Also, this week.

• LookupCenter.org
• thesavageathlete.com
• landorhomes.com

I got a job!

But job sounds like something you do for money as in “selling out”.  I prefer the term “position” because it sounds more like the way I view it.  Doing something you love while getting paid and being able to provide for your family doing it.  So what does this mean for the immediate future.  Well, we are moving for one.  Right now the moving is scrounging around for moving boxes and trying to pack while looking for a place to live.

So now for the details.  The church is Franklin First United Methodist Church in Franklin, KY.  This means we are moving in the next few weeks.  Becca is really excited as it means going back south.  Kentucky is her home state and as she’s lived pretty much all over western Kentucky, she counts the whole state as “hometown” for the most part.  We will be about an hour away from Mammoth Caves, 45 minutes away from Nashville, 30 minutes or less from Bowling Green.  I will be the Youth & Young Adults Pastor at the church Full-time & Becca will get to be a stay-at-home mom (which is what she wants to do).  She is also probably going to start writing on her site a lot more, www.motherhoodfordummies.com.

Now, the only thing I’ll be worried about is the fact that I’m going to be working with this guy below as he is the pastor at the church I’m going to.  He’s the one on the right.

See I didn’t realize the underlying Jewish Rabbi Cult that has permeated the United Methodist Church.  The fact that he has Henna Art on his hand along with painted fingernails.  I will assume that this image is of some strange new age Jewish wedding or “The Night of the Henna”.  Looking at Wikipedia I find: (via this link under the section for “Traditions of Henna as body Art”)

The Night of the Henna was celebrated by most groups in the areas where henna grew naturally: Jews,^[11] Muslims,^[12] Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians, among others, all celebrated marriages by adorning the bride, and often the groom, with henna.

Web & graphic design was never the objective, but it’s what pays the bills when I am otherwise out of work (along with my wife working outside the home).  This way, we both can make some income and not pay a daycare service.  If we had to do that, we’d be deeper in debt and not have the time we currently get to spend with our son, Aidan.  Soon, though there will be two.

Another little one is on the way, so I’ve been trying to up the number of websites I build and host on a regular basis for people.  Hopefully, if I get enough (around 10 more) sites, I will be able to tell my wife that she doesn’t have to work outside the home anymore which in turn will free me up more to do more design work.

But that is still plan B.  My heart is in Christian Ministry.  I’ve applied at a few more churches looking for a full-time opportunity.  But if that doesn’t pan out, I guess I’ll just get more involved where I am at now.  (See link to the right – in the sidebar)

More often than not, my plan b sometimes is God’s plan a.

If you’ve checked the tech blogs lately, they’ve been buzzing about a next generation iphone that came to light after an Apple employee lost the prototype at a bar.  Tech blog, Gizmodo apparently bought the device for $10,000 to take it apart and break the news on it for the sake of a few advertising dollars and a spotlight for a few days on the other tech blogs.

It’s an issue of morality & integrity that I think is unfortunately lost on a lot of our culture.  Apparently Gizmodo is also on the bandwagon of moral degradation too.  But I am curious what would have happened if Gizmodo had just given the device back to Apple instead of knowingly purchase stolen property to exploit?

Now, I have a lot of respect for Apple over their decision to ban porn applications on their app store.  A decision that I think actually embodies the philosophy of Google’s to “not be evil” better than Google has done themselves.  In this they have proven a moral stronghold when they could have easily chosen otherwise.

Bridges torn down instead of built up.

I am not sure what would have actually happened if Gizmodo had just given the device back, but I am sure that bridges would have been been built instead of torn down.  Now you have Cupertino upset over the issue.  Not because their device was leaked, but because of the lack of respect that has been shown them on behalf of the tech blogs in the face of the massive security measures usually taken by Apple to keep things under wraps till a launch date or press conference.

I will admit I am an idealist.  I think a person or company should be respected in regards to information like this.

If the device had been given back, Apple would have taken notice.  I do not think that they would have been left out in the cold either when the device was actually launched.  Apple likes to do things differently which is well-known.  An uncommon company like them would have also probably been uncommonly grateful as well.

Meet the Press.

Gizmodo hasn’t always been the giant tech blog that it is today.  Now it sits in the ranks of TechCrunch, Engadget and Lifehacker with millions of page views every month.  But Gizmodo has made it clear that they are the same caliber of journalists that made us hate printed media, blood-sucking journalists that are out to exploit anyone and anything for the bottom line.  Of course that’s what makes the page views.  That’s what pulls in the advertising dollars.  That’s how you make a name for yourself.  Exploitation.

