The next Xah-lee post contest

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Steve

    #1

    The next Xah-lee post contest

    Hi All,
    For sometime now, I have just been a passive lurker on this
    list. Of late I saw an increase in the number of posts by Xah Lee, and
    I have to admit, what he lacks in understanding of the various
    programming languages he talks about, he makes up for in creativity.
    So, I was wondering, how would it be to be Mr Lee. That got me
    thinking of his next post. Well, I know through my days of lurking
    around, a lot of people here love creative challenges ...so here's one
    for you. Write up the next Xah Lee post ! The requirement are:
    a) The post should talk about a single language, although the example
    code needn't adhere to that restriction.
    b) It should explain the style, structure and design of some code
    snippet/program, though not necessarily of the same code
    snippet/program mentioned in the post.
    c) Should be written in English ... respect to English grammar is not mandatory.
    d) It *must* be flammable.

    Here's my contribution (tho' I'm not really in my most creative frame of mind):

    --------------------------------------------------
    perl is fucked ! Its a language named with a word that can't even pass
    through spell-checker. What kind of programming language has a scalar
    variable but the array is not called vector ...it is array. Also the
    list comprehension feature of the language is entirely anal. Example

    $list = { i for i in range(100) }
    now is $list a function ?? No it's is an array .....
    --------------------------------------------------

    ...phew, this is hard !! I'll have another go later. You are welcomed
    to participate.

    Regards
    Steve
  • rbt

    #2
    Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

    Steve wrote:[color=blue]
    > Hi All,
    > For sometime now, I have just been a passive lurker on this
    > list. Of late I saw an increase in the number of posts by Xah Lee, and
    > I have to admit, what he lacks in understanding of the various
    > programming languages he talks about, he makes up for in creativity.
    > So, I was wondering, how would it be to be Mr Lee. That got me
    > thinking of his next post. Well, I know through my days of lurking
    > around, a lot of people here love creative challenges ...so here's one
    > for you. Write up the next Xah Lee post...[/color]

    Unix donkey! You not elegant. You have poor design.
    Sloppy Perl monkey! You be lazy! You code very very bad.

    Xah know all!

    Comment

    • PA

      #3
      Re: The next Xah-lee post contest


      On Jan 29, 2005, at 15:32, rbt wrote:
      [color=blue]
      > Unix donkey! You not elegant. You have poor design.
      > Sloppy Perl monkey! You be lazy! You code very very bad.
      >
      > Xah know all![/color]

      Follow The True Path, follow The Xah Way To Enlightenment:

      "The Unix Pestilence"


      Cheers

      --
      PA, Onnay Equitursay


      Comment

      • Arthur

        #4
        Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

        On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:41:00 +0100, PA <petite.abeille @gmail.com>
        wrote:
        [color=blue]
        >
        >On Jan 29, 2005, at 15:32, rbt wrote:
        >[color=green]
        >> Unix donkey! You not elegant. You have poor design.
        >> Sloppy Perl monkey! You be lazy! You code very very bad.
        >>
        >> Xah know all![/color]
        >
        >Follow The True Path, follow The Xah Way To Enlightenment:
        >
        >"The Unix Pestilence"
        >http://www.xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/freebooks.html
        >
        >Cheers[/color]

        Not sure how Xah got himself into all this. When I actually read the
        substance of Xah's articles like the one referenced above, and ignore
        the stuff in Red, I don't find it all that bizarre - or uninformative.
        He links to substantive resources. He has postive things to say about
        lots of things, including Python.

        Guess I am prejudiced by the fact that I have always enjoyed his plane
        curve pages, and after David Eppsteins Geometry Junkyard and a few
        others, consider it one of the more interesting web resources in
        respect to geometry. I knew of him for this, well before I knew of
        him as the Usenet character he is.

        Wish he would do himself the favor of better separating he various
        "interests" . One can google on "plane curves", and the first hit will
        be Xah's site. I certainly find it interesting and well done.

        On the other hand, if one goes by way of his home page, one is greeted
        first with a vitriolic message expressing a sentiment not all that
        uncommon but not very relevant to the substance of much of what is to
        be found at the site.

        Oh well.

        Art

        Comment

        • Eric Pederson

          #5
          Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

          > From: Arthur <ajsiegel@opton line.com>
          [color=blue]
          > Not sure how Xah got himself into all this. [/color]


          One can easily see that Java programmers are geeks who secretly wanted to make the football team and are now trying to conform, ignoring their language's critical lack of Prolog syntax. Python coders, similarly, do not recognize that they may be violating several open source patents each time they write: "class(Object): ", and both languages may become unusable when the Government changes the inheritance tax.

          Rather than throw stones or make fun, all but the closet Republicans shouldexamine how poor Xah came to such a state of misunderstandin g IPv8, and try to help him.
          [color=blue]
          >From Aahz tag line we have a clue:[/color]

          "19. A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming,is not worth knowing."  --Alan Perlis

          Further understanding will require research. Was it Perl that did this to Mr. Lee's brain, or perhaps it was trying to ascertain the web services "standard"? Was it a massive PHP program that simply grew beyond comprehendabili ty and blew all normal circuits? Or perhaps an attempt to jump straightfrom Fortran 77 into Ruby?

