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| Fine Time Art 49 by Marion 2018 |
Monday, January 29, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Skiing
The other day I watched Alpine skiers in a speed contest on television. The mountain runs were steep and the numerous curves designed so skiers really had to show off their skills to finish a run without mishap. In my opinion, it takes a lot of courage to commit oneself to sliding down a steep mountain with long narrow boards strapped to your feet and trust that your sense of balance and your judgment in timing is going to get you to the bottom of the mountain safely.
I marvel at the skiers ability to maintain their balance as they gain speed rounding each curve. They look as if they were flying without wings. It takes split second decisions to know when and how to balance a fraction more on one leg or the other and to control the skis while all the time looking ahead to the next curve. Their skiing is superb.
During the snowy winters of my childhood my brothers and sisters dabbled in skiing and ice skating. We skied the low rolling hills of Iowa outside of the town where we lived, I was never very good at it. My own memories of skiing consist of mostly climbing back up the hill to try again.
I marvel at the skiers ability to maintain their balance as they gain speed rounding each curve. They look as if they were flying without wings. It takes split second decisions to know when and how to balance a fraction more on one leg or the other and to control the skis while all the time looking ahead to the next curve. Their skiing is superb.
During the snowy winters of my childhood my brothers and sisters dabbled in skiing and ice skating. We skied the low rolling hills of Iowa outside of the town where we lived, I was never very good at it. My own memories of skiing consist of mostly climbing back up the hill to try again.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Lucky the Physics Wizard by KimB
Lucky is one lucky cat! Actually, he's lucky to be alive, lucky to have a home, lucky to have food and fresh water delivered directly to his bowls twice daily, by humans rather than by drone-drop. Lucky is coming 3 years old and is the quintessential "curious cat". He loves to explore and is an extreme cat-acrobat, finding his way to the top of bookcases and balcony perches to observe the activities of his human-pets.
Lucky also likes to "play ball".
I've only had one dog that liked to retrieve or "play ball", all the other dogs were far too smart to be enticed from their comfy positions on the couch, to run around chasing an object only to find that it gets hurled away again. Their attitude was: If you didn't want it, why did you ask me to go get it for you?
But Lucky the cat, loves to "play ball".
In and amongst the many cat toys purchased and normally completely ignored by the other cats (Othello and Bette), are small yellow tennis balls. I don't suppose the color means anything to Lucky but the fuzzy outside let him carry it around. Like most dull-minded humans, we expected Lucky to "entertain himself" with the toy: sort of like a parent's smartphone equivalent to not having to bother with their children in any meaningful way: Here take it, now leave us alone. Lucky did the common thing with the ball, bat it around, chase it a bit and when bored got back up on the bannister to watch the never ending chaos of human's doing purposeful activities like: sweeping up the tracked cat litter from the no-track-cat-litter that tracks anyway.
Then Lucky found a new thing to do with the yellow ball. He brought it to me and dropped at my feet. It was rather like a cat present of a dead mouse, except Lucky is indoors and thankfully we don't have many mice, and it was a small tennis ball instead of a dead mouse. I thanked him and gave him a pat on the head and picked up the ball. Then I tossed causally it towards the pile of the other ignored cat toys. Lucky went ECSTATIC!
He raced to the ball, gave it a few perfunctory bats, picked it up and brought it to me, dropping it at my feet. When I tossed it again, thinking this was a one-off behavior, Lucky raced after the ball and brought it to me again and again and again. Lucky discovered the game of ball and was delighted that his normally dull minded humans, had learned something - at last!
Lucky found a more fun way to play ball when he insisted on me tossing the ball up the stairs so he could race up the stairs to get it. Actually it took him a few tries to get me to move to the stairs. First he dropped the ball just out of reach and if I didn't move to pick it up he lightly batted it towards me until I picked it up and he raced towards base of the stairs waiting for the toss. Finally, I got the message: he wanted me to toss the ball to the top of the stairs.
Pretty much anyone who has a cat has watched them play solo-soccer with a toy. They have such eye-paw dexterity that I'm sure human soccer players are hoping for a DNA transplant of cat-soccer-genes so they can do something half-way the same. They bat the toy here and there for a few minutes then head for the warm sunny spots to sleep off their embarrassment of actually having moved at all. Normally, I just smile and enjoy the show for as long as it lasts but never spent too much time thinking about it.
Animals are not stupid. They think differently than people and they certainly have completely different goals than we do. Animals seldom worry too much about anything, especially when they can see their food dishes are filled and they know that fresh water is in the bowl. And generally that's about all humans pay attention to too. However, people that work with or train animals of all kinds, know there is something else going on inside their skulls. Each animal and each species, like individual humans, has a hierarchy of priorities and behaviors that go with them. Cats are not particularly high on the list for training, but they have their own intelligence levels.
Nearly everyone has seen those Wild Lion documentaries where the lionesses surround a group of zebra and then on some unspoken signal rush the herd, like it's Super Bowl Sunday with 30 seconds left on the clock. They triangulate on a target, fake left-right and race up the center towards their goal. We've also seen the videos where some of the rookie lionesses jump off-side and everyone goes home with a no dinner for you tonight penalty.
