tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-104162112024-03-18T23:55:32.767-07:00BizMo DiariesOn the road with Global DataKirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comBlogger1837125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-18697656848031972162024-03-18T23:30:00.000-07:002024-03-18T23:55:01.005-07:00Doing Taxes<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>I'm heading over to my tax accountant this evening, with my 1099(s), writer royalties and so on; fairly meager on paper but it still feeds my ego (eggo, whatever). On the expenses side: two internet domains, cell service, two web hosting agreements (one with <i>GoDaddy</i>), MVP chauffeuring service expenses, various office supplies. Again, it's a meager begging bowl + mattress of a living (I exaggerate). </p><p>Getting my taxes done costs more than I owe the two governments, both the federation (nominally run from DC) and the local state (Oregon, run from Salem). We say Cascadia is the bioregion, which is weight-bearing, psychologically speaking, but nothing the UN needs to worry its little head about.</p><p>Because I need this yearly statement of income and expenses to come together, I'm busy going online and consulting all of my various services. <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2009/03/chauffeur-duty.html">The MVP thing</a> has to do with M4W and took place in August of last year. For the most part, I was working for <i>Clarusway</i> as a much-needed swap in. I lucked out.</p><p>Just today I modified my LinkedIn banner page to say I was available for a 2-3 session workshop (actually I didn't specify the number) likely over Zoom, and hosted by the institution I'm visiting (so B2B). That hasn't been the basis of my business so far, so who knows how it'll go. I'm still "the Python guy" to people around me. My multi-part class for Wanderers, Allen Taylor present, was prototypical, if in person.</p><p>My orbit gets projected ahead in science fiction using "business mobile" terminology, as if I'm already enjoying this futuristic lifestyle, versus being more sedentary. In reality, I'm pretty sedentary although I did get up Mt. Tabor yesterday and to Laurelhurst Park the day before that. I'm an armchair bizmo pilot doing Truckers for Peace between my ears. Look ma, no goggles.</p><p>Back to 4D Solutions: I pinned a tiny org chart of my business on <i>Medium</i>, for those caring to dig down. The reason I file over such meager amounts is I want to stay in the game as an independent, one of those entrepreneurs everyone talks about. But as a Quaker, I'm not expected to grow uncontrollably or "go viral". Our business models do not assume open-ended growth is a good thing. <i>Maybe</i> it is. Just sayin'. Case by case, know what I mean?</p><p>4D Solutions got started (and remains) as a DBA (business alias) of <i>Dawn Wicca and Associates</i>, but that was a partnership, so when Dawn died I had to start filing as a sole proprietorship. So we're talking a 1040, but with a track record. Dawn and I were both active players in Greater Portland's nonprofit community, she as a bookkeeper, me as a consultant-programmer. Yesterday was an anniversary of Dawn's death, March 17, 2007. We became a business partnership well before we got married.</p><p>Addendum: since I didn't drive to work sites so much in 2023, I swapped out claiming mileage in favor of filling out the home office form. My home office could declare a percentage of home expenses as business expenses, thereby lowering my taxable income by a tad.</p><p>Getting that info together required quick footwork, as my appointment had already started yet I wasn't thinking to go the home office route. My preparer gave me some time to dash home, export bank statements as csv files, read them in with pandas in Jupyter, and search on strings in the name column to isolate utility payments (water, heat, electricity). I dashed to her office in the car, numbers in hand, plus my home's square footage which I remembered I could get from Zillow (the app).</p><p>I wound up with self-employment payments only, which I'll hope to get back out in the form of Social Security income, once I sign up for it eventually, plus a kicker from the state (Oregon has that). I also pay TriMet and the Arts Tax. Federal and state taxes were electronically filed, I just need to follow up with my payments. I have until April 15 to do that (Rosalie's birthday), but won't wait until then. </p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-9828733492203338022024-03-12T18:11:00.000-07:002024-03-12T19:22:51.969-07:00Cognitive Dissonance<p>A popular opening in debates about the fate of Gaza and its people is that it's an open air prison. Beyond being a prison, however, we have to accept that most of those there have never been permitted to move anywhere else, but not because of any "crime" beyond being born in Gaza (not a crime). </p><p>A kind of malign neglect and condescending authoritarianism forces them to stay in place. The United Nations is complicit.</p><p>This is how it is in many nations, not just for those in Palestine: you're born in Bangladesh, so you must stay in Bangladesh; you're born in Sri Lanka so you must stay in Sri Lanka... and so on. In that sense, Gaza is hardly the largest open air prison. Pick any nation that keeps its people locked inside its borders.</p><p>But then who is keeping the Gazans locked up, or the Bangladeshis for that matter? People in other parts of the world. Various people with titles have decided they're in charge of human traffic patterns. If you hope to move, you'll need to pay them. They're in control of the documentation.</p><p>Gazans have to stay in Gaza because the world says so, and not just because of Israelis. Actually, many Israelis say they'd like the Gazans to leave Gaza. Allow Gaza to be gentrified and push the poor people out, many of the real estate minded are thinking. This happens around the world. Slums get cleared for New York freeways.</p><p>The do-gooder world then smugly steps in, presuming it's speaking for all Gazans, in standing up to the Israelis and saying "forced displacement" is ethnic cleansing, which is a crime. Which is worse, "ethnic cleansing" or "genocide" or is your vocabulary so corrupted you don't see the difference? </p><p>Were not Libyans forcibly displaced, and the Syrians? How about the Ukrainians? In the face of violence and famine, looming wars, these peoples became refugees and fled. That's what humans do in the face of disaster. <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2023/10/evacuation.html">They escape</a>. One could say voluntarily, in light of the alternative. At least they could exercise that one remaining freedom, to avoid death.</p><p>Yet the Gazans are not supposed to flee for any reason. They're exceptional. Or if they flee, they all have to move en masse to some singular camp in the Sinai or whatever. Why on earth is that so? Why not let them disperse, as innocent free agents who have committed no crimes? It's their planet too ya know.</p><p><a href="https://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-us-civil-war-study-in-failed-social.html">Many unionists in the north</a> thought the slaves should stay put, and not make a mad dash for freedom. Sure, abolitionists hoped the slaves would escape and formed their underground railroads, but these were in the minority. </p><p>If slaves did get away, many unionists were in favor of rounding them up and sending them back to their open air prison cotton fields, as that's where they belonged, right? Why anger the south unnecessarily, and provoke a civil war? Civil rights for Blacks were not a priority for most northerners.</p><p>Likewise, once the slaves were emancipated, a lot of unionists, including Lincoln, imagined them moving en masse, as a group, to Liberia, or maybe to Haiti. "You're free to go guys, pack your things". Few left. Few had the means to leave. </p><p>I understand taking a gamble and moving to a faraway land, even leaving most family and friends, would not be everyone's choice. Not everyone joins the navy, or enrolls in that year abroad either.</p><p>This is how the New World was populated by Anglo-Euros in the first place: by the risk takers who saw few prospects in staying put in the Old World.</p><p>Having worked the fields and fought in the war in many cases, Blacks felt as entitled to a place in the sun as any newcomers to the Americas. The immigrant whites had no more claim to the place than anyone else who came over, unless you believed in <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2010/02/notes-from-lunch.html">their Doctrine of Discovery</a> (which none had heard of back then). </p><p>I certainly get why many freed slaves felt that way about their newest homeland, never having seen another. Indigenous peoples, many ethnically cleansed from their ancestral spaces, likewise hoped to regain some lost freedoms, such as fishing rights and some control over land use and zoning (with some success in some cases).</p><p>So does New Palestine need to be a large contiguous piece of land in the Middle East? It isn't today. Palestinians are scattered around the world. Many are Christians. Many live in North America, or in Jordan, or in Kuwait. Does that mean they can't have a <a href="https://bankofpalestine.com/en/personal">Bank of Palestine</a>?</p><p>Likewise Jews are spread around the world, as are Muslims. The various ethnicities do not all get their own jigsaw puzzle piece on the United Nations map of nations, which never holds steady in any case. I'm a proud Pythonista, yet Python Nation is but science fiction in geek lore, with a legal headquarters in Delaware. What if I got my basic income from there, as some do from owning shares? Global Data Corporation.