Wednesday in the Word

We Don’t Have to Be “Just So” for God to Love Us

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Romans 5:6-8
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In these three verses, Paul explains God’s grace-filled plan, Christ’s central role in it, and our amazing benefit from His sacrifice. We–the children of God, all humanity–were “powerless” before Christ came to be the final sin offering, the final and most powerful sacrifice to make us right with God again.

This is inconceivable to us ordinary humans; why would Jesus do this for us, when very few of us would die for each other? But that is just the nature of God’s love. He cared so much for each of us, wanted to be reconnected with us so badly, that He did this drastic action, suffered and died for us so that our sins would be paid in full.

And the strangest (and yet best) part of this? We didn’t have to accept Jesus first for Him to do this for us. He loved us even though we were “ungodly,” died for us just the way we were. Accepting that love, forging that connection with him, accepting that unbelievable gift, is all we have to do to be saved. None of us, not even the “worst” sinners by the world’s calculations, have to do anything to be loved by God.

Tuesday on the Soapbox

Getting Fit the RIGHT Way, part 2: Gear Up Appropriately

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I talked last week about beginning your exercise routine right, and I mentioned that dressing for workouts is like dressing for battle. I’m not kidding or exaggerating when I say that, either. If you’re serious about working out and doing it right, you need to have the proper equipment, and that includes “workout” clothing and shoes.

I’m not talking about wearing certain brands or certain colors–I’m talking about pure functionality here. I see so many people come to the gym in jeans or long pants, old T-shirts, and worn-out sneakers, and then they wonder why their feet, legs, and back hurt 10 minutes into a workout, or why they’re burning up and can’t get cooled off.

When you don’t wear the right kind of clothing and the right shoes for the activity you’re going to do, it’s like sending your quarterback out on the field without a helmet–you’re setting yourself up for injury and discomfort.

First and Most Important: Shoes

Every type of exercise needs a different type of shoe to go with it. It’s not just about wearing any old “sneakers”–your shoes must support whatever activity you’re doing, and different activities require different support. If you’re going to be running or shifting your weight around a lot, you’ll need a shoe that helps your foot stay stable while you do that so you don’t turn or twist your ankle. By contrast, if you’re going to be standing a lot (like lifting weights), you’ll need a shoe that gives your foot maximum support, and so on.

You’ll need to take into account your own individual foot needs here; I’m completely flat-footed, so I need a shoe with extra stability and support built in to keep my ankles from rolling inward and causing me more pain. This is something you can check with your doctor about, as well as checking with a knowledgeable salesperson who can tell you about shoes for sports.

Don’t think your shoes are important to a workout? Take it from me; I last 5 times as long in my Zumba workouts thanks to my current shoes. If your shoe does not support your foot, you’re more likely to sprain your ankle, cause knee problems, and even hurt your hip or back, even if you’re young.

Just as Important: Your Workout Clothes

How much heat can you tolerate while you exercise? It’s largely a matter of where you’re exercising (indoors or outdoors), and your individual heat tolerance, but your clothing must be addressed if you’re going to work out for any length of time.

For instance, if you’re comfortable working out indoors in long sleeves and long pants, that’s great–go ahead and wear what feels best to your muscles. I, however, find that I overheat (and thus get tired) very quickly while exercising, and so a sleeveless top and shorts help keep me ventilated. When I tried to exercise before, I worked out in old jeans and T-shirts, and I couldn’t understand why I got so tired so fast. Then, when I got the sleeveless tops and shorts to exercise, I found my endurance level was much better. Getting the heat off me was the key. (I swear I could exercise 3 times as long in a meat locker or something–that’s how much I hate being hot while I exercise. LOL!)

All kidding aside, if you’re working out in colder weather or colder environments, like an overly air-conditioned room, you’ll want to make sure your clothing keeps your muscles warm. Jogging suits, sweatpants and sweatshirts, etc., aren’t just fashion statements–keeping your muscles shielded from cold, even a little, makes them more pliable and ready to exercise, so that you don’t cause injuries like muscle pulls or even tears.

