Pylimitics

Simplicity rearranged

unmonetizable content since 1997

  • A bill of goods

    “We’ve been sold a bill of goods in this country that we’re divided. We’re divided by gender, we’re divided by race, we’re divided by who we love, we’re divided by where we worship or whether we worship at all. And now they’re trying to tell us that we’re divided by Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Let Continue reading

    ,

  • Symiliptic report tober 28

    The many discussions and thoughts that went into creating the sixth republic often involved citizenship. Many of us had concluded that it was citizenship that most contributed to the fall of the fourth republic. The idea of citizenship, and how it was assumed to be a thing that was conferred either by birth or by Continue reading

  • Navigation versus implementation

    Years ago I designed mobile phone software. At the time, phones were just beginning to be able to connect to the internet, so we had a web browser. Since the platform was a phone, it made sense to us to provide a way to automatically dial a phone number you found on a web page. Continue reading

    ,

  • Two approaches

    There are (at least) two general approaches to creating something technically new. At least I think there are. One is externally oriented. The creator notices or is given a situation or problem that somebody else experiences, and the creator tries to come up with a technical solution. The other is internally oriented. The creator finds Continue reading

  • The edge of vision 7

    part 7 Roger mechanically transferred his groceries from his cart onto the moving belt at the grocery checkout line. He zoned out while shopping, just picking the usual packages from the usual places on the shelves. He barely noticed when the elderly clerk called for a price check. But then she asked him where he Continue reading

  • Edges of vision 6

    part 6 Roger drove the LTD to the scrap yard the next day. The place was on state route 24, surrounded by rusty chain link fencing. The gate was open with a wooden shack just inside. A hand-painted “office” sign was beside the open door. He parked beside the office and went in. The walls Continue reading

  • Tiny Tim

    Apple employs over 160,000 people, and like any enormous collection of humans, the group embodies a lot of variation. Even though they’re a group in the sense that they share an employer, they are not at all a group in other senses. They don’t all live in the same area. They don’t all agree on Continue reading

  • Greed and cowardice

    I use a lot of Apple products and services. They’re not perfect, but they’re often best in class. Even when they’re not, they’re good enough to keep me firmly within their ecosystem. It’s not the walled garden it used to be, but more like a fenced compound. I don’t know how much of my personal Continue reading

  • Edges of vision 5

    part 5 Roger drove home, parked the LTD in the street, moved his Prius, and pulled the LTD into the driveway. But he didn’t put it in the garage. He still felt uncomfortable about the garage, although he couldn’t quite say why. Regardless, he was starting to like the LTD, gas hog that it was. Continue reading

  • Edges of vision 4

    part 4 Roger couldn’t think of anyone who’d want to prank him, particularly in this rather tasteless way. Sure, he’d sort of gone into a shell for a long time, but who would stage an intervention? He didn’t have any relatives he knew of, and no close friends who’d take an interest. And anyone who Continue reading

About Me

I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.

Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.

Recent Posts

Privacy policy
No trackers, no ads, no data collected or saved.

Contact

peterharbeson@me.com