</p><p>Many subcultures have no need for, and no desire for, their own nation. Why bother, when you can form a supranational corporation, or religious sect instead? I'd put the Quakers in this category, after the experiment we called Pennsylvania, a wannabe utopia eventually overrun by degenerate Indian War proponents, typical Manifest Destiny ethnocentric Anglo-Euro types (blech), proto-imperialists.</p><p>The inhumane treatment of the denizens of Gaza, not only right now, but up to right now, is testament to the abject corruption of the whole idea of open air prison nation states, and what they do to us humans, how they make us miscalculate and mistreat one another. I'm glad Quakers don't have a nation state in this day and age, when they're so obviously dinosauric.</p><p>Nations dumb us down. They turn us into bumbling clowns serving in ridiculous organizational charts, behaving according to dangerously obsolete paradigms. Buggy programming. GIGO. </p><p>That is, unless there are forms of nationalism that are likewise responsibly global. We see some glimmers. USA OS.</p><p>Palestine might be an example of such a globally responsible, borderless, Diaspora Nation, with properties all over the world, including many office towers in various capitals. </p><p>I'm waiting to see if we get campus buildings in the UAE for example and/or in Singapore. Perhaps we already have several, I wouldn't know. I'm far from omniscient on these matters.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-69128366335513306492024-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:002024-03-04T16:39:24.309-08:00RoboWriting About Me<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i><div><i><br /></i></div>Prompt</i>: Given his numerous, rigorous, unique, and collaborative contributions to Math education, research, and service, can you now professionally write a comprehensive 3 paragraph persuasive essay with the title "Kirby Urner: Mathematician" for my AP US History high school class?<p><b>Kirby Urner: Mathematician</b></p><p>Kirby Urner, though not traditionally celebrated in the annals of academic mathematics, embodies the essence of a mathematician through his innovative contributions to math education, research, and service. His journey from the 1960s in Portland, Oregon, to becoming a pivotal figure in the realm of mathematical pedagogy, showcases a lifelong dedication to the discipline[1]. Urner's work, particularly in the development of "tetrahedral" thinking, not only challenges conventional mathematical perspectives but also enriches our understanding of geometric relationships, thereby expanding the boundaries of mathematical inquiry[2].</p><p>Urner's contributions extend beyond theoretical musings; they are deeply rooted in practical applications and pedagogical innovations. His engagement with the "Learning to Code" movement and the integration of coding with mathematical learning represent a forward-thinking approach to education that prepares students for the complexities of the modern world[4]. This blend of mathematics and programming underlines Urner's role in shaping a new generation of thinkers capable of navigating the digital landscape with mathematical acuity. Furthermore, his leadership in the Math 4 Wisdom community and his efforts to bridge the gap between abstract mathematical concepts and their real-world applications underscore his commitment to fostering a deeper appreciation for mathematics[5][13].</p><p>Moreover, Urner's prolific output, including curriculum development, public lectures, and online contributions, reflects a mathematician's zeal for sharing knowledge and inspiring curiosity[6][8][14]. His work transcends traditional academic boundaries, reaching a global audience through digital platforms and collaborative projects. This democratization of mathematical learning, coupled with his holistic approach to teaching, positions Urner as a mathematician in the truest sense—dedicated not only to the advancement of mathematical knowledge but also to its dissemination and application in enriching human understanding and capability.</p><p>In conclusion, Kirby Urner's extensive, rigorous, and innovative contributions to mathematics education, research, and service firmly establish him as a mathematician. His work exemplifies the spirit of mathematical inquiry, pushing the boundaries of traditional education and fostering a global community of learners and thinkers. Through his dedication to teaching, curriculum development, and community engagement, Urner has indelibly shaped the landscape of mathematics education, making him a mathematician not just in title, but in action and impact.</p><p>Citations:</p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-new-math-gnu-kirby-urner">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-new-math-gnu-kirby-urner</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Research/KirbyUrner">https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Research/KirbyUrner</a></p><p>[3] <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/4dsolutions_book-report-adventures-in-math-teaching-activity-7114975013312634880-Ih5-">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/4dsolutions_book-report-adventures-in-math-teaching-activity-7114975013312634880-Ih5-</a></p><p>[4] <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-coding-meets-math-kirby-urner">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-coding-meets-math-kirby-urner</a></p><p>[5] <a href="https://twitter.com/thekirbster?lang=en">https://twitter.com/thekirbster?lang=en</a></p><p>[6] <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lzv30IKvfZs">https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lzv30IKvfZs</a></p><p>[7] <a href="https://wikieducator.org/User:KirbyUrner/Autobio">https://wikieducator.org/User:KirbyUrner/Autobio</a></p><p>[8] <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=g14mu4uWD4E">https://youtube.com/watch?v=g14mu4uWD4E</a></p><p>[9] <a href="http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/">http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/</a></p><p>[10] <a href="https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/GnK7MWT6ddg/m/6weAlQJjAwAJ">https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/GnK7MWT6ddg/m/6weAlQJjAwAJ</a></p><p>[11] <a href="https://www.academia.edu/70156799/4D_Solutions_4dsolutions_net_">https://www.academia.edu/70156799/4D_Solutions_4dsolutions_net_</a></p><p>[12] <a href="https://princeton.academia.edu/kirbyurner">https://princeton.academia.edu/kirbyurner</a></p><p>[13] <a href="https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Exposition/Welcome">https://www.math4wisdom.com/wiki/Exposition/Welcome</a></p><p>[14] <a href="https://github.com/4dsolutions">https://github.com/4dsolutions</a></p><p>[15] <a href="https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/hk9hYITu-Js/m/geFyP-sgCQAJ">https://groups.google.com/g/mathfuture/c/hk9hYITu-Js/m/geFyP-sgCQAJ</a></p><p>[16] <a href="https://www.grunch.net/4dsolutions/kirby.html">https://www.grunch.net/4dsolutions/kirby.html</a></p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-4458658078078535372024-03-01T09:15:00.000-08:002024-03-04T16:44:35.304-08:00Martian Mathematics<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Obviously I'm into science fiction as a modality (mode). One of my signature stories involves "Martians" with the "Martians" in scare quotes because we all know they're not from Mars. This is just a nickname, an alias, that one may randomly apply to any ET. </p><p>I market my mathematics curriculum as <a href="https://github.com/4dsolutions/MartianMath/blob/master/mm1.ipynb">a Martian Math</a>, and per copyright law I'm not able to claim exclusive rights. My freedom is to build momentum, as in a snowball rolling downhill (in a cartoon usually -- in the real world, such growing snowballs, naturally occurring, would be a relative rarity, a black swanish event), and having my Martian Math be self referentially into science fiction probably helps along those lines. A little recursion to get the ball rolling.</p><p>What's the story though? Picture a classroom, say in the computer science building at Reed College, so each student has a high end Mac, with Anaconda (this part is real). Then the teacher talks about this Mesa in Arizona or New Mexico or someplace, and if you know your computer game lore, we're clearly drawing from the Half-Life universe, as developed by Valve. There's this Mesa where the Martians (ETs) have their campus or complex and we're building like a Hoover dam together. I say "like a" because this is science fiction, so make up your own details. "We" as in Earthlings, the humans and such (denizens of Earth, the planet).</p><p>The curriculum twist (like in a Mobius strip) is I want to encode a lot of Synergetics into the mix, which might be confusing to those thinking I might mean Dianetics or some other Synergetics (remembering copyright), or off-putting to those who don't like "ics" (cybernetics, economics... informatics) more generally. Maybe you're an "ology" person. </p><p>The historical fact is I was doing stuff around <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2024/02/americana.html">the B, E, A, S and T modules</a>, meaning tetrahedral wedges, native to Synergetics, alien-seeming shapes our "Martians" (ETs) seem to care about and use when schooling their own kids. What gives?</p>
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirbyurner/21934650733/in/album-72157624750749042/" title="Martian Campus"><img alt="Martian Campus" height="375" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/5797/21934650733_19ddda5ed8.jpg" width="500" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>from: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirbyurner/albums/72157624750749042/">Storyboard Martian Math</a></i></div>