It’s also why Gizmodo has been deleted from my feedreader as of late as well as other blogs that have done the same thing.

There are a lot of news organizations out there.  There are some really good tech blogs that I still enjoy reading, ones that haven’t “sold out” to get ahead of the game through buying stolen property.  I hope Apple shows grace to you.  I hope forgiveness is a part of their language.  The fact that this was a knowingly unreleased product, any judge in their right mind would rule in their favor, regardless of whether a police report was filed or not.

Let me share what I use my laptop for.

• Browsing the web.  Simply searching for things, doing research, and writing posts and engaging with people and friends through online communities like facebook or twitter.  The iPad definitely looks to be the better choice for this in the long run.  I can use an app to engage different social tools like I do on my iPod touch.  Now I can actually use these applications on a decent sized screen without having to sit down at a desk.  Let’s face it, laptops were not designed for the lap.  Maybe to burn your legs while you cradled the awkwardly tilted screen while the dog chews on the power cord?
• Managing web sites. Yes, most of my sites are now run on wordpress.  It’s simple to use and easy to get it to do what you want.  I even build other people sites using wordpress.  A laptop has always been the best way to do this on the go.  Now I occasionally use  the wordpress app for ipod/iphone but I find that the mobile login plugin for my wordpress installations actually has a decent interface for doing about everything I need to do on a regular basis.  In the future I think the iPad will do equally, or better than my ipod touch.
• Writing. Not just posting on websites.  Occasionally I still open up OpenOffice and write something larger than just a single post.  Resumes for example.  But there are even apps for writing resumes now.  Increasingly, I have found that sitting down to write something using my laptop is becoming more of a multi-tasking adventure and quite a distraction from actually writing.  My antivirus needs updating.  I just received an email or windows itself needs some kind of update.  One of the greatest complaints about the iPad is that it doesn’t multi-task, but to me this is one of the reasons I am getting an iPad.  I don’t want to have to babysit my laptop so I can settle down to write something.  I might also mention that apps are better alternatives to over priced software as well.  Apple has always had a better software pricing scheme.
• Graphics. I do a fair number of graphics.  I design websites.  I do occasional cartoons using my wacom.  I put together marketing materials for others.  In short, this is one area that I may miss a laptop… or would I?  Macs have always been the choice for graphics professionals.  I just never had the money to go that route and still get a laptop-type computer.  Apple Macbooks are pretty expensive, but if I have something else to replace my laptop… maybe a Apple desktop would be a good choice now?  Two apple products (iPad and Mac Desktop) instead of a laptop pc or macbook sounds like a great alternative anyway.  I will be able to keep my desktop clear of unnecessary software because of my iPad, and since I am usually sitting down to do graphic work at home anyway, I can use my iPad to sketch out the idea if I get a brainstorm on the go.  Even in the short term, I may buy a pc and just go with a version of Linux.  Heck, I use gimp for graphics anyway, and WINE does a great job of porting windows applications to linux anyway.

I am sure I will find more reasons why I am most likely never going to buy another PC, but for now I think I better turn off my laptop.  It’s getting a little hot.

I am trying a different tack.  Yes, the sharp pointy things that you used to put on your teacher’s chair but now you would probably get expelled from school for doing because in our culture you were trying to kill the teacher with tetanus instead of a mere tack.  Tact.  Yeah that word too.

A simple journal.  This is a deliberate effort to be more real.  Be more myself.  Something like that.  I think the other voice was me too, but it was a critical, self-absorbed version of myself trying to shoot myself with the same gun I was trying to aim.  Maybe it’s all a bad analogy… maybe I should just shut up my critical self and write more?

image credit to one of the most unflattering images I’ve ever taken of myself

I can’t promise I will write more.  I’m done with promising that and not living up to my own expectations.

I will promise to be more authentic though.

About the Theme

It is a wordpress-based, minimalistic theme with a rotating transparent header image overlay.  I didn’t need comments, so I axed that element along with trackbacks to keep the site more manageable and user friendly.  Using the background for the search box was a really nice touch I thought to make it look like a cutout area.  I also added a widget area and used the image widget plugin to make the logo one that I could update easily without playing with css.

If you are interested in a wordpress-based design for your site, leave a comment and we can arrange a call to go over the details.

Here it is and enjoy.  If you would like to change the footer information, go ahead, but I would appreciate (not require) a link back to http://www.williamlehman.net as a gesture of goodwill. 

