Daniel Von Fange

Python.

I programed my first bits of Python this week (because I needed to use Mark's ultra-liberal feed parser ) Initial impressions are that ruby is still the slickest language I've used, but python has it's slick points.

I really, really like Python's use of indentation to define nested structures. This really appeals to the lazy side of me, and it complies with the Pragmatic Programmer's principle - "Don't Repeat Yourself". Pythons goodness on nests is sharply contrasted with the ASP junk I've be working in this week. In ASP if you say "If" you must say "End If". If you don't ASP will kindly say "missing expected if". If it's obvious to the complier where something should go, don't make me put it there manually!

Though I've not ran down the ramifications of this yet, Python's way of taking every file you include and turning it into a module seems quite elegant. It did take me about a half a second to figure what was going on though. :)

This sums up Dean.

This cartoon pretty much sums up the Dean campaign.

Howard Dean.

I've been hearing a bit about Howard Dean, especially from Britt Blaser over at Escapable Logic. Tonight, I decided to go see for myself what was up. Anyway, I went over to the dean website to have a look at his stand on issues. (That's the important part.)

Every once in a while, I enjoy diving into something, ignoring everything I can't prove with source material, and find out really where I stand. When I'm doing this I start with a clean slate. It's important to me to not to be trying to find facts that support a particular view point. I'm know that "Truth" is out there, and that the closer I get to "Truth" in my views on the world the better off I will. Fortunately, I've had no arguments with anyone about the presidential election, so I went into this with very little "bias"

Here are my "Notes" - extracts of text from his site, as well as my thoughts.

They fail to meet the basic standard of economic justice: decent, well-paying jobs for all who want them.

Huh?! I though the basic standard of economic justice was "I don't take your money or stuff and you don't take mine". A "well paying job" is basic justice? No way. All well, lets keep reading.

Millions of Americans, from young people just out of school, to others who are the victims of massive layoffs, are underemployed in jobs that fail to take advantage of their talents or reward their reasonable expectations.

"Victims?" Huh? If the company thinks it would be better off without me working there what is wrong with laying me off? The foundation of American economics is that both sides of a deal feel that they are in a win situation. If one side, either me or a company, feel that we would be better without the other, then so be it.

Month after month, for nearly three years, manufacturers have fired more workers than they hired, and the world-class manufacturing sector that has been the heart of America’s strength continues to shrink.

So what is wrong with people moving into other fields of work than manufacturing? I thought we were moving out of the "Industrial Era" into a more information centered one?

I went digging around the web and found American manufacturing sales statistics. (site here) Adjusted for inflation, after the recession's drop, manufacturing sales are now holding level - it's not continuing to shrink.

As President, I will make job creation a top priority. Good jobs are the result of sound fiscal policies, progressive tax practices, and practical, necessary investments in our communities. To this end, I will propose the repeal of every last dime of the Bush tax cuts. I will work to eliminate tax policies that provide incentives for American firms to move manufacturing jobs offshore. And I will propose new ways to help small businesses access the capital they need for growth, job retention, and plant modernization so that they can compete successfully in the global economy. I will also support increased funding for workforce training.

Hmm. So by taxing companies heavier, they will have more money to spend on employees?

If we are serious about improving American education, however, we must not forget that the single most important factor in a child's learning has less to do with the quality of the building, the computers, or even the teachers. The most important predictor is the attitude in that child's home toward education. We must involve parents again; we must insist that they participate in their children's education, and we must make schools and school boards responsive to parents.

Hey, we partially agree on something. Parents are indeed the key to a child's education.

But we must under no circumstances abandon the public schools, as the Bush Administration seems bent on doing.

Hey, if one of you Dean know-it-all's ;) could find out for me. Did the Dean children go to private schools? Also Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the percentage of Democrat congressmen with children in private, rather than public schools? 38%, actualy. (Survey details here) A monopoly on education is just as bad as a monopoly on anything else.

And fourth, ensure that life on our fragile planet is sustainable.

By who's definition? "Sustainable" is a scary word. It usually means somebody wants to take your stuff. :P

I will support affirmative action, from which we have all benefited, because it has strengthened our institutions and provided opportunity.

I though making hiring or promotion decisions based on race was a bad thing?

I will unflinchingly defend a woman’s right to choose against those who would take away this right.

Translation: I believe woman should be able to kill their children when it pleases them.

I will appoint an Attorney General who sees our constitution not just as a document to be manipulated, ignored, and violated, but who recognizes and respects it as the fabric that binds the American community together.

Hey, another partial agreement. I say partial, because after the what I've read so far, I'm distrustful of "respects" as opposed to "does not violate", or "follows".

I will oppose expansion of the Patriot Act, efforts to remove sunset clauses included in the act, and I will seek to repeal the portions of the Patriot Act that are unconstitutional.

I agree.

Sadly, President Bush and his House Republican colleagues have consistently tried to block or de-fund measures that would help rural Americans.  They slashed funding for value added grants for small farmers,

In other words, the government has stopped taking money from me, and giving to to support economically unviable enterprises? I'm all for it. ;)

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In summery, after tonight I don't think I'll be voting for or supporting Mr. Dean. ;) For all practical purposes, this document, would fit seamlessly into the Dean platform.

Dog show.

"Dog Show People are Crazy!" says the bumper sticker prominently displayed on many vehicles this morning at the Piedmont Kennel Club dog show. And outside of the Bible, truer words were never written.

My brother John had, without my knowledge, signed me up to do parking this morning at the PKC dog show.

