Harry's Ruminations

Few things in this world make me fighting mad.  But then, there's this. http://www.kentucky.com/2012/12/07/2435663/rare-state-takeover-of-school.html This is my hometown.  This where my formative years were spent.   And, because of idiotic graft, nepotism, and malfeasance, this is where my blood relations remain trapped in a cycle of hopelessness compounded by cronyism, intent on keeping power (what pathetic excuse for power it is!) for themselves. Were I Dante, there'd be some Terza Rima regarding Arch Turner and his ilk's future in Hell, but words fail me. WHY ARE THERE NOT RIOTS IN THE STREETS OF JACKSON?! What sort of combination of (Apocryphal, yet apt) "Boiled Frog" syndrome and Stockholm Syndrome exists on the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River that tolerates this?   Yes, I understand a large percentage of people find primary or secondary employment from the school system or the (almost as nepotistic!) District 11 of the Ky DOT.  Everything is political,...

I'm afraid quite a bit.  It's getting on my nerves. I understand I shouldn't  be afraid, both from a Biblical and a rational perspective.  I have been redeemed, and life's never been better.  Nevertheless, that's not really helping me at the moment. I'm going to try and apply something I learned about grief:  You have to grieve.  You can't avoid or deny it, or you will grieve at the most inconvenient time possible.  Likewise, fear seems something you must face and give name to, then you can move past it.  So, here goes. I'm afraid of being alone.  Years of no peers and only cattle to talk to will do that. I'm not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of outliving my wife. I'm afraid of my own carnal nature--my selfishness, laziness, apathy. I'm afraid my ADD will ruin my life, despite my best efforts. I'm afraid of my temper, and what I'm capable of when I'm mad. I'm afraid being abandoned by those I love--wife, kids, f...

http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ Engineers are hired to create business value, not to program things :  Businesses do things for irrational and political reasons all the time (see below), but in the main they converge on doing things which increase revenue or reduce costs.  Status in well-run businesses generally is awarded to people who successfully take credit for doing one of these things.  (That can, but does not necessarily, entail actually doing them.)  The person who has decided to bring on one more engineer is not doing it because they love having a geek around the room, they are doing it because adding the geek allows them to complete a project (or projects) which will add revenue or decrease costs.  Producing beautiful software is not a goal.  Solving complex technical problems is not a goal.  Writing bug-free code is not a goal.  Using sexy programming languages is not a goal.  Add revenue. ...