Verizon Bluetooth is Cripple-Ware

I used to have a Kyocera Smartphone, which is combined Palm Pilot and cell phone, provided by my employer. What a great integrated device that was. But it was getting old and mechanically breaking down.

Off I went to find a replacement. I tried to order a Treo 650, but could not because it is not a corporate-approved wireless email device. I tried to explain that I did not want or need wireless email, I wanted a single device that was both a cell phone and Palm PDA, but alas the rules were unbendable, at least for someone of my lowly stature.

So I ordered a Palm T5 and a Motorola E815, both purportedly Bluetooth enabled. I figured I could share information between the two, including dialing phone numbers from the Palm via the cell phone.

The T5 showed up several weeks ago. It works quite well. The cell phone showed up this week. As a cell phone it seems to work quite well. As an information appliance, it sucks. It seems the only thing Verizon wants you to be able to do with Bluetooth is use a wireless headset.

They specifically disable the file transfer capabilities of Bluetooth on their phone. This means getting files into and out of the phone is not possible using Bluetooth. As a work-around you can use the micro memory card to get pictures in and out, but ringtones and applications apparently cannot be brought in via the card. Verizon wants you to use their service through the phone to get ringtones and apps, for a nominal fee of course.

Verizon also does not make it easy to dial through their phone using Bluetooth. I finally got it working with the T5, but it took multiple magic incantations. Palm doesn't help in that they don't provide a Bluetooth device configuration for the Motorola E815. I had to use the TP280 configuration to bind the phone and T5. It seemed they would only bind using a passcode of "0000". I then had to change the connection type to the Standard GSM Phone setting to get it to dial through the phone. I also had to replace the Init String with "+MODE=2" under the details for the connection configuration.

If you want a real Bluetooth phone, don't get one from Verizon. But if you must, I hope these tips help.

Sadly, Nothing We Didn't Already Know

Yet another reason why we homeschool. According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this is "entirely within the mainstream of educational practice". Sadly, you just know this study would have been squashed if it were Biblical names, roles and prayers that the students were adopting. Not that I am surprised, but this is certainly one of the most blatant pieces of evidence that our society is developing more and more of a double standard.

Brainstorming on Failures

The Global Language Monitor catalogs political incorrect speech. It would be a hoot of a read if it wasn't actually serious. The two that caught my eye were "Thought Shower or Word Shower substituting for brainstorm so as not to offend those with brain disorders such as epilepsy" and "Deferred Success as a euphemism for the word fail."

I work in the computer software industry and brainstorming is a valuable and frequently used method for coming up with a variety of potential solutions to problems. I just cannot use "Thought Shower" or "Word Shower" with a straight face. I suppose these terms attempt to capture the verbal effect of a brainstorming session, but they in no way accurately reflect the true underlying activity. A key aspect is using your brain, not just saying a bunch of words. To top it all off the so called offendees don't find the term offensive at all.

"Deferred success" is even funnier. I can just see trying to use that term at the next system test: "That system didn't fail the test, it was just a deferred success". The howls of laughter would be deafening. People need to relearn personal responsibility.

Lech L'Cha - Go Forth, Yourself!

It's been a while since I did a Bible study here. I was working on one for Sukkot but did not get it finished in time.

Here are some notes on todays Parashiot, Gen. 12:1-17:27, from the service this morning.

"Gen 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,

" Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father's house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Note how many times the word "bless" is used. As children of Abraham we are blessed. We are also called to be a blessing.

Gen 15:6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him,

"I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it."

8 He said,

"O LordGOD, how may I know that I will possess it?"

9 So He said to him,

" Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram,

"Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15 "As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,

" To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite."

Here God makes a covenant with Abram. The form used is that of a blood covenant. The parties of the covenant would walk between the pieces of the sacrifice, through the blood of the sacrifice, to seal the covenant. The interesting thing is that Abram was asleep and did not walk through: God made the covenant with himself. He promised Himself that Abram and his descendents would inherit the land. And Abram saw and believed.

Gen 17:5 "No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

In changing Abram's name God put His name, "ha", into Abrahams name.

Also, "many nations" is "goyim" in Hebrew. That is the Hebrew word for Gentiles. God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations includes all the nations, including Gentiles.

Furthermore, Abraham's name is a merger of Hebrew and Arabic: "aham" is Arabic in origin. God was saying that Abraham would be the father of both the Hebrew and Arab nations. It is too bad that so many of God's Arabic children are chasing after a false god.

God, the God of Abraham, has provided salvation for all who will follow him. Praise the Lord.

All quotes NASU from PC Study Bible

Violence, Guns, Religion and Justice

It's been a while, so even though I don't have anything big and profound to say I thought I'd put up a few tidbits of what has been catching my attention:

Riots in France: This post over at the Nation of Riflemen pretty much sums up my opinion: It serves them right. New Sisyphus provides an erudite analysis of the racial aspect of what is going on. In my opinion the violence in Europe in an object lesson on the consequences of the inevitable failure of racist class-structured societies based on socialist welfare economies with liberal helps of appeasement policies thrown in. Furthermore, it is pretty obvious to me that the main stream media is this country is dropping this topic faster than a hot potato because it doesn't fit their worldview. Once the novelty wore off, out it went.

2nd Amendment: It looks like the flower children in San Francisco actually voted for a firearms ban. Such bans have been declared unconstitutional before and hopefully will again. The Gun Guy at NOR offers up an interesting treatise on 2nd Amendment defense arguing that the first line of defense is in the realm of law. He also argues that when unconstitutional laws are passed they can and should be ignored. I agree, but sometimes, in practice, such laws cannot be ignored. Then they must be resisted.

Alito for SCOTUS: Good second choice. I just wish President Bush had received a fair shake on his first choice.

Anglican Church: The American Anglican Council blogsite has an article about the meeting between the homosexual bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. During the meeting "Dr Rowan Williams and Bishop Robinson discussed the crisis and also prayed together "[emphasis mine]. That brings up the simple question; Did they both pray to the same god, and if so what god?

If anyone had any questions about what the head of the Anglican church thinks about having homosexual clergy in the Anglican church this meeting should have resolved those questions. I'm sure Dr. Williams is upset about the divisions created in his church by Gene Robinson's election to bishop, but I don't think he actually has any fundamental problem with homosexual clergy, as long as they stay quiet and don't cause waves. Appeasement doesn't work for countries, nor does it work for churches.