Parliamentary Haikus

openparliament.ca has a brilliant feature where their system analyzes the words spoken in parliament and finds instances where the “Haiku” pattern is followed.

Here are some gems:

–

“We must recognize

that children are poor because

their parents are poor.” — NDP MP Libby Davies in February 1998

–

“I have some good news

for those listening who may be

scared of these issues.” – Progressive Conservative MP Jean Charest in November 1997

–

“The Canadian

economy is going

along very well.” – Liberal MP George Proud in February 1998

–

“The Canadian

is long lived and still useful

at an advanced age.” – Reform MP Inky Mark in May 1999

–

“No, it was not done.

Was anything ever done?

No, nothing was done.” – Liberal MP Shawn Murphy in March 2010

–

“We can sit here, put

our heads in the sand and say

nothing will be done.” – Liberal MP Bernie Collins in February 1994

–

“The government will

continue to monitor

the situation.” – Liberal MP Lyle Vanclief in September 2001

–

“In no short order

solutions would be put forth

and implemented.” – Reform MP Keith Martin in November 1999

–

“In many respects,

we are the only adult

party in this House.” — NDP MP Peter Julian in October 2007

–

“Keep on doing that.

It will not change anything.

You are used to that.” — Bloc MP Pierre Brien in March 2002

–

“Foot and mouth disease

does not significantly

affect human health.”- Liberal MP Lyle Vanclief in April 2001

–

To find more, go here.

The Obama Administration’s Verison of “Either You Are With Us Or You Are Against Us”

At the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica on June 22,  Hillary Clinton said:

“But the bottom line is, whose side are you on? Are you on Qadhafi’s side or are you on the side of the aspirations of the Libyan people and the international coalition that has been created to support them? For the Obama Administration, the answer to that question is very easy.”

A few observations.

1.  I couldn’t find a better contemporary philosophy textbook example of a “False Dillema”.

2. You find this swagger on both the left and on the right of the political spectrum, except maybe at election time.

3. Besides being a classic example of a “False Dillema”, it’s an example of the highly simplistic, naive, and narrow thinking that goes into much political posturing on foreign policy.

Booklog (June 16, 2011 – June 24, 2011)

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 38.

Differences Between Python/Gvim and Java/IntelliJ

Recently I’ve went from almost exclusively programming in Python with Gvim as my IDE to, while still using Python/Vim here and there, mainly developing with Java and IntelliJ at work.

When I’ve went  back and forth between Python/Vim and Java/IntelliJ in the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed some interesting things happening.

Here are differences that have tripped me up:

  • When I switch over to the Python/Vim, I find myself not saving because I’m used to IntelliJ’s constant auto save and then I wonder why the most recent change isn’t saved.
  • Python’s lack of explicit type definition, while I understand the reasoning behind it and the advantages, seems way more dangerous than it did before (maybe that is a good thing and will make me a better Python programmer).
  • IntelliJ makes my Gvim setup, which I thought was nice, seem like junk. I really do like what JetBrains did with IntelliJ.  Vim seems like such a barren world without IntelliJ features like strong version control integration, strong project integration, crazy code competion (with even code completion integration in templating library markup!) and powerful commands like Ctl-B, Ctl-Shift-B, Ctl-Shift-N, Alt-Insert, etc. Refactoring and reworking code seems to often be more work than it should be even with the most advanced Vim setup.
  • The fact that I can just write a .py file without a class directly undergirding it feels weird after being immersed in Java.
  • It’s HARD to switch between Java and Python style naming conventions. This huge Python fan is starting to see the advantages of Java-style naming when it comes to bigger object hierarchies.

Here’s some things I *thought* would trip me up, but haven’t:

  • The semi colon to end a line thing versus no semicolon. Transitioning between these styles has presented  no difficulty. Since the change, I’ve never put a semi-colon in a Python program or vice versa.
  • Switching back and forth between the differences in compilation between Java and Python is pretty much a non-issue. Anyways, that sort of stuff should normally be abstracted away from the programmer by an IDE, build tasks, or other deploy processes.
  • It’s easy to continue to appreciate Python’s less verbose way of doing things!

