Jan Smuts in the Houses of Parliament on "Thoughts on a New World": perhaps more so than in 1943.
We are facing to-day probably the most perplexing complicated human situation that has confronted the world for many generations, and anybody who thinks he has a panacea at his command to deal with these problems must either be sub-human or super-human. . .
From the previous reference:A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR EFFECTIVE RATIONAL DISCUSSION
The Fishbowl: The Principle of Charity
I knew there was (at least one) hole in my education - a use for philosophy ! Any others?
The Fishbowl: The Joy of Bombast: "More importantly, whenever I start hacking Ruby, I am overwhelmed by the feeling that this is... right. And I find myself going back to Java and thinking 'Why does this language keep getting in my way?'"
I might put Python instead of Ruby, or perhaps Smalltalk (less familiar).
I agree with the sentiment though! Whether Java is doomed is another question altogether - maybe it will become undead like Cobol.
Mandrakelinux Globetrotter FAQ: "Can GlobeTrotter be upgraded to future versions of Mandrakelinux?
This is not officially supported by Mandrakesoft. It should be possible (and not too difficult if you know Mandrakelinux well) but we won't be able to give you any support if you choose to do so."
The product looks interesting - this upgrade policy looks dumb
Bill de h?ra: Add Nothing But Value
An excellent perspective. We have lots of promising, intelligent programmers, and treat them like idiots.
"Static typing prevents certain kinds of failures. Unfortunately, it also prevents certain kinds of successes"
The Fnordistan Department of Software Engineering ? What Java Owes to Smalltalk:
That’s the sort of thing I didn’t really notice until I started working with Smalltalk. Now I shake my head and wonder how much better life would be if it had been Smalltalk rather than Sun’s Java that had been poised to catch the wave in the 90s.
Forget the particular languages mentioned here (though I do agree), there seems to be a lot of feeling that things haven't improved in the area of language design. I see Python, Groovy, Ruby etc. restating older things, almost looking over the morrass of C, C++, Java, C# et al which form a tar pit between now and then. Of course other languages like Smalltalk, Lisp etc. have waded through; but are they prepared to move forwards themselves ?
The article refernced here is wierd:Slashdot | The "Return" of Java Discussed
Slashdot asks whether Java has been anywhere, but I wonder what makes us think it is getting renwed attention. The article cites:
Personally I think the whole Prog Language game is more wide open than it has ever been.
IT industry warned over wasted money | The Register : "It [the survey] highlights the need for the industry to deliver tangible benefits, focus on selling practical solutions not technology for technology's sake and most importantly to improve after sales customer service. With the customer in mind, it is also important for us to focus on integrating new technologies with existing systems and not automatically adopt the 'rip out and replace' mindset."
So why does the industry get away with this approach? I think it may partly be because elements within the customers also like to focus on technology, haven't thought through what the business wants etc.
Dangerous and subversive ideas: IT company gives workers free beer - wins award | The Register : "n fact, AGI spends around $1m a year on freebies and perks for staff, according to the Detroit Free Press. As a result, workers are more productive, motivated and enjoy coming to work - while the company saves buckets loads of dosh in recruitment and training."
Shame there are only (really) 2 to choose from, especially when on so many topics they seem tro have identical stances.
Preston L. Bannister:Yes, I want “someone else” for President.
WHich ways, please ?
Those of us fortunate enough to use a Symbolics or a Dorado know that an expressive language and good tools are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps someday there will be another system that combines both. But for now, I'm still looking for a home.
people would pay a service to make up a lie for them so they could get out of a date
Amazing Like hiring a lawyer to get out of a marriage
Babies are all-consuming. She¢s fine now, she¢s at her regular kennel and quite happy there.
Baby dog ?
At the Brainstorm conference in 2002, I heard Shimon Peres say, "What can you learn from History? Very little... History was written with red ink, wth bloodshed. We should educate our children how to imagine, not how to remember." I think his words are extremely relevant.
Well, that is not the only reason for a paucity of entries, but hope to do better over the next few days.
By the way , we took a week to go around Southern England ( which is where we live). Amazing how many places there are to visit ( and our outstanding list didn't get much shorter). The weather was fantastic: beaches were great, water warm, body-boarding was good. The sailing was fantastic - beautiful sunshine, constant but reasonable breeze. The best sailing I have done in ages.
Now back to work, and it is raining more but still warm. Oh well.
