AdamBowers.com

What makes us soul mates?

Created on Friday, 03 May 2013 03:24

In Ephesians 5:31, the Apostle Paul tells his readership that “a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This simple phrase is packed with important meaning. First, spouses must make a clean break from their parents to become married. Too often, partners fall back on their parents and show more trust for them than their own spouses. This inevitably causes trust issues in relationships. Second, the two are joined together as one flesh. Anything that jeopardizes this oneness can threaten a marriage. The separation of the spouses from their parents and the oneness of their lives and bodies in marriage make them soul mates.

The world uses “soul mates” in the sense of fate. “Soul mates” are “destined” to be together and, when one soul mate is removed, the other is left helplessly deprived of a soul mate. In Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts, Les and Leslie Parrott contend that the concept of soul mates has more to do with the couples shared spiritual lives. Couples who are “one” in their spiritual activities and understanding are truly soul mates. Couples need spiritual intimacy, a God-centered marriage, and shared spiritual experiences like worship, prayer, and service to develop the soul mate aspect of their marriage. Serving together can establish a soul-level bond in marriage that no other activity will match.

For the first several years of my marriage my wife and I led a missions ministry that travelled around the world with hundreds of young people to share the Gospel and make disciples. This activity brought countless challenges and trials but enduring these together taught us about God and each other. Serving alongside our spouse showed us a level of depth and trustworthiness not visible any other way. It also revealed a heart for God and ministry that attracted us to each other on a deeper level than any physical attraction. Every Christian couple should commit to serving together in some kind of ministry as it will teach them, unite them, and attract them in ways no other activity could match. It will make them truly soul mates.

10 negative thoughts and Scripture to correct them

Created on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 23:31

This week in The Bridge (our Adult Bible Fellowship at church) I taught from Phil. 4:4-9 about stopping negative thinking, turning worries into prayer requests, thinking instead about positive things, and doing what we know we ought to do from Scripture. Today I'm posting 10 negative thoughts and the Scriptures that correct them. Perhaps you have some to add; I would love to see them in the comments below.

Is Windows 8 full of problems?

Created on Friday, 15 March 2013 02:10

A quick online search for problems with Windows 8 turns up a plethora of results. I read through every article listed on the first page and came up with a short list of supposed problems. Here’s the thing: most of these problems are bogus or exaggerated. It has me wondering how much of the widely propagated bad press is the work of a coordinated negative PR campaign. You know, the kind that Microsoft internally admits to doing (http://techrights.org/2008/05/06/smear-campaign-opendocument/). So don’t think I’m just trying to defend Microsoft here. I want to offer a fair evaluation of Windows 8 including the problems listed below.

ZDNet calls the hardware “1.0” but unfortunately, offers little evidence (http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8s-problem-its-the-hardware-7000009385/). I’m not going to say that many PC hardware options couldn’t be improved, but there are some amazing Win 8 computers out there. Another ZDNet writer reviews two incredible Win 8 ultrabooks here: http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-ultrabooks-that-live-up-to-the-name-7000010649/. The creative, innovative, and unique Win 8 laptops from HP, Dell, and Lenovo are really impressive. I would pick a Win 8 ultrabook from Asus over a Macbook Air any day at a third of the price! 1.0 hardware? Hardly.

Mashable says the real problem with Win 8 is the lack of a good tutorial - and I agree with them (http://mashable.com/2012/12/26/windows-8-problem/). This is a minor nuisance though. Play with the OS for a week or two and you should be good to go. Microsoft has always been weak on orientation (remember Clippy and the horrible search puppy? First things I disabled in every new Win XP machine.). For all the effort they put into making the Metro UI a great user experience, Microsoft should have given some thought to training users in the new interface for the first time. Still, this isn’t as big of a learning curve as when they launched the ribbon for Office and people eventually acclimated to that as well.

Yahoo has one of the worst articles I’ve seen on Windows 8 (http://news.yahoo.com/windows-8-problems-doesn-t-deserve-dreaded-vista-181513394.html). First, they assume that everyone agrees the OS is bad. Their evidence? A link to a vague Wordpress entry (written by a co-worker of the author) which quotes another guy who says he doesn’t think people will know how to use it. Not a lot to go on there. The author on Yahoo claims the controls are counter-intuitive and I couldn’t disagree more. The new swiping actions are very easy to use. Granted, MS should have included a more thorough tutorial since it is a new interface.