At six AM, on a perfectly good Saturday morning, it was time roll out of bed. The drive over there was beautiful, past mist covered fields, a deep purple sunrise. Shumann's "Three Romances" playing in the background on WDAV. The dog show building was quiet and empty on our arrival. The air was cool. The big field to our right was still, serene, and covered in mist.

In two hours this place was going be a packed, hot, madhouse.

When you see a car coming toward you, you know that only only have to wave your hand, and they will go where you tell them. The same applies to SUV's and pickup trucks.Van's however are harbingers of trouble. One out of every two vans will either not park where you tell it, park so as to take up three spaces, or do something incredibly stupid like set up dog pens behind their van in the aisle, sealing off. When you try to tell them to do differently, they will rant, storm, and generally make your life miserable.

Today we found a solution to the "dog show vans". Whenever a particularly rusty van, or one with lots of stuff hanging off of it came into view, or one that ignored our initial instructions, I would walk up to the drivers window, and sweetly say, "Would you like to park down by the woods?" They would say yes, for even though the woods are the farthest away from the showing ring, it offers shade. They would say "Thanks!" then drive off to the woodline, as I flashed them a thumbs up. Suddenly they were out of our hair, and could argue amongst themselves about who parked where.

Today we pulled out all the stakes and ropes that the cars normaly park up against, and managed to both give the average car more space and park perhaps fifty more cars by being able to add another row of cars.

Nokia 7600.

I'm quite tempted by the new Nokia 7600. Maybe I just like things that don't look like anything else. Maybe I am just feeling uncool because my Treo 300 does not have bluetooth...

On Idle.

Note to Self:

When writing an applescript program that needs to run in the background and do something, do not use a loop with a delay inside it. (It hogs the CPU).

Instead, use an "on idle", and save with "Stay Open" checked.

 on idle
  commands...
  set secondsInterval to 5
  return secondsInterval
 end idle

The enemy of the Good..

"The Perfect is the enemy of the Good."

I've been not posting anything, for a perceived lack of time to make things "perfect". This week, I decided that was not an optimal state. Now I'm just going to be spewing out thoughts at random. Duck!

A Quote.

"An individual may be fairly intelligent, but group individuals togather and they become idiots."

One of the big questions in life is, "how can you have a bunch of smart people, and not end up with each of them canceling each other out?"

The easiest way to have a leader.

The harder way is to have "free enterprise", where each person does whatever he wants to do, and gets automatically rewarded as he adds "value" to everyone else.

To record from Firewire.

To record from my computer over firewire to the Sony camcorder, put the camera in VCR mode, then simultaneously press the record button, and the little blank button next to it. Suddenly, you are recording.
(This is a note to myself. I always forget this.)

Edward Lawrence.

I thought that I would take a look at some kind of AIM library today. The first one I looked at, Raim for Ruby seemed way simpler than I had though possible. AIM is very easy to talk through.

The possibilities ahead of me are huge. My cell phone has AIM, so my goal is to create my own "butler" that is able to post to a web log, and send emails. Then I'll make him answer friends' queries about my calendar plans.

Seeing Edward in my contact list was a bit freaky at first. Who am I to be making life?

September 11th, 2003.

Driving home today, I spotted a redneck truck flying a large America flag. I got a picture of it at a red light.

This guy was probably on the opposite side of every demographic measure from those that died in New York city, but rich or poor, from the country or from the city, CEO or car mechanic, southerner or northerner - when one of us gets attacked, we all do.

God bless America.

The Mercedes is back.

My little Mercedes is back running again, no longer am I The-Master-Of-All-I-Survey and He-Who-Is-To-Be-Feared.

Perceptions and The Old Green Truck.

I drive like a mouse. I wait for openings in traffic, instead of making them. I don't do 70mph in a 55mph zone. The little, dark grey 1983 Mercedes I drive has to be the choice of spies that want to avoid attracting attention.

Sadly, the Mercedes, broke down a week ago. I had to borrow the "Old Green Truck" to get to JAARS and back. Now the "Old Green Truck" is a large, ex-military pickup. It looks like a tank, sounds like a tank, is painted non-reflective olive drab, and has a personality something like a Vietnam-era drill sergeant. It burns $5.00 worth of diesel just to get to JAARs and back.

So there I am, going down the road the truck. A mini van rounds the corner ahead of me, and suddenly pulls all the way over to the edge of the road as I pass by it. Odd.

Then an oncoming black SUV pulls close to the opposite edge of the road as it approaches me. Odd.

Then one of those tricked out little Hondas with "Death" written in old english lettering across the windshield comes up from behind me. It does not pass me. Odd.

I need to turn across highway 521, a four lane, 55mph road. with no stop light at this intersection, I usually have to wait a bit for a chance to cross. The truck rumbles up to the stop sign. Several cars immediately apply their brakes, and open up a hole in traffic to let me through. Odd.

Suddenly the manners of every driver in South Carolina has changed. Everyone was giving healthy amounts of respect, and maybe a little fear.

Slowly over the next few days, I begin to realize that people were deciding what kind of person I was by looking at the Old Green Truck, and then acting based off that assumption. It was spooky.

It would be weird to be of a different skin color for a few days, and see the subtle differences in the way strangers act around you.

I've have never "given a rip" about how I dress. As long my clothing is comfortable and has plenty of pockets, I'm happy. However, it seems that by wearing different clothing, I could drastically change the way strangers act around me. Worth trying sometime.

It's amazing how much power over people's actions that people themselves let you have.

Web Application Strings.

I was building a web based application, when I decided to make every piece of text on the site be editable. A few quick functions later, it was so. I am really surprised how nice being able to click on an edit button beside anything is. The customer is really happy too - because suddenly this application feels more in his control, and he does not feel like he is going to have to find a programer to make changes to the site.