Download “am-i-in-sync-v1.1″ WordPress Theme Here (updated as of 10/14/2009)

This theme natively uses some plugins that it won’t look or work right without – These are listed below:

Image Widget – This handles all images including the logo and the top three placements.  Alternatively, you can just drop html for images into a text widget, but this makes it a little easier.  Images are handled via a image upload script – just be sure to remove the title of the image when uploading to the ad placements at the top.

All in One Adsense and YPN – for adsense placements under posts.  The top adsense area in the header is added via widget.

PixoPoint Menu Plugin – This is the plugin for the menu at the top of the header area.  Without it, the theme just displays a black bar up there.  I like it and thought it looked classy while offering some great functionality to the theme. If you want your menu to look like mine here, you can download this text file, and copy and paste it into the “advanced settings” main menu css editor in the options panel for this plugin.  UPDATED in v1.1 – Now you can just disable the default css in the plugin options as I have written in the css into the main style.css file.

Simple Post Thumbnails – This theme is set up to use this plugin optionally.  This makes it nice to add thumbnails to posts without having to use custom fields to do it.  I hate working with custom fields so I avoid it at all costs.

TweetMeme Retweet Button – For that handy little retweet button in post headers.  Make sure you specify the compact size.

Screenshot of the widget areas

I originally based the theme off of the Gluttony Theme by wpdesigner but it got a bit more altered in my take of it.  The theme has 6 different widget locations… including the logo, the header ad placement, the three featured areas as well as the sidebar.  I may add some to the footer as well.  We’ll see…

Anyway, it was inspired by Hugh’s new theme (http://www.gapingvoid.com) after David Hayward told me about how he liked it and possibly wanted something like it for nakedpastor.

Other places I do still run ads are Text Link Ads (though I haven’t sold any for awhile), the bottom of the first three posts on any page, and in feeds. Overall it’s a lot cleaner looking and ads are in designated areas rather than just clutter.

I’ve also taken a bit more of a family friendly approach to the ads displayed. If you see a questionable ad, let me know and I can get it in the blocked ads queue.

Other site updates.

• There is now a new video sidebar area that I hope to make more use of in the near future.  These videos open full-size on the main page so you don’t have to go anywhere else to view them.
• I also have a finalized logo up in the top of the sidebar.  This has been a long time coming and I am happy to report it’s going to stay.
• Overall, there is a better, more defined purpose to the site (as seen in the info area in the sidebar).

I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with new things to write about and say.  More than most.  I enjoy the creative element of writing and blogging everyday.  The problem is that I read way too much and the sheer volume of the things I read leeches my creativity.

The solution is that I am my own person.  I am who I am for a reason.  Even if I take on a particular topic that someone else has already done a great job of writing about, I would take it on in my own way from my perspective.  The topic may not be unique.  In fact it probably would not be even if you thought it was.  What makes any content unique is you. The way you say things, the words you employ to get the job done make it yours.

When it comes to the average church, I often see it as a bureaucratic facade of “fiscal maneuvering” designed to look like ministry.  Meetings designed to put together action plans for increasing attendance, thereby increasing monetary means to increase attendance to again increase net wealth of “God’s kingdom” on earth.  This from the role of someone who has been in those shoes, lived those meetings.  Here are some questions I’d pose for that average church that feels they might be going through the same charade:

• If you really loved God and loved people as much as you say you do, would you still spend 12 hours a week going over action plans for five year goals or would you spend those 12+ hours each week actually listening to the hurting or caring for the broken?
• Aren’t you tired of trying to make it work, to make the numbers add up, or preaching to deaf ears on a Sunday morning?
• Does it really matter if everything goes smoothly on a Sunday morning or is it some kind of illusion of control that you want?

I for one am tired of feeling that I have to be so shallow as to be reduced to “getting it right” on a Sunday morning to have a relationship with a God who has forgiven my sins and genuinely loves me enough to die on a cross and make me a co-heir with Him.

I’d rather listen to the broken-hearted than to go to a meeting and try to figure out what is five years down the road.  Because frankly, we don’t have tomorrow, next week, the year after, or five years from now.  We have today.  If we are called to live as bridegrooms ready for the return of Christ, then we’d best start understanding that our real treasure, our only treasure is the same thing that our God came and died on a cross for, that He may come back between now and our next goal realization meeting, and that no amount of goal setting will be excuse enough for the ones we were called to reach and did not.