Here’s the main problem with this article: “The key thing you have to understand about Windows 8 is that it will not work well for you unless you buy a PC with touchscreen capabilities.” One of the more ignorant statements I’ve read about Win 8 so far. With two computers running Win 8 and no touch screens, I can authoritatively say this is not true. I love the features Win 8 brings without any of the touch capabilities. The previous quote is followed by this statement: “But if you do decide to buy a new Windows 8 PC with a touchscreen, you will be pleasantly surprised at how natural it feels to switch between typing on your keyboard and touching your screen to flip through apps.” So what happened to that whole “counter-intuitive controls” thing? The controls are counterintuitive but you’ll be surprised how natural it feels? I think this article has multiple personalities.

Two other problems from the Yahoo article include switching between the Metro and desktop interface and finding applications. From the moment Windows 8 loads an over sized Desktop tile appears on the Metro interface. Any time you wish to return to the Metro interface you simply click the Start button (yes, there is one in the lower left corner as usual) or hit the Windows key on the keyboard. Finding an application requires the exact same amount of keystrokes as the previous operating systems. Hit the Windows key, type the name of the app or setting you want, use the arrow keys to select, hit enter. I don’t see the validity in either of these supposed problems.

Next, a CNET article a friend sent to me which also appears on the first page of my search (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57573370-75/four-months-in-windows-8-needs-help/). The first problem mentioned: not allowing booting into desktop mode. I agree that this should be a setting and probably one suggested to the user during the setup. Consider, however, the purpose of booting to the desktop mode. What will someone do after reaching it? Start and application or open a file. If there is one thing the Metro interface excels at, it is opening programs and files. And when it does, it opens in desktop mode. There is no need to boot to desktop mode because as soon as you select a program or file to open, you are immediately taken there. If you want to skip the Metro interface, use the Skip Metro Suite (http://winaero.com/comment.php?comment.news.103).

An article from Extreme Tech points out that Microsoft is lowering the cost of Win 8 because of slow adoption (http://www.extremetech.com/computing/150130-microsoft-cuts-the-price-of-windows-8-and-office-2013-to-spur-slow-adoption). No problems are addressed other than the lack of sales. My take? There’s not enough of a carrot to jump from Vista or 7 to Win 8. To be honest, I’m not sure what kind of carrot that would have to be. Windows 7 is a great OS. I love the improvements in Win 8 including the new features, cleaner interface, easier navigation, and better speed, but I don’t think many people see enough benefit to jump ship. I’m sure all the hyped up bad press doesn’t help. I found it interesting that in one article the same author bashes Microsoft’s strategy in Windows 8 calling it a gutless disaster trying to combine mobile and desktop (http://www.extremetech.com/computing/138701-windows-8-the-disastrous-result-of-microsofts-gutless-equivocation) and in another calls the direction a strong strategy for cracking the mobile market (http://www.extremetech.com/computing/141676-windows-blue-microsofts-plan-to-release-new-windows-every-year).

The biggest problem mentioned in this IT World search result (http://www.itworld.com/answers/topic/windows/question/what-are-biggest-problems-associated-microsoft-windows-8) is the extra click it takes to shut down the computer. 3 clicks versus 2 clicks. That’s not a big deal in my opinion especially when putting the computer to sleep with a lid close or hardware button is the preferred way to end your PC session in most cases.

Probably the most balanced article in the top ten search results comes from readwrite.com (http://readwrite.com/2013/01/14/the-real-problem-with-the-windows-8-user-interface-and-it-isnt-touch). The author struggled with finding the control panel on Windows 8. My suggestion, look for it the same way you would any application or file, type “control” from the start screen. Works every time. Windows 8 includes an awesome way to quickly find the best control panel setting you need. Simply start typing the setting name then choose “Settings” from the sidebar. In this case, the author wanted to uninstall a program. Searching for “uninstall” or “program” would have brought him to “Uninstall a program,” exactly what he wanted.

Another problem the author mentions is the lack of a start menu. There is a start button, and everything the old start menu offered is available on the start screen, but change is hard for some. The author admits that, after he used Win 8 for a little bit, he no longer cared about the start menu. Microsoft typically installs rollback features allowing users to make their newer machines look and behave like older ones. While I like the fact that they are pushing people toward a unified interface that is friendly to desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones, I wish they would have included a better tutorial to calm people who think that they lost their computer’s navigation hub. It’s all still there, it just looks different and adds some functionality.

