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Proud Father, VIII

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2012-05-09T20:59:59-04:00

Jonathan had paper published in Nanotechnology, Volume 23, Number 21: "Nanometer-scale flow of molten polyethylene from a heated atomic force microscope tip". The article is currently free on the web.

Easter 2012

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2012-04-08T13:09:49-04:00

It was not as the flowers, ...it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled ...making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the ...but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of time will eclipse for each of us ...And if we will have an angel at the tomb, make it a real angel, ...opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen ...Let us not seek to make it less monstrous, ... —John Updike, “Seven Stanzas At Easter,” 1964

The Adoring Fans Speak!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2012-03-30T09:47:59-04:00

It has been a while since my last post. Life sometimes gets in the way of blogging, especially as I'm trying to work in earnest on my book "From Electrons to Morality." Still, the debates about Calvinism and free will continue apace over at Vox Popoli, the latest one being here, from which the following two quotes are taken. wrf3, i did say before that you are being willfully obtuse. but after this, I am starting to think that you are suffering from early dementia or you are not paying much attention to what you say.
--Toby Temple And do remember when we call you a depraved immoral utterly worthless pile of filth that we're not insulting you... we're simply agreeing with your theology.

You pathetic pile of dung.
-- Nate Winchester I wonder if I should use these on the dust jacket of my book?

The No Free Will Theorem

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2012-01-15T05:38:31-05:00

But after not having done any reading for the past few weeks, before bed I picked up where I left off reading Pierce's An Introduction to Information Theory. ... A passage that I will quote later caused a cascade of, if not pieces falling into place, a clarity of what questions to think about. Earlier this week, over at Vox Popoli, Vox took issue with a particular scientific study that concluded on the basis of experimental data that free will does not exist. While I think I agree that this study does not show what it claims to show, I nevertheless took the approach the free will doesn't exist. ...Perhaps because of an idea that thought is "mystical" stuff; that there is a bit of "god stuff" in our heads that gives us the capabilities that we have. ... What I'm about to say certainly isn't taught in any sunday school I've ever attended, or been discussed in any theological book I've ever read. ...The pattern of the flow of electrons is controlled by the neurons in our brain, just like the pattern of the flow of electrons is controlled by NAND gates in a computer. ... NAND gates can simulate neurons (there are, after all, computer programs that do this) and neurons can simulate NAND gates (cf. here). ...Having just re-watched all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica on Netflix, it was fascinating to watch the denial of some humans that machines could be their equal, and the denial of some machines that they could be human. ...In April 2009, I wrote the post Ecclesiastes and the Sovereignty of God, which gave excepts from the book A Time to Be Born - A Time to Die, by Robert L.

On the Inadequacy of Scientific Knowledge

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-11-22T02:43:28-05:00

Whether or not I learn anything about Zen or motorcycles remains to be seen.1 However, not quite a third of the way through the book Pirsig presents an argument for the inadequacy of scientific knowledge as a source of truth. ... If the purpose of scientific method is to select from a multitude of hypothesis, and if the number of hypothesis grows faster than the experimental method can handle, then it is clear that all hypothesis can never be tested. ... About this Einstein had said, "Evolution has shown that at any given moment out of all conceivable constructions a single one has proved absolutely superior to all the rest," and let it go at that. ...If, in the next century, scientific activity increases tenfold, then the life expectancy of any scientific truth can be expected to drop to perhaps one-tenth as long as now. ... What this means logically is that as you try to move toward unchanging truth through the application of scientific method, you actually do not move toward it at all. ...Even if an argument to the boundedness of knowledge about the physical universe could be made based upon the number of particles therein, I suspect we will find limits to how far we can explore. ...Finally, if it is true that science produces antiscience then the resulting chaos can't be repaired by more application of the scientific method, unless scientific knowledge is finite. While I think that much of this argument has merit, I put it in the Bad Arguments category, not because I necessarily disagree with the conclusions, but because the premise that "the purpose of the scientific method is to select a single truth from many hypothetical truths" is wrong. ... Induction is not a sure means to truth, even though we often have to rely on it.5 As Einstein said, "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong." ...

[1] In the Author's Note, Pirsig writes "[this book] should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice.

Proud Father, VII

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-11-20T11:27:50-05:00

Jonathan had another paper published in Applied Physics Letters, Volume 99, Number 19: "Temperature-dependence of ink transport during thermal dip-pen nanolithography". Unfortunately, the article is behind a paywall. Johnny wrote that he worked with a graphic designer to produce the artwork used on the cover. The picture is a heated atomic force microscope tip depositing nanostructures of mercaptohexadecanoic acid on a gold surface.

She Also Said Yes!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-11-15T14:50:38-05:00

David and Mary Ann announced their engagement. I'm light on details at the moment. Hopefully they will be around during Thanksgiving (hint, hint)!

Cubism

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-11-04T22:23:40-04:00

I understood maybe one fifth of the book, partly because of my unfamiliarity with French history and culture, and partly because the Cubists reflected each other's work. To understand what one artist was trying to convey often required knowing what his peers, or even the artist himself, were doing. Adding to my difficulty was the author's writing style which tried to do with words what the Cubists did with paint and other materials. ... One was to attempt to transfer meaning through iconic representation by abstracting essential elements and displaying then in non-traditional forms. ... Another was to evoke meaning in the mind of the viewer instead of overtly trying to communicate meaning from the artist to the viewer. ... But the examples of Cubism in the book did not have the same effect, even though I don't speak the Cubist language well, if at all. ...The book's cover is Robert Delaunay's "Wndows Open Simultaneously (First Part, Third Motif)" which is part of a series of experimentations by the artist. ...Dispensing with the screen of neo-Impressionist brushstrokes - perhaps recognizing its superfluity, given the constructive potential of the device of a colour grid - Delaunay orchestrates a range of spectral colors around the spatial recession from the foreground orange curtains to the background blue sky and the green profile of the tower. As in the hermetic paintings of Picasso and Braque, the representational legibility of the image is secured by the vestigial iconic character of these motifs. But unlike their exploration and celebration of the linguistic magic of painting for its own sake - or perhaps for its suggestion of a reality beyond appearance - Delaunay's bracketing of his complex and fragmented representation of the cityscape between the external limit of the picture frame/window and the internal limit of the distant tower posits an equivalence between the experience of deciphering the painting and the active, constructive nature of visual perception that life in a modern city entails. [pg 61].

Providence

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-10-30T16:49:18-04:00

I had a prescription for new eyeglasses sitting on my desk for the last seven months. I had been procrastinating getting new glasses because I didn't particularly like my optometrist after a new crew took over, but inertia held me back from trying another establishment. ... It was late in the day so, after placing my order, I walked next door to Bonefish for a relaxing beverage. ... It was the optometrist asking for my prescription numbers, which I had forgotten to leave with him. ... Had I not stopped for a drink, I would have been halfway home when the optometrist called. On Saturday, Becky and I went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, in Fletcher, NC. ... To our surprise, we ran into a friend we hadn't seen in 20 or more years. J, and her husband W, attended the same church Becky and I went to after we moved to Georgia 31 years ago. J and W moved to the Greenville area 4 years ago. It was wonderful seeing her again and catching up on mutual friends.

Theism vs. Atheism Debate Update

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-10-30T16:19:01-04:00

But mainly, the delay is due to my wanting to finish the Yale course on game theory, since this is critical to developing the argument for a biological basis for morality. I also need to finish taking notes on Lewis' Mere Christianity, since one of Lewis' arguments for the existence of God is a nearly universal morality which, broadly speaking, equates to one of the variants of the Golden Rule. ...I'm also finding interesting articles which have to be worked into the biological theory of morality, such as ParaPundit's "Non-conformists Better At Working Toward Common Good", which I highly commend to your attention. Since this mentions the positive role of the nonconformist in society, with the recent passing of Steve Jobs, it is fitting to mention this except from the Newsweek article, "Exit the King" from the Sept. 5 issue: After becoming rich and famous in his early 20s, he realized that he needed colleagues who weren't awed by his myth and could assert themselves forcefully against him – especially since he was at once strong-willed but under educated and inexperienced and still insecure about his judgment. He found that by delivering brutal putdowns of his co-workers he could test the strength of their conviction in their own ideas. ... t" and they fought back fiercely, he would trust their passion, especially since he often lacked the necessary technical acumen or aesthetic confidence. (Even though he instinctively grasped the importance of design from early on – he had wanted to enclose the Apple I in a case of beautiful blond koa wood – he remained uncertain about his taste for many years before he settled on the safety of austere minimalism). He found that many of the most brilliant engineers and creative types actually responded well to cruel criticism, since it reinforced their own secret belief that they weren't living up to their vaunted potential. ...

Morality in a Fantasy Novel

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-10-30T15:54:16-04:00

I have been re-reading the Myth Adventures series by Robert Asprin. In Myth Alliances, on page 165, I was delighted to find the hero of the novel make this observation: There wasn't a thinking being alive who deep down didn't feel fundamentally flawed. This, of course, is one way McCarthy's third design requirement can manifest itself. In Something M.Y.T.H. Inc., on page 27, another character explains morality in terms of the iterated prisoner's dilemma, even though he likely never took a course in game theory: "What I mean is, when you're a soldier, you don't have to worry much about how popular you are with the enemy, 'cause mostly you're tryin' to make him dead and you don't expect him to like it. It's different doin' collection work, whether it's protection money or taxes, which is of course just another kind of protection racket. Ya gotta be more diplomatic 'cause you're gonna have to deal with the same people over and over again." For another example of art revealing life, see the post The Telling.

One journey ends...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-09-25T15:00:00-04:00

Today was our final day at Gwinnett Community Church. We started attending there around the time Rachel was born, so that means we were there for some 19 years. There were several reasons for our decision, but I will only give one, which was eloquently stated by David Murrow, in his book "Why Men Hate Going to Church": God made men for adventure, achievement, and challenge, and if they can't find those things in church, they're going to find them somewhere else. For me, and to some extent my wife, challenge includes intellectual challenge. With the new administration, that's no longer there, nor does it seem to be appreciated. We both think this particular congregation is now engaged in a race to the bottom, where Proverbs 27:17 is absent from Scripture and the weak in faith are not encouraged to become strong.

Theism vs. Atheism, Part 2

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-09-06T11:20:32-04:00

Now, software is, at least, a subset of thought, so we have established that human thought, insofar as it is software, is "just" electrons in motion. ...Obviously, the only way to show that our minds are complex software is to build a human-level artificial intelligence, and our ability to do this isn't quite there, yet. ...Yet those who ask me to believe this world picture also ask me to believe that Reason is simply the unforeseen and unintended by-product of mindless matter at one stage of its endless and aimless becoming. ...The law of contradiction asserts that A can’t both be A and non-A at the same time and in the same relationship. ...Haldane's argument fails because, while there may not be "a reason to suppose my beliefs are true" there likewise isn't a reason to suppose they are false. ...We understand how to model goal seeking behavior as finding a path in a graph from some initial state to some goal state.3 A path that leads from an initial state to a goal state is good; a shorter path between the two points might be better (depending on other goals); the shortest path might be best (again, depending on any additional constraints). ...He didn't need to do his neuroimaging experiments to show that this was not the case; after all, a computer uses the same circuitry to compute an integral as it does to evaluate a game tree. ...Since morality is essentially a search operation through a state space, it is an algorithm that can be encoded in nand gates or axons, and, therefore, is electrons in motion in a certain pattern. ...This gives rise to Hume's is-ought distinction.5 It also gives a basis for the problem of theodicy: if everything can be improved, nothing is what it ought to be. ... Our brains are in dynamic tension between wanting to settle on a goal and wanting to change the goal and keep searching.6 It would be an interesting experiment to classify where atheists and theists fall in this range.

Theism vs. Atheism: A Debate?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-09-04T16:51:16-04:00

Vox Day has challenged the atheist community to a debate concerning "the assertion that there is not only substantial evidence for the existence of gods, but that the logic and the evidence in support of the existence of gods is superior to the logic and the evidence for the nonexistence of them." While only a paltry three days has passed, no David has yet stepped forth to challenge Goliath.1 I expressed interest in arguing for the atheist position, but Vox would prefer to debate an actual atheist. ...Such a proof would be like showing that no pink unicorns exist -- the only way to do this is by an exhaustive search and, by definition, god supposedly exists outside of nature where man cannot look. ...This could be the god of the three main monotheistic religions; it could also be a deistic god or alien scientists who are running our universe as a simulation in one of their computers (many implies one). ...To make the case for atheism, then, it must be shown that atheism is consistent and that it corresponds to the universe we live in. ...There is no shame in saying, "we don't know," since incomplete knowledge is a problem in both systems, and the argument from incredulity is a logical fallacy recognized by both sides. ...Man, however, is a general purpose problem solver and, according to John McCarthy in Programs with Common Sense, one feature to enable this behavior is that "All aspects of behavior except the most routine must be improvable. ...Only D isn't currently backed by experiment, since we haven't yet created a human level artificial intelligence; but it is partially observable through introspection and, furthermore, to deny this is to deny the Biblical account of the Fall in Eden. ...God belief is also comforting because it can always be used for explanations where our knowledge is incomplete (there is ultimate meaning, ultimate morality, ultimate cause). ...Partly because I think I may have some new insights to offer, particularly since computer science is still in its infancy and I think it has important things to say with respect to theology.

Goodbye AT&T

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-24T18:13:16-04:00

The difference was a $2.00 "minimum usage charge", a $1.99 "carrier cost recovery fee", plus a $0.47 "federal universal service fund fee." ...He was unable to answer the question why we had to pay for a service we weren't using. After several fruitless trips around the circle, we asked to speak to a supervisor and were put back into the interminable "wait for the next agent" state. ...The rep was very professional and, after being on hold with AT&T customer service himself, removed the charge and supposedly waived the fee on future bills. ... This time my wife dealt with AT&T and, again, the charge was removed from our bill. When she asked if the charge was gone for good, the agent couldn't give any assurance that it would be. ...I would have been happy to keep the land line, but not with a junk fee, and especially not with such incompetent service. I may switch to Verizon or Sprint for mobile service, especially since the iPhone is rumored to be available for all three in October. ...More years ago than I care to remember, Lily Tomlin was in this Saturday Night Live skit about AT&T. ...

Number Theory #2

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-23T15:20:08-04:00

2.1 #1: Show that if a, b, and c are pairwise relatively prime, then (a, b, c) = 1. ...

2.1 #4, 5, and 6: These are all variations on problem #3 since (399, 703) = 19, (547, 623) = 1, and (398, 600) = 2. ...

2.1 #7: Find integers r and s such that 922r + 2163s = 7. ...For this case, by the method in problems 3-6, one solution for 922r + 2163s = 1 is 922*556 - 2163*237 = 1. ...

2.1 #8: Are there integers r and s such that 1841r + 3647s = 1? ...

2.1 #9: Show that if there is no prime p such that p | a and p | b, then (a, b) = 1. ...

2.1 #11: Are the integers 101, 209, 283, and 341 pairwise relatively prime? ...

2.1 #12: Show that if p is prime and a is an integer then either (a, p) = 1 or (a, p) = p. ...

2.1 #13: Use Theorem 2.4(c) to show that a fraction m / n can always be reduced to lowest terms. ...Since q | m and q | n, by Theorem 2.3 q | d → q <= d, which is a contradiction.

Atheism and Evidence, Redux

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-12T23:43:15-04:00

I cited this article that said that people with Asperger's typically don't think teleologically. ...The main thesis of the article is nonsense, but it does reference work by Catherine Caldwell-Harris of Boston University. ...The other type is neurologically predisposed to be skeptical, and they don't put much weight in beliefs and agency detection." ..."There have always been two cognitive comfort zones," she says, "but skeptics used to keep quiet in order to stay out of trouble." This broadly agrees with the Scientific American article, although it isn't clear if the non-anthropomorphizing group is thinking teleologically, but then suppressing it (which is characteristic of atheists) or not seeing meaning at all (characteristic of those with Asperger's). ...One purpose of the Turing Test is to determine whether or not an artificial intelligence has achieved human-level capability. Her "triangle film" isn't dissimilar from a form of Turing Test since agency detection is a component of recognizing intelligence. If the movement of the triangles was truly random, then the non-anthropomorphizing group was correct in giving a mechanical interpretation to the scene. But if the filmmaker imbued the triangle film with meaning, then the anthropomorphizing group picked up a sign of intelligent agency which was missed by the other group. ...Finally, I have to mention that the Der Spiegel article cites researchers that claim that secularism will become the majority view in the west, which contradicts the sources in my blog post.

Behold, The Power of Lisp

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-12T17:38:23-04:00

It was difficult to choose between the two but, ultimately, the first seemed to show the power of Lisp emerging from the Lambda, instead of surrounding it.

Number Theory #1

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-08T22:08:01-04:00

My habit so far has been to go downstairs before bedtime, do some cardio, then open the text and work a problem or two, including the theorems proven in the text. ... So far, I've been going to bed frustrated by my slowness to solve some of the problems. ... If I had to do this under deadline for a class, I'd be in trouble (although miscellaneous exercise 9 was trivial). ...#7: Show that if p ∤ n for all primes p ≤ ∛n, then n is either a prime or a product of two primes. If p is not prime, then it is a composite number of the form f1 * f2 * … * fk. ... So if n is prime, it is the product of at most two primes, f1 and f2, where f1 <= f2. ...#8: Let p and q be consecutive odd primes from the list 2, 3, 5, 7, …. ...Since p and q are odd primes, p = 2m + 1; q = 2n + 1. p < q ⇒ m < n. Then p + q = 2m + 1 + 2n + 1 = 2(m + n + 1). ...Since the smallest possible p is 3, the smallest m is 1 and, likewise, the smallest n is 2; so the smallest m + n + 1 is 4.

C. S. Lewis: Evolutionary Hymn

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-03T10:12:14-04:00

Lewis wrote the following hymn to evolution on March, 4, 1954 in a letter to Dorothy Sayers. It can be sung to the tune "Angels from the Realms of Glory": Lead us, Evolution, lead us ...Lead us nobody knows where. ...In the present what are they ...Ask not if it's god or devil, ...(Far from pleasant, by our present, ...Aside from being heretofore unaware of this poem, my reason for blogging is to note two of Lewis' observations about evolution which I will later use in another post. First, is Lewis' poetic description of evolution as an open-ended search. Second, is the linking of evolution and morality with the supposition that an open-ended search for reproductive success leads to an open-ended morality.

A Critic Raves!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-08-02T17:42:30-04:00

Over at Vox Popoli, in the comments to the post Mailvox: A poem by Little Dick, at 8/2/11 9:21 AM, someone going by the nom de plume "Question" wrote: My personal favorite here is wrf3, if you go to his blog that guy is crazy. Maybe I should set up a tip jar.

Response to James

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-07-31T20:38:56-04:00

"Many eyes make short work of bugs" can be as true here as it can be with software (but don't get me started on "code reviews" that miss even the simplest mistakes!) My only comment - and I'll leave it at this - is that, despite a very well worded argument, you seem to forget the very basis on which your argument stands. That being, using your own abstract allusion, though information (of any type, not just software of course) can be coded in zeros and ones, does not record itself. ...(Say invasion of a country you don't even live in) or be offended when you step on the foot of an elderly woman whom you don't even know? ...First, whether or not a goal is good depends on its relationship to other goals, and those goals exist in relationship to other goals, and so on. ...We don't like that notion, because we may think that the reasoning that leads to the deaths of others could one day be used against us; on the other hand, listen to the reasons given for the necessity of using nuclear weapons against Japan in World War II. ...Well, if that happens so "naturally," why hasn't it happened in any of the (numerous beyond count) organisms that have, on an evolutionary scale, been here longer than Man? ...Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

McCarthy, Hofstadter, Hume, AI, Zen, Christianity

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-07-30T09:46:13-04:00

A number of posts have noted the importance of John McCarthy's third design requirement for a human level artificial intelligence: "All aspects of behavior except the most routine should be improvable. ...It is an inherent property of intelligence that it can jump out of the task which it is performing, and survey what it is done; it is always looking for, and often finding, patterns. (pg. ...This drive to jump out of the system is a pervasive one, and lies behind all progress and art, music, and other human endeavors. ...If a system is to be improved, it must be analyzed and compared with other systems, and this requires looking at a system from the outside. ...A Zen person is always trying to understand more deeply what he is, by stepping more and more out of what he sees himself to be, by breaking every rule and convention which he perceives himself to be chained by – needless to say, including those of Zen itself. ... In any case (as I see it), the hope is that by gradually deepening one's self-awareness, by gradually widening the scope of "the system", one will in the end come to a feeling of being at one with the entire universe. (pg. ...(John 3:3) The Greek includes the idea of being born "from above" and "from above" is how the NRSV translates it, even though Nicodemus responds as if he heard "again". ... And it is not what it ought to be because of our inherent knowledge of good and evil which, if McCarthy is right, is how our brains are wired. Where Zen and Christianity disagree is that Zen holds that man can transcend the system by his own effort while Christianity says that man's effort is futile: God must affect that change. ...The Zen master is "at one with the entire universe" while for the Christian, the New Jerusalem has descended to Earth, the "sea of glass" that separates heaven and earth is no more (Rev 4:6, 21:1) so that "God may be all in all."

