Well, I had a friend point me to a blog called The Art of Manliness (though it was in reference to a coffee post) and I am amazed with the amount of material on the website.  Then, being homesick from not being at my normal parish (thanks to my friend Doris), I thought about my Pastor’s preference for personal communication and interaction (though he is on Facebook!).  Well, that itself is a lost art.

As it stands now, I’m awaiting a return phone call from a dear friend from college.  With both of our busy schedules (he’s a newlywed and I’m busy with school) I found a particular post of interest…a post on Letter Writing.  Now, as much as I’d love the sweet setup in the article, I took a gander.  Wow, it’s not that expensive!  We’ll, I don’t have it engraved (or personalized for that matter) either.  Now, where to find stationary.  The most common paper for longer stationary is Monarch size.  And to my amazement some of the Staples stores have this size stationary in their special paper section.  My nearby store doesn’t, and apparently only 11 stores in Illinois do.  The stationary is available either in white with silver foil or ivory with gold foil.  They are at the end of the paper list on the M by Staples website.   A steal at 9.95 for 20 sheets and matching envelopes.  I prefer the Gold and Ivory – it’s easier on the eyes, so I found.

Now, that is great for longer notes – but what about those shorter notes.  I still have some North Central College medallion note cards – those would work for thank you cards and the like.  They have them for a number of schools – the company is Traditions.  $15 for 20.

However, I also acquired some note cards from Crane and Company.  You’ve heard of them, right?  Well, open your wallet – you’ll see their products (hopefully!) as they supply the BEP with currency paper.  Apparently, the paper I picked up – correspondence sheets to be exact, is a wedding stationery.  They have very, very nice quality paper and the price for these notes are just $16.00 for 20.  I picked mine up at Swoozies (yeah, I know, it’s a chick store).  Crane’s shipping is expensive, especially when there are local shops to sell the product to you.  As long as it is not engraved stationery, their prices are very competitive.  Cranes has a good guide on social stationery.

Now, after talking about all that paper, thoughts of Jane Marple flitter into my head.  You ever watch her?  Well, the old English manors always had stationery desks.  Since I don’t have a collection of letterpress or engraved stationery, I always have wanted one.  But they are so very expensive.  Then, while perusing Crane & Co’s site, I noticed one on clearance (my grandmother would be proud) for less than half the price.  So, order went into Crane’s today…just under $50.00.  Perfect use for my gift card.

Well, once I get started with writing letters, you may be fortunate enough to receive one.  When you get it, don’t forget to let me know how your doing…and maybe be inspired.

I opened the box from Telephony Depot and was greeted with a plain box with Linksys printed on it.  Cisco Systems is in the midst of moving the Linksys VoIP products under the Cisco Small Business brand.  (Oh, and Cisco is another product of Standford alums).  The documentation is paltry at best.  A matter of fact, the only documentation was an year old CD-ROM.  Had Cisco provided the Quick Startup guide in print, I would have felt differently.  Note The materials on the CD-Rom are quite technical! 

I took the information from Gizmo5’s SIP adapter page and the documentation off the CD-Rom and set off to get things going.  I chose to put the ATA directly after my cable modem and before the router.  I did this so I would not have to worry about opening ports.  Here is the setup I used: http://blog.weaverling.org/2009/03/12/linksys-spa-3102-voip-ata/

I had to clone my MAC address, but other than that I followed the directions in the above post. 

Account Specifics

I have a different Gizmo account for each line and a different physical phone for each line.  I have my primary line hooked up to a cordless phone and my secondary line hooked up to an old princess phone. 

Firmware

FYI, you can not update the firmware when there is a router between you and the ATA.  Cisco has a nice executable program that does the upgrades which can be downloaded from either their website or Linksys website.

Also, the Firmware can not be backed up directly from the device.  Opensky has a utility, SPAConf, that will do this for you.

What is Google Voice?

