Category Archives: Industrial Change Surfing

The industrial revolution is a powerful set of waves that has crashed into our lives. We, the modern man, must consciously decide how to surf these waves. If we do not pay attention, we can drown. If we select the right waves, we can gracefully enjoy our time like no man before us. If we truly excel, our opportunities are historically unprecedented.

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All, Industrial Change Surfing, Time v3

Time v3 Reading List

Some great reading about timekeeping in the Industrial Revolution. Here are some examples:

The Clocks are Telling Lies by Scott Alan Johnston. Centers around the International Meridian Conference. Talks a lot about the distinction between scientific professionals’ and amateurs’ perception of timekeeping.

Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism by E. P. Thompson. Discusses the transition from natural time to using clocks to regulate labor.

Greenwich Time and the Longitude by Derek Howse. Recommended by Bjorn Kartomten.

All, Technology Implementation

The Post-Industrial House

The post-industrial house will solve the following domestic problems and maximize the following healthy ways of living.

  • Fresh air should be maximized.
  • The “un-building” house: start all planning with the assumption that we live outside and favor outdoor living unless necessary to be indoors. Assume that the outdoors is a good thing and try to not block it if possible, for example:
    • Need heat in the winter. Best kind of heat is a small cozy space with body heat. Can heating be compartmentalized into a small center of the house?
    • Keep bugs out. Screens do this without blocking the rest of the outdoors. A breeze is pretty effective against bugs but too much breeze could be annoying all the time.
    • Houses with opaque well-insulated walls are great if you assume you want to completely control the indoors and live in a controlled environment, but they almost totally sacrifice fresh air. Walls block breezes. Walls get hot in the sun and bake the indoors all night long even when it is cool outside. Roofs prevent sunlight from sanitizing and drying the indoors.
    • How to minimize how “indoor” the house is?
    • Completely compartmentalize the “indoor” aspect of the house?
  • Disinfecting sunlight should be maximized especially in bathrooms.
  • There should be so much airflow in bathrooms and laundry areas that anything in those areas dries quickly.
    • Should be outdoor space for a clothes line near the laundry, preferably with some cover that allows sunlight but not rain.
    • Shower curtain against bath tub mold build-up: how has this problem not yet been solved?? (besides dripping the shower liner onto the floor outside the tub or replacing the shower liner every few months). There must be airflow and sunlight or there will be mold!!
    • Outdoor shower is nice but good to do something to control mosquitos around it.
  • All sides of the house should receive some direct sunlight.
  • During the winter day, the house should be able to collect and store as much heat from the sun as possible when available.
    • Wood stove? (more efficient than wood-burning insert into existing fireplace).
    • Address humidity if possible. Dry air is usually just accepted in the winter, but is there a way to naturally or easily have the air a little bit more humid in the winter?
      • Personal humidifiers, OK.
      • What about compartmentalizing the house somehow so the human warmth collects in a cozy way, i.e. cozy small room effect? At least for sleeping areas.
