My life group at Grace Point Church is going through an experiment called 60/60, based on the book Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended by John Burke. This week’s topic: I admit. Ah, but what do I have to admit to? Several things come to mind quickly but they all seem to be symptoms of a bigger problem – not revolutionary.

Yesterday morning something became very clear to me.

I admit that I chase hobby after hobby, gadget after gadget, new thing after new thing all in the hopes that it will somehow fill something that is missing in my life.

My close friends can attest to how quickly I want to pick up a new hobby, learn all that I can about it, and acquire all of the right tools to try to become the best. I’ve known this about myself for years. My wife and a few friends will point it out in good fun. It does seem funny on the surface but only because you’re not able to see how deep the root really is.

A few weeks ago I came across $500 from a small consulting job. Since then I have been consumed by it. “How can I burn through this $500?”, I would ask myself over and over again. I made several plans, more trips to stores than I care to admit (one admission at a time, please) and found myself day dreaming about what I could acquire. Camera equipment? New gun? Golf clubs? That’s just the beginning of the list. It’s unhealthy and there’s a heart issue to blame.

So, as I wrestle with what it looks like to face this admission, I need your help. I’m giving the $500 away. I need ideas. Where can this money be used? Please leave a comment below. By the end of the month I’ll make my decision and update this blog again with where it went. Be creative. Make a good case.

Yes, I’ve read Matthew 6:1-4. Yes, it scares the bejesus out of me. I’m writing this to make my admission public and to shed more light on organizations or people in need. I’m sincerely hoping for as little “me” in this as possible.

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I got pretty tired of seeing my Twitter updates on the blog.  If you’re interested in the Twitter content then create an account and follow me at http://twitter.com/calebgroom.

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I really enjoyed this video entitled “High Performance Web Sites: 14 Rules for Faster Pages” from the Yahoo! Developer Network. When I talk to other people in the technology field we talk about how we can make the server handle requests as quickly as possible. Steve Souders’ talk points out that the real focus should be on the end user experience rather than server configuration. An optimized page will create less demand on the server.

There were two rules that really got me excited.

1. CSS sprites is a brand new topic for me. If cnn.com would use CSS sprites they would remove 40 HTTP requests! I get this number from the fact that they currently load 41 images as background images for CSS objects.
2. Use a Content Distribution Network. Mosso’s CloudFiles now uses the Limelight CDN for the price of normal cloud storage. I’ve been using CloudFiles for the last month or so.

More info: Best Practices | YSlow Firebug Plugin

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I’ve been giving micro-blogging a shot on Twitter. My user name is calebgroom. Next I need to look for a plugin to sync up content that I put on twitter with my blog.

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I saw this sign at the gas station in the HEB parking lot in San Antonio, Texas about a month ago. The hand written note pretty much tells the story.

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During our long road trip last night somehow the topic of Girl Scout cookies came up. In my thirst for random knowledge that will never repay the space that I rent it in my brain, here’s the most popular cookies:

1. Thin Mints (25% of total sales)
2. Samoas (Caramel DeLites) (19%)
3. Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties) (13%)
4. Do-si-dos (Peanut Butter Sandwiches) (11%)
5. Trefoils (Shortbread) (9%)

I’m sure I’ll commit these stats to memory and somehow and can’t remember the zip code from our last apartment.

Source: Wikipedia

The other varieties combined account for the remaining 23%.

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One of the main features of the iPhone is its built in browser that is ready to surf real websites, not cut down versions designed for mobile phones. From the Apple marketing material:

“iPhone lets you see web pages the way they were designed to be seen”

However, the popularity of the iPhone has led to an increase in mobile versions of websites that are designed to play nice with the smaller screens and slower connections. This isn’t a new idea but the increase in popularity cannot be denied.

Here’s my list of mobile sites that I visit on my phone:

• m.cnn.com
• m.si.com
• m.flickr.com
• m.youtube.com
• espn.go.com/mobileespn
• google.com/m
• google.com/reader/m/view – Google Reader is one of my absolute favorite applications on the iPhone.
• mobile.fandango.com – I use Fandango to check movie times and locations. You can also buy tickets through the website.
• gasbuddytogo.com – Check for the lowest gas prices in your area

I’ve found that a number of websites are checking your User-Agent and then directing you to the mobile version of their site if you appear to be on a common mobile device.

If this a passing fad?  Will common webapps like WordPress come preconfigured with mobile versions in the future?

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On the way home from work today I heard Radio Rookies: ‘Aging Out’ of Foster Care on NPR. Its a twelve minute story of a young girl who was placed into foster care after her father murdered her mother.

To hear this girl talk about why she wants to have a baby (to have a family) was pretty troubling and contrary to the thinking that I am surrounded by on a daily basis. And that’s why I love NPR – it takes me to places I’ve never been.

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When I was 16 my VHS player always had a tape loaded. I would watch the early morning editions of SportsCenter and keep an eye out for a funny story or amazing highlight. If I found one then I would record that part of SportsCenter onto my tape when the show re-aired an hour later. Before there was YouTube there was my VHS recording. That was when SportsCenter meant Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick, Kenny Mayne and Charley Steiner.

Since then SportsCenter has turned into an hour long advertisement for Coors Light and studio analysts who are only on the set to argue with the other analyst. I long for the good old days.

They may be getting closer.

According to Le Anne Schreiber the producers at ESPN are making significant changes:

While on vacation last month, I recorded 10 day’s worth of 9 a.m. “SportsCenters,” beginning Feb. 15, so I could catch up on the sports news upon my return. I approached the task of review reluctantly, regarding it as punishment for taking time off. Once I plunged in, though, I was amazed to find myself enjoying hour after hour of “SportsCenter.”

They were not crisp, clean half-hours, but far more often than not, they were crisp, clean hours dominated by highlights and news, with remarkably few gimmicks, sponsored segments, cross-promotions or padding of any kind.

Schreiber, who’s job is to provide independent examination and analysis of ESPN’s media outlets, has the complete story hosted at
ESPN.com.

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Last week I washed my car for the first time in a looonnnggg time. After a quick trip to San Angelo I returned to find my car looking the worst it ever has. Thanks to John Strunk I found out why. John posted a picture of his truck on Flickr:

Here’s the scoop from the San Antonio Express-News:

The dirty drops of rain splattering cars across the city doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.

According to the National Weather Service the mixture isn’t mud, but ash.

The source of the smoky rain is a large fire in Central Mexico, near Mexico City, said weather forecaster Joe Baskin.

There could be dust from dust storms out of Monterrey in the rain, Baskin said, but the significant part comes from the smoke.

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