Praise God!

Yesterday was Easter. I played trumpet for the 6:30 AM sunrise service. The choir and the handbells performed for the 8:30 and 10:30 AM services. By the end of it we were exhausted. My wife is our church's music director and we have all been preparing for this day for weeks. The choir did a cantata accompanied by a few instrumentalists. The week leading up to Easter was FILLED with rehearsals and working on final details. It's a lot of work, but when you look out into the congregation and see how the music was affecting people, you can only sum it with one word - inspiring! Some were crying, others were smiling. Music is SO powerful! Our pastor believes that music can convey the message of Easter better than any sermon. Judging from the responses yesterday, he may be right. It is such an awesome feeling to know that music can touch the soul so deaply. While we recieved MANY compliments afterwards about how good the music was, it's not an ego thing. God's spirit was clearly present yesterday. Even I was moved to tears several times, knowing how He was using me/us in such a powerful way. Praise the Lord!

Podcasting: Take radio with you

Podcasting is awesome! No, you do not have to have an iPod to do it. Any MP3 player will do. In fact, if you just want to listen to internet radio on your computer, an MP3 playback software, like iTunes (Mac and Windows), will work nicely. You can fast-forward, rewind or listen to it over and over. It's like Tivo for audio!

So here's how it works. A Podcast is an MP3 of someone's content (e.g. music, talk radio, whatever) that's posted on the internet using what's called an RSS feed. Don't worry about the technical stuff, it's really quite easy. You can get these MP3 audio files in two seperate ways: 1) go the the website of the podcaster (content provider) and download the file, or 2) get an aggregator program to subscribe (free) to any podcasts you might be interested in and have IT download it for you. You can even schedule your downloads! It's great. For aggregators, visit PodcastAlley.com's software site. My personal favorite is Doppler Radio.

Once you have the software, you can browse the Podcast directory to find podcasts you are interested in and subscribe to them. More podcasts are being added all the time. Doppler Radio even allows you to search by keyword, not just by category!

PodcastAlley has a Top 10 and Top 50 lists and you can vote for your favorites. Here are some of MY favorites:

One Big Head -- Reflections of an educational technologist
In The Trenches - Discussions of an IT specialist
Leo Laporte's KFI show --- A great tech help call-in show
The MacCast -- News and discussion from a "Mac Geek" for "Mac Geeks"
GodCast -- Daily Scripture verse

Go to PodcastAlley and find out all about these podcasts and MANY more. You are sure to find something to your liking. Podcasting has made my commutes to work much more enjoyable (who needs more "news"?). I get to learn something new everyday about stuff I care about! Give it a try!!!!

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. As "The Tech Wizard", I do not claim to be a technology expert. Instead, I like to teach others how technology can enrich their lives. In this way, I see myself as a servant who likes to find creative technological solutions that address people's needs. I aim to use my blog to discuss technologies that really get me jazzed up. I hope you will find something here that turns you on, so to speak.

Yes, it's true, I'm a geek. Like many, I am the goto guy for technology questions for my circle of family and friends. However, some of my friends, are more knowledgable than I on many matters. Still, like Genie from Aladdin, I say, "(Poof!) What do you need?" As long as I can help people, I feel I am serving my purpose in life.

Got a technology question? Email me at gosomers@gmail.com. Enjoy my blog!