take a trip, down mystery lane

Large version

Or Diagon Alley at any rate. It certainly feels a bit like magic to use Street view at normal locations. But then they go and get something like this. From Warner Bros studios, so obviously they love the exposure. The details are amazing, guess you can really zoom in on the HD copy of the movies and read the book covers and more.

Dig in, or skim along?

Snippets from Seth - on the willingness to go the distance, to read the whole story and understand the issues:

No need to read the whole book, I can just glance over the Cliffs Notes... I get it. No, I already heard about your vacation... remember, I saw the Instagram feed.

[via Pocket, "I get it"]

Are we going more shallow by having the fire-hose available and on at all times?

Does 200 or 500 friends mean you don't need to really pay attention to any single one?
When the book title is a story in itself, do we need to have it hammered in repeatedly over hundreds of pages?
With over 200 dimensions and metrics - does it make any sense to look at more than pageviews?

Simplification due to sheer volume and complexity - since we can't do it all, it is easier to cut corners?

It that why the allure of "BIG DATA" is so strong? Sure, there is to much to make sense of, so we'll just slap an algorithm on top, do some correlation and there you are!

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.

tsundoku, not just sudoku

Wow, the Japanese have a word for "the act of buying books and not reading them, leaving them to pile up": tsundoku 

Wondering if it applies to dvd and games as well?

Or if they have separate terms for the assorted forms of lacking consumption despite the desire.

The backlog is pretty stuck, at least not buying any new stuff. Mostly. Physically.

Got close to half a shelf full of fun stuff from Amazon, mainly photo and drawing or animation related. The stuff that isn't just about reading, but needs some doing as well. Aspirational, more than pratical plans.

Regular books are only Terry Pratchett. And with his health I've been holding off a bit on reading the latest books. Just in case. And despite some splurge shopping the Kindle reading list is in pretty good shape.

Then there are the iBooks shelves - running up a technical backlog, mainly things that are somewhat tangential to "business as usual", since 50% deals at O'reilly are to frequent and to much fun. Daily deals and then some.

Then there was that batch of games during the GOG drm free weekend sale. ONly 15-20 titles depending on how you count expansions. Does that count? Actually considered buying some games on dvd rather than there, since summer sales are in effect other places as well.

...and then there is that 2 month free trial of Comoyo video I've been meaning to get started with. Free. No strings attached.

...and also really should get on Netflix soon, rewatch House of Cards, and some series - but they don't have Sopranos or Wire, so getting a binge on for those will need another solution, like testing out HBO.

How many #backlogs do you have taking up space or mental effort?

Is it a problem, or a pure luxury?



wondering a bit about Google - midway through writing I was "logged out somewhere else", and asked if I wanted to log in again... no, no, just in the middle of typing a sentence, no need to do anything else. 

Story sketch - the forking election

Saw this tweet way way back, and RT'ed with the comment; there is a short story in that. 

@mwiik Thinking: In the future, candidates for president will advertise "fork me on github" #hacksociety

Not going to write out a full story, most likely, but wanted to get some ideas and hooks down here in case it feels right or triggers something else. Maybe something to pick up in time for NaNoWriMo, or just a fun fragment to look back at a while down the line.

title ideas

the forking election

one man, one fork

don't just vote, push

chars

bob - candidate 1, running for the incumbent party, wants to change it up, but unsure of how far his mandate will hold. Wants to use politico.code [PC] to explore the fringes.

harper - the upstart in the challenger party, pushing for a broader agenda. has a long stint as founder and tech lead behind him, before converting to politics. still dabbles in open source, to keep connected and credible. One of the first ten politicians to structure his platform on politico.code [PC] , and a strong supporter of the vote-platform auto integration

emma - current tech lead for voter engagement at the incumbents, has been an intern in one of harpers start ups, and also at [PC] before getting the current posting. Loves the tech chances the job offers, but unsure about the nuances in the politics of the party.

