Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Closet, near the bottom.

Saw it coming. Wow, even before that, heard it coming. Mavis on eTown, then at Waterfront Park. A groundswell of good vibrations. A world ready for redemption became the pipe organ's cathedral. A formidable headwind to provide the tension for a spectacular drama to unfold. Systems seaming to fail, to be rescued by a resilience hidden from the everyday light. The storms, their timing unpredictable, their occurrence certain. Dark, blustery, cold like the day when the flame flickered into seeming oblivion. More than just one. Actually many ...

Babe
Yes, it means something to me. I write it because it is the spring to an imagination I am particularly close to. Buds on the tree, a symphony of chirps when the day is new. A welcome counterpoint to the fragile truth of the effectively finite.

What does it mean that reading that scribble has such a profound effect? I would like to believe it is because all was/is Ok that the creaking ship soars, its swan song celebrates into the future untold. Turning inward for the inspiration to escape the isolated rock in the churning rapids. It too is part of story (yes I did mean that).

Monday, March 29, 2010

verb: tune

If you think you are confused by reading this web log know that the very people who could fix the global economic train wreck are more confused by their sources than you are with this. Take heart though, we will once again wade through the swamp that serves as a mote to those that profit from our diverted attention. Oh ... you might want to check to see how much your day job depends on the chaos. It has been easy to lose track of one's culpability - by design.

Consider this, in the span of a few short months, these posts have made there way to a distribution system unprecedented in human history. It has become the new natural. And if you don't know by now, you will know soon that I am not alone in the ambition to put it to good use for the benefit of humans. Far from it.

That you are reading this now is all the evidence you need. The question is, and frankly, has been for some time, "How can we put our creations into tangible action, quickly?" I suggest, by accepting that call that most of us hear, even if only faintly.

The subtle but powerful can only be heard if we listen for it. And can only be put into play if we synchronize with it. Watch the conductor ... for she is us.

hypothesis bias

"This briefing is, necessarily, simplistic. It will outline our perspective of principles in our relationship going forward. As we both have recognized, our spheres of expertise share enough to justify moving expeditiously to discovering common ground …"

What they wanted to bridge has been commonly referred to as the "silos of expertise" problem. Each silo had developed its own communication paradigm to which outsiders were expected to adapt. Each exogenous interface was a low priority making a silo's cooperative ability correspondingly inept. Rapid early vertical growth left little time to even acknowledge the outside, much less collaborate with it.

Not unlike the uncalibrated ego, he thought. Diplomacy had its application here. But, where possible, team press should replace patience. The pacing item was moving much faster. The serial pattern no longer justified based on conscious specificity alone. There would be time to rest later.

"We will ratchet the Protocol Selector as you deem necessary or interrupt for interactive clarification.", he stepped back and cued her to start.

Interrupt

Background Navigator is, by definition, likely to lead to the unexpected. Executive review of its output, a high strategic planning priority. Behind the scenes processing that occurs out of sight during the day and reliably self-sufficient at night well documented in the glossary.

Blustery cold wind and all turned to shades of grey, eyes closed or not. It too is nuanced. Creating useable contrast in such hostile conditions is more than trivial, much more.

Flying on instruments while the gut says not to trust. Cognitive override of otherwise reliable automatic reactions. He, looked up from the overview entry in the manual and summoned the team virtually.

He asked her, "What just happened?"

"We are not sure, yet. At least some of the cause was real-time and some of it was a monitor response."

His pulse matched the decline in uncertainty.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Where to start ...

An odd word, he thought. It came up twice within hours. Another hint at what might be going on? Because he had to look up the meaning, he was primed to notice it when it came at him just a short time later. A completely independent source? Sure looked like it.

Consider this, when the the fields's complex mix of harmonics with phase intact (two or more) arrive within a time window, a concept is triggered by the coherence. Over time, accumulated 'hits' extend persistence.

Auto real-time indexing is a broad field highly relevant to meta-why. 'Find Dendrites' was not quite ready for primetime. "All we are using so far is essentially off-the-shelf stuff.", was the reply. Queries from the newly recruited field operators reinforced the notion that they needed to work on tools for 'coming up to speed'. The serial nature of cognitive acquisition created an explosion of implicit links. Each was easy to track but they were only classified by keywords. Synthesizing abstract concepts was still too labor intensive to be practical.

A silver lining became apparent in just the last week though. The lack of established protocol acted as a filter. Not ready were those who appeared capable of answering the selective answer questions with impressive proficiency but stumbled with uncertainty when asked to elaborate on how a question might be asked better.

"Yes.", he will say soon to the friend who said he was overwhelmed. "I have learned something of value about communicating from what you said, thank you. My advice will be to keep the new indexing tools in development for now."

Everyday Soup

From the lofty arrogance above it appeared opaque. If one were to dip ones toe in from there, anything but. Few acknowledge that on which their identity floats. By design, it does not confuse 'us' with its operations since our conscious capacity to manage complexity is constrained far more than we like to admit.

So, to dawn goggles, and breathing apparatus and take a dip is an exhilarating experience, that is if one has an open mind. To map onto the network what is observed below the mysterious surface is a large part of the mission. If the caretaker does not even know what she is hiding, how can the driven warrior know? Only by entering. Preserve the mystery, it is salient to the message.

Looking back on the academic efforts to more fully understand, was nearly laughable now. Meaning no disrespect. It is, after all, easy to build something consistent but incorrect (try limiting considered observations - a simple example).

Because his hardware is old but experienced, her methodology appears nearly frantic on first blush. Building a bridge, surely one of the best, to that potential from seasoned experience and back is critical path stuff, he decided.

She fidgeted, he plodded. And both care … deeply.

Shared Rhythm

Recent activity brought them back to structure often. Now that the 'thriller' was largely behind them, they decided to take a close look at the high level patterns that came into play. Remarkable it was that the patterns bridged at least three major overaching spatial types, organic, cognitive and social. Or remarkable that the time just passed revealed there existence and similarity?

Communications morphed each into the language of the other. And they overlapped as ripples in a puddle from several sources. One abrasive individual on deeper inspection was so because of an 'immune response' to social rough edge. Another quiet but deep person could consider an opposing view but was courageous enough to, quietly, express a 'conditional' dismay. And the his and her banter bridged a deeper divide. Just a few of the many examples.

