Tech Tips for Catholic Teens

My dilemma: Okay, so it is 3am and I should be sleeping, but my iPod Shuffle (1st gen) decided to crash while I was at work today. I have just wasted about three hours searching Apple’s forums and troubleshooting pages, along with several other online forums. All I get is other people with the same problem and no real answers.

What crazy things is it doing? (Here are just some of the symptoms of my non-working iPod Shuffle)

1. Neither my computer nor my iTunes recognizes my iPod when it is plugged into any USB port.
2. When I turn it on all I get is a solid green light and nothing happens (won’t play, won’t skip forward/backward & won’t even let me check the battery life as long as it is on.
3. When I plug it back into the USB port it still charges perfectly fine.

So, what have I tried so far? Well, I tried installing a little tool called the HP Drive Key Boot Utility, but it doesn’t recognize my iPod, so this does me no good. Then I tried the iPod Reset Utility, but had the same problem of it not being able to recognize the iPod, so this does me no good. And then, even though I knew it wouldn’t work, I tried Apple’s Fabulous Five Rs advice (Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall & Restore).

And, where does this leave me? I could pay to have it serviced as Apple suggests on their website, however this would probably cost more than if I were to buy a brand new 2nd gen. I may just have to suffer not listening to my favorite Podcasts until I can afford a new listening device ― or until I can somehow fix this one.

If you happen to come across something that might fix this, I would greatly appreciate comments. But, if you are having the same problem don’t waste your time posting a comment to say that you are having the same problem.

Good Night : )

Ever get one of those disastrously long URL’s to copy and paste into your browser? Something like this:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/SaveMoneyDyn.aspx?cp-documentid=9298194&GT1=33007

There’s a really easy simple way to give your friends small short URL’s so that they don’t have to type them in, or worry about getting them cut off in an email or twitter message.

The TinyURL service lets you put in the URL above and get this as an output:

http://tinyurl.com/6lmuzl

TinyURL has been around for a long time and is a reliable service. If you use Firefox, you can download the plugin which lets you right-click a URL and get the tiny version in your clipboard. Very useful for twitter messages.

I use email. Alot. In my line of work nearly 70% of all my client communication is done through my Inbox. Because of this I make it a point that all of my emails, even the quick ones to say “thanks” are formatted properly, with a signature, and are written with care taken to grammar, and spelling. As someone who has made their living on being able to work with customers of all types (tech types to VP’s), I can honestly say that my email writing skills have played a role in my success in IT.

I can’t tell you how many emails I have seen come across that just made me say “huh?”. Here are some VERY experienced IT pro’s who can’t tell the difference between “there” and “their”. I’m not kidding, some of these engineers, doctors, and executives that I work with really look stupid in their emails. If an alien were to come and judge them by their emails they would definitely NOT take them on their mothership with them. So how do you avoid this, here are some really simple tips:

• Sentence fragments. Close them up! Use complete sentences, even if responding to a question from a previous email.
• Bda sepllign. Nearly every email application has a spell checker. Use Firefox’s built-in one for web-based email. It’s embarassing and makes you look stupid, so just be careful.
• Bad grammar. Take the time to read your email out loud, or at least in your head. If it sounds funky, it probably is (funky, that is).
• Address the person correctly. Take a look at this article.
• Make sure you have a signature with your current and correct contact information. It could be as simple as your name and your email address. If you want people to depend on you, you better be reachable.

These are just some tips for you. I am sure that there are countless other similar posts on the web, so look around and see what others have to say.

While I was on my journey back to the Catholic faith, after leaving it for a non-Denominational church, I stumbled upon a radio show called “Catholic Answers Live” (this was quite a few years ago).  I don’t think this was by accident.  God has a funny way of getting our attention ― sometimes in subtle ways, while other times like a brick over the head.

Catholic Answers has since grown, with their gigantic forums community, making back-issues of This Rock magazine available online, and podcasting the shows weekly.  But one of my favorite features is the ability to search the entire audio archive from 1998 to the present!  Search the archive by title, topic, description, guest, or show ID.  Very cool!

