I was without electricity the other day – OK, I pushed my luck in the bill-paying process and Nashville Electric won.  Semantics. So it was completely my fault and I had to endure the consquences.  In my case, the consequence was that I had to wait until the next morning for an available tech to flip the switch back on.  So I was relegated to life in my pitch dark, disturbingly quiet and cold (53 degrees) house, wrapped in a blanket or two and cursing the electric company for my own self-created issue.

Then something really hit me.  I still had several well-insulated walls, a multi-thousand BTU range that could ignite, blankets, hot water and theoretically a car I could drive around in all night that could keep me in contact with the world via an automotive cell phone charger and a tank of gas.  But what about those that didn’t have the choice to be out in the cold (and I mean FREAKING cold) night?  Do they go through every night hoping that God’s light shines down upon them and their homelessness is resolved by God’s grace?  My heart became heavy, and this was an ‘in your face’ reminder that we all seem to be a bit high maintenance without regard to the other options out there.

I know that we’ll all be consumed with things that have Kinetic attachments and allow us to move around like Paula Abdul wannabes in our warm living rooms.  Our kids will get stuff that starts with “i” and they will chat with their other well-heated friends in suburbia. We will consume large amounts of food and some of it will spoil.  We will b*tch about an ugly sweater or a robe that only a “very Brady Chrismas” could love.  But hopefully we will not forget that we’ve received exponentially more blessings than most of us deserve.  And few of us are worthy of them.  Consider the people who have to dance around without disco music to keep WARM, not as a drunken family holiday gathering activity.

Let’s take this one step further:  God has entrusted us with a magnificent creation and we are fixated on enriching uranium and rehabbing nuclear warheads. (Google “Megan Rice Y-12″ and see what disturbing content you will encounter).  If we continue this man-made initiative (and let’s remember, MAN IS FLAWED), we will be leaving our children with a post-nuclear accident, 24/7 cold, dark world where they live in lead-encrusted igloos and face a life that potentially has no salvation.  Now the cold dark world that we think only is experienced  by homeless and downtrodden might be in the future for us and our “i-enriched” offspring – what is in store for a generation that can’t seem to do anything without an app or text message emoticons and abbreviations.

This weekend, and throughout the holidays, keep an eye out for those less fortunate.  ”There but for the grace of God, go I” seems to resonate with me lately – find your mantra if you can.  Consider the planet, consider our children, and consider God’s master plan for each of us.  And next year, maybe together we can make a step or two towards that direction of light and salvation.

May the grace and peace of God be with you now and forever.

Larry De Palma, CTP
CEO

The post Our Holiday Greeting to You appeared first on TDG-Phenix/FS.

Right now it appears that of the Android OS user base that has recently accessed Google Play, Gingerbread and Froyo still have 60% of the OS user base, with 27.5% of the user base running the (very cool) Ice Cream Sandwich.

Pop quiz:  Why is Honeycomb so low in user base %?

The post Google reports on Android OS user base appeared first on TDG-Phenix/FS.

Most of these webinars have no knowledge reinforcement exercises, either brief or extended. How can you reinforce what you have heard unless you have opportunities to apply it in the practical sense.

We introduce “ExtendedLearn from TDG-Phenix/FS”.  For what you would pay for a 90-minute webinar, you have a week or more of extended learning opportunities, including:

• Assignments
• Discussions
• Polls
• WikiProjects
• Assessments (Quizzes)

Of course, this type of learning is for participants who actively want to extend past the tired ‘webinar’ and be a part of some really creative online learning.  If you’re not engaged in your own professional development, we don’t want you as a student – it wouldn’t be a mutually beneficial relationship.

Look for the first “ExtendedLearn” opportunity next month – Mobile University.  Also in Q1/2013:  Card University and the ALL NEW C.A.P.S. – Certificate of Advanced Payment Studies.

The post Goodbye “WebEd”, Hello “ExtendedLearn”! appeared first on TDG-Phenix/FS.