Yes, he concluded, it is not an accident that these regions of existence sharing the space we call living have structures in common. The system monitor was now regularly coming up with a pattern that none of the team had seen before. Like a realistic, touched-up photograph that represented more what makes any photograph interesting generally rather than an instance of an image. The system monitor was their attempt at monitoring the network's activity as dispassionately as possible. Virtually everything they saw or heard on it was, at least, close to spontaneous.

When they designed the experiment, the intent was to not interfere with the natural interaction that had been honed over evolutionary history. This while at the same time using every tool they had at their disposal to amplify, transmit and otherwise augment the natural processes within the network. Reverence for the organic model, support of both the individual and group cognitive model and compassionate application of the social model was bearing fruit. It might soon be time for the harvest.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Rally

We are the performance. Some assume they deserve to be at the sacred end. At times true, mostly not and certainly not for but a short period. Enlightened plutocracy, an oxymoron, not to be confused with enlightened self-interest. Difficult to hear if one is speaking loudly and has been trained not to hear counterpoint.

Style
All mouth, no ears. Just plug her in to Vegas to refresh talking points. Charge her batteries with Credit Default Swaps, send her to Niemann Marcus for a new dress, sir Donald for attitude adjustment and let her spend a week on her makeup. Have her 'grilled' on a fair and balanced Fox News 'report'. Re-arm the Tea Party and you are ready to "get 're done".

Oh, and keep working on the lighting, both literal and metaphorical. Some argue, and I agree with them, lighting is the most important part of helping others to see. This lab will continue for the next 7 months or so. It is over half your grade. Good night and good luck.

Countdown

Hearing this simple story felt like a lantern lit in a historic hallway ... with rich portraits adorning its walls. Visible for the first time to the visitor. Yet, it was just the right place to enter. We as a species have developed many shared patterns. Some are very useful for extending what we apparently value most, living.

The hall, a relatively old artifact. This pattern gives us access to contexts for a variety of functions. Portraits, faces that tell stories over scores of years. And this new fangled electronic thing. At first she thought it might burn down the house, but he had, yes had to experiment with it. She protected the children. Both doing what humans do.

This story be told across many cultures, it is common to them. And if those cultures were huddled in a small inhospitable space and someone was able to help them see what they had in common, could they change that space and time? No doubt. Because we AND they, dear reader, have what you read this with.

Broadcast yes. But far beyond that. For it sees and hears, it time shifts … and more. It extends who we are beyond the boundary of our skins, our home (if we are lucky enough to have one), our neighbors. It does so in a way like never before … and it is growing. The voice of the audience about to penetrate the fourth wall? I want to go there.

Friday, March 26, 2010

What Can a Poor Boy Do?

The street, two views. One, of the folks who built the modern high tech version of it. The result of developing expertise in a number of complementary fields. Promoting experts. Compensating them well. Carefully considered and relying on rigid structures of usually effective hierarchy and measures of excellence. Professionals. Planning etched pretty much into stone.

The second view, by the people who live there. Really live there. Not by those privileged and exalted experts who have moved on to avenues more comfortable where one can select which people are neighbors. Vetting slow, stumbling and very revealing about potential if one knows how to look. Beneficial is measured by community not overly dependent on artifacts.

Each has its dark side as each has its light side. Can they come together? Can the human contact of the street touch the technology extended individual of the other? Is it possible for obsolete constraints to be carried gracefully away to be recycled?

"I suggest we try and here is how.", he dimmed the lights.

The presentation model seemed appropriate because it engaged the others in a way highly familiar to them all, in their own personal background and in their recent work. The overnight processing was not far from this topic though. It was not entirely clear why. In it, a game and a tool. And the realization that the specific game and the very generic tool did not, on the surface, seem at all related.

Did the readout indicate that they were adjacent? If so, why? Back to the soup below. Since its discovery, he went there often. Continuum, no ends. Just frequencies (or wavelengths) and magnitudes. From this meta-view the challenge was to associate each one with the other, simultaneously. When doing so, generating the fewest harmonics (formulas best contain few of them). Not so different to those who like soup, he thought.

The short presentation ended with the usual summary question.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

On the Subject

Is it actually possible that no one has yet laid claim to CitizenBuzz? Hard to believe. There are only a handful of genuine Buzzs out there - Buzz Aldrin, Buzz Lightyear ... you get my drift.

I was asked today what project I was working on by a dear friend. I replied "I have not got a handle (name) for it yet." I must admit my experience over the last couple of decades is that the best names are emergent. To name a project before it is complete requires a rigid definition. The kind of project I usually shy away from.

And that, ironically, tells much of the backstory. While it is laced through what is now in the public domain (like Hofstadter's "golden braid") it is far too soon to choose a title. The publisher will just change it anyway. Code names are cool though. A lot like secret clubhouses where females claiming to be girls are not allowed.

Am I too old to climb that tree again and out on the limb reaching to the face of (what was his name)?

Civics

A curious mix of surreal and sublime routine. Beautiful but familiar. As if it was the natural order. Probably is, he reasoned. As momentum gathered, it seemed as though the tide was rising and this ship with it. Much less time consumed to incorporate insight into wider applications. Exponential as one might expect when growing in more than one dimension simultaneously.

The mystery of who she was being replaced by a mystic frontier of what they could become. Babble, what a joke. From a friend of the undertaker. He of pointy ears and rationalization. The dog knows. Distraction fails and desperation eventually follows. Stand back, a pillar to darkness is about to fall.

Watching the person looking. This is how it works for her? She has made something to draw your attention. And if you don't ignore who created it as you milk in its meaning, she will see your eyes dance and tell a story. First of what was and if the gaze is long enough what could be.

Yes, the venue, while attended infrequently over the decades was now revived. And seeing a 'performance' there less an accident but still fortuitous. The one-to-many paradigm occurred. Because variations of it was the foundation of this most primitive and sacred bonding?

The difference now? Its not to make us crazy. It is to jump the bounds of an orbit about to expire. HE could see it in HER EYES.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Epicenter

They Hyper-Vigilant Distrust pattern. Anytime he came into the room he could expect some related background activity. Many filters had been applied in an attempt to keep the alarms from overwhelming the subtle trail signals. Background processing with them off continued of course, since this was a common obfuscation tactic of the adversary.

