Symmetry is magical, so 19-4-19 might make sense to dip back into the water. At least for a short swim and some thoughts littering an assortment of apps and inboxes.

Six Pixels is still going strong, and the talk with Paul on non-growth focus was sort of the tipping point to get back to journal mode. Because introspection sometimes needs verbalized ideas - the act of ordering words helps to map out the actual ideas.

Side hustle as a small thing, do it in between- a little at a time

Use it to test the waters, to learn and develop yourself. And maybe as a springboard — but don’t do it just to get somewhere else.

Makes a lot more sense than ruthlessly burning the midnight oil, at least if the goals isn’t to go all exponential growth, but to find a better you in a happy mindset.

That is all for now, as this is Safari doing the desktop editor - need to app it or perhaps stick with the alternative WP site, or make a new one to mirror automatically.

- ...and the sun is really back for summer...or at least spring 

Ph34r th3 Riot and Women

"Pussy Riot aren't just on tour. They're on the run. When we meet in a secret location in central London, they make it clear that this interview is on condition of anonymity." Pussy Riot: "People fear us because we're feminists"

This is not a joke, not a game, it is deadly serious, and in many ways a "crime".

We should be 7 billion (and counting) working together to make a world for all, and lay the foundations for expanding off it.

Not be spending our time trying to put half or more on the bench.

Too young, too old, female, gay, colored, atheist, anarchist, 99%, lowlife, wasted youth or unemployed.
What ever the label, it serves to divide us, keep our minds in the mud of the past.

Just to put it into context, another piece by Penny red at the New Statesman; Emily Wilding Davison made the only choice she could bear

In old footage of the suffragettes, they look like a gang of angry bantams, flapping about in their outsized hats and ridiculous full skirts. The very word “suffragettes” sounds like the kind of fusty, village-hall girl band your auntie might sing in at weekends, rather than a revolutionary organisation whose members were prepared to die so that others might live free

This is the world we live in. Where everyday millions have to fight for what we took for granted. What should have been won generations ago, paid in blood and suffering, is still contested. Be it in the squares and mosques of Cairo, or on the sporting stage in Russia.

So why SHOULD you vote?

Hatussa, I barely knew thee

I was under the impression that I had a decent overview of history, at least as it pertained to the Nordic region and before that the Ancient civilzations of Rome, Greece and Egypt. Been to Rome, to Knossos and the Valley of Kings.

Then I caught a show on the secrets of Hattusa and had to reboot that a little bit.

As the germans put it;

Besides Egypt and Assyria/Babylonia the Hittites were the third superpower of the Ancient Near East

For a great detailed account of the 2005 project, head over and read about the reconstructed (1% of) wall - staggering to think how they got the whole site built in ancient times.

Not to mention the cost of lives - like the Great Wall - working high walls and heavy bricks with very limited supporting structures.


It is a world heritage site, and apparently the peace treaty they made with Ramses II of Egypt is now in the UN;

comprehensively excavated ...1906, which was the memorable date of the discovery of a copy of a peace treaty between Hattushili III and the Pharaoh Ramses II, which made possible the identification of Hattusha.

So, another site to add to the travel list when I get back on the road (figuratively speaking) - provided things settle down or clear up a bit first.

Zen and the war of ideas

This is very much a work in progress, and jumping all over the place - as I re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ("Zen" later in the text for brevity). It started last summer, when Part 1 took on work vs passion, then part 2 explored the chapters dealing with mental models.

Then this year along with the general blog reboot, I got back to reading Zen. So, the third part in the flow of the book delved into insanity and reality. This post got pushed a bit further out in the schedule, but will also hopefully bring us back around to the end of part II - and the fifth post that snuck in and screamed to be let out.

Although, from rereading the quotes and notes, and getting them formatted below, it does seem like there will be yet one more for the road. We'll just have to see how it turns out - if it does run a bit long or gets a consistent flow.

All quotes are from the Kindle edition, with the location marked (@...) - and also linked

Understanding and knowledge - a little means a lot

Central to the mental journey, and also for the underlying motivation of the real journey - is understanding. A quest for knowledge, but also a desire to expand the actual "mass" of knowledge we have.

From what fragments of memory I have, Phaedrus had a high regard for DeWeese because he didn’t understand him. @2252

How can we extend our ideas? By reading things that are just a little bit hard to grasp, by having to reread, refelct and discuss - by not just flowing into the next chapter, but stopping.

And that is par of the motivation for me, in taking some extra time to re-read the book, but also in blogging about it along the way (even if it has taken quite some time, and a few stops along the way).

Zen is not just a story. It is not just a 'painted' image of the world and our roles in it. It is in many ways more about a path, a way to find 'enlightenment' or understanding, by pushing against some of the 'set' constraints.

Just like creativity often works best with certain limits (use only blue, no circles, ...),so basic learning needs to rest on assumptions and terms. But when you have the basics, then maybe it is time to question the assumptions, break the rules and explore why and how on the outskirts.

