Productivity

Orthotic Advancements

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Last week I got fitted for a new pair of orthotics. I haven’t had a new pair in about 10 years. When I got my first pair, around 2011, the experience was very different. I remember stepping on some kind of squishy, memory foam pad to create an imprint of each foot. Presumably a technician filled the imprints to create the mold of the orthotics. I honestly didn’t think much about it at the time. Though I did have some problems with the first couple of sets and had to repeat the process at least three times before I got a decent pair. This is likely why I haven’t gone back for a new pair in so long.

Flash forward into the future. This time, the chiropodist took a few pictures of my feet. I had to stand still while she moved her tablet around at different angles to get the right images. She took photos from the front, sides, and back. At the end, I kneeled on the exam table with one foot propped up, then the other, so she could image the underside. Based on the 2D images, the app created a 3D rendering of my feet that will be used to make the new pair of orthotics. It would be super neat if the orthotics printed in 3D based on the renderings.

I enjoyed several things about this experience. First of all, the chiropodist took images of my feet. This was more enjoyable than stepping on something squishy and weird feeling. The new, modern approach generates less waste. I’m guessing after the previous companies completed my orthotics, they tossed out the foam imprints. I felt confident about the handling of the images. The images attached directly to my electronic patient file (hopefully) eliminating mix-up errors.

On the flip side, the new technology advancements don’t seem to have brought the price down. Though I don’t know for sure, I’m guessing there’s still a considerable amount of skill, experience, and effort required by a human to make the orthotics properly. Naturally, the materials also cost money.

I’m excited to get the new pair to compare how they fit and the comfort level with the new, modern method of creation. Maybe in 10 years, when I get my next pair, the process will be even more modern. I’ll have images taken at the appointment and orthotics printed before I leave.

Human Archives, True Confessions

Royal (Icing) Pain in the A**

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This past weekend I decided to decorate cookies for a fun activity. I ordered cookie dough ready made from a bakery I like. They included a packet of merengue powder, a link to an instructional blog post for royal icing, and 8 piping bags. Luckily the baker was there at pickup. I asked her lots of questions which definitely helped me through some of the tougher moments.

My first challenge, aside from my non-existent baking skills, was I didn’t have a go-to person lined up. Though I didn’t realize this until things took a turn in the process filling the first piping bag. Attempting to stuff a thickish, sweetly sick-looking pink goo into the bag I had a hunch something was amiss. But what? No blog post, or instructional video, covered this exact scenario. I needed a human to guide me through. I would also add that getting to this point hadn’t been easy.

First of all, I had no idea about how far in advance I could make the royal icing. It didn’t seem like a last minute task. I was definitely right about that because it took me 1.5 hours to make 3 colors and fill 8 small piping bags. Secondly, I only had a whisk attachment for mixing. Though some instructions covered hand mixing the first part, it seemed only a proper mixer could do the second part. If you have not had the joy of making royal icing, it’s thick and gooey. All my whisker attachment did was spin helplessly around an unmovable mass of dense, clotted sugar spraying tiny chunks of icing everywhere.

I persevered and figured out most of the challenging parts by the third piping bag. Initially, the consistency had been too thick. Not that I had any clue what the ideal consistency should look like. In my mind, this is information you get from a person, i.e., somebody with experience and skills. After some sticky errors, I figured out how to hold the piping bag to load it.

I’m not sure what possessed me to do (mostly) everything from scratch instead of buying ready-made icing. However, throughout the whole frustrating process, the real challenge is how we rely on connecting via disconnected methods. We lose wisdom in the process. I’ve learned all my best cooking tips from being in the kitchen helping and connecting with one another.

Digital Photos

Aggregating Digital Photos

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One of the my biggest challenges with digital photos is aggregating them. This doesn’t even include time spent to review, delete, and organize. I recently went on a 3-week trip to India (trip posts coming soon!). Even from that short trip I have photos in at least four distinct places. Naturally I have photos on my phone. However, this also includes photos sent to me through social media from other people. Although all of them reside on my phone, they are not all stored in same place. We also took the digital camera, which has at least 300 photos we haven’t even looked at yet. And then there are the photos stored on other people’s devices when my camera or phone wasn’t readily available. In other words, aggregating is going to be a project.

