The personal site/blog/experiment of Chris Harrison, a web designer living and working in Augusta, GA.
I’m on my way out the door, but thought this was big enough news to share… The Beta 2 Preview of IE7 is now available for download. Snag it here.
Its made its rounds… and after about 2 Internet Years… this meme finally made it to me. Thanks, Jesse 
Well, I missed the Photoshop CS2 Power Tour in Atlanta last week… so I’ve been looking for learning opportunities in and around the Southeast ever since. Enter: “An Event Apart”.
Everything’s a blur right now. I’m stressed. Work and life have converged to form this perfect chaotic storm in my mind. I just want to disappear right now.
I’m the one to blame for this self-inflicted wound.
I thought I could handle it all at work. Not asking for assistance from coworkers has caused delays in a few key projects and caused those clients to be unhappy with delivery schedules. Because of the delays, we’re having to push that much harder to meet the original deadlines. Stress has increased ten-fold as a result. I even had to miss out on a conference I was really looking forward to attending because of the workload that’s piled up.
I want too much. My inability to control myself (or my spending) has caused my wife to be more than just a little upset with me. We’re trying to rid ourselves of debt, and I took it upon myself to purchase some toys off of eBay and some camera accessories off of Amazon.com without so much as mentioning it to my wife. I even went so far as to conceal my actions. I have a 6½ yearweek old son at home right now… he should be my priority. My wife should be my priority. Not toys. Or stupid camera accessories. What was I thinking?!?!?!?!?
God help me.
No matter who we try to become, we can never escape what we once were. It will always linger in the back of our mind… waiting, desperately, for a chance to regain control. I don’t want to go back to the way I’ve been… I know that I am much better than that.
All storms eventually pass, and I know that this too shall pass. But it cannot pass without having learned something from the experience…
Apple’s new ad, promoting the usage of Intel chips in the new iMac has sparked a bit of controversy as of late. First, people were saying it was blatant rip-off of a the video “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service. Then, it was discovered that the same directors that directed said video were involved on the Apple ad. Heck, Apple’s even added the video to the iTunes Music Store. End of story, right? Wrong.
A note on The Postal Service website begs to differ…
It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers’ new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for ‘Such Great Heights’ made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent. -Ben Gibbard, The Postal Service
Newsweek/MSNBC has an web article posted with Emperor Steve Jobs. Great read…
Too. Sweet. Dropping. 2006. Must. Have. Check it out here…
Version 2.0 of the popular ColourMod Konfabulator Widget (I’m sorry, Yahoo! Widget just doesn’t sound right to me yet) is now available. Snag it here.
This is one of those widgets that comes in handy when you are working with colors. I use it often… in conjunction with several other tools. Definitely worth the install!
Wednesday’s episode of Lost, was quite possibly one of the best I’ve seen in the series. I’ve developed a fondness for Mr. Eko over the past few episodes…
Mr. Eko is a fascinating character. Moreso now than ever…
Possible SPOILERS ahead…
…in FLASHBACK, we learn that Eko knows all of this because this is the very plane that he intended to use to smuggle the drugs from his home in Nigeria.
It seems that when Eko was a young boy, the Nigerian militia came into his town, interrupted an innocent game of soccer, shoved a gun into his little brother Yemi’s hand and demanded that Yemi shoot a man or they would kill him instead. Eko steps up and spares his little brother this horror by killing the man himself. The thugs recognize his bravery and give him the name of Mr. Eko - “a born killer” - thus initiating him as one of their own. They rip a gold cross hanging from Eko’s neck and lead him away. His little brother Yemi picks up the cross and puts it around his own neck.
Eko continues down this path into adulthood, becoming a drug dealer, while Yemi grows up to be a priest. Eko devises a plan in which he will buy 300 Virgin Mary statues from the church and smuggle his drugs out inside them on one of the church’s relief planes - all the while disguised as a priest. Yemi refuses the deal, but Eko reminds him that the money can be used to buy polio vaccine for the village and finally resorts to blackmail, threatening to burn down the church if his brother doesn’t agree.
Yemi attempts to stop Eko from taking the fateful flight, but gets shot in the process and is pulled on board, leaving Eko behind. When the military police arrive, Eko assumes his brother’s identity as a priest - the identity he commands on the island.
For me, Mr. Eko’s character is about redemption. In life, we make decisions we cannot undo. We do them, because we feel they are the best decisions we can make given the time and circumstances they are made under. Eko made a decision - to save his brother, and in a sense, keep his brother’s soul pure - and did so at a terrible price: the “loss” of his own soul. That choice sent him down a road filled with violence, drugs, etc. But even the wicked can find redemption in Christ. It is not who we were that matters to the Lord, it is who we become when we accept Christ into our life.
One of the most powerful parts of this episode was when Eko reads Psalm 23 aloud. It gave me goosebumps, literally.
Psalm 23, ESV
- The LORD is My Shepherd
- 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
- He leads me beside still waters. [1]
- 3 He restores my soul.
- He leads me in paths of righteousness [2]
- for his name’s sake.
- 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [3]
- I will fear no evil,
- for you are with me;
- your rod and your staff,
- they comfort me.
- 5 You prepare a table before me
- in the presence of my enemies;
- you anoint my head with oil;
- my cup overflows.
- 6 Surely [4] goodness and mercy [5] shall follow me
- all the days of my life,
- and I shall dwell [6] in the house of the Lord
- forever. [7]
Footnotes
It’s been one month since Tyler came into our lives. One month. Seems completely unreal to me.
For Kim, this has been an experience she’s accustomed to. She’s helped her sister with her two children… So diapers and bottle feedings are nothing new to her. For me, each day is an adventure. I think I may have changed two or three diapers in my lifetime, prior to Tyler. Now, I change a couple a day… feed a couple of times a day… make bottles… clean bottles… the list goes on.
Tyler runs the show. I think, even in his infanthood, he gets a sick sense of satisfaction to see his daddy dry-heave at the sight of a dirty diaper.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Fatherhood serves to test the best of us. It will test your patience, your endurance, your faith, your love. But the rewards are awesome if you’re willing to give it your all.
