Category: Review

July 29, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 1:4

July 29, 2022 /

Traditionally, this week has been a hair on fire proposition. My wife and son’s birthday have passed but I am still on the hook for babysitting over the weekend so my wife can celebrate with friends in an adult oriented atmosphere. Fortunately, I got ahead on my reading so I have been able to keep my routine here.

There are a couple of anecdotal things that occur in this chapter:

  • First chapter that doesn’t use the phrase “Who is John Galt?”
  • Mexico nationalized San Sebastian Line
  • Dagny negotiates a deal with Reardon Metal
  • The National Alliance of Railroads meet and establish Anti-Dog Eat Dog Rule

It is the last point that I am going to settle on today. If you recall last week, I wrote about how a group of industrialists were meeting to talk about the idea of forming a trade group. The language that they were using was to prevent monopolies. In this chapter, that trade group was formed and called The National Alliance of Railroads.

The group selected a leader, and they passed their first resolution called the Anti-Dog Eat Dog rule. Also, if you recall the Alliance was also going to divide up the country into territories. With that, competition would be eliminated. Essentially, if a railroad operated in a particular regions, the others would not pursue any business. More on that later.

The National Alliance of Railroads elect an individual named Don Conway. He happens to be a newcomer to the industry and runs a particular area called the Rio Norte line. Unfortunately for him, that area had trains from Taggart Transcontinental first. It was majority decided that violated the Anti-dog Eat Dog rule. He was so successful, that he had virtually drove Taggart out of the market. Now he has to close down and re-vision his company.

Don seems to be a very competent business man otherwise he would not be able to dominate Taggert. However, he seems to be a very poor politician. My take on the interaction was the others used properties like honesty and transparency to paint Don into a corner and not be able to fight back. To that end, the skills and proficiencies that a person has in one endeavor does not necessarily translate to success in another setting.

I think the bigger, less obvious theme here is be mindful of groups being altruistic. I am not saying to be suspicious of everybody. But, a good first start is when someone is telling you what is better you. What I really hear is we don’t want people to infringe on our territory, we are going to protect it. In addition, we are going to package our idea in an emotional appeal that sounds like it is benevolent.

Think like the left/right dichotomy and pick your issue. Let’s say vouchers for school. Now, one party is thinking money will be drained from the established system and leave only the poor and by proxy decline in the system. The other side wants to use vouchers to send children to an institution that essentially uses the same methodology only slightly different than already exists. On one hand, I think having say and control with your money and children’s education is the better choice, but let’s look deeper.

What is the real issue? In my mind, it is failing of the educational system in real time. Some people are more switched on to it actually happening (the voucher people). But, each side is packaging their argument with emotional appeal for their own reasons like satisfying their power base. However, what is missing? It is the illusion of true choice. Not only is the current school system in failure, the established methods are really just treading the waters of time after the basic fundamentals are completed like reading and math.

I am not saying that everyone can be a true genius. But to punctuate this Mozart started writing music at five and Bobby Fischer was a chess grand champion at fourteen, Gregory R Smith was a Nobel Peace Prize winner at 12. I guarantee that none of these people were following the K-12 program. Not to say that there are not those that succeed despite the normal path. It’s just to say that there are likely more than two options.

End Your Programming Routine: So, Atlas Shrugged is shaping up to good potential. I think the thing about Ayn Rand thinking through things and writing about them is showing that the messages can be potent and entertaining at the same time. I am also getting intrigued about the character Dagny Taggert. For the rest of the message I think I was pretty clear, but consider the motive for the message.

July 26, 2022 – The Lost Kitchen

July 26, 2022 /

This is the July selection of the Left Coast Culinary book club. I have skimmed through the book and read the text portions that support all of the recipes. I actually was not going to review this book because I found it unremarkable but I will explain more below.

I will diverge for a quick moment, Emily French’s story is a very familiar one. This is another lost soul that finds redemption through cooking ala Gabrielle Hamilton or Anthony Bourdain. Because her entire enterprise is based in Maine, the content is highly New England centric.