They do some pretty intense calculations, the kind that takes some gnarly mathematics to explain but the kind that humans can do in a nanosecond. We have to teach our children not to cross the road without looking for cars (soon to be driverless empty cars going nowhere in particular because there is no one in them) but after a while they can calculate: Can I get across the street before the car gets to this point?
Humans and lions can calculate the velocity1 of an object, which is the rate of change in its position with respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. 2
Animals also have a sense about "The World". They know direction and up from down. A long time ago, I watched a documentary about different ways researchers were testing animal perceptions. The researcher had some small monkeys called tamarins 3 (exceptionally and fatally cute). He set up a large clear box with 3 black tubes on the outside leading to matching food bins on the inside. The monkey could not see that the researcher could change the pathway of the tubes, from the monkey's view: each tube lead directly to a food bin. The researcher showed the monkey the food item and dropped it into one of the 3 tubes. The monkey went to the food bin directly under each tube to get the food. Then the researcher changed the pathway and again showed the monkey that the food was going in tube 1 but it came out at food bin 3. The monkey stared and stared because even monkeys don't believe in magic. The monkey knew that things Fall Down, they don't Fall Sideways.
So, animals have a sense of the world and how gravity 4 works. Bananas don't Fall Sideways and they don't Fall Up. It was Isaac Newton 5 in 1687 that explained this to humans. 6
I admired Lucky's ability to race up the stairs over and over and play pounce at the top to get the ball. Lucky is sleek and quick and has the longest tail ever on a cat. Watching Lucky bounding up the stairs was like watching a lioness trying for a solo kill on a zebra. I didn't pay much attention when he carried the ball down the stairs to me and waited for the next toss. It's what dogs do when they play fetch and I just lumped Lucky in with dogs but of course, Lucky is a cat not a dog. What is even more remarkable is that whenever he wants to play ball, he brings a ball that he has hidden and sits with it at my feet patiently waiting for me to pay attention.
Then I noticed a slight shift in his play. He didn't want to lose his advantage of being on the middle step by coming all the way to the bottom so he dropped the ball midway and let it roll down the steps to me. OK, I will admit to being not too bright about what he was doing and it took a longish while for me to see that after he dropped the ball it always came directly to me.
That's right. It came directly to me.
It didn't matter where on the stairs he dropped it. It didn't matter if he dropped it more left than right or up one or down one from where he sat. He would give a push with his paw and it would bounce down the stairs where I could just pick it up. Once I began to notice I could see he did other things too to get the ball to me: he could bank it left or right against the walls lining the stair. He could double bank it. He could put spin 7 on it. He could combine spins: top and side and bank the ball at the same time. He used just enough force 8 on the ball so that as it bounced down the stairs it would lose velocity and come to rest in front of me. Occasionally, he would take a big whack and I would think "Oh, he's lost it..." only to realize he was hitting the wall behind me and ricocheting 9 the ball off the back wall towards me.
Of course, sometimes he does miss, but I think it's more that he doesn't want me to get bored and if he makes me move all of 6 inches to reach the ball then I will continue to play until HE gets tired.
Now as I watch Lucky play ball, racing up the stairs, making his pounce and then dropping the ball and pushing it in such a way as it reaches me, I think of all the things Lucky must be calculating . Things that even the smartest humans work hard to understand.
Lucky with his happy-go-lucky personality, his grey coat and his extra long tail is one very smart cat.
References
Lucky also likes to "play ball".
I've only had one dog that liked to retrieve or "play ball", all the other dogs were far too smart to be enticed from their comfy positions on the couch, to run around chasing an object only to find that it gets hurled away again. Their attitude was: If you didn't want it, why did you ask me to go get it for you?
But Lucky the cat, loves to "play ball".
In and amongst the many cat toys purchased and normally completely ignored by the other cats (Othello and Bette), are small yellow tennis balls. I don't suppose the color means anything to Lucky but the fuzzy outside let him carry it around. Like most dull-minded humans, we expected Lucky to "entertain himself" with the toy: sort of like a parent's smartphone equivalent to not having to bother with their children in any meaningful way: Here take it, now leave us alone. Lucky did the common thing with the ball, bat it around, chase it a bit and when bored got back up on the bannister to watch the never ending chaos of human's doing purposeful activities like: sweeping up the tracked cat litter from the no-track-cat-litter that tracks anyway.
 |
| Lucky The surveillance cat |
He raced to the ball, gave it a few perfunctory bats, picked it up and brought it to me, dropping it at my feet. When I tossed it again, thinking this was a one-off behavior, Lucky raced after the ball and brought it to me again and again and again. Lucky discovered the game of ball and was delighted that his normally dull minded humans, had learned something - at last!
Lucky found a more fun way to play ball when he insisted on me tossing the ball up the stairs so he could race up the stairs to get it. Actually it took him a few tries to get me to move to the stairs. First he dropped the ball just out of reach and if I didn't move to pick it up he lightly batted it towards me until I picked it up and he raced towards base of the stairs waiting for the toss. Finally, I got the message: he wanted me to toss the ball to the top of the stairs.
Pretty much anyone who has a cat has watched them play solo-soccer with a toy. They have such eye-paw dexterity that I'm sure human soccer players are hoping for a DNA transplant of cat-soccer-genes so they can do something half-way the same. They bat the toy here and there for a few minutes then head for the warm sunny spots to sleep off their embarrassment of actually having moved at all. Normally, I just smile and enjoy the show for as long as it lasts but never spent too much time thinking about it.
