I have a well-intentioned, not so web-savy, cousin of my wife's that likes to mass email all her relatives. She'll headline something like, "New Type of Cancer Discovered" and then forward a copy of some hyped-up worrisome article to about 100 of her friends and family. She is very religious, sheltered and stubborn.
Yesterday, I got one of these emails. I wrote her back and told her spamming was the unpardonable sin, and that she was going to hell for doing so. (I was joking of course.)
She emailed me back today and informed me that this article was very important and something my wife should be aware of. (Like awareness is something that can be captured by email.) Was this good-intentioned spam or just cheap love? Something to one make the sender feel like they're doing good, when in reality they're doing nothing at best - being rude, self-deceptive and clogging email at worst - certainly not helping anyone.
It reminds me of where James writes to the early church:
"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled'; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
It's easy to offer up words of advise of "Be clothed and fed." It's akin to shouting at a man in the unemployment line, "Get a job."
The ignorant but good-intentioned queen - Marie Antoinette, when told that the people were out of bread to eat replied, "Then let them eat cake!"
The people revolted and cut off her head for such naiviete.
Maybe spammers really do go to hell.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Writing a proper query...
I came to me desktop this morning (Monday) to find my "note to self" on how to start where I left off Friday (I'm a software programmer by trade). My note was:
// ***************************************
// build sql string and insert here
// ***************************************
which essentially means "do all the proper thinking to frame the question into understandable syntax". And I realize that this is not what I'm good at - posing the question well. If I could do that I could get good answers.
It seems life for me has just been one long attempt to just get the question right. Somehow naively, I'm convinced that if I can just get the question right, then I can get the answers to everything I want to know and understand - about God, the universe, our histories, our destinies and the meanings of life.
Gee, am I a nit-wit or what?
Instead of programming (this stupid computer), I go and read some of Josh's great blogging with
links to depressing articles about how creative people we admire are really just 8th grade educated automatons of idiotic cults.
Again, I'm almost convinced that I may never be able to phrase up the questions properly - and even worse - that it probably doesn't matter.
Does anybody out there know how to write a proper query?
// ***************************************
// build sql string and insert here
// ***************************************
which essentially means "do all the proper thinking to frame the question into understandable syntax". And I realize that this is not what I'm good at - posing the question well. If I could do that I could get good answers.
It seems life for me has just been one long attempt to just get the question right. Somehow naively, I'm convinced that if I can just get the question right, then I can get the answers to everything I want to know and understand - about God, the universe, our histories, our destinies and the meanings of life.
Gee, am I a nit-wit or what?
Instead of programming (this stupid computer), I go and read some of Josh's great blogging with
links to depressing articles about how creative people we admire are really just 8th grade educated automatons of idiotic cults.
Again, I'm almost convinced that I may never be able to phrase up the questions properly - and even worse - that it probably doesn't matter.
Does anybody out there know how to write a proper query?
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