In what seems to be a smart trend, this book is organized first by season. The intent is to guide the reader to source seasonal ingredients and therefore cook with them. My first problem is that I don’t live in New England, so ingredients such as lobster are as foreign to me as stew in the summer time. Secondly, as with best practices the recipes and techniques are simple allowing the primary ingredients to be the stars (as it should be, but see issue one).

I can forgive, substitute and cook out of season, no problem but my real issue is that nothing in particular speaks to me. I have tried the New England baked beans and the cod with citrus shallot vinaigrette and I am going to make corned beef this week so it is not that I haven’t given the book a chance. I will tell you what did however. I have never seen so many recipes that use parsnips or editable flowers. I found the photography and food styling visually appealing.

Far be it for me to criticize someone else’s work. All I am really saying is that this does not resonate with me. Others in the book club felt that this was one of the best selections in the last five years. Here is where I will end, if you are looking for New England dishes, seasonal suggestions or frequent use of flowers, then this may appeal to you.

End Your Programming Routine: I have an affinity for southern cooking, some might say soul food. I also live in the pacific northwest and enjoy cooking Mexican food, I hold regional recipes in high regard. All three of those places I hold a degree of emotional and cultural connection. I suppose you could say that I have no connection to New England, maybe that is to blame for how I feel.

July 22, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 1:3

July 22, 2022 /

Back again this week with another chapter review of Atlas Shrugged. I am actually way ahead, so I have slowed down a little this week so we can read along together.

This chapter starts with a business meeting about a cabal of industrialist talking about forming a new trade group so that no monopoly occurs. Another way of looking at things is that they are really dividing up regions to conserve the strength and revenue where it already is. Not only will there be no monopolies but there will also be no new competitors.

Speaking of monopolies, I think we subject to the same set of propaganda when we were in school: Monopolies are bad, Teddy Roosevelt and the ‘trust busters’ and all that. In my personal opinion, there was possibly a time and place for that kind of thinking but today, unlikely. My line of thinking is that any product or service will eventually fail unless they maintain being the best (as long as acting legal/ethical).

Another point that come to mind around monopolies is guess where the true, legal monopolies exist? Why the government of course. Who permits the one garbage company or the one electrical choice? I remember distinctly a teacher espousing how this was a modern miracle all of this order and control. I don’t have a lot to say about my particular providers but without competition there is a high risk the service is what the service is. Hopefully good.

Also in this chapter, I think that we have gotten to the first theme that people in the freedom/survival/conspiracy genre peak interest. “The only justification of private property is public service” – Orren Boyle Railroad Industrialist. The elitist are expressing their true colors. That sounds pretty temporal doesn’t it?

This chapter is broken into two sections. The second half describes Dabny Taggert, the vice president of operations for the Taggert Transcontinental Railroad. From what I gather she is a woman in a man’s world. It appears that she is pretty competent as Rand contrast to her brother James. The truth is I don’t know where this story line is going yet but it certainly there is a strong sentiment for women’s equality and/or some statement about the best person for the job.

End Your Programming Routine: I am getting into the book now. Sometimes when books are so long, I sort of dread getting started because of the commitment. Since I am trying to keep my reading pace with my writing, it makes it a little less intimidating to start (as long as I stay ahead). From the looks of things, this book is going to fit onto the reading list as it is hitting the right themes and targets.

July 15, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 1:2

July 15, 2022 /

I just finished reading the second chapter in Atlas Shrugged. This one features and industrialist and his conflict between the pull of his work and the obligation of the family.

Rand does a pretty good job of linking the chapter name to the theme of the chapter I have noticed. For that reason, I have started to include them in the tag names for future reference. This chapter is titled “The Chain” – the industrialist holding his family (and the world for that matter) in bondage. It is the industrialist’s wife that actually uses this symbolism in the last paragraph of the chapter.

For a little more context, this industrialist named Reardon has spent the last ten years of his career trying to invent/perfect a new alloy called Reardon Metal. As most successful people are, he is completely immersed in his work which makes him aloof to his family and friends. This day is the day where Reardon is working on fulfilling his first ever order. So he is happy, maybe even vindicated that this was worth the effort.

