Paywhirl Tips

I am no web developer, but I have copied, pasted, and modified my fair share of code. PayWhirl is a service that allows nobodies to do subscription billing online.

Basically, they write the APIs for you so you don't need to have that skill in order to do subscriptions through Stripe (for example). They seem to be the only ones out there who make subscription billing available to the average Joe building a site through Squarespace or Weebly.

I am going periodically update this post with stuff I have learned.

The first things that I have discovered (and that I do not see advertised anywhere) is that you can add HTML to the features of any widget item. Because their widgets are pretty rigid, this added freedom allows you to accentuate certain things and can help provide a lot of clarity.

Notice the widget on this page. The features include bolding of text, as well as hyperlinks. Note, for hyperlinks you will want to add a "target="_blank" or else it will open up within the frame that the widget is in.

HTPC Build

I document this because I have learned much in the last few days only after LOTS of forum browsing. Millions of computers setups out there, but every setup is different.

Background: I have an 8 year old Dell that I added a Radeon HD 3600 graphics card, and a Bluray burner to back when I bought it. It has always been hooked up to an Insignia 1080p LCD television bought at Best Buy circa 2008. DVI output converted to HDMI for the TV. I never understood it, but it always defaulted to 59 Hz and that made the picture small on the TC (1 inch black borders all around). Changing it to 60 Hz gave me a perfect 1:1 pixel display.

It looked great for many years. I had consistent problems over the years with Corel's WinDVD 11. Problem after problem. I eventually quit even trying to play Blurays and I just ripped them with Make MKV. Then the MKV files quit playing. I had promised the kids we would watch the Hobbit and I was desperate, so I plunked down $50 for PowerDVD. It kind of worked but was super blotchy. Tax returns came and I decided to upgrade.

Goal: I just want another media PC that I can watch blurays on, and eventually connect to a 4k TV. I am not gamer, so I don't need much, I just want to be able to surf the web in 4k. The goal then is to enable 4k on a budget. Using integrated graphics is where I try to save my money. The new Kaby Lake processors have HDCP 2.2 capabilities and can handle 4k.

New Build:MB:   GA-Z170X-Gaming 7  (one of few motherboards I found that supports HDMI 2.0)
Processor: Intel 7th Gen Intel Core Desktop Processor i7-7700K (BX80677I77700K)
SSD: Samsung: MZ-75E250B/AMRAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz (PC4-25600) C16 Memory Kit - Black

Issues:
1. Put it all together. Will not boot. Thankfully, the error code on the motherboard (62) led me to the right forums where I learned that my old BIOS can't handle my brand new processor. Simple. Flash the BIOS, except you need a processor for that. Micro Center took care of that for me--flashed my BIOS for $30. Money well spent. Now it boots! Installed Windows 10. Basic functionality successful.

2. Overscan. The bane of so many people's HTPCs. The image spills far beyond the edges of the TV. There is a scaling option in the Intel control panel, that in essence solves the problem, but everything looks blurry. a 1 pixel line looks a bit blurred, and text is kind of fuzzy too. It makes sense, because the comp is sending a less than 1920x1080 picture and the TV is then scaling it up to 1920x1080. But I swear my OLD computer looked better. So I hook it back up. Things look great. I put that old graphics card in my new computer. Also looks great. (I tried playing a bluray while the old GPU was in there. Failed miserably. It was the problem with blurays. Blue rays play great with integrated graphics) What's the difference. Much searching leads me to an answer I am confident in. My TV (Insignia circa 2008) recognizes my old computer signal as DVI despite it coming through the HDMI input. It announces DVI on the screen when it is plugged in. The firmware on the TV, recognizing DVI as a computer signal does NOT overscan. Hence it works with the old comp. The new build is HDMI - HDMI and my old TV does not allow me to turn off overscan (even through the factory menu (input 2 5 8 0)). I imagine a dedicated graphics card may be able to handle this better. I ended up just buying a $250 Scepter 4k tv on Walmart.com. Research says that I will probably be satisfied. I shall post a review...

3. My ripped blurays (mkv) still don't play. HD tune reveals my HDD (moved from old comp to new) has a read speed of 1 MB/sec. Bummer. I don't remember how old it is, but was used very little and always as a secondary drive.

Future: I will post reviews once I have the 4k TV setup. There was a lack of resources for me looking to build a non-gamine 4k setup. Hopefully this will all work well and someone will benefit from this first blog post in like 8 years.

Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no hope for mankind.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Paul's claim that his strength is made perfect in weakness is starting to make sense. My own shortcomings certainly draw my attention to the fact that Jesus is the only I have going for me. I honestly cannot comprehend how those who rely on themselves make it through the week.

Thor celebrated his second birthday today. The whole ordeal reminded me how great of a mother Stephanie is. Time sure does fly.

Thor's Words

My Succeeding diet

So, I believe it was through kottke.org that I heard of "The Line Diet". Quite simply, you graph a line from your present weight on the current date, to your goal weight on your goal date. I have decided to take my time. I am aiming to lose 61 pounds in a year. So far, it is working like a charm. I weigh myself every day, and if my weight is above the line, I don't get to eat anything that day. The fear of foodless days motivates me to eat better all of the rest of the days. So far, I have lost about ten pounds and am way ahead of schedule. You can see the graph before.

The ridiculous drop on January 16th was cause by a little stomach bug, and I was quite surprised that I didn't put it all right back on. I found an incredible little spreadhseet online that does all of the work for you. It even instructs you how to eat. It graphs the points for you, and everything. There is an online version at http://www.thelinediet.com/. There is also an iPhone app. The spreadsheet I found was here. I modified it a bit, and learned a lot about excel's IF THEN statements.

Anyway, I thought this might encourage some of you. Peace.

P.S. Do you know why I am blogging again? It is because I have a million other things to do.

As I go off to school.

I will be leaving for school any minute. I am waiting on Leslie to get here, so she can watch Thor. I am in week 5 out of 12 weeks of student teaching. I am shamed to say that I have never worked harder in my entire life. Thankfully, my head is well above water, and I am surprisingly chipper. Last week, I woke up at 5 every morning and apart from my normal commitments was working either in school, or on schoolwork every hour of every day. But, Christ is seeing me through. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I have been yearning for more the past few days. I truly wonder how the athesist answers such longings.

Wounded

Apparently it took something as exciting as last night to get me to write a blog post. Last night, around 11 p.m., while Charles and Bobby were still lingering after Bible study, I started playing with the pocket knife Andy gave me for Christmas. Mind you, this isn't the typical knife. It is large enough to fit comfortably in my large hands, and spring loaded. If you open it it ten percent, it take care of the rest. Therein lies the reason I was playing with it. Although I hardly ever carry a knife, and am far from violent, it is fun to look at people and say things like "You want to say that again?" while simultaneously flipping the knife open effortlessly and flashing it before them. The sound of it opening is the perfect conclusion to any threatening rhetorical question. It really is fun, and most audiences find it amusing too.

So there I was last night opening and closing my knife. Somehow, while locked open, it slipped from my hands and began to fall. Instinctively, I went to grab it... Somehow, in this split second, rather than gracefully catch the knife by the handle, I somehow shoved it into my pelvis. It instantly hurt, but not much beyond the typical puncture wound. I set the knife down, told everyone in the room that I had stabbed myself and waddled into the bathroom to survey the damages.

About this time, and before I was aware of what had happened, Stephanie looked at the knife and this is what she saw.

There is no dollar bill in this picture to give you a sense of scale, but from the tip of the knife to where the blood stops is two inches. I used a tape measure. Suddenly, Stephanie was quite concerned. She quickly came to examine me. I must say, as a medical professional, I was not too impressed. I was as calm as a cucumber, but she could hardly looking at the wound. It was two inches deep, and only about an inch long. I have concluded that the only reason it did not go further is that it dead-ended into my pelvic bone. After consulting everyone, we figured I best go to the emergency room. Stephanie and I took off while Bobby and Charles stayed back for Thor.

It was while driving that I realized how lucky I am. If it had been two inches lower, we would be stopping at two children, and if it was 2 inches higher, I would have been urinating in a bag for the rest of my life (apparently they can't fix ruptured bladders). Praise the Lord for letting me get away with only a minor flesh wound!

We went to Mount Carmel East and had a great experience. The wait was short, and I enjoyed trying to eavesdrop on the Spanish speakers behind me. The doctor was quick, reassuring, and pleasant. He used a whopping 3 stitches, and I am glad that was it. They hurt. We were remarkably home by 1:40 and I was on time for school today!

