SomeStrangeIdeas Whole Shebang

This weekend, we launched a new site design for Brighten Photography. This was a collaborative project where I occupied more of a development role that I usually do. I was able to sneak in a few design points, but mostly it was a customization of an existing professional theme with some design work that Brighten’s own Ben Harms had prepared.

Ben was a lot of fun to work with, which you’ll be able to tell by spending time on the site. Looking at all those pictures made me want to go back 15 years to have Ben and Whitney shoot my wedding…but I don’t think they were even teenagers then.

Never accept and be content with unanalyzed assumptions, assumptions about the work, about the people, about the church or Christianity. Never be afraid to ask questions about the work we have inherited or the work we are doing. There is no question that should not be asked or that is outlawed. The day we are completely satisfied with what we have been doing; the day we have found the perfect, unchangeable system of work, the perfect answer, never in need of being corrected again, on that day we have made the greatest mistake of all.” — Vincent Donovan, quoted by Brian McLaren in A New Kind of Christianity

A few months back (hard to believe it’s been that long, by the way), I wrote a few posts about my double life. It’s becoming more common to do a church start-up bi-occupationally — a portion of time for the church and an portion of time to the church and a portion of time to feeding your family. I’m learning about this on the fly, and working it out here in hopes it will be beneficial to others.

The last post was about the rhythm of my double life. Splitting time between two different occupations takes some structure and discipline in my schedule, but I think I manage that part pretty well.

In spite of maintaining a somewhat defined weekly rhythm, there is one challenge that extends beyond my ‘work time’. Neither of my jobs is a put in your hours and be done. I don’t go to an office; there isn’t a time clock. When it comes to pastoring, most are aware of this. But it is similar with my design work — as with any creative work, my brain keeps working out ideas long after I’ve let go of my mouse.

What I find is that both of these jobs compete for brain cycles in ways that a defined schedule doesn’t regulate. It goes through seasons where one might be more prominent than the other. The amount of ‘work’ time given to each might be the same, but one dominates the other in mind in the idle times…as I’m driving someplace or waking up in the morning.

Late in the fall, I went on a few different trips related to the pastor side of my life — smaller conferences exploring church mission in differing contexts. At one of them I was even a presenter. Along with this, design work was slower, and I was able to take some time to rework our church website. In other words, my extra brain cycles were able to swing toward my church work.

So far, 2010 has been a different story. I’ve had lots of design work come in, which has been a great relief after a slow fall. I still do design work in the afternoon, but it has taken a lot of energy. (I’m learning just how much the creative side of design takes out of me.) Most of my extra brain cycles so far this year have swung toward design work.

I enjoy both of these jobs, and they interact with each well in terms of flexibility and crossover. It may be that I’ll learn to regulate the pendulum better. But it also may be that this is just the nature of maintaining two roles. I’d be curious to hear how this has been for others.

Last week, I mentioned my concern about the iPad’s use as a creative tool, ending with a plea to developers to make apps for just that purpose. Since that time, OmniGroup has announced their intention to fully support the iPad. Immediately, I could see myself ‘needing’ one.

My primary use for an iPad would be research and writing, so I dream of uses that could help those workflows. Resources are limited at our house, so an iPad would be hard to justify. But if most of these apps came available, I would start trying to find ways to make it happen:

Scrivener
A version of Scrivener that could open, read, and edit documents from the Mac version would be a dream. Unfortunately, they’ve already stated that they don’t have any immediate or longterm plans to work on an iPad version. (Their blog post is worth reading…I think they touch on something that many indie Mac developers might be feeling.)

WriteRoom
WriteRoom already has an iPhone version that can sync text into Scrivener via SimpleText.ws. Oddly, their Mac version doesn’t sync with SimpleText. I would hope that WriteRoom for iPad would.

Ulysses
I like Ulysses, but haven’t made the time investment to use it regularly over Scrivener. They have an alleged Ulysses Mobile in development, so Ulysses for iPad seems like a reasonable step for them. If it were to sync with the Mac version, Uylsses would find more room in my workflow.

Yojimbo
After Scrivener, this one seems like the biggest longshot. My Yojimbo database already struggles to sync via MobileMe and they’ve never indicated any interest in developing an iPhone version. But after the OmniGroup apps, Yojimbo would be the biggest draw toward an iPad for me.

Logos Bible Software
They started working on an iPad version the day the iPad was announced. I don’t think I would spring for a 3G iPad, and space will be at a premium. So offline use and the ability to pick and choose resources to install is a must.

DropBox
Of course it would be nice if the DropBox could sync documents, or a select folder onto the iPad. But even being able to access my folder in the cloud would be helpful enough.

