Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

If you’re like me and enjoy a good quality wood pencil to write with but hate having to throw them away after using only about half of the pencil, keep reading.

A few years back, I switched back to wood pencils in my writing. I’ve written before about my attempts to switch to mechanical pencils with no success. When I switched back though, I began a search for quality pencils that I could enjoy using. Much of what is marketed in stores today is cheaply made wood with lousy lead fillers. No wonder though if you throw them out every few weeks, why spend more?

But after you’ve used a quality pencil (and paid a bit more for it), you want to use as much of it as possible. Enter the Alvin Aluminum Pencil Lengthener. As the picture at right show, the device is a simple aluminum barrel with a screw top clutch that holds your pencil securely. When you’re nice pencils wear down like before, simply put them in the pencil lengthener and get many more weeks use from them. For a while now, I’ve used the Lyra Beechwood extenders with a collar that slides down over a semi-hollow barrel. These were okay but not what I was looking for. A few years back, I read about a Japanese manufacturer named Kutsawa that built nice pencil lengtheners but they weren’t easy to find. My good friends over at Pencil Things started to carry these so I waited until I needed some new pencils to have them throw one of these in there.

I wasn’t disappointed. The devices are relatively inexpensive ($3.00 for one  or $7.97 for a three pack) and they are nicely built for that price. As I mentioned earlier, the barrel in these lengtheners is hollow so you have put a half used pencil in them and work it down to the nub before throwing it away. This will extend the life of my pencils by at least 40% and looks professional in my messenger bag when I use it.

You pay good money for your quality pencils. Now make sure you get as much from them as possible. I recommend the Alvin Aluminum Pencil Lengthener for its balance of price, value, and convenience. I’ve not seem these in any store though since most office supply stores don’t see a need for stocking quality pencil products. You can order these online from Pencil Things and have them in your hands usually within a week.

Author Terry Glaspey

I love to read. Many of my readers already know this. Between audio books, my book collection, and eBooks on my Sony Reader, I have hundreds of volumes in my collection. A few authors have spots as favorites on my shelf. One of those belongs to a man perhaps many haven’t heard of. Terry Glaspey. Glaspey is now an acquisitions manager for Harvest House Publishing in the state of Oregon. I first met Glaspey over 10 years ago when his book “Great Books of the Christian Tradition” was published by Harvest House. I had him on as a guest on my radio show and enjoyed the visit so much I had him back a few weeks later. He was interesting, well spoken, and thoughtful as a guest.

Over the years, Glaspey has written other books that I’ve enjoyed. His book on prayer, “Pathway to the Heart of God” , is excellent. His revised version of “Great Books..” is called “The Book Lover’s Guide to Great Reading” can be purchased used from Amazon is well worth the investment. Using the guide to help me select classic reading choices has greatly strengthened my own faith and given me a much broader perspective of Christianity through the ages. I have Glaspey to thank for that.

Most recently, I blogged about Glaspey’s pocket-sized “One Minute Bible Guide” which I’m planning to incorporate into the ministry of the church I pastor. What Glaspey’s does best is write for maximum comprehension. Some books I’ve read are what I would term difficult reads. That doesn’t make them bad but they require the reader to really take time with them, analyze them, and mine out the information in them. Glaspey’s books, while having depth, tend to be more easily digested on the first read.

If you are looking to pick up your reading as the holidays approach, I’d suggest picking up his guide and making some reading choices from it. You can’t go wrong reading a classic and Glaspey’s helpful reading lists and tips make the process even more enjoyable.

Have a great weekend.

Will the growing eBook market go through the same piracy pains that digital music has in the past decade? According to a report from the New York Times it already is seeing a trend toward pirated ebook files on sharing sites similar to the well known Napster over a decade ago.

From my perspective I can see this happening but if publishers handle this situation correctly, it needn’t escalate to the levels the music industry took to try to quell piracy. Were restrictions needed? Certainly but not to the extent that the music industry took. Level heads can prevail and all can benefit if a few things are considered.