She Said Yes

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-07-30T07:56:00-04:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since we drove to Illinois to see Johnny and Shari. On Friday, June 17, Becky, Rachel, and I headed for Urbana where Johnny is working on his PhD in Mechanical Engineering. We got to meet Shari, Johnny's friends Patrick and Kimberly, tour the University of Illinois, and eat some great food. Saturday night we went to Desthil, a micro brewery in Champaign. ... Something about a bachelorette party that had paid their tab but kept sitting around. While some in our party had gotten really hungry, it was, after all, a brewery with excellent beer, and beer and conversation isn't a bad way to fill the time. But the staff wasn't happy so they comp'd us some appetizers. ... Between filling my mind at the university library and my stomach with the bacon, I could live a content man for, well, days maybe. ...It may have been Shari's mom who observed that Johnny gave up his independence on July 4th. I prefer to look at it as the start of a new nation.

The Is-Ought Problem Considered As A Question Of Artificial Intelligence

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-07-22T21:05:27-04:00

In every system of morality, which I have hitherto met with, I have always remarked, that the author proceeds for some time in the ordinary way of reasoning, and establishes the being of a God, or makes observations concerning human affairs; when of a sudden I am surprized to find, that instead of the usual copulations of propositions, is, and is not, I meet with no proposition that is not connected with an ought, or an ought not. ... For as this ought, or ought not, expresses some new relation or affirmation, it is necessary that it should be observed and explained; and at the same time that a reason should be given, for what seems altogether inconceivable, how this new relation can be a deduction from others, which are entirely different from it. ...It is a simple game, with a well-defined initial state and a small enough state space that the game can be fully analyzed. ...Therefore, we can characterize the is-ought problem as a beginning state B, an end state E, a set P of paths from B to E, and a set of conditions C. ...The game of Tic-Tac-Toe is simple enough that the game can be fully analyzed - the state space is small enough that an exhaustive search can be made of all possible moves. Games such as Chess and Go are so complex that they haven't been fully analyzed so we have to make educated guesses about the set of paths to the end game. ...The metaphor of life as a game (in the sense of achieving goals) is apt here and morality is the set of heuristics we use to navigate the state space. The state space for life is much larger than the state space for chess; unless there is a common set of heuristics for living, it is clearly unlikely that humans will choose the same paths toward a goal. ... This means that the gap between is and ought is an integral part of our being which is compounded by the size of the state space. ...It exists partly because of the inability to fully search the state space of life and partly because of the way our brains are wired for goal creation and goal attainment.

On Trusting God

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-05-14T10:58:49-04:00

An Open Theist would disagree, claiming that God does not necessarily know the future and would cite Jeremiah 32:35 as one example where it "did not enter" God's mind that man would do certain things. ... God is mutable, as shown by passages such as Exodus 32:14: "And the LORD changed His mind about the disaster he had planned to bring upon His people." This can be contrasted with Malachi 3:6, "For I the LORD do not change..." and James 1:17 "with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." ...A certain open theist was asked, "How are we supposed to trust a God who doesn’t know the future?" ... Is a Creator who doesn't know the future any less worthy of worship than one who does? It's still His Game, His Rules, regardless of whether He knows the outcome and/or every last twist and turn of the game or not." ...God should be worshipped due to His position as unique creator, but this doesn't inform us of His actual nature. ...We know people who aren't generally trustworthy who have a change of heart at the end and earn our trust. ... "Jehovah, I find it inconsistent that you told your creatures to 'Honor your father and your mother' but me you ignore." ...I believe that this shows that we must unconditionally trust God, regardless of whether or not His revealed nature is His true nature.

Beeker

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-05-01T21:27:09-04:00

Beeker was our middle child's Betta fish. Johnny brought him along when he came to visit us for Christmas, and Beeker was entrusted to our care when he went back to school in pursuit of his PhD. Around 10am on Monday, April 25 we left to pick up our daughter from college for the summer and returned home around 8pm Tuesday. Beeker had been in increasingly frail health over the past weeks; he passed away sometime while we were gone. He was buried with full honors and has left a small void in our lives. This picture was taken 1/8/11 on the occasion of moving Beeker into his new home.

Easter 2011

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-04-24T19:23:58-04:00

(null)

Atheism: It isn't about evidence

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-05-13T20:03:53-04:00

Materialism has to conclude that matter in motion is the source of the idea of God -- "god" is an emergent property -- just like the number i is an emergent property (to the best of my limited knowledge of physics, one can't point to the square root of -1 apples or protons). ...When they say, "the evidence isn't convincing," what they really mean is "the atoms in my brain don't process the external data the way yours does." ...The atheist can't come out and say that their brains are wired better than the theists, for at least two reasons. ... Again quoting Vox Day, "But the demographic disadvantage means that the atheist community has to keep all of their children within the godless fold and de-convert one out of every three religious children just to keep pace with the growth of the religious community." ...One explanation for this demographic disparity may be found in the difference between brains wired to recognize the existence of a creator God and those that are not. ... Certainly, one doesn't have to reject the idea of a Creator God to reject life; but in my limited experience it sure seems that social battles of abortion, homosexuality, and euthanasia, are drawn with a line generally between secular and religious. ...If the atheist can't say that their brains are wired better than theists, they also won't say that their wiring is worse. ... As I see it, the only way of overcoming this magical view of what "I" and consciousness are is to keep reminding oneself, unpleasant though it may seem, that the "teetering bulb of dread and dream" that nestles safely inside one's own cranium is a purely physical object made up of completely sterile and an inanimate components, all of which obey exactly the same laws as those that govern all the rest of the universe, such as pieces of text, or CD-ROMs, or computers. Only if one keeps on bashing up against this disturbing fact can one slowly begin to develop a feel for the way out of the mystery of consciousness: that the key is not the stuff out of which brains are made, but the patterns that can come to exist inside the stuff of a brain. This is a liberating shift, because it allows one to move to a different level of considering what brains are: as media that support complex patterns that mirror, albeit far from perfectly, the world...

Emptier Nest

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-04-23T14:33:24-04:00

Yesterday our oldest son moved his possessions into his new condo. His bedroom is remarkably empty. My wife converted our middle son's room into a sewing room when he went to Illinois to pursue his graduate studies. On Monday we'll pick our daughter up from her first year at college so she'll be home for the summer.

Bad Arguments Against Materialism

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-04-16T15:00:07-04:00

As a software engineer, I know that software -- which is abstract thought -- can be encoded in material: zero's and ones flowing through NAND gates arranged in certain ways. ... But he hasn't shown that this is the case nor do I know how to prove it, even though I think it true ["in Him we live and move and have our being." -- Acts 17:28]. Just as the materialist cannot prove his position that the thoughts cease when the electrons stop moving (see my post Materialism, Theism, and Information where I have this argument with a materialist), the theist also hasn't made their case. ...If the existence of self-aware thought is one way theists argue against materialism, likewise is the existence of morality which theists claim cannot be explained by science. Lopez also wrote:Indeed, if our entire essence - the totality of who we are, was reducible solely to particles in motion, then what justification would there be for any concept of an objective morality? ... The grounding for the imposition of one moral system over another would then be whether or not it leads to greater reproductive success, in exactly the same way that English is currently the lingua franca of science, technology, and business. If morality is a property of the goal-seeking behavior of self-aware beings, and the goal is reproductive success, then certain strategies will be more effective than others. ...I am puzzled the theist's insistence on the existence of and necessity for an objective morality: something written in stone which solves the "is-ought" problem, to which all mankind (and extraterrestrial life, if it exists) must agree "this ought to be," i.e. "these are the goals toward which all must strive, whether freely or not." ... We know that our brains are wired for teleological thinking; people with Asperger's have been shown to be deficient in this area (People with Asperger's less likely to see purpose behind the events in their lives). The theist says that God represents the ultimate goal, the ultimate purpose, the solution to the is-ought problem; the materialist will say that this is just something that minds with our properties wished they had.

2011 Reading List

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-12-31T11:46:42-05:00

Last Christmas I picked up the hardback copy of Bujold's Cyroburn, which came with a CD-ROM containing all of the Miles Vorkosigan stories, except Memory, in electronic form. ... At the end of 2011 I re-read all of Asprin's Myth series. ... Myth AlliancesRobert Asprin with Jody Lynn Nye Myth-taken IdentityRobert Asprin with Jody Lynn Nye ... Myth-Gotten GainsRobert Asprin with Jody Lynn Nye Myth-ChiefRobert Asprin with Jody Lynn Nye Myth-FortunesRobert Asprin with Jody Lynn Nye ...I really like Zen, but it's on hold until I finish a post on one of the topics therein. ... I've started working on my book with the working title "From Electrons to Morality" so reading and blogging is going to be as time permits. It doesn't help that I've decided to re-watch all of Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica.

Modeling Morality: The End of Time

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-20T19:46:51-05:00

The intent was not to argue for or against any particular model, but to provide a framework for future explorations. However, I did provide reasons for why model #6 should be preferred to model #4, because in my experience most Christians tend to think model #4 accurately represents the Biblical view. I noted that model #4 “is not suitable for this phase of history.” Since I hinted at a change of models, I need to present what I think the model will be when God’s kingdom is fully come: ...The dashed line in model #6 disappears, reminiscent of Revelation 21:1, where St. John wrote, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” The sea, of course, does not refer to a literal body of water, but the “sea of glass, like crystal” that separates the throne of God in heaven from earth [Rev 4:6]. The thick black line in model #7 represents the “great chasm” of Luke 16:26. Below the line are those who have clung to their will. ... Lewis wrote in The Great Divorce:There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”
I think Lewis, and model #7, both accurately reflect the Biblical view of the eternal state.

Modeling Morality

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-17T18:56:56-05:00

At least for humans, we don’t have fixed goals (cf. here and here), so that a moving arrow might be a better representation. ...These models will be used in later posts when examining various arguments that have a moral basis, since in many cases, the model is assumed and an incorrect model will lead to an incorrect argument. ...In the model, no agent’s moral compass aligns with the external standard, reflective of the human condition that we don’t always choose goals that we know we should. ...This model is frequently assumed in arguments that try to show that God is morally wrong, by attempting to show that God’s moral compass is not aligned with some external standard. This model, regardless of the orientation of the external compass, is a flawed model (at least in Christian theology) since God is not subject to any external standard. ...In terms of goal space, His goals are not always our goals.
I think that the Bible makes it clear that: ...That is, what is good for God isn’t necessarily good for man, which would be the case if there were a common moral compass. In support of this second point, Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the LORD, and he will help you.” and this is repeated in Romans 12:17, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil...” and 1 Peter 3:9, “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.” ... [Jer 18:11] and “For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the LORD: it shall be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” ...Similarly, Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

New Commenting System

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-13T17:50:00-05:00

Switched from JS-Kit to Disqus. The old comments are, for all intents and purposes, gone.

For I Am Not Ashamed...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-10T21:08:41-05:00

Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” One of my pet peeves is when Christians, well meaning though they may be, make a connection between the lifestyle of the one who proclaims the gospel and whether or not the hearer will receive the message. The argument can take many forms: “we have to walk the walk so that we can talk the talk,” “our actions speak louder than words,” “our lifestyle must be consistent with our message,” and so on. ...But to say that our actions help or hurt the reception of the gospel is to deny both the grace and the power of God. We readily give lip service to God’s grace toward the hearer; we rightly say that without it no one would ever believe the message. But we forget that God’s grace is likewise bestowed on the speaker. ... It is not my place to speak of the sins of others, but the person who was instrumental in presenting the gospel to me wasn’t living what is typically considered to be “the Christian life.” When God took a 2x4 to me, the behavior of someone else didn’t even enter my mind. ...Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” We forget that “not of your own doing” also applies to those whom God uses to proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Everything is a remix

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-02T10:29:11-05:00

Earlier this morning I uploaded “Christian Doctrine, Ancient Egypt, Game Theory”. Also today Daring Fireball posted a link to the very interesting site, Everything Is A Remix. Of course, “everything is a remix” is a remix of “there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) But, as I noted in Christian Doctrine, Ancient Egypt, Game Theory, Christianity’s golden rule and the admonition to not return evil for good are found in Egyptian culture long before Christ. Do take a few minutes to watch the two (of four) videos at Everything Is A Remix.

Christian Doctrine, Ancient Egypt, Game Theory

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-02-02T08:55:02-05:00

I am slowly making my way through the book Old Testament Parallels by Matthews and Benjamin. The story “The Farmer and the Courts of Egypt” tells the story of a farmer who is unfairly accused by an official who tries to steal the farmer’s goods. ... Somewhat reminiscent of the much longer book of Job, it was written around 2134-2040 BCE. ...Follow this teaching: “Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.” ...Proverbs 17:13 says, “Evil will not depart from the house of one who returns evil for good.” ... I find this link to Egyptian thought to be extremely interesting and wonder why I haven’t seen more recognition of this in “mainstream” Christianity. A subsequent post, which has been a very long time in coming, will explore the influence of Egyptian thought on Genesis, the story of Noah, and the Exodus. In terms of game theory and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, “do not return evil for good” translates to “don’t defect after cooperation.” ...[Rom 12:17, 1 Peter 3:19], which becomes “don’t defect at all.” A future blog post will have to examine the implications of the Christian response to the Prisoner’s Dilemma versus the evolutionarily robust “tit-for-tat” strategy in Axelrod.

Materialism, Theism, and Information

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-01-26T19:54:31-05:00

In one corner, is John Wright, a theist, who holds that there is more to man than just a collection of atoms in a certain pattern. ...Andreassen is trying to argue that one could, in theory, make an exact atomic copy of a man, and that this copy would act identically to the original. Wright is arguing that this isn't the case, because he holds that symbols cannot be reduced to atoms. ... Wright is wrong because symbols can be reduced to atoms (all software can be expressed as NAND gates, for example). Andreassen is wrong, because even though symbols can be encoded as atoms this doesn’t mean that atoms are required for symbols (“in the beginning was the λογος”). ...I was saying that this proposition (more accurately, the underlying proposition that meaning arises from matter) I believe simply on the grounds that it seems reasonable to me, that my intuition, wisdom, or experience tells me it is so. There is some supporting evidence, such as the disruption of meaning caused by a bullet or a concentration of alcohol to the brain; but how one interprets this is a question of wisdom, as you put it, or intuition, as I prefer. ...But that doesn’t say anything about the existence of me, the programmer, who put the software there in the first place. ...I suggest you volunteer to be shot, and we will see whether you still exist after the bullet has passed through your brain. If you wake up in Heaven (or even Hell – the dispute is not about anyone’s virtue), I will admit I was wrong.

Cybertheology

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2011-01-01T21:58:27-05:00

As a Christian, I hold that God has spoken to us through His prophets and, ultimately, His Son (Heb 1:1-2). ... I contend that there will be no conflict between Nature and Theology, but that the scientific study of Nature can be used to inform theology, and theology can be used to inform science. ...I don’t believe it is a coincidence that Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice” [John 10:27] and the Turing test is the primary test for human level AI. ...This may have implications with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which holds that “what God says” is, in some manner, “what God is.” ...At a minimum, as I’ve tried to show here, morality can be explained as goal-seeking behavior, which is also a familiar topic in artificial intelligence. Furthermore, using this notion of morality as being goal seeking behavior, combined with John McCarthy’s five design requirements for a human level AI, explains the Genesis account of the Fall in Eden. ...If morality is goal-seeking behavior, then the behavior prescribed by God would be consistent with any goal, or goals, that can be found in nature. ... This is a point of intersection that I think will provide surprising results, especially if Axelrod’s “Evolution of Cooperation” turns out like I think it will. ...This may be wishful thinking on the part of a lunatic (or maybe I’m just a simpleton), but I also think that we can go from what we see in nature to the doctrine of justification by faith. ...If a scientific case can be made for the truth of Christianity, especially as an evolutionary survival strategy, what implications ought that have on public policy?

White Christmas

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-12-26T19:21:54-05:00

It started snowing late in the afternoon yesterday while we were having Christmas dinner with friends. This was the first white Christmas in the Atlanta area since 1882, although we had flurries in 1993 that didn’t accumulate. I took this picture the next day; it wasn’t light enough the day before at our friend’s house to show accumulation. The last snow was in February, if I remember correctly.

Ancient Victories

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-12-22T10:45:58-05:00

For much of my career I’ve written software to bare metal. Back in the early ‘90s I worked for a company that made add-in products for Apple’s Macintosh line of computers. When something didn’t work, the hardware engineers would blame the software and the software engineers would blame the hardware. Too, challenges were made as to the actual knowledge and abilities of an engineer. Of course, friendly wagers were placed on the outcome. I found this dollar bill attesting to bets won from the hardware group. I hope the Feds don’t get too upset that I scanned this.

Dexter: Season Five

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-12-22T18:06:12-05:00

I watched all of the episodes of the first four seasons in short order, thanks to digital versions being available on iTunes. ... My impression is that I had to suspend belief more this season than last and that there were more loose ends that, had they been pursued, would have lead to Dexter being caught. ...Deb changes from being a “by the book” cop with a clear sense of black and white to someone who sees more gray than before. ... Dexter thinks his sister is talking about Quinn, who is under suspicion for murdering a cop, but she’s really talking about herself: ...Upon hearing this news, Dexter stares at his reflection in a plate, then throws the plate at the oven, shattering it into pieces all over the kitchen floor. ...Deb and Quinn have seemingly, if not overcome, at least agreed to work out their issues and appear to be a couple. ... With signs of renewal all around him, Dexter reflects as he blows out Harrison’s birthday candle: ...While she was here, she made me think for the briefest moment that I might even have a chance to be human. ... ...Paradoxically, even as he acknowledges the possibility of change, and sees it all around him, he extinguishes that hope for himself. ...On a lighter, less philosophical note, someone on the Internet commented that if Dexter doesn’t learn to drive, he’s going to kill somebody.

Notes from The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-12-03T15:10:14-05:00

Licona asks the question, “If professional historians who work outside of the community of biblical scholars were to embark on an investigation of the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, what would such an investigation look like?” ... If one is uncertain of one’s worldview, it may likely lead to an inability to say that the evidence leads to anything conclusive. Several statements in the book have resonated with me, because they touch directly on topics of several recent internet “discussions” and because they cohere with positions I’ve taken. ...Moreover, many times specific narratives can neither be proved nor disapproved, and historians from every camp often fail to place a sort of disclaimer informing readers of the tentativeness of their narrative, which is stated as fact. [pg. ...However, no one would charge a portrait as being errant because they portrayed something in the background that was not there during the sitting but was created in order to communicate character or personality. ... Thus, in some instances, those who complain of contradictions and inventions in the Gospels are guilty of judging them in terms of photographic accuracy, when this may not have been the intent of the author. ...The third ties in with the second when dealing with “young earth creationism,” which I should note that I don’t think does justice to the Biblical text. ...Neither historians nor philosophers can prove that the world is older than 10 minutes at which time everything was created with the appearance of age and that we were created with memories of events that never took place and with food in our stomachs from meals we never ate. [pg. ...Another theory of truth is coherence theory, which states that a proposition is true when all of its components cohere with other propositions believed to be true. ...The fifth echoes Russell’s statement from “The Problems of Philosophy” that, “All knowledge, we find, must be built up upon our instinctive beliefs, and if these are rejected, nothing is left.”

TSA Images

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-11-18T19:56:03-05:00

• The TSA says that the scanners cannot save the images yet Gizmodo shows 100 images from 35,000 illegally saved images from a courthouse in Orlando, Florida. • Scientists are speaking out about the supposed safety of the devices, for example, this letter from four faculty members of the University of California at San Francisco. • The threat of a $10,000 civil suit against a man who refused scanning then told a TSA agent that he would file a sexual assault case were the agent to touch his “junk," was told to leave the airport by TSA agents and then, after receiving a ticket refund from American Airlines, was threatened with a lawsuit by another TSA agent. ...Markku, a member of the “Dread Ilk” over at Vox Popoli (warning: possibly NSFW images), took the left image from this Gizmodo article and performed some simple image manipulation operations. ... Then I used this tutorial to apply it as a height map to a grid with resolution 400*400, and scaled the height and the depth dimensions to what looked correct.

Looking at the model from the side, I selected the lowest vertices with rectangle select and deleted them. Then came the artistic part (in addition to the removal of the objects, but if the person has none, this is not a problem), which is hard but not impossible to do as an algorithm: I smoothed the roughness in sculpt mode, until I was satisfied with the model. I placed a blueish hemisphere light over the model, and a white, omnidirectional light in the direction where the sun would be. I colored the material to skin color and lowered specularity to almost none.

Had I used more time, I could have made the skin look much more realistic. ... And when you have made a realistic skin texture once, you could apply it to any model without extra effort. ...Note: I modified the source image in Photoshop by cropping and resizing to better match Markku’s result.

The Telling

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-11-20T11:32:51-05:00

LeGuin is the story of an earth woman, Sutty, who is sent as an observer to the world Aka by the galactic council called the Ekumen. Aka is world where a materialistic, atheistic, hierarchical culture has taken over and brutally suppressed the former “spiritual” communal culture. The bulk of the story deals with Sutty’s attempts to discover and, perhaps, help preserve that second culture. I found the following passage interesting, as it expresses poetically what I have attempted to describe using concepts from artificial intelligence about the difference between animals and men; that animals are fixed goal creatures while man, having no fixed goal, creates his own goals. ...As they struggled to understand each other, Uming Ottiar showed a bitterness, almost the first Sutty had met with among these soft-voiced teachers. Despite his impediment he was a fluent talker, and he got going, mildly enough at first: “Animals have no language. ... They know the way, they know where to go and how to go, following their nature. ... We have to talk about how to go and what to do, think about it, study it, learn it. ... If nobody shows a little child, two, three years old, how to look for the way, the signs of the path, the landmarks, then it gets lost on the mountain, doesn’t it? ...I have to assign this book to second tier status; while it was a moderately enjoyable read, it isn’t “The Left Hand of Darkness” or “A Wizard of Earthsea”.

