Wow, I’ve been trying to get this post out for about three days now. As much as I want to get fresh posts out a few times each week, I find it challenging to take the time to just stop and write. Not sure what that means. Of course, I am blogging every day over at The Oil Change. Anyway, hopefully I can figure out a schedule and get back to posting new stuff a few times each week.

It’s been three days since the Olympics concluded. As a Canadian, it was a rush. I’m not sure people from other countries could understand just how incredible it was to see the depth of national pride expressed in just about every city across Canada. We are a fairly reserved people, and to see so much nationalism was, well, shocking.

Of course, many in the media began to ask if this was a “new Canada.” Would we continue to be so outspoken in our Canadian pride? Every time I heard another personality ask that question, I would shake my head. No, it wont continue. In fact, three days after the Olympics are over, things have already gone back to normal. Again, it’s not the way we are.

The mistake many made was thinking that we are like our American friends. The U.S.A. is very outspoken about their national pride. I was amazed during my road trip at how many homes display an American flag. They don’t pull out the flags for Independence Day or select occasions. Those flags fly proudly every day of the year. It’s just the way Americans are. I think it’s great … for Americans.

But Canadians are not Americans. And our media would do well to stop comparing us to those south of the border. Many years ago, a friend of mine put me on to Michael Adams’ book, Fire And Ice. I highly recommend it. Adams suggests that rather than becoming more like Americans, we are actually becoming more and more distinct from Americans.

That doesn’t mean Canadians are not proud of their Nation. If anything, the Olympics gave us an excuse to display that pride in a very public fashion. But now, as it goes “underground” again, don’t mistake it for a lack of patriotism. It’s just the Canadian way. Challenge us, and you’ll see how quickly it rises to the surface again. You see, it’s there. It’s unshakable. It’s strong. We just don’t beat our chest declaring it.

These Olympics were very special for me. It was the first time my family came together to cheer our nation. Every night, my daughters would sit beside me watching whatever competition was taking place. When she could, Heather would also sit and watch (her concussion symptoms made it difficult for her to take in some of the faster moving events). We’d all scream and shout at the television when a Canadian was close to a medal. We’d cheer them on for the final lap, the last mogul, or the intense pressure in the offensive end of the rink. It was a coming together for our family.

It was a coming together for our nation. On twitter, I cheered along with Canadians from coast to coast. Many thanked others when the games were over for the opportunity to enjoy the Olympics with so many other Canadians. We felt connected. It was a great feeling.

So, now the games are over. Where do we go from here? I believe we simply continue being Canadian. We go about our lives, doing the things we love to do, knowing that when push comes to shove, that national pride will once again rise to the top. If anything, the rest of the world now knows what all of us in this nation already knew: O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

I’d love to hear your comments about the games and what you enjoyed the most about them.

Okay, just had to post this one … thought it was hilarious!

Yes, a church found on a nudist colony … and yes, a pastor preaching in the buff. If you just ate, you may not want to watch!

You can see the original article here.

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of technology. I’m a big believer in utilizing technology in the church.

For example, I love seeing all the things that can be done with a macbook pro, a digital camera, and a green screen. The video that welcomes people to the Bikers’ Church website is shot using a green screen. The church logo was placed behind me on my MBP.

Because I do have limited experience with video technology, I am a little more aware of how fake much of what we see in television truly is. However, the average person is not aware of just how often this technology is utilized. As a result, when we see something, we naturally assume it’s real. Chances are, it’s not.

I say this because as technology continues to blend with reality, it will be even more important for us to be wise in what we believe and don’t believe. Be careful not to take a report at face value simply because you “saw the footage on your local news.” Remember, what you see isn’t necessarily real.

Just to bring home that point, and possibly blow your mind, check out this very cool video that shows how green screen technology is used in many of your favourite television programs:

I saw a shorter version of this video last week, but thought it was so good, I’m going to post it here.

Tom Brokaw explains Canada to Americans.

I just found a new blog that I am loving … there are some great posts there on spirituality as it relates to pop culture.

