Bloggopottimus

Review: Breakfast with the Pope

2011-09-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

Breakfast with the Pope by Susan Vigilante

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I share the opinion of many of the other reviewers here that it is an encouraging, honest, and very interesting look at Susan Vigilante's life and faith. I found (most of) it to be uplifting and inspiring. It was especially gratifying to see someone struggle with the teaching of the Catholic Church and come down on the side of the following Christ!

What disappointment I have with the book is two-fold. This first is really my fault. I read the book at the recommendation of a friend. She just told me she really liked it and thought I would too. But she didn't tell me anything else about the book, and I didn't ask. From the title I expected it to be a memoir about Pope John Paul II. Consequently, I thought there would be a lot more about him in the book. The book is really about Susan and her relationship with God, her husband, and her friends. It is very "girly". That doesn't make it bad by any means, but it is a little less my cup of tea.

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!

The second disappointment had to do with the rupturing of the friendships, the growth of which were so beautifully documented throughout the book. I had a hard time understanding why her friends felt so betrayed by the fact that she wrote this book. I just don't get it. Secondly, given how her friends felt, I don't understand how she went ahead and published the book anyway. To think that these once loving and happy friendships in the Lord have been dissolved made me very sad. I felt almost like I had contributed to it by reading the book!

My puzzlement with both of these questions caused the end of the book to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Part of it is my difficulty really empathizing with passionate, artistic people. I just don't feel the drive, the *need* to write or sing or paint.

Of course, for someone who doesn't feel the *need* to write, I ramble on quite a bit with these reviews, don't I?

View all my reviews

All War, All The Time

2011-03-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

George Weigel presents a summary of the history of the struggle between Communist governments and the Catholic Church over the last century.

What I find amazing is the brutality and disregard for the truth exhibited by those that opposed the Church. It is frustrating, also, to see how many people where duped by them. Still, today, there is an amazing lack of appreciation for just how horribly evil those systems of government were. The Left in this country has not come to face the horrendous evil that it defended or excused and minimized.

Those of us who love the Church should also not be naive about how ruthless and unscrupulous Christ's enemies can be. And we must be equally aware that the way to defend the Church is with good. We must draw close to Christ, love Him with our whole hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, love will fuel holy lives while holy lives will strengthen love. Loving, even to the point of giving our lives, is how we will defend the Church and rescue those who are deceived.

Review: Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making

2011-03-16T15:08:00.001-07:00

Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making by Timothy M. Gallagher OMV

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very clear and encouraging, as have been all of Fr. Gallagher's books. This one focused on discerning God's will in "large" decisions such a vocation, move, job change, etc.

View all my reviews

Book Log: Rethinking Expertise

2010-11-18T14:10:00.001-08:00

Rethinking Expertise by Harry Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting exploration of the meaning of scientific expertise.

This was one of my first forays into the world of e-books. I bought the Nook version and read it mostly on my Android phone. I discovered that the software for the phone is really not up to what is necessary for this kind of book. The images were illegible, and it is very cumbersome (to the point of not being worth it) to look at footnotes. I'm afraid that my frustrations with the medium may have affected my outlook on the book, so I'm going to refrain from commenting much more on it.

View all my reviews

Book Log: Philosophy of Mind: A Beginner's Guide by Edward Feser

2010-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Philosophy of Mind, Revised Edition: A Beginner's Guide by Edward Feser

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Feser's writing is clear and accessible. He does a great job of giving an overview of Philosophy's approach to understanding the mind and especially how the mind relates to the brain.

This is an area I've thought about a lot, but I have done no serious reading on it before now. This book was exactly what I was looking for as an introduction to the topic. I could follow most of it (although a lot of detail went past me), and it really gave me a great deal to think about. I strongly recommend it.

View all my reviews

On a more personal note: It has been wonderful to do some serious reading that does not involve computers! It seems that it has been ages since I've read something like this that really forced me to do some thinking. I didn't think as deeply as I probably should have, but I did think more than I have been recently!

Fwd: Very cute even guy's can read it!!

2010-03-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

I receive a copy of all the e-mail my children get in their accounts. (My kids are quite aware of this, and every once in a while need to remind their friends of that fact.) My girls (pre- and early-teens) receive these endlessly-forwarded messages containing words of (supposed) wisdom for how girls and boys should relate to each other. The messages are horrible amalgamations of sappy sentimentality, really bad advice on communication, inappropriate suggestions, and misleading descriptions of what boys and girls "really" mean when they say something. The whole package is expressed with poor grammar and bad spelling, and often ends with a threat of endless heartache if it is not immediately forwarded to all of the reader's friends.

Seeing how popular these message appear to be, I can see both why women's magazines are so popular and why so many people seem to have a hard time forming stable, loving relationships. It is enough to make a father sigh.

Well, last night when another one of these came through the inbox (its subject is the title of this post), something in me snapped and I produced the following. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed mocking it.

The normal text is the original message. My additions are in italics, with the original text in strike-through where I thought appropriate.

When a Girl is quiet ... ~~millions of things are running in her mind.~~

she is wondering what's for lunch.

When a Girl is not arguing ... she is thinking deeply.

Those are your only two choices: deep thought or arguing. Deal with it.

When a Girl looks at u with eyes full of questions ... she is wondering ~~how long you will be around.~~

if she should tell you about the piece of spinach stuck between your teeth.

When a Girl answers ' I'm fine ' after a few seconds ... she is not at all fine.

When a Girl answers "I'm not fine," after a few seconds .. she is not at all fine.

Face it: She's not fine! And it's your fault!

When a Girl stares at you ... she is wondering ~~why you are lying.~~

why she never noticed that long hair growing out of your nose. And she's still worried about the spinach between your teeth.

When a Girl lays on your chest ... ~~she is wishing for you to be hers forever.~~

she is really exhausted. Go get her a pillow! Then take a hint and leave!

When a Girl wants to see you everyday... she ~~wants to be pampered.~~

has a lot of free time.

When a Girl says ' I love you ' ... she means it.

even though according to the rest of this e-mail she doesn't plainly tell you anything else she means.

When a Girl says ' I miss you ' ... no one in this world can miss you more than that.

Except maybe your Dog. Or another Girl.

Life only comes around once make sure u spend it with the right person....

preferably someone who can spell the word "you".

Find a Guy .. who calls you beautiful instead of hot.

Unless you live in Arizona and you really are hot because the temperature is over 110 degrees. Then, if he calls you beautiful when you're all gross and sweaty, he's probably a liar.

Who calls you back when you hang up on him.

Because it would be completely unreasonable for him to expect someone who cares for him to be polite on the phone, right?

Wait for the guy who ... kisses your forehead.

Then, help him buy some eyeglasses so he doesn't miss next time.

Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats.

That will show he's really sensitive to your feelings. You really want the world to see you in your sweats, right?

Who holds your hand in front of his friends.

Because he's afraid you'll hold hands with one of his friends?

Who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you.

It is good to be appreciated.

Who turns to his friends and says, ' That's her!! '

"That's the girl that hung up on me! (And she keeps staring at my teeth!)

If you open this you have to repost it, guy or girl, or you will have bad luck for the rest of your life!!!!!

But no pressure.

If I don't get this back I guess your not my friend. If you have a lot of love for someone. copy and send this to your whole list. In 5 minutes your true love will call or message you.

How could it not work?