So, there it is--my adventure for the week. Thanks for reading and pray that I blog about all the other beautiful things in my life soon.

The Cost of Discipleship

Is there such a thing as cheap and easy discipleship? Because in all honesty, my discipleship has been both cheap and easy by any standards. This makes me question whether or not it is discipleship at all. Let me share with you the fate of the initial twelve.

1. John died of extreme old age in Ephesus, but they tried to kill him by boiling him in a vat of oil.

2. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.

3. Peter was crucified, head downward during the persecution of Nero.

4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian colony.

5. James was thrown from a pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death with a club.

6. Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanopolis, Armenia.

7. James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.

8. Thomas, the Doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the East Indies.

9. Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis, a city of Phrygia, in Asia Minor.

10. Matthew was slain by the sword, in Ethiopia, Abyssinia.

11. Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.

12. Simon died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).

I am thankful that it is unlikely that this will be the fate of any American reading this post. However, that does not mean there is no price to pay. I am one of the most comfortable people I know. Stephanie and I live without very little--sure we could have more, but we could have a whole lot less. Somehow the devil has convinced me that I am entitled to comfort--that I deserve the amenities we enjoy. In other words, my attitude would aptly be described as the antithesis of what it ought to be according Philippians 2:


Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Christ, who in fact created the world he came to visit, made himself nothing.
I, on the other hand, have never created anything and damage what I touch am convinced that it is my right to be comfortable, have what I want, and do what I wish when I desire.

God opposes the proud and therefore opposes me. Lord, break me of my pride.

Ohio, it is pronounced "ofn"

I miss blogging. Today, I was in the classroom of a very well qualified 6th grade reading teacher. One of the kids I was talking to while the teacher was out of the room said "ofTen". I corrected her and had to prove myself with the dictionary. When the teacher returned the students asked her to say the word spelled "O-F-T-E-N". What did she say? She pronounced it how everyone else in Ohio does, "ofTen". I would say 75% of MN, gets this right, but only about 2% of Ohio. Shape up Ohioans...

Back to School Jumping Through Hoops

I went back to school today. As is a common problem at regional campuses, the course offering this quarter were not adequate for my needs. If I waited for every class to come through Lancaster, I would be in school for two more years. So, for the next 10 weeks, I will be commuting over an hour each way to Athens, OH 5 days a week. In all honesty, it will probably be more like 4 days a week. Today I ran from corner to corner of the campus to get a parking pass, a TB test, a background check, opt out of their health insurance, and attend class in the different buildings. It is amazing the number of hoops education majors have to jump through!

Initially, when Stephanie and I decided that Athens was a must, I was imagining it to be the worst 10 weeks of my life. I am happy to report that this is no longer how I feel. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Typically (sadly), I rarely feel I have to call that verse into action. I am excited to lean heavily on that truth this quarter. I am excited to forget my own power and lean heavily on his. I know it is only day one, but I feel great, and am already a week ahead. Praise the Lord!

It has been forever since I posted. Hopefully, I am back.

Orange Peel Resolved

So I have tried getting a hold of Jonathan many times and things always fall through. I was worried that we weren't going to resolve things in time if I didn't hurry up and get the ticket info from him and call the park back. Well, I finally got a hold of Jonathan, and found out that the guy I had spoken with took the initiative to call Jonathan himself and tell him to tear up the ticket. Praise the Lord, all is resolved, and Jonathan is not broke.

Orange Peel Update

I just called the National Park Service and they connected me to the Law Enforcement Division. I began by telling him our story and interjected that in my opinion, $275 seemed awfully excessive for an honest mistake. After all, this wasn't an act of defiance, it truly was a misunderstanding of the law. I went on to state that the real issue I was calling was to address the mismanagement of out ticket by the ranger. He knew the ranger as soon as I said his name and did confess that he was quite the rookie. He empathised with us and more or less stated that the intent of the law is to fine campers who leave sites littered with trash and other more serious offenders. He was extremely professional and understanding. I did not have the ticket in hand, so we could not take care of everything, but he said that when I call him back with necessary info he will speak with the appropriate supervisor and see what he can do. he made no promises but certainly led me to believe that he would work something out in order to lessen or eliminate the penalty. I love it when I call some place ready to really fight and the people on the other end are so awesome that I don't even have the opportunity Enterprise is like that... I have had problems with 3 out of 4 rental experiences and every time I go in there armed to verbally destroy them they take care of it and then some before I get 5 words out. Mad props to good management!

