Wow! Now this is a paradigm shift! Do you think it will work?

Panera Bread Co. is asking customers at a new restaurant to pay what they want.

The national bakery and restaurant chain launched a new nonprofit store here this week that has the same menu as its other 1,400 locations. But the prices are a little different — there aren’t any. Customers are told to donate what they want for a meal, whether it’s the full suggested price, a penny or $100.

The new store in the upscale St. Louis suburb of Clayton is the first of what will Panera hopes will be many around the country. Ronald Shaich, Panera’s CEO until last week, was on hand at the new bakery Monday to explain the system to customers.

via New Panera Location Says Pay What You Want – NYTimes.com.

Yawn…not impressed. Allowing dozens of device manufacturers to implement the “open” OS as they each, individually see fit will increase the amount of work for developers as they have to develop for lots and lots of different devices. Keyboard or no keyboard? Scroll ball or no scroll ball? Directional keys? Hard buttons? Soft buttons? This “open” OS only increases the amount of work for developers to ensure that their applications perform as expected on all the different devices available. It will become a cluster, as users just want it to work. Google will blame the device maker, the device maker will blame Google, the application developer will still be blamed by both, and the consumer, especially the non-techie consumer, which is the gross majority, will be screwed. Bring it on Google.

YouTube – Google I/O 2010 – Keynote Day 2 Android Demo, pt. 1.

This is my response to something I watched and comments I read about it over at Raggamuffin Soul. It is the blog of Carlos Whittaker. Please take a few minutes and watch, listen, read, meditate…and then tell me what you think about it. Please.

Warning to any with virgin ears…Chris Tse drops a few gasp “F” Bombs towards the end. Well placed I might add. Chris Tse stood in front of a non Christian crowd and apologized on behalf of who they knew as Christians. I would love your thoughts on his poem.

via I’m Sorry I’m a Christian | Ragamuffin Soul.

Here is the video Los posted that elicited a flurry of understanding and hostile comments both.

I encourage you to click on the link above to read the comments that he has received as a result of posting this. Go ahead. Read them now. And then come back for my take.

As I watched the video, and listened to what Chris Tse says, my Southern Baptist upbringing immediately took hold and I braced for the offense that I knew I would take to what he would say. Thankfully, that only lasted for a moment as I really wanted to hear and understand why someone would apologize for being a Christian.

I got it. I understood his point and I understood his intent. Was I offended by the coarse language? Maybe I should have been, but like Los and some of his commenters point out, I’m guilty of the same. Maybe it’s the coarseness of my language, but more times than not, it’s a coarseness of heart, regardless of my choice of words. But if that becomes the focus of the discussion then the point, and the opportunity to meditate on and respond to what he’s saying gets lost.

I remember the first time I was challenged in a similar way and how it affected me. I was 17 or 18 years old, attending AtlantaFest, when it was still at the race track. Tony Campolo was one of the speakers and I was excited to hear him because my father, a Southern Baptist minister, had introduced me to some of his writings. I’m still very much challenged by his take on tithing and some of the stories he tells in The Kingdom of God is a Party. I challenge anyone to read that, and the story about the birthday party he gave for Alice, the prostitute. Very moving and eye-opening as to how we, the church, have made it unattractive to those on the outside looking in. I’ve digressed. I can already hear my wife saying, “Come on. Get on with it.” Thanks, dear.

What Tony Campolo said that evening was this: “There are 40,000 children in Africa dying every day due to hunger and disease. And you don’t give a damn about it. But what’s really tragic is this…most of you are so shocked and put off by the fact that I just used the word “damn” that you’ve already forgotten about the dying children.” Now I’m sure that’s not exact, so don’t give me grief over it. The essence is true, though. That hit me hard. I got it. I understood.

As I read the comments, and responses to comments, I began to think about the fact that the focus was being shifted off what was most important and being put on things that don’t matter. Does it matter how someone points out that we need to be…better…at being the church? Can’t we all be more loving and giving and less judgmental? Can’t we find more compassion and offer more grace and mercy? Can’t we focus on what matters most? Whoever is without sin…you know the rest.

