iPhone 3GS, Africa, and other random tidbits

I am constantly amazed by technology. I think that you all know that I am very fond of my iPhone. So far on this trip I have used it to read & send email, take pictures and upload them to Flickr, check the weather, surf the web, post to this blog, utilize google maps, check Twitter, read the Bible, send & receive text messages, log expenses, check Facebook, and listen to Marley & Me on audiobook, among other things.

Today, for the first time I used it to shoot video, edit that video, compress that video, encode that video, and then upload the video to Youtube. Absolutely amazing. All of the videos can be found here. Please check them out and leave some comments.

Today, I helped Kenny pick up a golf cart, washer, & dryer, load them on his trailer and transport them to his boss's house. We came to realize that a Ford F-250 crew cab long bed towing a 16 foot trailer is difficult to maneuver in tight spaces.

We spent the afternoon in the pool. Austin wanted to play "monkey in the middle", which was called "keep away" when I was growing up. So, that is what we did for about an hour. Austin really enjoyed taking the splash balls and flinging them in our faces as we tried to get the ball. Big fun for the boy.

Now for Africa. Cindy, my sister-in-law, told Jen and I about one of her and Kenny's friends who is a medical doctor. He travels to Africa every other year to work for a month providing medical care. Stories of those that travel on missions always amaze me. I expressed this amazement and then I was informed that I did not have any skills that could be used on a mission trip. At face value, that sounded a little harsh. What was meant was that I was not a doctor, a carpenter, a nurse, a social worker, etc... I began to think, what skills do I have that could be used? It is not like I can write tickets, make arrests, or perform other police related activities while on a mission trip. That is what I am trained to do, be a patrol officer and train others to do the same. In my thinking I did not have any revelations. But, I think it is always a good idea to occasionally access yourself and the skills that you have that are useful.