NN - political hacktivist, loves to challenge politicians on their lack of track record for voting along their stated platform.

scenes

bob office, emma and bob discuss areas suitable for wider testing on [PC] 

coffee shop - harper surfing blogs for ideas, new ad campaign, finds discussion with prominent political thinker X and NN, decides to "challenge" NN and his ilk in the campaign - "keep me honest"

(soundtrack; Count Basie, the kid from red bank, opening track on Complete Atomic Basie)

bob launches his [PC] effort just hours before harpers campaign kicks off, making it a feeding frenzy for talkshows, blogs and corridors

(soundtrack; Christina Aguillera, Fighter)

talk show - bob and harper face off, hangout style on boingboing - [PC] goes mainstream, signups skyrockets

challenger party first tier nominee hopefulls finds themselves sidelined, all the debates are about bob vs harper - with [PC]  taking center stage

the election sees record particiaption - both of "old school" voters who want their voice heard directly, and by the "new gen" of the [PC] involved activist coder voters

closing scenes, bob and harper watching the buzz as voting closes, blogs, feeds, dashboard from last minute [PC] suggestions

THE END 

Twisted tales of Buffy meets Donnie

This is not a review, but some musings that I wrote down after watching Southland tales - definetly on my top ten mental movies list. But still a must see. In a way. 

IMDB says people who liked it also liked Brazil and Bladerunner. Which makes a twisted kind of sense. My summary is simple;

Kindle Reads? Good Fire?

The post on Open City, and thinking a bit more about openness, insights and sharing lead to this little wish list. Namely, how I'd love for Amazon and Goodreads to play together - for my reading, sharing, exploring and remembering pleasure.

Idea 1: wish shelf

Having the option of syncing each wishlist with a shelf, so one for non fic want to read, one for general genre fic, and one for darker tales.

Ideally books bought would move to another shelf, or into the "to read" mode.

Idea 2: my good

kindle.amazon works like a charm for looking up highlights, and for quickly updating the status of purchased books. It should be opened up or merged into Goodreads. Perhaps in an IFTTT kind of way, opening up the API for other stores as well.

Idea 3: wish buy

Not really related to Goodreads directly, but I find it really hard to understand why Amazon at all times neglects my purchasing behavior and signaling intent by using wish lists. 9 of the last 10 books bought have spent time on my wish list prior to the sale.

Then it would make sense to use that list as a basis for recommendations  It works that way for the regular cart.

But Kindle books don't play nice with the cart. Which is in a way another minor gripe, as I often buy 2-3 at once; why separate check out and receipt mail, not to mention separate debits of my card?

Idea 4: good app

Reading with the Kobo app can be a lot of fun, because it binds together the social, the metrics and the reading. It is no big deal, but having charts like Runkeeper for books and pages read, quotes shared and discussed would be nice. And pushing it into Goodreads with an open API would make even more sense, since readers are a small niche to begin with, the more the merrier.

What would you like to see? #kindleGood ?

- ...and the sun was away as this got underway, a small evening shower on Monday (still doing that schedule thang, and loving it) - but still warm enough by far to sit outside on the balcony letting the thoughts flow ...

The truth in fiction

You can get a lot of truth from a made-up story.

Another great card / image from Indexed, a book tells a story openly, but perhaps the best insight we get from it is the story that plays out inside our head.

Spinning on the ideas the book delves into, or simply how it relates to our own stories.

Finished Open City by Tehu Cole on the balcony over the weekend, and one of the highlights is right in line with that same sentiment.

on to a bit of longer a side note, 

Open City was one of those books that made it's way onto my radar, then picked up kindle ed and read almost instantly - in less than a month in total. Which is high "praise" in this day of digital access and overview. 

At any given time my two main wish lists for kindle books hover at or around titles 20 each (non fic and genre respectively , with another 6-10 ongoing or waiting in line in the app, and a total of 40-50 in a more long term limbo of assorted niche list.

back to the story

Our narrator reflects on a meeting with his neighbour [SPOILER - ALBEIT SMALL], and learning that the wife has passed away.

