SYM - Best Day To Buy Almost Anything

As a followup to the Best Time To Buy Anything, lifehacker has put out an article describing the best time of the week to buy most items. It is a good article that lets you know about numerous items. Like their other article, this one lets you know the reasons they suspect the prices will be lowest. Check out the article here.

Odds and Ends: Mouse In Your Pop and Steve Job Action Figure

Here's a couple odds and ends type thing for you to check out

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Did you hear about the guy who claims to have found a mouse in his soda? Apparently the guy claims that his soda tasted funny so he cut the top of the can off and found a mouse in it. Ok so not a big deal probably a hoax and even if it wasn't I mean how often could a mouse wind up in a soda can. Well, Pepsi has an answer to the accusation (which is in court). They claim that you would never know if there was a mouse in your pop cause it would dissolve before you ever opened the can. Three things come to mind when I read this... 1. How the heck do they know that...do mice wind up in soda regularly? 2. What the heck is in pop that would dissolve a mouse...and we drink that stuff? 3. Man am I glad I don't drink pop...oh man I wonder if stuff dissolves in milk....
Story from Gizmodo

Yeah you read that second part right...there is now a Steve Jobs action figure.It comes with Levi jeans, New Balance shoes, and several different hand styles. It so lifelike its actually kinda creepy. Check it out here.

Keep That Bible Reading Resolution This Year

So every year people make resolutions. The top resolution for Christians is probably reading the Bible. Well I came across an article by Lifehacker that listed steps for building better reading habits and comprehension. They are designed for reading in general but as I read them I realized they would work well for people who struggle with getting into bible reading. Check out some of these tips to help you out.

Photo from urweb.com

Step 1: Reconsider What Reading Really Means to You - Make sure this really is what you wanna do cause you want to do it not just cause you think you have to do it. Now that doesn't mean that you need to overwhelmingly feel like you want to do it, but if there is no part of you that wants to then one should reexamine the idea of reading (and probably ones faith).

Step 2: Stop, Refocus, and Build a Healthy Relationship with Reading - Set a schedule you can keep to. Do it where you can focus. Make sure you won't be interrupted or tempted to switch to something else. (If that means turning off your cell phone, then do it. It might also mean reading somewhere different such as the kitchen table.) Think about the best ways for you to read and understand.

Step 3: Choose the Things You Spend Your Time Reading Wisely, and Include Multiple Voices - Don't read a Bible that you don't understand, find a translation that is easy to understand (I recommend the NLT). Also find yourself some resources that will help you understand what you are reading. A good one is the New Bible Dictionary. A set of commentaries that you can read along side of the Bible is a good idea as well.

Step 4: Read Conscientiously, and Take Time to Absorb and Reflect on What You Read - Don't set a verse limit you are going to read or chapter by chapter. Set a time and then just read. When you come to something you have a hard time understanding, stop and think about it. Go back and reread it if that helps.  When we read just for the sake of reading it doesn't help us at all. It may take longer but I promise your reading will actually be worth it.

Step 5: Build a Flow Around Thoughtful Reading -. Think about a book before adding it to your reading alongside the Bible. Make sure its going to help you and not just hinder you. Make it easy on yourself to do your reading and you will find it easier to think about the things you read.

Extra Credit: Share Your Thoughts, Add Your Own Ideas - This is self explanatory as to what it means but it is helpful because often we thing about our ideas different when we verbalize or write them down. Also challenges from others can change the way we look at and idea or strengthen the idea we have.

Hopefully these steps will help you in your readings. I encourage you to read what they had to say about the steps as well. For the full article go here. (Remember I re-tasked these steps for Bible reading in particular). Also don't be afraid to look around and ask questions about books and bibles. There are a lot of resources out there. Learn to use them to help you.

Have Some Blessed and Happy Reading!

Winter Weather Driving

Well, winter is here and for all of us in Cincinnati, we know what that means...Everyone seems to forget how to drive! Lifehacker has put together a nice list of things to do before and during snow driving. The article is geared towards places where they get a lot of snow (it does happen here occasionally) but I find this article to be helpful to anyone who needs help driving in the winter weather. Check it out. A lot of the ideas a fairly common sense such as make sure your car is ready for winter and don't follow so close. However some of the ideas are a little deeper. Drive safe this winter!

Photo by Valery Bareta (Shutterstock).

SYM - Buy Things When They Are Cheapest

This may sound like an obvious thing, but its more than that. Lifehacker has put together, with the help of its readers a guide to buying things when stores have then discounted because they are trying to get rid of stock. They had this to say about this year's chart: "This year, with more research and help from our readers, our list is bigger and more comprehensive than ever." So if you are looking to purchase something (especially a bigger item) check out the list. They also explain the reasoning behind why something is on sale then so that you can determine if it fits your area. You can also use these explanations to determine when something not on the list might be on sale. Check the article out here.

MMM - Passion Conference Live

Sorry this one is a little late but I was having trouble coming up with something this week. However, I have come up with one and it may be the biggest media source yet.

We live in a day and age where everything is digital. In the old days you either were there or you missed it. Then slowly over the years you could hear it over the radio and then you could watch it on TV. The problem with these methods was only the biggest and most important (or at least what the majority found important) were on radio and TV. In recent times though we can now get access to all kinds of things with a few keystrokes. Seems like everything can be found on the Internet. This includes conferences and seminars even.


Today (Monday) was the start of a conference called Passion. Held in Atlanta, the Passion conference (led by Louie Giglio) "exists to glorify God-uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation." "Passion has been around since 1997 with a desire to see spiritual awakening come to the college campuses of the nation and the world." Check out more at their website.


That said, I have good news for everyone that isn't at the conference (which is probably anyone reading this blog). It is being streamed live and not only that but the previous sessions are recorded so you can watch them. Now it isn't the same as being there live but you can be a part of a conference meant to glorify God in worship.
Check out the main sessions live right here and be uplifted this week and hopefully in the new year.

The previous recorded ones won't be available long. The first session is only available through tomorrow (Tuesday). So be sure to check it out soon.

Maybe 2012 Will Be The End....

Check this out. Found this article from Gizmodo. Maybe the world really will end in 2012. Hard to say but I think its worth mentioning (as the article does) that there is also a super volcano under Yellowstone national park.