Looking At The Past Anticipating The Future

I think back to the days (early 1980s, 35 years ago) when I first got into working with computers as a job and not just teaching computer science and mathematics. I like the phrase "Explorers Of The Unknown" to describe those days.

These days we live in "The Wild West" of the Information Age.

I like to think that in another 35 years we may actually have arrived in the early days of the "Cyber Civilization" phase of the Information Age.

I do love the tech we now enjoy and when I remember back to those old explorer days and and then run the tech forward, in my mind, to today I am 'GOB-SMACKED' by the progress. 

Back when I was a child, in the late 1940s-1960s, I used to wish I could communicate with my older self.  At that time I loved math, science and science-fiction and wished I could have been born sometime in the future rather than the time I was actually born. 

Looking around today, I am certain if I communicated with my younger self that past person would be OK with how things (in a technological sense) turned out.

I'm writing this post in 2018, sitting at my 3GHz Multi-Core 64 bit laptop computer not plugged into ANYTHING (well the battery is at 35% so I will plug in the power).

My flat screen resolution would be beyond imagination 35 years ago (they were just experimenting with plasma-displays). 

If we could transmit the specs of this laptop back in time to those days (early 1980s) some hardware and software engineers could think it came from some alien race.  Never mind describing "The-NET" as it exists today. It was still around ARPA-Net time then, and mass communication was almost entirely one-way.  Here are the specs of today's machine.

  Model Name ............ MacBook Pro

  Processor Name ........ Intel Core i5

  Processor Speed ....... 2.9 GHz (112 giga flops)

  Number of Processors .. 1

  Total Number of Cores . 2

  Memory ................ 16 GB

  Disk Drive ............ 0.4 TB (Solid State)
  Camera ................ 720 mgp HD
  Microphone/Headphone .. Stereo Mic/Headphone Jack
  Speakers/Microphones .. Stereo Mic (2) Speakers (2)
  Display ............... 13" 2560x1600 pixels
  Network ............... Blue Tooth - Wireless
  Network ............... WiFi - Wireless
  Ports ................. Power/Battery, Thunderbolt, USB-3, HDMI
  Keyboard .............. Back-Lit with 'Touch-SoftKey-Bar'    

I like to think about what the above description may look like 35 years from now. , Assuming I live that long I will be 106 years old (early 2050s.)

My expectation is that I will be 'GOB-SMACKED' (again). 

The tech that serves the same purpose as my MacBook-Pro, iPad and SmartPhone (Laptops, iPads, and SmartPhones may not even exist) will be an integrated system (and highly integrated with the individual) and will look like:

• Internal Memory/CPU would will have a much larger capacity. The processor, ram, I/O, and OS will be all integrated.
  Apps will be a 'thing-of-the-past' as we currently know them. 
  We will access 'app-stuff' from what today we call the-cloud and pay for them on an 'elapsed-time-meter' scale.  The longer you 'dwell' on the app the more you pay (of course the price metrics for a speed-app vs a contemplative-app would be different).
• Display/KBD - None (see below)
• H/W - Just a small package about the size of a few credit cards stacked on top of each other.
• The OS - "Of course it's an A.I." With speech synthesis and recognition, and image recognition.
• Some pieces:
• The small package containing the HW/OS.
• An 'in-ear' earpiece-mic for each ear.
• These would basically be worn like contact lenses are today but would be 'active' allowing you to communicate with the small package.
• A 'button-cam' for your clothing.
• The computer's autonomous input devices that of course would turn off/mute at private times.  This could also manage 'gesture-recognition' so you could move your hands to manipulate VR-SPACE that you would constantly be exposed to via an overlay on your contact lenses/screen (see below).
• A pair of contact lenses that would be 'active' and replace current screens.
• Network - Oh yes, ubiquitous connection and if you had to 'manage/fix/invent some other thing' then you would just open a dialog with it (or a simulation of the thing you are inventing) and go to work. 
• Of course you could also do manual-stuff like wood, metal, electronics working, sailing, hiking, rock-climbing, swimming, hands-on computer/machinery install/repair or even sweep-the-floor. 
  
  And for those activities you could either opt-for or opt-not-for a VR-ASSIST when doing them.

I Got ONE! WOOT!

Hi;

I just received my very first Bitcoin into my wallet.

Given the current price of bitcoin you most likely are now thinking, "THOSE SUCKERS COST AROUND $4,000.00 USD APIECE!"

And you would be 100% correct.

Back in early August I installed a full BitCoin Node on a test machine someone let me use: A desktop-tower 16-Gb Intel Multi-Core-i5 running at 3-Ghz with a 1-Tb Hard drive. 

So it is plenty big enough to host the entire block-chain and keep up with it.  The initial update took a couple of days though.  Now when I crank it up it only takes an hour or two to 'catch-up' with the block chain.  Which by the way uses around 145-Gb of disk space.

So, you may ask; "Just where do find $4,000.00 laying around to purchase a Bitcoin."

And the answer is: "I do NOT have that kind of money just to play around with!"

