Can you recommend another blog or web site I should be following? I already follow (and recommend) Sheep and Goats. From time to time I comment there and occasionally you will find Tom commenting here, as well. We’ve exchanged emails “behind the curtains” and he seems like a genuinely likeable Brother. I’ve also been introduced to “The Ultimate Bible Reference Library” and some other commercial sites such as “Theocratic Ministry School Software”. I use, and recommend, “Service Record” from Savard Software which comes as shareware with a nag-screen. If you hate nag screens as much as I do, you’ll send Br.(?) Savard the (lifetime) registration fee because you won’t want to get rid of the software. By the time you’ve used it for a few months you’ll wonder why it isn’t available over the literature counter. Well it’s not … get over it … but you can get it free online. This program is begging for an open-source simulacrum or Doppelgänger so as to speed translation and feature acquisition.

BTW, as I write this, Tom’s newest post contains the memorable line: “am I really so immodest as to think what is needed in the brotherhood is 7 million carbon copies of ME?” Read the rest of the post and I think you’ll agree that there is a need for all of us to be thinkers.

However, with so much of what a search turns up turning out to be, at best, ‘junk’ after a few pages (apostates and opposers have to show their cards eventually), I could certainly use your help in locating ‘the good stuff’. I’m sure that I have no more than scratched the surface, if that.

I define “The ‘good stuff’” as material that complies with instructions from the Faithful & Discreet Slave regarding the various “do’s and don’ts”.

You may notice that I’ve been steering toward a more open expression of my religious beliefs here. That trend is expected to continue. Along the way I will no doubt alienate some readers while becoming more attractive to others. I read all of the comments appearing here several times a week … so right here is a good place to respond with any recommendations you might have. Feel free to self-recommend, too. If it’s ‘the good stuff’, I’ll say so. If it’s not, I’ll say so.

Right here.

If you like the changes, please spread the word.

– Bill

Let your voice be heard, whether or not it is to the taste of every
jack-in-office who may be obstructing the traffic. By all means, render unto
Caesar that which is Caesar's -- but this does not necessarily include
everything that he says is his.
      -- Denis Johnston, _The Brazen Horn_

At what point does submission to God and to the “superior authorities” part company?

Try to be specific in your comments. Give guidance, not shadow.

The alchemists dream, they say, was to turn lead into gold. While it would have been nice to score a room full of gold for speaking a few words(*), in time the budding alchemist would learn that the dream was actually an allegory for the changes that would occur within. As he learned the discipline of his craft and changed from being the baser man to the refined one, he would realize that he had actually achieved that dream.

The metal gold might never come, but the human ‘gold’ had already been tucked away, well beyond the reach of thieves. (Mt 6:19-21)

For a long time I have posted pretty much whenever I felt like it on whatever topic pleased me at the moment. No focus, no schedule, nearly no readers. No discipline.

That’s going to change. All of it. Click here to read on, my friend.

In addition to changing the theme (overall design) of the blog this week, I’ve also deleted about 30 categories. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to find something of interest to read.

I am also working on an e-commerce catalog of some of the merchandise I and a helper make, a wiki for stuff that interests me but is not directly related to the blog (recipes and so on), another blog at http://nmwoodworks.com/gardening, an ftp site with some special interest audio and document files and, and, and …

As a result

As a result of deleting the categories, there are, at present, precisely 123 posts labeled “uncategorized”. Until I can assign proper categories to the orphaned posts, consider that category a ‘grab bag’ of sorts and an interesting study in the human psyche.

Well, mine, anyway.

© 2009 W. Canaday

You actually have two choices: the one will work you to death and the other will not. The one that does not work you to death will yield better results, but may require that you be a better sort of person than before. That’s right … we’re in for a personalitectomy.

Click here to read on, my friend.

“We are not trying to sue bloggers,” Mr. Kennedy said. “That would be the rough equivalent of suing grandma and the kids for stealing music. That is not what we are trying to do.” New York Times

This just struck my funny bone … hard. Jim Kennedy, an Associated Press VP, while apparently trying to distance the Associated Press from a draconian interpretation of the “fair use doctrine” regarding material published by them, took a shot at the RIAA which has, in fact, sued “grandma and the kids” for so-called ‘music piracy’.

Er, “grandpa”. But you get my point.

Click here to read on, my friend.

I’ve spent much of my time this past year posting to this blog and a few allied with it. For the most part, the allied blogs have now been incorporated into this one. Along the way I’ve learned some lessons I’d like to share with you in my first-ever “numbered list” post. Click here to read on, my friend.

Moving to Linux involves finding alternative programs that can substitute for more familiar (and generally more expensive) Windows programs. In this review, I take a quick look at BloGTK, an offline blogging tool and find it to be quite capable. While not yet ready for center stage, it is poised in the wings awaiting its turn. If you use Linux, give BloGTK a try. If you know of a better offline blogger for Linux, please give me the ‘heads up’. Click here to read on, my friend.

As a writer, I tend to read a lot about writing. I have my Stumble Upon preferences set to include this material and spend some time each day looking for tidbits I can use to hone my craft. I tend to encounter a lot of sites that focus on this or that technical aspect of writing so it was refreshing to to find the “Cool Spring Narrative Writing Site”.

If you don’t mind the detour, I’d like to recommend that you take a few minutes to stop in because this site is custom made for the beginning writer who wants a quick check up on their basic skills before venturing into the public eye.

Established writers are, of course, only too aware of the wisdom of touching base with the foundations of narrative writing from time to time.

If you decide that you would like to try your hand at blogging, WordPress recommends Bluehost.com, and so do I.

I’m giving some Linux-based blog entry software a quick shake down but, for all its faults, I’m still happiest with Windows Live Writer (WLW). I don’t know who Microsoft bought that from, but it’s the best of the crop (so far). I hope they don’t mess it up too much. Click here to read on, my friend.