Posted by: Joel Larkin
on May 20, 2009
Agora 3.0 RC came out (not recently however I just got around to updating to it). Unfort. they changed the way linking worked slightly so my plugin for JomSocial didn't work. I've updated this slightly and it should work. Feel free to test it out and let me know what you guys think.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Apr 16, 2009
Tagged in: Untagged
I often need to create flyers or insert pages for bulletins on 1/2 of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Unfortunately this usually means cutting & pasting which can often lead to trouble. Below are some easy to follow instructions for Word 2007 on how to print the same page twice giving this same effect without worrying about the cutting & pasting.
1. Select from the Page Layout Tab/Pane the bottom 
button (lower right hand corner of the page setup section depicted below).
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Apr 13, 2009
I’ve been asked repeatedly what you can do to make the Internet a safer place for your family or guests. This sometimes can be a delicate topic as it brings to light some interesting facts, like who really has a problem in this area. Most of the products in this area (there are more than a few) are cost items, some significant. What I’ll be talking about here is a few of the low/no cost items that I’ve personally used.
Software certainly can help, particularly if it’s installed in the right place, however these aren’t as effective as actively monitoring computer usage. I can’t tell you the number of stories I’ve gotten from friends, customers, or co-workers that start with my daughter/son did this… Typically they discover this accidently and well after the event taking place. As we all know today’s culture reinforces behaviors that we actively fight on a daily basis. Following these tips are the best way to avoid telling this story about your son or daughter:
- Keep the computer in a family space that’s frequently used.
- Orient the monitor so that it’s easy to see what’s going on.
- Don’t have a webcam connected to the computer when your not around
- Don’t have a phone that can easily connect to the computer
- Educate your kids! Talk about Internet predators, appropriate use of technology, self-worth etc.
- Keep a ‘public’ attitude. Make sure the kids/family members expect you to look at history, pictures taken, IM sessions, etc. AND ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT! If they are ashamed to share it with you they shouldn’t be doing it!
That being said there is more content out there than should be and it’s important to protect the ones you love from temptation. There are three products I’ve run on my own and highly recommend.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Apr 2, 2009
I recently had the pleasure of attending the National Youth Leaders Conference (http://www.nylc09.com/) put on by Jeanne Mayo. This conference was marketed as one of the nation's most historic, transformational, and energizing leadership gathering for youth and young adult ministry leaders. I'm not a student of history when it comes to conferences however I think they hit a very high mark on the transformational and energizing aspects. I left this conference feeling inspired and spiritually refreshed. Don't get me wrong I think spiritually driven conferences regardless of topic are amazing to attend, however this one was particularly interesting to me because of my recent involvement with the youth group of our church (www.mycsm.org). Jeanne Mayo, who unbeknownst to me prior to this conference, was/is an amazing speaker, gave this nightly rally/keynote/general session(s).
The first night's topic was ‘rented room' and was talking about how sometimes we all rent rooms in our minds to the enemy. She talked about some of these rooms and asked keypad questions (interactive polling system) that drove home how these challenges are for all leaders not just the select few. Probably the most upsetting question/response was regarding pornography. When asked of the males in the room if in the past year had they watched movies, videos, magazines, etc that could be considered pornographic 74% responded YES. It was amazing to me to see this and think to myself, is this representative? Does this suggest that many youth workers are less than authentic or that the power of this particular sin is used to greater effect by the enemy?
The second night topped the first, it's topic was "Hollywood" and what the MTV and Hollywood culture inundate our youth with. There was a question and answer session with a top music producer who shared his Hollywood story. It was an eye opener to hear how sometimes persistence is the key trait to ministry success.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Mar 12, 2009
Over the last year i've been using an Open Source Church Database called ChurchDB or ChurchInfo. This database allows non-profits(specifically targeted at churches now) to track members, create directories, track donations & pledges, and other perform membership functions. Unfort this application doesn't have some basic functions.
