Articles by Timothy R. Butler

Timothy R. Butler is Editor-in-Chief of Open for Business. He also serves as a pastor at Little Hills Church and FaithTree Christian Fellowship.

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Leaving the Social Media Stockyard

The Promise of the Internet was Decentralized Content. Let's Return to It.

By Timothy R. Butler | Apr 23, 2021 at 4:59 PM

Though we hardly ever call it by name, the “World Wide Web” is fantastic metaphor for what the Internet is meant to be: a vast, interconnected realm free of central government. In the social media era, unfortunately, we have willingly ceded that freedom to our detriment. It is time we reconsider the Faustian bargain we have made.

A Look at the Weeylite Sprite 20 Light Kit

The Impressively Light Lights for Photo and Video

By Timothy R. Butler | Apr 10, 2021 at 9:30 PM

If you are new to photography or videography, it is easy to overlook the importance of lighting in producing truly great results. Advances driven by machine learning photography from Apple and Google are seriously reducing the utter necessity of lighting in many situations, but if you are aiming for the best quality video, pushing your live stream into pro territory or leveraging light for artistic photography, lighting gear is your friend. And an affordable set from the maker of Viltrox lenses is a really good way to get started.

Are We Palm Sunday Followers of Jesus?

So Many Misunderstood Jesus Then and We Still Do Today

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 29, 2021 at 3:27 PM

Palm Sunday was yesterday, marking the beginning of Holy Week. A week when Christians remember Jesus’s path toward crucifixion and His subsequent overcoming of death. While both Palm Sunday and Easter are filled with joy, the joy of Palm Sunday is striking in how the crowd was joyful – at least in part – for the wrong reasons.

Improving My Coffee Game

Testing the Miroco 1.7 Liter Electric Tea Kettle

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 21, 2021 at 4:46 PM

I have slowly been trying to improve my home barista skills for years, using the delightfully clever Areopress to make coffee when I have time for more than my normal rush to Keurigland. Recently, I have added pour over coffee into my repertoire as well. Both methods have the “flaw” of being dependent on that old fashioned task of boiling water. Both are improved with an electric tea kettle like one Miroco provided for us to test.

WandaVision's Power was in the Human, not the Superhuman

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 13, 2021 at 6:19 PM

What is grief, but love persevering? Disney+’s WandaVision is one of the best series I can recall gracing the small screen in decades and that question posed by the Vision (Paul Bettany) captures so much about what allows the show to be profound beyond the strictures of either of its roots: classic sitcoms and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Live Streaming with Mevo

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 10, 2021 at 10:54 AM

Last year, I put together a little overview of using the Mevo line of live streaming cameras for churches rushing to do live streaming in the midst of the pandemic. Since then, Mevo also released a new camera with a lot of additional features. We haven’t been able to look at that new model yet, but below is the guide I put together last year, which still serves as a good entry point into the world of live streaming with Mevo.

Buzzing About the Neat Worker Bee

A High Quality and Affordable Microphone

By Timothy R. Butler | Mar 06, 2021 at 9:56 PM

My work has become highly dependent on live streaming since COVID hit. I wanted a good quality microphone to improve live stream quality without breaking the bank. I found a lot of options that were of uncertain quality, but affordable, and plenty of well known quality with a price to match. Then, I found something neat: the Neat Worker Bee.

Sitting on the Dock, not at the Bay

We Test Three Thunderbolt Docks

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 27, 2021 at 5:06 PM

After years on the periphery, Thunderbolt docks are finally becoming a mainstream peripheral. They not only simplify bringing a laptop to your desk by reducing the number of separate things you need to plug in, but provide a means to pump more data from more sources into a laptop than possible otherwise via the limited number of ports on modern, slim laptops, such as a MacBook Pro. More like a drive bay or card slot of yesteryear’s computer towers, docks provide flexibility as we all push our computers further in the post-COVID world. Today, I look at three of the best and what they can offer you.

An Ash Wednesday Reflection on Life and Rush Limbaugh

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 17, 2021 at 11:10 PM

Today brought news that the legendary radio host and provocateur Rush Limbaugh had died. Almost immediately after the announcement, phrases we will not print on the pages of OFB trended on social media as many gleefully celebrated a man’s death. A shocking number wished Rush an eternity in Hell. What has happened to us?

On the Generic Router Highway

Testing the ECPN AX1800 Router Against the Name Brands

By Timothy R. Butler | Feb 01, 2021 at 12:09 PM

I’ve been curious about the proliferation of what we might call “generic” wi-fi routers on Amazon from brands other than the big names that are immediately recognizable. Have routers finally reached a point that they are so basic that pretty much anyone can produce a decent one? I decided to take a router from ECPN — a company so generic that it doesn’t even have a live web site — out for a spin.

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