Animals are not stupid. They think differently than people and they certainly have completely different goals than we do. Animals seldom worry too much about anything, especially when they can see their food dishes are filled and they know that fresh water is in the bowl. And generally that's about all humans pay attention to too. However, people that work with or train animals of all kinds, know there is something else going on inside their skulls. Each animal and each species, like individual humans, has a hierarchy of priorities and behaviors that go with them. Cats are not particularly high on the list for training, but they have their own intelligence levels.
Nearly everyone has seen those Wild Lion documentaries where the lionesses surround a group of zebra and then on some unspoken signal rush the herd, like it's Super Bowl Sunday with 30 seconds left on the clock. They triangulate on a target, fake left-right and race up the center towards their goal. We've also seen the videos where some of the rookie lionesses jump off-side and everyone goes home with a no dinner for you tonight penalty.
They do some pretty intense calculations, the kind that takes some gnarly mathematics to explain but the kind that humans can do in a nanosecond. We have to teach our children not to cross the road without looking for cars (soon to be driverless empty cars going nowhere in particular because there is no one in them) but after a while they can calculate: Can I get across the street before the car gets to this point?
Humans and lions can calculate the velocity1 of an object, which is the rate of change in its position with respect to a frame of reference, and is a function of time. 2
- How fast can I move
- How fast is the car/zebra moving
- What direction is it going
- Is it going to change direction
- Is it going to speed up/slow down
- Is there anything that can interfere like a stop sign or a stream
- How long will it take to get from here to there
 |
| Kinematics mass m, position r, velocity v, acceleration a |
Animals also have a sense about "The World". They know direction and up from down. A long time ago, I watched a documentary about different ways researchers were testing animal perceptions. The researcher had some small monkeys called tamarins 3 (exceptionally and fatally cute). He set up a large clear box with 3 black tubes on the outside leading to matching food bins on the inside. The monkey could not see that the researcher could change the pathway of the tubes, from the monkey's view: each tube lead directly to a food bin. The researcher showed the monkey the food item and dropped it into one of the 3 tubes. The monkey went to the food bin directly under each tube to get the food. Then the researcher changed the pathway and again showed the monkey that the food was going in tube 1 but it came out at food bin 3. The monkey stared and stared because even monkeys don't believe in magic. The monkey knew that things Fall Down, they don't Fall Sideways.
So, animals have a sense of the world and how gravity 4 works. Bananas don't Fall Sideways and they don't Fall Up. It was Isaac Newton 5 in 1687 that explained this to humans. 6
I admired Lucky's ability to race up the stairs over and over and play pounce at the top to get the ball. Lucky is sleek and quick and has the longest tail ever on a cat. Watching Lucky bounding up the stairs was like watching a lioness trying for a solo kill on a zebra. I didn't pay much attention when he carried the ball down the stairs to me and waited for the next toss. It's what dogs do when they play fetch and I just lumped Lucky in with dogs but of course, Lucky is a cat not a dog. What is even more remarkable is that whenever he wants to play ball, he brings a ball that he has hidden and sits with it at my feet patiently waiting for me to pay attention.
Then I noticed a slight shift in his play. He didn't want to lose his advantage of being on the middle step by coming all the way to the bottom so he dropped the ball midway and let it roll down the steps to me. OK, I will admit to being not too bright about what he was doing and it took a longish while for me to see that after he dropped the ball it always came directly to me.
That's right. It came directly to me.
It didn't matter where on the stairs he dropped it. It didn't matter if he dropped it more left than right or up one or down one from where he sat. He would give a push with his paw and it would bounce down the stairs where I could just pick it up. Once I began to notice I could see he did other things too to get the ball to me: he could bank it left or right against the walls lining the stair. He could double bank it. He could put spin 7 on it. He could combine spins: top and side and bank the ball at the same time. He used just enough force 8 on the ball so that as it bounced down the stairs it would lose velocity and come to rest in front of me. Occasionally, he would take a big whack and I would think "Oh, he's lost it..." only to realize he was hitting the wall behind me and ricocheting 9 the ball off the back wall towards me.
Of course, sometimes he does miss, but I think it's more that he doesn't want me to get bored and if he makes me move all of 6 inches to reach the ball then I will continue to play until HE gets tired.
Now as I watch Lucky play ball, racing up the stairs, making his pounce and then dropping the ball and pushing it in such a way as it reaches me, I think of all the things Lucky must be calculating . Things that even the smartest humans work hard to understand.
- Physics 10 the 'knowledge of nature', is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion and behavior through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. One of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves.
The world around us and how it works. - Classical mechanics 11 , also known as Newtonian mechanics 11 is concerned with the set of physical laws describing the motion of bodies under the influence of a system of forces.
What goes up, comes down. Why things move and why they stop. - Dynamical system 12 / Dynamical billiards 12 in which a particle alternates between motion in a straight line and specular reflections from a boundary. When the particle hits the boundary it reflects from it without loss of speed. Billiard dynamical systems are Hamiltonian idealizations of the game of billiards, but where the region contained by the boundary can have shapes other than rectangular and even be multidimensional.
