Marriage + Kids = Misery?

I’m pretty sure I was expecting marriage to get harder once kids were added to the mix.

The SMH today posts an article suggesting that most people assume having children will make them happier, and then being disappointed when this apparently doesn’t happen. Non-parents (so says the article) are happier than their with-childrened peers.

A new study into 1400 married couples found that about a third were kicking it in the “happiness” stakes. Why? How?

I quote: “Husbands and wives both ”benefit when they embrace an ethic of marital generosity that puts the welfare of their spouse first”

Now I don’t want to say “I told you so”, but this is a straight rip off from the bible’s wisdom. As is some of the other findings “express affection for each other”, “..forgive each other’s faults”,”…small acts of service”.

The issue, not to put too fine a point on it, is that people are fundamentally selfish. Marriage tends to amplify this selfishness and adding kids amplifies it some more.

So people, you’re not necessarily getting more awesome…so repent…and be happy.

The Evolution of iOS

Nice summary of the evolution of iOS.at the Verge.

Apple is often criticized for being too slow with obvious features and functionality, which probably has some truth in it.

Generally though they are continually improving and refining in a very integrated way.

Looking forward to iOS 6…

iOS 5 Spring Cleaning

On my iPhone this morning I notice the Facebook App icon has dimmed and instead of saying “Facebook” it says “cleaning”.

OK…cleaning what?

Cleaning caches apparently according to Instapaper developer Marco Arment.

 

The Bass Saga…cont

Bass remains ostensibly stuck in customs.

Seems there has been some two-ing and fro-ing between my NZ buddies and FedEx today, but no resolution.

Today was supposed to be the deadline for shipping the thing back to the states, but the tracking status has remained unchanged, so I’m not sure what will happen.

Trying to remain gracious under these circumstances is certainly very trying…I’ll be glad when’s it’s over one way or another.

TBC…

The Feeling of Being Naked in Public

I’ve never had one of those dreams where you find yourself wandering around a public place completely naked, but I could imagine it would be disconcerting.

The equivalent for musicians is completely forgetting how to play a song when you’re on stage playing a gig…like I did today.

Well it wasn’t forgetting, more like just not getting to rehearse the song before church this morning. Either way, it was looking like being a train wreck.

For reasons I won’t get into, I had about 10mins rehearsal time and so the song in question (an old hymn in 6/8) didn’t get a guernsey. Thought I would wing it, I did.

From the start the timing was just all wrong…and two verses in it wasn’t getting any better.

At this point, thinking it would be better to cut my losses, so I stopped playing guitar and was intending on perhaps starting over. But instead, the congregation just kept singing. And so we finished the song completely acapella, and it was great. Better, no doubt, than if I had played it in proper time.

I do honestly strive to provide excellent music to my church family, but it’s nice to know that in the event that it doesn’t quite work out the way I planned, they are forgiving and gracious and will work around my imperfections.

So here’s a shout out to all my brothers and sisters @ Stanhope Anglican…you guys are awesome.

Aussie Stereotyping

Came across this article in Engadget detailing the latest in the Apple/Samsung stoush going on over the Galaxy Tablet.

Comes complete with the following graphic of Paul “Crocodile Dundee” Hogan wrestling a croc on a Galaxy Tab…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please people…let’s get over the stereotypes.

Apple Logic Pro is Now a Bargain

It’s fair to say that Apple hardware is not cheap.

I would argue that it is better quality and certainly has a much nicer aesthetic than other technology brands, but that is a matter of my own opinion (not to mention countless others).

What is quite amazing, however, is the quality of software you can get for your Mac (or i-device) for very, very reasonable cost.

The inclusion of the iLife suite (iPhoto, Garage Band, iMovie etc) as part of OSX is wonderful, particularly for the average Mac user.

But it’t the affordability of Apple’s “Pro-sumer” apps that is staggering.

My wife is a photographer with her own home based Photography business. She uses Aperture as her key editing suite and it does a brilliant job…and through the App Store it cost $85. Such good value for money.

Now Logic, Apple’s DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software, is catching up.

Apple announced today that instead of $749 for Logic Pro 9 as a physical, boxed product, it is available for $210 through the Mac App store.

Now, it’s not quite Apple’s with Apple’s (if you’ll excuse the pun) as some of the modules in the boxed product (e.g. Mainstage) are now separate programs which are purchased individually, but which ever way you cut it, it is unbelievable value. I have Logic Express, and it’s now cheaper to buy Logic Pro out right, than to buy the upgrade from Express.

Apple has also been moving it’s software offerings towards digital downloads through the Mac App store (e.g. OSX Lion). This makes perfect sense, particularly for a generation of customers used to the instant gratification of music and app downloads through iTunes and the iOS App store respectively.

Additionally, with newer Mac’s like the Macbook air eschewing optical drives, digital downloads are the way to go (unless you happen to have another Mac with  a drive which can be wirelessly “borrowed”).

Gold, Jerry…Gold.

Ping-Pong Prayer

I have four kids, which here in Australia is considered a lot.

One of my greatest fears as a Christian parent is doing a bad job at nurturing the kids in faith. Terrifies me.

My oldest (a boy) is a smart kid, and for a long time really struggled with the whole concept of prayer. My approach was to be honest with him about that and to admit that it was something that didn’t come naturally to me either and was something that I also struggle with. So we wrestle with it together.

One particular light-bulb moment for him was when he realised he could talk to God about anything. Literally anything like his toys, stuff he had to do at school and whatever else was on his mind.

Recently we’ve started what I’ve dubbed Ping-Pong praying. This is where, instead of either one of us doing the whole prayer at bed time, we each pray one point about something and then give the other person a turn.

Although this doesn’t seem like an earth shattering concept, he has really taken to it and it has really encouraged him in his praying.

So I’m pretty happy about that.

Facebook Timeline is Rolling Out

FB is finally rolling out Timeline starting, of all places, in New Zealand (…love to all my Kiwi mates).

I was one of the 1-2 million who jumped on early through setting up a developer account and creating a bogus app.

Here’s what my header has looked like for the last while:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: Mashable has some more cool header designs here

3 Months and Counting…

..that’s how long since I ordered my yet to be received bass guitar.

It’s a really long story which I plan to be the topic of another blog post, but in short it has been an excruciating ordeal.

Said bass is currently enjoying a small holiday in Honolulu en-route from lower NY state and is supposed to be delivered to me by Wednesday this week.

If it continues lazing on the beach in Hawaii I’m not sure it’s gonna make it.