justin piercy

Why?

Truthfully, because it’s not easy. It’s not seamless. It’s another system to manage that’s difficult to integrate across a wide variety of media.

I have a pretty good mind for my schedule, but it’s not perfect. I mess up, forget, as does anyone. I even recognize the need to keep a calendar, I just haven’t found a solution that seamless enough for me to implement.

I need a system that syncs seamlessley across multiple macs using a desktop app, my google account, and my phone. It also needs to sync with my to-do software, Things.app. I need sync’d alerts on all, my desktop calendar app to open at login, and I don’t need one way syncing. I need to be able to keep multiple calendars and share different calendars with different people. It needs to operate offline but sync in the cloud. Also, it has to be free and work over wifi.

On the front end I know that if it doesn’t do all of these things, then it just won’t work for me. If I could have everything above, then the step to actually keeping and maintaining a calendar would be easier. Until today, I couldn’t find a system that met all of these expectations.

Then I found CalDAV, a protocol that opens the gates of wonder for calendars. Using CalDAV, I can sync iCal and Google Cal, which I can then sync to my iPhone. Alerts go along for the ride and I can sync however many calendars I want. Also, Things.app can now sync with iCal, which then syncs with everything else. I can put in any event anywhere and it magically appears across all my devices, alerts and all.

Hallelujah. I may be late on this boat, but I know many people struggle trying to find a seamless calendar solution. This took a few minutes to set up, but it’s super slick. And free.

This is big. I have never kept a calendar. Until today.

If you suck at keeping calendars, have struggled to find a clean easy solution, and are Mac based, hit me up. I can help:)

How to make work-life balance work. This video is awesome. I love my job, it’s one of the most favourite things I do. For some of us, that can become a problem, but it doesn’t have to. The concept here is simple. Make the important things in your life a priority, it’s the execution that can be difficult.

Use the force….

I will sleep easier tonight after confirming my decades long suspicion….

Double Dream Hands!

Pre-Blessed Food

I am a HUGE fan of this literary genre. I could eat it up all day and all night. Even though I have a pretty broad range of tastes as far as reading goes, time and time again I find myself drawn back to this very specific genre, time period, and geographic origination.

What is so magnetic about it? It’s more complicated that you may think. Hopefully I can give you a better appreciation for this niche body of works.

Let’s start with the content.

Science fiction works written between 1930-1970 were written in a time where science was much less sure of itself. The writers never needed to go into much physical or technical detail because the society on the whole was much less knowledgeable about the capabilities of technology. When reading these books there is one side of my brain that says “That would never work” or “That isn’t physically possible.” One great example is in an early work by CS Lewis called “Out of the Silent Planet”. In it, the main characters leave earth in a small spherical ship with absolutely no explanation given to the method of propulsion or internal gravity. Modern works spend paragraphs detailing how the engines and other systems of the technology itself phyically work. To me this actually detracts from the story line itself.

The absence of this in early works adds to the romance, and also enhances and better highlights the plot and character development.

Even though the books are often vague on the details, people were dreaming during this time period like they never had before. These books were written just prior to the dawn of the space age, so people’s imaginations were on fire. I find that adventurous and pioneering spirit carries though quite clearly in the books written in the science fiction genre in this time period.

One other thing I love about them is the vocabulary used. While modern works use lots of technical terminology, the mid-century works use a vocabulary that hearkens back to a different time. Also the British, particularly of that time period, tended to be much more wordy than modern western authors. While this makes for some long and often obscure word usage, they’re an absolute pleasure to read. On the whole, I find these books much more generally eloquent than their modern equivalents.

Lastly, their plots are often laced with overtones evaluating the human condition, the balance between good and evil, and often are much more philosophical than books of the same genre released today. I think this may be due to the fact that they were written in the shadow of two major world wars, when the men writing them were forced to think about what was really important in their own lives, as they never knew from one month to the next if the war would take a turn for the worse.

Next, let’s get down to a more tangible reason. The format.

I just love holding and reading these books! Everything about them is awesome. Let’s look at the various parts combining to collectively form their awesomeness.

The covers. Just look at these:

How can you not love that gorgeous vintage graphic design? Enough said.

The print. For some reason I just love the really small print, the tight spacing, the heavier weight of the printing itself. It makes the works feel…. denser, more substantial than newer works. Have a peek:

Compare this to the more delicate and wider spaced printing of an equivalent modern work:

The paper color and smell. I don’t know how to describe it, but the older a book gets the more distinguised an air it aquires. The yellowing of the paper, and that musty smell all help pull me into the story.

Here’s a big one, the size. Look at these two books:

I love both, but which one am I going to want to curl up with? Not personally looking to snuggle with something encyclopedia sized. However, that is common size in modern day works. Mid century british written and published works (printed in that era) all share the same, small, comfortable footprint that.. just fits.

Lastly, they’re cheap! You may have noticed a few of the ORIGINAL printings have price tags on them of about 2.50. Can’t beat that! Some of the cheapest “antique” items you can find!

All in all, I just think that every element of this genre leads to a very enjoyable reading experience. Do you have a favourite genre? If so, have you every thought about why it’s your favourite? What love to hear what it is and why.

If you’d like to have a go at reading one of these awesome books, then any of the ones pictured are great. If you have any suggestions for me too I’d love to hear them!

This video made me LOL. In some ways, it was easier to cover the Toronto election than the one in my (now) hometown of Barrie. The media coverage surrounding it was incredible. However, much of it wasn’t based on platform, ideas or political issues. The “progressive” people just seemed to really not like Rob Ford.