  • During the summer night, should be able to cool off as quickly as possible and drain heat reservoirs to collect excess heat during the day. House should feel like a large shade tree on a breezy summer afternoon – (NOT like the inside of a refrigerator).
    • Remember to address humidity. Humidity is half of the comfort and convenience equation but is usually treated as an afterthought.
  • Should be able to completely shade itself on the exterior, independent of trees.
    • Or using strategic trees.
    • Large eves are nice and simple design for shade and protect the side of the house. Movable eves?
    • Canopies over windows?
  • Should be able to leave the windows open during summer rainstorms, while still addressing the following issues:
    • Security of having windows open.
    • Screens should prevent bugs from entering, plus a system to eliminate the bugs that get through.
    • Convenient window coverings should not get in the way of opening and closing the windows. Automated windows would be nice (cars have them!) except when they fail, which they would, so they should just be easy to open and close.
  • There should be outdoor space on the roof, or above the house somewhere. Like a rooftop bar with a view of whatever is around doesn’t matter rooftop is cool.
  • There should be ample shade / rain cover just outside the house near the kitchen for meals outside.
    • Build house around a central courtyard area? Build in a horseshoe shape?
  • The hot water tank should be near the hot water faucets. Waiting for hot water is hot water wasted and time wasted. (I am opposed to tank-less water heaters, they just aren’t that great.)
  • Independent water treatment system for healthy drinking water, nice skin, and prevent mineral deposit build-up.
  • Completely separate heated exterior space with garage door, ~14 x 22 feet ~ one-car garage size. Bicycle storage plus.
  • Carport! A simple cover over the car keeps the snow off in the winter, prevents most of the rust from being rained on all the time and prevents sun damage. A garage is unnecessary but a carport is necessary.
  • Location location location. There should be good people, good government, good parks, libraries, town center within biking distance.
  • ~1407 sqft. 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bathroom. Kitchen, dining, living room. Large closet in the master bedroom. Laundry, clothes line area, outdoor shower all connected.
    • 2-story with bedrooms upstairs, or ranch?
    • 2-story pros: rooftop bar higher. Bedrooms separate from living area. Smaller footprint / basement requirement. More cube-like for less exterior walls (more efficient?)
    • Ranch pros: no stairs. Everything connected.
  • Maintenance convenience:
    • All (or most) plumbing and electric – especially plumbing – should be accessible from a basement or with known and marked access points.
    • While some things will be automated, automation should be limited and control should be centralized with systems accessible for maintenance and upgrades.
  • There should be a large Time v3 timekeeping device prominently displayed in the post-industrial house.
  • Other sources:
    • Consult Tim
    • Consult The Landlord’s Operating Manual
    • Consult architect(s).
    • Consult “Snowmass house”
  • Alternative materials.
    • Absorptive and radiative materials
    • Hemp? Consult Kreg.
    • Consult “Earthship” internet search rabbit hole.
      • Earth-filled tires?
All, Time v3

