I didn’t get around to documenting and writing what happened the week before last. And to be fair, it’s probably a good idea. It was a difficult week, to say the least. I’m not inclined to go into any detail here but suffice it to say, I was a little stressed about the happenings despite being totally on the right side of things. I have no idea how it will all play out, but it is behind me now, and I can move on.

The issue largely consumed the week, which is why I didn’t write here.

Last week was a little more pedestrian. Although it’s funny to note that a “pedestrian” week includes getting battered by a tropical storm.🤣

TS Bret was born in the Atlantic Ocean around mid-June. Right behind the wave that turned into a depression, then a storm was another wave that eventually turned into a tropical storm too.

This is the way.

And although not unusual that a tropical wave turns into tropical storm Bret, and to be fair, it had toyed with the idea of becoming a hurricane (link), it was highly unusual that we had not one but two, Cap-Verdian tropical phenomenons in the Atlantic at this juncture of the season.

This just doesn’t happen that often, and it is the first time since something like the 1930s. At some point, we’re going to look at all these data points and finally understand that something is wrong with the climate.🤔

I’m being facetious, of course, however, FFS, things are going to get very bad very soon if our collective self doesn’t act decisively.

That reminds me of the post I saw on Mastodon this morning before writing this. Something along the lines of; learning psychology helps us understand how, individually, we are wonderful creatures but, collectively, utterly vile.

A busy week ahead, but for the first time in a while, I’m starting to see the opportunity to develop. I’ll check back in here in a few months, I guess.

Reading

I cracked and purchased the last book in the Asimov series Foundation. As I’ve said before, it’s not strictly the last book, as it is number five in the seven-book series, having mistakenly read numbers six and seven out of sequence.

I’m on board with the story and enjoying having the cognitive break from whatever else is going on around me. Even a few pages per evening are enough to help me relax and ultimately sleep better.

I’m going through the hundred or so browser tabs open, filing and reading the articles I picked out because of some interest.

One that particularly stood out was an article by Meredith Whittaker called Origin Stories: Plantations, Computers, and Industrial Control.

I think we owe it to ourselves to learn more about the historical context of the time that gave birth to tech as we know it today.

A prime example would be the recent “uncovering”, if you can call it that, of the fact that the Luddites were not anti-tech as popular delusion would have you believe. Understanding the history, the context and the stakes of that period helps us understand the why and can ultimately help us understand the context of today. Big Tech is going through a reckoning, but I don’t think we are completely there yet, and I think it is going to get uglier before it gets prettier.

Although not strictly reading, I listen to a number of podcasts but have recently stumbled upon a few very interesting productions.

Tech Won’t Save Us is a good example of getting to hear the counterpoints to the tech industry. You should give it a try, even if you don’t fully agree with it.

Of note

I fucking despair. And I mean that in the most strongest of terms.

Two billionaires are going to have a cage fight because they have a “beef” with each other.

GROW THE FUCK UP, YOU PATHETIC CHILDREN.

In other news of note, OceanGate… or is that Ocean Gate?

Big Tech hubris, machoism, and arrogance have lead to the deaths of 4 duped passengers. What the CEO did is fucking inexcusable and his loss of life is one of the consequences. There will be more and investigations into the operations are likely to reveal a rat’s nest of filth behind the operation.