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Archive for April, 2004

Amazing (and timely)

Friday, April 30th, 2004

So I’ve just finished Freethinkers, and coincidentally enough this story pops up in one of the blogs I read…. Roy Moore’s bid to be reinstated as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has been rejected.

You may recall ex-Judge Moore from the news last year; he defied a federal court order to remove a four+ ton monument of the ten commandments from the state judicial rotunda. As a result, he was dismissed from the bench. His recent appeal (the one that just got blocked, hurray!) sounds like it was based on an argument that… let me check the story again… yeah, that’s it. It was apparently based on an argument that THE FEDERAL COURTS CAN’T RULE ON FIRST AMENDMENT CASES AT THE STATE LEVEL.

Right. Well, then. Interesting interpretation there. Maybe I’m misreading the story, but *whoa*.

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One to watch

Thursday, April 29th, 2004

Just found, though I can’t remember via whom: Functioning Form - Interface Design Blog (Weblog). Gotta love the look.

EDIT: Whoops - just discovered the source: Design by Fire.

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No time, no entry

Wednesday, April 28th, 2004

So April’s drawing to a close, and I have yet to finish my Version 2 entry - and in fact, it’s looking like I won’t be able to finish it. I’ve got a ton of work to do (both normal and school), so I’m guessing that this comp of the page header is as far as I’ll get on the project. Oh, well - there’s always next month.

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Currently Reading

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004

I’m in the middle (well, actually about a third of the way through) Susan Jacoby’s Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism.

Normally, I’m not one for US history, but I tend to enjoy intellectual histories more than other sorts (e.g., military, economic, etc.), so after seeing a review of the book in the Post, I decided to pick up a copy and go to town.

The thing that has struck me most powerfully in the first third of the book is without question the success that the freethinkers among the founders had with the Constitution - a success that was built upon an alliance with evangelicals and other religious groups. Contrast that with the truth of the situation today, so succinctly expressed by Michael Newdow before the Supreme Court, that no atheist (or for that matter, agnostic like me) would ever be elected to a major political office. Jefferson, Adams - they wouldn’t stand a chance if they were running for president today.

Seems kind of tragic, doesn’t it?

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An insider’s look at Microsoft

Sunday, April 25th, 2004

Everybody wants to work at Microsoft…. Well, maybe not everybody, but certainly a lot of people I know. For developers interested in that particular line of work, I’d have to recommend they read Technical Careers @ Microsoft. It’s a blog run by two technical recruiters from MS, and so far it’s resulted in tips for resumes, interview attire, and insider looks at several technical positions in the company (e.g., Software Development Engineers). Good stuff.

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