Time to remove HFCS from your diet

A group of scientists at Princeton University have released a study that shows that High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for you, and makes you fat. What's worse, when compared with sugar, equal caloric intake of HFCS can result in weight gain where sugar does not.

I've been distrustful of HFCS for a while now (wondering to myself if this has something to do with the huge rise in diabetes in this country that, remarkably, seems to coincide with the increased use of HFCS everywhere), and we've been trying to remove it from our diet anyway, but this makes that far more important. It's time to go back to sugar folks, even if it costs a little more.

Now, the scientists that used to work for the tobacco industry claiming smoking was safe have apparently have moved on to defending high fructose corn syrup these days, so you are welcome to read their comments here.

As for us, we'll continue to purge our household and diet of something we don't really like the flavor of anyway. Goodbye HFCS, you won't be missed.

Joel

NAB & the church

NAB comes around every April in Las Vegas. It is the trade show for broadcasters, and covers everything from where to find a $5 cable to a news helicopter (considerably more than $5). When I first attended NAB it was very novel for churches to be there. Responses were usually along the lines of "You're with a church? And you want this switcher? Really?" as people tried to reconcile the idea of the little white steepled building they think of as church (disclaimer, the church linked to there is the church I went to as a kid and I have nothing but positive memories of it!) and the modern megachurches that have sprung up in the last twenty years or so.

Within about a five years the comments went from "a church? really?" to "we are targeting churches and other assembly halls with this product." It was a pretty stunning turnaround. Things have continued, and this year there is a Technologies for Worship Pavilion at NAB. I received an email today from Jason Rouse, representing NAB and this is what he had to say about this development:

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The Technologies for Worship Pavilion offers comprehensive training for house of worship staff and technical volunteers and is the focal point for all things related to worship technology at the NAB Show. In addition, you may be interested in Destination Broadband - the newest broadband-centric exhibit at the 2010 NAB Show. It will be featuring technologies like online video platforms, streaming video, mobile video distribution, and much more.

Technologies for Worship Schedule: http://ow.ly/1fCqd
Destination Broadband: http://ow.ly/14hgA

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Personally, I think this is awesome that technology use in church is being embraced by the industry. One of my titles is "Technologist" and finding ways to apply technology to HDC to further the gospel is part of my job description. I'm excited by the prospect of higher visibility for churches at this year's show. I haven't been in a few years, and looking at my April I'm not 100% certain I can go this year either, but I think it's well worth writing about.

I'm certain that Jason was hoping I would publicize NAB here, and I'm happy to, but he also passed along a code that you can use to register for free if you would like to attend:

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The reason I'm reaching out to you is because I have a special registration code for you to pass along to your readers, giving them access to the show – a $150 value - for FREE. This special pass includes the exhibit floor, the Opening Keynote and State of the Industry Address, Info Sessions, Content Theater, Destination Broadband Theater and Exhibits. All you and your readers need to do is visit http://ow.ly/13TL9 to redeem or register at http://nabshow.com/register with the code A913.

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If you can arrange a trip to Vegas in the middle of April, take at least a day and attend NAB. This is a fantastic opportunity to see the latest and greatest technology, and hopefully will cause you to think about great ways to enhance your ministry.

Joel

Doing the Right Thing

Glen Thomas Dodge listed a Dodge Challenger on eBay, and apparently in updating the auction somebody screwed up and removed the reserve and the car sold for $29,100. This is an amazing deal for a popular, $45,000 car. Beyond amazing. Impossibly amazing.

But an eBay bid is a contract, and after freaking out for a bit, Glen Thomas Dodge did the right thing. They honored the auction and sold the car to the winning bidder at the eBay price.

I think they deserve props and a little free advertising for doing it right. Unlike a certain Hyundai dealer who made the same mistake and basically had to be forced to honor their auction by Hyundai Motor America...

So if you are in the market for a Dodge, you know where to start.

Joel

I miss the olympics

I grew up in western New York. About fifty miles from Buffalo. Needless to say snow, and lots of it, was part of my childhood. As a result, the winter sports were a big part of what we did. I think I went roller skating once as a kid. Ice skating? I went every chance I got. I loved it. Cross country skiing? Well, we didn't have to go far, that's for sure. We would walk out the back door onto the porch, put the skis on, and make our way out the backyard and into the fields and hills beyond. Not exactly a lot of pre-planning required... Although I've never been on a luge or a bobsled, they have their roots in the sleds with metal runners we grew up using and the big old wood toboggans that we'd use on the big hills.

