Christians, Now is Not a Time to Celebrate

Dear fellow Siblings in Christ,

Many of you may think that today with the decision by the United States Supreme Court to overturn the ruling on Roe v. Wade and send the decision of regulating abortion access back to the states is a victory worth celebrating. This cannot be further from what we as self-proclaimed Christians should be doing, and I'm saddened to see so many Christians view this as a victory for Christ and his message. Whenever the topic of abortion comes up, I'm always reminded of this quote from Pastor David Barnhart:

“The unborn" are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.

The Gospel proclaimed and put into practice by Jesus Christ, from whom comes our religion's namesake, was all about "agape" - onconditional love - for God and your neighbor as yourself. Christ demonstrated this love to the point of self-sacrifice and death on the cross so that we all are able to enjoy the gift of eternal life with him in heaven. Jesus calls us to also sacrifice ourselves such as he did - to take up our cross and follow him.

Cheering for the means to the end of abortion in this manner has nothing gospel-centered to it. It involves no self-sacrifice, and in actuality the cheering of this Supreme Court decision celebrates pushing the sacrifice onto the bodies of all women and girls in the United States for the sake of forced-birth dogma. If we are so "pro-life" as we claim, should we not advocate for legislation that supports families, regardless of their parental composition or social status, in the form of healthcare for the mother - prenatal to postpartum and beyond - and including the infancy and growing development of the child? Advocating and cheering for universal bans on abortion is cheering on a measure that lacks compassion for those who face such a horrible decision and, in all respects, is only a treatment of the symptom for the graver diseases of our society: increasing poverty, inadequate healthcare, and lack of wisdom.

We Christians put decades upon decades of effort into the outcome of today, and for what? To say to God "Look how we did good deeds in your name?" I fear the response would be to "Depart for I never knew you." If we as Christians would only put in as much effort to enact change to love our neighbor as ourselves - by establishing programs to uplift struggling families out of poverty as Jesus uplifted the stranger, enact universal healthcare to heal the less fortunate as Jesus healed the sick, and provide wisdom in the form of quality education so our fellow Siblings in Christ can make sound decisions themseslves as Jesus taught and presented wisdom to his followers - think of how many lives (born or unborn) will be saved such as to eliminate even the smallest tempting thought of having an abortion.

For my fellow Siblings in Christ cheering today I'm afraid we're cheering a hollow victory, for today we are doing more damage to our witness of Christ and his body through celebrating malicious enforcement of "God's love" onto others by exploiting governmental authority than actually practicing and demonstrating the unconditional love of our neighbor through self-sacrificial action as Jesus Christ commands us.

Please consider this, examine yourself, and do better.

Sincerely,

~Phil

Escaping TikTok's iOS Browser Sandbox (iOS Shortcut)

Update 3 03/19/2023: Over the past few months, TikTok updated their app to include an option to open links in the default browser versus forcing users to stay in the in-app browser. To do this, visit a link in the TikTok app and tap the three dots (…). Choose “default browser” from the list of options and it will launch your phone’s default web browser. As a result, this shortcut now has little practical use. This will be the final update regarding this post.

Update 2 03/19/2022: Added action to restore original functionality. Shortcut link in article has been updated.

Update 1 03/19/2022: The most recent version of iOS (15.4 at the time of this writing) has broken the Shortcut and only extracts the first line of text of the screenshot passed into it. I’m working to update the Shortcut and restore functionality.

I finally got fed up with TikTok’s hostile UX and locking iOS users to using only TikTok’s in-app web browser when visiting creators’ independent websites on their TikTok profiles. I call it hostile behavior because of the difficulty TikTok makes to open a creator’s website in a separate app, be it Safari or 3rd-party app like Chrome, Firefox, or Brave. This is also shady behavior on TikTok by forcing users to stay within the confines of the in-app web browser. If a website does not have appropriate traffic encryption in place, TikTok may be able to capture and siphon any information passing through the in-app browser and tying that browsing history to the user. This means:

• First and last names typed in for online petitions

• Email addresses submitted for newsletters

• Shipping addresses provided for purchases

• Login information to access other online services

• Other private information entered through text

TikTok ensures this web traffic goes through only their in-app browser so that it stays within their sandbox of iOS to stockpile this information and more. TikTok pushes a number of tricks on iOS to accomplish this.