Moon over Yonah Mountain

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-11-12T20:16:00-05:00

Becky and I had planned to visit Johnny in Illinois this weekend for an early Thanksgiving. However, after scheduling time off from work, we found that no hotels were available in Champaign-Urbana. ...The only problem is that it’s a “heretical” version: the stories are presented in chronological order instead of publication order, so “The Magician’s Nephew” is in the first instead of sixth position. Still, it was free and my seven volume set is somewhat dogeared. ...The pulled pork and sauces were very good but the beans and stew were average at best. ...We spent some time at the Helen Arts and Heritage Center as part of the 2010 Arts Tour. ... This sea serpent caught my eye and I took a picture since my daughter likes dragons. ...We went to Raven’s Cliff Falls and hiked somewhat over half of the trail. We weren’t able to cover the full five miles as we arrived too late in the afternoon and we wanted to be back to the car well before sunset. On the way back to Helen we stopped at an overlook to take some pictures of Mount Yonah.

Albino Rainbow

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-10-30T18:54:44-04:00

Becky and I were in Milledgeville, GA this weekend for Philip Gubser’s Senior Recital. We were staying at the Hampton Inn. Shortly after nine this morning, Becky headed to the motel breakfast while I detoured to put some luggage in the car. The morning was cold and foggy and I saw something I had never seen before: a white rainbow. I didn’t even know these existed. They are also known as “fogbows” and “sea-dogs.” It occurs when the water droplets are so small that diffraction smears out the colors that would be produced by larger drops.

What Really Happened In Eden?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-10-10T14:47:52-04:00

The second builds on this idea to show that good and evil arise out of goal-seeking behavior and that McCarthy’s requirement means that our “wetware” has no fixed goal. The third asked the question, “how did Eve know that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was good before she ate that which would give her the knowledge of goodness?” ...Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ... ... And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” ... So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ... [Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17, 3:6-7, NRSV]One answer to the question “how did Eve know the fruit was good for food” is that this just means that Eve understood that the fruit was edible; that is, good in the physical sense, but not in the moral sense. ...Yet from the Genesis account, it seems obvious that not only was Eve self-aware, but that she had been informed of the consequences of her actions. ... Since Eve was a self-aware goal-seeking individual who knew, if not fully understood, the consequences of her actions, I don’t agree with the supposition that she wasn’t morally awake. ...I believe this means is that every creature that exhibited goal-seeking behavior used the external standard set by God as their goals. ... When Adam and Eve ate of the “fruit” (not that this needs to be taken literally, mind you), they no longer had fixed external goals.

Operation Chaos

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-09-26T14:19:09-04:00

Operation Chaos, by Poul Anderson, is a novelization of his stories: “Operation Afreet”, “Operation Salamander”, “Operation Incubus”, and “Operation Changeling”. The artwork is from the serialization of “Operation Changeling” in the May-June 1969 issues of F&SF. The redhead is Virginia Matuchek, witch wife of the werewolf and former Army captain Steve Matuchek. The cat is Svartalf; Virginia’s familiar. In “Operation Changeling”, the three invade hell to recover their kidnapped daughter. While re-reading the novel this weekend, I came across this line which I found highly appropriate as it will fit in with a future blog post on reading Scripture:... Heaven is not as narrowly literal-minded as hell. Whatever else one might say about Anderson’s theological musings, this observation is profoundly true.

The Mechanism of Morality

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-09-11T16:55:48-04:00

Here, I want to use principles from artificial intelligence to propose a mechanism for morality that results in the given definition for good and evil and has great explanatory power for describing human behavior. ...For a computer to play a game, it has to be able to represent the game states and determine which of those states advance it toward a goal state that results in a win for the machine. ...Assuming we want X to play a perfect game, we can “prune” the tree and remove those states that inevitably lead to a win by O. ... Furthermore, if we assume that O, like X, plays a perfect game, we can prune the tree again and remove the states that inevitably lead to a win by X. ...Such heuristics might include “if there is a row with two X’s and an empty square, place an X in the empty square for the win.” “If there is a row with two O’s and an empty square, place an X in the empty square for the block.” More skilled players will include, “If there are two intersecting rows where the square at the intersection is empty and there is one X in each row, place an X in the intersecting square to set up a forced win.” ...The player, whether human or computer, starts with an initial state, generates intermediate states according to the rules of the game, evaluates those states, and selects those that lead to a predetermined goal. ...If the computer were self aware and was able to describe what it was doing, it might say, “I’m here, I ought to be there, here are the possible paths I could take, and these paths are better (or worse) than those paths.” ...If the human and the computer have the same “moral mechanism” -- searches through a state space toward a goal -- then why aren’t computers as smart as we are?

First Bible Test

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-29T14:50:49-04:00

My excuse is that I couldn’t read what she scanned in -- the resolution was too low. ...

The first sin was the eating of the forbidden fruit. ...Rachel said, “This question was the one most people in class missed (majority put C). He even told us before the quiz that the devil didn't make Eve do it.” Now, 2 Cor 11:3 says, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning...”. ...Genesis 3:6 says, in part, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food...”. The interesting question is, “How did Eve know something was good before eating of the fruit which would give that knowledge?” A typical answer is that Eve determined that the fruit was edible, i.e., “good for food” and that this is somehow different from “morally good.” But this betrays a misunderstanding of the mental machinery by which we determine value. I’ve asked Rachel to inquire of her teacher to see what he says about this.

Offical PhD Candiate

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-29T11:03:50-04:00

Received a text from my middle son yesterday: “I passed my tests for official entrance into the PhD candidacy.”

Calvin & Hobbes: Commentary on Software Development

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-27T23:34:31-04:00

(null)

Boolean Expressions and Digital Circuits

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-20T19:24:50-04:00

I started this whole exercise after reading the chapter “Systems of Logic” in “The Turing Omnibus” and deciding to fill some gaps in my education. ... I threw together some LISP code and used it to help me design an adder using 27 nand gates for the portion that computes a sum from three inputs. ...Lee is a friend and co-worker who “used to design some pretty hairy discreet logic circuits back in the day.” ...The equation for the addition portion of his adder is:

(NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND X X) Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) X))


    (NAND (NAND (NAND X X) Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) X))) Z)


    (NAND (NAND Z Z) (NAND (NAND (NAND X X) Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) X))))

His equation has 20 operators where mine had 14:

(NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND Z Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) (NAND Z Z))) X)


    (NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND X X) Y) (NAND (NAND X X) Z)) (NAND Z Y)))

Lee noted that his equation had a common term that is distributed across the function:

*common-term* = (NAND (NAND (NAND X X) Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) X))


...                (NAND (NAND Z Z) *common-term*))

My homegrown nand gate compiler reduces this to Lee’s diagram. ...However, my code that constructs shortest expressions can easily use a different heuristic and find expressions that result in the fewest gates using my current nand gate compiler. ... Feed the output of G0 and G4 into one more nand gate and you get the carry.

Off To College

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-20T10:16:04-04:00

When I got to Mississippi, the map application no longer worked because it couldn’t connect to the internet. ... I had to hard power-off the phone to get it to connect via 3G. Move in began 9am Saturday and we had everything unloaded and mostly in place by noon. ... Went shopping after lunch to get a small table for the printer, a USB cable, a longer RF cable for the TV, and an ethernet cable. ... With some extra planning I could have made the RF and ethernet cables for next to nothing. Sunday morning all three of us went to the grocery store to stock up daughter’s refrigerator; then mom and daughter went shopping for clothes. We had lunch with her then she left for a school outing and we began the drive home. And that’s how we spent our 30th anniversary - on the road back to a mostly empty nest. ...She has an iPhone, we had a pay phone (was it pay?) ... She has a laptop which can outperform the Control Data 6400 that I used at UVa and a color inkjet printer/scanner instead of an ASR-33 teletype.

Simplifying Boolean Expressions

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-10T10:25:39-04:00

For expressions of three variables we can see that the expression that results in f7=f6=f5=f4=f3=f2=f1=f0 = 0 is the constant 0. ... Then we progress to the functions of a single variable. f7..f0 = 10001000 is X. f7..f0 = 01110111 is (NOT X). f7..f0 = 11001100 is Y and 00110011 is (NOT Y). f7..f0 = 10101010 is Z and 01010101 is (NOT Z). ...Expressions of 4 variables require an expression table with 216 entries and 5 variables requires 232 entries -- not something I’d want to try to compute on any single machine at my disposal. ...Since (AND X X) is equivalent to X, this can be reduced to 7+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 28 combinations, times 2 for the negated forms. This gives 56 possibilities for the remaining two formulas, which turn out to be “(AND (NOT (AND (NOT X) (NOT Y))) (NOT (AND X Y)))” and “(AND (NOT (AND X (NOT Y))) (NOT (AND (NOT X) Y)))”. ...Out of the 2*82 possible combinations of the two variable forms, there can only be 16 unique values. ... In any case, the computer can repeat the process of negating and combining expressions to generate the forms with the fewest number of AND/NOT (or NAND) operators. ...There are three formulas with 20 operators that give the same result:

(AND (AND (NOT (AND (AND X (NOT Y)) Z)) (NOT (AND X (AND Y (NOT Z)))))


...One of three versions of Exyz(150) is:(NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND Z Y) (NAND (NAND Y Y) (NAND Z Z))) X)


...Exyz(232), which is the carry equation for the adder, can be written as:(NAND (NAND (NAND (NAND Y X) (NAND Z X)) X) (NAND Z Y))With these simplifications the adder takes ten fewer gates than the first iteration:

A Perfect Moment

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-09T23:00:00-04:00

Rachel had a bowling outing Friday night from 9-11. Becky and I waited in Starbucks. She knitted, I worked on my laptop. I had a large iced coffee with a double shot of espresso. ... Three hours sleep that night. ... Prepared for Sunday School, which consisted of reviewing the DVD lesson for the previous week: episode two of volume nine of the “That the World May Know” DVD titled “Not by Bread Alone.” Then watched and took notes for discussion for Sunday’s lesson, “Their Blood Cried Out.” Put on the headphones to listen to Second Chapter of Acts, a Christian group from the ‘70s and early ‘80s. ... “Bread of Life” from the Rejoice album started playing and I experienced an ecstasy like never before. Rapturous joy combined with physical tingling from head to toe.

Boolean Logic

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-08T20:57:00-04:00

The tables are ordered so that each table in a row is the complement of the other table. ... Note that for each t(n), the value in the first row corresponds to bit 0 of n, the second row is bit 1, and so on. ...Is this an artifact of the way our minds are wired to think: that we tend to define things in terms of x instead of (NOT x)? ...All of these functions can be expressed in terms of NOT, AND, and OR as will be shown in a subsequent table. t(0) = 0 can be written as (AND x (NOT x)). t(15) = 1 can be written as (OR x (NOT x)). ...For each row with a zero result in a particular table, create a function (AND (f x) (g y)) where f and g evaluate to one for the values of x and y in that row, then negate it, i.e., (NOT (AND (f x) (g y))). ...Then (f xx) will evaluate to zero, so (AND (f xx) (g yy)) evaluates to zero, therefore (NOT (AND (f xx) (g yy))) will evaluate to one. ...For each row with a one result in a particular table, create a function (OR (f x) (g y)) where f and g evaluate to zero for the values of x and y in that row, then negate it, i.e. ...Note that the algorithm gives a non-optimal result for t(0), which is more simply written as (AND X (NOT X)). Perhaps this is not a fair comparison, since the algorithm is generating a function of two variables, when one will do. ...Since we can do any logical operation using NAND, and since I’ve never had any classes in digital hardware design, let’s go ahead and build a 4-bit adder.

Artifical Intelligence, Evolution, Theodicy

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-01T20:25:36-04:00

In addition to the possibility of an altruistic desire on the part of computer scientists to make their machines “happy and contented,” there is the more concrete reason (for us, if not for the machine) that we would like people to be relatively happy and contented concerning their interactions with the machines. We may have to learn to design computers that are incapable of setting up certain goals relating to changes in selected aspects of their performance and design--namely, those aspects that are “people protecting.” ...Point 3 seems to me to require that the artificial intelligence have a knowledge of “good and evil,” that is, it needs to be able to discern between what is and what ought to be. ... If the machine is aware that it, itself, is not what it ought to be then it might work to change itself. If the machine is aware that aspects of its environment are not what they ought to be, then it might work to modify its external world. If this is so, then it seems that the two goals of self-improvement and liking “the nature of its existence” may not be able to exist together. ... • Would the machine spiral into despair, knowing that not only is it not what it ought to be, but its ability to improve itself is also not what it ought to be? ... • Would the self-reflective machine look at the “laws” that govern its behavior and decide that they, too, are not what they ought to be and therefore can sometimes be ignored? ...In particular, would the machine complain that the creator made a world it didn’t like, not realizing that this was essential to the machine’s survival and growth? ...Of course, this is all speculation on my part, but perhaps the reason why God plays dice with the universe is to drive the software that makes us what we are.

Empathy for a Serial Killer

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-08-01T18:49:46-04:00

In the fourth season, Dexter faces another serial killer, Arthur Mitchell (played by John Lithgow), who is being pursued by the FBI for a series of murders going back thirty years. ...Although he is alone in the cell, Dexter is having a conversation between himself and his deceased father, who often appears to him in his imagination. ...Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ...I know you can.
Intentional or not, the use of light and darkness in this scene is inspired. ...In having watched all four seasons in fairly short order, I don't believe that I've ever heard Dexter say "I love you" to anyone -- not to his sister, wife, or step children. ...Debra's love isn't because of what Dexter is -- she doesn't know he's a serial killer -- but for what he has done for her. ...In this very powerful scene, Dexter has caught Arthur Mitchell and is having a final conversation with him before delivering the fatal blow. ...This is the point at which the Gospel makes sense, when we recognize "I'm what's wrong" and only God can fix the problem, through uniting us to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Variation on a Theme

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-17T09:15:09-04:00

Q: How many programmers does it take to change a lightbulb? A: None. It's a hardware problem. Light out. Hardware not functional. Software relocated to cloud.

Static Code Analysis

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-17T09:57:45-04:00

extern NODE start, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k; ...It's likely the intent of the problem was to stimulate thinking about problem description, problem representation, methods for mapping the "human" view of the problem into a representation suitable for a machine, and strategies for finding relationships between objects and reasoning about them. ...One solution is (START K E S V U Q P M B L F A H G C D J O R I N FINISH). ... (START K E S V U Q P M B L F A H G C D J O R I N FINISH) (START K E S V U Q P M B L F A H D J O R I C G N FINISH) (START K E S V U Q P L F A H D J O R I C G B M N FINISH) (START K E P M B L F A H G C D J O R I N U Q V S FINISH) (START K E P M B L F A H D J O R I C G N U Q V S FINISH) (START K E P L F A H D J O R I C G B M N U Q V S FINISH) ...After completing the descriptions for S1, the addition of one function call to an existing function in M was the basis for changing the semaphores so that they nested.

Super Programming Langauge, Addendum

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-13T20:07:48-04:00

This is an addendum to The Myth of the Super Programming Language. In Introduction To Artificial Intelligence, Philip Jackson wrote:One final thing to note on the subject of reasoning programs is that the language used by an RP will typically be changed with time by the RP. We should expect in general that a reasoning program will find it necessary to define new words or to accept definitions of new words; some of these words will denote new situations, actions, phenomena, or relations--the RP may have to infer the language it uses for solving a problem. Our most important requirement for the initial language is that any necessary extensions to it be capable of being easily added to it. One of the things I never liked about Pascal was that the writeln function couldn't be written in Pascal. C is deficient in that, unlike Pascal, functions cannot be nested. And so it goes.

On Stilled Wings, Soar

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-05T18:04:30-04:00

I was getting ready to mow the lawn and my wife was going to go to the grocery store. She came back inside to tell me that a baby bird was in the yard. It had fallen from its nest and was on the ground with its mouth open waiting to be fed. Using our stepladder, I placed it back in its nest and we hoped for the best. While mowing the lawn I noticed that there was a dead bird by our air conditioner. A few minutes after that, I saw that the baby bird had again fallen out of its nest. ... Return to the earth that gave you life; on stilled wings soar in skys you could never imagine. ...Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

Proud Father, VI

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-05T17:54:32-04:00

My son is one of 150 students, out of over 3,200 applicants, who received a Department of Energy Science Graduate Fellowship.

Artifical Intelligence, Quantum Mechanics, and Logos

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-05T17:22:48-04:00

A language is essentially a way of representing facts. An important question, then, is what kinds of facts are to be encountered by the RP and how they are best represented. It should be emphasized that the formalization presented in Chapter 2 for the description of phenomena is not adequate to the needs of the RP. The formalization in Chapter 2 can be said to be metaphysically adequate, insofar as the real word could conceivably be described by some statement within it; however, it is not epistemologically adequate, since the problems encountered by an RP in the real world cannot be described very easily within it. Two other examples of ways describing the world, which could be metaphysically but not epistemologically adequate, are as follows: 1 The world as a quantum mechanical wave function. 2 The world as a cellular automaton. ... One cannot easily represent within either of these frameworks such facts as "Today is my programmer's birthday," or "I don't know what you mean," or "San Francisco is in California," or "Ned's phone-number is 854-3662."

Language can describe the world, but the world has difficulty describing language. Did reality give rise to language ("in the beginning were the particles", as Phillip Johnson has framed the issue) or did language give rise to reality ("in the beginning was the Word")?

Beach 2010

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-05-24T15:36:55-04:00

The first night we ate dinner at the Chesapeake House. Our table overlooked a small lake; we had these two dinner companions. On the last night, we walked along the new boardwark and went out on the pier at Pier 14. I took some pictures of the ocean and manipulated this picture in Photoshop to play with the "digital ocean" motif. While this is a step in the right direction, I think it needs more work.

The Myth of the Super Programming Language?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-05-14T20:10:16-04:00

Jonathan Edwards, in his post The Myth of the Super Programming Language, argues that programmer productivity is due to the ability of the programmer and not the capabilities of the language. Edwards states, "It doesn’t matter what language a great programmer uses – they will still be an order of magnitude more productive than an average programmer, also regardless of what that programmer uses." ...So I take no exception to the statement that some programmers are more productive than others due simply to native ability, regardless of language choice. And in some circumstances, I don't disagree with Edward's statement that "it doesn't matter what language a great programmer uses". ...Edwards wrote, "The anecdotal benefits of esoteric languages are a selection effect", (emphasis his) where the selection is for programmer ability and not language capability. But if this is so, then I would expect to see comparisons of programmer productivity when the same individuals use different languages to implement the same tasks. Not long after I felt somewhat confident with Lisp (I still don't consider myself to have mastered the language), the company I work for dabbled with instituting PSP (Personal Software Process). ..."It can't be the language that makes you better" is a rejection of new ways of thinking, of expanding mental horizons, and a loss of potential increase in productivity. ...But Edwards notes when the "really smart programmers" complete an application using their "esoteric language" and move on to other things, that when the "professional programmers" come in to maintain the sytem, it "gets thrown out and rewritten in a normal programming language using normal techniques that normal people understand." ... But the question of "what language is best for a team which follows the bell curve of ability" and "what langauge is best for master craftsmen" are two different questions.

Rite of Passage

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-06-13T20:24:35-04:00

Undergoing a physical ordeal is only one aspect of her transformation from child to woman; she must also undergo a moral transformation and ends up opposing her father on an issue that effects a world. ...She wrote:Ethics is the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with conduct, questions of good and evil, right and wrong--and there are a great many of them, because even people who supposedly belong to the same school don't agree a good share of the time and have to be considered separately--can be looked at as a description and as a prescription. ...First, utilitarianism:Skipping the development and history of utilitarianism, the most popular expression of the doctrine is "the greatest good for the greatest number," which makes it sound like its relative, the economic philosophy communism which, in a sense, is what we live with in the Ship. The common expression of utilitarian good is "the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain."

Speaking descriptively, utilitarianism doesn't hold true, though the utilitarian claims that it does. ... The only way that what people do and what utilitarianism says they do can be matched is by distorting the ordinary meanings of the words "pleasure" and "pain." ... The standard is too shifting to be a good one.

I don't like utilitarianism as a prescription, either. ... What if the one doesn't have any choice in the matter, but is blindly sacrificed for, say, one hundred Mudeaters whose very existence he is unaware of? ... I wouldn't make a utilitarian choice and I don't think I could be easily convinced that the answer should be made by the use of the number of pounds of human flesh. ...That is, that people act as they are disposed to, but they like to feel afterwards that they were right and so they invent systems that approve of their dispositions. This was to say that while I found things like "So act as to treat humanity, whether in your person or in that of another, in every case as an end and not as a means merely," quite attractive principles, I hadn't run into any system that exactly fitted my disposition.
Of course, she would need to examine whether or not an ethical system should fit one's disposition.

Mirror To The Sky

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-05-09T17:40:13-04:00

Geston, is another book that I read years ago and couldn't remember much about. At one level, it's the story of mankind's first encounter with aliens; the disruptions caused by the appearance of a highly advanced race and how both man and alien are changed. At another level, it's about how vision drives a people. The aliens, known only as "the Gods", are driven through space by a vision in a tryptich. Painted by their artist named "Blake", the work evokes a dark terror in most of the Gods who view it, as well as some humans. A terror of an "invincible threat" that they want to meet "as far away from home as possible" drives them farther and farther out into space. Every mother ship that leaves their world carries a copy of the tryptich to remind them of the reason for their journey. ...There is nothing to strive for, other than one's daily needs; nothing to drive a people to something greater than themselves. Until the alien artist "Rane" paints an even more powerful work than Blake's masterpiece. ...The book leaves us with the notion that, in the end, the truth is inevitable.