How banks, topspin, backspin work. - non-Euclidean geometry 13 when parallel lines drawn on a curved surface do not remain equal distant.
Like cutting segments from an orange or drawing lines on a ball or decorations on a bowl or jug. - Outer billiards 14 is a dynamical system based on a convex shape in the plane. Outer billiards differs from a usual dynamical billiard in that it deals with a discrete sequence of moves outside the shape rather than inside of it.
Like bumper pool which has obstacles in the middle of the table.15
 |
| The Bunimovich stadium a chaotic dynamical billiard |
Lucky with his happy-go-lucky personality, his grey coat and his extra long tail is one very smart cat.
 |
| Lucky contemplating the universe |
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinematics
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamarin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity#Newton's_theory_of_gravitation
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_effect
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricochet
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics
- a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtonian_mechanics
b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_mechanics - a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamical_system
b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamical_billiards - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Euclidean_geometry
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_billiard
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_pool
Monday, January 08, 2018
Monday, January 01, 2018
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Happy New Year
What's the new year going to be like? I have high hopes that it will the beginning of a peace trend. This year is leaving the country with jangled nerves caused by thoughtless tweets and innuendoes, and the new national norm of a divided citizenry.
On a more personal level, I'm glad December is over. After weeks of flu, both my son and I were able to enjoy a very nice Christmas day. Our new year, 2018, will be greeted with enthusiasm and plans for Nu-House projects.
Our Houston, Texas weather is moderate compared to that of Lake Erie. My childhood was spent in Iowa, so I know what snow is, and how deep it can get, but the snow fall in Erie is truly awesome. In an old family photo album there are several snapshots of uncles standing on 20 foot high snow drifts. Now the only snow I get to see is that in a snow globe.
I haven't made my list of resolutions yet. I always make a list of about 10 things I know I'll probably do, and call them resolutions. I actually do many of them, but this year, I haven't given much thought to them. Who know? Perhaps this year I'll just watch the television news and complain about how things are going, while I sit back and ignore all the things I feel I should be doing. Perhaps this is my own personal 'new norm'?
For those of you that read this blog, I wish you a very merry and happy New Year. May 2018 bring you fulfilled wishes and continued good health. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
On a more personal level, I'm glad December is over. After weeks of flu, both my son and I were able to enjoy a very nice Christmas day. Our new year, 2018, will be greeted with enthusiasm and plans for Nu-House projects.
Our Houston, Texas weather is moderate compared to that of Lake Erie. My childhood was spent in Iowa, so I know what snow is, and how deep it can get, but the snow fall in Erie is truly awesome. In an old family photo album there are several snapshots of uncles standing on 20 foot high snow drifts. Now the only snow I get to see is that in a snow globe.
I haven't made my list of resolutions yet. I always make a list of about 10 things I know I'll probably do, and call them resolutions. I actually do many of them, but this year, I haven't given much thought to them. Who know? Perhaps this year I'll just watch the television news and complain about how things are going, while I sit back and ignore all the things I feel I should be doing. Perhaps this is my own personal 'new norm'?
For those of you that read this blog, I wish you a very merry and happy New Year. May 2018 bring you fulfilled wishes and continued good health. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Monday, December 25, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Christmas 2017 by KimB
Another winter, harbinger of the coming new year, has come and in many parts of the world a Holiday Is Happenin'! For some, that holiday will start Dec 25 1 and others it will be 12 days later on Jan 6 2 . Still more will have different dates and meanings to mark this particular time on the planet.
While many in the USA are focused on the bargains to be had at stores both physical and ethereal, there is a lot more to be found besides tomorrow's trash-n-dump that the unceasing barrages of advertising, both subliminal and not too subtle, tell us We Must Have!
If we take a moment to look beyond what's pushed, shoved and splayed across the micro-screens that now capture and occupy our every waking moment, we might find something different in front of us.
The winter solstice 3 marks the end of one period and the starting a new one. It is the day of least sunlight and the longest night.
An old song 4 commemorates this time:
The length of daytime depends on where you live on the planet. North of the equator, this day can be less than 4 hours long and gets longer as you move southward. The physical shape of our planet 5, it's path through the solar system, the tilt of the axis and it's relationship to the sun are what governs the solstice 6.
The solstice is a marker for seasons. Seasons are marked by calendars. In the USA we use the Gregorian calendar 7 but this isn't the first or only calendar 8. Calendars of all sorts and manners mark seasons and the repetition of days in a season. Clocks 9 mark the repetition of the hours for day and night.
But the solstice is not dependent on any of us. It happens regardless of us. We place extra meanings on some days and mark them as special but those are our determinations. The earth has it's own special days, and celebrates them with or without us. The winter solstice is one of them.
The solstice has been celebrated by humans for a very long time 10. It marks a special time not just for the planet but for us as a species.
It marks a turning point in our joint past, when we noticed the repeating patterns all around us. It marks not just our awareness but our ability to predict that repetition. The moment when our awareness, our consciousness, our sense of self in the environment, our ability to count and our ability to display that count and then to physically pass this information onward to future generations happened.
It marks the end of spoken memory and the beginning of modern memory: the memory of the solstice and what it means.
Take a moment to look around you. Notice anything special?