I read this post today and thought I’d pass it on to you all:

The idea of “the one” or a “soul-mate” is quite common in popular culture today.  The Twilight series based 4 rather lengthy books on this concept (I am not sure how, but its an impressive feat nonetheless).  I will never forget Serendipity, whose plot is based on two people who met briefly in the past who later in life attempt to reconnect because they simply feel that they are “the one.”  Even some of the most popular romantic comedies play off this idea on some level–Sleepless in Seatle, You’ve Got Mail, and Hitch come to mind.   Rarely in these movies are the consequences of “the one” mentality played out in any sort of realistic way.  Rarely do these movies take an honest look at what effect looking for “the one” has on the people closest to us. In fact, in most the movies I have mentioned, there are perfectly nice and likable people who are left alone simply because they are not “the one.”  Their stories are rarely told and their scars are most often overlooked.

The typical romance movie rarely tells the tales of the effects of the separations and family breakups caused by faith in “the one.”  In the rare instance that they do tell such a story, it is unrealistically portrayed as acceptable and hurt-free.  I can’t interpret this in any other way than an elevation of personal human freedom and happiness over commitment, sacrifice, and faithfulness.  Such Hollywood love, excuses far-reaching relational sins and makes joy in relationships purely circumstantial.

Many Christians have picked up this idea of “the one” and treated it almost as if it were biblical dogma.  Matt Chandler has called this “the one idolatry.”  He points out that Christians sometimes look so fervently for the perfect mate that they begin to worship the idea of a perfect woman or man that in fact does not exist.  I have personally witnessed young Christians pass up on relationships with very godly people based solely on feelings or break off relationships with a potential godly spouse because, “I just don’t think he/she is the one.”

Let it be known that I fully believe that God is sovereign over all things (Eph. 1:11).  I fully believe that He knows who you will marry as He knows all things.  However, I think that such knowledge is too wonderful for us (Psalm 139:6).  In addition, I often tell the single folks in my church, “don’t follow your heart!”  Why?  Because your heat is deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9).  And in general, Scripture discourages making big decisions based on signs in the sky.

Three reasons why the search for “the one” is unhealthy:

1.  As I already said, the heart is deceitful above all things (Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21).  So listening to your heart, quite frankly, can be very dangerous.  Certainly Christians have the Holy Spirit living in them and receive guidance from the HS, but this side of eternity we will always be fighting our sin nature and bottom line, your feelings cannot always be trusted.  God’s Word, on the other hand is trustworthy in all things.

2. “The One” mentality undermines the Bible’s teaching on the enduring nature of marriage.  People get divorces left and right today simply because they are not happy.  I don’t think that is a legitimate ground for a divorce.  “So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:6).  God intends for Christian marriages to last so long as both spouses live.  We could talk about exceptions to that rule, but certainly I think we would all agree that that is God’s design for marriage.  The idea of “the one” elevates immediate, individual human happiness over the lasting joy that is found in Christ-like enduring loyalty.

3.  Scripture just doesn’t give us any indication that believers are to look for signs and wonders as they search for a spouse (Matt. 4:7).  One might argue that Isaac was told to look for signs, but that is a pretty unique instance and I don’t think that is normative for all believers.  What Scripture does give us plenty of is commands for husbands and wives.  So what I encourage singles who want to be married to do, is look for those attributes in their spouse.  And in all honesty, there is only one clear requirement for Christians in terms of marriage–”do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:4).  Look for someone who loves the Lord, everything else is secondary.  I would also encourage single to marry someone they are attracted to, though even this can be taken way too far.  Bottom line is that you probably won’t marry someone you are not attracted to, but true attraction is far deeper than physical.  Compatibility is probably important, but it is often taken too far in my opinion.  Further, compatibility is something that can grow over time as you learn to appreciate and understand your spouse.  The idea of “the one” does not encourage such growth but rather encourages despair when a certain level of compatibility is absent in a relationship.

So what should single Christians look for in a potential spouse.  Its pretty simple.  Someone who loves the Lord (more than just on the surface–which probably involves some thoughtful investigation rather than just accepting their testimony) and someone you are attracted to (and I do not mean mere physical attraction, don’t forget God intends for marriage to be a enduring union).

Finally let me say to all of you who are married, please don’t go home tonight and tell your spouse, “you are NOT the one.”  Instead I would say with Matt Chandler, “I know you are the one because I married you and as long as we both live, you are THE one and I love you and I will sacrifice in order to grow to love you more.”  To my wife and I that is far more romantic anyway.

So, what do you think?

I saw this picture on Bradley Wright’s blog. I love it. If this cleaner was in my neighbourhood, they’d get all my business (not that I take stuff to a cleaner all that often).

