Cases of terminal childhood diseases often awaken our pity, and even dismay at the apparently unfairness of the universe. But in some cases, at least, there is the possibility of real purpose behind what otherwise appears to be a life cut short, a purpose to awaken in us not mere pity, but a deeper compassion and understanding.

This article explores that possibility more deeply. I'd originaly written it in November but neglected to announce it; at least it gave me the chance to make a few edits just now.

Comments are welcome here.

As described in the earlier outline for my modeling project (and yes, I know I've been slow getting new posts up), the first step in creating a model-driven runtime for calculator applications is to have a working single-calculator program upon which to base the work—something, that is, that can be turned into a generic, configurable runtime. The primary benefit here is that we’ll then be able to see the incremental stages of development of the process that will, I imagine, shed some light on the general nature of runtimes as compared to specific applications.

It also affords the opportunity to explore “modeling” itself in its different expressions. Fact of the matter is that all software engages in modeling processes: the purpose of software is to essentially configure a universal machine (the computer) to behave in ways that reflect various tasks and processes (whether human or automated). To give a simple example, a spreadsheet models forms and processes that originally existed on paper; the software was modeled after some real artifact. Indeed, when I wrote the Windows 3.0/3.1/NT/95/98/2000/XP/Vista Calculator program, I directly modeled it after the $9.95 “Dynatone” job I’d bought at K-Mart when I was in high school. That is, I made the program behave pretty much like the physical device.

In this two-part article, then, we’ll discuss how the conceptual “models” of appearance and behavior typically manifest themselves in a combination of code plus data, which in our case means and C# and XAML. As you may already realize from your own work, appearance and behavior end up being spread around throughout an application’s code, mostly because writing a single application simply doesn’t require a cleaner separation. Granted, facilities like XAML and “code-behind” have gone a long way to at least separate appearance and behavior, which is fabulous for collaboration between designers and programmers. Yet still, the behavioral “models” in a typical application are not only spread around within the code itself, but is also expressed to some degree in the very structure of that code.

More...

Call it "New Blogger's Dilemma." Many people start a blog with high hopes, yet get stuck early on because of how prominent these first posts will be in the overall mix. I've been facing this with my own here--though I have much to write about that's not related to my work at Microsoft, the question is, where to begin? What subject shall I choose? Spirituality? Politics? Science? The Arts? What do I want to stand out in my tag cloud in the early stages of this blog? It's been a hard choice, but eventually one must choose or perish, blogwise.

So I've finally chosen to start with the subject of children. With a toddler in my life (Liam is almost three), children have been a significant part of my reality in recent years. He's also a primary reason why, as I noted in my "returning to Microsoft" piece, that I'm back at Microsoft in the first place. Recently, too, some friends of mine forwarded a link to Tim Kreider's The Referendum (NY Times blogs) whose ponderances on the fates of the childless (with "an obscene amount of free time") and the child-laden (whose "next thousand Saturdays are already booked") provides much mental fodder.

In recalling my thinking on the subject from some years ago, what might have been a short blog post turned into a longer article, which is posted on my main site. The basic thesis is that the question of which life path is more valid (which is more or less what Kreidler is asking) is not about having children or not having children, but about living either path on auto-pilot versus living either path consciously. Conscious living--making clear, conscious choices based on realities larger than ego-gratification--is really the solution to the perpetual doubt of living on auto-pilot.  

[These are just pointers into articles that already exist on my website, apart from this blog.]

The Hidden Messages of Music - Regardless of the external or "explicit" messages of any piece of music, as expressed by its lyrics, there is also a hidden or implicit message that's communicated through its qualities of feeling, our own emotional response to the music, its quality of energy, and its consciousness, which is to say its inherent resonance with our subtle energy bodies. What's communicated in these dimensions is the real message of the music. February 2005; Updated June 2009

Instruments for Positive Change - To be an instrument for positive change, the most important step is to keep yourself positive and uplifted. This is the first responsibility of anyone wishing to serve the world. Written as a handout for a talk to a group of Americorps*VISTA Volunteers. April 2003

Questions and Answers on Popular Conceptions of "Simple Living" - Simple living is about moving to the country, making your own clothes, growing your own food, and chucking away technology, right? May 2002/July 2007

The Power of Thoughts and Words - Even the smallest decision between love and anger can affect the entire world, as shown by the story of an email battle that erupted within Microsoft in 1996 but was resolved by a simple act of courageous love. February 1996/March 2007