Time v3 and Daylight Savings Time

There is a certain a group of people who hates the daylight savings time change because it “arbitrarily disconnects us from nature.” One day we wake up and the sun is up. The next day we wake up at the “same time” and it is dark (or vice versa when we go off daylight savings time).

To my timekeeping-conscious friends out there, we have something in common: a dislike of brutish machine timekeeping. However, I believe what we really dislike is industrial timekeeping as a whole, not just daylight savings time. The daylight savings time change is like a tiny semiannual glitch in the matrix of industrial timekeeping that draws our attention just enough to feel something is wrong but passes before we really focus the energy to investigate the true enormity of the problem.

The problem is industrial time – since the 18th century – and the solution is Time v3.

All, Time v3

Celestial Movement: Know Less Understand More

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The following are true and do not change perceptibly over an entire human lifetime.

  • The non-sun stars do not move relative to each other. Not now, not over thousands of years, not anytime we will ever know about. The stars remain a fixed spherical image we gaze out at from the inside.
  • The north star and southern cross remain in the same positions in the sky and do not move relative to an observer on Earth, even as Earth rotates. They mark the axis of rotation of Earth. Correct, they do not move at all. You could build a structure pointed at the north star one night and if the structure doesn’t move, it points at the north star day and night season after season year after year forever, whether you can see the north star or not, it’s there. (The structure would be called a gnomon, if you care).
  • All of the non-sun stars/constellations remain in the exact same latitude and therefore trace the exact same line through the sky each time Earth rotates, every day of our lives, no exceptions. The line a star traces through the sky at your location peaks at 90° – [your latitude] + [latitude of the star] always.
  • Earth’s rotational axis is not tilted. Earth’s orbital plane around the sun is tilted! When orienting celestial objects, we are forced to choose what we consider “upright.” Earth’s gravity cannot dictate “upright” for celestial objects. If you imagine Earth’s rotational axis as upright, the north star remains fixed as “north” or “up” and the orbital plane is then tilted 23° meaning Earth “moves north and south” as it orbits, or moves “up and down.”
  • The sun. slightly more complicated, but helpful because the sun is bright. What is a line of latitude? What does a line of latitude look like? The blindingly bright sun traces a line of latitude through the sky every day. On equinox days, the sun traces the 0° line of latitude (celestial equator) and on the solstices the sun traces the +/- 23.4° line of latitude. In between, the sun gradually traces lines of latitude from 0° to 23.4° to 0° to -23.4° and back to 0° again throughout the year. Each day the sun traces a slightly different line of latitude as Earth orbits.
  • Nobody is good at three-dimensional spherical-angle geometry! Nobody! Astronomers are not good at it. Nobody is! Then why does the current zodiac constellation represent the constellation behind the sun that we cannot see?? Because nobody is good at three dimensional geometry! Astronomers for millennia past and still today use the sun as a “pointer.” Nothing in the sky points like the sun. The sun is such a bright “pointer” that you cannot see what is behind it – but remember that the stars do not move relative to each other so if you have some idea of what the starry sky looks like, and you know the current zodiac constellation, you can reference the rest of the starry sky off of the sun itself. “Pisces is shining bright this month!” True statement – even though Pisces is only up during the day because looking forward the sun means looking toward the current zodiac constellation. We are currently in Pisces. “The sun pointer is moving toward the constellation Aries.” Another true statement. The line the sun traces through the starry background as we orbit is called the “ecliptic.”

Once you have some firm ground to stand on, you can start to remember some more basics and build. If you get confused, re-read the above and remind yourself that many things in the sky do not change!

  • Orion, the most widely-recognized constellation, is on the celestial equator. Therefore Orion rises directly east and sets directly west. Orion is “up” ~12 hours and “down” ~12 hours. Orion’s path peaks at 90° – [your latitude] above your horizon (directly overhead the equator). Also, Orion is visible from everywhere on Earth.
  • Orion is directly south of the border of Taurus and Gemini. The Taurus Gemini border marks the northern hemisphere summer solstice, so on the summer solstice the sun points near Orion. On the winter solstice, Orion is high in the sky at midnight.
  • Polaris, the north star, is located directly north at [your latitude]° above the horizon, always. Most people use the Big Dipper to find Polaris.
  • The two stars in the Big Dipper aligned with Polaris point to the ecliptic at Leo near its border with Virgo, so near the sun’s location at the autumnal equinox.
  • The Milky Way’s bright galactic center is among Sagittarius, specifically Sagittarius A. It is 29° south of the celestial equator so therefore peaks at 61° – [your latitude] in your sky (more visible in southern hemisphere). Being near the northern hemisphere winter solstice, it is most visible in northern hemisphere during summer.
All, Time v3