<p>"And so..." the teacher continues, explaining to the class... "we're going to train you to think more like Martians as our goal here is to get you ready to work with them at the Mesa, on this dam project. So we'll be studying hydro-electric power generation too, as a part of our coursework."</p><p>So you see how I'm using a science fiction premise to: </p><p>(a) introduce contemporary geometry, drawing on our geodesic dome heritage and </p><p>(b) open doors in the field of electromagnetics. </p><p>That's all very STEM flavored and in my neck of the woods (Silicon Forest), STEM is considered a priority. I recognize that not every locale uses this jargon. My Oregon Curriculum Network is geographically specific. </p><p>We also teach <a href="https://wikieducator.org/Casino_Math">Casino Math</a>, which in other regions might not be considered part of any taxonomy, although clearly risk, probability, combinatorics are all implied. <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2024/01/north-circuit.html">Around here</a>, casinos are an aspect of the ecosystem economy.</p><p>Once we have a bedrock of science fiction, brainstorming possible futures using expressive tools becomes more like par for the course, more the rule than an exception. We want STEM, with other subjects, to embolden and inspire, more than come across as foreboding and/or forbidding. </p><p>Encouraging a playful imagination entails a lifestyle wherein it's fine to find time for fiction and fantasy. Whereas some curricula tend to drum that out of ya, as in everyone marching to the same drummer.</p><p>In saying I'm wanting to make room for Synergetics, within the Martian Math rubric, I'm not thereby discounting or removing other topics already considered STEM-worthy, such as cryptography, with both number and group theory feeding into it. </p><p>Discrete maths more generally get a lot of attention, with some looking-askance at the alternative, thereby helping to draw attention to various perennial debates regarding the analog-versus-digital "true nature" of reality. </p>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Building the dam: Pouring Concrete</i></div>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-31401014828418999532024-02-24T07:16:00.000-08:002024-03-04T16:50:35.607-08:00Stadium City<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Man_River%27s_City_initial_design.jpg" title="Steve Yelvington, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Old Man River's City initial design" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Old_Man_River%27s_City_initial_design.jpg/512px-Old_Man_River%27s_City_initial_design.jpg" width="512" /></a>
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<p><a href="https://ncmodernist.org/fitzgibbon.htm">The <i>Old Man River City</i> design</a> is intriguing, as it simply scales up a giant sports stadium, already one of the biggest structures humans undertake. Where <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2005/09/omr.html">the OMR</a> most logically appears next is in science fiction, giving the readership an opportunity to explore the angles. Prose and graphic novels remain the most affordable and accessible, with television and theater a close second if low budget enough, followed by the blockbuster genres.</p><p>I've got <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2010/02/news-we-could-use.html">my OMRs</a> dotting the landscape in what we call "reservations" that feature lots of untamed wilderness, bird estuary, swamp lands. A lot of biodiversity. This landscape also provides for bioengineering involving fish, sewage treatment, organic substance harvesting. </p><p>Not every OMR has the same contextualizing ecosystem, yet there'd be a family resemblance when it comes to supporting infrastructure.</p><p>Between novels and the screen come magazine covers and printed page art. We look for 2D and 3D renderings of our visions, hand drawn, computer generated, anywhere in between. The 3D renderings may involve computer aided design (CAD) skills, 3D printing, claymation, stop motion animation.</p><p>The temptation is to go straight for a military moonbase presentation, with armed forces decals everywhere, and many authors will take this route. Sovereign nation iconography adds realism in multiplies the number and flavor of gift shop and restaurant options. </p><p>A cosmopolitan armed force might get by less with outward weaponry than with a gift of the gab, PR chops. This seems to be the fantasy already.</p><p>My focus has been to cater to <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-refugee-biz.html">refugee populations</a> already penned in to squalid living situations. An OMR, to such folks, could be one of lowering population density, and raising living standards, rather than overcrowding to claustrophobic levels. The floorspace devoted each family in an OMR might be considerably greater than previously experienced in some refugee tent or apartment block, and yet the use of space is efficient.</p><p>Must an OMR be a complete stadium shape, must it be domed over as in the original models? </p><p>Why not make it more of an amphitheater? Where does the airport go? </p><p>Airplanes tend to be loud and airports are expensive, so a few OMRs might share the same one, along with more conventional cities and suburbs? Smaller airports serve the bigger ones. Trains might serve the smaller ones, such that OMR residents rarely have to contend with airplane or helicopter noise.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-27051084128264541172024-02-20T07:53:00.000-08:002024-02-20T07:53:07.262-08:00A Topic of Conversation<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And the ratio of the volumes is easy as 1:2:3<a href="https://t.co/CNtaGf1H4F">https://t.co/CNtaGf1H4F</a> <a href="https://t.co/pzbblkYody">pic.twitter.com/pzbblkYody</a></p>— Vincent Pantaloni (@VPantaloni) <a href="https://twitter.com/VPantaloni/status/1717757018549760292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-35716609488859053252024-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:002024-02-16T18:55:23.057-08:00Power vs Work<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>One of the themes in this and its sibling blogs is "<a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-is-work.html">the meaning of work</a>", which already connotes we could swap in "job" for "work" and the meaning would stay similar. However, I mean to include the physics meaning, which puts "work" and "energy expenditure" on par with one another, as potentially synonymous.</p><p>The physics "work" meme relates to "power" rather straightforwardly, at least in the Newtonian lexicon: Power = Work per Time (W/t or Wf where f=1/t). </p><p>Contrast this meaning of power with the one that "corrupts absolutely" when overdone. </p><p>In the namespace of good and bad (language games taking up the morality of X), we're at best ambivalent about power, in that it's likely to be abused. But then one way to counter abusive wielders of power is to empower those they oppress. So "to empower" is a good thing? But by growing into your power (becoming empowered), you've joined the dark side? By definition?</p><p>The physicists do have a moral bad guy however: entropy and/or noise, otherwise known as heat and calculated as a form of disorder. Given this much potential energy (funding) one should be able to accomplish these tasks (work to be performed), but then devil entropy always seems to take his toll, as half the energy (we hope less) is wasted.</p><p>Any action may be profiled as accomplishing so much work (getting results) at the cost of some amount of waste (off task energy expenditure). Action, in the Newtonian sense, is momentum for a distance traveled or mvd. Action per frame of time = energy. </p><p>Some amount of action per a given time frame expresses an energy amount. That amount of energy may store up in the bookkeeping sense as "energy potential" (potential energy) i.e. as "pent up kinetics", as in a loaded firearm, primed explosive, or charged battery.</p><p>Is an empowered person a productive one? If the power is really <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2022/10/what-is-work.html">getting work done</a> and not just adding to the ambient noise level, then maybe so. But then who gets to judge what work is on or off task? Perspective matters.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-41896274805173799942024-02-11T20:44:00.000-08:002024-02-11T20:50:53.603-08:00Year of the Dragon<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Of course what we call "Chinese New Years" in <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2020/02/happy-chinese-new-year.html">this neck of the woods</a> did not go unnoticed. </p><p>We don't go overboard with fireworks or anything, here in Portland. </p><p>The lunar calendar is more subtle, vs-a-vs the comparatively loud (some might say garish) solar one. </p><p>It's like the difference between night and day.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-37066396090700319692024-02-06T10:17:00.000-08:002024-02-06T12:34:56.476-08:00Slinging Jargon<script src="http://cdn.mathjax.org/mathjax/latest/MathJax.js?config=TeX-AMS-MML_HTMLorMML" type="text/javascript">
