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2019-12-14-seeking-refuge.md
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@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ If you do the math and assume that you'll work all day, every day, you get numbe
And that ties into the other big discovery, which is that I should have put an outline together, beforehand, so that I would know where I was in the story at all times. For a long time, I envisioned this story as only being the arc where Bertie frees the exploited refugees after the setup, but that story only lasted a bit more than halfway into the book before reaching its natural conclusion. A huge flaw of the section where it hits that ending is the result of my scramble to, first, prolong the story, and second, redefine it so that the original plan is just an adventure that's meaningful to Bertie while he grows to understand who he needs to be.
Similarly, it would have been smart to understand my set pieces better. The exerpt I posted above comes at the end of an attack on the protagonists that, until I edited my draft, was somehow both deliberate *and* accidental/opportunistic, with different paragraphs suggesting each, because I didn't think the situation through beyond my desire to stretch out the story.
Similarly, it would have been smart to understand my set pieces better. The excerpt I posted above comes at the end of an attack on the protagonists that, until I edited my draft, was somehow both deliberate *and* accidental/opportunistic, with different paragraphs suggesting each, because I didn't think the situation through beyond my desire to stretch out the story.
In terms of technology, I'm fairly certain that tools don't really speed up the process (for the most part), but do make it easier to understand what's going on. At all times, I kept a count of how many days ahead or behind I was writing, for example, giving me some context about the day's work. I also kept a list of stages of a [Hero's journey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey) open, not to build the story to an outline (because I definitely didn't do that and should have), but to have someplace to take the structure if the narrative seemed to be wandering. In the spirit of a more inclusive world, though, it *was* extremely convenient to have the tool I have been working on [here](https://github.com/jcolag/ProceduralStories/blob/master/people/generate.js) that gives an approximate idea of what the next character might look like, with output that looks something like the following.

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2019-12-15-blogging.md
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@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ I started out with a basic idea of what I wanted I wanted the blog to be able to
* Act like a blog, for the most part.
* Allow for multiple blogs on the same server, potentially, as I spin up new projects.
Because I didn't really want to run additional software and because running multiple instances would be trivial, most of the requirements led me to the world of Static Site Generators, frameworks that take source content and transform the input into webpages that look like an application. That sounds like it might help make the decision, but there are [*hundreds*](https://www.staticgen.com/) of these things, so I needed to pare down the list in some way. While I'd like to say that I came up with a set of critical rules, the reality is that I picked systems that were getting some buzz and tried them out.
Because I didn't really want to run additional software and because running multiple instances would be trivial, most of the requirements led me to the world of Static Site Generators, frameworks that take source content and transform the input into web pages that look like an application. That sounds like it might help make the decision, but there are [*hundreds*](https://www.staticgen.com/) of these things, so I needed to pare down the list in some way. While I'd like to say that I came up with a set of critical rules, the reality is that I picked systems that were getting some buzz and tried them out.
## Hugo
@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ So, after all that farting around with sophisticated systems that I thought migh
### Modifying Jekyll
Being part of the [Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/) ecosystem, the Jekyll themes are stored as global gems (packages). This means that all of the files are held in common. Overriding the common files is handled by making a local copy of the important files and making whatever changes are neeeded.
Being part of the [Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/) ecosystem, the Jekyll themes are stored as global gems (packages). This means that all of the files are held in common. Overriding the common files is handled by making a local copy of the important files and making whatever changes are needed.
To do this, we need to first find the theme's package. The default theme (found in the `_config.yml` file) is named **minima**, so we call...

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2019-12-17-metal-umlauts.md
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@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ Then, we remove any diacritical marks (the [caron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
## Searching
Moreso than with sorting, it's a better experience to search without regard for diacritical marks. For example, an increasing number of laws intended to suppress minority votes are posed as "exact match" measures, which require that handwritten voter registration documents be identical to personal identification documents, meaning that the *exactness* of accents and diacritical marks relies primarily on the comprehension and interest of an underpaid data entry clerk.
More so than with sorting, it's a better experience to search without regard for diacritical marks. For example, an increasing number of laws intended to suppress minority votes are posed as "exact match" measures, which require that handwritten voter registration documents be identical to personal identification documents, meaning that the *exactness* of accents and diacritical marks relies primarily on the comprehension and interest of an underpaid data entry clerk.
By the same token, even something with much lower stakes like searching an employee directory shouldn't rely on the person searching for Beyoncé realizing that she has an acute accent in her name *or* that Human Resources input her name properly.

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2019-12-20-social-media.md
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@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ By the way, the right-wing's obsession with being _respected and liked_ after de
Oh, and, if anybody wanted to assume "Option Three," that this is all coincidental/accidental and the social media companies _really_ have our best interests at heart, let's not forget that they're all too happy to [optimize their products for addiction](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vv5jkb/the-secret-ways-social-media-is-built-for-addiction), the founders of those companies [limit screen time for their _own_ kids](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html), and former employees [consistently warn us](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/technology/early-facebook-google-employees-fight-tech.html) about the potential downsides of the products, including [depression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder).
In other words, hate speech is profitable for them, because it makes you angry. If they can sustain that anger by subtly encouraging aggressive and offensive behavior and pitting their serfs against each other, so much the better. Errr..._users_. I totally meant to type "users," there, not "serfs." Weird autocorrect, though.
In other words, hate speech is profitable for them, because it makes you angry. If they can sustain that anger by subtly encouraging aggressive and offensive behavior and pitting their serfs against each other, so much the better. Errr..._users_. I totally meant to type "users," there, not "serfs." Weird auto-correct, though.
![Generic social media](/blog/assets/wall.png)

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2019-12-28-licenses.md
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@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ Oh, well.
Likewise, the commercial-friendly Creative Commons licenses permit use of the work within GPL-licensed works, but this is not reciprocal. The intent is for games to be able to use art, but the idea of showing code inside a book doesn't seem unreasonable.
### The Flipside of Virality
### The Flip-Side of Virality
One legitimate problem with copyleft licenses, possibly all public licenses, is that the creator still owns the underlying copyright and so is not bound by the terms of the public license. That means that, for example, I can stop providing updates to [SlackBackup]({% post_url 2019-12-22-slack-backup %}) and start releasing proprietary versions.

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2020-01-01-hny.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: 🍾 Happy Calendar-Changing Day 🎆
date: 2020-01-01 07:20:12-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [holiday, newyear]
summary: Happy New Year!
thumbnail: /blog/assets/happy-newyear-2020-card-fireworks-new-years-day-sky-1601384-pxhere.com.jpg
@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ I don't really expect this to be a huge year for media, but there are a few thin
* **She-Ra and the Princesses of Power**, Season 5: One of those few remaining Netflix shows that I *think* is continuing, even though seasons seem to appear at random and I haven't seen an announcement, is [Noelle Stevenson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noelle_Stevenson)'s She-Ra reboot. Again, it deals with a lot of heavy issues, but is often unrelentingly funny, one of the few shows I often need to rewind to hear the joke my laughter drowned out. If I have any criticism of it, it's that episodes can feel extremely dense, with so much going on in every installment that there isn't time to absorb an emotional moment or a punchline. That's literally the *worst* I can say about the show, that they can maybe use an occasional second of silence, so that I can laugh harder.
In some ways, I think 2020 might also be the year I stop watching shows I'm not absolutely *thrilled* with. I don't know for sure if it's the case, but I sometimes feel like I watch a surprising amoung just on inertia.
In some ways, I think 2020 might also be the year I stop watching shows I'm not absolutely *thrilled* with. I don't know for sure if it's the case, but I sometimes feel like I watch a surprising amount just on inertia.
### Catching Up

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2020-01-02-trek-00.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: Real Life in Star Trek - Introduction
date: 2020-01-02 17:23:13-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> What does the outside world look like in Star Trek?
thumbnail: /blog/assets/eso1335a.png
@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ All this discussion, however, raised an important question that I don't believe
## Mission Parameters
The way this is going to work is...well, first, let's just admit that this is absolutely an excuse for me to rewatch the original *Star Trek* and make it seem not crazy to take notes.
The way this is going to work is...well, first, let's just admit that this is absolutely an excuse for me to re-watch the original *Star Trek* and make it seem not crazy to take notes.
That said, my goal is to watch the episodes in order (the version on *CBS All-Access*, unless I can find the un-remastered versions streaming somewhere) and post weekly updates with what we can see about the "real world" in each episode I watch. Where possible, I will include (through the magic of [Fair Use](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use)) brief excerpts from transcripts to verify the assertions. I'll also summarize what we've learned in each episode.
@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Like this post, they'll be released on Thursday evenings, a reference to **Star
## Final Warning
This series is going to be almost entirely text with episode transcripts lightly exerpted. Because of licensing issues (and the work involved, too), the posts won't feature any multi-media bits relevant to the episode. I'll make an exception if some element happens to be in the public domain, though, like for literary references or paintings.
This series is going to be almost entirely text with episode transcripts lightly excerpted. Because of licensing issues (and the work involved, too), the posts won't feature any multi-media bits relevant to the episode. I'll make an exception if some element happens to be in the public domain, though, like for literary references or paintings.
Fair? Then be back in one week's time for Part One, likely *The Man Trap*. If readers want to treat this like a "book club" and prepare ahead of time, I will not complain in the slightest.

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2020-01-04-social-intro.md
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@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ This series of posts, to be published on Saturday mornings, is an overview of th
Note that I haven't tried hard to find communities on any of the networks. Instead, I looked at who seems to be represented in either the public "stream" of posts or the list of accounts recommended to me as a new user. A more ambitious and outgoing user might well have an entirely different experience from me. I suspect that's not the case, since it would be hard to hide an entire community, but it's possible.
In most cases, I also probably won't be putting much effort (if any) into running my own instance of the network. I would *like* to be able to say how much administrative work is involved, but don't know that I'll have the time or temperment for many.
In most cases, I also probably won't be putting much effort (if any) into running my own instance of the network. I would *like* to be able to say how much administrative work is involved, but don't know that I'll have the time or temperament for many.
## Glossary

