The Noble Path of a Producer

A student's perspective

One of the biggest steps anyone can take in proclaiming their worthiness for freedom is to set aside their propensity for being a consumer and take the noble path of the producer. This is one such story that I hope inspires you as much as it has me.

It’s not every day a student who’s willing to learn finds a teacher worthy of their attention. A couple years ago I met such a teacher. And I decided to follow him. It meant changing my major but I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity he represented. So for the last couple years I've been taking every computer programming class I could where Charles Bryan was teaching.

The truth is I probably haven’t been his best student. I tend not to work well with structured learning. My ability to stay on topic long enough to get an ‘A’ is severely diminished by my need to learn other stuff. But Mr. Bryan at least keeps things challenging and varied enough for me to scrape a ‘B’.

One of the things that makes him such a good teacher is the fact that he is a programmer first. He works on real world projects and he uses that experience in the classroom. He also expects a level of proficiency from his students that lesser teachers might shy away from. You might say Mr. Bryan is the antithesis of the old saying that those who can’t, teach.

One of his professional projects over the summer break was an android app called “Z is the End.” It’s a game that combines all the best aspects of 2048 with the fun of word games. And by fun I really mean addicting. I find myself regularly hoping that playing his game is sufficient excuse for late assignments. If you want to check it out you can find “Z is the End” on the Google Play Store, it’s free.

Now just developing an app and sticking it on the play store doesn't make a great teacher. What Mr. Bryan did was share the experience. He shares with the class all the real world complications involved in creating a great app. He shares things our text books can never teach. But best of all, he sets the bar. He makes sure we have the foundation needed to ask the right questions and then shows us the standard to aspire to.

One of the greatest lessons I've learned from his successful creation, development and marketing of ‘Z is the End’ is the need to realize nothing happens in a vacuum. He has stressed many times that he purposely sought out others with the talent needed to test the game, bounce ideas off of, write out understandable instructions and offer unbiased critiques to name just a few. But I think the best lesson I've learned is that if you want to do something cool you just have to do it. There’s no dream, no matter how perfect, that can come to life without well directed ambition. Mr. Bryan has that ambition, and he expects his students to find it.

My challenge to you is to find a way you can be a producer too. But first you should go to the Play Store and check out his game. And if you like the game as much as I do then go ahead and like it on Facebook too. Who knows, you might get as inspired as I have.

A Gift of Music

About a year ago, just after my son was born, I started this blog with little to no direction at all. It was and remains a simple outlet where I can share and at times clarify my thoughts. It was a tool for self exploration that I hope one day my son might read and learn his old man really believed the things he tried to teach him. I never thought for a single minute that anyone would ever read anything I wrote. But somewhere along the line I started getting a bit of a following. Last time I checked I’ve had readers from nine countries, on four different continents. Thank you. It feels nice to know that someone wants to read what I write down.

I haven’t been as active as I should be on the blog lately. I suppose life doesn’t always allow for such things. But to be honest I really haven’t felt all that inspired lately. But sometimes inspired of not, you just have to do something because you know it’s the right thing. This is such a time.


My family has been going to Snyder Memorial Baptist Church for a long time. We feel welcome there as if we are part of an extended family that truly complements our own. One of the reasons why we feel so welcome is our Minister of Worship and Praise Team Leader, Giles Blankenship. The music that Giles performs for us every Sunday is beyond any doubt in my mind the result of a very well honed and crafted gift from God. Thank you Giles for all the work you put in, and for bringing such joy to us all.


So now that I’ve introduced a lot of different people from myself and my church family to the anonymous readers of my blog, I’d like to bring us all together for a truly noble purpose. You see there is another way to experience the wonderful music Giles crafts for us during our worship service. Every once in a while when time and money permits Giles puts out a CD. You can follow this link if you want to hear Giles at his best. I currently own and very much enjoy his first four albums. Right now he is working on his fifth album. I can’t wait for it to come out. But a CD from first thought to final product isn’t just a lot of work; at around $8000.00 dollars it’s also a pricey endeavor. 


Giles has reached out to his Facebook friends and to many more via YouTube to help with funding to make this album a reality. As his friend both on and off Facebook I wish I had the money to help. I unfortunately for now though do not have even the smallest luxury that is extra money. But I still want to help. So I prayed about it. And after a Sunday school lesson about good stewardship I decided that if I have no money then I must be able to help with my talents. Of course, then I remembered that I am no musician. But I have this blog with a few hundred readers who seem to care enough to read about the things that matter to me. And I started thinking that If only one percent of them would help my friend then that would be more than I could do as just one person.


I don’t ask much of my readers. I honestly don’t think it is my place to ask anything of you. But I feel that this is different because I am not asking of anything for myself. I’d like you to watch the video here at the bottom of the text. If your interest is sparked then take a little more time and go to www.gilesblankenship.com to learn a little more about Giles and the work he does. Then if you are so moved as to help his endeavor with a small donation I would very much appreciate that. And so will the many others who benefit from his music. Thank you. And have a blessed day.      

  

When patriots come together

Our flag flies true

Every year my family packs up and heads to Holden Island for the week for a little family fun in the sun. While we’re there we have the regular gift shops and restaurants we frequent and one day toward the end we go down to Myrtle Beach for the day to go shopping and maybe hit up the aquarium for a bit. On our way back last year we stopped at a seafood place for some fresh catch of the day and had to spend almost two hours waiting for a table. That would normally be far too long but the food was good and so we made some chit chat with other patrons to help the time go by.

It had stormed hard that day and as we talked I couldn’t help but notice the American flag out front had taken quite a beating. Like most people would I ignored it and kept talking. But about an hour into our wait I decided it couldn’t be ignored anymore. So I went over to see if there was anything to be done to fix it. Once at the flag it was apparent that it had been not only disheveled by the wind but improperly raised in the first place.

You might think it’s just a flag, but I know men who have died for that flag and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it be presented so poorly. My first thought was to tell the management of the place but they might just take it down and I personally would rather it was flown. So I brought down the flag and was trying very hard to get the top undone from the riser but it was stuck too high for me to reach without letting the flag touch the ground. And the flag should never touch the ground.

I had just about met my wits end when something profound and unexpected happened. Two men exited the crowd and walked over to help me. The older of the two men held the flag respectfully so it would not be tarnished by the muddy ground. The other man somewhat younger but still old enough to be my father provided his shoulder for support so I could reach up and disconnect the flag from its riser and untangle the mess of rope the wind had created. Then both men held the flag out tautly so I could reconnect it to the risers, and we all three helped slowly raise the flag back to its proper place where it could fly free and true.

After our flag was made right we all thanked each other and in conversation we learned that each of us were veterans. The older man had been in the Navy during WWII, the other had been and still was of course a Marine who had fought in Vietnam, and I being the youngest had served in the Middle East while in the Army. It is still of great interest to me looking back that out of all the people there that day it was three generations of veterans that came together to make sure old glory was flying right.

One might think she is just a flag but it isn’t the flag we were protecting that evening while we waited for dinner. It was all the things she stands for and represents. Imagine if we all took such pride in our expressions of patriotism. I challenge you to make it your habit of not looking the other way. And I challenge you to make yourself available when help is needed. But most of all I challenge you to never be afraid of showing your patriotism for our great nation.     

Please comment on this article however you see fit. I truly enjoy hearing from my readers.