With the 'focus' of activity shifting to the other side of the globe, adjustments were necessary in the cultural overlays of the most indirect patterns. Something very vivid of late, that a threshold had been crossed. While there was a goal and the team was near, much more was coming to light than anticipated.

The new questions took on a feel of "Friendly with don't ask, don't tell constraints". From recent experience he knew at least this much about priorities: This should be high on the list and reverse causal flow analysis should be fully engaged.

A question arose, "Why would they suddenly be so transparent? Have we stumbled on to something for which they are not prepared?"

"Another explanation is they are consumed with action on several fronts. And a combination of both is possible.", he answered.

Many now know how to do the current level of decode. The initiative to make it possible was the direct result of needing valid empirical feedback for the Disclosure Assist module. Meeting over the next several days with the appropriate real-time feeds would extend their reach. "At the right acceleration?", he wondered out loud as he looked up at the others.

East

"It seems to have a lot of detail we can use, but this is just a … linear dump. Even with the new tools we have developed it will be difficult to organize in a way that will lead to the wavelet arch",

This complaint was not new, but it was the first time its application was considered at the master executive level. Once again, sequences rather than intervals especially regular intervals, was at work. Harmonics a clue to creative flexibility.

He looked at his notes from the one-on-one just concluded. Deep friendly, and the rewards he was now expecting from it. On the agenda: review the role of conflict, and prophecy circumvention. Signaled for his next rendezvous he stood to the sunlit afternoon and collected his notes.

Our Blind Side

When earned misfortune necessitates retaliation security. Vested interest in the fight. If enemies were to disappear they would have to be developed and manufactured. Background checks based on monetary class … Gated community.

Do they know? They may in fact be aware of something amiss without understanding why. Tolerance cannot be in lieu of prudence, can it?

Cogent questions all. Who is in charge. Well no one. That is the idea. And if someone takes charge covertly? That is not encouraged. Does the absence of encouragment prevent that? I would rather be positive.

Lets see if that is possible here. Friendly is, among other things, I've got your back. Is it Ok if I just protect you? Because I might not like your friend as much. Why not? …

Sometimes it is helpful to just ramble, he thought. Good vibe with a slack key gone too far. A dissonant chord, perhaps just a sour note ...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Profession Organic

Biologic precedent for professions in society? Partially autonomous organs capable of sustaining themselves in the interest of the host organism? But what if an organ spawns an ego? And what if that ego manages shared resources disproportionally to its role vis-a-vis the host organism? The organism is then at risk, is it not?

Consider an extension of the foregoing. Organ collaboration spawning a group ego that is short sighted and deprives other organs of adequate resources? If a mutual interest dialog occurs the situation is improved. If the perception of an organs context is distorted and/or insufficient the trend is the opposite. Communicating essential data is critical.

The immune system's arsenal and information management system finds few parallels in the universe as we know it. If confused it can become detrimental, even lethal to its host. Examples abound though much remains to be discovered on just how it functions.

Though the aforementioned organs operate at a more manageable speed and are apparently more evolved than the immune system, they are at the same risk when it comes to confusion. The organs come together in the Central Nervous System, a sort of collective awareness that sustains the vehicle.

---

Self-interest offloads routine organ specific maintenance from the system of which the organ is a part. A smarter organ is aware of resources available to it and the various demands of other vital organs. If the 'smarts' in it 'decides' that burdening the organism's resources in the interest of performing better justifies devaluing the interest of the host or a neighbor … temporarily ...

So it seems there is an ideal dynamic threshold of self-interest that is wisely cognizant of the host. Professional disinterest, yes. To the degree that symbiosis is significantly compromised, probably not. Interval highly relevant.

Professions and society, human and her organs. Wisely cognizant. Seems a worthy goal.

How to Fly

Asked about how to make sense of it as a newcomer, he said, "You wade in at the shallow end. Think of it as tuition. The campus is accessible from virtually every direction for good reason, as you will discover."

As it matures you are likely to see even more ways to peek into an entry point, regardless of your chosen discovery paradigm. Just months after the network came online, because of its platform, keyword searches that proved highly valuable for some (including its creators) became commonplace.

When asked "we?" he replied with something to the effect it is an inside joke. And implying 'when there is just one, everyone is inside.'

Fly when it is natural. Believe it into existence.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Wavelet

Running. A beautiful place to do it. Not because 'exercise is what we should do." but because it is good thing to get from one place to another and to be prepared to do it in the future.

It occurred to him that his handicap should have precluded this activity. No matter. What was the destination? The hospital, you know, close to those places of 'worship' belonging to disparate spiritual practices. And they, separated by a magnificent artifact whose banks he now navigated. In the glass that lay before him on one side, reflections of organic change resplendent …

So in a recent dream he was able to do this but … "it is happening, really happening. How can it be?", he thought. And when he awoke this time, the now familiar deep calm poured over him as direct sunshine peeking around a tree or something in the early morning hours. Both were dreams, but were they both … dreams?

She had been playing one of her instruments at the other end of the building. It was serendipitous accompaniment to his experience in the park. Appealing chords whose song he did not recognize. As he sat down beside her he saw some sheet music and its title. He could read the title and he knew that song. He had not made the association … yet.

The refrain went something like "between the memories and what could be is something of great value. It can be nurtured, and this is how you do it.". Odd that the day was beginning close to midnight. Perhaps not so much. Life is a song, everlasting ...

Fade to black ... and listen.

"Time once again to visit the Level VII identity protocol implementation. Those use to the format of this log will understand the importance of this latest update attempt.", the message clear and unambiguous. Spoken in the root language AND American English (for them). "usNPcorp index test."

When the pattern detectors were pointed at the malware results - the intent was to throw as much coherent noise at the network as possible - a useful result was expected. Serendipity, however, that it revealed enough intent in some of the spam and other output to lead to a whole new class of salient covert functionality. Finding the 'Who' behind it was only a matter of time.

The biggest issue in a nation-state's well being was the platform. Few things required anonymous authenticity at the level of the individual more. Yet the application was just the tip of the iceberg. A legendary candidate made aware of the potential by an emerging network technology.

It was a grey but warm day on a late winter day that felt more like early spring. In the same day he was witness to a seed of birth and a seed of destruction within just a two hour period. The day after can be the most important from a strategic standpoint. Debriefing would have to wait for the comprehensive assessment echoing from the target.