Tonight at midnight your true love will realize they like you. (Too bad, because before midnight, your true love thought they loved you. And what's with "they"? Does he have a split personality? Do you have multiple true loves? Shouldn't you sort this out before you're laying your head on his [excuse me, I mean "their"] chest [chests?]) Something good will happen to you at approx. 1:42pm (approximately!) tomorrow, it could be anywhere.

So get ready for the biggest shock of your life. If you break this chain, you will be cursed with relationship problems for the most important time of your life. (Again, no pressure.) send this to 15 people in 15 minutes to carry on the chain...and spare yourself the emotional stress..

No! I waited more than 15 minutes!

Iraq’s Holy Innocents - John F. Cullinan - The Corner on National Review Online

2009-12-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

Iraq’s Holy Innocents - John F. Cullinan - The Corner on National Review Online

Now what tables have columns with that name?

2009-05-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is a great script by Don Hite that will list the tables in your DB that have a particular name. (Not that I have a need to do that.)

Morally Unserious In the Extreme

2009-03-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

An insightful article.

Thoughts on Rush Limbaugh

2009-03-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

[This post was part of a conversation a friend of mine and I had regarding Rush Limbaugh. My friend, a Republican, was rather upset about Rush and asked if I thought Rush was as bad for the party as my friend thought he was.]

I can't generate a lot of emotion about Rush either way. I've listened to him in the past and found him generally quite amusing. Among his good qualities:

He is quite talented and entertaining.
He articulates conservative principles well.
He really bothers the Left in all of its manifestations.

Among his bad qualities:

He will use selective quotation and overstatement to make his opponents look unfairly bad.
He can lack charity (love) in his discussions.
He is more of a political and economic conservative than he is a social conservative.
He may turn off thoughtful people who would otherwise be open to conservative arguments.

But here is what I think is really going on with the whole kerfluffle around Rush: President Obama simply needs a new scapegoat now that President Bush is no longer in power.

President Obama built his entire campaign around two points:

George Bush is the source and cause of all that is wrong with anything.
Barack Obama is not George Bush

That's it. Everything else (Change! Hope! Change!) builds on these points.

We all know that the first point is simply dishonest. Even the President's most ardent supporters must know, deep in their hearts, that our nation faces difficulties and problems that are not the direct (or even indirect) result of Bush being in power. But it was useful to continually hammer the point during the election, so candidate Obama did so.

But now that he is in power, our President has a problem. It turns out that even with George Bush securely out of the way and the Democrats thoroughly in power in Congress, there are still problems with society. These problems are getting worse. More and more people are beginning to see what President Obama's detractors saw early-on: He has no more capacity to solve these difficult, serious, and complex issues than President Bush did.

So, the administration came up with a new scapegoat. He wants to give his supporters someone to hate, so he turned to one of his most popular detractors: Rush Limbaugh. I really think it is as simple as that. If people are talking about how evil or how great Rush is, they are not talking about how horrible the stimulus package is, or how the President is promoting abortion, or identifying the root causes of the current economic crisis.

As conservatives and Republicans, we do not need to spend a lot of energy defending Rush. Rush does a great job of that himself. What we need to do is challenge President Obama's supporters to move past the hate. We need to challenge them to actually be for something good, not just against whatever bogeyman the Democrats dream up next.

If Gene Wilder had Met Sir Alec Guinness

2009-02-18T08:50:00.000-08:00

(My daughter Amanda came up with the punch line and general idea, I supplied the body of the joke.)

Q: Who was the greatest Jedi candy-maker in the history of the Republic?

A: Obi Wonka-Nobi!

Testing Import Into Facebook

2009-02-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

I have just set up the importing of my blog into Facebook. In theory, when I post here should then end up as a Facebook note. Does it work?

Let's try adding a picture, while we're at it.

Written While Seeking A Job

2009-02-12T08:06:00.001-08:00

When job prospects are wearing thin,
Use buzzwords and the acronym:
Python, .NET, SQL,
MSMQ, PowerShell.
Although they may seem odd to say,
Be glad they fill your résumé.

-Mark Meuer

Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Jacques Philippe

2008-10-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Jacques Philippe

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is really interesting to see how God works. I have been a Catholic actively trying to live my faith for more than two decades. This book has helped me more profoundly than any book I've read in the last ten years.

What is a mystery to me is why the message of this book has not sunk into me sooner than it did. It is not as though it is presenting something that is new or alien to the Gospel. But it must have taken all this time for me to get to a point where I could hear and receive it.

The title accurately describes the contents. Fr. Philippe has written a treatise on both the importance of peace of heart and how to maintain it.

I have a strong tendency towards navel-gazing and scrupulosity. I have spent a lot of time over the years feeling bad about my sins and failings, or worrying about what future sins and failings I may stumble into. I trust Jesus very much, but I don't trust myself. I know that way too often that I fail to carry through with my good intentions and firm resolutions. And that awareness has meant that I can never really relax with God. For if I am not vigilant, then I might fall into sin and ultimately fall away from Jesus.

What this book has helped me to see is that the anxiety I would feel about my own weakness is not what God wants. What I had viewed as devotion and careful attention to righteousness has been largely a prideful dependence upon my own goodness.

We need to trust God completely, even when we sin. We need to just ask for forgiveness, and then move on. God knows and loves us. Really. REALLY. We need to abandon ourselves into His loving care.

It is funny in a sense: People who accuse Catholics of practicing "works righteousness" should read this book. Fr. Philippe makes it incredibly clear how we can do NOTHING without God, and only as a result of His grace. We have to be so abandoned to God that we don't even worry about how good or bad we are. We simply keep turning to God, trusting Him, loving him, and looking to Him "both to will and to work" in us. The grace of faith, the ability to ask for God's forgiveness is a pure gift. Nothing we do makes God give it to us---He just does.

I am doing a horrible job is summarizing this book. But I want to stress the change this book has already made in my life. Although far from having perfect peace all of the time, I am much happier, much more peaceful than I used to be. I wish I had come across this work 20 years ago.

View all my reviews.

Christian-Muslim Crosstalk

2008-08-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

FIRST THINGS: On the Square � Blog Archive � Christian-Muslim Crosstalk

Carl A. Anderson on Catholics & Voting on National Review Online

2008-08-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Carl A. Anderson on Catholics & Voting on National Review Online

Stork Economics

2008-07-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

Very nicely put.

The Adventures of ACTION ITEM!

2008-06-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of ACTION ITEM!

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

2008-06-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
It wasn't until reading some other reviews of this story that I realized that Gregor's turning into a bug was an analogy for what happens when someone gets a serious illness. OK. I'm slow.

It brings me back to my high school days when my wonderful English teacher gently chided me for not seeing the analogy to Christ in "The Old Man and the Sea." I had an excuse back then because I was new to the whole concept of analogies in literature. Now I'm just slow.

I recommend this story.

View all my reviews.

South Dakota Road Trip 2008: Day 1

2008-06-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today we set out on our first real family road trip in many years. Our eventual destination is Custer State Park in South Dakota. Tonight we made it as far as Mitchell. The kids did really well over the six+ hour drive.

We listened to book four of "The Melendy Quartet," A Spiderweb for Two. Denise also did a great deal of reading from Understood Betsy. Now, the kids are asleep and we're tired. Tomorrow it's off to the Corn Palace, then out to join the American Bison at Custer!

