Xbalm Lip Balm.

As an avid fan(read: drooling addict) of lip balm, I’m always thrilled when I find one that doesn’t taste like castor oil or the bottom of someone’s foot (I’m lookin’ at YOU, LipSmackers). Last week while I was in Tulsa I nabbed one of these babies at the store. I went with Tropical, but they have a wide variety of other flavors as well.

The result? Great, great balm. Excellent texture, flavoring, the whole bit. I wish I had bought some more, because now I have to hunt for the other flavors. :\ Thankfully, they were cheap, at only $1.49 apiece (as opposed to $2.99 I’ve seen in other places). Insane what people charge for their goods these days.

-K

http://www.xbalm.com/

Ipod Feedback & No Worries.

Something strange has happened the past week. As I’ve squatted at a table here at the gym to read/write/etc., I’ve had not one but TWO people compliment my Clie setup. What setup is this, you ask? Not much. It’s my Sony Clie TJ-37 and the Stowaway Folding Keyboard.

Apparently this stuff’s the bomb, because people give me looks left and right when I write on it. (Granted, they give me looks regardless… but when you’re as good-lookin’ as I am, you get used to rubber-necked gawkers…)

And now, the question on everyone’s mind: What’s on Kevin’s iPod?

Playlists:

Latest Greatest – Songs added in the last 3 months with a rating of 3 Stars or higher (out of 5)

Unrated – Those songs I have yet to rate. Duh.

Chick Picks – Women singer/songwriters, songs with a rating of 3 stars or higher

Recently Played – This is mainly for my LastFM.com profile, so I can see which artists really ARE my favorite ones. Why that’s relevant, I can’t say. But in my world, it is.

Neglected Threes – Songs with a rating of 3 stars that haven’t been played in over a year.

Podcasts:
LifeChurch.tv sermons – now I can watch ‘em without a laptop! Less burn marks on the thighs. Yay!
BlendTek episodes – “Don’t breathe this.” Absolutely hilarious.
StrongBad E-mails - Thanks for Jolena and Chris Mayfield for showing me the StrongBad way years ago.
GrooveSalad “Taste of the Week” – Short, 5-minute podcast of downtempo & ambient picks.
Dave’s Lounge – the leader in downtempo, trip-hop and chillout goodness, all in a 30 minute podcast.
The Chillcast - The chillout runner-up podcast.

Photos:
Kevin’s iPod Picks (family)
Scripture – For the past year I’ve typed up every single Bible verse I’ve underlined or marked, collected them into a Word document, and then painstakingly transformed them into individual JPEGs with Photoshop. The results? Digital flashcards. I’ve run the Scripture slideshows on my Clie for a while, and the experience is only heightened on the iPod. (If anyone would like to use my digital scripture list, just let me know and I’ll upload ‘em for you.)

Address Book – hard to search, but nice to have, just in case
Notes (Text notes from my Clie) – Good to have, but the inability to enter or change text makes me frowny. Kinda sad. But still thrilled to have it, so more zippy than frowny.

Overall, I’m loving my iPod. It has exceeded my expectations. Sound is excellent, too. I was skeptical it would compare to Samsung’s WOW and SRS enhancements, but it does. I should note, my earphones of choice are the JVC Marshmallow earbuds. Affordable (2 on eBay for $10), excellent range and effective noise isolation makes for an unsurpassed audio experience. (Even better than the Etymotic buds, which surprised me.) Good stuff. I WILL say, however, that 4 gb is dinky. I’d almost say it’s worth it to save your money and get a whopping 80gb iPod Classic, if you’re a diehard music junkie. Plus, you wouldn’t have to pick and choose what music/movies/tv shows/podcasts/pictures to take with you. It’d all just be there. (Here’s hoping for a 60gb iPhone come June…)

In other news, I’m not going to be able to write many more posts for a while. You know how I stabbed my finger in early March? Well, that’s gotten worse. I didn’t sever a tendon, but I nicked it pretty good, and then made the situation worse by using my hand too much before it healed. (I THOUGHT a few weeks would be sufficient. It wasn’t. )

So I’m scheduled for surgery (my very 1st surgery) on May 15th. Then there’s a minimum 2 week period where I’ll have to keep it elevated above my heart. For 2 weeks. My mother is coming for the first week, and Elaine, our babysitter of choice from Edmond, is coming for the second week.

So, yeah. It kinda sucks. And yes, I feel utterly stupid. And have a newfound respect for scissors. (As should you all, now…)

At the same time, I try to keep it in perspective. Could’ve been MUCH worse. And the fact that I have full mobility NOW is a good sign. But as one who loves to write, the fear of not being able to was looming.