The real University is nothing less than the continuing body of reason itself. @2416

Because it is when we think and reason that we use knowledge. and when we share it we help it grow. So open source, sharing and collaboration, makes us push ourselves and express our preferences in terms of improvements. There is nothing better than showing how you want something "fixed" - rather than just complaining about the current state of things (or knowledge).

Which brings us onto the more spiritual part of Zen;

He became aware that the doctrinal differences among Hinduism and Buddhism and Taoism are not anywhere near as important as doctrinal differences among Christianity and Islam and Judaism. Holy wars are not fought over them because verbalized statements about reality are never presumed to be reality itself. @2311

Truth is not a given, not a final thing. From this perspective it is a process, and a goal, a state of mind more than anything written down and passed on. A path to understanding, not a set of facts.

Which ties over to motivation, or dedication - because it isn't about facts, you need to take a 'leap of faith' when you start a journey of this kind;

You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it’s going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it’s always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt. @2456

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Just take some time to reflect on that.
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It was one of those moments as I read it. It just seems so obvious now afterwards. Sometimes it is too easy in hindsight.
Facts are beyond feelings
Passions are beyond facts

music

art

politics

We can engage because the answer is not given. There is no single way to see Picasso. Or to hear Vivaldi. You can't be sure if you are "doing it right". You have to have faith in your impression, your process and path. 

The path is the goal at any given time

The statement “To travel is better than to arrive” comes back to mind again and stays. We have been traveling and now we will arrive. For me a period of depression comes on when I reach a temporary goal like this and have to reorient myself toward another one. @2485

 always fragments, pushing forward. Each section a story unto itself.  But what is the overall flow? Is there even one, or are we just so good storytellers that we always manage to tie the treads together? Was it a step in its own right, or just a smaller fragment of things to come? How do we tell? How can we know?

“You look at where you’re going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where you’ve been and a pattern seems to emerge. And if you project forward from that pattern, then sometimes you can come up with something. @2730

Is it storytelling or "lies to children"? Does it make sense because there is meaning, or because we make meaning?
And does it matter?
If we understand the events by the story, then the events have a part of that story, even if it is only a temporary collection of fragments. It is not right. Or wrong, fact or fiction. The story is. The whole of the parts is.

Molecules are molecules. They don’t have any ethical codes to follow except those people give them. The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn’t any other test. If the machine produces tranquillity it’s right. @2671

 gaggia time. serenity now. it just is.

Too good to fail?

Kicking off the week, and starting the autumn season with some thoughts on this piece by Seth on competence as a barrier to possibility. Basically considering that when we get good at something, we know how it is done and what the result should look like.

And just maybe because of that, it is easy to loose sight of the possibility of "creative mutation" or "successful failure"

Just like automation takes out the "handmade" feel in products?

Jaime Oliver used to say that he intentionally cut pieces at odd angles and assorted widths, just to retain that feeling of a personal touch. Smashing up the onions and the mushrooms a bit, so it looked like "real" pieces, rather than machine processed goods.

How easy is it to use an error as something to build on, rather than just something to be pruned out with out further consideration?

Chances are, if something is a bit off, it might trigger ideas that then lead to further changes and explorations.

But they could also just lead you on a tangent. So setting aside some time, rather than doing it every time is a good idea

Democracy, because you're worth it

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want 

and deserve to get it good and hard."

via Quotes of the Day, one of many attributed to H. L. Mencken - listed as US editor (1880 - 1956) and it is the second to last of the draft backlog here. Fitting in a way.

It certainly reflects on thoughts going back to Plato and others, that the masses are more or less stupid, and giving them the full power will give them what they "deserve" rather than what they "need". Guidance rather than understanding being the defining bias. Some know better, and they should not only be elected, but preferred.

Democracy is not a single thing, and every nation that has at least one version running, does it differently. It is the ultimate open source forking model. Some states run things differently for different levels. Local, regional and national each having their rules and measures.

So it is a "broken" concept, yet it is vastly better than the alternatives seen so far. We can live with the small "injustices" of uneven representation or extended campaigning over political labour. And come fall here in Norway, the whole spectacle will get into gear. Because we deserve it. Because it is worth it.

i'm not young enough to know everything

- that's an Oscar Wilde quote taking the place of the title, having just heard it on Podcastle as I jumped off to get some thoughts in line here. Just realized the backlog and schedule was all out of content. But there are still a handfull of drafts to go - and then Pocket is filling up with good ideas and inspiration, so it looks like 2012 will be passed in terms of actual posts by the end of June.

Summer is a time of long afternoons stretching right into the night - half an hour to go for midnight, and still pretty light outside, a grey and rosy tint to the clouds. It is also a time for more reading of books on the Kindle in the sun, than skimming twitter and the web on an active screen like the ipad or laptop.

That might be why this quote is so suitable, from yet another Seth Godin post;

If you're upset that the hoi polloi are busy doing what you used to do, get better instead of getting angry.

Sure, you might feel entitled because you spent a lot of time (and perhaps a bit of effort) learning or getting access to things that were special - publishing a book, writing for a paper, designing visual or actual stuff - the list goes on. But now "everybody" can do it.

