of God’s creation. Though I’m not sure if I understand it fully, I know that I need to practice that truth in my life — in the way that I look at myself and the way that I treat and regard others. This truth has deep implications for how we treat others — how I treat others and how I think about others. Most challenging to me will be how I treat people I don’t like. It’s always been easy for me to justify my negative attitude towards people I disdain. But these people are also the crowning glory of God’s creation. And because they reflect the image of God, I need to give them the dignity deserving of them in God’s eyes. I plan to put this into practice when I get home in my attitude towards some of my family members and people I interface with on a daily basis.

After the first session, there was a 45-minute break. I made a pit stop and then returned to my seat. And no, on the way to the bathroom or back, I did not see Joe Thorn amongst the 3000 people there. During this extended break, people lined up to talk with John Piper, D.A. Carson, and Voddie Baucham. I thought it was pretty amazing for the speakers to wait and receive people who wanted to meet them. I could not stop wondering if Dr. Piper and the other “celebrities” needed to use the restroom like I did. When I saw that they planned to stay and talk with people for the entire break, I realized that these men of God were just very gracious.

Me and John Piper

After waiting in line for a few minutes, I shook John Piper’s hand and introduced myself. Other people gave him hugs, but I just wanted to shake his hand. I told him how much I enjoyed listening to his teaching Monday through Friday on the train to work. I shared how his teaching style is very different from my church where the teaching is kinda laid back. So I enjoy his passion when he teaches. I told him that my son (Pourpa — yes, that’s a pseudonym) and I read Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist together this past summer and that it had a big impact on our lives.
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Tags: absolutes, Christian, conference, culture, D.A.-Carson, Desiring-God, Jesus-Christ, John-Piper, Mark-Driscoll, postmodern, Reflection, Sermons, Spiritual, supremacy-of-Christ, Tim-Keller, truth, Voddie-Baucham