Time v3 Clock Links

Time v3 Beijing

Time v3 Clintonville

Time v3 Cusco

Time v3 Delaware Ohio

Time v3 Grant Park, Milwaukee

Time v3 at Greg and Kelly’s

Time v3 at Hampton Roads Convention Center

Time v3 Heverlee

Time v3 at Hiroshima Central Park

Time v3 Carolina Beach Boardwalk

Time v3 Ostrander Ohio

Time v3 at Plexus Capital

Time v3 at Igreja da Vinha, Pacajá

Time v3 Petteys House

Time v3 Ruhan’s Crib

Time v3 Santiago

Time v3 Simple Kneads Bakery

Time v3 Uncle Tim Bongo Bar

Time v3 at Times Square

All, Time v3

Read Time v3 with an Accurate Mental Model

  • You are the observer in the center of the clock. Everything moves relative to the observer.
  • The sun position on the clock represents the actual longitudinal position of the sun.
  • Solar noon is noon on the clock. “Solar noon” and “clock noon” are one and the same. When the sun is directly overhead the observer, it is noon, and half of the day has passed.
  • Sunrise and sunset are depicted and labeled. Sunrise marks time 0:00 each day and sunset marks the day length. The day length changes gradually throughout the year with the seasons.
  • When the sun sets, the “official time” turns negative and begins to count down to sunrise. However, if you mark an event at +12:30 time v3 during an 11 hour day, +12:30 is visible on the clock even though the sun has set, the official time v3 is negative, and your event will be held in the dark. “+12:30” is still 12 hours and 30 minutes after sunrise and still a usable time.
  • The moon position on the clock represents the actual longitudinal position of the moon. Moon directly overhead on the clock, the moon is directly overhead the observer, “moon noon.” Moonrise and moonset are off to the side, just like the sun. I am adding small moonrise and moonset lines in the next version.
  • The moon phase is represented by the sun’s position relative to the moon and Earth, easily observable on the clock. Project the sun out to “infinity” and the sun points to the moon phase marked on the moon itself. Therefore the moon phase on the clock is determined just how it is in real life.
  • The locations marked on the clock’s Earth represent prominent geographical features approximately every 15° longitude. Therefore the sun passes one of the geographical features every hour. If you want to know the approximate time at a different location, just imagine the observer on the clock is at the location with everything else right where it is. Tilt your head if it helps or physically turn the clock on its side.
  • The sun pointing to the stars marks the seasons, just like in real life. The constellations on the clock are the constellations (official IAU) the sun points to throughout the year as Earth orbits. They are zodiac constellations on the ecliptic, for telling seasons, not the constellations on the celestial equator. The difference is minor (see below).
  • The stars pass overhead on the clock when those stars actually reach their peak to the observer. Star noon on the clock is star noon in real life.
  • Of note, the prominent constellation of Orion is on the celestial equator just south of the Taurus/Gemini border Orion borders both Taurus and Gemini. Therefore Orion is an excellent star reference to align the clock to real life.
  • The thin white line behind the equinox in Pisces shows 1,000 years of precession of the equinoxes. Yes, one thousand years, one millennium, 500 years in the past and 500 years into the future. The equinoxes do not move very much.

Understand Celestial Movement by Knowing Less

Notes

  • three buttons:
    1. 5040x with pause feature
    2. 21,600x with pause feature
    3. “sunrises / sunsets snapshots” time lapse
  • useful sounds?
  • add moonrise and moonset
  • The horizons showing day length are the only indications of latitude. I want to keep it this way. 2D, time is the 3rd dimension.
  • unify the new year globally making it the exact equinox. Focus locally, celebrate large events globally.
  • clock ticks in background on phones? battery life?
  • Digital doesn’t match graphic on some time lapses. Maybe only on past years?
  • digital font size correct for computers and phones
  • make “copy-able link” for the link generator
  • 90° and 270° ecliptic longitude are the solstices, correct?
  • astrolabe, Incan Inthuatana,
Fundamental Concept

Every movement of this clock is related to a naturally-occurring phenomenon. The sun, moon, and constellations are actually physically overhead the longitude physically shown on the clock. The only man-made concept is the unit of time: hours/minutes/seconds.

Within the constraints of being two-dimensional and using only concentric circle movement, the clock graphically displays celestial movement as accurately and with as much detail as possible in a way that promotes a practical mental model for the observer.

The horizons move to show the correct day and night length. They move in the correct direction to match the idea that the sun follows a longer path in the sky on longer days and shorter path on shorter days. In post-industrial time, noon is when the sun is directly overhead. This clock shows noon at the various world locations by being directly overhead the longitude. “Solar noon” is an industrial time concept.

The angle of the horizons does not directly correspond to the azimuth of the sunrise and sunset itself. For example, the sun being overhead a longitude location on Earth 100 degrees from your longitude when it rises does not mean the sun will rise 10 degrees north from east.

Two-dimensional is convenient for hanging on a wall, inexpensive to construct, can be displayed on a screen, and in reality people prefer 2D. 3D TVs never caught on. The outdoors is 3D enough.

Concentric circle movement is practical to construct and control. In addition, almost all the movement of the objects in the sky is due to the rotation of Earth.

Nature presents us with an infinity of detail that the clock could depict. Computers enable us to easily do this and most products show maximum detail. This clock selectively provides the user with just the basis required to comprehend celestial movement in order to inspire the user to abandon the technology for the outdoors and more fully appreciate natural reality.