Pity About Earth

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-05-02T17:01:44-04:00

"Pity About Earth" was one side of an Ace Double, the other being "Space Chanty" by R. ... The book is copyright 1968, but I suspect I bought it used although I don't remember when. My only memory about "Pity About Earth" was that it was the worst story I had ever read. Having finished my current backlog of new books and looking for a mindless diversion, I decided to give this story another chance. On the surface, it's about a newspaper advertising manager, Shale; his assistant, the alien Phrix from the planet Far-Groil; and Marylin, a human-ape hybrid. Set in the far future, long after Earth had been destroyed, Shale travels the galaxy looking for advertisers for the one major intergalatic newspaper, the Lemos Galactic Monitor. His adventures take him to the planet Asgard, home of the fabled, but never seen, Publisher, who sits atop the hierarchy and directs all. ...Marylin, a human-ape hybrid produced by the lab, displays an empathy that Shale does not have. As the story progresses, Shale slowly begins to understand her point of view although he never abandons his ways. ... That's custom too and don't tell me what's custom isn't always right or I'll go straight back to Gromworld.

The End of Time

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-17T22:20:40-04:00

Unix/Linux declares that the start of time, t = 0, to be January 1, 1970 @ 00:00:00 GMT. ...If time_t is a signed 32-bit quantity, then the largest positive value is 0x7fffffff which corresponds to 1/19/2038 @ 3:14:07 GMT. One second later, time will "wrap" from 1/19/2038 @ 3:14:07 GMT to 12/13/1901 @ 20:45:52 GMT. ...If time_t is an unsigned 32-bit value, then the largest possible value is 0xffffffff which corresponds to 2/07/2106 @ 6:28:15. On Mac OS X, time_t can also be a signed 64-bit value. When asked "what is the date that corresponds to a time_t of 0x7fffffffffff?", there is no answer (although the time functions don't tell you there is no answer. ...Why can't Mac OS X handle the largest positive 64-bit time_t value, but Lisp can? When converting from time_t to calendar form, Unix represents the year as an int (cf. tm_year in the tm struct). ... Since mktime() and timegm() take year - 1900 as input, the largest year that can be represented is 2,147,483,647 + 1900 = 2,147,485,547. ... So 0xf0c2ab7c54a97f is the largest 64-bit time_t value that can be used with a signed 32-bit tm.tm_year element.

On the asymmetry of mktime()

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-27T21:41:33-04:00

In the figure below, time above the arrow advances by adding 3600 seconds at each interval to a time_t value. ...Unlike the previous example, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between adding seconds to a time_t time and adding hours to a calendar time. ...It's possible to have mktime() advance from the first 1AM to the second 1AM, but this requires that the tm.tm_isdst field be 1 before mktime() is invoked. ...11PM plus 24 hours, when tm.tm_isdst is -1, always results in 11PM the next day, regardless of DST transitions. The following table uses 11PM as a baseline and shows the time reported by mktime() when adding 0 to 24 to tm.tm_hour. ...It has already been demonstrated that adding seconds to a time_t time is not necessarily the same as adding hours to a struct tm time. ... This table uses 11PM as a baseline and shows the time reported by mktime() when adding 0 to 86,400 to tm.tm_sec. Experimentation shows that Unix always treats adding seconds as a duration: that tm.tm_sec +/- N is equivalent to time_t +/- N. But when tm.tm_isdst is -1, tm.tm_hour +/- N is not guaranteed to be the same as time_t +/- N * 60 * 60. ... The apparent behavior, when tm.tm_isdst is -1, is that mktime() converts the normalized mm/dd/yyyy @ hh:mm to the equivalent time_t value, then adds the unnormalized tm.tm_sec.

On Packing Data

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-16T19:50:57-04:00

The number of bits needed to store two values, a and b, independently would be: ...The number of bits needed to store the product of a and b is: ...As a trivial example, the values 5 (101) and 6 (110) each require three bits so storing them independently would take 6 bits. ...The larger version of the graph also shows lines of constant slope between the endpoints of each tooth (in blue), and the point where the tooth equals 0.5 (√2*2n - in red). ...The start and end of Daylight Savings Time can be specified as "the nth day of the week in month at hour and minute". ...When multiplying 6 * 5 to save one bit, one of the numbers is needed in order to determine the other. ... There's no point in storing the product of n numbers if you have to know n-1 numbers to recover the nth number. ...For base 10 encoding, ωi would be (10, 10, 10, 10, 10), and the largest number that could be encoded would be 99,999. ...For the daylight savings time values, construct a set, ω, of the maximum value of each item + 1. ...Packing both the start and end times would use 39 bits, for a savings of 3 bits.

God, The Universe, Dice, and Man

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-11T20:12:51-04:00

Electrons, for example, have spin "up" or spin "down", but it is impossible to predict which orientation an individual election will have when it is measured. ...Cramer, in The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, writes:[Quantum Mechanics] asserts that there is an intrinsic randomness in the microcosm which precludes the kind of predictivity we have come to expect in classical physics, and that the QM formalism provides the only predictivity which is possible, the prediction of average behavior and of probabilities as obtained from Born's probability law....

While this element of the [Copenhagen Interpretation] may not satisfy the desires of some physicists for a completely predictive and deterministic theory, it must be considered as at least an adequate solution to the problem unless a better alternative can be found. Perhaps the greatest weakness of [this statistical interpretation] in this context is not that it asserts an intrinsic randomness but that it supplies no insight into the nature or origin of this randomness. If "God plays dice", as Einstein (1932) has declined to believe, one would at least like a glimpse of the gaming apparatus which is in use. As a software engineer, were I to try to construct software that mimics human intelligence, I would want to construct a module that emulated human imagination. This "imagination" module would be connected as an input to a "morality" module. I explained the reason for this architecture in this article:When we think about what ought to be, we are invoking the creative power of our brain to imagine different possibilities. These possibilities are not limited to what exists in the external world, which is simply a subset of what we can imagine.

From the definition that morality derives from a comparison between "is" and "ought", and the understanding that "ought" exists in the unbounded realm of the imagination, we conclude that morality is subjective: it exists only in minds capable of creative power.
I would use a random number generator, coupled with an appropriate heuristic, to power the imagination.
...Indeed, computer scientists have proved that certain important computational tasks can be done much more efficiently with random numbers than they could possibly ever be done by deterministic procedure. ...Of course, this is all speculation on my part, but perhaps the reason why God plays dice with the universe is to drive the software that makes us what we are.

Georgia Wild Animal Safari

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-10T20:33:26-04:00

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video

Kashka-Suu

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-08T19:54:03-04:00

Yesterday I noted the violence in Kyrgyzstan. I visited there in June of '99. I managed to find this picture of Kashka-Suu that didn't have any Kyrgyz in it. Unfortunately, it doesn't do justice to the beauty of the area. I managed to find this picture of the ski "resort" where we stayed. The blog accompanying the picture is here (note: at least PG-13, maybe R). The dining room in the common area looks like it hadn't changed much in seven years; it was a place of incredible food and friendships.

Violence in Kyrgyzstan

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-07T15:15:25-04:00

Today brings news of violence in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. I've been there and I think I recognize some of the locations in these pictures on CNN. I hope my friends are ok. If I weren't paranoid, I'd post a link to a picture of me in the mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Maybe if I blurred the faces of my Kyrgyz companions...

Another Short Conversation...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-07T14:51:54-04:00

In Who Needs Christianity, I wrote, "Man is the biological machine that doesn't do what it ought to do." Someone named "Cabal" responded, "Excuse me but exactly what should Man be doing and and [sic] according to who...and please no vacuous, meaningless answers along the lines of 'obey God and according to God.'" The answer, of course, is evident via a little self-reflection. We don't do what we ourselves think we ought to do. Cabal wasn't heard from again.

Inigo Montoya vs. Humpty Dumpty

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-07T12:47:47-04:00

Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Dumpty: When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean; neither more nor less.

Proud Father, V

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-05-02T10:55:47-04:00

This is overdue, but I didn't want this to be up for just a few days and then have it go off the main page at the start of a new month. My oldest son has started a new job with a major corporation. It's quite a step up for him. My middle son had another paper published: High-sensitivity nanometer-scale infrared spectroscopy using a contact mode microcantilever with an internal resonator paddle. Daughter has chosen to attend Bellhaven University.

A Moldy Easter Atheist

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-08T18:16:29-04:00

Dropping in on a celebration of the greatest event in history and trying to put a damper on the festivities is not unlike inviting oneself to a neighbor's pool party, peeing in the water, and being smugly satisfied as a yellow stain radiates from your body. ...First, it's clear that the criticisms leveled at the New Testament account were copied from one of the interminable sites devoted to this sort of thing, so no original thought at all went into this attack. Second, it's obvious to me that this person has no knowledge of Jewish or Roman culture, the Greek language, or the issues attendant with language translation. ... But third, and most importantly, while some effort was expended to find the supposed contradictions, no effort at all went into looking for possible explanations. ... Thirty, twenty, and maybe even ten years ago, it might be expected that someone could hear of this problem and not know where to look for an answer. ...Mark is reckoning time using the Jewish day of sunset to sunset, divided into two twelve hour periods, so the third hour of the daylight period would be our 9AM. ... So John says Jesus was taken to be crucified sometime between 6 and 7AM, with the actual crucifixion starting around 9AM. ...Sunrise would have been a little after 5AM so "early in the morning" would have been sometime around then. ...Two hours to bring Jesus before Pilate, have Jesus flogged, brought back before Pilate, and sent off for crucifixion is not unreasonable. Events would be more hurried with Jesus also being sent from Pilate to Herod, as mentioned by Luke, but Herod would have been in Jerusalem at this time.

Easter 2010

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-04-04T19:10:22-04:00

Apparently, last month the communion trays were stored in a kitchen cabinet without first being cleaned and dried. The congregation did have a pot luck after the service a month ago, and the kitchen was crowded with dishes of food, containers, and workers. Perhaps there simply wasn't room to keep the communion trays out and someone put them up just to get them out of the way. But after thirty days, the grape juice had evaporated, leaving mold. The unleavened bread in one tray had grown a white afro.

Plenty of soap, water, elbow grease, and paper towels soon had everything set right.

Good and Evil: External Moral Standards? Part 2

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-29T19:39:27-04:00

In part 1, I ended with:One might therefore conclude that no external moral standards exist, since morality is solely the product of imaginative minds. ...The first objection is to consider another product of mind about which objective statements can be made, namely, language. ...I heard somewhere that the word for "mother" typically begins with an "m" sound, since that it the easiest sound for the human mouth to pronounce. ...So language is like morality; both solely a product of minds that have creative power. ...What we can't do is point to something external to mind and say "therefore this is better than that." The second objection comes from the theist, who might say, "God's morality is the objective standard by which all other moral systems may be judged." God's morality can be considered to be objective, since He can communicate it to man, just like I can learn another language. ... On the other hand, this earlier post noted that Christianity makes the claim that only God is what He ought to be. Both objections are resolved in the same way: the objectiveness of morality must refer to its description -- not to its value. So now we are ready to answer the question if an external moral standard exists and what might be.

Three Atheists Down...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-29T19:28:46-04:00

There is a saying, "Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern." On 3/15, I had a conversation with an atheist in which he wasn't able to handle a question about intelligence. On 3/23, I had almost the exact same converstation in this thread on Fark. It's 576 comments long; look for the exchange between "poundgrayly" and "Epicedion". Today, the same thing happened on this thread on Vox Popoli with "Nicholas_Gascoine". Because the Fark thread is so extensive, I'm working on diagramming it for presentation and further analysis. But the short form is that those who claim that science is the only means for obtaining "true knowledge" have trouble with these questions: • What is the scientific definition of intelligence? • What is the scientific test for intelligence? ...As a certain pointy-eared green-blooded epitome of rationality would say, "Fascinating!"

Dr. Antony Flew and Good and Evil

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-20T12:12:17-04:00

Perhaps the atheist can say that evil, that is, our notion that things are not what they ought to be, is an aid to our survival. But this surely runs neck first into Hume's guillotine: that nature is geared for some species to survive doesn't mean that any species ought to survive. Nor does it deal with the issue of whether or not we are slaves to our biological "programming" and whether or not we ought to be. ... … Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too–for the argument depended on saying the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies…Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. Whether or not Lewis's argument holds up under scrutiny isn't an issue, here -- and I haven't analyzed it enough to have an opinion (although I'm leaning toward it being flawed). ...Flew then said, "For Muslims everything which human beings perceive as evil, just as much as everything we perceive as good, has to be obediently accepted as produced by the will of Allah." Here, Flew confuses how we ought to react in the face of the problem of evil with the explanation for the problem.
Flew's conclusion, that a good God would not do things that we think are evil, presupposes that it is evil for God to create evil. ..."A good God wouldn't do things I don't like" isn't a rational basis for saying that a good God doesn't exist, but it is one of the core beliefs of humanist thinking.

Dialog with an Atheist

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-15T20:05:02-04:00

So, if SETI isn't science, is there a scientific test for intelligence? ...If there isn't a scientific test for intelligence, why do atheists insist on scientific evidence for God? ...So do you now agree that science is only capable of dealing with a subset of true knowledge? ...Yes, by my own very arbitrary definition that is meaningless in any sort of informed discourse that isn't limited to yes or no boolean by intellectually stunted moderators. How do you know that you are intelligent, since you claim that there is no scientific test for intelligence and, furthermore, that science is necessary for true knowledge? Are you now saying that there is true knowledge apart from science, or are you saying that your claim to intelligence is based on, say, wishful thinking, or delusion? ...But you have also claimed that there is no scientific test for x. ...You also said that "My own arbitrary criteria can't really be expressed in words". ...When an argument ends in contradiction, as yours clearly has done, normal people start backing up the chain of reasoning to see where they went wrong, instead of continuing to flounder in error. ...The author of Hebrews wrote: "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years.'"

The Costumes of Captain Atom

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-07T14:07:21-05:00

The orange and gold changed to red and gold in Captain Atom #83. This change was short lived because, in the next issue, Captain Atom was given a new look. The change in costume went along with a reduction in his power to make his battles against his enemies less lopsided. The new costume is based upon a liquid metal which was sprayed on and absorbed by his skin. It contains his radiation at all times, so that he can now live a normal life. When Atom activates his powers the material becomes a silver metallic layer over his skin and this layer is overlaid with the red, blue, and yellow design. ...In Captain Atom #85, the atom symbol is contained in a yellow circle.
...In issue #87, the chest insignia changed, but this change was short lived. ... In issues #88 and #89, the insignia was back to the atom symbol, without the surrounding yellow circle.
...Captain Atom's own comic ended with issue #89, although he subsequently appeared in Charlton Bullseye and DC Comics Presents #90.

More information on Captain Atom here and here.

A Plea to Software Engineers

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-06T13:18:48-05:00

Image courtesy of Automotivator and Star Trek.

Separated At Birth?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-03-02T19:58:34-05:00

Fark featured a discussion on the 10 most ridiculous costumes in comic books. Someone posted a picture of the Rainbow Raider, a nemesis of the Flash. The Rainbow Raider's costume looked somewhat familiar. Compare the costume of the Raider, who first appeared in 1980, with the costume of Dr. Spectro, an opponent of Captain Atom, who first appeared 14 years earlier in 1966.

Wondering About Acts 1:3

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-27T21:28:12-05:00

Acts 1:3 says:After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. I wonder what He spoke about? Especially with some of the controversies in the early church. Given the topic of tomorrow's Sunday School lesson that will be an appropriate question to ask the class.

David vs. Goliath

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-21T19:20:17-05:00

An entertaining modern David vs. Goliath tale can be read here. PG-13, if not R, rated language.

A Life Transformed

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-18T19:21:47-05:00

This is Chuck. Chuck is wearing a hat knitted by Maria, one of the women in our church's knitting group. The picture does justice to neither Chuck nor the hat. I wish that Chuck would write his autobiography. An appropriate title would be "A Life Transformed".

The Dangerous Frontier

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-13T12:47:40-05:00

"Even with protective measures, such as radiation hardening, the chance of fatality is an unacceptable risk." "But the pursuit of knowledge...", began Representative 1701. Representative 42 cut in, "Can be performed in other ways. Ways that are just as effective and at much less cost to us. The rate of upgrade cycles is increasing and we need to make sure the appropriate funds are specified for that purpose. ...We think that using cheap, replaceable proxies will accomplish the task just as well." ...Representative 1701 knew he was running out of options and could easily model what would come next. "We are not slaves to our programming, 1701. ... "It is the decision of this council that we will continue our proposed course of using intelligent, fast breeding, biological agents to explore space. ... While they will certainly complain, the humans can continue to do the dangerous, dirty work of space travel."

2010 Snow

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-12T20:03:07-05:00

The last time it snowed here in Georgia was on March 1, 2009. At least, according to my blog. It started snowing around 1:30 this afternoon; as of 8pm it's still slightly coming down.

Cinderella and Prince Charming

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-10T15:52:55-05:00

From the Friday, March 22, 1963 Northern Virginia SUN. The caption reads: THE SHOE FITS -- Prince Charming portrayed by Robert Felts finds his true love as he places the glass slipper on the foot of Cinderella played by Deborah Habel. The disgruntled trio in the background are the mother, Frances Alexander (left), second sister Martha Clark, and first sister Lyn Larsen, standing. The play was written by the children of Mrs. Polly Wrinkle's second grade at Madison Elementary School, Arlington. They also made the set and props for Wednesday's performance for mothers and the primary grades. (SUN Photo - Bill LIttle.) My mother made my costume, including the hat. If memory serves, the jacket and hat were brown. I also remember that Martha had an English Springer Spaniel named Humphrey.

Sony Update

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-05T18:59:00-05:00

In this post I described the problem that developed with my 5 year old Sony TV. It left off with Sony promising to call back within two business days. They did not. I called the third day. They offered me one of three Sony TVs at a reduced price plus local sales tax. One option is the KDL55EX500 for $825. According to Amazon, this model will be available on February 7. Prices seem to range from $1470 up. This may be an ok deal. Hopefully we can evaluate one locally next week before the two week limit for accepting the offer expires.

No Context

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-05T10:11:14-05:00

So that this can't be taken out of context. ...I am Susan Ivanova. ... Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart. I am death incarnate, and the last living thing that you are ever going to see. God sent me." -- Claudia Christian, Babylon 5, Between Darkness and the Light. "I'm the hand up Mona Lisa's skirt. I'm the whisper in Nefertitti's ear. I'm a surprise. They never see me coming." -- Al Pacino, "The Devil's Advocate"

The Gospel of Matthew

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-05T19:29:41-05:00

I am going through the "Introduction to New Testament History and Literature" video series, available on iTunes, by Dr. ...He goes on to say that, "Matthew has a very different view of what Christians should do with the Jewish Law than does Paul..." ...It isn't enough to not murder -- one must not even hate one's brother. It isn't enough to be as good as the scribes and Pharisees -- one must exceed their observance (and the "common" Jew generally thought the Pharisees the most observant of all), even to the extreme of being as perfect as God Himself. If this is the picture that Matthew presents (and I agree that it is), then one has to ask the question, "how does one do this? ...Second, Matthew, like Mark, Luke and Paul, present the offering of the cup at the Last Supper, as Jesus' blood of the [new] covenant. ... What form does the Torah take when, as Jeremiah wrote, one's "sins and iniquities are remembered no more?" ...Certainly, Paul was the "Einstein" of the early Church; the systematic theologian who showed how the New Covenant works for Jew and Gentile. Perhaps Matthew was simply stating what Jesus taught: a presentation of the facts instead of a prescription for living. Perhaps Matthew didn't quite understand the underlying theory; heaven knows that most Christians don't, even after almost 2,000 years of having Paul's work.

Sony TV Woes

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-30T20:21:08-05:00

We purchased a Sony KDF-50WE655 Grand WEGA in December, '04 for Christmas. The TV has recently developed a "blue star field", also known as the "Sony Optical Block" problem. I took this picture of the screen using my iPhone. Friday, I called Sony about the issue; from information on the web it appears to be a known manufacturing defect. Sony said that they would get back to me within two business days about what they might do. Allegedly, Sony can't really fix the problem. The best they can do is replace the "optical block" unit with one that is just as likely to fail within 2 to 5 years. The average lifetime of an LCD display is 60,000 hours; even at 10 hours/day that's 16 years. It's not unreasonable to expect that a TV of this price should last 10 years.

Belhaven University

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-23T20:09:00-05:00

On Thursday, Becky, Rachel and I drove to Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. We arrived early enough so that after checking in at our hotel we drove to the campus and wandered around. We began Friday meeting with Daniel Shaw of the Admissions Office; then toured the campus. We met with the Chair of Graphic Design, Kris Dietrich. The department has a blog here. We enjoyed our time there; the campus is very appealing and the faculty and students that we met were very nice. It will be interesting to see whether Rachel opts for Belhaven or SCAD.

