November 2004 Archives

The Evolution of a Programmer

Perhaps it's an oldy but goodie, but the "Master Programmer" bit really strikes me as being funny.

It's time for the annual Christmas letter to be written. I just found last years letter, which we didn't write until after Christmas. We never did end up sending it out. Ah well, it's never too late for good news from 2003 if you ask me. I'll have to print on thin paper to avoid stamp problems this year.

Based on the negative reviews of Polar Express I wasn't looking forward to seeing this movie. It wasn't my idea of a must see movie for date night. I was not expecting much from this movie going experience.

[I'll put the rest in the extended part of the post, so you can stop reading now if you don't want to read anything potentially spoiling.]

I have been mulling over this phrase for some time.

Life appears to me to be composed primarily of objects, desires for objects and methods for obtaining the objects. For instance, there is an object called an iPod. If I want an iPod I use some methodology to get one. I may have money for an iPod in which case I exchange money for the iPod. I might not have money for an iPod in which case I would have to save my money or perhaps I would steal one.

The interesting part to me is not the method used for obtaining an object, like an iPod, and it's not the desire for the object itself, instead it is what I refer to as "the meaning".

I think about the desire for an object as being inextricably intertwined with the object. You can’t separate them or analyze them properly without changing each in some way. I would suggest it’s like quantum entanglement.

Like the atoms which are entangled, there is space between the entangled atoms. In fact in actuality the atoms are composed more of space than they are of matter anyway, no matter the distance. So what is the space between the desire for the object and the object? In my way of thinking that is where the meaning exists.

So what is the meaning, of my desire for an iPod?

It’s like the Counting Crows lyrics for the song "Mr. Jones".

“I want to be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody loves you, son, that's just about as funky as you can be”
--Counting Crows

The meaning implicit in my desire for an iPod is that I wish I was a Mac loving , funky, hipster, listening to cool tunes, possessing both the ability to dance and the desire to dance.

I saw National Treasure last night. I didn't pick the movie, BTW.

When the credits rolled my comment was, "I'm glad they still make movies for the 10-12 year old set."

The movie tried to have some sort of "Da Vinci Code" like feel, replete with clues, puzzles and conspiracies. The movie didn't have any suspense at all. The clues and puzzles felt more like someone trying to teach me about American History in the guise of a fun movie. Unfortunately, it flunked on all accounts.

The acting and script were equivalent to an "After School TV Special" when I was growing up.

Perhaps the problem is having seen "Team America". That movie is such a satire of big budget, overblown, over the top soundtrack, Hollywood movies, I'll probably never be able to enjoy another movie in this genre again.

In parting, don't even bother seeing this movie if you're an adult. If you have to see it, at least go to a matinee.

I still wish I could be as cool as Nicholas Cage, even in this dumb movie.

Dan Rather Scrambles to Confirm Story of His Resignation

In the USA, we celebrate Thanksgiving today.

I've always believed that a little gratitude goes a long way in helping people to realize how great life truly is.

So in recognition of this day, I would like to list a few things I am thankful for. I've always believed that a little gratitude goes a long way in helping people to realize how great life truly is.

• Close friends.
• Loving family.
• Healthy, happy family.
• Food to eat, a roof over my head, a job I love.
• Living in a country that is so good, that doctors and professionals leave their home countries to come here and become taxi cab drivers and bus boys and parking lot attendants, so their children can grow up here.
• Good books. Special thanks due to Owen and Biff this year.

Once a month or so, I comb through the server logs. Among other things, I look at the phrases or keywords which people enter on my blog or into search engines that drive them to my little spot on the web.

After carefully considering all that people search for, I have to reach the conclusion that the web is irrevocably broken.

Here is a selection of the terms people are searching for.

Search: query for 'Marsupial'
Search: query for 'POOR PEOPLE PHOTOES STRUGGLING FOR FOOD'
Search: query for '99 Luft Balloons'
Search: query for 'WHAT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY'

hiking in panties
cute pictures i m a little teapot
egg shells for sale
top ten things president theodore roosevelt accomplished

My little corner of the web is so far removed from being an authoritative source of information on any of those topics, that it's laughable. I must admit that some of the search terms which I didn't list do map more neatly on to actual content that I provide. I still don't think I should be the #1 hit on google for the phrase "hiker cuts limb off".