Heaven and Hell

I was recently asked how I know that heaven and hell exist--how do I know that there is something beyond death

My short answer to the question is that a reliable source told me so.

If I wanted to know about how the cell functions, I would talk to a biologist. If I wanted to know what the strange growth on my elbow is I would go to a dermatologist. If my car is broken, I go to the mechanic. If I want to know about China, I will talk to someone from there or at least a well-versed visitor. There are few things I enjoy more than consulting experts. I am always so amazed when someone can spend 30 seconds with something and then tell me exatly what is going on. I love DIY projects, but willfully admit that if I can do it in 12 hours, an expert can probably do it in 2. It is true, that sometimes two experts disagree, or that someone who claims to be an expert is not. Angie's List, the BBB, and conversations with other experts help us discern who we can trust and who we can't.


So, if I have questions about the after life, where do I turn? Well, I am limited to people who have been there, or someone lives outside the physical realm to tell us about it. A few people do claim to have experienced heaven through NDEs (near-death experiences), but many of those can be explained biologically. A Christian, Din Piper, wrote the book 90 Minutes in Heaven. His experience is very different from the typical NDE. I have read the book and it is very convincing, but I am still a little skeptical.


Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." He also stated, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca', is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."


It takes little searching to know that according to the Bible, Jesus certainly believed in both heaven and hell. This leaves us with a couple questions of validation. If Jesus indeed said these things, and if He is a reliable source, then I can trust that heaven and hell do exist. Here is where I can confidently refer to the work of others. I could regurgitate logical and historical reasons to trust the scriptures, as well as reasons to believe that Christ knew what he was talking about and had no motives to make the stuff up. But, we do what others have already done so well. Read Lee Strobel's book A Case for Christ for an excellent defense of these and other matters.

Orange Peel

I am currently at the Denver Int'l airport awaiting our flight home from the FLY Convention. It was an incredible week and many came to know the Lord. On Thursday, our church took a couple of vans into RMNP to enjoy God's creation. On the way down the mountain Jonathan began to peel an orange. He was going to throw the peel out of the window while we drove by a overlook, but I told him to wait until it was some place where no one would see it. He tried to throw it over a wall, but didn't quite make it. A few hundred feet down the mountain, we heard sirens and pulled over when possible. After 30 minutes, a dyslexic park ranger newb issued Jonathan a ticket. We all thought it was pretty ridiculous, giving a 15 year old who had never been in a National Park before a ticket for one small orange peel. As we drove away, Jonathan began to examine the paper work and discovered that he owed $275! He snapped. That boy has never had $275 in his life.

The story really got interesting last night. While at the Convention, I got called into the office. Somehow, the park ranger figured out how to contact me through the YMCA. I was told that we had something of his that he needed. I tried calling, but the number was apparently wrong. Since then, he has left voicemails on both Jonathan and my cell phones. It sounds like he forgot to keep his copy of the ticket. So, what do we do with this? I am committed to advocating for Jonathan through this whole ordeal even if it means trying to raise some money. My question is this: Do you think it is possible to use the ranger's mistake as an opportunity to get out of the fine? What is he going to do? Ask us to mail it to him? Would we (Jonathan) be obligated to comply? What do you think?

Discontinued IKEA shelves

Today I am starting something I have contemplated for a while. I am writing my first retrospective blog. Stephanie wanted to hang some shelves she found in the IKEA catalog but was disappointed to find out they had discontinued the brackets. They looked simple enough, so I made them! They are far from fine furniture, but if you like the slightly rugged look and can handle a dark stain (hides imperfections better), these were easy and inexpensive to build! I used standard 2x2s and 2x12s. The pictures really show about everything.

I know I have really awesome MS Paint skills. I am not sure if it was the best call, but since my walls are super thick (sheetrock over plaster) I used 4" toggle bolts to secure them to my wall. The shelves are heavy enough that they don't need to be attached. Stephanie, Thor, and I leave for the FLY Convention tomorrow, so we will be writing to you all when we get home!

Coffee Table

A long time ago, our friends the Staffans bought an old table, chopped the legs off, and made it their coffee table. We really liked it, and the design seemed simple enough, so I decided way back then to make it. I never found the time, until Stephanie's birthday was around the corner, and I didn't know what eles to do. So, I snuck over to the Staffan's one night to take some recounassaince photos. They aree below. I took more than this, but this was really enough information.




