[Kid Inspiration]

I have never claimed to be a handyman/D.I.Y’er of any description. But I present to you my Saturday morning efforts which have convinced me that I could probably get my own reality show called ‘Home Improvements with Dave’.

I would go into people’s homes and put up a floating shelf… of course the formula may run dry reasonably quickly especially if you didn’t want a floating shelf.

I used the below tools to put up a floating shelf.

And here she is in all her glory.

It’s the little victories in life that you need to celebrate!

(Yes it is straight).

For Christmas I got a Kindle.

I stopped buying CD’s a few years ago and really don’t ever want another plastic jewel case filling up my humble abode ever again. Alongside books they were one of the most annoying items of household stuff to move from old place of residence to new place of residence.

I spent thousands of dollars on CD’s over the years and I am old enough to have bought tapes. But since getting an iPod and Apple TV I have been slowly disposing of my collection as I have gone completely digital. That isn’t to say that I am one hundred percent happy. iTunes does not put enough information into it’s track listings. I like to read who the musicians, the producers, where the albums was recorded and lots of extra info that satisfies my insatiable geeky knowledge requirements.

Turning my book collection digital wasn’t a realistic option I thought – maybe it was the admiring looks that people give when you have a book shelf full of books. It says something about you when statistics suggest 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

Maybe it comes from films… every really clever genius in the movies always has a library stocked full of thick tomes about history and architecture and entomology.

Maybe it was because I never had a TV in the house until I was 12 years old that fuelled my love of books and surprisingly… TV (making up for lost time I guess).

Well something has changed.

I used to have to order books from local book stores and wait weeks for delivery because the somewhat obscure titles I like to imbibe were not always readily available in quaint Australia… and  by upon receiving them my passion for the topic may have waned and it will sit on a shelf for awhile waiting for such a time as… whenever.

I used to have to spend an inordinate amount of time finding stats/quotes/research that I just knew were around there somewhere if I could only just find them…

I used to love the smell and feel of a new book…

I now no longer want to buy another hardback, paperback, magazine, physical type book for the rest of my life.

The book store browsing is over, my book store is in my Amazon wish list. Every book I am remotely interested to read is on that list, and should at some point make it’s way to my Kindle.

I only just last week decided not to buy a book simply because it wasn’t available in digital form. I wrote an email to the publisher explaining why this is not a good business decision.

If I like a quote, or read a great statistic… I push a button and it saves it for me in a clippings file that I can search later.

If I want to read a book, it will most likely be available to read in 30 seconds from any where in cell phone coverage (and if not, probably by the end of 2010 – my prediction… listen up publishers).

I will have to live without the admiring envious glances at my collection of books as one day soon they will all be given away to new homes.

P.S. ALTHOUGH I need to point out this… books will never go away. They will always have a place. Perhaps one day in 2047 I shall sit down with my grand kids and pull out a magnificent illustrated hardback copy of the Chronicles of Narnia, and before I get to read a word they will marvel, and ask of me… “What were the dinosaurs like Grandfather?”

P.P.S. This Christmas was the first time that Amazon sold more digital books than physical books.

It may be that Settlers of Catan is the best game of all time, but I appreciated this post from Trevin Wax about low expectations.

Last summer, my parents introduced me and my wife to a European board game called The Settlers of Catan. This award-winning game has become wildly popular, especially among college students.

But Settlers is hard to play. The game is expensive. The rules are complicated. Each game requires more than an hour.

To do well, you must master the art of trade, strategic planning, anticipation of loss, and clever surprise. The game is difficult, but people can’t get enough of it.

Read On!

Love this video from the womens ministry here at Hillsong.

Why Knitting? See Here!

Helen Burns from Relate Church in Vancouver came with her husband recently and spoke at our annual relationship seminar here at Hillsong.

We captured her talking about Kidsong World at Hillsong Conference, you can check it out below or visit the Hillsong Church Youtube channel here.

Thanks Helen, you can come back any time!

As my friend Giusepe rightly noted, I wrote this in my last post:

You all (and so many others) made our adventure forgettable! Thanks so much!

I really did mean UNforgettable!

He he.

Now I know why I like the TV show 30 Rock so much… it’s a rip off of the Muppet Show!

Check out this brilliant post at Brian Lynch’s blog.

Tina Fey’s 30 ROCK is currently the most acclaimed comedy series on television. It’s won numerous Emmys and Golden Globes and I think Pulitzers. Critics and audiences alike love the show and its lovable zany characters, and consider it one of the most original comedies in years. Read on.

For the love of Merna! What the!

Okay now that I have recovered from the shock.

“The Peekaru Original is a fleece vest that zips over a soft baby carrier to keep you and your child warm. It fits comfortably over all carriers, including Baby Bjorns, Hotslings, Ergos, Mei Tais, and Wraps.” Via likecool

I just lost three months of posts on my blog – which is why the last post is from Nov last year.

Not happy!

I have a small glimmer of hope that my hosting company has a backup that is later than mine – Jan 8 2009…

Why does it always take a disaster to make me see the light!

Automatic backups people!

Anyway, I will hopefully have them back soon! Amen!

Just finished watching season 6 of 24!

So already now for season 7

But a little teaser for us in this two hour event… nice of them to throw us a bone!