Read the sign in the window.

One of the people I met during my road trip in September/October was Cindy, owner of Style Saver Scarves.

She recently had her product featured on Garage Girls. I figured that since we’re still a month or two away from riding here in Ottawa, I’d show you the video in case you want to order one of these great scarves. Check out their website here.

The past few posts have demonstrated the diversity of my blog. I’ve shared some very personal thoughts about the loss of my mom and the loss of my daughter. I’ve updated you on my 2010 resolutions. I’ve shared my thoughts on the tragic death of Brian Burke’s son. And, I’ve whined as I looked at my naked bike hanging out in my garage.

Today, I want to be a Geek. And I want to try and convince you to switch to Google Chrome as your web browser of choice. Actually, I wont try to convince you. I’ll let Farhad Manjoo do it. This blog post can be found here.

I like to think of myself as the Dick Cheney of the Browser Wars—an unyielding proponent of greater and greater hostilities between the developers working on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera. As all these programmers compete with one another to make faster, more stable, and more intuitive browsers, we Web surfers keep winning. Just two years ago, nearly half of the folks online used Internet Explorer 6.0—the slowest, buggiest, most security-flawed browser on the market. Since then, Microsoft, spurred by its rivals’ advances, has released the very good I.E. 8, which is now the Web’s most popular browser. I.E. 6 is still around, but now that many sites (including Google) are dropping support for it, its share is sure to plummet. All hail the great Browser War!

Another benefit of this ceaseless conflict: Browsers keep getting faster. Mike Beltzner, the director of Firefox at Mozilla, told me recently that his browser’s “javascript engine”—which runs complex, interactive Web applications like Gmail or Google Maps—is 20 percent faster in the new Firefox 3.6 than in the previous version. Keep in mind that the previous version was released just last June. Can you think of anything else in the world that can get 20 percent better in only a few months? When I asked Beltzner how coders managed that feat, he pointed to his rivals. “Were there not other competitors who were just as interested in making Web browsers faster, I don’t know if we’d be able to find the gains that we can find,” he said. “Now it’s a game of one-upping each other.”

With apologies to Beltzner, though, I’m not going to recommend that everyone jump to the new version of Firefox. To be sure, Firefox is a fantastic browser, and if you’re a fan, you’ll do no wrong by upgrading. But even though I’ve been a Firefox devotee since its release, and even though it has long been my default browser, today I’m declaring a new allegiance. I’ve decided to switch entirely to Google’s Chrome. You should, too.

This is not a recent infatuation. I’ve been using Chrome side-by-side with Firefox since the Google browser’s debut in 2008. From the start, there was much to love. Chrome was deliciously fast—it started quickly, loaded pages in a flash, and never stuttered while playing Web videos. Chrome was the first browser to keep its different computational “processes” separated—each tab or browser plug-in is given individualized access to your computer’s resources. That means that if one open tab encounters an error, the rest of your browsing session remains intact.

I also loved Chrome’s minimal interface. Most browsers have two input bars at the top—an address bar and a search box. Chrome has one. Type in an address or a search term and Chrome will figure out what you want. Indeed, Chrome does something even better—it gives you search results right in the bar. Type in “jd salinger” and the first result in the drop-down list is the Wikipedia entry on Salinger. Want to visit your favorite political blogger? Type in “nate silver” and you immediately get a link to Silver’s site, Fivethirtyeight.com. This is a terrific way to navigate the Web—you never have to remember URLs, or even the names of sites, and you don’t even have to make a stop at Google to find what you’re looking for.

But Chrome originally had a few shortcomings that kept me from signing up full-time. Firefox’s main virtue is its flexibility—it’s got a huge gallery of add-ons that give it many fantastic powers. There were many Firefox extensions that I couldn’t do without, including ones that blocked ads and kept my bookmarks synchronized across computers. Until Chrome added these features, I couldn’t leave.

With Chrome’s latest upgrades, all that has changed. Late last month, Google released Chrome 4, the latest “stable” version of the browser. Bookmark syncing is now built in: Turn it on and your bookmarks are available on other computers running Chrome. The browser now also runs Greasemonkey scripts, little bits of code that allow you to change how certain Web pages are displayed. (For instance, here’s a script that turns all Google pages black, purportedly to reduce “eye fatigue.” Here’s another that lets you accept all your Facebook requests at once.) Finally, and most importantly, Chrome now does extensions. It’s already got a huge library of Firefox-style add-ons that improve many different parts of the browser. I installed several of them in one gulp, including AdBlock—a great though dubiously ethical way to keep lots of tabs open without slowing down your computer.