Here is the punch line:  When you install the full node from bitcoin.org you ALSO get installed the same app but configured to work with a block-chain called "testnet" which is exactly like the normal bitcoin block-chain except it is for development and test use and the coins in the block-chain have zero value.  

And if anyone on the planet is ever seen trying to sell a bitcoin from that block chain the entire block chain is reset and all the bitcoins are GONE!.  Also the blocks look like random strings when you attempt to send/receive testnet Bitcoin to a wallet that is connected to the real block-chain.

So the next step is to send all/part of it to another wallet.

And the next question you may ask is: "And just where do you get free bitcoins?"

Well the answer is:  "You turn on 'The Faucet' and a bitcoin just comes right out!  Duh!"

Well sort of: You have to find a faucet first and if that faucet is connected to testnet then 1.8 Bitcoin comes out.  

And if that faucet is connected to the real block-chain then about 0.000001 Bitcoin comes out.  

(I may not have enough zeros there but you would need a gazillion of those to come up with one penny in USD.)

😜

See the screenshot below:

This is what a BitCoin Looks Like

A Bike Ride - Small(er) Whoops

A Bike Ride

Thursday 27 July 2017
41 min
8.5 miles
13.7 mph avg

About 7:30AM I left Falls of the Neuse Dam on the Neuse River Trail and was doing great. I was not trying to crank it up or lollygag, just having a good ride.

I passed under the I-540 bridge and was just about to go under the Buffalo Road bridge when I was distracted by something and swerved on the grass.

I looked up and there was a sign right there, I swerved to miss it going further onto the verge and there was a concrete cylinder with a manhole on top about five feet high.

I thought, "GOT TO SWERVE!" And the next thing was "splat": I was on the ground one shoe on, out of the clips, and one shoe off, it was still in the clips. Front wheel and handlebars twisted, water bottles ejected, frame tire pump just hanging loose, and the chain off the front sprocket.  I rolled onto my left side, gasping for breath: I had the wind knocked right out of me, my right chest area was really hurting, my right index finger was gashed and bleeding and my upper right arm was really hurting.

Two cyclist came by, stopped, helped me call Evelyn and 911 and volunteered to take my bike in their pickup. The correct characterization of the Two Cyclists is actually Two Angels.

I told E that I would meet her at REX Hospital and she and our son, who is visiting right now, took his car and collected our car.

At REX I got X-Rayed and stitched up and am now back home, only four stitches in my finger and three broken ribs. The ribs were not displaced.

The Doc said "Six-Weeks" and stitches out in five days. I'm drinking lots of gatorade and taking a Hydrocodone/Tylenol mixture.

And thanking my lucky, lucky stars that neither my hip nor my knees were affected in the least! And thinking; "I have now set a new dumb-ass-cyclist record".

I believe I was not properly hydrated when I started the ride. This caused my BP to drop 41 min into the ride which in turn caused me to go off the trail onto the verge an not be as responsive as necessary to avoid what happened.

The good news is I will NEVER leave on a bike ride again without being properly hydrated. ☹️

117 Years - 3 Total Eclipses Of The Sun SE USA

117 Years

3 Total Eclipses of the Sun

Southeastern United States

Over the past one hundred and seventeen years there have been three total solar eclipses of the sun that were visible in the Southeastern United States.  

The first occurred on 28 May 1900.
The second occurred on 07 May 1970.
The third will occur on 21 August 2017.

I was standing the backyard of the home I grew up in, with my parents, my older sister, our neighbors and my grandfather on the 7th of May 1970.  I was engaged to be married and my then fiancée was teaching school in Wilmington NC.  She had a group of her kids singing for a teacher's meeting on Wrightsville Beach that day and asked everyone to let them be excused for a bit to out in the parking lot to see the eclipse.

As the eclipse became total I recall it was as if the sun had set or was about to rise but the direction of sunrise/sunset was around the entire horizon rather than just to the west or east.  That was until you looked up and there in the sky high over head was this perfect deep red ring in the sky with streamers surrounding it.

My grandfather who grew up along the NC/SC border near Tabor City NC said, "Yes, that is exactly how it looked with I was just a boy!".  My grandfather was born in 1888 and would have been 12 years old in 1900.

So now this year on the 21st of August if all goes well I will see the second total solar eclipse of my life and can say, "Yes, that is exactly how it looked when I was 23 years old!"

I expect there is no one alive today who can recall seeing the eclipse of 1900.  My grandfather saw two, and I will likely see two, and my father saw one (1970).  There is nice symmetry there.

Below are graphics depicting of these three eclipses. 

28 May 1900

07 May 1970

21 August 2017

Neuse River Trail

22 June 2017 - Neuse River Trail Bike Ride

Today was a good day for a ride, not raining and not too warm in the morning.  And the Neuse River Trail had been cleaned up by removing the fallen trees and brushing off where the mud covered the trail.  Recent heavy rains did scattered gravel over the trail in two or three places, but for the most part it was clear.