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2020-01-05-proglang.md
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@ -12,15 +12,15 @@ thumbnail: /blog/assets/texture-wall-line-color-blue-html-58668-pxhere.com.jpg
![Lots of code](/blog/assets/texture-wall-line-color-blue-html-58668-pxhere.com.jpg "Lots of code")
Early on in my career, I found programming language design and compiler/interpreter construction fascinating enough to tinker with on a regular basis. So, I created a handful of languages that try to prove some point or other or have what I thought were interesting quirks. Most of them are *absolutely not* meant to be used industrially and the implementations almost certainly aren’t up to the task if you try.
Early on in my career, I found programming language design and compiler/interpreter construction fascinating enough to tinker with on a regular basis. So, I created a handful of languages that try to prove some point or other or have what I thought were interesting quirks. Most of them are *absolutely not* meant to be used industrially and the implementations almost certainly aren't up to the task if you try.
> > ...ships in bottles, minus the glue fumes and tweezers.
It’s probably best to think of work along these lines sort of like ships in bottles, minus the glue fumes and tweezers. The languages rarely serve an engineering purpose of their own, but are an interesting diversion, and usually make a good closed project.
It's probably best to think of work along these lines sort of like ships in bottles, minus the glue fumes and tweezers. The languages rarely serve an engineering purpose of their own, but are an interesting diversion, and usually make a good closed project.
A lot of these are much older projects, worked on “in the public eye” on a long-defunct mailing list for programming languages that were peculiar in some way. At the time, I released all the code into the public domain with a request that people using it in interesting ways contact me. More recently, in pushing things to GitHub, I’ve since had a [change of heart]({% post_url 2019-12-28-licenses %}) and licensed the current versions under the [GPLv3](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html), feeling that I would much rather see changes to things released to the public rather than someone finding a use for it and keeping everything under lock and key.
A lot of these are much older projects, worked on "in the public eye" on a long-defunct mailing list for programming languages that were peculiar in some way. At the time, I released all the code into the public domain with a request that people using it in interesting ways contact me. More recently, in pushing things to GitHub, I've since had a [change of heart]({% post_url 2019-12-28-licenses %}) and licensed the current versions under the [GPLv3](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html), feeling that I would much rather see changes to things released to the public rather than someone finding a use for it and keeping everything under lock and key.
I mean, not to rant, but it’s the twenty-first century. If your money-making scheme requires secrecy (and the business isn't about keeping secrets), it’s probably not a very good scheme, especially when it comes to code...
I mean, not to rant, but it's the twenty-first century. If your money-making scheme requires secrecy (and the business isn't about keeping secrets), it's probably not a very good scheme, especially when it comes to code...
(That said, if you want the versions released to the public domain, they're not so hard to find, just not linked here.)
@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ I mean, not to rant, but it’s the twenty-first century. If your money-making s
> > ...only operation is rule-based replacement.
There’s a decent chance that, if you recognize my name and haven’t ever interacted with me directly, this is why you know me. Thue (pronounced *TOO-ay* after [Axel Thue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Thue)) has [its own Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thue_%28programming_language%29) for being (as far as I can tell) the only programming language whose only operation is rule-based replacement, in this case based on semi-Thue (also known as Chomsky-0 or unrestricted) grammars.
There's a decent chance that, if you recognize my name and haven't ever interacted with me directly, this is why you know me. Thue (pronounced *TOO-ay* after [Axel Thue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axel_Thue)) has [its own Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thue_%28programming_language%29) for being (as far as I can tell) the only programming language whose only operation is rule-based replacement, in this case based on semi-Thue (also known as Chomsky-0 or unrestricted) grammars.
You can grab the source to [Thue](https://github.com/jcolag/Thue) and give it a try.
@ -46,12 +46,12 @@ _1++::=10
__::=_//_
//::=:::
::=
::=
__
```
I may revisit Thue in the future, because it doesn’t *quite* seem complete, for some reason. While I think it’s still technically possible to do so through extensive sets of rules, the ability to snag sections of text out of their context and reuse them in replacements (something like a variable) might give the language more usability.
I may revisit Thue in the future, because it doesn't *quite* seem complete, for some reason. While I think it's still technically possible to do so through extensive sets of rules, the ability to snag sections of text out of their context and reuse them in replacements (something like a variable) might give the language more usability.
## Das Klickenklacker
@ -65,13 +65,13 @@ With a name that seems more annoying every time I look at it, Das Klickenklacker
(a M
===========:===
1 M
>>>>>>>>>>>> : F
>>>>>>>>>>>> : F
- M
=
=
, M ,
(
=====================:==
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
, ,
)
@ -83,21 +83,21 @@ With a name that seems more annoying every time I look at it, Das Klickenklacker
F = >
```
I’m not convinced that it was successful, but I’ve had students at least *claim* it was fun to work with, sometimes even when their grades *weren’t* in the balance, so I hereby declare victory.
I'm not convinced that it was successful, but I've had students at least *claim* it was fun to work with, sometimes even when their grades *weren't* in the balance, so I hereby declare victory.
Plus, the animations can be fun to watch. [The implementation](https://github.com/jcolag/Klickenklacker) *finally* uses the [ncurses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ncurses) library, too. So, this is another case that I (or an enterprising collaborator, if anybody feels the urge) might want to revisit the implementation in order to change the colors of objects as they stay in one place for longer periods of time.
## Wierd
This is the last of the things you may have heard of, if you’re here for the programming languages rather than to read my ramblings. Wierd (*WHY-urd* as in “wired”) was an attempt, with some collaboration, to create a language that combined the interesting features of [Befunge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befunge) and [Brainf—](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck) with a minor new gimmick.
This is the last of the things you may have heard of, if you're here for the programming languages rather than to read my ramblings. Wierd (*WHY-urd* as in "wired") was an attempt, with some collaboration, to create a language that combined the interesting features of [Befunge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befunge) and [Brainf---](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainfuck) with a minor new gimmick.
Wierd, then, runs a minimal stack-based virtual machine based on a two-dimensional program, but the “important” parts of the program are the angles between visible characters, not the characters themselves. So, in a very loose sense, there are no instructions, certainly none that get explicitly put into the program.
Wierd, then, runs a minimal stack-based virtual machine based on a two-dimensional program, but the "important" parts of the program are the angles between visible characters, not the characters themselves. So, in a very loose sense, there are no instructions, certainly none that get explicitly put into the program.
The language runs ASCII art “wires” that intersect at angles which, themselves, are meaningful. The angles translate into very simple instructions, which then execute. It turns out to be fairly horrific to program in, partly because the interpreter isn’t entirely complete, but mostly because overlooking an instruction generally requires a complete rewrite to lay everything out on the screen.
The language runs ASCII art "wires" that intersect at angles which, themselves, are meaningful. The angles translate into very simple instructions, which then execute. It turns out to be fairly horrific to program in, partly because the interpreter isn't entirely complete, but mostly because overlooking an instruction generally requires a complete rewrite to lay everything out on the screen.
```Wierd
* *****************
* * *
* * *
* * ** *
* * * * *
* * * * *
@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ The language runs ASCII art “wires” that intersect at angles which, themselv
On the bright side, Wierd might be one of the very few programming languages that require no literacy. In fact, a visual editor that allowed for easy revision could make this a useful tool, though the minimalist instruction could still be annoying. (At one point, I prototyped a system that would take a list of stack-based instructions and rough out what the program needed to look like, trading literacy back for ease of use.)
This is [another project](https://github.com/jcolag/Wierd) that could probably use some attention. There was an old bug report that the jumps didn’t quite work. I was never quite able to understand what the user was trying to get at (because the alleged bug was wrapped with an argument that example code wasn’t exactly what the user wanted as an example), so it’s still out there, as far as I know.
This is [another project](https://github.com/jcolag/Wierd) that could probably use some attention. There was an old bug report that the jumps didn't quite work. I was never quite able to understand what the user was trying to get at (because the alleged bug was wrapped with an argument that example code wasn't exactly what the user wanted as an example), so it's still out there, as far as I know.
## BASIC
@ -157,19 +157,19 @@ While it lacks anything like strings or data types other than real numbers (IEEE
210 REM print the input, reverse direction, print again, and end
```
Some time soon, I’ll release it and/or add at least *some* of the missing features.
Some time soon, I'll release it and/or add at least *some* of the missing features.
## *W
This was intended as sort of my *magnum opus* and was, surprisingly, mentioned on my Wikipedia page when it still existed. Unlike the other languages focused on some minimalist aesthetic, \*W would have been my answer to [INTERCAL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTERCAL) on the humor side and old-style [C++](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%2B%2B) on the complexity side.
I think the specification is feasible (if not very funny), but it definitely lacks in genuine complexity and I never got around to an implementation. Still, it stands as one of the very few “esoteric languages” that could be more than a toy.
I think the specification is feasible (if not very funny), but it definitely lacks in genuine complexity and I never got around to an implementation. Still, it stands as one of the very few "esoteric languages" that could be more than a toy.
It has quirky commenting syntax, compound statements, data types, subroutines, conditions, a rich set of operations (yes, including a unary prefix `*` operator), and so forth. Maybe one day, I’ll link the original specification here. To my knowledge, though, the language has never been implemented.
It has quirky commenting syntax, compound statements, data types, subroutines, conditions, a rich set of operations (yes, including a unary prefix `*` operator), and so forth. Maybe one day, I'll link the original specification here. To my knowledge, though, the language has never been implemented.
## PosTuring
I don’t recall if I ever released this before (the complete lack of documentation suggests that I haven’t), but it’s a quick and dirty interpreter for the [Post-Turing Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93Turing_machine), a simple computational representation developed by Emil Post that is often considered a special form Alan Turing’s a-Machine or the Turing Machine.
I don't recall if I ever released this before (the complete lack of documentation suggests that I haven't), but it's a quick and dirty interpreter for the [Post-Turing Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93Turing_machine), a simple computational representation developed by Emil Post that is often considered a special form Alan Turing's a-Machine or the Turing Machine.
```PosTuring
[T] Right
@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ I don’t recall if I ever released this before (the complete lack of documentat
> > ...fairly nice model and syntax...
The language has a fairly nice model and syntax, not to mention one of my favorite language names, I think, but [the code](https://github.com/jcolag/PosTuring) is pretty terrible, particularly the *extremely* lazy parser. There’s a fairly good chance I threw together a prototype to try it out and forget about it before the release I planned at the time.
The language has a fairly nice model and syntax, not to mention one of my favorite language names, I think, but [the code](https://github.com/jcolag/PosTuring) is pretty terrible, particularly the *extremely* lazy parser. There's a fairly good chance I threw together a prototype to try it out and forget about it before the release I planned at the time.
## Prim (a.k.a. RTL)
@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ What can I say? I enjoyed my Theory of Computation classes.
## Turing Machine Assembler
Years ago, Turing Machines were basically an academic concept that hobbyists talked *a lot* about. It bothered me that, for all the talk, I hadn’t actually worked with one. So, I implemented the system.
Years ago, Turing Machines were basically an academic concept that hobbyists talked *a lot* about. It bothered me that, for all the talk, I hadn't actually worked with one. So, I implemented the system.
```tmasm
; Sample Turing Machine program to invert a tape and print the new Zeros
@ -224,17 +224,17 @@ Years ago, Turing Machines were basically an academic concept that hobbyists tal
23 / `0 : 23 / `1 R ; and make 0s into 1s (but don't print)
```
[This package](https://github.com/jcolag/tmasm) contains a compiler that translates a Turing program (that is, the specification of a Turing Machine) into bytecode that can be run on the linked emulator. It wouldn’t surprise me if I had visions of Java-like browser plug-ins running Turing across the Internet. That sounds like me at that age. And I *did* find a first pass on de-obfuscating the emulator code.
[This package](https://github.com/jcolag/tmasm) contains a compiler that translates a Turing program (that is, the specification of a Turing Machine) into bytecode that can be run on the linked emulator. It wouldn't surprise me if I had visions of Java-like browser plug-ins running Turing across the Internet. That sounds like me at that age. And I *did* find a first pass on de-obfuscating the emulator code.
## SiliconAda
Finally, something that might actually be *useful* to somebody!
My Master’s Thesis was meant to dovetail with a long-term PhD candidate who was a local hardware designer, a way to “rough out” a processor using the tools available to high-level languages, which didn’t really exist cheaply at the time for hardware.
My Master's Thesis was meant to dovetail with a long-term PhD candidate who was a local hardware designer, a way to "rough out" a processor using the tools available to high-level languages, which didn't really exist cheaply at the time for hardware.
Quick history: Since the campus was built on the cornerstone of our local military contracting industry, the department was still mourning the loss of [Pascal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_%28programming_language%29) as the official introductory programming language, and [Ada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_(programming_language)) was *completely* specified in formal ways, we decided that I should start with an Ada-to-[VHDL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHDL) compiler, obviously only supporting a small subset of Ada. The plan was to make this part of a suite of software-to-hardware tools developed via other students' theses, but that collapsed shortly after I graduated for a variety of reasons. The result is what I now call *SiliconAda*.
That said, I have [released the version I found](https://github.com/jcolag/SiliconAda). I don’t believe it’s quite the *final* version, because my thesis contains example generated VHDL output and this version of *SiliconAda* doesn’t seem to produce it given the inputs. But it should be very close and probably just needs a *little* bit of attention, because I can’t tell the difference on a visual inspection from the code listing I published.
That said, I have [released the version I found](https://github.com/jcolag/SiliconAda). I don't believe it's quite the *final* version, because my thesis contains example generated VHDL output and this version of *SiliconAda* doesn't seem to produce it given the inputs. But it should be very close and probably just needs a *little* bit of attention, because I can't tell the difference on a visual inspection from the code listing I published.
> > ...focus more on the graph transformations, dependency checking, and the push for parallelism.

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2020-01-09-trek-01.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: Real Life in Star Trek - The Man Trap
date: 2020-01-09 17:44:09-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
thumbnail: /blog/assets/PIA14888~orig.png
@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ This is neither recap nor review; those have both been done to death over fifty-
Right out of the gate, Kirk recommends bringing flowers for "a girl;" McCoy dismisses it as bribery.
> **KIRK**: Shall we pick some flowers, Doctor? When a man visits an old girlfriend she usually expects something like that.
>
>
> **MCCOY**: Is that how you get girls to like you, by bribing them?
Opening the series with Kirk getting called out on a sexist trope is a surprisingly bold move.
@ -40,14 +40,14 @@ Meanwhile, we get some sense of law.
> **KIRK**: Quote. All research personnel on alien planets are required to have their health certified by a starship surgeon at one year intervals.
That seems like an odd level of micromanagement for both the researchers and for the ship crews, but probably makes sense, given the sheer number of things that can go wrong.
That seems like an odd level of micro-management for both the researchers and for the ship crews, but probably makes sense, given the sheer number of things that can go wrong.
McCoy hints at a distrust of medical scanners.
> **MCCOY**: Open your mouth.
>
>
> **CRATER**: Why, I thought the machine...
>
>
> **MCCOY**: The machine is capable of almost anything but I'll still put my trust in a healthy set of tonsils. Now, open your mouth.
It's possible that this is McCoy's own preference or he may just be making Crater's life difficult, but it may also suggest that the devices are known to be fallible.
@ -55,19 +55,19 @@ It's possible that this is McCoy's own preference or he may just be making Crate
Uhura comes out of the gate...looking for a reprimand, perhaps?
> **SPOCK**: Miss Uhura, your last sub-space log contained an error in the frequencies column.
>
>
> **UHURA**: Mister Spock, sometimes I think if I hear that word frequency once more, I'll cry.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Cry?
>
>
> **UHURA**: I was just trying to start a conversation.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Well, since it is illogical for a communications officer to resent the word frequency, I have no answer.
>
>
> **UHURA**: No, you have an answer. I'm an illogical woman who's beginning to feel too much a part of that communications console. Why don't you tell me I'm an attractive young lady, or ask me if I've ever been in love? Tell me how your planet Vulcan looks on a lazy evening when the moon is full.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Vulcan has no moon, Miss Uhura.
>
>
> **UHURA**: I'm not surprised, Mister Spock.
The "tell me I'm an attractive young lady" bit comes precariously close to sexual harassment and is *clearly* said in hopes of getting under Spock's skin. Likewise, the outburst about being (hypothetically) called "an illogical woman" and the suggestion that Vulcan's lack of moon has some social meaning borders on racist and at least suggests some measure of animosity against Vulcans, more so given that Spock is (at best) part of a small enough minority aboard the *Enterprise* that we don't see anybody else.
@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ Uhura also delivers some clunky and largely irrelevant exposition about Kirk bei
Either way, rejoice, because Mexico still exists!
> **UHURA**: Message, Captain. Starship base on Caran 4 requesting explanation of our delay here, sir. Space Commander Dominguez says we have supplies he urgently needs.
>
> **KIRK**: Tell Jose he'll get his chili peppers when we get there. Tell him they're prime Mexican reds. I handpicked them myself, but he won't die if he goes a few more days without them. Got it?
>
> **KIRK**: Tell Jose he'll get his chili peppers when we get there. Tell him they're prime Mexican reds. I handpicked them myself, but he won't die if he goes a few more days without them. Got it?
Whether Mexico is around in a political, geographical, or heritage sense, of course, is unknown. Along the lines of heritage, it may be notable that the names we might classify as "ethnic," such as Jose Dominguez, appear to be consistently so. This could be a coincidence, but *vaguely* suggests that Earth isn't particularly globalized and ethnic heritage is important to a lot of people.
@ -95,14 +95,14 @@ And there's another hint about the mistrust of technology, in this case seemingl
Janice Rand not only carries a tray of food a *long* way around the ship for Sulu and faces a lot of casual (and not so casual) sexism along the way.
> **REDSHIRT**: Hey, Janice, is that for me?
>
>
> **RAND**: Don't you wish it was?
>
>
> (she leaves)
>
>
> **BLUESHIRT**: How about that?
>
> **REDSHIRT**: Yeah, how'd you like to have her as your personal yeoman?
>
> **REDSHIRT**: Yeah, how'd you like to have her as your personal yeoman?
Bear in mind that "How about that" is spoken staring at Rand's backside, making this far more overt sexual harassment than Uhura's, above. And the tone of "personal yeoman" is remarkably sleazy and demeaning, especially coming from no-name in the hallway. But she's worried about Sulu's plants grabbing her, not any of these creeps.
@ -121,8 +121,8 @@ I don't believe that we ever see anything like it again in the series, though, s
Swahili is considered a significant ethnic classification, at least by Uhura.
> **CREWMAN**: Ina cuvanea mwanamke turee.
>
> **UHURA**: Una kafeeri Hur. You're Swahili?
>
> **UHURA**: Una kafeeri Hur. You're Swahili?
Not "you *speak* Swahili," but "you *are* Swahili." That's not inaccurate, since Kiswahili (the native name of the language) means "the language of the Swahili people," but...well, *I* could learn Swahili, but that wouldn't *make* me Swahili by any stretch of the imagination.
@ -137,17 +137,17 @@ One extreme oddity is that people acting outright unhealthy (Green's silence as
Somewhat oddly, Crater's examples of extinction are the passenger pigeon and the buffalo.
> **CRATER**: She was the last of her kind.
>
>
> **KIRK**: The last of her kind?
>
>
> **CRATER**: The last of its kind. Earth history, remember? Like the passenger pigeon or buffalo...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: The Earth buffalo. What about it?
>
>
> **CRATER**: Once there were millions of them prairies black with them. One herd covered three whole states, and when they moved they were like thunder.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: And now they're gone. Is that what you mean?
>
>
> **CRATER**: Like the creatures here. Once there were millions of them. Now there's one left. Nancy understood.
> > ![Martha, last of the passenger pigeons](/blog/assets/Martha_last_passenger_pigeon_1914.jpg "Save Martha!")
@ -161,17 +161,17 @@ Perhaps the most notable about this exchange is the off-handed reference to *thr
Finally, there is a distinct difference of opinion on the ethics of hunting and, presumably, executing the intelligent shape-shifting creature.
> **MCCOY**: Oh. Well, we could offer it salt without tricks. There's no reason for it to attack us.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Your attitude is laudable, Doctor, but your reasoning is reckless.
>
>
> **CRATER**: (eyeing McCoy carefully) The creature is not dangerous when fed.
>
>
> **MCCOY**: No, it's simply trying to survive by using its natural ability to take other forms.
>
> **CRATER**: The way the chameleon uses its protective colouring, an ability retained no doubt from its primitive state, the way we have retained our incisor teeth. They were once fangs. Certain of our muscles were designed for chase. It uses its ability the way we would use our muscles and teeth if necessary, to stay alive.
>
>
> **CRATER**: The way the chameleon uses its protective coloring, an ability retained no doubt from its primitive state, the way we have retained our incisor teeth. They were once fangs. Certain of our muscles were designed for chase. It uses its ability the way we would use our muscles and teeth if necessary, to stay alive.
>
> **MCCOY**: And like us, it's an intelligent animal. There's no need to hunt it down.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: A very interesting hypothesis, Doctor.
The only alternative suggested appears to be to ignore the eating of four officers and, if we remember that "McCoy" is actually the creature in this scene and Crater is presumed to be influenced, not killing is a distinctly minority view. This isn't about civilian life, of course, but the fact that nobody seems to suggest due process in the form of a trial for a creature they know has an intellect and personality seems...odd.

8
2020-01-10-week.md
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@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1214185348843991040) [Immigration Detention Is Part of Mass Incarceration: The Case for Abolishing ICE and Everything Else](https://theintercept.com/2019/12/28/book-review-immigration-detention-history-policy/) from The Intercept
> ...immigration prison is a reminder that human bondage based on racial and economic markers of undesirability can’t be relegated to some distant past...
> ...immigration prison is a reminder that human bondage based on racial and economic markers of undesirability can't be relegated to some distant past...
## 12:00 PM - Mon 06 January 2020
@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1214547988221243392) [Extinction Rebellion is using holacracy to scale its international movement](https://qz.com/work/1776861/extinction-rebellion-is-using-holacracy-to-scale-its-international-movement/) from Quartz
> "We’re not dogmatic...it’s an adaptive version"...
> "We're not dogmatic...it's an adaptive version"...
## 12:02 PM - Tue 07 January 2020
@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1214910879579246593) [How the Entertainment Industry Solved Piracy, Then Made It Popular Again](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdpvp/how-the-entertainment-industry-solved-piracy-then-made-it-popular-again) from Vice News
