Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs

Remember a book that opened the skies for you and revealed a whole new world of thought?  "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs" by Nicklaus Wirth was that book for me while studying at Northwestern University in the late 1970s.  The author helped me divine that programming is much more than procedural statements, that recursion is much more than calculating factorials.  Recursive data structures and algorithms are intrinsically interwoven, and they are powerful programming tools can solve real world problems.  I felt like Archimedes jumping out of his bathtub and running down the street naked shouting "Eureka."

My eyes were opened and I saw lists, trees, graphs, and recursion everywhere, in their glorious beauty.  The classic puzzle of the towers of Hanoi could now be solved to any number of levels.  In the Computer Science Research Lab at NU, we hooked up a pen plotter to a DEC PDP-8 minicomputer and watched mesmerized as it drew space-filling Hilbert curves programmed by Bill Nowicki.  It finally dawned on me that I wanted to be a doctor of programming languages and data structures rather than an MD, so I switch from Biology/pre-med to Computer Science, thanks to encouragement from friends like Rich Karhuse.  I felt like Newton struck by the proverbial apple.

I devoured books like "Fundamentals of Data Structures in Pascal" by Ellis Horowitz and Sartaj Sahni, especially since Ellis was my favorite professor at the University of Southern California (USC).  And now I'm working at 10gen, the MongoDB company, where Eliot Horowitz is co-founder and CTO.  While Eliot replied that he is not related to Ellis, in my head, they are akin.  Ellis fostered in me the joy of programming languages plus data structures.  Eliot has induced in me the joy of programming languages plus databases.

It may seem like we've come full circle, revisiting old principles and ideas.  I hope so, for the nature of things re-emerges regularly like spring even if we bury it in a snowfall of obscuring detail.  But there are important improvements that transform it into an upward spiral and a new season of thought and capability embodied in products like MongoDB.  There have been many advances over the 35 years since Wirth's book in technology and in our theory and practice.

In a series of blog post starting here, I hope to repeat resonating truths, share insights, clarify understanding, and rediscover the wonder years in computer programming and beyond.  For life is a tapestry with interwoven threads composed of thoughts, ideas, experiences, people, places, and times.  I want my friends, coworkers, and others to see and enjoy what I see.

Do I sound pretentious?  No, for I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.  Or rather imagine: I'm bobbing in a wave pool with my wife Linnea in the Allure of the Seas, Royal Carribean’s cruise ship displacing 225,000 tons of the Atlantic Ocean.  I'm dreaming about matching Ruby objects to BSON for MongoDB, while munching apples and shouting "Eureka."

Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs

61th Annual Observance – Thursday, May 3rd, 2012, 7:00PM

 

National Day of Prayer – One Nation Under God

 

The Presbyterian Church at New Providence

Prayer for Large Businesses, by Gary Murakami

How good and how pleasant it is for us to dwell together in unity!

How great it is for us to work together in harmony!

As we review large companies like those in the Dow 30,

We are amazed at the great things that can be accomplished.

I pray on behalf of large corporations and on behalf of all of us.

May we expect great things from God,

May we attempt great things for God,

May we accomplish great things for God.

May your blessings be poured out on us.

May God’s good purpose be woven through all that we endeavor to do.

As we produce and eat food and drink beverages,

May we hunger for you, the Bread of Life,

And thirst for you, the Living Water.

As we develop medicines and take them for our health,

May we look to you for healing as the Great Physician.

As we construct buildings and homes,

May we dwell on this,

“Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.”

May we envision that our final home is in heaven with you.

As we finance our homes and lives,

May our treasure be in heaven.

As we produce and use energy to heat and light our homes,

May we experience that all life comes from you.

As we insure our businesses and homes,

May we place our trust and hope in you.

As we build and use phone networks,

May we talk to God in prayer, the most important communication.

As we build and use computers and process information,

May we know that your thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

As we produce and watch entertainment and movies,

May we retell the greatest story ever told,

The gospel that Jesus Christ died for us.

As we work in large businesses,

Help us not to feel like an insignificant cog in a huge machine.

May we appreciate that we are members of the body of Christ,

Fitly joined together.

May we divine that we are important to God,

Wonderfully made us for his good purpose.

May we affirm the message with our coworkers,

That God loves us.

Finally, as we build airliners, operate them,

And fly to visit friends and family,

May we wait upon you, Lord,

And mount up with wings like eagles.

In Memory of Allen S. Hobson

Presented at the memorial service March 20, 2012
The Presbyterian Church at New Providence

I’m Gary Murakami and I would like to testify to the person of Allen Hobson, a blessing from God to us.

Allen, Daisy, and I are long-time members of our Sunday School class titled “Streams” which explores how many wonderful traditions are woven into the fabric, tapestry, and heritage of the church. Al was a full participant and active member, often quoting scripture and sharing testimony in his unique, crotchety, and sometimes dour manner. Fortunately this was often relieved by his good sense of humor and great smile.

His favorite passages were from the book of John, especially John 3:16. He would recite fervently from chapter 3,

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

I already miss his humor, and even his unique manner. I miss being able to reach over to Al, poke him, and call him “buddy.” But Al’s heritage lives on. His faithfulness and fervor are woven into the fabric and tapestry of my life and into the lives of all of us who were privileged to know him. While Al is no longer here in the flesh, he was born of the Spirit through his belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Al is in heaven with him, and when I see Al again, he’ll quote yet again, this time with great joy,

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

And we’ll respond yet again,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We’ll smile together and say,

“Look, here’s Jesus.

