http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog What in the world is Bruce thinking? Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:34:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en David Ortiz has finally broken his silence on the NY Times leak that he was on the list of 2003 players who tested positive for "banned substances" (presumeably steroids.) His defense was, basically, "I didn't do anything wrong except to take some unknown supplements." This, of course, has made front ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=248 I've been reading The Mathematical Experience, by Davis and Hersh, and I've become intrigued by the argument between the constructivist mathematicians and the Platonists. Briefly, the Platonists believe that Mathematics exists "out there" somewhere, and that the mathematician's job is to discover more of it, as a miner discovers a ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=243 The programmers I know who have been in this business for any length of time have a strong trait of craftsmanship: they genuinely care that they produce software of high quality, lasting worth, and beauty. I think that this is a necessary quality for this business, because there's not enough ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=240 About a month ago, I started attending a Bible study group that meets on Wednesday afternoons in an unused conference room in Lincoln Laboratory. I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but I was certainly looking forward to some discussion of that insightful, confounding, and complex book that is ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=234 Some of you know about the Internet Oracle, and the rest of you should go read about the Oracle before proceeding. I recently had one of my supplications to the Oracle, and its answer, selected for the "Best of" series. Here it is: --- 1434-04 109dd 4.0 ---------------------------------------------------- Selected-By: Tim Chew <twchew@mindspring.com> The Internet ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=224 Reader, I'm about to step way outside my area of expertise and delve into Western and Buddhist concepts of "nothingness," so please forgive me any naivete - or better still, straighten me out. But it's my blog and I'll make a fool of myself if I want to. I've been working ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=219 In times of tribulation, I often find myself turning to the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, (121-180 CE). Marcus (or Antoninus, as he often called himself) was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal string of emperors who abused the Roman state after the murder of Augustus. He was intelligent, mostly ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=211 For all of my readers who don't hail from New England, I should explain that we have a local holiday treasured only second to Christmas and the Red Sox opening day. It's called "Patriots' Day", and is traditionally celebrated on April 19th, the anniversary of the Battle at Old North ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=205 I'm just starting to read Book 10 of The Laws by Plato, in which he defends (1) the existence of the gods, (2) their beneficence toward Man, and (3) the correctness of the Athenian laws mandating belief in (1) and (2). Before I get to my argument with Plato, I ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=199 When I was a youngster, the boys in the neighborhood used to play "GIs and Japs," and we killed imaginary Japanese soldiers by the thousands. As it happened, my father had fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Phillipines, and had served in the occupation of Japan; and had ... http://www.brucejtaylor.com/blog/?p=183