Disclaimer: Apologetics is not about winning arguments.  It is about knowing and respectfully sharing the truth with others.  I recommend a book called “How Not to Share Your Faith” by Mark Brumley.  When it comes to sharing the faith, we need to first be living it.  We must have a relationship with the Lord and a desire to do God’s will.  In the book, Mark explains that the most important qualities of an effective apologist include: prayer, study, dialogue, clarity, faith, hope, and charity. Buy the book here.

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To change the default font (Myriad Pro for CS3 and Myriad for CS2) in Adobe® Illustrator, you must create a custom startup file by editing the Normal Character Style in the Illustrator startup files for CS2, or the default template files in CS3.

To change the default font for Illustrator CS3

1. Choose File > Open and go to Documents and Settings/User/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator CS3 Settings/New Document Profiles (Windows) or to Users/User/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator CS3/New Document Profiles (Mac OS).
2. Open one of the default document profile template files (Basic CMYK, Basic RGB, Mobile and Devices, Print, Video and Film, or Web, depending on which type of document you intend to use).
3. Choose Window > Type > Character Styles.
4. Select the Normal Character Style and choose Character Style Options from the palette menu.
5. Select Basic Character Formats and choose the desired font from the Font Family menu.
6. Click OK, and then choose File > Save and close the file.
7. Choose File > New and select the desired default document profile.

To change the default font f or Illustrator CS2

1. Quit Illustrator.
2. In the Adobe Illustrator CS2 Plug-ins folder, copy the current default startup file–Adobe Illustrator Startup_CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB–and save it with a different name. (This creates a copy of the original startup file in case you need it again.)
3. Open one of the default startup files (Adobe Illustrator Startup_CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB, depending on which type of document you intend to use).
4. Choose Window > Type > Character Styles.
5. Select the Normal Character Style and choose Character Style Options from the palette menu.
6. Select Basic Character Formats and choose the desired font from the Font Family menu.
7. Click OK, and save the new file as Adobe Illustrator Startup _CMYK or Adobe Illustrator Startup_RGB in the Plug-ins folder.
8. Restart Illustrator.

If you have any questions about this tutorial, please post them here.

Technorati, “the recognized authority on what’s happening on the World Live Web,” has a way to search only blogs (very much like Google, but for blogs). It is called Technorati Search.

On that note, We added the Catholic Tech Tips blog to Technorati’s database. One of the neat things about this is that now we can track how many people link us to their blogs. This is what Technorati refers to as authority.

Also, if you have a Technorati account, you can add us to your Technorati faves!

As many of you know, I am a graphic designer. I use Adobe® Illustrator almost every single day.

One of the first things you should do, after you have purchased and installed Illustrator, is to customize your workspace, toolbars, shortcuts, scripts, fonts, and other preferences to your liking. In the weeks to come I will be posting some helpful tips on how to do just this!

The following tutorial will help you customize your starting document (new document). This also works in Illustrator CS2, however the process is slightly different.

To create a custom document profile in Illustrator CS3:

1. Open the New Document Profile file you want to customize in the New Document Profiles folder located in the below directories.
   • Windows: Documents and Settings\(User)\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS3 Settings.
   • Mac OS: Users\(User)\Library\Application Support\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CS3
2. Delete any existing swatches, graphic styles, brushes, or symbols you don’t want to retain.
3. Do any of the following:
   • Select the font and style you want as your default font.
   • Create any colors, patterns, and gradients you want, and save them as swatches. You can also import swatches using the Swatch Libraries command and then move the swatches you want in the Document Profile file into the default Swatches panel.
   • Save any graph designs that you want available in your files using the Graph Design dialog box.
   • Create any graphic styles you want and save them to the Graphic Styles panel.
   • Create any brushes you want and save them to the Brushes panel.
   • Create any symbols you want and save them to the Symbols panel.
   • Select the options you want as default settings from the following: View preferences (from the View menu), ruler origins, page origins, print settings (in the Print dialog box, File > Print), and actions.
4. Save the Document Profile file and restart Illustrator.

