-
Ignivomous
You might think that physical aspects of the Earth’s geography would have names as old as anything in English. But there are some geographic features with names that aren’t as old as you might think. “Volcano,” for example, is a word that dates back only to the 1600s. Its first eruption into English was in… Continue reading
-
February 3
Do you always breathe just a little bit easier when you wake up on February 3, so you know you’re not caught living Groundhog Day over and over and over? That’s certainly the way it is for me. Groundhog Day seems to be forever associated with Groundhog Day the movie — even though making BIll… Continue reading
-
The Secret Ingredient
“The thing is,” said Hare, “we’re just going to have to find some, and that’s all there is to it.” “But there are plenty of other things you could use instead,” said Raccoon. “No,” said Hare, “I’m making my special salad, and every single ingredient is carefully selected. Substituting one thing would change the whole… Continue reading
-
Flagitous
In the 1840s in England, the economy went a bit nuts. What was going on had to do with a technology bubble. The technology at the time was the steam train, and everybody wanted to jump into the frenzy by creating a startup company, hiring on some engineers, and selling stock. (Stop me if any… Continue reading
-
Deprecate
It’s common in the computer industry to hear about a feature, function, or attribute being “deprecated.” That means the deprecated thing is being phased out or eliminated. This seems to come from 1990, in a Request for Comments document (an “RFC”) that suggested “In order to better prepare implementors for future changes … a new… Continue reading
-
February 2
February 2 We’re obsessed with weather. It’s a topic of conversation and a constant component in every form of news reporting. We change what we wear because of the weather. In some places we outfit our cars for it. If we go by sea, the weather is our central concern. After all, it can kill… Continue reading
-
February 2 Birthdays
First of all, Happy Groundhog Day! A “groundhog” is a large rodent native to North America. It’s primarily known for two things: a long list of alternative names, from woodchuck to whistlepig to thickwood badger to red monk. And quite a few more. They live in burrows, which leads to the other thing they’re known… Continue reading
-
Campaigning
Here is a scene that’s ironic in a way that’s not obvious. “The general surveyed the wide, grassy plain where his army had just won the final battle in a long series. He sipped a glass of champagne in relief and celebration.” The question is, what’s ironic about that? Is it the general’s relief? Is… Continue reading
-
February 1, Imbolc
“It is the morning of Imbolc, here in Ireland. We celebrate four times in the year; Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. Imbolc is Brigid’s day and we know it by the blooming of the blackthorn that began just last eventide. It was as I dreamed it, for I am the one in my village who… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer (among other things) located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. No surprise, she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my newsletter, Artisanal Scribbles, where I’m grappling with writing, authentic human authorship, integrity, and the craft of beauty in the AI age. You can also find some of my old software projects at GitHub. Nothing very impressive. I mostly wrote tiny utilities in Python and shell scripts. I’m mostly retired from coding nowadays.
I find myself suddenly de-corporatized (their choice, not mine). To help keep the lights on, buy me a coffee!
Recent Posts
- Hang on, I’m busy
- Sometimes it’s not an improvement
- Do not call your friend…
- Once more, into the breach
- Be Here Now. And Sit.
Categories
Artificial Intelligence
Chocolatiana
Essays
History, sort of
Immorality
Incompetence
Quotations
Resistance
Stories
Tales from the Forest
Technicalities
Tragedy
Unanticipated Consequences
Privacy policy
No trackers, no ads, no data collected or saved.
Contact
peterharbeson@me.com