An “Ominous” Message

When a user visits a profile weblink that is properly secured so the Clock App cannot eavesdrop on web traffic, TikTok gives a message of caution to the user through a confirmation screen before displaying the page, stating:

“You’re about to open an external website. Be cautious and keep your personal information safe.”

Ironically, TikTok only presents this “warning” when your personal information is safe from prying eyes, even TikTok’s.

View fullsize

Screenshot of TikTok’s confirmation screen before visiting secure websites.

Making the URL Text Inaccessible

Another method employed by TikTok is making the text of the URL nearly inaccessible to iOS users. When visiting a creator’s profile, we can easily enough copy the creator’s username from the Clock App by tapping on the username itself, but when trying to copy the text of the URL so we can paste it into Safari the task is not so simple. Even when visiting the creator’s profile page through the “Copy Link” feature on their profile page (tapping the three dots in the upper right-hand corner) and pasting this link into Safari, TikTok hides the creator’s website URL in when visiting the profile page in a mobile web view. See below, where @underthedesknews linktr.ee URL is visible on the TikTok app view (left) versus when viewing their same profile page through the mobile web app view in Safari (right):

The Workaround (ios shortcut)

After searching the web for a workaround and finding none, I eventually discovered and developed my own. By taking a screenshot of the TikTok creator’s profile page, I could use the Live Text OCR (object character recognition) feature integrated into iOS (versions 13 and up) to copy the URL and paste it into Safari. However, the process was very cumbersome switching between apps and copying/pasting over and over, and whenever something gets repetitive it’s best to make a Shortcut.

After more brainstorming and research I was able to build off the work of iOS Shortcuts wizard Matthew Cassinelli by taking his “Extract text from photo” Shortcut and modifying it. The Shortcut takes any photo containing text (in this case, a screenshot of the TikTok creator’s profile with their URL), and scrapes out any text in the photo. From the lines of text the Shortcut scraped, we select the one that contains the website link. That line of text containing the URL to the “Get URLs from” operator, which keeps only the text making up the URL. The Shortcut finally opens the URL in Safari.

Shortcut demo

Play the video from my tweet below to see a demo of the Shortcut in action.

Testing out a Shortcut I made /w the immense help of @mattcassinelli’s “Extract text from photo” shortcut to bypass TikTok’s enforcement of using their in-app web browser on iOS. pic.twitter.com/SWcO8grnXf

— Phil Kasper (@philkasper) March 15, 2022

Caveats

The Shortcut can be run through the Share Sheet or separately from within the Shortcuts app. I prefer to run it immediately after I take a screenshot through the Share Sheet. However, keep in mind that each time a screenshot is taken the screenshot will end up in the Camera Roll, so don’t forget to clear them out from time to time if you don’t want screenshots clogging it up.

Remember: this Shortcut can only work with the text it is able to detect and “see” in the photo. That means if a URL is too long that it goes off the screen and the link trails off with ellipses (…), then the URL may not render properly and the user may see receive a 404 error when trying to visit the website.

I’ll update the link to the Shortcut above as I find better ways to improve the process of opening links from the TikTok app into Safari. If you’re as irked by TikTok’s web browser sandboxing as I am and you have any suggestions or alternatives to my method, let me know on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or in the comments below

I Will Not Be Silent

One year ago today I sat at work beside myself as I witnessed insurrectionists storm the Capitol building on livestreams across the many social media platforms. It’s a day I won’t forget where I was or how I felt, right alongside my memory of September 11, 2001. 

