cowboynodrawl's Xanga

52: New Reformed Blog Hosting Service

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 04:20:26 GMT

Yes, I guess it's weird that I wrote a press release, and doubly weird that I quoted myself in it. But Mr. Hieronymous does it all the time, and seems to get away with it.

February 24, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Austin Storm
Sky Cow Books
208-596-5752
austin@skycowbooks.com
www.reformedblogs.com

Sky Cow Books Announces the Open Beta of New Web Community for Reformed Bloggers

(Moscow, ID, February 24, 2007) Sky Cow Books announced the Open Beta of a new web community for Reformed Bloggers called ReformedBlogs.com. This community will provide web hosting, design and support services for bloggers at no cost.

The site will also offer opportunities for bloggers to receive products for free in exchange for product reviews. "We are excited to be able to offer this service to bloggers from the Reformed theological tradition," said Austin Storm, Owner of Sky Cow Books. "We anticipate that the optional product review offers will cover the costs of running the site, as well as being a benefit to the bloggers who participte!"

The open beta will last for a week, with the full release of the site scheduled for mid-March.

Sky Cow Books is located in Moscow, Idaho, and is an independent online Christian bookseller. Launched in March of 2006, Sky Cow Books online offers over 400 hand-picked titles. The e-commerce site is located at www.skycowbooks.com.

To schedule an interview call Austin Storm at 208-596-5752 or email austin@skycowbooks.com.

# # #

51: New Christian News Site

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:11:37 GMT

Dear Friends,

I've just put the finishing touches on a new online news site for Christians called Reformed News Online, but I'm not releasing it to the general public just yet. Reformed News Online is a user-submitted and edited news site, so it's not much good without content already submitted by users. In order to "seed" the site with content and make sure I've ironed all the bugs out, I'm looking for testers to help with a month-long "beta test" of the site.

The way the site works is this:

1. Users submit "stories," which are just links to articles, blog posts, videos or websites elsewhere on the internet.
2. Users vote on stories they find interesting, and
3. Popular stories are featured on the home page of the site.

As a "thank you," the top 5 beta testers will get a Moleskine notebook from Sky Cow Books (or another item TBD, if they don't like notebooks) The top 5 beta testers will be determined by the top users list on the site, which takes into account stories posted, the popularity of said stories, number of comments and number of votes. (Click on "Top Users" in the navigation bar. I am not eligible =) The beta test runs until March 16 at midnight.

Even if you aren't interested in testing it, if you have time to take a moment and check it out I hope you will. Let me know what you think!

The site's address is: http://www.reformednewsonline.com/

For more information on how it works, visit the FAQ:

http://www.reformednewsonline.com/faq-en.php

Thank you for reading this, and for your help!

Blessings in Christ,

Austin Storm

50: Unsung Military Heroism

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:18:28 GMT

49: Gas Prices

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:58:00 GMT

I used to be a libertarian, largely because of John Stossel. I still think he's the bomb. These figures are from his book "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity"

After you account for inflation, the price of gasoline today (about $2.26/gallon) is 67 cents cheaper than it was in 1922. It's 69 cents cheaper than it was in 1981. The record average was set in March of 1981: $3.12 per gallon.

24 oz. bottles of water often go for about $1.29. That's $6.88 per gallon.

Pints of "premium" ice cream run for about $3.39. That's $27.00 per gallon!

Yet if you ask people which costs more--gasoline, water, or ice cream--gas always wins.

48: New Books, New Project

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:55:19 GMT

I know my posts have all been to do with Sky Cow lately, but I’m really excited about the new year and getting in new books.

The latest addition to the store is the complete catalog of OakDown Books titles. OakDown is a very selective publisher, releasing about one new book a year (if we’re lucky!). They have some unique titles you just can’t find anywhere else.

The two titles I would draw your attention to are their books about Christians and alcohol. The first is called God Gave Wine: What the Bible Says About Alcohol by Ken Gentry, and it is the best such I know on the subject. Its treatment is careful and irenic.

The other is a bit more… feisty. Drinking With Calvin and Luther! A History of Alcohol in the Church is for those who are already convinced only. It contains a myriad of quotations and stories about how God’s saints have enjoyed His gifts of alcohol from the Protestant Reformation until today. The anecdotes are all very funny.

The two together make a great gift for a reformed friend who has a heart made glad by God’s gifts.

The second thing I am excited to tell you about is that I am working on a new project. It’s not directly related to Sky Cow, but will offer a chance to make money in exchange for unbiased reviews of Sky Cow products.

47: New CD

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:19:30 GMT

New CD in the store... Sixpence None the Richer.

46: New DVD on Islam

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 20:57:26 GMT

We’ve just ordered a DVD on Islam called The Great Divide: A Christian Introduction to the Muslim Religion. It comes recommended by Justin Taylor and Gene Veith, so we have no trouble recommending it to you. If you order new it will ship within the next week or so.

45: Radical, Simple, Obvious

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 21:05:30 GMT

Like writing "clean me" on the dirty back window of a car, Reverse Graffiti uses scrub brushes, scrapers and pressure hoses to create art in sooty surfaces. Amazing!

44: Whoa

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:27:21 GMT

43: Best Quotation from the Morning Blog Read

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 15:17:48 GMT

Photo caption from this article: Apple's iPhone: A mystery wrapped in an enigma smothered in question-mark sauce.