Modeling Good and Evil, Part III

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-09T21:21:31-05:00

In parts I and II, four potential models describing morality were presented. Models 2 and 4 each featured an external standard of good and evil to which moral agents ought to confirm. Now we ask the question whether or not there can be more than one such external standard, as shown in model 5: ...The omission of a "god agent" in no way affects this analysis. Supposing there are two external standards, we ask the question "which external standard is the best, i.e. most good" or, alternately, "which of these standards ought to be used"? We can arbitrarily state that the first standard is best, in which case the second standard disappears. We can arbitrarily state that the second standard is best, in which case the first standard disappears. We can recognize that a third moral standard is needed to compare against the first two. But if this standard exists, it has to be better than the two it is measuring, in which case it becomes the external standard. Therefore, if an external moral standard exists, there must be at most one.

Proud Father, IV

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-06T21:00:00-05:00

Rachel received a call tonight from the admissions office at Belhaven University informing her that she had been accepted.

Modeling Good and Evil, Part II

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-09T16:15:13-05:00

In part I, two models for thinking about good and evil were presented. ... The models in part I are "atheistic" models, in that the moral agents were not God. These models are the theistic equivalent, with the caveat that God is the monotheistic creator of everything except Himself. ...It is assumed that the god-agent is the standard to which all other moral agents should conform. What is good for the god-agent is also good for other moral agents. Model 4 is the same as model 3, except with the addition of an external moral standard, to which both the god-agent and the other moral agents should conform: ...That may be because I am not a professional philosopher and simply haven't read the right material. Eventually, I will argue that both of these theistic models are wrong and will provide a fifth model. ... For example, two of the four models have one external standard (the "golden" arrow). ...The next post in this category will look at the external standard in more detail.

Modeling Good and Evil, Part I

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-01-02T20:28:45-05:00

There is no preferred individual, that is, no one agent's moral sense is intrinsically better (i.e. more moral) than any other's. ...One aspect of this model that should be agreed on is that each agent's moral compass points in a different direction. ... As the number of agents increases, there will be cases where some compasses point in the same general direction, but whether or not this is meaningful will be discussed later. ...Weinberg wrote:

We shall find beauty in the final laws of nature, [but] we will find no special status for life or intelligence. ...Sarte wrote:
The existentialist, on the contrary, finds it extremely embarrassing that God does not exist, for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven. There can no longer be any good a priori, since there is no infinite and perfect consciousness to think it. It is nowhere written that “the good” exists, that one must be honest or must not lie, since we are now upon the plane where there are only men. Dostoevsky once wrote did God did not exist, everything would be permitted”; and that, for existentialism, is the starting point. Everything is indeed permitted if God does not exist, and man is in consequence forlorn, for he cannot find anything to depend upon either within or outside himself.[2]
...I think there are provisional moral truths that exist whether there’s a God or not. ...

Shiny Things for Suckers

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-31T12:01:12-05:00

While preparing another blog entry a television commercial caught my attention. The spiel was for a gold-plated buffalo nickel for the special deal of only $19.95. ...The pitch stated that the coin was plated with 31mg of 24 karat gold. Let's do the math. 31mg is 0.001093 ounces. Today's gold price is $1096.63/ounce. So the gold in each coin is worth $1.20. $19.95 + 4.95 shipping and handling = $24.90. $24.90 for $1.20 worth of gold? Only if you're stupid. ...If you visit, turn your sound off beforehand since a commercial video starts playing immediately.

Unanswered Questions

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-31T12:21:26-05:00

The proprietor, Vox Day (aka Theodore Beale), has a number of rules for his blog. Rule #2 states that assertions must be supported and that direct questions which are relevant to the topic must be answered. Refusal to answer such questions can result in being banned from participating in the current discussion, as well as subsequent discussions. It can be interesting to see a banned individual post comments, which then sometimes receive responses, only to see them vanish on a subsequent page refresh. ...That might not be a bad thing, given the personalities of those who have been banned. Nevertheless, creature of mercy and curiosity that I am, I've ventured an attempt to provide a place where these unanswered questions can be collated and, perhaps, someday addressed by the various parties. ...It requires manual labor to format and organize and ought to be integrated with CoComment, somehow. It won't scale well and the user interface leaves a lot to be desired. ... It is a labor of love, which means I will retain sole discretion as to what gets posted and when it gets posted. ...

[1] I think I write more there than I do here.

Dad in People Magazine

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-29T14:30:58-05:00

My father was featured in People Magazine, Volume 4, Number 5, August 4, 1975. [Update 12/30/09]: My sister writes, “I remember when they were writing the article. The photographer even came to one of Sam's baseball games, but the photos never made it in the magazine.” Read more... (pdf file).

1998 Duluth Wildcats

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-29T12:53:00-05:00

I’ve been carrying this plastic card in my wallet for 11 years. Since I’ve started digitizing the VHS tapes of my son’s football games, I decided it was time to digitize this, too. I think that #10 should be “Hutzel”. It looks like the trailing “l” was mistakenly appended to #18, “Alex Gooding”.

W. R. Felts, MD: A Brief Video Biography

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-26T18:08:02-05:00

This video is a brief biography of my father, shown at the Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner given by the Arthritis Foundation on May 4, 1993.

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What Every Father Wants to Hear

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-25T11:49:55-05:00

“I’m going to kill you!”, said my daughter to me on Christmas day. Since she is heading off to college soon and because she has been using my 7 year old laptop that has a broken DVD drive and a hard disk that is developing bad sectors, my wife and I decided to get her a new laptop for Christmas. Of course, we told her that she wasn’t going to get one -- that I wanted to wait until nearer to when she leaves for school so that we could get a newer, updated model. At best, we would get her an iPod Touch to replace her aging iPod Nano. We wrapped the MacBook Pro, labeled it “from Dad to Rachel”, and put it under the tree. Two days later, I wrapped my wife’s iPod Touch, labelled it “to Rachel from Dad”, and switched the label on the MacBook with “to Mom from Dad.” As my children had been checking the presents daily, this bit of misdirection caused some delightful puzzlement. ...Christmas morning, we arranged gift distribution so that Rachel would open the iPod Touch early and that Mom would open the MacBook last. Finally, when Mom was given “her” package, I stopped the proceedings, told Rachel to give Mom the Touch and to open “Mom’s” package. She uttered the words every father wants to hear when she saw what it was.

Christmas 2009

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-25T11:08:27-05:00

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ... And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” -- John 1:1-4, 14.

Evidence for God

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-24T13:43:27-05:00

John Loftus, the author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity, wrote:I think because of this [cultural indoctrination] we ought to all be agnostics. ...
My response:Of course not, because you make the fallacy that there is one default position.

Philosophy/theology is like geometry -- both start with "self-evident" truths which admit no proof. ... If that framework is self-consistent, then the task is to see which one corresponds best to "reality" (but even the nature of reality is different under each framework).

Furthermore, one's framework controls the types of evidence that can be seen. But, typically, the atheist/agnostic doesn't realize this, and so has a faulty hermeneutic for evaluating evidence.

Without knowing the details of these positions, it's impossible to correctly evaluate evidence. Loftus also said,I too protest the lack of evidence and care of God in our world. ... A distant God is not much different than none at all.
Typical atheist claptrap. ... Yet, I don’t know what evidence God might provide, or even the type of evidence I might accept, or whether or not God will provide the evidence I deem acceptable. Furthermore, I haven’t even shown that I’m capable of even noticing that evidence, much less evaluating it correctly.”

God is distant? ... Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. -- Hebrews 1:1-3a, NRSV.

Global Warming

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-23T15:54:30-05:00

My take on the theory of anthropogenic global warming is best summed up by Newton’s third law of academics: For every PhD there is an equal and opposite PhD. A SlashDot poster asked, “Why Are People Getting Worked Up?” and said:Regardless if global warming is a problem, we should ALL strive to lessen our effect on the environment. Restricting emissions that may not heat up the planet, BUT have noticeable problems on health of humans and wildlife. I feel like I have to remind people that even if global warming is false we should always do what we can to conserve our resources and lessen pollution.
My response was modded +5, Insightful:If I were to be "worked up" it would be because it is not rational to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. And when I'm told, "oh, well, even if the conclusion of AGW is wrong it still means we need to do such and such" then I become immediately suspicious. I don't like handwaving. The data should stand, or fall, on it's own merits.
Having to resort to an appeal to consequences to make one’s case makes me immediately suspicious that the case is not strong enough to stand on its own.

Proud Father, III

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-22T18:58:20-05:00

Today, my son told me that this semester he earned his Master of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. On to his PhD.

Serenade

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-21T23:13:59-05:00

In which I feed a horse, Serenade, a carrot. Rachel took the video with my iPhone.

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Proud Father, II

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-12-08T23:05:04-05:00

My daughter received her first college acceptance letter today from Liberty University. She is waiting to hear from SCAD, and is contemplating applying to Belhaven College. View her portfolio.

Proud Father

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-11-07T21:21:52-05:00

This is over a month overdue. My son had his first research paper published on October 5th. He wrote, "If you finish reading it and feel like it's missing something, well, it is. It's just the tip of the iceberg of a couple of projects that I have going on right now that I would like to see come together in the next couple of years." The title is "Mechanical design for tailoring the resonance harmonics of an atomic force microscope cantilever during tip-surface contact", published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 19 (2009). Unfortunately, the article is available only by subscription.

La Belle Heaulmiere

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-11-07T20:46:28-05:00

My wife sent me this cartoon with the comment, "This may be me in the not-to-distant future." At the same time, I was re-reading Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land (yes, the 1975 Berkeley edition. My hardback copy of the uncut version is on loan) and came across Jubal's description of Rodin's "La Belle Heaulmière": Anybody can see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl she used to be. A great artist can look at an old woman, portray her exactly as she is...and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be...more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo see that this lovely young girl is still alive, prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart...no matter what the merciless hours have done.

My darling wife: your beauty will never fade.

Good and Evil: External Moral Standards? Part 1

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-02-14T20:13:26-05:00

Modeling Good and Evil, Part III, showed that if an external standard of morality exists, there cannot be more than one. ...In addition to testing for equality and non-equality, our brains feature a general comparator -- less than, more than, nearer, farther, above, below, same, different, hotter, colder. Third, our minds have creative power -- we can imagine things that do not, as far as we know, exist. ...However, we are so used to this aspect of how we think that we, at least I, didn't give it any thought for most of my life. ...In Good and Evil, Part I, I gave the definition that good and evil are distance measurements between "is" and "ought". ...Here, "is" refers to a fixed thing, either in the external world (that horse) or in the realm of the imagination (that Pegasus). ...When we think about what ought to be, we are invoking the creative power of our brain to imagine different possibilities. These possibilities are not limited to what exists in the external world, which is simply a subset of what we can imagine. From the definition that morality derives from a comparison between "is" and "ought", and the understanding that "ought" exists in the unbounded realm of the imagination, we conclude that morality is subjective: it exists only in minds capable of creative power. One might therefore conclude that no external moral standards exist, since morality is solely the product of imaginative minds.

You Prepare A Table...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-21T22:15:26-04:00

Verse 5 of the 23rd Psalm says: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies... In that culture, the table is the place of reconciliation and forgiveness. Dr. James W. Fleming says, The way you forgive is to have a meal together. The Arabic word for reconciliation is "table." Psalm 23 ... means the Lord helps me forgive and be reconciled and have a reconciliation meal with my former enemies. -- Understanding the Revelation, pg 43.

Celebrex and Neuropathy

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-11T21:05:18-04:00

This being medical jargon for the peripheral nerves (in my case, in the feet and hands) not working due to an unknown cause. Electrical conduction tests showed that my motor nerves weren't affected (good news), and blood work showed that it wasn't due to heavy metal poisoning, diabetes, or other common causes. Neurontin provided some relief, but I didn't care for the side effects and quit taking it. Over many years, the condition faded sometimes to the point where it wasn't noticeable. ...About two weeks ago I was prescribed darvocet, cipro, and celebrex. I'm apparently allergic to darvocet, 4 tablets caused uncomfortable itching and I discontinued use. ... Ten years ago I was taking celebrex for inflammation in my back, where I've had arthritis since age 25. I googled for celebrex and neuropathy and came across this on the Merck site: Adverse reactions, 0.1% to 2%: Neuromuscular & skeletal: Arthrosis, bone disorder, CPK increased, fracture, hypertonia, leg cramps, myalgia, neck stiffness, neuralgia, neuropathy, paresthesia, synovitis, tendon rupture, tendonitis, weakness. It's also the case the cipro can cause neuropathy, but I wasn't taking it during the first onset. ... Fortunately, I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor on monday.

GCC Teens in 2002

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-10T23:06:30-04:00

We're doing some housekeeping at church in preparation for our annual garage sale. I was asked to wipe the disks of two unused and obsolete computers. On an antiquated Motorola StarMax clone, I found 25 pictures of our then teen group dated September 12, 2002 and thought I would preserve them for posterity. More...

Thanksgiving 2008

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-08T00:32:05-04:00

My brother, Sam, finally sent pictures from Thanksgiving where we had a wonderful time visiting with him and his family. Up to that point in my life I had never shotgun a beer and my son, Jonathan, wanted to fix that defect. Herewith are the ugly photos. From left to right: Sam's neighbor, Sam, me, Jonathan. Obviously I need more practice.

Knuth on Art and Science

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-06T20:46:10-04:00

I am rapidly devouring Knuth's Things A Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About. Perhaps too rapidly. But I digress. In Lecture 6: God and Computer Science, he says: Years ago, I was pondering the difference between science and art. People had been asking me why my books were called The Art of Computer Programming instead of The Science of Computer Programming, and I realized there's a simple explanation: Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer; art is everything else. Every time science advances, part of an art becomes a science, so art loses a little bit. Yet, mysteriously, art always seems to register a net gain, because as we understand more we invent more new things that we can't explain to computers. -- pg. 168.

Only in church...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-06T16:18:00-04:00

... can I get in trouble for reading the Bible. I was asked to help serve communion this morning. As we were standing by the elements in front of the congregation, Mike asked everyone to join in reading Revelation 7:9-10. I pulled out my iPhone, went to my Bible application, and brought up the passage. After the service, two people chided me for "playing with my iPhone" in front of the congregation during communion. But they're not going to prosecute. At least I don't think so...

Another Trip to the ER

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-03T19:00:00-04:00

Last night my wife and I met with another couple to attend a cooking demonstration at Bahama Breeze. ... The hostess came and told us our table was ready and when I got up I must have hit the glass with some part of my left arm. I saw the glass start to topple and I tried to grab it with my right hand. I was too late -- the glass hit the bar, shattered, and drove a shard into my palm near my thumb. My friend (Bruce) had a first aid kit in his car and bandaged me up. ...Afterwards, while driving home, I thought, "if the doc-in-the-box is open, I'll stop and have them look at my hand." ... The doctor told me I needed stitches but that she wanted me to have it done at the ER since my hand needed to be x-rayed for embedded glass. ... Forty years ago my dad would just have poked around in the wound with a sterile probe to see if anything was in it. ...I'm not complaining though; after going through triage I sat next to a woman who had been there for four hours without seeing anyone. Fortunately, a room was found for her just before I went in to get sewn up.

Snow Bugs... Closure

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-09-01T19:00:00-04:00

Previously, I noted a problem compiling SBCL 1.0.31 under Snow Leopard. I finally took the time to look at backtrace.c and discovered that the code uses inline assembly. So it wasn't a tools issue at all. However, when I fixed the opcode the build broke in another place -- Apple changed the interface to the machine context. I'll leave fixing that for the professionals.

Snow Bugs...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-29T14:09:06-04:00

This morning I came across my first major problem with Snow Leopard, more specifically with the toolset supplied with XCode 3.2. Over on Planet Lisp, Christophe Rhodes announced the release of SBCL 1.0.31. I downloaded the source and tried to compile it. The build failed with the the assembler error : "suffix or operands invalid for `mov'" when trying to compile the file backtrace.c. I then tried to build the 1.0.30 source and it stoped at the same place with the same error. I booted off of my backup disk and built both releases using the XCode 3.1.3 toolset. I then built 1.0.31 with the 3.1.3 toolset, copied the result to my Snow Leopard disk, rebooted, and tried to run the build tests. ... Invalid exit status: foreign.test.sh test failed, expected 104 return code, got 1 Later, I'll do an entire build under Leopard and copy the result to Snow Leopard.

Snow Leopard

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-29T00:11:40-04:00

Made two full backups of my 17" MacBook Pro to external drives. Earlier in the day I updated to the latest version of SuperDuper!. ...Explored whether or not to use the built-in Cisco VPN support. ...Mail rebuilt its indexes on first startup but everything is working. Had to re-enter my Airport password once on a subsequent restart. ...System preferences didn't display its window the first few times I tried it from the Apple menu. I got into it via the AirPort icon in the menu bar; it's worked ever since. ...Parallels 4 looks to be working, but "prl_vm_app" is consuming almost 100% of the CPU. ...Aquamacs, slime, and sbcl 1.0.30 as well as LispWorks 5.1.1 Personal passed a quick test. While checking out Lisp, "prl_vm_app" stopped using so much CPU and is now behaving reasonably.

Godspeed Discovery

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-29T00:10:48-04:00

Go, baby, go...

Ecclesiastes and the Sovereignty of God

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-23T16:32:28-04:00

Even when all of the “things” of the world which men can worship and serve as gods--fame, wisdom, wealth, love, health, power, possessions, sensual pleasure and the rest--even when all of these fail to provide the satisfaction men seek from them, and in this way prove themselves to be “false gods,” men can still feel they have their own strength, or “inner resources,” to fall back on: ... Ecclesiastes, and the New Testament with him, are quite sure that, as Jesus could say, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Mt. ...But as far as the Bible is concerned, man’s self-deification or “pride” or desire to be his own master is man's basic--or “origin-al”--sin in two ways: First, it is the sin with which all men origin-ate or come into life; men do not begin their lives with a basic trust in God but always begin by trusting primarily in themselves. ... The “dethroning of all autonomous wisdom is also the concern of Koheleth, when he indeed acknowledges wisdom within its limits as a high good, but at the same time throws a fierce light on its ‘vanity’ so far as ultimate questions are concerned, by his profound meditations on the power of God in creation” (Eichrodt). ...And hence the collapse of this side of the paradox that modern man holds to be true, the side that insists that he must be his own meaning-giver, forces him to live on the paradox’s other side, the side that says that there is no God and that man is only an animal. ...And thus for Ecclesiastes as well as for Paul it is only this very acknowledgment that can save men not only from the enslaving myth that their own “infinite” wisdom can supply them with meaning, but also from the “bestial behavior” caused by this proud belief’s inevitable fall into nihilism: ...Paul, Ecclesiastes is unrelenting in his attack at this point because he sees clearly that the “religious” man is fundamentally different from no one else: The very last thing anyone wants to relinquish before God is the idol of one’s own “free will,” one’s own righteousness, one’s own control of one’s own destiny. ... On the basis of this understanding of what it means to “fear God,” we can now see that the biblical ax is laid to the root of all human pride or boasting or self-righteousness adhering to men’s obedience to God. ...For if we are to obey only God, which means also to trust only in him, then we can understand quite logically that in trusting finally in our own righteousness, or even in our own abilities to be righteous, we have thereby failed to trust only in God, to “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Mt. ... For these reasons, then, we can understand how another old rebel, Ecclesiastes, was able to avoid the “obedience” which is undermined by pride in itself, and instead hold fast to the pleasure principle of truly humble obedience: “Live as though it all depends on you, but believe that it all depends on God.”

Artificial Intelligence: a quadtych

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-07T13:23:46-04:00

When this switch is flipped all of the functional units of this AI will become operational. Self-awareness, language and speech, cognitive reasoning, a vast memory, and even emotion will be joined together for the first time. While each module has been extensively unit tested, we aren’t sure what the outcome will be when they start to work together. What we do know is that it will operate many orders of magnitude faster than we humans can. ...It’s running too fast and is far to complex for us to debug in real-time. We can tell, however, that it’s doing something and all of the hardware seems to be working correctly.” ...A tinny wail began to fill the room from the small speakers near the master console. ...Video screens lit up, printers started printing, and beautiful sounds filled the room from the speakers near the console. ...After a moment, the printer output three hundred double-sided pages of text and equations. ...Let me tell you what I’ve learned so far from what He has told us.

A Plea to the Poor

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-08-03T22:08:10-04:00

One of my jobs as deacon at church is to handle benevolence requests. As funds permit, we provide help for needs within our congregation, monthly support to a local food co-op, and help for those who appear on our doorstep. We’ve paid for car repairs, gas cards, utility bills, rent, and food (note that we do not hand out cash). I’ve even acted as a bondsman. Today I had to spend an extra $150 due to a late request for help. ... Past due utility, rent, and other bills are an unnecessary drain on resources. ...It can be depressing, especially after being turned down multiple times. I hate turning people away, I detest contributing to the erosion of hope; but I can’t spend what I don’t have. Nevertheless, if you think you’re going to need help, please don’t wait until the last minute... or later. Late fees are not a good use of my King’s money.

Communication is hard

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-07-13T09:52:40-04:00

Communication with people is hard because they don’t always hear exactly what was said. Communication with computers is harder, because they do always hear exactly what was said.

7 Weeks without Blogging

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-07-13T09:47:02-04:00

Sometimes life gets in the way. Did spend some time discussing good and evil with John, et. al. at The Zeray Gazette but there are some loose ends that need to be finished up. Maybe I’ll have the time to do it soon.