I thought more and more about Jesus, which obviously was a positive outcome to my viewing the video. I thought about what Jesus focused on as he spent time with his disciples. I thought about who He spent time with and how He engaged them. As they were. Sinners. Just like all of us. What I remember most is love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy. What I can’t recall, though I’m sure someone will point it out for me, is Jesus focused on theology. Certainly not for the sake of theology, if He did. I think the closest He came was whenever He would engage the Pharisees. Weren’t they the “church” of their time? Weren’t they focusing on all the wrong things? Weren’t they making the church unattractive?

I love, love, love how Los put it. Again, paraphrasing, he said he’d rather engage with a few folks who were truly struggling with their faith and wanting to talk about how to be less “Christian”, but more Christ-like rather than argue theology with the masses. Don’t you think Satan finds satisfaction in our trivial arguments? Don’t you think he wants us to get bogged down in that muck? If we’re arguing theology, we certainly don’t have time to love and share our life with someone who needs it.

I’m sure there will be folks that disagree and find fault with points I humbly try to make here. That’s ok. I offer you the same grace and mercy that has been extended to me. Let’s just focus on what matters most.

This is a post over at MacDailyNews.com from earlier today:

This is an open-ended question for our readers who are cable/satellite subscribers:What would Apple have to offer for you to seriously consider dropping your cable/satellite subscription?Certain networks? Tiers of networks bundles or à la carte network selection? Specific monthly subscription price? Cost of hardware? Additional capabilities Blu-ray, DVR, 1080p, etc.?

MacDailyNews Take: Wed need the major networks, certain cable networks, HBO, a robust sports package which would mean live streaming from Apple for a reasonable monthly fee that we wont specify for fear of tainting your responses below. Wed hope it would be something our current Apple TV hardware could accommodate via firmware update, but would consider a new hardware purchase depending on the additional capabilities offered.

via MacDailyNews.

I wanted to comment, but it started getting a little long, so I figured I’d respond with my own post about it.

I think, for me, it’s not about either cable/satellite or AppleTV. I have, and love, cable internet service. I wouldn’t get rid of that because it’s my ISP. I’m not a satellite user, so I don’t have much opinion there. Although I did switch back to cable about 5 years ago after using satellite for a few years. For me, cable has been a better value primarily because of high-speed internet access. There is no one offering anything remotely as fast as my cable company in my area. So, to address the question at hand, “What would Apple need to offer for [me] to drop [my] cable/satellite subscription?” I would have to answer that Apple would have to become an ISP with better value than my cable company.

With the context of AppleTV surrounding this question, though, I’d like to clarify. Isn’t MacDailyNews really trying to ask this, “What does Apple need to do to make the AppleTV no longer a “hobby”, but a product that’s as successful, if not more, than iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad?” Because if that’s the real question, we might want to think about how Apple’s been referring to themselves lately, as a mobile electronics company. AppleTV is not a mobile device. Sure some people may have one in their camper or tour bus, but it’s not going in your pocket or backpack. Not like the previous three incredibly successful mobile products. (Yes, I’m speculating on the iPad, but early indications are good.) How does AppleTV fit into Apple’s mobile strategy? That’s a better question if you ask me. And I’m not dissin’ on MacDailyNews. They are still one of my favorite Mac news publications around.

I think there are some obvious and not so obvious possibilities. One of the obvious is tighter integration with iPhone, iPod Touch and the new iPad. Apple’s Remote app is pretty good, but it could still be improved. Can you imagine a newly improved iPad version of Remote for AppleTV? I can. Unfortunately I’m not a mock-up artist or I’d come up with something cool to express what I’m thinking, but I think there could be some really nice interface enhancements to Remote once the iPad hits. As for the not so obvious, what about the other recent patent filings that show Apple looking at smart/connected/automated home technology? What if AppleTV could become a hub for your home’s various systems, such as lighting, HVAC, security, etc. What if, again, the iPad allowed for amazing user interface and control of home automation? Now I’m getting more and more interested in AppleTV and how I can’t live without it.