First, the cost of eBooks needs to be discussed. Seth Godin has discussed this issue on numerous occasions in his blog and in a post written fifteen months ago, mentioned the silliness of book publishers wholesaling eBooks to Amazon at the same price as their printed versions. They do this even though there are no additional shipping, production, paper, shredding, or warehouse costs with digital files. Clearly the eBook can and should sell for less. Once the file is available, it’s a matter of downloading it to your reader device or computer. Other than the server space used to store the file and maybe the relatively small cost of operating an online store, there’s not other cost involved. As a user of the Sony Reader, I pay anywhere from ten to fifteen dollars per eBook download and while I don’t totally mind the expense, I will say that I do budget myself and buy much fewer books as a result. If the cost of eBook downloads could be reduced to say five to seven dollars per download, I would be more apt to buy eBooks and more of them. Why can this not be done? Publishers first need to stop operating in a paradigm of paper. Understand that the eBook division is a different enterprise with different rules and allow for them. Trying to bind all the book sales into one does nothing but stifle eBook growth.

Second, the eBook market needs to agree on a standard file for readers. The ePub format is a start and I’ve downloaded a few files to my Sony Reader to try out. Most notably, I have the entire ESV Study Bible (footnotes and all) on my Reader in ePub format. I believe Crossway Publishers (Owners of the ESV translation) did this so they could control distribution. The format works on both the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader (as well as other brands I’m sure) and there is no noticeable difference in quality from the proprietary formats of either device. The point is that once I’ve purchased the eBook file, I should be able to have the freedom to read it on a device of my choosing. If the Sony Reader I own needs replaced and I want to change brands (I wouldn’t at this point), I should have that freedom without worrying if my eBook library will transfer to the new device.

It’s going to take some creativity for the publishing industry to embrace the different book sale paradigm that eBooks allow. Lower the cost and establish an industry standard and watch your sales soar. Better yet, give away some of that product to encourage sales and attract customers you might never have been able to previously. Will there still be piracy issues? Yes but they will be reduced substantially. I would rather pay for a commercial download that I’m guaranteed is error free without virus worries than I would a pirated file that isn’t guaranteed to be the entire file or one riddled with errors.

If the publishing industry acts now with a proactive plan including the ideas I’ve mentioned, I doubt it will see the problems that some claim are coming. Let’s not ruin a good thing folks. The eBook market is primed to change the way we think about publishing. Let’s enjoy the diversity rather than stifle its creativity.

As I sit to relax and write I’m thankful for many things.  A good church family, my wife, and my kids.  This week, my wife and I attended the funeral of a young man only 23 years of age who died very unexpectedly.  It gave me pause to reflect on the value of life.  We complain about not having enough money to pay bills, cars breaking down, and other things failing. This week, I lost my computer for most of the week with a motherboard failure.  I took some time from writing and elected to wait until the unit was back in my office, safe and sound with it’s new gear.  It runs better than it did new.  I’m blessed.

But I’m also blessed with knowing Jesus as my Lord and knowing that when the Lord calls me home, I’ll be ready to go and meet him. Every funeral I do reminds me that we all have that appointed time no matter our age, social status, or financial standing.  Our worship this morning was God honoring and a blessing to me and to many that attended. Our bible study afterward was led with great conversation, a thorough study of the passage, and great application by our group.  Again, I am blessed.

So with the weekend worship behind me and another week to plan, Here’s the general breakdown of what lies ahead this week…

Monday I will finish my series on personal growth.  Check back here in the morning for the final installment that I wanted to post a week ago before my computer blew up.

Tuesday, I am planning for a fall harvest outreach campaign for our church that I plan to announce next Sunday. We have had a tremendous summer but the fall season awaits and with it, many families’ desire to return to church. We’ve yet to really let our new neighbors know we are here in our new location so this fall season will be our first real opportunity to do so. Pray for us if you are so inclined.