It's interesting that the vision of a semantic web put forward by the good folks at W3C doesn't seem like it has much traction. However, searching the web as a collection of unstructured data seems to be really working. I think blogs fit really nicely into that ecosystem, by serving as artifact collectors and editors who constantly point out new and useful things on the web. One million poo flinging monkeys can make the world a better place.

Monica wrote about the notion of a comment policy today.

Oddly enough, I was IM'ed just a few days ago and asked about my comment policy.

Official Comment Policy:

I once read that quaker religious services have no set order, but that people sit quietly and only share something when they are confident that they can improve upon the silence.

That is my comment policy. If you believe you have something to say which "improves upon the silence" then it stays.

I may or may not fix your spelling or formatting errrors. I may or may not censor your potty mouth, depending mostly on how funny you are.

So young Joel suggests in his comment to my blog entry entitled "Pencil me in", that I accept meetings with a response of "tentative" in order to mess with people's heads.

I suppose Joel could be right. In a world where the folks at the bottom don't have as much control over their work lives as they might like, it's only natural to throw a few shoes in the gears once in a while. Maybe the "tentative" response is my way of exerting subtle control, and being a jerk. It's a pretty benign act if you ask me. I don't think I would consciously do that, but I'll accept Joel's thesis in light of not really having a better explanation.

This post is in response to "Kinni" who commented on my review of the latest Bridget Jones's movie.

"Kinni" asks the following question.

So why did I stay to see the end of this really horrible movie? (Why do I almost always read a dreadful book all the way to the end? I've tackled this topic once before, but perhaps I didn't delve deep enough into it.)

Here are some reasons why I stayed in the theater for this horrible movie.

I didn't have anything else to do. I am only counting the things I had an actual opportunity to do and felt sufficiently motivated to actually consider. At that moment it was either a movie or a nap. A movie seemed like it might be a more entertaintaining option.

I was thinking of you, the blog audience. I knew you would appreciate my insights later. No sacrifice is too great, no movie too horrible, if only I can blog about it later.

I didn't really think the movie could get much worse. So since I knew it was bad, and it probably wasn't going to get any better, as least my hopes aren't going to be dashed.

I paid the money. I had invested $4.75 in seeing this movie, by golly I was going to get everything the movie had to offer me. Unfortunately, it was only a nickels worth of entertainment in the end.

It's possible that the movie could have redeemed itself by the end. You always have to posess hope; it might have gotten better by the end, it was mathematically possible.

Early in the movie I started thinking about what the movie meant in terms of exploring the notion of "human awkwardness". While the plot, the script, the acting were all sub-par, there were some interesting ideas contained in the movie. Unfortunately, it was only 15 minutes or so of good ideas.

Staying until the end is a funny notion. I have often described to people the difference between the feeling of investing in a stock long or for the long term and buying or selling options. When you go long on a stock, you can always fool yourself that it will come back someday. You can convince yourself that short of bankruptcy and delisting, someday you be back "in the money" again.

This isn't the case when buying and selling options. Once you hit the date where the option contract expires, there is no fooling yourself. Either you made money, or you lost money. When you are "in the money" on an options position, I find myself very conservative about additional risk. It's more like a case of "I made my money, now let's get out while the getting is good."

Shorting stocks feels similar too, because you have to imagine paying out money if the stock price is going up and you have buy the stock back when you are out of the money. In shorting, you actually have to actively managed being wrong. If you don't , with nearly infinite downside, you could theoretically bankrupt yourself. You're not going to do that, but you can think about it that way. (I've heard shorting described as unleashing "infinite risk" upon oneself. I have never yet seen a stock proceed to infinity. Until the day arrives when a stock reaches an infinite price, I suggest that the risk is high, and you have to have the time to pay attention to your short positions.)

Isn't a significant part of life all about hope? Someday we all hope that life will get better. Almost all of us stay to the end, hoping it will get better. I for one plan on staying in my seat until the last credit rolls and the staff starts to clean out the theater.

