Drones- coming to a windowsill near you

Linux MintPPC: New life for a G5

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I recently inherited an old Mac G5PowerPC from a friend who is an I.T. specialist at a college. They were dumping a lot of old computers, and he was trying to find homes for some of them before they went to recycling. It's sad that so many perfectly functional machines get trashed every year- in a lot of cases by people who really don't need a new machine.

Well, admittedly, the old G5 has it's limitations, and there are no updates or new software that can run on it since Apple abandoned the PPC at OS 10.5.8. It is a bare-bones machine with no sound card, so I was wondering if it might not be of use as a dedicated machine for a future home-built CNC machine or a server for some yet-to-be-determined project, but in the mean time, I decided to see how it would run under Linux.

I went for Ubuntu first, which was a snap to install. Ubuntu is really newbie friendly and features a lot of features familiar to Mac and Windows users. However, the version for PPC turned out to be a little clunky, and lacked things like a flash plugin and a few other things that make it less than ideal.

Next, I installed Linux MintPPC, a version of the new Mint OS especially built for the Power PC. Wow. Nice! This stripped down Linux distro runs FAST on the G5. I did have some initial issues that required some forum surfing, some code modification and a few restarts, but once it was properly configured, it runs REALLY well. It comes with the usual suite of Libre Office Suite, Ice Weasel browser (ice weasel-firefox, get it?) etc. Many Windows programs will run under the WINE interface. So far, I have not been able to run myCNC on it, but I'm working on that.

If you are like so many friends of mine and have some sad old Macs sitting in the basement, you might want to give Mint a try. For a friend, neighbor or family member with limited resources, it would be a great gift. Or, it may give you a couple more years out of your old machine. If Mac OSX Lion is any indication, it may be time to take a break from your monogamous relationship with apple and see some other operating systems.

A poem for city councils everywhere

Iowa City's continued efforts to destroy its historic downtown reminded me of this poem by my father, Robert Dana.  He wrote it after attending a Coralville city council meeting, but I think it pretty much addresses how city politics works everywhere....

SELLING THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING ON IT

Last night, at the town council
meeting, what was it we were
trying to save? One council
member dozed; the other four
were glassy eyed; bored with
arguments they’d disposed of
months before. The air in the
brand new, stale, utilitarian
chamber smelled of done deals.
And anyhow, what do citizens
know? “We appreciate your
sincerity,” one member says.
“Yes, and you’ve brought a lot
of emotion to the issue,” says
another. “But you don’t under-
stand the figures.” The tongues
of the grass, though they be with-
out number, don’t speak to them.
They’ve had our figures. And
the grass has no rights. Trees
have no rights. The fat, base-
ball capped developer with his
shirt-tail hanging out
and suspect financing, and who
addresses council members
by first name, makes that clear.
“If there’s an alfalfa field
there now or a stand of trees—
anyone who buys from me
will know up front that that’s
not going to be an alfalfa
field or trees very long.
I bought this land to build on.”
So the deer in the meadow
along the nearby creek have
no rights, the creekwater no
rights, nor the air. No rights
for the hare or the hawk, red-
headed woodpecker, white-throated
sparrow; no rights for the fox.
And the farmland disappears
and then the farmer, and then....
If, as Paul Valery once wrote,
“Politics is the art of keeping
out of the process those who
will be most affected by it,”
 then I guess you could say
we got politicked. And pretty good,
too. By day, young brokers roar
on the floor of the exchange.
By night, to our north, suburbs
metastasize. Circuit boards of
a trivial and pointless future.
As we file out—Goodbye, Goodbye
—across the frozen parking lot
to our separate cars, thank god
it’s dark and cold and winter’s
first hard snow is blowing.

                                                Robert Dana

Addendum to the last post...

image by Don Rock, Terror Worldwide

I got a lot of responses to the last post- I just wanted to clarify a few points.

I don't equate gun ownership with liberty. Owning a gun won't stop the homeland security forces from raiding your house- for more than a few minutes. Ask David Koresh. I'm not particularly attached to my guns. So personally, I'm not taking that stance. I think if you are worried about liberty, your time is better spent backing the EFF than the NRA. But unlke the UK, the guns are ALREADY OUT THERE. We can't get from here to there. Law abiding folks will give them up willingly, or grudgingly, but a lot of people will see this as the line that will not be crossed and they will become the outlaws they always fantisized they would be. It will create a whole new class of "domestic terrorists". It fulfills a self-fulfilling prophecy. Taking guns really would become the first step to tyranny, because a whole class of people want that to be the case. They are begging for it. The feds know that it's just not going to happen, or if it does it will be UGLY. Here's another idea. Pull out of ALL foreign entanglements. Reduce the military budget by 2/3. Allow that money to go back into the economy and improve peoples lives. Let's stop the prison industrial complex and reform drug laws- that would reduce illegal gun traffic by -what- 90%? Let's get some decent health care happening, so sick, delluded, paranoid people can address these problems. Let's get election reform so peoples voices can be heard and we don't have to fear our government. Let's abolish the "National Guard" and return militias to the states, so people who want to receive military training can get it in their state helping and defending their neighbors, not kicking in doors and shooting children in Fallujah. THEN, and only then, will people stop feeling like they need to defend their "Liberty". THEN, maybe we can have a society where people don't feel they need to bury ammo in their back yard.

