Folia Vitrae
leaves of glass
Latest posts
Tyler Cowen Grief
I read Tyler Cowen almost every day, he is probably my single favorite source of novel information. But I recently noticed some patterns in his thoughts on three disparate topics that struck me as problematic and I am lumping together in one grievance post. The AI technology comparison set. In his existential-risk post 1 he ranks today's AI alongside fire, the printing press, and fossil…
scale
Are we small or big or medium? Maybe we are exactly between subatomic and universal, maybe its logarithmic and we are still somehow in the middle.
suffering
The buddhist idea of an axle not placed exactly in the middle of a wheel. This is funny because that would be uncomfortable but so are ill fitting socks and yet buddhism says that also dying and all your loved ones dying fall under this same descriptor. sources seams — society mirror — self clouds — nature
clouds
Clouds. We can't hold them or touch them and they're not as soft and cottony as they look.
mirror
(coming soon)
seams
The seams of underwear and socks are on the inside so that we don't see them. This is not comfortable. Though it also protects them from becoming broken.
anglicisms
Swiss french: "after work" online internet lunch weekend full, as in "full calver/chaos, full send" bus camping burnout no big deal red flag what the fuck
Reflection on Generative AI Poems 2012-2014
These writing samples are not strictly academic in nature but reflect over a decade of applied generative AI in creative processes. The following three poems used original python software developed during my undergraduate cognitive science studies at the University of California. The unpublished software, named “Words Masher,' implemented extremely rudimentary neural networks and markov…
cords
Reflection on Generative AI Poems 2012-2014
Advertisements
Our mendal bandwidth is stolen through the use of pervasive advertisement, well beyond the hypothetical benefit that might come from it. Mental exhaustion makes it difficult to make decisions, and I believe advertisers know this and knowingly try to weaken consciousness, which obviously has reprecussions outside of your buying habits, and conceivably could affect your ability to make good…
Attention Span Attacks
Outline Assumption one: Media (especialy "popular" media) takes advantage of neurochemistry by producing extra-ordinarily "engaging" content, utilizing themes like "larger-than-life" emotions, imagery, sounds/music, sex appeal, exageratd action/events, etc. Assumption two: "Social media" takes these same physiologically engaging contents but does away with extended continuity and…
shards
The sky was a punctured lung/spilled bowl of soup exhaling/spilling clotted phlegm/dumplings and trailing pools of plum wine. The water so clear and the sky so blue on the shadowed side of the mountain it looked like a stream of oil across the trail. The trail looked like the barren assaulted line left by atrawling boat on the bottom of the sea, like it left its anchor down and…
Tools
go download uBlock Origin plugin for your browser.
Algarve Litoral
Day 1: Quarteira to Albufeira 19/6/22 the woman managing my stay this evening asked me why i was walking so much of the portuguese coast. i told her, "tenho tempo e gosto caminhar". i have time and i like to walk. Its beginning provoked a surreal familiarity. Long wide beaches, though the ones here are natural and the unsheltered people are invisible; eucalyptus, anise, juniper, ice…
Portugal 22
Preface My sister says to say "Tudo joia (everything jewels) and Tudo beleza (everything beauty) and Tudo Rolando (everything rolling)" Part 1: Algarve Litoral Part 2: Rota Vicentina
Material Sponsors
My disdain for OBEY knows no bounds, and I outright think they should be illegal, or at least 100% opt-in, both digitally and plastered around the physical world. I specifically only wear clothes/accessories with no branding, because I respect other people's cognitive bandwidth too much. That said, there are a couple of brands I have been using for years now that are the best in their…
Love
Breakups A long time friend of mine is going through a breakup and asked me recently "have you been through a bad heartbreak? when will it end?" I responded over text, but having just passed the year mark on a deeply painful breakup, I figured my advice is worth writing down in case I need to refresh my memory in the future. "Yes, just emerging from heatbreak. I was with her for two years and it…
Gear
For better or worse I am a bit of a gearhead. My philosophy previously was to buy used and as cheap as possible since, for better or worse. gear is often a consumable given a long enough time frame. Eventually, as I saved more money my philosophy changed a bit. The most expensive, ultralight everything used to be anathema to me, but given how important being in the outdoors is to me, high quality,…
Solarpunk
The exact definition of solarpunk I don't think is codified, but to me it means using technology to bring us closer and more in line with nature, instead of alienating us from it. It means embracing high technology at the same time as embracing the natural world. It is about mindful consumption, efficiency, minimalism in the way hang drying your clothes is minimal compared to a rumbling…
Sponsors
i am hoping that my long distance hikes can be "sponsored" by non-profits in order to use my adventures to raise awareness for causes and organizations I believe in. Please donate to GiveWell and type HARV in the available field. I dont get any of money but it helps us keep track of any success. GiveWell has an impressive team of researchers working diligently to determine the most effective use…
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Bios
I am a hardcore solarpunk , body surfer, backpacker and open source advocate. I am also a science fiction author and long time vipassana meditator. Poet laureate of Cascadia. Matocante Native American. Fifth gen CA, fifteenth gen US. Favorite Smells Hot, dry pine needles in the sun. Seafoam Hot, sun soaked blackberries/vines Fav Sounds the subtlest water gurgles mourning doves mocking birds…
Grey Area
This is where I organize my thoughts relating to consciousness, uncertainty and mind. I like cognitive science. Cog Sec Cognitive Security* Attention Span Attacks Advertisements
Hollow Scene
This is the section where I write make note of some of the real bummers of the anthropocene. In no particular order, sometimes with commentary varying from whiny to productive. dis ease the window seated who do not peer fake books cold air prion disease planetary boundaries
Slowest Known Time
There is a concept in some sports called "Fastest Known Time" where an athlete takes a known route and completes the entirety of it in the fastest time recorded publically. Often, as in the case of the PCT, this reuqires support teams, planning, extensive resources, and money. In some cases it is simply a human being doing something faster through sheer physcical ability, but often these days it…
cold air
The sensation of cold air toward my ankles on a warm day. Undeserving of conditioned air.
fake books
Fake books.
planetary boundaries
Planetary boundaries .
prion disease
Prion disease.
the window seated who do not peer
The window seated who do not peer.
Brainstorms
Ocassionally ideas float up that I write down: Startup Ideas Confusion Restaurant This is already unironically a thing, dramatically different cuisines mashed together. Take this up a notch and make it even more confused. Partially Vegetarian food They say that minimzing our meat intake would significantly help the environment in multiple ways, but people don't want to quit meat. Make…
Puns
English Puns Spoonerisms Cross-linguistic puns Agape (english/greek)
Spoonerisms
Spoonerisms involve taking a phrase and switching the first letters/sounds in the words. This can be done inside a single word by switching two sounds in the word to produce a new word, most commonly with two words by switching the first phoneme of each word with that of the other, or on long strings of words by switching beginning word sounds of given words. If you have any good spoonerisms…
Help Yourself to Seconds
Notes, updated 5/23/22 These are AI dictated, so they need to be edited to make sense. Premise: indecisive person ordering at a fancy restaurant is overwhelmed by the menu options. After drawn out in decisive minutes, the paper menu lengthens I half an inch in her hands she doesn’t notice the first comment about how that item looked in better she has no how she missed the first time…