morgamic.com stuff and things, according to Mike Morgan

Atlantis

"If you fail, as men have failed in their quest for a vision that should have been possible, yet has remained forever beyond their reach -- if, like them, you come to think that one's highest values are not to be attained and one's greatest vision is not to be made real -- don't damn this earth, as they did, don't damn existence. You have seen the Atlantis they were seeking, it is here, it exists -- but one must enter it naked and alone, with no rags from the falsehoods of centuries, with the purest clarity of mind -- not an innocent heart, but that which is much rarer: an intransigent mind -- as one's only possession and key. You will not enter it until you learn that you do not need to convince or to conquer the world. When you learn it, you will see that through all the years of your struggle, nothing had barred you from Atlantis and there were no chains to hold you, except the chains you were willing to wear. Through all those years, that which you most wished to win was waiting for you" -- he looked at her as if he were speaking to the unspoken words in her mind -- "waiting as unremittingly as you were fighting, as passionately, as desperately but -- with a greater certainty than yours. Go out to continue your struggle. Go on carrying unchosen burdens, taking undeserved punishment and believing that justice can be served by the offer of your own spirit to the most unjust of tortures. But in your worst and darkest moments, remember that you have seen another kind of world. Remember that you can reach it whenever you choose to see. Remember that it will be waiting and that it's real, it's possible -- it's yours." (Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand)

John Galt to Dagney when she was deciding to leave the valley.

Stuff

• In Office Space, I realized the "people guy" Tom Smykowski was probably a very important person in their software development team and it was a play on managerial ignorance.
• Went to San Francisco and met some cool people at the Mozilla Foundation. I learned about their build process, got to meet people face to face, and we had some great discussions about UMO and Bouncer.
• I got to see Sarah and Harri. Their cat has worms.
• Businesses don't get 'open source'. Neither do most open source people.
• Community development tools need to be created to manage distributed development.
• Junior is meowing all the time and I don't know why. I think it's puberty.
• How someone plays basketball is a reflection of who they are in real life.
• Bush is going to make ignorant people in this country forget about the war that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place. Unfortunately, having an election doesn't mean much. Helping a country establish a government that can operate on its own, has electricity and provides for its people is another thing. Don't be so proud yet ...
• In regards to Social Security, the "New Deal" will become the "Raw Deal". Privatizing social security benefits people who have enough money and hurts just about everyone else (probably).
• It always rains within 4 hours of washing your car.
• Picasa2 is pretty cool.
• Static variables are not global variables. If you think this, you need to sleep more.
• Scott Kveton can traverse highway overpasses like a champ. He "don't be needin' no stinkin' footbridge, sucka!".
• Beefy cheesy macaroni is a good soup. You can try it at Tommy's (4th street, Corvallis) on Saturdays.
• Don't ever buy this heater from Black and Decker because it's a piece of shit and will break.

If there is too much crap going on, just make a list.