but I have to tell you, this video clinches it.
Wow! I found myself agreeing with nearly everything he said. He seems to embody the kind of ideals and policy Americans need to be pursuing. It's like Ronald Reagan is back.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
I am not intellectually lazy, am I?
Definition
A group of liberals refers to one or more liberals thought of collectively.
Premises
All liberals are in a group of liberals.
A group of liberals (like any group of people) always contains one idiot or, if made up of more than one liberal, an idiot and a group of liberals.
Wait a few minutes...
Conclusion
All liberals are idiots.
QED (Latin for "I love recursive definitions.")
A group of liberals refers to one or more liberals thought of collectively.
Premises
All liberals are in a group of liberals.
A group of liberals (like any group of people) always contains one idiot or, if made up of more than one liberal, an idiot and a group of liberals.
Wait a few minutes...
Conclusion
All liberals are idiots.
QED (Latin for "I love recursive definitions.")
Monday, June 6, 2011
Software #2
When you read Proverbs enough, you get to the point, where for a particular situation, you can begin to quote an apt proverb... but then not be able to finish it correctly.
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
(Proverbs 25:11)
So, I was getting LeTourneau's online course software Blackboard up and checking out the class discussion board in preparation to starting work on some reading and then taking a quiz this evening, when...
What! Somebody is asking on the discussion board whether the second part of an assignment was really due on June 20th or June 6th--today. The instructor replied with something like the following: "Oh, you didn't get the new schedule? A few things have changed."
Looking at the changed schedule, I saw that, yes, this massive part B of the present assignment was due today. I had to read a chapter and take a quiz already today. Furthermore, I had wanted to do some other reading I had never finished yet and polish up Part A that I had never really finished before I even started on Part B.
It turns out, if you ask, and lay out the situation, some professors (and I suppose managers) will re-evaluate the milestones you have to make. So, after emailing the professor to say that, I would probably not be able to make this deal go through and I also doubted the capability of my classmates to do the same, especially when the schedule change was unannounced... after all this, I got an email that was basically cold snow.
Two more days for Component B of Assignment 3.
Phew. Now as far as I have observed in software engineering, this also happens in the work world. But, seriously, it is a lot easier for a professor presiding over a summer class which he facilitates in an open-ended, uncertain fashion to move back a due date, than it is for a customer to move back a delivery on a multi-million dollar product.
Note to self: When it comes to software creation, think ahead and plan for the worst.
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
(Proverbs 25:11)
So, I was getting LeTourneau's online course software Blackboard up and checking out the class discussion board in preparation to starting work on some reading and then taking a quiz this evening, when...
What! Somebody is asking on the discussion board whether the second part of an assignment was really due on June 20th or June 6th--today. The instructor replied with something like the following: "Oh, you didn't get the new schedule? A few things have changed."
Looking at the changed schedule, I saw that, yes, this massive part B of the present assignment was due today. I had to read a chapter and take a quiz already today. Furthermore, I had wanted to do some other reading I had never finished yet and polish up Part A that I had never really finished before I even started on Part B.
It turns out, if you ask, and lay out the situation, some professors (and I suppose managers) will re-evaluate the milestones you have to make. So, after emailing the professor to say that, I would probably not be able to make this deal go through and I also doubted the capability of my classmates to do the same, especially when the schedule change was unannounced... after all this, I got an email that was basically cold snow.
Two more days for Component B of Assignment 3.
Phew. Now as far as I have observed in software engineering, this also happens in the work world. But, seriously, it is a lot easier for a professor presiding over a summer class which he facilitates in an open-ended, uncertain fashion to move back a due date, than it is for a customer to move back a delivery on a multi-million dollar product.
Note to self: When it comes to software creation, think ahead and plan for the worst.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Human Life
I watched Unthinkable this afternoon. Good movie. Well made. (For those of you who want to know, I should say it contains a fair amount of language and violence, and the torture scenes are definitely not for the faint of heart.)
But, it is really impossible to stop there.
I was browsing through the Netflix Instant collection recommended for me and I noticed this item. Passed it by a couple times. But, when I was getting desperate for something to watch, I took a deeper look at it. After reading the short description on Netflix's site and seeing only high-rated reviews, I decided it might actually be well worth the watch. It was, but I didn't know that until I had gotten at least half-way through it.
The premise, which every reviewer repeats and concentrates on is this (and I'll try not to put in any spoilers, but I can't guarantee I won't give away some things you would like to discover yourself):
If America was faced with a monstrous threat and we had the pending-perpetrator in custody, could we--could officials, security forces, interrogation officers and military personnel--do whatever was required to get the information necessary to dismantle this threat?
