Not Without Notice

18:17 Friday, 22 November 2013
Words: 518

On Monday, I was glancing through the online edition of the local newspaper, and I read about an automobile accident where the driver was killed. The name was familiar, but many people have similar names. I waited a couple of days, looking for an obituary, but didn't see one, so I called the office where I used to work.

It was the guy I thought it was.

I didn't work closely with him, but he had a cubicle a couple of squares down from mine. He was part of a new program, and the facility we worked in was making better digs for him, but temporarily he worked out of our office. Eventually he moved down to his very posh new office, and I would only see him from time to time when he dropped by to say hello.

I found out that the accident didn't kill him. He'd had a heart attack behind the wheel. He was likely dead before he ran off the road. He was 55, a year younger than I am. He'd been surfing that morning and was on his way home.

Nice guy. Funny, smart. Didn't appear to be the kind of guy who might have a coronary in his future. I guess you never know.

He was the second guy in his fifties from our facility to die suddenly of a massive coronary this year. The first went just before I retired. He was 58, I think. He was a smoker, and had just gone through a very stressful ordeal losing his wife to a long fight with cancer. It was less of a surprise, but no less of a shock.

Those guys were both what are called Port Engineers. They're the civilians who manage the maintenance of the ships assigned to them. It is often a very demanding job. Peaks and valleys, but when it's busy, it's very intense and it can be frustrating.

My job was nowhere near that demanding. Nevertheless, the environment was toxic. Not in the chemical sense, though I suppose there was some of that, more the emotional. A lot of angry, ill-tempered people, often under pressure. Not that these two guys were that way, but they lived around it every day. A lot of negative energy. I think it takes a toll.

I'm glad I'm out of there.

We're often told we should live each day as if it were our last, but that's a pretty tall order. I try to practice mindfulness as much as I can, though I know I could do better. Much, much better. It pleases me that he was coming home from surfing, something he loved to do. Still, events like this one, coming as it did at the end of Thanksgiving weekend, should give us pause to reflect on the transient and fragile nature of our lives. Ideally, I suppose it might help bring about a change in that work environment, but I'm not optimistic.

As for me, I'll try to remember to be grateful for the moments I have, and to make some effort to live them well.

Fools For Thought

08:16 Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Wx: Temp: 67.41°F Pressure: 1010hPa Humidity: 95% Wind: 5.75mph
Words: 1488

I don't know the magnitude of the set of passions embraced by humanity. Certainly, a single human being can only embrace a tiny fraction of the universe of passions.

We are drawn to others who share our passions, and so it's possible to believe that "everyone" or "most people," or "society" share our passions, when it's really a very tiny fraction.

Conversely, it's possible to believe that we're special, because we are so few.

I say all this because as I was lying awake, thinking about this, I kept using the pronoun "we," but then it occurred to me that the vast majority of people don't know or care about what I was thinking about.

What I was thinking about was a current passion among some of us, "tools for thought."

And let me also add that it is only we, the privileged, who have the "cognitive surplus," who can indulge our passions. We're not fully engaged just trying to meet the requirements of survival, as many people are. Or trying to achieve something of whatever we believe the narrative arc of our life should be.

We have the time to "think" about "tools for thought."

I should stop using "we" and confine my "thoughts" to the first-person singular.

I don't think we understand what thought is, how it arises.

Existence precedes narrative.

This was my emotional reaction to Dr. David Weinberger's internet triumphalist declaration that "We are writing ourselves into existence."

I maintained we were painting ourselves into corners.

Existence preceded language, therefore "thought" precedes language. Language is an abstraction that makes the interior product of thought accessible to other minds. I can show someone how to chip flint to make an axe (If I knew how to chip flint to make an axe.). I can show someone how to make fire.

More complicated ideas require abstractions and language was probably the first "tool for thought."

Except it wasn't necessarily for thought, because thinking can occur below the level of language. Language imperfectly reifies thought, and allows it to be shared, again, imperfectly.

"You don't know what I mean."

I was educated as an engineer. I have had a lifelong interest in technology, especially the advance of technology. Why was this? Was it because as a child I watched television and I saw moving images of airplanes set to thrilling music?

"From out of the blue of a western sky comes a new breed of lawman, Sky King!"

In the early hours of the morning, before I had to go to school, a Detroit TV station broadcast a cartoon called Space Angel. Later I watched Jonny Quest in prime time. (Checking to see if I was recalling this correctly, I learned that Space Angel and Jonny Quest both came from the same artist. I did not know that. Or, if I did, I'd forgotten. Makes sense though. He liked big fins on his air and space craft.)

