I've got my hands on the PDF of "On Lisp" book by Paul Graham. I am about 1/3 through but I've already noticed some things that really bother me. it seems that before Common Lisp (ca.1985?) Lisp did not have lexical scoping, and, hence, its most distinct feature, closures. And, before Schema (1995?), Lisp had separate namespaces for functions and variables (I am a bit confused here, bear with me), resulting in the need for "funcall" function (or is it a form? a macro?) and things like #' and #. .
It seems that Lisp as we know it now (basically, Scheme) is not really 50 years old. And the 50 years old language was barely more usable than Fortran.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
An exciting event on Friday night
Yesterday (Friday) we talked about nothing in particular with my co-worker, and I mentioned that she looks tired. So she says: "Oh, I am really excited about going to sleep tonight!".
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The kids must have been different then...
I've just watched "Airplane!". That movie is rated "PG"? Full frontal naked breasts, snorting coke, smelling glue, horse in bed with a woman, seppukku, solicitation of sex from a child, suicide by hanging, imitation of sexual intercourse while partially dressed. Not sure I've got it all.
I'd hate to be the P providing the G to a 10yo after this movie.
I'd hate to be the P providing the G to a 10yo after this movie.
Words in Obama/Biden
After seeing the
OBAMA
BIDEN
demonstartion by Ann Althouse, I can't possibly understand how she missed an ad staring her in the face! And of cource "bi", as in "bisexual".
OBAMA
BIDEN
demonstartion by Ann Althouse, I can't possibly understand how she missed an ad staring her in the face! And of cource "bi", as in "bisexual".
Publish Post
Friday, August 22, 2008
Big Trip West
We've just returned from what I termed "The Grand Circle". Flew to Phoenix, Arizona, then drove to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoya Park. From there, we went to the Pacific coast: Monterrey Peninsula, a stretch of Route 1, Morro Bay, LA. And from LA, back to Phoenix and so home to Newark Airport.
The experience was so vast, I can hardly express it in words. I've seen a completely new face of Nature, something I haven't experienced in my previous life in Russia or in my new life in New York. The Gran Canyon is especially imposing. The impression is that no matter where you look, there is another chasm that goes deeper still, until eventually you can't even see the bottom of the deepest one - too narrow and too steep. The camera utterly failed me - I could not possibly convey that experience of seeing no bottom, no ultimate limit. Or, similarly, the clouds hurrying over Route 1 at the Pacific Coast - tendrils of fog 10 feet over the road, while the road itself is perfectly clear. And the cloud itself, hanging over the cliffs and slowly moving inland.
Some of the impressions are not even visual - the aroma of pines in the Sequoya National Park, the desert wind and the taste of salt in Death Valley, Soda Springs mineral water in Yosemite - exactly like Polustrovo mineral water of my youth.
The low points were, in retrospect, Las Vegas and LA. Las Vegas is, compared to the other things we saw, amazingly fake. We visited Venetian and Caesar's Palace, the casinos famous for the decor. I found it irritating. I've seen palaces, and these are anything but. They are, perfectly obviously, pumps for sucking money. And that's it. No art or culture needs apply.
LA was just another big city. Malibu beaches were nice. But again, for someone who lived in big cities on th ecoast before, nothing special.
The last day was really trying: 6 hors drive, 5 hours inn airport, 5 hours flight, an hour drive - all with n sleep. In the end I spent 24 hours awake. Toward the end Irka had to whack me with a water bottle to keep me awake on the way home.
I will probably post more on this trip as the whim strikes. For now, I'll be returning to the normal posting...
Some of the
The experience was so vast, I can hardly express it in words. I've seen a completely new face of Nature, something I haven't experienced in my previous life in Russia or in my new life in New York. The Gran Canyon is especially imposing. The impression is that no matter where you look, there is another chasm that goes deeper still, until eventually you can't even see the bottom of the deepest one - too narrow and too steep. The camera utterly failed me - I could not possibly convey that experience of seeing no bottom, no ultimate limit. Or, similarly, the clouds hurrying over Route 1 at the Pacific Coast - tendrils of fog 10 feet over the road, while the road itself is perfectly clear. And the cloud itself, hanging over the cliffs and slowly moving inland.
Some of the impressions are not even visual - the aroma of pines in the Sequoya National Park, the desert wind and the taste of salt in Death Valley, Soda Springs mineral water in Yosemite - exactly like Polustrovo mineral water of my youth.
The low points were, in retrospect, Las Vegas and LA. Las Vegas is, compared to the other things we saw, amazingly fake. We visited Venetian and Caesar's Palace, the casinos famous for the decor. I found it irritating. I've seen palaces, and these are anything but. They are, perfectly obviously, pumps for sucking money. And that's it. No art or culture needs apply.
LA was just another big city. Malibu beaches were nice. But again, for someone who lived in big cities on th ecoast before, nothing special.
The last day was really trying: 6 hors drive, 5 hours inn airport, 5 hours flight, an hour drive - all with n sleep. In the end I spent 24 hours awake. Toward the end Irka had to whack me with a water bottle to keep me awake on the way home.
I will probably post more on this trip as the whim strikes. For now, I'll be returning to the normal posting...
Some of the
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