You’ll also want to make sure your workout clothes are easy to care for. If you can’t just throw ’em in the wash and dryer after working out, you’re likely not to stick to your workout routine; who wants to hand-wash their workout clothes in the sink when they’re exhausted? You might laugh, but if you’re trying to get started back exercising, you want to remove all the excuses you could possibly come up with for skipping the gym, and workout clothes could be an excuse if they’re too difficult to wash and dry.

Whatever you choose, make sure that your clothing does not impede your movement, does not keep you too hot or too cold, or catch on itself/other items of clothing. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on workout clothes; I bought my two sets of workout clothes for a grand total of 30 bucks at Walmart. But they fit well and keep me cool, and that’s what’s important.

An important side note for ladies: Get a sports bra–or two. I know it gives us a “mono-boob” look, I know it’s not the most fashionable thing in the world, but it’s better than having to hold your jiggling “girls” with your hands while you’re jumping around. Believe me, I’ve been there. The natural movement of your chest as you exercise will only create soreness, as well as accelerate the effect of gravity over time (you know what I’m talking about), if you are not properly supported. Give your breasts the proper support while you exercise, especially if you’re a well-endowed lady; trust me, it will make ALL the difference. Not only do you breathe better, but you don’t feel as self-conscious, and you move more freely. I layer two sports bras for extra support–it really works!

Summary

Dressing yourself in comfortable yet supportive clothing and shoes will help you have more endurance, keep you from injury, and just feel better about working out in general. If you don’t garb yourself for battle, as I put it, then you’re setting yourself up for discomfort and pain, and possibly quitting exercise altogether.

Wearing the right gear is but the next step to getting fit the right way. Next week I’ll be stepping on my own toes by talking about another important bit of fitness: feeding your body the right foods for exercise. Tune in next Tuesday!

Monday in the HTMLab

Stop Coding This Right Now, part 3: Horizontal Scrolling

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We all want to design unique and memorable websites; it’s a worthy aspiration for any web developer/designer. But you don’t need to stoop to horizontal page scrolling to make your website stand out from the rest. In fact, it’s much better for your visitors if you stay as far away from horizontal scrolling as possible!

Horizontal Scrolling, Defined

When the scrollbar that should be on the right side of the browser window appears at the bottom of the window instead, that is horizontal scrolling. The content expands out to the right or left instead of flowing down the page like most webpages do today. See the following examples I made:


Looks like a normal webpage…except that the scrollbar is below the content!


The content scrolls to the right, rather awkwardly; it’s almost like the site didn’t display correctly. Very confusing for information reading, too!

Why This is So Annoying to Users

The reason horizontal scrolling is a designing no-no: it’s not how most websites operate. Most content runs vertically down the page. Thus, your users are momentarily confused about how to navigate your site, and if they get fed up enough, they’ll most likely leave. It’s simply not worth it, from a user’s standpoint, to try navigating around a weird site that doesn’t even have its scrollbar in the “right” place.

This is Tempting, but Don’t Do It

I know we all want our content to be easily seen “above the fold,” where the user doesn’t have to scroll at all. But trust me, having a little vertical scrolling is infinitely better than trying to implement strange horizontal scrolling. Not only does it look weird, it’s more work for the designer to code, and it’s more confusion for the user to try to adapt their browsing style.

Bottom line: We as designers should not force the user to work harder just because we want to be “different” and “trendy!”

Try This Instead: Content Modules

Instead of having your content stretch horizontally forever and ever, try a 2- or 3-column content design with several boxes of content arranged in a grid pattern, like the following samples:


This is an example of a two-column grid layout…

…and this is an example of a three-column grid layout.

You don’t have to go completely Pinterest-esque, but at least this would get more of your content up above the “fold.” Just make sure to keep that page free of horizontal scrollbars!

Saturday with the Spark

Incredibox, aka “The Musical Sandbox I Can’t Quit Playing In”

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Thanks to Stumbleupon, I found this awesome little Flash tool called Incredibox, which is my new “musical sandbox.” I like it so much I wanted to honor it in this week’s creativity post, because it certainly makes me feel more creative!

How to Use Incredibox


After it loads, you’re greeted with this screen, where one little guy waits to make your beatbox club dreams come true.


