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Douglas Engelbart
Right now you’re probably using a mouse with your computer, which has a graphical user interface seen on a bitmapped display. You use the interface to follow hypertext links thanks to your computer being connected to others on a network. All of that stuff comes from “The Mother of All Demos” in 1968. And it… Continue reading
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Sprucify
If you ease the burden of something, you might say that you “lightened” it. If you make something less messy, you’ve “tidied.” But not “tidy-ened.” When you make something easier to understand, you’ve “clarified” — but not “clearened” or “claried.” And for that matter, if you go around your room straightening and correcting things, you’ve… Continue reading
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Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov was born January 29, 1860 in the Russian Empire. His father had been a serf, in the medieval sense, but ran a grocery store by the time Anton was born. The family spoke Ukranian as well as Russian at home, and Anton’s mother was said to be an excellent storyteller who entertained all… Continue reading
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January 29
Today is the day, in 1980, that the Rubik’s Cube was introduced to the world. By the end of the year, it seemed like everybody had one. It was a full-fledged craze. The best-selling book just the next year was about solving it. By 1982 there was a world championship in cube-solving. The thing was,… Continue reading
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White dog privilege
“You know,” said Dog, “you folks who live in the forest have a pretty nice setup. It must be really relaxing.” “How do you mean?” asked Hare. “I thought you and Ferret were the ones who had all the best of everything.” “Oh, sure, I’m not saying there aren’t perks,” said Dog, “but they come… Continue reading
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Panglossian mithridate
In the last century BCE there was a small kingdom on the southern edge of the Black Sea, called “Pontus.” They fought several wars with Rome, but in later centuries the kingdom was chiefly remembered for Mithridates IV, the king of Pontus. Courtly life in Pontus being what it was (not very nice), Mithridates was… Continue reading
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January 28
It’s Jackson Pollock’s birthday today. His paintings from his “drip period” are riots of disorganized organization. Small areas hang together, but seem completely unrelated to other sections. But then you see grand, galactic designs in there somewhere…somehow…tying things together. Connections appear and vanish, coincidences arise, and then as you move a few steps to the… Continue reading
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Pertinent qualms
When something is “pertinent,” it’s relevant. The heat-regulating system in your oven, for example, is pertinent to how well your cake comes out when you’re baking. The word is from the late 1300s (the Middle English era), and made its way to English via French. Its ultimate root is Latin: “pertinare,” which means the same… Continue reading
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Fungible Manatee
One evening, Hortense and Masie the cows were not surprised at all to find their friend Manatee relaxing in the creek that ran through the farm. “Hi Manatee,” said Masie, “I didn’t know you were visiting these parts.” “Oh yesss,” said Manatee slowly, “felt it wass timmmmme for a bit of a vacationnnn, you knowwww.… Continue reading
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American Dreamscape
The American dream scape. A strange topology beneath the moon that our oddly faceless icons walked on, then abandoned, an issue suddenly as dead as the dust under their nasa boots. We Americans inhabit stories and myths, not reality. We’re fictional characters who believe ourselves to be real, but disbelieve the real world. We’re wraiths… 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
- The True Chew
- The Cycles within the Arc
- I’d rather have a taco
- 20-something Hubris
- You can’t be a leader without followers
Categories
Artificial Intelligence
Chocolatiana
Essays
History, sort of
Immorality
Incompetence
Quotations
Resistance
Stories
Tales from the Forest
Technicalities
Tragedy
Unanticipated Consequences
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com