With the free Fring app, you can make voice calls using Skype or SIP services. I believe Fring also supports voice chat on MSN, but I haven’t tried it yet. I made a test call to my cell phone, and can assure you that it does work. Depending on the service and who you call, the calls may be free, or may incur a small fee (as little as 1.5¢ per minute or so, but YMMV). Obviously if you don’t sign up with anything that requires a credit card, you should be safe.

Another app called Truphone, also free, provides similar services. You can buy credits online for calls to regular phones, while calls between users are free.

With various apps such as iRecorder, iTalk, or QuickVoice, you can also record voice notes. Some of these apps will transfer your notes to your computer.

I’ve heard that the sound input also works with digital instruments like iRecorder or Ocarina, meaning you can make music, but I haven’t yet tried those. [Edit: iRecorder works, although you have to hold the mic between your lips, which may bother some users; the current version of Ocarina doesn't support the iPod Touch.]

While a mic add-on doesn’t make the iPod Touch into a virtual iPhone, it does close the gap some. One obvious limitation is that with an iPod Touch, you must be near a wifi access point. You can’t make cell phone calls from anywhere, as with an iPhone.

Now if only I could find a camera add-on….

Going on the cruise meant skipping GYC, the first one I’d ever missed. I felt a bit sad about that, but then there’s always 3ABN and AudioVerse, where the GYC highlights are captured in all their multimedia glory. The one part I really missed was seeing my friends — but I got to visit other friends, so am consoled.

Our group included my mom, Eugene and Heidi, and me, along with my mom’s Aunt Faye and Faye’s sister Kate. Our cruise was a week-long trip through the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and Mexico.

Friday–Saturday, Dec. 12–13

I left home on Friday, December 12, headed for my brother’s home in Arkansas. I arrived in time to attend Ouachita Hills Academy’s Christmas concert, featuring singing, a bell choir, strings, a harp trio, woodwinds, and other instruments. It was a great performance. After the concert I had time to talk with quite a few friends and people I hadn’t seen in a long time. On Sabbath I spent the afternoon with my friends, the Nealls.

Sunday, Dec. 14

Our cruise departed from Galveston, Texas, about a 9-hour drive from my brother’s place. With boarding beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, we had to leave very early — at around 4:30 a.m. My mom was driving from Tennessee, and had gotten stuck in slow traffic due to bad weather and a vehicle accident she passed. At 4:00 a.m. she hadn’t arrived at Eugene’s, and we were getting worried. But a few minutes later she stepped through the door, tired, but there and ready to go.

Arkansas borders Texas, and most of our driving was in TX. The northeast part of Texas makes southern Illinois look beautiful! Almost makes me think of that song “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” As we neared Galveston, there were more trees, more hills, more palms, and finally glimpses of the Gulf of Mexico.

We arrived with ample time to get through security and board. We had three cabins between us, which thankfully were all close to each other.

My cabin:

After dumping our luggage, we found a pizzeria on the upper deck. All the meals on the ship were free, and we enjoyed a custom cheese-free veggie pizza. As we sat there waiting for our meal, I spotted a dolphin jumping around in the harbor. A couple more appeared as we watched.

Our ship departed at 4:00. After exploring the ship and unpacking, we all met again for supper. The evening meal was assigned seating, and served. We were in the late seating, so sat down for supper at 8:15. I don’t think any of us are accustomed to eating that late, but we managed. While standing, waiting to enter the restaurant, the ship really rocked, and everyone was laughing as we all swayed together. We had great waiters, one of whom was mostly vegetarian, which was a great help. He really looked out for us. The food was exceptional, and there was always one main vegetarian dish, and various vegetarian sides. My first supper was Indian food (rice and curry), with a fruit platter.

Eugene and Heidi:

The housekeeping staff often cleaned our rooms during meal times. When I got back to my room I found a towel on my bed shaped like a walrus. The staff made different animals each day. I thought it was cool.

An elephant towel critter:

Monday-Tuesday, Dec. 15-16

Monday and Tuesday we were all day at sea. I checked my email once, but the prices were crazy: 75¢ per minute, and the speed was slow. It look me more than 20 minutes just to download my email headers and a few complete messages. No more email on that trip!