Testing Zemanta

2008-06-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaIt has been some time since I have written anything substantive here. Unfortunately, this will not be substantive! I am trying out a new plugin for blog authoring called Zemanta. It looks pretty interesting. It scans what you are writing and makes suggestions about related pictures, links and tags.
I might go back to some previous posts and see how it helps.

For some reason, it suggested this picture of Captain Picard fighting the Borg. I'll use it.

Emily's Piano Recital

2008-06-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

Emily had her piano recital tonight. Here's the performance. (This is also my very first YouTube video upload.)

Everything you (or I) know (about C#) is wrong

2008-05-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

I used to labor under the impression that public fields and properties in C# were completely interchangable. My approach when implementing a class in C# was to start with a public field and only make it a property later if and when I actually needed to do something interesting with the getter or setter.

Well, Kristof Verbiest has disabused me of that erroneous opinion. It looks like starting with properties with default getters and setters is the way to go.

(Audio) Book log: Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by John Paul the Great

2008-01-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Muslim and American

2008-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

A recent YouTube.com video entitled I am a Muslim left me with decidedly mixed feelings. The video is of a young man who talks about various stereotypes of Muslims in a straightforward and humorous way. He explains that he doesn't know how to tie a turban, that he does know someone name "Ahmed" and no, it isn't the "Ahmed" in your economics class. He explains that his name is "Mohammad", and that he would return to his home country but he is already in it. (The image dissolves into an American flag.) The video was well-produced and left one feeling that it was a good and very American thing to be a Muslim, and implies that those who are uncomfortable with him and his religion just need to get over it.

All this was great, as far as it went. I am grateful for the freedom of religion we enjoy in America. If a man's faith requires him to set up a prayer mat in a public place, or wash his feet in a bathroom sink (Mohammad mentioned that in the video), he will find no objection from me. But the more I thought about this video, the more I was bothered by all of the things it didn't say.

The video implied that Americans are uncomfortable with Muslims because of the aspects of public practice of their religion that are strange to us. But Americans are not uncomfortable with Muslims because Muslims wear turbans, pray in public on mats, or wash their feet in public restroom sinks. We aren't nervous about having Imams spreading out through an airplane and ordering seat belt extenders because they speak a foreign language or wear robes. We are not disturbed because there is a group fasting through Ramadan or calling others to prayer from a tower.

Americans are set on edge by Muslims because almost all terrorists are Muslim. Muslims, acting in the name of Islam, slaughtered 3,000 innocent people on September 11, 2001. Muslims crowds in Muslim countries cheered these deaths. Muslim parents subsequently made "Osama" one of the most popular names for new-born boys. Muslims, in the name of Islam, attack and kill civilians in Israel and Europe. Muslims, acting in the name of Islam, hack off the heads of bound prisoners and distribute the videos of their crimes to the delight of Muslim populations. Muslims call for the killing of a teacher (and even students) who allowed her class to name a teddy bear "Mohammad". Muslims, when this is pointed out, claim victim status, whine, and demand sensitivity to their feelings and the granting of rights that they would never have in an Islamic country. Many of the most atrocious governments are explicitly Muslim. Muslims commit suicide while murdering defenseless people on a daily basis.

Of course, I know that most Muslims do not do these things. But neither are most Muslims speaking up loudly and clearly against all of these things. The stance of various Muslim advocacy groups seems to be that the only possible way one could come to associate Islam with violence and terror would be through unthinking prejudice.

This is what makes the YouTube video unsettling. What I am really, really wanting to hear from American Muslims is:

A recognition of the legitimacy of the grievances and concerns that I mentioned;
A clear statement that rejects such abominations as going against the teaching and practice of Islam.

I want to hear Muslim leaders say things like,

"The deliberate murder of innocent people (even if they are not Muslim, even if it is for a good cause) is wrong."
"Suicide bombing is always wrong."
"The attack on the World Trade Center was wrong and completely against the teachings of Islam."

These are the issues that Muslims in America need to deal with. Muslims who can say these things should have no problem participating in American society. Those who can not say these things (or feel they must add a clause beginning with "but..." or "except for..." at the end of any of them) fundamentally reject values that are absolutely essential to our culture and government.

So, to Mohammad and the others behind the YouTube video: If you disagree with what I'm saying, don't be surprised if your video fails to set non-Muslims at ease. If, however, you agree with what I'm saying, please say so---publicly, loudly, repeatedly! Then, you will be welcome to wash your feet in my sink any time.

Book Log: Sprit of Penance---Path to God, By Dom Hubert Van Zeller

2007-12-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

I found this to be a very helpful book. I had read it years ago, but was not at a point in my walk with the Lord where I could really process what it said. It used to be that my whole being just recoiled from the subject of penance. I didn't want to go too deeply into it. I think I was just afraid that life would get too hard if I took penance seriously.

Now, I feel I've reached an age where I am starting to really reap all that I've sown in my life. My bad habits are hard to break, and I find them getting in the way of accomplishing what I want in life. I'm overly attached to food and drink. I'm overly attached to video games. I would rather read news and e-mail than work. When I try to go against any of these tendencies they put up quite a fight. I've come to the place where I can appreciate now the need for penance.

The most important lesson I've taken from this book is that the very first area of penance I need to accept is that which God sends to me against my will. This means that the trials, annoyances, and difficulties associated with my state in life are the first things to accept, offer up to God, and ask Him to join to the sufferings Jesus felt on the cross.

It is to be assumed as axiomatic, then, that the trials that God allows us in the nature of human existence are to be preferred before any that we could device for ourselves.
...Among such penances could be numbered the trials that come from one's temperament and training, one's state of life, one's contact with others, one's age and health, and one's surrounding circumstances generally.

This book has helped to inspire a deeper resolve to live my life in complete surrender to God.

Book Log: He Leadeth Me

2007-10-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

Fantastic book.

C# Namespaces

2007-07-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Warning: Somewhat serious C# geekage lies just yonder. It is geared towards those of you who are software developers working with C#, especially if you're coming from a few years of Java coding. If this is not you, you're welcome to read on, but you'll probably be bored.

I just went through some pain trying to figure out why ReSharper was telling me that the namespace of a particular class was wrong. The specific error I was getting was "namespace does not correspond to file location". I noticed that the directory name the source file was in did not match the namespace. I liked the namespace, so I decided that once the project was in a somewhat stable state I would go back and clean up the directory structure.

So, once the project was in a somewhat stable state, I cleaned up the directory structure (not a completely trivial task, as I had to coordinate the solution with the project files and keep the revision control system happy), and was surprised to find that ReSharper was still telling me the namespace was wrong. I tried different names. I tried adding dots. I tried removing dots. I tried searching the ReSharper support forums. It was all to no avail. Then I dug through the .cproj file itself, and found that it contained an attribute indicating a root namespace for the assembly.

It then all fell into place: I was treating namespaces just like packages in Java. Although they're close, they're not the same. In Java, the package name must match the directory name. In C#, it appears it just has to match (or be a subspace of) the root namespace for the project.

This is one of those cases where, having Java experience hindered rather than helped my learning of C#. Of course, if the ReSharper error message had mentioned the root namespace rather than file location, that would have been helpful as well. Perhaps the ReSharper developers are coming from a Java background as well. But I can't get too annoyed with them because ReSharper is a fantastic tool.