Something beyond price:
References
While many in the USA are focused on the bargains to be had at stores both physical and ethereal, there is a lot more to be found besides tomorrow's trash-n-dump that the unceasing barrages of advertising, both subliminal and not too subtle, tell us We Must Have!
If we take a moment to look beyond what's pushed, shoved and splayed across the micro-screens that now capture and occupy our every waking moment, we might find something different in front of us.
- The flitting of a small bird.
- A single snow flake.
- The fracture patterns of frozen water.
- The reflection of light as it bounces from a glass pane.
- The smell of cold air.
- The degrees of wetness in mud.
- The quilting of fallen leaves.
- The warmth of a hand.
- The smile of a stranger.
The winter solstice 3 marks the end of one period and the starting a new one. It is the day of least sunlight and the longest night.
An old song 4 commemorates this time:
They had not been sailing but a long winter's night,
And part of short winter's day.
The length of daytime depends on where you live on the planet. North of the equator, this day can be less than 4 hours long and gets longer as you move southward. The physical shape of our planet 5, it's path through the solar system, the tilt of the axis and it's relationship to the sun are what governs the solstice 6.
 |
| Solargraph: sun tracks |
The solstice is a marker for seasons. Seasons are marked by calendars. In the USA we use the Gregorian calendar 7 but this isn't the first or only calendar 8. Calendars of all sorts and manners mark seasons and the repetition of days in a season. Clocks 9 mark the repetition of the hours for day and night.
But the solstice is not dependent on any of us. It happens regardless of us. We place extra meanings on some days and mark them as special but those are our determinations. The earth has it's own special days, and celebrates them with or without us. The winter solstice is one of them.
The solstice has been celebrated by humans for a very long time 10. It marks a special time not just for the planet but for us as a species.
It marks a turning point in our joint past, when we noticed the repeating patterns all around us. It marks not just our awareness but our ability to predict that repetition. The moment when our awareness, our consciousness, our sense of self in the environment, our ability to count and our ability to display that count and then to physically pass this information onward to future generations happened.
It marks the end of spoken memory and the beginning of modern memory: the memory of the solstice and what it means.
Take a moment to look around you. Notice anything special?
Something beyond price:
The solstice is happening
 |
| Winter Solstice Stonehenge |
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_25
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6
- a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice
b https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_solstice - a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Martin_(song)
b https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Barton_(privateer) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Monday, December 04, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Our Privacy Policy Update for 2018
[note: Editor's Post]
It's that time of year where the massive tracking industries are hard at work planning to detach money from your pockets and transfer it into theirs.
Yeppers, it's holiday time and in the USA people will do all sorts of odd things they would never do otherwise, in the pursuit of those "hot" new item(s) touted by these same massive tracking industries as being the "in thing"; which means: you really don't have a choice about what you are getting.
So to get the basics out of the way:
There are others that do:
There! Feel Better?
Hmmm. Didn't think so.
In previous posts we have explored a number of issues regarding your privacy and the digital leashes go with all this mass data tracking. Those are all still happening. There hasn't been a lot of great news on the privacy front so far, but there are rumblings in different parts of the globe which may put a few dents in the "status quo" of monetizing the internet.
So, in furtherance of the annual explanation of why Everyone + Dog is tracking you and selling: you, your family, your kids, your friends, your neighbors, the strangers you pass by, the cars your drive in, the routes you take while walking, driving, biking and generally every time you take a "bio break", into digital slavery, this edition will review an area soon to be On The Plate of a lot of those who make vast sums of money from all that you provide them, like Alphabet / Google.
Alphabet is now the top dog in the Google 2 Complex of Obfuscations of their financial structures. All perfectly legal ... or mostly legal. The "mostly legal" part is important.
There is actually a lot of rumbling in the internet, much of which will be under explained, if reported at all, but the current structure has "a problem". There are a LOT of problems, but this one is going to be hitting the fan soon because it affects how the entire internet works. It is called the Domain Name System (DNS) 3 and Certification Authority (CA) 4.
DNS 3
Computers are essentially dumb. It doesn't matter that there are claims of Artificial Intelligence, with the emphasis on "intelligence", that are smeared like jam over the promotional advertising about AI, computers are just dumb and they only do what they are instructed to do. We instruct them to do lots of things from streaming movies 5 to twittering 6 to twitching 7.
The Domain Name System is how one computer can figure out where another computer is located on the internet. It forms part of the URL 8 that we type in or select by a clicking a link. But the URL we see or type is not necessarily where the browser gets directed (see our posts on Links 9).
Given that the internet was and is developed by a great number of folks happier to talk to a machine than another human being, the Grand Design was based on N U M B E R S.
Yeah, all that horrid stuff you had to put up with in grade school:
The Number System: IP Address
The Internet Protocol address (IP) 10 is arcane, even to those dealing with the technical aspects of the internet . Even if you are a technical programmer, you just hope that someone else gets assigned to deal with any IP Address issues.
Yep. It's that bad.
It's SOOO bad, that the Domain Name System was developed so fewer people would ever have to deal with IP numbers. The Domain Name System uses "words" rather than "numbers". Something much easier for humans to process.