I didn’t switch on the light. A woman had died in the room next to mine, she had died on the other side of the wall I was leaning against, and I had known nothing of it. I had known nothing in the weeks when her husband mourned, nothing when I had nodded to him in greeting with headphones in my ears, or when I had folded clothes in the laundry room while he used the washer. [location 291]

A feeling of both being so close, yet closed out at the same time. The city is open, But are we, the people living in it? How can we live within a few feet of each other, and yet hardly interact? How many of your ten or hundred closest do you know at all? A friendly nod? A name? Some story or context?



-...and the sun is making art outside as this is written, painting the clouds in shades of yellow, gold, orange, pink... it is summer at last, and fully

Summer reading - comic; Looking for Group

That’s right boys and girls, we are pleased to announce that LFG Volume 5 (in beautiful hardcover action) is now available for pre-order.

For the last books (vol 3 and 4) I re-read the previous collections before diving in. This time I've just left it a bit to really enjoy it during what will hopefully be some leisurely summer days. Have pre-ordered all five as they became available, so a signed collection

If you are new to Looking For Group, it is a webcomic, available to read for free - or you can pick up an omnibus edition for a mere $40 and support the artists. It is an epic fantasy comedy / parody / slightly twisted telling - and often "laugh out loud" funny, in a literal sense, not just LOL tweet.

Zen and the estrangements of mankind

Part 1 (on work v passion) and then part 2 (on mental models), makes this the third part in the flow of the book, but the fourth written and posted.

Unusual behavior tends to produce estrangement in others which tends to further the unusual behavior and thus the estrangement in self-stoking cycles until some sort of climax is reached. @1253

Part 2 ended with an idea left unsaid. And it was too soon. It is easier now, another year on from that day, our 9/11 - 227, or 7/22. 

July 22nd 2011 will probably live on for quite some time as a reminder. But even the most horrible dates fade over time, "never again April 9th" - reflecting on the way Norway was invaded by Germany and caught unprepared in 1940.

Yet it is a saying almost gone from our mind. And 70 years later we were in fact more or less taken unprepared.

By a single man. 

And his vision of the present, the future and the defining moments.


Not crazy, at least not crazy in a judicial definition - so he is serving his time. But somehow he entered into his own "world", and step by step built up a "vision" that lead him to, step by step, assemble a plan - and then a rationalization in the form of a mash up manifesto. I read parts and skimmed parts in the hours and days after 227, but have been unable, unwilling, to open it afterwards. It is best left for history, as it gives little else than a varnish atop a narrative oh so bewildered.


Which, in a strange way brings us back to ZEN - and the journey back into a life gone for our guide

He was insane. And when you look directly at an insane man all you see is a reflection of your own knowledge that he’s insane, which is not to see him at all. To see him you must see what he saw and when you are trying to see the vision of an insane man, an oblique route is the only way to come at it. [ibid, 1406]

It certainly seems like a good definition of insanity; when it is something we can't grasp, when we need to shift our mental models "one step left" in order to even grasp the outlines of the story.

Yet only a few pages previous, there is this passage;

We could not possibly be conscious of these things and remember all of them because our mind would be so full of useless details we would be unable to think ... We take a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world [ibid, 1370]

Is the world even real, beyond our sampling insights or fragments of reality? Like the Matrix, it could all be a simulation. Or at the very least suffer from a solid selection bias?

We see and react to what we all can live with around us, as opposed to the jarring discomfort of unwanted elements. Like beggars, how much simpler to ignore them actively or passively, letting their strange haven under the bridge be a hidden sight, their needs and encroachment on our daily bustle.

Like science and philosophy. Most people go on their merry way rather uncaring and untouched by the big questions. Does that make them more or less real, pressing, true?

