“Computers enable fantasies” – On the continued relevance of Weizenbaum’s warnings
“The computer has long been a solution looking for problems—the ultimate technological fix which insulates us from having to look at problems.” – Joseph Weizenbaum (1983) Trying to keep … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Ninth Week
Everybody loves a good post-apocalyptic tale for it reassures us that though the present moment may be quite bad the future could always be worse. * According to the news … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Eighth Week
I can acknowledge that I panicked during the first few days of the pandemic I stocked up on too much toilet paper and hand sanitizer bagged rice and dried beans … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Seventh Week
The year is new the plague is old. * A mantra for the start of the year: I will spend less time staring at screens and more time gazing at … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Sixth Week
When you unwrapped holiday gifts with your family I hope that you received exactly what you wanted and if what you received was not what you wanted I hope it … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Fifth Week
What sets this winter apart from last winter and the one before that is that this winter we really cannot pretend that we haven’t been warned. * The newspaper of … Continue reading
A Luddite Library
“If the Luddites had never existed, their critics would have to invent them.” – Theodor Roszak One way of telling that controversies about technology are intensifying is to watch … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Fourth Week
Is there a prayer to say at the start of a new wave? Yes, there is a prayer to say at the start of a new wave: I pray that … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Third Week
Please be advised: when they told you that you could bring a plus one to the holiday party they were not inviting you to bring the plague. * It’s nothing … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-Second Week
When they hear you say that you are sick and tired they will ask if you mean it literally or figuratively to which you are free to reply with a … Continue reading
Waiting for the Fail Whale – What Y2K can teach us about Twitter
“What we use is not ours simply because we use it.” – Erich Fromm Breakdowns have an annoying habit of not arriving on time. It often seems as if … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Forty-First Week
How do you survive a plague? Easy, you do not try to survive the plague instead you focus on trying to survive the week. * When I read the headlines … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Fortieth Week
A mantra for a Monday morning during the plague times: I am trying my best to survive this and on the days when I fall short of trying my best … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Ninth Week
In the month of November I will not be trying to write a novel grow a mustache or attempt some new project I will focus my attention on trying to … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Eighth Week
Look, I get it, my tastes are somewhat odd I prefer music that sounds terrible foods that are too spicy movies that have vampires and not catching viruses though I … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Seventh Week
I have heard it said that the pandemic’s end is in sight but I have stood atop a tall building and so I know that which is in sight can … Continue reading
Theses on the Techlash
“The problem is not to use technology but to realize that one is used by it.”- Paul Virilio Once a term gets widely adopted by the press, and earns … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Sixth Week
And now you know that the most realistic virus movies are the ones in which the virus wins. * There’s no point in being frustrated when the elastic ear loops … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Fifth Week
You say that when someone is wearing a mask you cannot tell cannot really tell if they are truly smiling and though that may be it is worth bearing in … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Fourth Week
You keep telling me that the pandemic is over but the more you insist the more loudly you shout the more furious you get the more I believe that the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Third Week
Remember: even now after all this time you still have not survived the plague, even now you still have only survived the plague thus far. * I know you long … Continue reading
The Internet is Broken. Can We Fix It? – A Review of Ben Tarnoff’s “Internet for the People”
Can you remember the moment when you first suspected that there was something wrong with the internet? Was it when you started to get creepily specific targeted ads? Was it … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-Second Week
If you turn on the news you will hear it said that the pandemic is over though this will certainly come as quite a surprise to the virus. * “The … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirty-First Week
If only there was a specific date a clear singular one to which we could connect the pandemic we would be able to know which date to set aside as … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Thirtieth Week
If you spend enough time atop a plateau it becomes easy to forget how high above the ground you truly are. * You must understand we are in a different … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Twenty-Ninth Week
Should you find yourself wondering why it is that some people continue behaving as though there is a pandemic consider that it may be because there is still a pandemic. … Continue reading
Life’s a Glitch – what the non-apocalypse of Y2K can teach us
As families watched from home, Dick Clark stood on the steps of the town hall hosting the final New Year’s Rocking Eve of the millennium. The excited crowd chanted the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Twenty-Eighth Week
When we speak of the plague we dream about the before and we fantasize about the after so that we do not have to consider that we are still mired … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Twenty-Seventh Week
They were so eager to forget it ever happened that they decided to forget it was still happening. * Should you find that you are still feeling anxious consider cutting … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Hundred-and-Twenty-Sixth Week
There’s no point denying it when the pandemic began I was frightened amidst the early uncertainty truly, I was scared but that was long ago these days I have no … Continue reading
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