If many thousands or even millions of lives hung in the balance, what are our limits?
I am not going to answer that question. The movie doesn't even definitively do that. But, the issue is one worth pondering.
I can only seem to figure out how I should act in such a situation, and not even the full of that. Sure, if I was the one in charge of the situation, I would set boundaries, limits that should not be passed for interrogation. But, what if I was the interrogator and it was my duty to do whatever was required to extract the information?
Before I watched this movie, I never really cared much what the government had or had not done to terrorists or abetters in custody. I didn't voice any strong opinion about waterboarding or other forms of torture used in interrogation processes. Over the past couple years I have adopted an attitude that basically took it for granted that the United States government and military uses clandestine/black-ops methods in interrogations and operations. I wouldn't be surprised if I had found out that they had deliberately killed civilians in some country to further the fight against another regime or ideology. In fact, I had heard a specific story about such an occurrence. I believe the bigger and more powerful the nation, the harder it has to work preserve its peace and safety.
After watching the film... hey, my opinion hasn't changed that much. I know I could never do such things personally if I had the choice. But, that doesn't erase the realization that my attitude about the rights of humans and even American citizens does not mesh particularly well with my staunch ideas about Constitutional government and rule by law. Or, is the government simply a non-human enterprise that does not need to conform to the same rules that apply to us as humans--laws of decency and respect that stem from our creation?
I think perhaps the movie could be taken to say two different things. You could possibly come to the conclusion that torture is a very necessary, although undesirable, part of maintaining national defense. Or, you could change your views (if they were different before) that torture should never ever be allowed in any interrogation, for getting any kind of information.
Anyway, I highly recommend the movie for those who may be interested. It is definitely one of my favorites. Thrilling, deep, developed plot... it's all there. It made me a little sick too, though.
But, it is really impossible to stop there.
I was browsing through the Netflix Instant collection recommended for me and I noticed this item. Passed it by a couple times. But, when I was getting desperate for something to watch, I took a deeper look at it. After reading the short description on Netflix's site and seeing only high-rated reviews, I decided it might actually be well worth the watch. It was, but I didn't know that until I had gotten at least half-way through it.
The premise, which every reviewer repeats and concentrates on is this (and I'll try not to put in any spoilers, but I can't guarantee I won't give away some things you would like to discover yourself):
If America was faced with a monstrous threat and we had the pending-perpetrator in custody, could we--could officials, security forces, interrogation officers and military personnel--do whatever was required to get the information necessary to dismantle this threat?
If many thousands or even millions of lives hung in the balance, what are our limits?
I am not going to answer that question. The movie doesn't even definitively do that. But, the issue is one worth pondering.
I can only seem to figure out how I should act in such a situation, and not even the full of that. Sure, if I was the one in charge of the situation, I would set boundaries, limits that should not be passed for interrogation. But, what if I was the interrogator and it was my duty to do whatever was required to extract the information?
Before I watched this movie, I never really cared much what the government had or had not done to terrorists or abetters in custody. I didn't voice any strong opinion about waterboarding or other forms of torture used in interrogation processes. Over the past couple years I have adopted an attitude that basically took it for granted that the United States government and military uses clandestine/black-ops methods in interrogations and operations. I wouldn't be surprised if I had found out that they had deliberately killed civilians in some country to further the fight against another regime or ideology. In fact, I had heard a specific story about such an occurrence. I believe the bigger and more powerful the nation, the harder it has to work preserve its peace and safety.
After watching the film... hey, my opinion hasn't changed that much. I know I could never do such things personally if I had the choice. But, that doesn't erase the realization that my attitude about the rights of humans and even American citizens does not mesh particularly well with my staunch ideas about Constitutional government and rule by law. Or, is the government simply a non-human enterprise that does not need to conform to the same rules that apply to us as humans--laws of decency and respect that stem from our creation?
I think perhaps the movie could be taken to say two different things. You could possibly come to the conclusion that torture is a very necessary, although undesirable, part of maintaining national defense. Or, you could change your views (if they were different before) that torture should never ever be allowed in any interrogation, for getting any kind of information.
Anyway, I highly recommend the movie for those who may be interested. It is definitely one of my favorites. Thrilling, deep, developed plot... it's all there. It made me a little sick too, though.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Software #1
Big revelation here. Hold your breath, folks...
Based on my personal experience, experience in the professional world, and the stories I have heard from colleagues, I have to say that I believe the testing phase of software development to be the most brutal and expensive.
Anyone can put together a few requirements.
Most anyone, especially with a year or so of training, can write up some code to meet those requirements.