I don’t consider myself well informed enough to state whether or not I think Toronto ended up with the right mayor, however, this video hits the nail on the head when it comes to the often hypocritical attitudes of many “progressive” individuals in our society in general.

Funny:)

Disposable  Cameras

Practicality aside, this is a luxury item I’m absolutely GAGA over. I’ve always been a fan of tubes, their undeniably analog look and warm glow. This clock is made out of tubes that display the time, called NIXIE tubes. The vintage/modern combo of this piece just about sends me over the edge.  Everything about this clock is awesome, and I would love to have it sitting on my dresser/desk. In addition to being extremely good looking, it’s also one of the most reasonably priced clocks of this variety I’ve been able to find (Tracey… hint hint;).

Still, it’s expensive for a clock but that fact is bypassed by it’s sheer awesomeness. 

For geeks:

IN-12 NixieKits.eu Review from Brian Stuckey on Vimeo.

Check out the tech details here.

Today I have the honor of kicking off a book study of Mark Batterson’s “Primal”. People from across the world are involved and the project has been put together by the super-awesome Andy Darnell. If you’re part of the project, welcome, and I hope you enjoy my take on the first chapter. If you’re not involved, I’d encourage you to pick up the book (It’s a super short and great read) and follow along with us. Check out the schedule here.

After reading chapter one, I really found I resonated with almost all of what Mark has said. In a nutshell, Mark says that in order to experience a true, vibrant faith we need to go backwards. Back to the time when our faith was new and full of passion, before it became clouded by the busyness of life and the clutter of organized religion. He narrows it down to a basic flaw in modern day Christianity, and offers the simple solution that to move forward we must actually move backwards.

Mark writes lots of brutally honest tidbits into his first few pages, things that left me restless, because I knew I connected with them. Read the following:

“I couldn’t help but wonder if we had accepted a form of spirituality that is more educated but less powerful.”

“… the accumulated layers of Christian traditions have unintentionally obscured what lies beneath.”

“Many Christians settle for simplicity on the near side of complexity. Their faith is only mind deep.”

“At the heart of the problem is the simple fact that Christians are more known for what we’re against than what we’re for.”

And his final primal problem:

”.. we’re not great at the Great Commandment. In too many instances, we’re not even good at it.”

- quotes from Mark Batterson’s “Primal”

On first read, I formed a post about how these things were true in my life and in my walk as a Christian. How broad the implications were and examples where I saw each being played out. It was a great post.

But I erased it. Because to write something like that would be missing the point.

Instead, I’m going back to the beginning. Back to a time in my life where my faith was simple, primal, and the only things I understood about it were the things that mattered.

I grew up in a non-christian environment, a well to do home but one that didn’t function like a typical family. We went to see a therapist when I was young, he told us we didn’t function like most families, that we were instead “five pillars of isolated individuality functioning under the same roof.” My parents didn’t love each other within my conscious memory, and I ended up leaving the house when I was 16. They divorced and my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after. I became involved in heavy drugs, a regular user of ecstasy and an occasional cocaine user. I was lost.

I became further and further depressed and eventually was checked into the psychiatric ward of my hometown hospital with a suicidal depression.

It in the hospital that Jesus came and found me. I was at the end of my rope, had no where else to go and I knew it. If you’d like to talk more about that experience let me know and we can chat. It was beyond anything I could ever put into text. He renewed me in all ways, physically and mentally over the span of about half a day. He took me to another place, a place where He talked to me without words and showed himself to me. That He loved me, for that’s what He is.

God left me basically with this: “This is who I am and who I want you to be with me. Follow me, if you will. I love you.”

Throughout my entire life, no decision has been more clear.

Eventually I was able to rise from my bed in the incredible afterglow of what had happened and went to my window to look over the city. I saw people in the street underneath me, people driving in their cars, and beyond that the homes of thousands. 

In that moment I saw with a clarity I had never known. I knew that all the world’s problems would go away if we all simply loved each other with the same love that God had for each of us.

I had been a Christian for 15 minutes and I knew without reading a single line of the bible the two primal components of our faith. Love God with all you are. Love your neighbor as yourself.

I will never forget that moment. I think then I understood the most clearly God’s intention for us. As I reflect now I long for that time.

I’ve grown and changed, become wiser and shifted a lot of things in my life for the better. But my passion was never stronger than in that moment. Even writing about it brings that essence closer.

I’d encourage you to go back to the time in your life when your faith was primal. I think we learn some of the wisest and truest things in those moments. Things that we should never forget, things that we should consider core values rather than first steps.

Thanks for reading, really looking forward to reading on with you.

A gift courtesy of my friend Sare Martin, via helveticaBOMB.

For the record Sare, I think you are terrific:)

As an audio engineer and a fan of all things cool I can’t get enough of Mike Tompkins! Way to go man! Canadian too… can I just mention that? Rock on dude!

Wow! I had no idea! ………..

This was shot with an iPhone? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Love it!

Awesome short film featuring Whoopi Goldberg. Mesmerizing. via @ChurchCreate

Awesome. And true. Via @puzle

Here is part two of “In Love with a View”. Make sure to watch Part 1 first! For best results watch full screen in 720p. 

Check this out. In 2008 I worked with Jonathan Wagner of Buffalo RIver Pictures and produced this short film. I did all sound design, production and post production audio. Make sure to watch part 2 as well!

The view from here.