Instapaper
If you use Instapaper, you already know why this is on the list. If not, read this.

Kindle
I’m not convinced I would replace my Kindle with an iPad as a primary ebook reader. The Kindle’s battery life, weight and ability to read with one hand are too valuable. But with the ability to sync notes and location, of course it would be nice to have my books on an iPad as well.

Pixelmator
I don’t know that I would do heavy editing, but being able to resize and adjust images for blog posts and other lightweight work would be great. There are already a few iPhone apps that do this kind of thing, but it would be good to see what the Pixelmator team could pull off on an iPad version.

Ecto/Wordpress
While most creative work that I do would still require a full laptop or desktop for final production, blogging is one workflow that could be done start to finish on an iPad. I’ve been spoiled by offline editors over the Wordpress dashboard, so one of these is a must.

How about you…what would you like to see?

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I dutifully followed the Apple announcement yesterday, even showing enough restraint to wait for the 60 second auto-refresh like a good web citizen. I’ve visited the Apple site a few times since, scanning the info and gawking at the iPad. I’m impressed with it, and think it will be better in person, so I’ll go see it shortly after it arrives in the Apple store.

As the refreshing and gawking settled, there was an impression forming that I couldn’t name, but it troubled me. I think I’ve finally identified it. But first, a little sentimentality…

My first extensive experience with a Mac was through work — a G4 PowerBook running Panther that was purchased for editing videos. It wasn’t long after that I had my own — a G5 iMac that was soon paired with a used 12″ iBook. I still used a Dell laptop for my job, but I used the Macs whenever I could.

Working on the Mac gave me the feeling that I could make something…that I could create anything. The simple, but powerful interface felt like the Mac got out of my way and let me make something. And I still feel that way about my current 13″ MacBook Pro. I am equipped and enabled to create in any digital medium I choose to.

It is this urge to create that has driven the Mac community for years. It’s long been the desired product for all sorts of creative work: design, film editing, audio recording, etc. And it’s not a coincidence that Mac market share’s rise coincides with what Richard Florida calls The Rise of the Creative Class.

And so the realization that troubles me today is this — the primary function of the iPad is not to create, but to consume. I won’t go so far as to say consumption is a bad thing — many of my ideas are born out of the words, images, or harmonies of others. But I do know that what most often keeps me from creating is the immediate availability of so much to consume.

So I end with two pleas:

• To Apple: Your appealing and simple designs draw something out of us. They make us want to create. The iPad is fine, I might own one someday, but please don’t forget about what has drawn so many of us to your products. It seems that your core strategy has shifted toward content delivery, but please don’t neglect the tools for content creation.
• To developers: What the iPad is capable of is in your hands. Already, you are dreaming up ideas. You probably couldn’t sleep last night. I hope that your creativity will lead to tools that inspire and enable the rest of us to be creative too.
  

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You only need to have mild interest in technology to have heard about the alleged Apple tablet that may or may not be introduced on Wednesday. Not wanting to be left out of the party, I have to squeeze in a few thoughts of my own.

I’ve seen all sorts of speculation on what the features of this tablet may be. Will it run on an expanded iPhone OS, or a streamlined variation of Snow Leopard? What kind of input will be available? Is it meant to be a laptop replacement, or something else? Will it be the end all device for media content? Will it be the best ebook reader made? Will it write ebooks for me? Can it reverse global warming?

I’m sure of this…it will look really slick. If there is anything I’m confident about it is that. And it will probably have a wow factor that we haven’t anticipated, some kind of feature that will immediately make sense when Steve Jobs utters “and it’s really cool” while demoing it. I also know this…I’ll have a browser window with three different tabs auto-refreshing during the event, so that I don’t miss anything that will be repeated in blogs for days to come.

But here’s what I’m not sure of…why I would want it. I’m far from a luddite. Techonology is a good friend of mine and I find new reasons to use it weekly. But I’ve yet to hear speculation about what this tablet would do that would make me feel the need to rush out and buy one.

I can see the interest for some. If you like to sketch or handwrite notes, maybe it will be appealing — though it most of my sketching and handwriting friends romanticize the simplicity and ease of a good pen and notebook. Some might be excited about the possibility it would offer as an ebook reader. I am content with the crisp e-ink and long battery life of my Kindle. Perhaps it can add levels of interaction to newspapers and magazines that we’ve not yet seen fully realized. But that wouldn’t be enough to have me lining up to buy one.

That said, I’m eager to see it, just for innovation sake. And I’ll go try one out when they hit the stores. But as one who tends toward early adoption of technologies, this one will have do something far beyond what I’m expecting before I will start figuring out how to afford it.

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I have a mild obsession when it comes to historical Jesus studies. So when I was looking through the IVP catalog last fall at potential books to review, The Historical Jesus: Five Views was one I couldn’t pass up.

