Monthly Archive for October, 2006

Zombie Nation

Published on October 22, 2006 in general. 0 Comments Tags: .

I had an epiphany the other day. If it was not for computers and the internet I would not be as intelligent. The internet in no way placates my desire to learn, adapt and grow, however, it does add greatly to the sum of my knowledge. The threads of my life have been so interwoven with this Ethernet cable that I can actually feel my I.Q. points dropping as my cable modem loses packets. For the average home internet bystander an internet outage is a minor inconvenience. For me, it is a major catastrophe with detrimental results.

There are so many things that I no longer need to memorize due to the fact that it is at the tip of my fingertips. A couple mouse clicks and a Google search later and I could tell you the factors that led to the great depression, the name of Jack Johnson’s new album, and the actors name in that one movie.

With every day that passes the internet becomes an extension of my conscious mind. If this is true for me now, imagine what it will be like in 10 or 30 or 50 years. Mankind will be so dependant on wireless linkups that a simple software hiccup or power outage will mean that we forget how much that cup of coffee will cost, and where our seat on the plane is. For the brief moments without our connection we will be a nation of zombies, without having purpose, direction, and information.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

I Walk the Line

Published on October 16, 2006 in mushy. 0 Comments Tags: .

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine. Over the years I have been caught off guard and left myself open for attack. Now I keep my eyes wide open, though, not all the time. Admittedly I still slip up and make unwise decisions based on foolhardy emotions. These decisions always come back to haunt me. I either fall for the wrong woman, or I fall for someone whose feelings are not reciprocated. It doesn’t take long to realize that when a woman says “The right woman is out there for you, you are a great guy” what they are thinking is… “I’m not the one for you because I am infatuated with someone more attractive”.

I have been in love. I wouldn’t call it the healthiest relationship, but it was love. And she loved me. It was one of the few times in my life where I felt some sense of completion. God intentionally made us with two missing pieces. The first missing piece of the puzzle can only be replaced by Him who created us, and the second piece, by our spouse. When the puzzle is complete we no longer see our life as fragmented and complicated; we instead see the big picture. We see the beautiful portrait that God has painted; the portrait of our lives.

In my life I have tried to complete the portrait, but with the wrong pieces. I have spent years battling addiction to drugs, cigarettes, food, alcohol and unhealthy relationships. My addiction was an attempt to repeatedly fill a void with the wrong passion. My relationship with God has waned heavily over the years; however He has kept a closer watch on my heart than I have. I am constantly reminded by Him what an intricate role He wants to have in my life, and how He desperately wants me to see the unveiling of His completed masterpiece.

I want to see it too.

The Horizon Has Been Defeated

Published on October 3, 2006 in rant and work. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I spend a good majority of my day explaining boundaries to my customers. The vast majority of those that call in for web hosting support, have no idea that there is a difference between building a website, hosting a website and sending an email. Because of this, I get asked a lot of questions that I should have learned to expect by now, but still astonish me. When a customer asks me to make some new installation of a third party e-commerce solution look like the rest of their site, I should learn to not only say “That is not within our realm of support”, but also educate them as to why their question is a farce.

When I first started building websites, over 10 years ago, the internet was not the place it is now. Back then, in order to build a decent website I copied someone else’s website, learned what they did to make it cool and would then deposit some of those elements into my own. Before too long I would end up with a tapestry of patchwork and cross stitching that I could call mine. This forced me to always learn more, evolve my design style, and mature in graphical development. 10 years later, and I am still learning, but I am also now teaching.

Fast forwarding to 2006: Everyone wants a website, and wants it NOW! People do not want to learn how to create. Today’s internet market is composed of consumers, not customers. These people expect to have exactly what they need ready to go, as if we were some sort of psychic fast food chain with their anticipated meals being warmed under a heat lamp. There are two problems with this. The first problem is that nothing is ever exactly what is needed. There is always going to be a missing tomato, or too many onions. The second problem is that even if you do get a product close to what you ordered, it doesn’t change the quality of said product, or the fact that you only spent $3.95 and had it handed to you through the drive through window.

How does one offer this type of education to a customer while sounding sincere and empathetic? I am not sure there is a way, so for now I guess the best way is to simply add the phrase “Please contact the developer of this product for any additional support and configuration”.

How far are we going to digress in the name of convenience?