The ship kept up a good clip — 15 knots or more I think. It was quite windy on deck while the ship was moving. While watching the waves, I spotted several flying fish jumping away from the wake.

We checked out the mini golf game on deck.

The wind was strong enough to blow the ball around, which added some challenge. Although we usually met or beat the par on most sections, the one with the mouth was very difficult. I think it took me about 20 tries to get it. Some took to less conventional methods to get the ball in:

Monday night was the first of two elegant nights. Everyone dressed up for supper. It was quite a show, all the ladies in their evening gowns, some of the guys in tuxedos. It was obvious that black is still the “in” color for formal events, for men and women both. Not everyone was so dressed up — including us. But I had bought a couple shirts and ties on a whim, for which I was thankful!

On Tuesday, Eugene, Heidi, and I checked out the jacuzzi. I think there were four on the ship’s deck, and we had one to ourselves. It was nice.

Personally I did not have high hopes for the food on the cruise, but we had another unexpected treat that day: veggie burgers!

Some evening shots from on deck:

The “whale tail” is the ship’s smokestack:

Wednesday, Dec. 17

On Wednesday we arrived at Montego Bay, Jamaica. We went out to the taxi area, looking for a ride to Dunn River Falls. The first drivers we met were asking $60 per person (for a group of six!). Others said they would come down to $55. Not only was that considerably more than we expected, it was also more than we could afford. My brother kept haggling. Eventually we found ourselves surrounded by taxi drivers, talking to each other in another language, trying to convince us of their prices, and sometimes loudly jeering us publicly. Eventually we found a driver who would take us for $25.

The ride to the falls was interesting. Jamaica has mountains and beautiful beaches. There were large, beautiful resorts. But most of the country was gripped with poverty. The people looked poor; the houses, even those made of brick, were weathered and ill-kept. Locals meandered along the roads. Flocks of goats foraged by the highway.

The driving there is kind of crazy. People pass each other at high speed in short passing zones with oncoming traffic. On a two lane road, cars traveling in each direction will pull to each side, and a third car will pass down the middle. But our driver was pretty safe. I think he was mainly worried about getting a ticket, having given us such a cheap rate.

We finally arrived at Dunn River Falls. But we were disappointed to find that we had to fork over another $15 per person to get in. The main thing to do there is climb the falls, which we did. It was longer and more difficult than I expected, but everyone managed. Even Faye and Kate, in their 80s, made it all the way up (with quite a bit of help from our guides). There were parts that looked difficult, but I always found good footing, as the park staff keep the rocks free from algae. The only scary part was at a natural pool between falls, where the guides would push people backwards into the water. The guides insisted that it was “part of the experience.” I reluctantly agreed to try it — and survived!

At the start of the climb, everyone — a group of 30 or so — held hands in a long chain, which did make the going easier. But as we progressed, and people became more confident, we tended to go it alone, or in small groups.

There were five to ten spots like this one, with natural pools in between:

On the way back we stopped at a small beach and swam a bit. The water was very nice. There were no fish to speak of, but we found some simple shells — the only shells I found on the trip.

Sunset over the bay at Jamaica:

On this trip we learned that we could need more pocket money than we had thought. Unfortunately, even though I had read advice on this very thing before departure, I had inadvertently brought only $20 cash with me for the whole trip. On top of that, having never used an ATM in my life (incredible, huh?), I did not know my PIN, so could not get any more cash on the ship. I had to borrow constantly to get by. Fortunately the others in the group got more money through the ATMs, so this wasn’t too much of a problem.

Thursday, Dec. 18

On Thursday, we arrived at George Town, Grand Cayman. It was a much cleaner city than Montego Bay, and we had no hassles here.

Our ship did not dock at this port, apparently because the water is too shallow. It anchored some distance off shore, and a “tender boat” took us to land.