The Observer

On this clock, all objects are referenced to the observer as though the observer is standing aligned to the rotational axis of Earth. “Aligned to the rotational axis of Earth” sounds like an unnecessary complication, but it means all the objects move (almost) continuously and you can tell time of day, day length, night length, moon phase, moon rise and set, seasons, constellation and star positions, and even approximate world times, all using an intuitive mental model.

The observer is at the center of the post-industrial clock.

Observer’s Imagination

Notice, the gnomon of a sundial is aligned to the rotational axis of Earth. The ancients knew how to think about this. If you want to be familiar with the movement of the Earth and the relative motion of the sky, you must align with the Earth. If you accept the one complication of aligning with Earth, all else naturally falls into place.

You might say gravity is the biggest obstacle to aligning yourself to Earth’s rotational axis. True. To eliminate the gravity problem, just imagine you are on the north pole. If you were sitting on the north pole during an equinox, you would see all the objects on the clock rotating around your horizon just like they do on the clock.

Rotation and Orbit

Notice “rotate” means an individual object rotates, and “orbit” means an object moves in a path around another object. Objects can rotate and orbit in different planes, but because of the way the solar system was formed, rotation is mostly closely aligned with orbit. One notable example of misalignment is the tilt of Earth’s rotation relative to its orbit around the sun.

The Sun, Horizons, and Time

The position of the sun determines all time-related items.

The rotational position of Earth is shown by the sun appearing to move relative to the observer. The position of the sun in relation to the eastern horizon and western horizon tells the time of day.

Day length is determined by the distance the sun must travel through the sky from the eastern horizon to the western horizon. Day length is shown by the position of the two horizons. Night length is the remainder of the 24-hour period as the sun returns to the eastern horizon. The horizons move because of the tilt of Earth and its orbit around the sun.

The sun points to the season on the backdrop of the stars. The 12 Zodiac constellations are used because they are aligned with Earth’s equator and are visible from most positions on Earth. The Zodiac seasonal periods are named based on when the constellation is aligned with the sun. Ironically, it is exactly during a particular Zodiac constellation’s season that the constellation is not visible in the night sky because it is directly behind the sun.

The stars move around the observer because of the rotation of Earth, like the sun. Because of the orbit of Earth around the sun, the stars actually appear to move slightly faster than the sun. In a way, the stars “chase” the sun across the sky. Because of this, the constellation that is low on the western horizon immediately after sunset indicates the next season. The constellation will “chase” the sun down, setting because of Earth’s rotation and then each successive night set four minutes earlier until it sets with the sun.

Moon phase is determined by the position of the moon relative to the sun. The position of the moon relative to the sun is immediately apparent on the clock giving the user an intuitive mental model of moon phase. The moon rises and sets independently of the sun, so there are separate horizons for the moon.

Relative to the Observer

The stars do not move relative to each other, so you can relate your favorite constellations to the Zodiac constellations to quickly know where they are if desired. The position of the Zodiac constellations on the clock are accurate relative to the observer. The observer need only adjust for latitude. If a constellation is directly overhead on the clock, it is directly south in the northern hemisphere or north in the southern hemisphere, or overhead on the equator.

Approximate world time is asking the question, “What time is it to other observers?” or “Where is the sun relative to other observers?” The user can look at the other cities on the clock and see where the sun is relative to them. If the sun is directly over another location on the clock, it is noon in that location. The sun is moving relative to other observers just like it is moving on the clock. If the sun appears directly to the side of another observer, it is near rising or near setting. If directly below, it is midnight to that observer.

Sun/Moon/Stars to Sundial to Pendulum to Quartz to Atomic Vibrations to Smartphones to Sundial to Sun/Moon/Stars

Progress is a cycle.

Pre-history: humans evolved with celestial objects ruling our lives and became familiar with them. The sun and moon are encoded into our genes in our circadian rhythm.

