Computers - Disgruntled LISPer/*NIX hacker

I don't know if it's a joke, but if it is, it is a very well written one: The "Acknowledgements" section of the scsh manual.

BTW, using Scheme for Perlish tasks is… esoteric, to put it mildly.

Life/Politics - Social Issues

I've just called my mom "Mrs. Black". She was raised by her grandma and consequently became a very conservative person, perpetually locked into Victorian morals (fit for an era I claim never existed, like the wild west or the middle ages or the renaissance the way they're pictured in books and movies).

I personally loathe both extremes:

The far left because their dreams go against human nature, for I believe it was the ego that drove ape to become man. People are not equal, and society must allow people to become rich to motivate progress (while also preventing people who do work from starving). Welfare one can live well off is dangerous because many will just not bother to rise above it, and a healthy society would need as many working hands as possible. On many issues, the bleeding hearts are either incredibly naive or incredibly hypocritical, either way does not lend them much political credibility.

The far right are xenophobic reactionaries who are unwilling to accept that maybe the traditional way of doing things is not necessarily best (especially when they think it is what god meant, which is first rate hubris).

What I really hate is righteousness. The belief that you are right and they are wrong, regardless of facts or logic. When people believe instead of thinking, they make mistakes. Those mistakes can vary from overpaying for hype and brand recognition to supporting and participating in holy wars.

I support doubt. I think it is a glorious virtue, for it enables people to resist PR departments and warmongering demagogues.

On a different topic, I hope Ariel Sharon is alive and will recover, despite rumors. Though even the most optimistic people have already buried his political career…