I found a good quote today:
"... it's only when the tide goes out that you can see who's swimming naked." - Warren Buffet
It was in an article at The Economist about the current economic woes in the western world eerily titled "The Unfinished Recession".
There is a new Details magazine out with a supposed list of "the most powerful men under 35" or something of the sort. No, I never usually have anything to do with the magazine but I was at a magazine rack and it caught my eye. Mostly because Leonardo DiCaprio is on the cover and because Details rates Leonardo DiCaprio as more powerful and influential than other folks like Michael Dell. I think the coke snorting author of that article must not have wanted to wait for his altered state to subside before writing that particular article.
Here is a reverse look at software art - from the code to the actual program itself. If you had shown this to me a few years ago I would have been completely excited. Nowadays though it gives me mixed feelings; writing code is just a means to some end. Especially with technology the end should be our focus, not the means. But perhaps I'm looking for function where it needn't be; after all it is classified specifically as art.
I was reading a book about Design Patterns and it discusses how they have their origin in both architecture and anthropology:
"... there is such an objective basis within architectural systems. The judgement that a building is beautiful is not simply a matter of taste. We can describe beauty through an objective that can be measured." - Christopher Alexander
Beauty. Most can ascribe it to physical architecture but it's very difficult to see it in software. Consider this series of images depicting "Shade conditioning". How on earth can that apply to software? It's much more abstract as there is no physical component, we often take it for granted because it surrounds us and finally, there is a lot of ugly software on the market.
But the concept carries over.
So have another look at some architecture and as you enjoy it think of the internal structures that guide the software that surrounds you: your operating system, your email client or your online banking site.
The gnomes at MIT have made all PhD theses available for free online.
Okay, I'm tired.
7:06:37 PM 
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