Apparently, I’m now mostly a weekend blogger and writer for that matter. Eek — those are painful words to even write down this morning. Last night I was thinking about AI/ML in decision systems for a couple of hours. That is where my thoughts were focused. Sometimes the ideation phase needs to happen instead of writing, but in the past I would have sat down and captured my brainstorming, ideation, or just thinking out loud phases in writing or drawing. For some reason that is not really happening anymore and it cannot be blamed on 2020 as it is clearly 2021. Instead of spending the time right now writing and focusing I found myself watching the news and cleaning my monitor. It is much easier to just focus on those things than to try to collect my thoughts and engage in meaningful writing. Writing used to be a vital part of my daily routine. It was the core focus of my daily activities. Gradually that vital part of my daily efforts washed into the background. It is much easier not to spend time deeply thinking about things. Throughout 2021, I’m going to focus more on reading and rereading the books in my collection. Reading will be my main focus instead of consuming the endless stream of disjointed video based content that exists.
Topic: My 500 words on 1/6/2021
Wednesday, January 6, 2021 was one of the darkest days for American democracy in a long time. Most American’s watched this on television and really only learned about it after it happened. It was something that was on in the background as a routine part of government that quickly caught my attention for all the wrong reasons. Even right now it is surreal to sit down and try to write about what happened in a meaningful way. Only time will temper the emotion of the moment enough to really capture what happened. What happened was simply something impossible becoming very real. It happened with a very connected audience driven by live streaming, posts on social media, and worldwide television broadcasts.
Even seasoned journalists were taken back with the brazen nature of what happened. At the heart of democracy is the twisting intertwined relationship between political parties and the peaceful transfer of power. The act of peacefully transferring power is what stacks up a history of continuity within a democracy. Longevity for that political system is built on transitions. A healthy and vibrant democracy should see the political winds move from party to party. In my view, that means people are making choices and the general administration of government is informed by a variety of viewpoints. That idea is important to cherish and to consider in the context of what happened.
A constitutional process prescribed by the founding documents of this nation was occurring at the capitol building. A darkness descended over and occupied the capital for a five hour whirlwind of displaced democracy. Voting holds the keys to unlocking the power of democracy. Overrunning the cornerstone of democracy in a whirlwind of disgraceful shared images worldwide will stand out for a generation as a watershed moment of a nation’s agony. Photographs of the democratic process resuming and completing on capitol hill won’t ring out in the same for years to come. A dark moment will cast a shadow on democracy and people will remember the nation’s capitol in a different way. Inside that changed memory is the power that darkness has on democtric institutions.
Topic: Grinding Gears 3
Using the Google Play Music application was so easy. I had bought the new Rabea Massaad album “Grinding Gears Vol. 3” on Bandcamp and had to upload the files to YouTube Music using some strange interface. I could not figure out how to just buy the album on YouTube Music like I could before. I really do try to buy albums in either physical formats like vinyl or digitally if necessary to support artists who make music that I enjoy.
Topic: On weekend writing
Right now it seems like maybe my thoughts are going to be generally collected during the week and a larger post might happen on the weekend instead of daily entries into this functional journal. That seems to be an odd change in my writing behavior, but it seems to be a behavior that is consistent with the reduction of productivity that has been occurring.
