What is this notion of Power over People?...

This morning while I was talking with someone in my building, about of course one of my favourite topics, technology, it struck me that no matter how the conversation starts with them it always ends with the statement something like this: "Hmmm... I wonder if I could use that to erase someone's computer or trick them into doing it". The statement will vary, but it always has to do with "power" or control over someone or something else and usually to a negative end.

Whereas I tend to approach things from a more curious and positive perspective. I want to know why things work and how they relate the other things. I have no interest in exploiting or manipulating something or someone. This person's outlook on life is pretty bleak but it seems when I really think about it that they almost like it. When you try to sway them toward the "light side of the force" they inevitably do their best to swing back to the dark side. And again it's always to do with manipulating someone or something. I find these two aspects of this individual really puzzling.

In my way of looking at life, life ends up being exactly what you wish to perceive on many levels. You end up being the ultimate designer. Sure, there are things you can't control, but you can control your reaction and perspective of a situation. However even when you point this out to people. They continued to go and some pretty bizarre ways on their current trajectory.

In a very real way I can ask myself the same question, "What holds me on a positive trajectory?"....

Once again, my time is short this morning so I have to leave the question there for now. However if you have any insights on what holds people to certain trajectories or patterns in their life and especially in regards to what they get out of things like the perception of power over someone etc. please leave a comment.

Have a great day and take care. Patrick

The Grand Balancing Act

Photo by Colin Harris  ADE Under the
Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 The assignments for my computer science course took much longer this morning that I planned. Now it's going to be a carefully orchestrated procedure to carry out everything I need to do today, which includes helping somebody set up their home for hands-free use of voice assistance. I talk more about that in my posting on January 7 here. I will be updating that article tomorrow at some point.

Today though I have a contract to get out for a website being moved over to my volunteer organization, continued training a new volunteer this morning as well, the above-mentioned, let's just call it "the hands-free project" for now.

Yes it's going to be an interesting day. Apologies for not posting a more in-depth article today.

Habits and entrenchment

 

Like everything else in life, habits can be a good thing, especially when simplifying one's life. Think of them as automated routines. But sometimes these routines can get stuck and they may have you feeling a little hopeless. We are not talking about anything chemical dependent, that scope of things has already filled libraries, just emotional or physical habits that it become entrenched and that perhaps you would like to change.

As always these are my own perceptions. I am not trained in any way in psychology or healthcare. I have a curious mind however and these are just some of the things that occur to me.

I think as a modern society we are a little too accustomed to finding the "path of least resistance" and therefore we have taken automation, and the biological equivalent, habits too far. Leaving us ill-prepared to deal with adversity. It is my opinion that everyone needs some adversity in their lives on an ongoing basis. To be clear this is the kind of adversity that while it poses a challenge is not totally overwhelming. Difficult yes, but within reasonable bounds. Something that stretches one's boundaries and enlarges their world. It may not be immediately apparent at the time the adversity occurs.Many times in my own personal experience, something that happened a few years ago in some cases has been a benefit when something else happens in the current day. Adversity therefore has the ability to build up or enlarge one's toolbox of answers. Because you can deal with more.

Habits on the other hand if not monitored can go the other way, by reducing the size of the toolbox over time. If you're habit is never to go out in the rain then you may be ill-prepared when you do have to go out in the rain to resolve an emergency. This is an over dramatization but you get the idea.

It is also important to know that whatever adversity you undertake or create deliberately as a challenge must have a resolution you can benefit from when possible. So keep things in perspective and do your best to challenge yourself a little every day. You will be less dependent on habits and there will be less likelihood of things getting entrenched because you will have discovered more about your self.

Take care Patrick

Why so many ads on the site

 "Why am I all of a sudden seeing so many ads on your site Patrick?"

For the next 90 days, since the beginning of January 2023, we are running an experiment in the hopes of finding the right balance between ads (a.k.a. revenue) and the amount of visitors. In short I am trying to strike a balance in the only way to do that is to run an experiment in which a certain number of visitors will see very few or no ads at all and other visitors will see a sliding scale.