Book Log: Prgramming C# by Jesse Liberty

2007-07-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

I found Programming C# to be exactly what I needed to make the transition from Java to C# and .NET development. Jesse Liberty has a very clear, consistent expository style. He is readable while avoiding excessive cuteness.

The book covers the C# language itself, then shows how to build applications that use the Windows GUI, ADO.NET, web services and the whole .NET framework. Throughout there are warnings and tips directed a programmers coming from Java, C++ and Visual BASIC.

I recommend this book to any software developer moving from another language to C#.

Construction-Paper SCUBA Gear!

2007-04-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Sure, diving equipment made of paper may not last quite as long as other materials. But it is quite a bit cheaper.

"...lower the rescue pack"

2007-03-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is another post in the "Kids say the Darnedest Things" category. It's cute. You have been warned.

A couple of months ago, Davey (5 years old) came into the room where I was futzing with the computer. With his usual earnest manner he asked, "Dad, have you seen Slowly?"

"Who?" I replied. I assumed I misheard him.

"Slowly. I've been looking for him and can't find him anywhere."

"Hmmm," said I. "I'm not sure who you mean. Who is 'Slowly?' "

"You know," he said, "Buzz Lightyear's little friend." (Buzz Lightyear is a character from the movie Toy Story. We have a Buzz Lightyear action figure with a cool space suit. The suit has a backpack with a built-in net on a string that can be lowered down and brought back up. Buzz also came with the little three-eyed green alien who fits in the pack.)

I queried, "Do you mean the little green alien with three eyes?"

"Yes," said Davey. "I can't find him."

"What makes you think his name is 'Slowly'? I don't remember them giving the little aliens any names in the movie."

"I know his name is 'Slowly' from what Buzz says when you push his button. He says, 'Slowly...lower the rescue pack.'""

Book Log: Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and Marcello Pera

2007-03-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

I read it, but don't have time (or rather, the energy) to comment on it right now.

Book log: The Cube And the Cathedral: Europe, America, And Politics Without God by George Weigel

2007-02-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

In this meditation on the state of Europe, George Weigel looks at certain puzzling aspects of European culture and tries to understand how it got this way and where it might be going.

What are the puzzles posed by Europe? Are few:

"Why, in the aftermath of 1989, did Europeans fail to condemn communism as a moral and political monstrosity?"
"What accounts for disturbing currents of irrationality in contemporary European politics?"
"Why is European productivity dwindling? Why does German, rightly renowned as the economic engine of the European Union, have a per capita gross domestic product equivalent to Arkansas and only slightly higher than West Virginia and Mississippi? ... Why does Sweden have a considerably higher level of its population living below the poverty line ... than the United States?"
"Why, in the process of enlarging the European Union, is Europe retreating from democracy and binding itself ever more tightly in the cords of bureaucracy, with Brussels bureaucrats calculating the appropriate circumference of tomatoes and prescribing the proper feeding procedures for Sardinian hogs?"
"Above all, and most urgently of all, why is Europe committing demographic suicide, systematically depopulating itself in what British historian Niall Ferguson calls the greatest 'sustained reduction in European population since the Black Death of the 14th century'?"

Weigel investigates many aspects these issues, but he focuses on the cultural trend to erase the influence and even the memory of anything Christian from European public life. He sees this as the fruit of intellectual currents from before 1900 that then gave fruit to the horribly grizzly traumas that Europe went through in the 20th century.

The books is very readable, much more so than I expected. I found it riveting and insightful. One chapter entitled "Two Ideas of Freedom" is the clearest exposition I've found of the distinction between freedom as understood in Catholic moral teaching ("...a matter of gradually acquiring the capacity to choose the good and to do what we choose with perfection, with excellence."), versus the notion of freedom as nothing more than the ability to do whatever one has a whim to do. Weigel very clearly shows how the first understanding of freedom has the potential to elevate human beings and draw them into real happiness. It connects people with each other and with every idea of human excellence. In contrast, the idea of freedom simply as the exercise of willfulness severs people from one another, leaving them adrift, without direction, and prey to every whim, passion, and emotion.

It is this second idea of freedom that dominates modern European thought, driving many of its pathologies and partially explaining the intense hostility in European intellectual circles towards Christianity.

Weigel sees this hostility towards Christianity as a great threat to democracy itself, for the democratic models of government in Europe and America owe a great deal to the development of Christian theology of the centuries, especially its emphasis on the value and dignity of every person.

A thoroughly secularized culture from which transcendent reference points for human thought and action have disappeared is bad for the cause of human freedom and democracy because democracy, in the final analysis, rests on the conviction that the human person possesses an inalienable dignity and value and that freedom is not mere willfulness. [pg. 172, emphasis added]

Ultimately, Christians have a firm, deep, and strong reason to defend the value of liberty for all. Secularists, who see freedom only as license and have no "higher" values to point to, have no such basis to defend the idea of democracy.

Christians do know...why they need to engage the convictions of others with respect and why they must defend the Other's freedom: because it is their Christian obligation to do so; because this is what God requires of them. But who, or what, teaches a similar sense of obligation to the people of the cube [the secular modernists]... Who, or what, will teach the Europeans of the future that the democratic values this cube claims to represent are worth promoting---and defending?[pp. 176-177]

ScrappleFace » Specter Bill to Clarify Commander-in-Chief Role

2007-02-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

ScrappleFace » Specter Bill to Clarify Commander-in-Chief Role

Book log: The Children Of Men by P.D. James

2007-01-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

I decided to read this book after scanning a couple of reviews of its recent movie adaptation. They were both quite adamant that the book was wonderful, interesting, and very insightful. They were also equally adamant that the movie was a heavy-handed political hack that didn't simply miss the main point of the book, but actually subverted and attempted to undermine it.

The premise of the book is extremely interesting. It is about two decades into the 21st century, and no children have been born in the past 20 years. In the late 1900's, women stop becoming pregnant. Midwives are the first to notice it, as they see no appointments being made for 6 months in advance. When it becomes clear that this is a world-wide phenomenon, huge social upheaval follows. England (the book's setting) falls under a dictatorship that guarantees people security and entertainment as society winds down, followed by easy suicide for those who wish it.

James does a great job of exploring what might happen in such a situation. The separation of sex from procreation, a cultural trend strong in the West for at least 40 years, is now taken to its extreme as procreation no longer happens. Sex becomes more mechanical, frantically pursued, yet ultimately unsatisfying even at a physical level. In the hopes that a medical cure for infertility will be found, the government runs pornography shops to try to keep up interest in sex as the population ages.

Industry winds down as the energy and interest of the young fade into apathy and pursuit of comfort. Mass suicides are encouraged in order to get rid of the old and weak. Women desperately seek child-substitutes in ultra-realistic baby dolls. Celebration of the birth of kittens and puppies become major family events. An old Anglican priest starts performing baptisms on household pets.

These explorations were enough to keep me engaged throughout the book. Which was fortunate, since I really had a hard time relating to the characters. It may be that I was not a careful enough reader. Or, perhaps there is a cultural divide involved in trying to understand English emotional reactions. I am quite willing to concede either of these points, but it may be that James simply did not create very realistic characters in this novel. Theo, the protagonist, has an emotional life completely alien to me. The political rebellion involving five activists was described in a way that seemed very simple and naive. The interpersonal interactions of the government leaders, along with the romance at the end of the book, just did not work. They seemed contrived and unconvincing.