> ...an ocean of costly services—all rushing to hide exclusive content behind paywalls...
> ...an ocean of costly services---all rushing to hide exclusive content behind paywalls...
## 12:03 PM - Wed 08 January 2020
@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1215634648669155328) [Deceased GOP Strategist's Daughter Makes Files Public That Republicans Wanted Sealed](https://www.npr.org/2020/01/05/785672201/deceased-gop-strategists-daughter-makes-files-public-that-republicans-wanted-sea) from NPR
"State legislature, it doesn't matter who votes for what. Congress, it doesn't matter who votes for what. And president, it doesn't matter," she says.
"State legislature, it doesn't matter who votes for what. Congress, it doesn't matter who votes for what. And president, it doesn't matter," she says.
## 12:04 PM - Fri 10 January 2020

118
2020-01-16-trek-charlie.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: Real Life in Star Trek - Charlie X
date: 2020-01-16 17:20:09-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
thumbnail: /blog/assets/External_view_of_a_Bernal_sphere.jpg
@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ At the top of the show, we're introduced to the cargo vessel *Antares*. The cre
There seems to be some evidence that there aren't many large colonies.
> **CHARLIE**: How many humans like me on this ship?
>
>
> **RAMART**: Like a whole city in space, Charlie. Over four hundred in the crew of a starship, aren't there, Captain?
>
>
> **KIRK**: Four hundred and twenty eight, to be exact.
It's possible that the phrasing was entirely for the benefit of easing Charlie in from his isolation, and I suppose that there are some definitions for which the *Enterprise* would qualify ([Broad Top City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Top_City,_Pennsylvania) is about the same size as the ship and British cities exist at the whim of the Crown, regardless of population), but many people in typical cities work at companies, go to schools, or attend events with many more people. Typically, definitions for cities assume a minimum population of a hundred thousand residents, with a handful of regions going as low as fifteen hundred. I can't find definitions that dip lower than that, though.
@ -42,11 +42,11 @@ However, a looser definition would make sense if the colonies are still sparsely
We have a rare instance of etiquette, simple as it might be.
> **RAMART**: You see. We'd like to keep Charlie with us, but with his closest living relatives on Colony Five and your vessel going that way, why---
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: I'd like to see your ship now. All of it. The people and everything.
>
>
> **KIRK**: You keep interrupting, Mister Evans. That's considered wrong.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: I'm sorry.
Again, this could be to make it easier for Charlie to adjust, but there's a level of formality and detachment to "interrupting is considered wrong" that isn't in evidence in 2020 and probably wasn't in evidence in 1966.
@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Transport sounds like a barely-profitable operation, with Kirk starting out assu
Meanwhile, in the quest for equality...
> **CHARLIE**: Are you a girl? Is that a girl?
>
>
> **KIRK**: That's a girl.
Rand visibly bristles at being asked if she's a girl, suggesting that either answer would offend her. Or perhaps its the part where Charlie *and* Kirk refers to her as "that," as if she's an inanimate object.
@ -72,14 +72,14 @@ Rand visibly bristles at being asked if she's a girl, suggesting that either ans
An odd aspect is that, unlike the *Antares*, the *Enterprise* seems to have a supply of luxury goods, perfume, in this case.
> **CHARLIE**: I brought you a present.
>
>
> **RAND**: Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it, but, but I have to go. I'm on duty.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: Do you like that kind?
>
>
> **RAND**: Yes, I, it's my favorite. Where did you get it? They don't have any in the ship's stores.
>
> **CHARLIE**: It's a present.
>
> **CHARLIE**: It's a present.
At least in the present day, "ship's stores" include supplies and equipment needed for the journey. This is something different, since there isn't really any scheme where perfume would be classified as "supplies," nor are supplies things that an officer would buy. And Rand isn't surprised that Charlie managed to find perfume available for purchase. She's surprised that it's the specific kind that she likes, which she knows isn't available.
@ -88,26 +88,26 @@ Also, perhaps noteworthy to some, Charlie's phrasing is "I *bought* you a presen
We next discover that education and the organization of information are potentially odd. Though there's a lot going on in this conversation, so it runs a bit long, even skipping a couple of lines irrelevant to our purposes.
> **KIRK**: He's working out a training program for Charlie Evans. Earth history, his own background, that sort of thing. I'd like you to give him the necessary medical orientation on the problems of, um, oh, adolescence.
>
>
> **MCCOY**: Well, don't you think it'd be better for a strong father image like you? He already looks up to you.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **KIRK**: Do you believe the legend, Mister Spock, that Thasians still exist on that planet in some form?
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Charlie's very existence proves in fact there must be some intelligent form of life on Thasus. He could not possibly have survived alone. The ship's food concentrates would have been exhausted in a year or so.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Probes of Thasus indicate very little edible plant life.
>
>
> **MCCOY**: And probes have been known to be wrong, Spock.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **MCCOY**: And he needs a guide and he needs a father image, Jim.
>
> **KIRK**: Hmm. I'll depend on your astute abilities to supply him with that, or find him one.
>
> **KIRK**: Hmm. I'll depend on your astute abilities to supply him with that, or find him one.
The first oddity, here, is that both Kirk and Spock have agreed that *Earth* history should be central to education, a world that Charlie wasn't born on and probably won't be returning to.
@ -144,8 +144,8 @@ The statement of Thanksgiving is probably the most notable aspect, here, in that
And then things get uncomfortable.
> **CHARLIE**: Well, in the corridor I saw...When Janice, when Yeoman Rand was...I did that to her. She didn't like it. She said you'd explain it to me.
>
> **KIRK**: Me. I see. Well, um, er, there are things you can do with a lady, er, Charlie, that you er. There's no right way to hit a woman. I mean, man to man is one thing, but, er, man and woman, er, it's, er, it's, er. Well it's, er, another thing. Do you understand?
>
> **KIRK**: Me. I see. Well, um, er, there are things you can do with a lady, er, Charlie, that you er. There's no right way to hit a woman. I mean, man to man is one thing, but, er, man and woman, er, it's, er, it's, er. Well it's, er, another thing. Do you understand?
Kirk is mostly bemused that Charlie slapped Rand, uncomfortable, but doesn't act like this is much of a problem, just "another thing," as if it's something he wouldn't personally do, but also wouldn't stop someone else from doing. Given upcoming developments in the story, this could either be because he doesn't realize it's an issue until Rand brings it to his attention or because he's trying to be very patient with a kid he believes grew up without supervision.
@ -174,48 +174,48 @@ Rand refers to Charlie's self-entitled obsessiveness as a look she's seen before
To his credit, once the issue has been raised, Kirk shows a *very* enlightened attitude towards women, explaining consent and self-entitlement to Charlie in no uncertain terms. The exchange runs long, but is worth reading in full, given how thoroughly it interrogates the dynamic.
> **KIRK**: Er, no. No, no. Sit down. Charlie, being seventeen is more than how many years you've lived. It's a whole other thing. Doctor McCoy could probably explain the biological conditions. Well, let's, let's use a specific. Yeoman Rand is a woman.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: Oh, I won't hit her like that anymore.
>
>
> **KIRK**: No, there's more to it than that.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: Everything I do or say is wrong. I'm in the way, I don't know the rules, and when I learn something and try to do it, suddenly I'm wrong!
>
>
> **KIRK**: Now wait, wait.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: I don't know what I am or what I'm supposed to be, or even who. I don't know why I hurt so much inside all the time.
>
>
> **KIRK**: You'll live, believe me. There's nothing wrong with you that hasn't gone wrong with every other human male since the model first came up.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: What if you care for someone? What do you do?
>
>
> **KIRK**: You go slow. You be gentle. I mean, it's not a one-way street, you know, how you feel and that's all. It's how the girl feels, too. Don't press, Charlie. If the girl feels anything for you at all, you'll know it. Do you understand?
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: You don't think Janice. You. She could love me!
>
>
> **KIRK**: She's not the girl, Charlie. The years are wrong, for one thing, and there are other things.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: She can.
>
>
> **KIRK**: No, Charlie.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: She is.
>
>
> **KIRK**: No.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: But if I did what you said! If I was gentle!
>
>
> **KIRK**: Charlie, there are a million things in this universe you can have and there are a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: Then what am I going to do?
>
>
> **KIRK**: Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.
>
>
> **CHARLIE**: You don't.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Everybody, Charlie. Me, too.
>
> **CHARLIE**: I'm trying, but I don't know how.
>
> **CHARLIE**: I'm trying, but I don't know how.
This is particularly interesting, given how we've seen Kirk make one extremely sexist suggestion in each of the two episodes so far---the crack about McCoy bringing flowers and his not seeing much of a threat in Charlie putting his hand on Janice. Yet, here he is laying it out that we all need to learn that our desires aren't law and that you only want a partner who's as enthusiastic about being with you as you are with them.
@ -224,9 +224,9 @@ The pair then stops off in the probably-never-seen-again gymnasium, which includ
We then return, briefly, to indirect issues of history and technology.
> **SPOCK**: Thasians have been referred to in our records as having the power to transmute objects or render substances invisible. It has generally been regarded as legend, but Charlie does seems to possess this same power.
>
>
> **KIRK**: What are chances that Charlie's not an Earthling, that he's a Thasian?
>
>
> **MCCOY**: No, I don't think so, not unless they're exactly like Earthlings. The development of his fingers and toes exactly matches the present development of man's on Earth.
This brief exchange has a couple of interesting elements. The first returns to the idea that the records kept about Thasus are referred to as legend, with no reference to the humans that visited the planet recently. Again, it feels like the records must be very old and coming from another civilization (that is, not human or Vulcan surveys). This also seems to imply that the reports are just text or some other after-the-fact narrative of the events, like Kirk's log entries, rather than video.
@ -238,16 +238,16 @@ The term "Earthling" also seems like it implies that people in this universe hav
Speaking of animals...
> **KIRK**: Mister Spock, you getting any readings on your instruments?
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Yes, sir. There's a---Tyger, tyger, burning bright in the forest of the night.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Mister Spock.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: I'm trying to---Saturn rings around my head, down a road that's Martian red.
>
>
> ...
>
> **SPOCK**: Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered, weak and weary.
>
> **SPOCK**: Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered, weak and weary.
This is somewhat interesting in that it gives a window into culture. Charlie forces Spock to recite the opening lines of William Blake's [The Tyger](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43687/the-tyger) and Edgar Allen Poe's [The Raven](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven).
@ -258,11 +258,11 @@ The line in the middle seems original to the episode, rather than being a ninete
And rolling into the end...
> KIRK: With training, we can teach him to live in our society. If he can be taught not to use his power
>
>
> THASIAN: We gave him the power so he could live. He will use it, always, and he would destroy you and your kind, or you would be forced to destroy him to save yourselves.
>
>
> KIRK: Is there nothing you can do?
>
>
> THASIAN: We offer him life, and we will take care of him. Come, Charles.
In nearly the final exchange, Kirk expresses the belief that Charlie can be taught to refuse to use his power and that this suppression would be healthy. Contrast this with his reaction to the creature posing as Nancy Crater, who killed far fewer people for more legitimate reasons and was significantly more social, in *The Man Trap*.
@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ The Thasian is sure that it's not only impossible (or undesirable), but trying w
Briefly editorializing, it's worth noting that, if you ignore Charlie's alleged motivation of being raised by people he can't touch (an obvious metaphor for uninvolved parents) resulting in his emotional isolation, the late, great [D.C. Fontana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._C._Fontana) has basically written a story about [alt-right](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right) and [incel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incel) narratives, from the whiny self-pitying to the violent outbursts that are blamed on other people "forcing" them to behave badly, by not giving them whatever they want. Charlie has the same self-entitlement issues and blames everybody else for his actions.
For one very clear example in the above-quoted dialogue, compare Charlie's "I don’t know the rules, and when I learn something and try to do it, suddenly I’m wrong!" with the many men who feel victimized by [the #MeToo Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement) claiming that "the rules" somehow changed on them, as if harassment was ever acceptable. Similarly, compare "I don't know why I hurt so much inside all the time" with the media focus on the shame and (mild) inconvenience abusers claim to face, instead of the pain their victims feel.
For one very clear example in the above-quoted dialogue, compare Charlie's "I don't know the rules, and when I learn something and try to do it, suddenly I'm wrong!" with the many men who feel victimized by [the #MeToo Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement) claiming that "the rules" somehow changed on them, as if harassment was ever acceptable. Similarly, compare "I don't know why I hurt so much inside all the time" with the media focus on the shame and (mild) inconvenience abusers claim to face, instead of the pain their victims feel.
Charlie even goes through what could equate to two mass shootings, one the destruction of the *Antares* (admittedly more analogous to a bomb threat) and the other storming through the *Enterprise* corridors indiscriminately using his powers against the crew. And characteristically, Charlie's self-imposed weakness is a powerful man who's kind to him, but refuses to give his approval without reason.

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2020-01-17-week.md
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@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:05 AM · Mon 13 January 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1216722818953437184) [New York Is Proposing the Creation of a ‘Public Venmo’](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pked9v/new-york-is-proposing-the-creation-of-a-public-venmo) from VICE
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1216722818953437184) [New York Is Proposing the Creation of a ‘Public Venmo'](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pked9v/new-york-is-proposing-the-creation-of-a-public-venmo) from VICE
> ...it would create the country’s first publicly owned electronic banking platform, as well as a digital currency...
> ...it would create the country's first publicly owned electronic banking platform, as well as a digital currency...
## 12:04 PM - Mon 13 January 2020
@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:02 AM - Wed 15 January 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1217446839965732865) [Joe Biden’s Role in Creating the Student Debt Crisis Stretches Back to the 1970s](https://theintercept.com/2020/01/07/joe-biden-student-loans/) from The Intercept
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1217446839965732865) [Joe Biden's Role in Creating the Student Debt Crisis Stretches Back to the 1970s](https://theintercept.com/2020/01/07/joe-biden-student-loans/) from The Intercept
> Biden helped write a separate bill that year blocking students from seeking bankruptcy protections on those loans after graduation.
@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1217808976177295360) [Raising the minimum wage just $1 would cause suicide rates to drop](https://www.fastcompany.com/90448771/raising-minimum-wage-just-1-would-cause-suicide-rates-to-drop) from Fast Company
> ...the study saw no effect between minimum wage increases and the suicide rates of those with a college education or higher, and that strengthens this study’s evidence...
> ...the study saw no effect between minimum wage increases and the suicide rates of those with a college education or higher, and that strengthens this study's evidence...
I didn't have space to mention this in the tweet, but it's worth pointing out *somewhere* that the House of Representatives passed a [minimum wage bill](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/house-passes-raise-the-wage-act-15-per-hour-minimum-wage-bill.html) back in July of 2019, but it's one of the [hundreds of bills](https://www.newsweek.com/senator-mcconnell-democrats-emulating-trump-senate-1476406) waiting for Mitch McConnell to bring to the Senate floor.

2
2020-01-19-teaching.md
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@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ One year in the pre-.NET days, I was invited to teach a course in programming ap
It turned out to be a strange experience, because the company's needs changed as we made it through the course. I started out working through the Win32 API in C, but the company decided they wanted to use [MFC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Foundation_Class_Library), which I had avoided learning because it revolved around coding behind an interface and so seemed clunky at the time...even though that's obviously more or less standard procedure, today.
I ended up with a hybrid, starting with Win32 and bridging into *manually* programming MFC without Visual Studio's layout facilities. This was because we had limited time left whe the company made its decision, and I concluded that the students should be able to pick up the graphical interface on their own, making it a waste of time for me to actually show them the process of dragging a button.
I ended up with a hybrid, starting with Win32 and bridging into *manually* programming MFC without Visual Studio's layout facilities. This was because we had limited time left when the company made its decision, and I concluded that the students should be able to pick up the graphical interface on their own, making it a waste of time for me to actually show them the process of dragging a button.
Obviously, these days, the course content is mostly obsolete. I'm sure there are *some* people still programming against the Windows API as a hobby, but I haven't heard of anybody making products that way in at least ten years and it's non-trivial to even find a compiler that will still work.

4
2020-01-24-week.md
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@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1219621670245171205) [Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig Sues New York Times for Describing What He Said](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dmbx5/harvard-professor-lawrence-lessig-sues-new-york-times-for-describing-what-he-said) from VICE
> What you won’t find is a clear basis for the lawsuit.
> What you won't find is a clear basis for the lawsuit.
(A shame - Lessig always seemed more principled than this nonsense.)
@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ However, suing and claiming that his (honestly, fairly minimal) reputation is be
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1219983554702000130) [CEOs everywhere are stressed about talent retention---and ignoring obvious solutions for it](https://qz.com/work/1782419/ceos-worried-about-talent-retention-are-overlooking-obvious-solutions/) from Quartz
> ...only ranked “building a more inclusive culture” as number 10 on their list of concerns. Creating more effective performance evaluations was number 11.
> ...only ranked "building a more inclusive culture" as number 10 on their list of concerns. Creating more effective performance evaluations was number 11.
## 12:04 PM - Wed 22 January 2020

12
2020-01-26-worst-language.md
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@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ The **PL/I** language had orthogonality as a guiding principle, so the assorted
### Homoiconism
The **SNOBOL** language deals with string data in a surprising way. Specificially, any undefined name represents *itself* until it's defined otherwise. To make things more interesting, assignments are really just chains of equivalence.
The **SNOBOL** language deals with string data in a surprising way. Specifically, any undefined name represents *itself* until it's defined otherwise. To make things more interesting, assignments are really just chains of equivalence.
So...
@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ Default values are the last of the easy ways to pretend there's nothing wrong.
* Default values for variables aren't that interesting, but we want orthogonality (remember *that*...?), after all, and homoiconism (remember *that*...?) is a kind of default we're already including that makes it much more interesting.
* Default values for function parameters are more interesting, primarily because most languages make those parameters optional. So, in this case, we can call just about any function with any number of parameters.
* Default methods are probably the closest to the chaos we want, though, assuming this is an object-oriented langauge. **Ruby**---I hope you didn't think that all the features would come from obscure languages---allows developers to take action when an incorrect method is called by implementing the `method_missing` method. Here, the `Object` class would include a (default) `method_missing` class that does nothing, but can be overridden in child classes. Or maybe it **can't** be overridden, because that would make it easy to report and handle errors...
* Default methods are probably the closest to the chaos we want, though, assuming this is an object-oriented language. **Ruby**---I hope you didn't think that all the features would come from obscure languages---allows developers to take action when an incorrect method is called by implementing the `method_missing` method. Here, the `Object` class would include a (default) `method_missing` class that does nothing, but can be overridden in child classes. Or maybe it **can't** be overridden, because that would make it easy to report and handle errors...
All three of these produce the same approximate effect, of course: There is no such thing as a "wrong" variable name.
@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ else
else = if
```
Similar but distinct ambiguity is in very early versions of **FORTRAN**. Because code would often be written out by hand by engineers and typed ("keyed in") to [punch cards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card) by someone in a more clerical role, compilers would completely ignore white-space. I have never found confirmation of the reasoning, but it seems extremely likely that the choice was made in order to prevent a secretary's intuitive inseration of spaces into a compound-word variable name wouldn't cause the compiler to fail the program back when running software had a significant per-minute cost. But either way, it meant that a variable assignment such as...
Similar but distinct ambiguity is in very early versions of **FORTRAN**. Because code would often be written out by hand by engineers and typed ("keyed in") to [punch cards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card) by someone in a more clerical role, compilers would completely ignore white-space. I have never found confirmation of the reasoning, but it seems extremely likely that the choice was made in order to prevent a secretary's intuitive insertion of spaces into a compound-word variable name wouldn't cause the compiler to fail the program back when running software had a significant per-minute cost. But either way, it meant that a variable assignment such as...
```fortran
DO I = 1
@ -136,9 +136,9 @@ Granted, syntax highlighting solves most of these problems for us, so they would
Since reserved words (or their lack) is largely a matter of naming, it may make sense to introduce a related idea from **FORTH**, the *dictionary*. There, programmers define functions and insert them into the language runtime's dictionary, essentially a list of definitions. When parsing, the interpreter searches the dictionary for every name that it finds, only resorting to inbuilt language features if the dictionary search fails. There is also no uniqueness restriction on the dictionary.
> > ...spontanously redefined.
> > ...spontaneously redefined.
This means that both existing functions and inbuilt features can be spontanously redefined. The old definitions are still there, but the search begins with the most recent entries and moves backwards, so the most recent version is the version that will be found.
This means that both existing functions and inbuilt features can be spontaneously redefined. The old definitions are still there, but the search begins with the most recent entries and moves backwards, so the most recent version is the version that will be found.
But it gets even better (worse), because variable names and even *numbers* are part of the dictionary search, so that the parser doesn't need anti-orthogonal exceptions. And many **FORTH** programs take advantage of this by ending with a list of constants used.
@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ But it gets even better (worse), because variable names and even *numbers* are p
:-1 -1;
```
If a number is used frequently in the program, finding it near the last definitions means that it will be found faster than if it needed a more thorough search. And because the function body is partially compiled when created, the return values are the real versions, increasing the speed of the probram significantly.
If a number is used frequently in the program, finding it near the last definitions means that it will be found faster than if it needed a more thorough search. And because the function body is partially compiled when created, the return values are the real versions, increasing the speed of the program significantly.
But if a developer on the team makes a typo or is trying to be clever?