Doesn't mean they are going to be good at it.
Nor that they will be able to charge for it.

But it does mean that your nice little superior niche is busted wide open.
For some areas it means a lot more business - how many people make a living brewing coffee today?

For others it means a changing relation - being a wedding photographer amidst instagram and vine means you have to bring something more to the shoot, be it composition, scope or storytelling.

Just do it? Smarter, not harder.

Who's your master?

Been thinking about this post on and off for some time - partially based on the post [six pixels - Mitch Joel] - but also as I attended a "MOOC" on the Functional Art by Alberto Cairo, via Knight.

With so much information and insights all around, how do we best structure and create learning for ourselves and our peers?

Reading books, blogs, reflecting on them both in posts of our own.

Are blog posts the natural next level for term papers and other more scholarly deliverables? When we can discuss in forums online, do we need in class interaction - at all or for the same things?

In a single post you can explore an idea. Then across a series of posts you can start to get a grip on a topic. You can discuss quotes and include video snippets to set the stage for those reading at a later time, or simply to make the points more clearly.

You can edit. Sometimes almost to easily and carelessly. Wikipedia handles this by having the story right there, and WP3.6 is supposedly revamping the versions.

But can we all just choose and pick? Or are the ones who are able to just grab some books, read some articles and then just do it - the odd ones out?

How many of us are curios and driven, for how long? Is it school that "destroys" the lust for learning, the exploration and playfulness? Or is it something more at the core of each of us? Are we blaming the nearest and only common cause, rather than looking inside? Is it "the resistance" that drives us to prefer shelter and structure over "snacking" and exploration?


I'll let Mitch close this one out - not with his "punchline", but with the part that resonated the most for me:

Do not wait for a course to give you the answers. The answers are everywhere. Dive in. Be curious. Show up. Be serious. Be passionate. Be open.

I love to hate my blogger

Well this was strange, and crappy.

What is that? An official blogger app for iOS. Updated May 6th 2013. Yay for list and status. Yay for edit. Nay for only bold/italic choices for formatting. Nay for no visible way of linking or editing existing links.

Considering that the web version doesn't work at all with chrome for iPad, I guess it is a small step up -  but compared to the Wordpress app it is scary bad. Proof that blogger isn't something google sees much value in, and that they have a hard time getting something decent together for tablets in general and iOS in particular.

Which like Reader seems strange to me, considering that they want to organize the worlds information, having it first hand would seem like a good choice? But I guess they crawl a lot better than they do UX, and probably more efficient all around.


But onto the quote and link for the post proper - another archived draft, this one from right after New Years, and related to dieting:

Controlling what you eat is an interesting challenge, but not nearly as important as controlling how you think.

[src] via Seth's Blog

Reading bit by bit "this will make you smarter", a collection of short essays as answers, each about two full screens in the kindle app.

Quotes would go here.... On something more suited that a google product... Stay tuned (and yay for crappy html as well - total fail) 

I am my mind;

If you lead an organization, or have the sort of job that demands that you think about the world, these tools are like magic hammers. They will help you, now and through life, to see the world better, and to see your own biases more accurately.

[location 583]

Bias is one of the points brought forth, which ties into my other non-fic reading at the moment; Dan Ariely and a bundle of all three books. Considered jumping onto his Coursera offering, but the time just wasn't there, but finally reading all three books back to back is a good treat non the less.

Bias is the thumb that experience puts on the scale [ibid 1227]

Biases are there, we are wired into thinking some ways - but it is in part predictable, so we can, should, work with it. Not letting it go unnoticed in the autopilot lane, but taking a few minutes to reflect on why and how we assumed. Doesn't have to be a complete written expose, but checking yourself makes a lot of sense.

There is no absolute truth, since quantum states as we understand them contain probabilities all over the place. But also at a higher level, it is often more about storytelling than actual impact or 'fact'. A "causation web" rather than a pure and simple trigger for some thing, and then we try to influence various aspects of the web - based on what "makes sense" in our story, our reference frame.

Why do more than 40 percent of Americans think the universe began after the domestication of the dog? [ibid, 860]

Because it makes it easier overall? Religion puts things into place, makes for an overall narrative and guidelines that make a lot of sense.

Be nice, you will be rewarded, there is a Truth out there.

Does the timeline matter in the day to day life? Does it change how you would look at gas prices and environment? Taking something for granted or realizing that it is a (rather) finite resource built up over thousands of years, not likely to be around in the time of our grandkids?

But but but...

Think happy thoughts, it is a simple saying but a profound impact. How does it relate to bias? Is it the same thing, that we shape our world by our understanding and stories of it?

No, you can't heal yourself solely with (Jedi) mind tricks, but in a lot of situations your view impacts the process and the result in terms if how it makes you feel.

Energized or worn down.

Impossible or stretch.

 Same thing or not?

...and the sun washed out any hope of getting further for now - just as i realized that i've passed 500 published posts. it all adds up. given time, same as this post, third time the charm and out it goes on schedule in the morning...