RFCs, Standards and Delight!

Have you ever had a moment when you felt the presence of pure intelligence? A cleansing, uplifting presence in the midst of the muck of mediocrity? I do, when I read clear, concise and unambiguous sentences like what you can find in RFCs and standards specifications (like the one for WSDL, for instance). There are moments when I could whoop in joy at the sight of such lucidly written articles and standards that I feel I have been given a rare glimpse of what omniscience must feel like. It's only in these moments that my narcissistic self retreats and I acknowledge how far I am from reaching that pinnacle, if at all.

However, having said all that, this article had a sobering effect on me when I realised that the standards mentioned above were also written by a similar set of people: engineers. That obviously does not indict all engineers of having criminal intentions, it only reinforces the fact that everything can have a dark side to it.

Fly away

Leaving one's country always causes, I suppose, mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm sad that I'm leaving the shores of the country that I've always called home, though I've not been proud about it at times (that happens to most citizens all over the world, I guess). I'll definitely miss the sight of familiar faces and places. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to what I think will be a new life for me, a new beginning, a fresh start. A fresh start implies getting rid of one's past baggage (to a reasonable extent, the extent being entirely subjective and personal), and that can not only be unnerving at times, but also painfully difficult. Yet, this is what I feel I must do, and this is what I'll strive to do, if I have to have any chance of reviving my sagging career, my not-so-inspiring life. My personal credo can do with some updates, the old patterns of thought and behaviour being contradictory, sometimes, to my core beliefs. Knowing that never fails to make me squirm, and I hope I can successfully get rid of those mental cobwebs.

Who knows, as a result of those changes that I'll work on, this blog might even get a bit more interesting to read!