Our cruise ship:

My mom had prearranged a trip to Stingray City, but because the waves were a little rough, our captain had bailed out. We did find another ship, but they could not visit Stingray City either, because of the waves. Nevertheless, they took us to several good snorkeling locations. On my first swim, my mask was not adjusted properly, and I kept getting salt water in my nose and mouth. I’m not a great swimmer, and I had not taken any floatation support on that swim, so I kind of wore myself out fighting my mask and the waves. I waited out the second swim. On the third swim, I got a late start, since someone had taken the fins I was using, and I had to wait for a pair. But when I finally got in, I saw lots of fish, and got to pet a stingray that one of the crew had caught. (It had no tail, having apparently donated it to a shark, the crew said.)

Evening sunset pictures:

Friday, Dec. 19

On Friday we arrived at Cozumel, Mexico. This was my favorite part of the trip. (On a calmer day, with a better underwater camera, I might have liked Grand Cayman as much or better.)

We took a taxi to Chankanaab Park, which was a lot of fun. My mom got a picture of me with an iguana and macaw. The iguana sat there so motionless, with its eyes closed. I think it was going to sleep!

Although there were lots of people there (four or five cruise ships were docked at one time — unbelievable), we had this one stretch of beach pretty much to ourselves.

We snorkeled there, and saw all kinds of beautiful, colorful fish. I even saw what I think was a very colorful parrot fish, but I saw it after I had used my last picture in my disposable underwater camera.

This homely fish kept swimming around my head:

Lots of sergeant majors:

Colorful coral and fish; check out the fairy basslet in the lower left.

After a swim, we enjoyed some other aspects of the park.

One of the attractions at Cozumel (and other places that we visited) was dolphins. However, most of the activities were pricey, so we did not do any of them. However, it was fun to watch. Here is a video of a woman getting a “foot push” from two dolphins:

The park included a salt water lagoon, with all kinds of colorful fish, including parrot fish.

We also saw several kinds of reptiles there, mostly iguanas.

Ordinarily one might think of reptiles as cold-blooded carnivores. We were surprised to find this iguana enjoying fresh greens:

Still another part of the park features reconstructions of Mayan artifacts and buildings.

Two Carnival ships were docked side by side; ours is on the left.

That evening, back on the ship, I sat on the forward deck. I was the only person there. Blocking out the ship’s lights with my hands, I enjoyed a spectacular view of the clear, starry night.

Saturday, Dec. 20

On Saturday we had a worship on deck; curiously, it was the same place I had been the previous night. Eugene led the worship. We had one stranger listening in, whom Faye and Kate talked to afterwards.

More sunset at sea pics:

We passed several oil rigs:

That evening my final wisdom tooth, in my upper jaw, made a major effort to come in. After a couple Tylenol capsules, the pain subsided enough that I could eat supper. Thankfully it didn’t bother me anymore after that.

Eugene and Heidi with our friendly head waiter from Indonesia:

A towel monkey!

Sunday, Dec. 21

Our ship arrived back at Galveston early on Sunday. We headed straight back to Arkansas, and arrived sometime after 6:00 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 22

On Monday, we had an early Christmas. We were joined by Heidi’s sister Pam and her kids, along with her brother David, and also Matthew Morea. There was a delicious Christmas dinner, and then we exchanged gifts. Immediately after that, I headed home, arriving shortly after 11:00 p.m. I didn’t even bother to unpack; the next day was a work day, and I needed sleep!

SUMMARY

It was a fun trip, and I really had a good time. I highly recommend Grand Cayman and Cozumel to anyone wanting a relaxing, enjoyable vacation.

Most of these pictures are also online at my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77863&l=7c271&id=809418097

and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=78000&l=7fda7&id=809418097

I’m sitting here listening to Josh Groban sing “O Holy Night,” part of my 8+ hours of Christmas music. I’ve enjoyed all the Christmas greetings that have come in today, mostly through Facebook.

Today has been an unusual Christmas for me, here at home alone. Usually I’m with family, and sometimes friends, on this holiday. My family celebrated Christmas early this year, on the 22nd, the day after we returned from our Caribbean vacation (which I plan to blog about soon). We exchanged presents on that day, and enjoyed a delicious dinner. So I didn’t miss out this year; it just came early.