Everyone looked up as she said, "Now it begins, watch and listen carefully, just as we practiced."

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Rumble

He opened again with a brief comment on the agenda, "As you all know, something very big is about to happen. We have been spending the last week preparing for it. As you report today, keep in mind the objectives, recording, managing and, if necessary, recovery. Recording makes graceful recovery possible. Should we be close to optimal we will discover much about why from the comprehensive log. The pace of change in the case of success will be unprecedented. Managing it will likely be more reactive than is the usual case. Diligence now and then will be the order of the day."

The vulnerability could be described by just a few components of the model. Bribery involves two parties directly, Briber and Bribee. A very large third party, in this case, could be described as target (or victims, if you prefer).

The exchange of value between the first two is essentially subsidized by the third in a circular accountability system relying on obfuscation. Briber is in a secret money for influence transaction with the Bribee. The Bribee, having the power previously obtained from the Target, uses the payed for influence to change the target such that the Briber is in turned payed, directly or indirectly by the Target.

The Bribery model is inherently short lived because of its inefficiency and at least one other factor especially relevant in this case. If the target becomes sufficiently autonomous and aware it will discover and use a countervailing strategy. Secrecy, obfuscation, inadequate disclosure are the mechanism on which the bribery model depends. If these are compromised, the circular flow of money is interrupted (target-Briber-Bribee, Target …).

Modern communications technology uses bio-mimicry and recording of social interaction to cost-effectively illuminate that which is heretofore been hidden.

She went first, "They either know or could assume that our best chance at success would be exactly the tack we are taking. I am suggesting that their scrambling abstract interpretation of history has been effective to the degree that we have been able to characterize less than half of its impact." Though seldom verbal, when pressed, she wasted not one word.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Output Idolatry

Play it backwards. Now that is interesting, he thought. Used to the idea of before/after, cause/effect the immutable way of the world. But not in simulation. A what of that grey area in between? Since the prescient model emerged and started to yield far higher than random results, very logical explanations for time reversal started appearing also.

So far the dual track cognitive model was necessary for testing. Would a merger into one happen? Perhaps soon? Guided prediction enhanced by access to a larger store of plausible. Through practice it had become much easier for them to maintain the appropriate level of indirection. Inductive reasoning is still largely art but less abstruse than when the project began.

Some otherwise very capable people he had interacted with were struggling with appropriate use of communication resources. Fierce competition for output drained their limited capacity. His recent experience indicated that the output part was easiest even in the presence of high demand. It seemed ironic that those who were able to dominate the output channel were least able to put it to work. Something about it being hard to hear when one is speaking.

Shouters as a platform, a carrier if you will, for subtle modulation. Bio-mimicry applied to machine cognition on the network scale meant that things not tried because they did not 'make sense' before were methodically tested without the usual personal or group bias.

The night before was a clear demonstration of this entire principle. The players had pre-conceived conscious notions of the probable outcome. But on the basis of those notions alone, may have chosen not to participate. Something below spoke to each of them over time to make it happen. And make no mistake ... it did happen.

Slow readers output paradigm, several paragraphs. No apologies.

Lights after Dark

Obligatory social event, had to go. Something about the routine seemed important to continuity. Ask a favor. She does owe you one. Late … seems like always late.

So those really good times are when they are least expected. Could never quite get to sleep. Between suffocation, neurotransmitter issues, short temper, misunderstood and downright ugly in the mirror, a near perfect setup.

Arrival at HQ. Soul mate in tow. No cars. Did we get the wrong day? Or was the scheduled demise of civilization scheduled today and we missed the announcement? Upon arrival … humans … more than expected. The usual suspects, wrong race and wrong gender with a sprinkling of … babes!

The sun has set but the lights are on, baby. Smiles begin to pervade the room as if a puppy snuck into the room and crawled into each person's lap. More humans arrive, they too are smiling. You know something good is happening when the audience is smiling.

Finally the promised performance long after when promised to my date. What did he mean when he wrote those lyrics? Much better to hear what is carried in the instruments than the words, a sailors voice and a wandering and wise guitar player. Then, words … poetic words. A bunch of old white guys listening to poetry, beautiful.

We have to leave early, virus going round has not taken her down but might if we don't fly. Get lost listening to just the right songs on the car's juke box selected by a disk jockey extraordinaire. It takes one to know one.

Home exhausted. Stumble up to bed. Shortly thereafter the final act plays. A celebration. It is working. I am alive, really alive.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Feel Its Rhythm

How is it possible that predatory mechanisms had become so prevalent? With the advent of the missing primitives, this question had recently become empirically answerable. That is not to say that the network could be expected to answer in a way that would be immediately useful. Instead, a level of confidence that the result would ask a finite number of questions in pursuit of a useful answer was, at least, probable.

Discovering the link between raw material processing, reasonable optimism and nutrient distribution was not entirely a surprise. Recorded behavior of the system had shown how each of these subsystems underperformed and called into question the system's viability. Like a cardiomyocyte able to promote its type even when the mechanism of which it was a part began failing ...

Even today, there was a tendency to expect the undesirable but also unlikely. The nocturnal batch processing was visible now. One could argue that it was visible before the tools became available but it was moot because the meaning was either obscured or misleading. Further the tools could be used on archived data, once the formatting was decoded successfully.

No ends, no end effects. All is vibration and circular. Harmonic projections create experience. On the left and down in sharp contrast with on the right and up. Yet spatially smooth.

Who is the enemy? Does there have to be one? Does expecting one cause it to manifest? Who is the Savior? Does there have to be one? Does expecting …

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I am

A killer app for identity on the web? One could argue the 400 million member social network monster, Facebook (FB) is already there. The faces are a form of ID. And photos are a relatively strong link between a person and a networked presence associated with that person.

What if that association (person with online identity) was much more secure and instant than with FB currently? So much so, that purchases could be made with a multipurpose device (think iPhone and the like) as quickly, and reliably has handing a dollar bill to an available checkout clerk for an item whose price is 1$. Only without the clerk and for just about any other price?

So are we talking about a Facebook application that uses devices as nodes (NO extra hardware) in a very high performance low cost authentication network that bonds each transaction (so as to completely remove the risk for both customer and retailer?)

