It isn't often that I am touched by music.  I find most music to be annoying at worst and tolerable at best.  Being in a room full of people playing SingStar can be excruciating. Apple created a cute commercial for their Mac Book Air's introduction.  The commercial features the song "New Soul" by Yael Naim.  My initial reaction to the song was typical for me...I ignored it.  Only after my renewed interested in the Mac Book Air, and all related media and information, did I rediscover this song.  The lyrics especially touched me.

"New Soul" lyrics by Yael Naim

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world Hoping I could learn a bit but how to give and take But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear Finding myself making every possible mistake

La, la, la, la (21x) La, la, la, la (21x)

See I'm a young soul in this very strange world Hoping I could learn a bit but what is true and fake But why all this hate? try to communicate Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

La, la, la, la (21x) La, la, la, la (21x)

This is a happy end Cause you don't understand Everything you have done Why's everything so wrong

This is a happy end Come and give me your hand I'll take you far away

My good freinds Gary and Dianna just had their second. Welcome to the world Noah and congratulations Gary and Di! - Sean

I typically stay away from political discussions.  Why?  Because today's politics seems to be rooted more in emotions than in logic.  I try to make decisions, especially important decisions, on truth and logic instead of emotions.  Emotional debates and commentary on politics has the curious effect of both boring and frustrating me at the same time.  Be forewarned the following post has truth and logic in it!  If you like to base your decisions on the same criteria as I do then read on and discover some surprising information about our candidates for President.  If you don't then please ignore this post and come back another day when I will be sure to talk about mundane topics like iPhone headsets and novel writing programs.  Topics that will surely upset no one. A tip of the hat to my brother who sent me this link via email.  Mr. Garrett (?) makes an eloquent case for an active populace when it comes to politics.  So much so that his blog post inspired me to write this post.  He encourages America to wake up and see the truth about the housing collapse, about democrats and liberals, and about our ever eroding freedoms.  I will add to his words an admonition to stop believing what television tells you and research things for yourself.  So often strong, emotional opinions are formed on little more than a cursory understanding of a biased news report.  A report that probably lasted all of 30 seconds.  Instead I urge you to look at the record for yourself.  Look at what people have done instead of what they say they've done.  Allow me to prove my point.  The news media is currently saying the economic downturn was caused by Bush and the Republican's economic policies.  Specifically they showcase the Democrats who blame the housing collapse on the Republicans.  However, if you look back a couple of years you can find out the true cause of the housing collapse. In 2004 the US Senate received a report from the Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight regulators outlining cronyism, huge payoff's to lawmakers, spurious accounting practices, and, most importantly, serious problems in the types of home loans being approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  See the video below for excerpts from C-Span's coverage of the hearing.  Notice how the Republicans were asking for tighter regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac where as the Democrats were bullying the regulator's and demanding that Fannie and Freddie be allowed to continue operating without any additional controls.  Also note that Franklin Raines, the Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae and the one defending his questionable accounting practices et al, is the same man Obama has chosen as his economic adviser.  Look at the truth before you, use logic and common sense, and then tell me that Barrack Obama is the right choice in these troubling economic times.  I dare you. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs - Sean P.S.  In 2005 Senator John McCain introduced legislation that would have tightened the regulations on Fannie and Freddie.  The legislation he proposed would have averted the current financial crisis we are dealing with.  His proposed legislation was shot down by the Democrats.

It seems to me that many people view religious fundamentalists as people who want God to crush their enemies.  This would have the added benefit of crushing God's enemies, since God's enemies and religious fundamentalist's enemies are surely the same.  Right? I awoke Saturday morning with this rather profound thought in my head.

We often want God to crush our enemies, but what if instead God allowed himself to be crushed by our enemies?

Isn't that exactly what God did through Jesus on the cross? - Sean

I came back to SDO after a couple of months to find an inch of dust and cobwebs everywhere.  I will have to have a serious talk with my cleaning service. Of course while you are cleaning house you might as well organize a little too.  I got rid of a bunch of the old junk laying around, fixed a couple of broken items, and caught up with my neighbors.  Now I am down to the major renovations like updating to the newest version of WordPress.  There goes a Saturday. For those of you who do communicate via email you should note that I will no longer be checking sean at seandareonline dot com on a regular basis.  Instead I have changed all the links on SDO to send email to my Gmail account.  This will insure faster response to emails as I check my Gmail on a regular basis. I also added a new link in the blogroll.  Peggy Gates, who wrote me a note of encouragement a couple weeks ago, has her own blog and I decided to point my faithful readers her way.  Check it out. - Sean

I downloaded and installed iPhone OS version 2.1 over the weekend.  2.1 eliminated almost all the bugs I was experiencing with my iPhone.  The only remaining bug pertained to my headphones.  When I would plug them in I could hear out of them, but when I made or received phone calls the person on the other end of the line couldn't hear me.  Aslo, the "button" in the mic portion of the headset didn't always work after plugging the headphones in.  To remedy this situation I would have to unplug the headphones from my iPhone and then plug them back in.  Occasionally I would have to unplug/replug multiple times to get them to work.  Although the 2.1 update reduced the number of times this happens, it does still happen.  I have talked with Apple and they have sent me a new set of headphones.  I hope they fix the problem. Aside from that I am back into a love/love relationship with the iPhone.  It is truly an amazing device.  I am amazed at how ingenieus humans can be when they apply the gifts God gave them. - Sean

NOTE:  I started this post in July (was it really that long ago?) and have returned to it today September 10th.  Section one relates my initial reactions from July.  Section two covers my observations now that I have spent two months with my iPhone.

Section One

Quality

Short of torture testing it like some of the tech reviewers on the web I can tell you that the phone is made exceptionally well.  The phone is heavy and solid and incredibly scratch resistant.  Also, it feels very comfortable in your hand.

Black or White?

I originally wanted a black 16GB model but opted for the white 16GB one when the AT&T employee told me they were out of black 16GB and had no way to order one.  I was skeptical but my desire to own an iPhone far outweighed the faint desire for black so I ordered the white one.  This proved to be a blessing as the white one hardly shows finger prints where as the black one, well, see below.

I wanted to send a special thank you to Ben and Peggy who sent me emails of support over the past months.  I know it may not seem like it but writing a blog feels a bit like giving a speech to an empty auditorium.  All you hear is your own words echoing back at you.  The only way I know people are reading, and more importantly enjoying, my writing is through feedback. Even though I have been in a writing slump these past months I have not been completely ignoring SDO.  Instead I have been thinking about what I want SeanDareOnline to become.  Do I want to use it as a springboard for my fiction?  Or maybe I should turn it into a daily journal?  Then again maybe it should just be a place for my sporadic ruminations.  I have come to some conclusions which I will reveal in due time, but in the mean time I wanted to illustrate that supportive emails and comments help keep this writer writing.  If you enjoy my writing then sending a simple, "I really enjoyed your story" type email helps me know what you enjoy reading, and in turn makes me want to write more of it.  Comments are also helpful, and can help me by providing direct feedback for the world to see. Alternatively if you don't like a piece you should tell me as well.  Don't worry about hurting my feelings.  A writer needs to write stories that people will read.  In turn any feedback, even negative, is a form of support.  It shows you are at least reading what I wrote. All that to say, if you read SDO please drop me a line telling me what you think.  And keep on sending me emails and comments as I continue to figure out how to be a better writer. - Sean

Here is a picture of the majestic Rocky Mountains. They are there...really. Today we drive on to Clark CO. Hopefully the weather will be better there. - Sean

Here is the very first photo I took with my new iPhone. This was taken in my car on the way home. I am working up a full iPhone review so stay tuned! - Sean