For college students, the school newspaper is like a slow computer: We make fun of them, but we all have one we wish wasn’t associated with us. Continue reading
-
Subscribe
My Influences
Author Archives: James
The Zombie Invasion – Unpublished Article
Unannounced Mac OS X Lion Features
With developers salivating over the next version of Mac OS X–Mountain Lion (read, iOS Lion)–there has never been a better time for us poor creatures using Lion OS to uncover some hidden features to hold us over. So until the iOS goodies of OS X Mountain Lion grace our i5 processors, I have grouped together three lesser-known features of the 254-day-old Lion OS that didn’t make it into the Apple keynote.
1. Cut Copy Paste Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Technology
Steve Sundell – Legacy
I would not have been in Bible Quiz if it hadn’t been for one Sheldon Sundell, who interrupted a Sunday School lesson to inform a couple of middle school students to give Bible Quiz a try.
So I gave it a shot.
I liked it. In fact, here’s a picture of me collecting my 1st place Middle School individual trophy in 2004 over Hebrews, about two months after some website called Facebook was created. Continue reading
Posted in Bible Quiz, Faith
2012 Mark Gilmer Atlanta Open: Thoughts and Reflections
The questions have been asked, the trophies awarded, and the buzzer sets neatly wrapped and placed into their humble suitcases.
Yes, another incredible Mark Gilmer Atlanta Open has concluded. 16 A teams competed for the title – more than any other year I can remember.
I was blessed to be in Room 2 in A, which meant that I was able to officiate top notch competition. To say that the quizzing was merely “good” would be an understatement. This year’s Open was as competitive as I’ve seen it in a long time.
Now for the analysis. I did not observe any MSQ division quizzing. However, the MSQ team from Lexington, KY scored nearly as much as the rest of the MSQ teams combined.
Onward to the A league…
1st Place: Montgomery, Alabama #1
Overall, the team looked like the National Finals Championship division team they are. They possess your everyday 1st chair quizzer able to interrupt anything and 2nd chair quizzer answering every 20 and 30. As always, consistency has been the key, but I felt their weakness at the Open was the grasp of the material and not the interruptions. This is not an issue for two reasons: First, everyone is still working on the quoting this time of year, and for this team, it will easily be fixed before Regionals. Second, with veteran senior Hudson Kelley and seasoned coach Daniel Mims, Montgomery will definitely be back in the top bracket at Nationals.
The highlight for Montgomery was the last match of regulation against Lexington #1, quizmastered by yours truly. Heading into the final round, Montgomery was undefeated, and Lexington #1 only had one loss. A win by Lexington in the last match would force a sudden death playoff between the teams.
The match was hard fought. There were solid hits by both sides, but Montgomery seemed to have the upper hand most of the match. As good as Lexington was, Montgomery picked their questions wisely and went on to win the match right around question 18.
What can we say? The championships seem to be going to Alabama these days…
2nd Place: Toccoa, Georgia Continue reading
Posted in Bible Quiz
What would the Apostle Paul say to Siri?
Siri is one unique piece of artificial intelligence software. It learns and remembers what you do, who you are, and where you go. And it’s even been known to spout out a wisecrack or two.
And I must confess: I find Siri’s humor to be nothing short of hilarious.
I shouldn’t. I feel like I’m falling into a scary world where humans will converse with robots instead of people (Wall-e anyone?). But the sarcasm and wit of that precious personal assistant captivates me like no other smartphone.
After asking basic questions such as “Will you marry me?” (putrid EULA getting in the way of everything…), I started to dive deeper and ask Siri some theological questions. The responses?
Posted in Apple, Faith, Technology