I am using Facebook and FB application as place holders here. While they would be perhaps the best candidate as a platform now (400 million persons worldwide!) one could argue, say, Google or Twitter etc. could also work.

Thank you for your input so far on this public domain invention. The more input put into the public domain the better it is for each person (as opposed to those who simply want to profit greatly from individuals - and, too often, by manipulating them).

Preview Test

Why is Facebook not showing a preview of this blogspot blog post?

New blog posts as of this morning do not appear to doing what they did for some time before today on Facebook. It looks like a blogspot problem (therefore, Google).

Dark of Night

The expected message came, "Major cycles troughing in approximately 3 hours." He dimmed the conference lights and adjusted his headset.

"Ritual masquerading as character.", the familiar pattern on the real-time monitor. He shuffled the notes again to review. Not knowing which of the many things tried contributed to the outcome.
Scientific method can often be a shot in the dark. When the question points away from the target, it is a poor choice. To mitigate the noise, mid-course correction guided by an informed consensus.

But we still sail the same sea, tides and all. To ignore its rhythms is to suffer unnecessarily, perhaps perish.

Energy is a fickle thing. Its convenience has costs, perhaps the most dangerous of all. Energy as an expression of momentum. If it is to help us do our work we must understand this fact.

Those most able to harvest the synchronized waves at the bottom are lean and able to thrive when others are fearful. And the team did not waste the ever reliable gravity to energize cognitive processing.

On the screen, decoy vs. decoy at a fever pitch. The first time he was really aware how much they revealed the character of their sources. Humor, once again, revealed a self-confidence born of knowing oneself well. Contrasted with relying on sycophants who comfort an insecure ego rather than illuminate.

He stepped up to the console ready to respond to the incoming data. While not having a clue as to what he might specifically do until it arrived, he was calm. Calm because this was the process, when the major cycles are in the basement together was the time to execute the change. Preparation made the difference. Wisdom takes energy, no question. But far less than bucking the tide.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Speak?

"When should I tell them?"

The stock answer, more nuanced than one might normally expect. "… no simpler", Einstein admonished. Some clues though. If the introspective awareness regards two or more 'independent' thoughts converging. The effort to choose one's words carefully is not a struggle. It just feels right.

'When' follows 'what' for exporting, obviously. But 'what' in this case is not necessarily equivalent to explicit. If disparate though, an appropriate number of sentences ending with a question mark is called for.

Few tasks lately were showing the gradient between conscious awareness and its platform so well than this effort to trigger the next level of distribution. At some level, she knew it. And well. Not being verbal, at least with language, a double edged sword. Communicating discovered wisdom inefficient. Seeing through manipulation easier. Suggestible yes, dumb no (far from it).

How language is used to shape one's context for self-serving purposes is no excuse for circumventing such a useful tool of loving. Not the only male who enjoys stimulated grey matter, he was confronted with a bit of a dilemma. How to leverage this insight in a way that encourages language communications to those who could really use it now.

No accident that this occurred at the same time the Dunning-Kruger effect came 'on the radar screen.' (thanks Don). Self-calibration is perhaps easiest when using language in the midst of friends. Friendly, perhaps the most useful of adverbs.

"Criticism is so much easier to swallow when it comes friendly and/or from friends."

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

They?

For they are about us. All of us. At the level of the soup we share much. It is just the view from the altitude of the much maligned ego that there is so much contrast. From the photoshop of our minds we reconnect with that soup. And learn there is just enough fuel to travel anywhere we … yes, we … wish.

Ambiguity 'cause the ego needs to loosen' up a bit. A belly laugh is more difficult when one is self-absorbed. But those expressions of natural security are the most cathartic of all. Especially when a vague paranoia has been rocking one's boat.

Friendly, the wisest of all. Testing for it, an oxymoron, in my book. So some of the dances are a bit dated, expensive education, implicit entitlement, selfishness disguised as a pursuit of freedom, uniforms, crewcuts, the twist.

So who makes the new rock and roll, who synthesizes the new root musics into something that feels real good? We do, my brothers an sisters … we do.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Brother

He said, "forget that fairytale stuff, you'll just have to unlearn it later." That forlorn, yearning look still deep in his eyes as he approaches the end of his sixth decade. The weight of a grueling profession and a summer about to end … again. Its true, I hear the crickets.

While it is not my story, it is one I know well.

At least that is what it looked like from a less than neighborly distance a long time ago. Though the distance be greater now, it looks pretty much the same. But I would remind him, given the chance, that he often said "its never too late." (Is it what he feels or is it just what he is supposed to say?)

Where are they? Busy, he thought. And it was none of his business. So it must be something else … besides business... that is. Skip childhood, there is less to … Why is no one smiling?

You see, I love my brother.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Needed now. Trust me.

What a satisfying discovery. In the process of escaping the imagined horror his passioned efforts were covertly co-opted. Little did they know, how could they, his legend preceded him. That same legend that persisted his isolation and turned his creative suggestibility into his worst enemy was to visit upon him his greatest opportunity to date. He was pretty sure the last jaw had not dropped yet.

To read that Orwell classic at this point in time was yet another stroke of serendipity. She did not understand it upon her first assignment just as he had not decades ago. The implications fed not only the desire to better understand the underlying energetic cognitive flow but how to use it to plane the vehicle in ground effect.

If the new shared but implicit rules now required a mystic dance, so be it. When the juice became available to the system at the right times and places an underlying potential was as the full moon on a clear night. No longer inexplicably irritable when things were outside rigid expectation, the power of uncertainty became as friendly as just about anything he could think of.

Bumped into standby, the task of informing her of the current status of the succession plan occurred. Once again, not a coincidence that he thought of it now. All things considered emerged from the magic soup below. Reverence for it … better late than never.

Walking. Cool.

Before I could walk, a man named Ortiz coined a term that is particularly apropos now, transculturation. Why now? Because we have for the first time in our specie's history the means to accomplish this in real-time, interactively. You might ask, "Why is that important?" I would suggest that the pace of necessity dictates that we incorporate wisdom into our actions much faster than ink on paper alone would allow.

