About My Father's Business

What's in a name?  We can thank good old Bill Shakespeare for posing some of the most though provoking questions known to man.  So let's ponder together what really is in a name.  Shakespeare says that a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.  That may be true, but if you're trying to get my attention in a crowded room, you'd better get my name right or you're not going to have much luck.  So is a thing defined by it's name, or is a name really nothing more than a label? Let's take a quick refresher course in the English language.  Most of it speak it fluently, but few of us remember any of the rules.  For most of us it's a little like trying to redeem reward points or frequent flyer miles.  "I" before "e" except after "c", not valid on major holidays or on days that end in "y".  We're aware that rules exist, but no clue how to explain them.  Luckily for me I have a daughter in second grade who is...

My 4 year old has developed a cute habit when she says prayers.  She has started to learn to pray on her own and we no longer prompt her with what to say next.  But she always starts the same way.  "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this most beautifulest day."  Now, my immediate reaction the first time she said that was to correct her, but I decided not to.  I sounds so cute when she says it, and they'll be plenty of time for proper grammar later.  Between her Mom and her Papa (my wife's dad) she'll get more than her share of grammar tips.  But as time has gone on I have discovered entirely new reasons why I'm glad I resisted the urge to help. As a computer programmer I deal with several different programming languages.  Some of the ones I use more frequently are Java, PL/SQL, Bash, Javascript, and a little bit of Python.  Now I realize that to most of you it's all Greek, but there are nearly as many programming languages as there are s...