I’ve been mulling over a post offering practical and easy computer security tips for my friends and any others who stumble upon this blog, but in general DON’T do this:
Glad to see that Go Daddy is getting better – I’ve not needed to use them for domain registration, but I was also had a commitment NOT to use them because of their prior advertising campaigns.
Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary: #Blessed. I preached on Matthew 5 this past week in Ypsilanti and touched on this same theme that our very notion of blessing in warped, but Jamie lays it out in a much better way.
Kali LInux NetHunter. This past spring I was playing with some basic tools that turn tablets into hacking platforms as a way of understanding the potential security risks mobile devices can present. This takes that possibility to a whole new level.
Here’s Everywhere You Should Enable Two-Factor Authentication Right Now (For non tech friends, two-factor authentication is basically an easy way to add a second “layer” to your passwords on various internet sites – generally your e-mail, cloud, social network service, etc. will send you a 4-6 digit code via text so you can help prove who you are. I’d recommend using it for any service you might worry about being compromised).
“Sarge is a great teacher because he doesn’t just criticize. He showed the right way to shoot. What you do is you start shooting your gun wildly and run towards the target as fast as you can and, in your scariest voice, you yell “COBRA!” We worked on that all afternoon, and just before we broke for dinner, I actually hit the target! Sarge and everyone else were so happy for me that they were about to cry. Told me I’d just set the record for marksmanship in COBRA boot camp.”
Jeremy Smith – Fair Atheists, Religious Jerks and Clergy Taxes. I think in general there is a lot of misunderstanding about how clergy are taxed; because clergy are considered self-employed, and parsonages are treated as taxable income, clergy (at those who play by the rules), are often taxed at a slightly higher rate than most people. But the cause isn’t helped by clergy (especially those like Rick Warren) who do take their income as a 100% housing allowance and then are able to purchase their own homes, effectively “double dipping” by deducing the interest on mortgages.
A quick note on parsonages – the “free housing” provided to clergy – it’s good to remember that this is primarily a benefit to the congregation, not the pastor, who is missing the opportunity to build equity, receive tax credits for home ownership, and will face becoming a first-time home buyer retirement. In an itinerant system parsonages do make a degree of sense, and I appreciate being able to have lived in some very nice parsonages, but it should be made clear that this isn’t some amazing benefit clergy get – most people in the secular world would not voluntarily choose to live in a situation where their employer was also their landlord (especially if the employer had a reputation of doing things as cheaply as possible).
Seth Godin: Is there a reason for the friction? I’ve actually written about this idea in terms of computer security recently, but it certainly also applies to church membership – there are points where a degree of friction is necessary to make people aware of their choices and to take it seriously.
How Hull Inspired Paul Heaton. Love Hull & Heaton both. Despite Hull being the go-to joke in the UK about a town that’s awful and boring, I remember my time there fondly and would love to make a return visit. (Of course I also love Des Moines and Detroit, so maybe I just love cities that frequently are treated like punchlines).
David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful:
Thinking of Paul Heaton and Hull, here’s an oldie from the Housemartins:
J Dilla vs the Beach Boys. I did a poem a few weeks ago where I referenced J Dilla, and got a lot of shocked looks by people in the crowd that totally didn’t expect an older white guy from the suburbs to know who he was. Good times.
With all the discussion related to the trail of Rev. Frank Shaefer, I found Jason Micheli’s take to be particularly interesting.
Jeremy Smith: Fair Atheists, Religious Jerks and Clergy Taxes. I think Jeremy makes some good points here, especially if the eventual trade off is getting rid of the “self employed” designation.
As the title suggests, in this great little book, August draws upon the wisdom of the Trappist community at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina and blends it with his own insights from working in corporate environments like MTV, as well as two software companies he founded – Raleigh Group International and Elsinore Technologies.
As I started to read the book, I found myself needing to adjust my initial expectations. I was hoping for a book that would really unpack some of the theology behind Trappist practice, as well as apply that wisdom to workplace ethics in a very analytic way. Instead, as the book’s subtitle revels, this book is a much more personal and largely anecdotal account of “one CEO’s quest for meaning and authenticity.” This is one person’s account of discovering and applying spiritual insight into the workplace, instead of a “how to” manual of how it might be done everywhere. Of course, this isn’t to say that the knowledge and wisdom isn’t practical or applicable to other situations; it most certainly is, but the book is more about embracing the conversation of how it might happen instead of dictating “5 Simple Steps to Implementing Trappist Business Practices.”
Turak identifies three core components of Trappist identity – mission, personal transformation and community, and does a great job of identifying how he has developed them in his life, and seen them practices in other businesses and organizations. There were times in the book where I questioned Turak’s examples, such as using the movie The Devil Wears Prada to illustrate the notion of the hero’s journey, it works, I just think it was an odd choice for an illustration. There were also times, when I wished he would go deeper into his analysis, especially in his discussion of Truliant Federal Credit Union and their approach to customer service. But overall, I found this to be a quick read that was personal, relevant, and easy to follow. The last four chapters of the book, in particular, are outstanding in their honesty and inspiration and I’d recommend this book simply for those pages alone.
[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for the purposes of review, my review and recommendation is not in anyway influenced by this. Thanks to Speakeasy, Columbia Business School Publishing and August Turak, for letting me add this wonderful little book to my library].
by August Turak.