Time flies drags when you’re having fun stuck in a quickly deteriorating apartment complex. Yep, a year has passed and we’re finally getting to move into (what we hope is) a better place.
Jul
22
Jun
5
This past week, while discussing our core web application at work, another programmer and I were complaining about how every time we added a new feature (nearly always at the request of one of the departments) some other department would then complain about it and want the opposite. If we build a form to insert things, we have to build one to delete things (well, appear to be deleted, we never really delete anything). If we build an option to start a process, we have to build an option to re-start the process. That sort of deal.
Well, in talking about this phenomenon I blurted out, “It’s like for every feature we have to have the antifeature.” My partner in programming like it and for the last few days we’ve been using it quite a bit. We’ve already had a few more requests for antifeatures since then and now we use the term when planning new features, like: ‘That’s great, engineering will love it. But where’s the antifeature, you know design will want it?”
You know, building web apps would be much easier if it wasn’t for those darn ‘end users’ 
May
21
Recently some guys from church started going back and forth on The Pirate Bay which then branched off into talks about the music industry, law, and ones walk with God. This post is essentially just me throwing my 2¢ worth in. I’m going to break this down into sections and go through it piece by piece so that I won’t leave anything out. Want to make sure you get all two cents worth. 
Read the rest of this entry »
Apr
25
This past week I came across two separate things that made me stop and think about the way we (we as in, American society) educate our teenagers. Before I get started, I want to be clear about something. I hate the public education system here in the United States. I have hated it since jr. high (which has been replaced by middle school in most places now). With that in mind, I must say that I love it when I come across articles/research/lectures/etc that support my feelings that public school, middle and high school in particular, is woefully inefficient and ineffective.
Apr
8
‘All sins are equal’
It’s a phrase that’s real easy for Christians to quote when they’re talking about something that doesn’t hit home. But let someone’s sin interfere with their life and all the sudden it’s a major sin. Of course I’m generalizing here. But you get my point.
Recently a family member of my wife’s was accused of breaking a law. When word of this reached us, it greatly distressed my Amanda. For several days she was tense, couldn’t sleep, and all she seemed to be able to talk about what this situation and how she couldn’t believe this person broke this law again. At first I tried to stay out of it as best I could while still providing Amanda with some emotional support. After a couple days I started distancing myself from the situation as all the emotions from Amanda’s family seemed to be spiraling out of control. At the center of all the emotion was disbelief and the disgust. They couldn’t believe their relative did THAT. Because THAT was such a great sin.
Before I go any further, let me give a few facts. The law that this person is accused of breaking is not minor at all. And most people would describe it as sick.
But the point I’m trying to make here is that a sin is a sin. And that the revulsion that we feel when confronted with a situation such as the one Amanda’s family has been dealing with… well, God doesn’t see it any different than when you said that last curse word. It’s on par with that ‘little white lie’ you told your boss last week. There’s no difference from His perspective. We humans try to make these things difficult, but it really isn’t. Sin is sin. And no matter the sin, it all does the same thing. It separates you from and hinders your walk with, God.
So, I challenge you, and I challenge myself, to stop grading sins. Stop comparing your sins to the sins of those around you. Instead, put that effort into making changes to your life so that you can walk even closer to God.
