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The Week
I had planned to finish my writeup of a book by Lee Felsenstein this past weekend, but I got distracted by some articles I came across online and spent most of my writing time reading. I’ll try to finish the writeup on Me and My Big Ideasnext week.
This sort of thing happens fairly frequently. I get started reading something interesting and it becomes the only thing that matters. Although I’m aware that I have other responsibilities, chores that I’m avoiding, projects that are being neglected, deadlines slipping, my conscience is clear. I am convinced that I am doing the most important thing there is to do right now, and all those other things can just wait their turn.
Reading does that to me.
On Saturday it was a very long and important article on ProPublica by Joshua Kaplan about a gay wilderness survival trainer who spent years undercover, climbing the ranks of right-wing militias and ultimately telling his story to Kaplan. You’d have been rivited by this story, too, if you’d read it. In fact, you should go read it right now. I’ll wait.
OK, you’re back? Now you see why I didn’t get any writing done on Saturday.
On Sunday it started with someone’s post about the Basic programming language. I weighed in innocuously with some names of people associated with Basic: John Kemeny, Thomas Kurtz, Tom Pittman, Gordon Eubanks, Alan Cooper. It was just a sentence, but it made me realize that I needed to refresh my memory about Alan and the justification for his being known as the Father of Visual Basic. I knew that the story was a little complicated.
I googled the obvious phrases and read six or ten sources on the story, some of which I realized had got it wrong. Eventually I got my memory adequately refreshed: I knew what Alan had created initially, what Microsoft commissioned him to write, what Microsoft supplied to the project. And why Alan deserves the title of the Father of Visual Basic. Mission accomplished.
But during the research I came across something by author and Facebook friend Charles Petzold, and somehow I ended up reading two old online articles by Charles: one detailed and scholarly piece on why James Clerk Maxwell wasn’t the opponent of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution that some Creationists have portrayed him as, and one delightfully obsessive article on how the avenues and streets of Manhattan deviate from true north-south and east-west. Both of the articles gort pretty detailed, the latter taking into account the curvature of the earth and falling just short of adjusting for the deviation of the earth from a perfect sphere.
Then I had to revisit a Facebook post of mine to which Charles had replied, “I once fancied myself writing a group biography entitled ‘Victorian Charleses: Darwin, Dickens, Lyell, Kingsley, Babbage, Bradlaugh, and Dodgson.’” No, it made perfect sense in context.
Anyway, that reminded me of a script I wrote years ago for a program that never aired, in which a young Charles Darwin, newly returned from his voyage around the world and having taken up temporary residence in London to do research on his book, is chatting up an attractive young woman by the punchbowl at a fashionable soirée at the home of Charles Babbage. Tables have been laid with tarts and finger sandwiches, oysters and cold salmon — and the drinks: wine, cordials, Madeira, punch. Darwin refuses an oyster, pleading chronic indigestion, and turns at the sound of Babbage’s voice. Babbage is about to deliver a talk on his plan for something he calls the Analytical Engine. The young woman is paying particularly close attention to the talk, and Darwin later learns that she has been working closely with Babbage…
Yeah, I had to take another look at that script. I should point out that it was a work of fiction, but based on fact. Darwin really was in London researching his book, at which time he did attend at least one of Babbage’s famous soirées, where, he told a friend, he hoped to meet young ladies, and after his voyage he really did have chronic indigestion. The description of the food at the events is, as I recall, straight from Janet Browne’s excellent two-volume biography. And of course Ada Lovelace would have been in attendance.
All of which is my way of saying the dog ate my homework.
Image of the Week
The Darwin section of my biography shelves. I let that biography of Ebenezer Cooke slip in because it’s such an oddity. Cooke is the Sot-weed Factor of the wonderful John Barth novel of that name.
Quote of the Week
A writer is someone who has taught his mind to misbehave..
— Oscar Wilde
The Rest
Statement of the Perpetrator
I’ve been a writer all my life, and computers entered the picture pretty early. With Paul Freiberger I wrote the seminal history of the personal computer, Fire in the Valley, the basis for the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. I’ve written short stories and poetry and books and columns for magazines, and have had a long and productive career editing books and magazines. For decades I was associated with the pioneering personal computer software developers’ magazine, Dr. Dobb’s Journal, and I currently edit books for The Pragmatic Bookshelf and blog about artificial intelligence and other topics.
The List
I’m on a constant search for real journalism in this age of disinformation. This is a rotating list of some of the fact-checking sites and journalism sources that I rely on. It’s unavoidable that the list reflects my political leaning, but these sources are all on the side of informing the public truthfully and accurately. If you support them, that’s what you will be supporting.
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger created Wikipedia to be a free, collaborative, and widely accessible encyclopedia, “a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge.” Yes, in being open to all contributors, it opens itself up to inaccurate and misleading articles, as well as articles written by artificial intelligence programs, and that’s why it should never be your only source of information on any important topic. But the fact that the World Health Organization collaborated with Wikipedia to disseminate COVID-19-related information to help combat the spread of misinformation is just one example of why it belongs on this list. Note: Wikipedia survives on donations.
Site: https://www.wikipedia.org
Support: https://donate.wikimedia.org
The Guardian US is decidedly liberal. I also subscribe to conservative sources, but I highlight The Guardian for support because it isn’t owned or controlled by advertisers or billionaires; it’s owned by a Trust, and more than half of its revenue comes directly from readers. Its independent ownership structure means it is entirely free from political and commercial influence. It is renowned for the Paradise Papers investigation and other award-winning work. Supporting The Guardian protects independent investigative journalism and keeps it open for everyone.
Site: https://www.theguardian.com/us
Support: https://support.theguardian.com/us/one-time-checkout
My Day Job
I edit books for the Pragmatic Bookshelf.
First Verses
The Dog in Winter
At fifteen years the dog can still be brought
To frolic like a month-old pup, to roll
In wind-piled banks of new-made snow, or squat
And watch in wide-eyed silence as it falls.
Coming Attractions
Thanks for reading. In the coming weeks, look for more Swaine’s Flames flashbacks, Dirt Road Diaries, bulletins from the AI revolution, tech history, and books. Although Swaine’s World will remain free, keep an eye out in 2025 for some additional goodies, accessible for a modest price.
In the 90’s I lived in Cedar City Utah, and my dad lived there until his death 2017. He was chair of the Iron County Democrats for a few years.
So I’m not surprised the sheriff is a Oathkeeper.