I've always wanted to understand why windows chooses either to copy or to move a file when the icon of the file is dragged around. Finally someone in a position to know explains how it works.

Who do I make so many errors in my grammar and speling when I type up a blog entry?

Is it because I am a looser?

At work, I've been forced to switch from UNIX mail to Exchange. They didn't force me to switch mail clients, but to be a good corporate citizen I made the switch to Outlook. This allowed me to engage in shared calendaring with my far flung co-workers.

It didn't take long for me to notice that if you accept a meeting as "Tentative" people act a little funny. People call and ask why am I "tentative", and ask if a different time slot would be better. One time someone even called me to figure out why someone else had accepted a meeting tentatively.

So what's wrong with tentative? I work in a knowledge based profession, where the difference between super productive and not productive is greater than 10x. As I've mentioned before, context switches aren't free for programmers. If I'm in the groove, I'm better off finishing the bits I am working on than going to most meetings. People should guard their time jealously if we are to get our mountain of tasks accomplished. ( See also Tyranny of Email )

The reason people don't like the response "Tentative" is they are afraid they aren't really so important. You might just drop their meeting for a more interesting or more important meeting. It's like being penciled in to someone's appointment book. They aren't really serious enough to use a pen, because well something better might come up. I admit I wouldn't like it if everyone responded as "tentative" when I send a meeting notice. When I host a meeting I do try and make sure I don't invite people who don't need to attend and I try and ensure my meetings contain both content and a little humor. I usually I don't get any tentative responses.

So I have decided, unless I am an "optional attendee" for a meeting, I'll just say yes or no to the meeting request. However, if I'm "Optional" you are very likely to get a "Tentative" in response unless there are cookies being served. If you've marked me as "Optional" it probably means you won't take it personally if I'm "Tentative."

So what does this tedious discussion of Exchange and Outlook have to do with life, the universe, and everything?

In mulling over the human dynamics of my computer mediated exchanges, I realized that to my close friends and family I don't want to use pencil when I mark you in my book and I don't want you to mark me in with pencil. I want you to know whatever is important to you is being written down in indelible ink. If I have to change something for some reason later, I'll make a mess of my metaphorical appointment book trying to scratch out our previous appointment. The mess in my book will remind me of how important you are.

Do the same for me will you?

I work with a group of very sharp software engineers. They are all well educated with years of college and a fair number with post-graduate degrees. They are well acquainted with math and can think about a math problems in ways that most people can't. My co-workers see the humor in things like an error code like "OxDECAFBAD". While there are a fair number among them who are on the shy or somewhat inarticulate side; all of them, if pressed could explain a fair amount about the topic of probability. Additionally they could explain in great detail how buying a lottery tickets is more like burning one dollar bills at your local quicky mart for fun than it is a sound investment.

Yet these same people still buy lottery tickets. My co-workers are not innumerate or mathematically inept.

OK, so I confess I buy the occasional ticket too.

So why do we buy the occasional ticket?

I don't think it's because of the slick marketing campaigns. I don't think they are interested in the fractional amount of money that reaches the state treasury.

I think it's all about being happy. Happy, you say, how could one be happy about throwing money away?

It's all about the moment. There is a moment everyone has when purchasing a lottery ticket. You allow yourself the luxury of imaging life without an financial barriers. Maybe you fantasize about lying on a beach being served cool drinks maybe you imagine quitting your job, maybe you imagine writing the novel you've always wanted to write.

Whatever or whomever you dream about, for one instant you can imagine attaining it.

It's a glimpse of the best possible thing or at least what you imagine it to be.

The next morning you check your paper, you lose again, and you go on with your day. Perhaps it's a day of "quiet desperation" or perhaps you are utterly fulfilled in your life, confidently riding astride of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Who knows which category you fall into? I for one vacillate from day to day. But for one instant your level of fulfillment didn't really matter, you weren't there, for an instance you touched the transcendent place where nothing mattered but the one thing, that was most important to you, and that one thing was finally within reach.

So is that moment worth a buck?