I rode down to Glenburnie Dam ate my P.B.J. and returned to Falls of The Neuse Dam.

47.92 ... km (total distance, 30 miles)
21.10 ... kph (average speed)
02:16 ... hh:mm (time rolling)
115 ..... bpm (average heart rate)
127 ..... bpm (maximum heart rate)
53 ...... rpm (average cadence)

Milage At Turn Around Point

Elapsed Time

Glenburnie Dam
Falls of Neuse Lake is really releasing water
The waterfall is about one half its normal height. 

Zoom Out

Me, in my 2016 MS150 jersey and MS150 hat.

Above are some pictures from the bridge over the river just down from Glenburnie Dam.

Cadence History
You can see the turnaround point (lower graph) and later when
I stopped at a picnic table to finish my PBJ.
The upper graph is some metric the app puts together.

Heart Rate
Not sure what the Lap1 Lap2 stuff is all about.
Perhaps when I stopped at the dam it automatically
did a lap increment.

Above are the two screen shots from the app that monitors my cadence and heart rate.

27 May 2017 - American Tobacco Trail (ATT) - Bike Ride

Yesterday looked like a good day for a ride.  The Neuse River Trail look like it was still messy.  I decided to give the ATT a spin.

The ATT has good points in that the trail surface is very nice.  This is the first time I've been on the ATT since the Durham County section has opened.

I traveled to the southern end and rode all the way to Durham to mile number 5 (of 22) giving around 34 miles total.  This allowed me to cross over I40 on the beautiful bike/pedestrian bridge.

The ride was the longest ride I've done since 'The Big Whoops' of 21 August 2016.  The distance I traveled was just a bit short of one half of a day's ride on the MS150.  So I have my work cut out for me to be in shape enough to do 4 such rides as I did yesterday in at two day period by September.

Here are the details of the ride:

53.73 km ...... Total Distance (33 miles)
17.50 kph ..... Average Speed  (10 miles per hour - very slow)
03:04 hh:mm ... Total Time (rolling)
03:24 hh:mm ... Total Bike Ride (20 minutes rest)
115   bpm ..... Average Heart Rate
135   bpm ..... Max Heart Rate
 68   rpm ..... Average Cadence 

Here are some pictures from the ride:

This Park Is At The Border Of Wake And Chatham Counties
And Is The Start Of The Paved Section

Park At Start Of The Paved Section

The Paved Section

A Convenience Store Near The 5 Mile Marker
I Purchase A Small Bottle Of Gatorade
And A "Confused - Snickers Bar"

Looking West From The I40 Bike/Pedestrian Bridge

Looking South 

Looking North

Heart Rate Graph
The Peak Is Coming Up The Hill
Just Before The I40 Bridge
And The Dip In The Middle Is
At The Convenience Store

Cadence Graph
(That 163 is bogus)
And The Dip In The Middle Is At
The Convience Store

18 May 2017 - Neuse River Trail - Bike Ride

Last Thursday the 18th looked like a good day for a bike ride.  The big rains were over and the release of excess water from the Falls of the Neuse dam was ended, so I thought it would be ok to ride.

My first clue that the Neuse River Trail was not back to normal was when I turned down the road that leads to the car park for the trail and found that the gate was closed and locked.

I went ahead and parked in the small lot right at the dam and noted that there were other cars with bike racks so I got ready to go.

A fellow had just arrived at the parking lot and was discussing the trail and noted there were two trees down and some water and mud and that he had just started from Anderson Point Park and was about to ride back.  Anderson Point Park is about 28 km from the dam.

I decided to head out.  Sure enough even before arriving at the seven mile mark at the WRAL Soccer Center I came up on a log across the road.  I think it must have been lying alongside the path and when the river overflowed due to the release of excess water from the lake it floated in such a manner to position itself right across the path.  I figured this was the first tree down that the fellow talked about.

Also a few hundred yards down the trail there was a muddy patch and following that a puddle that was a maximum of 2-3" deep but served to nicely wash off my tires.  Then less than a mile later was a tree that was actually down across the trail.  here are pictures of this tree:

This is looking down river and there is a beaten path to the left where hikers and riders made a detour.

This is looking up river after going around the tree.  As you can see the trail is totally blocked and a detour must be done, which was on the high ground and dry.

After passing the seven mile mark there were a few puddles and some dried mud but no other obstructions.  I had to decide where to turn around or to go on to Anderson Point Park and turn around there.

I decided to turn around at the one hour mark which would make for a nice two hour ride.  So the first bridge across the neuse, as part of the trail, and not a side trail was at about the 19 km mark and I found that to be a good spot to turn around.  Here is a picture:

This is after crossing the bridge and looking back from the north side of the river.

The ride back was uneventful, except for the mud, the puddle, the big tree, and the log.  When I got back to the parking lot I did note some mud on the bike and washed it off when I returned to Swan Neck Ln.  Here is the picture of the bike:

Mud On The Bike.  Hard to see in this picture but there were some nooks and crannies that really needed a good wash to clean them out.