The DNS : IP Fix
To fix the numbers problem, the DNS uses a cross reference table to match "words" to "numbers". The internet uses the words we type or click on and looks up the matching numbers. Since computers are excellent with numbers they figure out what all the numbers mean and voilà ! you get the web page you wanted. .. maybe.
This is an example of how words and numbers are matched 11:
By now, given the subject of this post, I think you can begin to see "a problem". It's glaring and one nearly every person on the planet has experienced or struggles with: incorrect information. A simple typo and BOOM! example.com goes "somewhere else".
There are a lot of safe guards and backups to prevent an unintentional BOOM! but it still happens and it can happen intentionally too by hacking parts of the DNS system: DNS Spoofing. 12. DNS Spoofing is the same as a Re-Direct except ... it wasn't authorized. It is almost always "bad news". Re-Directs can be done much lower on the totem pole but DNS Spoofing hacks can happen anywhere along the entire length of the pole.
And just to be clear:
So to prevent some of this... Enter Stage Right: The Certificate Authority.
Certificate Authority 4
Certificate Authorities are Digital Certificates/Encrypted Signatures that are supposed to let you know the "Destination You Land On" is the "Destination You Requested".
Companies with web servers and sites pay the CA Authorization Providers at the top of this heap, to give them a certificate that your browser will check to verify that said company IS said company. The certificate is an encrypted key (you know, a combination lock) that will only match with said company. It doesn't validate that the site is "honest"; only that the site is "registered".
Browsers act like gate keepers checking that the certificates are GOOD and if GOOD then the presumption is that the site is ... well... the site.
Because a good combination lock 13 actually works, there are those that work full time at breaking the locks. But a good lock, like any good lock, doesn't break easily. It's tough.
Once you have a valid lock and the keys too, Bob's Your Uncle! 14
All you have to do is get the Target to install the stolen certificate! Since the certificate appears to be all hunky dory legit, it's a snap.
WHEEEEEEE!!!
Except, there goes your bank account and your tax refunds (Is my name Trump?) and you get more headaches than just the normal after holiday bash hangovers.
The Bad Dudettes and Dudes in the world, work extra hard to make sure they can BOOM! these systems. They do a good job of it too. Open Season.
Oh WOW NOW?
There are agencies and governments and a few companies that are thinking of commencing to begin to get started on planning to ponder about these issues:
However, even the biggest companies are subject to these problems, governments are subject to them, along with anyone who uses a computer, program/app or smartphone. We The People are subject to it because The Metaphysical and Almighty THEY make a tonnage of money off the status quo.
The Money taken lands somewhere. That somewhere has 2 features:
There isn't any good method of repairing the system as is.
The existing system was designed for a different world and society, one where we trusted our friends and neighbors, and we talked with strangers and freely walked in parks. Where we housed the homeless and fed the poor and loaned our neighbors a cup of flour. When no one locked their doors and there was always room for one more at the table. One were we helped each other and exchanged knowledge without fear of reprisal, jail, torture and death. One where tolerance and trust was the most important part of our lives.
The new versions that are coming won't be any of the above.
KimB Editor
References
It's that time of year where the massive tracking industries are hard at work planning to detach money from your pockets and transfer it into theirs.
Yeppers, it's holiday time and in the USA people will do all sorts of odd things they would never do otherwise, in the pursuit of those "hot" new item(s) touted by these same massive tracking industries as being the "in thing"; which means: you really don't have a choice about what you are getting.
So to get the basics out of the way:
WE do not track or trace you.
There are others that do:
- Google (this is a Google blog site)
- We have a 3d party map that shows who visits the page
- An unknown number of trackers, tracers and surveillance devices
There! Feel Better?
Hmmm. Didn't think so.
In previous posts we have explored a number of issues regarding your privacy and the digital leashes go with all this mass data tracking. Those are all still happening. There hasn't been a lot of great news on the privacy front so far, but there are rumblings in different parts of the globe which may put a few dents in the "status quo" of monetizing the internet.
So, in furtherance of the annual explanation of why Everyone + Dog is tracking you and selling: you, your family, your kids, your friends, your neighbors, the strangers you pass by, the cars your drive in, the routes you take while walking, driving, biking and generally every time you take a "bio break", into digital slavery, this edition will review an area soon to be On The Plate of a lot of those who make vast sums of money from all that you provide them, like Alphabet / Google.
| Alphabet (2016) 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alphabet Assets (stuff they own) |
$167+ BILLION | $167,000,000,000 |
| Alphabet Profit (weaseled) |
$19+ BILLION | $19,000,000,000 |
Alphabet is now the top dog in the Google 2 Complex of Obfuscations of their financial structures. All perfectly legal ... or mostly legal. The "mostly legal" part is important.
There is actually a lot of rumbling in the internet, much of which will be under explained, if reported at all, but the current structure has "a problem". There are a LOT of problems, but this one is going to be hitting the fan soon because it affects how the entire internet works. It is called the Domain Name System (DNS) 3 and Certification Authority (CA) 4.
DNS 3
Computers are essentially dumb. It doesn't matter that there are claims of Artificial Intelligence, with the emphasis on "intelligence", that are smeared like jam over the promotional advertising about AI, computers are just dumb and they only do what they are instructed to do. We instruct them to do lots of things from streaming movies 5 to twittering 6 to twitching 7.