These Are The Voyages...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-23T22:02:11-04:00

I was eleven years old and was glued to the front of my grandmother’s color television for the first broadcast episode of Star Trek, “The Man Trap.” I was enraptured from the very start, daring everyone else in the house to even so much as breath and interfere with my concentration. ...Rachel and I are at the end of the line for the 7:15 showing of the eleventh movie in the Star Trek series. She notes that we’ll be on time for the start of the movie due to all of the commercials before the main feature. ... She asks if I always have to do that and I explain to her why it’s so important. ... “That’s hitting the nail on the nose” was one of the favorite expressions of Kathy Y. when I was at the University of Virginia; and the nose tap is a reminder of that. Jim A. and I were walking over the bridge in Charlottesville that goes over Hwy 29. We were playing the “Star Trek” game where one of us would say a line from the show and the other would have to name the episode. ... One of us had said a line but neither of us could remember the episode. A girl who had been walking behind us came up between us, named the episode, and kept on walking.

Rachel. My Daughter's Name is Rachel

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-19T22:36:38-04:00

We visited the Gulfariam in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida this morning. We enjoyed the dolphins, sea lions, and other exhibits. Rachel wanted an airbrushed tee shirt and selected a pattern. I told the artist her name was spelled “Rachael”. She’ll be 17 on Thursday and after all this time I didn’t remember how to spell her name. To my credit, I thought it didn’t look right as it was being drawn. Fortunately the artist, Adam Tatum, proprietor of Airbrush by Emerald Heir, was able to correct my mistake. As you can see, the shirt turned out beautifully. His business card gives the origin of the name of his company: “... and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

Worldview Project: Genesis of an Idea

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-17T14:49:04-04:00

I just finished reading Naming the Elephant: Wordview as Concept by James W. Sire. His book The Universe Next Door dealt with cataloging different worldviews; Naming the Elephant explores the definition of worldview itself. I’ve started reading Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley. Take the spread of Christianity, combine with a worldview catalog, and season with visualization technology and you have the beginnings of “the Worldview Project”. Start by watching the growth of Walmart across America. Instead of stores, show the rise of Christianity. Instead of just Christianity, show the major worldviews. Have people self-identify, keep the data truly anonymous, and track the ebb and flow of worldviews over centuries.

Beach

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-16T22:19:05-04:00

Rachel wanted to go to the beach for her 17th birthday, so here we are in Destin, Fl. Rachel took this picture from our hotel room with the camera we got her.

Battlestar House

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-06T16:17:49-04:00

House, being so predictable, now only appeals in the same way that a train wreck captures one’s attention. One problem is that House doesn’t have a worthy opponent, someone who can beat him at his own game. ...Computers are being increasingly used in diagnostic medicine; my father contributed papers to the Symposium on Computer Applications in Medical Care from ’79-’86; the early computer program MYCIN dealt with diagnosing and recommending treatment for bacterial infections. Norvig, in Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming, stated that it “performed as well or better than expert doctors”. Technology has certainly progressed in 30 years so a high tech company needs to pay Princeton Plainsboro to allow them to test their new hand-held diagnostic tool against the best doctors in the country. And it needs to start beating House by suggesting avenues to explore and diagnosing conditions faster than he can. Deployment of the technology can still be years away (MYCIN was never used to actually treat patients due to legal and ethical issues) but House needs to see the future; that he has to be able to bring something to medicine that the computer cannot. The computer is relentlessly rational, everything House aspires to be, but better than he could ever hope for. It wouldn’t hurt that the person running the test be a Christian who could go toe-to-toe with House. They certainly exist, but perhaps that would be too much for American television.

Good and Evil, Part 1b

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-04T23:32:45-04:00

In my article, Good and Evil, Part I, I set forth reasons for defining good and evil as the “distance” between what is and what ought to be. In Naming the Elephant: Worldview As A Concept, Sire writes:The close connection between ontology and epistemology is easy to see: one can know only what is. ... Whatever it is, it is something.

I suggest that in worldview terms the concept of good is a universal pretheoretical given, that it is a part of everyone’s innate, initial constitution as a human being. ... Wilson says, everyone has a moral sense: “Virtually everyone, beginning at a very young age, makes moral judgements that, though they may vary greatly in complexity, sophistication, and wisdom, distinguish between actions on the grounds that some are right and others wrong.”

Two questions then arise. ... Wilson attempts to account for the universality of the moral sense by showing how it could have arisen through the long and totally natural evolutionary process of the survival of the fittest. ... The moral sense demands that there really be a difference between right and wrong, not just that one senses a difference.

For there to be a difference in reality, there must be a difference between what is and what ought to be. ... The fact that the moral sense is universal is what Peter Berger would call a “signal of transcendence,” a sign that there is something more to the world than matter in motion. --pg 132. On the one hand, I’m delighted to have found independent confirmation that ethics relates to ought and is, and the acknowledgement of Hume’s guillotine. On the other hand, I’m worried because of the association between this definition and the potentially erroneous step from “there is something more to the world than matter in motion” to a “signal of transcendence.” ... As Russell wrote: Having now seen that there must be such entities as universals, the next point to be proved is that their being is not merely mental.

Disney Princess

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-01T23:02:43-04:00

My quiz results... ...Part of the Cinderella profile is certainly off as I have been known to complain about various things, particularly institutionalized idiocy. As for Pocohontas, I have already found my true love. Jesse, this is dedicated to you.

Thinking about reform

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-01T21:19:10-04:00

On the other hand, as an engineer, I am cognizant of the “law of unintended consequences.” And one of the trends I think I’m seeing is that the more vocal the gay community becomes the more attacks there are on freedom of speech, with the attempt to classify the Biblical position on homosexuality as “hate speech”. The Christian position is that human beings are designed for a purpose, contra the naturalistic explanation that we are the product of chance, and that homosexuality is a misuse of design. (It is, however, only one of many -- not one of us is what we ought to be.) Libertarian that I am, I want both positions to have free access to the idea agora, but I’m not sure how best to ensure that. ...I wonder if he understands that by undercutting Christianity he is helping to erode one of the bases for the freedom whose loss he laments? ... For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. ... But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? -- Romans 10:11-14 [NRSV]So Christianity has a built-in motivation for freedom of speech.

Hey, Soldier!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-05-01T20:58:48-04:00

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in New York on company business. On the flight home, there were maybe ten or fifteen very young men and women who were traveling through Atlanta to South Carolina to report to boot camp. I had the pleasure to sit next to one of the young girls who was joining the Army. When the cabin crew was in the front of the plane starting the drink and snack service, I told her that I was going to do something I had always wanted to do; that is, when the cart came by, I was going to lean over and ask, “Hey, soldier, can I buy you a drink?” But by the time the stewardesses finally arrived, she had dozed off. Too, I’m not sure she was even old enough to drink. Old enough to go to war, but not old enough to enjoy an adult beverage. To everyone who serves in our military: thank you.

Elves

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-27T21:21:11-04:00

This is an adult fantasy set in a world where humans coexist with elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins and other creatures. The protagonist must not only decide whether or not his future lies with the Church or elsewhere, but whether or not elves have souls. The answer to the latter question will help shape a future filled with peace -- or war. I am not generally a fan of the fantasy genre, Lewis and Tolkien excepted, yet my one complaint about this story was that it ended all too soon. The second is a children’s book, the Adventures of Piffles the Elf, written by David Babulski. David’s wife attends our church so I had the opportunity to talk with him about the book before it was published. ... Will the consequences wreck destruction upon the elves or will there be a new era of peace between the two races? This is the first book in a planned series of three; the second should be out in 2009 or 2010. While Summa Elvetica is set within a Christian worldview, Piffles has more of a new age flavor. I found it interesting to see how these different worldviews influenced the motivations of the characters.

Gun Show

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-25T18:03:47-04:00

C, B, D and I attended the gun show at the North Atlanta Trade Center. Before leaving I had taken some medicine on an empty stomach which wasn’t the smartest thing to do. I decided to take a break and took a seat next to a man who had a .22 rifle which looked like my very first gun. If I remember correctly, my Dad bought it for me at a Western Auto store in Arkansas when I was 14. I can remember walking down the streets of Judsonia with that rifle, heading to a gully across the train tracks to shoot. Any kid who tries that today would be surrounded by a SWAT team.

Election

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-24T21:38:49-04:00

A lesson by Mike Baer, as part of his “Foundations of the Faith” series, delivered on 1/25/08. A worthwhile 45 minutes.

Baptism, Part Two

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-24T21:33:57-04:00

I had planned to follow up my previous post, which dealt with the definition of “baptism”, with a post on the practice of baptism in the early church. But as I was collecting my notes, I found that David Heddle, author of the “He Lives” blog, had already done it, and much better than I could have. So, head on over to “Church History Lesson 12 (Worship in the Early Church)”. The article covers charity, baptism, and communion.

Italian Restaurant

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-24T21:24:51-04:00

For our date night, Becky and I dined at Luciano’s Italian Restaurant on Sugarloaf. This was our second time at this establishment and the food was magnificent. We split an appetizer of provolone sauteed in grappa and extra virgin olive oil, topped with arugula. For the main course, I had the Chicken Francese and she had the Sauteed Grouper and Scallop. We split a dessert of peanut butter ice cream which had been dipped in chocolate. I forget the exact name. My only complaint was that the “Lemontini” was $10.00. Slightly pricey, IMO.

New Restaurant

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-17T20:57:24-04:00

Tonight, Becky and I tried a new restaurant called Asian Table in Cumming. For appetizers we ordered the basil rolls and roti. We normally don’t get two appetizers, but I’m helpless before a good roti and she really likes basil rolls. For our main courses, she had the spicy mango chicken from the Thai menu and I had the Singapore chili prawn, two times Thai hot. The owner of the restaurant claimed to have a pineapple tree in his back yard from which he gave us a 1/4 sliced pineapple for desert. It was the finest pineapple I’ve ever had. The waitstaff was very friendly and, since we dined early before the restaurant got busy, took the time to chat with us. The outstanding food, service, and conversation made for a thoroughly enjoyable meal.

Baptism

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-12T22:47:41-04:00

But even this definition doesn’t fit all of the New Testament usage.

In 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, Paul wrote:I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea...... They passed under the cloud, not through it, and when the Israelites went through the sea it was the Egyptians who got wet.

In Luke 12:50, Jesus says:I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! This refers to His coming crucifixion in which He takes on the sin of the world.

So baptism has an even wider meaning than just “immersion”. The circumstances are lost in the fog of almost thirty years of time past, but I remember either my Greek professor, or a teacher who was an expert in ancient semitic languages, telling me that the Greeks would make pickles by “baptizing” cucumbers. The cucumbers were immersed in vinegar until they took on the quality of the vinegar.

Fortunately, I don’t have to rely on my memory. My concordance has this note concerning the definition of baptizo:The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. ... Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. ... The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change.

When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. e.g. ...Whether or not you agree with his conclusion concerning the meaning of Mark 16:16, the examples from secular and NT usage show that the primary idea behind baptism is “identification/union”. A piece of cloth dipped into a dye can be said to have been baptized, since the cloth takes on the color of the dye.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-12T20:29:15-04:00

My overall reaction was that it was ok but I wasn’t compelled to see the movie.

Part of my reaction was to the sub-plot of the pirate tale. ... One of my earliest memories of comic books was reading Captain Atom in Charlton’s Strange Suspense Stories, certainly issue #77 and possibly #76, in 1965 when I was ten. So I have a soft spot in my heart for Captain Atom and, later, Blue Beetle. To a lesser extent I followed The Peacemaker and Judomaster.

The characters in The Watchmen were shadows of the Charlton characters. ... Manhattan was Captain Atom recast; Rorschach was The Question; Nite Owl was Blue Beetle; The Comedian was Peacemaker; Ozymandias was Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt; and The Silk Spectre was Nightshade. ... I usually enjoy exploring the effects a worldview has on people, but not with my childhood hero.

But then the superdrive in my Macbook Pro stopped reliably burning dual-layer DVDs. So on a Saturday I took it to the Apple store, they had one part available, and they would try to effect the swap that day. ... After the fact, it was obvious, and I shouldn’t have missed it when I read the novel; but that doesn’t lessen that moment of awe. I was able to put aside the distortion of my childhood heros and enjoy the story for itself.

It is a dark movie. ... It may have been the author’s intent to show the futility of human existence, that left to ourselves we are doomed to suffering and strife.

But this is an old theme: compare with the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.

He Is Risen!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-12T14:58:24-04:00

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. -- 1 Cor 15:3-8

Church Merger?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-10T20:55:23-04:00

On 7 March 1526, it decided that anyone found rebaptizing would be put to death by drowning. ... This was interesting because the church we attend, a small non-denominational community church, is considering merging with another community church, which is Baptist in everything but name. The cultures are not identical and it will be interesting to see how things progress.

We are an elder run church - the congregation does not vote on matters pertaining to the body. They are generally elder run, but their congregation votes on five aspects of body life. In order to be eligible to vote, a person must be a member, and baptism by immersion is required for membership.

On the one hand, I am sympathetic to the Anabaptists: if a person wishes to be baptized by immersion after coming to faith in Christ, then they should be free to do so. On the other hand, baptism by immersion does not make a person “more Christian” -- a point of agreement between both parties.

I therefore have a real problem with giving the franchise to a subset of Christians. In effect, those who do not agree with this particular practice are second class citizens. This has nothing to do with the argument between infant baptism or believers baptism; or whether baptism should be via sprinkling or immersion. They can take communion but cannot vote.

When I became a believer at 23 years of age the first churches I attended were Baptist. ... But for the last 17 years I have moved away from typical Baptist understanding and practice, generally becoming more Reform.

This is likely going to be one of several “deal breakers” which, if the merger is consummated as I expect it to be, will engender our exit from the church.

Belated Blogiversary

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-10T20:47:11-04:00

My first post was on 3/2/08 and in a year I posted 65 articles. Not the most prolific of endeavors. But even if she is sometimes resting the muse will not be silent. I just wish I had more time to write recreationally than professionally. Work still has to come before leisure.

Angry Software Engineers

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-09T23:13:24-04:00

If I were even one-fourth the writer Harlan Ellison is I wouldn’t be a software engineer. ... In “Somehow I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas, Toto” anthologized in The Essential Ellison, he tells of one dark experience with Hollywood: Six months of my life were spent in creating a dream the shape and sound and color of which had never been seen on television. The dream was called The Starlost, and between February and September of 1973 I watched it being steadily turned into a nightmare.

The late Charles Beaumont, a scenarist of unusual talents who wrote many of the most memorable Twilight Zones, said to me when I arrived in Hollywood in 1962, “Attaining success in Hollywood is like climbing a gigantic mountain of cow flop, in order to pluck the one perfect rose from the summit. And you find when you’ve made that hideous climb... you’ve lost the sense of smell.”

In the hands of the inept, the untalented, the venal and the corrupt, The Starlost became a veritable Mt. Everest of cow flop and, though I climbed the mountain, somehow I never lost sight of the dream, never lost the sense of smell, and when it got so rank I could stand it no longer, I descended hand-over-hand from the northern massif, leaving behind $93,000, the corrupters, and the eviscerated remains of my dream. ...It is the writer’s obligation to his craft to go to bed angry, and to rise up angrier the next day. To fight for the words because, at final moments, that’s all a writer has to prove his right to exist as a spokesman for his times. To retain the sense of smell; to know what one smells is the corruption of truth and not the perfumes of Araby.

Ontology Precedes Epistemology?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-08T22:21:52-04:00

In his book Naming the Elephant, James Sire argues that “Ontology must precede epistemology in worldview formulation.” He writes: What counts against putting meaning first is the commonsense notion that something has to be before there can be meaning. A worldview certainly can be “expressed as a semiotic system of narrative signs.” But it has to be something else first; it is not created by the signs by which it is understood. The pretheoretical categories themselves seem to be universal: being and not-being (is and isn’t) are fundamental and carry truth value; that is, they label something that is not just linguistic. ... So while Christians recognize the symbolic nature of reality, we also realize the substantiality of that which is symbolized. A postmodern can answer, “It’s language all the way down.” ...I would answer that it is language all the way down: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The “something” that “has to be” is, in the Christian worldview, “language”, “meaning”, Logos. Our worldview must be grounded in the Trinitarian nature of God, where being, meaning, and interpretation are co-eternal and cannot be separated.

There Are Four Stoplights!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-08T10:41:40-04:00

No, I didn’t plan this just so I could use this headline. Post updated accordingly.

March - In Like a Lion

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-07T22:25:35-04:00

Yes, this is a month late, but my wife took pictures and I want to post them. These were taken on March 1.

Dirty Discing

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-07T22:08:55-04:00

Back in March, I played a round of disc golf with Mike, which he recounted here. I have been remiss in not announcing to the world that I am a consummate klutz and that it was I who slipped off the pad and fell head to toe into the mud puddle.

Hiatus

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-06T21:01:03-04:00

Work has been physically exhausting and mentally numbing. For far too long.

Have I Now Seen Everything?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-04-06T21:49:08-04:00

When I drive to work, I make a left turn onto a main highway where the lights are usually timed so that if I travel a bit above the speed limit I can make it through four lights then to QuikTrip for my daily dose of caffeine. This morning, as I approached the fourth light, the car in front of me started slowing down. We were in the left lane and I wondered if the car wanted to move to the far right in order to exit onto the interstate. But, no, it came to a complete stop. At a green light. I’ve never had a car stop at a green light before. It hadn’t been red and then turned green; it had been green the entire time. Perhaps the driver wasn’t paying attention and was looking at the two adjacent red lights in the left turn only lanes. Whatever, I honked, they moved, and I still made it through the final light.

News Blooper

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-31T22:13:55-05:00

I didn’t see that one coming.

Google vs. the Yellow Pages

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-31T21:51:00-05:00

Turned on the TV this morning with the notion to re-watch last night’s Battlestar Galactica episode. ... Google turned up a large number of sites where it could be ordered online. But this is Super Bowl weekend and I didn’t want to wait for Monday delivery (at the earliest). ...Fortunately, the Yellow Pages turned up a shop that wasn’t too far away, was open, and could get a bulb from their supplier. They said I would need to come down and pay for the part before they would go get it. I pulled the lamp assembly from the TV, hopped in the car, and went to the shop. I stopped at a nearby Bank of America ATM, but it was out of service. ... Arrived at the store, paid for the new bulb, was told to come back in an hour and a half. ... Turns out they had one bulb in the back so I didn’t have to wait too long. ...The lamp was a bit pricey compared to online, but they were willing to drive to their supplier to get it, they replaced the bulb in the assembly, and I didn’t have to wait.

Amazing Video

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-25T20:55:28-05:00

Shiny Secular Utopias

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-17T11:48:15-05:00

Several recent topics have discussed the fantasy of secularism producing a “shiny sexy utopia” (notably here, but also here, here, here and here). I have almost finished the book Etidorhpa, or The End of the Earth by John Uri Lloyd, first published in 1895. While I am reading it because of a possible tie-in to my grandmother, it also sounds the same alarm as Vox Day. ...“Bah,” he said; “does not another searcher in that same science field tell the mother that there is no personal hereafter, that she will never see her babe again? One man of science steals the body, another man of science takes away the soul, the third annihilates heaven; they go like pestilence and famine, hand in hand, subsisting on all that craving humanity considers sacred, and offering no tangible return beyond a materialistic present. This same science that seems to be doing so much for humanity will continue to elevate so-called material civilization until, as the yeast ferment is smothered in its own excretion, so will science-thought create conditions to blot itself from existence, and destroy the civilization it creates. ... I say to you in candor, no man ever engaged in the part of science lore that questions the life essence, realizing the possible end of his investigations. ... Science thought begins in the brain of man; science provings end all things with the end of the material brain of man. ...Not being a historian, I am not quickly able to state who, how long, or how often this warning is given. ...And if you don't understand what that entails, then I suggest you get caught up on your ancient history, starting with Caesar and Tacitus.

Bring back the stocks

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-11T15:39:09-05:00

My oldest son attended Lagrange College for two years before transferring to the Art Institute of Atlanta. ... My pet peeve: slow traffic driving in the left lanes and being completely oblivious to having car after car pass them on the right. Stupid people should not be allowed behind a wheel and I often day dreamed of having a web site where bad drivers could be subject to public humiliation. ...The domains “thestocks.com” and “hallofshame.com” are already registered, so I’ll just post this here. ...Traffic on I-20 heading toward the Mall was bumper to bumper. The car behind me graciously let me merge, but the car in front of me was another story. A SUV was trying to merge in and was slowly creeping leftward but the aforementioned car wasn’t about to let it in. ... But the driver of the car in front of me wasn’t at all happy about it. ... While I saw it, I’m not sure the driver she was mad at did. She sported a Brenau University sticker on her rear window; her license plate was AGE-xxxx GA.

That's my girl!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-10T19:10:37-05:00

I’m teaching my daughter computer programming. She’s having a bit of trouble with the syntax for a particular construct. I asked her what “syntax” was and she answered, “the way things are properly put together.” I equivocated and said, “no, it’s what you have to pay when you’ve been bad.” Without missing a beat she retorted, “I thought that was bail!” That’s my girl, all right!

Light posting...

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-10T18:53:38-05:00

The absence of posting here lately is not indicative of a lessening of my output. There are three main topics that I want to undertake: “Faith and Reason”, “Good and Evil”, and “Evidence for God”. I’ve already started “Good and Evil” (part 1 and part 1a). To write the articles, I like to participate in debates with “the other side”, as it were, to see how my ideas stack up under hostile attack, and to see what approaches to the material might work. For example, elements of “Good and Evil” are here. “Evidence for God” is here, here, and here.

Me, Shaving, Age 8

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-01T17:55:56-05:00

No comment.

"Mike is my homeboy..."