As I got older I found a passion for Alpine skiing. By the time I graduated from high school, I was quite good. I never raced in any formal events, but I did race against a friend in a timed event called the Jeep Downhill Challenge or something like that. If I remember correctly I beat him by .01 second on one course, and he beat me by .01 second on the other course. Hey, at least we were consistent, if not terribly fast compared to the rest of the field. Having tried a lot of the events, or some semblance of them, makes it a lot easier to understand just how impressive what these athletes can do. And if you haven't tried these sports, trust me, these athletes are very, very good.

The first winter olympics I remember watching was 1984, mainly because we were living on Yap when the 1980 olympics happened (in New York state!) and there were no tv's there...

I caught a HUGE passion for the winter olympics when Bill Johnson came out of nowhere and won the olympic downhill, becoming a bit of a hero of mine. I've been hooked ever since, and every four years when the winter olympics comes on we watch as much of it as possible. In 2002 we actually went to Salt Lake and went to the events live, which was a tremendous thrill.

This year was a record year for the US, winning more medals than at any prior winter games with 37. That is very strange to me. In 1984 we won eight medals total. In 1984 the soviet union won 25 medals and east germany won 24. Both of those countries do not exist anymore (WILD!).

But the olympics are over now. I miss the competition. I miss the patriotism. I miss the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. So now back to life, and we wait another four years for another round, this time in Russia. I honestly hope Russia has a HUGE showing at their own games. I kinda miss being the underdog...

Joel

PS - The most impressive moment of the olympics came on the last day. Click here and watch the video of Peter Northug of Norway sprint for the finish line at the end of a 50km cross country ski race. Ask yourself this question after you watch it: Do you really think you could ski that fast at the end of a 1 kilometer race? Now imagine doing it after fifty!

Really? This is sad.

Microsoft is running ads during the olympics talking about how awesome Windows 7 is. In one ad this ostensibly British woman talks about how she said Windows 7 should be easier, and she shows as proof the new task bar. I nearly died laughing. Here's a screenshot of windows 7:



Now, there are several things that make this funny. First and foremost is the taskbar mentioned in the ad. This AMAZING new feature makes windows easier to use, or so says the ad. Ok, fair enough, I'm sure it does. So how innovative is this new feature? Look at this shot from the Mac OS X public beta, released in October of 2000:



See that at the bottom? Look familiar? Yes, that's called the Dock. It's the exact thing that Microsoft is ripping off for Windows 7. When Windows 95 came out there were T-Shirts that said "Windows 95 = Macintosh 87" and they weren't far from the truth. Apparently Microsoft has fallen further behind, because now they are nine years behind the Mac...

Don't even get me started on the "Gadgets" that are a ripoff of the Dashboard, first introduced with Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" in April of 2005. To be fair, the gadgets debuted with Windows Vista, which is a bit like saying you got your start in film working on Ishtar...

It's sad really. Microsoft tries so hard, and fails so spectacularly over and over again. I honestly don't understand it. I've been to their campus. They have bright people who work very hard in a great environment. I walked away very impressed. But at the end of the day, I use the mac because I don't like being 5-10 years behind in technology...

Joel

The Lightning Thief

This weekend was my daughter's birthday party. It's a sleepover involving no less than ten adolescent girls. As you might expect, I make it a point to be out of the house as much as possible...

Every year I take Jacob and go to a movie during this event. This year I looked at the movie choices and it came down to The Tooth Fairy, The Spy Next Door, or The Lightning Thief. It seemed like The Lightning Thief was the best of these choices, so we figured we'd give it a try.

But first... This movie is based on a book, and I have a general rule about movies based on books: READ THE BOOK FIRST. This stems from reading the hobbit as a kid and then seeing this on TV. In the book the Hobbit, the Arkenstone is described as, basically, the most beautiful gem ever created. It has an inner light and also reflects every light that shines on it. How do you imagine the most beautiful gem ever created? What does it look like? In the tv special it looked like a chunk of white plaster with gems stuck in it. Not EXACTLY how I would envision the most beautiful gem ever... From that point on, I have made it a point to always read the book first, so I have my images in my head instead of seeing the movie maker's images when I read the book.

So, on Friday I took Jacob to Barnes and Noble, and bought him the book. I told him that if he wanted to go to the movie, he had to read this first. It's 375 pages and he is almost 9. Sounds daunting, but he pulled it off. He is a pretty good reader. After he went to bed I took the book and read it so that I would not be waiting for him to finish it the next day.

