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My boss called me at home around 9:35 PM CST Sat Sept 18, 2004. It seems Chris was in an accident on the lake. At first I thought this was a joke (cruel I know). But, then when he repeated himself I slowly let it sink in. My co-worker is dead. I find it kind of hard to believe the guy I hung out with every weekday is gone.

Chris was a great man and will greatly be missed. He was a full time employee, small business owner, and a family man. Which brings me to the more important manner family. Chris leaves behind a wife and two children who from this day forward will never be the same. I feel so hopeless you want to reach out but can not find anything that you know of that will help. Even as I type this I find myself choking up physically, emotionally, and mentally.

My co-worker/good friend is dead. I do not know what to do. The company I work for is small, about 20 employees, and to lose the network guy is huge. The good news is that I’ll be spending more time at work. I guess my educational background is about to pay off. My boss also mentioned he would be leaning heavily on me to get things up and running. This should be loads of fun. But, for the few minutes tonight I as think about work and how things will be very different. I keep focusing back (and where my mind should be) on the family Chris left behind.

Chris left behind his little daughter that was just a ray of sunshine in his life. His son is into computer just like his dad and spent hours helping his dad build his characters up. It’s just interesting to see how things are going to change for them.

I really don’t have any details as to how he died other than in a jet-ski accident. My co-worker is dead. I wonder if the children saw their father during those critical minutes. Was he trying to save one of them. The questions go on and on in your mind. You just can not help but wonder.

Only time will tell the tale… and only fate will write it.

Note: In response to a PHP discussion in a wiki.

Please consider the follow:

There are certain programming languages created to serve certain
purposes. Just as there are certain color, styles, and types of
automobiles to suit your personal needs. Programming languages are
designed for purposes determined by the creator to solve their (not
necessarily your) problems. Many times they create features not
addressed in other languages. Often times they mimic the behavior of
other languages they like.

If type checking is what you want use a language that has it. We as
programmers should not complain about this language not having this
feature, and this other language not having this feature. I believe,
and this is my own opinion, we should concentrate on using the right
programming language for the right task at hand. We are the intelligent
nerds, which pride ourselves on our capabilities and pure ingenuity
when it comes to solving complex problems. So quit flaming and
complaining and start acting like mature professional programmers and
show the world what your capable of.

The best way I can compare the right language to the right job would be like a woodshop craftsman using the right type of chisel for the detailing. You could use any one you want, we use whatever IDE suites our fancy and if we do not find one we like we can always make our own. Just a like a craftsman would. Programming is a skill, and just like any skill it takes time and patients to learn the right tool to use for the right job.

The best examples I can give are programs that use several languages.
These programs use each language where it is best suited by using the
most ǃÚefficientǃ٠syntax were it is needed. Kernels are a common example
of this.

I call on all programmers out there to learn as much as possible about
as many languages as possible. This way you will be able to decide what
programming language to use for the job, and not waste your time and
our time complaining that X language does not have Y feature.

In short use the language that is best suited for ǃÚyourǃ٠problem!