These pages appear in the search results and offer helpful solutions to program compatibility issues and hibernation:
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-8-restart-and-shutdown-problems-by-disabling-hybrid-shutdown-feature/
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-things-to-try-when-applications-wont-work-with-windows-8/3540


The rest of the results were related to flash player issues (no surprise there on any OS) and website display which was actually specific to Windows Phone 8 showing the tablet version of a website.

I’ve had several people exclaim their disgust with Windows 8 to me. I always ask them why and they always say the same thing: “I’ve heard bad things about it.” I ask for details and I have only received two responses: 1) the metro interface takes longer to use; and 2) there is no start button. Both of these are completely false assumptions. It takes the exact same amount of actions to open a file, program, or setting from the Win 8 start screen as it did from the Win 7 start menu. It just looks different. (Windows key + type + enter. Same process on both operating systems.) Contrary to popular belief (it seems) there is a start button on Windows 8. It just gets out of the way until you need it. Move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen while in desktop mode and a start button pops up. You would have to move your mouse to the lower left corner to click on the old start button anyway, so this takes no more time or effort than before. Power users will take advantage of the Windows key, which brings up the start screen just as quickly as it did the start menu in Windows 7.

I believe the bad press and negative hype around Windows 8 is largely inaccurate and quite possibly manufactured by companies who specialise in this type of blogosphere smear campaigning. I have no evidence of that nor am I suggest that any of the aforementioned websites were a part of such a scheme. This is only a theory that might explain why so much negative press exists about Windows 8’s usability with such little concrete evidence to back it up.

CSS Progress Bars with easy Javascript control

Created on Saturday, 08 December 2012 23:20

I needed to produce some progress bars for a donation website and found a great start over at CSS-Tricks. My application needed a text representation of the percentage amount and had to be editable by a non-techie. My solution was to throw in a little javascript variable magic to make one percentage variable control both the text overlay and the bar itself. Now my non-techie with limited access to the website can simply update the variable at the beginning of the editable area and everything updates nicely.

Here’s the code in case this saves you some time:

<script type="text/javascript">
var percentage = "0%" ;
</script>

<style type="text/css">
.meter {
height: 20px;
position: relative;
background: #1E6672;
-moz-border-radius: 25px;
-webkit-border-radius: 25px;
border-radius: 25px;
padding: 3px;
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.3);
-moz-box-shadow : inset 0 -1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.3);
box-shadow : inset 0 -1px 1px rgba(255,255,255,0.3);
}
.meter > span {
display: block;
height: 100%;
-webkit-border-top-right-radius: 20px;
-webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topright: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-bottomright: 20px;
border-top-right-radius: 20px;
border-bottom-right-radius: 20px;
-webkit-border-top-left-radius: 20px;
-webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topleft: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-bottomleft: 20px;
border-top-left-radius: 20px;
border-bottom-left-radius: 20px;
background-color: #FFAB2C;
background-image: -webkit-gradient(
linear,
left bottom,
left top,
color-stop(0, #FFAB2C),
color-stop(1, #FEDEA0)
);
background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(
center bottom,
#FFAB2C 37%,
#FEDEA0 69%
);
background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(
center bottom,
#FFAB2C 37%,
#FEDEA0 69%
);
background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(
center bottom,
#FFAB2C 37%,
#FEDEA0 69%
);
background-image: -o-linear-gradient(
center bottom,
#FFAB2C 37%,
#FEDEA0 69%
);
-webkit-box-shadow:
inset 0 2px 9px rgba(255,255,255,0.3),
inset 0 -2px 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
-moz-box-shadow:
inset 0 2px 9px rgba(255,255,255,0.3),
inset 0 -2px 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
}
</style>

<div class="meter">
<span id="bar"></span>
<div id="percent" style="text-align:center; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0%; margin-top:-20px; color:white; font-weight:bold; display: block; height: 100%; position: absolute; text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #444; -webkit-text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #444; -moz-text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #444;"><script type="text/javascript">document.write(percentage);</script></div>
</div>

<script type="text/javascript">
document.getElementById('bar').style.width = percentage ;
document.getElementById('percent').style.width = percentage ;
</script>