The book:

The book is delightful. It is a little linear (go here, fight monster, go here, fight monster, go here, fight monster) but still a good read. The main characters are 12 year old kids, and the book does a decent job of grappling with the problem of how three young kids would get from New York to California without taking a plane and not being old enough to drive.

There are really great moments in the book, my favorite of which is when they go up in the St. Louis Arch and encounter a fire breathing chihuahua. Throughout the book, Percy receives small amounts of cryptic help from his very famous father (if you have no idea what these books are about, Percy is the son of a greek god). There are good characters that they encounter, and it's a fun and easy read from start to finish. If you have a child who is into fantasy, this is a great book for them to read. It bears some similarities to Harry Potter, but that doesn't really detract from the book.

The movie:

Let me start by saying this: I am not one of those people who thinks it makes me sound intelligent to say "the book was better than the movie" or just, by default, always likes the book better. For example,Jurassic Park is one of the best books ever written, and a pretty good movie as well. I enjoyed both (well, I was completely obsessed by the book, but that's not for this discussion. No book has ever grabbed me as that one did). The Hunt for Red October was an awesome book, and an awesome movie. The best part was, the book was a better book, and the movie was a better movie. To me, that's exactly how adaptations should be done. Take the best stuff from the book and re-write it so that it is appropriate for the screen and has the right level of action and suspense.

On the other hand, it is possible to follow a book too closely. The film Screamers showed us this. I can't think of a movie that followed the book more closely, and failed so spectacularly as a movie. The book was amazing, the same thing as a movie...not so much. I went to see the movie on opening weekend, and was completely underwhelmed. So was everyone else, as the movie was a total flop.

So, how does all of this tie in to The Lightning Thief? Simple. This movie bears very little resemblance to the book. Some of the characters are the same, but the plot is very different. Not only is it very different, the main villain of the book is entirely absent from the movie! The movie took a few characters, a couple of plot elements, and a general premise from the book. That's it. Which is a huge shame because the book could have made a really great movie. There was an attempt to make the movie have a bit of Lord of the Rings scale and feel, which is also unfortunate because this is NOT a book about epic battles and hundreds of people with swords. It is a story about three twelve year old kids going on an adventure in a world in which the greek gods really exist. But the movie is a story about three 16-18 year old teenagers who drive around the country looking for pearls and then go visit Hades.

The plot is very weak and rather disjointed. The effects are fine, but nothing special. The characters have no depth to them at all, and readers of the book will be left very disappointed. My son was, and he is not exactly a movie critic. The weirdest part of all of this is that the book reads a bit like a movie, and you get the feeling it would be a great movie. Unfortunately it was not to be. This movie falls short in so many ways it's hard to fathom. Pass on this one.

But read the book.

Joel

Never, ever, trust anything to microsoft DRM

I have an Xbox 360. It is a toy, but a fun toy. The kids and I love playing games on it. A few weeks ago I got the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" on the box. Thankfully, I am covered by the three year warranty for this exact problem. So I send it off to Microsoft. Their solution is simply to send us an already fixed box rather than making customers wait to have the machines fixed. Great, sounds good.

So I get the new xbox today. In it is a note. To transfer my downloaded content to my new xbox I will have to connect to xbox live and redownload every single item (all 58 of them) to my new console. This will transfer the licenses and then they will work offline. This is HUGELY important to me, as I don't have internet at home. So without the DRM transfer, I cannot play many of my games. Incidentally, since the "media update" which allows it to play aac's and every kind of video I care to watch is also protected by the drm, the console is significantly hampered without this transfer.

Included in the box are instructions on how to do this. Connect to live. Redownload everything. Things should work now. Included is this line: "License restoration will only work on this console."

So, I follow the instructions. Works when I'm connected to the internet, doesn't work when I'm not. Looks like it didn't transfer. So I call Microsoft. They give me a bunch of useless steps to take, and it still doesn't work. They try other things, things that will probably create more problems when I get this home, and it still doesn't work. I am getting annoyed.

It's been an hour, and my xbox still isn't working properly.

Thankfully, this is only a toy. If this stuff actually mattered, I would be hosed. What if this was a license to my server? What if this was something that the church required to operate for a weekend? Yeah, sorry.

DRM is evil. This is exactly why. Paying customers are inconvenienced to the point of sheer frustration. I'll bet if my console was hacked and I had pirated all of this, I would be back up and running. DRM punishes the people who do things legitimately. Anytime anyone says "the future is online content" remember this lesson. If it isn't DRM free, it is likely to not work at some point, no matter how much you've paid. Once that happens, it's useless.

I hate Microsoft, and I hate DRM. Put them together? Bad news. Bad, bad news.

Joel