Golf Ball Sized Hail in Knoxville, TN

April 27th, 2011 is a day that most people that live in the south are not going to forget. Everyone concurs I began to realize something was really wrong when the NOAA weather radio kept going off repeatedly, and I could see and hear the concern of the weather forecasters on the news. Before the storm hit, I prayed that God would surround my house with Angels, and also my son's apartment and protect us. I watched Doppler radar and noticed the storm was almost here, and I also saw that infamous hook they talk about headed right our way. I decided I would set up my camera to try to get some video of some of the lightening when it started to hail lightly. I have lived here most of my life, so I figured I was just going to be filming some pea sized hail, but then all of the sudden golf ball sized hail starts raining down. You can actually see some bounce inside the house on the video below. Within seconds, the entire house was being pummeled with large hail as I immediately slammed the door and headed to the basement. What happened next was scary. This golf ball sized hail was raining down at an angle hitting the house and windows with full force. The noise from the storm was so loud that it sounded like all the windows upstairs had busted and the hail was coming inside the house. This went on for what seemed like an eternity but was probably about 3-5 minutes. I am very grateful that nobody in our sub division was hurt and the funnel cloud spotted nearby did not turn into a tornado. Many lives were lost last night, and my prayers go out to the families.

Sending your Twitter tweets to Facebook is a bad idea.

I have noticed recently that many people using Twitter have started to send all their tweets to Facebook automatically and are not posting directly to Facebook.

This is a very bad idea, and let me explain why. When you post to Facebook using Twitter, Facebook automatically groups your posts with all other users doing the same thing, which is becoming popular. As a result, only one Twitter post is shown unless they click the "See X more posts from Twitter". See graphic above.

In addition to your post being difficult to find on Facebook, it is also annoying to post all your Twitter posts on Facebook. Facebook and Twitter have two very different purposes, and if you keep sending all of your Tweets to Facebook, users will eventually start hiding you from their wall which defeats the purpose of spreading the information you intended.

Solutions:

1) Use Selective Twitter, this will allow you to easily select which tweets go to Facebook.

2) Start posting to Facebook directly. This is the best option to avoid having your post buried.

3) Use a less popular service like Ping.Fm Less people use it, less grouping of posts.

One last thought, Facebook reaches far more people than Twitter, so your emphasis should be on Facebook not Twitter.

Hope this helps!

Mike Biddle

http://www.websiteworld.com

Get off your blessed assurance

A few weeks ago I heard pastor Chris Stevens at Faith Promise Church in Knoxville, Tn used this statement get off your blessed assurance. A couple of years ago I decided to feel sorry for myself because of some personal family problems I was dealing with. I think we are all guilty of feeling like we have it all under control sometimes. The truth is we don't. If you believe what the bible says, there is an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy. Satan knows you, your anscestors and your weaknesses, which makes targeting our weaknesses childs play. No matter how much money you make, how famous, how perfect your life seems, satan can make a shambles of your life, and very easily if your eyes are on the world. People we love, our kids, grandkids may never know the Christ we know because we have decided we don't need church. Some people reading this will think it is nuts, many which are Christians, but the bible is clear we need God and we were made to worship. If you are a Christian you need to be 1) in church, you need to be 2) sharing your faith you need to be 3)serving someone else besides yourself. If you are not going to church because of an array of excuses, those excuses are lies. Remember..kill steal destroy.

Get off your blessed assurance! This week is your chance find a GOOD local church and get involved.

I am at the gym on the ascent trainer so excuse typos!

Love ya!

Mike