Man, that was sick.

I sooo want to be a part of producing moving experiences like that. It is how God wired me.

That is pretty much amazing.

Does he clean your carpet after he sits on it though?

Nice choice, I was a Red Lamborghini Diablo man all those years. But... Countach is OK too.

Good stuff Mandy. Don't forget I have dibs on being your FOH/Tour Manager when you go big time.

Thanks for doing this Los.

I once was lost but now am found in the midst of the lies of the ear candles as well. Cue tip, I am sorry I ever doubted thee. (Even though it is interesting I still felt the need to use you after my ear burning sessions.)

Good point. Let me clarify though. What I was trying to say is that while THE product, Jesus, is fantastic and relevant, often the churches do not (re)present Him to be either fantastic or relevant. Not in the marketing side of things, but in "ministry" which is the church's products. Therefore, if that ministry/product is NOT perceived as relevant or whatever, the marketing won't matter.

So, I think the challenge I speak of falls on the churches to present the Gospel, and the messages around it, as relevant. If that happens, the social marketing will happen. Then, tools like Facebook, Twitter and other things we put in their hands, will be most effective.

As much as I hate to use the word, the challenge is being RELEVANT. If we do things at church that people want to be a part of and/or want to hear about, the "marketing" will happen, won't it? I guess I would have to go out on a limb and say that if the "marketing" for your church isn't working, you aren't offering a good "product." Just like any other place of business, if a restaurant has fantastic marketing and terrible food, at best, they will have a lot of one time visitors, and their business will slowly decline. If the same restaurant has fantastic food and no planned marketing, it will still thrive because people will talk.

I have no doubt that the church has a lot to learn about social networking, viral and WoM marketing. However, people have to NEED what the church has to offer or it is not very effective marketing. I think the challenge of the church is not so much marketing but our cultural tendency to "do it ourselves."

I think our marketing unfortunately has more effect on, as Daniel said, sheep swapping rather than bringing in new people. There are a lot of people looking for a different/better experience.

Just a thought.

I haven't been around long, but I think he has your number. Spot on. HaHa

I used to have a 17 and have a 15 now. I use mine for After Effects, Photoshop, Final Cut and general web stuff. I LOVED the 17, I went with the 15 after I got a Mac Pro desktop and the laptop became my secondary computer. My only complaint with the 17 is size & weight. However, I NEVER complained about it when I had it. In hind sight only did I think, man that thing was big and heavy. If price isn't the main factor, go big. I do miss being able to spread things our on my laptop display. If you carry things in a backpack, the weight issue isn't much of a factor.

Max out your processor up front, do RAM and maybe even HD upgrades on your own. I have purchased about 25 Apple computers in the past 4 years for work, family and friends. My rule is to never buy anything from Apple that I don't have to. I always purchase RAM and peripherals separately even if I am doing them at the same time. HD upgrades can be a bit more painstaking and time consuming down the road so it may be worth it to you there to go ahead and get what you want.

As for solid state, I think it is nice but the price hasn't made it worth it to be yet.

I have 8GB RAM in my Mac Pro and unless I am multitasking in After Effects and FCP I don't usually see it maxed out. Motion graphics apps definitely hog RAM but I don't know that I would put up the initial investment beyond 4GB for PS. I'd try it with that and then add later. RAM gets cheaper and cheaper anyway.