Cave Markings

Back in '93 I was one of the Sunday school teachers in a class called "Church Across the Street."  This was a terrific curriculum for Sixth Graders.  We would study a religion or denomination for a week or two, then we would attend a service.  It was extremely educational for the students and the teachers.  I began attending the Episcopal Church as a direct result of my involvement in this class.

When we studied Islam, we visited the local Mosque.  It was Awesome.  I didn't like that the girls had to use a separate entrance, and cover their heads.  Females also prayed in a separate room.  Aside from the gender issues, my experience was totally positive.  The reverence for God was palpable.  Multiculturalism is not just a PC term in a US mosque.  There were men of every color worshiping fervently together.  I was floored by the experience. 

We had an adolescent boy show us the customs for ritual cleansing and explain their symbolic and practical purposes.  This young man had a very strong sense of identity and belonging.  His life had value and meaning.  I don't have anything against Islam. 

What continues to irritate me is ignorance.  Fundamentalism of all kinds is ignorance.  There is no inerrant scripture. Even if there were, we each would have the choice if we wanted you use it to direct our choices.  I follow the premise of a Presbyterian minister that was quoted to me:  "I take the Bible seriously, not literally."

Nobody wins when we give in to hate, fear and ignorance, and the result of the Mohammed cartoon brouhaha is that we collectively gave in.

You can find a good post-mortem here.

++Alan

According to this, PowerShell nee MSH nee Monad is on the verge of release.

This is exciting news for me because I spent this week learning the tool. I have had requests to make bulk updates to work items in Team Foundation Server. I decided to investigate MSH as a platform for creating custom scripts to fulfill this request.

Now that it is on the verge of release, I won't have to overcome resistance to deploying pre-release tools. Life is good.

++Alan

[UPDATE] Keith Hill suggests some new acronyms for the Windows PowerShell.  I vote for POSH.

"Oh the posh posh traveling life, the traveling life for me..."

Looks like I may get the chance to present my session on Getting Software Done with Visual Studio Team System at the Atlanta Code Camp.  They say that a listing on the speakers page is no guarantee that I'll be on the final schedule, but at least I'm on the speakers page now.  Go here, select speakers, and scroll waaaaaaaayyyyy down to read the summary.

++Alan

I just got my confirmation that my presentation on integrating Visual Studio Team System and Visual FoxPro was accepted for the FoxForward conference in Atlanta.  I love sharing my enthusiasm about these tools.  This is going to be lots of fun!

Mark your calendars now:



++Alan

It is clear to me, that Russ Feingold and Jack Murtha are the true leaders of the Democratic Party.  All of the current so-called "leaders" should resign immediately.  I admire both these men for speaking their consciences in Washington where everyone else is busy reading poll results.

++Alan

[Update] I forgot Harry Reid.  He's got some backbone too.

I'm trying to sort this one out.  When the law of the land is inhumane, who's fault is it?  I believe the person that opened the valve on the poison gas at Auschwitz is a culpable as Adolph Hitler for the deaths of innocent people.  If a person igonres the humanity of another, it is that individuals fault, not their religion, or any other excuse they offer.  At least, that's what I think this morning.

++Alan

I’m a bit put out today.  I am exposed daily to information that offends me.  It may be news about my government breaking the law to violate my privacy.  It could be the obscene quarterly profits announcement of a Mega-Corp.  These things can annoy and sometimes even anger me. 

I’m not immune to being offended when someone criticizes my religion.  The Episcopal Church has received plenty of misleading, inaccurate and just plain bad press in the last two years.  Why does this matter?  I don’t attack someone’s embassy when they offend me.  I don’t assume that I have the one true perspective and anyone that disagrees with my way of seeing the world should die.

If you are Muslim and offended by these cartoons, I apologize.  I don’t generally seek to insult people.  If you are Muslim, and think I should die for posting them on my personal website, well then you can kiss my White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ass.

Cheers,

++Alan

[Update]  Follow these links for more info:

http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD108806

Rioting with well-planned spontaneity

We are all Danes now

My favorite so far, with high quality versions of the cartoons:
Mohammed Image Archive

http://www.sorrynorwaydenmark.com/

I did it.  I allowed myself to be assimilated, and I have no regrets.  Maybe it’s because I’m approaching forty.  Maybe my values have changed since college, or at least I hope they have.    Monday, January 9, 2006, after completing a six month stint as a contractor, I started as a full-time employee of a defense contractor.  We develop software specifically for the Department of Defense, and we do it very well. 

The company is DPRA Incorporated.  I work for the Defense Systems Group, or as a co-worker calls it “The Developer’s Paradise.”  DSG is run by a Senior VP who is also a software developer.  He can discuss with familiarity the ideas of Fredrick Brooks and Tom Demarco.  In fact, he told me that everyone has an office with a door because of Tom Demarco’s book Peopleware.

That’s right kids.  I have an office with a door!  I also work uninterrupted.  Other than our weekly team meeting, if I want anyone to know about my progress, I have to find them, and let them know. 

This doesn’t mean we are immune to the realities of software development.  Last fall I had to meet a deadline, and I assembled my project in a decidedly slap dash manner in order to fulfill the requirements of the contract.  What is unique is that after we met the deadline,  I had time to refactor my work into a more maintainable form before release.

Besides the creature comforts, my coworkers are smart, talented and professional.  This may sound like hyperbole, but I assure you that I work with some of the best people in the industry.  Last summer I went to TechEd and got a feel for the best and the brightest.  I’ve met the best of the best, and I work with some of them on a daily basis.

It used to be that the three companies I most wanted to work for were (in order of preference):  FogCreek, Microsoft & Wintellect, but not anymore.  I’m home, and I don’t have any intention of leaving.  If you’d like to join me, then keep your eyes open.  We hire regularly.