Conversion

No, not that kind – though I’m working on a post on that very subject (find and read Iain Murray’s The Invitation System in the meantime, thanks).

I’m getting my little MP3 player ready for my Louisville trip. Yes, I should have faith that I will be able to witness to someone on the planes, but I figure I will have some time to listen to messages as well as read. Tuesday will be a long day. I have to leave for the Edmonton Airport at about 4:15 am, fly to Phoenix, then Cleveland and then arrive in Louisville at about 9:45. Besides, 700 mbs of audio files don’t weigh any more than 20 mbs.

Lack of standardization is a pain. I find that a lot of sites use MPEG video files for their messages. That’s fine if I’m listening at my computer, but my Rio Chiba won’t recognize those puppies. Windows Media Player will play them, but it won’t convert them, neither does Plus! Digital Media Edition. I have a pile of MPEG files, so I did a search for a MPEG to MP3 converter. I bought the AimOne All to MP3 Converter via a download. It works fine, but it is a slow process. I can see why people store MPEGs, though. A 15mb file becomes almost 50 when I convert it. I could convert the MP3 to WMA, but that is too much (a couple of conversion jokes spring to mind here, but I don’t want to be too tacky).

I think I have the job done. I’m set for the trip and several days at the gym now.

So, what do I have on my player? Capitol Hill Baptist Church is a treasure trove. I have David Wells, O. Palmer Robertson, Iain Murray, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Tom Nettles and of course Mark Dever Sermons from there. I also have some Sinclair Ferguson, a couple of White Horse Inn Programs, and messages from Sovereign Grace churches. I’ve listened to D.A. Carson on the New Perspective on Paul, but those messages are still on there as well.

Music? Very little at this point. Indelible Grace III is on there, but that’s it.  I still have about 100mbs left, so I’ll have to work on that. I don’t listen to much music these days, what with so many good messages and the occasional hockey game (Go Oilers!).

Technology is great, but it can be a real time-waster. Converting and loading files in the background is a distraction. As for listening, even quality messages can get to be too much. I remember hearing (from Iain Murray?) that Dr. Lloyd-Jones didn’t like the idea of people listening to his messages while they were washing the dishes or driving their cars because of the distraction factor. There is something to that. Everything in moderation, I guess – though that’s hard to do with the embarrassment of riches available on the internet!

Speaking of distractions, I have a sermon to finish!