Thousands of years: humans quantified the movement of the sun with sundials, and used charts for the phases of the moon and seasons.

Industrial Revolution: humans used rudimentary machines to club our minds to submit to rigid schedules.

Post-Industrial Clocks: humans use advanced machines to conform technology to nature and re-connect with our natural selves.

Like this clock, the gnomon of a sundial is oriented parallel to the rotational axis of the Earth. If you called this clock an “indoor sundial” you are not too far off. However, “indoor solar, lunar, and celestial fully-automated schedule” would be more accurate. Therefore, is this new? No, but is anything new? Not according to the Bible,

Ecclesiastes 1

9  What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10  Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.

Life is a cycle and it is time to revisit some of our past. We now have the time and resources to do it.

Knowing what the sky looks like can certainly be done with charts, phone apps, websites, maps, but to develop a useful mental model, you need to periodically and quickly see something that is practically relatable to practical day-to-day events. This is our natural ability that was erased by industrial time. Industrial time is great for rigid old obsolete machines to cheaply give us rigid schedules, but computers enable machines to imitate nature and can enable us to re-connect with nature rather than brutally beating nature out of our minds with the incessant ticking of pendulums and gears. Computers can be better, let’s use them.

history, manufacturing, time, astronomy,

All, To Blog

Respect Literacy: Blogs are the New Book

Like books, personal blogs seem to have an innate ability built-in to the medium to bring out the best in people.

Do not confuse blogs with social media.

I have been keeping this list of my friends’ websites for several years now. Many are small business sites (pillars of society), none are vanity-driven, and all of the information is thoughtful, meaningful work by people who care. All of it is good. It represents the cream of 100+ years of electronic communication. That’s a strong statement and it’s true.

If you became literate and started reading books 500 years ago after the Gutenberg Press, you got ahead. If you understand the power the internet brings to people by enabling blogs, you get ahead.

All, Comfort and Convenience Plagues, Rage and Frenzy Politics

No Mask Zone

This year, being polite requires being a bit forceful. As I have said from the beginning along with most people I know, there is a no-mask zone around me. Under no circumstances, directly or indirectly, will I be the reason you are required to cover your face. Breathe free, friends.

That said, there are many people who support wearing masks. We have to have a way of dealing with it consistently. My responses all year to even an allusion to mask support have been harsh. I have even been harsh if I perceive a failure to actively resist. After having had time to cool off, my only regret is the herd mentality stampeding to “safety” behind face underwear.

Being a divisive subject, I have decided the best course of action is active listening. Therefore I will directly quote the mask support I have heard and repeat it as best I understand it.

Active Listening 1

Mask supporter: “Masks are polite.”

What I hear: “Cover your face – and I do not consider it impolite to tell someone to cover their face.”

Very well. You will be safe. Do not come within two meters of me.

Active Listening 2

Mask supporter after I suggested that businesses post whether they require masks or not: “Of course businesses can post a requirement for shirt and shoes, ‘no shirt no shoes no service,’ but masks?!? … Obviously the government has to step in and mandate that everybody wear masks in public.”

What I hear: “My fear and belief in masks supersede a business owner’s right to operate with open faces. Cover your face.”

I hear you loud and clear – so now don’t come within two meters of me.

Active Listening 3

Mask supporter during a discussion about the various prevention measures: “Come on man. Masks aren’t political. It’s science. Of course governments have to require masks.”

What I hear: “No discussion. We have all agreed that all security trumps all individual rights. Cover your face.”

Loud and clear. Keep your distance from me.

Active Listening 4

Mask supporter admitting that outdoor masking is probably a waste: “OK yeah, they probably don’t do anything outside, but we need to show we’re all together in this.”

What I hear … ? “Join my cult. We cover our faces everywhere. Cover your face if you are near me. My government will require it.”

I’m a bit confused to be honest, but you said it. Keep your distance.

Active Listening 5

Mask supporter relating mask wearing to health codes in restaurants: “So you believe people should ignore the mask mandate, which is a health code, and not wear masks? Isn’t that a slippery slope of people not following health codes?”