I've released a version (in downloads) of this that allows for table prefix's and the ability to un-publish certain fields from the directory (Phone Numbers & Emails). I'm currently working on an installation front-end that would enable the table prefixes (right now you have to edit the SQL file to put your own prefix in) and the modifications to the front-end to control unpublishing certain fields.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Feb 19, 2009
I recently came across and excellent application for Christian websites called RefTagger. This application finds bible verses and links them automatically to the translation of your choice providing a quick reference capability without manually building the links.
Unfortunately this application did not have an easy integration with Joomla, it required manually modifying the template and inserting the appropriate code (which can be a drag if you want to make changes). I wrote a module to take care of this and it's avaialble in the downloads section of the site.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Feb 14, 2009
I volunteered many moons ago to give a 'talk' at the Comforts of Home assisted care facility. Our church does a service there on Saturday Morning 10:00 AM twice a month. Since it was Valentine's day I gave a talk about love. Attached is the very brief talk I gave.
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Feb 10, 2009
Tagged in: Untagged
I was able to give a "talk" at youth group on Monday night as part of our series "Discovering Your Shape". This series is pretty fascinating because it talks about what I want to do with my life. S.H.A.P.E. is an acronym which stands for (Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences). The topic I was speaking on was heart. It's kind of an interesting topic when you think about it as the heart is so important to a Christian's walk. I was attempting to concentrate on Mat 12:34 which talks about "what is in your heart is what you will say.". I think this goes one step further and implies that is within your heart determines your actions.
In Life Groups the week before we had talked about what we say and what that say's about who we are. It's an interesting concept that I'm not sure everyone internalizes. Everything we say is an indication of what's going on underneath the hood so to speak. Is our heart self-serving and selfish or sincere and sacrificing?
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Feb 2, 2009
My weekend was crammed with activity. To start out it was our church's annual Men's retreat. This is basically an excuse for the men to get together and eat as much junk food as we can while retaining the ability to play broomball, football, and stay awake during breakout sessions. I was able to carpool (actually hitch a ride with a member of the church) to Camp Lebanon and make a slight detour to Old Country Buffet just to start the weekend in style.
The breakout sessions were opened by Bruce reading from Psalms 1 and introducing the four main topics: Men at Home, Men at Work, Men at Play, and Men at Church. We broke out into small groups and got to work through the handouts with scripture, quotes, questions, points to ponder, and research materials. There was a ton of stuff we covered but some of the more interesting items to me that I will be spending some time contemplating:
- What would happen if Jesus "Took our Places" at work? How would he interact?
- Does being a Christian make you a better worker?
- Concerning your hobbies, what do they say about you? Are they God honoring, Wholly Beneficial {Physical, Intellectual, Spiritual, and Relational}, and impact your testimonies?
- What is a man's role in the church?
After a few breakout sessions we headed down to the broomball court and broke into teams (old folks and not so old folks). Due to some creative division in the team the Old Folks scored the winning goal to win the game. I ended up leaving the retreat a little early (Midnight Saturday) so I could get to church in the morning. After church I was able to sample a buffet off 169 called Yummie Buffet. It was very tasty and would return even though it was a bit more expensive! After the buffet came a drive to the other side of the state, Shakopee, to help my brother move. Then off to a superbowl party. I was disappointed by the outcome of the game but thoroughly enjoyed the second half (which is all I was able to watch).
Posted by: Joel Larkin
on Jan 28, 2009
I found the supplied JomSocial plugin for JomComment lacking in some basic features. I was able to see what a user commented but not what the commented on. It was extra difficult to figure out because I disabled the comment titles which is where the link is built.
To address my complaints I "improved" the plugin by adding the following features:
- Ability to show the title of the original article title instead of the comment title
- Disable a clickable link on the title
- Modify the date format
- Limit the size of the comment being returned
I find with these changes it makes a little more sense to have this on the profile screen.
