Entries from May 2008 ↓

If you own a Blackberry (which I must say has become one of the best tools I have), then one of the most frustrating things you will encounter is the need to reboot the device, which is primarily done through opening the back and pulling out the battery, counting to 10, and then putting it all back together again.

You don’t have to do it often, but every so often you will encounter a small hiccup which requires this. Sometimes, when you’re running a little low on RAM, it’s the only way to reclaim some memory back.

But, here’s the problem… pulling the back off and yanking the battery has some overhead to it, and you have chance of break one of the clips on the Blackberry back panel. I am pretty careful about this, but the little plastic recessed clips aren’t all that strong, and I’ve broken one before on my Pearl, which was a real pain because the battery then started slipping around a little, resetting the phone for me at rather inconvenient times. You can purchase new back panels on the net, but it’s just an obvious hassle and seems like a pretty stupid design flaw. If they require you to pull the back off and battery out, then they should have designed the unit to be able to handle that without any issues.

BUT, here’s a tip that EVERY Blackberry user should know. To reboot your device WITHOUT pulling the back off and the battery out, then simply press the following keys at the same time (kind of like ctrl-alt-del on a Windoze box):

Alt key + right-side Caps key + Del key

Note: the above combo is what works on my Curve and probably most other full keyboard BBs. I haven’t experimented with the Pearl, but I’m assuming it’s the equivalent keys. They’re an awkward combo to hit at the same time (which is probably a good thing).

Hit all these at the same time and voila! Your BB will reboot, and you just saved yourself the hassle and possible harm caused by pulling things apart.

So, there you have it. A totally MUST-KNOW Blackberry keyboard tip.

my travel seems to come in spurts with reasonable gaps in between. just got back from a couple of days in sydney, and i’m off to melbourne today for a day-long meeting tomorrow for the arrow program. i always enjoy these meetings as they are not only an opportunity to connect with old friends, but also exciting opportunities to put together the invitations for the next arrow class. some of these young leaders have so much potential, and many of them have already seen God use them in extraordinary ways, so it’s a real privilege to serve them through the arrow program.

and, melbourne ain’t so bad a place to hang out for a day… a bit chillier than perth at the moment, though.

• Saturdays are a bit of a blur these days. Not sure I like them like this. #
• Watched “The Bucket List” last weekend & visited with a guy who has less than a year to live today. Perspective-challenging stuff… #
• No shopping speed records today. Different store and impossible to find anything. Have to wait until I have home ground advantage again! #
• Dinner with my beautiful wife is always good. Just enjoyed sitting and talking without distractions. Life has been a bit busy of late. #

• Why is it everybody stops for fuel in the rain?! Seems to be a common trend. Odd. #
• Tonight’s curry was awesome – one of the best I have ever made. Nice! #

I know we’ve gone this route before, but it just seems totally obvious to me that in EVERY sphere of life leadership is crucial for the progress of any group. Leaders may or may not be good ones, but LEADERSHIP is vital and indispensible in every endeavour. (I know there are some who might argue this with me, and I don’t wish to bother arguing it – I think it is self-evident and obvious in every human endeavour from the macro to the micro, and people who want to argue against this usually do so because of some past pain from poor leaders, thus tossing out the baby with the bath water in their response to leadership. I think this proves my point. Anyhoo…)

What seems more interesting to me is when that leadership is not declared or clear. This came up in a conversation this week in Sydney, and it seems to me that often in groups there is a leader, but they aren’t out in the open, preferring to operate either from the background or from a guise of “non-leader”, when some thoughtful analysis shows that they’re the ones pulling the strings, even if others aren’t quite aware of it. Got me thinking about the dangers of this kind of “subterranean” leadership.

Seems to me that leadership that operates in this subversive sort of way can be quite dangerous and manipulative because it takes the wheel in a quiet, hidden sort of way and then starts directing and moving things in a way that is not obvious to all. Sometimes, to be sure, this might be necessary in some situations where a group has resisted formal leadership and struggles with authority (in it truest sense), etc., and yet still requires leadership towards that which is best for them as a group. But, it’s a very dangerous and morally interesting place to be, when you lead without being clear to those you are leading that you have assumed that role in their lives. Some folks aren’t smart enough to see it, and they might even agree with the subterranean leader that there is no leader, but it’s leadership all the same. Your motives might be the very best, but this is a very interesting place to be. I was once tempted to lead “from the back seat”, and I’m glad I was smart enough to walk away from the temptation because I think it would have caused nothing but damage.

Of course, at its very worst, an “undercover” leader knows exactly what they are doing and their motives are not pure, and their desire is to slowly manipulate and engineer things to their personal benefit, all the time using a kind of sleight of hand approach to moving people were they want them. Sometimes they use other people as their proxies (perhaps even God?!), and sometimes they try to keep up the facade of a leaderless and egalatarian group. Either way, it’s bad in the end.

So, my view is not to knock leadership but to recognize its critical role in the way we have been shaped as humans in community, aspire to great leadership, be clear about what that means, and clarify the authority structures in our communities, and then allow God to take us somewhere through that godly leadership. Leaders who are not clearly leaders are too often leaders who operate without accountability, simply brushing it off with a “Who me?”

Personally, I think this kind of manipulative leadership is no better than the authoritarian nut with an ego problem… it’s just quieter…

• Another full-on day of ACOM meetings, but good people and good conversations about good stuff. Good to be here. #
• We all got seated for the flight home, only to be told to get off because of some oil overflow problem! Doh! I just want to go home! :-( #
• Well, now we’re all back on now, so it wasn’t too long a delay. Thankfully! #
• Finally home! Seemed to be a long flight, but I suppose the delay didn’t help. #

• out of 11 computers in the room, i’m the only one with a mac… weird! i’m surrounded by masochists… :-) #
• krispy kremes here at the meeting… cool…! :-) #
• i’m in a room with some very smart people, but i’ve managed to call all of them crazy at some point or other. they may tired of me soon…:) #
• yep, @baggas, i am working on it. they’re all jealous at me being able to shut the lid on my mac and then open it again… so COOL! :-) #
• Enjoyed octopus tonight, the secret recipe involving boiling the critters with corks, and then lightly pan-frying them. Weird but delicious. #
• 6.30am start here in Sydney is a ??? start at home… Don’t want to know…. #

Krispy Kreme rules!

Originally uploaded by obrienmb1966.

The Word

Originally uploaded by obrienmb1966.

In the beginning was the Word and then the Word became words…

I like it!

• Very full flight, which always seems a little more hot and bothered. But, safely here in Sydney at Steve Hinks’ place & about to crash! Zzzz #
• Thankfully, it’s a reasonable start time here, so I got some good rest in. #