Click and drag one of the colorful icons to the guy’s hat, and he’ll start making a beatbox sound–there are various beatbox effects, such as bass, beats and breaks, melodies, and other vocal additions.


As soon as you add one effect, another little guy appears, so that you can keep adding effects to create your own song.


As the above picture shows, you can have up to 7 effects going at one time!


If you want to get rid of an effect, you can hover over the character making the sound and click the “X” in the box that appears.

Recording and Sending Your Tune


Once you’ve hammered out exactly what effects you like and how you want to put them together, you can click the circle button (top left) to record your song.


This is what it looks like when you’re recording–a strip appears across the top showing how long the recording is going. Maximum recording length is 30. If you need to stop the recording for whatever reason (if you misclicked or waited too long to start/stop an effect, for instance), you can click the circle button again (it becomes a square when you hover over it).




After it’s recorded, you can review it, and then save and send it via email, Facebook, and/or Twitter to your friends!


For inspiration, here’s a little tune I made and recorded using Incredibox–I call it the “Pensive Club Jam”. 😀

Give Incredibox a try and see what kinds of cool grooves you can make! I literally spent an hour the other day while writing this post playing with it…it’s addictive!

(PS: Happy birthday to me! :D)

Friday around the Web

I’m Not Depressed, “Is Email Internet?”, Spray-Paint Art, and Handmade Gifts

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I’m not depressed…
A poem about lost love.

“Is Email Internet?”
…This poor IT help guy. That’s all I can say, when your client asks “Is email internet?” and it goes downhill from there.

Spray-Paint Art
Spray-paint art of fantastic celestial places; you have to see this video to believe the crazy painting process!

25 Handmade Gifts Under $5
Handmade gifts? What are those? LOL! Find out how to create meaningful, useful (as well as easy and inexpensive) gifts for family and friends (like candles with text printed on them, clocks made out of colorful paper plates, and bookmarks customized with earrings and brooches…).

Thursday in the Zone

Game Glitches: A Source for LOLs Amid the Pwnage

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Most gamers don’t like for their games to glitch up, especially when it has something to do with saving the game progress correctly. But when the glitch results in strange character model behavior, odd map rendering, out-of-place scenery, etc., you can’t help but laugh at your screen–and, as Youtube proves, take a screenshot or video clip of the glitchy behavior.

Enjoy the following videos showcasing the accidental, hilarious, and just plain baffling world of video game glitches–we can all use a laugh when we’re gaming!


Weird glitches from the likes of:

  • Call of Duty
  • Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
  • Goldeneye
  • Red Dead Redemption
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Super Smash Bros. Melee/Brawl
  • The Sims
  • Fallout
  • The Elder Scrolls
  • The Pokemon series


Video games of all types and franchises appear in this video. From Mega Man to James Bond, Mario Kart Wii to Street Fighter, dance games to first-person shooters, there are glitches, glitches, everywhere! (And it’s all set to music!)


Strange and hilarious game glitches from games both obscure and well-known. Be prepared to scare your neighbor with laughter. xD


Map and graphics rendering problems are only a few of the glitches this video catalogs. Character freak-outs, hilarious kill streaks you shouldn’t be able to do, in-game accidental cheats, and highly unrealistic actions, ahoy!

Wednesday in the Word

When We Get Too Prideful, God Can and Will Humble Us

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Ezekiel 28:2b, 6b-7
2b “In the pride of your heart you say, ‘I am a god, I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.’ But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.”…

6b “Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god, 7 I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.”

God speaks here through Ezekiel, one of the Old Testament’s major prophets, pronouncing sentence against the city of Tyre and its ruler for the pride and conceit in their thinking. In its day, Tyre was a great trading and shipping city, well-known, loved, and envied for its wealth. But Tyre and its citizens have grown too complacent, too proud of their achievements, to even acknowledge God anymore. They have begun to think of themselves as gods, infinitely wise, infinitely omniscient.

Here, God says He will bring “foreigners” against Tyre in an assault which will “pierce” the veil of their conceited thinking and pride. This is not an evil act by God, because God does not do evil. Instead, this is a hard lesson for Tyre, a lesson of humility and remembering just Who is in control. The city and its inhabitants have gone on too long believing that they are the ones with ultimate power and wisdom.