I’m currently checking out PyCharm (JetBrain’s Python IDE which is fairly similar to IntelliJ).  Haven’t used it enough to review it, but I will soon. Maybe this is a way I can bridge the two worlds!  Just for the record, I’m by no means giving up on Vim. I still love the POWER and FLEXIBILITY of Vim.  I just want to use the right tool for the right job. And while you can do hard core development with Vim, I’m starting to think it may not be the most efficient tool for the job when compared with IntelliJ/PyCharm (depending, of course, on you are content using the community edition or springing some money for the fully featured product).

Notable Quotes About Truth

“Truth: the most deadly weapon ever discovered by humanity. Capable of destroying entire perceptual sets, cultures, and realities. Outlawed by all governments everywhere. Possession is normally punishable by death.” – John Gilmore

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell

“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – Jesus in John 8:32

“The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what’s true.”— Carl Sagan

“It is error alone which needs the support of government.  Truth can stand by itself.”  – Thomas Jefferson

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” – Aldous Huxley

“We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because the lie is more comfortable.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn

“Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t going away.”— Elvis Presley

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”— Winston S. Churchill

“No truth but has some error next door.” – William Gurnall

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

“Truth is stranger than fiction because we create fiction to suit our fancy”  – G.K Chesterton

“”If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.” – C.S. Lewis

“Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.”— Henry David Thoreau

“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” — Martin Luther

“Truth would quickly cease to be stranger than fiction, once we got as used to it.”— H.L. Mencken

A diverse group of sources, indeed, but all pointing to some interesting aspects of truth!

God’s Superabundant Liberality

“You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.” – King David in Psalm 104:14-15 (ESV)

“Nature would certainly be satisfied with water to drink; and therefore the addition of wine is owing to God’s superabundant liberality” – John Calvin in his commentary on Psalm 104:15

Booklog (June 15, 2011 – June 16, 2011)

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 35.

 

Booklog (May 31, 2011 – June 15, 2011)

  • Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes [Audio Book] by Tamim Ansary (416 pages): Enjoyed some of the historical information presented. Most of it is balanced, although it is not without considerable bias in some areas .
  • Rework by Jason Fried (288 pages): Excellent. Very fun, with lots of good advice for companies–most of which is directly applicable to individuals also .

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 33.

 

Ivy League CEOs Are Rare

“Ninety percent of CEOs currently heading the top five hundred American companies did not receive undergraduate degrees from Ivy League colleges. In fact, more received their undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin than from Harvard (the most heavily represented Ivy school, with nine CEOs).”

– Rework by Jason Fried

Top 25 Live Cover Songs By David Gans

Here are, in my mind, the 25 best covers that David Gans has done.

25. Norwegian Wood by The Beatles
24. Sugaree by The Grateful Dead
23. For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield
22. Mr. Tamborine Man by Bob Dylan
21. Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles
20. Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad by The Grateful Dead
19. Travelling Man by Ricky Nelson
18. Me And Bobbie McGee by Roger Miller
17. New Speedway Boogie by The Grateful Dead
16. Wharf Rat by The Grateful Dead
15. A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles
14. Friend of the Devil by The Grateful Dead
13. Promised Land by The Grateful Dead
12. Box of Rain by The Grateful Dead
11. Ripple by The Grateful Dead
10. Midnight Moonlight by Peter Rowan
9. Cold Rain and Snow by The Grateful Dead
8. Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic
7. Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton
6. You Ain’t Going Nowhere by Bob Dylan
5. Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones
4. Can’t You See by Marshall Tucker band
3. The Bird Song by The Grateful Dead
2. Mama Tried by Johnny Cash
1. Candy Man by The Grateful Dead