It takes intelligence or lengthy headaches and hard sweat or both to test the result.
Do yourself a favor and write code that works the first time.
Based on my personal experience, experience in the professional world, and the stories I have heard from colleagues, I have to say that I believe the testing phase of software development to be the most brutal and expensive.
Anyone can put together a few requirements.
Most anyone, especially with a year or so of training, can write up some code to meet those requirements.
It takes intelligence or lengthy headaches and hard sweat or both to test the result.
Do yourself a favor and write code that works the first time.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Yawn...
So if I hijack my own blog and nobody notices... I think I should feel a little disappointed... unloved... etc.
Fortunately, my extremely healthy egotistical predilection always kicks in.
Well, if anyone is interested, look here again. I should start posting more regularly.
Fortunately, my extremely healthy egotistical predilection always kicks in.
Well, if anyone is interested, look here again. I should start posting more regularly.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Digital Saga
The days are winding down before the end of the semester. Tomorrow, I mean today, my team has to make a tremendous effort to finish our final project in Digital Electronics so we can present it on Friday. (Oh, and I have a quiz, 3-4 homework sets of Differential Equations, and a two page paper due on Friday also. I am behind a Circuits homework set. I have to finish a final project in Computer Science II and a homework set in Statics by Saturday and I think I just failed two quizzes in Digital Electronics.)
Concerning the Digital project, though, we are still figuring out the logic. And, when you are using 3 CPLD's and dozens of logic chips, figuring out the logic is not a good stage to be in just before the presentation.
I have to say, this semester has been a whirl-wind. I feel like I have learned more in the past four months than I have ever learned in my life. Nobody told me engineering would be so difficult... nobody told me I would love it so much.
Concerning the Digital project, though, we are still figuring out the logic. And, when you are using 3 CPLD's and dozens of logic chips, figuring out the logic is not a good stage to be in just before the presentation.
I have to say, this semester has been a whirl-wind. I feel like I have learned more in the past four months than I have ever learned in my life. Nobody told me engineering would be so difficult... nobody told me I would love it so much.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Down Circuits Lane
Another breaking of the light this morning. Unfortunately, the truth was disappointing.
As I was sitting through the lecture on Thevenin's and Norton's equivalent circuits, an idea (or maybe I should say the splintering of an idea) slapped me in the face. Up to this time I had understood Thevenin's theorem vaguely as some truly beautiful technique of analysis that allowed one to simplify any complicated circuit by replacing it with an equivalent circuit. Somewhere in this process, all the mess of the former would be replaced by the simplicity of the latter, and the problem solver would never have to stoop to adding up individual currents (in the original circuit), analyzing specific branches, etc.
What was the shock, then, when I discovered that Thevenin's forces one to dredge through the entire circuit, starting from a case voltage or resistance between two specified points. The magic was gone! I was dumbfounded by the menial nature of this once revered concept. It was as if the heavens had touched the earth, only to trip and fall crashing to the ground... or something like that.
As I was sitting through the lecture on Thevenin's and Norton's equivalent circuits, an idea (or maybe I should say the splintering of an idea) slapped me in the face. Up to this time I had understood Thevenin's theorem vaguely as some truly beautiful technique of analysis that allowed one to simplify any complicated circuit by replacing it with an equivalent circuit. Somewhere in this process, all the mess of the former would be replaced by the simplicity of the latter, and the problem solver would never have to stoop to adding up individual currents (in the original circuit), analyzing specific branches, etc.
What was the shock, then, when I discovered that Thevenin's forces one to dredge through the entire circuit, starting from a case voltage or resistance between two specified points. The magic was gone! I was dumbfounded by the menial nature of this once revered concept. It was as if the heavens had touched the earth, only to trip and fall crashing to the ground... or something like that.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Ok, so, yes, I didn't post every day in January.
I underestimated two things:
1. The degree to which staying on the LeTourneau campus is conducive to intellectually recreational thought.
2. The amount of time necessary to invest in such an activity.
So, in order to make up for not posting anything for a while, I will leave you with a puzzling problem which probably has a very obvious solution.
Can a digital circuit be made to produce random numbers (withstanding any current human capacity to produce a pattern through analysis)?
Hint: Take a look at the Linear Feedback Shift Register.
1. The degree to which staying on the LeTourneau campus is conducive to intellectually recreational thought.
2. The amount of time necessary to invest in such an activity.
So, in order to make up for not posting anything for a while, I will leave you with a puzzling problem which probably has a very obvious solution.
Can a digital circuit be made to produce random numbers (withstanding any current human capacity to produce a pattern through analysis)?
Hint: Take a look at the Linear Feedback Shift Register.
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