I know, I know, I’m probably the only person in the world who thinks that. Just like I’m the only person to not really care for the stripped-down look of Google Chrome (which Microsoft is clearly imitating).

I understand the trend toward leaner and cleaner browsers: fewer buttons, consolidated toolbars, a fear of anything that might impede upon the sacred real estate that is the interwebs. I understand it, I just don’t fully agree with it.

Personally, I would rather sacrifice a few pixels for more functionality. Let me add toolbars if I want them, add buttons, move them around. That’s why I still prefer the slower Firefox over the slightly more nimble Chrome.

IE 9, however, (or at least this version of it) is even more minimal than Chrome, putting the tabs on the same row as the address bar, which might be fine if you only have 2 or 3 tabs open but could get really crowded after that. And as with IE 7 and 8, the home button is as far away from other navigation buttons as possible, which makes no sense whatsoever. Plus Microsoft has followed Google’s lead of ditching the print button, just in case you had any notions of killing the earth with your print-happy clicky finger.

Of course, the final version of IE 9 might not look anything like this, and it’s not clear how much of the UI users will be able to change to fit their preferences. But copying Chrome isn’t necessarily the best move to make from a functionality perspective. Sometimes less is more, but in this case, less is just less.

Previously:
Even with extensions, Google Chrome needs polishing
Internet Explorer 8: Faster but no Firefox

Yesterday, I did the unthinkable. I volunteered to coach my daughter’s soccer team. Which I may have to do by myself with no assistant. And I’m still on crutches with a fractured tibia. And I’ve never coached anything in my life.

I’m an idiot.

In all fairness, though, practice starts in less than a week, and Megan’s team still had no coach. And without a parent stepping up to coach, there’s no team. I couldn’t let that happen. And besides, I got pretty nostalgic thinking about coaching her since my dad coached my soccer team when I was little. (We were the Kongs, as in King Kong. Yeah, we were some bad ass 6-year-olds.)

So here goes, um, something. Good or bad, it’s bound to epic.

Previously:
August, you suck too
Goodbye, July

Everybody’s watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

– Switchfoot, “Dare You To Move”

Switchfoot lead singer Jon Foreman had a bit of run-in with Tampa police this past Sunday night. After playing their regular show, Foreman performed a couple of songs on his acoustic guitar in the parking lot for anyone who wanted to drop by, a regular occurrence he refers to as “after-shows”. But one Tampa cop wasn’t having any of it and ordered Foreman to shut it down. Encouraged by fans, though, he kept playing until finally being escorted away. The event, naturally, was caught on video by several fans and even made it to CNN.

Foreman later wrote on the Huffington Post that in retrospect, he would’ve done things differently:

I would have pushed for communication instead of one more song. I wish that I could have pulled the officer aside to hear his thoughts about the situation. I would have asked him why we were getting kicked out. I would have asked him, “Is there a more appropriate place to play one last song?” I wish I would have asked him why he was yelling at these kids. I wanted to understand the situation, to shake his hand and speak like grown-ups rather than being yelled at.

It’s admirable that Foreman admits he could’ve handled himself better, although it’s interesting to note that he never apologizes for being out there in the first place. Nor does he consider that once he was asked by the officer to stop playing, he probably should’ve just cooperated no questions asked.

My point is that while we often talk about making better choices with our actions, usually it’s how we react that’s more important. Sure, you could make the argument that Foreman wasn’t doing anything wrong and certainly nothing illegal. But you could also argue that the cop was just doing his job to control the crowd and prevent a more serious outcome.

At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t matter.

Whether Foreman was right or not, what mattered was how he reacted once he was asked to stop.

Of course, I’m the first to concede that I react very poorly most of the time. And if I had been in that situation, I probably would’ve done the exact same thing Foreman did. But I think this incident serves as a good reminder that others are watching us. Our spouses, our children, our friends, our co-workers, our neighbors. And while we can’t always control what happens to us, we can always choose how we respond.