4
2020-01-27-bicker-id.md
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@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ I'll need to take another pass at this, once we have replies---replies are parag
I made some smaller user interface changes, such as changing the index layouts and adding a list of relevant messages when displaying a category.
Messages, likewise, can only be in catagories of messages and now must include a subject and text to be valid. Somehow, the latter has slipped through the cracks.
Messages, likewise, can only be in categories of messages and now must include a subject and text to be valid. Somehow, the latter has slipped through the cracks.
## Don't Over-React
@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ From here, we now have a foothold in the application with React and are ready to
And now that we finally have a component-based user interface, I can start the process of allowing replies. As I mentioned in [**Bicker**'s introductory post]({% post_url 2020-01-06-bicker %}), **Bicker**'s central moderation feature is...
> ...only allowing responses to be inserted after a punctuation mark in someone else’s post.
> ...only allowing responses to be inserted after a punctuation mark in someone else's post.
The way we do that is by making every punctuation mark a *reply to this* button.

4
2020-01-29-tips.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: Small Technology Notes
date: 2020-01-29 06:48:55-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [techtips, git, linux]
summary: Ignoring changes, comparing branches, local histories, and external drives
thumbnail: /blog/assets/work-technology-vintage-wheel-retro-clock-606288-pxhere.com.jpg
@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Don't worry, that's not the tip. There are a couple of things I've needed to do
### Ignore Checked-in Files
The `.gitignore` file doesn’t apply to anything that has already been checked in. For configuration files and scripts that require customization, this is a problem. For example, my deployment script for [this blog](https://github.com/jcolag/entropy-arbitrage-code) needs to refer to my server and my ID, of course, but that's useless to anybody else, so I don't want to commit that information. But if you just leave the file around, you need to remember what can and can't be checked in *every time you commit*, which is a good way to make mistakes.
The `.gitignore` file doesn't apply to anything that has already been checked in. For configuration files and scripts that require customization, this is a problem. For example, my deployment script for [this blog](https://github.com/jcolag/entropy-arbitrage-code) needs to refer to my server and my ID, of course, but that's useless to anybody else, so I don't want to commit that information. But if you just leave the file around, you need to remember what can and can't be checked in *every time you commit*, which is a good way to make mistakes.
Worse, if you search for how to fix this, the Internet has weird obsession with removing files instead of ignoring them, so this works better.

16
2020-01-30-trek-blish.md
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@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ The Craters---here, renamed the Bierces---are investigating an ancient temple fr
For reference, as of 2018, there were [approximately](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Life-Physical-and-Social-Science/Anthropologists-and-archeologists.htm) 6,500 working archaeologists in the United States, with the field expected to grow about ten percent per decade. I won't bother hypothesizing about how big the human population might be at this time, or whether those archaeology jobs scale to an interstellar civilization, but suffice it to say that there would be *plenty* of folks on the archaeology beat, if the assertion is true, and multiple careers' worth of ruins suggests that there are dead civilizations to be found pretty much everywhere.
> "Just what are you goggling at, Mister?"
>
>
> "Sorry, sir," Darnell said stiffly. "She reminds me of somebody, is all. A girl I knew once on Wrigley's Planet. That is---"
>
>
> "That's enough," Kirk said drily. "The next thought of that kind you have will probably be in solitary. Maybe you'd better wait outside."
It's somewhat interesting, here, that we've flipped Kirk's sexist comment from suggesting McCoy bribe Nancy to threatening an officer for so much as hinting at a woman's honor, which seems worse.
@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ protect human life in places like this..."
Kirk gives us some limited insight as to what the *Enterprise* is actually supposed to do.
> "...I want Bierce checked out under pentathol."
>
>
> "...Pentathol. Truth dope. Narcosynthesis. Um. Takes time. What about
the patient's civil rights?"
>
>
> "He can file a complaint if he wants. Go and get him ready."
> > ![Sodium thiopental](/blog/assets/Sodium-thiopental-3D-vdW-2.png "Sodium thiopental")
@ -102,11 +102,11 @@ Here's my [original post about *Charlie X*]({% post_url 2020-01-16-trek-charlie
Let's just jump in, here, skipping ahead to a meeting discussing Charlie's attitude problem that, honestly, hasn't yet been established in the prose.
> "Wellll," she said. "Maybe I'm prejudiced. I wasn't going to mention this, but...he followed me down the corridor yesterday and offered me a vial of perfume. My favorite, too; I don't know how he knew it. There's none in the ship's stores, I'm sure of that."
>
>
> "Hmm," McCoy said.
>
>
> "I was just going to ask him where he got it, when he swatted me on the rump. After that I made it my business to be someplace else."
>
>
> There was an outburst of surprised laughter, quickly suppressed.
Huh. Somehow, Blish made the sexism worse. Bold choice. Less bold is skipping the silencing of Uhura and Spock, ignoring that interaction entirely.
@ -163,4 +163,4 @@ As promised, next week, we're back on track with *The Naked Time*, starring a dr
* * *
**Credits**: The header image is [Hands](https://publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=162559&picture=hands) by Hana Chramostova, released into the pbulic domain. The three-dimensional model of [sodium thiopental](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sodium-thiopental-3D-vdW-2.png) by Benjah-bmm27 has been released to the public domain.
**Credits**: The header image is [Hands](https://publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=162559&picture=hands) by Hana Chramostova, released into the public domain. The three-dimensional model of [sodium thiopental](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sodium-thiopental-3D-vdW-2.png) by Benjah-bmm27 has been released to the public domain.