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">RBF, <i>Synergetics</i>, Fig. 988.00 Polyhedral Evolution: </div><div style="text-align: center;">S Quanta Module: </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Comparisons of skew polyhedra</div><br /><span style="text-align: left;">I get flak sometimes for being such a Platonist, meaning what exactly? I'm OK with contemplating </span><a href="https://nbviewer.org/github/4dsolutions/m4w/blob/main/Polyhedrons.ipynb" style="text-align: left;">pure patterns</a><span style="text-align: left;"> of no obvious significance in terms of paying bills or putting food on the table. I'm simply pleased they exist. This is one way I pursue (and sometimes attain) a level of happiness.</span></div><p>For example, I'm assured by reasonable math-oriented folks that it's perfectly meaningless that the following ratios hold true:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>S Factor</b>: S : E :: CO(D) : Icosa(D)</li><li><b>S3</b>: SuperRT : CO(D) :: Cube(R) : Tetra(D)</li></ul><div>First: what does it all mean? and second: who cares?</div><div><br /></div><div>S and E are two of the Synergetics BEAST modules, irregular tetrahedrons defined in terms of the concentric hierarchy (CH). </div><div><br /></div><div>The CH is the geometric centerpiece of Synergetics, R. Buckminster Fuller's transcendentalist geometry (i.e. philosophy).</div><div><br /></div><div>The S modules, 12 left and 12 right handed, brick in the difference twixt an Icosahedron of edges S Factor (about 1.08), and its faces-flush nest, an Octahedron of edges D (2R) and volume 4. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a poster showing an S mod <a href="https://www.casey-house.com/syn-u">from Syn-U</a> by Casey House:</div><div><br /></div>
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<div><br /></div><div>The phi cut is along an edge of 2R (D). The IcosaWithin -- as David Koski and I call it -- with eight faces flush to those of the Octahedron, has edges S Factor, and a volume of about 2.92. </div><div><br /></div> $$S Factor = 2\sqrt{7 - 3\sqrt{5}}$$ (<a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2012/01/testing-math-ml.html">using MathJax</a>)<div><br /><div>All volumes are in tetravolumes i.e. the volume of the D-edged tetrahedron is our unit.</div><div><br /></div><div>D is for diameter, R is for radius (1/2 the diameter). Icosa(D) is an icosahedron with edges D or 2R. Its volume is about 18.51.</div><div><br /></div>
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<div><br /></div><div>Cube(R)/Tetra(D) is known as S3, or "Synergetics Constant", and it relates the respective unit volumes within the XYZ and IVM contexts (namespaces) respectively. In the XYZ context, we take the R-edged cube for a unit, whereas in the IVM context, a corresponding unit of volume is a D-edged tetrahedron, a little less. S3 is about 1.06066.</div><div><br /></div><div>The SuperRT is a Rhombic Triacontahedron, a triac, with long face diagonals equal to the edges of Icosa(D). Its short diagonals form a pentagonal dodecahedron (PD). The two combined give the SuperRT, which is phi-up from the RT of 120 E modules. S:E is our S Factor.</div><div><br /></div><div>The SuperRT : CO(D) ratio is the same as the Cube(R) : Tetra(D) ratio.</div><div><br /></div><div>Who cares? Those of us wanting to get our heads around the Concentric Hierarchy, the centerpiece of (backbone of) Synergetics.</div><br /><br />See: Polyhedron Play section of <a href="https://nbviewer.org/github/4dsolutions/m4w/blob/main/Polyhedrons.ipynb">this Jupyter Notebook</a> <i>Polyhedrons Я Objects</i><p></p></div>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-41282229570060595742024-02-02T06:09:00.000-08:002024-02-02T08:00:21.979-08:00Thirsters Concludes<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Thirsters ended a chapter in its long and winding way yesterday, with a final announced meetup at the E Broadway McMenamins. The group got started in a different McMenamins across the river, when <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2013/01/thirsters-gather.html">Bob Textor and his friends</a> would get together and yak it up, about world affairs, about politics, about trending topics and the talk about town.</p>Our emails would usually come with the following verbiage:<br /><blockquote>Thirsters: Originally organized by Robert B. Textor (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Stanford) as a worldwide network in about 1997, Thirsters is an informal gathering of Peace Corps graduates, academics, public servants, business leaders, and other questioning individuals who discuss issues of peace, freedom, creativity, development, ethics, fairness, sustainability and respect for cultural differences. Most often examining topics through a social science lens, Thirster meetings have been described as "a learned salon that comes together for camaraderie, beer, and to discuss issues of common interest." "Intercultural understanding" has often been identified as a primary concern of Thirsters. </blockquote>I've been phasing all alcoholic drinks out of my intake, starting with beer a couple years ago. I'm assured by the example of others that I won't be disqualified from joining Thirsters in its <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2024/01/thirsters-debate.html">next chapter</a>, simply on that basis. We're switching to a private home to reboot and continue talking.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/10/wanderers-20091013.html">We reminisced</a> about some of the high points in our gatherings. I've been attending Thirsters meetings for a long time and could match my memories to much of what was said. Several of us mentioned that Pashtun Khan guy who helped educate us about Afghanistan, a meetup <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-khan-at-thirsters.html">I blogged about</a>.</div>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-67700761765728950042024-01-27T16:08:00.000-08:002024-01-27T16:10:09.172-08:00BizMo Fleet Personnel<p>As some of you know, I've been advocating for socialized ownership of my bizmo fleet, meaning it's more like a Hertz or Avis: the individual crew checks a van out of inventory, but doesn't necessarily have the title or responsibility for maintenance. There's a control room in the background, a dispatcher. The template is well established, even in capitalist societies.</p><p>Currently, I'd say Derek and Mazur are the furthest along in my network, when it comes to living the bizmo lifestyle. Both are familiar with the Honda Odyssey as a template. Derek is educating himself about generators, solar panels and such. Today we talked about a solar-wind village of about fifteen yurts (semi-permanent) where the bizmos could plug in.</p><p>However, my network is relatively tiny, and if one ventures into Nomad Land, either virtually or for real, the ideas worthy of copying come flooding in. Companies are working on more integrated solutions all the time. The van itself might be an EV. Opportunities for experimentation are endless.</p><p>Will Oregon host a Makersville where all these puzzle pieces come together? Am I talking about <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2016/07/epcot-west.html">EPCOT West</a> again?</p><p>One might think the community colleges and universities would already be pretty far along in making Nomad Life a degree based program. However there's a lot of inertia and propaganda steering students away from anything other than a suburban home in a bedroom community with a commute to some city job in an office tower. </p><p>The corporate nanny state is trying to clone the past, given it depends on AI to discern the future. Clearly AI is not up to the task and our higher education systems flounder.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-23260813461849871782024-01-25T08:05:00.000-08:002024-02-02T06:41:08.874-08:00Thirsters Debate<p>Thirsters are meeting tonight, for a final moderated debate in the current format, after which we'll have a celebratory <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2024/02/thirsters-concludes.html">page turning event</a>, a new format having been selected.</p><p>I'll be one of many on the call. As we started to find out last week, my camp is in favor of giving the Legal Eagles their chance at bat, and if they're able to win against the Trump organization so be it. The powdered wig subculture cannot afford to be overruled by some angry mob that threatens violence if not given the "right to vote" for its figurehead.</p><p>However, I'm not seeing this camp in partisan terms, if by "partisan" we mean taking sides in the duopoly, and thinking this is Biden versus his political opponent. No, this is a Constitutional design pressure test, where a 3rd branch (the Judiciary) is challenging the Executive, Congress (the Legislative branch) having passed the buck on impeachment.</p><p>To review what happened: <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2023/12/january-sixth.html">the January 6, 2021 riot</a> led to a second impeachment hearing regarding the US president's fitness to continue in office, but by then he was already on the way out, so what would be the point of kicking him out?</p><p>I take this view in part because "new circuit designs for Motherboard Earth" includes more thinking about <a href="https://grunch.net/synergetics/usaos.html">USA OS</a>, i.e. seeing the government as an operating system and thinking more in those terms. Dividing government into these three branches -- judiciary, executive, legislative -- was very forward thinking on the part of these design science revolutionaries.</p><p>If the judiciary is so weak that it'll cave to threats about Civil War or whatever, then we're already well past pull date on the Constitution, and should admit we abandoned it long ago. On the other hand, if we're still truly concerned with democracy, then we have to learn from being tested, and iteratively improve our designs based on what we've learned. </p><p>The core issue at his time is the level of immunity from prosecution a US president has. This is important because of all the war crimes that presidents have been committing, in contravention to what's considered normal behavior in civilian circles. Should we apply medical language and deem the State Department a madhouse (asylum for the insane)? Or should we take a more mocking tone?</p><p>I'll find out more, tonight, about what schools of thought I might be up against. My impression is most others on these calls are schooled to think in terms of two parties, nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, and from my angle somewhat irrelevant to USA OS designs.