I have the gifts to do a lot of things.  To build websites, to serve coffee, to play drums, to lead small groups, to preach, to do design work and many more besides.  If I had these and so many other gifts, I could do so much but it would be in vain unless I failed to do that thing that is called of me, of all of us to do, to love.

This is my personal mission statement, a sound out from the depths of my heart resounding with every stroke of a key.

Love God.  Love Man.

I will fail at times to do this but I am confident that God’s grace is sufficient for even me.

A Month goes by, quickly, I might add.  A first time dad.  I was working at Olan Mills at the time.  I kept the external drive plugged in, thought, why not just use it as my “my documents” folder.  Everything is backed up to it.  It will keep my computer cleaner and save the extra step of backing up every time.

One night, returning home much intoxicated from one of my haunts about the town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence…. oh wait, that’s Edger Allen Poe’s story, not mine.

One night, returning home, we had just opened the door, when I heard something fall.  It sounded heavy.  One of our cats was sitting in the middle of the floor, poised, ready to strike, and beside him was my external hard drive.  Being the curious animal he was, he had jumped up on my desk and knocked the hard drive to the floor.  Since my computer and the hard drive were on, the hard drive began making clicking noises. I plugged it in.  Nothing but clicks.  Everything gone.  I gave it up as a total loss.  I got frustrated, loaded up a linux distro I had laying around and got the hard drive working, at least until I posted about it.

While backing everything up from the drive, it failed again. I was too frustrated to post again that the thing had failed… miserable and angry at the whole ordeal, I again gave it all up for loss.  I had small images that I had posted when he was born.  Those would have to do.  Family started asking questions about getting larger images. I told them what had happened.  Now it wasn’t just me, other people were ready to kill one of our cats.

I remembered something this morning when Animoto, sent out their newsletter.  I had made a video with them and used higher quality images to make it than I have on my blog.

I emailed them this morning if I could get a download of those images.

They emailed back wanting the exact url for the video I had put together.

I emailed it to them.

They emailed back with an individual url for every picture I had uploaded to the video.

I have since downloaded them all and backed them all up online.

Thank You Animoto.  I also really loved the slideshow I put together using your service.

Let me try out a few ways to say “no”.

• No.  I can’t help you with your website for free.  I have a three month-old who needs to eat, rent to pay, and I have to pay to have the internet in order to work on your website.
• No.  I can’t do design work for free.  Art supplies are not free contrary to popular belief, and it takes time away from actually using my talents to make an income for my family.  Also, it drains me creatively for working on projects that I actually want to work on.
• No.  I will not hope to even compete with the prices of ready-made websites, automated help systems, or big name brand hosting companies.  I can’t afford the people, the systems or support architecture to deal with people by just ignoring them and treating them like wallets on legs rather than real people, with real needs.

Basically it comes down to this.  If it is my power to provide a service to you, I will do so, but it comes at a price.  For me, it comes at a price of spending time with my family, other things that to me really are more important.  I don’t do work for free.  Offer to pay me.  I’ll work that much better for the compensation and we will all rest better knowing that we are both winning in this situation.

Lately, I’ve been drawing all in pen, in my favorite sketch journal and using primsacolor art markers with them for color.  It happens when I write too.  Blog entries are sometimes rewritten 5 times before being published.

I think this is why for the longest time I tended toward digital art.  CTRL+Z is my favorite combination of keystrokes.  I even have it programed into one of my quick buttons on my Wacom tablet.  I need to write the word “fear” on that button.

Wrong stroke.  The word “oops” comes to mind.  The fear that when I am done, I will look back on the work as a failure.  I guess it’s really silly though.  Art is something you grow with when you do it.  Writing is the same way.  Even photography.  Taking that same shot six times to get that one expression, or a better version of it anyway.

When will I let it go?  Stop being afraid of messing up.  When will I begin embracing failure as a learning experience rather than fearing it and keeping the creativity locked up for fear of the unknown failure that could be.  Just as easily, a masterpeice could come about too.

So I’ve given up any real kind of tagline and decided to just make it a byline.  See, then I can really write about what is going on with me and this struggle between Faith, life, Art, playing tug-o-war with my puppy, and family life.  Truth is (according to my wife) I’m a huge teddy bear with a lot of different interests.  Anyway, knowing my deep dark secret that that is, my kryptonite, hopefully my posts will be more regular and meaningful from here on out.

maybe…

that or I just like to change my identity every now and then to keep you on your toes.