All this said, I would still strongly recommend the book. Its unique, fascinating premise and explored in a variety of ways that casts light on several current trends.

Book Log: America Alone, by Mark Steyn

2007-01-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

My recent and anticipated reading seems to be following a trend. I haven't planned this, but I have recently received a number of books surrounding topics related related to Europe, Islam, culture, and Catholicism. In addition, I was prompted by two movies reviews to borrow from the library a copy of The Sons of Men, by P.D. James. (The reviews both raved about the book and decried the horrible way in which the movie completely missed this point of the book.)

So, for now, I'm going to just log what I've read and leave a more complete review and summary for later when I can compare the different books.

Book Log: How to Win the Culture War, by Peter Kreeft

2006-12-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

This book is a clarion call to Christians in the West to fully recognize one of those truths of the Faith that is known, but often ignored, underplayed, or simply ignored: There is a war going on, we are in the midst of it, and the outcome of the war will determine the fate of individuals for all eternity. Kreeft issues a call to holiness, demanding that we as Christians recognize the reality of the conflict and work to life accordingly.

The book has an interesting structure. From the introduction:

To win any war, and ay kind of war, the nine most necessary things to know are the following:
that you are at war
who your enemy is
what kind of war you are in
what the basic principle of this kind of war is
what the enemy's strategy is
where the main battlefield is
what weapon will defeat the enemy
how to acquire this weapon
why you will win

I strongly recommend this book

Baby Steps

2006-12-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

Looking! I'm actually making a blog entry!

Today I was inspired by project over at LiveJournal encouraging people to write in a hand-written journal every day for the year 2007. This time of year I often become inspired to start fresh, make good on old unfulfilled resolutions, and finally start living life like I've been meaning to for about the past 25 years.

As the years accelerate as they speed by, I'm getting a little more leery of this inclination. It is not that I don't wish to improve. It is just that I am seeing that real improvement is harder than it used to be. Or, perhaps it is not harder, but I am gaining a clearer understanding of how hard improvement always has been.

This may sound discouraging, but it is actually somewhat freeing. It frees me from the obligations I may have felt in the past to take up every resolution for improvement that was presented to me. I know that it is simply not realistic to say that each day I'll pray for an hour, exercise 30 minutes, read some St. Thomas, spend quality time with each of my five wonderful children, innovate at work, fix up our house, do some serious writing, relax with Denise, eat 5 servings of vegetables, review the kids' homework, and have a vital and effective apostolate, all while preparing excellent Family Formation (that's Sunday school to the rest of the world) lessons, improving my chess game, and doing something to help bring peace and end poverty. (Yes, I've felt bad about not doing each of these at some time or another.)

Let's face it: When you're 41 and are putting any kind of consistent effort at all into living life well, you've already taken care of the easy stuff. The parts of my life that were amenable to straightforward change have already been changed. What's left takes work. The good news is that God gives the grace for the work. Also, God could (and I pray He will) step in with miraculous changes any time He wants to. But in the meantime, it's down to baby steps.

So, my baby step right now is to get back to some form of writing every day. Unlike the LiveJournal project, I'm not going to limit myself to a particular medium. But I'm going to try to write every day in either a blog, journal, essay, or letter. And, for now, I'm just going to resolve to do this until the New Year. I'm on vacation between now and then, and there is some chance, Lord willing, I might be successful.

ScrappleFace: Congress to Rescue Air America, Merge with NPR

2006-12-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

ScrappleFace: Congress to Rescue Air America, Merge with NPR

Iraq and the Tet Offensive

2006-12-11T08:45:00.000-08:00

2006-11-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

Posting From Google Docs

This post was written in Google docs. I will now post it to my blog. Did it work?

Another test

2006-11-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Posting by mail

2006-11-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

This is a test of using the BlogMailr.com service to post to my blog via the mail. It could be interesting.

This should be bold, italic and large.

This should be normal.

This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block. This should be a quotation block. I'll repeat it to get a larger block.

Have a great day, and God bless you!

-mark

--
"Do not accept anything as truth if it lacks love; and do not accept as love anything which lacks truth."
— St. Edith Stein

Book Log: Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

2006-11-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

oNo time to comment on it now, other than to give it a hearty recommendation. It was very interesting to read it right after Postrel's The Future and Its Enemies. It corrects and fills in some of her vision for society.

Book Log: The Future and Its Enemies, by Virginia Postrel

2006-11-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

What are the main dividing lines between people in our political landscape? To what major groups or divisions do we assign political actors and ideas? In 2006 America, the most obvious answers might be Liberal and Conservative, Left and Right, Democrat and Republican (and a few smaller parties). But in The Future and Its Enemies, Virginia Postrel makes an empasioned case that the most fundamental divide is between what she calls "stasists" and "dynamists".

Ms. Postrel argues that most contemporary U.S. political discourse is stasist. It see the current state of the country almost exclusively in terms of the problems it has, and seeks to find solutions. The defining characteristic of stasism is the desire for control. Stasists feel that things are out of control, and someone must do something to bring order.

[Stasists] will see contemporary life as a problem demanding immediate action by the powerful and wise. This relentlessly hostile view of how we live, and how we may come to live, is distorted and dangerous. It overvalues the tastes of an articulate elite, compares the real world of trade-offs to fantasies of utopia, omits important details and connections, and confuses and devalues the creative minds on whom our future depends. And it encourages the coercive use of political power to wipe out choice, forbid experimentation, short-circuit feedback, and trammel progress (pg. xviii).

I would like to add some actual commentary on the book, but that will have to wait.

WorldNetDaily: Mideast terror leaders to U.S.: Vote Democrat

2006-11-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

WorldNetDaily: Mideast terror leaders to U.S.: Vote Democrat

Picasa Photo Albums

2006-10-30T14:14:00.000-08:00

This is a test of how one might embed photos from Picasa's web albums into one's blog.

At the 2006 MN State Fair!

OOPSLA 2006: Day 3, Thursday, October 26

2006-10-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

Today I attended a tutorial on Python, a talk, and some papers.

The best part of the day, by far, was the talk by Martin Rinard from MIT. He described an experiment in what he deemed "Failure Oblivious" programming. The standard approach for dealing with discovered errors in code is that programs should fail early obviously when they run into an error. He described an experiment that took the opposite approach: instead of having programs fail early, have them not fail at all.

His group took several open-source programs with known errors and changed memory allocation and pointer schemes so that they could not fail. If the system tried to read outside of an array boundary, it would just return a manufactured value. If it tried to write outside of the boundary, it would just not write.

The result was that the programs did not fail. They would hiccup on the input data that ran across the error, but they would then chug along just fine after that. Rinard's contention is that, for many contexts, this is far preferable behavior to the current practice of throwing exceptions and killing the application. For one, people use very small percentages of the features of most programs. Often the user would prefer to keep using the other features in an application even if one of them starts giving them trouble.

I would very much like to do some more reading on this area. It would be fun to do some experimentation with this approach.

OOPSLA 2006: Day 2, Wednesday, October 25

2006-10-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a keynote address, a product demo, then a half-day tutorial.

The Keynote: By Guy Steele, gave an overview of a new language that he and his team are developing at Sun. The language is named "Fortress" and focuses on parallelism, and extensibility. Some years ago, he gave a keynote at OOPSLA advocating the position that languages must be grown gradually since they have become too complex to designed completely up front. Fortress approaches this by making the language itself fairly low-level in some ways, with much of the functionality (like a lot of the type system) that is normally part of the compiler actually part of the libraries. Programmers will be able to provide libraries that enhance operators and types, as well as provide alternative implementation of standard library functions.

