This is definitely new to me.  I just discovered today that some folks had left some comments for me.  I haven't found a great way to monitor comments in Radio UserLand without visiting my own blog and checking the counts.

I've been journaling using other formats for a long time.  I didn't anticipate any of the responses I received so far.  It's definitely humbling.  Gee, somebody might be reading this.

It makes me think twice about why I write.  In some ways, there is an artificial need to be profound so readers think this blog doesn't stink.  But who cares right?  Maybe that's what's bothering me.  I shouldn't care.  Or I shouldn't care so much.

Yes, this is a personal journal.  I write about things that have captured my interest.  I'm sure that with 7 billion people on the planet that someone will find them worthwhile.

I have a confession to make: I've been holding back.

I've got some crazy ideas that I've wanted to publish, but so far I haven't.  I didn't want to sound like a crack pot.  I didn't want to sound like I knew it all (especially because I don't).  So, here goes.  Maybe someone will read them now.  Maybe later.  It doesn't matter. 

I put a lot of stock into Matthew 10:27: 

What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

When God lays something on your heart and mind, it usually isn't there to be squandered.  Share it.  Act upon it.  But don't hide it.

I thought during most of my life that if someone was truly called to work for God, then they needed to attend a Bible college and work full-time on "non-secular" work.

But I have realized that there is a real need to stay "plugged in" to the rest of the world.  There is no less sense of calling for someone who works in a commercial profession.  God wants all of you: you love, your life, your work.  Does anyone (pastor, teacher, missionary, bus driver, housewife, cafeteria worker) have any more or less than 24 hours a day to spend wisely or foolishly?  God calls us to work for him, regardless of who supplies our payroll check.

I find the need to stay "plugged in" at work.  God hasn't chosen for me to quit my regular job to pursue Christian technical work.  He's got all the right reasons in mind.

I can, however, benefit tremendously from being involved in the secular workplace.  I can learn new technologies, keep up on the latest trends, and network with Christians and non-Christians alike, waiting for God to open the right doors.

Don't think that God is necessarily going to pull you out of the environment you are in.  There are probably plenty of reasons he's put you where you are.  At least for now.  Tomorrow will bring new things.

Being in the world is important so we can better understand and reach the world.

Yep, that remark can be frustrating.  When faced with something exasperating like mediocrity and lack of vision (or so I thought), the last thing I wanted to hear was, "Bloom where you are planted."  That was like saying, "Stop complaining and do something positive," or the proverbial, "You can curse the darkness, or you can light a candle."

But it is true.  And even though there have been times professionally when it made more sense to plant myself somewhere else, I have been trying to grow where I am planted.  I think it is an attitude that lends itself to excellence in all chosen endeavors.

If you have big aspirations, you might find that there are other like-minded people close by that share similar thoughts.  You might never know if you don't plant yourself.  Did you ever stop to think how much growth can be expected from a plant without roots?  Metaphorically, not much.  (Sure there are those wierd plants you see on PBS specials, but I'm making a point here.)

I'm a little peeved.  I can't imagine how a technology such as RSS could bear so many different names.  Did someone say "Hey, I think we should invent a technology called RSS. What do you think it should stand for?"  Supposedly, RSS was developed jointly by UserLand Software and Netscape.  Would someone please tell us which of the following names RSS really stands for?

Dave Winer and company think that it stands for Really Simple Syndication.
Jon Udell and other notable folks think it stands for Rich Site Summary.
I think I saw another mention of RDF Site Summary somewhere as well.

Stop it already!  Duke it out and declare a winner!  But can we have a definitive answer?  Thanks to Sam Ruby for the great background details.

The disruptive Web. If you're creating a Web service that you hope will have a disruptive impact, the lessons are clear. Support HTTP GET-style URLs. Design them carefully, matching de facto standards where they exist. Keep the URLs short, so people can easily understand, modify, and trade them. Establish a blog reputation. Use the blog network to promote the service and enable users of the service to self-organize. It all adds up to a recipe for recombinant growth. [Full story at InfoWorld.com] ... [Jon's Radio]

Here is a provocative recipe.  I wonder what we can cook up.  I wonder what he means by "self-organize."  I certainly do a lot of organization on my own, and I'm always looking for ways to improve.

As I've been checking my referer logs, I came across The Upward Way Press, a weblog by Randy McRoberts.  I thoroughly enjoyed his thoughts on worship.  I'm not sure I can sync up with his view on the Rapture or Revelation, but I can certainly say that I've wondered how entire doctrines can be generated out of three or four scriptures in the Bible that aren't explicitly linked.  And, if not only that, the way entire groups of people simply "toe the line" too afraid to have their own view of it.  And ultimately, the hasty judgment applied to those who don't agree.  Be banished, you heathen dissenters!

Sometimes I think we understand God and his ways much less than we think or claim we do.  That's why I'm so willing to read someone else's views and glean what I can from them.

Randy's thought on becoming permanent rang true with me.  I'm feeling a similar way myself.  I don't want to live in isolation anymore.  I want to be settled.

Thanks Randy.  Even if you don't end up moving a lot here, I'm sure God will have plenty of exciting ways for you to move when you're standing around the throne.

I feel like I should be honored.  One week (or less) after I submitted this site to blogs4God, there was a post concerning the Bloggies by Joshua Claybourn.  I (actually my weblog) was one of several nominees for nomination (more on this later).  From what I hear, he's "hot stuff" on the "Christian blog" circuit.  Josh, if you're "listening," I appreciate the notice.  Did you actually visit, or was the posting modified?  I read part of the nominations list on your blog and it looked a bit different (no "Best New Weblog" category).  Never mind, that was the official Joshua Claybourn 2003 Bloggies nominations list.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time in my life I had been presented an unexpected award (and I am not bragging).  In fifth grade, our Ohio History class had to make miniature floats with a theme about Ohio's history.  Being the nerd I am (/was), I strapped some cardboard and duct tape onto the mobile vehicle unit from a Construx toy construction set.  My float won the award for the newly created (it didn't exist before my float) "Most Original" category.  In the 7th grade science fair I won a Scott Foresman Advanced Dictionary (again in a previously non-existent "Most Creative" category) for demonstrating how to generate electricity from fruit with copper and some other metal (I forget).  Maybe they wanted to create a "Most Unusual" category and still be polite.  Regardless, it was the equivalent of saying, "most unusual...but still, worthy of recognition."

So, to my great surprise, someone thinks this blog means something.  I have no clue what criteria they used to come to that conclusion.  Regardless, someone (3 or 4 people even) will probably be reading this post.

Great, now I have to think of something profound to say.

Anyway, back to the Nominated to be Nominated title.  Apparently Joshua Claybourn is recommending that the Christian blogging community should sponsor a collective Bloggie award coup to raise awareness.  By nominating Christian blogs, people will have a better likelihood to read some good material.  So this blog is on the list as a candidate for nomination.

I can't imagine that any single significant thing would come out of such a coup, only tons of cool different things.  Imagine all of the border-line Christian bloggers who might take the leap and post their first true blue bold message.  Blogging is good for that because nobody can argue with you, only keep reading or leave.

In addition, collaboration relationships that never existed before might erupt and accomplish something unexpected.  Who knows, maybe someone will read my manifesto about the XAG principle and get inspired enough to attempt a real-world experiment in their own life.

Yes, I am an absent-minded programmer as my blog's tag line indicates.  But this blog carries a deeper message.  You can have an impact on your world regardless of what your abilities are.  Everyone can do something.  Everyone can do something for God.  It doesn't have to be big.  It doesn't have to get noticed.  God sees it all.

My question for you is: "Do you XAG?"