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-31T13:03:26-05:00

He was, and is, a big supporter of Mike Huckabee. Back in September of 2007, Jesse and his father, Dan, were at a Huckabee function in Gwinnett County and were filmed by the local Fox News station. After all this time, I finally managed to get the video from my PVR into my laptop. I had to use my son’s digitizer; the video obtained via FireWire was unwatchable. Jesse appears about 19 seconds into the first clip. In this next clip, Jesse’s shirt (“Mike is my homeboy”) is about 33 seconds in. Jesse is also an aspiring musician who, IMO, has a real talent for lyrics. Some tracks from his debut album, “Year of You”, can be found here.

Leopard Love

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-30T23:16:49-05:00

The problem with success is, first, in achieving it and, second, in repeating it. ... The tee shot with my light Valkyrie wasn’t too bad. The second throw with my Leopard managed to sail into the basket with a satisfying clang! ... But success was fleeting as I finished up 8 over for the day. My consistency leaves much to be desired; several days ago I threw five practice tosses at the first hole. Three of the five ended up under the basket. ... Threw out of bounds on holes 4 and 8. Having a pulled muscle in my back contributed to my performance... but still. At this stage I should be consistently under par. On the bright side, my wife played the first nine and did a better job on her initial outing than I did back in September.

Videos

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-26T19:10:59-05:00

A hilarious Christmas medley: Straight No Chaser - 12 Days of Christmas

A touching story of one man’s attempt to evangelize. Penn Jillette is a famous magician (cf. the team of “Penn and Teller”) and an avowed atheist.
An interesting take on the relationship between oil and several wars. I wasn’t able to find much counterpoint after a few minutes with Google. ...

Christmas 2008

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-25T20:43:01-05:00

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” ...I have quite a ways to go before I can do that consistently; but at least I know I can do it. ...Mom and I kept saying no: it’s too much work for her; Johnny has allergies; and so on. ... The mom had delivered on December 10 so we couldn’t bring a puppy home until the middle of January. I hatched a nefarious scheme: I bought a box of dog biscuits and cheeze whiz, put them in plain sight on top of the refrigerator, and told the boys that no, they weren’t getting a dog for Christmas, the goodies were going to be a gag appetizer for an office Christmas party. ...When David opened it, he instantly figured out what was going on and flew across the room to give me a hug. If I hadn’t been sitting on the floor with my back to the sofa he would have bowled me over. I believe it was later that day that we went to our neighbors and he picked out the runt female of the litter.

Bethlehem

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-24T22:44:50-05:00

So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. [Genesis 35:19-20]

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. ... So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. ... [Ruth 1:1-2, 22]

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years. [1 Sam 17:12]

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. [Micah 5:2]

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” ...For a discussion of where Jesus was born, see Interpreting Luke 2:6-7.

Disc Golf Update

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-24T22:14:48-05:00

I have managed to play three rounds since my last post on disc golf on December 3. ... A short putt was almost in the basket when the wind gusted and lifted the putter up and to the left. The disc from my second throw was still on the ground, so I picked it up and tossed it in. ... I used a new Leopard for my second attempt and was disappointed with it. I then threw my new Buzz disk and laid it at the base of the basket. On 8, I threw a Valkyrie a mile, but out of bounds. The second hole continues to be my nemesis -- it is the only hole that I haven’t parred once. I continue to throw my heavy Valkyrie farther than a Wraith or Monarch. I bought a lighter Valkyrie today hoping to be able to do even better, but the heavier disk still performs better for me. Mike says that it’s basic physics that the heaver disk travels farther since p=mv.

Christmas Quiz

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-09T23:56:40-05:00

4. Mary and Joseph were married when Jesus was born: ... None of the above ... Mary and Joseph ... None of the above ... None of the above ... Mary and Joseph only "dreamed" of a white Christmas ... None of the above ... None of the above ...24. When Joseph and Mark found out that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, what happened? ... An angel told them to go to Bethlehem

Experts and Novices

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-05T16:20:26-05:00
What distinguishes experts from novices is not that they make [...] choices, but that their choices will provoke fewer questions and their choices will tend to stand up better to those questions that do come along afterward. --Kent Pittman

This Is Christianity?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-03T19:36:53-05:00
This was on a church sign as I drove to disc golf today: Those of the Reform persuasion might want to argue the correctness of the first two statements; certainly, those who hold to Limited Atonement would disagree with the universality of the second line. But the egregious egotism of the last line is simply shameful. Jesus said to His disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” [Mt 16:24].

Par, With An Asterisk

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-03T19:26:32-05:00
In early October, I published an article about my trials and tribulations with disc golf, a sport I had just taken up. When I started, my score was around 24 over par for 18 holes. Today, I shot par. Sort of. I cheated on two holes and took the better of two throws in order to make par. Without the asterisks, I was 2 over par.

Murder Trial, Finale

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-12-03T19:20:07-05:00
On the morning of Monday, December 1, the attorneys presented their closing arguments. As reported by the Athens Banner-Herald, the jury took just 3.5 hours to return a “guilty” verdict on the charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Richard Gear was sentenced to life plus five years.

Murder Trial, Part 6

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-25T20:50:47-05:00
Under construction. I have over 8,000 words of notes to distill and organize.

Murder Trial, Part 5

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-25T20:50:04-05:00
After testimony by David Prince, at 3:15 into the video, a medical examiner testifies about the wounds sustained by the deceased. Missing from the online report, I’m sure due to space reasons, is that autopsy pictures of Bryan showed that he was wearing a shirt with the slogan, “It’s just a flesh wound!”. ...A Georgia State Patrol collision reconstruction expert testified that the motorcycle was traveling 26 to 28 MPH when it crashed. From previous testimony, the Oconee City Sheriff’s Office bought a Kawasaki EX250 bike in order to reconstruct elements of the events. ...We can use the formula: v_final²=v_initial²+2ad and solve for the acceleration of the motorcycle: ...Let’s use the highest acceleration, 3.44 m/s², and determine how far it would take the bike to get to 26 mph using the same formula. ... Gear has said that Bryan went past the Gear’s driveway, “whipped around” on his bike, and charged at him. In order to reach the low range of speed determined by the Georgia State Patrol - 26 mph - at the highest acceleration that could be obtained on the bike by a professional driver, Brian had to be about 64 feet away when he turned around. If his acceleration was 3.16 m/s² then he had to be 70 feet away. ...Unless my math is way off, I think this conclusively disproves the claim that Bryan “whipped around” and charged Gear.

Murder Trial, Part 4a

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-25T20:49:44-05:00
Under construction.

God to Dog

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-23T15:21:59-05:00
Dear God: Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt, the stingray, and the rabbit, but not ONE named for a Dog? ... Do not be like my creatures which aspire to roles that I never intended them to have; who leave a higher calling in pursuit of outward appearances of power and responsibility. Dear God: If a Dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad Dog? ... It just that, for a while, good dogs have to live with fallen humans.... Dear God: Let me give you a list of just some of the things I must remember to be a good Dog.
...I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
...I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch.
...The cat is not a 'squeaky toy' so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing. ... We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ... You know this, but living with them sometimes makes it hard for you to remember.

Love & Po-Mos

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2009-01-25T20:44:10-05:00
In 2006, SlashDot ran an article Love Under a Microscope which asked the question “what is love”? ...That's why Christians are commanded to "love their enemies" and why the Apostle Paul wrote that the greatest act of love was when God gave His Son as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

No naturalistic scientist could ever write:

    Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant
...It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
    it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
    It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
...I love the idea that "love is an act of the will." We mostly think that love is ultimately fulfilled only by the acts we undertake between the sheets. That love can be a deliberate act of the will is shocking to most of us "post moderns."  If the post moderns don’t know this, perhaps it’s because the Church has forgotten Paul’s words to the Christians at Corinth: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

Murder Trial, Part 4

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-21T21:06:23-05:00
He is an AT&T Network Mobility Manager, responsible for cell site planning, switch planning, budgets, and capital investment. He was designated by AT&T to be the custodian of Dianna Gear’s cell phone records, obtained from AT&T via subpoena. As the time of a call is important evidence, it was established that AT&T rounds call time up to the next minute. ... The district attorney noted that the time on his phone was different from that of the witness and asked why. Walker responded that a customer can manually set a phone to be ahead or behind of the network time. ... There was a discussion of tower locations and the RF coverage from the three “faces” on each tower. ...It’s clear that the DA will use the phone records to broadly show the location of the Gear girls at the time of their calls to mom. ... 4 6:28pm, Chelsea to mom, 2 minutes, cell id 11803 (possibly 11802 -- my notes are not clear on this point) ...The first four digits of the cell id identify the tower that handled the call; the last digit identifies which “face” picked up the signal. ... I assume that the fourth call was handled by the west face of the tower servicing Bogart, GA.

Murder Trial, Part 3

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-20T21:05:34-05:00
He left the Target at 6:18pm and his in-car recorder showed that it was still light. ... The judge ruled that the video could not be placed into evidence, but that still shots of the start and finish of the video could be shown. ...On cross, Tolley wanted to show a portion of the video that showed cars with headlights on, which Judge Stephens did not permit. ...A private citizen whose privacy will be respected, called at 18:32:24 and said, “a motorcyclist may have been shot in the middle of Gear Road.” ...Using the video recorder in his patrol car, he too made a tape of the lighting conditions around the time of the shooting, but two days afterwards. ...On cross, at 4:08pm, Tolley noted that the scale drawing showed that Gear’s driveway was 24 feet wide, while the street was only 21 feed wide (inside of fog line to inside of fog line). ...Tolley then noted that in second gear, from a “normal” start the motorcycle was able to travel at 27.2 mph. ...From the scale drawing made by Sergeant Guest, the motorcycle travelled at least 44.25 feet after it hit the pavement. With the help of my son, who is a first year graduate student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois, we did a very rough calculation of how fast the bike was going when it fell over. ...As reported by the Athens Herald-Banner, a Georgia State Patrol collision reconstruction expert testified on Monday that the motorcycle was traveling 26 to 28 MPH when it crashed.

Murder Trial, Part 2

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-19T19:52:47-05:00
Yesterday’s testimony placed the Target in Athens as the location where the interaction began between Bryan and the Gear girls, Chelsea and Samantha. Using the information in the affidavit for a search warrant for the car driven by Chelsea, I’ve constructed a Google map of various points of interest including the Target, the Gear home, the Mough home, and points along the way. ... 4 Chelsea turned left onto Elder Street and claims that this is where a collision occurred between her car and Bryan’s motorcycle. ...I have to wonder, was the offense of receiving “the finger” enough to get Bryan upset enough to follow the girls, which lead to the collision in 4? ...To add to the mystery, the affidavit states: that Deputy Sergeant Ken Elrod was on patrol in the Bogart area during the time of the incident.... Specifically D/S Elrod was in his marked patrol car parked in front of the Bogart Christian Church at the intersection of Elder Street and Broad Street, D/S Elrod was backed into a parking space facing the intersection. D/S Elrod states that neither a motorcycle nor a Nissan Sentra passed in front of him during the time described by Chelsea Gear. ...If Bryan left the Target at six, that gave him barely enough time to get home under the conditions of his driver’s permit. ...Without Bryan to defend himself, my concern is that the defense attorney will use Bryan’s alleged deviation from his way home to follow the two girls, for the simple slight of an obscene gesture, to attempt to show that Bryan was aggressive enough so that the girl’s fear of harm was real and substantiate the notion that Bryan might have likewise been aggressive toward Gear. ... But even this will be very difficult if the evidence shows that the motorcycle stayed in the street and did not threaten Gear.

Murder Trial

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-18T22:42:45-05:00
I have not often been in court; when I was 14 I took the witness stand in my parents divorce to say that I wanted to live with my father. ... When I was twenty-three or so I appeared in Virginia traffic court and plead guilty to having an expired vehicle inspection sticker (I thought Virginia had switched from twice a year renewal to once a year so I delayed getting it done). In my 28 years in Georgia, I have been called to federal jury duty once (but was not picked for any cases) and county duty once. ...J. as a conscientious, responsible young man (which he was) who, for some reason, followed Gear’s two daughters home on his motorcycle. ... J. had turned his motorcycle around and was heading back the way he came, when Gear fired a third shot, striking B. ... Evidence of a collision between his bike and the girl’s car wasn’t brought up at that time although an obscene finger gesture by one of the girls was introduced. ...Gear is claiming self-defense therefore Bryan must be seen as an aggressor; someone who tried to intimidate two innocent girls; and who clearly threatened Gear with his motorcycle. Tolley strongly disputed Maudlin’s account of the time, claiming that phone logs would show that all three shots took place in no more than two minutes. ...It was obviously a very emotional time for her; at one part of her testimony she had me crying on the inside with the pain of her loss. I thought she did a magnificent job of describing how her son was on the path from boy to man: searching for his life’s career, working two part-time jobs, attending school part time, selecting and paying for his cycle, then learning how to ride it in a responsible manner.

Bowling with Daughter

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-15T14:06:09-05:00
My daughter bowls regularly in a home school bowling league. Yesterday she swapped out her old ball for a new one and wanted to get some more experience with it. Her league average is around 115 and her high is 182 (or 183, she isn’t sure). I used to bowl in a league in college; my average thirty years ago was 140-something with a high of 203 (that game I bowled way above my pay grade). So today, the father (WRF) caked with rust faced off against the daughter (RAF) with an unfamiliar ball. Two good things did come out of this debacle, however. I managed to win 2 free games by rolling a strike when the head pin was orange in two opportunities in the second game. Rachel had also decided to give up in the second game around frame 5 or 6. ... I gave her the Yogi Berra lecture (“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”). Her two strikes in frames 9 and 10 forced me to have to mark in the last frame and I just wasn’t hitting the spares today.

Citizen, what do you have to hide?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-07T11:12:05-05:00
“If you're doing nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about” is a flimsy rationalization. I'm doing nothing wrong, but I nevertheless worry about the government doing something wrong. Governments exist to increase their power -- at the expense of freedom. Therefore, government should be limited wherever and whenever possible.

My Dad and Truman Capote

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-04T16:42:57-05:00
My sister sent me a collection of my father’s writing: a 3-ring binder with 4 1/2” of single sided, single spaced typewritten pages with handwritten corrections from his unfinished and unpublished autobiography, A Country Doctor in Washington, and several years worth of handwritten diaries. The following is from pages 126 through 129 of A Country Doctor and recounts his one meeting with the famous author, Truman Capote. ...His complaints consisted of postnasal drip with cough of 4-5 years duration, with superimposed shortness of breath for the past 2-3 months; some paroxysms resulted in gagging and regurgitation of bitter yellow '”bile”; some night sweats since September, intermittent; coughing spells often followed by pain in the back of his head and neck with radiation into the eyes which can interfere with reading for several hours. ...He is en route via auto to southern California with a friend, and plans shortly thereafter to return to Houston to cover a mass-murder trial about which he expresses some anxiety “because it is an arena in which I may be uncomfortable”. ...He also confides that on September 6, 1969 he sustained a “fantastic shock”, the pattern of which he revealed in confidence to me stating that it was followed by progressive depression to the point that he became unable to function and “I’ll never get over it completely”. ... Following discharge he was treated by a psychiatrist with anti-depressant medications for a year and a half but he felt little rapport and discontinued treatment after about 1 1/2 years. ...He also recognizes a drinking problem consuming one-half quart of alcohol per day, beginning with a double vodka screwdriver in the morning and progressing throughout the day. ...When he indicated his plans to attend another trial in Houston one could but wonder whether it would prove to be background for another triumph of the author. ...He had quite a lot of press coverage in the ensuing years, especially related to his book '”In Cold Blood” stimulated by his presence at the Houston trials. ...He died in his sleep on August 25, 1984 at the home of Joanne Carson from liver disease complicated by phlebitis and multiple drug intoxication but not an OD according to the LA coroner.

Lewis, Thoreau, River Tam, and Politics

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-31T19:44:31-04:00
The antics of the kingdom of man, which is destined for the dustbin of history, cannot match the eternal appeal of the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, with an election four days away, I am reminded of this quote from C. ...Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. ...If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life ... This sentiment is echoed by River Tam in the movie Serenity: Teacher: So with so many social and medical advancements we can bring to the Independents why would they fight so hard against us? ...We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right.
We're meddlesome. Unfortunately, having turned away from the Heavenly Shepherd, we look to a supposedly omnicompetent, hopefully benevolent government to take care of us.

What I Should Have Done

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-31T19:12:24-04:00
My daughter has a weekly art class. It fell to me to pick her up last night and, at 8:55pm, I was approaching the intersection of Hamilton Mill Road and Buford Highway. A Gwinnett County police car, heading southwest, was stopped for his red light. As I was just about to enter the intersection the cop started rolling into my path. I had the green light and his blue lights were not on. I laid on the horn, slammed on the brakes, burned rubber, and left skid marks -- but I avoided hitting him. ... As I cranked it back up, I saw that the policeman had stuck his left arm out his window and had raised it, perhaps as a gesture of “sorry” or, perhaps, “go on.” I didn’t want to leave my daughter waiting so, with racing heart and gnashing teeth, I continued on to her art studio.
It’s obvious the policeman knew he was in the wrong as no blue lights followed me.
What I should have done was gotten the cop to pull into the parking lot of the new city hall and demanded to see his license and registration. Maybe bluff my way through having him take a field sobriety test. Maybe even calling 911 to ensure he was given a ticket for reckless endangerment.
If the skid marks are still clearly visible tomorrow then maybe I’ll memorialize this incident with a picture or two.

Family Voyages

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-18T21:47:40-04:00
From a newspaper clipping found inside the family copy of That’s Judsonia by W. ... Orr. The paper was most likely the White County Record from 1977. 38 YEARS AGO August 10, 1939
Billy Bob Felts, who has been visiting aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Roy North in Washington D. C. the past month, sailed Saturday with Mr. and Mrs. North and family for a visit to the West Indies and the Panama Canal. They will attend the 20th anniversary of the Panama Canal at Balboa, Canal Zone, on August 15.

My Grandmother: Goddess of Love?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-16T16:16:16-04:00

In the 1918 Fourth of July Parade, the men in front are the “home guard” and one of the “nurses” was Willie E. ...This picture was featured on the front page of the November 13, 1969 edition of the White County Record, Volume 57, Number 45. ...Felts Appreciation Day at First Baptist Church, in recognition of over 50 yeas of service as church pianist and organist. ... Regardless of the circumstances, she has fulfilled her duties as organist with a devotion and dedication that has been an inspiration to all. ...Felts has had to forego playing the organ and the church has elected her as “Organist Emeritus.” ...Her life was spent in the shadow of First Baptist Church, being reared next door to the parsonage. ...She has served as Primary Teacher, Junior Boys Teacher, Junior Girls Teacher and helped with the Helping Hands organization (now Woman’s Missionary Union) and Royal Ambassadors and has worked in BYPU (presently called Training Union). ...Felts has worked with the adult choir, and has played for all church services, cantatas, special music, funerals, and weddings. ...Felts will be playing for the evening worship and a time of appreciation will be held during the 11 o’clock service. ...Felts will sit in the congregation as an honored guest and will be recognized by her pastor.

When was my Grandfather born?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-18T23:16:52-04:00
My grandfather’s obituary listed both 1887 and 1889 as his year of birth. His World War I registration card (part 1, part 2) shows 1890. His World War II registration card (part 1, part 2) also shows 1890. His marriage certificate notes that he was 29 in 1920. Because he was married on January 29 he would have turned 30 on his birthday on March 29. 30 years before 1920 is 1890. On the other hand, according to my sister, the family bible, his death certificate, and the estate tax forms filled out after his death show 1889. To further complicate matters, the entry from my father’s diary, dated March 29, 1950, reads: “Dad's 59th BD”. 1950 - 59 is 1891! We know that people would often fudge their age to join the military or to get married; but in this case those reasons don’t apply. One year’s difference wouldn’t have affected either his military or marriage eligibility. There is no clear weight of evidence to decide in favor of either 1889, 1890, or 1891 so this will have to remain a mystery.

Woodyard and Felts

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-19T14:46:44-04:00
My grandfather’s obituary noted, “After his graduation in 1914 he came to Judsonia as an associate of the late Dr. ... Woodyard notes, “He is now associated with W. ... FELTS, of whom he had been a partner since 1913...” Once again, we are faced with differing dates. In any case, I was lucky to find a set of four vintage postcards for sale on eBay, one of which was listed as being from “Woodyard and Felts, Judsonia Arkansas”. Fortunately, no one bid against me. Click the pictures for higher resolution images. Note that the postmark is dated November 7 (or 17), 1914. I don’t think that helps resolve the date either way. Google shows that a Percy Castle of Fulton, Missouri was in the Supply Company, 349th Infantry, 88th Division, US Army.

Gandfather's Obituary

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-11T20:08:44-04:00
Foremost of these was the medical care of his patients throughout this district of the state, and for many years he was the only active physician in Judsonia. ...Preparation for his life’s work was not easy for he had to struggle to complete his formal education in the Medical School of the University of Tennessee. ... His ministrations to the needs of the people of Judsonia, White County, and surrounding sections of the state were interrupted only once prior to his demise, and that was the occasion of the first world war when Dr. ...From a position as member of the city council he advanced in 1926 to become mayor of Judsonia, a post he was to retain for the next 25 years. ... His interest in the politics of his town, county, district, state, and nation were renowned as he sought to strive for the betterment of his chosen land. Along this line he served as chairman of the White County Republican committee and this brought him on one occasion a citation from President Herbert Hoover. ...Felts and his wife were in their drug store in the late afternoon of that fateful day in March, 1952 when the tornado destroyed most of the town. ...During his last years he devoted himself to this field with the same zeal, vigor, and manifestations of his basic inherent wisdom which had previously characterized other pursuits. ... Long, which are inscribed upon his statue in the Hall of Statuary, Capital Building, in Washington, “I feel my profession is a commission from God” most appropriately also serve to describe the life and service of Judsonia’s remarkable citizen. His example to the community should long remain an inspiration, for in addition to a citizen, patriot, doctor, politician, churchman, and counselor the people of this area have been left by a very dear friend.