That you are reading this illustrates my point. As far as I know, what I have written here has not been committed to text inscribed on dead trees. You do not have to wait for that to happen. If I am all wet, you can tell me before I am able to dry myself off. And if we are lucky and I, by standing on the shoulders of the giants we all do, come up with something useful, you and others can put it to work, immediately.

This process is happening over our entire planet as I write this. No question, it is stumbling, hazardous process … like a baby learning to walk. But like that infant, it will lead to great things. It is only a matter of time (and not a lot of it).

Ouch

In physical pain he rolled over on his back. Bitter as if emerging from an altercation in which he was falsely accused, he felt withdrawn. What was it that he wanted to remember afterwords? Ah yes, that his mood was what really hurt, the rest was mere decoration.

Indirection, a powerful cognitive structure. Climb the layers of abstraction to the invariant at the pinnacle. And at each layer take care to make a handle suitable for traffic in any direction including down. Easier on the way up to do so because gravity stretched time when traveling that direction. And very useful on the way down to the here and now since gravity shortened time on a descent to the explicit.

As his head cleared a smile migrated to the whole of his face. The invariant form of spiritual continuity is indeed timeless. "It will be fun to apply this insight the next time 'reality' intrudes.", he whispered. It was, after all, just a dream. A very useful dream.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Event Horizon

What does a single wavelength tell us about all that is? These questions were like an ear worm with variations, to him. Unlike the common annoying occurrence this had quite the opposite effect. As if to catalyze connection introspection. And then to project onto the whole and illuminate a relevant part of it. Reverberation as embellishment of symbolic communication.

Subtle vibrations they. Locking horns on a late winter day. Acting like a bunch of … humans. Disgusting. And then, like a clockwork, symptoms again. This was no magic carpet, this was life. But with the lights on this time. More like magic because it made sense. And much less fuel was consumed. Implicit was that the journey could go longer or farther … or both.

Each time this limit was approached something useful was learned. As time passed, the approach angle was more tangential and less energetic. The limit, though not visible in and of itself, had much to reveal from the more recent shallow angles.

Compassion is like that, he thought. Through experience, the illusion of separateness fades. But we, in effect, ride that horizon. It can be rough, but through practice, less so. In the distance the warm glow fades with the promise to return. A rhythm close to home.

"Deep Space"

One thing was certain about missions of this type. There is no waiting to discover the consequences of unwise choices. No situation sink, so to speak. If you travel in deep space, you are totally dependent on that which you bring with you. The good news, you tend not bring along the 'baggage' that is best left behind. The bad news, you are not able to indulge many errors of assumption … wait a minute, is that really 'bad'?

On deeper inspection, the near instant response that survival in deep space requires brings a very satisfying self-awareness. Recorded deep in the folds of the grey matter and who knows where else is an adaptive mechanism that is mind-boggling to the average ego.

So he was grateful, very much so, that circumstances had thrown him into metaphorical deep space. Looking back at the events of the last several days, they were rich with the scenes of robust living. Its impact on her, perhaps dearest of all to him. This adventure, the decoding and all that was related was not a task to be accomplished by some deadline. Its value would go far beyond the impression that word usually leaves.

The entry in the log, like others on this voyage, necessarily was something less than specific. Details of history alone just can't do justice to its meaning.

"If you look deeply into her eyes, you will see the sage smiling as she wags her tail."

Lucky Man

I was a 'have' and became a 'have-not', largely through no fault of my own. At first, it was devastating. Then I discovered, what I had came at a very high cost. As I adjusted to the idea of lower purchasing power I became aware of its cost. I think it is referred to as a silver lining. Now, through a fault of my own, I have what I want and working hard to pay its cost is my joy. I am a lucky man.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Horns, what horns?

Not that long ago he was desperate to find meaning before an imminent exit. Talk about drag racing when the fuel is low. Desperation is not a high mileage strategy. Repeating it will not get better results. But, as a suggested strategy to one's competition, maybe. If you can bring it off. Don't try it on the tortoise, but the hair … the couch potato hair … I don't have to think because I found somebody to do it for me … until I lose my job, my home and my (sob, sob) credit card.

He chuckled. He had just been through this silly process and all that was at stake was his family's well being and his life. And he was not alone though the folks bringing that point of view to him had perfected the illusion that they were on the air for just one person …

The stakes did in fact seem high. But the logic ended abruptly there. So that famous religious text did have something to say on this wide-spread and ancient sociologic phenomena and as if to prove its point it was twisted by egos turned against there hosts ... for millenia.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Time Has Come

He arrived at the hangout just in time. Even though there was plenty to support time shifting, live-interactive was still best for the types of issues on today's agenda. Across an ocean and many time zones away context translated well on challenges such as these.

He thought back to a time when this capability was in its infancy. Back then the things that are taken for granted today were impeded as much by rigid thinking regarding monetization as technology constraints. Ironic that today they were using the very inexpensive LED lighting that cost-effectively improved the friendly visual rapport. The audio coherence mask reduced the background noise so that impromptu gatherings could be an effective node in a live conference network. These simple and very inexpensive technologies made the very concept of these live global gatherings more accessible to those who could not wait for a capitalization plan.

The first face he noticed on the screen was hers. She was whispering in the ear of the person he assumed was the one he was to virtually meet. He raised his hand to signal the counter for his obligatory cup of coffee, sat down and id'd himself to his iPad. Those who had arrived before him were confirmed on the status bar.

"Good morning", she said as the sunset light was just distinguishable behind her. "I would like for those of you back in the states to meet the author of last night's breakthrough."

She introduced him and described the significance of his accomplishment. At this point in time this advance promised to break a major logjam that had plagued the project for well over a year. They had been asking themselves whether they were stuck because this was new territory or that there was a competing interest that would benefit from them taking much more time in pursuit of their goal. And as was discovered just a few days ago, it was an interesting mix of both.

That third eye, a highly ubiquitous pattern, was at the heart of his presentation. This time with a very interesting twist ...

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Firm. Wise?

A rough day. Necessarily so? A question not answered quickly. But the newly gained insight would answer sooner than ever before.

A caged animal, fiercely attacking the next to open the door. The wise and therefore compassionate one to open it this time knows why the captive lashes out. The not-so-wise to open it before did so with out regard for the oppressed occupant. Stronger cages serve the privileged but at a price felt over time. With each insecurity driven 'advance' in the tool of oppression, the captor's internal parasite of self-destruction grows. Some call it shame.