There is so much information out there and a lot of it is contradictory regarding advertising benefits. I am also exploring other avenues of bringing you information by using some old technology in new ways. Namely the good old RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) mechanism. All Google products, including the blogger still generate RSS for software that wants to use it. However Windows 10 and 11 don't natively support the protocol anymore which is a shame because it means you have to acquire software to benefit from the feed. That's not hard to do there's lots of software and app still out there. But who wants to download software off the Internet now days? (See the article I posted for more information on that topic.)

Things are continuing to evolve on this site daily, and I'm really looking forward to this week's upcoming adventure (see:Voice assistances and disability)   as I assist someone else with their voice assistant technology.

Take care Patrick

Voice assistances and disability

 

Voice assistance whether it be Google or Amazon: are they sufficiently useful now for the disabled?

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January 22, 2023 update

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 The person who was to be the key focal point of this project has gone silent. Now it could be that they are dealing with other more pressing issues. Life as everyone knows can get very complicated awfully quickly.

So for now this project is on the back burner although my curiosity has been aroused, so I will keep investigating as time permits. That way if they do make contact again we will be able to hit the ground running.

Of course if I find anything of mutely interesting in either hardware or software. There's a high probability that I will post news of the device or application to this blog.

Take care Patrick.

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Pretty much everything now at least in the technology sector seems to be voice assistant capable at least in some degree. With the new Matter standard being talked about all over the Internet it seems that things are slowly improving. However at the same time a lot of companies are having difficulties because everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. The prime example of this is the smart lights market.  I bought into the LIFX lighting ecosystem verily early on because the hardware and colour accuracy appeared to be the best, even though the product line is expensive, upwards of $50 Canadian for a single smart light. Now it is hard to say with the huge amount of competition whether anyone company will survive.

So if you are looking toward the smart device to help in some way improve your life the first question that comes to my mind is which of the companies are going to be around long enough? It has only been about four years since I bought my first LIFX device and now I have over 25 of them mainly focused on lighting but because they require an Internet connection back to a LIFX server, things could get very dicey if the company collapses. Fortunately lighting is not a critical issue. One can get a light pretty much anywhere now days :-).

Let's say however I used to smart device to open or close a door, or automate a phone call. Or even a program on a computer like initiating a Zoom session or Microsoft Teams for that matter. The Matter Standard is supposed to be able to alleviate some of the issue by making control of the devices local and not dependent on a remote server. But the standard itself is new and although backed by many companies may or may not fly.

So how does a person with a disability proceed in enabling high tech features in their homes?

In the coming days I hope to have a few answers for you, as I personally dig into this issue. Stay tuned.
Patrick

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January 11, 2023 update

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I was eagerly awaiting meeting this person today in order to dig into their issues and solve or at least get clarification on where they were with technology and smart assistance.

I didn't meet them yet as they only use a single platform for communication and it became clear that before we could proceed that they had to agree to meet with me. Rather than just their representative. I know this sounds a little bizarre. But I also understand the concerns put forward.

So the standby. I have indicated my willingness to work with them and I am very curious as to what solutions I will come up with or what things will be discovered.

Apologies for being a little on the vague side but until we get the ball rolling any more concrete fashion, patients will have to be a virtue that is relied upon.

More in the next day or two.
Patrick

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January 13, 2023 update

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Sorry folks. Still awaiting a reply from this person as to whether they want to proceed with the project. These kind of delays are not uncommon when you are dealing with many layers of bureaucracy. Personally though the suspense is killing me.

I really want to get into this to see what needs to be done. What kind of limitations and/or parameters were dealing with. If funding is needed how to brainstorm on getting the required resources. I have been on this planet for 63 years and I know where there's a will there's a way. This may sound a little odd, but I truly hope that this situation is not to simple to fix. When I was young I was the kid who would take apart all their Christmas presents. This undoubtedly drove my parents nuts.

Stay tuned. The minute I know something. You will to.
Take care Patrick

A frugal computer is a fast machine.

 

Now days, how-to-guides are positively everywhere covering every conceivable situation device or application. If the original authors of Popular Mechanics and Popular Electronics had only one with the Internet and high-speed communication would bring to the general public. We are now faced with a rather odd situation, there are so many sources the question isn't as much "How do you fix it?" Its more like which person, document or source do you trust. The very last thing that anyone wants to do is just try things randomly. As a matter of fact, I have seen people do this, in my case, it usually has to do with computer software and the story goes something like this:

One day somebody turns on their computer and its a little slow, but only a little bit, so they ignore it and go get the latest free game from who knows where on the Internet. Over the next few days it slows down more and they begin to get frustrated. So they go on to their favourite search engine and they type in something like "cleaner" or "Speed to my computer up". A list of results are displayed and most people don't go farther than 10 items before picking something. The mysterious software downloads and even though the computer might warn them that this could be dangerous they click install. Anyway it doesn't work. So they tried to download something else, and again it doesn't work either. So after two or three attempts and probably a few advertisements they give up turn off their computer and go away for the night.

