So… If you are a master of context clues, you have probably gathered that I do have an ipad.
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I have learned to provide that extra long pause so that anyone that hears that I have an ipad can make whatever joke they feel they would like to make about the fact that I have an ipad. Â They are inevitable. Â So, now I just give time to let them happen.
Which leads to this equally inevitable posting about why I have one.  So, without further ado…
Why Jim Pace Has An Ipad
First and foremost, (Tracy) my wife bought it for me. Â She set aside money, and for Father’s Day, she wanted to get me something very special. Â She nailed it. The past five or six months prior to Father’s Day had been incredibly intense, and Tracy said she just wanted to do something really nice for me. Â So, when we recieved some unexpected money, she put it some aside and we got it with that.
She will tell you that I almost hyperventilated when she first told me that was what she was doing. Â Mostly because of the cost. Â She will also tell you that I initially said no, but I was told it wasn’t up to me, Â and so that was that.
Second, yes, I am an apple fan.
Yes, I like that their products look cool, but I know something about myself. Â It applies to apple products and couch material patterns.
I get used to anything after about two weeks. Â Truly. Â Anything.
While I like the look of Apple products, what I like most about them is that they work. Â So, I am a committed Apple guy, but only after trying an HP, two Dells, and a Viao and having them all crash repeatedly on me. Now,I have an Apple laptop that has made it longer than any other one I have ever had. Â It has been stolen and then mailed back to me. Dropped by an unknown dropper, leaving a big dent in the back, but it kept on ticking. Â But, now its age is starting to show and it really isn’t working very well. Â So, I need to replace it, and the ipad (with the exception of two things) does what I need a computer to do. Â With only those two things left, I only use my laptop sparingly and I suspect I will get more time out of it.
Third, and this one is the kicker…  I do use my ipad when I am teaching, but NEVER when I am on my Segway, I’m too afriad it will fall off and break.  If that makes no sense, take a lookÂ
I have been a wandering teacher for as long as I have been teaching. I go up around the stage, up the aisles sometimes… wherever I can. Â One of my questions whenever I guest speak is “How far can I go?” Â The lighting team at one of our venues has a wide setting just for me.
One of the hardest parts about moving is that I have preferred for years to carry my notes with me. Not a big notebook, but a small piece of paper.  I also like to make changes right up to the time I get up to speak, so I would often have arrows and lines, things scratched out and things added in…  What made that especially  hard was that when I would wander up the aisles, it would get dark.  So I would be reading my chicken scratched, marked up outline in the dark.  Not easy to do.
So, I could either wander and try to close the gap of space in some of the big rooms I speak in and have a hard time reading what I had written, or I could stay up front in the light.
Heh… until now.
Now, I can arrange my notes, on the fly, underline, make bold, whatever I need, right up until the start of my teaching. Â I love that! Â It is easy to carry and is very simple to use in that environment. Â It has a light so I can read it… ahhh… perfection.
The only thought I have ever given using it in public is that I am going to get razzed for it. 🙂
Ready for another?  Fourth, I cannot count how many times I have been running around the room looking for my notes, asking people if they have seen that little piece of paper, asking from the front when I walk up if people can look around…  I have even had to give talks without my notes on at least five separate occasions.  Not lying.  Five.
Let me just say that I will not lose the ipad.  Won’t happen.  And if it does, then I just about guarantee you that Tracy will kill me. Doubt me?  Those of you who know her say she won’t?  Just ask Seth how mad she gets when he can’t find his soccer shin guards. I’m just saying, if I happen to disappear unexpectedly after losing the ipad, or my brakes freakishly don’t work…. Check her minivan for a pair of pliers…
Fifth… Here is the last reason. Â For me, one of the toughest things I do is manage my time so that I can live a life of balance. Â Beyond my other talk preparation times during the week, on the Sundays I teach, I get up at 4.15am to do my final prayer, reflection and preparation. Â So, anything that lets me save a few minutes of time, that helps me avoid recopying notes that I will just mark up again, is great in my book.
