Telstra and Optus iPhone 4 pricing released

Post image for Telstra and Optus iPhone 4 pricing released

Some details are out about the plans that will be available for the release of the iPhone 4 in Australia on the 30th of July.

I have been with Optus for the past 24 months and have been largely happy. I would like a little better 3G coverage than what I currently enjoy. Our house sits between very poor 3G coverage and excellent roaming coverage. Obviously I don’t need 3G access at home (I have a wireless network) but making and receiving calles without having to worry about how many bars of reception I have is important to me. I don’t know if changing networks would remedy this or not, so I need to do some more research. more . . .

{ 0 comments }

Using Shell Scripts to Format Texts

At our church we use Presenter 3.0 to show our overheads. Like many Anglican churches we say the psalms together during sunday worship. We say these antiphonally. That is, the leader says the first part of the verse up to the colon (‘:’) and the congregation responds with the rest of the verse after the colon. Because presenter does not allow bold typeface and normal typeface in the same slide, the congregational parts are un UPPERCASE. This is our equivalent of bold typeface used in APBA. We have the entire book of Psalms in an electronic version thanks to ePray and want to format it for presenter. We could do this manually but 5861 stanzas is a lot to work through with mouse and keyboard. What we have in plain text is: . Psalm 1 1 Blessed are they who have not walked in the counsel of the ungodly: nor followed the [...]

more…

In it for the money? Clergy, publications ownership, and extra-stipendiary income.

Thumbnail image for In it for the money? Clergy, publications ownership, and extra-stipendiary income.

Someone we know of has serious questions about ministers with an incumbency being free to earn royalties from work that they publish. As I understand it, the issue is that material produced by employees of other companies frequently remains the property of that company – it is not the employees own property. So, how can ministers be able to collect royalties personally and not return them to the parish over which they are incumbent and by which they are paid a stipend? I am aware of some posts about 'what is ownable' by Will Briggs. And I am aware of the reasonable explanation provided by Desiring God Ministries as to why they endeavor to give away their resources. But do such positions speak decisively against ministers earning royalties? Or more precisely is it ethical to earn the equivalent of privately surplices through royalties.  I see that there may be some [...]

more…

The Big Purpose of Hospital Chaplaincy

In response to a comment from Luke Isham about a recent post I thought I should attend to some of the questions around why I think Hospital Chaplaincy is important (Big Purpose) and what my experience of it has been (Practice). Please keep in my mind that my only experience of hospital chaplaincy has been two units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) spanning 8 months, and the somewhat unusual privilege of being an Anglican chaplain for 6 months of that. This post would no doubt benefit from the comments of other more experienced chaplains and volunteers in this field. I also write this as a Christian and so other chaplains (Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh etc.) may have different purposes. The purpose of hospital chaplaincy is to love and serve the sick and their family while they are in hospital by being for them the love of God in Christ. Saying this is not rocket [...]

more…

A Walkabout Time

Thumbnail image for A Walkabout Time

I have finished at the hospital. Wednesday was my last day. I am glad to be out of there but I am sad too. I guess this is a reasonable response to a period that was very rewarding and very challenging. I plan on posting about this experience soon; the drafts are underway. This post is for a different purpose. You see, I don't have anything to do. Not a thing. I am completely unencumbered. I can look at my diary and . . . yep, nothing there. Any essays? No. Any projects? No. Any classes? No (until September). So what will I do with the next 4-5 months? I have faced many challenges over the last year. The balance of family, study and parish ministry has been continuously present and changing.  My formation as a 'public person' whose life is open to comment from a wide variety of sources is [...]

more…

The limited nature of time-bound choices

Thumbnail image for The limited nature of time-bound choices

I have been reading an essay by Oliver Crisp ('Penal non-substitution' in A Reader in Contemporary Philosophical Theology [T&T Clarke, 2009: ISBN 78-0567031464]) in which he uses a helpful analogy to demonstrate the range of possibilities to which God could turn for atonement. In particular, Crisp is working through a clarification of hypothetically necessity. All that to say, interesting article, take a read . . . What I wanted to record here was the nature of choices being limited by our time-bound existence: . . . once Vincent van Gough had committed himself to painting sunflowers using the materials he had to hand, the only alternative was to not paint the picture. He could not use some other medium for painting the picture than he had before him at the time. However, at some earlier point in time Van Gough could have bought some other paints – perhaps some water-based paints rather than [...]

more…

Apple’s branding and followers of Jesus

Thumbnail image for Apple’s branding and followers of Jesus

Like Invincible Apple: 10 Lessons From the Coolest Company Anywhere by   from Farhad Manjoo at Fast Company: The brains of Apple fans really are different. When Martin Lindstrom, a brand consultant and author of Buyology: The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, examined those brains under a functional magnetic-resonance-imaging scanner, he discovered that Apple devotees are indistinguishable from those committed to Jesus. "Apple's brand is so powerful that for some people it's just like a true religion," Lindstrom says. Apart from my obvious interest in both Jesus and Apple, the article gives a detailed overview of the culture, history and ethos of Apple. Well worth the read.

more…

How to get the most of out of the Revised Common Lectionary

Thumbnail image for How to get the most of out of the Revised Common Lectionary

For some time now I have been using the RCL as my lectionary. This is largely because of its prevalence as the 'standard' lectionary in the churches of which I have been a part. This is not the only bible reading plan that I have used over the last 5 years. All of them have had there pitfalls. As I look at the lectionary I use now (RCL) I am drawn to its sincere attempts to read scripture in tune with the liturgical year. I like this. It has the effect of reminding me each year of the important elements of my Christian faith. I value the different voices that emerge form the Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer readings. I can understand the rational of the three year cycle. Parts of me yearn for the Psalms in a month (a la 'Cranmer's Lectionary') and I do at times find the pericope [...]

more…

In My Place

Thumbnail image for In My Place

The Christian story contains an important element: someone will always die as a result of my failure. It will either be myself or it will be God. The difference lies in who dies. It does matter who dies for this failure because if I die for my failure then my debt remains outstanding. This debt is the debt of all humans: to love God and love your neighbour. I have failed to do this and I will die is a consequence. Also, the outstanding debt is the means by which I will remain part of those who are dead. Yet, if it is Jesus – God made flesh – that dies in my place then I will not die. It is by his perfect life, that his death offers to God for me what I owe.  All those he calls, are granted the benifit of his perfect life. How this is [...]

more…

Coming to terms with CPE

Thumbnail image for Coming to terms with CPE

I have been at the RMH for nearly 8 months now. I have been doing a second unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and I was also given the opportunity to serve as a part-time Anglican chaplain. Both of these tasks have been a real blessings to me at a difficult point in my life. I think it is fair to say that I have struggled throughout both units. Ridley prepared me in bible, theology, and church history. I was staggered by how unprepared I am at a number of levels when applying what Ridley had taught me to my pastoral ministry. CPE trains and supervisors people from a wide variety of religious traditions. Based on an action-reflection model of learning participants are supervised individually and work together as a group to reflect on the various ministries of which they are a part. In meeting with patients over the course [...]

more…

← Previous Entries