Here are the stats of the ride:

37.37 ... kilometers (total distance)
19.00 ... kilometers per hour (average speed)
01:58 ... hh:mm (time rolling) 

Guaranteed Minimum Income

In a recent FaceBook post my nephew opined that he was in favor of such a policy and invited his friends to 'Talk Him Out Of It".

Well, needless to say, nothing but 'crickets' responded to that challenge.

I did respond, not to talk him out of his view but instead to give it a logical foundation:

• There is a tension between folks who think that 'the-system' is there to be 'gamed' and those who think 'the-system' is there to help civilization and society to operate properly.
   
  The folks who do not look upon 'the-system' as an opportunity to engage in 'gaming-it' are typically a bit more tuned into how we as a species work. We are a 'social-species' and can NOT 'go-it-alone' we must have others to persist and even survive. It really is the case that: 'No Man Is An Island.'
  
  The folks who look upon 'the-system' as a opportunity to engage in 'gaming-the-system' are certainly aware that we are a social species but they also adhere the game-theoretic model of a strategy that is characterized by the idea of an 'opportunistic-bloom'.
  
  Iterated games where the strategy is aware of what other players 'did-last-time-they-interacted' will evolve toward an optimal strategy called 'Tit-For-Tat' where the player cooperates with another player on first contact and if not first contact then it reacts to that player in the same way that player last treated it. So --- start out cooperating and then do to players whatever they did to you last time you interacted.
  
  Tit-For-Tat naturally leads to something called a 'mono-culture' where all other strategies are extinguished. But --- the problem with a mono-culture is that it has a vulnerability to a strategy called always-default such a strategy will 'bloom' in a 'mono-culture'. The ultimate result will be either the bloom wipes out the mono-culture or the mono-culture adapts and wipes out the 'bloom'. In the second case the mono-culture is said to become more 'robust'.
  
  People interact with each other in just this way. Some folks are quite happy to be in the 'Tit-For-Tat' group, some folks go even further and . 'Always-Cooperate', some folks naturally go for the 'Opportunistic' side of things.
  
  So what does this have to do with 'Guaranteed-Minimum-Income'. There are among us very high achievers who become wealthy and cling to 'Opportunist' type behaviors and rebel against the idea of a minimum income policy. And there are folks who are not wealthy who also cling to 'Opportunistic' type behaviors and would try to 'game-the-system' if it included a minimum income provision.
  
  The take-away here is that a careful consideration of 'the-system' implies that it is not a 'zero-sum' situation but instead if correctly crafted could be very 'robust' and include a minimum-income policy.
  
  
  And it goes without question that such a system would result in a net increase in the standard of living for everyone (including opportunistic wealthy folks).

Earth Day 2017

Earth Day 2017 - This is a good day to reflect on just how our species works. We know that we are an integral part of the ecosphere and not separate from it. Unfortunately we evolved in such a fashion that we tend to take opportunistic advantage of our ecosphere without any forethought that would do a proper analysis of whether or not our actions will harm, leave alone, or help the ecosphere persist in such a manner as to be friendly to our species. This lack of forethought has brought us to where we find ourselves today. Our 'mucking-around' with the Carbon-Budget of the planet by the intense conversion of fossil hydrocarbons into energy has changed the composition of the atmosphere of our planet so that the its ability to back radiate solar radiation is compromised. The result is that the planet's oceans and its atmosphere are heating up and our climate is changing as a consequence.
This change if allowed to proceed, fueled by our ever increasing use of fossil hydrocarbons to produce energy will render the ecosystem of our planet hostile to our species. Put in blunt terms we are on the verge of self-extinction. There is way, way more energy falling on our planet from the sun that is needed to power every single item that we care to power and many, many more. Our current level of technology if brought to bear on this could result in the total elimination of the our hydrocarbon economy and replace it with a sustainable non hydrocarbon economy. As time proceeds technologies could be developed to roll back the imbalance in the carbon budget so the ecosystem would again be more friendly to our species.
It is beyond unfortunate that some countries (our own included) engage in willful ignorance on this matter. If this willful ignorance persists we could easily see the extinction of our species.

Best Case / Worst Case For POTUS#45

Two cases, similar outcomes.

If And Only If

• The following cases are if and only if the Investigations of the FBI/NSA/CIA bear out one of the scenarios below that emerged from the four hour public House Intelligence Committee meeting yesterday.  I listened carefully to everything that was said by the members of the committee who were GOP and DEM.  I do not know how the investigation will actually turn out.  We will necessarily have wait and see.  It really hinges on the Federal Bureau of Investigation now.  I think that the probability of one of the two cases below emerging is all but certain (but I've been wrong in the past).

Best Case - Best Outcome

• BEST-CASE:  POTUS#45 was just an unwitting tool of the Russians going back to his passing of information to the Kremlin about Russian Mob Activity in New York City and got help from them on his various business misadventures.  

