Phil, Josh & Grant - Happy Office Workers

A smart looking office is a happy office. With today being International Suit Up Day, the whole office at OMD Sydney decided to get dressed up in suits as part of "reverse mufti day. In true style, the Resolution boys at OMD stepped up to show what style and being a happy office worker, really looks like.

Starting from the left, you see Phil rocking a light grey suit with black pin stripes thoughtfully stitched on the areas that make it count. In the middle you get Josh, and that's the first time anyone's seen him smile. Grant on the right has just come up with the next big idea for a client, or "ideation" as he likes to call it, and clearly looks ecstatic!

P.S. this post has been done as a joke and is mainly to prove a point. No offence is intended to anyone.

Yes, it's been less than a month since buying but I can almost already call myself a full-fledged macboy. My fears of the mac being incompatible with the array of PC software I've grown used to were quickly put to sleep as soon as I found out that bittorrent programs also worked on the Mac. You can imagine where the story goes from there

The main problem that I encountered from working and downloading from two different computing devices, at times simultaneously, is that I'd have to save my stuff on an external HDD if I wanted to switch from one platform to another.

I knew that the solution was hidden in cloud computing somehow - I just didn't have enough knowledge as to how it all worked and where I could get it. Rather than spend hours sifting through a shitload of search results and text ads on Google, I went straight to FB and Twitter to ask people I knew and who would've already done comparisons in their own time.

My surprise came as a variety of my friends from uni, work, church and past colleagues gave me a short but sweet list to choose from, including:

1. Dropbox
2. MobileMe
3. Carbonite
4. Mozy

1. Dropbox

Dropbox was the first recommended online backup and file syncing tool. In fact, this was the only cloud computing software that receive 2 positive reviews from my friends who responded to my dilemma. Judging from the website, the concept for Dropbox is simple - the main goal to allow file sharing across multiple computers be it PC, Mac or Linux. A key feature worth mentioning is that with this software you can undelete and undo changes to files for a history of up to 30 days. You can also Dropbox anywhere - you iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry. Pretty cool!

Dropbox is actually free to download and use on the basic plan that gives you 2GB of online storage and backup to use.

Price Plan
2GB - Free
50GB - US$9.99/month (AU$10.08)
100GB - US$19.99/month (AD$20.18)

2. MobileMe

My first touch point with MobileMe came from a tweet by one of the people I follow, just after its initial launch. Having clicked through to the site and encountering a splash page that prompted you to log in, I never really thought much about this Apple product until it was recommended by one of my mates through FB.

I soon found out how cool this was, allowing you to sync not just files, but your email, contacts, and calendar across your iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC! However, I'm also wary that signing up for MobileMe will lock me deeper into the addictive decadence that is Apple.

Price Plan
20GB - US$8.25/month (AU$8.25) with max 200GB data transfer

3. Carbonite

Carbonite is an online backup software that works in very much the same way as Dropbox. The perks for Carbonite is that you pay a fixed fee each month for unlimited backup storage, and is probably the best value for money. The downside though is that the Australian version of Carbonite isn't Mac compatible, meaning I'd have to sign up through the US site instead.

Price Plan
Unlimited storage - AU$6.00/month

4. Mozy

Very similar to Dropbox, Mozy offers up to 2GB free for home users but only charges a flat monthly fee for unlimited online backup. Mozy allows you to backup files while actually working on them. It also saves only the edited portion of updated files, meaning less strain and consumption on your internet bandwidth.

Price Plan
2GB - Free
Unlimited storage - US$4.95/month (AU$5.00)

My Final Choice

Each online backup tool has a whole heap of pros and not many cons to it. I especially like the fact that Dropbox lets you do stuff and access files on mobile devices. The same applies for MobileMe, plus you have the ability to also sync your calendar entries, something which I'm finding really important these days.

I like how Mozy and Carbonite are both cheap as chips, although the fact that Mozy's website loading times are slow as balls raises concerns as to whether I should expect the same when uploading or downloading files to the cloud.

So it came down to Mozy or Dropbox. In the end, I went back to Google and came across an interesting discussion around Dropbox vs Mozy that basically said to use Dropbox for sync and Mozy for storage. Seeing as my original need was to have a file sync across different computers, I've decided to try out Dropbox on the free plan to see how things go for now. I'll keep you guys updated!

I checked the Max Adventure website and the next challenge in Melbourne will take place on Sat 5 March 2011. Woohoo!

Well I'm excited, and will be officially starting my training programme to beat my time last year.

You can sign up now at the official Tough Bloke Challenge website.

If you are going to be running the challenge this year, it'd be great to meet you so leave a comment and we can organise a catch up on the day!

"And be renewed in the Spirit of your mind."