Now, some caveats. We all browse the Web differently, so your mileage may vary. I think Chrome is perfect for high-volume consumers of the Web—idiots like me who keep several browser windows open concurrently, each populated with dozens of tabs, and don’t restart the browser for days and days on end. More casual Web users may find its unusual interface—and its lack of support for third-party interface add-ons like the Yahoo Toolbar—hard to get used to. Also, Chrome has far fewer extensions than Firefox does, so it’s possible that you won’t find a certain add-on program that you consider indispensible. And then there’s Mac support—although Google did release a great Mac version of Chrome last year, it still lags slightly behind the Windows and Linux version, and will only get extensions support in a forthcoming release.

Still, most people would do well to switch, or at least to give Google a try. Chrome makes browsing a dream, and it just keeps getting better. The teams at Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Opera should take notice: Chrome’s now the one to beat.

What are you waiting for?

Those who follow me on Twitter or Facebook know that I’m a huge hockey fan. My team is the Ottawa Senators. Our biggest rival over the years is our provincial counterpart, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rivalry isn’t as intense these days because of a number of factors, including, the fact that the teams haven’t met in the playoffs for some time now, and the TML players we loved to hate (Tucker, Domi, coach Pat Quinn) are no longer playing with the team.

Still, any true Senators fan still hates the Leafs. And, most Leaf fans hate the Sens.

Having said all that, I do admire the Leafs GM, Brian Burke. He made headlines a week ago with being a part of the biggest trade of the year. In an era of “the salary cap”, that’s hard to do. And yet, he did it, and as a result, generated excitement in just about every NHL market.

But I admire him more because of an interview he did about a month ago regarding his 21 yr. old son, Brendan.

Brendan admitted he was gay. Now, that’s not usually newsworthy anymore, but it made the headlines because Brendan was working within a hockey environment. As with most sports, the NHL is not exactly the most friendly place to be gay. While hockey players will say it’s no big deal, the fact is, in a close locker room full of tough men, it is a big deal. By admitting he was gay, Brendan risked closing many doors in the hockey world.

Of course, the attention turned to Brian Burke. The tough, no-nonsense, say-whatever-he-wants hockey man. As the cameras focused on him, Brian simply declared his love and admiration for his son. In a nationally televised interview, Brian Burke proclaimed, “I’ve never loved or been more proud of my son than I am now.”

Now, this isn’t a post about sexual orientation. I’m not interested in your views about Brendan’s choices, so don’t bother commenting on that. It’s not relevant to what I’m wanting to say in this post.

This past weekend, Brendan Burke was killed while the vehicle he was a passenger in lost control on a snow-covered road. At 21, Brendan was dead.

All I could think about was that interview Brian Burke did on CBC. His public declaration of his love for his son. How he stood by his son just a few short weeks ago.

You never know when a life will be taken from you. You never know what your final words will be to an individual. You never know. Brian Burke and his family will grieve for some time over the loss of their son. It is a grief that you carry with you for the rest of your life. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I understand that grief first hand.

And yet, one thing Brian Burke will never have to regret was how he showed his son love. He stood with his son when he could have easily turned his back. He didn’t just support his son a few weeks ago, he publicly stood with him. He showed unconditional love and support. I’ll admit that when I saw Brian Burke’s interview with his son, I felt tremendous pride for him. I thought of my own children and simply prayed, “Lord, help me to always stand with my children, even if I don’t always agree with choices they may make.”

Parents: don’t miss the significance of this. Regardless of what your child may choose to do. Don’t give up on them.

Don’t risk a day when you’ll regret how you responded to your child.

I said a quick prayer for Brian Burke and his family. I also thanked God for allowing the GM of my biggest rival to remind me again of the value of family. So, thank you, Brian.

And yes, the Leafs still suck.

Hey folks, for those of you who have followed my updates on Matt Chandler, a young minister who is battling cancer, there was an excellent article about him in the Washington Post. I love the headline: “Suffering well: Faith tested by pastor’s cancer.”

Take the time to read the article. You’ll be inspired.

You can find it here.