peknet is Peter E Karman
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Poem #1110
The death throes of the mouse
under the sink, in the trap I laid,
evoke neither sadness nor pity.
I turn Nick Drake up a little louder.
File under general/ Sat Nov 10 22:58:09 CT 2012
Dezi 0.2.4 released
Happy to announce release of Dezi 0.2.4 with spelling suggestion feature.File under projects/swish Wed Oct 17 22:42:28 CT 2012
Charlotte' Web Day
I am reading Charlotte's Web, the classic E. B. White children's novel, to my kids for about the 10th time. I don't know if it is the 10th time or not. After about four readings I lost track. Let's just say it is as familiar to me now as any book I have ever read.
I mention this book today because tomorrow, September 7, is a significant day in the story. It is the day when
Wilbur wins his medal, when he cajoles and bargains with Templeton to save Charlotte's egg sac, and he leaves
Charlotte alone, at the Fair, where she will die.
The book is 60 years old, the best-selling children's book of all time (according to Wikipedia), and though I have now read it more times than I can keep track of, I do not tire of it. Garth Williams' illustrations still amuse and enlighten. White's prose still sparkles. I still cry at the end, which my children did not understand the first few times but they do now. Malcolm swears off bacon for a few weeks after each reading.
So I hereby declare September 7 to be Charlotte's Web Day.
Here are some quotes I love.
"I was just thinking," said the spider, "that people are very gullible."
"What does 'gullible' mean?"
"Easy to fool," said Charlotte.
"That's a mercy," replied Wilbur, and he lay down in the shade of his fence and went fast asleep.
"What does 'gullible' mean?"
"Easy to fool," said Charlotte.
"That's a mercy," replied Wilbur, and he lay down in the shade of his fence and went fast asleep.
"Have you heard about the words that appeared in the spider's web?" asked Mrs.
Arable nervously.
"Yes," replied the doctor.
"Well, do you understand it?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"Understand what?"
"Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"
"Oh, no," said Dr. Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
"Yes," replied the doctor.
"Well, do you understand it?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"Understand what?"
"Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"
"Oh, no," said Dr. Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot
last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year--the days when
summer is changing into fall--the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and
change.
"We can't tell what may happen at the Fair Grounds. Somebody's got to go along
who knows how to write."
-- Charlotte
-- Charlotte
As my friend Eric likes to quote:
It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.
Here's to you, Charlotte.
File under books/ Thu Sep 6 20:43:38 CT 2012
Python Dezi Client
Finally got back to the Python Dezi client I started several months ago. All tests passing now so I'm calling this the 0.001000 release.File under projects/swish Fri Aug 24 13:46:37 CT 2012
Service Oriented Architecture
For my own keeping track of things: Yegge's SOA Google-vs-Amazon rant.File under projects/ Thu Aug 16 21:19:58 CT 2012
Is Weak Typing Strong Enough?
I found this Yegge article via this Yegge article. If you write code, they are both worth reading. If you don't write code, don't bother.File under projects/ Thu Aug 16 21:00:35 CT 2012
Dezi, now with Xapian backend
Read all about it.File under projects/swish Mon Apr 30 21:39:13 CT 2012
Sleep
When I've got a lot going on in my life, I often don't sleep well. That's not unusual, I realize. Now I know that eight hours of sleep a night is a socal invention just like everything else.File under general/ Tue Feb 28 09:05:25 CT 2012
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