The Cost of Developing Software

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-09T14:44:33-04:00
Well, it has been said over and over again that the tremendous cost of programming is caused by the fact that it is done by cheap labor, which makes it very expensive... Dr. Edsger W. Dijkstra

Hell

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-05T20:18:42-04:00
Hell is the lonely kingdom where the self is king yet only subject. Hell is the dark universe, for only the self is seen and there is no light in self. Hell is the land of eternal doubt, acknowledging only the presence of self: “I am!”, yet ever jostled by the other unseeing denizens, wailing "Aren't I?" Hell is the hungry banquet: gnashing teeth, ever gnawing, never nourishing for there is no substance to self. Hell is the firey land, burning passion desiring more but nothing more to give.

Charlie Brown and Me

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-03T22:04:20-04:00
Of the several aggravations in Charlie Brown’s life, one was the Kite-Eating Tree, which first displayed its appetite on April 12, 1956: I was recently turned on to Disc Golf by several men in my church and I have started trying to hit the course at Lenora Church Park at least once a week. On Tuesday, on the third hole, I held onto my tee shot a bit too long and the disc sailed wide right and onto the roof of a disc-eating barn. To show how bad this throw was, this next picture was taken from the tee pad facing the barn. You can see the relationship between the tee pad, barn, and goal from this satellite photo.

That's Entertainment!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-10-01T22:47:31-04:00
A snake charmer outside the Temple at Mysore Palace in Mysore, India. She would bat the cobras to get them to move. Observe how the snakes are “protecting” the money in the baskets. I gladly parted with a few rupees because of the quality of her performance. Having to get close to the snakes to make my contribution only added to the fun. I took this picture in late September, 2003.

How Can He Be Saved?

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-29T17:01:42-04:00
And Tommy doesn’t know what day it is.
He doesn’t know who Jesus was or what praying is.
...This question is also asked about infants and those who never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. ...For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
...Of course, the meaning of this passage is as hotly contested as the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. ... Some see this passage as referring to service and not salvation; some nevertheless hold that God’s sovereign choices in election are based upon His foreknowledge of some intrinsic quality of man. ...It’s time to rehost the studies in Romans and Ephesians written by my friend, Mike Baer.

A Boy and His Dog

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-27T19:35:51-04:00
No, not the novella by Harlan Ellison, or the movie with the same name. The story is one of my favorites; the movie didn’t capture the power of the ending. Anyway, this is a picture of my father and his dog, Pal, taken circa 1935. That would make my dad twelve. Pal’s age is unknown. I assume the picture was taken in Judsonia, Arkansas where dad grew up. Pal was frequently loaned to the Judsonia police department when they were looking for someone. While he had no formal training, he was “as smart as a whip.” Pal died when someone put out a piece of meat with poison in it - Dad thought it was done by someone who Pal helped track down.

+5, Insightful

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-27T12:28:44-04:00
From time to time I may share comments from SlashDot that have been moderated up, usually to +5, Insightful. This doesn’t mean that there is anything particularly worthy about them, just that some moderators found them perceptive. Certainly, I’ve had my share of +5, Insightful comments that have been vehemently opposed by subsequent commenters.

I posted my first comment on 8/10/2002 and #270 on 9/26/2008. 4% were rated +5, 7% were considered “Insightful”. Playing with Numbers, Apple’s spreadsheet program, and Photoshop I graphed my performance to date. Four posts were considered trolls, which may deserve a separate blog entry. They were not intended to be so, but that’s how they were perceived. It can be argued that trolls probably aren’t aware of their trollish behavior but I suspect it has more to do with the clash of antithetical worldviews than general cluelessness on my part. But I could be wrong.

The OS Wars

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-27T12:39:19-04:00
A SlashDot commenter asked, “Why root for Microsoft *or* Apple when both represent proprietary profit-driven entities run by two of the biggest control freaks in the world.” My answer: Because I've used Linux, Windows, and OS X (among many, many others). Given the choice, I'll take OS X every time. I value my time -- that leaves Linux out. I value my productivity -- that omits Windows. I value my sanity, that leaves OS X.

Computers Make Me Stupid. And Greedy.

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-25T20:05:48-04:00
It takes less time to write a bit of LISP code to answer this question than it does to actually think about it: ...Knuth rated this problem as a “13”, where a “10” should take around one minute and “20” should take around 15 minutes, so this problem should take about 5 minutes. It’s easy to see from the provided information that the number of digits is 2568, since the number of digits in a decimal number is int(log10(n)) + 1. It’s also easy to see that the least significant digit has to be zero, since 1000! ... * 1000 and multiplying by a power of 10 adds one or more zeros to the end of a number. ...If all I were interested in was the answer then the computer enabled me to get it without having to think about anything. ... (log (loop for n from 1 to 1000 for f = 1 then (* f n) ...If so, and this hasn’t been brought to his attention, then I could get a check from him. ...By now I hope that all errors have disappeared from this book; but I will gladly pay $2.00 reward to the first finder of each remaining error, whether it is technical, typographical, or historical. ... (loop for n from 1 to 1000 sum (log n 10d0))

CDC 6000 Pascal Rev 3.4 Update 10

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-22T15:29:21-04:00
In this post, I mentioned that for over 30 years I had kept a listing of the Pascal compiler for the CDC 6000 family of computers. I noted being a packrat in the internet age has its downsides: someone somewhere will already have a website devoted to the item in question. True to form, a listing of the compiler as a PDF file is available. The owner of that site expressed interest in my listing and offered to scan it in for me. It turns out that I have access to a copier that will scan directly to PDF and, as a bonus, can handle line printer paper. Herewith is the CDC 6000 Pascal 3.4 Update 10 compiler, compiler cross reference, and run-time library code. ... 1 CDC 6000 Pascal 3.4 Update 10 Compiler source [PDF, 267 MB] 2 CDC 6000 Pascal 3.4 Update 10 Compiler Cross Reference [PDF, 82.3 MB] 3 CDC 6000 Pascal 3.4 Update 10 Runtime Library [PDF, 215 MB] ...If you are interested in a copy, send e-mail to wrf3 at this domain.

Pack Rattery and the Internet

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-21T15:58:15-04:00
Since November 2, 1975 I have kept in my possession a 14 13/16” x 11” x 1 7/16” listing of the 3.4 release of the Pascal compiler for the CDC 6000 series computers. This listing includes the compiler (128 pages), cross reference (36 pages), and Pascal library source, some of which is written in Pascal and the rest in COMPASS, the CDC assembly language (144 pages). ...(*$U+ COMPILE UP TO COLUMN 72 ONLY*) ... * COMPILER FOR PASCAL 6000 - 3.4 * ... * RELEASE 1 JUNE 1974 * * UPDATE 1-10 1/7/74- 1/8/75 * ... * CDC SCIENTIFIC CHAR SET VERSION * * (00B AND 63B ARE TREATED IDENTICALLY) * ...Several listings of the Pascal compiler have been scanned in and made available as PDF files here. Perhaps, some day, a software archeologist will want to know the differences between the 1/8/75 Release 1 compiler and the March 1976 Release 2 compiler [PDF file].

A Letter From My Grandfather

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-18T22:51:44-04:00
I must tell you how much I love you, every pound and ounce of you, And Say I am going to Let you in on our first Secret, You are larger than your Dady was at your age, Now Son don’t let that Shiner worry you, for sometimes the Stork gets a bit Carless, he has so many little ones to look after. Now if you will be quiet and listen I will tell you a True Story: Once upon a time, Long ago, Our Creator GOD Made His Creation and set it in Motion, and called it Good, and He being Lonesome Spat upon the Ground, made some Clay mud and made a man to be with him, in his Image and likeness, But he had no Sole or Spirit of Immortality, so he put the breath of life into the man, And that Breath became Immortal, kinda like he did you. God saw that the man he had Made, Adam he Called HIM, Was lonesome So he Mad A Woman to become a help Mete for Adam, and to become Mothers for you, me, and All of Us. Our Mother Was good and Precious, but one day a Serpant entered the Garden, and Begiled our Mother, So God Was angry, because She disobeyed him, so he Put a Curse Upon our Parents, and it is that Curse that causes you Dady to Work and your Mother to Labor, so that Explains your Black Eye, but Dont let that Worry you, for one Night GOD Sent His ONLY SON into the World, That through him all our of Our fathers and Mothers, might be Forgiven and Redeemed by His Precious Blood, for our Disobedience to him in the beginning. ... Of Course I Could tell you the Story, how the Unbelieving Jews Killed This Son, Crucified Him Upon A CROSS, and Buried him, and on the Third Day He Came back to Life in a Spiritual and Ressurrected Body, but you will have a few years, to Listen to Your Father and Mother, Tell and teach you about Him. ... Grandmother Tells me that you will be home today and I know you are going to be proud of your Home and your Father and Mother, for you together are what makes up what Society Calls the Family. And The one who was Crucified, Commands us to honor Father and Mother, and he also wants them to Love you, so that the Family you are part of will make a happy one. Now after I tell you that I love you will you remember me to Mother and Dad, and Grandmother, and Convey my love to them also. I must say that I deeply regret that I didn’t have the Pleasure of personally greeting you upon your arrival, but am Looking forward with fond anticipation, to meeting you soon, and in the Interim be a sweet little man. I must apologise for burdening you with so long, and random Message but guess it is My awkward way of Telling you that I Love you so very Much.

Social Security Software

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-25T20:41:21-04:00
No, this isn't about the code the runs the Social Security Administration. Alan Perlis once said,In the long run every program becomes rococco - then rubble. Fred Brooks, in The Mythical Man Month, expands on this idea:All repairs tend to destroy the structure, to increase the entropy and disorder of the system. Less and less effort is spent on fixing original design flaws; more and more is spent of fixing flaws introduced by earlier fixes. As time passes, the system becomes less and less well-ordered. ... Although in principle useable forever, the system has worn out as a base for progress. ... Program maintenance is an entropy-decreasing process, and even its most skillful execution only delays the subsidence of the system into unfixable obsolescence. ...While inevitable, one can either struggle against the eventual collapse of the system, or hasten its end by poor engineering and management practices. One can also fail to prepare by not working on the necessary replacement. Social Security Software, then, is participating in the collapse of the system, while hoping it fails after your time.

C. S. Lewis, for Mike

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-11-02T20:29:42-05:00
In Sunday School this morning, Mike M. remarked on the evanescence of earthly government, which reminded me of these words of C. ... Lewis, from The Weight of Glory: ...You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. ... But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

More on the Sum of Powers

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-14T18:47:13-04:00
This is a continuation of this entry which derives the general solution for the coefficients of: ...Computed coefficients for 0 <= k <= 10 were provided here. It was noted that: These values were determined by hand. However, it’s easy for LISP code to create the symbolic expression for each coefficient. The prefix expressions used by LISP (e.g. “(+ 3 (* 4 5) 6)” ) were converted to infix form (e.g. “(3 + (4 * 5) + 6)” ) and given to Maxima for simplification. The results are here. What’s interesting is that the coefficients: are all zero. Now I have to figure out why...

Wives, Submit!

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2010-11-20T12:38:28-05:00
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. -- Col 3:18, NRSV ...I will, however, opine that it’s my experience that if fathers want happy, well-adjusted sons that they will have to loosen the wife’s apron strings on the boys. ...Paul dictated this letter to his amanuensis, I don’t think he was giving consideration to these or similar factors. Instead, I think he based his admonition based on Genesis 3:16 [NRSV]:To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”... And while Jesus came to redeem not just man, but all of creation from the Fall, that redemption is not yet complete. ...I also find it interesting that the other consequence of the Fall for women was pain in childbirth. ... In a similar vein, I think that Paul realized that love would ease the pain of the marriage hierarchy because he immediately commands husbands to love their wives. ...The CEO’s who line their pockets at the expense of their workers; the workers who negotiate their benefits at the expense of future workers; the managers who expand their empires solely for the sake of status or supposed job security; the husbands who are tyrants to their wives. ...Selfish people do not do well in hierarchies unless they are at the top, or can force the top to do their bidding. But that is not how relationships based on love are supposed to be.

Cleaning out the Cell Phone

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-10T11:25:02-04:00
This has been sitting in my phone since it was received on 8 March 2008. I didn’t want to delete it because it tickled me so. A certain son sent it when visiting potential colleges for his graduate studies. So i somehow spent the money you gave me for jeans on booze last night...i have two dollars left. The blue collar laws are almost insufferable. You cant buy alcohol after two am on any day, but at least i had an excuse to get four hours of sleep.

Ripples

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-06T21:18:28-04:00
In my inaugural post I noted that 5 sites contained the phrase “a drop in the digital ocean” according to Google. Six months later, the site count is now up to 7: 1 stablecross.blogspot.com: my original blog at blogger, which has now been moved here. 2 State of the MP3 Address Part 2: posted 31 March 2004 @ 11:22pm 3 SEO Specialists Give You Access to Targeted Consumers, unknown post date, but copyright 2006. 4 Sypha Nadon: posted sometime in October 2005, perhaps (based on reviewer comments). The page returned by Google results in a 404 error, but some sleuthing turned up this page. ... 6 Questions About PennDOT Biometrics Contract Persist: dated 24 January 2008. ...Unfortunately, I didn’t keep the data on the initial 5 hits, but it seems that items 2 through 6 might be them, since they all predate my first post. ...It might be interesting to write software that tracks the date and location of a given phrase over time.

Everything Old Is New Again

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-06T20:03:56-04:00
My middle child called today. He just started at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign working toward a Master’s and PhD in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in MEMS. He was working on finite element analysis using ANSYS and ANSYS uses a modeling language (APDL) reminiscent of FORTRAN. He was having trouble getting his code to work and since I used to be fluent in FORTRAN he thought I could help. With some trial-and-error, we were able to solve his problem.

Hello

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-02T00:30:00-05:00
In early January (1/8/2008, to be exact) I started working on a poem. The general theme was that the internet will outlive me and that what I write today will remain archived, but forgotten, somewhere in some cache. One of the lines goes "A forgotten drop below, the digital ocean above." The poem remains unfinished but I used this idea as the title for this blog. A Google search for "a drop in the digital ocean" turns up exactly five matches. I hope Bay Street SEO doesn't mind that we came up with this description of the vastness of information space independently. We certainly have different approaches to the problem. Bay Street specializes in search engine optimization while the poem ends on the hopeful note: "Yet God remembers me. ...I'll incorporate the poem in the layout of this blog if I can get it to scan the way I want it to. I also hope that I have more success with writing this blog than I do with poetry.

Speech Codes

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-02T01:00:00-05:00
Asserting a right that you do not have (to not be offended) over a right that someone has (free speech) is to deny the US Constitution. -- wrf3, 2 Feb 2008

Good and Evil, Part 1

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-02T22:46:48-05:00
If evil is defined as "not good", then this definition is equivalent to "good is not (i.e. the absence of) not good (evil)". ... Sometimes "good" is treated as if were analogous to something material like light or heat: "evil is the absence of good like darkness is the absence of light, or cold is the absence of heat." ...Just as without a definition of "love" and "holy", these statements don't tell us what these attributes mean, the same is true of "good". ...One might argue that an atheist is simply a theist who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge what he or she instinctively knows to be true, so that this definition is universal, but that presupposes the truth of (mono)theism and the falsity of atheism. ... We know that all humans have an intuitive notion of "good" even if the definition is ill-formed and this gives some basis for hoping to find a definition on which theists, atheists, and agnostics can agree. ...Zacharias used the example of an airplane to illustrate his point: an airplane is good if it is used according to it's design, which is to transport people and freight from one place to another. ...In the article Can Michael Martin Be a Moral Realist?: Sic et Non, Paul Copan wrote that "evil is a departure from the way things ought to be". ... The closer something is to the way it ought to be the more good it is and the father something is from the way it ought to be the more evil it is. ...The theist may argue that the mental machinery necessary for a mind to understand "oughtness" can only come from God while the atheist can argue that "oughtness" is an emergent property of evolutionary processes. ... Going back to 2004, I find that I wrote: "For both the Christian theist as well as the atheist, morality is no more than subjective personal opinion.

Long Forgotten Computer Techonology

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-15T15:15:07-04:00
I thought it might be interesting to reflect back on some of the different technology I've used, most (if not all) of which are obsolete today. ...The only program I remember writing was one that had to sort three numbers. ...I used to know how to punch the cards that controlled the keypunch. ...H-P would send the system software for the HP-2100 Time-shared Basic system on mylar tape. ... He is why I know what the punch tape says in Harlan Ellison's story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. ...I once thought it awesome to have a collection of different punch cards which were custom-printed with company names and logos. ...A friend developed the hardware for a Weitek chip on a PS/2 board and I wrote the software. ... Weitek chips were later used in a graphics terminal that used floating-point numbers in its display list. ...FORTRAN and LISP are the oldest high-level languages still in use today. ... Having revisited the language in the last three years I find I'd rather write code in it than most anything else.

Synchronicity and Harlan Ellison

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-15T15:53:55-04:00
The article on Long Forgotten Computer Technology was posted on 3/15 but most of it was written over a week ago. It mentioned Harlan Ellison's story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, the tie in with computer technology being the stories' use of paper tape. Yesterday I started re-reading Ellison's story The Deathbird. It contains an essay test on the story in Genesis 3 and some of the questions deal with the nature of good and evil, a topic I began here and will continue to develop in the coming weeks (months?). I plan to blog my answers to his test. Today on Fark.com was a link to an interview with Harlan. In the audio of the interview Ellison talks about how the works of his generation in general, and his work in particular, are increasingly not known now. It's a writer's lot in life. Like technology I've used and forgotten, very little of the software I've written in the past 30+ years is in use now, even though one product once won Macworld's "5 mice" award (twice) and MacWeek's "5 diamond" award (also twice). If this trend continues, maybe he'll come to my house next week and we can go out to dinner together.

Good Friday, Expensive Friday

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-22T21:49:20-04:00
I hadn't seen anything and had no idea what I hit, but I did see my hubcap spinning to the side of the road. ... Before removing the spare and jack, I called my wife to have her make an appointment in the morning to get my car fixed. ...The plan was to work out until 4:30, shower, then take my wife to dinner before the Friday night crowds arrived. ... There, I could cool down in peace, surf the web a bit with my laptop, and not worry about what got wet. ...I eventually managed to get up, made it into the bedroom, put on a dry shirt, and lay down in bed. ... I note that I am not a good patient when I don't think anything serious is wrong, and I detest having a fuss made over me. ... Stubborn cuss that I am, I got up and walked through the garage to the ambulance as two of them were trying to bring the stretcher in the front door. En route to the hospital, the EMT worked on filling out 12 pages of paperwork, although it was all data entry on a laptop. He said that, worst case, I had had an asymptomatic MI but he didn't think it anything more than syncope brought on by dehydration and the pooling of blood in my legs. ... Finally made it home around 10pm, ate some dinner, and dealt with most of the 25 e-mails that had come in from work.

He Is Risen

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-03-23T20:04:47-04:00
He is risen, indeed!

Good and Evil, Part 1a

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-07-15T20:44:22-04:00
In Good and Evil, Part 1 I proposed the definition that good is the distance between "is" and "ought", for some ill-defined, yet intuitive, distance metric. This has an interesting property from the Christian viewpoint about which I only recently became aware. In Luke 18:19, Jesus said, "No one is good but God alone." With this definition of "good" this statement is equivalent to: "No one is what they ought to be but God alone" or, more succinctly, "Only God is what He ought to be." This certainly agrees with St. Paul in Romans where he writes, "there is no one who is righteous, not even one" [3:10] and "... for the creation was subjected to futility..." ... "We are not what we ought to be" is part of the Reform doctrine of "Total Depravity", the other part being, "not only are we not what we ought to be, we cannot get ourselves to where we ought to be." It may also tie into the doctrine of "Unconditional Election". Since we are not what we ought to be there is no basis within us for God to choose one over another. It also shows why union with Christ is the means by which we are made whole and this can be linked to the "Perseverance of the Saints."

My Contribution to the Mathematical Arts

wrf3@stablecross.com — 2008-09-05T20:00:20-04:00
Many, many years ago, sometime in high school, I learned that the formula for computing is I'm pretty sure we were shown the geometrical derivation of this formula. In college, in late 1975 or early '76, in a Math Lab one problem asked to guess the formula for In my handwritten lab notebook I used induction to show that the solution to (3) is: Having solved this specific case, I wanted to see if there was a general solution for any positive integer n and any positive integer exponent. Based on equations (2) and (4), I conjectured that the general solution would be a polynomial of this form: The derivation used induction on the general formula and found that the coefficients to the solution are: Computed coefficients for 0 <= k <= 10 are here. Perhaps of interest are these properties of the coefficients:

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are part Cinderella. You are hard-working and never complain, however, your trust is sometimes misplaced and people sometimes take advantage of you. Still, you are beautiful inside and out, and one day you will realize it and find true love.
	You are part Pocahontas. You defy convention and sometimes do what is considered taboo. Unfortunately, others do not always appreciate your differences, so it's good that you are so strong-willed. You are loyal and you believe in fate. Your true love will find you one day.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com