What Grace is Mine

Words: Kristyn Getty
Traditional Melody arranged Rob Mathes

What grace is mine that He who dwells in endless light
Called through the night to find my distant soul
And from his scars poured mercy that would plead for me
That I might live and in his name be known

So I will go wherever He is calling me
I lose my life to find my life in Him
I give my all to gain the hope that never dies
I bow my heart, take up my cross and follow Him

What grace is mine to know His breath alive in me
Beneath his wings my wakened soul may soar
All fear can flee for death's dark night is overcome
My Saviour lives and reigns forevermore

So I will go…

 



"What Grace is Mine" is from Keith and Kristyn Getty's new album, "Awaken the Dawn." The Getty's have produced another solid album with sound, creative lyrics and interesting melodies. It is definitely worth the purchase.

Popularity: 43% [?]

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Zune HD and Zune software 4.0 were both deployed earlier this month to much acclaim. The new software features the ability to pin items to a quickplay list, choose your start-up page, and introduces the "Smart DJ" feature. Smart DJ allows you to pick an artist and then Zune customizes a playlist based on the artist from your collection or from the Zune Marketplace if you are a Zune Pass subscriber. As a side note: the Zune Pass is considered by best to be the best subscription deal available today. Zune software 4.0 also introduces a mini player, Windows 7.0 integration, utilizing jump lists, and enhanced, richer mixviews.

 


The Zune HD has a beautiful, sleek design, and boasts an OLED screen, which is brighter than the average LED screen found on most Personal Media Players (PMP.) The 3.3-inch screen provides rich color and accentuates the beauty of the well-designed touchscreen interface. As implied by its name, the Zune HD provides HD video out, meaning that you can play 720p HD video on your TV by connecting your Zune to a dock that connects to your HDTV. You can also play HD Radio on your Zune HD, with the built in HD Radio tuner. As with the last firmware, you can add music played on the radio to your cart to be purchased (or downloaded via the Zune Pass) the next time you either sync or connect via a Wi-Fi connection. Note to all Pens fans: the Penguins will launch an HD Radio channel in the Pittsburgh area October 1 on 105.9. Oh, and if you must have it, the Zune HD has a nice little web browser. I have seen various comparisons of speeds between the Zune HD browser and other PMP browsers. The speed tests appear to demonstrate that they are pretty much the same speed, as each result varies from web site to web site.

Apps and video were new introductions to the Zune Marketplace. Evidently, the videos and apps available at launch were mostly to whet out appetite. The real launch for these items is due in November along with Xbox 360 integration.

My favorite features by far are the interface and OLED screen. The interface allows you to expand or diminish the size of the web page or photo you are viewing by pinching or expanding your fingers (hard to explain.) The interface is slick, fast, and glides like a well-greased trombone slide. I have also had a lot of use for the quick play list and Smart DJ features. The Smart DJ feature has produces lists that I actually enjoy. I don't have a lot to compare it to, personally, but others have said it is by far the best of these type smart playlist features available. The Smart DJ is available on the device via the Zune Marketplace and on the web. Zune 4.0 allows Zune Pass subscribers to stream music from the Zune Marketplace website over the Internet without having the Zune software on the machine.

I think most consider Zune HD a huge success and sales seem to reinforce that thought as Amazon and many Best Buy stores have been out of stock. There will always be those who cannot give Microsoft any credit, but quite a few skeptics have been won over by Zune HD.

 *Some outlets were reporting that althought the video was HD, 5.1 surround sound was not supported on HD video out. This is not correct. 5.1 surround sound is supported. An optical audio output is present on the Zune media dock and Microsoft has confirmed its support.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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http://kdka.com/consumer/starbucks.instant.coffee.2.1214489.html



I had a sample of Starbucks instant coffee this morning, a product the expensive Coffee company calls, "Via." The barista discouraged my calling the product "instant coffee". She said that they are calling it "coffee in an instant" because it is unlike any other product.

I drank a sample of the Colombian and was given a sample of Italian roast to take home with me to prepare myself. I found the Colombian OK. It wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. It is better than the coffee served at Krispy Kreme but not nearly as good as the regular brew. It would work in a pinch, for example camping or in the wilderness areas of upstate NY where they think Starbucks are all located within a Barnes and Noble, but it won't replace any morning brew.
On a side note: I hit a Dunkin Donuts on my way out of town Saturday and have decided that it is still my favorite coffee stop, and half the price, too.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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I am awake late due to a pretty bad stomach virus so I thought I would throw out some quick hits:

• Mike Huckabee has added a new news radio show to his media makeover.  His show will be a brief take on the news starting Jan. 5th.  I think it will be more long the lines of Paul Harvey than Rush Limbaugh.


• The Romney people are still bitter about Huckabee and taking cheap shots at him..check out political blog comments to see what I mean.  I have one thing to say to them...."Wahhhh!"  Romney is a wash but Huck is here for a while.