Another really interesting aspect of this language is that there are facilities in the language itself for keeping track of components and versions of components in use. It sounds like some sort of SCM system built-in.

The tutorial: A kick-start for "Ruby on Rails". It was fun to actually do some programming this week after spending several days now listening to how other people have been developing software.

OOPSLA 2006: Day 1, Tuesday, October 24

2006-10-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

It was a full day. Here's the rundown:

After morning Mass, played a couple of games of chess at Starbucks.

Wandered through some of the book displays and posters.

Demo: Bringing Ownership Domains to Mainstream Java
Method to annotate object elements to ensure, among other things, consistency regarding encapsulations.

Demo: WebTest
Tool for testing web applications. This looks like a really impressive open-source web testing tool. You can check it out here.

Demo: Enhancements to refactoring tools in Eclipse
A project to make it easier to perform some refactorings in Eclipse. It did provide me with an immediately useful tip: In Eclipse, you can quickly build up a selection by hitting Shift-Alt-Up. If you start with the cursor on a word, it is selected. Hit Shift-Alt-Up, and the expression is selected. Hit it again, and the statement. Again, the block. Again, the enclosing block, working all the way up to the file itself. Very cool.

Took the train into Downtown for lunch.

I also went to presentations of three research papers:

Research Paper: Pluggable Type Systems
Research Paper: Design fragments Make using Frameworks Easier
Research paper: JTL - Java Tools Language. Language used to help search Java code, even within Java.

The second one was extremely interesting and I think could be applied directly in a project at work.

It is amazing what a difference a presentation makes. I had glanced through some of these papers beforehand, but the presentation was really required in order to make sense of the context in which these techniques would be useful.

The final event I attended was an experimental art-thingy. It was good, because my brain was basically full. Each of us was given a large piece of paper and some pens. We were the told we would be listening to 43 minute of music by The Necks. As we listened, we were to draw a continuous line with our pens and basically let the music direct what appeared on the page. Our drawing was then filmed. The director of the project will make a time-lapse video of the drawings from several sessions like this and then show it Thursday evening. The music was interesting to a degree, but definitely from the "art should hurt" school.

Drove around, did a little shopping, came back to the hotel and watched the World Series game 3 while eating dinner.

OOPSLA 2006: Day -1, Monday, October 23

2006-10-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

Went to two tutorials today. The first was on code generation. It was mildly interesting, but probably could have been about half as long.

The second was on an extension to the Java language called "X10". It is meant to help Java application developers take advantages of massively-parallel system. It was extremely interesting and could have been twice as long. (Ok, I would have gotten fatigued if it was twice as long. But they had enough good material to have a second session if they had so wished.)

OOPSLA 2006: Day -2, Sunday, October 22

2006-10-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

DesignFest

Today was a full day session of DesignFest at OOPSLA. We worked as a group of four designers plus a moderator. We tackled the basic design for a system to keep track of the ratings of players at a racquetball club.

It was an interesting problem, and team members came at it from several different directions. One profitable, although somewhat painful, exercise came from the fact that we could not agree on the basics of part of the design. So, we ended up doing three version of the design, looking at the sequence of calls for one of the main use cases. This was a rather intense experience, and somewhat draining. But it did really illustrate the value of being willing to take a design down to some detail, then backtrack, start again, and see where a different design will take you. Until you do that, you may have an intuitive idea of what will and wont work, but it won't be firm. After you do this, the strengths and weaknesses of the different designs are much more concrete.

Not really knowing what to expect, I had expected that there might be more of a component of either explicit mentoring or competition involved in DesignFest. I had hoped that a really senior person could critique what we did. But DesignFest really was simply an opportunity to get together with a group of strangers and work for a day on the design of a program.

OOPSLA 2006: Day -3, Saturday, October 21

2006-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today was spent at a "Patterns Boot Camp," meant to give us a thorough introduction to design patterns and, more importantly, the "Patterns Community".

The focus on the day was not on a specific pattern or set of patterns. Rather, it was on what makes up a pattern, why patterns are so darn useful, and what sorts of characteristics are used to distinguish between good and bad patterns.

I was surprised to find that there are people out there who are willing to act as "pattern shepherds", working with pattern authors to help patterns become clearer and more effective.

My two main new insights from the boot camp:

Patterns are really supposed to be documentation of proven solutions. One of the guidelines they gave us was to not use patterns to document our own ideas. A "real" pattern is one which has been shown to work effectively in the real world. Patterns are not about originality or uniqueness. Rather, they are about capturing what experts know to be true in a way that can be communicated to others.
Patterns can be written for just about any domain. Patterns were developed originally by Christopher Alexander (an architect) and enthusiastically taken up by software developers. But there is nothing to say you could not write patterns for many other areas of human endeavor. (What might be some patterns for growing in the spiritual life, or raising a healthy and happy family?)

OOPSLA 2006: Day -4, Friday, October 20

2006-10-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today I flew into Portland, OR for OOPSLA 2006. OOPSLA, as you are doubtlessly aware, is an acronym for "Object-Oriented Systems, Programming, Languages, and Applications". It is a conferences for computer-geeks of both the academic and professional variety.

As we descended for landing, I caught a glimpse of what I believe to be Mt. Hood out the window.

The Pope and Islam

2006-09-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

An insightful article:
Laurent Murawiec on Pope & Islam on National Review Online

Flickr

2006-08-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Blind Art Guards

2006-08-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Davey!
Originally uploaded by ThunderWeasel.

Warning: This is one of those "kids say the darndest things" posts which parents find irresistibly endearing, while others simply find them (at best) mawkish. If you have a tendency to be annoyed by such charming anecdotes, don't read the rest of this post. (And don't click on this link!)

You have been warned.

My oldest son, David, is not, shall we say, enamored of dogs. He has always liked them from a distance---preferably a long distance. When dogs come near, he goes far. He finds them intimidating. Things are getting better these days, but large dogs still leave him pretty nervous.

He has been quite impressed, however, with the idea of seeing-eye dogs. He really likes the fact that they can help blind people with various tasks in life. Encountering such dogs, in fact, has helped him to get over some of his fear of dogs in general.

He was also recently impressed with the guards at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. We were there, looking at paintings, and in just about every room there is a guard who kept a polite but very watchful eye on the many jewels of human creativity on display. Whenever someone (usually a child) started to get too close to a picture, the guard would quickly move into position and ask the patron to step away.

A child's mind is always processing the world, and David's found what I think to be a unique insight derived from these two recent impressions. After our museum visit he told me something to the effect, "Blind people would make good guards at the art museum because they have dogs that could chase people away from the pictures."

Strange Logic in the Lebanon War - article by Daniel Pipes

2006-08-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

In this article Daniel Pipes picks up on an interesting historic reversal in the way warring parties wish to be perceived both by their own citizens and by their enemies.

Referring to how both Israel and Hezbollah try to highlight the damage each has received:

But this phenomenon of each side parading its pain and loss inverts the historic order, whereby each side wants to intimidate the enemy by appearing ferocious, relentless, and victorious. In World War II, for instance, the U.S. Office of War Information prohibited the publication of films or photographs showing dead American soldiers for the first two years of fighting, and then only slightly relented. Meanwhile, its Bureau of Motion Pictures produced movies like "Our Enemy Â? The Japanese," showing dead bodies of Japanese and scenes of Japanese deprivation.

