Man that means psychics have been at this for a long time, could they really talk to the dead?  How is this compared to the verse in Samuel where Saul indeed calls up Samuel from somewhere (Samuel 28:15)?

Grayed out Automatic updates on a windows XP box answer

I manage an SBS 2003 server at my church, I currently do not host a WSUS service on it, this means all the machines on the network should get their updates from the Microsoft mothership.

Unfortunately the default group policy usually disables the users ability to edit or allow for the updates and I always have to turn to the web to relocate the correct registry entries to turn off that will allow the user to modify the settings for automatic updates to enable getting updates from Microsoft not the local server.  I know, change the policy on the 2003 SBS, I have but the default user template I use has the wrong settings and I don’t add machines frequently enough to remember to change it.

So after another multisite, not quite my situation, the internet is impressive in it’s breadth of opinions even wrong ones search I finally found this page at the Technet site (I think, I closed the window prematurely after the screen shot, sorry if it was yours and not Bill’s answer) and decided to snag it for myself and possibly you if you are here after a search.

Click on the image to see it full size and be able to read it.

Neobudget is strongest where debtinator was weakest, it imports like a fiend and is easy to use allowing you to overdraw an envelope, but not the account while importing when needed.  That doesn’t sound desirable but it is needed when you have an unexpected expense occur and want to classify it correctly. Once your done with the import any robbing from the peter envelope to pay the paul negative envelope can be performed.  It takes a while to get all your expenses, debts and savings/goals figured out but once you do you can finally get to the paying down your debt.  I have created an envelope for my credit cards that will all me to essentially once one is paid off continue to save the same amount from each check, using that amount to pay off the next one that much faster.  Your probably familiar with the snowball method, it is basically just that.  There is a worksheet on the website that you can use to estimate how soon your debt can be paid off if you basically do what I was referring to.

So how much does all this cost and is it secure?  Well first it’s $2.50 a month or $25 a year, secondly you don’t enter any really sensitive info such as logins or account numbers into the site.  You will enter or import transactional info and your pay info is there so it’s not wide open by any means,  the whole site is accessed through an SSL secured website, so no snooping should occur.  I have been using it for 2 weeks and so far so good.  Debtinator really thought like I think, showing every transaction and bill when it would be paid, but those non planned items killed me entering them by hand daily.  I hope debtinator adds the ability to import my transactions from the bank, but until it does I ‘ll be pretty happy with NeoBudget.  Almost forgot there is a mobile version for the app that allows or checking and entry of transactions from your iphone or similar web enabled phone.

Have you ever wondered “how close is my view of Heaven and what’s going to happen when I die?”.  I have thought about it all my life, the earliest view I can remember is literally the one of a place where we’re all sitting in church and singing hymns to God all the time.  When I sought clarification, I think of my grandmother, she told me something I took to mean I would be made perfect so I would like just sitting and singing all eternity.  That scared me almost as mush as the thought of just sitting around and singing all the time.

As an adult I have had more science and science fiction influence my views to the point of my thinking that when I die I won’t notice anything except that I am at the final judgment because I will have stepped outside of the constraint of time and be at the end.  But what it’s like after I’m there is still way nebulous, is it a physical place where I have a new better physical body and I live eternally.  I don’t know.  I currently think that it must be something that someone 2000 years ago would have relayed to another person of that time as something so awesome that an abundance of all the greatest things to describe is used.  Carry that to today’s time and I can think of a lot of really great stuff that might be used to describe what I would think of so it must be really great.  More than I can imagine, most likely.

How long does it last.  Eternity.  That’s a really long time .  Longer than I can actually imagine, I can try, but like infinity, we just aren’t equipped to really understand things that aren’t bound by time.  I am embarking on a quest to better understand the end times with a couple of friends, I’ll try and post back what I find and hopefully it will be more than my current vague notions.  Some of the content I’m starting with for my research…

An Evening of Eschatology – This is a discussion/debate by 3 proponants of differing views. Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Postmillennialism.

A Jewish view of the afterlife as presented by a gentile… ( I added the last portion.)

Bible.org page on Heaven

Christian Courier on “A study of Heaven”

UPDATE: More from Wayne Jackson “Will Heaven be on Earth”

I know internet based information is always suspect, and I agree, but I was looking for views that differed from my traditional one so it’s where I started.  I have studied and read several times the book of Revelation and the other references to the afterlife in the Bible and will begin compiling them for a page on what I decide for myself here on my site.

If you have a source for me to review please leave it for me in the comments…

I spoke with him today at lunch an asked him how it went, what it was like and in general some of why he was involved.  I don’t believe in the right to an abortion,  it is killing an innocent child.  I can’t understand what makes some feel as strongly for it as a right as they do, but what is even worse I can’t understand why more of us don’t feel as strongly that it is a sin, one that should never be condoned.  Don’t twist my hatred of a sin into thinking I hate the people coming and going from those clinics, just like all sin separates us from God, the sin of abortion is like all the others, this one just has tremendous consequences for all involved.  Mostly the unborn person who doesn’t get to voice their opposition.  None of us is without sin, and therefore we all need a savior.

My friend, who I am not naming mainly because he is not the kind of man who would want the attention to himself but rather to what he working toward, has introduced me to a national effort that is striving to bring about change to this horrible tragedy in a Godly manner.  “40 days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program; Prayer and fasting, constant vigil, and community outreach.” (from their website)

He and I have talked about what we are led or drawn to do, he kindly mentioned my mission work this summer and working with the youth, while pointing out that this is something he feels strongly compelled to do.  I admire his courage for leading his family in a Godly manner by drawing attention to something that too many of us quietly disagree with.  I don’t know the answer, but the question is clear, why do we not make more noise over the sin we as a nation are condoning.  Go to the website and check out the campaign, 40 days for life, it seems to me that it at least takes a step toward making a difference.  This should not be a “catholic” or any one denomination issue, surely none of God’s children can condone the killing of the unborn.  Another thing he said that stuck to me was “please don’t ever let it stop hurting…” when we were talking about how we feel about the subject, I think that pretty much says it all.  Surely we could all at least consider being a bit more active about our beliefs, we stand pretty firm for many others rights, why not the right to Life.  The organization has the right idea, it all starts with our need to pray.

Enjoy

Here’s a picture of Fridays dinner guest, turns out I now prefer my steak at least medium-well rather than chard-to-a-crisp as I typically had in the past. This was one tender steak.

In short, this little app (Sorry Mac only, maybe someone knows of a similar PC app) allows you to put in your incomes, your debts and your expenses and then it goes to work showing you what would happen if you scrimped a bit here, or picked up a few hours there, or just stopped blowing whatever extra cash you have.  Seeing what $300 – $500 or more a month could do to paying off your debts in a report or graph is inspiring.  You’ll need to do a bit of homework about your income, debts and expenses, but when your done you’ll get a budget out of the deal;  and a clear picture of what goes where and when to help pay off your debts.  So I know your thinking what is it already, its called “Debtinator” and it works pretty well, especially for the $29.99 price tag.  Go to Bassetsoftware.com and check it out, the developer is also very responsive to emails if you stumble upon a bug, which lucky me I did, and he had it fixed literally that day.  Below is the attention grabbing image about what paying off things early can accomplish from his website.  (Used temporarily without permission, hopefully I can remove this tomorrow )