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Gmail announced today that it has doubled the allowable size for attachments from 10MB to 20MB. Now you can start sharing more of your home videos, large presentations, and files! Note that  because of the way email attachments are encoded, the maximum size of the file you send (which can vary from file to file) may be actually less than 20MB.   Congrats to Gmail for continuing to improve its offerings!

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When I started looking into Freemasonry, I was overwhelmed by all of the information and varied views about just what it is all about. So I read and read, I talked with Masons, and I thought about just what Freemasonry is. And this is what I came up with:

It’s a club.
You join it. You attend meetings. Business is conducted at the meetings. You gather socially. You do fundraisers. But it’s more than that…

It’s a fraternity.
You join in brotherhood. You pledge your loyalty to it. You help your fellow brothers, and you receive help from them. But it’s more than that…

It’s philanthropic.
It uses your money and time to help others. It helps the poor. It helps the needy. But it’s more than that…

It’s a mystery.
You seek it, it doesn’t seek you. Its secrets are held in high regard. It imparts timeless wisdom. It uses symbols and allegory to explain itself. It has secret signs and words. But it’s more than that…

It’s open and visible.
Its secrets are published. It’s secrets are known. Its buildings are prominent and visible. Its members often wear identifiable pins and rings. But it’s more than that…

It’s a system of morality.
It teaches good morals. It instructs good ethics. It promotes integrity. It despises falsehood. But it’s more than that…

It believes in God.
It finds God in nature. It finds God in Science. It finds God in Mathematics. It finds evidence of God everywhere. But it’s more than that…

It’s selective.
It requires belief in God. It investigates you. It votes on you. It decides if you are worthy for it. But it’s more than that…

It sets aside differences and breaks down walls.
It doesn’t discuss religion. It doesn’t discuss politics. It accepts men of all God-believing theologies. It is open to all denominations. But it’s more than that…

It’s theater.
Its rituals and ceremonies rival many local theater groups. But it’s more than that…

So what is it? It’s Freemasonry! But it’s so much more…

Masonic Tips, Masonic Tips - The Complete Collection find, freemasonry, mason

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A couple days ago, I received a letter from the Lodge secretary officially informing me that the Lodge had voted on and accepted my petition, an investigating committee was formed, and that they would contact me soon. The letter also said that the results of the committee would be presented and voted on at the June 5 meeting.

I called the secretary to let him know that I received the letter, and he was great to talk with! Unlike the letter, he was very informal. He was friendly, and gave me some additional information about what to expect from the investigating committee. Again, it was all very informal. I’m anxious to meet with the Lodge members (so far, I’ve only met just a couple.) If the balance of the membership is anything like the several Masons I have recently met, I think I’ll be in good company!

One point of note is that I was very intrigued by one aspect of the letter, just as I was by the petition: the wording, the embossed Lodge seal, the formality. But it wasn’t just a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo. It had an air of historical relevance or rootedness. It had a formality about it that is very unusual for this time. It’s difficult to articulate, but these points are things that paint a picture of seriousness and importance. On one hand, I see informal Masons, and yet I see seriousness in the administration that I don’t see anywhere else.

So, I continue to wait while the process moves forward, but the waiting has been very fruitful. As I stated in earlier posts, I’ve been reading and reading and reading. I’m so fascinated by the history and the symbolism, and can’t wait to go deeper to learn more.

Oh, and the Blogs. Wow! I have found a number of Masonic blogs that I frequent, and have read lots of great (and not so great) articles spanning the spectrum of Masonic blogging. Some of the articles are a bit over my head, simply because haven’t been exposed to some of the discussed content, but overall, I’m enjoying some great reads. And I am especially enjoying the blogs by prospective and new Masons. It’s interesting and encouraging to read the stories and personal experiences of others around the world. Hopefully, someone out there will find my musings interesting!

Finally, one visitor here asked me where I’m from, inquiring that maybe I live near him. Well, I’m currently living in Anderson, South Carolina in the good ol’ U.S.A, having moved a few years ago from the Chicago area. Anderson is in the beautiful Upstate of South Carolina where my wife and I are enjoying the open spaces, friendly people, a deep Faith, and solid morals of most of the people we have met. No, it’s not Eden, but it’s a fresh change from the big city life of Chicago.

Oh, and I also found out that there are three Lodges in my area. Maybe that’s not unusual for a dense, metropolitan area, but for a town of 27,000 in a county of about 175,000, it seems like a lot. And the consensus among the Masons I spoke with is that all are fine Lodges.

More later as things progress….

This is my seventh article about my experience in Freemasonry.

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I spoke with my Mason friend from church, and he said that the Lodge had voted on my petition this week, and had formed an investigating committee of three people. They will be contacting me soon. Despite the "fears" that some have expressed about the investigating committee, I feel completely at ease.

During my waiting, I’ve been reading so much about Freemasonry. I finished the book “Freemasons For Dummies and found it to be an amazing read. Contrary to my earlier decision, I decided to go ahead and read all of the chapters. I read about the rituals, and the symbols, and found both chapters to be very fascinating.

I’ve also read many interesting articles and blogs on the Internet covering a host of topics, and I found lots of interesting and educational information about Freemasonry–all aspects, positive and negative. I’ve avoided articles dealing with specific rituals and “exposures” as I would like my experience to be fresh, but there is still an amazing amount of content that I’ve enjoyed reading. I’ve particularly found the historical articals to be the most interesting–history of the organization, the rituals, and Freemasonty’s current state. I have read literally hundereds of pages of content, and it has only led to piquing my interest more.

