Random Thoughts 1/3/14

• Two of my favorite iPhone apps of 2013 are free apps that were recommended to me by friends:  First, Yahoo!'s "Weather!".  This is easily one of the most beautiful weather apps available and has perhaps the best balance between maximum information and minimal interface.  Other weather apps might offer a few more features but those features will be hidden behind several tabs and buttons on multiple pages.  Weather! gives you almost every weather-related bit of info you could want in a simple iOS 7 styled design on top of a beautiful local photograph pulled off the internet for the city in question. [Thanks for the recommendation, Dustin]
• Second, Bleacher Report's "Team Stream".  This is my new favorite sports news app.  Bleacher Report brings a fantastic balance of original writing, sourced material, and social media to create a never-ending flood of information about your favorite sport or team.  This is a check-it-every-day kind of app for even the casual fan.  [Thanks, Ryan]
• I had a clumsy night of basketball last night and managed to jam four or five fingers.  But the only one that is black and blue and swollen today is my left ring finger.  So the only jewelry I wear, my wedding ring, will stay attached to my gym bag for a few more days.
• One of long-time favorite apps for my iPhone has been Bump.  It started as a way to share contacts between phones but I used to transfer photos to my computer in a quick and easy way.  But recently Google bought Bump and now Bump is being turned off.  The app is going away and won't work on your phone anymore.  I suppose we'll see the same functions show up some day in Google's own app, but still.
• Playoff football is upon us and the Chiefs are involved.  I hardly know what to think about it, especially when I'm constantly reminded that the Chiefs haven't won a playoff game in 20 years, not since Joe Montana and Marcus Allen helped KC beat the Houston Oilers.  Ugh.
• It's incredible that with all this record-setting cold weather, it only seems to snow when it is most likely to interfere with a church service.  We're expecting some snow this Saturday, again, but we'll still have church Sunday morning for those who can get out of their own driveway.