See, we’re born again into everlasting life!

We believe!”

In Memory of Lee E. McMahon

December 19, 2011 at 9:29pm

At ManorCare in New Providence, my father-in-law Arne Swenson sits with Gertrude and Helen for meals. I eventually found that Helen's last name is McMahon, and being a Bear's fan, I mentioned Jim McMahon of Chicago Bears and Superbowl Shuffle fame. Helen told me that her husband's name was Lee, and I told her that I had a coworker at Bell Labs named Lee McMahon. I found a photo via Google images, and she said "That's him!"

I worked with Lee McMahon and Bill Marshall on Datakit, a computer network invented by Sandy Fraser in Computer Science Research at Bell Labs Murray Hill. In my mind, I can still picture Lee and Bill in the "Wurlitzer" room which was adjacent to the Unix room in building 2, fifth floor. It was called the Wurlitzer room because the layers of consoles for the Datakit switches resembled a massive organ. Lee and Bill stood at the center of it all.

I can still picture Lee standing in my office doorway to chat about work. He was a chain smoker and would tap ashes into the door latch hole. When I poked him about it he said that there was no problem since the door jamb and walls were all steel. I still wondered at the surprise of a column of ashes for workers doing any remodeling. Lee got throat cancer and a laryngectomy. He returned to work after treatment, and I remember the shock and sympathetic pain that I felt for him as he struggled to speak. We resorted to communicating via pen and paper. Looking back, I can see the interest and effort that he took to encourage me professionally and personally - what a great guy!

Reposted from Facebook

Lee E. McMahon
Public Figure

Description

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lee E. McMahon (1931–1989) was an American computer scientist. He was a graduate of St. Louis University and obtained a Ph.D. in Psychology at Harvard. He worked for Bell labs from 1963 until 1989, and is best known for his contributions to early versions of the Unix operating system, in particular the sed stream editor. He contributed to the development of comm, qsort, grep, index, cref, cu, and Datakit. He also devised the McMahon system tournament.

Source

Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee E. McMahon, licensed under CC-BY-SA full list of contributors here. Community Pages are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, anyone associated with the topic.

A Celebration of the Life of Arne L. Swenson - January 14, 2012

November 13, 1930-December 21, 2011

End of life experience – O Holy Night by Adolphe Adam – Gary Murakami

Over the years, I have enjoyed time with my father-in-law Arne and his wife Sandy, talking, eating, playing chess, studying the Bible, and even discussing politics, religion, and world issues. Arne was highly intelligent, competitive, and had a clear vision of the improvements needed in our world. Sandy and I rejoiced in finding deep spiritual significance, insights, inspiration, and salvation in Jesus Christ through the Bible passages that we studied.

In mid October, Linnea and I had lunch with Arne and Sandy at their home in Summit, NJ. After Bible study with Sandy, Arne drove me home. The next week, Arne got sick, and an ambulance took him to Overlook Hospital. He had a serious infection and was so sick that he had difficulty recalling some words and finishing sentences. He responded well to treatment with anti-biotics, and two weeks later he was transferred to the ManorCare nursing home in New Providence on October 29, the day of the big snowstorm that took out electric power in the whole area for a week.

At ManorCare, Arne became known and loved for his gentle manner and conduct and for always saying “Thank you.” We celebrated with him for many events at ManorCare, visits from family, relatives, and friends; his 81st birthday, Thanksgiving, a puppet show from our church’s Youth Club kids, a Christmas concert by a brass band, and the spectacular ManorCare Christmas party.

During the last two months, Arne’s health fluctuated, and he eventually took a turn for the worse. Throughout everything, he continued to be the gentleman that he always had been over his whole life. Our memories of him remain to inspire us to be loving, steadfast, faithful, trustworthy, and triumphant. Linnea and I took turns at his bedside, talking to him, keeping him company and enjoying his presence even when he had difficulty in responding. Eventually, even a “yes” or “no” answer became a small victory. We played Christmas carols and songs by Petula Clark and I sang along to the music. I read to him from books, including passages like the following from the book titled “Blessing Your Spirit” (by Sylvia Gunter and Arthur Burk, from Day 8 Joy of the Lord, p23).

Touching him, I read,

Arne, your Father made you. He master-planned you, uniquely designed for this particular time in history. He chose the time in history, the family that He placed you into, and all your days up to now. His craftsmanship of you and His plans for you will stand before His throne for all eternity. I bless you with having abiding strength to be where God has placed you and to accomplish what He has called you to do, because you are able to drink deeply of the joy that God the Father has in you, as His beloved handiwork, crafted for His pleasure and purposes. I bless you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

Arne opened his eyes and responded, “Powerful words!”

On the night that Arne passed away, I was singing along to the Christmas Portrait album by the Carpenters.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

As I sang, “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,” Arne took his last breath. He looked peaceful, maybe even joyful, as if he were seeing the dawn of a new and glorious morning in heaven, and hearing the angel voices, and resting in the arms of his heavenly Father.