10 Apps to be Thankful For
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 28.11.08There are the obvious things to give thanks for, like friends, family, Jesus… but then there are the smaller things that make life just a little bit nicer.
Even better is when they’re free! The following are some of my favourite applications for Mac OS X.
Entertainment
Perian – A veritable swiss army knife for Quicktime, it adds support for formats such as AVI, DIVX, FLV, MKV, and VP6, and scores of video codecs.
SimplifyMedia – Lets you expand iTunes library sharing to any computer (or iPhone) connected to the net! Supports all three major operating systems, and lets you add up to 30 friends.
Productivity
Evernote – Store notes of any type, from anywhere (and any platform, including the iPhone), online, forever. While I haven’t used Evernote much myself, it’s a pretty cool setup. It even recognises handwriting in photos to automatically tag them.
TextWrangler – If you deal with any sort of code, this is the best free editor I’ve found. Syntax highlighting, FTP server support, and file comparisons, among many other features.
Management
Dropbox – Seamlessly syncs a folder on your computer with 2gb free online storage. It’s dead simple, and works great. Even if you don’t have multiple computers, you still get an off-site backup, and online access to your files.
TinkerTool – Gives you backstage access to all sorts of little settings hidden away in OS X, including the developer tools in Safari.
Glims – Adds all sorts of functionality to Safari, from custom search engines, to saving tabs on quitting (or crashing!). While we’re discussing Safari extensions, AdBlock is also especially helpful.
DoubleCommand and KeyRemap4MacBook – Both allow you to remap keys. On a macbook, it lets you set up the enter to act like a function key (perfect for one-handed opperation).
Multiple macs
Teleport – Lets you use multiple macs like they were just multiple monitors. The network based keyboard/mouse sharing is easy to setup, clipboards are automatically synchronised, and it even lets you transfer files by dragging them seamlessly from one computer desktop to another.
Fruux – Syncs your Address Book, iCal calendars, and Safari bookmarks across multiple computers. Works. Very well.
Well, that’s the end of my list. There’s more, but I’ll save it for the next Mac centric post. Enjoy!
The divx format is probally suitable for DVD in Entertainment. But the divx sometimes do not execute and stuck while playing video.
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iaian7 » code » webcode John Einselen, 27.09.08This script has been replaced by mediaboxAdvanced.
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A Grandfather's Dirge
iaian7 » blog » poetry John Einselen, 13.09.08Hello my weeping daughter,
hello my bright eyed son…
Fear not for I am travelling,
to see beyond the sun.
Long have I walked these pastures,
to work and weathered hands…
And now to go before you,
to tread the golden lands.
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West Michigan
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 4.08.08
The young adult group at church had a retreat, of sorts, this past weekend on the west coast of Michigan. We got to stay in some great little cottages, hang out at the beach, and stay up late. I even took pictures of the stars over the water! Music, food, games, Bible study, lots of fun.
And may I say? Western Michigan is lovely. Really lovely. Also? I love a rocky coast line. Even if it’s man made, it makes for great rock hopping. A small group of us ventured out to one of the concrete platforms, across the large stones piled along the way. Hilariously, I’d forgotten sunscreen, and spent the last day on the beach in a hooded long sleeve shirt and rolled up jeans. Of course I would have worn my board shorts to the beach, but lets face it, I had boots, not sandals, so jeans seemed to be the only sensible option as I trekked too the beach. I was a fashion travesty, I tell you, but it could have been so much worse! Hopefully next time I’ll remember that beaches require certain items, such as protection from UV (I can burn in under 30 minutes; yes, I’m that Irish) and proper shoe wear (am I to be blamed that I packed for a forest hike? There were plenty of trees around).
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the Green Tea Diary
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 1.08.08As you may know, my cousin Sarah Wilson is moving to South Korea for a year! To document some of her travels, and keep friends and family up to date, she’s starting a blog over on GreenTeaDiary.com.
I’m working on keeping the backend running smoothly, so let me know if you encounter any trouble with the site.
Your blog is really excellent. It inspires the readers who has that great desire to lead a better and happier life. Thanks for sharing this information and hope to read more from you.
Web Designing is to create a unique online visual and user experience that will support your prospective trades to spend time on your site and ultimately to lead them through the customer acquisition process.