This prophecy is about a city, but God can and will humble us in similar ways when we get too prideful and complacent about our own achievements. I experienced this in 2009 with my debacle of a teaching career; God proved to me that I could fail, and publicly, though I had spent most of my school years being given this award and that achievement. It was embarrassing and shaming, but ultimately important for me to reevaluate my personal worth. I got into a better place with God because I no longer thought of myself as striving to be perfect and accomplished.

When we start thinking in terms of all the acclaim we’ve gained, or all the community respect we command, we inevitably lose sight of the fact that God blessed us with that. Everything we have ultimately comes from God’s blessing; when we forget that, and start thinking we got all of this ourselves, God will not hesitate to humble us, to remind us Who is ultimately in control.

Tuesday on the Soapbox

Getting Fit the RIGHT Way, part 1: The Pre-Exercise Doctor Visit

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Are you going to resolve to lose weight for this New Year? Then take it from someone who knows: when you’re starting a new exercise routine, whether you’ve not been exercising for a few months or a few years, you can’t just jump into some kind of hardcore workout schedule. If you do, you’ll end up hurt and you won’t continue the good work you tried to begin.

I think this is where a lot of New Year’s weight-loss resolutions end up dying–we start out trying to do too much too fast, and we don’t take our bodies’ needs into account. I know I certainly made that mistake, all the times I tried and failed to begin an exercise regimen. Given that my past experience of exercise (counting humiliating gym classes in school) had largely been painful and arduous, without a scrap of fun or reward in sight, I didn’t know how else to exercise but to do some repetitious and painful movements that made me feel 3 times as fat and ugly as everyone else in the room.

But there IS a way to begin an exercise regimen that you’ll stick to, and I’m living proof of it. I’ve been doing Zumba now for a year and a half; I never thought I’d stick to any exercise plan this long, but I have, because I finally managed to start my regimen off right–with a visit to my family doctor.

Before You Begin: Doctor Visit First!

This is important for everyone who is trying to get back in shape, but especially anyone who has had sprains, twists, or any other major bodily injury. It’s physically dangerous to just start an exercise routine without proper medical advice.

One reason I say that: I see all these infomercials on TV for “hardcore” and “quick” exercise regimens (the Insanity workout regimen comes to mind). These infomercials make you believe that all you have to do is work out extra hard to see results in record time.

Unfortunately, your body doesn’t adapt to such a huge lifestyle change that quickly; I would like to point out that most of the people giving testimonials for these “quick exercise” plans didn’t have that much weight to lose in the first place, and they never mention being perpetually sick or injured before starting the plans. If I had tried going from laying in bed to doing incredibly strenuous exercise, I would have probably ended up in the hospital, simply because my fitness level was somewhere around -50.

My worry with this kind of “get-fit-NOW!” mentality is that people who are trying to get fit will try to do too much, just as I did, and end up hurting themselves worse–which will begin a vicious cycle of starting exercise, getting injured, quitting, and then trying another exercise routine.

Get A Physical, and See What Your Fitness Level Really Is

Before you start doing any kind of exercise, you need to have a complete physical if possible, so that you and your doctor both know about any current health problems you’re having. In my case, before I started Zumba, I had exertional asthma, a family history of heart problems and high blood pressure, and several old injuries to my knees and ankles.

My doctor told me before I began Zumba that I would need to avoid the hops and jumps that were part of the dance routines, because the high impact of my larger weight landing on my injured joints could do more harm than good. Plus, I would need to be aware of my heart rate and breathing during exercise; he warned me that because I was overweight, had not exercised much in the last few years, and had the family history of heart problems and high blood pressure, I would likely have some difficulties with the cardio part of any exercise program at first. “If you feel any kind of discomfort with your heart rate or breathing, don’t be ashamed to back off a few moments to rebalance,” he said. “Your heart and lungs will not be used to all the activity at first, so you have to give them time to adapt.”

