The three-minute update
It's been a long time... Easter and Lent have kept me busy.
Some interesting new developments:
(1) I've become one of the beta testers for Google's new e-mail service, Gmail. You can send me messages at BobSchaefer@gmail.com to test it out. You may have read about it - Google (the search engine) has made big headlines lately by announcing this free e-mail service. It works a lot like Hotmail or any other web-based e-mail service, except that Google gives you ONE GIGABYTE of storage space. (For comparison, all of my e-mail since 1995 takes up only about 300 megabytes, or less than 1/3 the space Gmail offers me.) The idea is that you never delete an e-mail sent to your Gmail account - instead, you archive it. You can then use the built-in Google search on YOUR E-MAIL to find any message ever sent to you, in a jiffy. How does Google benefit from this? They serve up computer-selected ads based on the contents of your e-mail. Some people find this intrusive, but if you had any idea how many computers already have access to your messages, you woudln't worry so much. Personally, I think it's kind of a hoot to see what sort of text ads Google's going to come up with for messages from Shawn or Mike. ;) Please send me some messages at my new account so I can give it a fair shake. So far, I'm very impressed. This is the best webmail I've used.
(2) Taxes were good to me - good enough that I've finally realized my dream of owning a digital SLR camera. I'm the proud owner of a Canon Digital Rebel. I'm even more impressed with this camera than I am with Gmail. ;) It is absolutely WONDERFUL. I can do so much more with this camera than I've ever been able to do with any of my prior cameras, it's not even funny. I'm planning on doing some serious shooting this spring and summer, so that I can put together a sizable portfolio. I'd like to set up a table at some arts and crafts fairs later in the season, or next year. On top of that, the puppy pictures are going to be a lot better. ;) Seriously, I'm having a ridiculous amount of fun with this camera. Maybe the best (unexpected) benefit is that I actually feel like a "serious" photographer now. It's an intangible thing, but I think that shapes the pictures when you feel like you're actually a real photographer, with real equipment and real talent. I'm kicking around registering www.bobschaeferphotography.com as a front for my hobby... for $35/year, it seems like it might be a good investment. No one else is allowed to register it, or I'll have to kick your butt! =P
(3) Synod assembly is tomorrow and Friday. I'll be in Fargo overnight, so you can reach me at my cell phone. Hopefully I'll have access to e-mail at the hotel, too.
(4) Another funeral today. That makes five full funerals, and one where I only did the committal. A dozen miles away, Lucinda's got two weddings and two baptisms coming up. I haven't had any of those, and don't have any on the horizon; Lucinda, on the other hand, has only had one funeral in almost two years of her ministry. My predecessor, Lee Herberg, had a reputation as the "Funeral King"... I sure would rather not follow in his shoes, although I'm keeping a pretty steady pace here. =(
That's all for now. I'm going to go try some pictures in the dark. =)
Some interesting new developments:
(1) I've become one of the beta testers for Google's new e-mail service, Gmail. You can send me messages at BobSchaefer@gmail.com to test it out. You may have read about it - Google (the search engine) has made big headlines lately by announcing this free e-mail service. It works a lot like Hotmail or any other web-based e-mail service, except that Google gives you ONE GIGABYTE of storage space. (For comparison, all of my e-mail since 1995 takes up only about 300 megabytes, or less than 1/3 the space Gmail offers me.) The idea is that you never delete an e-mail sent to your Gmail account - instead, you archive it. You can then use the built-in Google search on YOUR E-MAIL to find any message ever sent to you, in a jiffy. How does Google benefit from this? They serve up computer-selected ads based on the contents of your e-mail. Some people find this intrusive, but if you had any idea how many computers already have access to your messages, you woudln't worry so much. Personally, I think it's kind of a hoot to see what sort of text ads Google's going to come up with for messages from Shawn or Mike. ;) Please send me some messages at my new account so I can give it a fair shake. So far, I'm very impressed. This is the best webmail I've used.
(2) Taxes were good to me - good enough that I've finally realized my dream of owning a digital SLR camera. I'm the proud owner of a Canon Digital Rebel. I'm even more impressed with this camera than I am with Gmail. ;) It is absolutely WONDERFUL. I can do so much more with this camera than I've ever been able to do with any of my prior cameras, it's not even funny. I'm planning on doing some serious shooting this spring and summer, so that I can put together a sizable portfolio. I'd like to set up a table at some arts and crafts fairs later in the season, or next year. On top of that, the puppy pictures are going to be a lot better. ;) Seriously, I'm having a ridiculous amount of fun with this camera. Maybe the best (unexpected) benefit is that I actually feel like a "serious" photographer now. It's an intangible thing, but I think that shapes the pictures when you feel like you're actually a real photographer, with real equipment and real talent. I'm kicking around registering www.bobschaeferphotography.com as a front for my hobby... for $35/year, it seems like it might be a good investment. No one else is allowed to register it, or I'll have to kick your butt! =P
(3) Synod assembly is tomorrow and Friday. I'll be in Fargo overnight, so you can reach me at my cell phone. Hopefully I'll have access to e-mail at the hotel, too.
(4) Another funeral today. That makes five full funerals, and one where I only did the committal. A dozen miles away, Lucinda's got two weddings and two baptisms coming up. I haven't had any of those, and don't have any on the horizon; Lucinda, on the other hand, has only had one funeral in almost two years of her ministry. My predecessor, Lee Herberg, had a reputation as the "Funeral King"... I sure would rather not follow in his shoes, although I'm keeping a pretty steady pace here. =(
That's all for now. I'm going to go try some pictures in the dark. =)
posted by Bob at
10:06 PM
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