School shootings, gun control and our truly fucked-up society

Like everyone in America this weekend, I am struggling to understand why these horrific acts of violence are occurring, and why no one in government seems to be able to suggest even the tiniest step toward addressing them. Unlike many of my friends, I can't make up my mind about a solution. For them it seems to be a simple decision. I can't seem to get there, so I'm trying to organize my thoughts here, in hope of clarifying the issue for myself.

On one hand, I am seeing my “liberal” friends posting statistics pointing out that European countries that have strict regulations of guns have lower per capita gun deaths. On the other hand, I have “conservative” friends that point out that dis-arming of populations has been the first step to establishing totalitarian regimes in many other countries. To me, neither of those examples means anything when dealing with the gun control issue in the US, but it does illustrate the basic divide in political thought in the US, and why our federal government can no longer govern effectively on any of the key social issues of the modern age. Yes, if we make guns illegal, only criminals will have guns. Unlike the UK, the guns are already out there. Only a nation-wide house-to-house search could rid this country of guns, and we can all agree, that is not something we want. And yes, no one needs a high-cap assault weapon to hunt deer, and yes, most gun deaths occur in the home. All of these things are true. So where does that put us?

A few facts about school shootings in America: school shootings have been occurring in US schools since there have been schools in the US. Of course, killing technology has advance exponentially since Matthew Ward shot Schoolmaster Butler with a flintlock pistol in Louisville, Kentucky in 1853, and high capacity automatic weapons have made the outbreaks of violence increasingly horrendous. Another fact- in most cases the throughout history, the shootings have been premeditated acts of mentally ill individuals. In many, if not most cases, the individuals committed suicide after the killings.

Other factors: In most cases, historically, the weapons used in these cases were legally obtained. In most cases the shooters were white males from average households. In recent cases, many of the shooters have been treated for mental conditions with prescription drugs, and many have been avid players of violent video games. These factors are all far to vague and subjective to really take into account. Although I suspect that in recent cases, the violence in our entertainment, and the over-use of drugs, most of whom list “suicidal thoughts” as a side effect right on the box, I'm going to set those aside. I think they are symptoms of a much bigger cultural problem.

Let's go back to the two undeniable key factors of the situation- guns and mental illness.

Gun Control- This country was founded by the gun. It is linked to our history- who we are as a nation, for better or worse. For some, it is a symbol of their self-sufficiency, or their distrust of government. I understand both of those. I think this explains why, despite the fact that per-capita gun ownership has steadily fallen since the 60's, support for the right to own a gun has increased. In the back of most Americans mind is a deep-rooted fear that maybe, someday, they will need one.

On the other hand, most everyone agrees that a less violent society is what we need to strive for- one where we don't need to worry about being robbed, raped or enslaved in a police state. It comes down to another bigger cultural problem- What IS freedom, really? What happens when your “freedom” collides with my “freedom”? Okay- back to bigger cultural problems again.

Mental Illness- Government funding for mental health services are dropping rapidly, despite the increased need for those services in these difficult times. Insurance companies won't pay for them either, unless you have an expensive, premium policy. How are parents with sick kids supposed to get help? Shit, again, back to huge cultural problem.

Okay, so I'm back to square one, just like our government. Unlike, the government, I am not willing to accept that somehow legislative band-aids will create a solution. The popular Einstein quote says that Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I don't accept that a government of, by and for special interest groups like the NRA, big Pharma and the Insurance lobby can fix this problem.

Finally- Let's be clear about what a ban on guns will and won't due. It will prevent the random killing of 10-20 innocent, mostly white, middle class people each year. It won't prevent illegal gun violence, most of which is committed with revolvers and shotguns and happens in lower-income and minority communities, due to poverty and bad drug policies. It also won't lead to a loss of personal freedom or the US becoming a police-state- that is happening despite individual ownership of automatic weapons. I don't see the President crying publicly over all of the suicides of people who can't get adequate health care, or the innocent children killed in drone strikes. I think we have a way bigger problem here, and freaking out over the same old hot-button social issues won't do jack-shit.