No wonder God is reaching me with messages about Worry these days. I watch LifeChurch.tv podcast sermons at random. I missed the Hostage series (due to the move), so I’m just catching up on it. Last night I watched the sermon on Worrying. It was, as you can imagine, excellent. Well-timed and pointed.

Then the next chapter in “The Power of Positive Thinking” (which I’ve been reading the last month) is on… Worrying.

I’m always amazed how precisely God sychronizes my life with what He wants me to know, just when He wants me to know it. He consistently and faithfully anticipates my need, and fills it. And the more I pursue Him and His truth – whether in the Bible directly, sermons, books, music, etc. – the more He reveals His hand in my life.

I’m slowly finding a peace with not knowing, with not being in control. I don’t know why God wants me to be laid up for a while. I’m not going to be able to serve on the LifeChurch.tv Internet Campus for a long time, and in my mind that’s a bad thing. But I’ just thinking about my own microscopic world. God sees everything.

Maybe there’s something I’m supposed to do. To learn. To grow. Perhaps there’s someone I’m supposed to meet and talk to whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Doctors, nurses, etc. Who knows? I have no idea.

But I’m choosing to trust in Him. I’m choosing to have a stubborn faith in His goodness, in His ultimate plan. It’s not always logical, faith. Which is why I’m emphasizing that it’s a choice. It’s easy to look at life and say it’s chaotic, out of control and God is a twisted puppetmaster. It’s hard to see the mess all around you and say, “God’s got it covered.”

On a final note, I’ll probably be uploading more audio and video blog entries. So my skills in those areas will develop more. Heh….

That’s it. I’ll catch you guys later.

Kevin

Long John Silver’s Buttered Lobster Bites.

I love lobster. It was disgusting as a kid, then became a bit more appealing when (ahem) I actually TRIED it. And now? Now I love it.

I don’t eat it a lot, though, what with the high price. But once in a while I go out to eat with my parents and there’s a restaurant that serves it, so I graciously accept their generosity. Aside from that? No lobster for Kevin.

Until today. Today I will go to Long John Silvers and order some of their Buttered Lobster Bites that I’ve seen advertised non-stop the past week. I will order them and I will eat them and I will hopefully love them.

If they don’t make me sick.

I’ll give you my impressions in the next post.

Kevin “Cousteau” Mills

Update: No need to wait for another post. I can testify that I’ve eaten a sampling of the aforementioned Lobster Bites and can give you immediate feedback immediately, with no waiting.

They’re delicious.

I’m sorry, but it’s true. When I took my first bite I said to myself, “Wow. These are actually good! REALLY good!” And then I snarfed down the whole bucketful. (Note: A bucket is about the size of a large woman’s thimble, or perhaps a cup’s worth.)

The taste and texture are true to lobsterness of the past, with the exception of the crunchy, buttery exterior. But even that is pretty good. So yesterday I ordered a second bucket of Buttered Lobster Bites and, complimented with a Kraft Alfredo Pasta mix, had myself a delicious delicacy of lobster and alfredo (and Gatorade Ice, if you must know…)

Oh yes. I’m the pinnacle of physical perfection, I am.

But seriously, they’re good. And they’re gonna be gone any second now, so if you don’t want to wait another 6-8 months to give these a try, I strongly suggest you get past your initial disgust at the idea and buy a thimbleful today.

Kevin

Review: Stowaway Xt Keyboard For Sony Clie.

So, I’m writing on my new Clie keyboard, the Stowaway XT. Since I do most of my writing for TheKMills.com here at the gym, I’m sometimes without my normal keyboard,the Sony KB11. So I browsed keyboards on eBay to see what else is out there, conferred with my tech guru buddy, Jeff Pickell, to see what the thought, and took the plunge.

$15 later, here I am on this sleek, collapsable keyboard.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I like it. :\ (Sorry, Jeffrey.) The problem? It’s eliminated the number and symbol row (usually above the QWERTY line) and instead made them available only by using function keys combinations. Thus, to type 123!! I have to stop and press not ONE, but TWO different function keys – blue for the numbers, then green for the symbols.

And this, my friends, is simply unacceptable. When I type, I type VERY fast. The thoughts pop into my head and flow through my hands instantaneously (much like my thoughts and my mouth, to be honest…). So to grind to a complete halt and figure out where the blasted keys are? Well, that’s just a mood killer.

Could I take the time to learn where they are? Sure. But I’d rather not. I’d rather stick to a standard keyboard, with standard keys in the standard locations.

So what does this mean to you? Most posts… and fewer hiccups or nasty words rifling through my head when I can’t find the blasted keys!!!

Again, Jeff. My apologies for not falling in love with it. The design rocks. It really does. But the execution? Not so much… So if you wanna get a keyboard for your Clie, I strongly suggest you get the KB11 on eBay. Or at least borrow one of each so you can tell the difference, take ‘em for a test-drive.

Kevin