Let’s not kid ourselves as to who enticed and directed this mob. They were loud, proud, and unashamed to show their pride being so lost in their collective delusion. They even chanted his name while beating the same blue police officers they claim to back: “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

Yes, the GOP (the party of Gerrymandering, Oppression, and Projection) share a great deal of blame. It sickens me that none of these elected officials have faced any jail time for their involvement in inciting and planning this insurrection, but there is plenty of other blame to go around. The American Christian church is one such entity for losing its collective soul to gain the world in the form of political power by backing such a morally bankrupt, self-absorbed, openly non-repentant person in the form of Donald Trump. But I cannot cast blame on the church without also casting blame on myself.

I won’t be silent. #January6th #InsurrectionDay pic.twitter.com/xUAIXpfpNo

— Phil Kasper (@philkasper) January 7, 2022

I should have spoken out more when I first saw the insidious signs of Christian nationalism creep into my previous church. The ever-increasing patriotic services where we pledged allegiance to a piece of cloth as part of our liturgy. But I remained silent.

I should have spoken out when, days after the 2020 election results calling victory for then President-elect Joe Biden, I received a mass email from a congregant calling for prayer against a force which was “most recently blatant voter fraud being allowed that is destroying the very principles and basis of our democratic form of government.” But I remained silent.

I should have spoken out when I sat in Bible class and another congregant declared one Sunday after Election Day “we all know who the president is.” To which the leader of the Bible class replied “or so we think.” But I remained silent.

I should have spoken out more to my Christian family members who falsely claimed that “Antifa” were actually the thousands of people storming the Capitol, dressed to the nines in Trump memorabilia to overturn the election in order to put back into power the very person “Antifa” was standing against! After writing them off, I remained silent.

I remained silent while my previous church refused to talk about the real issues of nationalism, hatred, division, hypocrisy and system racism that plagues the United States and the American church. They refused to speak out against the atrocious acts one year ago today, and it sickens me to say that it’s most likely because a number of their congregation helped build up, develop, and support the events that unfolded on January 6th, 2021. The silence of pastors behind the pulpit about these issues is deafening as I continue to read and study the words of Jesus.

Well I’m going to do my best to not be quiet anymore. I will not remain silent.

Mistaking Compassion For Fear

Recently my wife and I needed to travel for a family funeral. While we are both vaccinated we still take care to wear masks when out in public or in larger gatherings, if anything, out of respect for others and the habit of doing so for the past year. Shortly after the funeral service, a family member pulled me aside and said to me:

“You know you don’t have to wear that mask. You don’t have to be afraid.”

At the time I didn’t know how to respond to that statement. Not due to its profoundness, but its absurdity. I do not wear a mask out of fear, but as a means to love and care for my neighbor.

I wear a mask because we cannot tell at a glance who has received the vaccine, much like how we cannot tell at a glance who may be infected with the virus and contagious.

I wear a mask as a way to help protect those who are ineligible to receive the vaccine and to put them more at ease if they are to come into contact with me.

I wear a mask because even though the vaccine has made me resistant to the virus, there is still a possibility I may become infected. As such I wish to reduce the spread of that infection as much as possible so that others may not become infected as well.

I wear a mask because even though some people are over and done with the pandemic, this does not mean the pandemic is over.

I wear a mask because I want to protect others around me as much as I wish they would want to protect me when I am around them. Wearing a mask is the simplest form of caring for another person during this dark time of which the world is beginning to crawl out. 

That’s not fear you see. That’s compassion.

To say that I wear a mask out of fear of an invisible virus makes as much sense to say that I attended this funeral out of fear of death. I did not travel hundreds of miles to attend the funeral of a family member because I’m afraid to die.

I did so out of compassion for the people in mourning.

I did so as a means to comfort the family and friends that are in pain from their loss.

I did so for the brothers and sisters who lost a sibling.

I did so for the sons and daughters who lost a parent.

I did so for the the men and women who lost a friend.

I did so because I want to support those in their time of need, just as I hope others will support me if and when my time of need occurs.

Do not mistake compassion for fear.