“You Can't Learn Less” : Academia, The Media and Education by Choice

A friend of mine mentioned recently that he was beginning to doubt his fathers old saying, “you can't learn less”.

He was referring to a recent news article about a Farleigh Dickinson University study that found  people who relied solely on Fox News (and MSNBC) for their information faired worse on a news quiz than did New York Times readers, NPR listeners, and even people who cited the Daily Show as their primary news source. My friend mused that perhaps Fox viewers were learning less than nothing.

Curious about the origin of the saying “you can't learn less”, I went to the source of all “learning”, Google. There, I found that the saying is attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller, the visionary architect of the mid 20^th century. This made perfect sense to me. Bucky  Fuller is, coincidentally, a personal hero of mine. Although some of his techno-utopian visions of the future seem somewhat dated now, his basic ideas about mimicking the highly organized systems of nature still make a lot of sense to me. It didn't surprise me that the quote was from Fuller- his books can be wordy and sometimes difficult to read, but they always full of highly quotable ideas. “Education by choice, with its marvelous motivating psychology of desire for truth, will make life ever cleaner and happier, more rhythmical and artistic,” Fuller wrote in his 1928 book, 4D Timelock .

Fuller, who died in 1983, believed very strongly in the potential of television and radio as tools of learning. What would Bucky Fuller think of the current state of mass media as teacher? How would he have felt about 24 hour cable “news”, or more importantly, the internet, with it's vast store of quasi-facts and disinformation?

The Fairleigh Dickinson report stated that: “People who report reading a national newspaper like The New York Times or USA Today are 12-points more likely to know that Egyptians have overthrown their government than those who have not looked at any news source. And those who listen to the non-profit NPR radio network are 11-points more likely to know the outcome of the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. However, the best informed respondents are those that watched Sunday morning news programs: leading to a 16- point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Egypt and an 8-point increase in the likelihood of knowing what happened in Syria.”  Of course, another great American thinker, Mark Twain once wrote “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.” Interestingly, Fox News attempted to deflect the criticism by attacking Fairleigh Dickinson's academic record rather than calling into question the study's methodology. ““Considering FDU’s undergraduate school is ranked as one of the worst in the country, we suggest the school invest in improving its weak academic program instead of spending money on frivolous polling – their student body does not deserve to be so ill-informed.”

This pissing match between academia and the media is nothing new, but it does clearly illustrate the current state of “knowledge” and “learning”. Academic research is in large part funded by corporations and the “scientific polls” used endlessly by the media are designed specifically to stir controversy and advance political agendas rather than advance truth-seeking. These bastions of academic learning and institutions of news and information gathering have gradually devolved into production facilities for politically driven disinformation.

It would seem that my friend might be right -people may actually be learning less, or more accurately un-learning- shucking meaty and troublesome “big thoughts” in favor of pre-chewed intellectual pablum. In times of economic uncertainty and social unrest, it may just be easier to accept this un-learning process. Dealing with climate change seems an insurmountable problem, so it's simply easier to deny it's existence than to study the research. It's easier to accept the “fact” that America is the greatest nation on the planet rather than to study different political systems objectively. It's easier to search for bible quotes on the internet that support your predetermined position than it is to read the entire book and study the historical context in which it was written.

  In the current “information age” it seems to be more difficult than ever to achieve Fuller's vision of a self-motivated seeking of truth. Looking for the needle of truth in the haystack of corporate propaganda is made even more daunting when the internet offers nearly infinite haystacks to search through. Still, there are opportunities out there. Education by Choice can still be achieved without incurring a lifetime of student debt or giving up and handing your brain over to talk radio hosts. The Free Skool, unschooling and maker movements, Citizen Science, open source technology, online forums and yes- the good old public library are all available to aid self-guided learning. Education by Choice is a subjective process, though, and can easily digress into the ghettoization of knowledge that occurs when people don't look outside of their own echo chamber for information. A good spectrum is necessary. Religious fanatics are an example of people who may be highly educated, but lack a full spectrum of learning. So to are plant geneticists who can't think outside the industrial agriculture paradigm and believe that only increased yields can solve hunger. Learning in a vacuum, where subjective information is mistaken for truth, can take one “down the rabbit hole” in a hurry- conspiracy theorists and even some environmental activists can begin to parrot factoids culled from other like-minded amateur researchers, rather than doing the reading, or even better, having a first-hand experience for themselves. As the wonderful writer/philosopher/humorist  Robert Anton Wilson once put it: “Is", "is." "is" — the idiocy of the word haunts me. If it were abolished, human thought might begin to make sense. I don't know what anything "is"; I only know how it seems to me at this moment...”

