I think we’re all tired of the America-Online-like centralization of the Internet.  Various countries are solving the problem by arbitrarily cutting themselves off, and forming their own little non-Internets, but maybe cut off your nose to spite your face?  But there’s no reason we all need to buy into the way social media is set up at the moment, just because it’s convenient.

Mr Sanger asks that we post our own copies of his “Declaration of Digital Independence”, which seems a little contrary to the point of the net.  In the spirit of hypertext, I’m posting a link to his copy.

Source: Declaration of Digital Independence – Larry Sanger Blog

There’s a media strike that goes along with it: a

“collective pause in our use of social media, except to post notices and memes that:

1. Declare that we are on strike. Use hashtag #SocialMediaStrike.
2. (Optional.) Point to a copy of the Declaration of Digital Independence (preferably, your own; see “How” below). Invite others to sign the Declaration.
3. Urge others to join the strike. Ask your friends, family, and followers to sign and strike.”

No Reddit for me Thurs-Fri.

About age-related decline. She had a depressing get together with friends and they were all sharing stories of aging, none particularly uplifting. And last night there’s a thing on the radio about diabetes, and I understand that, genetically speaking, it’s probably something I’m going to be dealing with in a few years, and … on and on.

And lo and behold, next morning I’m reading this, and thinking that he’s onto something. Stuff shows up when you’re ready to pay attention, it seems.

Heiner Goebbels puzzles and invigorates audiences with works that aren’t quite concert music, theater, installation or performance art.

I think this guy went where I was wanting to go.

The most thoughtful post I’ve read recently on these two apparently related (problem + solution) ideas is Vi Hart’s.

https://theartofresearch.org/ai-ubi-and-data/

Her conclusion: AI is going to displace jobs, but it’s not what you think. UBI is a good idea, but not as a solution to AI. A better solution is based around fairly valuing people for the data they generate, which is fundamental to the successful operation of AI. Lots of good references to Lanier, et al.

Definitely worth the read if you’re interested in this. Andrew Yang, do you have a good response?

I guess I don’t understand the hue and cry over Facebook. The company is clear that it doesn’t, and doesn’t want to, act as an editor for the variety of things that get posted, and it’s clear that given the volume of stuff they really can’t do a good job at it. Meanwhile, there are sources of information that do have editorial standards. As a consumer of information, I get to decide: do I want to get my information from sources I trust to vet and present it truthfully, or do I want to get it from anyone?

As a matter of fact, I do both. I read things on Reddit, but I approach them with much more skepticism than I do with my New York Times subscription or Richard Stallman’s blog. By the same token, I subscribe to Taran’s Free Jazz Hour, because of his curatorial excellence.

So, is the problem just that people have an unreasonable expectation of Facebook?

Huh.  Never heard of this.

Source: New Zealand’s New Visa Program Requires Positive Energy and a Business Plan – Slashdot

The KKK scheduled a public rally in Dayton, OH. A few days later, an act of God visits unprecedented destruction from a string of tornadoes. Just saying.

Alabama might start connecting the dots, too.

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/05/21/1960s-rock-music-san-francisco-lsd-buchla-100-synthesizer-grateful-dead/

Cal State Hayward, home to Scot G-L for years. A vintage Buchla 100. And residual LSD.

I dreamed about Ian this morning, playing with a friend. Woke up with the line “my beautiful boy” repeating in my head.

Had a good discussion with a friend the other night about Medicare for All, and played the devil’s advocate.  One of my bugbears is the speed of the transition from the mess we have now to the new plan; it seems it would necessarily involve laying off millions of insurance analysts, data entry people in hospitals and clinics, middle managers, all the paper-pushers who make up a large proportion of the medical care establishment, which is itself nearly 20% of the economy by GDP.

A good article on exactly this:

Source: The workers who will lose their jobs under Medicare for All – People’s World

As usual, it’s not the end goal that is destabilizing, it’s the sudden transition.  Just like the automation wave that’s happening now.