2
2020-01-31-week.md
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@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1222158133709234178) [6 galling statistics about wealth inequality that show how women are paying the price](https://www.fastcompany.com/90453767/6-galling-statistics-about-wealth-inequality-that-show-how-women-are-paying-the-price) from Fast Company
> Women do over three-quarters of all unpaid care work...contributing $10.8 trillion to the economy each year—or three times the world’s tech industry.
> Women do over three-quarters of all unpaid care work...contributing $10.8 trillion to the economy each year---or three times the world's tech industry.
## 12:04 -- Tue 28 January 2020

186
2020-02-06-trek-naked-time.md
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
layout: post
title: Real Life in Star Trek, The Naked Time
date: 2020-02-06 18:38:19-0500
categories:
categories:
tags: [scifi, startrek, closereading]
summary: <i class="far fa-hand-spock"></i> The outside world in Star Trek
thumbnail: /blog/assets/eso0603a.png
@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ The planet that forms the centerpiece of the episode is named Psi 2000, which is
> **KIRK**: Our mission, pick up a scientific party below, observe the disintegration of the planet.
Notice the combination of the mundane task of ferrying a group of scientists around with the open-ended investigation of staying in orbit around the planet until it disintegrates. An imeediate oddity is the lack of interest in the murder of one of the scientists; Spock notes that somebody strangled her before she froze, but that's the last time we give any thought to violence.
Notice the combination of the mundane task of ferrying a group of scientists around with the open-ended investigation of staying in orbit around the planet until it disintegrates. An immediate oddity is the lack of interest in the murder of one of the scientists; Spock notes that somebody strangled her before she froze, but that's the last time we give any thought to violence.
Anyway, Tormolen apparently thinks it's fine to take off his gloves and expose his face in an obviously-contaminated area and then go touching things with his now-bare hands and then touch his face. Does anybody *train* these people? Did Kirk run the only [class at the Academy]({% post_url 2020-01-23-trek-no-man %}) that held students to anything like a standard...?
@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ However, once again, someone (McCoy, here) sees no problem making demeaning comm
Neither the decontamination nor McCoy finds anything, despite a visible object attacking Joe and him sitting around sickbay like he's allergic to the place.
> **MCCOY**: Definitely not drugs or intoxication. The bio-analysis on the tapes prove that conclusively.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: It could be some form of space madness we've never heard of, but it would have to be caused by something. Our spectro-readings showed no contamination, no unusual elements present.
Here's another incident where "space madness" is thrown out casually as a possible explanation for strange behavior, this time by a respected scientist, making it sound like a common problem. Perhaps the commonality explains the lack of engagement with strange behavior that we've seen.
@ -57,34 +57,34 @@ It also interests me that, this time, McCoy is telling everybody else to trust t
"Earth Science" sounds like it must be an organization that has at least partial control over the *Enterprise*'s activities, and presumably not the [scientific discipline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_science).
> **KIRK**: The purpose of a briefing, gentlemen, is to get me answers based on your abilities and experience. In a critical orbit, there's no time for surprise.
> **KIRK**: The purpose of a briefing, gentlemen, is to get me answers based on your abilities and experience. In a critical orbit, there's no time for surprise.
While I have obviously poked fun at the lack of professionalism found in the *Enterprise* crew, it seems like something else entirely to hear Kirk say it out loud.
We also (briefly) see that food is acquired in the galley by popping a card in a slot, removing a meal, and removing the card.
> **SULU**: Foil. It's a rapier. A thin sword.
>
>
> **RILEY**: All right. So what do you do with it?
>
>
> **SULU**: What do you mean, what do you do with it?
>
>
> **RILEY**: Self-defense? Mayhem? Shish-kebab?
>
>
> **SULU**: You practice.
>
>
> **RILEY**: For what?
>
>
> **SULU**: Hi, Joey.
>
>
> **RILEY**: Last week it was botany he was trying to get me interested in. I was supposed to be collecting leaves, plant specimens.
>
>
> **SULU**: Your attitude is all wrong. Fencing tones the muscle, sharpens the eye, improves the posture. You tell him, Joey. Explain to him. Hey, Joey. You feeling all right?
>
>
> **TORMOLEN**: Get off me! You don't rank me and you don't have pointed ears, so just get off my neck!
>
>
> **SULU**: What's with him?
>
>
> **TORMOLEN**: Nothing!
Way to go, Sulu! Out of the first four episodes aired, this is the first time someone has acknowledged and called out worrisome behavior in a colleague. All it takes is three little words, guys...
@ -94,52 +94,52 @@ The crack about pointed ears, though, is strange. Even though we've only seen S
The other reason to check this scene out, of course, is to highlight Sulu and his hobbies. That botany work we saw him performing in *Where No Man Has Gone Before* was explicitly not his job, just a pastime. And he apparently convinced both Janice and Riley to join him, and also sounds pretty close to Tormolen. In addition, Sulu has a passion for fencing and is looking for partners. Busy guy...
> **TORMOLEN**: We bring pain and trouble with us, leave men and women stuck out on freezing planets until they die. What are we doing out here in space? Good? What good? We're polluting it, destroying it. We've got no business being out here. No business.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **TORMOLEN**: If a man was supposed to fly, he'd have wings. If he was supposed to be out in space, he wouldn't need air to breathe, wouldn't need life-support systems to keep him from freezing to death.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **TORMOLEN**: We don't belong here. It's not ours. Not ours. Destroying and watching. We don't belong. I don't belong. Six people died down there. Why do I deserve to live?
Assuming (as we later find out) that this tirade results from a lack of inhibitions and not some sort of hallucination, it suggests that there is at least a minority perspective that space travel is not a good idea. And it raises a question I don't believe anybody has every followed up on: *Is* the ship polluting space as it travels? Who are the alleged recipients of this "pain and trouble"?
These even sound a lot like the regrets over colonialism or imperialism, perhaps suggesting that the colonies we've been hearing about are at the expense of the planetary ecosystems and native populations dismissed as savages. Something like that might explain the issues between Vulcans and humans beyond the cultural differences we'll hear about in a bit.
> **RILEY**: Emergency! Rec room, area three nine. We need medics!
> **RILEY**: Emergency! Rec room, area three nine. We need medics!
Joe bleeds purple. That may or may not be an accident of special effects and film photography, of course.
It's also possible that this is due to NBC's Standards and Practices. About twenty-five years later, **Star Trek VI** will later use exactly that solution to retain its PG rating, establishing (some) Klingon blood as magenta. I'm not suggesting that Joe is a Klingon months before the Klingons are even introduced and decades before the blood thing is ever mentioned, but it still would have been a wild move to retroactively make that change. It would fit very well with the poor opinion Joe has of human space exploration.
> **KIRK**: Tormolen's record?
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Psychiatric file, personality quotients.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Was he trying to kill himself?
>
>
> **SPOCK**: It's doubtful he meant to. He was confused, self-tortured.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Doesn't sound like the man I know.
>
> **SPOCK**: His capacity for self-doubt has always been rather high. What puzzles me is what brought it to the surface with so much force.
>
> **SPOCK**: His capacity for self-doubt has always been rather high. What puzzles me is what brought it to the surface with so much force.
This is subtle, but interesting. This sounds like there might be members of the crew knowingly struggling with psychiatric disorders (self-doubt is often associated with anxiety and depression disorders) with everyone's support. If this is the intent, it's obviously as it *should* be (other than Gary Mitchell's far more dangerous disorder), but this isn't even a common sentiment *today*, let alone in 1966.
That said, Joe is *still* an idiot. No amount of [imposter syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) or undermined confidence excuses breaching containment to scratch his nose...
> **SULU**: Don't know if it's this planet or what happened with Joe. I'm sweating like a bridegroom.
>
>
> **RILEY**: Yeah, me too.
>
>
> **SULU**: Hey, why don't you come down to the gym with me, Kevin m'lad?
>
>
> **RILEY**: Now?
>
>
> **SULU**: Why not? Light workout will take the edge off.
>
> **RILEY**: Sulu, what about---Hey, Sulu, don't be a fool!
>
> **RILEY**: Sulu, what about---Hey, Sulu, don't be a fool!
It looks like somebody on the writing staff noticed the crew's observation troubles, if even the clearly-compromised Riley can see Sulu's problematic behavior. Or maybe it's the infection making everybody more observant. I don't know.
@ -150,13 +150,13 @@ Regardless, Riley still doesn't bother to **say** anything. Pointing out that t
I initially thought that this might be evidence against the acceptance of psychiatric disorders, but McCoy's insistence that Joe "doesn't give up" might more easily be from observation of his struggle.
> **SPOCK**: You haven't answered my question. Where is Mister Sulu?
>
>
> **RILEY**: Have no fear, O'Riley's here. And one Irishman is worth ten thousand of you---
>
>
> **SPOCK**: You're relieved, Mister Riley. Lieutenant Uhura, take over this station.
>
>
> **UHURA**: Yes, sir.
>
>
> **RILEY**: Now that's what I like. Let the women work too. Universal suffrage.
Especially depending on what he was about to say when he got cut off, this is potentially a sign of pretty terrible sentiments hiding just beneath the surface. And there's also an obvious legacy of sexism in the "universal suffrage" quip, which was clearly intended to be funny.
@ -164,14 +164,14 @@ Especially depending on what he was about to say when he got cut off, this is po
On the suffrage point, keep in mind that the United States would be celebrating the 46th anniversary of the [Nineteenth Amendment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution), but Switzerland was still five years away from granting women the right to vote in federal elections and there are still countries struggling with this question.
> **RILEY**: You know something? You have such lovely eyes, pretty lady.
>
>
> **CHAPEL**: I know he was a friend of yours. This must be a terrible shock.
>
> **RILEY**: You know what Joe's mistake was? He wasn't born an Irishman.
>
> **RILEY**: You know what Joe's mistake was? He wasn't born an Irishman.
Chapel completely drops the ball by letting Riley walk after (a) the orders went out to keep him in Sickbay and (b) he acts like the above transcript.
> **SULU**: Richelieu, beware! Stand. No farther. No escape for you. You either leave this war bloodied, or with my blood on your swords. Cowards!
> **SULU**: Richelieu, beware! Stand. No farther. No escape for you. You either leave this war bloodied, or with my blood on your swords. Cowards!
> **SPOCK**: ...Sulu, who is at heart a swashbuckler out of your 18th century.
@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ Also of note is that Sulu's heroic tradition is very European. While it would o
I suppose it can be argued that there is cultural mixing in the background, such as judo-like martial arts and officers playing a variant of chess, but the former isn't presented as central to anybody's identity and the latter is clearly the Westernized version rather than [Chaturanga/चतुरङ्ग](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga) or other early forms.
> **SULU**: I'll protect you, fair maiden.
>
>
> **UHURA**: Sorry, neither.
Uhura's offended reaction, here, is pretty great, and finally shows some hope for the future...
@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ Uhura's offended reaction, here, is pretty great, and finally shows some hope fo
I formally regret and apologize for praising the musical ability of officers in the [*Charlie X*]({% post_url 2020-01-16-trek-charlie %}) post.
> **SPOCK**: Go to Alert Baker two. Seal off main sections.
>
>
> **UHURA**: All decks, alert system B two. Repeat, go to alert condition Baker two. Seal off all main sections. Stand by.
*Baker* comes from military radiotelephony alphabets up through 1955. Afterward, you're more likely to see *Bravo*.
@ -208,43 +208,43 @@ The *Enterprise* has a bowling alley. And ship-board time sounds to be a milita
Repulsive. Plus...
> **SPOCK**: Crewman, report to the lab!
>
>
> **MOODY**: (singing) I'll take you home again Janice...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: What's going on?
>
>
> **RAND**: Mister Spock, I'm trying to get to the Bridge and this crewman won't let me by.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Crewman, stand aside.
>
>
> **MOODY**: Oh, yes, sir. (singing) I'll take you home again, Janice...
>
> **RAND**: Spock!
>
> **RAND**: Spock!
Four out of four scripts have now deliberately placed overt sexism front and center, this time with someone in authority (Spock) taking an active stand against it, albeit very briefly.
> **RAND**: I would have gotten here sooner, sir but Crewman Moody stopped me in the hallway.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Take the helm.
>
>
> **RAND**: Sir?
>
>
> **KIRK**: Take the helm!
>
>
> **RAND**: Yes, sir.
This strikes me as particularly interesting. Rand is taken aback by the order, presumably because of her position. At least in the United States Navy and Coast Guard, a yeoman is an enlisted position (not an officer) assigned to clerical work. Yet, Kirk trusts her to do the piloting and---remember the immediate danger the degrading orbit presents---she's clearly fairly good at it.
> **CHAPEL**: Mister Spock, the men from Vulcan treat their women strangely. At least, people say that, but you're part human too. I know you don't, you couldn't, hurt me, would you? I'm in love with you, Mister Spock. You, the human Mister Spock, the Vulcan Mister Spock.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Nurse, you should---
>
>
> **CHAPEL**: Christine, please. I see things, how honest you are. I know how you feel. You hide it, but you do have feeling. Oh, how we must hurt you, torture you.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: I'm in control of my emotions.
>
>
> **CHAPEL**: The others believe that. I don't. I love you. I don't know why, but I love you. I do love you just as you are. Oh, I love you.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: I'm sorry.
> **SPOCK**: I'm in control of my emotions. Control of my emotions. I am an officer. An officer. My duty. My duty is, is. My duty is to, to...Too late. I'm sorry. To. Two, four, six. Six. Six times six.
@ -258,17 +258,17 @@ But the more important point is how clear it's made that not only does Spock pus
Later, Spock makes this even more explicit.
> **SPOCK**: My mother. I could never tell her I loved her.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: An Earth woman, living on a planet where love, emotion, is bad taste.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: I respected my father, our customs. I was ashamed of my Earth blood. Jim, when I feel friendship for you, I'm ashamed.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **SPOCK**: I've spent a whole lifetime learning to hide my feelings.
The specific phrase Spock uses is "bad taste." This is purely a social convention.
@ -282,13 +282,13 @@ There's also a whole discussion to be had about how cultures that associate masc
Kirk takes an interesting approach, here, smacking Spock to provoke the emotional response that Spock is repressing, in hopes of getting him to focus on the engineering problem in front of them.
> **SCOTT**: Captain, you can't mix matter and antimatter cold. We'd go up in the biggest explosion since---
>
>
> **KIRK**: We can balance our engines into a controlled implosion.
>
>
> **SCOTT**: That's only a theory. It's never been done.
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **SCOTT**: If you wanted to chance odds of ten thousand to one, maybe, assuming we had a row of computers working weeks on the right formula.
This strikes me as particularly interesting. In [*Where No Man Has Gone Before*]({% post_url 2020-01-23-trek-no-man %}), we learned that Kirk is familiar enough with philosophers to identify the author from a glance at the text. Here, we see that he's also either up to date on the theoretical science behind the engines or learning it as he goes from that clipboard-looking device he's carrying.
@ -296,18 +296,18 @@ This strikes me as particularly interesting. In [*Where No Man Has Gone Before*
If we care about the technology, it's worth noting that this exchange also makes the point that the engines are powered by the mutual annihilation of matter and anti-matter, and that this is mediated in some way that takes half an hour to "warm up."
> **KIRK**: I have a beautiful yeoman. Have you noticed her, Mister Spock? You're allowed to notice her. The Captain's not permitted---
>
>
> ...
>
>
> **KIRK**: Now I know why [the *Enterprise*]'s called she.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: It's never been tested. It's a theoretical relationship between time and antimatter.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Flesh woman to touch, to hold. A beach to walk on. A few days, no braid on my shoulder.
> **KIRK**: (gazing at Janice) No beach to walk on.
>
> **RAND**: Sir?
>
> **RAND**: Sir?
I realize that Kirk is technically "drunk," here, but that's still so very inappropriate at both ends of the intoxication, especially given the stakes.
@ -318,35 +318,35 @@ Also, "a theoretical relationship between time and antimatter" obviously lightly
Just calling this out in case you thought that was exclusively a **Next Generation** thing...
> **SULU**: Captain, my velocity gauge is off the scale.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Engine power went off the scale as well. We're now traveling faster than is possible for normal space.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Check elapsed time, Mister Sulu.
>
>
> **SULU**: My chronometer's running backwards, sir.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Time warp. We're going backward in time. Helm, begin reversing power. Slowly.
>
>
> **SULU**: Helm answering, sir. Power reversing.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: We're back to normal time, Captain.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Engines ahead. Warp one.
>
>
> **SULU**: Warp one, sir.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Mister Spock.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: Yes, sir.
>
>
> **KIRK**: The time warp. What did it do to us?
>
>
> **SPOCK**: We've regressed in time seventy one hours. It is now three days ago, Captain. We have three days to live over again.
>
>
> **KIRK**: Not those last three days.
>
>
> **SPOCK**: This does open some intriguing prospects, Captain. Since the formula worked, we can go back in time, to any planet, any era.
>
>
> **KIRK**: We may risk it someday, Mister Spock. Resume course to our next destination, Mister Sulu.
There's a couple of interesting points, here.
@ -386,13 +386,13 @@ We then get a rambling exposition from McCoy, so that Kirk can not know much abo
We then head to Spock, who's singing in his quarters in a presumably-Vulcan language, apparently unaffected by the antidote.
> Alab, wes-craunish, sprai pu ristu,
>
>
> Or en r'ljiik majiir auooo---
>
>
> ...
>
>
> Rijii, bebe, p'salku pirtu,
>
>
> Fror om---
It's described, derisively, as an "Arabic howl" and characterized as worse than Riley's singing. So, if we thought that the crew had a problem with Spock for his difference, Blish would fit right in. The crew doesn't seem particularly concerned about helping Spock recover.