Wednesday, I plan to finish the outline for our final message in a series of sermons I’m preaching this month.  Also, I plan to post a long overdue book review of Bob Franquiz’s latest book “Zero to Sixty”.

Thursday is letter writing day for me.  I like to write letters and drop them in the afternoon mail so they arrive at homes by Saturday reminding folks of service the next morning.

Friday is another blog post and another book review.  I’ll leave you in suspense!

Of course, many other things play into my daily schedule but as you’ll see in tomorrow’s blog, daily planning makes all the difference in executing your plans.

For those who emailed me, I’ve been away from the blog this past week due to computer problems.  The motherboard on my office computer blew up and I had to replace it.  I tried writing at other locations but I couldn’t stay focused so I took a break.   It seemed weird not being able to write at all but the time away did me some good.  I’ll admit though it’s nice to be back in my office working with my main computer.

I’ll be back to finish by personal growth plan on Monday and then wrap up the week with two book reviews.  Thanks again for your emails and questions!

The debate over the U.S. healthcare system seems to grow by the day.  One has to wonder with an online document numbering in the thousands of pages that “breaks down” the proposed government system if anyone will understand what really is being said?

Leave it to Dan Roam, author of “The Back of the Napkin”, to simply explain things. (That was the crux of his book right?)  I wanted to point you to one of the best explanation’s I’ve read regarding this crisis and why we don’t need tons of paperwork to fix things…Here’s a quote:

There are probably about a hundred people in this country who really understand how health care works. I’m guessing that right now half of them are trying to change the system and half of them are trying to keep it the same. Let’s see if we can’t get more of us to understand the basics so we can decide for ourselves which is the better direction.

Read Dan’s four part series on this starting with part one by clicking here!

Today, I’m sending you to the site of Robert J. Morgan and a delicious salad idea he shared a few days ago..

It was easy, healthy, tasty, and refreshing; and it’s going in my recipe file.  Since tomatoes and peaches are in season, you might want to try it.  It’s as simple as this:

Read the rest of the simple recipe by visiting his site.

The Swiss Water Process Logo

As most of my blog readers know, I love coffee.  I drink it hot, iced, mixed in various coffee drinks, you name it!  The problem is my caffeine addiction is insatiable.  If you’ve ever been on a coffee buzz for several days and then quit for a day or two, you know the fun of the terrible headache you get when your body doesn’t have it’s caffeine.

A few days ago, I experienced this “withdrawal” headache again and it was intense.  I decided then and there that I was going to do my best to cut out the majority of my caffeine as part of a plan this fall to eat healthier, lose weight, and increase my energy.  For the past few months, I’ve been trying out decaf coffees and drink them mostly at night.  I try to have my morning coffee before 8am and limit myself to a cold coffee now and then.  These were the caffeinated drinks I allowed myself but it was still causing me headaches.  Enter the “Swiss Water” decaf coffee blends.  The Swiss Water process is a patented process that retains much of coffee’s great flavors while removing 99.9% of the caffeine.  It doesn’t use any chemicals (which is one reason I avoided decaf altogether) but only flavor charged water to strip the beans of the caffeine and not their taste.

After a few weeks of trying out decaf coffees using this process, I’m sold on the flavor and am going to try to switch completely to decaf this month.  There are a number of shops that use coffees that have been decaffeinated with this process but you have to look for them.  Another thing I found out is that if the bag says “water processed”, it doesn’t mean the patented process I refer to and there is a difference because “water process” could use chemicals and then “water process” them to rinse them.  It’s like the packaging you read on foods that say “fat free” but are usually 30-50% fat!  If you would like to try these coffees with me, you need to either look for the logo at right on the bag or visit the Swiss Water Process web site to locate stores in your area that carry swiss water decaf coffee or order them online.

Some of my favorites that I’ve enjoyed in the decaf line of Swiss Water processed coffees are the organic Babushka blend made by Daz-Bog and the Daybreak Blend made by Caribou Coffee. I still make the majority of my coffee in my Toddy Cold Brewer and decaf comes out equally as well using this method along with my other favorite brewing method, the French Press.

