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Does anyone else find it funny that I'm taking an intro level programing course during the same semester that I intend to implement a massively parallel factoring algorithm optimized for either Beowulf or Mosix clustering?
If that doesn't give you an idea of what I've been doing all semester, I'm taking the second semester of intro-level programing, and an intro level cryptography class. Guess which one is 400-level. Crypto is a fun class, we've done about 2 semesters of Abstract Algebra in roughly two weeks. So I've now had the ultimate crash course in Group Theory, Field Theory, Ring Theory and Galois Theory. For those who aren't sure what all that is, don't worry, being that we learned it in two weeks, neither am I [grin]. Of course I jest, I do understand most of that, except Galois theory, but I'm sure we'll do a better job nailing that down before elliptic curves. Anyway, 400-level Linear Algebra is fun too, it's like redoing systems of linear equations from Algebra II from high school, but with all the theory about why it works attached. Believe me, despite how that sounds, it's not easy.
Ok, I'm going to go play Go now.
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I'm sick and tired of hearing about this so-called "war on Christmas." I'd say that I can't believe it became an issue before Congress, but then one really can only expect politicians to do anything for attention. LiveJournal's own attention whores have nothing on elected officials. I'd begin with a rant n how Christmas actually has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus at all, but that really isn't the point of this entry. The point is that it doesn't matter how we greet each other on the holidays, we should be thankful that others even think about us. There really is no culture war, it's not like we ever were a Christian nation, so it's not like anything can threaten our status as one.
First, I don't know when the phrase "Season's Greetings" came into common use, but my mother has tree ornaments that say it that are older than I am. I don't remember holiday greetings being a political issue that far back, and neither does anyone else in my family, so why are we starting now? It not like this "problem" was causing some massive moral breakdown back then, but we assume it does now. I suppose given how completely fucked up things are today, people want a scapegoat and will take whatever they can get. Besides, the issue is a nice convenient way for politicians to divert attention from what really matters.
Second, in case you've been living under a rock your entire life. I've got news for you. This country has never been all Christian. Really, what do you think the Natives were? Forgot about them, didn't you? Even so, the writers of our founding documents weren't all devout Christian, they ran a gamut from that to more of a Locke style deism. Regardless, this country was formed from varied religious groups who were persecuted in their home countries. That being the case, I'm beginning to wonder if any of them have noticed that there really isn't much persecution going on anymore, at least not if you're white, Christian, and heterosexual.
So if you're Catholic, and your Jewish friend says "happy Chanuka," just say "Thanks, and merry Christmas to you." If you're feeling particularly bleeding heart liberal and culturally sensitive, say "thanks, the same to you" instead. Be happy someone actually thinks about you. Definitely don't get pissed off, you're friend at least gave you the time of day (or is that "the time of year" in this case?) Let the Christians say "merry Christmas," the neo-pagan types say "a good Yule to you," the atheists skip straight to "happy New Year," and the C'thonic cultists wish you insanity this solstice. It really all comes down to the same thing, these people are at least thinking about you and have decided to use a trite phrase during a traditional time to year to let you know. So while you may want to deduct points from your friends' scores for a lack of originality, don't get angry over the type of greeting used; it's a minor detail. And if the stores want to use the generic "Happy Holidays," it's not an attack in the culture war, it's a way to prevent pissing off their non-Christian customer base, and seem to care in general while only needing to buy one sign to cover the entire time from Thanksgiving to New Year's. It doesn't sound like politics, it sounds like good business sense to me. In summary, worry about a real issue.
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