6
2020-02-07-week.md
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@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:04 -- Thu 06 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1225419876040429568) [The Majority of Voters Now Support Decriminalizing Sex Work. It’s About Time.](https://theintercept.com/2020/01/30/sex-workers-decriminalization-fosta-sesta/) from The Intercept
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1225419876040429568) [The Majority of Voters Now Support Decriminalizing Sex Work. It's About Time.](https://theintercept.com/2020/01/30/sex-workers-decriminalization-fosta-sesta/) from The Intercept
> It intersects...the fight to end mass incarceration, racial profiling, and transphobic police violence; the demand for a social safety net; and robust and protections for all workers.
@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:05 -- Fri 07 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1225782515685830658) [These West African artifacts tell stories of great forgotten empires but also the battle to own Africa’s art](https://qz.com/africa/1794786/met-museums-sahel-exhibit-enters-the-battle-to-own-african-art/) from Quartz
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1225782515685830658) [These West African artifacts tell stories of great forgotten empires but also the battle to own Africa's art](https://qz.com/africa/1794786/met-museums-sahel-exhibit-enters-the-battle-to-own-african-art/) from Quartz
> ...led to the attempted destruction of knowledge of indigenous systems of governance in favor of European-imposed ones in West Africa.
@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1225827310722404352)
> We too often mistake individuals’ honor for race development and so are ready to substitute pretty accomplishments for sound sense and earnest purpose.
> We too often mistake individuals' honor for race development and so are ready to substitute pretty accomplishments for sound sense and earnest purpose.
###### Anna J. Cooper

8
2020-02-09-afam-lit.md
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@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Buckle in, because this is going to take a while...
![Carter G. Woodson](/blog/assets/Carter_G_Woodson_1915.jpg "Carter G. Woodson")
By now, I have to imagine that *everybody* has heard about the Penguin Random House/Barnes & Noble venture to celebrate [Black History Month](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month) with "[Diversity Editions](https://www.amny.com/education-2/barnes-noble-fifth-avenue-to-launch-sales-of-classic-novels-with-new-covers-promoting-diversity/)," new covers featuring drawings of black people on a dozen popular public domain books that---I kid you not---an artificial intelligence deemed to have significant characters whose etnicity isn't specified.
By now, I have to imagine that *everybody* has heard about the Penguin Random House/Barnes & Noble venture to celebrate [Black History Month](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month) with "[Diversity Editions](https://www.amny.com/education-2/barnes-noble-fifth-avenue-to-launch-sales-of-classic-novels-with-new-covers-promoting-diversity/)," new covers featuring drawings of black people on a dozen popular public domain books that---I kid you not---an artificial intelligence deemed to have significant characters whose ethnicity isn't specified.
You know, because we live in a world where artificial intelligence *never* [has](https://www.forbes.com/sites/mzhang/2015/07/01/google-photos-tags-two-african-americans-as-gorillas-through-facial-recognition-software/#3b1d2d95713d) [problems](https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing) [with](https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/01/algorithmic-bias-how-algorithms-can-limit-economic-opportunity-communities-color) [racism](https://newrepublic.com/article/144644/turns-algorithms-racist), right...? Anyway, the choices were:
@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ You can read it, all twenty-eight lines of it, [at Wikisource <i class="fas fa-d
This is a controversial addition that *might* not fit, because the author, one Uriah Derick D'Arcy, appears to be a pseudonym that nobody has uncovered. However, it's the first known American vampire story, an early (1819) abolitionist short story, stars a mulatto vampire, and is tied into events around the Haitian Revolution.
*The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo* is about a vampire (or two) quietly killing slaveholders, then resurrecting and staking them to ensure they can't be brought back again. They're also organizing the local slaves, rallying them to take up arms in the name of emancipation. The vampire also has a cure for vampirism.
*The Black Vampyre: A Legend of St. Domingo* is about a vampire (or two) quietly killing slave-holders, then resurrecting and staking them to ensure they can't be brought back again. They're also organizing the local slaves, rallying them to take up arms in the name of emancipation. The vampire also has a cure for vampirism.
You can download a copy from [Common-Place <i class="fas fa-download"></i>](http://jto.common-place.org/just-teach-one-homepage/the-black-vampyre/).
@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ In many ways, Frado's story appears to be a fictionalized version of Wilson's ow
## The Bondwoman's Narrative --- circa 1860
["Hannah Crafts"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Crafts), likely a pen name of Hannah Bond, was born into slavery in Virginia, escaping dressed as a white boy around 1857. Craft's novel, **The Bondswoman's Narrative**, was not published until 2002, after it was discovered and authenticated by [Henry Louis Gates, Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates_Jr.). The paper was distinctive enough to narrow down to a North Carolina plantation, and the story contains elements from British literature, implying that Crafts had free run of the library while writing.
["Hannah Crafts"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Crafts), likely a pen name of Hannah Bond, was born into slavery in Virginia, escaping dressed as a white boy around 1857. Craft's novel, **The Bondwoman's Narrative**, was not published until 2002, after it was discovered and authenticated by [Henry Louis Gates, Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates_Jr.). The paper was distinctive enough to narrow down to a North Carolina plantation, and the story contains elements from British literature, implying that Crafts had free run of the library while writing.
The novel follows Hannah growing up on a Virginia plantation, where she is punished for being taught to read, but later stumbles on a a family secret: Her new mistress is being blackmailed as a white-passing mulatto.
@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ In 1895, Nelson published **Violets and Other Tales**, a book of short stories a
## The House behind the Cedars --- 1900
[Charles W. Chesnutt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Chesnutt) was born free in North Carolina, his grandfather a slaveholder. Despite having mostly-white ancestry, he chose to identify himself as black. He published **The House behind the Cedars** in 1900.
[Charles W. Chesnutt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Chesnutt) was born free in North Carolina, his grandfather a slave-holder. Despite having mostly-white ancestry, he chose to identify himself as black. He published **The House behind the Cedars** in 1900.
In the book, successful lawyer John Warwick returns to his home town and, his wife dead, takes in his sister Rena to take care of his son. They are mixed race and return to South Carolina, where George Tyron asks Rena to marry her; she accepts, but is concerned he will discover her heritage.

2
2020-02-10-bicker-test.md
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@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Instead, what makes more sense is to *just* send the reply information to the se
Either way, something we definitely need is more tracking. We need the ID of the paragraph---something we already have, but aren't yet passing into the React components---and we need the distance into the string where each punctuation mark sits.
The latter sounds easy enough, of course. The paragraph controller already splits the string into an array of substrings---alternating text with punctuation, in most cases---and each of those substrings obviously has a length. However, that's a bit more naïve than we want, because the length of our punctuation in Markdown (which is how the paragraphs are stored, remember) isn't always the same as the length of our punction in HTML.
The latter sounds easy enough, of course. The paragraph controller already splits the string into an array of substrings---alternating text with punctuation, in most cases---and each of those substrings obviously has a length. However, that's a bit more naïve than we want, because the length of our punctuation in Markdown (which is how the paragraphs are stored, remember) isn't always the same as the length of our punctuation in HTML.
We can fix that by adding a mapping in the Paragraph component.

4
2020-02-13-trek-enemy.md
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@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ I'd also like to briefly point out that the behind-the-scenes discussions about
## Blish's Adaptation
The big difference, here, is that the prose wants to answer every mundane question about how scenes are linked together. Lines are added to explain how the second Kirk can beam in unnoticed and showing McCoy calling Spock about the duplicate's behavior. Strangely, the aggressive Kirk is also consistenly referred to as "it," often awkwardly to say things like "it got it open." Other than those changes, the plot and dialogue mostly track the episode.
The big difference, here, is that the prose wants to answer every mundane question about how scenes are linked together. Lines are added to explain how the second Kirk can beam in unnoticed and showing McCoy calling Spock about the duplicate's behavior. Strangely, the aggressive Kirk is also consistently referred to as "it," often awkwardly to say things like "it got it open." Other than those changes, the plot and dialogue mostly track the episode.
The big change is---somewhat predictably after the last few stabs at this---treating Rand as complicit in her own attack in order to protect Kirk's image.
@ -285,4 +285,4 @@ Up next is *Mudd's Women*, the episode I usually think of first whenever people
* * *
**Credits**: The header image is [Artists’s impression of one of more than 50 new exoplanets found by HARPS: the rocky super-Earth HD 85512 b](https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1134b/) by the [European Southern Observatory](https://www.eso.org) and M. Kornmesser, available under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License.
**Credits**: The header image is [Artists's impression of one of more than 50 new exoplanets found by HARPS: the rocky super-Earth HD 85512 b](https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1134b/) by the [European Southern Observatory](https://www.eso.org) and M. Kornmesser, available under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License.

4
2020-02-17-bicker-live.md
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@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ However, making this change draws attention to the fact that a writer can curren
### Obligatory Terrible Ideas
An alternative approach that probably would have worked for most typical relational database management systems would be to assume that any paragraph where `p.next_id > p.id` would be the first half of a split. After all, most database systems assign IDs monotonically. So, since we create the messages from last paragraph to first and the second half of a split is added after, the ID numbers in the list *should* decrease except for our split paragraphs and, of course, the final paragrpah.
An alternative approach that probably would have worked for most typical relational database management systems would be to assume that any paragraph where `p.next_id > p.id` would be the first half of a split. After all, most database systems assign IDs monotonically. So, since we create the messages from last paragraph to first and the second half of a split is added after, the ID numbers in the list *should* decrease except for our split paragraphs and, of course, the final paragraph.
However, that's very clearly awful practice, because even though it will probably work in most typical database management systems, I would be very surprised if any vendor *specified* the ID-selecting behavior. Because it's not specified behavior, it's not at all out of the question for a particular implementation to do something strange like recycle IDs from deleted rows or even choose IDs randomly or through a hashing scheme.
@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ And there's still a lot more refactoring to do to make this code look anything m
That's it for this time. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to get to the dynamic view updates while making interface improvements, so that's clearly going to be the primary goal for this week. After all, it's the remaining piece of what I'd consider "core functionality" that's still not working.
Also, as mentioned earlier, I think I want to display a spurious punction mark at the end of any paragraph that doesn't have any. Doing so would make it impossible to post a comment that nobody can reply to.
Also, as mentioned earlier, I think I want to display a spurious punctuation mark at the end of any paragraph that doesn't have any. Doing so would make it impossible to post a comment that nobody can reply to.
I also didn't get around to the length miscount issue I discovered last week.

4
2020-02-20-trek-m-women.md
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@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ Note that, even if we take a more charitable view of the women's situation and a
> **CHILDRESS**: I guess I'm supposed to sit, taste, and roll my eyes. Ooh, female cooking again.
That's right, Rand is able to steer a starship, despite her job being clerical, Uhura is also able to run things despite that not behing her job, and the *Enterprise*'s chef is an over-the-shoulder Gene Roddenberry, but home cooking is still somehow stereotypically "women's work."
That's right, Rand is able to steer a starship, despite her job being clerical, Uhura is also able to run things despite that not being her job, and the *Enterprise*'s chef is an over-the-shoulder Gene Roddenberry, but home cooking is still somehow stereotypically "women's work."
> **EVE**: Well you're tasting some of it now. I couldn't scrape three layers of your leavings out of that pan.
>
@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ More than most, this episode at least hints at a lot at what's going on outside
It seems that it's relatively easy to lay claim to a planet (for some mercantile purpose), make a fortune, and be mostly treated like a sovereign state by the overall government.
Also, we're finally seeing explicit, in-story pushback against the crew's sexism, from both Kirk and Sulu. Normally, the scenes are just filmed to make the viewer uncomfortable, but hearing it called out is an extra step. Arguably, this also suggests that the crew is finally solving its problem with knowing when their colleagues are acting out.
Also, we're finally seeing explicit, in-story push-back against the crew's sexism, from both Kirk and Sulu. Normally, the scenes are just filmed to make the viewer uncomfortable, but hearing it called out is an extra step. Arguably, this also suggests that the crew is finally solving its problem with knowing when their colleagues are acting out.
### The Bad

12
2020-02-21-week.md
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@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:05 -- Tue 18 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1229768782144360450) [Why the ‘business case’ for diversity isn’t working](https://www.fastcompany.com/90462867/why-the-business-case-for-diversity-isnt-working?partner=feedburner) from Fast Company
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1229768782144360450) [Why the ‘business case' for diversity isn't working](https://www.fastcompany.com/90462867/why-the-business-case-for-diversity-isnt-working?partner=feedburner) from Fast Company
> ...what people fail to recognize is that the current system is actually an affirmative action program for those already in positions of privilege...
@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1230130414897041410) [Many Americans Can't Afford Broadband, But the FCC Doesn't Care](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7e3vw/42-million-americans-cant-afford-broadband-but-the-fcc-doesnt-care) from VICE
> ...flaws in the NTIA’s survey methodology result in the blame for the digital divide being placed unfairly on allegedly disinterested, largely rural consumers.
> ...flaws in the NTIA's survey methodology result in the blame for the digital divide being placed unfairly on allegedly disinterested, largely rural consumers.
A related story is [ Lower internet prices aren’t enough to bridge ‘digital divide’ ](https://www.futurity.org/digital-divide-internet-access-pricing-2276962/).
A related story is [ Lower internet prices aren't enough to bridge ‘digital divide' ](https://www.futurity.org/digital-divide-internet-access-pricing-2276962/).
## 12:05 -- Wed 19 February 2020
@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ A related story is [ Lower internet prices aren’t enough to bridge ‘digital
## 9:03 -- Thu 20 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1230493054349402113) [Senate Acquittal Gave Trump a Blank Check. With Roger Stone’s Sentencing, the President’s Crime Syndicate Is Cashing In.](https://theintercept.com/2020/02/13/william-barr-roger-stone-trump/) from The Intercept
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1230493054349402113) [Senate Acquittal Gave Trump a Blank Check. With Roger Stone's Sentencing, the President's Crime Syndicate Is Cashing In.](https://theintercept.com/2020/02/13/william-barr-roger-stone-trump/) from The Intercept
> Earlier this week, Barr again intervened to help Trump’s illegal efforts to get Ukrainian officials to help him win reelection...
> Earlier this week, Barr again intervened to help Trump's illegal efforts to get Ukrainian officials to help him win reelection...
[Post-Acquittal Trump Really Is Democrats' Worst Nightmare](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/m7q3d4/post-acquittal-trump-really-is-democrats-worst-nightmare) may also be of some interest, on this topic.
@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ A related story is [ Lower internet prices aren’t enough to bridge ‘digital
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1230855693776744448) [The Long History of the Hand-Washing Gender Gap](https://slate.com/technology/2020/02/women-hand-washing-more-than-men-why-coronavirus.html) from Slate
> ...a horrible window...when American women were told that their families’ health depended on them enforcing the strictest standards of hygiene.
> ...a horrible window...when American women were told that their families' health depended on them enforcing the strictest standards of hygiene.
## 12:04 -- Fri 21 February 2020

