02.27.06

Life is a Cabaret….

Posted in Politics, Rants at 11:17 am by spryken

Saturday a few friends and I went to see Cabaret. It was a great show. I had forgotten how dark it ended though.

What really struck me, and struck me hard, was the movement from tolerance to intolerance. Here we saw a very tolerant German culture (at least at the Kit Kat Klub). Homosexuality was accepted, abortion was accepted. Tolerance was everywhere. Some could argue that it was a modern day Sodom. But changes were in the air. Very quickly the tolerance faded. As the Nazis rose in power, religious hated also arose. In the play this occured in a few short months. In real life, I’m sure it was a slow building.

The funny thing is the different viewpoints presented. The German Nazi talking about the Jewish merchant…. HE IS NOT A GERMAN, HE IS A JEW!!! While the Jewish merchant says…I am a German, we are all Germans.

Is there lessons here for the U.S.? After 9/11, we “profile” possible terrorist. We have to be careful to NOT become so intolerant of others, that we go down the same path. It is too easy to say, “they are not REAL Americans”. Let us remember what happened in our own country during World War II with the Japanese Americans being relocated to camps.

The struggle between tolerance and security is a difficult one, but we need to remember who we are. And what has made this country great. And that is our acceptance of vastly different cultures. America is not so much a “Melting Pot” and it is a Stew. Understanding is difficult to come by, but it is the glue that holds us together.

Each of us has the responsibility to stand up for everyone’s rights. We also have the responsibility to protect ourselves, our familes and each other.

Tolerance is the key. We not ever completely agree with each other, but we can tolerate the differing viewpoints.

I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.

02.22.06

Number of the Beast

Posted in Rants, Religion, amusements, comics at 10:16 am by spryken

Revelation 3:17 so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Some have claimed that the National ID will fulfill this scripture. I am not convinced that the Book of Revelation is prophecy as we understand prophecy. That is the foretelling of the future. Prophecy, strictly speaking, is Forth Telling or proclaiming, not predicting. And the Book of Revelation is actually Apocalyptic Literature, which is a separate genre’ of writing. The basic message is “Things are bad, they are going to get worse. But hold on to your faith, because we win in the end.”

The National ID is a scary proposition. Just think George Orwell and Big Brother. Now, with all of that said, a friend sent me this link, a fun, amusing and yes, scary view of that future(Audio Warning). It may be closer than we think.

02.21.06

Rope Works and Boy Scouts

Posted in BoyScouts, amusements at 4:41 pm by spryken

As an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster for my local troop, I am fascinated with knots and rope work in general. On several of our recent campouts, I have carried a Knot and Rope work book with me along with some sportsman’s cord. Besides occupying my free time, the boys have become addicted to trying some of the more complex knots. Several of the other ASMs have noticed and the Scoutmaster has found a program that another troop has implemented to encourage knot work.

We have taken that program and are modifying it somewhat for our troop. In general, it follows a “Martial Arts” style grading system of awarding different color ropes for varying skill levels. The first 2 earned levels will just include the requirements for the rank of First Class. So, every scout should be able to advance quickly. The advanced levels will include optional knots and additional lashings. The program will be for both scouts and leaders.

This should be fun!! I will post more as details about the program are finalized. Then about how the program performs, whether the scouts and leaders enjoy it, what the progression rate is, and if we find any problems or modifications to make. I may even post some instructions on tying some of the knots. You never know………

02.15.06

Programmers Search Engine

Posted in programming at 2:10 pm by spryken

Since my last post, it has come to my attention that there is already a search engine for programmers. Koders.com is a search engine for open source code. You can search any or all languages and for any or all license types.

On their tools page, there is plugins to add koders.com to the FireFox Search Bar and plugins for Eclipse and Visual Studio. Definitely worth a look.

02.07.06

Programmers get their own search engine

Posted in programming at 10:00 am by spryken

Programmers get their own search engine
Krugle is the name of the search engine.  Check out the article.  If Krugle can deliver on all it promises, programmers will have a great new tool.  Krugle Beta “is schedule to go live for testing on March 8th at the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference.”

The signup for the Beta is available at Krugle.  I’ve signed up and can’t wait to take a look.

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