Google’s vision is that you will have one single number for people to reach you.  THat means that Google Voice (GV) will forward calls to your GV number to other numbers you have.  For example, you can have it ring your home, office, and cellular.  No more trying to figure out the best number to call.  GV will ring all of them (or just the ones you choose).  You can set up dialing patterns – so your work phone only rings during the week, your cell phone on nights and weekends (except from your boss, who goes straight to voice mail), and so on.

Google Voice offers transcription of your voice mails, though it thought that Jessica was Josh Cohen.  That threw me for a loop.  However, when you play back your messages from GV, it shows you the transcription as it is playing the word.  Futhermore, you can listen in to people leaving voicemails and screen calls.  Oh yeah, I really don’t want to talk to the in-laws right now, unless it’s important.

You can customize greetings and which phones ring for each person who calls.  For example, you can have a formal greeting for the boss or a relaxed, informal greeting for your best buds.  Finally, you can block individual numbers which are from annoying people.  (Google already does this for known PIA calls).

The best part is that you get to chose the area code and number.  It tells you which telco switch the number matches.  And you can search to get a number which has the digits you want.

Finally, Google Voice supports VoIP via Gizmo5.  Unfortunately, if you don’t have Gizmo5, you are SOL.  I had previously signed up for Gizmo5 when they had back door dialing, so that wasn’t a problem for me.

My Specifics

I have GV ringing my home (VoIP) phone and my cell phone.  For my friends, I have it ring a second phone as well, so I know it’s an important call.  Google passes caller ID and allows me to ring my phone from the GV website, so I have free SIP calls in the US and don’t have to pay Gizmo5.  I also can dial out from my GV voicemail and get Goog411 from there as well.  Finally, I have a link on my website so that people can call me without revealing my phone number.

Downsides

There are a few things that Google lacks.  First of all, you can not access VM from a SIP line.  That means you have to sign on the PC or mobile web or make a phone call that you can very well be charged for to access your GV.  Also, GV does not have the clarity required for Fax transmissions (so they say) though I didn’t try that.  (Remember that I have an 800 fax number already).

Google only supports one GV number per account.  Mobile phones, for SMS, can only be connected to one account and other phone lines can only be associated to two accounts.  This is for security reasons.  It is still in beta, so I am sure there will be changes.

Other things still under construction – you can not yet port your number to GV and GV doesn’t interface with GMail – yet.  And finally, you can only delete messages from the web interface.  There are other limitations, but seriously, there were limitations with GMail was in beta. 

I’ll review Gizmo5 seperately and give setup details, so if you are interested in the possibilities of having a low cost SIP phone connection – read on.

Finally, a word of caution – you can not change your GV number without paying a fee – so choose your initial number carefuly!

Google Voice supports Gizmo5.  Gizmo5, as you may already know, is an open-standards equivalent to Skype.  I was never too thrilled with Skype, since it is a proprietary network.  What is nice about Gizmo5 is that they support SIP, which is the global standard for VoIP communications.  So that gave me the impetus to actually set up a VoIP solution.  I never liked the Skype idea of needing a PC on to call or paying for a fancy proprietary phone.  I decided that what I needed was (1) a PSTN or regular phone line (which Google Voice handled) and (2) the ability to use my regular analog telephones.

The Solution

In looking at Gizmo5’s website, I noticed a link to using an ATA, or Analog Telephone Adapter, for their service.  Since Gizmo5 is on SIP, I can use the ATA with them and if I choose to go with another provider, I can keep the same equipment.  Cisco Systems had a number of options (3 to be exact) and Cisco has always had a strong reputation (I use Linksys, a Cisco brand, for my router needs) so I chose them.  I chose the SPA2102, which allows 2 VoIP/SIP channels – for me that means two phone lines.  Cisco also offers the SPA3102 which “gateways” between a VoIP connection and a regular telephone line – but since I don’t have a regular phone line, it wasn’t a concern for me.  I purchased the SPA2102 from Telephony Depot, based in Philadelphia, and highly recommend them – they shipped within a few hours of receiving my order!  Be careful to buy an unlocked version if you are buying elsewhere!