Ultimately, learning is the life-long process of decorating one's own reality tunnel. You can choose to paint it one color, or paper it with one pattern, or you can make it a bulletin board- a dynamic collage of constantly updated and improved tidbits, which hopefully, eventually become a pattern that offers you a life that is  “...ever cleaner and happier, more rhythmical and artistic.” 

The information is all out there, in those haystacks. To begin the search for the kernels of truth, you need the tools to winnow away some of the chaff. 

Here are five suggestions for beginning your own trip down the road to Education by Choice :

Five Suggestions for Learning More, Not Less

1. Learn to learn/think/express yourself

There have been a lot of studies done about how people learn, and it's worth finding and reading some articles about how people learn. Experts on learning often break learners down into three groups- visual, auditory and tactile- and discuss how different people learn best using these types of cues. Which type are you? I suggest trying/using all three. A lot of recent books and websites call these “mind-hacks” or “brain-hacks”, and offer fun exercises for organizing information and learning habits.

It's also important to learn to express yourself accurately, and avoid semantic laziness. Because of the rapid standardization of communication due to digital technology, written text shorthand cliches like “IMHO” take the place of more complex expressions, and spoken cliches like “at the end of the day” or “literally...” offer lazy thinkers definitive statements to stop further examination of a given topic.

An interesting exercise is to read about and explore “E Prime”. Invented by Alfred Korzybski, the father of general semantics, E Prime is a style of english that does not use any form of the verb “to be”. Using E Prime helps avoid definitive proclamations and bases statements on the speaker or writer's actual experiences.  Try going a day without using the words “am, are, is, was, were, be, been or being...” for example, don't simply pronounce “this coffee is good!” Say “I really like the flavor of this coffee!”

2. Read real books

This is not some sort of Luddite judgement call- I love the internet as a research and communication tool, and an ebook reader can definitely offer great possibilities for taking a lot of information along when you are on the go. However, researchers have found that information retention is still better among those who read physical books.  Books offer a physical and tactile experience that helps the brain retain information. More importantly, books do not offer the distractions available on an e-reader of computer. There are no hyperlinks to chase, no email or facebook to check. I suggest reading a book, making physical notes as you go, and when you are finished, re-visit those notes and do additional research online.

Also- explore old books. There are endless great ideas in them that may have not found their way into the digital realm. Also, the process of going to the library, or to a used bookstore, will bring you into close physical proximity with other “book people”. They might be older people, or simply people with a different set of life experiences from those of your friends, roommates, work colleagues, etc.

3. Work with your hands

Learning doesn't happen solely in your mind. Exercising your body and honing your manual dexterity are important to the learning process. I could never understand math as a high school student, but a few years as a carpenter brought into clear focus the reality of geometry and algebra.

Work is exercise, and not the meaningless vanity-driven exercise of the stair-master. Digging, planting, harvesting, chopping, carving, building, repairing, cleaning, all can build the muscles and skills, clear the mind and offering real-life lessons. A broad range of physical and intellectual experience is critical to how you think and learn. Robert Heinlein wrote: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. “

4. Be a teacher and a student

I love online forums, hackspaces and free skools.  I love any place that I can interact with other people of similar interests, share information and experiences, and learn from each others successes and mistakes. It's a great feeling to reach a level where you have something to share and you can take on the role of teacher. It's a great way to put your ideas and knowledge to the test. An education needs to be a shared experience.

I also love hands-on workshops and other opportunities to interact with people who are a knowledge level or two above me and my fellow citizen scientists.It's important not to be comfortable with the level you are at in the learning process, and to remember that there is always more to learn. Face-to-face interactions with good teachers are critical, and that doesn't have to happen in a classroom.

5. Write/draw every day

My father wrote in his journals every day that I can remember. He processed those thoughts into great poetry. I, on the other hand, am a lousy journal writer. I understand, though, that ideas stagnate and dwindle if they are not stored, re-examined and refined. Try to find a system that works for you- a journal, a sketchbook, a camera or voice recorder- whatever fits your style. If you are a social media user, think of it as Tweeting to your future brain.

My way of addressing this need is to use some of the techniques of Lion Kimbro from his book How to Make a Complete Map of Every Thought you Think (which can be downloaded for free online.) Basically I keep a notebook or “catch” to grab my ideas- I scribble down a subject idea and a hint. Sometimes I'll scribble in some sketches, or tape in a scrap of paper or clipping. Then, later in the day, or at the end of the week,  I'll go back through and flesh out some of the ideas when I have more time.

Open Source Keyline Plow

I love the projects at Open Source Ecology. Sometimes I think they build stuff that could more easily be done with existing equipment, but a lot of their stuff is really, really well done... I would like to build a rig like this for my 1940 9N tractor.




Open Source Keyline Plow. from Open Source Ecology on Vimeo.