The next day they are committed to finding a solution to their speed problem so they repeat the same strategy they had yesterday... Day by day the computer gets slower and slower and slower. Then they decide they better call for help and that's when I or one of my colleagues hears about their issue.

Usually they have downloaded free software, taking the listings at face value. "Guaranteed to speed your computer up!" or "Let us optimize your computer to run like new". What happens most often is these free useless programs are just commercials packaged as something useful, and because they are nothing more than advertisements they often configure themselves to start whenever the computer starts up. That is really what slowing the computer down.

In my experience there are relatively few, but well-known utilities and companies that produce tools for "cleaning or optimizing a computer" and most of them work only in very specific ways.

He best way to keep your computer running smoothly is:

• If the machine is more than four years old, in general, don't expect it to be able to run the latest and greatest games or software at full speed.
• Before downloading and trying anything spend some time looking up for reviews and look at a few of them from different sources, not just the ones that appear at the top of the list in Google.
• If a listing in a search engine is marked as an "Ad or Sponsored" ignore it. They are not going to give you an unbiased appraisal.
• Then once you find something that looks trustworthy continue searching for articles that talk about uninstalling the program you are about to try. It is important to know how to remove programs before taking them for a test drive.

If the above points are a little bewildering seek out a trusted friend or colleague who is more familiar with the technology. Do not try to just hit or miss on fixing something especially with a computer or similar device.
 

The biggest and safest thing you can do is ensure that you have a backup of your important documents or photos. Every computer eventually dies and they usually do it all of a sudden.

 

The above points are applicable to a lot of technology be they computers or something related.
Take care Patrick

Which came first?: Disability or the inventor?

If you start looking around the Internet using the above two words as search terms, it becomes very clear that many inventors and other creative minds that have impacted the modern world, were and are disabled. I won't bother putting together a list here because there are literally hundreds of websites which of already done a much better job than I could do in my limited time for writing this entry.

It does make one think though. Are disabilities actually benefits in disguise? Without them with the world be a less creative place? The answers depend massively on the kind of disability we're talking about, as well as, a person's situation.

Still though overall, it is an intriguing question. Is creativity ultimately dependent on, the challenges in one's life. Without challenge, one could surmise there would be no reason to change (presuming of course one was completely happy with your situation).-Man, does that sound dull!

I don't know about the rest the world, but right now I'm feeling awfully damn good about being disabled. Life and reality are full of surprises. As always leave your comments.

Patrick
 

The Benefits of Thinking Negatively?…

 

I will be expanding on this post throughout the week, but for now I just wanted to get some preliminary thoughts out there before they got lost in the flurry of activity in the next few days. I will most probably finalize it next weekend or do a complete rewrite.

I am continually astounded by the environment in which I live. It happens to be a supported living building run by a nonprofit and most of the people here have acquired some physical disability during their life, as opposed to myself, who has always been disabled. As a matter of fact I had a disabled father who was a successful anaesthesiologist. This is to say that I understand that I most likely come at life from a completely different perspective than those around me. While they say "Why Bother…" I say "Why Not [try]." When it comes to facing challenges.

But clearly they must get something out of their negative perspective, because in the four years I've been here, my fellow tenants keep reinforcing it in both bold and subtle ways. From gloomy apartments to complaining about staff members who are loud and cheery. I am not kidding we have one or two people on staff who are marvellously energetic and they get complaints. So just what are the denizens of my building getting out of it, this negative outlook?

More later and throughout the week. Right now I have to prepare for my volunteering duties which I love. I LOVE to repair old computers and build webpages and in general problem solve  😄 .

