On Saturday mornings recently I’ve been writing about my views on the esthetics of software development, and I plan to continue with that because it interests me and helps me articulate what I’ve learned at a deep level but never verbalized. (What, you thought I wrote these posts for your benefit?) I’ve got to take a hiatus from that today, though, because the 21st Annual Tcl/Tk conference is approaching. It takes place the second week of November in Portland, Oregon,... Read more
I think most people are familiar with the Andrews Sisters singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”; it’s a classic, and a lot of fun. Recently, though (thanks to Pandora, natch) I’ve been familiar with a couple of other Andrews Sisters tunes that really bring it the full goofy. First, there’s “Hold Tight”, which is a warm, tender, and upbeat love song to…seafood. And then, once you’ve eaten (because shrimps and rice, they’re very nice, so saith the Andrews), you can get... Read more
I chose this quote from Patrick O’Brian’s Desolation Island because it seems to me to particularly capture a lot of what I read on-line. HMS Leopard is in the Great Southern Ocean, trying to avoid a whacking great Dutch warship, and Stephen Maturin is pondering two of her officers: He had the impression that both Grant and Fisher were in a state of powerful fear. There were no evident, direct signs of it, but both complained very often: a stream... Read more
It’s rare that one of the Sunday mass readings really resonates with me, but today the epistle leaped out and (gently and mercifully) took me by the throat and wouldn’t let go. The passage in question is Philippians 4:6-9, and it says this: Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and... Read more
I’ve been working my way through Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series over the last few weeks; and in a comment of my review of The Mauritius Command a reader asked me to say a few words about the “inner” and “outer” stories I was speaking of, as she wasn’t familiar with the terms. I replied directly to her comment; but on the principle that others might be confused as well, here’s my reply: Those are my terms to describe what’s going... Read more
Today I’m continuing last week’s discussion of Aristotle in response to Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry’s post “How our botched understanding of ‘science’ ruins everything.” Last week I discussed the questions Aristotle was trying to answer; this week I’m going to discuss his methods vs. the methods of modern scientists. In Ancient Greece, the very type of true knowledge was mathematics. Here certainty was possible; and the Greeks were good at it, both arithmetic and (most especially) geometry. I’ve read that mathematics was... Read more
When I was rather younger, and attending an evangelically-flavored Episcopal parish, I participated in a program called Evangelism Explosion. In a nutshell, EE was a program to train parishioners to go door-to-door presenting the gospel; it involved memorizing dozens of pertinent scripture references (we had flash cards) and a detailed outline of a presentation of the Gospel, culminating in an invitation to give your life to Jesus. One part of the presentation was a personal testimony about the wonderful effects... Read more
So last week I broached the topic of beautiful software: beautiful, that is, from the skilled programmer’s point of view. In a discussion on that post, fellow-Patheosi Frank Weathers (fresh off of some Mustang-related supercharger replacement therapy) noted that software is like hardware: it has to work. That is, pace Don Knuth, computer programming isn’t an art; it’s a craft, a tekhne: the art of making something useful. If the thing made doesn’t serve its purpose, it isn’t properly beautiful.... Read more
So one of my FaceBook friends posted this video of Nancy Sinatra singing her trademark song “These Boots Are Made For Walking.” It’s notable mostly as a reminder of how short miniskirts got in the ’60’s, which was not quite all of the way up to the armpit. While looking at that, I saw a link to a recording of the same song by someone named “Mrs. Miller”, a recording clearly of same vintage as Miss Sinatra’s: but “Mrs. Miller”... Read more
Lord Clonfert had the cabin of his sloop-of-war decorated in the Eastern style; now he has been promoted to a post-ship, and has brought his belongings with him: When he led Stephen to his cabin he showed its furnishings with a somewhat tiresome exultation, though insisting that this arrangement was merely temporary: ‘not quite the thing for a post-captain – passable in a sloop, but a trifle shabby in a frigate.’ The cabin, like most of those in rated ships,... Read more
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