What I hear: “I think I’m clever. Cover your face. My government will require it.”

You are a real threat because people really will buy that line if the TV says it.

Active Listening 6

Mask supporter: “Science says cover your face.”

What I hear: “The TV says cover your face, so I do.”

Take your “science,” your science, your TV, and your mask, and shove them all up your ass … and keep your distance from me.

Mask Etiquette

Having considered, the following categories apply for me:

People who actively respect a human being’s right to show their face while interacting, including whatever “risk” is involved: I appreciate your friendship more than ever.

People wearing masks. Depends who, where, and why.

People who fail to actively resist masking: I strive to be stronger. Writing about it is a form of resistance, hope this helps.

Any indirect support for any mask mandate: you are a mild threat. I am actively planning to avoid falling victim to any government you vote for.

Direct support, any enthusiasm for masking, or any in-person social pressure to wear a mask, even out of a perceived sense of duty: I will do my best to maintain two meters from you for the rest of my life.

All, Comfort and Convenience Plagues

Quit TV Cold Turkey

I quit TV cold turkey about 17 years ago, in 2003. I was about 20 years old. I had always watched some TV up to that point with whatever free time I had, maybe an hour a day. I did not consciously quit. I just moved and never bought a TV. I still watch movies if they are planned and I sit down to watch one I’ve chosen with friends. I also watch live sports, which I prefer to watch in a public place like a bar.

Stage 1: “I’m Missing Something”

For several years, I felt like I was missing something. I felt like people knew something I didn’t know.

Stage 2: “No, They’re Missing Something”

Maybe 5 years in, I started realizing I was getting all the relevant news within a few days just by hearing conversations. I wasn’t missing anything, I was just getting it second-hand. Instead of “news” I was seeing people’s emotional reactions to the news and it was very disconnected from real life. For the first time, I felt like they were missing something, not me.

Stage 3: Produce for Perspective

In 2014 I started a blog with the goal of being able to at least amateur produce every type of media available. In 2018 I spent a lot of time learning to record and edit video. That gave me really interesting perspective.

Often when watching a movie now I’ll switch to imagining the studio set around the scene instead of the movie plot and it transforms their acting into an awkward situation. You have to be a bit maniacal to act as intensely as actors do in a movie studio full of colleagues.

The teleprompter is the other thing I notice. For a monologue looking into a camera, one minute continuously is about the max I can memorize to record. Watching news anchors or commentators go on and on for 20 minutes reading a teleprompter with feeling as though they really believe what they are saying it is creepy. The teleprompter is obvious if you have ever tried to record a message into a camera.

Stage 4: Twilight Zone

Within the last few years I’ve more and more gotten the feeling that I’m John Boyega’s character from the movie The Circle. Fun to imagine I’m a hero of course! I still see people’s emotional reactions to news and TV shows that are mostly fictional or over-dramatized – but now those emotional reactions are widespread enough that they are literally the news. It’s bizarre.

With the coronavirus recently I made a concerted effort to systematically find the most truthful, reliable, objective news sources possible. It is helpful to have actionable information.

TV I Have Seen

I can nearly list all of the TV I have seen for 15+ years and why I saw it.

In early 2008 my roommate had several seasons of The Office on DVD. We binge-watched 3 seasons in a weekend. That’s the last TV show I really got hooked on and binge-watched.

In 2009, my roommate had a TV and I watched a lot of Family Guy by default because he watched it all the time. It was comical how little else we watched. Pure random Family Guy episodes. 90+%.

In 2011-2013, I remember that several of the new type of TV series started coming out because people were binging Dexter, Eastbound and Down, Breaking Bad, Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The conversations sounded like fun but watching the shows sounded like a chore to me. I never did. I would say by this point I had completely lost interest. I was irreversibly uninterested.

I played a video game for the last time in ~2001. I played Age of Empires for about four hours straight. I attended a swim meet afterward and I was imagining the people to be little characters from the game. I haven’t played anything since other than maybe Wii at friends’ houses.