existdissolve.com
the singularity of being and nothingness
Turning to the Darkside…of <cfscript>
Jan 22nd
During a lull at work the other day, I was reading about the extended capabilities that have been added to <cfscript> in ColdFusion 9, like being able to create queries and entire components…
Honestly, until recently I've not really used a whole lot of . I'm not really sure why…just not something that interested me a whole lot. You think it would: I like JavaScript syntax a lot, and translating these skills to <cfscript> is pretty straightforward. Still, not a whole lot of experience.
Honestly, I think a lot of it is that there's something comforting about the tag syntax. It's easy to see a balance in your code, and even easier–depending on your IDE–to see where you've completely borked something, left out a tag…whatever. Some of it, out of necessity, is that not every tag has a equivalent, although efforts are underway to remedy this…Whatever the reasons might be, it's super-simple to get used to the tags and then feel quite lost in <cfscript>.
The revelation for me was kind of interesting. For starters, outside of the very specific tags like, say, <cfexecute>, what are the majority of the tags that you use in a regular swatch of code? For me, it's a More >
Converting ColdFusion Queries for Ext
Jan 21st
At my new job, we use Ext fairly regularly to get some pretty cool AJAXiness up in the mix of things. To familiarize myself with Ext (I’ve not really used it until now), I recently downloaded the newest version and have been playing around with it quite a bit.
One of the elements I like quite a bit is the data grid. Like most other things, Ext makes it pretty simple to pull off a slick sortable, pageable data grid with very little work.
Of course, given that I use ColdFusion alot, I decided to hook up a grid to a remote CFC call. While the call itself is easy enough to do, there is one issue: the JSON that CF returns is in a format that Ext cannot quite understand.
Now there are a bunch of pre-built converters out there, some more robust than others (and a few I couldn’t quite get to work).
So in the spirit of trying to figure it out for myself, I wrote up a simple function in ColdFusion that will take a regular query and convert it into happy JSON that Ext can deal with.
First, here’s our function to create our generic query:
<cffunction name="getPosts" access="remote" returnformat="json" output="false" hint="Gets list/detail More >
Getting Web Site Screenshots with ColdFusion…and a Little Help
Jan 17th
For those of you who don't know, I am the owner and occassional operator (!) of CSS {Imagine}, a simple, but relatively well-visited web design gallery. One of the requirements I had for this site when I built it was that I did NOT want to have to do any work of manually grabbing screenshots and cropping thumbnails for the sites that are submitted to the site. So using a combination of a third-party screen-capture service and CF8's super-awesome image editing tools, I've built an entirely automated process for handling of all this less-than-fun work. Heck, all I have to do to kick off the process is to click a link in a notification e-mail…:)
One of the downsides to using the third-party service is that the results are VERY inconsistent. Some of the images are garbled, while others simply fail. However, the biggest issue I have is that the service has–reasonably enough–a finite amount of servers to process all the request. Therefore, there are several occassions (daily) that I have to wait to kick off the process until the screen shot service has reached my requests in the queue. I know, I know, not a huge deal. However, it would More >
Rethinking Divine Forgiveness: Postscript
Jan 15th
Based on what I outlined previously, I can imagine that a few objections might be raised to my conclusions (as unofficial as they might be…).
First, we might follow this logic:
- If God has already forgiven humanity for its sinfulness;
- and, in fact, the very coming of Christ is the great revelation of this reality;
- why, then, would we be concerned with the notion of asking for forgiveness?
That is, if our notions of “penalty” were really just confounded all along and we are not actually under any impending punishment for our sins, why the biblical injunctions to “confess” our sins?
I think this is a good question, but I also think it’s imminently answer-able within the structure I have suggested. As before, however, it requires getting beyond the notions of “penalty” and “requirement” that have plagued our thinking about forgiveness and atonement. But first, let’s take a look at what’s deficient in the other model.
In these old paradigms, the act of “asking” for forgiveness is, in actuality, a request that the presumed “laws” of justice be put on hold. After all, transgression–within a penal model–necessitates satisfaction, whether in act or consequence. Therefore, the plea for forgiveness is a hope against hope that just maybe “this More >
Rethinking Divine Forgiveness: Part II
Jan 15th
Without a doubt, becoming a parent has revolutionized how I think about God’s love. Before my daughter was born, the concept of God as “Father” had a very one-dimensional nature to it as I filtered this metaphor through my own experiences of being a son. However, when my daughter was born, God as “Father” suddenly blossomed into a much fuller concept for me, for not only could I think of this in terms of God as “Parent,” but now my own experience was impacted as God, as “Father,” began to have meaning for how I am a “father” as well.
