stark ranting

I had a vision in the shower this moring; that thoughtful place where most prophetic visions incubate. I could see the future of computing diverging from the cookie-cutter-esque software development path we face today. I saw a thing of beauty. The next evolution in the now laborious process of software creation.

The essence of computing is somewhat lost on us as we experience our desktop computers in day-to-day life. We forget that a computer is, at its core, nothing more than a glorified state machine designed to solve very specific problems. We define the problem, implement a computing algorithm to solve the problem, and then pass the implementation along to the masses. If you ignore testing (which is what most software companies do), most of the work is in the implementation. People write thousands or even millions of lines of code that will eventually come together as a software application. Of course every thousand lines of code will contain somewhere between two to eight bugs on average.

This morning I saw in my mind a new era of computing. One in which computers take the place of the innumerable software engineers who are mindlessly churning out prosaic code. There will come a time when the only roll humans play in the equation is to define the problem. Computers will both find the algorithm to solve it and also perform the algorithmic computation. In all likelihood the algorithms will be virtually inconceivable to humans and created with a level of perfection that is heretofore unimaginable.

I'm excited by (and somewhat fearful of) the prospects of such an era, but one thing's for sure: We will eventually find a way to make ourselves obsolete. Well... that, and there's a fairly good chance computers will become self-aware and then nuke the planet. Something along the lines of Terminator.

Posted by stark at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What do you hear in your heart when you find yourself alone in the darkness, feeling the familiar weight of solitude? Do you feel an emptiness? Does your mind wander through fields of longing? What place is this we find ourselves trapped, fighting against the inevitable entrapments of desire and dreaming about worlds that will never be. Is this our curse? Cast into the sea of fabricated potential, fated to drown beneath its waves. The human experience is colorless and bleak in isolation. Nothing if not for paths crossing by chance. Spreading out through dimensions unknown; the distance between paths seemingly infinite. I feel the force on my heart. Its strength is overwhelming. But the answer must find its own way. It cannot be created synthetically. How long will the darkness remain? What can we expect to see in the light of tomorrow? I wonder...

Posted by stark at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm convinced that Fox is run by the devil. After the "Who wants to marry a multi-millionaire" fiasco, I thought for sure that Fox would never touch the concept again. I was sadly mistaken. They're planning a new show called "Joe Millionaire." This time around they're putting a new spin on it, which is obviously inspired by the events that took place with Darva and Rick. The point of the new show is to trick 20 women into thinking that they're competing for a bachelor worth $50 million, when in fact he's a construction worker worth next to nothing. So at the end of the show I guess the joke's on them and we find out how shallow people can be. As if we didn't already know.

Posted by stark at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have more wedding pictures up. This time from Brian and Sunny's wedding in Orlando, Florida. We went to Universal Studios and Magic Mountain as well, but I don't have pictures of that. We took so many pictures at the wedding that I was completely sick of taking pictures by then. I wonder who will get married next. It certainly seems like I'm the only person I know who doesn't have imminent marriage plans. Well, Ilka too I guess. Poor mom.

Posted by stark at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The following is my response to a message board post about happiness. Don't worry mom, I'm not depressed. ;)

I don't disagree with all of you that you can just be happy. In fact my entire life after age 18 has been based on that premise, but lately I've become somewhat disillusioned by the absence of meaning in the mundane concerns of day-to-day life. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to be happy about. I make enough money to pay for food and rent. I can spend time playing with my friends. I appreciate sunsets and fresh air and the little things that you tend not to notice after you grow up, but in the back of my mind I still hear a little voice that presses me to keep searching. For purpose. For meaning. For a deeper happiness that can only be achieved through self-fulfillment. We're constantly overcoming hurdles and life challenges that bring a temporary sense of purpose, but if you take those challenges away you're faced with a basic question about the nature of life. What are your goals and why? I don't crave money or power or any material things. I'm driven somewhat by a genetically programmed desire to procreate, but is that the be-all and end-all reason for doing anything?

So now it gets into the personal stuff. I'm relatively successful in life with the notable exception that I'm still single. Recently I came to the realization that my last relationship ended in large part due to my overwhelming need to find meaning in life through a connection with a soul mate, if you will. If you assume for a moment that it's ludicrous to think that you can find meaning in life via such a connection, it follows that I will never be happy with my girlfriend, I will never find any real meaning or purpose, and I will never find true happiness. And that is why I will die a lonely and bitter old man. The End.

Posted by stark at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)