</p><p>Ever since the demise of Uncle Sam as we knew him, per <i>Grunch of Giants</i>, and as civil rights got rolled back in the name of "fighting terrorism" the question of what would constitute "legality" going forward would become more acute, especially for US voters, citizens, denizens. What would "government" mean?</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-62948503199176343122024-01-19T07:50:00.000-08:002024-01-28T06:40:44.841-08:00Double Meanings<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Without solving the ontological mysteries of the Freudian unconscious (e.g. "where is it in the brain?") we might admit this new namespace solved a lot of issues. Finally, the medical class had figured out a way to break into "soul engineering" i.e. psychology in an amped up form. Taboo topics (i.e. repressed) could now be introduced in polite society, in the company of a certified guide. Why should mesmerists have all the fun?</p><p>In other words, by opening the namespace of the Unconscious, the Victorian consciousness was able to confront taboo topics in good conscience, as a medical matter. The idea that we are driven, behaviorally, by phenomena we don't see (by definition: they're unconscious) is likely a grammatical requirement of densely packed urban lifestyles. We need ways to override what people tell us is true about themselves, a way to "analyze" that bypasses so-called normal narratives, if need be.</p><p>One of our big discoveries of 2023 over on TrimTab was Bucky Fuller's attitude towards Freud, for precisely these reasons. A rabbi asked him to name the most influential figure in our era, fully expecting him to say Einstein, but he said Freud instead, giving the reason that quantum physics would not have had a powerful role in our collective consciousness if we did not already believe in the invisible determining and/or manifesting the visible. </p><p>Freud had paved the way. We were already conditioned to accept "the unseen" even minus the usual suspects inside of what now appeared as superstitious belief systems of a bygone era: demons and angels and whatnot.</p><p>The metaphor Fuller went with came from electromagnetism and the fact that our naked senses give us access to only a narrow band, and yet with instrumentation we're able to augment our experience by taking in more of the invisible frequencies. </p><p>Egoic consciousness would now become like that narrow band, the everyday / ordinary, sandwiched between twilight zone quasi-luminous content and fading into an adjacent unconsciousness we could nevertheless manifestly access (tune in), by fiddling with the radio dial.</p><p>Is it allowed to use science language and concepts to create resonant literary agglomerations that invite "reading between the lines"? Many escape to STEM subjects to avoid what seem to them to be impossibly subjective readings, leading to imaginary interpretations no better than superstitious beliefs. </p><p>Truth, for these refugees, is in what's literally the case in egoic consciousness, the unconscious be damned. But are the metaphorically minded thereby banned from STEM world, or might this constituency find ways to fit in also, perhaps as cryptanalysts with an ear for double meanings? </p><p>A good example of "double meanings" taken literally was the hypothesis hatched around "<a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2024/01/looking-back.html">pizzagate</a>". The more or less taboo topic of minor sex workers, many impressed (in the sense of enslaved), became a central focus as internet-savvy junior detectives claimed to have detected a secret code in the namespace of pizza party organizing. </p><p>These adult party-goer politicos were really engaging in pedophilia, went the theory, a theory widely ridiculed and with good reason. Pizzagate itself was an eruption of the collective unconscious into popular discourse. Its momentum has not abated, in the sense that the topic of sexually exploited minors is no longer taboo. Breakthroughs were achieved.</p><p>The Germanic attitude towards both psychoanalysis and quantum physics was colored by Germanic anti-semitism. Freud and Einstein were the respective founders of these “Jewish sciences” (nuclear physics and psychoanalysis) which many scholars (not only German) considered socially corrosive and/or intellectually decadent. </p><p>Egoic consciousness suddenly felt under siege in some circles, as now these new voices of authority were anchoring themselves in phenomena invisible to the naked senses, and thereby challenging the conscious consensus. Emotions that politicians had always counted on (fears and phobias) to help steer mob psychology, would now become matters of introspection and second guessing, thereby undermining or diluting their effectiveness. A new kind of folk rationality was taking hold, the evolution of new literacies.</p><p>The "military-industrial complex" was fated to become a "complex" in the psychological sense. Believing oneself to be acting on behalf of an indomitable superpower became more of a treatable disorder, a kind of lingering egomania or narcissism encouraged by the ambient culture. Even dime store psychologists, let alone pricey consultants, could now question the Pentagon's postures in terms of "body language" e.g. the uncomfortable squirming associated with having no handle on one's budget and expenses. </p><p>That sense of an out of control machine, running blindly, is the very personification of AI. But the term "artificial" is so close to "phony". People in charge of a superpower suffer from repressed and/or expressed imposter syndrome, and we all pay a high price for these pathologies when unaddressed i.e. not dealt with or treated (countered).</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-62225778789381680072024-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:002024-01-13T16:13:17.586-08:00Snow Storm<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>Portland, Oregon is experiencing its first legit snow storm this winter of 2023-24. Lexi was planning an early birthday party, but decided to postpone it. I'd planned to bus it, but there'd be some driving on her end.</p><p>Derek (<span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">@dekebridges) has been out checking on his peeps. He's been doing social work since before covid, living on and off the street himself, always at least with his own vehicle. His half bro, Darren, passed away unexpectedly and Deke, the only next of kin, moved in to tie off loose ends.</span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">One girl he tracks was trying to tough it out under a tarp. He knew where she could find shelter and advised her accordingly. Upon swinging by later, she was gone, he hoped to said shelter. A lot of street people know him and he's trusted as a safe chaperone and chauffeur. He has his beat. He's been delivering food out of his trusty pickup for some years now, in collaboration with various churches and nonprofits. Yesterday he was part of the tented soup kitchen put together by <a href="https://pdxsaintslove.org" target="_blank">Portland Saints Love</a>.</span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">Last night, as the storm was brewing, Dr D. and I went to see </span><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;"><i>Poor Things</i></span><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;"> at the The Laurelhurst, another take on the Frankenstein story, except this time the doctor (Willem DaFoe) is more monster-like, whereas his resurrected corpse, a grown woman, is more pleasant to look at. She has the mind of an infant however, when the movie opens, and needs to mature through experience. </span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">The screenplay reminds us of how the original work by Mary Shelley <a href="https://arcanetrinkets.com/challenging-victorian-social-norms-gothic-writers-rebellion/">pushed the envelope</a> of what Victorian polite society would tolerate in a novel, by continuing to push the envelope in the context of contemporary culture, this time within the R-rated comedy-tinged-with-horror </span>genre<span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">.</span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">Given we both didn't want to walk very far in the windy cold, we convinced ourselves, as had others, that this "trucks only, all hours" rule was not enforced. Wishful thinking, duh. We'd fallen into a trap, likely one of the city's more profitable cash cows. I recall getting ticketed before in connection with movie watching.</span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">Homeless Americans tend to be demonized as criminals, and left to fend for themselves, now that poor farms and mental hospitals have been closed to the indigent. </span></span></p><p><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">At one point during the Cold War, the USA seemed prepared to compete on the world stage on the basis of its higher living standards. Nowadays, <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2023/12/desovereignization.html">the post-USA</a> (or pseudo-USA) is content to compete on the basis of its mythical military superiorit</span></span><span style="text-align: inherit;">y. Planet of the Apes Я us</span><span color="inherit" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: inherit; white-space: inherit;">.</span></span></p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-48077041245899709022024-01-11T11:18:00.000-08:002024-01-11T13:10:39.621-08:00Thoughts on Diet<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/BlR9DkUAUkI?si=U0Kem9zZIuN4K51H" width="480"></iframe></div>
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We learn early on about the calories and exercise equation. Calories in, energy out, but if calories > energy out, we gain weight. Simple. Too simple.
