Moods are interesting to me. Specifically, the way that they spiral. For example:
    Before I quit my job, Sunday nights were dangerous. At some point in the evening, I would realize that my precious weekend was ending and that soon I would be off to work again. Then I'd start thinking about how depressing it is that I can't enjoy my last moments of freedom because I'm dreading the future. As time went on I'd start getting depressed earlier and earlier. I assume that if I continued working there, by the time I got home on Friday, I'd already be in a bad mood.
    Fortunately, it works the other way as well. Last night I starting thinking about how great my new job is for me. Then I remembered that it was Sunday night, suddenly I was even happier knowing that Sundays are so much less stressful. Then I thought about how many different ways life is better when you have a few good things going.
    I've had lots of spirals in my life. Whenever I succeed at something difficult, I get extra confidence and I can't wait to tackle the next goal. When I fail, I lose motivation to do even the simplest task ("why should I even bother brushing my teeth, I'm just going to get cavities anyway").
    I wish that I had some magic, easy way to break out of downward spirals. At the same time, I think the way to break out of them is easy to know, but very difficult to do. You have to realize what's happening first of all. Then give it to God. From there you just try to focus on the good things you have going and do things that you enjoy and are good at. Easy to say hard to do.
    What about you? Have you experience spirals? What do you do to stop downward spirals?

I've decided to start using my powers for good, not that I was using them for evil before, but it's time I gave back to the world that has given me so much... anyway...
  I intend to write a little bit about something internet related every other tuesday. I want to keep it broad enough so that anyone can understand it, but even knowledgable people can find a new trick. And if I miss anything, feel free to add a comment and let me know. On to my first entry

Browsers
    The program that you are using to look at this page is a browser. Internet Explorer is the most popular with Firefox coming in second. This is not good, let me explain.

Why Internet Explorer is Bad
    The biggest reason why you shouldn't use Internet Explorer (IE) is that it is old. It came out in 2001 and a lot has changed since then. There are lots of new things that programmers (like me) want to do, but are unable to because Microsoft has been slow in updating their browser. Also, security has changed a lot; there are hundred of holes that evil people can use to do bad things to your computer in IE. This is complicated by IE being the most popular browser, thus there are more people trying to find these holes. IE is coming out with a new version that will be much much better but it's still around a year away.

What is better?
    There a few browsers (ok, every other browser) that are a lot better. My favorite two are Firefox and Opera.   They are faster, easier to use, more powerful and safer. The biggest advantage is tabs. Instead of having a new window for every page you want to view, you keep all the web pages open in one window. You can also download tons of extensions to make the browser look and act just like you want it. I'll dedicate a later entry to my favorite extensions. As for security, there are a few known holes, but they typiclly get fixed much much faster than the IE ones do.
    Firefox is better if you want to do a lot of customizing but I actually like Opera better. It is faster than Firefox and does a few more cool things. I still use Firefox most of the time, but when Opera comes out with their next version (9) I'm probably going to switch over.

If you are using IE I implore you to download a different browser, here are some links...
Firefox
Opera

This page shows what browsers are being used on this site.

The funny thing about the future is that it hasn't happened yet.  As such, it is very difficult to say exactly what will transpire in my lifetime. Nonetheless I will now make an attempt to nail down what the remainder of my life will consist of. 
    In the last few years two things have emerged as things that I am both good at and enjoy doing; teaching and making web sites. In some form, I imagine I will be doing both of them for a long time. Which one I get paid to do and which one I do for fun has not fully been decided. If I were to make a guess, I'd say that I'll be doing a lot of web development the next few years and some teaching. Probably the older I get those two will switch. Then when I retire I'll do lots of teaching and I may or may not do any web development.
    There are two reasons why I'd like to be doing web development primarily right now, one selfish and the other a little more spiritual. The selfish one is of course money. I will be able to make a lot more money a lot faster making web pages. Before you call me a 'sell out', let me tell you about one of my heroes, John MacMurry. Every couple of months John goes backpacking in New Zealand or Oregon or Germany or wherever and takes a few pictures. He comes home, prints them out with some squares and numbers below and makes a lot of money for it (he makes calendars). Then he uses the rest of his time to be with his family and teach. Sounds like a pretty sweet situation to me. If I can do enough web development to do the other things I really want to do, I'll be a very happy man.
    The other reason for my plan is the burden that God is putting on my heart. I really want to see the web used to glorify God! Churches could be doing so much more to attract new members and foster community with a fairly simple web site. As Imago launches their new site I'll talk more about what this looks like. Secondly, as my Dad said in his comment, missionaries could also be using the web more. I really think that every missionary that is able, should have a blog. They could stay much better connected to their supporters and get connected to each other. Ryan Potter was telling me that in a very small area in Japan there is something like eight Churches. All doing similar things but not connecting very well. That is partly due to denominational issues, but certainly be helped.  Lastly, good teaching could be spread more quickly through the web. This has already started but has a long way to go. I've been pleased to see the number of Churches and organizations that have podcasts, this is a great start.
    In conclusion, I have no idea what I'll be doing next year, much less the rest of my life. I am confident knowing that God has brought me safely thus far, and that he will certainly lead me home.

If you had asked me a few years ago what I was thinking of doing after graduation, web development wouldn't have been mentioned. All the same, this career didn't just come out of the blue. God has been planting seeds in me all along to get me to this point.
    I have had a computer as long as I can remember. While other kids played mario on their Nintendo, I played 'Winter Olympics' and 'Heart of Africa' on my commodore. In middle school I learned a basic basic programming language and spent far too many hours making silly little games in it. In high school I started my first web page. I once again spent far too much time learning html during my final two years at BHHS.
    My freshman year at multnomah I had big ambitions for learning more, but had more ambition than opportunity. When I was in Belize (of all places) in the summer of 2000 I heard a sermon about how we need to use technology for God. Just as the printing press helped restore and advance Christianity, so today's technology can  impact today's world.
    I did very little with web development for the next four years. It wasn't until Davin (multnomah's web developer) gave me the opportunity to be his lackey that my desire to learn matched my opportunity. In my year there I learned as much as I could. At the same time I was beginning to see more concretely just how the web could be used for God.
    The biggest idea I had was a content management system for churches. I knew it would be years before I would have the means to develop something like this so I was thrilled when I found out that not only is there a company that is developing something like that, but that I could also help them.
    So even though this wasn't my plan for my life all along, I have no doubt that God has lead me here. In my next post I will expound upon where I'm hoping to go with all this.