Again, the wise one new that while the infected became more and more subservient, they were no less deserving of compassion though the process was certainly more difficult. In so many ways, the caged animal would respond with less effort. The master of that animal ... anything but. Dominion turned on its ugly head to become the dehumanizer of the so-called 'masters'.

The fog of war. Chaos obscuring a potentially beautiful order. When it lifts all will make sense. Before, little will. But is this not true of oppression also? Just an asymmetric form of that violence? We practice it frequently, even in our daily lives. Adopting habits without realizing their consequence. Lip service to compassion is to miss its deep, secular, long-term value. So when the humble leader speaks such wisdom it is easier to hear when one is not caged. Even by the illusion of security associated with the captor's cages.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Wayward

So good to have her back. Knowing that this was the time of change only made it a little easier. Something felt very wrong about what was happening before. Not just that it was not expected but something outside the envelope of probable. In fact, an outlier.

The exercise of structured reforming of experiences for re-use built up something akin to faith. The key step occurred when the application of the methodology crystalized into a memorable vision of resolution. This in turn scored the pattern such that it persisted accordingly.

To see the depth of her creativity and awareness return reinforced that inexplicably secure feeling that this is as it should be. Which handles made the notes? He started through the list: risk, initiative, connection, courage … The meaning of yesterday's decoded pattern? Still a question for some future date. He tagged the log with a unique anonymous code.

"One wonders how they know.", he expressed sincerely not expecting a reply.

"Its enough that we know they do.", she answered anyway.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Clubhouse

A tree to climb to see that river where the sun sets in summer time. Climbing to this higher place became routine and a source of pride. He had not asked why it was satisfying until that special night many decades ago. Though his chosen destination was an exalted place, it had not occurred to him that there was something beyond. And why it was very special would remain with him until now and likely far into the unbounded future.

Epiphany yet to be fully explicit or that its eternal quality was the message? It would come and go as the years passed, most times leaving another hint as to why it was worth the wait. What was worth the wait? It simply did not occur for him to ask that question until now.

"What led to this?", he asked himself. Gazing back upon what or who is seeing and how she/he/it does it. Not being able to take the hardware's longevity for granted anymore. The unfortunate aspects of considering work and play mutually exclusive. Discovering that cognition center as essential AND fraught with risk. Well the list is rather long, after all. Worth the effort to keep extending it … for a later time (but soon).

So from the first time the height was reached, the view inspired awe. And the second what new might he create from it. And thereafter, ever more explicit actions until a plateau was reached. Was it because he was near the top? Or because he had reached a roof?

If he had to commit at this moment, he would guess that what had changed was connection. That connection took decades was a testament to its magnificent complexity not its irrelevance. The net was the enabling tool, at last no longer a prisoner to isolated opinion.

Yes, the roof was a container which constrained perception of the emergent. He had peaked above that fateful night. Was he now ready to go above and stand upon it?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Old Song

Replay that long buried recording and recall its origins. What did it represent then? And don't forget the incidental or accidental. Seek also what was unconscious to better understand what its meaning is now.

A hidden dissonant chord and something to be feared? The cloud surrounding a time long past, what a tale it might tell. And just after the sun completely disappears, one of the very few times when a person can turn her back to the dark for she can be seen through the dancing warm light to be okay by some who care.

More work to do: rationalizing rather than apologizing for mean acts to others when one is consumed by a duty they do not understand … yet.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Sherlock

"Be specific", was the reply. In a stern tone whose intent was quite transparent.

He had seen this pattern identified by the system many times as the research started to close in on the fiercely protected. When calm, nearly any person reasonably conversant with the topic at hand could recognize what was at play. Angry refutation as a diversionary tactic was far easier when the questions were forced closer to a specific case. Simply resisting the effort was to miss an opportunity?

Beneficiaries of this social phenomena had a wide range of motives for denying a link consciously or unconsciously. The map scaled well too. From a person-to-person exchange to nation-to-nation. Perhaps beyond.

Those who seek the 'observer' from a variety of disciplines could see the immediate context had much to reveal regarding opportunity. A quick defensive response invariably had a rich history as it was refined from repeated experience until it came to rest upon the triggering topic and sprung into action.

A vivid generic awareness could record the echoes reverberating from the context, the persistence to be analyzed at the appropriate future date. The persistence meta-pattern highly efficacious for differentiating these dialogic edges.

He imagined the facial signatures of those individuals that, for one reason or another, had developed this skill into high art. "Are we getting close to a time when the evolving model compared to the single mind would prove useful?", he asked himself.

Intentional Nuisance

Back in high school, he took band class. Sometimes the teacher would ask the snare drum players to mute their instruments when another student was soloing his brass horn to better hear. And when the instructor forgot to do that, he was particularly annoyed.

Throughout his life he was aware of the sounds that could not be described as either signal or random noise. In this category were distortion, unintended resonances and so forth. He wasn't sure if this hypersensitivity is something he learned or inherited but was fairly resigned to the idea that it was more important to him than most. Arguing for the inheritance path, these sounds had a negative emotional impact. And for the learned path, that upon discovering their source, he classified them consciously.

More recently he described to her why the sounds from the speaker downstairs created a booming sound upstairs. The corner where the speakers were was a resonant cavity at the booming frequency. This pattern resonated (pun, intended) for the project. Since by definition these noise signals were of relatively high amplitude the trick was to know when they are not part of the signal even if they are stimulated by it.
Recursive Exit

Management leverage by manipulation of coherent noise is particularly sinister. Too many rose to influence by tuning the obfuscating pattern. An asymmetric opportunity to synchronously dampen the destructive oscillations is implicit, he thought. Preparing historical examples for input to the network was the first step.

"The rough outline is ready for discussion. Sign on with the Level VII protocol".

Friday, March 5, 2010

Calculated Risk

This public institution was attractive for the operation for a number of reasons. Chief among them were its historically high standing and because it was close to the nerve center, effective camouflage and geographically optimal.

The second obfuscation layer was a common illegal activity network. Suspicious matters obscured by covert operations of high interest but unrelated. Again, coherent noise.

The third layer, more innovative. High volume of everyday transactions masking net-born 'robots' that could both divert attention and provide unauthorized access to key accounts. Even proxies for them.

