Wow, What a Wild Ride!
It is now 10 years later, and I sit here typing this very relaxed and unburdened. I just completed a year of serving as the Most Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of South Carolina, the fourth year as a Grand Officer in the Grand Council. This year caps…
Musical Chairs!
At our December business meeting, we elected and appointed the new officers for 2009, and I was elected into the Junior Warden seat. It is quite an honor, as in doing so, I unexpectedly skipped a couple seats. For 2008, I was appointed as a Steward. The natural progression is to move the Junior Deacon…
Faster, faster, faster!?!
I had the opportunity to attend the Order of the Temple work at another local lodge, and I must say that I was very impressed. There were about 25 people with three candidates, and the work was done very well. One of the older men had been doing his part for many years, and he…
York Rite Degree Work – Some ponderings
The local York Rite membership is a very dedicated group of Masons, but like so many Masonic groups, it tends to be somewhat “older-leaning” in its membership. The group that with which I went through the degree work is a bit younger than most of the membership (though I don’t know if my age of…
Seeking More Light – Part Two
After completing the Royal Arch and Cryptic Masonry degrees, the final steps on the path of the York Rite are the “Chivalric Orders”. These Degrees (called Orders in this group) include the the “Illustrious Order of the Red Cross” which is an Order that emphasizes the lesson of truth; the “Order of Malta” which emphasizes…
Seeking More Light – Part One
Since my journey in Freemasonry began, I have always been interested in Freemasonry’s Appendant Bodies, specifically the York Rite. My father was a Master Mason, went through the Scottish Rite, and eventually became a Shriner. (In his day, it was a requirement that to become a Shriner, you had to go through either the Scottish…
The York Rite Background
The York Rite, like the Scottish, is one of Freemasonry’s Appendant Bodies which is open to a Master Mason to join to further his knowledge of Freemasonry. While Freemasonry officially culminates with the third degree of the Blue Lodge, the nine additional degrees of the the York Rite are considered to expand upon and complete…
Brother, take a seat!
Less than three weeks after being raised to the degree of Master Mason, I was installed as one of the Stewards of our Lodge. The new Junior Warden-Elect appointed me and the other brother who was raised with me as the new Stewards for 2008. I’m honored that the opportunity to begin moving through the…
Raised to Master Mason!
This past Saturday, another Masonic brother and I were raised to the degree of Master Mason, the Third Degree in the Blue Lodge. It was an interesting, informative, and certainly memorable degree. We had our Fellowcraft examination, followed by the Third Degree work. Our Fellowcraft examination went very smoothly despite not having spent any time…
I Think I “Get It”
Obviously I still have a lot to learn about Freemasonry having only recently been passed to the second degree. So until I progress further, I can really only comment on my current knowledge and exposure to Freemasonry as a Fellow Craft. But of what I do understand now, I think I “get it” concerning just…
Gmail Tip #30: Removing a Label
{{modified_date}}
I just stumbled on this one. (Sometimes during a Beta period, you have to “find” new features yourself!) In the past, when you wanted to remove a Label from one or more messages, you would have to click on the desired Label on the left of the screen, select the message, and then click on…
Review: Proporta Crystal Case for Tungsten T3
{{modified_date}}
Given the functionality and portability of PDA’s, it’s important to me that I always have my PDA with me. Unfortunatly, because of the design and form of many PDAs, unless you have a good case, you simply can’t “pocket” your PDA without fear of damaging the screen or inadvertently pressing a button resulting in a…
Vonage Tip #7: Are Incoming calls free?
{{modified_date}}
This is a very common question asked about the Vonage service. Read on for the details… Yes. Well, that’s really all you need to know. OK, I’ll expand on it just a bit… First off, if you have an “Unlimited” calling plan, it’s all really a moot point because you won’t be “charged” for any…
Vonage Tip #6: How to make your Vonage connection house-wide
{{modified_date}}
By design, the Vonage Phone adapter has two phone jacks with the “Line 1” jack enabled. The “standard” way to connect your phone is to simply plug it into the jack on the Phone adapter. You are now using Vonage’s service, and couldn’t be happier, right. But what if you have more than one phone…
Vonage Tip #5: Flexible Call Forwarding
{{modified_date}}
One feature I REALLY like is Vonage’s Call Forwarding feature. It is VERY tailorable, and can help you in many different situations. You can set up and configure Call Forwarding over the phone, but using Vonage’s Web Interface is very simple. Read on for some scenarios that Vonage Call Forwarding will handle. There are no…
Vonage Tip #4: Network Availability Number
{{modified_date}}
Did you know that even if your broadband connection goes down, you can still receive calls on your Vonage service? Read on to find out how… Like many VoIP providers, Vonage provides a “Network Availability Number” which is simply a secondary phone number of your choosing to which Vonage will forward all calls should it…
Vonage Tip #3: Uh oh, the Powers out!
{{modified_date}}
Unlike “standard” telephone service, Vonage requires that your Phone Adapter be powered and connected to an active broadband connection at all times. Read on to see what can you do to ensure uninterrupted service for those inevitable times when the power goes out… Have you ever noticed that when the power goes out, you can…
Vonage Tip #2: Get your ReplayTV to connect over Vonage!
{{modified_date}}
One major concern in selecting Vonage is its compatibility with “dial-up” devices such as my ReplayTV boxes. If you have a ReplayTV box that dials out over the phone line, read on to learn how to get a reliable connection over Vonage every time… When I initially tried to connect my ReplayTV box over a…
Vonage Tip #1: How to access the ATAs Web setup
{{modified_date}}
If your ATA is behind a router (which most people do) you will not be able to connect to your (Motorola’s) Web Settings interface because its IP address exists outside of the typical range of “home” LAN IP ranges. Read on to see how simple it is to access it… Simply connect an ethernet cable…
Gmail Tip #29: A Small Quirk With Gmail Notifys mailto: Handler
{{modified_date}}
Read on to better understand a small idiosyncracy with Gmail’s Gmail Notifier application… One cool feature of Gmail Notifier is that it can be configured to act as the default “mailto:” handler. When set up to do this. Gmail Notifier will open a Compose Window in a new browser window with the email address auto-filled…