26
2020-02-23-mulaitre.md
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@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ As mentioned [a couple of weeks ago]({% post_url 2020-02-09-afam-lit %}), it bot
Note that, when I discussed the story, I described it as one that...
> ...takes place in pre-revolution Saint Marc, Saint Domingue (now Haiti), where a plantation owner buys and abuses the Senegalese woman Laïsa, but gets bored of her. Their secret son, Georges, defends the plantation from brigands and earns his father’s respect, but also triggers the owner’s interest in his wife Zélie. When attacked, Zélie fights back and injures the owner, marking her for death.
> ...takes place in pre-revolution Saint Marc, Saint Domingue (now Haiti), where a plantation owner buys and abuses the Senegalese woman Laïsa, but gets bored of her. Their secret son, Georges, defends the plantation from brigands and earns his father's respect, but also triggers the owner's interest in his wife Zélie. When attacked, Zélie fights back and injures the owner, marking her for death.
>
> Georges goes on a rampage, killing Zélie to deprive the owner of his satisfaction, then beheads the owner. On learning that the owner was his father, he kills himself.
@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ Do you see this building which so gracefully rises to the sky, and which seems t
"So, I keep my thoughts for myself."
Ten minutes later, Alfred’s new slave climbed into a tipcart that took the "wasp route," a fairly convenient way that leads to these delicious countrysides, grouped around Saint-Marc like young virgins at the foot of the altar. A dark melancholy enveloped his soul; she cried. The driver understood what was going on inside her too well to try to distract her, but when he saw Alfred's white house taking shape in the distance, he involuntarily leaned towards the poor unfortunate woman, and in a voice full of tears, he said to her:
Ten minutes later, Alfred's new slave climbed into a tipcart that took the "wasp route," a fairly convenient way that leads to these delicious countrysides, grouped around Saint-Marc like young virgins at the foot of the altar. A dark melancholy enveloped his soul; she cried. The driver understood what was going on inside her too well to try to distract her, but when he saw Alfred's white house taking shape in the distance, he involuntarily leaned towards the poor unfortunate woman, and in a voice full of tears, he said to her:
"Sister, what's your name?"
@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ Tears came to his eyes; he had just met a compatriot.
"Laïsa!"
They threw themselves into each other's arms. They were still intertwined when the cart entered the main part of Alfred’s home. The manager was there. "What do I see," he exclaimed, unwinding an immense whip, which he always wore hanging from his belt, Jacques kissing the newcomer in my eyes...what impertinence! With that, lashes fell on the unfortunate, and streams of blood gushed from his face.
They threw themselves into each other's arms. They were still intertwined when the cart entered the main part of Alfred's home. The manager was there. "What do I see," he exclaimed, unwinding an immense whip, which he always wore hanging from his belt, Jacques kissing the newcomer in my eyes...what impertinence! With that, lashes fell on the unfortunate, and streams of blood gushed from his face.
### Chapter II
@ -237,9 +237,9 @@ This calm air, this noble devotion were capable of reassuring the most cowardly
"Well shot," he murmured convulsively.
The bullet had smashed his left arm. He let go. The brigand turned on himself three times and fell dead. A second followed him closely. Then, like a furious lion harassed by hunters, Georges, the ax in his fist and the dagger between his teeth, rushed on his adversaries. An awful fight began! The fighters hurried... collided...intertwined. The ax shone. Blood flowed. The dagger, ever faithful to the hand that pushes it, plowed the enemy's chest. But not a cry, not a word, not a breath escaped from these three mouths of men who rushed between corpses as within an intoxicating orgy. To see them thus, pale and bloody, dumb and desperate, we see three ghosts who collide and tear at the bottom of a tomb. However, Georges was covered with wounds and could barely support himself. Oh, That’s the fearless mulatto! The sharp ax rose opposite his head. Suddenly, two more explosions were heard, and the two brigands fell while blaspheming God. At the same time, Alfred returned, followed by a young negro. He helped move the wounded man to his cabin, and gave orders to bring his doctor; George was saved by the very man who accused him of treason. Barely away, Alfred heard the sound of a gun, the clatter of the iron; blushing at his cowardice, he awakened his valet, and flew to the rescue of his liberator.
The bullet had smashed his left arm. He let go. The brigand turned on himself three times and fell dead. A second followed him closely. Then, like a furious lion harassed by hunters, Georges, the ax in his fist and the dagger between his teeth, rushed on his adversaries. An awful fight began! The fighters hurried... collided...intertwined. The ax shone. Blood flowed. The dagger, ever faithful to the hand that pushes it, plowed the enemy's chest. But not a cry, not a word, not a breath escaped from these three mouths of men who rushed between corpses as within an intoxicating orgy. To see them thus, pale and bloody, dumb and desperate, we see three ghosts who collide and tear at the bottom of a tomb. However, Georges was covered with wounds and could barely support himself. Oh, That's the fearless mulatto! The sharp ax rose opposite his head. Suddenly, two more explosions were heard, and the two brigands fell while blaspheming God. At the same time, Alfred returned, followed by a young negro. He helped move the wounded man to his cabin, and gave orders to bring his doctor; George was saved by the very man who accused him of treason. Barely away, Alfred heard the sound of a gun, the clatter of the iron; blushing at his cowardice, he awakened his valet, and flew to the rescue of his liberator.
I forgot to tell you that Georges had a wife named Zélie, whom he loved with all the power of his soul; she was a mulatto of eighteen to twenty years of age, with an arched waist, black hair, and a look full of love and voluptuousness. Georges remained twelve days between life and death. Alfred went to see him often. Driven by I do not know what fate, he fell in love with Zélie, but unfortunately for him, he was not one of those women who sell their love, or who pay homage to their master. She rejected Alfred's proposals with humble dignity, because she didn’t forget that it was the master speaking to his slave.
I forgot to tell you that Georges had a wife named Zélie, whom he loved with all the power of his soul; she was a mulatto of eighteen to twenty years of age, with an arched waist, black hair, and a look full of love and voluptuousness. Georges remained twelve days between life and death. Alfred went to see him often. Driven by I do not know what fate, he fell in love with Zélie, but unfortunately for him, he was not one of those women who sell their love, or who pay homage to their master. She rejected Alfred's proposals with humble dignity, because she didn't forget that it was the master speaking to his slave.
Instead of being touched by this virtue so rare among women, especially among those who, like Zélie, are slaves, and who see their immodest companions every day prostitute themselves to the colonists, and feed their libertinage; instead of being touched, I said, Alfred got irritated. What, *him*, the despot, the bey, the sultan of the Antilles, to be looked down upon by a slave? What irony! So he swore to take her. A few days before Georges's convalescence, Alfred asked Zelie to be asked into his room. So, listening only to his criminal desires, he embraced her, and placed a burning kiss on her cheek. The young slave prayed, begged, resisted, but in vain. He was all but dragging her towards the adulterous layer already. Then, the virtuous slave, full of noble indignation, repulsed him with a last effort, but so abrupt, but so powerful, that Alfred lost his balance and smashed his head as he fell. At this sight, Zélie tore her hair out in despair, and wept in rage, because she had understood---the unhappy one---that death awaited her for having shed the blood of such a vile being. When she had cried well, she went to her husband. He probably dreamed of her, because he had a smile on his lips.
@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ Ten days later, two small white creoles were playing in the middle of the street
"It will be nice to see her pirouette between heaven and earth," resumed the first, and they walked away laughing.
It surprises you to hear two ten-year-olds talking so cheerfully about the deaths of others; it may be a fatal consequence of their education. From an early age, we repeat to them that we were born to serve them, created for their whims, and that they should consider us no more and no less than a dog. For what do they care about our agony, and our suffering? Don't they often see their best horses die? They don’t cry for the slaves, because they’re rich; tomorrow they’ll buy more. While these two children were talking, Georges was at his master’s lap.
It surprises you to hear two ten-year-olds talking so cheerfully about the deaths of others; it may be a fatal consequence of their education. From an early age, we repeat to them that we were born to serve them, created for their whims, and that they should consider us no more and no less than a dog. For what do they care about our agony, and our suffering? Don't they often see their best horses die? They don't cry for the slaves, because they're rich; tomorrow they'll buy more. While these two children were talking, Georges was at his master's lap.
"Master, please...*please*, he cried, crying, "have mercy on her...master, save her. Oh! Yes, save her, because you can. Oh! Speak, you only have one word to say...one, and she will live." Alfred did not answer.
@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ Instead of going out the mulatto crossed his arms over his chest, and with a fie
"Shut up...shut up, wretch! Ah! She will die. Well, that the executioner should strike at the days of my wife," he continued with a frightful smile.
Alfred was so disturbed that he did not see Georges leave. The latter went immediately to his cabin, where, in a light cradle in liana slept a young child of two years, he took him and disappeared. To understand what will follow, know that from Alfred’s home there was only a small river to cross to find yourself in the middle of those thick forests that seem to embrace all the New World.
Alfred was so disturbed that he did not see Georges leave. The latter went immediately to his cabin, where, in a light cradle in liana slept a young child of two years, he took him and disappeared. To understand what will follow, know that from Alfred's home there was only a small river to cross to find yourself in the middle of those thick forests that seem to embrace all the New World.
Georges had been walking tirelessly for six hours. Finally he stopped a few steps from a hut, built in the thickest part of the forest. You will understand this kind of joy that shines in his eyes when you know that this tiny cabin, quite isolated as it is, is in the camp of the brown negroes, that is to say slaves who flee the tyranny of their masters. At that moment the whole cabin was in rumor. They had just heard the forest start, and the chief had sworn that this noise was not caused by any animal, and so he cocked his rifle and went out. Suddenly, the brushwood bow before him, he found himself face to face with a stranger.
@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ Alfred slowly rose from his chair, but at that last word he fell back pale and t
"Oh! Please, Georges, don't kill me, today."
Georges shrugged. "Master, is it not horrible to die when one is happy, to lie in the grave when you see your dearest dreams come true. Oh, isn’t that awful," said the mulatto with a hellish laugh.
Georges shrugged. "Master, is it not horrible to die when one is happy, to lie in the grave when you see your dearest dreams come true. Oh, isn't that awful," said the mulatto with a hellish laugh.
"Grace, Georges..."
@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ Georges shrugged, and raised his ax.
"Oh! Another hour of life!"
"To kiss your wife isn’t it?"
"To kiss your wife isn't it?"
"One minute..."
@ -423,11 +423,11 @@ Georges shrugged, and raised his ax.
And the mulatto was ready to kneel before his master. But suddenly sharp cries could be heard...
"Heaven, that’s my wife’s voice," cried Alfred, rushing to where the screams were coming from...
"Heaven, that's my wife's voice," cried Alfred, rushing to where the screams were coming from...
As if reminded of himself, the mulatto remembered that he had come to his master, not to know his father's name, but to ask him to take account of his wife's blood. Holding Alfred immediately, he said to him with a horrible sneer: "Stop it, master, it's nothing."
"Jesus Maria, you don’t hear that she is asking for help."
"Jesus Maria, you don't hear that she is asking for help."
"It's nothing, I tell you."
@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ Alfred, murmured the dying woman again, "farewell, farewell, I'm dying..."
"Cursed," yelled Alfred, grabbing Georges by the neck. "Oh! My whole life, my *soul* for a dagger..."
Georges got rid of Alfred’s hands.
Georges got rid of Alfred's hands.
"Now, it is your turn, master," he said, lifting his ax.
@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ Other than the escalating tension, the story is very much a ["tragic mulatto"](h
Speaking of which, I can't feel like the story would be dramatically improved by expanding on the hidden cabin of free black people. It would have been a welcome digression to see how they live or at least make them part of the story. As it stands, they seem to be introduced solely to drop off the child we had never heard of before, rendering the whole subplot irrelevant.
The verdict? I'd call it a solid **B**. As mentioned, the story is extremely tense, at times giving a clausterphobic sense, taking the reader on a long ride without stopping for much exposition, once we get started. And the prose itself seems carefully chosen for both compatibility with English---there were only a couple of idioms that I needed to guess at---and for their rhythms, especially in parallel constructions. And as hard as it is to get through everything that happens, it *should be* hard to get through everything that happens, because the sort of degradation Georges witnesses happened all the time with very little resistance by people outwardly opposed to slavery.
The verdict? I'd call it a solid **B**. As mentioned, the story is extremely tense, at times giving a claustrophobic sense, taking the reader on a long ride without stopping for much exposition, once we get started. And the prose itself seems carefully chosen for both compatibility with English---there were only a couple of idioms that I needed to guess at---and for their rhythms, especially in parallel constructions. And as hard as it is to get through everything that happens, it *should be* hard to get through everything that happens, because the sort of degradation Georges witnesses happened all the time with very little resistance by people outwardly opposed to slavery.
Oh, and since it may be a useful data point for someone, it looks like $1,500---presumably United States currency, since Séjour was American and France doesn't use dollars---in 1837 would be approximately equivalent to $40,000 today, using the effective [Consumer Price Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_price_index) as a guide. However, it's worth pointing out that the buying power of the dollar was on the decline between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. So, if we assume that the story starts in 1813---Alfred pursues Laïsa extensively and then she spends over a year with him and is kicked out before she gives birth in secret, then Georges grows old enough to raise a two-year-old with Zélie, with three years passing after her death, but Georges isn't twenty-five, yet---the modern equivalent to the asking price of Laïsa drops to $24,000. *That* is what was considered a shockingly high price for a human being, the same price as a [Kia Optima](https://www.kia.com/us/en/optima). Some quick research suggests that slaves were often sold for around $400, or about a quarter of the prices we're talking about. And yes, it *does* feel just as uncomfortable looking at these numbers as it should.

4
2020-02-28-week.md
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@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ As [promised (or threatened)]({% post_url 2019-12-31-new-year %}), this is the w
## 9:01 -- Tue 25 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1232304490327498755) [Bloomberg Apologized for Stop-and-Frisk. Why Won’t He Say Sorry to Muslims for Spying on Them?](https://theintercept.com/2020/02/17/mike-bloomberg-new-york-muslim-surveillance/) from The Intercept
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1232304490327498755) [Bloomberg Apologized for Stop-and-Frisk. Why Won't He Say Sorry to Muslims for Spying on Them?](https://theintercept.com/2020/02/17/mike-bloomberg-new-york-muslim-surveillance/) from The Intercept
> ...worked with the CIA to deploy teams of undercover agents, known as “rakers,” into Muslim neighborhoods to gather information.
@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Not added to Twitter for space reasons: The illustrated books are licensed non-
## 9:04 -- Fri 28 February 2020
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1233392409150545920) [Historic black buildings aren’t being preserved. Here’s where they are](https://www.fastcompany.com/90465791/historic-black-buildings-arent-being-preserved-heres-where-they-are) from Fast Company
[<i class="fab fa-twitter-square"></i>](https://twitter.com/jcolag/status/1233392409150545920) [Historic black buildings aren't being preserved. Here's where they are](https://www.fastcompany.com/90465791/historic-black-buildings-arent-being-preserved-heres-where-they-are) from Fast Company
> ...nine endangered buildings on this list have historic African American significance, and others on the map have ties to indigenous and Latinx communities.

