A La Carte (3/31)

iDolatry? [2] - Dustin Neeley has three questions you should ask yourself before buying an iPad. I think gadgets like the iPad are very good at revealing idols of the heart, so it’s always worth asking questions like these ones. And speaking of the iPad, take a look at this article, Apple’s iPad: By the Numbers [3].

Simplify Your Workday [4] - This article offers some good suggestions for simplifying (and maximizing) your workday.

Office Technology: Productivity Boost or Time Sink? [5] - This article asks some good questions about the place of technology and gadgets in the workplace. “What the experts have figured out is how to track what office workers actually spend their time doing. The results indicate that — contrary to any assumptions about their usefulness — personal computers, smartphones, notebooks, netbooks and associated gadgets can be such massively beguiling, addictive time sinks that they materially damage the economy — draining it by one-sixteenth, according to one calculation.”

The Toll of Our Toiling [6] - Collin Hansen writes about John Piper’s leave of absence. He says “Thousands of ministers who have learned from Piper through his books, sermons, and conference talks will now have opportunity to learn from his silence.”

Common Tax Return Mistakes [7] - Here’s a timely article if you, like me, are a last-minute kind of filer. “Tax time is annoying and pressure-filled enough when your return is 100% accurate. Make a few mistakes, however, and April can quickly devolve into a nightmarish ordeal. What seems to you like little more than a trivial error can rapidly trigger suspicion (or even fines and audits) from your friends at the IRS. Many a taxpayer has found himself hunched over a desk — head in hands — for days or weeks on end fixing careless tax return errors. Billshrink wants nothing more than to spare our readers such agony, so we put together this list of 12 common tax return mistakes to avoid. So enjoy — but be sure to file with caution!”

Red Letter [8] - A new (and free) album from Mars Hill Church.