So, I contiue to wait, but I am encouraged to hear that the process is moving forward. But the wait has also been refreshing. With everything today being so here and now, and expectations of immedate gratification, I find it to be an interesting time while I wait. It’s hard to describe, but through the reading I have done, I am learning that Freemasonry’s history is rooted deeply in the past, and that the traditions and rituals have been preserved and sustained for many centuries. Those were slower times, and it brings me a different perspective to the organization. It’s something that seems to have much more to it than the typical club. I can’t wait to learn more and begin my real involvement.

This is my sixth article about my experience in Freemasonry.

Masonic Tips, Masonic Tips - The Complete Collection find, freemasonry, history, mason

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In my article, "PDAs: Back To Basics", I outlined my plan to attempt to simplify some things in my life, and one key area was my PDA use. Having the latest and greatest PDA was always my goal. I couldn’t get enough of the new features and capabilities that the newer PDA’s offered. Yet over time, I found that of the many amazing and cool features, most either went unused or were just plain distracting–distracting to the point of sucking up valuable time that could otherwise be used for more productive things. So I opted for the Palm Z22 to see if its limited feature set could help me to simplify my PDA use.

Well, it’s been just over a year since I moved to the Palm Z22, and so far, I’ve not looked back. The Z22 has proved to be a very useful and solid PDA, and has served my goal of simplifying things. Is it limited? Yes. Do I wish it had more features? Yes. Is it doing what I had hoped it would do? Yes! Read on to see how the Palm Z22 has fared, what I would like to see added to future models, and what are my future PDA plans….

It’s about a year later, I’m still using the Z22, and I have no regrets. I find it to be an amazingly powerful, useful, and productive PDA. Yes, I’ve been stung on occasion by some of its limitations, (notably, its incompatibility with a few applications) but overall, it’s been a very positive experience. I’ve honed my original list of installed applications to a solid set that works well for me. In fact, I just realized that it has literally been several months since I even installed anything new! For example, after having a couple "issues" with mNotes, I decided to just sync my PIM with the Palm Desktop and not worry about it. True, it no longer syncs with Lotus Notes, but I have access to Lotus Notes at work all the time. It turns out that almost all Palm-related alarms and appointments tend to be personal ones, so for me, it’s very manageable.

Some might see my move to the Z22 as an "innovative step backwards" but the reality is that I no longer focus on the nuances "of the device"–I just use it. While the imposed limitations of the Z22 can be both a blessing and a curse, so far, the positives far outweigh the negatives. There are a couple things I wish were improved (see below) but these limitations haven’t drawn me away from it.

Combined with the Palm Air Case, my Z22 is completely front-pocketable. This has been key to its usefullness because after all, if you can’t take it with you, you can’t use it, right? And because I almost always have it with me, there’s no no real excuse not to use it.

So, am I more productive?
Well, that’s debatable! The time I used to spend tweaking, adjusting, and playing with the extra features of my other PDA’s has definitely gone down. I rarely tweak the Z22 simply because I don’t need to. In fact, the it has truly become an appliance–it’s just there when I need it, and doesn’t get in the way. And that extra time can certainly be spent on more productive things. Obviously it’s what I do with that extra time that determines my productivity!

Unfortunately, I’m not the most organized person, and it is a continuous struggle for me to manage priorities and general organization. But now, at least I can’t attribute that to a PDA–it’s a personal issue. I’m slowly learning better organizational skills, and trying to pick up better habits. But the fact that I’m no longer distracted "by the device" means that I can at least spend that time elsewhere.

Some Wishes
No assessment of the Z22 would be complete without recommendations for improvements. After all, this PDA is not a feature-rich one. Amazingly, I have but two feature requests in improving the Z22 which, to be effective, would have to come without impacting performance or battery life:

1. SD Memory Card Slot
Believe it or not, after a year using the Z22, I have about 3.9MB free RAM. This is actually slightly more than when I started using the Z22! The limited amount of RAM and no memory expansion has been key to maintaining its simplicity by forcing me to limit the applications I use. But I admit that there are times that I wish it had an SD card slot. I would like to be able to have access to additional data and to be able to backup the system RAM. But is this a "must have" feature? No. But then again….

2. High-Resolution Screen
I find the Z22’s screen to be its biggest area of potential improvement. The 160×160 color screen is adequate, and that’s about it. It displays PIM data well, and overall, PalmOS applications are readable and usable. But it’s simply not stunning or impressive. But coolness aside, its readability could be improved. I’d like to see the screen replaced with a full, high-resolution screen extending into the Graffiti area as on newer PalmOS models. It would certainly be easier on the eyes. Fortunately, this is not a huge deal, but it does detract from the overall feel and readability.

And on a side note, when is someone going to come out with a decent color LCD screen that will look great in both office lighting and in bright sunlight? PDA’s suffer from this. Cell phones suffer from this. It’s simply annoying that when I go outside, the the screens become completely useless. I was playing around with an old Palm III the other day, and remembered just how readable the monochrome PalmOS PDA’s were in bright light. OK, so they weren’t high resolution and they weren’t color, but man, were they sure functional!

The future
Will I be replacing the Z22? Will I revert back to an older model? As it stands, the Z22 has really served its original purpose of simplicity well. I’m not saying that the Z22 is the best PDA out there for everyone, but half the battle in simplifying was buying into the concept that less features and imposed limitations would help in simplifying things. And for me, it worked. Other than the couple features I wish it had, I’m truly impressed with the Z22’s performance, capabilities, usefulness, and portability.

So, I don’t foresee purchasing a new PDA or reverting to an old one any time soon. This comes at an interesting time too, because I feel that the whole PDA world has really slowing down in favor of the Smart Phone and integration. Unfortunately, I don’t see much in real innovation happening in the PDA world, so an improved Z22 probably isn’t likely. That said, should Palm decide to release an improved Z22 with a full high-resolution screen and an SD card slot for a reasonable price, I’ll buy it in a heart beat. But until then, I’ll stick with my Z22!

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