• BEST-OUTCOME: POTUS#45 resigns, goes home and perhaps even avoids jail time. The United States of America starts to recover from the 2016 rigged-election.  The GOP is happy because they still control all three branches of government and the DEMS start trying to get their act together to take back the Legislative Branch in 2018.
  
   
  The Russians knew that they had a dim light bulb on their hands and really did not expect things to wind up where they are now.  Given they disrupted the 2016 election and managed to foil Secretary Clinton's bid for president and throw things after the election into an uproar they still declare a Win-Win for them.

Worst Case - Not So Good Outcome

• WORST-CASE:  POTUS#45 knew what was happening the entire time from when he first started sending data to the Kremlin about Russian Mob Activity in New York City and was happy to get into a quid-pro-quo with them as he launched into running for president perhaps even at their suggestion.  

• WORST-OUTCOME:  POTUS#45 resist the findings of the investigation and is impeached and perhaps even enjoys some jail time.  The GOP is in disgrace the DEMS quietly take over the house and senate in 2018 and we bump-along-the-bottom with POTUS#46 (Pence). 
  
  
  The Russians knew that they had a dim bulb on their hands and did not expect things to wind up where they are now. Given they disrupted the 2016 election and managed to foil Secretary Clinton's bid for president and further threw things after the election into an uproar, they still declare a Win-Win for them.

Things To Look For - Anyone who listened closely to the committee meeting yesterday probably has come to the same/similar conclusions. If you hear POTUS#45 and/or GOP zeroing in on either of the two cases above and really ramping-up their own super-spin that ignores these then you know that one of the cases is probably spot on.

Interactive And One Way Conversations

Interactive and One Way
Conversations

Since the events of the 8th of November 2016 it has become evident how it is that the outcome occured.  Many pieces have been presented that analyze this.  Here are some of my thoughts that follow along in the same vein.

We gather information with our senses and use reflective thought to make judgements and conclusions to guide how we should behave. 

Additionally, and in many cases more importantly, we use direct and interactive conversation with others to form our judgements. 

We are hardwired by natural selection to 'sort things out'.  This attribute is part of how all creatures are able to get around and successfully negotiate their environment.

For our species, we have raised this attribute very high level.  Our ability to engage in reflexive thought coupled with our ability to engage in interactive conversation with our fellow humans marks our species as unique in its ability to persist and blossom.  

Our ability to accumulate, preserve and advance our knowledge is completely entangled in our ability to engage in direct and critical interactive conversation with each other.

We are also compelled to share our observations, ideas, and judgements with others.  This compulsion is not to just invite agreement but also, and much more importantly, it invites critical feedback to whatever idea or judgement we have come to.  Critical feedback is a necessary part of creating new and improving on old ideas.  There really is no such thing as a successful solitary human.

When direct conversation becomes one way instead of interactive dark situations can and will emerge. 

With the advent of Writing, Printed Media, Cinema, Radio, Television, and finally the Internet non interactive, one way conversation has become much easier.

When it emerged, writing was to one extent or another interactive. It was and remains an effective way of engaging in interactive communication between individuals and as a way an individual and groups can communicate with each other.  

Social media conversations between an individual and a group of 'friends' is an example of written conversation. Ordinary conversations in organized meetings and social gatherings are other examples.  Modern written, audio and visual weBlogs are examples of how individuals communicate with groups. 

To the extent that the communication of thoughts and processes is not interactive but one sided creates the potential to expose a darker side of human communication where harmful, and false ideas and processes can be adopted.  

This darker side of human interaction is a slippery slope that is very easy to slide down.  It is much easier, sometimes, to just listen and not reflect.  It takes extra mental energy to think critically and if the argument is well stated and easy to believe. We find ourselves suspending our critical thinking.

Looking back on history we see technological innovations in communications many times subverted and used to empower the few over the many.  The early church before widespread literacy enabled by printed books is an excellent example.  Once printed media was widely available and literacy blossomed the few keepers of the written word no longer held undue sway over the rest.

With the modern advent of printed media, cinema, radio, television, and the internet we see the dark side of one-sided communication rise to new heights.

The ability of newspapers and magazines and even books to transmit ideas in a non interactive manner has long been recognized for its ability to sway the way we think and behave. We are usually quick to label sources that propose harmful and false ideas as one-sided and call them propaganda.

Written communication necessarily forces the reader to engage in reflective thought.  It can be used subvert the reader into agreeing with positions and ideas that are harmful by careful structure and presentation.  Because of its pace it is much less effective in subversive than the spoken word or visual presentation.

Radio, and television are much easier to use to present one-sided propaganda.  The reason is they are verbal and visual and more importantly they mimic actual interpersonal communication without interaction.  We hear and or see someone talking directly to us and we are forced to just listen, and watch. 

This is opposed to the case were in the course of an actual one-to-one conversation you may interrupt at any time and challenge or ask for expansion of an idea or statement on the fly.  

One reason this has become such an easy way to subvert our way of thinking about things is that it is baked into our way of learning.  The one-sided lecture as opposed to an interactive dialogue to teach and learn has expeditiously become the norm. When combined with the suppression of the ability and the skill to engage in critical thought and expression then even the learning process itself is subverted.

