Book Review: Ted Dekker’s “Circle” Series

I just finished reading through The Complete Circle Series (Black, Red, White, and Green) by Ted Dekker. Known for his faith-based fiction, Dekker has a large following for his fantasy/fiction approach to retelling spiritual battles. I picked up the Nook version of it and immediately dove in to the Circle (little inside joke, there!)

About the Book: I hadn’t read any of Dekker’s other works, so I was anxious to get started. I’d heard several good reviews of his writing, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. For those who haven’t heard of this series, the four books are cyclical, which means you can start on any book and still get the whole story. In this collection, Dekker includes an alternate original ending to Green in case you wanted to start with that book. This set starts with Black, and we begin with the main character, Thomas Hunter, running from mafia thugs and eventually getting clipped by a bullet that knocks him unconscious. When he awakes, he realizes he is either dreaming, or he has been transported to an entirely different reality. From there, he struggles to piece together remnants of his memory, but every time he sleeps in one world, he awakes in the other. Before long, events in one begin to affect the other, and Thomas discovers the worlds are more connected than he could ever have imagined. Continue reading “Book Review: Ted Dekker’s “Circle” Series”

Resources for Music Ministers

I’ve been a church music minister/worship leader for going on 20 years now, most of my adult life. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make my job better and easier over the years. I’ve done it professionally for a good part of those years, but always in smaller churches. I like the dynamics and flexibility of smaller churches, and I wouldn’t want my music to come down to “do this, it’s what we pay you for.”

The downside to this is that small churches don’t have the budget to do all the cool new slick presentation stuff like you see on TV. I’m not going to debate whether or not those things are useful- in the right hands, they can be- but most churches can’t do them anyway because of the cost involved.

That’s where I come in. I’ve also been a computer tech for close to 20 years, and I know a lot about getting the most out of old computer hardware and software. Businesses are usually locked into using expensive software suites, but churches don’t have to spend big money to get useful tools. Still interested? Read on!

It adds up. For instance, upgrading old office computers to Windows 7 costs from $150 to $300. Replacing them is even more expensive, especially if you go with Macs. Microsoft Office can set you back $150 per computer or more, and if you use projectors in your service, the price of presentation software is astounding.

Granted, if you can afford to buy the best tools, so much the better. Most of us can’t, though, so we’re forced to either do without, or get creative! For geeks like me, the second option was always better.

I’ll deal with some of these problems in upcoming posts, but the first one I want to share with you is the foundation for reducing costs in computers. I highly recommend Ubuntu Linux, and more specifically, Ubuntu Studio for worship leaders. They are great operating systems for upgrading older computers that won’t run Windows 7. Why spend $500 on a new computer when you can get a modern, useful upgrade for the old one- and it’s 100% free!

Here’s a quick video explaining how to install Ubuntu on a computer!

The Circle Series by Ted Dekker

Circle Series 4-in-1 (The Circle, #1-4)Circle Series 4-in-1 by Ted Dekker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very good realization and imagery, bringing spiritual struggles into stark physical reality. Extremely creative and colorful writing. The books were written in a cyclical path, this particular collection starts with Black, but contains an alternate ending to Green if you wanted to start there. Overall, the series started off slowly, but the intensity ramps up continually until the ending/beginning. Overall, a great read, and a great twist on a timeless tale of redemption.

View all my reviews

Consumer-Driven Writing

So, I’ve been thinking about the popularity of my few posts on computer-y stuff. I’ve been a computer tech/geek for 20 years, and have been using Linux since 2001. I guess over the years I’ve learned a lot about how to use computers, and I suppose I should write more on that! As much as I like posting pics of my bikes, or interesting music things, I really spend most of my time (up until 2 months ago) working with computers.

What are some topics you’d like to see? What’s a cool trick on computers you’ve always wanted to learn? Want to learn to compile your own Linux kernel? Custom device drivers? Want to know how to customize Ubuntu, or compile certain programs? I can do that! Maybe a virtual machine server, or domain/file/print servers for free, using old hardware? I can do that too!

Hmmm. I’ll have to see what I can whip up for the hungry public. Everybody loves free stuff!

New WordPress Theme

You know, when I got into web design back in the early 90’s, it was nothing like it is now. You had to learn HTML because there wasn’t anything else. Now, we have downloadable customizable themes, and instead of being easier, I have to now modify something I didn’t design to make it look like I want.

Yeah, I know, whine, whine, whine. I’ll live. Meanwhile, here’s a cool live looping performer.

[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3joWYIUIAY&list=PL1C51681802E51D0A&index=14″ width=”800″ height=”600″]