Did television imbue in me an emotional response that stirred an interest in technology? Jonny Quest appeared in 1964, when I was seven. I was a mediocre student in elementary school, as I would later be a mediocre student at the Naval Academy. But in the sixth grade Mrs. Lupica, our librarian at Peterboro Street Elementary School, introduced me to Robert Heinlein with Have Spacesuit — Will Travel. (She'd previously convinced me to read a book called Henry 3, about which I recall little except it was about a lonely boy and perhaps a hurricane in New York City.)

Well, Heinlein did it. I read every science fiction novel in that library. Math and science became interesting and I guess puberty had something to do with re-wiring my brain because the rest of junior and senior high school were a breeze. Everyone thought I was an outstanding student, when in fact it was just all so easy and I learned nothing about being a student. Hence going on to be a mediocre student at the Naval Academy.

Anyway, I studied engineering at the Naval Academy because I wanted to be a pilot and then an astronaut. But because my vision wasn't 20/20, and I was a mediocre student, naval aviation was barred to me. But I still loved technology.

For most of my life, I've observed the advance of technology, and for much of it I believed in its problem solving potential. Ironically, it's the internet that kind of finally killed that idea, chiefly encountering the thoughts of the minds behind The Cluetrain Manifesto, and Howard Rheingold who wrote a book called Tools for Thought, and also coined the term "smart mob."

Existence precedes narrative. Thought occurs below the level of language, and it is bound tightly to emotion, to feeling. I had a visceral reaction to the construction "smart mob." I don't think Howard Rheingold had ever been near a mob. I had. They are terrifying things, and they are by no measure "smart," nor can they be.

"Go home, Howard. You're drunk."

Technology can be intoxicating. Because it allows us to do things we couldn't do before, and gives us the illusion of power. Rather, it allows us to do things in ways we couldn't do them before.

Technology changes how we do things. It does not change what we do. Our problems lie in the latter. Technology expands what we do in space, and compresses it in time. I suppose our artifacts are an expansion in time, particularly the more durable ones, like the pyramids.

But habits are powerful things, and for better or worse, much of my attention still goes to technology and the news about it. Sometimes it's interesting, and I can still derive some enjoyment from it. But I'm no longer enamored with it.

And I don't believe in the notion of "tools for thought." I understand the "external brain." The use of manipulatives to facilitate analysis, drawing lines in the sand, printing graphs on the computer. But thought occurs in the brain, and we're, well at least, I'm not certain how.

Tools for thought? Caffeine and a sandwich.

How does technology facilitate choosing what to think about? Does it facilitate that? Or does it mislead us? Does it suggest avenues of thought? Recall the drunk looking for his keys under the street lamp, because "that's where the light is."

When you've got a great hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Do the challenges we face stem from a dearth of tools, or an inability to think clearly? To know what's worth thinking about?

Why do we keep repeating the same mistakes? We know, for instance, that building more roads does not solve a "traffic problem." Partly it's because we've created institutions whose existence depends on building roads.

The automobile is a technology, a "tool for movement," that has brought about a whole sea of unintended consequences; because we were, and remain, incapable of thinking past them, imagining what problems might arise. Or because the emotional value of those thoughts didn't overcome the desire to make money by building cars or roads anyway.

The "smart phone" is similarly a new technology that, at first, seems wonderful. So why are we talking about banning them in schools?

We've thought about externalities. We know that our "capitalist" system doesn't doesn't include the cost of our products in their price. We know this, and we know it will doom us, yet we do nothing about it.

"Tools for thought," mostly is about drawing lines in the sand. Or links between files. It can facilitate some forms of analysis, if you're asking the right questions. But focusing on the tool, without thinking about the question, is just mental masturbation.

We are better off thinking about our faculty of attention. It's limited. What do we choose to direct it toward? How do we choose?

We are better off thinking about our ignorance. (The nature of ignorance is that we don't know what we don't know.)

We are better off thinking about how limited our cognitive abilities really are. If we understand their limitations, we might choose to use them toward better aims.

I think this fascination, this passion, for tools for thought is a waste of time.

I think our time is better spent thinking about how we choose to live in this world. What are the consequences of our choices? What is a "good life"? How do we "make meaning," in this life? Is it by "linking all the things." Tending our "digital gardens"?

Time, attention and thought are finite resources. The most powerful thing you can do with them is choose wisely.

I'm not holding myself out as an example. These are just my thoughts as I was able to distill them from an emotional response I had to a little meetup.

As always, I'm an authority on nothing. I make all this shit up. You are strongly encouraged to do your own thinking.

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Flickr

10:17 Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Wx: Temp: 68.23°F Pressure: 1010hPa Humidity: 94% Wind: 3.44mph
Words: 439

I don't know if it's because I mentioned it in the marmot, or if it's because I'm tagging photos now, but I've been getting more views on Flickr in the last few days.

I tried scrolling backward on the timeline, but they vary the scale on the y-axis so it's not immediately obvious when you're seeing a big uptick in views. Suffice to say, I've gone from single-digits of daily views to dozens; and this morning I've already had 123 views.