Careful choice of the presenter's arguments and style of delivery whether strictly auditory or visual and auditory can and has swayed great numbers of the population into the adoption of harmful positions of thought.

The first instance of this in my life occured while I was on a business trip to Spain.  I learned, via television, of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.  

It came to me at that moment that the talk radio show of Rush Limbaugh was partially responsible.  Here was a fellow who employed talk-radio to subvert how his audience thought about current events.  This subversion could have help set the environment that motivated the man who carried out the bombing.

A month or so before my trip a friend of mine at work, who attended high school with Rush, related a conversation he had with him at a reunion.  My friend asked Rush what was going on with that radio program. Rush responded that it was all just entertainment.  Rush disavowed his program was intended to inflame harmful ways of thought in the susceptible population of listeners.

The advent of talk-radio and the 24 hour cable news and radio news cycle in the past 30 years has given rise to many more examples of this sort of media.

The advent of satirical programming like Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Show, and late night entertainment shows has given rise to examples of media that take as their audience folks who despise media like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.  These types of shows are examples of the same type of non interactive communication.

The result is large percentages of the population have become convinced that their 'side' whether represented by Fox News or The Daily Show has got it completely right and they find themselves unable to communicate with each other.  Somewhere around one percent of the total of over one hundred twenty million votes separate the two sides in the 2016 presidential election.

Additionally the emergence of "Reality-TV" has also done damage.  These types of shows, sometimes characterized as 'real-world-soap-operas' have blurred the line between entertainment, fiction and reality.  The winner of the presidential election in 2016 leveraged just such a blurred line to catapult himself into the national spotlight and when combined with non interactive communication did convince enough folks in enough states to vote for him and ensure an electoral college victory.

Finally:  How do we as a modern global society move away from non interactive communications that can and do lead to dark results and instead toward a method that allows interactive communications based on the scientific method to have sway not only for technological progress but also social progress?

Such social progress is critical.  We live on a single planet that has finite resources.  We must as a planetary society come into balance not only with each other but also with our ecological niche in the biosphere.

Currently we are out of balance. We need to learn and teach critical thinking.  We need to limit non interactive communications to only fact based presentations or entertainment and not blur the lines between fact, fiction, and entertainment.

Expressing an opinion in an interactive forum that allows interactive challenge is fine.  Expressing an opinion as fact and news (whether in a satirical or non satirical manner) in a forum that disallows challenge and interaction must be stopped.

Bike Crash (The Big Whoops An Update)

The Big Whoops - An Update

RELEASED:    By my surgeon.
I am still working on my general physical conditioning and range of motion.  However my surgeon said last Wednesday (9 NOV 2016) that my hip bone has completely healed.  He agreed that I should still work on conditioning and range of motion and said that in six months, barring any glitches, what ever was left of the injury was 'The New Normal'.  Last night I attended a spin class and a stretch yoga class immediately after the spin class.  This morning I feel fine.
GRADUATED:   From outpatient PT (Physical Therapy)  

I am still VERY much in PT ... Now instead of going in once or twice a week and doing stuff at on my own ---  

I am now 100% doing all my exercises on my own.  

I do them at the same gym/wellness-center I've been attending for the past 10 years.  

Here is my schedule 5-7 days a week:

(Four Machines)
1 - 15 minutes - recumbent fixed bicycle
2 -  2 sets of 15 - Push Plate Machine (both legs) (repeat rt leg)
3 -  2 sets of 15 - Leg Curl Machine (both legs) (repeat right leg)
4 -  2 sets of 15 - Leg Ext Machine (both legs) (repeat right leg)

(Steps)
2 sets of 15 - Side-Step UP/DOWN (right leg) (repeat left leg)
2 sets of 15 - Front-Step UP/DOWN (left leg) (repeat left leg)

(Kicks)
2 sets of 15 - Side Kick Using Black-Band (right leg) (rep rt leg)
2 sets of 15 - Front Kick Using Black-Band (right leg) (rep rt leg)
2 sets of 15 - Back Kick Using Black-Band (right leg) (rep rt leg)

(Stretch)
2 sets of 15 - 'clam-shell-leg-left' Using Red-Band
2 sets of 15 - 'bridge-lift' Using Red Band

(Walk / Climb Stairs)  
I now walk while holding my cane and only use it necessary and when stairs are there I climb them, at home and the gym.

(ICE) 
I have two cold packs I keep in the freezer and use on my hip when I get home if need be.

(Future)
As time goes by I increase time/resistance/reps/sets when the current sets get too easy.  Also as any particular exercise seems too much I ease up on that exercise for that day.  And if some day I feel really knackered I will skip that day.  The plan is to do each of these exercises not to the point of pain but instead with enough exertion that I feel I am exerting myself but in a sustainable manner.  