I enjoy my AppleTV and I look forward to seeing how Apple makes it even better. But I still need an ISP. Unless Apple gets into that business as well, the question posed by MacDailyNews is irrelevant to me.

What do you think? Leave me some comments below.

What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

Job 3:23 MSG – YouVersion.com: Online Bible.

And there’s the question. “What is the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning?” This is what Job asks in the third chapter, after losing pretty much everything he had.

Though I’ve heard the story many times, I’m eager to read through, in context, the rest of this book on faith and why bad things happen to good people. In fairness, though, bad things happen to everyone, both good and bad. I think it’s easier for us to feel ok about when something bad happens to a murderer, or a rapist or someone who is clearly “deserving” of the worst fate. And in conjunction with that thought, it’s definitely hard to believe that a good God would allow such tragedy to befall someone like Job, who by all accounts is God’s number one, best man. But I wonder, why do we also not question the good that happens to those of us who consider ourselves good? Why aren’t we questioning the point of life when all is going perfectly well for us? Should we be?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic and I plan to post more over the coming days as I continue to read through the book of Job. I’ve committed to read the Bible through, this year. I’ve never done it, I’m ashamed to say, and as I get older, and I realize that life doesn’t get any easier, I think a year of renewal and dedication to meditating on God’s word will do me some good. My prayer is for God to use his word to speak to my soul and mold my mind and spirit into who He wants me to be.

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:2 MSG – YouVersion.com: Online Bible

If you’ve never read the Bible, much less, read it in it’s entirety, I invite you to join me this year in a quest for truth and transformation. Please comment, question, agree or disagree. I welcome all discussion. I’m following a plan that lays out the reading in chronological order. I also joined the group on YouVersion.com that is reading this chronological plan. You can, too, by following the steps here.

Rising up from the Dust, originally uploaded by MeckiM@c.

What an amazing picture!

Like many people, we have our Christmas traditions. When and where we do Santa pictures, getting together with family, milk and cookies for Santa that came from Bill Rhodes Bakery, where my wife works. I’m sure you get the idea and can think of plenty of your own. We wanted to make sure that we really instilled in our boys a sense of what Christmas should really be about, so last year we started the Christmas Closet Cleanout. We encouraged them to make room for new toys and things by selecting some of their existing toys to donate to charity. We don’t donate anything broken or worn out. Those items get tossed as necessary throughout the year. They make the choices and they know that the toys are going away to be given to a child that might not otherwise have much of anything at all. So far, it seems to be working well.

I decided to take Neal with me this year to deliver the clothes and toys to The Quinn House in Lawrenceville, GA. (If you find yourself in a position to donate, please give them consideration as they do a great job in the community.) As we pulled into the driveway, turned the truck around and parked at the steps to the house, Neal saw the people organizing other clothes and toys and such and asked about their activity. I told him they were helping get things organized so that they could be given to the people that needed them. We walked inside to get our receipt and a lady that worked there asked Neal about his Christmas, told him about Santa coming down their chimney, and thanked him for “sharing” his toys. Neal, polite as usual, said, “You’re welcome.”

I don’t know if he fully gets it, yet, but I hope that as he and his brother, Eli, grow, and we continue to do this, that they naturally develop a spirit and attitude of giving and helping others. Steph and I recently saw The Blind Side and also felt challenged to do more to help and make a difference to those around us. We’re praying for opportunity and for guidance for the coming year so that we might have a positive impact on those we come in contact with. What are you doing to make a difference? Any Christmas traditions that you’re passing on to your children?

So, for a kid, what is the worst time of the year to get sick? Yep. Christmastime. My oldest, Neal, apparently has strep. Fun. NOT!! Poor guy. I hate it for him since he has been “practicing” every Sunday to play bells tomorrow, Christmas Eve, at the Gwinnett Arena for our church’s epic Christmas Eve service. Hang in there, buddy. Daddy loves you and hopes you feel better soon.