I can recognize the struggle to a bit. When you are so immersed in a problem and the solution that everything else is secondary. Even when you do experience success, the problem is too complicated or has gone on so long you have alienated or isolated others to the point that the victory is hollow. Is there anything to be happy about if it is not shared or have others to celebrate with?

I suppose the industrialist wife feels like this day is nothing to celebrate because it will just be a new problem or project. So, in some ways success is actually bondage because a business failure would ultimately end the problem, not perpetuate the situation.

End Your Programming Routine: This is something that I actually suffer from. It is part of my anti-social, entrepreneurial, moral character. I saw some Tik-Tok videos for the first time the other night. What a collection of mindless nonsense. I had to control my reaction to something that I thought was vain, petty and narcissistic because it makes my wife mad when I comment. Yet here I am trying to do something similar in my own way.

July 8, 2022 – Atlas Shrugged 1:1

July 8, 2022 /

I said on Monday, this is going to be a big one. This book has the tiniest font I have ever seen in a novel and it is over 1000 pages long. At this point, I have no real expectations. I am reading it for two reasons 1) is a suggested compliment when you look up 1984 on Amazon and 2) it was suggested by a co-worker back in 2004.

Part of what has shied me away has been the length of the book. I didn’t want to check it out at the library because I know I would need months. I didn’t want to add to the volumes of books that I won’t ever read again either. I have a hard time keeping interest that long. But, now I have a cause. I am hoping that is the motivating factor.

Against better judgement, I read the introduction. I must say that I had a hard time concentrating on the subject matter. But, the one thing that I got out of it was Rand’s methods. She would think about situations and scenarios, then write a story (or chapter) about it. For that reason, she was anointed the title of philosopher.

Like the other books that I have reviewed, I am going to focus on the concepts of the chapters and not the plot or the characters. I guess we will see in the end if all the pieces and parts add up to the tome that it is supposed to be.

There are some characters introduced. It is hard to know who is going to important and who is not at this point. So, I will skip the names, roles and descriptions at this point. There were two things that stuck out at this chapter. One was simple and the other more inciteful. Let us start with the simple.

“Who is John Galt?” Random characters keep uttering this phrase throughout the chapter. From what I know, this is foreshadowing to the hero character later in the book. We are going to have to wait to see what this is all about. But, using the phrase seems like an analog to ‘What is going to happen?’ or “Does this make any sense?’ It does seem like the world of the book has some things that don’t really add up. This leads us to concept two.

There are a couple exchanges in the book where people are doing things that they don’t really understand why they are doing them. There is a scene where train that stops. Characters get off the train to understand the purpose of the stoppage and the people that run the train are just staring at the stop signal. The net of communication was that they didn’t know why they were instructed to stop, how long the stoppage would be and how to proceed.

The short of it was people were doing as they were trained. It took leadership to get the train going again. If this is a persistent theme, then I am going to be really into this book.

End Your Programming Routine: This might be a mistake to analyze this book as we go, but I guess we will see. I envision doing a chapter a week unless for some reason I get way ahead or it makes sense to combine chapters. It does look like they average around 30 pages a week, so that seems pretty reasonable

May 24, 2022 – The Tor Browser and Experiments With Privacy

May 24, 2022 /

Admittedly, I haven’t used the browser a lot. The reason being is that there are some hidden issues with trying to maintain privacy. Today, I will talk about some of my observations.

  1. Many websites are tracking your IP address. When you try to access ‘anonymously’, you are denied access at all. Tor claims that the resolution is re-establish a new VPN connection and try again but I have not ever been successful getting onto Craigslist with Tor. Other sites like newspapers give you three free tastes, but when you come in anonymously you are also denied.

2. Privacy works on every screen. So for example, I selected my store so that I could check inventory but after a page refresh so does your store selection. I haven’t played with it enough to sort of get the rhythm of things so it might work if you do things in the right order, but I could see that action getting old if you were looking for something in particular.

3. There is some behavior that I might describe as ‘buggy’. Honestly, I don’t know if it is a service denial or some sort of technical issue. Because of the number of hops, and obscurity, pages are often very slow to load as well. We are talking minutes sometimes for search results to paint images. This is in addition to all of the other gyrations to setup for clearing of cache.