A couple of weeks ago my surgeon said it may be 9-12 months before I feel totally 100%.  Since I was used to going to the gym five days a week before I broke my hip I do now just think of these exercises as replacing what I used to do with the added metric of finding my hip working better and better.

As time goes by I will add swimming and spin class and then even cycling again.

Bike Rides And A Crash (August 2016)

Bike Ride/Crash - Tue 23 Aug 2016

NC Museum of Art -> House Creek Trail -> Crabtree Creek Trail -> Anderson Point Park -> Neuse  River Trail -> Falls of the Neuse Dam -> Falls of the Neuse Dam Visitor's Center -> Falls of the Neuse Road -> Durant Road -> Honeycutt Road -> Honeycutt Park Trail -> Strickland Road -> Cannonade/Forum Drive -> Old Lead Mine Road -> Allyn's Landing (Home).

This was the plan, my estimate was about 70k.  The ride started great, I left Evelyn pruning her roses at the NCMA and headed out.  Going up and down the hills at the art museum and making may way to the I440 bike overpass near Wade Avenue is a beautiful segment.  Down House Creek Trail to Blue Ridge Road is also a very nice segment.  I even got to trigger the solar powered bike crossing lights at Blue Ridge Road.  It was then onto Crabtree Creek Trail.

The Crabtree Creek Trail ends upstream from where I joined it about 2-3 miles and ends downstream at Anderson Point Park 14-15 miles.
  
I have biked all the bits of this trail many many times.  I knew that the construction on the trail along the creek from Capital Blvd to Raleigh Road was ended and I looked forward to not having to leave the trail for a detour. Well:  There still was one near I440 underpass and Yadkin Drive, but that was almost not a detour since I usually leave the trail near there and take to the streets to get to Lassiter Mill.

I made my way all the way to crossing Atlantic Avenue and noticed a 'Greenway-Closed-Ahead' sign.  I thought, well perhaps they are not yet finished with the section from Capital Blvd  to Raleigh Road.

When I actually arrived at the barrier I found this was not the case:  The greenway was closed over the course of the last few hundred yards before even getting to Capitol Blvd.  This section is a wood trestle that climbs the face  of what is almost a palisades of Crabtree Creek.

So I backtracked to Atlantic Ave crossed the creek and headed down Hodges St to Capitol Blvd, back over the creek and onto Yonkers Rd. This was where I knew I could rejoin the Crabtree Creek Trail by cutting through a now empty construction site.  The construction crews had filled in some of their mud holes with coarse, loose, deep gravel.

9:35 Tuesday 23 August 2016:

Right there is where I should have dismounted and walked my bicycle to the greenway trail. Instead I picked my way along convinced that would make it or have enough warning so I could dismount safely.

Instead by the time I realized that the patch of gravel I had entered was too deep and loose to get through it was too late.
I started to unclip my left foot and the front wheel jerked as it sunk into the gravel causing the bike to fall to the right.

I started to unclip my right foot and the torsion on my leg combined with the force of impact as I struck the gravel was just right to snap my right hip.

At the time I thought wow that hurts I bet I bruised my hip.  I did unclip and just lay there thinking, I need to get up.  Instead I called and text'ed Evelyn that I had crashed and where I was.  I did get on all fours and stand up and using the bike as a crutch got over to the shade and propped the bike against a post of the shelter over the greenway where it goes under the railroad trestle.

Evelyn drove over and rescued me and we got the bike on the back of the car and headed over to Raleigh Orthopedic Urgent Care Clinic.  

They X-Ray'ed my hip and it was broken. (See before/after pictures below).  I was going to continue on to see Dr.Chiavetta is my knee doctor (who was in their Garner office that day) so they said I should get some crutches to get around with.  When I got fitted the crutches and took my first attempt to walk with them I said, 'I better sit down right now!'.  I did sit back in the wheelchair and the next thing I knew it was 30-45 seconds later and a doctor was taking my pulse.  I had undergone "syncope".  I then broke out in a huge sweat and they called 919 and the Wake EMTs transported me to Rex Emergency.  (The total drive time was about 2 minutes since Raleigh Orthopedics is just down Edwards Mill Rd from Blue Ridge Rd.)

Dr Chiavetta and Dr Wein the Dr from Raleigh Ortho who was on duty that day at Rex decided that the break only required screws to hold it together rather than a replacement so Dr Wein put me on his schedule for early evening, since I had not eaten anything since breakfast.

The folks at Raleigh Orthopedic are really super.  The fellow who got me fitted for crutches and got me in the wheelchair instantly when I started to go woozie said as we left: 'You owe me a beer!' and I told him, 'You got one coming, how's a pint of Guinness when I get healed up?' 

The folks at Wake Emergency were super too.  I talked with all the nurses, the emergency doctor and Dr Wein and the anesthesiologist and they wheeled me right from the emergency to the OR.  The anesthetic they went with was something called a 'spinal-block' and another that would just put me 'lightly-under'.  I recall looking at the clock in the OR and it said 6:07pm (eight and half hours after I fell).