Fast-forward to a year and a half later, and I am SO glad he told me that. Though I did have to stop and rest 3 times during my first Zumba class, I was not as freaked out by my rapid heart rate as I would have been if I had not seen my doctor first. Because I sought proper medical advice, I knew that my crazily elevated heart rate was not my heart threatening to bust out of my chest, and so I didn’t quit the exercise entirely; I just rested about 20-30 seconds and then started moving again. And, after a couple of months, I didn’t have to stop during Zumba class at all–my heart and lungs DID adapt to the increased activity.

Following his advice about avoiding injury to my knees and ankles has also helped greatly. Not only have I kept myself from further injury, but I’ve noticed that my knee muscles seem to be getting stronger, and the joints don’t hurt quite so much. I don’t know whether I can completely reverse the damage that was done, but at least something is feeling better in there!

Similarly, before you begin your own exercise routine, check with your doctor to see what kind of exercises and how much intensity you can handle, and whether there are any specific moves you need to avoid. This will make your workout experience a lot less painful, and you’ll be more likely to stick to it. The key to beginning an exercise routine you can maintain is to do what you can and push yourself little by little at first. (At least, that’s been my experience.)

Next Week: Gear Up Appropriately

You can’t just go to the gym in any old clothes; you must be dressed for battle. No, I’m not talking fashion statements here–I mean clothes and shoes that work with your body so that you don’t end up overheated and in severe pain. Want to know more? Tune in next Tuesday!

Monday in the HTMLab

Stop Coding This Right Now, part 2: Nonsense Navigation

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It used to be all the rage–it used to be part of every webmaster’s toolbox. To have an uncluttered, sleek-looking layout, we all used to make our layouts look something like this:


Looks pretty cool, right? It’s easy on the eyes, if a little amateurish (because this was one of my first attempts at doing a design like this).

But there’s a big problem with this layout, and it’s staring us in the face.


There are no descriptive words in the navigation. None at all. It’s just Roman numerals. Tidy and clean it may be, but it makes no sense to the user upon first landing on the page. What do you click on to get to the page you want? There are no hints.

Why Sensible Navigation Matters

More and more, our sites are being used for informational purposes rather than just places to display our skill at Photoshop and coding. To meet that need, we as designers and developers need to make our site as easy and quick to use as possible.

The problem? When we’re busily designing and coding a layout, we might not think that having to hover over an image-mapped navigation (like the example above) to find out what you’re about to click on is a pain. But to our users, it’s one more obstacle in getting to the information they need.

Think about how we ourselves use websites. We don’t like it when a site doesn’t “make sense” logically or doesn’t make content clear and available. So why should we inflict that on our users just for the sake of making our navigation “pretty” or “uncluttered?”

Making Navigation Both Logical and Tidy

Here are two ways to make navigation look good AND easy to understand:

  • Choose explanatory icons where possible; there are many great symbol/icon fonts out there that can make wordless navigation still understandable. My current favorites are Socialico and Modern Pictograms.
  • Simplify and shorten the text of your navigation links as much as possible without losing the meaning. For instance, instead of labeling a link as “back to home page”, just simply label it “home”.

You can even combine icons with a simple text label underneath them if you so choose–that can look just as clean as the icon by itself. Whatever style of simple and elegant navigation you choose, you’ll definitely have happier users!

Saturday with the Spark

Culinary Creativity: Twists on Old Favorite Recipes

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It takes an average cook (like myself) to successfully craft regular recipes in the kitchen. (“Success” meaning that the food is edible and the kitchen isn’t burnt down. xD) But it takes an excellent cook, and a creative one, to start improvising on old standard recipes and using staple ingredients in different ways.

For this week, I thought I’d showcase 10 amazing recipes I found on Punchfork.com, all using familiar foods, but with innovative new spins. (Even more amazing? All 10 recipes suit my picky taste buds!) Get ready for some foodie inspiration!


Baked Chicken Nuggets
Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Sausage & Cheesy Hashbrown Popovers

PB&J Roll-Up Cookies
French Cheese Puffs
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Duchess Potatoes
Chicken & Spinach Rollatini
White Chicken Enchiladas


Chicken Pot Pie Soup

BONUS!

Check out PickyPalate @ Punchfork.com to find even more creative recipes. (You have to be pretty innovative to please a picky eater!)