If you have any questions about this tutorial, please post them here.

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Cell-phones ringing during Mass.  This is a pet-peeve of mine. I understand that it is easy to forget (which is why I’ve made a habit of  leaving mine in the car).  I understand that some people are on-call and that is excusable, but at least have the courtesy to put it on vibrate!

My Aunt’s cell-phone went off during both my Grandma and my Grandpa’s funerals and it was playing “Super Freak” by Rick James (not the most appropriate ring-tone for a funeral service). Once I could understand, but twice this happened (and just a week apart?)

I was on jury-duty this past week and one of the first things they told us is to “turn all cell phones off.” Our former parish priest would request the same, prior to the Liturgy, and I think it is something all parishes should consider doing. Just a thought.

Am I being too harsh? Post a comment.

I recently found out about this cool new site called PickAFig (www.pickafig.com) from a comment on our site.

Just what is PickAFig?

Think “Digg”, only Catholic!  It is a place where you can “pick” your favorite blogposts, online news articles, and really anything Catholic related.  It is social bookmarking at its finest!

So head over to PickAFig now! (or whenever you have some free time, which is never, so you better go there now ; )

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Verse 1:
Love. What is it? A solid or a liquid?
The question resonates from inner space to outer limits
Outer space to inner city dwellers timid, not committed
Love just isn’t built on child support and weekend visits
You kill it like strychnine when you treat it like a cancer
You don’t feel it so you spend time seek pleasure, not the answer
In clubs peeping dancers in a jacked-up type of manner
Stuffing g-strings with dollars that should buy your baby’s Pampers
Love’s not waking up with different women every morning
Love’s not beating her down at nine months, with child forming
Love’s not leaving your wife and your seed with no warning
Love’s not, and when it’s raining its pouring
Scoring no points you smoke joints, and toke your life away
You might have another year or two but you really die today
Display respect for yourself, or you can’t love nobody else
The hand you’re dealt requires action, not just something you felt

Chorus:
I know what love is and it just don’t stop
but I can explain it better when I say what love’s not.
Yeah I know what love is, and it just don’t stop
But I explain it better when I can say what love’s not.

Verse 2:
A house divided against itself is prone to utter desolation
So for this generation on the brink of extermination
I pour out a libation, a lyrical libation
In observation of the annihilation of the moral foundation
The desperation of the situation was clearly foretold
That in these last days the love of many would grow stone cold
And if hell is without love
Then all hell has broke loose in this culture
Feel the negativity circling overhead like a vulture?
The inverted priority of the majority, squander the sacred
To give what’s profane seniority
And incredibly we fail to see collectively
The reasons why things fall apart like leprosy
Passion is the fashion taboos are taboo
Do you see through this voodoo
Cause it stinks like doodoo
Yo it’s sad but too true how many don’t have a clue
To the fact we’ll be judged for all we think say and do
From east to west coast and all areas in between
Real love is like a ghost — talked about but rarely seen
Except on TV screens where they flash these caricatures
That on the down low are meant to influence our characters
But love is not love if it’s manufactured for the moment
That makes it more than the physical between a man and a woman
Wisdom is justified by her children in the end
And real love is being willing to lay down your life for a friend

(Chorus)

Verse 3:
Love’s not caught in mug shots or seen in drug spots
Love’s not sex or who you do next Love’s not
Road rage, porno pages in the eyes of a racist
Loves not whoring and love’s not abortion
Of course then love doesn’t bomb clinics to make it finish
Love’s not hate and love’s not a cynic
Love’s not seen on Jerry Springer or expressed by middle finger
And love is rarely captured in the words of any singer
Love’s not domestic violence saying shut up or be silent
And love’s not represented in the way of the police sirens
Abandoned children in abandon buildings
Random killings, love’s not slow to help you, love is ready and willing
Love is patient and kind, love is sight for the blind
Love was borne before the morning, love’s transforming your mind
Love is body and blood, bread and wine, remember the time
Love is God divine, crucified for mankind

(Chorus)

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