Proclaiming one's prowess and denigrating the enemy's has been the norm through millennia of Egyptian wall paintings, Greek vases, Arabic poetry, Chinese drawings, English ballads, and Russian theater. Why have combatants (and their allies in the press) now reversed this age-old and universal pattern, downplaying their own prowess and promoting the enemy's?
Because of the unprecedented power enjoyed by America and its allies. ...

Book Log: Deep Conversion Deep Prayer, by Thomas Dubay, S.M.

2006-08-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Book Log: As I Lay Dying, by Richard John Neuhaus

2006-08-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Book Log: Five Loaves & Two Fish, by Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

2006-08-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

The memoir of a bishop who was imprisoned for years in North Vietnam. An amazing, amazing book.

This bishop reveals in very simple language a stunningly powerful faith that survived amidst "reeducation" in the camps. The simplicity of it is remarkable given the sophistication of the mind that produced it.

He had been seeking a way to share Jesus with his guards, when he was approached with a request to help the guards understand ecclesial documents better. (The government was afraid of the Church and wanted to be able to monitor its teaching.) This is what followed:

[Speaking to a guard.] "...I propose writing a dictionary of religious terms, from A to Z. When you have a moment, I will explain it to you. I hope that in this way you can better understand the structure, the activities, the history and the developing of the Church..."

The police gave me paper on which I wrote out my dictionary of 1,500 terms in French, English, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Chinese, with the definitions in Vietnamese. Thus, with these definitions, my responses to their questions about the Church, as well as my acceptance of their criticism, this document gradually became a "practical catechism."

Yet, for all of his tremendous learning, the message of this book is one of simple surrender, filling each moment with the love of Jesus.

I can't help it if my faith leads to rational thought

2006-08-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Commenting on the debate around President Bush's first veto, Joseph Bottum writes:

FIRST THINGS: On the Square: "This claim that because religious believers hold a position, there are only irrational reasons to hold it?is just too useful to certain segments of the commentariat, for it invalidates in one fell swoop whole classes of public argument. ... I wonder if the people who push this line have ever actually considered how dangerous it would be to win it? Do they really want to convince the large majority of Americans who are religious believers that their faith is incompatible with democratic politics? Do they think that people will, as a result, give up on their faith, or give up on their democracy?"

Do read the whole article. It is quite worthwhile.

Post Something!

2006-07-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

I decided tonight that I need to post something, even if it is less than impressive. So hear it is. You really should stop reading now since this being written largely to break a log-jam in my writing.

There are several topics I've been thinking of exploring:

Book logs on some books I've started but not finished;
Abortion and the flight from reason;
The parallels between slavery before the Civil War and abortion now

Well, this is not much of a log-jam break, but it is a start.

Book Log: "Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage"

2006-05-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Book Log: "Lean Software Development, An Agile Toolkit"

2006-05-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

Our reading group at work recently finished Lean Software Development, An Agile Toolkit by Mary and Tom Poppendieck.

There are several things I really like about this book:

Its thinking is clearer than most. The Poppendiecks make sharp distinctions between principles, tools, and practices. (More on this will follow.)
It presents an Agile approach without demanding that one follow all tenets of Extreme Programming (such as pair programming).
It recognizes that in the past it has been a mistake to think of software development as being roughly analogous to manufacturing. Creating custom software is not very much like assembling cars within a factory.. Software development is much closer to product development, much more like the work that goes into designing the car in the first place. Principles (not necessarily techniques!) that work well in product design can have a much more straightforward application in software design.
They specifically address the needs of safety-critical software, talking about how to apply these principles in environments that are heavily regulated or where a software failure may endanger lives.

The book does suffer at times from and affliction common to this genre: over-enthusiasm. There can be a sense that all we need to do is follow what they say and all will be well. But, for the most part, the authors provide reasonable, realistic guidance for those looking to improve the way they go about creating software.

Now that we have the overview, let's look at the meat of the book: Agile principles. There are seven Agile principles which should govern a group's software development process:

Eliminate Waste
Amplify Learning
Decide as Late as Possible
Deliver as Fast as Possible
Empower the Team
Build Integrity In
See the Whole

A chapter is devoted to each principle. In each, the principle is described, examples are given from both product and software development, and a number of "tools" are suggested as ways to apply the principle in software development.

The principles are valid within any development effort, software or otherwise. For example, a good process will always seek reasonable ways to eliminate waste. In product development and manufacturing, waste may include scrap material that does not end up in a product. In software, the definition of "waste" will include things like partially done work, extra processes, extra features, waiting,
etc.

It is very important to keep the distinction between principles, tools, and techniques in mind. Principles must be reasonably applied to a given environment. The authors put it quite well: (pp. 179-180)

Eliminate waste does not mean throw away all documentation.
Amplify learning does not mean keep on changing your mind.
Decide as late as possible does not mean procrastinate.
Deliver as fast as possible does not mean rush and do sloppy work.
Empower the team does not mean abandon leadership
Build integrity in does not mean big, upfront design.
See the whole does not mean ignore the details.

One team's prescription is another team's poison. Do not arbitrarily adopt practices that work in other organizations; use the thinking tools in this book to translate lean principles into agile practices that match your environment.

I strongly recommend this book.

Totalitarianism: It isn't just for Mussolini anymore

2006-04-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

FIRST THINGS: On the Square: "Everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."

Marriage and Caste by Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal Winter 2006

2006-04-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Marriage and Caste by Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal Winter 2006

I Command my Ship with an Iron Fist

2006-03-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

Jean-Luc Picard. You command your ship with an

iron fist and the children love you. Bah!!!

Humbug!! KIDS!!! >_<

Which Star Trek Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Book Log: "As I Lay Dying" by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus

2006-03-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

We need to wake up!

2006-02-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Michael Novak provides some very insightful commentary on a grossly under-reported event in Iraq this week.

The Method Behind the Left's Madness

2006-02-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

FIRST THINGS: On the Square

Abolish Marriage!

2006-02-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Stanley Kurtz on Marriage in Canada.

Book Log: "Happiness and Contemplation" by Josef Pieper

2006-02-02T20:18:00.000-08:00

What is man's greatest good? What is the source of deepest happiness? Is it the same for all people, or is it impossible to say that there is a greatest good, a greatest happiness that would apply to everyone?

Josef Pieper explores these questions by explaining and defending St. Thomas' doctrine that contemplation is the deepest happiness of Man.

"Contemplation is man's greatest happiness" is a concept completely foreign to contemporary American society. It requires a fair amount of exploration and explanation just to understand what the statement is actually asserting. Because we tend to focus so strongly on action, and view contemplation as "doing nothing," we are very apt to completely miss St. Thomas' point.
To contemplate is, at the deepest level, to see something as it truly is. It is not just seeing the external characteristics of an object, but in a sense it is "seeing through" the object to the Love and Joy of the Creator of the Universe. To contemplate is to dwell in the reality of things.

My description falls far short of providing any real clarity. For that, I refer you to Josef pipers book. It is short and accessible and rewards a careful reading.

Some choice quotes:

Quoting Augustine: "No matter how much you labor, you labor to this end: that you may see."