Some days being able to dream the impossible dream, and allowing yourself that one small luxury is worth a buck.

In fact this last phrase is probably the core of most deity bound religions. Dreaming about an entity that could set things right, it's worth a small bit of money and observance just in the case it could all be true.

I like to watch an afternoon matinee while the kids are sleeping on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Sometimes this leads me to choose movies based on show time rather than artistic considerations.

Today the movie was "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason". Nothing I had read made me think I would like this movie. But given my limited choices it didn't seem like it could be that awful.

The move was indeed awful. Here is a list of some of the more annoying things about the movie.

• The main character talking and looking at the audience.
• Cutesy graphics during the movie.
• A plot that with absolutely no surprise.
• Hugh Grant, need I say more.
• Women in the audience gasping when Hugh Grant kissed Renée Zellweger.
• A sound track which was so sappy I was in utter disbelief.
• An annoying heroine.
• Unbelievable supporting characters.

So was there anything I liked? Well I like British accents. That was nice. I don't know if they were real, but at least it didn't sound like I was in Minnesota.

I think the movie could be re-cut into a 10-15 minute short, which would be an essay on awkwardness. That's part of the human condition. We all have had a moment, where we feel as awkward as Bridget, I suppose. That would leave and awful lot of the movie on the cutting room floor.

I'm going to have to watch at least two proper submarine movies to cleanse myself from this awful movie.

A Collection of Internet related quotations.

I was looking for the authorship of the following quote.

Super cool election map. I love really good visualizations.

[Courtesy of Ole]

A few days ago, Monica in her eloquent fashion made me aware of the case of one Theo Van Gogh (yes, he is the great grand-son of the famous one). Here are some accounts of his murder: 1, 2, 3.

Today, Primate Brow Flash pointed me the video, entitled Submission that Theo had made. I had to see it, as it appears that he died for making this film. The film was beautiful and heart rending, especially in the context of his murder.

Theo by all accounts I have read wasn't all that kind in his words to Jews or Christians either. People had complained about him and what he said. This is no excuse.

I don't care if you like him or his movie, but killing a person simply for their free expression of speech is reprehensible. If you can't persuade someone with your own words, maybe you have lousy ideas.

I want no rest for any person that pursues their religion with this kind of fervor. I want them to be brought to justice. This goes for Islamic fundamentalists as well as any other religion like that would use violence to enforce their edicts. The same goes for the folks burning down islamic schools in Amsterdam.

Every statement is a kind of question, and every question is a kind of statement.

Can I get a parrot?

The idea that a parrot can outlive it's owner and keep parroting the owner umpteen years later is a funny concept to me.

A few months ago I asked "What makes you dance?"

I saw John Perry Barlow, writing on the topic of dancing. The interesting thing to me is that he noted that there are people who want to join in the dancing and people who have a "sour pucker" look when they see people dancing. He thinks that this distinction is reflective of the divides of our country.

Me, I have no "sour pucker" look, it's just a wistful look. I wish I felt more like dancing.

I just saw the movie I Heart Huckabees. My brain is still swimming. What did I just see? Was is it a dream, a movie, or an illusion? Is my life a dream, a nightmare, an illusion; what is real?

Four people in my theater hated this movie enough to walk out about mid way.

When it was all over I heard the thunderous applause of one hand clapping.

I love interesting compsci papers. This one describing the google filesystem is very interesting.

Theology is an interest of mine. I also find the behavior of organizations fascinating. Occasionally the two fascinations meet, for instance today, while reading this article.

A long time ago I ran into Paper Napkin on the web. At its simplest level, Paper Napkin is a rejection service. If there is someone you want to let down, who is asking for your contact info, you can give them <anyname>@papernapkin.net. Then when the email it, they get a fairly nice rejection note.

Anyway, the amusing part to me, and the reason I mention this today, there is a blog which focuses on making fun of some of the emails they receive.

[via The Writers Almanac]

Jay Leno was making fun of Dan Rather's uphemisms. Here are some of the best ones.

• Beat him like a rented mule.
• You'd rather wear a gas suit to fire.