The Benefits

What is nice now is that I have a home phone line to make calls for cheap.  I’ll make a few more posts on how the benefits of each the Gizmo Service, Google Voice, and setting up the ATA device.  Later!

I can remember when St. Paul’s reinstituted “scheduled” Private Confession.  Yeah, we never really got rid of private confession, it just stayed in the Pastor’s study for when we had a crisis and needed to chit chat with our spiritual father.

Do remember that the Lutheran Church is a catholic (i.e. universal) church.  So…what does this mean?  We’ll, we are the only church that uses scripture and scripture alone as the norm of our faith.  Other Christian denominations add various aspects – work, the pope, etc. 

When the Pastor announced private confession returning, there were some cries from the congregation “that’s too [Roman] Catholic.”  Yet, why is it not common place in our parishes.

The Book of Concord, which Lutheran’s regard as defense of our faith and our bible based beliefs, says this:

Confession has not been abolished in our churches. For it is not customary to administer the body of Christ except to those who have been previously examined and absolved. The people are also most diligently taught concerning faith in the word of absolution, about which there was a great silence before now….Nevertheless, confession is retained among us both because of the great benefits of absolution and because of other advantages for consciences. (Augsburg Confession XXV [Kolb/Wengert 73:1-2; 75:13])

Luther went on to say:

…private confession should be retained in the church, for in it consciences afflicted and crushed by the terrors of sin lay themselves bare and receive consolation which they could not acquire in public preaching. We want to open up confession as a port and refuge for those whose consciences the devil holds enmeshed in his snares and whom he completely bewitches and torments in such a way that they cannot free or extricate themselves and feel and see nothing else but that they must perish. For there is no other greater misery in this life than the pains and perplexities of a heart that is destitute of guidance and solace.

For this reason I have a high regard for private confession, for here God’s word and absolution are spoken privately and individually to each believer for the forgiveness of his sins, and as often as he desires it he may have recourse to it for this forgiveness, and also for comfort, counsel, and guidance. Thus it is a precious, useful thing for souls, as long as no one is driven to it with laws and commandments but sinners are left free to make use of it, each according to his own need, when and where he wishes; just as we are free to obtain counsel and comfort, guidance and instruction when and where our need or our inclination moves us. And as long as one is not forced to enumerate all sins but only those which oppress him most grievously.

Now… if you look at old hymn books and, quite honestly, most of the history of christiandom, private confession reigned supreme.  Old liturgies do not have the corporate confession made popular by American egocentrism.  Even as late as the 1950’s, people announced themselves for communion and obtained private confession and absolution.  Well, the problem is that less and less people came, for various reasons, which meant that less people were confessing their sins.  Troubling, yes.  So many churches are reinstituting the practice.  But it can be intimidating.  What is it like?  Will the pastor judge me?  Of course not.  This video accurately depicts the act of Private Confession and Absolution.  Yes, it is done at the front of the church…but I can tell you that having God’s assurance of forgiveness, expressed through His called and ordained service, is a blessing.

On the home front, found out that the Fort Wayne trip is still on and that I might get to take it off. Need to use that Personal Day. I also have loaded up my computers with a few OS’s: FreeBSD (which is confusing as hell, the caps just randomly locks on), Windows Server (Thank’s Bill), Windows XP, and Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04. Of course, I’m still stuck with Vista (yuck). It would be good, other than it is so poor of an OS that no one supports it! and it treats me like an idiot!

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 9

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( )Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
12

(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
16

(x) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
24

(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
31

( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
(x) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
(x) Surviving Christmas
38

( ) Flubber
(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
40

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
43

(x) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
50

(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
55

( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
(x) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
60

(x) War of the Worlds ( 00’s version)
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
66

(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X2
(x) X-3
75

(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
( ) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
81

(x) Cruel Intentions
(x) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
(x) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
(x) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
90

( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year old-virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
97

(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
100

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
103

( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead (remake)(AND original)
( ) Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
107

( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
110

(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Army of Darkness
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
116

( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
119

Look for it at http://www.xiphos.org/.  Oh, they support Windows, Fedora 8-10, Debian and Ubuntu, and SuSE.