The Domain Name System is how one computer can figure out where another computer is located on the internet. It forms part of the URL 8 that we type in or select by a clicking a link. But the URL we see or type is not necessarily where the browser gets directed (see our posts on Links 9).
Given that the internet was and is developed by a great number of folks happier to talk to a machine than another human being, the Grand Design was based on N U M B E R S.
Yeah, all that horrid stuff you had to put up with in grade school:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
The Number System: IP Address
The Internet Protocol address (IP) 10 is arcane, even to those dealing with the technical aspects of the internet . Even if you are a technical programmer, you just hope that someone else gets assigned to deal with any IP Address issues.
Yep. It's that bad.
It's SOOO bad, that the Domain Name System was developed so fewer people would ever have to deal with IP numbers. The Domain Name System uses "words" rather than "numbers". Something much easier for humans to process.
The DNS : IP Fix
To fix the numbers problem, the DNS uses a cross reference table to match "words" to "numbers". The internet uses the words we type or click on and looks up the matching numbers. Since computers are excellent with numbers they figure out what all the numbers mean and voilà ! you get the web page you wanted. .. maybe.
This is an example of how words and numbers are matched 11:
| www.example.com | ||
|---|---|---|
| IPv4 Numbering | 93.184.216.119 | |
| IPv6 Numbering | 2606:2800:220:6d:26bf:1447:1097:aa7 | |
By now, given the subject of this post, I think you can begin to see "a problem". It's glaring and one nearly every person on the planet has experienced or struggles with: incorrect information. A simple typo and BOOM! example.com goes "somewhere else".
There are a lot of safe guards and backups to prevent an unintentional BOOM! but it still happens and it can happen intentionally too by hacking parts of the DNS system: DNS Spoofing. 12. DNS Spoofing is the same as a Re-Direct except ... it wasn't authorized. It is almost always "bad news". Re-Directs can be done much lower on the totem pole but DNS Spoofing hacks can happen anywhere along the entire length of the pole.
And just to be clear:
There is zero difference between people, businesses, agencies and governments engaging in such hacks.It works for all. Very ecumenical.
So to prevent some of this... Enter Stage Right: The Certificate Authority.
Certificate Authority 4
Certificate Authorities are Digital Certificates/Encrypted Signatures that are supposed to let you know the "Destination You Land On" is the "Destination You Requested".
Companies with web servers and sites pay the CA Authorization Providers at the top of this heap, to give them a certificate that your browser will check to verify that said company IS said company. The certificate is an encrypted key (you know, a combination lock) that will only match with said company. It doesn't validate that the site is "honest"; only that the site is "registered".
Browsers act like gate keepers checking that the certificates are GOOD and if GOOD then the presumption is that the site is ... well... the site.
Because a good combination lock 13 actually works, there are those that work full time at breaking the locks. But a good lock, like any good lock, doesn't break easily. It's tough.
So what do you do if you cannot "break a lock"?
You steal one with the keys attached.
Once you have a valid lock and the keys too, Bob's Your Uncle! 14
All you have to do is get the Target to install the stolen certificate! Since the certificate appears to be all hunky dory legit, it's a snap.
WHEEEEEEE!!!
Except, there goes your bank account and your tax refunds (Is my name Trump?) and you get more headaches than just the normal after holiday bash hangovers.
The Bad Dudettes and Dudes in the world, work extra hard to make sure they can BOOM! these systems. They do a good job of it too. Open Season.
Oh WOW NOW?
There are agencies and governments and a few companies that are thinking of commencing to begin to get started on planning to ponder about these issues:
- DNS can be broken
- CA can be stolen
Nothing to see here.. move along
but don't forget to leave your money on the table.
However, even the biggest companies are subject to these problems, governments are subject to them, along with anyone who uses a computer, program/app or smartphone. We The People are subject to it because The Metaphysical and Almighty THEY make a tonnage of money off the status quo.
The Money taken lands somewhere. That somewhere has 2 features:
- No Taxation 15
- Cleaning It Up 16
There isn't any good method of repairing the system as is.
The existing system was designed for a different world and society, one where we trusted our friends and neighbors, and we talked with strangers and freely walked in parks. Where we housed the homeless and fed the poor and loaned our neighbors a cup of flour. When no one locked their doors and there was always room for one more at the table. One were we helped each other and exchanged knowledge without fear of reprisal, jail, torture and death. One where tolerance and trust was the most important part of our lives.
The new versions that are coming won't be any of the above.
KimB Editor
 |
| Partial map of the Internet January 15, 2005 Each line is drawn between two nodes, representing two IP addresses. This graph represents less than 30% of the Class C networks in early 2005. 17 |
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alphabet_Inc.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Alphabet
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitch.tv
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL
- a) https://mrsbizzybsayshello.blogspot.com/2017/03/when-is-link-link.html
b) https://mrsbizzybsayshello.blogspot.com/2017/04/why-links-aint-links.html - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System#Function
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNS_cache_poisoning
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_(security_device)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_your_uncle
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_haven
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_laundering
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Internet_map_1024_-_transparent,_inverted.png
Monday, November 27, 2017
Sunday, November 26, 2017
1st Thanksgiving
We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in the Gnu-house with all the 'usual' fix-ins. We even had two kinds of cranberries, relish and sauce. That's high livin' if you ask me. After finishing all the leftovers, we followed my brother, Charles' tradition of serving Chili. Charles always teased us by saying it was a 3 or 4 alarm; but there was an off chance that he was actually serious, and we had to wait for the tasting to be certain.