The next day, after the paper route, Jonathan and I went on a secretive lumber hunt and winded u p at Menard's where they had an incredible selection of pine. They blew Home Depot and 84 Lumber out of the water. We hurried to the Hall's house and began working. Stephanie was sleeping upstairs thinking that I was working on my car.



We routed grooves about 3/4" deep into the legs, and used a chisel to square the bottom s of the grooves. I enjoyed using an old hand tool. I bet Jesus used chisels. We simply glued the 1x6s in and clamped everything really tight. We did put brad nails through the 4x4 on the inside to help.





In order to fasten the top, we layed the 1x10s wrong side up on the saw horses and then layed the table on them. centeres the table to the top and used strips of 2x2 that were sitting around to fasten the top, as well as glue.

I sanded the crap out of it using the sander from my previous garage sale post. It worked awesome.


Here it is ready for varnish! I was working late into the night!

Our camera lend broke... So, I had to stand outside to fit it into a picture--not to mention that is is huge. It looked normal until we put it in our living room. Stephanie wants me to shop a few inches off of the legs. That may be a good idea.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Haier Air Conditioner Makes Watery Noises (fixed)

Most of the people who currently read my blog are immediate family members. I don't imagine any of them being entertainedby posts like this one. This is for the people out there who bought the same air conditioner and are wondering if they can make that awful water noise stop. You can. It is far from rocket science too. I dismantled the thing and as I suspected, the water that condenses on the coils is caught by a pan on the bottom and then when it gets deep enough the fan blade splashes through it endlessly. Most air conditioners drain the water. I don't know why Haier doesn't. Initially, all I did was drill a hole in the bottom to let the water out. That worked, but the water was continually dripping on my sill and I thought that over time it could cause some damage. So, I purchased a grommet and some tubing at the local hardware store ($.69) and piped the water away.

Voila, no more puddle for the fan to splash in, and a tube that constantly provides me with distilled water!

The "Next" Button

I have only recently begun appreciating (and contributing to) the blogosphere. I initially managed subscriptions with MS Outlook, but it wasn't pretty. I was soon converted to Google Reader and thought it was awesome. I tried to share its joys with others but people had lots of objections, especially Bobby. He noted that Google Reader sterilizes everything. I couldn't disagree with him. Below is a comparison of a blog in original form and the reader version.Well, while Stephanie and I were visiting her relatives in San Diego, her cousin introduced me to Google Reader's "Next" Button. It is pure genius. Simply log into google reader, click setting and then go to the Goodies tab. Not just click and drag the highlighted "Next" into your favorites bar. From now on, all you have to do is click next and it will take you chronologically through your blog subscriptions one at a time and you don't have to miss a thing. It has revolutionized my computing experience. Multiple times a day I walk up to the computer to do two things; check my email, and click the "Next" button. When you are out of new blogs to read, it kindly informs you that you have reached the end of the internet.

Homebrew Series: The Barley Crusher

This past week, I brewed my first lager with and for Andy. I documented most of the process and will use this opportunity to introduce much of our fancy equipment. Today I highlight the homemade barley crusher. I merely mentioned to Andy that I wanted to build onee so that I could savee the $120 or so that they retail for online. Within a week he had a pretty goodd working machine. He continued to refine it for a few weeks as we tried it out and I better clarified what we needed it to do. Below are videos of it:

Financial Scheme #2

Back in April I finaggled some money through the US Mint and my credit card. I later applied for a credit card to do this again, but my activation attempt failed. After agreeing to give her 80% of the proceeds, Stephanie came with me to the bank to activate the card. I then ordered $9750 worth of Native American $1 coins. That is more than three times the amount pictured here. Last time, the bank was a little annoyed, so I am going to keep them packaged this time.

Nice toes huh? This direct ship program is a perfect example of why the US government is broke! They sent me just about 200 lbs worth of package next day air! I went to UPS and used precise measurements to calculate how much the shipping charges would be. According to UPS.com, to ship 200 lbs from Indiana to Canal Winchester via next day air, it would cost over $600! This makes me feel a little guilty. Also, why on earth didn't they use the Postal Service!?

Anyway, we already are able to claim $100 from Capital One, and over time should be able to earn interest on the money for the next 9 months!