And it is precisely these experiences which make popular theology about sin, atonement, and forgiveness so unpalatable and inexplicable to me. Earlier, I described briefly the structure of atonement as envisioned in popular theology, complete with the notions of “penalty,” “guilt,” and what-ever-else. What I find so striking is that, from a parental perspective, these concepts have absolutely no meaning to me when I apply them to my relationship with my daughter.
The Personhood of ForgivenessFor example, consider the notion of “penalty.” Although I, as “father,” do give “laws” that my daughter should follow, her periodic transgressions of them do not More >
Rethinking Divine Forgiveness: Part I
Jan 15th
During my not-quite-eternal-but-still-15-hour return drive from Wichita to Kentucky over Christmas break, I happened to catch a radio interview of James Garlow, pastor of the ridiculously huge Skyline Wesleyan Church in sunny San Diego. On this program, Garlow was discussing his newest book, Heaven and the Afterlife, alternating between questions from the show’s host and callers to the show.
One call-in was particularly interesting. A woman, who was clearly in the midst of a significant existential crisis, asked some pointed questions about the nature of God’s forgiveness. As she described, she believed that her past sins had been forgiven when she was saved, but was worried about her chances for heaven if she at some point forgot to ask forgiveness for future sins. In other words, she wondered if God would bar the doors to heaven if she died without asking forgiveness for any unconfessed sins.As I listened, I felt very sympathetic for this woman, for she was clearly in the midst of some significant emotional distress. I also felt very frustrated because the source of her distress was simply an inheritance of bad theology, a severe misunderstanding of the nature of humanity’s relationship to God and the fundamental nature of More >
Favorite Albums of 2009
Jan 1st
2009 was a bit of a disappointment for me musically. It's not that there wasn't a ton of great music released…it's more that I allowed myself to get far to busy to truly enjoy a reasonable amount of it. This travesty is something I intend to resolve over the next year.
Anyway, of the stuff I did listen to, here's a sampling of some of my favorites.
Ironhorse – Pickin' on Modest Mouse
Ok, so technically, this was released in 2004. However, I came across it this year, so I'll count it 🙂
If you're not familiar with the Pickin' On series of albums, it's basically a bluegrass take on popular music. This series covers everything from Zepplin to Coldplay–very fun stuff.
This album is brilliant. I've always liked Modest Mouse AND bluegrass music, so what better combination could there be? In fact, I liked the MM/bluegrass fusion so much that I actually prefer several of the tracks off this album far better than the MM originals…
I swore to myself that I would not like this album, and tried and tried to not enjoy it. However, the more I listened to it, the more I loved it.
The part of this More >
A List Apart 2009 Web Survey
Dec 15th
If you haven't already seen, A List Apart's annual survey for people who make web sites is live and ready to be filled out by web site professionals. Despite some initial set backs, I was one of the first this morning to fill out the survey, and I encourage everyone who makes their livelihood off web design and development to fill it out immediately.
Anyway, continuing to read this blog is distracting you from filling out the survey! Go do it now!, and then come back and read more stuff here 😉
Share this: The (Failed) Literalist Interpretation of Genesis
Dec 6th
I recently listened to a lecture by Keith Ward entitled “Misusing Darwin.” In this lecture, Ward makes a very compelling argument about what he sees as the unfounded assumption that scientific methodology de facto requires (or presumes, at least) a commitment to philosophical materialism.
While there is a lot of ground covered in this lecture, one section was particularly interesting to me. Here, Ward launches into a discussion about some common misconceptions about the compatibility of science and Christian theology. As a background, Ward notes the [potentially] unfortunate state of modern, popular Christian theology about “origins” in the West and its commitment to a literalist interpretation of the Genesis accounts of creation. As a means of contrast, Ward notes (rightly) that this theological position is actually quite a modern development: historically, theologians have classically interpreted the Genesis accounts allegorically–or at least not “literally.”
So from where does this often rabid allegiance to a literalist interpretation of the Genesis account come? Ward suggests that such a hermeneutic is precisely associated with the rise of scientific methodology.
And this is not surprising. The advent of scientific methodology was borne out of a radical shift in philosophy in the West. The Enlightenment brought with it a deeply More >
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 26th
Just wanted to drop a quick note and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
I'm spending my Days of Turkey in Fredericksburg, VA, with my second family.
We had a great night last night at the Fredericksburg Pub where I had some outstanding bangers 'n mash–good stuff! The night was finished off nicely with wins by the Jayhawks and Wildcats–woot!
And now I'm just sitting around, rabidly anticipating delicious turkey and my mother-in-law's devilled eggs…yummy!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great day with family and friends-make it a good one 🙂
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