Many in the Evangelical church world have been suspicious of academic efforts to recover the Jesus of history. THis is based on assumption that there is a gap between the true history of Jesus and the Jesus of the Christian faith. And it’s true that voices from both sides have propelled that argument.

Personally, I’ve found that diving into the history of and around Jesus has led to a much fuller understanding of who Jesus was in his time, and therefore what he means for our time. Our understanding of Jesus’ time has exploded in the last century, and especially in the last few decades. Yes, many scholars draw different conclusions based on their research, but learning how they see Jesus challenges and expands how I do.

The Historical Jesus: Five Views is a helpful introduction to the breadth of perspectives about Jesus. Five different scholars, representing a broad stream of thought, write introductory essays to who the Jesus of history was. After each essay, the other four write their responses. It is helpful to see not only how different scholars view Jesus, but also how others respond.

It’s time for my annual take on what tools are in my creative arsenal. Rather than do the whole series this year, I’m going to list a handful of changes since last year’s posts. In an upcoming post, I will highlight creative tools I use on my iPhone. Here are the updates from the last 12 months:

13″ MacBook Pro – In late summer, the new 13″ MacBook Pros arrived in the Apple refurbished store and I made the switch from my prior 15″ MacBook Pro. I coveted the longer battery life and portability, but agonized over the loss of screen space. Overall, I’ve been happy with my decision, especially since I do most of my design work on…

Samsung 2333SW 23″ Widescreen Monitor – Of course, I’d be happy with an Apple Cinema Display, but I can’t afford or justify it. I found a great deal on this Samsung monitor and it looks great.

Amazon Kindle (2nd generation) – I replaced my original Kindle with a second generation model (and posted a comparison). After months of use, I think they many subtle changes add up to a significant upgrade. I’ve reached a point where I won’t buy most books if they aren’t yet available for the Kindle.

LaunchBar _ Replacing Quicksilver with LaunchBar seemed dramatic at the time, but I haven’t looked back since. (The MacPowerUsers had a great episode that you should listen to if you use or are considering LaunchBar.)

Dropbox – Dropbox replaced SugarSync. It’s not quite the same functionality, but it’s hard to argue with free.

Espresso — Last year, I displayed minor quilt that I wasn’t using Espresso. I’ve since embraced it fully and phased out SkEdit. I use it everyday. I wish it fully integrated the features of CSSEdit, but even so, it’s a vital piece of my workflow.

Tweetie – Tweetie replaced Tweetdeck. Multiple account support and it’s dang purdy.

Yojimbo 2 – The tag browser introduced in Yojimbo 2 has me using it for more than ever, and I’ve phased out Shovebox. I’ve found two or three significant new uses for Yojimbo this year. Yojimbo and OmniFocus are the two apps I have open no matter what work mode I’m in.

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This week, we launched a new design for Restore Austin, a network which partners local churches and non-profits to stimulate individual, collective, and social renewal for Austin. Austin Mustard Seed has also connected with Restore Austin and I love the partnerships they are creating.

Matthew wanted to move from Wordpress.com to a self-hosted wordpress blog in order to define more of their own look and feel. This was a fairly quick and easy job, and demonstrates how a few customizations to an existing theme can define a unique statement for any blog.

It was two years ago yesterday that I launched Creativityist. I had a general idea in mind of what I would do with the site, but like most creative work, I didn’t have a clear destination. Seems like my best work comes when I take steps forward and see what happens. That’s certainly the case here!

It was only by accident that I realized that the anniversary had snuck by yesterday. This morning I had an idea for a post, but had a vague notion that I had posted about that idea before. It turns out I had! It was in the midst of looking for it that I realized we’d had an anniversary. Last year at this time, I commented on the fog of moving into the future…it seems that the past has become foggy as well.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a new project I have in the works. I hope to launch it soon and I think it will be of interest to many Creativityist readers. The new year has also given me a fresh burst of ideas for some upcoming posts which I’m looking forward to hammering out for you soon.

In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of the highlights on Creativityist this past year:

• Contexts – an ongoing series describing different contexts I use in OmniFocus
• Creative Practices – a series of interviews with others that I intend to resume this year
• a series of reflections on The Creative Habit and The War of Art
• OmniFocus vs. Things – any given day, this is the most popular post on the site with a consistent stream of search engine visitors asking that very question
• Inbox Off – this is probably the most important change I made to my workflow this year, though I still struggle to follow it at times
• Creativityist 3.0 – I launched the current design last February…and I still like it!

Thanks again for your attention and your comments. I’m often encouraged by how much value others find in some of these thoughts, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to learn from you as well.

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