Podcast Gear

In-Person Interviews/Recordings

TASCAM DR-40 4-Track Portable Digital Recorder - My budget all-in-one device for in-person recording if time/space doesn’t allow for my iPhone-/iPad-based setup (explained below). To check audio levels I use whichever headphones I may have on my person at the time. I want to upgrade to the Zoom H6 Six-Track Portable Recorder with double the number of inputs and individual dials to control volume on each input, but it is over twice the price of the DR-40. Pro tip: regardless of the digital recorder model you go with, always put new, charged batteries into your digital recorder before every recording session. It will save headache and embarrassment in the future.

Eneloop 2100-Cycle Rechargeable Batteries - My preferred brand of rechargeable batteries to go into my DR-40 and other battery-operated equipment. High recharge count and can hold up to 70% of their charge for 10 years, these are a solid choice. Depending on how much you tend to use and cycle them, be sure to keep plenty of spares available.

Shure SM58-LC Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone (no cable) - the tried-and-true standard stage mic used by professionals and amateurs alike. Inexpensive and heavy duty, these microphones can be thrown around, perhaps even driven over and continue to work. They make the perfect microphone for recording on location or in a personal space. While other podcasters may hold their microphones, I like to keep mine on a stand with a pop-filter to keep my hands free for referencing notes or other tasks while recording (see Virtual/Home Recording section), but depending on the environment it may be best for you and your guests to hold them.

XLR 3-Pin Microphone Cable (6ft) - For connecting the Shure SM58 to the TASCAM DR-40. Invest in your cables, because they can and will be the common factor in any potential audio issues, and always have spares on hand.

Foam Mic Cover Handheld Windscreen - The next best thing to having a full pop-filter for your microphone. Windscreens will help reduce the pops, clicks, and other mouth-noise that come from recording vocal audio in addition to other factors like environmental wind.

Virtual/Home Recording

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface - this is my go-to audio interface for in-house audio recording work. Whether I’m connecting it to my laptop or to my iPad/iPhone via an Apple Lightning-to-USB3 Camera Adapter, I use this interface for remote podcasts through Discord, Zoom, and Skype or for solo work such as audiobook narration or recording intros.

Adjustable Microphone Stand with Weighted Base - I use this with my Shure SM58 on my desk so I can go hands-free if needed for referencing notes or mixing during a recording session.

Dynamic Microphone Pop Filter and Shock Mount - A shock mount and pop filter are essential for any microphone fixed to a stand. The shock mount guards against unintentional vibrations through movement on the desk (resting of hands, setting down a drink, sliding the stand…) and the pop filter protects against mouth noise that can be offensive or distracting to the ears.

Shure MV88 Portable iOS Lightning Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone for iPhone/iPad - unmatched audio quality for the size and portability. Great for grabbing quick on-the-go recordings either solo or impromptu interviews. The device fits in your hand and comes with a handy carrying case. Can toss into a bag for travel in case you need to quickly attach to your iPhone for a field audio recording. This has saved me on more than one occasion to grab a last-minute intro alteration or retake.

For Both:

Audio-Technica ATH-40x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones - I use these to monitor audio levels during recording and for post production editing of podcasts. They fit well over the ear for minor noise isolation and are comfortable for long sessions.

Ferrite Recording Studio (iOS/iPadOS) - The app I’ve been using for years to help polish and publish my podcasts. It is designed to improve audio quality of podcasts and increase the efficiency at which you edit them. While there is a free version, $29.99 for the pro features is worth it in terms of the automation and time savings that would otherwise be spent in additional post-production hours.

REAPER (PC/Mac/Linux)- The best bang-for-your-buck general purpose digital audio workspace available on all the main computing platforms. The capacity rivals that of pro-level tools such as Adobe Audition or Pro Tools but for a fraction of the price - $60 for an individual license. Many of the features are designed for mastering of music audio tracks, and there is a learning curve. However the interface customization, built-in plugins, and ability to automate time-consuming post-production tasks make this more than worth price tag.

