Long time coming update

It has been a long time since a new post has been made on this blog.  A lot has been going on in a number of other projects and they needed to take priority.  As with all things, there has been some divergence as well as convergence as time

moved on, and that is the way the world works.  And as we all know, sometimes work can get in the way of life and larger purposes.

That brings to mind how communities operate.  Like life, there are never any 1 to 1 relationships that are exclusive and persistent.  The Universe is anarchistic and while there are certainly guidelines it appears to follow, there's always those new revelations of out-lier behaviours that no one expected nor can explain.

Much of what this author has done over an extended period of time is work on projects that are believed to help people live more full, enriched lives.  How that looks to any individual is up to them, and I do my best not to interfere with their own path and vision.  That is not for me to define nor determine for any other person, nor is it generally possible or desirable.

There are three main projects or initiatives that I've been focused on and there are some related, smaller projects that are intended to support the primary projects.  These include a quality of living technology framework called AEBL, the Open Information project which this blog supports, and a community building project called BANG (Barter And Networking Group).

I am a systems designer by nature, nurture and some schooling.  The problems I try to solve are often problems only I see and that can be frustrating to everyone involved, at times.  In the end, the desired result is to more finely tune an existing, functional and useful system or to disrupt a system that no longer serves a population or society.  Perhaps it never was intended to.

For those following along so far, thank you for getting this far.  I always appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and consider my ramblings.  So in considering the three primary projects listed above and the problems they are trying to solve, I will try to break them down quickly and concisely and in as clear a way as I can muster at this time.

Many people feel the money system we have is broken.  For that reason, BANG was created by a Winnipeg local barter enthusiast by the name of Troy Goldenthal.  I stumbled across the group a number of years ago and decided I would squeeze my way into the group and see what could be done to help
support those who are interested in alternative means of value transactions.

Many, many years ago, I was commissioned to design a computer system around an electronic hardware technology that worked with television signals.  From that commission sprung the AEBL project which began as a distributed media system and has expanded to include the distribution of a lot more information than just video or audio.  The toolkit also allows people to stay connected with others, enhance their daily lives with smart technologies connectivity, and to provide a platform, not unlike an encyclopedia, to access, store and share, among some other functions it is able to perform.

And finally the Open Information project which is a long project that is being developed to help people learn, share, and grow in their personal lives as well as for community building.  Everything relevant from technology and science information, theories and hypotheses, to health and wellness, to business, to food growing, prep and preservation, to governance and economies and more.

So these are the projects and one can hopefully understand how they are all related and the sub-structures that are necessary to provide a full value to

anyone who is interested in any single aspect and perhaps even anyone in general for pure curiosity.

And there is always an ask.  This is it.  You might wonder, "How can I get involved?" And I would like to think your interest in being involved is because you feel you might get value out of these projects or the end result that is anticipated.  First, please feel free to offer feedback, opinions, and even challenges to these project. Without feedback, it is impossible to know if there is positive, forward movement.  Second, I hope that people can feel interested enough in the projects that they are compelled to share with others.  Without sharing, no one else can know about these project, provide their own feedback, and contribute significantly to the intended value of the end result.  And finally, contribute in some form.  That could be anything from helping edit documents, provide research, buy a coffee or lunch for those who contribute value to these things and to engage in any or all of these projects in a way that fits your capacity of resources.

Once again, for those who have made it to the very end of this post, I would like to thank you and offer my gratitude.  This may not have made any sense to you.  Perhaps you felt some consideration to read the entire post.  Maybe you felt you might get something out of it and maybe you did not get anything out of it.  Nevertheless, it is very much appreciated.  Cheers!

Raspberry Pi Project: Jack the Ripper Bot

Do you still have a lot of DVD content that you would like to be able to archive in a cool, efficient, hands off way?

This project is technically objective.  It is up to the builder to ensure that the resulting bot is used to conduct legal archiving of content.

DVD content has been around for many, many years and many people have amassed many, many DVDs.  Even though disk changer carousels exist,  having a hundred plus DVDs ready to view on demand is practically impossible.  This is where archiving can solve the problem.

Open Internet

It is with trepidation that this article is posted.  Not for the message, rather for distinct possibility that it might come across as presumptuous or even condescending.  With all the conversations and articles and global meetings around net neutrality, and even more so often a lack of conversation about it, it begs to question whether people know how the internet was designed to operate.

Net neutrality is, for those who don't know, the ideology that no one entity or person should control or moderate the information that is transferred between two or more computers or electronic devices on the internet.  That all data should be treated equally.

This concept actually stems from a philosophical ideology that suggests that basic human rights should include unrestricted access to common knowledge and communication, for better or for worse.

Before the internet was first thought up and designed, even before ARPANET (which many point to as being the parent of the internet), there were networks and global packet switching which were co-joined and shared.

Tribal self determination

It does not matter who you are.  It does not matter where you are.  We are borne into societies with established and existing rules, laws, norms, behaviours, and everything else that determines our existence.

Yes, that sounds like an extreme, even negative statement.  Yet, it is reality.  If we are born in North America, there are certain rules we are immediately expected to follow.  North American culture is unique to North America, and we notice when someone comes from another country, even if they look the same as us.  We notice by their behaviours, their beliefs, their language, and perhaps even their understanding of right and wrong.

The old adage stands, "When in Rome, do as the Romans."  We are expected to conform and submit.  If we do not agree, then there are channels that we are directed to use to attempt to affect change.  And it is there, that we may begin to see our worlds change around us.

Open Money?

Money is something that is, for most, taken for granted.

On its public facing side, it is described, and accounted for, in a very simple way.  A good or a service is allocated some arbitrary value and in order to obtain that good or service, we submit that value in dollar (currency) notes of that value.

It goes by many different names: Dollar, Pound, Euro, Yen, Peso, Rubble, etc.  They all function the same way.  They are also interchangeable.  We can take our common currency and exchange it for another currency, in the event that we wish to make purchases in another country.

Making copies of existing, legal tender is illegal.  There are also many ways in which creating an alternative money can also be illegal.  But why would one want an alternative, or "open", money?

Arduino project: Acrylic 'N'' LED sculpture

This week's arduino project starts with the letter 'n'.  Well, and it ends with the letter 'n', as well.

While the image to the right doesn't do the end result justice, it is a fairly good representation of what you should get, when done.

It is unclear why a person would want the letter 'n', created as a "multi-layered, acrylic and LED sculpture, with variable lighting levels", hanging on the wall.  The instructables user slight does not appear to touch on the reasoning.

All we have as an explanation is, "This n is an art work and experimental and these instructions should be treated as such!"

But, one can imagine that if there was another letter, or perhaps even a word or something else that might be more appropriate, it can probably be made as an extension of this instructables.  So, let's look at it, closer.

Open Source Energy

So this post is going to delve into the highly controversial and emotionally volatile realm of so called "Free" energy.

For many hundreds...  nay, thousands of years, people have been conned into new ideas that simply turn out to be some form of snake oil.  For all intents and purposes, the con in itself is simple.  Use jargon and claims of expertise to promote and sell a product or invention that ultimately does not work as advertised.

When talking about energy, these types of claims are usually described as unity, over unity, free energy, etc.  In this article, we will be looking deeper into this realm and discuss something that is perhaps much more relevant to any impending energy revolution.  That a free energy revolution is more about Open Source freedom, than about breaking the laws of thermodynamics.