So, I use it, I like it, and will continue to use it. Â Unless someone will volunteer to get up at 4.30 on the Sundays I teach to re-write my notes for me and follow me around with a flashlight.
Take that… you haters…
Billy Williams said...
1Jim,
Pretty hilarious my friend. I have not gotten an ipad yet, but I’ve gained a ton of use out of my new ipad nano–albeit smaller, it has a 5MP camera and I can even make phone calls from it.
Glad to hear you are enjoying your father’s day gift my friend!
08/5/10 1:56 PM | Comment Link
jim said...
2who wants to make calls?
08/5/10 2:03 PM | Comment Link
Josh said...
3I died when I saw that Segway picture and thought you seriously owned one for a moment… but I guess I would have heard if you were ever caught cruising on one while walking your dog in front of Steve and Amy’s place.
08/5/10 2:34 PM | Comment Link
Dug Hampton said...
4so let me get this straight… you have an IPad?
08/5/10 4:35 PM | Comment Link
jim said...
5Just for that, no rides for you when I get one. I will tweak it out a bit so that I can roll faster than you can run too!
08/5/10 9:31 PM | Comment Link
jim said...
6who does?
08/5/10 9:32 PM | Comment Link
Bill Woodward said...
7“They see me roll on my Segway
I know in my heart they think I’m white and nerdy”
– Weird Al Yankovic
The iPad is the first Apple product that’s really tempting to me. I read a lot of ebooks (of course, due to work, I’m on the computer all the time), and it would be nice to have something more portable than a 17″ laptop. And it sure does look pretty.
But, since it was a gift from Tracy, and since she’d kill you if you lost it, I’ll stop trying to steal it from you while you’re busy praying.
08/6/10 5:17 AM | Comment Link
Alexis said...
8Jim, this is fantastic! And I actually remember Sunday mornings – usually while the HUG team is getting all set up – when you would ask if anyone has seen your notes! 🙂
08/6/10 5:55 AM | Comment Link
Ed Courtney said...
9fanboy
08/6/10 9:04 AM | Comment Link
Thurland said...
10Another preacher with an iPad and I’m still looking for practical apps. Particularly wondering what app you use to write your sermons with, or are they written on a laptop and then transferred to iPad?
02/6/11 3:54 PM | Comment Link
jim said...
11Hey Thurland,
Nice to have another one aboard 🙂 I have a number of apps that I like… I will list the top ones and then give some of the pro’s and con’s…
1) Quickoffice – I use this almost exclusively to write my talks and for most all of my writing at this point. It allows me to use folders to organize, it seamlessly interacts with dropbox, which allows me to move things around between my phone, ipad and laptop. Quickoffice has a very limited amount of formatting you can do, and that is a hastle at times, but for general writing, it is fine. It also has very limited PPT interfacing, which for some is a huge issue. I am fortunate to have people that take care of that for me, so I am not really sure what the limits are on it…
2) OliveTree Bible Reader – I LOVE this app! Great library to choose from, lots of translations and you can research very easily. The down sides are that it can sometimes be a smidge slow and you do have to buy the translations and books. So it isn’t free like many online sites are, but you can use it so much more easily. I really like it overall…
3) Penultimate – I am a visual and verbal processor, so drawing things out is a big help. I love penulitmate for this. Clean lines, easy to use, especially if you get a stylus. Don’t get the paintbrush type… they suck, the kind with the soft rubber end on it is great.
4) SoundNote – this one is great to take notes during a talk! You can switch out between the typing and drawing interfaces. If you have it set to record and if the speaker is loud enough (haven’t ever had a prob with that) then when you go to the particular note you took, it will take you to that place in the talk. Makes it easy if your notes don’t make sense to hear what generated the note in the first place.
I have lots of others, but those are my favs, let me know if you have any you would suggest back. Also, anyone else that has good apps, let us know!
Peace, Jim
02/7/11 1:38 PM | Comment Link