I’ll still have the occassional cup of caffeinated coffee I’m sure but I think for the long run, and my overall health, I’m going to stick with my guns when it comes to enjoying my java.  I’m hoping my heart will thank me in the years ahead!

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s early and time for my morning coffee!

Farhad Manjoo of Slate’s online news service reports that several Amazon Kindle customers had books deleted from their eReaders in a sweeping move by the online retailer here’s a comment that should make you take notice:

As our media libraries get converted to 1’s and 0’s, we are at risk of losing what we take for granted today: full ownership of our book and music and movie collections.

You can read the entire column here.

As an owner of a Sony Reader, I’m more convinced I made the right choice in purchasing the Sony Reader over the Amazon Kindle.  The Kindle’s connectedness to the internet, which is built in on all  models, can be a great convenience to owners but in this case, it highlights a clear flaw; that you could lose your purchases at any time without your knowledge.  I’m sure this technology applies to all readers but at least with the Sony Reader, you disconnect the product from the internet when you are done purchasing a product.

Amazon’s explanation was that they accidentally sold some pirated ebooks and that might be legitimate but what assurances do we have in the future that ANY entity might be able to utlize this technology to control devices that we pay for and products we install legitimately?

Something to think about!

Leo Babauta's ZTD eBook

The growing ebook market has given rise to a host of new authors writing on the subject of productivity.  These authors are oftentimes bloggers who have been writing snippets on the topic for a while now and decided to compile their writings into an ebook.  For many, these writers are buried due to the stacks of published books waiting to be reviewed.  Viral marketing of their work (such as this writing) is the way most all of their readers have heard of them.  So today, I wanted to share with you three quality ebooks you can purchase and enjoy immediately without breaking your budget.  One note, I’m not paid by ANY of these authors and profit nothing by promoting their work other than to spread information I hope you find useful.

1. Zen To Done (Leo Babauta). ZTD is the first ebook I purchased.  Even before I purchased formatted books for my Sony Reader, I decided to take the plunge into the ebook market with Leo’s first work.  ZTD is the culmination of ideas gathered on Leo’s popular Zen Habits blog.  I’ve reviewed this elsewhere but will post a full review soon.  In short, Leo distills the popular points of David Allen’s GTD and Steve Covey’s 7 habits and add in some other ideas and innovations to create ZTD.  The book is a quck read, effective, and worth the $9.50 purchase price.  You can buy a copy here.

2. Todoodlist (Nick Cernis). Nick is a British author who writes for his Put Things Off blog.  Todoodlist is a collection of funny stories and some productivity ideas built around Cernis’ “Todoodlist” sytem.  You can read my review of his ebook here.  Todoodlist is available as a download for $14 at this site. I purchased this as well and my only advice would be for Cernis to drop the price to under $10.  With Amazon and Sony offering many formatted ebooks for this price and most ebooks on the market today being budget minded, I think dropping the price would trigger increased sales.  There’s something psychological about saying the ebook is “under ten dollars”.

3. The Little Book of Productivity (Scott H. Young). This is the only ebook of these three I do not own at present.  I’ve read the first chapter which Young allows you to download for free.  Young’s blog, much like Leo Babauta’s, is a collection of ideas on productivity and this book is the culmination of that work.  The book is a collection of 99 ideas divided into seven chapters.  Several independent reviewers give the total work high marks.  I might pick this up at some point when I’m caught up with my other reading but wanted to give you a tip for now so you could check it out if you wish.  The ebook is $9.95 and is available for download here. You can also download the sample chapter at that site as well.

As you seach the blogosphere for ebooks, you will find many good free ones as well.  That’s another blog post altogether.  The growth of this medium has spurred me into working on an ebook I hope to release in the next year or so (Lord willing) but I have to work on it as time allows.  For now, enjoy these and others you find that address topics you enjoy.  It’s only going to get better for this market in the years ahead.