I just upgraded this blog to Bloo alpha build 6, so if things look funny press your refresh button (lots of stylesheet work was done).
Hey, I just upgraded
8
Well, sneaking back from hiatus briefly
I’ve finally upgraded this blog to the latest version of Bloo (alpha build 5).
It’s good to be up to date (and ironic that I let this one languish).
If the image looks funny (text overlayed) press your refresh button.
I’ll get the ESV daily passage back up soon (need to write the extension for it in the new architecture)
Have a great weekend!
On hiatus
I may as well make public what’s obvious. I am officially on hiatus from blogging in this space – probably for the next two weeks.
Basically, all my spare cycles have been going toward the development of Bloo. And even that’s a lower priority than many other things I’ve got going on.
One cool side note to that – the alpha testers I’ve gathered on this project have really been giving me great ideas!
I hope to get back to writing my thoughts in this space, but it will probably do me good to make official the fact that I’m just not writing much right now. So, I’ll be checking out of here for the next 2 weeks (although I may upgrade this blog to Bloo alpha build 5 – it’s still on version 0.18 – ironic, no?)
I love you all
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men . . . “
– Colossians 3:23
Crickets chirping
If any of my three readers still motor over here now and then, I wanted to apologize (again) for the dearth of posts. I will hopefully be remedying that soon. It’s been a busy week.
On the plus side, a couple of Bloo Alpha Test sites are now up and running. So I hope to start getting some decent feedback soon to move this thing to beta.
God loves you, blogosphere, and so do I.
Three chapters, five verses
. . . The universe waited expectantly, although the LORD already knew . . .
Between Genesis 3:5 and 3:6 a fork in the road was chosen and trod; a choice and steps that could not be retraced. The entire history of our race has been one of trying to get back those footfalls. Our fig-leaf coverings and hide and seek games with God offer no remedy.
Only he can cover us, and only the golden expanse of the mercy seat sprinkled with his own blood can heal our brokenness and appease the justice and holiness with which he governs the universe.
Thank you Lord for not abandoning us to our self-inflicted catastrophe.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
– Genesis 3:21
This and that
It’s been a busy but good weekend.
On the Bloo front, I still need to upgrade this blog to the latest version 🙂 – which is weird, since that should have been one of the first things I did. But so many changes went into Bloo version 1 alpha that certain things (like the themes I have here) have to be rewritten.
I have gotten several kind offers for alpha testing, and I am excited about that – hopefully I’ll have several people setup for that in the next few days. And I continue to see people downloading the software.
Bloo Alpha testers wanted
Tonight I released Bloo version 1.00 alpha build 3. As some of you may know, I’ve been working on a public domain blogging package named “Bloo” for awhile. Currently my solo blog Out of the Bloo and the Bloo Development Blog are two blogs based on this software. Bloo is fully object-oriented and differentiates itself in other important ways from most packages out there. It is also, of course, still in it’s toddlerhood.
Earlier this month I released it into the public domain. I’ve had a dozen or two downloads since then, but haven’t been making too huge a noise as there were some specific features I wanted to add to it before calling for alpha testers. Well, at this point I think I’m ready for some people to load this thing up and take it for a test drive.
You can read more about Bloo at The Bloo Wiki and can get the latest version at the SourceForge Project Page.
What I’m looking for is one of two types of people to alpha test.
Person 1: You are a person who has some webspace of your own that supports PHP and MySql and wouldn’t mind uploading the software, installing it (I have a pretty straightforward install program that comes with it) and kicking the tires. There’s no limit to how many of these kinds of testers I could use. A bonus would be if some of the people in this group are experienced PHP developers with a good handle on Object Oriented concepts and the willingness to learn how Bloo is put together, and the philosophy behind it, as I could use the help. This would probably require me to do some documentation but I need to do that anyway.
Person 2: You aren’t necessarily technical or posessed of webspace, but you are an experienced blogger. I would be willing to setup blogs for 2 or 3 people of this sort under the outofthebloo.com domain. The blog would be, basically, [a name you choose].outofthebloo.com. All I would ask is that you spend some time doing some testing and blogging. I would come up with some specific tasks for you to try.
There is a third type of person as well – someone who has webspace but isn’t keen on installing Bloo themselves. I’d be glad to do that for you.
In short, I’m looking for some people interested in getting involved at the ground level in helping move Bloo along. So, if you’re interested in alpha testing this thing, please let me know! You can write me at supportAToutoftheblooDOTcom and we’ll talk. Of course, the key word here is “alpha” – this software has been working pretty well for me for almost a year, but no doubt there are plenty of gotchas lurking under the surface.
Bloo and the Art of Shower Repair
In case any of my three readers wonder where I’ve been lately:
Life is good. And busy. Jill and I had the GAP class over on Sunday afternoon. That was great! And I’ve been working a lot on the third alpha build of Bloo (and I’m about to put out a call for alpha testers . . . finally). It’s a big one, with some neat features. More on that later.
And then there’s our shower. For background, there’s not a plumb line in our entire house. We love our house but also believe that the day they built it was “take your daughter to work day” and that the builder’s six-year-old progeny built certain parts of it (like the shower). I had to rip the shower apart recently due to a water leak – and this is a custom built shower with a cultured marble frame. I fixed the leak (in theory) but called in a glass company to re-install the shower glass, because I chickened out on doing that part. That was done today – woot! – but between wrestling with the shower, getting the yard looking like spring again, teaching and hanging out with the GAP class, and ongoing Bloo development, I haven’t been making much time to blog.
But all is well. God is good, always, and we’re enjoying His blessings.
I hope you are too.
A quick thought on Psalm 19
Who can discern his errors?
– Psalm 19:12a
Just half of one verse, but what a statement.
The thought hit me tonight that the process of sanctification is often a microcosm of progressive revelation, focused down on the person we know both the best and the least. Ourselves.
Do you notice sins in yourself that you never would have considered to be a problem earlier in your Christian maturity? And hopefully not in the self-flagellating, guilt-ridden frame that we sometimes fall into, like those who have no hope. But rather with the almost detached, spiritual wisdom that comes from God and says “this is not of me”.
May God help me discern my errors, and arise from them.
Smyrna
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) . . .
– Revelation 2:8-9a (ESV)
I’ve been thinking about tribulation lately. I have been blessedly free of it for most of my adult life, which seems strange. And somewhat disconcerting. The biggest opposition I face, in general, is of the level of someone misunderstanding or misrepresenting something I posted.
Don’t get me wrong; I do not strive for tribulation. And I thank God every day for the goodness he has showered on me.
But I also am beginning to understand, I think, why tribulation is good. I may put this into words soon (just not right now – I think I’m too tired to do it justice). So instead I just wanted to point out the virtue of Smyrna, that embattled and poverty stricken little church that Christ honors in the early chapters of the Revelation. Jesus reminds them that he is the one who has died and come back to life.
Knowing this, what on earth can we fear? He is alive, and even death was unable to defeat him. He is the first and last. When you think of it, he is the first and the last Word. There is nothing to fear.
And he blesses little Smyrna, one of the two churches (the other is Philadelphia) of which nothing bad is said in the letters to the churches of Revelation. He sees their poverty, and pronounces them rich! He sees their tribulation. And he honors it.
More on tribulation later (I hope). But I’m inspired by Smyrna, in their poverty glorified and in their tribulation comforted by Jesus Christ himself, who became poor for us and suffered for our good. Praise his name forever!