Auditing My Social Circles

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.“ - Jim Rohn

This is a quote that’s been sitting and weighing on my mind a lot lately. In the past year I haven’t been spending much time physically around people, but, like many others, I’ve taken more to my social circles across the vastness of the Internet. I’ve forged new relationships with great people as a result, but other older relationships have taken a strain due to a lack of perspective, understanding, communication, and patience. Take the normal stresses of everyday life from within the home, to the work place, and out in public in general and combine that with the compounded stress of a global pandemic and the needless politicization on top of that and I can see why it may lead to a downward trajectory of my mental health and outlook on the future.

The Final Straw

What was the final straw for me were not only the reprehensible actions I witnessed on January 6th 2021 via live television and through various Internet livestreams (many from the perpetrators of the insurrection), but people in my social circles celebrating or encouraging the insurrection. A family member even attempted to gaslight my criticism of their praise for these insurrectionists, calling me a socialist and perpetuating the false narrative that “antifa” were actually the ones storming the Capitol in an attempt to make our President look bad. I immediately took action to reduce my contact with this person on social media.

That’s when I came to realize that I need to start surrounding myself with more positive and motivating people. People that not only have spiritual faith, but practical faith in things such as science, medicine, and critical thinking. By doing this it means I must distance myself from the negative, pessimistic, divisive, discouraging or conspiratorially-minded people in my life. As a result, I’ve decided to audit my social circles and cut those people out who I feel influence my psyche in a negative way.

An Open Appeal

If you are reading this and find we are no longer connected through one of the myriad of social networks that I interact with, I want you to know that this does not mean I do not want anything to do with you. I find your content not in the frame of mind into which I want to push myself. As a result I am limiting my interaction with your content, but I do not want to limit my availability to you. Do not think this means that I want nothing to do with you. If you are ever in a time of need - be it in need of prayer, words of encouragement, financial help, advice, a place to stay or any other variety of reasons - please feel free to reach out to me by any means necessary. I promise to listen, respond and assist however I can. Over time we may be able to reconnect through these social circles again, but until then distance is needed for a time of reflection on both of our parts.

I pray and wish you peace and happiness in the future.

Sincerely,

~Phil

Phirewater Cider

When the autumn and winter months fall upon us and I need something to warm me up on chilly evenings, I turn to making a hot adult beverage that’s perfect for the Thanksgiving/Christmas time: Phirewater Cider.

What is Phirewater Cider?

Phirewater Cider is a drink I developed back the college days to capture the tastes (such as apples and cinnamon) and smells (like butterscotch) of the seasons. I kept the recipe secret for a number of years to develop of friendly rivalry of the different brotherhood lines within my fraternity. My Brothers always looked forward to the coming of autumn as that meant the return of Phil’s Phirewater Cider to warm them by the campfire.

Now that those whimsical college years are behind me I no longer saw much reason to withhold the recipe from the masses. What point is there to know the recipe if myself and a less than a handful of fraternity Brothers could replicate it? Why should the enjoyment of this delicious be enjoyed, if at all, by few?

A delicious drink I love to make around this time of year: Phirewater Cider pic.twitter.com/5eN7Veb2lJ

— Phil Kasper (@philkasper) December 24, 2020

The Recipe

I chronicled the history of Phirewater Cider and its recipe in a poem I published on Facebook years ago, but for simplicity I wanted to outline the recipe on my blog for posterity and easier reference in the future. Continue reading for the full breakdown and an additional bonus recipe!

The ingredients:

• Goldschlager

• Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

• Laird’s Applejack Brandy

• Dekuyper Buttershots

• Apple Cider

Phirewater mixture:

• 2 parts Goldschlager

• 2 parts Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

• 1 part Laird’s Applejack Brandy

• 1 part Butterscotch Schnapps

Preparation:

Heat the apple cider in a pot on the stove over low heat. Be careful not to heat the cider over 172°F (78°C) if you want a boozy drink! Prepare the Phirewater by mixing proportions noted above. I recommend making a small batch of Phirewater and then using 2oz to 3oz per 8oz of warmed cider.