Yikes! I might start feeling a bit self-conscious.

Mitzi was watching some series on Netflix about Fran Liebowitz, and I watched a little of one episode. She was talking about talent, and she said some people have it and some people don't. She said something like, "Practice can make you better. It can't make you good." And she went on to say that it's all right to do things you enjoy, but if you don't have any talent for it, keep it to yourself. Don't share it.

Ouch!

Well, sorry lady.

I don't think I have any talent for anything. For one thing, I rush through everything. Meals. Writing blog posts. Taking pictures. I try to slow down, but that usually just means not doing anything at all.

To me, the marmot is just thinking out loud.

Like this morning. I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about yesterday's meetup. I figured I'd write about it in the marmot. I proofed it before I posted it, and then found a few typos after I posted it. Then I saw something that I thought was unclear and added a sentence that I'm not sure made any difference.

But, it was done. At some point, it's just done. It's not "deathless prose." It's a blog, and its' definitely "over it."

I take pictures of things that catch my eye. I edit them to make them "better," according to the standards I've absorbed spending (wasting?) time on photography websites or videos, and I upload them to Flickr. Sometimes I think they're cool. I mean, the moon has looked the same since forever, and I've established that I can get some fairly nice telephoto shots, why bother doing more? I really don't know. Sometimes they're just things that I thought were interesting.

Some of my neighbors like them.

Well, one of my neighbors anyway.

Something to do. Pass the time. Hopefully there's still some beauty in this broken world and maybe it's worth sharing some of it. Hopefully I can see it, and I'm not just adding to the noise.

Who knows?

Anyway, my pics are getting more views.

Cool.

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Still Snowing

06:49 Friday, 22 November 2024

Current Wx: Temp: 47.48°F Pressure: 1014hPa Humidity: 62% Wind: 10.36mph
Words: 88

It's been snowing for about 15 hours straight. It's changed to smaller, more powdery flakes. The temperature continues to hover just at freezing. It may go up after the sun rises, but clouds may limit the amount of snow that melts.

I'd welcome clearer skies for a better shot, but I couldn't wait to get one posted.

This is a relatively rare event around here these days. Mitzi isn't thrilled. I think it's great.

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Winterfell

09:55 Friday, 22 November 2024

Current Wx: Temp: 53.11°F Pressure: 1015hPa Humidity: 50% Wind: 13.8mph
Words: 257

Same name as another post, but felt appropriate.

We brought a shovel up from Florida, because we don't use it that often, just moving pygmy rattlers and I can use the rake for that. We didn't try to shovel the whole driveway because that would be insane. But I did have to clear the snow that the plow pushed into the entrance to the driveway.

The RAV4 Prime has a trail mode, where power goes to all four wheels. I was about to test it out when the guy came who was giving us an estimate on installing a garage door opener. He had a 4WD F150 and got up the driveway just fine. Had some trouble getting back down, but he made it.

I think I could get the RAV4 out if we had to, but I'm by no means certain. I got it out of the garage just as the door guy showed. No wheel-spin in about 10 inches of snow, but who knows?

We could hear limbs breaking from time to time. Snow packs well. I tried to make a snowman, but I seem to have lost all of my snowball rolling skills.

Power's out at my sister's place out near Albany, but all she had was wind and rain. No snow in Buffalo either.

Anyway, this is pretty amazing. One good thing is that people seldom end up dragging all their shit to the curb after a snowstorm!

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Outage

13:53 Friday, 22 November 2024

Current Wx: Temp: 59.16°F Pressure: 1014hPa Humidity: 44% Wind: 18.41mph
Words: 107

Power went out a little over an hour ago. Looking at the outage map, it looks like it's going to be a while before we get it back. MBP is on battery, using the iPhone hotspot.

Still snowing pretty good. The driveway is white again. The neighbor came by and plowed it for us.

I think we'll get a generator before we spend another fall or winter up here.

Going to play it by ear and see how it goes. Can always get in the car if we have to.

It's still pretty!

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Senator Mark Kelly

08:44 Saturday, 22 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 38.68°F Pressure: 1015hPa Humidity: 85% Wind: 7.78mph
Words: 224

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Senator Mark Kelly. He was a guest on a Bulwark video yesterday evening. I commented on the "members only" one, I guess this one probably has a commercial.

Unfortunately, and this is an example of the chaotic nature of Trump, the subject is about Trump's violent rhetoric and not the moral injury being inflicted on U.S. service members participating in extra-judicial killings in the Caribbean. Had Trump not called for the execution of U.S. lawmakers, we might be talking about what precipitated the video. Instead, we're talking about Trump.

Which is pretty much what Trump wants anyway.