I have always been aware of the fact that there are things running through my head that I don't generally say out loud. Someone, who shall remain nameless, has been cajoling me to think about this approach to life.

So why do I censor myself?

There are legitimate reasons for one to censor themselves. There is no reason to tell everyone every thought that flits through your mind. In fact I am convinced that this would cause one to be a social outcast if they said everything they thought. It would cause immeasurable difficulty if one were to take this approach and hope to live in a social setting. Having an active internal censor is a virtue.

However, sometimes I keep the wall up a little too high. Even for good friends I keep my cards so close to the vest that i don't allow them to really know me. I think this is the behavior that I need to adjust a little. In fact I think this blog is a little "cry for help". Part of me wants to be very open and honest. (Of course, anyone who thinks blogging necessarily implies honesty needs to have their head examined.)

When does self-censorship move from being a social nicety to an outright lie? When does this conceit, of internal censorship, become deceit?

I voted!

I so love voting. It the only civic duty I feel emotional about. I feel so happy to have the ballot in my hands. I can look at each little bubble and throw the bums out. I can ask myself, "Am I better off now, or four years ago." I can write-in Mickey Mouse, if I choose. I love voting.

I actually get a little choked up about voting, it makes me so happy. I am so thankful to our founding fathers that started up this fine republic. While they weren't quite ready for the enfranchisement of everyone, they let free, land-owning, men vote, which was a good start. It was an idea good enough to gain momentum.

I took my son Matthew to vote tonight. I remember my dad taking me to vote at my elementary school, on an old-time voting machine with levers and curtains. I sure do enjoy being able to pass on my cultural values to my children, the same way my dad did.

The turn-out tonight must have been good at my precinct as all the "I Voted" stickers were gone by 6:00 P.M.

I hope it's a clear victory for someone.

BTW, there were no lines at my precinct.

When speaking with a co-worker who was working from home this morning, I was inspired to write this short haiku.

 co-workers jammies
cottton or silk or flannel
I don't want to know

Since other bloggers are doing it, I might as well.

Today, I endorse G.W. Bush for President.

I am not especially happy to vote for Bush. Here are some reasons why I'm not happy with Bush.

• His administration rushed to war against Iraq, without clear planning and with bad intelligence. I've no problem about the war in Iraq, but it could have waited a lot longer. It could have been fought for reasons other than WMD.
• His administration is far too secretive.
• His self-admitted lack of reflection frightens me.
• Sometimes when he speaks I am frightened of what will come out.
• The Patriot Act is something he is proud of.
• He has expanded the Federal government in ways I don't approve of.
• Kerry Endorsement from the Economist.
• He isn't my kind of conservative.

So why then am I voting for Bush?

• My other choice would be Kerry? A liberal democrat from Massachusetts . (Q. When will we send a man to Mars? A. Whenever Ted Kennedy volunteers.) Since when would that be a viable option for me?
• Democrats have a recent history of containment and appeasement through regulation, international agreement, and pressure. I do not think that this will work against the current terrorist threat.
• I can't stomach Kerry's post-Vietnam anti-war activity.
• Kerry's too reflective and appears to flip-flop on issues that matter to me.
• Kerry didn't do much in the Senate.
• Kerry didn't release his service records, but ran on them anyway.
• I don't think I would like Kerry's nominees for Supreme Court. In an era when the congress doesn't take much leadership, this is crucial to me.
• He broke it (Iraq), he bought it. Bush should fix the situation.
• I think his foreign policy has been more nuanced than people think. Libya, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea have all been handled in very different ways. This wasn't by accident.
• John McCain isn't an option. Although if we could get an Electoral College tie, maybe the electors would bolt for him.
• Monica is right and most of the U.S. media is wrong.
• I don't share John Kerry's values. I don't think the country should go the way he envisions it.

P.S. I do fear the Bush administration if given a second term will end up in some scandal that will make Watergate and Teapot Dome look like a tempest in a teapot. I hope I'm wrong about that. It's just gut instinct.

P.P.S. I sure think Bush should consider hiring a few more centrist, pragmatists in his next administration, the kind of people his dad hired. I would like McCain to be Secretary of State for one, since Powell is leaving.