I spotted him ducking in and out, weaving, almost slithering through the shadows. I followed him. He was dressed in a black suit with a long black overcoat. Streaks of gray peppered his black hair. His movement along the edges of night were revealing his dark intentions. The buildings that were bustling with customers during the day had now taken on the characteristics of towers from some Gothic world. The streets and sidewalks were empty. The emptiness was still too full. He made a quick turn between towers as too avoid some unseen stranger. I paused waiting for the next move. It was another world. (Read more…)

A few useful tools for people who are doing all they can to pinch abe until he screams. The first tool of choice is OpenOffice. It is a free office suite. It can open all Microsoft Office formats. My employer is currectly rolling out OpenOffice to most of the staff. Need a spreadsheet program but can’t pay a couple of hundred for Excel. Then try OpenOffice.

Gimp. Gimp is a graphics program. It can be used to touch up photos, create logos, or anyother PhotoShop type of job. Gimp is very powerful. Try it and you’ll aggree.

Scribus. Ever heard of QuarkExpress? Well Scribus is an open source free alternative. It is a great tool to layout all of your articles.

These are just a few of the top Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). All three work on Windows. Scribus was just released on the Windows plantform. Being that it is so new it may scare some off from trying it. I’ve used it since it’s release on Windows and it has worked flawlessly. Using these three tools you can create prophesional grade publications. Finally a Church does not have to shell out money for software. That money can be best used in other areas.