I hope each of you were able to spend some time this season with your friends, family, loved ones. Enjoy the holidays, be grateful for what you have, remember those who don’t have, and spend some time thinking about the gifts of God to you.

These are my favorites so far:

• OmniFocus ($19.99): To do list manager; best if you have the computer desktop application that goes with it; this program is the reason I bought the iPod Touch
• Facebook (free): Very well executed
• Pandora (free): Streaming internet radio that learns your musical tastes and helps you find new music
• Weatherbug (free): Quick access to satellite weather maps, video news, and local weather cams
• AirSharing ($6.99): Lets you wireless connect and store/retrieve files on your device; there are now free alternatives to this program, but this particular app still remains very popular
• Bible (free): There are several free Bible apps available; but the one called simply “Bible” (its icon, confusingly, says “Holy Bible”) is the best, in my opinion; it can download multiple versions for offline use, unlike some of the others
• A Free Level (free): Mainly because it’s so cool; but it’s useful too.
• Easy Relax Ultimate (99¢): Relax or fall asleep to your own choice of sound effects, which can be combined in various ways; for example, I made one called “Campfire on the prairie” which has the sound of a crackling fire, faint insect noises, and the occasional howling coyote; there are many built-in sounds to choose from; there is also a free version with fewer options
• Seismometer (free): A great app to show off what your device can do
• Night Stand (free): Probably the best clock available
• Dice (free): Useful if you play dice-based table games, but it’s also a great show-off application, with 3D dice that roll around when you shake the device
• Enigmo ($1.99): A fun problem-solving game, where you try to get drops of water/goo/lava to fall into the right containers
• Amazing Sudoku ($1.99): This was free when I got it; and it’s by far the best of the sudoku games that I’ve tried
• Quadrum (?): This is a fun game where you slide letter squares around to make as many words as you can; unfortunately it seems to have vanished from the catalog of apps
• Wurdle ($1.99): This one is so fun, it is almost too fun: You have a grid of letters, and the object is to find as many words as you can before time runs out (there is also untimed play); at the end of the game you can see all the words you missed; great way to expand your vocabulary!
• Sol: Daylight Clock (99¢): Visually shows sunrise, sunset, and current light/dark conditions, along with actual times; contains a built-in database, so does not require internet
• Google Earth (free): Provides most of the functionality of the free desktop app of the same name
• a2z Pro Unit Converter (free): Does every kind of conversion imaginable, and you can download more from an online, user-contributed library; some of the conversions include angles, area, blood sugar, currency, data, distance, energy, length, pressure, speed, temperature, time, volume, weight, biblical weights (find out how many shekels you weigh!), cooking volumes, biblical lengths

Honorable mention (some of these are free, some are not):

• WritingPad: Replacement for the notes app; uses an incredible input method that is so much faster than Apple’s; I wish Apple would hire this guy and incorporate his method into the basic device functions!
• EasyWriter: Landscape typewriter for email
• MobileFiles: Access your MobileMe/iDisk files
• Bookmarks: Del.icio.us bookmarks
• WebMessenger: Chat with friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, Jabber (there is also a free web-based app at iphone.iloveim.com that seems to work well; access it via Safari on your device)
• MySpace: Works OK, but I don’t really care for MySpace anymore
• WiFinder: Find local wifi networks
• Pianist: Play the piano
• Guitar: Play the guitar
• Brushes: Paint
• Scribble: Draw
• Swatch: Match colors; useful if you need to find something of a particular color in a clothing store, for example
• Backgrounds: Download wallpaper for your device
• Bible Reader: Another Bible app
• Stanza: Download free literature from multiple online resources, including Project Gutenberg
• Mines: Pretty much like the ol’ MS classic, Minesweeper
• MasterBrain: MasterMind-like game, where you try to deduce a series of colored pieces
• Koi Pond: Not a game, not a productivity app … but it’s pretty!
• Sunlight: See where it’s light, where it’s dark, around the world
• iTip: Calculate tips and how to split the cost of meal
• 1Password: Securely stores passwords and other information

Watch the Trailer: An Epic Adventure

If you or someone you know is involved in TV, video, or film production, you may want to check it out. I wish I could go!