It was then as if someone reached over and clicked off the lights, I do not recall them going off but the I do recall them coming back on:  The clock on the wall of the recovery room read 7:40pm.

Additionally when the 'lights-came-on-again' I distinctly recall that my visual field presented itself as a tiled set of images of the same scene:  The ceiling of the inside of the OR each tile persisted as they wheeled me around to the recovery room where the tiles resolved themselves to a single image.  Wierd!

The anesthesiologist said that I would not be able to 'feel' anything from the waist down and would first be able to wiggle my toes but not feel anything.  That was just how it went.  By the next morning I was back to normal as far as feeling goes.

I even got out of bed the next day Wednesday and took a step or two on a walker.  They were already discussing whether or not I should go home or to rehab.  The next day Thursday I again met with the PT/OT and Admin person who said if they recommended rehab she was looking for a slot for me somewhere and said she was trying for Rex Rehab which is right there on the Rex campus.  By that afternoon they had decided that rehab was the best course and there was a slot for me at Rex Rehab.  I took another very short ride in a Rex ambulance to the Rehab building.

The folks at Rex Hospital were so good and professional and correct I was super impressed.  The hospitalists described what she felt was the reason I 'fainted' when trying to walk on crutches:  I had been sitting since I got in the car to come over with the very short time of getting out of the wheelchair and on to the x-ray table, and standing up for the first time combined with trying to move the weak leg to move on the crutches was too much for the body and it said, 'You are trying to do what?  I'm shutting you down!'.

My stay at Rex Rehab, working with the PT team, working with the OT team and interacting with the Dr., the PAs, the Nurses the Nurse Assistants and all the staff was completely seamless and easy.  That therapy is excellent:  The got me in shape to go home very quickly.  I arrived on Thursday afternoon and the following Thursday they said: 'You are headed home Saturday!'  I felt strong enough and agile enough by Saturday morning so that I knew they were right on the mark.  A wonderful bunch.  (My insurance would have paid for 20 days but I only used 8 or 9 of them).

The recovery from having my hip pined has three parts according to how much weight I put on my hip:

[Toe-Touch-No-Load]  This last 5-6 weeks and next Tuesday will mark week three of this.  I get around on a walker.  And can put my foot down but not to bear any weight.

[Light-Load]  This is when you can put weight on you leg but it is not to bear its full load.  Weight bearing actually causes bones to knit together stronger.

[Full-Load] This is when the leg can bear its full load and is the end stage of the healing process.

All three stages together take between 4 to 5 months.

So I am marking my calendar 125 days in the future from 23 August 2016 which is 25 December 2016 as the first day of not having a broken hip.  With the understanding that this may be optimistic.  Here is my countdown timer url.   

I am writing this from a super nice rehab: UNC Rex Rehabilitation Center.  It is just a few yards down the way from Rex Wellness we're I swim five days a week and do a spin class two days a week.  

Here are the before and after pictures:

About half way from the knob to the ball the faint line is the break.

Three Screws

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Bike Ride - Sun 21 Aug 2016

Neuse River Trail:  Falls of the Neuse Dam to the Glenburnie Dam of the Neuse River.  This is a great place to turn around.  I also brought a peach and some tiny tomatoes.  I was a bit slower coming back because I got a phone call while I was riding and had to slow down.

Total Time -------- 2:11 h:mm

Turnaround Time --- 1:02 h:mm

Distance ---------- 48.0 km

Turnaround Dist --- 24.0 km

Average Speed ----- 22.0 kph

Turn Around Speed - 24.0 kph

Average Heart Rate  107  bpm

Max Heart Rate ---- 145  bpm

Calories ---------- 2080 (8703 kilo joules)

Nike Fuel --------- 5899

Click This Link for some pictures.

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Bike Ride - Fri 19 Aug 2016

Neuse River Trail:  Falls of the Neuse Dam to the suspension bridge and back.  A nice cool morning with the temp in the 70s. I did have a flat just a couple of miles down the trail on my back tire. Fortunately I had one last intertube.  I'll need to visit the bike store and get some more.

Total Time --------- 1:50 h:mm
Distance ----------- 42.5 km
Speed -------------- 23.2 kph
Max Speed ---------- 41.0 kph
Average Heart Rate - 108  bpm
Max Heart Rate ----- 143  bpm
Calories ----------- 1864
Nike Fuel ---------- 5899

Click THIS-LINK some pictures:.

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Bike Ride - SAT 13 AUG 2016

Neuse River Trail: Falls of the Neuse Dam to 0:58 minutes and 13.5 miles down river then 1:00 hour back to the dam

Total Time --------- 1:58 h:mm
Total Distance ----- 43.5 km
Average Speed ------ 22   kph
Average Heart Rate - 106  bpm
Max Heart Rate ----- 133  bpm
Calories ----------- 1809 
Nike Fuel ---------- 5719

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Bike Ride

Red Cross Building to Anderson Point to Falls of the Neuse Dam
Total Time ----- 1:46:59 h:mm:ss
Total Distance - 35.66   km
Average Speed -- 20      kph