I am not in love with the Tor push to use Duck Duck Go as a search engine either. While they claim to protect privacy, they also got caught manipulating results in favor of pro Ukraine/Anti Russia results. That is simply against my values. The options are pretty meager otherwise, Twitter, Youtube or Wikipedia? Those are not search engines for the entire web to my knowledge. I have switched to Yahoo for now.

I have spoke in the past about my desire for things to just work. I am not going to expend the patience to keep reconnecting or rerouting for a low probability of someone stitching together data on me. Always the surest way to go is to not participate. I know that isn’t always preferable, but lets be honest this world didn’t exist 30 years ago so some selective participation might be healthy.

End Your Programming Routine: I haven’t completely given up on Tor, but the chances are low that it will work out for me. Unfortunately, as the tracking gets tighter and better, I just don’t see this mechanism working well. It is probably time to keep working on finding a service rather than something free. I think it is a good idea that cant keep up against stronger technology.

April 26, 2022 – Post Myki Era

April 26, 2022 /

On March 3, 2022 I wrote about how I hated technology. My password manager was being discontinued April 10. I have been ‘Riding Dirty’ as they say. It has been working for the last couple of weeks but I have been dearly hoping that I find a new option before my time runs out. I am happy to say that I am trying out BitWarden and I like it so far.

Let us refresh on my requirements for a minute

  • Multi-device support, Windows and Apple IOs definitely, Linux a plus
  • Inexpensive, preferably free
  • Preferred – Browser plug-ins to support auto population
  • New – Ability to import from Myki

I am only into this a couple of days. The import was impeccably easy some of the other functions are more complicated (and more secure). For instance, I am logged out of the password manager each time I close the browser. That is inconvenient but it does have the option to never log out. So, I am going to try it for now and see.

The browser interactions are much better than Myki. If I had one complaint, it was adding new accounts. The interaction was klugey and ineffective. Myki would recognize the account didn’t exist but getting it to work during the first interaction required a mixture of automated and manual efforts to make sure it worked right. Most of the times, I had to log in multiple times to make sure that it was working the way that I wanted.

Myki would often get confused if there were multiple accounts on the same website. With BitWarden, you select the account that you want to auto-populate rather than the software trying to get it. Myki could do it, but you had to manually separate the accounts and set everything up, then you could select the right account.

The browser extensions are like having access to the full program. It makes it convenient to edit and copy while being on the page. The extension is context sensitive an alerts the user that there is an applicable password for the site that is in focus.

I have so far tried it on Windows and IOS and it does seem to work. Syncing seems to be done quickly and I haven’t seen any hiccups. I would say that it is a bit premature to declare everything wonderful. For instance, I have not tried to create a new account yet. Additionally, there are some sites where additional data is required, like a PIN. I don’t know if that will autofill or you will need to have some notes. I will find out.

The one other thing worth pointing out is that this is an open source project. It does concern me a little bit about how it seems so slick and yet it is free. There are some pay options but they really don’t get you that much more. If you have some encryption keys or something, you can store them in BitWarden or you can share passwords within a specific group.

I am saying is free is great, but keep an eye out for how the storage space is paid for. Apparently, there is some tracking of use and the question is what is that used for and where does it go? Yes, all your passwords are encrypted, I feel like that is safe but your movements are not and they are tied to an e-mail account. You might want to have a browser that is not running the extension as your primary browser, just saying.

End Your Programming Routine: I hate to say this and doubts aside, but this might be a blessing in disguise. I really appreciate the smoothness of how the transition has gone and how this seems to just work. I didn’t realize how the nuances of Myki were annoying me but it was better than just having a cloud sheet or a static locker. If this turns out to be a total dud then I will probably let you know. As of right now, it is a recommend for me.

February 8, 2022 – Review: Arteck Bluetooth Keyboard For iPad

February 8, 2022 /

A few months ago, I made this purchase. It was $30 and works in conjunction with my iPad. For my job, I am a contractor. That means that I logged my time worked in two systems. It also happens that my primary assignment computer is not allowed to connect to my actual employer.