If you are an Adventist involved in some form of publishing, and want to be included in this list, please let me know.

* * *

Print on demand and low-volume printing

“Print on demand” printers can be a good choice if you have a small run of books that you want to market yourself. The printer may also have outlets to help sell your book. However, unlike traditional printers, these printers require you to pay for the printing yourself, and most or all of the promotion is your responsibility too. On the other hand, all the profit from book sales is yours!

TEACH Services: Brushton, New York. Phone: 800-367-1844.

Traditional publishers

Traditional publishers will usually edit, design, and promote your book for you at their own expense. This usually means less cost and less work for you — but in exchange for reduced personal risk, you have less control of editing and design, and less profit per piece. However, if your book is a great success, a traditional publisher will most likely bring you more income in royalties than you would have been able to earn publishing the book yourself. Your book will most likely be of higher quality, and your book will have a greater chance of reaching outlets such as Adventist Book Centers.

Andrews University Press: “The Press publishes and distributes books, journals, papers and films that make a scholarly and/or professional contribution to their respective fields and are in harmony with the mission of Andrews University.”

Inter-American Division Publishing Association: “IADPA is the printing and publishing house of the Inter-American Division of Seventh-Day Adventists . Founded in 1984, our publishing ministry is today one of the largest publishers of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, with more than 491 titles in print and 133 new titles in process. IADPA is an international publisher, drawing authors from several countries and distributing its products around the world.”

Orion Publishing: Ukiah, California. Phone: 800-471-4284.

Pacific Press Publishing Association: Nampa, Idaho. Phone: 208-465-2500. One of the two major denominational presses.

Remnant Publications: Coldwater, Michigan.

Review and Herald Publishing Association: Hagerstown, Maryland. Phone: 301-393-4050. One of the two major denominational presses.

Web and sheet-fed presses

Web and sheet-fed presses are best suited to medium- and high-volume printing of 10,000 or more pieces. However, some of these presses may have economical solutions for low-volume printing as well.

Color Press: Collegeplace, Washington.

Light Bearers Ministry: Malo, Washington.

Pacific Press Publishing Association: Nampa, Idaho.

Remnant Publications: Coldwater, Michigan.

Review and Herald Publishing Association: Hagerstown, Maryland.

Southwestern ColorGraphics: Keene, Texas.

Web Hosting

TAGnet

DVD, film, motion picture, and video

Adventist Media Productions: ” Adventist Media Productions (AMP) is the primary electronic media production unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. AMP has the responsibility of producing radio and television programming for 5 different ‘ministries’ of the SDA Church — It Is Written, Voice Of Prophecy, Breath of Life, Faith For Today and La Voz de la Esperanza.  AMP also produces programming for Adventist Communication Network and Adventist Television Network.”

It Is Written Digital Media Group: ” Formerly known as Advent Digital Media, IIW Digital Media Group was founded in 1995 by evangelist Don Gray as a ministry of the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.  Throughout the last decade, DMG has provided evangelism graphics and illustrations for nearly every Net satellite series, and also offers these graphics on CD-ROM for use by pastors and evangelists.”

Organizations

Adventist Digital Artists Association (ADAA): If you are interested in 3D, motion picture production, or animation, check out this Adventist discussion group.

Society of Adventist Communicators: “The Society of Adventist Communicators is an organization committed to networking Seventh-day Adventists in North America who work in the communication industry as writers, editors, videographers, web designers, broadcasters and many other fields.”

I’m writing this from my mom’s place in TN. I had a good drive down. It’s a 6-hour trip, but the roads were good and the weather was nice. On the way I listened to a couple audio presentations on CD. One was about the causes of the American Civil War (the significance of slavery, culture, political power, etc.), and the other was about how Christians in America in 1776 justified the war to split with Great Britain. Both were really interesting. I may write more about them later. (I had earlier finished another CD in the same series, about the relationship between Puritans and native Americans. I learned so much from that—history that you don’t hear in today’s anti-Christian, anti-European academic world.)

When I got here, it was just my mom and me. We had a good vegetarian holiday meal. Yummy.

Now I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend….