          Perhaps we will never know the cause, but surely when the ill come to us wemust prescribe something.

          Ah, perhaps if he will join us in a song we will all be OK:

          Python Choir:
          Lee's a lumberjack, and he's OK,
          He codes all night and he posts all day.

          XL:
          I cut down trees, I eat my lunch,
          I go to the lavatory.
          On Wednesdays I go shopping,
          And have buttered scones for tea.

          Python Choir:
          Lee cuts down trees, He eats his lunch,
          He goes to the lavatory.
          On Wednesdays he goes shopping,
          And have buttered scones for tea.

          Lees a lumberjack, and he's OK,
          He codes all night and he posts all day.

          XL:
          I cut down trees, I skip and jump,
          I like to press wild flowers.
          I put on women's clothing,
          And hang around in bars.

          Python Choir:
          Lee cuts down trees, he skips and jumps,
          He likes to press wild flowers.
          He puts on women's clothing
          And hangs around.... In bars???????


          Well. At least I feel better. For now.



          /Eric - sentenced to re-learn and write an application in Perl 5.0
          What will that do to my mind?



          ::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::: :::::
          domainNot="@som ething.com"
          domainIs=domain Not.replace("s" ,"z")
          ePrefix="".join ([chr(ord(x)+1) for x in "do"])
          mailMeAt=ePrefi x+domainIs
          ::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::: :::::

          Comment

          • Bryan

            #6
            Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

            Eric Pederson wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
            >>From: Arthur <ajsiegel@opton line.com>[/color]
            >
            >[color=green]
            >>Not sure how Xah got himself into all this.[/color]
            >
            >
            >
            > One can easily see that Java programmers are geeks who secretly wanted to make the football team and are now trying to conform, ignoring their language's critical lack of Prolog syntax. Python coders, similarly, do not recognize that they may be violating several open source patents each time they write: "class(Object): ", and both languages may become unusable when the Government changes the inheritance tax.
            >
            > Rather than throw stones or make fun, all but the closet Republicans should examine how poor Xah came to such a state of misunderstandin g IPv8, and try to help him.
            >[color=green]
            >>From Aahz tag line we have a clue:[/color]
            >
            > "19. A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming,is not worth knowing." --Alan Perlis
            >
            > Further understanding will require research. Was it Perl that did this to Mr. Lee's brain, or perhaps it was trying to ascertain the web services "standard"? Was it a massive PHP program that simply grew beyond comprehendabili ty and blew all normal circuits? Or perhaps an attempt to jump straight from Fortran 77 into Ruby?
            >
            > Perhaps we will never know the cause, but surely when the ill come to us we must prescribe something.
            >
            > Ah, perhaps if he will join us in a song we will all be OK:
            >
            > Python Choir:
            > Lee's a lumberjack, and he's OK,
            > He codes all night and he posts all day.
            >
            > XL:
            > I cut down trees, I eat my lunch,
            > I go to the lavatory.
            > On Wednesdays I go shopping,
            > And have buttered scones for tea.
            >
            > Python Choir:
            > Lee cuts down trees, He eats his lunch,
            > He goes to the lavatory.
            > On Wednesdays he goes shopping,
            > And have buttered scones for tea.
            >
            > Lees a lumberjack, and he's OK,
            > He codes all night and he posts all day.
            >
            > XL:
            > I cut down trees, I skip and jump,
            > I like to press wild flowers.
            > I put on women's clothing,
            > And hang around in bars.
            >
            > Python Choir:
            > Lee cuts down trees, he skips and jumps,
            > He likes to press wild flowers.
            > He puts on women's clothing
            > And hangs around.... In bars???????
            >
            >
            > Well. At least I feel better. For now.
            >
            >
            >
            > /Eric - sentenced to re-learn and write an application in Perl 5.0
            > What will that do to my mind?
            >
            >
            > http://www.songzilla.blogspot.com
            > ::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::: :::::
            > domainNot="@som ething.com"
            > domainIs=domain Not.replace("s" ,"z")
            > ePrefix="".join ([chr(ord(x)+1) for x in "do"])
            > mailMeAt=ePrefi x+domainIs
            > ::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::: :::::
            >[/color]

            oh great... now you just legend-ized him on this group forever :(

            Comment

            • gene.tani@gmail.com

              #7
              Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

              Tragi-comic. really. BTW you forgot cross-post to c.l.scheme, C,
              smalltalk and C++

              Comment

              • Steve Holden

                #8
                Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                gene.tani@gmail .com wrote:
                [color=blue]
                > Tragi-comic. really. BTW you forgot cross-post to c.l.scheme, C,
                > smalltalk and C++
                >[/color]
                Would there, I wonder, be any enthusiasm for a "Best Xah Lee impression"
                prize at PyCon?

                regards
                Steve
                --
                Steve Holden http://www.holdenweb.com/
                Python Web Programming http://pydish.holdenweb.com/
                Holden Web LLC +1 703 861 4237 +1 800 494 3119

                Comment

                • Arthur

                  #9
                  Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                  On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 07:40:40 -0500, Steve Holden <steve@holdenwe b.com>
                  wrote:
                  [color=blue]
                  >gene.tani@gmai l.com wrote:
                  >[color=green]
                  >> Tragi-comic. really. BTW you forgot cross-post to c.l.scheme, C,
                  >> smalltalk and C++
                  >>[/color]
                  >Would there, I wonder, be any enthusiasm for a "Best Xah Lee impression"
                  >prize at PyCon?[/color]

                  And the rules of the game, if he shows?