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Ring Light
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 26.07.08
Sometimes a ring light is used in photography to give a distinct look to the eyes of a model, and the shadows behind them… they can also be slightly on the expensive side. My first reaction, especially after finding instructions for hacking camping lights; wouldn’t making one myself be cheaper? I’d even mix different colour temperatures to make an assembly that could be adjusted to match other light sources.
After shopping around a bit on eBay, I found some super bright lights (over 100,000mcd); both cool white (7000k) and warm white (3000k). Some more purchases from the local RadioShack, and I was set to go. I thought.
Turns out, mcd is measured at the centre of the lamp’s beam. When the lamp has a 10 to 12 degree spread, it results in bright light in the centre, and nothing else. A wide-angle LED lamp, with similar mcd rating, would actually output far more light. Since I was stuck with narrow beam lamps, I gave up on mixing colour temperatures, and focused on just producing enough light to take a picture at normal speeds (the pictures taken here were around 400iso). In all, I used about 80 lamps (40 of each colour temperature) in a ring assembly set on perfboard painstakingly shaped with a knife (something corroded the blade within minutes… I fear for what vapours I’ve been breathing) and Dremel tool (which, I’m sure, has now coated my lungs with caustic dust!).
I carved out holes in a Tupperware bowl and lid, and used a piece of florescent light paneling to diffuse the light (it wasn’t enough, so I added some diffused contact paper as well). With some industrial Velcro for mounting the pieces, and an old pair of headphones for the modular battery pack cabling, it was finally done!
The good news is, it turned out ok. Not great, but ok. The bad news is… it probably would have been cheaper to buy one new. Especially after all the learning experiences (exactly how mcd is measured), my mistakes (two or three plastic containers), and the less than ideal light quality (LED’s, even warm white, do not produce very balanced wavelengths).
Anyway, learn from my mistakes! There are better ways to make a ring light, and unless you have a good source of super bright lamps with wider viewing angles, I’d recommend trying something with flash bulbs! Perhaps like this…? Maybe next year… 
And yes, those stylish glasses are my safety goggles… I may do crazy stuff with my Dremel tool, but I’m not a complete idiot. Except for that one time when I carved slate, and covered my bathroom in stone mud… and that other time when… well, those are other stories, for another time.
Leave it to John…even his safety glasses are pimp.
Your blog is really excellent. It inspires the readers who has that great desire to lead a better and happier life. Thanks for sharing this information and hope to read more from you.
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Dallas, Texas
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 13.07.08I’ll be honest – I didn’t see this coming, but here I am. In Texas. At least for the weekend. And yes, it’s bloody hot.
Renewing Your Passion is a conference by Gospel for Asia, a great missions and humanitarian organisation operating primarily in India. They focus on supporting local ministries in other countries, instead of sending americans over to “convert people.” It’s both culturally sensitive, and fiscally responsible – something a lot of mission agencies seem to miss from time to time. They focus on working with the lower caste; providing wells in communities without fresh water (Jesus Wells), caring for orphans (saving thousands of lives), and more. Truly amazing.
The conference is, to put it nicely, deeply challenging. As I hear various speakers, things are being brought to the surface that I don’t really enjoy having to deal with. Do I really love God? Do I have anything that could be called a relationship with Him?
Jacob, having worked many years for his father-in-law Laban in return for the hand of Rachel in marriage (Genesis 29:20), was able to look at the toil and see it as nothing, in light of his love. I don’t often feel that way about my “religion” (as one never does!). It still feels like work. I know it should never be a religion, but a relationship, and I know there’s a choice here – follow God, or not; and I certainly can’t not follow Him! I know what He says in the Bible to be true (and that’s because of evidence – not in spite of it like so many claim), and He’s proven his faithfulness in the past. That doesn’t stop me from feeling particularly alone right now.
I know loving someone is hard work, as any successful married couple will tell you. But at some point, I feel like I’ve lost sight of who Christ is. Why do I want to love Him, as a person? And that’s a question I may be wrestling with for a while. In the meantime, I’m putting my faith in God (Philippians 1:6).
It’s been good. As hard as all this is, it’s good. The speakers have been incredible, the people super-friendly, and it’s been good to talk with others about what I’m going through. Though I don’t think I’ll be moving down to Texas to work for GfA, I’m certainly still questioning where God wants me. Looks like it’ll be Detroit for a little while longer.
