- If ever there was a cautionary tale about the uncertainties of the lottery, it was on display Monday in the form of Raptors center Andrea Bargnani. Imagine if that was your No. 1 overall pick?
- While T.J. Ford could shake free in the offseason, with Toronto to do all it takes to retain Jose Calderon, Ford no longer stands as a coveted commodity. He was outplayed Monday by Chris Quinn, who towered over him.
2008-04-15
On the Raptors
Okay, so I've purposely avoided writing about [my beloved] Toronto Raptors - especially during this bleak, uninspiring season - but I see that Ira Winderman of the Miami Sun-Sentinal made a couple of very perceptive comments after last night's Raptor's [painful, as in pulling teeth painful] victory over the [sorely depleted] Heat:
2008-04-12
Documenting Distress
From Dinoscopus:
...the key to the last 500 (or 700) years of the history of mankind has been its apostasy, its slow but steady turning away from God, in particular from his divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. This eliminating of the true Messiah has left in men's lives an enormous gap to be filled, a gap unknown before the Incarnation. Hence a variety of false messianisms in modern times.
Communism is an outstanding example. It is the messianism of materialism. For it may be just as materialistic as the bourgeois society it seeks to destroy, even more so; and it certainly has nothing better with which to replace the residual human values of that society. Yet Communists are driven by a quasi-messianic urge to create their horrible new world. It is as though they are saying, "Better no god than your false hypocritical 'God'!" And to the extent that the God of the bourgeoisie is a false god, the Communist messianism rejecting it is not false. In this respect Communists may at least be credited with a messianic dimension. Similarly in the scream of protest of Rock musicians there is something just, however negative their protest proves finally to be.
Now Art, Literature, History, Culture, Music, each of them with a capital letter, are all worshipped as substitute religions by modern devotees who, because they have no present religion, pump up these by-products of true religion in the past to take its place. Hence the Dadaists' refusal of "Art", and their "re-definition" of art. "What is your Art?" they ask. "It is our godless god", say the Art-worshippers. "Your godless god is a urinal!" snorts Dada.
-- Bishop Williamson
2008-04-11
2008-04-09
George Patton quotes
From Signal vs. Noise:
A few [General] George Patton quotes:
"A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."
"Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."
"If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results."
"If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking."
"Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable."
"Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash."
"The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That’s the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!"
"Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack."
England
Type of the West, and glorying in the name
More than in Faith's pure fame!
Oh. trust not crafty fort nor rock renowned
Earned upon hostile ground;
Wielding Trade's master-keys, at thy proud will
To lock or loose its waters, England! trust not still.
Dread thine own power! Since haughty Babel's prime,
High towers have been man's crime.
Since her hoar age, when the huge moat lay bare,
Strongholds have been man's snare.
Thy nest is in the crags; ah, refuge frail!
Mad counsel in its hour, or traitors, will prevail.
He who scanned Sodom for His righteous men
Still spares thee for thy ten;
But, should vain tongues the Bride of Heaven defy,
He will not pass thee by;
For, as earth's kings welcome their spotless guest,
So gives He them by turn, to suffer or be blest.
More than in Faith's pure fame!
Oh. trust not crafty fort nor rock renowned
Earned upon hostile ground;
Wielding Trade's master-keys, at thy proud will
To lock or loose its waters, England! trust not still.
Dread thine own power! Since haughty Babel's prime,
High towers have been man's crime.
Since her hoar age, when the huge moat lay bare,
Strongholds have been man's snare.
Thy nest is in the crags; ah, refuge frail!
Mad counsel in its hour, or traitors, will prevail.
He who scanned Sodom for His righteous men
Still spares thee for thy ten;
But, should vain tongues the Bride of Heaven defy,
He will not pass thee by;
For, as earth's kings welcome their spotless guest,
So gives He them by turn, to suffer or be blest.
-- John Henry Cardinal Newman
(from Catholic Church Conservation)
2008-04-08
Top 10 Traits of a Rockstar Software Engineer
From Alex Iskold:
- Loves To Code
- Gets Things Done
- Continuously Refactors Code
- Uses Design Patterns
- Writes Tests
- Leverages Existing Code
- Focuses on Usability
- Writes Maintainable Code
- Can Code in any Language
- Knows Basic Computer Science
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