"...everything holds and conceals at bottom a mark of its divine origin; that one who catches a glimpse of it 'sees' that this and all things are 'good' beyond all comprehension; and that, seeing this, he is happy. Here in sum is the whole doctrine of the contemplation of earthly creation." [pg. 88]

"This, incidentally, may suggest that the greatest menace to our capacity for contemplation is the incessant fabrication of tawdry empty stimuli which kill the receptivity of the soul..." [pg. 102]

Waterfall 2006 - International Conference on Sequential Development

2006-01-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

A software development conference not to be missed: Waterfall 2006 - International Conference on Sequential Development

Book Log: Self-Renewal: The Individual and the Innovative Society, by John Gardner

2006-01-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

John Gardner looks at what appears to be a universal progression for both individuals and societies: birth -> growth -> decay -> death. While granting that no one and no society exist forever, he explores what is it that makes some people and groups seem to decay at a much slower rate than others. Is there anything that can be done to slow or reverse decay?

Renewal is the reverse of decay. It is the bringing about of new and more vibrant life. Gardner systematically looks at habits, customs, societal structures and beliefs that contribute to renewal or decay.

While none of the individual aspects of renewal that Gardner explores are particularly earth-shaking in and of themselves, there is a powerful synthesis generated by looking at them in a systematic manner. I find that I have never really given much explicit thought to renewal itself.

Gardner is very good at providing a nuanced and balanced look at his topic. I felt the last chapters dealing with attitude towards the future and moral decay and renewal to be particularly insightful and inspiring.

The Blind-Obedience Myth

2005-12-21T14:31:00.000-08:00

I really like this article by Michael Novak on Pope Benedict XVI and Andrew Sullivan.

More Combinations We'd Like to See: Obi-Juan Valdez, Jedi Roast-Master

2005-12-19T14:25:00.000-08:00

Movie Combinations I'd Like to See: Bilbo Fett--Hobbit bounty hunter.

2005-12-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Readings for 12/1/2005

2005-12-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

Some thoughts on today's readings:

Today's Gospel reading can be both a source of comfort and distress for us. On the one hand, it could hardly be more straightforward. Jesus tells us that we are like wise men if we hear His word and do it. He tells us we are like foolish men if we hear His word and do not do it.

The great comfort in this passage is that Jesus really does lay out the way for us to be wise. He shows us all that we need to do to survive amid the storms and trials that afflict us in life: Listen to His word, and do it.

The distressing element in this passage is that we so often fail to do all that He tells us. But even there we can take comfort, for we are His little flock. Thankfully, one of the things He tells us to do is seek forgiveness. We can turn to Him in our failings and weakness, and He will forgive and restore us.

Everyday Sanctity

2005-11-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

I am reading Everyday Sanctity, a book recommended to me by Debbie A. It is very inspiring. The first part is talking about ways to sanctify our morning, as a means to begin a sanctification of the entire day. (Well begun is half done, and all that.)

This is a Schoenstatt book, and I find myself really growing in appreciation of three aspects of Schoenstatt:

Its focus on growing in holiness, pouring out my life for God, through my responsibilities as father, husband, worker, and friend;
Its practical nature; Not only does the Schoenstoatt movement encourage holiness in general, but provides a number of specific practices geared towards people living in families, in the world.
The call to holiness is deep and "radical." This is not just an admonishment to be good or avoid serious sin. It is a call to live every moment with burning love for God, for the Church, for Mary, for our families. This call, if fully answered, can be as heroic and self-sacrificing as any other. More importantly, it is the call of God, and it is what He wants for us.

Just the Right Amount of Nerdiness

2005-11-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to marriage, I am nerdier than 48% of all people. (I'm sure that if I was not married, my score would be much more nerdy.)

She has her father's intelligent expression

2005-11-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Father Nathan?

2005-11-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Perhaps Nathan will be a priest when he grows up. He is quite happy to dress up as Fr. Jon for the Feast of All Saints.

Attractive Nuisance

2005-11-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

Wow. It has been incredibly difficult to get back into writing lately. I'?m not quite sure what the problem is. I suppose that fact that we have this wonderful little baby is a little distracting. But there is more to it than that.

I'm continually drawn to the "attractive nuisance." I like to fiddle and tweak my system endlessly. I am working hard to focus (at least at work) on the task at hand, and not optimize, defrag, scan, repair, or fiddle with my perfectly-fine working system.

I am one of these people who will spend hours messing with productivity-enhancing and time management systems (like my favorite these days, Getting Things Done) but will avoid doing the actual work. It has been a great relief and inspiration to find that I'm not the only one.

There is much to write about. Let's see what the next few days actually brings. Some topics to consider:

Our lovely new daughter, Kathryn.
A really interesting course on Agile Development that I'm taking today and tomorrow.
Two fascinating articles on differences between races and genders.

For now, I'll take the easy route and post a few pictures.

Amazing Illusion

2005-10-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Handbook of Software Architecture

2005-09-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

This site is Grady Booch's Handbook of Software Architecture as a work-in-progress. Very interesting.

Book Log: The Dream Giver

2005-09-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Book Log: Defending Middle Earth, by Patrick Curry

2005-09-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I picked up this book on a whim while vacationing in Duluth. The bookstore is in Canal Park, and Denise and I were just doing some leisurely browsing. (This was the first trip with just the two of us that we have taken in many years. Technically, it was not just the two of us since we did have Kathryn along. But, as she had not yet been born, it was easy to pretend she wasn't there.) The store was a little, independent shop. Its content ranged from the ridiculous (Women's Studies, New Age, etc.) to the sublime (a descent collection of classics and Christian writers). We overheard the clerk tell someone that they had sold more than 700 copies of the latest Harry Potter book during the special release party/sale they had the previous night.

The title caught my eye because we had recently finished re-watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies. I dove into it with relish, and found that it was something very different from what I had expected. It was defense of the literary seriousness of Tolkien's works, but Patrick Curry was really coming at it from the point of view of a Post-Modernist literary critic. His attempt is to show the relevance and deep meaning of Tolkien to an audience that does not give much currency to ideas of absolute truth, organized religion, or authority.

Because he was coming from this point of view, I had a hard time relating to him. I appreciate that he was defending one of my favorite writers from unfair criticism, but at the same time I felt a little uneasy that Tolkien could be so effectively rallied to some causes (like radical environmentalism) that I tend to regard with deep suspicion, if not outright hostility.

Kathryn Grace Meuer is born!

2005-08-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

It is with great joy that Denise and Mark Meuer announce the birth of Kathryn Grace Meuer. She was born at 4:30AM on Thursday, August 18, 2005. She weighed 8 lbs, 11 oz, and was 20" long. Mother and baby are doing well.

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and prayers.

2005-08-18T20:35:00.001-07:00

The whole gang!

2005-08-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Little Katheryn Grace

2005-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go to the hospital.

Blogger for Word Test

2005-08-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! It looks like I can post to my blog directly from Microsoft Word.

2005-08-15T21:28:00.001-07:00

"Hey, I can almost reach the pedals!"

2005-08-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Nothing can stop the Davey-powered surrey.

2005-08-15T21:26:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of luggage

2005-08-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

It got cold on the shores of Lake Superior

2005-08-15T21:25:00.002-07:00

The whole gang at Gooseberry Falls

2005-08-15T21:25:00.001-07:00

At the falls

2005-08-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Men (sort of) climbing rocks.