We are still unpacking boxes. I'm not doing any of the work, I'm leaving that to others. I'm sitting poolside while the weather is so lovely and either knit or read my nook. The nook was a present from my daughter, her husband and my son when my kindle stopped working. I had to go to Barns & Noble and take a class to learn how the nook works and I'm still getting the hang of it. There are lots of aps on it that I have to learn. I like getting library books at any hour and any day.
I finally got my old phone number back. After cancelling the Comcast TV service, and going with another TV service, AT&T had to give us temporary numbers until Comcast relinquished our old numbers, (the ones we had for years and years). I suppose it was because of all the data gathering that goes on now. Between all the data gathering and the constant advertising and touting of businesses, I long for the old days of life without digital progress. Maybe we should get back to teaching cursive? Maybe I would have to hold a real book to read a novel.... Are those days gone forever?
We are still unpacking boxes. I'm not doing any of the work, I'm leaving that to others. I'm sitting poolside while the weather is so lovely and either knit or read my nook. The nook was a present from my daughter, her husband and my son when my kindle stopped working. I had to go to Barns & Noble and take a class to learn how the nook works and I'm still getting the hang of it. There are lots of aps on it that I have to learn. I like getting library books at any hour and any day.
I finally got my old phone number back. After cancelling the Comcast TV service, and going with another TV service, AT&T had to give us temporary numbers until Comcast relinquished our old numbers, (the ones we had for years and years). I suppose it was because of all the data gathering that goes on now. Between all the data gathering and the constant advertising and touting of businesses, I long for the old days of life without digital progress. Maybe we should get back to teaching cursive? Maybe I would have to hold a real book to read a novel.... Are those days gone forever?
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Living in Gnu-House
We are adjusting to new experiences and routines. I haven't established a daily routine yet. The weather has been so delightful that sometimes I have breakfast in the patio and watch the three swirling rings of water that push the floating objects around the pool. Its very restful; like watching fish swim in an aquarium.
The other morning we had a small rescue drama. We noticed a tiny tree frog, about the size of my thumbnail, desperately trying to climb onto the disk that floats around the pool sending information to the satellite, which in turn sends information back to the pool monitor letting us know when and which chemicals to put in the pool, the green packet or the red one. The top of the disk was an inch too high for the tree frog to reach, but he kept trying. When we realized the little thing was not going to make it, we fished him out of water with a net. When we poured him out of the net onto the cement sidewalk circling the pool, he sat for a second, then totally collapsed into a flat speck on the cement.
We thought he had died. We just sat there processing the event and suddenly, the tree frog sat up and took a couple of hops. It didn't have the strength to hop again. After another moment or two, the little thing took another couple of hops toward the grassy area. It had to stop several times between hops before getting off the sidewalk, but eventually made it.
We surmised that the little tree frog had accidently fallen into the pool trying to catch a dragonfly.
The other morning we had a small rescue drama. We noticed a tiny tree frog, about the size of my thumbnail, desperately trying to climb onto the disk that floats around the pool sending information to the satellite, which in turn sends information back to the pool monitor letting us know when and which chemicals to put in the pool, the green packet or the red one. The top of the disk was an inch too high for the tree frog to reach, but he kept trying. When we realized the little thing was not going to make it, we fished him out of water with a net. When we poured him out of the net onto the cement sidewalk circling the pool, he sat for a second, then totally collapsed into a flat speck on the cement.
We thought he had died. We just sat there processing the event and suddenly, the tree frog sat up and took a couple of hops. It didn't have the strength to hop again. After another moment or two, the little thing took another couple of hops toward the grassy area. It had to stop several times between hops before getting off the sidewalk, but eventually made it.
We surmised that the little tree frog had accidently fallen into the pool trying to catch a dragonfly.
Monday, November 20, 2017
Monday, November 13, 2017
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Changes
A la Billie Holiday... There's been a change in the weather, and there's been a change for me. I've changed my place of livin' and things are new to me. All my routines are changin'; nothin's gonna be the same. The only thing I'm keepin' is my same old name.
I've moved from my city apartment into a country house my son bought recently. It's not deep 'country' but far enough for me. It has been many years since we've shared a living space and I'm looking forward to this arrangement. I have one wing of the house all to myself and he enjoys the rest. There is a lovely swimming pool and I enjoy having morning coffee in the patio pool side. One of the neighbors, on the far right corner of the back yard, has a horse that puts his head over the high fence and watches us as we chat over morning coffee.
I'm still settling in, but it won't be long before I start new projects and write about them. Keep tuned in.
I've moved from my city apartment into a country house my son bought recently. It's not deep 'country' but far enough for me. It has been many years since we've shared a living space and I'm looking forward to this arrangement. I have one wing of the house all to myself and he enjoys the rest. There is a lovely swimming pool and I enjoy having morning coffee in the patio pool side. One of the neighbors, on the far right corner of the back yard, has a horse that puts his head over the high fence and watches us as we chat over morning coffee.
I'm still settling in, but it won't be long before I start new projects and write about them. Keep tuned in.
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