Additional Notes: Measuring

The measurement of parts are denoted for ease of scaling. The basic rule is to use 2x the amount of Goldschlager and Spiced Rum as is used for the Brandy and Butterscotch Schnapps. I normally make this drink for two (my wife and myself), and I find that doing 1 shot each of Goldschlager and Spice Rum with 1/2 shot each of Brandy and Butterscotch Schnapps to give us 1.5 shots of Phirewater in each of our drinks. We normally make almost 2 liters of Phirewater at once to enjoy all throughout the autumn and winter months.

Additional Notes: Substitutions

Although I listed the four original spirits I used to develop Phirewater, substitutions can be made. For example, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum may be used instead of Captain Morgan’s, and any butterscotch schnapps may be substituted for Dekuyper’s Buttershots.

I have not tried substituting Goldschlager for another cinnamon-based liquor such as Fireball or Dekuyper’s Hot Damn schnapps. I find the gold flakes of Goldschlager add a pleasing aesthetic to the Phirewater mixture, although this is lost when mixing with the cloudy apple cider.

Laird’s Applejack Brandy is the only ingredient on this list I consider should not have a substitute, with Goldschlager coming in a close second. The availability of Laird’s and Goldschlager on liquor store shelves is the main reason these are on the “must have” list. The smoothness and sweetness a brandy provides combined with the fact that Lairds’ Applejack is made with apples to compliment the cider further cements this liquor on the list.

Keeping these caveats in mind, please feel free to build upon and experiment with this recipe, making substitutions and sharing your findings!

Bonus Recipe: A Drink of Ice & Phirewater

Happen to find out about this recipe during the spring or summer months and worried you’ll have to wait until it gets colder to enjoy Phirewater? Worry no more! Substitute hot Apple Cider for cold hard cider (such as Angry Orchard’s Crisp Apple Cider). Pour 2oz Phirewater and hard cider over ice, garnish with maraschino cherries, and enjoy a cool drink during those hot days.

An Ode to Phirewater

'Twas days before Christmas, and who could believe,
That such a merry mixture the masses would receive;
A beverage so delicious, some call it divine,
So secret the recipe, 'twas passed by only Brethren-line;

Many took drink and many gave postulation,
As to what ingredients lie in the sweet, gold libation;
Aspirants would guess one, some would guess more,
But none could surmise all ingredients four;

Time went on, the liqueur a rare treat,
That few would enjoy and even fewer could complete;
Then one day the author came to realize,
keeping the recipe hidden would lead to its demise;

"What advantage have I, keeping Phirewater on the shelf?"
He thought aloud as he questioned himself;
"Why should the recipe belong only to me?
It must go open-source! Fly now, be free!"

At this command the coveted words took flight,
Fingers danced across the keyboard and off into the night;
To forums and social networks for all the world to see,
And plastered on the Internet to live eternally;

Which fantastic liquors are used in the brew,
And how are they mixed, are they parts one or parts two?
Here the answer lies, an end to the game,
The recipe complete, revealing each spirit by name;

Goldschlager, of course, for its strong cinnamon taste,
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum helps to fill the drink's base;
Dekuyper Buttershots for a butterscotch bouquet,
Laird's Applejack Brandy, the final element of this array;

Add the former parts two, the latter parts one,
Mix warmed apple cider to enjoy autumn and winter fun;
If the summer months are closer to your favor,
Stir with hard cider for a cool drink to savor;

The secret is out, with nothing left to share,
But one final request still lingers in the air;
If you build upon this recipe, finding a new drink to spike,
Continue to give away, please always ShareAlike;

Now with metaphorical stockings stuffed, faces filled with glee,
Remember: enjoy in moderation, please drink responsibly;
My burden finally lifted, my heart bursting with delight,
Merry Christmas to all and to all a buzzed night!