We were studying the second half of Romans 15 at Young Adults last Tuesday, and the idea of being refreshed by the Holy Spirit came up. My goal that night was to get the group thinking about the importance of constantly seeking God and thereby staying "refreshed". My view is that to be renewed in the Holy Spirit comes down to how deep and intimate our relationship with God is. We can become more intimate with God through a number of ways, each just as important as the other.

Praying

The first is praying. Most people, Christian and non-Christian alike, do not really understand the importance of prayer and have been brought up thinking that it is just something we have to do in order to be "good". In actual fact, to pray is simply to communicate with God and is the utterance from our Spirit to him. Just as communicating with someone leads to a deeper understanding and relationship with that person, praying helps us to draw closer to God. If we do not communicate with him, we can never truly know our Father.

Prayer is powerful; it can give us discernment in our lives and is an opportunity for us to ask God for our heart's desires. Prayer can heal, just as Jesus did. Prayer can help us overcome addictions, bondage, and sin. It also has the power to change us as individuals. For the more we spend time with God and talking with him, the more we will be influenced by the Holy Spirit and by his love.

Reading the Bible

Prayer alone is not enough. In fact Proverbs 28:9 state that our prayers are detestable by God if we reject the knowledge of our faith - the Holy Bible.

Almost anyone who went to Sunday School or grew up attending a children's ministry would have learnt that 'the Bible is your sword'. But it's only been in recent years that I've come to fully realise the truth of that phrase, and how reading the Bible can increase our relationship with God. As we read more of the Bible, we can start to understand what God requires of us and what it really means to be a follower of Jesus.

Some verses in the Bible that reinforce the power and vitality in God's Word include:

• "Put on the whole armour of God...which is the Word of God" - Ephesians 6:11-17
• "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" - Matthew 4:4
• "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope"- Romans 15:4

Worship

Quick! What's the first word that comes to mind when you think about worship? Was it something along the lines of 'song', 'hymns', or 'praise'? You're not wrong. Worship is very much about praising God, and can be displayed through song. Music has the power to stir emotions in almost anyone, and this can help us draw closer in intimacy with the Father. But worship is that, and more.

The Hebrew meaning of the word 'worship' is actually "to bow yourself down in adoring contemplation of God". We can learn from the book of Genesis, where the first mention of bowing down before God was acted out by Abraham (Genesis 18).  The first ever mention of the word 'worship' later came in Genesis 22:5, when Abraham told his servants that he and his son Isaac were going to worship at the place God designated for Isaac to be sacrificed. So the early displays of worship had nothing to do with song and praise, but rather a multitude of activities. To offer sacrifice as Abraham did for example, is also a means of worship. Do take note that this was during the old covenant where sacrificial offering was common in order to gain the Lord's favour.

Now that we live under the new covenant of Jesus, we are called to be "living sacrifices" as our "spiritual act of worship" in Romans 12:1. Paul is basically telling us that our whole lives should be an act of worship to God. This might sound like a tough gig, but by pressing in to the Holy Spirit through prayer, the scriptures, and worship we can head towards complete transformation of our hearts and an evermore state of refreshment.

What do you think? How are you refreshed to stay focused on God in your journey?

The Military Obstacles

Don't be fooled by the military obstacles - they are easier than you think. More importantly, the obstacles make a boring run interesting! The highlight of Tough Bloke would have to be the mud pit, which was the first challenge in the race. Warriors have to crawl their way through a pit of 'A' grade mud (which is totally clean, even if it smells like $%!*) while trying not to get caught in the barbed wire just centimetres above the mud itself. As you exit from the other end, you soon realise the slimy earth stuck all over your body is actually quite heavy, and you begin to understand why every subsequent step feels like moving dead weight. If you like to show off your love handles, now's the perfect time to get rid of the mud soaked top and display that 'tough' body of yours!

The 6km Sprint

While the race was only about 6km, it wasn't exactly a sprint. At least not for me. The hardest part about Tough Bloke Challenge would have to be the run itself. The terrain is rough, making it easy to roll an ankle or slip over loose rocks and twigs if you're not careful. Plus the overall course involved a savage combination of steep uphill climbs which make even the toughest athletes like Tom admit to burning leg muscles.

If you want to get the best time, it helps if you focus on overtaking the person running in front of you. And if there's no one in front to compete against, start imagining someone behind you on the verge of always catching up. It occurred to me afterward that the challenge wasn't about the running, the obstacles, or the other participants. The challenge was yourself. It was about how far you could push your body by sheer determination. It was a hard physical workout, but the real challenge was in your mental capacity to swallow the pain and keep moving forward, one step at a time.

The Results

Tom, being a former Olympian in freestyle wrestling, came 8th overall out of about 370 people. Well done Tom!

I came 71st overall.. But top 10 in the Male 20-29 age group! Think I'll stick with the latter result.

For those of you that are interested, the Sydney challenge is around the corner in July 3. Check out Tough Bloke Challenge for more info!