• Is it just me, or does it seem obvious that other Republican leaders are visibly jealous of Sarah Palin's popularity?


• The RNC filed a lawsuit today to have McCain-Feingold declared unconstitutional.  How poetically ironic.


• Hillary Clinton is rumored to be on the short list for President-elect Obama's Secretary of State.  Bring back the royal food tasters, she'd be third in line for the presidency.


• A Catholic Priest in South Carolina informed parishioners that if they supported Barrack Obama they needed to do penance before they could take communion because of his gross anti-life stance.


• The Steelers are having a pretty good season considering the amount of injuries they have sustained.  Most teams would have losing records right now, not be at the top of their divisions given they way they have been beat up.


• What's the deal with fining Steeler players for legal hits and only explaining they are hitting too hard?  It is football, right?


• I found the three freebies from the new SG album (T4G Live) completely underwhelming.  It might be nice for people who did not grow up in a mainstream church, but it did not feature new arrangements, new lyrics, or even exceptional talent.  It's just a bunch of guys singing hymns that are available on other albums with better arrangements, so what's the point?  The only plus is that Bob always sounds good, but he is hard to hear most of the time.


• I still have the best dog in the world, who has been very patient with a sick owner for the last three days.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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You may have seen the commercial for the "Peticure" or it's knock-off "Pedipaws". 

After going through several clippers on my dog, usually the blade(s) ruined after only one or two uses, I decided to check around the web for reviews of the product I had seen on the commercial, "Pedipaws".  Both Pedipaws and the Peticure promote filing down animal nails as opposed to trimming them.  Trimming is difficult with dark nailed dogs because you cannot see the quick.  I have yet to meet an owner of a dog with dark nails that has not hit the quick and thus turned nail trimming into torture for the pet and the owner.  Trimming also leads to cracked and even broken nails.  The only alternative is to take the dog to a groomer or vet, which adds up in cost quickly.  I first researched Pedipaws, because it was nearly half the price.  Pedipaws seemed to get consistently bad reviews from owners with comments about the item being cheap and  breaking easily.  After reading those reviews, I narrowed my choices down to a traditional Dremel tool or the Peticure. I chose the Peticure and placed my order. 

 

Ordering and Shipping

Because the company who makes Peticure is small and the product is in demand, I had to wait several weeks for the product.  I was advised that it would take 4-6 weeks for delivery.  Truthfully, I didn't count, but it was somewhere in that ballpark.  I was not charged for the product until it shipped.

Introducing the Peticure

The Peticure website recommended a slow introduction period for the Peticure before a full grooming session.  I found that Buddy was not intimidated by it remotely.  This may be a result of giving him pieces of smoked pulled pork as a reward during the introduction period.  The company website included an excellent instructional video for introducing the product, as well as other very good instructional videos concerning using the product.

Grooming with the Peticure

I am amazed at how easy it is to use the Peticure and what a difference it has already made.  Based on the videos, I thought it might take a few weeks to notice a difference, but after this morning's session, I already noticed a difference (3rd time with the Peticure).  There was noticeably less of the "clicking" sound that Buddy's nails make against the hardwood flooring.  He even fell asleep while I was doing grooming his nails this morning.  He used to run and cower when I pulled out the clippers.  It will take some time, but the quick will continue to recede and soon he will have beautiful, healthy nails that will no longer crack or break and my floors will be safe.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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Sovereign Grace Music recently released a new CD focusing on the Psalms. Here are my thoughts.

Musically

Assuming that SGM is targeting a "pop worship" genre, they have successfully created interesting, creative melodies. If you liked U2, especially in the 80's (which I did) you will be pleased.

From an arrangement standpoint, I was a little disappointed. The songs have all started to sound the same to me. A friend suggested that mixing up the vocalists more frequently might help that problem. I think could definitely help. Truthfully, I am bored with the Guitar, basic rhythm section and an occasional string arrangement. The guitar solos also sound very similar to me, could possibly from using the same type of effects on the guitar. I am not sure why SGM is not using a broader variety of instrumentation; they certainly have both the arrangement and performance talent in-house. From a completely personal preference perspective, I wonder how many times they will reference trumpets in their songs and not bother to actually use one.

What I do like musically is the use of more "space", meaning more instrumental interludes.

Album Art

Not crazy about the album art at all. I guess I am too old.

Lyrically

It almost goes without saying that the lyrics are clear in their meaning and sound doctrinally. However, there often seems to be a lack of poetry in the lyrics. Poetry helps the listener remember the lyrics. One well crafted line is from the song. "Out of the Depths". It is as follows: "…like a watchman for the morning, I will wait for you, oh, Lord…" It is a solid analogy with excellent musical prosody.

Favorites

My three favorites on the album are:

1. Glorious and Mighty
   
2. I Want to be Where You Are
   
3. Out of the Depths
   

Honorable Mention:

1. Taste and See

Popularity: 2% [?]

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