As a case study it could not be much better. Not knowing anything about the covert mission or its goal was the frosting, so-to-speak. If the network could learn from this instance it would not be hard to feed the net many of its type. The number of autonomous agents was close to ideal for this early test protocol step.

He looked down at the screen showing all subsystems primed and pressed Enter.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Generative

Suggestible yes, stupid no. It is one thing when others need to be shown. Another entirely when one is best served by understanding it about oneself. Can open people lead? Yes, openness is remarkably efficient when optimizing a team for a task. But self-calibration is a highly desirable prerequisite.

'Focus', who decides?

Each time one transmits in a communications transaction they take some leadership responsibility, however minute. Even accepting such a transaction is an act of leadership, "I choose to accept the invitation to interact". Leading blindly makes no sense. It simply is not reliably conducive to an attractive outcome.

Leadership should not be confused with control. For purposes of this discussion, control is a subset of leadership.

These declarations did not seem particularly revolutionary taken separately. A little more so when considered in certain opportune moments. Clear now that it was pivotal to the task at hand. This was not just a collection of useful ideas. And more than just an ordered or hierarchical set. Adaptible pattern sequencer …

To soon to name it? Yes. But not to soon to contemplate.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Periscope Depth

They were a wise, eclectic, self-effacing group ostensibly organized to assist in the process of attracting internationally recognized influencers to the city. One had only to look at the track record to see that, on some notable level, the mission was being accomplished. His interest continued to be communications and what could be gleaned from one of the most ancient of intra-human methods, music. So, when the opportunity to bring it up arose, he did.

Meanwhile, the uncovering of the detail in a somewhat successful covert operation was a turbulent tune about to resolve. These two converging, what did it mean in indirect terms? The confusion over just what random meant in a revealing discussion in the group changed a sentence in his mind's eye from using that word, 'random' to 'unpredictable' and inserting the adverb, 'first'.

"… events are far less unpredictable than they first appear."

Bubbling below the surface of conscious awareness is something of great import. When a volitional effort is made to understand its contribution to stream of consciousness some interesting revelations emerge. Anger, fear and confusion feel close at times. Response to programmed triggers is often necessary. And the price is high when the programming is not sufficiently predictive. The degree to which the uncertainty can be quantified … just starting that sentence implied a highly conceptual and therefore, indirect relationship between the useful concept and an instance of its practical application.

Jumping around levels of indirection has at least one unfriendly use, obfuscation. Relying on it numbs the awareness and one's capacity to participate in a solution applicable to a larger whole. The seeds of war, understanding them is the best way to prevent the use of the "last resort."? At least that was his interpretation of the wise, ancient Chinese dissertation on the subject.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I didn't know to look there.

A challenge and an opportunity. Stimulating curiosity in her and scrutiny in them would likely serve two of the more important aspects of this initiative. They would start detectable lockdown procedures to prevent further leaks. She would start looking at her immediate environment with an eye toward seeing what was heretofore hidden.

The network's recent upgrade was proving its worth now. Bandwidth had been available for sometime, even the bi-directional type. What was new was a more robust understanding of massively parallel and adaptive communications architecture. The precedent was ancient in terms of engineering development cycles. Why did we not look there earlier?

So often, we move so fast that we are not even aware of what we miss. But when we no longer have a high red line, we understand the value of efficiency. The long haul is not just how to get through the next turn as fast as possible. And now with the accumulated wisdom of untimely breakdowns, crashes and the like we are aware that the subtle truth that speed masks can contribute much to a winning race.

Competitors have good reason to mess with such understanding. At first, counterintuitive. But upon deep inspection, not so much. Speed kept the hare from victory. And the tortoise, in a place where she could be patient, could apply wisdom across the entire duration of the contest.

On the velocity dimension this made timely sense. What of the other dimension(s)?

The Mole

Engagement without enmeshment? How better to title it? In the field and not among its natives may be in some ways more secure when one has dominant conventional capability on the edge of town. But a sensible mission need be conducted in the midst of the 'normal' constituents of the field? Generic capability no matter how far developed is at a distinct disadvantage if it projects upon rather than is co-resident.

She was on the inside of inside, so-to-speak. A double agent in spy jargon. Her background taught through example how to achieve objectives but not how to design them. Not having ownership of the mission design while virtually living the mission with all its intricate deception had a price. True even for a person obsessed with keeping physically fit.

The missing element then was a natural integration of the why with the execution. Manifestations of difficult adaptation took on a number of forms. The cultural was well documented. But cultural awareness is masked after time? The questions rather than answers set up an enhanced sensitivity to just what it meant to deal with another culture.

He had been joking earlier with dear friends about the 'raptors in our society and realized now the adjacent significance to the task at hand. Predators are useful to themselves and others in that they tend to feed on consumption of the threatening. But when the threat is no longer there? What happens then?

Disarming the robotic predators. These algorithms and the hardware to support and respond to them went way back in technological terms. Back even to a time when there was not a convenient means to record the why behind the routine. Sunsets in this world happened when something crashed rather than at some prescribed interval or a predicted event.

Only her recurring symptoms caught her conscious awareness. If its a performing whale and the symptoms caused the loss of a revered species life, what to do? If that dog, trained to automatically respond to a perceived threat, kills not the enemy but the person she/he was supposed to protect, put IT down.

At the heart of this passage was a considerable insight into the consequences of compiling with just an upper layer of invariant abstraction. Making, albeit indirectly, life and death decisions. And all the while, the unexpected gender …

Monday, March 1, 2010

Crackling Glow

Early warnings triggered. Non-specific initially of course. The day after the post-processing of the log. Each drill making the scramble more routine. Having recourse but not using it out of preparedness and compassion is a nice place to be.

Is recovery from the systemic invasion related? A useful perception perhaps. Action item within the hour: calm, responsive. Prepare for diversion pattern. She used it yesterday with fleeting effect. The intensity was palpable. Cater to the imagination to reveal primitive intent. It is what you don't say.

Turn the angry energy to growth … without the solicitous baggage and ego distortion. Practice, practice, practice. Rapid context switching, important at any cusp. Like the short sentences you see here.

Communication. Is music the best generic model for humans? Much would argue yes. A discussion amongst communicators on music that looked generative impressed greatly. Sharing its spontaneous wisdom will extend its campfire light. And repeat.