As I head home, who knew that airports had huge animated psychedelic tunnels of light? Well, now we both know! I may not look forward to airport terminals and parking lots, but flying is so much fun. Especially take-off. I guess drug-inspired hallways just add to the roller coaster ride experience.
As always, more pictures on Flickr.com
So, you went back to Texas again?
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Happy 4th!
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 4.07.08
Amid a nearly-tearful goodbye, Mark and I left the SWAP mission camp early this morning so we could make it back to northern Indiana in time for supper with friends and family. I missed the 4th or July festivities last year (stuck in Kentucky working), so was looking forward to the traditional get together even more! I stayed in the car and used my radio remote for the camera trigger to avoid the annual good-grief-there’s-burning-ash-in-my-eyes, and it worked beautifully.
Incidentally, the last shot is my favourite… somehow reminds me of a sea anemone. More photos on Flickr.com.
By the time I get home to northern Detroit, I think it will have been through 6 states, nearly 1600 miles, and over 30 hours in the car.
I think I’d have to say that number five would be my favorite from this group of photos.
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Cumberland Gap
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 3.07.08While Sarah worked with the other SWAP hosts during the day, Mark and I drove down to Cumberland Gap, bringing our total number of states-driven-through-in-two-days to six (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and finally Tennesse).
It was pretty cool! Mark and I hiked a good deal, though I suspect it wasn’t as much as I think. I’m more out of shape than I had hoped, and Mark says I complained like a middle schooler. We went across the original Cumberland Gap, along some ridges, and to several outlooks, including the tri-state point marking the point where Kentucky, Verginia, and Tennessee all touch.
I also got a particularly venomous spider bite sometime while we were hiking. Not sure exactly how, or when, a spider tried to feast upon my left side, but it wasn’t pretty. I think I ran a low-grade fever for the following 24 hours, and it hurt for days.
Such good pictures! Looks almost as good on film as it did in real life.
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A much needed vacation
iaian7 » blog John Einselen, 2.07.08I think this is the first bit of time off I’ve taken this year. Much needed, but somehow just exhausting! Starting out in east Michigan, I headed over to my brother Mark’s camp in western Michigan, and we drove down to our parents place in north central Indiana.
(about 6 hours)
Spent some time with friends and family, then started on our way to meet up with Sarah Wilson, working with SWAP down in Harlan, Kentucky. She’s moving to South Korea soon, and we really wanted to get together before she left.
(3.5 hours)
Stopped in Florence, Kentucky, to have lunch with Jeremy Laughlin. Mark got me hooked on Panera Bread’s chicken salad. Just delicious!
(well over 4 hours)
Made it to Harlan without major complications, but man… slightly mountainous roads get interesting real quick! I was not aware that east and west both go south… while staying perpendicular to each other. Only in Kentucky, right?
Once we arrived in Harlan, Mark and I met up with Sarah and stopped by the lake where some of the other SWAP staff were meeting up for supper. After the lake, Sarah thought we should visit an overlook in Virginia, insisting it was just across the border, not more than 20 minutes. 50 minutes later, she was still sure it was “just around the next bend.” We stopped for gas and took some pictures, and thankfully made it to the overlook shortly after. It was definitely worth it, with a lovely vista overlooking the hills and mountains of west Virginia, just as the sun was beginning to set.
On the way back to Harlan, we stopped by a lovely little creek. The rocky stream bed was eroded smooth, into hills and valleys that provided endless footholds and slimy pools of algae and water. After a couple pictures, we went rock hopping down the stream. Probably some of the slipperiest terrain I’ve navigated, but amazing fun.
We made it back to Harlan without split skulls, so that’s good, and then drove up the mountain about 20 minutes to the SWAP camp for the night. It’s located along the top of the ridge, and the roads are absolutely terrifying. Sadly, no picture can truly capture the sudden drop off on both sides of a narrow road, and certainly not at night! Suffice to say, I’m incredibly thankful I live in a less treacherous locale.
As always, more pictures can be found on Flickr.com.
You’re a very talented writer, and you did such a good job detailing this trip. Thanks again for visiting me! It still makes me feel special and loved that you did.
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