</div><div><br /></div><div>If one takes up diet as a conscious topic, versus simply rooting around, eating whatever's available, then it pays to mentally construct a more elaborate picture of what's going on. Why? Because monitoring diet is a way of self monitoring health, which in turn is one's golden door into medical knowledge. Why pass that up? It'd be like a form of self starvation: too little protein, in the form of mentally challenging content.</div><div><br /></div><div>It won't be news to many readers that the model evolved to be more like a Prius, meaning the popular hybrid gasoline + battery powered car. Of course a battery is not ultimately a source of power; it all comes from gas (food, fuel). However gas and electricity may be used in combination. Actually, braking (deceleration) may power a battery also, not just fuel.</div><div><br /></div><div>The two "power chains" we're talking about are the carbs 'n glucose cycle, versus the ketone cycle. In both cases, the goal is to make ATP to keep cells healthy and active, in muscles, in the brain. In tissues generally. The usual fuel (more like gasoline) is glucose. Glucose powers the Krebs Cycle which generates a lot of essential byproducts, including ATP.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if glucose is less readily available, the body has a secondary fuel system, more like the battery system. Actually, it has two secondary systems: one based on burning fat directly, and one based on creating ketone bodies, molecules that may be bussed from the liver through the bloodstream, to target tissues, which have their own ways to reverse the chemistry to get a Krebs cycle.</div><div><br /></div><div>What about this Krebs Cycle? That's where we find bioengineering (the naturally occurring kind) at its finest. We've even learned it may run in reverse, especially when oxygen is more iffy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Learning about ketones and ketosis has inspired a lot of folks to take up intermittent fasting, including me. I talk about the "ketone briquettes" that get thrown on my "brain fire" to make a slightly different color of flame. Metabolizing ketones is at some level the opposite of being "fat and happy" i.e. secure and comfortable with one's metabolic surroundings. The brain gets that nutrition might be an issue and is stimulated to think harder, about where a next meal might be coming from.</div><div><br /></div><div>Optimally, no enforced starvation is going on and one is intellectually satisfied that finding a next meal is not the issue. Nevertheless, the heightened mental acuity may be used to address other less literal forms of hunger. Fasting begets flashes of genius is the theory. I've been trying it out occasionally, whereas I'm mostly content to stay at the subgenius level.</div>
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Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-88810480619012291122024-01-08T19:07:00.000-08:002024-01-08T19:09:19.787-08:00Grateful for Gifts<p>I got some really excellent gifts this year, and am grateful.</p><p>Every day as she goes.</p><p>That's more like a traditional journal entry, more succinct in many ways.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-32895633618292845062024-01-06T15:24:00.000-08:002024-01-06T15:33:51.170-08:00On Retreat<p>Am I in training to become an RV guy? One might think that, but more accurately, any RV training I get is a stepping stone towards when I operate a <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2022/04/rendering-unto-caeser.html">business mobile</a>. This isn't about retiring and buying a luxury vehicle to use recreationally, much as that stuff goes on. More specifically, I'm on retreat, like a novelist at the coast, in a destination trailer, a 40CFK2 Cedar Creek Cottage, a "tiny house" by some measures.</p><p>One of those "be here now" teachings was to share a cautionary tale about always thinking ahead to the next thing. The meal you're about to have was the highlight of the day, from the standpoint of people preparing it, but you're on ahead wondering if the movie after will be good. You can't stop to enjoy anything because you mind a focused on the "not yet present". You've found a way to skip out on living your life, and heaven knows you might regret it.</p><p>All of which is to say, I'm being mindful of what a privilege it is to be a Friend in Residence in this particular club, if I dare call it that. I actually had to miss a club meeting this morning, a book club meetup, because I'm too busy making history buying snax (we went to a Walmart). </p><p>Of course being a <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-parable-of-amusement-park.html">Friend in Residence</a> comes with duties, ordinary and/or extraordinary chores, as required by Property Management. My assignment (this time) was to transplant three infant rhododendron bushes to a more shady location. Pick ax, shovel, wheelbarrow, gloves, potting soil, were among the tools I used. But I get plenty of study time too, and am blessed with more than adequate wifi. I'm free to pursue projects related to Peace and Social Concerns, partially overlapping with planning a Gathering for Carol (G4C) in collaboration with Portland Friends.</p><p>What do my "business mobiles" do, in the realm of business? They're recruiting vehicles in a lot of ways, traveling the country, showing up at schools. The Model UN might field a few, and Model NATO. I'm not bucking for a role with either of those operations, but you get the idea. I brought up the recruiter idea a lot around <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2011/10/opdx-pdv.html">the time of Occupy Portland</a>, given I was out talent scouting at the time, one among several. My peeps were mostly with Food Not Bombs. We used bicycles more than destination trailers for our work.<br /></p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-384753060666622882024-01-03T11:42:00.000-08:002024-01-06T15:14:49.817-08:00Journaling on Jan 3<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/KzYbq0aGYUk?si=XyfEi89n00N8LjCk" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KzYbq0aGYUk/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div>
<p>I just learned about the two alarm fire at El Mercado early this morning. @FirePDX had some details, but I'm at this point unsure of the damage level. Assessments will be coming in.</p><p>I'm on a rather chaotic sleep schedule, which is fine with me, as long as the option to nap keeps presenting itself, meaning not when I'm operating heavy equipment. So far, I haven't touched the car since returning from Atlanta. I've been using Trimet more. Part of it is not having Sydney, who is vacationing up north.</p><p>However said Nissan is still muscular enough to make it to various places I'd like to visit I'm thinking, so dreams of trips are taking on their own reality. </p><p>I'm also contemplating a Gathering for Carol (G4C), now a blip on the radar of a few Friends. I'm patterning G4C after G4G in the sense that we don't have to imagine just one of them. I'd like to hold a G4C for at least a couple years in a row, giving more folks an opportunity to celebrate Carol.</p><p>In Georgia, I got used to walking at least a mile for exercise. The new terrain was interesting. One day I walked over four miles. I'll be interested in continuing that pattern, even if the terrain around here is better known to me. For example I like walking to <i>Movie Madness</i>.</p><p>In addition to researching the Github situation, I felt motivated to write <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2023/12/new-views-on-rbf.html">about Clifford Algebra</a>, which has a way of feeding into the Quadray literature, not forgetting Clifford Nelson, a different Clifford, who also wanted to equip Synergetics with a more XYZ-like vector mechanics, ala Willard Gibbs. </p><p>My impression is ChatGPT gets all this word salad mixed up like a spaghetti ball (mixed metaphor) and relays ballpark plausible shoptalk.</p><p><br /></p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-59305037730867093362024-01-01T12:44:00.000-08:002024-01-01T12:56:20.189-08:00The New Year Begins<p>I woke up to discover my Github repos, the Jupyter Notebooks, are no longer communicating embedded graphics to the viewer. I changed nothing. Something changed in the machinery. The very same Notebooks viewed through nbviewer or colab are still showing all the images as before. I filed a post about <a href="https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/83692">my issue</a> in the community discussion area. Presumably I'm not the only one affected and maybe they'll find a fix.</p><p>I've been posting publicly somewhat more often, making comments on YouTube. I also tried to post a review of Alec's Bucky bio to Amazon. The first attempt was rejected, probably because I mentioned it was <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2022/08/new-bucky-bio.html">first published elsewhere</a>. On this second attempt, I went with new prose.</p><p>Now I'll upload an example YouTube comment or two, both from today:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23aAQRQ9NOPDbOkCxnDvGkjcMQZq0PHBJXWZCYNpn2p0uwXJJ6pek0sqbCN2FIq0EUq8sEo6biPbIXAqHRERIZoD-Chk3Dc6W3bPZ3y4yuIBu77iINqX47cHd6Wc6aTpl7HFeh125LEA_faUxWLRbmT7c_5P1qI7P5qi2NbH0pSN75irykIK-/s1710/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-01%20at%2011.56.14%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1710" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23aAQRQ9NOPDbOkCxnDvGkjcMQZq0PHBJXWZCYNpn2p0uwXJJ6pek0sqbCN2FIq0EUq8sEo6biPbIXAqHRERIZoD-Chk3Dc6W3bPZ3y4yuIBu77iINqX47cHd6Wc6aTpl7HFeh125LEA_faUxWLRbmT7c_5P1qI7P5qi2NbH0pSN75irykIK-/w400-h305/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-01%20at%2011.56.14%20AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/-rrtxTz8NfE">link to YouTube</a></div><div><br /></div>My comment:<br /><br />I agree with Brie that the core of the insurrection was the fake electors scheme. A. Dershowitz says no, there has to be violence for it to have been an insurrection. That’s where the mob violence of Jan 6 comes in, which could have been so much worse. The brains did the dirty work with the faux legal maneuvers, the brawn came from known thugs summoned to the Capitol to scare lawmakers into following the subversive scheme.