But here's my comment, FWIW:

I salute Senator Kelly for speaking out. The Trump administration is inflicting moral injury on American service members through these extra-judicial killings at sea. Drug interdiction is a law enforcement action, not a national security issue that calls for a lethal kinetic response, the murder of unknown, unidentified individuals at sea. I'm a retired navy O-5, graduate of the Naval Academy and recall my plebe year lecture from a navy chaplain about "moral courage." This lecture was ostensibly about the Academy's Honor Code, but it was also about My Lai, which had happened seven years before. I'm shocked that the retired community isn't speaking out more about this outrage.

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Frickin' Apple

08:54 Saturday, 22 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 39.09°F Pressure: 1015hPa Humidity: 84% Wind: 7.78mph
Words: 686

Steve Hayman noted that yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the rollout of Apple Pay. I use it all the time, but it sometimes baffles me, and did so again this morning.

I was working on a project involving Tinderbox, but got sidetracked and turned my attention to another hobby of mine that is growing in interest as the days turn cold and gray.

Some weeks ago, I dug my working //c out of storage and brought it up to the house. It's small enough to fit in the bedroom closet without taking up too much space, and also to fit on the Husky workbench/desk here in the main living area when I want to play with it. I close the MBP and slide it up under a stand that the 27" monitor rests on. I have an HDMI interface for the //c and the monitor has an HDMI input; and I have a USB-C power connection for the //c and USB-C power from the monitor. Works great.

While Mitzi was in DC a few weeks ago, I spent my idle hours playing with the //c and browsing eBay, buying some Apple II stuff. (Including a ROM 3 IIgs, but that's a story for another time.)

Most of the time I used Apple Pay from the MBP to complete the purchase. It's convenient and you don't have to fill in a lot of shipping and billing address forms. I had no problems completing the transactions, and everything was shipped up here to Winterfell. Super, right?

Well, this morning I decided to buy some "new" hardware from Joe's Computer Museum. A storage emulator and a DVI card that can emulate Video 7 RGB signals. These will go into one of my //e's whenever I can get them out of storage. I've learned to buy now, because this stuff goes in and out of stock all the time, and you never know when it'll disappear forever.

At checkout, I used Apple Pay, and just as the transaction completed, I noticed Apple Pay had used my Florida address!

What the actual fuck?!

So I immediately sent a note to Joe, describing what happened. Hopefully that all gets sorted before he ships. Looks like it won't ship until next Saturday, so there should be plenty of time to square it away.

But then I had to dig into where that address came from.

I started out in System Settings, and looked at my Apple ID and billing and shipping. No issues there. Since it wasn't obvious where I'd find the Apple Pay settings in System Settings, I went to my iPhone and looked at my Apple Wallet. I brought up the card I used to pay the order with, which is the same card I used to pay for my eBay purchases. There's the little "..." in the upper right corner, so I touched that.

I should have screenshotted it, because it looks different now, of course. (I feel like Apple's operating systems gaslight me all the time.) Anyway, when I looked at it this morning, there was a list of several addresses, my own and those of some of my children. I touched Edit, and the little red dots with a line through them on the left side appeared.

Delete.

Delete.

Delete.

Delete.

When I closed it, there was only one shipping address, to this place.

Looking at it just now, there is no shipping address. Only a billing address.

What the actual fuck?!

What I need to start doing is recording or screenshotting every interaction I have with System Settings. I swear to God, this stuff drives me crazy.

I have no idea why Apple Pay had all those addresses in my wallet, going back to when I lived in the condo, or why the addresses of my children were in there. No idea why it selected the Florida address for this transaction, when it's been reliably using the New York address previously. It's a mystery. I didn't realize I needed a degree in iOS and Apple Pay to operate this thing.

"It just works."

Bullshit.

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RADM Mark Montgomery

09:58 Saturday, 22 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 40.66°F Pressure: 1015hPa Humidity: 73% Wind: 9.89mph
Words: 162

I know Mark Montgomery. He and I served in USS BAINBRIDGE (CGN-25) around 1988-1989. He's a nuc (navy nuclear power), and I enjoyed serving with him. Super-smart and a great sense of humor. Showed up and helped me and my family move when we changed houses in Virginia Beach. Just a really nice guy. Was big on foreign relations and policy with a strong focus on Pakistan.

Mark is featured in this CNN interview. I think he's very measured and circumspect in many of his comments, while he's more direct in others. I would have been much more direct, but that's probably one of the reasons why I retired as an O-5 and he made flag rank.

But I am encouraged to see him on CNN, I think this is leading the conversation in the right direction, although not with the urgency the situation demands.

But I was surprised and delighted to see his face in this video.

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Seems Relevant

10:48 Saturday, 22 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 42.78°F Pressure: 1015hPa Humidity: 66% Wind: 10.87mph
Words: 30

The obscure we see eventually. The completely apparent takes a little longer.

Edward R. Murrow

Spotted this in passing in the November, 1989 issue of Analog Science Fiction.

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