                  I guess "no ringers", would have to be the rule.


                  Art

                  Comment

                  • Erik Max Francis

                    #10
                    Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                    Steve Holden wrote:
                    [color=blue]
                    > Would there, I wonder, be any enthusiasm for a "Best Xah Lee impression"
                    > prize at PyCon?[/color]

                    I imagine standing in a corner, facing the wall, and screaming
                    incoherently at the top of your lungs would be guaranteed at least
                    second place.

                    --
                    Erik Max Francis && max@alcyone.com && http://www.alcyone.com/max/
                    San Jose, CA, USA && 37 20 N 121 53 W && AIM erikmaxfrancis
                    You've got me wondering / If you know that I am wondering about you
                    -- India Arie

                    Comment

                    • Peter Hansen

                      #11
                      Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                      Arthur wrote:[color=blue]
                      > Steve Holden <steve@holdenwe b.com> wrote:[color=green]
                      >>Would there, I wonder, be any enthusiasm for a "Best Xah Lee impression"
                      >>prize at PyCon?[/color]
                      >
                      > And the rules of the game, if he shows?[/color]

                      Arthur, if Xah Lee shows up at Pycon, he most definitely will
                      not be giving the best impression...

                      -Peter

                      Comment

                      • Luis M. Gonzalez

                        #12
                        Re: The next Xah-lee post contest


                        Peter Hansen wrote:[color=blue]
                        > Arthur wrote:[color=green]
                        > > Steve Holden <steve@holdenwe b.com> wrote:[color=darkred]
                        > >>Would there, I wonder, be any enthusiasm for a "Best Xah Lee[/color][/color][/color]
                        impression"[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
                        > >>prize at PyCon?[/color]
                        > >
                        > > And the rules of the game, if he shows?[/color]
                        >
                        > Arthur, if Xah Lee shows up at Pycon, he most definitely will
                        > not be giving the best impression...
                        >
                        > -Peter[/color]


                        Have you visited his website?
                        I kind of like this guy... it's like he has a few bugs in his brain,
                        but other parts are surprisingly interesting.

                        Comment

                        • Thomas Bartkus

                          #13
                          Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                          "Luis M. Gonzalez" <luismgz@gmail. com> wrote in message
                          news:1107277633 .959477.302860@ f14g2000cwb.goo glegroups.com.. .[color=blue]
                          >
                          > Have you visited his website?
                          > I kind of like this guy... it's like he has a few bugs in his brain,
                          > but other parts are surprisingly interesting.[/color]

                          I kind of like him too. I hope he manages to find a babe!

                          As human conditions go, normalcy is *highly* overrated..
                          Thomas Bartkus


                          Comment

                          • Peter Hansen

                            #14
                            Re: The next Xah-lee post contest

                            Luis M. Gonzalez wrote:[color=blue]
                            > Peter Hansen wrote:[color=green]
                            >>Arthur wrote:[color=darkred]
                            >>>And the rules of the game, if he shows?[/color]
                            >>
                            >>Arthur, if Xah Lee shows up at Pycon, he most definitely will
                            >>not be giving the best impression...[/color]
                            >
                            > Have you visited his website?
                            > I kind of like this guy... it's like he has a few bugs in his brain,
                            > but other parts are surprisingly interesting.[/color]

                            Yes I have, though that's not really relevant to my point,
                            which was (in effect) that if he shows up still claiming to
                            be qualified to discuss Python -- such as how the tutorial
                            is not a tutorial, while his is -- then he would definitely
                            not make any better impression than he's made here.

                            It was also, though perhaps not successfully, and attempt
                            at humour, with a pun based on the double meaning of the
                            word "impression " in English.

                            But, yes, I visited the site. And it saddened me in several
                            ways. :-( I did not see (nor looked for) the "curves" page,
                            which from the sounds of it would do much to redeem the
                            fellow, if only he could learn and practice certain social
                            skills.**

                            -Peter

                            ** Such as not massively cross-posting. And others...

                            Comment

                            • alex23

                              #15
                              Re: The next Xah-lee post contest


                              Luis M. Gonzalez wrote:[color=blue]
                              > I kind of like this guy... it's like he has a few bugs in his brain,
                              > but other parts are surprisingly interesting.[/color]

                              Which bits especially impress you, the rampant misogyny or the
                              unwarranted intellectual arrogance?

                              Comment

                              Working...