• A very quick thought. I wonder if people "gaslight" themselves into limitations as a way of avoiding responsibility?
• And it's a benefit of thinking negatively simply another mechanism for avoiding responsibility in general, even though it can have very bad consequences for the person work community involved?
• Another perceived benefit of negative thinking is the ability to transfer all authority to some oppressor, thereby relieving the oppressed from all responsibility. "I can't do anything-They made the decision." Which if the person is not very careful can become a self reinforcing loop. Leading right into conspiracy theories etc.

It is important at this point to make it very clear, that I am in no way advocating a negative outlook. This entire post is on the other hand questioning why it appears that so many members of the public quietly adhere to the negative perceptions in their lives as opposed to embracing a more positive and proactive approach.

Another big piece of the puzzle is habits. Almost any action can become one. I wrote about it in an earlier post "The Power of Habits". A habitual negative reaction would be the cement that keeps this whole bizarre activity of thinking negatively together.

This I think pretty much closes out this particular entry on the blog. Of course if you have any feedback leave it in the comments. I have a goal this year for this site, to actually make it useful or at least entertaining for people. So feel free to jump in with whatever you have in mind.

Take care Patrick

Do you have enough time in the day?

 I was reminiscing recently with a friend about perceptions of present-day technology we now have, in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even the 90s that was supposed to make more free time available, because as the thinking went it would make us more efficient.

That is not exactly how things have turned out, and this point I'm sure you will agree, technology has eaten up our free time. Mainly due to the fact that we can now do more (or so we tell ourselves) and so pack more activities or duties into each hour. I personally have things I would love to do, but don't because I am already doing too much. A little of this, a little of that, and of course the inevitable interruption which always at least 10 minutes takes away from whatever I'm trying to do in the first place. The difference between the modern world and that of let's say the 1970s is that back then you could focus on one task were subject. It was much easier to become "unavailable" and people knew this therefore life was structured in bigger blocks of uninterrupted time to do whatever important study or activity needed to be done. Very often then the result was the job or activity was done better.

I wonder then if today we do more but understand less. I recently began taking a computer science introductory course on brilliant.org and while I understand everything it seems to me that a lot of the deeper aspects are just not there in the material, simply because the way the information is presented it's in short bite-size chunks. They know that no student has several hours free now days.

This I think has far-reaching implications because it will ultimately lead to a society which lacks the depth and patience gained by a long term undertaking. Yes you still here of many people who undertake activities that consume a good portion of their life, but I'm afraid the average person is convinced they can learn it all quickly. Have you ever noticed when you become really proficient at something usually there has been a fundamental shift in the way you do other things? It is my personal belief this is because the act of true learning changes not only immediate situation but has much broader effects.

This is one of the things I think we are losing when we take abridged "bite-size" lessons or courses, because it is only with proficiency that we gain the extra margin of knowledge which allows us to truly build on what we now know.

Leave a comment down below if you find yourself having a thought about this.

"Hey Google Park the wheelchair."

 

New Year's and Christmas have passed, and so I found myself thinking: "You know, I really should get my self something novel but yet useful." (The word useful can be applied very loosely here in this context.)

I am a geek, and am always fascinated by creativity combined with technology. So I set my sights on finding something out of the ordinary in the truly gizmo range. I had no idea my quest would be so difficult...

When it comes to wireless technology it seems that everything relates to one of the following, it is either, smart lighting,-including thermostats and switches etc., smart cameras, smart speakers, smart assistance. While the list of devices goes on and on there doesn't appear to be any real innovation. Every year it appears to be a rehash of the same narrow products. With all the companies out there involved you would think there would be at the very least a plethora of good, for example smart coffeemakers that could grind your beans, so that when one staggers out of the bedroom you have an excellent cup of coffee waiting. The point is there there are a wide variety of potential products it uses that could benefit from automation but we seem to be stuck on a fairly narrow range.

So I have a question for you: Have you heard of any unusual devices that are part of the burgeoning smart technology? Something that really adds functionality or convenience to one's life.

Personally since I use an electric wheelchair, I would love to have a self parking chair. Thereby relieving the staff from having to drive it into its parking spot every night. (For new staff driving a expensive highly sensitive motorized wheelchair can be a little terrifying for both them and myself. 😄)
 

To put it another way, which might make the question clearer:
In regards to the "Internet of Things". Do you find the range of products diversifying into new uses and abilities or is it more of a rehash of a limited range of categories?

 
Leave your comments if you have any thoughts on this.