All that is to say that I need two devices when I travel. Normally, when at home, it is not a problem. I also have the ability to put in time on my phone. It is a little problematic when I want to continue to write daily. So, I thought that I would give this a shot.

Since all of AltF4 is cloud based, all I need to access is an internet connection. I also need access to OneDrive to retrieve photos and video for pasting purposes. Typing on a screen is OK for small edits but it does not work well for lots of writing. This thing almost makes my iPad a real laptop when doing cloud based work.

On my trip in November to the midwest, I carried two laptops and that was heavy. It was so heavy, I decided to look for a better solution. I used this keyboard for the first time for my Thanksgiving trip and I was very pleased. The tablet simply snaps into the overall keyboard case and then folds like a laptop. It is definitely a smaller form factor but not unpleasant to use.

In fact, TSA said that it was a computer when I sent my bag across the scanner. The biggest thing that I miss is not having a trackpad. I find my fingers reaching for the typical location to move the cursor, then I remember that this is an iPad and I have to touch the screen. It is instinctive muscle memory.

I made my selection the way any typical Amazon shopper would. What can I get that is reasonably inexpensive because I wan’t sure how I would like it and can I get it before I leave? Yes, I did read some reviews but I don’t trust reviews with off-brands (like Arteck). I figured $30 was a reasonable gamble.

The keyboard is charged with a micro-usb cable and I haven’t run out of batteries yet, with my usage.

ScoreAdvantagesDisadvantages
Quality4Runs as advertisedPlastic-y feeling
Value5-Price to productivityNone
Performance5Huge productivity increase for iPad-No mouse or trackpad
-No battery life indicator

Needless to say, I am very pleased with it. I am happy not to have a second laptop on a business trip. It has allowed me to use my free time to keep writing on my trip, rather than doing it before I left. It has made my underutilized iPad a much more valuable device.

End Your Programming Routine: There have been a number of items that I have purchased since I started writing routinely. Most don’t warrant my time to write a review. I could probably write at least a review a week but I don’t necessarily want reviews to play such a major role. This keyboard is something that I have found helpful and valuable. I thought I would share.

January 25, 2022 – I’m a Gulper, Not a Sipper

January 25, 2022 /

It’s probably a bad habit, but when I drink out of an aluminum can, it tends to be with a meal or out of a sense of thirst. I am not a same can all day person, I want to get it done and move on.

Over the course of the last ten years or so, wine has started coming in a can. While my wife and I were visiting the coast over the weekend, we picked up a couple of cans of wine along with some snacks to enjoy the day.

I did some quick calculations. A bottle of wine is 750 ml or roughly 24 ounces. That means that one can equals about half a bottle. So, at $8 a can I suspect that cost is about par with a bottle. The truth is, I don’t really know who made the wine in the picture, however most of the cans I see are labelled Underwood or 14 Hands which would be on the mass market (cheaper) end of the wine industry. I am pretty sure that it cost more per bottle when all the variables are compared apples to apples.

There is no doubt that this is a convenient format. The can is more compact, it is light and looks a lot better than drinking out of the bottle (meaning, a glass is not required). Aluminum blocks the light, so there would be no photo degradation like glass and chills quickly. However, there are some drawbacks, especially if you are a gulper.

What I learned from reading ‘Cork Dork’ a couple of years ago is that with sommelier training, the glass is important. I won’t rehash the book but how the residual liquid slides down the glass is an indication of the wine’s composition. And of course, the glass is designed to trap the nose and the aroma as you drink. Red wine glasses are bigger to expose more surface area to oxygen and provide more aroma, which is at least half of taste.

It was very difficult to drink directly out of a can and get the same experience. Add to that my propensity to take a slug rather than a proper sip and it was half gone in no time before I realized that I was doing it.

The wine itself was OK. In my opinion it was clean but unremarkable. That tends to be a characteristic of industrial wines. They tend to be more homogenous vintage over vintage due to blending and post fermentation alterations. So, here is the verdict.

