From Bits to Bites &
Windshields to Worship

Yesterday around 1pm Eastern Standard Time, Mozilla officially released version three of their popular Firefox web browser. I’m a long-time Firefox user, and I’ve been using a beta version of Firefox 3 for a little while now, since it was installed by default when I upgraded to the newest version of Ubuntu Linux. It didn’t take long at all for me to begin to appreciate the many improvements in the latest iteration of Firefox.

Back in the early days of Firefox it held many clear advantages over its primary competitor, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. These days, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox have all come a long way, and each has some very compelling merits. I’ve used all three and in my experience this newest version of Firefox is on top of the heap.

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I’ve written quite a bit recently about gas prices, and fuel economy, and I’ve wondered what I’m going to do in light of it all. One of the ways I’m planning on dealing with rising fuel costs is to commute via bicycle on a fairly regular basis when I begin my new job this week. I’m no stranger to such practices, in fact my first semester of seminary I biked to campus almost every day. But now my bike was in need of some repair work before I could seriously consider such bike commuting again.

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For those of you that might not know, I use Ubuntu Linux on all the computers at my house (4 total.) I’ll be the first one to admit that I self-identify as a “geek.”  I’ve literally grown up with computers. Not only in the sense that I’ve always been around them, but also that they have come of age as I have. The laptop I bought a couple years ago was the first computer I’ve ever owned that I didn’t have a hand in building. I designed my first web site using Notepad. Yet my geeky-ness is only a small part of who I am (as this blog reflects.) In fact, my relatively newfound interest in Linux has been influenced just as much by my concern for social justice. As Linux becomes more usable for a broader range of people, it is important to recognize the wide range of reasons why “common folks” (i.e. not “geeks”) might be using it and the social implications that entails.

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For the past 17 years the Ford F-150 pickup truck has been the best selling vehicle in the country. But the times are ‘a changing and last month’s sales figures are a dramatic reflection of this. During the month of May, the Ford F-150 dropped from first to fifth place in overall vehicles sold. Ouch.

According to the May ‘08 sales figures reported by Autoblog and The Torque Report, the F-150 was outsold by the Honda Civic (#1), Toyota Corolla (#2), Toyota Camry (#3), and Honda Accord (#4)! Both the Civic and the Corolla sold over 10,000 units more than the F-150. If other automakers weren’t serious about selling more small cars in the U.S. already, you can bet they’re getting more interested now!

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While I’m sure it will take me a while to get used to it, it’s now official that I will need to learn to respond to the title of “pastor Matt.” This past Sunday, June 1st, the congregation of the Richmond Church of the Brethren finalized the process of calling me to be their next pastor. It has been a process that began nearly 9 months ago for the church and that I have been involved in as a potential candidate for the past 3 months.

In the end I feel that the church is going to be a wonderful place for me to be the pastor, and will provide me with great opportunities to continue to learn and grow as a ministering person. Don’t expect any revealing posts about the congregation or my work there as a pastor, as I intend this to remain a site informed by my own interests and not those of the church. Likewise it should go without saying that anything that I may post here is not in any way meant to represent an endorsement by the church.

I begin my new position June 16th, and while there may be a higher than usual number of posts between now and then don’t be surprised if during the first couple weeks after I start there is a bit of a drop-off.