Older blog entries for compiler (starting at number 80)

Here in the PNW, Fall is glorious. Warm dry winds scatter desiccated leaves, each scittering harshly against quiet streets. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

Or Dave will call you names.

There is some really evil shit happening between Israel and Palestine, and the devil doesn't take sides. If I were Jewish, I'd be feeling pretty damn meek. I mean, why does Israel exist? Religion. What is Osama fighting in the name of? Religion.

Mayor Hypocrisy here. The fervent refusal to recognize legitimate objections to the Israel's policies is just stupid. A lot of people are pissed, and not completely without reason.

Of course, just saying this makes me a "racist bastard", I'm sure. Gee, that smacks of fanaticism now doesn't it?

Well now, Doc has managed to turn the attack on the Trade Center into an "I told you so" on his gig. It's all about conversations, Doc -- always has been, always will be. Such crap. Even managed to slip in a link to the book, I see.

Doc, you were on to something good there for a moment, but then you just had to masterbate on it.

Of couse, Dave is promoting himself pretty-well too. F**king disgusting, IMHO. It was great, marvelous really, that he made the effort to broadcast stuff not found on the mainstream news. Once he started patting himself on the back, however, he became an opportunistic bastard. Sorry, but that's how I see it. And this is just caving in. Why should the march of technology slow down? It's just as important as it's ever been.

These guys aren't great examples to follow. Do selfless deeds and keep them to yourself. Weblogs and "conversations" are interesting, perhaps one more than the other. But -- and that's a BIG "but" -- watch those damn egos!

Afterall, what motivates Mr. Laden if not ego? He doesn't take credit for his deeds, so they do nothing for his cause (at least, not his stated cause). It's all about feeling important. Some poeople seem to need more of it than others.

My theory is that there is a finite amount of ego in the world, and that it is hoarded at the expense of others. Without enough ego, a person can be sloathful and generally pissed at the world. Too much makes a person undervalue others. So, leave some ego for other and use as little as you can.

This is what they are fighting for?

"Islam must rule the world and until Islam does rule the world we will continue to sacrifice our lives"

No thanks.

Cold-blooded killers. Well, at least their motives are familiar.

Interestingly, this puts them in the ranks of "organized crime" which gives the gov't a clear run at financially ass- raping their supporters: The Swiss are meticulous record keepers (all transactions recorded in detail, even the serial numbers on cash) and "The Base"'s Swiss accounts are being opened for the investigation. Sent a check to support you local terrorist lately? Get ready to bend over...

Their leaders will continue to tell them lies, they will have no access to any other version. They have no discourse, only edict. That sucks, because they march blindly to destruction.

Fools

The Taliban have never faced the U.S. military. They think they have, but they're so tragically wrong. Fanaticism is alive and well here, too.

In the end

Ultimately, Islam will remain. The US will remain. Isreal and Palestine will remain. Only "The Base" will be gone, and soon forgotten. His cause is futile, it seems.

No longer.

Spatial index anyone? I'm testing the limits of fine- grained'ness for web services. Most CAD and interactive graphics programs will have a spatial index to speed selection hit testing. Usually it's integrated into the scene graph as an implementation detail. Not so here...

Under what conditions will this be useful? I really don't know. Why you'd want to implement fast hit testing over the wire is not obvious. Still, I have a feeling it's a good idea so I'm doing it.

It works like this:

Dude, I have read Chomsky among others. Recently, even.

The "evil bastards" and "insane scumbags" are the leaders, the sources of influence. You're absolutely correct in the analogy, but that isn't the point. The guys in the planes were potential contributors, even middle-class professionals in America. Their fanaticism wasn't the crime, their actions were. Their actions were by order of their leaders. That is the real crime.

Omar and bin Laben are modern Hitlers. I don't think that is an exageration.

We seem to closely agree, though we state it differently. Your last paragraph might have been mine, if I were better able to express my thoughts. Unfortunately, my strengths are in action.

In a perfect world, maybe the bond between nation and citizen are weak or nonexistent. Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect world.

Nations owe their existence to violence, rising from the common need for defense. Well, it looks like things haven't changed all that much in the last 5000 years. Your nation provides for your protection (even when the threat is internal, and I sincerely hope you have been spared any pain). Taking advantage of the national infrastructure obliges us to support it. Likewise (especially in democratic systems) citizens are responsible for their nation's policies and actions.

On the other hand, I consider myself a free man. Free to take many actions to protest and influence my government, as well as the governments of others. Killing is not one of those things. That is what this is about.