New Year’s Eve 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by matt

Truly, the light of the Son has shone on each day more wonderfully than the last! These words, penned New Year’s Day 2011 echo back to me from distant memory and remind me of the immediate flood of blessings I have had each day of this year!

Twenty-Eleven began with a running start. In the Fall of 2010 I made a commitment before the Lord, which I am still working through, and hope to do so for the rest of my life. As New Year’s 2011 commenced, my faith, my life, and my hopes were placed in God’s able hands. My commitment was to someone special, my aim to be a blessing to her and her family, my promise before God to remain steadfast to them, my request before God that he bless me so I could be a blessing, and my plea before God to change me – that I would be a better servant to him day by day.

The Lord has answered so many prayers. I am amazed that He hears and not only hears but answers! One of my constant prayers this past year has been that I would be able to see opportunities arising where I could be a blessing, that I would have the courage and confidence to seize those opportunities, and that I would be granted God’s own creativity to create opportunities to be a blessing. God has overflowed me with amazing opportunities and, more surprising still, He has used these opportunities to other ends than I had intended so that I ended up being more incredibly blessed than I would have thought. I am blown away by the way He works. I love His ways!

I have also been learning not simply to hope for good things but to trust God who has planned for our good, if we would only have faith and trust Him and follow Him so that he can carry out in our life something more wonderful than we could ever have dreamed up on our own!

Praise Him, all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host! The Lord God, “majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders,” this God, His hand has been on my days, His plans for me from everlasting have been revealed day by day and I am laid low that I have gripped so tightly to fantasies when God’s workings are so much better, so surprisingly delightful, so unexpected and joy abounding!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

I don’t know about becoming a Cannonball this past year but the Lord has lifted my head, lead me, and carried me forward. I have continued to read His Word on my phone, now using AcroBible NIV. I have abandoned cable television and, with it, The Light, a cable radio station which broadcasts quality Christian music. I have moved to iTunes, mostly, and have found I can get most of the music I want to find. As I talked about in my New Year’s Eve 2010 post, I have stayed with my “christian” playlist and I find there is truth and wisdom and peace in immersing one’s self completely in things good, and pure, and noble.

This year I have been trying to keep a habit of reading a few key, biblical promises, that I first heard from James MacDonald’s series Always True. Listen to the audio series yourself and I think you’ll experience the same uplifting joy I felt coming to understand God’s intention for our blessing! I would read one promise per day, Monday through Friday, in the hope that I’d never forget God’s love and care for me. This year has taught me fully that God is always watching over us, waiting for us to come back to Him, that He could bless all the more being within His Will.

One of my most feared understandings of God is His sovereign Will to humble anyone He so chooses. I have often prayed that He would humble me before I needed to be humbled. One weekend, in particular, turned into such a humbling for me, but the night lasted only so long and joy came with the morning. I understand better, now, what is being said in the beautiful song, Blessed Be Your Name. God is good!

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

God is so good!

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Selah.

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Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2011 by matt

Merry Christmas to you and yours! May this season bring you happiness and joy in Jesus Christ and his victory over sin and death! Christmas, celebrating the birth of the Saviour, marks but the beginning of his Victory over sin and death!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, came to save sinners like you and I.

The good news is joyously simple…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

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Nim’s Vintersaga (Nim’s Winter Tale)

Posted on December 22, 2011 by matt

Continuing my yearly Christmas tradition, I present Ola Schubert’s hand-crafted, beautifully scored vignette, Nim’s Winter Tale. Gather family around this Christmas Eve, lower the lights, and enjoy a brief, magical glimpse of Nim’s wintry world.

 

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In this embrace…

Posted on November 28, 2011 by matt

In this embrace, five addressed five, “If we have found favour in your sight, and if it is pleasing in your eyes, please grant our petition.” And five replied, “What is your wish? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to one-fifth of our own, it will be granted.” “If it is favourable in your sight and pleasing in your eyes, take your leisure upon us.” And because the leisure was due, five alighted with five and found the embrace was true.

In this embrace, five solicited five, “If we have found favour in your sight, and if it is pleasing in your eyes, please grant our petition.” And five replied, “What is your wish? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to two-fifths of our own, it will be granted.” “If it is favourable in your sight and pleasing in your eyes, take your leisure upon us, and let us tend to you.” And because the touch delighted, and because the leisure was due, five rested with five and found the embrace was true.

In this embrace, five beseeched five, “If we have found favour in your sight, and if it is pleasing in your eyes, please grant our petition.” And five replied, “What is your wish? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to three-fifths of our own, it will be granted.” “If it is favourable in your sight and pleasing in your eyes, take your leisure upon us, let us tend to you, and caress your beautiful face.” And because the caress was welcome, and because the touch delighted, and because the leisure was due, five lay with five and found the embrace was true.