Previously:
‘There is no song louder than love’
You obviously haven’t met my neighbors
The goal must be love

Sheer. Genius.

Source.

Previously:
‘Lord, Save Us From Your Followers’
The goal must be love
You obviously haven’t met my neighbors

I finally got around to watching Man on Fire. In the movie, Denzel Washington plays a bodyguard named Creasy who pursues the kidnappers of a little girl named Pita (played by Dakota Fanning). In the end, Pita is rescued unharmed and returned to her mother but only after Creasy willingly surrenders his life in exchange for hers.

Christian blogger Jon Acuff has written about how the movie is a perfect metaphor for how Jesus willingly gave His life as a ransom for us:

I missed it the first ten times I saw the movie. Missed that I’m Pita. I’ve lived most of my life under the stairs in a dark, dirty cage. But unlike Pita, this is the place I deserve. For although she did not ask to be kidnapped or receive this experience as a consequence of her actions, I did. If this were the story of my life, justice would have already been served. The prisoner’s life is the life I deserve. But God is like Creasy. In Isaiah 30:18 it says “he rises to show you compassion.” …

God’s love has no limits. If violence is what it would take to rescue me, I have little doubt that He would be violent. That He would remove an entire planet in a flood to save the righteous family of Noah. And even though He is blessed with the ability to open the core of the earth with His fury, it is love and ultimate surrender that shows us the true depth of His heart. In the movie, Creasy could have easily continued killing the kidnapper’s family. The brother could have been tortured, the pregnant wife and unborn child of the kidnapper murdered. But it wasn’t about revenge, it was about rescue. And when Pita was discovered to be alive, he stopped everything. He surrendered and walked willingly into a certain death. …

I’ve written about it before because the scene really shook me. It made me realize, this is the Christ I serve. Powerful, fearful, able to heal the sick and blind, capable of walking on water. But willing to give it all up upon realizing I am found. Willing to pay the ransom with his own life. Willing to free me from a prison of my own design. And whether he’s crucified on a cross or forced to walk across a bridge in Mexico, he’s willing to do it all over again for me. And for you.

Previously:
Rescued

Boy, it’s hot. This is damn hot. Never got this hot in Brooklyn. It’s like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.

– Matthew Broderick, Biloxi Blues

I spoke too soon. Yes, I’m glad July is over, but August isn’t turning out much better. First, well… it’s hot. Yeah, yeah, it’s frickin’ August in North Texas, what do you expect? Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Second, my ACL isn’t torn after all. Which is good news. But the bad news is my tibia is fractured where the ACL connects to it (a tibial intercondylar eminence fracture, if you want to be specific). So I have to keep my “Robocop brace” on and locked with my leg fully extended for the next several weeks while we give the bone a chance to heal. Do you realize how difficult it is to function without being able to bend your leg? Try it. It’s harder than you think.

And because of my stupid injury, we had to cancel a week-long vacation we had planned to visit friends in South Carolina. Instead of hanging out on the beach and seeing the sites in Charleston, I’ll be awkwardly sitting at my desk at work with my leg propped up.

So yay, August. Now go away.

Previously:
Goodbye, July

Go!

Previously:
Quitting Christianity
The goal must be love
You obviously haven’t met my neighbors

Hello and farewell
I know I broke your heart
Oh come on July, will you never let me down
Everything I took I would only give it back
If I could

– Jackopierce, “Come On July”

What was July like around our house? This:

In fact, even before the month started, I was ready for it to end. I tweeted on June 30th, “I’m ready for July to be over.” I was stressed out and exhausted from work. Christy, who was also working in addition to taking some very demanding summer classes, was just as worn out. And I knew July would just be a continuation of that.

What I didn’t know is that it would also include me tearing my ACL jumping a 4-foot wrought iron fence, an injury that condemned me to the couch for 9 days and put that much more responsibility on Christy’s shoulders.

So even though I’m still on crutches, I’m incredibly thankful that August is finally here. I mean, it can only get better, right?