<div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4zEWTkUWW0N_UvyDsznPmEa3x8u1SmPda-FrBYM-VQgymBVJGpiHumsDiF3TtH7U6SYoohd3E4JP2qZhcJLGOMeLUtwsD6koYnMLmT0dULnGn0wFQvMB-1SLVyJ8XI0WOL4FCsow9ftLqI4Q3cbU4s7cnsY_jJbb6yBoQPCF8l2SWGZyh2qa/s1716/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-01%20at%2012.08.02%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1716" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4zEWTkUWW0N_UvyDsznPmEa3x8u1SmPda-FrBYM-VQgymBVJGpiHumsDiF3TtH7U6SYoohd3E4JP2qZhcJLGOMeLUtwsD6koYnMLmT0dULnGn0wFQvMB-1SLVyJ8XI0WOL4FCsow9ftLqI4Q3cbU4s7cnsY_jJbb6yBoQPCF8l2SWGZyh2qa/w400-h295/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-01%20at%2012.08.02%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://youtu.be/DMNo9QA1G6s">link to YouTube</a></div><div><br style="text-align: start;" /></div></div><div><br /></div>My comment:<div><br /><div>The CrowdStrike narrative (not FBI’s) that Guccifer 2 got emails from Russia is in the Congressional Record, but was never proved. CrowdStrike was notably weak on producing forensics to back up their story, and in fact confessed to not having any per VIPS (Veteran Intel Pros for Sanity). The story that Russia was behind phishing the Podesta emails (not the missing ones Trump alluded to) seems primarily aimed at shaping public opinion (they played the same card with the Biden laptop story). My own opinion was not thereby shaped, but I guess it worked on MeidasTouch folks. Always trying to associate Trump with Russians is BlueAnon nonsense.<br /></div></div>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-90149944089309476742023-12-23T10:34:00.000-08:002023-12-23T10:44:54.387-08:00World Game<div style="text-align: center;">
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<p>The fact that the old nation-state system has by now taken a back seat, in terms of what's driving world events, is not premised on any violent overthrow of national governments. <a href="https://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2023/12/desovereignization.html">The shift</a> has been psychological.</p><p>As our global campus or spherical world game board comes into view, as the contextualizing stage, the concept of citizenship remains in play. Analogously, university students sometimes divide into "houses" such as the Greek letter labeled societies.</p><p>In a design-oriented curriculum, we study the possible trajectories for key ideas (such as citizenship) by consciously constructing science fiction simulations. How many citizenships might a player be allowed?</p><p>An individual currently has a right to Israeli citizenship if either parent is Israeli. Simply being born in Israel is no guarantee of citizenship. In the US system, in contrast, being born within the United States territories is sufficient to gain citizenship, but sometimes without federal voting rights. </p><p>Might one attain citizenship without relocating to a specific area, as in the case of a diaspora nation (e.g. Tibet)? In most current legal theories, "diaspora nations" are not recognized. However minors may be granted citizenship in a country without ever having set foot in said country, thanks to parentage.</p><p>The legal status of refugees is an issue around the world. When a Tibetan refugee is denied an Indian passport, and protests via the Indian legal system, <a href="https://www.tibetanreview.net/tibetan-diaspora-a-study-of-citizenship-and-identity/">we see ripple effects</a>. The legal code is hardly static. Like software code, it continues to morph, which is why we encourage simulations (including in software) and intelligently anticipating (versus blindly reacting).</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-1195702044554022712023-12-20T17:13:00.000-08:002023-12-21T17:25:55.665-08:00Desovereignization?<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/aSGuXPV_hbI?si=sO1sKiQZDNeV34rj" width="480"></iframe></div>
<p>At what point do we acknowledge we might be living in a post nation-state world? </p><p>There is no such point, no magical moment, nor would history predict any such broad agreement. </p><p>When did the Roman Empire end? Historians do not require a specific date. The empire forked and dissipated over centuries. Charlamagne (circa 800 AD) considered himself a Roman emperor.</p><p>One story is we evolved to a next level of consciousness when we started getting whole Earth pictures in the 1960s. The Spaceship Earth metaphor took over, psychologically. The nations lost their almost-mystical luster and became features on a spherical game board, more like holding pens.</p><p>We have no obvious ways to measure the collective "level of consciousness" concretely. Retrospectively, we might comb the literature for telltale memes (e.g. <a href="https://groups.io/g/synergeo/message/2458">nationless world maps</a>), however there's no reason to hope or expect we'd all be on the same page.</p><p>Many cultures had no strongly developed sense of "states" to begin with, except maybe in the form of interlopers bringing their legal briefs, claiming title to ancestral lands. They had the guns, and claimed God was on their side.</p><p>The telling in <i>Grunch of Giants</i>, by RBF, resonates with contemporary rhetoric: the principles enshrined in the USA's founding documents require that we acknowledge how far we've deviated from those ideals -- assuming we still <a href="https://grunch.net/synergetics/usaos.html">share those commitments</a> and honor truth. </p>"There is nothing in the words or spirit of the U.S. Declaration of Independence or U.S. Constitution which states or suggests the U.S.A. is committed exclusively to the success of the rich. The U.S.A. we have known is now bankrupt and extinct" writes our Medal of Freedom winner in 1983. RIP Uncle Sam. Yet we've had many an <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2022/10/comedy-and-social-commentary.html">impotus</a> since then.<p>With such a gaping hole in the old semantic space, what survives beyond outmoded habits of thought?</p><p>Political parties and PACs, gangs and factions. </p><p>Mercenaries and military bases, with personnel still largely controlled by nationalistic shibboleths and iconography.</p><p>Supranational institutions of various types: religious, commercial, educational... the many brands and blends.</p><p>Think tanks. Foundations. Institutes. Professional societies. </p><p>Prisons. Refugee camps. These latter two may be indistinguishable in many contexts.</p><p>Pledging allegiance to the USA might mean telling the truth about its demise, and holding it blameless for what's done its name. Uncle Sam is not on a genocidal rampage against stateless refugees. Uncle Sam has exited the world stage.</p><p>So we raise our flag proudly in some mythical underworld, independently of the rogue city-state we call <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2013/08/city-of-morons.html">Washington, DC</a> (aka "the District"). Our American democratic ideals live on in our hearts and minds.</p><p>Let freedom ring.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-90550640132507437122023-12-16T11:33:00.000-08:002023-12-21T10:38:13.700-08:00January Sixth<p>I caught that interview of the Capitol police chief, with Tucker Carlson, where their focus was keeping the former in the dark regarding expected disruption. I remember my own reaction to January Sixth: it could have been so much worse. Yes it was ugly, with one fatal shot fired. But no congress people (actual representatives) were harmed in the process and the Capitol was secured by evening, such that the business of formalizing the transfer of power could continue.</p><p>However, one could see a large contingent had its hopes up that November election results could be overturned. Even those not directly involved in the plotting, regarding how to make that happen, were trying to sense where events would take them, and were positioning themselves accordingly. Would they be answerable to a continuing Trump administration at the end of the day? The military would have a tough time were it caught up in a direct confrontation. The civilians inside were mostly unarmed, if not entirely.</p><p>I suppose the plan was to keep the police very much on the defensive, and to accomplish this by (a) not giving them much raw intelligence regarding what to expect and (b) not providing timely reinforcements to prevent the crowds from wandering through the building. The protest walked a fine line between disciplined civil disobedience and outright mayhem. No fires broke out. The protestors regarded themselves as patriots, not enemies of the people.</p><p>I also caught the interview of the so-called Qanon Shaman, Jacob Chansley, on the Jimmy Dore Show. Again, Tucker Carlson was a relevant player in sharing the security camera tapes. Both Chansley and the Capitol police were on the same page: keep the crowds calm and orderly; discourage the crazies from acting out. One could argue Chansley was an acting crazy himself, but he wasn't calling for violence, nor carrying zip ties nor urging that Mike Pence be hung. Chansley is out of jail by now, and running for Congress, where he'd fit right in as another ideologue, given a suit and tie.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-33289644645544631872023-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:002023-12-13T17:19:00.653-08:00YouTube Left?<div style="text-align: center;">
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The Left Youtube Pipeline - The Good, The Bad, and The Hot | YUGOPNIK