Quality of Zen

In some ways this is the third post in the 'reading' series, but since I'm skipping to the end of Part II for this one, I'll try to add it into the flow later when the gap is closed. That is, covering the parts from around location 900 up to 3000 - and seeing how much still makes sense, in so far as the book makes any sense in and of itself.

So, close to the end of part II - we are back at the old school, revisiting the forgotten past - and having memories come back, along with some of the core ideas;

"What is quality in thought and statement?”

Quality…you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is. But that’s self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There’s nothing to talk about. But if you can’t say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist at all. But for all practical purposes it really does exist. Location 3003

Quality is intangible  it is not something we can easily measure - although many characteristics related to, or derived from quality can. Durability. Workmanship - as a lack of errors, a precision in production and an adherence to spec. Yet so dominating and impactfull a concept. 

Quality is how we define and refine our positions. We like to think we make good choices. And by extension  think that quality is what we prefer. But why do we prefer it- for any given value of it? Is it the sum of the parts, the overall feeling, the little details? 

How has branding taken over the role of quality and entertainment the role of reflection? 

Brands were in parts created when we stopped buying direct. When we didn't any longer have a face to face relationship with the man who made our candle, we had need of a way to differentiate and remember. Both as seller and buyer. 

But now? 

When it is the same factories, using many of the same components that make our gear? Can you brand a pure experience, like using software? Or does it take a product you can hold and compare?  This could be why the iOS volume has been so great compared to previous pc/laptop. The touch experience makes the app and the content tangible in a different way. Makes it yours, even if it is shared by millions. 

How many people used to created, in the age of radio? And the early days of television, was it overflowing with people filming their own shows? No, the dream of a participatory society is probably just that. "Most people" don't discuss politics, but how their team did and how dinner tasted - not the ecological impact of using that brand of beef.

By that extension, is price an indicator [of quality] or simply a rationalization to signal intent and aspiration in a broader context? Most books cost the same, and seeing one movie over another isn't likely to get you a discount. But in subtle ways there is a price indication in play. Watching TV at home is cheaper than going to the movies, which is again outpaced by seeing a play. 

- ...and the sun brought me out, and the idea drove me inside, for it was one of those times...
[soundtrack: Volta - by Bjørk, faded down to set or keep the mood]

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...

wanting, needing, craving ...information is a goal

A piece on Nieman, a year ago more or less, but still as relevant. Three video lectures / talks, the first of which prompted the saving of the URL for a later day:

James Gleick ... bestseller, translated into 20 languages, is The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

Clocking in at 73 minutes, I have to admit that some of it has "flooded past" in the year gone by, but I still recommend it.

I group Gleick in with moderately large group of thinkers exploring the impacts of digital tech and content. Books like The Shallows, Hamlets Blackberry, Not a gadget and so on. And there is no doubt that digitization changes "everything". Would I have even heard about those books ten years ago before starting to blog? Maybe, but clearly not twenty years ago before seeing web and newsgroup content for the first time.

It is part magic, part wonderland 

- imagine that just about any speech or lecture can be preserved and shared globally. For no incremental cost on either end.

Rather than traveling to California I could sit on my couch, holding 10 inches of glass and watch the I/O keynote (first hour anyway...) along with A MILLION (!!!) other people. Working with thees kinds of things, it is useful to stop and reflect on just how far we've come every now and then. With hangouts on air and recording, you just need a webcam (built into any laptop and most mobiles) to invite the world in. Google handles the rest. Distribution, encoding, storage.

Just like that. 

Want to do a debate series, inviting two people from different countries each week? Just do it.
Want to do a class for school kids in your favorite subject? Press record.

Sure, there is something like a 100 hours of new content by the time you've finished reading this post. But that just means that the content that does resonate has the chance to spread that much faster, further and longer than before.


- ...and the sun is taking a short time out, so I can just about make out the text on the screen in my reflection .. brightness to the max, blogging from the balcony