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@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
---
layout: post
title: On Electability and Complicity
date: 2020-03-01 07:12:23-0500
categories:
tags: [politics, rant, voting]
summary: Who is electable? What makes supporters toxic?
thumbnail: /blog/assets/sign-banner-street-sign-signage-vote-political-747227-pxhere.com.jpg
offset: -28%
---
Since [Super Tuesday](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Tuesday) is this Tuesday---not that I'll be voting that day, since New York's Primary isn't for another few weeks---I wanted to dig into one of the more pernicious words and a troublesome way of thinking that have been getting kicked around quite a bit, this election season.
![Vote](/blog/assets/sign-banner-street-sign-signage-vote-political-747227-pxhere.com.jpg "Vote")
## Electability
The electability argument generally runs along the lines of a speaker claiming to *want* to support a particular candidate in an election, but won't and will instead advise everybody else to do the same. Why? Allegedly, you should vote against your preferences because *other* people might not vote for the candidate you want!
Often, the candidate in question is a woman or represents a minority group, and the premise is that "nobody" is ready for this change. So in a way, the argument is akin to suggesting that they won't vote for the candidate because of bigotry, but it's everyone *else*'s bigotry that's the excuse or the shield protecting the position, not their own...*never* their own. They're one of the good ones.
As a quick aside, it's funny how many of these "unelectable" candidates have been previously held up, by the very same people issuing their warnings, as politicians who should run and would have gotten everybody's vote in a different election when they were warning against a different "unelectable" candidate. This argument is also similar to the [Inexplicable Republican Best Friend](https://fair.org/home/the-return-of-the-inexplicable-republican-best-friend/) trope warning progressives to push the [Overton Window](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window) further right instead of opposing destructive policies that only a small minority of people genuinely support...for our own benefit, somehow.
In a lot of ways, though it mostly reminds me a lot of how people used to talk about the taboos on interracial and same-sex relationships, way back when I was a kid. I heard the same basic speech given to people---never me, thankfully, except in the abstract of talking about people in general---enough times that it's not hard to reconstruct. See if this sounds familiar to you.
> We care about you and you deserve support. But there are people out there who don't feel the same way. They're backwards and we should just ignore them, but they can be mean. So, while we care about you and don't have any problems with your relationship, we can't support it, because of those mean people who might do or say something mean, because nobody wants that to happen. We only want the best for you and your eventual children, after all.
> > enforcing bigotry while claiming to be against it
Despite explicitly trying to avoid the bigotry involved, the argument still very much relies on an appeal to bigotry to justify making a bad choice. That's bad and needs to stop. Because there's only one thing that makes a candidate unelectable: People not voting to elect them! So, "electability" is---and is probably meant to be---a self-fulfilling prophecy, *enforcing* bigotry despite (or under a shield of) claiming to be against that same bigotry.
And the ironic thing? When people actually [crunch the numbers](https://wholeads.us/the-electability-myth/), it looks like there not only isn't any electability problem among underrepresented groups, but candidates from those groups might even have a *slight* advantage over white men. Imagine what the numbers would look like if people didn't avoid voting for their (allegedly) preferred candidate in hopes of pushing a more bigot-friendly candidate instead.
In other words, just like we now know that it's not actually in a gay person's best interests to advise them to remain closeted---especially in countries where we generally frown upon violence---it's also not in your best interests to vote against a candidate you genuinely want to win.
Imagine a version of the [prisoner's dilemma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma) premise, but where one prisoner is secretly an undercover police officer, and so has no additional information to provide to the authorities and has very little risked. The person lecturing you about electability is trying to appeal to a win/lose mentality, but is campaigning for someone else, rather than looking out for you. They're not fellow prisoners in the sense they claim.
### Getting out the Vote
This "watch out for those other voters" philosophy also points to a related problem, in fact. As Philip Kearney [made visible](https://urbanobservatory.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=95f38693320c408a87dbb33762d82e82) in 2018, getting voters from "the other side" to vote for your candidate is almost irrelevant, when the shocking majority of voters (and districts, and ultimately states, on some level) do not vote at all. That suggests that, since [emotions are contagious](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/high-octane-women/201210/emotions-are-contagious-choose-your-company-wisely), we're almost certainly better off voting for someone who we can be excited about (or unifying against someone who's destructive), because that has a better chance of waking that sleeping giant.
Opposing [voter suppression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_United_States) policies helps, as well; Kearney frames non-voters as an apathy problem, but many state governments are [clearly targeting](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/court-north-carolina-voter-id-law-targeted-black-voters/) certain populations to prevent them from voting, not to mention the obvious fact that many poorer people will often need to choose between working and/or taking care of their families and driving to a polling place to wait on a long line to vote. Heck, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell infamously derided a bill to make voting easier as a ["power grab"](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/30/calling-bill-makes-voting-easier-power-grab-mcconnell-exemplifies-gop-terrified). Justin Clark made this connection to voter suppression [even more explicit](https://www.ibtimes.com/election-2020-trump-adviser-admits-voter-suppression-traditionally-part-gop-strategy-2890528).
Think about that if you're a non-voter, as I was for many years. And if you don't think your vote matters, consider the most obvious cost/benefit analysis. Not voting *guarantees* that your vote doesn't matter and helps the people who don't want your vote to matter: No cost, but a negative benefit. Voting takes time and you may not get the result you want, but has a chance to put Kearney's "Nobody" vote to good use and that chance increases dramatically, the more people you can get to vote along with you: Scalable cost, possible risk of failure that's no worse than not voting, but a disproportionately-large benefit. The benefit also grows more, as we can vote in more people willing to secure voting rights.
This is why, on election day, it's not only worth voting, but probably worth taking a look at projects like carpool programs to help get other people to the polls, babysitting to help parents get out of the house, and---one of the more clever ideas I've seen---sending [food](https://polls.pizza/) to key polling places later in the day, so that potential voters don't need to leave if the lines are long.
And, really, vote for the Primary candidate you *want* in the general election, not the candidate you think some hypothetical other voter might prefer. Don't let completely-hypothetical bigots bully you into changing your vote. But it's also only a Primary, right now, so if your candidate doesn't win, be ready to get behind a less-exciting nominee, unless you're OK with corruption and voter suppression.
Another aside: As suggested, the math changes for the general Presidential election, obviously. There, the deck is so stacked against the smaller parties that it really is unfortunately foolish to vote for any of their candidates. It's sad, but it's not the valiant protest we sometimes think it is to vote for the [Prohibition Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_Party) candidate (**not** an endorsement of any sort; they just happen to be the oldest still standing), since they get drowned out by major-party votes and then completely masked by the [Electoral College](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Electoral_College); the protest would be the equivalent of underpaying bills in cash where one small coin is foreign. Instead of making a point, it makes it easier for bad candidates to win. And we should be clear that the "both major parties are the same" excuse isn't really valid when we're talking about one party deliberately ignoring [election security](https://www.npr.org/2020/01/22/798186093/election-security-boss-threats-to-2020-are-now-broader-more-diverse) and indications of [foreign interference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2020_United_States_elections). Neither party is good, but one party stands opposed to the country's values and the majority of the country's people.
## Toxic Support
Loosely related to the "electability" argument, it's worth pointing out that certain candidates---for whatever reason---tend to attract supporters who...let's just say that they fail to present the best image of the candidate. Those supporters might be obsessive pundits who feel the need to argue with anybody who has a different opinion. They might be small-press media figures using their platform to advocate for their favorite candidate in the guise of media criticism, easily identified by how they never seem to notice (sometimes identical) sleights against or wins for other candidates. They might be foreign agents managing marketing campaigns (bots or no bots) across social media. They might be angry white guys who think they've found a socially-acceptable way to attack women and minorities. Or they might merely have been duped into thinking the culture comes from the other three groups. I've spoken to people from each of those categories, and you probably have, too. But the point is that, regardless of how respectable the candidate may be, the hangers-on make the candidate look very bad to everybody else.
To muddy the waters, I can think of five candidates (and at least two former candidates) that fit this bill in the 2020 election. So yes, the list probably **does** include the candidate you're thinking about loudly defending in the comments, but it's a more general problem than that one campaign. So back off and keep reading.
> > prefer to take the topic as a personal attack
Unfortunately, when someone raises the issue of terrible supporters, it appears that even the less-obnoxious supporters of the candidates will often prefer to take the comment as if it was a vicious personal attack, rather than as the concern it clearly is. Responses range anywhere from dismissing the bad elements as a fringe best ignored to denying the existence of **any** bad elements to accusing the original speaker of viciously lying in hopes of destroying the candidate's campaign. Regardless of the form, this is just reinforcing the problem. This is very much the behavior that people are objecting to.
Consider two analogous, hypothetical (but common) situations.
In the first situation, a woman tells the story of a time when she was sexually assaulted and the trauma it caused. Suddenly---especially visible on social media---men show up to assert that [#NotAllMen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NotAllMen) commit sexual assault and *they* certainly wouldn't do so. More importantly, if a woman finds such men in her life, she should abandon them for a better class of man, or else she deserves what she gets.
In the second situation, the topics of [systemic racism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_racism) and [white privilege](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege) come up in conversation, and a white guy needs everybody to know that not every white person is a racist, he's sick of white people being blamed for everything that happened in the Western world, and, besides, we can all easily name three or four wealthy black people and know about plenty of impoverished white people, so maybe we should be talking about *class* instead of race, just like we politely pretend [MLK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.) said...even though he definitely didn't say that.
I'll return to that last clause, later.
> > deflecting the conversation
Each of these scenarios shares a problem: Someone responds to a speaker's personal experience (being attacked or held back) by interpreting that speaker's experience as if it was a personal accusation against their honor and then deflecting the conversation to tell the speaker that their experience is somehow untrue or at least unwelcome in the conversation.
It's terrible behavior and wholly ineffective.
To clarify, let's imagine a third, more generic version of the previous situations, without any aspects of identity involved.
> **ROBERT**: A few years ago, somebody broke into my apartment and burglarized my stuff, and---
>
> **JASON**: Hey, hey, hey, not **everybody** is a burglar, man! I've certainly never stolen a television from someone, let alone broken into someone's home, you know.
>
> **ROBERT**: But my point was---
>
> **JASON**: Honestly, it's sort of offensive to even focus on burglaries when there's a whole school-to-prison pipeline out there, not to mention malnutrition to deal with.
It sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? Nobody claims that everybody is a burglar, and to respond to a story of burglary with a denial of being a burglar is cartoonishly suspicious! And yet, it's not hard to find these conversations everywhere, if you don't go out of your way to avoid them. There's also the interesting technique (by "Jason" at the end) of shoveling in true, but irrelevant, facts to change the subject.
These political supporters tend to take a similar approach, rushing to deny any evidence that anybody in their camp might misbehave, while also taking any criticism of the candidate or their campaign as an accusation that they are personally terrible people.
We've now seen four situational variations and they all have one strong thread in common with each other: They're all displaying *complicity* on some level.
> > implicitly condoning the attack
That is, if I tell a woman---with my literal words or by my behavior---that my comfort level in a conversation is more important to me than her talking about being sexually assaulted, in trivializing the attack, I would be implicitly *condoning* the attack. By treating it as an aberration, I would be denying its frequency and refusing to acknowledge the pain this person has endured. The relevant term for this is participation in [rape culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_culture).
Often, the same people who understand this when it comes to big social issues refuse to recognize this when it involves them.
Complicity is a problem, because it denies any responsibility to fix problems. This is most clear in a lot of the statements regarding attempts to find solutions to the long-standing effects of slavery. For example:
> I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom **none of us currently living are responsible**, is a good idea.
###### [Mitch McConnell](https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/18/mcconnell-on-reparations-for-slavery-not-a-good-idea/1495689001/), 2019 (emphasis mine)
(Huh. Two Mitch McConnell references in the same article. That can't be a good sign.)
> > Turd Theory
The name is by no means "official," but I like to refer to this field of thought as **Turd Theory**, as in: You come home to find a giant turd in the middle of your living room floor, with no indication of who or what might be to blame for this. What do you do?
There are many choices, here, of course. You didn't *put* it on your floor---you aren't to blame---so you could...
* Learn to just live with the turd.
* Wait for someone else to figure out the chain of responsibility.
* Cover the offending turd with a sheet of newspaper and ignore it.
* Undertake an extensive investigation to determine the correct party to blame in hopes of forcing them to solve the problem for you.
* Move to a new ome and treat the turd like somebody else's problem entirely.
* **Clean the turd up**, because it's a giant turd somewhere that you live, and *then* decide if you want to do something else once that's done!
Hopefully, the point is clear. The only correct solution to the problem is to realize that we can---we *often*---have the responsibility to fix situations for which we're not to blame or to clean up a mess we didn't specifically create. Blame and responsibility are not interchangeable, except that we're always to blame for shirking our responsibilities. You aren't to blame, but you *accept* blame for the turd the moment that you're aware of its existence and choose not to get rid of it immediately.
Easy, right?
> > consider what you can do to fix that image
So, when you're told "[Dave Hepler](https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Bad_jokes_and_other_deleted_nonsense#Dave_Hepler) has a lot of toxic supporters," if you're a Hepler supporter, consider what you can do to fix that image. Do that before jumping to tell the speaker that you know so many Hepler-Heads who are very nice to everybody and donate to charity; there is no number of good people that magically erases a bad experience. Do that before telling the speaker that this their experience is untrue; that's an abusive technique referred to as [Gaslighting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting). Consider that, if you have the time to yell at someone for criticizing your favorite candidate's campaign, but no time to intervene when other supporters cross the line and harass critics, you might actually *be* the toxic element being discussed and should stop!
## Complicity
In refusing to support a candidate because of a lack of other support or in failing to take bad actors to task just because they agree on certain candidates, those people are *complicit* in the bad behavior they claim to oppose.
The earlier digression into race brought up how we're taught a sanitized version of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that somehow ignored race. Not only was this never true, but he was also very clear on the idea of complicity.
> I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action;" who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
###### Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 16 April 1963
King understood that you don't make progress by waiting for progress to happen around you. And he understood that it's more effective to police your alleged allies than your critics. You should, too.
## That Was Too Long to Read, John
Trimming that all down to the bare minimum: There is no such thing as "electability"---candidates are electable if and when we elect them---and the better way to defend your candidate is to take a stand against toxic supporters than fighting the critics telling you about the toxic supporters.
> > register to vote!
And, if you have a primary coming and are registered to vote, go vote. If early voting is available in your state, take advantage of it to avoid the crowds. If you're of age, [register to vote](https://vote.gov/) or [verify your registration](https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/)! Many states are even moving registration online, so there's a decent chance you can get either done before you feel compelled to check your e-mail again.
#### 🇺🇸
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**Credits**: The header image is [untitled](https://pxhere.com/en/photo/747227) by an anonymous [PxHere](https://pxhere.com/) photographer and is made available under the [CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Besides being an apparent Wikipedia hoax, I also use Dave Hepler as a background player in my [League of the Silver Bat]({% post_url 2019-12-14-seeking-refuge %}) novel.