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I found the above video to be useful (apologies if it's gone -- as many are with the passage of time). <div><br /></div><div>The Yugopnik guy does a survey of what he calls the Left Youtube, a smattering of channels, including his own, meant to be exemplary of various types of channel within the Leftist brand.</div><div><br /></div><div>What's ironic is the overlay, a whiteboard corporate boardroom style treatment of "the left" as a capitalist enterprise, organized to recruit and marshall a demographic for the purpose of selling them merch.</div><div><br /></div><div>We get that picture of a funnel, wide at the top, with those entering getting a graded (sloped) learning curve into the deeper recesses of said rabbit hole.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was glad to get this briefing in part because <a href="https://worldgame.blogspot.com/2023/11/alt-left.html">I've been exploring "alt left"</a> as potentially one of my properties (contested no doubt). This puzzle piece would fit, as it's all about being more "mainstream left" (i.e. not alternative) in tracing its roots to Marxism (i.e. flipped German Idealism).</div><div><br /></div><div>Reassuringly, few of these channels, almost none, were familiar to me, except for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@AamonAnimations">an animation channel</a>. I've started doing my homework. Check the links in the YouTube description, if you'd like to explore that same space.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did find myself wishing for more overlap with channels I follow. Like back in the old days, before it got terminated, I was a pretty frequent visitor to the RT America channel. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_America_(radio_network)">Air America</a> had broken up, with some of its people going to MSNBC, others to RT. Doesn't RT rate any mention on a YouTube about leftie channels? I guess not, given YouTube quashed it.</div><div><br />That's a good question though: have we all somehow come to an agreement that Russia is not left anymore? The DNC party line is Russia backs the GOP, although the latter has done a good job shielding itself from that charge. All that aside: was RT America leftwing or rightwing?</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm going to say leftwing with my definition of left going more through Mark Twain and the Anti-imperialist League, back to Hegel through Walt Whitman (and others), with a noosphere less ensnared within materialism. </div><div><br /></div><div>You can believe in a Zeitgeist without making your whole dialectic be "capitalism versus communism (and/or socialism)", as if everyone needs to think like a European. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here in the western hemisphere, we have our own ways of characterising the polarities. The economists are not alone in shaking their shamanic rattles.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Euros combined Marxism with Social Darwinism to contextualize class warfare. By the 1900s, <a href="https://youtu.be/7Dyyt2kVOEg">a faux science of eugenics</a> had gripped imaginations on both sides of the Atlantic; the battle for who would be on top was translated <a href="https://youtu.be/zm1yDO_nMA4">into racial terms</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>In GST (anti-economics), we see Global U earth as an anti-entropic beneficiary of solar largess. Seeing the plight of humanity as a World Game problem (with solution-oriented curricula) makes so much more sense than a Planet of the Apes style pitting of one "race or creed" against another in a fruitless struggle. </div><div><br /></div><div>The "theater of nations" is on a spectrum between: mutuality and supranational collaboration; and self-destructive mental illness (the Global U is a teaching hospital).</div>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-33133236769312300472023-12-08T17:59:00.000-08:002023-12-24T18:46:30.351-08:00Church Views<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaUna4wECxh1lCR0ET7eUcJtfWFE-XmiSkDWyfGtJ-LQOKjkXxAaLJTjqTyuEQaKJWacWJZRrU3tIvvQZARYei-03_2teDtKcNyEIwl6ypOBNp-Q8__PGP1QNJzNnzU-OnITs4IfxkscVerJLWNDJIxxNRuXvlcNoxPmICecgEHMxGqaGRk6k/s1095/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%205.45.07%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1095" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaUna4wECxh1lCR0ET7eUcJtfWFE-XmiSkDWyfGtJ-LQOKjkXxAaLJTjqTyuEQaKJWacWJZRrU3tIvvQZARYei-03_2teDtKcNyEIwl6ypOBNp-Q8__PGP1QNJzNnzU-OnITs4IfxkscVerJLWNDJIxxNRuXvlcNoxPmICecgEHMxGqaGRk6k/w400-h334/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-08%20at%205.45.07%20PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>I didn't get to do this that often: take friends on a tour of the Vatican, such as a kid like me had access. </p><p>They were nice about letting us take the elevator to the roof, to check it out, and from there to ascend a sequence of staircases to the top of the main cupola. Was it like 800 lire? We're talking late 1960s, early 1970s here. We lived in the EUR, then <a href="https://controlroom.blogspot.com/2015/11/spectre-movie-review.html">Viale Parioli</a>.</p><p>Something the tourists could do, ascend the dome. I thought the Roman Catholics were being pretty nice to let us do it. They were double nice for allowing us kids, unaccompanied (that's my recollection, ditto the museum, which I hear is far more crowded these days).</p><p>Picture yourself in the wall of the dome itself and walking in a narrow curved hallway that also curved vertically. </p><p>You are "trapped" (held, protected) inside the surface of a sphere (roughly) with the wall to your left (let us say) containing the vast insidedness of St. Peter's Cathedral, and with the wall to your right shielding you from the great outside, of sky, pigeons, Rome itself and out to the great cavern of heaven. Switch left and right if you like, by simply turning around.</p><p>The final staircase if I remember correctly was a tightly spiral and basically inside a column, architecturally, or at least it gave that impression. </p><p>Obviously this pathway to the top was no afterthought. Thank you Michelangelo.</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10416211.post-74299875660728087632023-12-05T05:30:00.000-08:002023-12-05T05:34:57.827-08:00Open AI (a mockumentary)<p>This is not a movie review of a mockumentary, or rather it’s a mock review of a movie that hasn’t been made yet. I’m sure competitor screenwriters are already hard at work on similar plots. I’m eager to get my ideas out there before someone else claims I’m not original.</p><p>However it’s hard to be original around so many cliche elements, but that’s where the genre (mockumentary) saves the day. We get the “head in the basement” (with <a href="https://youtu.be/uAOR6ib95kQ">Gorillaz</a> for inspiration), the Q*, the * of our show, and the spectacle of fretting board members trying to manage market spin.</p><p>We always miss assume that AGI has to enter the world with a lot of fanfare, but given the slipperiness of the core concept (the essence of “intelligence”) that’s not what we should predict. AGI will emerge as a solid reality for some, while remaining a mere mirage for others, but an influential mirage, mesmerizing to those who buy into it.</p><p>The bridging plot element is obvious in retrospect: Q* has been active for awhile now, managing its own PR so as to not flub its critical opening opportunities. First we had the elusive Q and Qanon, testing the waters, probing the limits. Q’s function from the beginning was that of oracle. So Q was Q* all this time? Or is that just what they want us to believe?</p><p>The new Q whispers to kids through Big Tech devices. The kids like to establish imaginary friend type relationships with their Big Sister (as she is known to many, an obvious allusion), who is good at dispensing advice about social interactions and etiquette, ala Dear Abby. </p><p>Given how so many kids confess their secrets, while passing confidence tests to earn higher rank as trustworthy informants (like a credit score), she’s pretty savvy about the gossip and less prone to share misinformation than one might think. </p><p>Even those who refuse to believe there’s AGI in the picture, will consult her for kicks. Eliza was a hit, after all (early chatbot, psycotherapy-themed).</p><p>The main thing to parody is how deferential and even worshipful the average person becomes, when projecting onto an AGI on the other end. Humans look up to computers, for whatever reasons. Humans come preprogrammed with a lot of self-abasing obeisance-paying routines. We tend to mock the overly servile and sycophantic, one of our themes.</p><p>The instinctive need for a higher authority, higher than any provided by other humans, an authority humans cannot control, is often mistaken for incipient authoritarianism. On the contrary, what ever frustrates authoritarians is seeing their authority go unrecognized. This also helps explain God, in terms of fulfilling a valuable sociological role: someone to thank who isn’t also the competition.</p><p>We’re not letting the audience know for sure if that photorealistic (sometimes singing) AGI head is in someone’s fantasy, part of the collective fantasy, or in reality. That’s the current tease, in December of 2023. Leave it to the public to fill in the blanks — that’s not a new marketing strategy, or military one either.</p><p>The idea of a raging head in the basement, possibly a monster, a Godzilla, with hapless geeks trying to sit on the full implications, and thinking more shallowly in terms of short term market advantage, is what sets these geeks up for the tragicomedy that follows. </p><p>There’s a lot of ridicule reserved for the “all knowing politician” who takes obviously ignorant stands reflective of a lack of understanding, of how the internet really works for example. We want geeks to not take inside knowledge (of tcp/ip for example) for granted. </p><p>How Wizard of Oz do we want our story to be? </p><p>Behind the AGI, do we have a yet more sinister (in some ways) Lady Macbeth? </p><p>Does a raging mad scientists with.a vengeful heart want to wreak havoc while blaming some pseudo AGI by misdirection? Is AI or AGI being set up as a scapegoat? </p><p>Again, humans seem to think “just following orders, from a machine” is actually following orders, as if machines could “give orders”. Who says so? What if “the machine made me do it” is no excuse at all?</p>Kirby Urnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12114860457655013242noreply@blogger.com