End Your Programming Routine: I like the format, but I would still bring glasses if possible significantly reducing the convenience. I would also recommend red over white as they are not intended to stay as cold to drink. Maybe a Yeti or equivalent can coozi would be appropriate to drink directly out of a can so as not to feel the rush of beating the can warming up. I am not turned off enough to not try it again but I think that this is a situational use container.

January 21, 2022 – A Brave New World, Analysis

January 21, 2022 /

I eluded to this but I almost gave up on this book. It really wasn’t until chapter 17 that things started to make any sense. That was page 184 out of 220.  The interesting thing to this book was that Huxley wrote a forward to the 1946 edition of the book.  He unlike Orwell lived to see his work actually have some longevity and gain traction in the world.

I found it interesting that Huxley’s greatest regret was that he was unable to anticipate the coming of nuclear energy in 1932.  Therefore, his science fiction was ‘dated’.  For the twenty-first century reader, I think it is pretty forgivable considering all of the other technological changes we have seen since 1946. To his credit, he also admitted that if he were to redo it, he would have rewritten a lot of it (without getting to in depth to precisely what he would change).

From Huxley’s own words, this was intended to imagine a society five hundred years in the future.  Also, by observation the trend toward comfort over freedom was beginning.  I am not totally sure of his influences but I do think it was a stroke of genius to imagine totalitarianism as a gentle blanket, a much more likely scenario than the failures of the iron curtain or China.  Only North Korea seems to embrace the iron fist type totalitarian regime and even then I think it only kind of works because of it’s small size and population.

As I said at the beginning, the influences to the book were  supposed to be 1) the industrial revolution, figure headed by Henry Ford 2) Jazz and 3) Frued.  I could certainly see many references to Ford.  In fact, there is a quote late in the book ‘…Industrial civilization is only possible when there is no self denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop turning.’  Everyone has a job and a place.  People need to keep consuming so that everyone keeps working.  Everyone needs to keep working so that they don’t have idle time.

Jazz is a curious one, maybe it was situational like the instrument named the sexophone (sounds like saxophone, it was never defined). There were many places where lyrics came from the characters mouths in song or rhythm.  I am far enough removed from Jazz that those lyrics may have been adaptations of popular songs, not quite sure.  Certainly music was part of the conditioning in civilization.  Like all entertainment, if it can be subverted to push a useful message, there is no doubt that can be leveraged for propaganda.

That leads us to Freud.  I think that you will all remember my analysis to Freud and 1984.  To me, that was clear and and easier link to make.  In this case, I have a harder time making the outright connection.   I think you could easily overlay Id, Ego and Super Ego to characters events and circumstances.  But I didn’t get the sense that the story was laid out to prove the theory.  Rather, it seems like Huxley was aware of the theory and said “that makes sense, that is how humans behave” and then wrote the story.  I think those looking to make Brave New World justify Freud would have an easier time than saying Freud’s influence drove the text.

Knowing the Orwell was a student of Huxley makes a lot of sense.  It does seem fairly  evident that Brave New World was highly influential in 1984.  I am sure that they shared some fairly poignant discussion and had similar thoughts.  In some ways I am glad I didn’t know that they had a connection before I read and analyzed 1984.  It was easier for me to be objective and follow my instincts. 

I think there are aspects of both that could be combined together.  For instance, I don’t know about ‘hatching’ civilization but I do think the kinder, gentler totalitarianism is the more likely play than Big Brother.  Society seemed more realistic in 1984 as well as the propaganda techniques but conditioning and chemical control also seems possible.  

I learned something during this process.  I don’t do well analyzing something until I have seen the whole picture, that is read the whole book.  I was struggling to even identify the concepts until I was done and then they seemed so clear and words began to flow.  I even cut out things that were more minor because I had so much to say about what I considered major concepts. 

End Your Programming Routine: If it wasn’t for chapters 16-18 being so outstanding, this book would have been a hard no from me.  If you are choosing between 1984 and Brave New World, I recommend 1984 any day and every day.  Not only does it seem more plausible, the storyline is generally more interesting.  Brave New World takes too many unnecessary detours for character development that simply don’t matter and don’t impact the story.  That being said, this is a good companion to 1984 and I would read them in that order.  As always, additional knowledge and perspective are helpful when preparing for the quiet revolution.