In this embrace, five implored five, “If we have found favour in your sight, and if it is pleasing in your eyes, please grant our petition.” And five replied, “What is your wish? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to four-fifths of our own, it will be granted.” “If it is favourable in your sight and pleasing in your eyes, take your leisure upon us, let us tend to you, caress your beautiful face, and let us join together to be like this for always.” And because their hearts hung together, and because the caress was welcome, and because the touch delighted, and because the leisure was due, five entwined with five and found the embrace was true.

In this embrace, five entreated five, “If we have found favour in your sight, and if it is pleasing in your eyes, please grant our petition.” And five replied, “What is your wish? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even to all that we have, it will be granted.” “If it is favourable in your sight and pleasing in your eyes, take your leisure upon us, let us tend to you, caress your beautiful face, let us join together to be like this for always, and hold this embrace forever .” And because the embrace was strong, and because their hearts hung together, and because the caress was welcome, and because the touch delighted, and because the leisure was due, five nestled with five and found the embrace was true.

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There’s a hole down that road

Posted on November 27, 2011 by matt

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I don’t see the hole. I fall in the hole. It’s very deep, and at the bottom, where I lay broken, it’s cold and dark. I can’t get out.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I fall in the hole. It’s familiar and strangely cosy. I can’t get out.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I fall in the hole. I don’t like the hole anymore. I want to get out.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I am walking down the road. I dread falling in the hole. I fall in the hole. But I look up and decide to get out.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. I say to myself, “I will not fall in the hole again.” I fall in the hole again. I start climbing out.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. I try not to fall down the hole. But I fall in the hole again. I get back out straight away.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole as I walk down the road. My foot catches the edge and I fall in the hole. But I don’t hit the bottom. I cling to the edge and climb out of the hole.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole and step over it. I don’t fall in the hole this time.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. I see the hole and step over it. But I trip. I fall in the hole. I climb out faster than before.

I walk down the road. There’s a hole down that road. But I’m not on that road. I’ve walked down a different road.

With credit to Lorna MacDonald, via James MacDonald, with some poetic license.

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Five Iron Frenzy 3: Electric Beegalee

Posted on November 23, 2011 by matt

Five Iron Frenzy is back! Via incubator Kickstarter.com you can help FIF bring their new album to life! Who’s up for a roadtrip to see their show next year?? While you’re waiting, here’s one of their new songs…

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Stop the Steamroller: Help Canadian Farmers

Posted on November 7, 2011 by matt

Stop the Steamroller and remind the government that a majority is not a mandate to discount debate. Here’s the informational video…

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The Creation Answers Book

Posted on October 25, 2011 by matt

Having just finished The Creation Answers Book, cover to cover, I strongly recommend it as a primary resource for those looking for answers to specific Creation/Evolution questions. It’s also a good read for creationist enthusiasts to build up your high level knowledge of all the most critical topics in the creation and evolution question.

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How good is CG these days?

Posted on September 10, 2011 by matt

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Beautiful Vistas Gone Bad in Lord of the Rings Online

Posted on September 3, 2011 by matt

Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO) is a massively multiplayer online game based in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. I started playing sometime in 2009 and was happy with the decent graphics but delighted by the beautiful artistry put into the game. The vast landscapes, in beautiful shades, crafted with majestic features, was pure enjoyment in itself. But something changed…

I can tell you exactly what changed down to the specific graphics options in the game and it’s very simple: Object Draw Distance and Landscape Draw Distance were nerfed.

I have a system that can push the game 50fps on maximum graphics settings.

For those familiar with LOTRO, I have two versions of each video, starting with Distant Imposters Off and the other version will be Distant Imposter On. Distant Imposters is a hack in the game to prevent having to render 3D object models after a certain distance away. You might expect if Distant Imposters were off that you would get 3D objects to your maximum view distance. This is not the case. Instead, what you get is no 3D objects after a certain distance. You get a barren wasteland of ugly.

In the video above, note how the forest below the player pops in bit by bit. It should already be loaded in from the top of the hill. Additionally, there’s a rocky hill on the right of the player, at the foot of the hill, in full-screen you can notice the muddy texture that should be hi-res. Yes, a hi-res texture does pop in – far too late.

Here’s the same video with Distant Imposters On. An improvement, but the pop-in is still completely jarring.

In this video, note the forest popping in out of nowhere as the player runs down into the little valley and then comes up on the side.

The same video with Distant Imposters On.

Watch the textures of the cliffs in the far background. They are horribly muddy. Watch as one section pops in to a new hi-res texture while the rest of the cliff, very nearby, still has lo-res textures. Brutal.

The same video with Distant Imposters On.

The problems shown in these videos are standard throughout Lord of the Rings Online.

My real issue with these graphics problems is that Lord of the Rings Online is such a beautiful game that it really takes you out of the immersion of the game. A large part of the enjoyment of the game is the beautiful vistas which have been ruined by these graphics changes. I thought I would get over it but every time I play I notice the problems.

So, dear Turbine, please reconsider what you’re doing to the graphics engine.

If you’re interested in more examples of these issues, see my youtube videos.

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