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I always wonder
There are an awful lot of people in the US who spout what they think is “traditional” religion (it really isn’t; what they mostly put forth is a 20th century invention) and seem to be able to convince big crowds to come listen to them talk (they talk a lot) and to donate money or… Continue reading
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Above the law indeed
The orange baby got its Supreme Court to place it above the law. One of the things it said while campaigning was that it could kill someone on a busy street and get away with it. Now it’s proceeding with murder, which it has done a lot of talking about. A little open outboard motorboat… Continue reading
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Irony
This should be listed as the definition of “irony” in some dictionary. Stephen Miller…Stephen Miller! The “un-American political extremist.” He wrote this: “There is an ideology that has steadily been growing in this country which hates everything that is good, righteous and beautiful and celebrates everything that is warped, twisted and depraved. It is an… Continue reading
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What is twitter really for?
I’ve been thinking about “social media” quite lot lately. And here I’m focusing on twitter-like systems more than, say facebook. Services, that is, that are for short messages that are widely distributed, the authors have little control over once they’re posted, and that have such a massive flow of data that the focus of the… Continue reading
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To Anxious Friends
The editorial below was written by William Allen White on July 27, 1922. The disorder of the day, which he mentions, was a nationwide railroad strike. In 1922, railroads were critical infrastructure — they still are, but in 1922 there were no alternatives. White was the editor of the Emporia Gazette of Emporia, Kansas, where… Continue reading
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Tragedy
Imagine for a moment that you’re 22 years old. You’re healthy, you’ve had a good education, you’re pretty bright. You have a family that’s close; you’re not isolated. You live in a peaceful beautiful place among a population that’s reasonably happy. How do you come to decide to throw your life away by killing someone… Continue reading
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Not my president
In the past, I’ve always assumed that a phrase like “not my president” had to do with a hissy fit by some snowflake way out on the right or left wing of political bent. But this time the president has decided on its own that it is not my president. And that goes for more… Continue reading
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Passions, Products, and Utility
or: It’s Just a Phone The MacPsych blog has an interesting post about mobile phones, on the occasion of the latest Apple “event” introducing new iPhoniana. They say: “I have read lots of differing perspective online, from fanboy exclamations of ‘the best phone everrrrrr!’ through to the much more realistic ‘it’s just a fucking phone’. As time passes,… Continue reading
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Will we ever learn?
Just Another Day in the USA; Charlie Kirk shot to death on a campus in Utah (which allows anybody to carry a concealed firearm). And three students shot in a high school in Denver. That old nonsense “guns don’t kill people, people kill people?” Not exactly. People with guns kill people. Continue reading
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Sure, just make it up
“Zuckerberg joined Trump at a White House tech event on Thursday evening and sat next to the president. Trump asked Zuckerberg about Meta’s upcoming investments in AI infrastructure, “How much are you spending, would you say, over the next few years?” “Oh gosh. I mean, I think it’s probably going to be something like, I… 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
- Where does power reside
- Can’t keep a secret?
- Look to the rigging
- Ocean’s 128GB
- How much is that doggie in the window?
Categories
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History, sort of
Immorality
Incompetence
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Tales from the Forest
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Tragedy
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com