All Your Parentheses Are Belong to Us • Hacker News Board

Re: All Your Parentheses Are Belong to Us

#11

Post by pchristensen » Mon, Feb 11, 2008, 4:01 PM UTC

Shooter wrote: post #8

Kenny hinted that he will stop posting to c.l.l. (or at least cut down on his post frequency) now that he is blogging. If that is true, then "Weeny" just became my absolute favorite blog of all time ;-)

I took my first few dives into c.l.l recently (see here http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/browse_thread/...) and I noticed a couple people (left unnamed) with a poisonous negativity, and I'd have to say that Ken seemed like a pragmatic realist with a hint of optimism (kind of like me). I don't even think I would have finished reading the threads I looked at without Ken's comments.

Re: All Your Parentheses Are Belong to Us

#12

Post by Shooter » Mon, Feb 11, 2008, 9:05 PM UTC

pchristensen wrote: post #11

Shooter wrote: post #8

Kenny hinted that he will stop posting to c.l.l. (or at least cut down on his post frequency) now that he is blogging. If that is true, then "Weeny" just became my absolute favorite blog of all time ;-)

I took my first few dives into c.l.l recently (see here http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/browse_thread/... ) and I noticed a couple people (left unnamed) with a poisonous negativity, and I'd have to say that Ken seemed like a pragmatic realist with a hint of optimism (kind of like me). I don't even think I would have finished reading the threads I looked at without Ken's comments.

I was mostly kidding...but not entirely.

I've been a lurker on c.l.l. for years and I've also seen quite a few interesting threads derailed by Kenny's...uh...UNIQUE sense of humor. The megalomania thing wears a bit thin, for example. I know quite a few noobs that have been helped by his pragmatism ("just pick an implementation and stick with it," "Stop bitching and do something"), but just as many that have left or put him in their killfile because of his off-center tangents and his occasional desire to be the new Erik.

You received a warm welcome because you contributed something useful and didn't just come in bitching and moaning. You were also smart enough to figure out something you could contribute with your current skill level instead of just copping out. Like Kenny, I admire that. And I think Kenny is often very helpful and entertaining. Like many /stereotypical/ geeks, though, I think his sense of humor and social skills are sometimes a bit off. IMHO, a blog is a better outlet for his thoughts...I think it will help the signal-to-noise ratio on c.l.l. and you will still get to read his insights if you subscribe to his feed. I've already subscribed.

Re: All Your Parentheses Are Belong to Us

#13

Post by pchristensen » Mon, Feb 11, 2008, 9:32 PM UTC

Shooter wrote: post #12

pchristensen wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took my first few dives into c.l.l recently (see here http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/browse_thread/... ) and I noticed a couple people (left unnamed) with a poisonous negativity, and I'd have to say that Ken seemed like a pragmatic realist with a hint of optimism (kind of like me). I don't even think I would have finished reading the threads I looked at without Ken's comments.

I was mostly kidding...but not entirely. I've been a lurker on c.l.l. for years and I've also seen quite a few interesting threads derailed by Kenny's...uh...UNIQUE sense of humor. The megalomania thing wears a bit thin, for example. I know quite a few noobs that have been helped by his pragmatism ("just pick an implementation and stick with it," "Stop bitching and do something"), but just as many that have left or p…

OK, I think I misunderstood your first comment. My positive opinion of Ken was based on a few threads (I couldn't tell if you thought having less Ken on c.l.l would make c.l.l better, or if having Ken write his own blog made it easier to find Ken. Apparently it was the first!