Facebook childhood pictures

Enjoy!

I just finished the first phase of a facelift of The Great Controversy Readathon website. Please check it out!

We cannot expect to drift into heaven on a cloud of pious thoughts. —Unknown author, Atonement and the Cross (Adult Teachers Sabbath School Study Guide edition), week of November 2–8, 2008

I think what most strikes me about that quote is how clearly it reminds us that mere belief is not the basis of salvation, but character-transforming faith. “Who am I?” is a much more meaningful question for the Christian than “What do I think?”

You can download the wallpaper by clicking here:

Notes on usage:

• Be sure to download the full-size wallpaper, not the preview image above. The size is 1024×768.
• Set the wallpaper as your desktop wallpaper / background image.
• However, DO NOT STRETCH OR SHRINK THE IMAGE. In your desktop wallpaper settings, be sure any option to scale/resize/stretch the desktop image is OFF. It is okay if the image floats in the middle of your screen. If you have empty space around the image, it is advised that you change the color of the screen to black or a neutral gray.

What you are looking for:

• On the right are color swatches. The top ones are shades of pure red, green, and blue (the primary colors of RGB monitors), as well as neutral gray. The bottom ones are yellow, cyan, and magenta, which are the secondary hues made from various 100% combinations of the RGB primaries. Make sure the colors look right, and grays have no color cast.
• The main part of the wallpaper is six large patches filled with various patterns. These help you catch moire patterns, crooked scan-lines, scaling issues (if you are not using your screen’s native resolution, for example), and so forth.

Descriptions of pattern tiles, left to right, top to bottom:

• Fine dots. Should appear an even gray. If you see something like the image below, instead, your display has moire or scan-line problems. Check if your monitor has a menu for geometry settings, and if you can fix the problem there.

• Field of plus signs. Lines should be broken vertically and horizontally. Gap size is one pixel. If you don’t see the gap, either there is image bleeding, or there is a scaling issue (non-square pixels). Additionally, the grid cells should appear perfectly square, not rectangular.
• Vertical lines. Should appear an even gray from a distance. If you are short-sighted, try removing your glasses and viewing your display from a few feet away; the top-right, top-left, and lower-center tile should all appear the same shade of gray. If you see bands, like in the image below, your display has geometry problems.

• Field of light dots. Similar to fine dots, above.
• Horizontal lines. Works the same as vertical lines, above.
• Zig zag lines. Should appear as a horizontal herringbone pattern. (To be honest, I couldn’t think of any more patterns, so I just put that one in there for kicks.)

This video, Unlocking the Mystery of Life, explores some of the reasons why science itself lends credibility to non-naturalistic explanations for the origin of life. In particular, it focuses on the ideas of irreducible complexity (organs that have value only in their complex, complete forms) and DNA as information (the nature of genetic code as both irregular and highly specific—markers of intelligent design). It also looks at some of the known problems with alternate explanations for how life might have begun from non-life, as well as clarifying the intelligent design view of evolutionary theory.

(Contrary to what is constantly implied in the media and in various discussion groups, nearly all creationists believe in at least some aspects of evolution. There is really not a significant creation-versus-evolution debate, but only a debate about origins, natural history, and the capacity of evolution to explain the myriad forms of life—in other words, the scope and application of evolution. However, creationists sometimes hurt themselves by engaging all unbiblical theories of origins in their attacks on “evolution.”)

This video features short interviews with various scientists who support “intelligent design”—mainly various scientists associated with the Discovery Institute, such as Michael Behe, William Dembski, and Phillip Johnson. It also makes extensive use of 3D graphics to illustrate some of the fundamental concepts, along with nature footage and video from microscope.

The segments illustrating the flagellum rotor in bacteria, protein folding, and DNA sequencing were the most amazing. What happens at that microscopic level is truly incredible.

Overall, I thought it was a top-quality production. For those wanting more information, I highly recommend the book The Wedge of Truth by Phillip Johnson, which delves into the concept of DNA as information in more detail, as well as explaining the shortcomings of naturalistic materialism. (I owned this book, but loaned it to someone, and it was never seen again! But I thoroughly enjoyed it.)