A friend of mine recently showed me a beautiful photo album she made through Shutterfly. I’ve also made several albums with the same company, but I was curious to hear about her experiences. Without any prompts from me, she thought finding and aggregating all the photos from disparate sources was the hardest part. She worked on the scrapbook over a period of months, diligently chipping away at it. The photos, she explained, came from phones, email attachments, other people, etc. In other words, finding and accessing the pictures was almost a separate project. Then came the hard task of selecting which ones to include in the photo album. After that is creating the actual album. It’s almost like three mini-projects to produce one thing!

However, there are technological conveniences to make some tasks easier. For example, Shutterfly will place your aggregated photos into an album. Although you do have to be mindful if you want photos arranged chronologically. Sometimes moving photos from one place (device) to another, results with the move date rather than the create date. In some cases, this can be a significant difference. Though I have yet to explore the apps, I know there are some available to clean up photo collections. This will deduplicate photos. Some of the apps can also organize photos based on location, faces, or objects.

While there are some ways to make it easier, I still find aggregating the photos I want for my albums the most tedious part of the process. So far I haven’t found any good ways to make this faster.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

The Hand Count

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We use technology to improve our lives. Sometimes we experience situations where technology is more reliable and faster than humans. Yet, at a time when we rely on technology to make things easier, some US ballots are still being hand counted. To be honest, I don’t even know if that makes them more, or less, reliable than electronic ballots.

In some scenarios, using low-tech options can be safer and more reliable than technology. For example, passing paper notes. A single source of information passes from one person to another with no option to hack, steal, or spy on anything. It’s easy to destroy the note after reading it. Unless somebody photographed the note, it’s likely the only copy in existence. In the digital world the simple act of sending a message can create many copies. At a minimum, one is with the sender and one with the recipient.

When it comes to ballots, however, I don’t feel confident that the low-tech option is more reliable and tamper resistant than electronic ballots. In some ways, I feel that paper ballots, or ones cast in-person, are almost riskier. In the days following the election, I’ve heard numerous stories about funny things happening. Bomb threats at voting centers in Georgia. Fires started in ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest. Bags of ballots disappearing. Miscounting, and inconsistent totals. Added to that is the time it takes for some areas to physically count and tally the votes. This is critically important when the race is close. Yet, I don’t trust the process anymore. Or the results.

One of the only times I voted in person, as most of my ballots are absentee, it was on an old-fashioned machine with levers. It was the same machine I remember watching my dad vote on when I was a kid going with him to the polls. Once inside the voting booth, pulling a giant lever closed the curtain and prepared the machine. Before me was a board with levers to select my candidates. Once selected, a switch of the giant lever recorded the votes and opened the curtain. Easy. And I felt confident about it. The machine was sturdy, robust, and hard to tamper with, though I’m sure it was possible.

Now, with so many voting options available, the process feels questionable. How could so many votes be lost and yet so many gained by the Republicans?

Digital Dilemma

Not Enough Technology to Save the Election

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As an expat, I’ve watched the last four elections north of the border. Some years, I’ve been able to participate. Each ballot submission requires advance planning, snail mail, and a lot of annoying, ancient forms.

Each state does voting differently. After all, this generates a lot of the post-election ruckus. It allows for candidates to have something to complain about if the polls aren’t favorable. Blame it on the voting style! The year 2000 featured “hanging chads.” Unfortunately, in 2020, much of the dispute focused on electronic voting. The claims were largely fictitious and eventually disproved. However, all I could think about was my dashed hopes for one day voting electronically in CT.

A fellow American expat seemed genuinely shocked at my voting experience. This was a couple elections ago. Each time I contact the registrar in my home state, I hope for a different outcome. I want a modern, efficient and reliable process. We’re encouraged to vote and yet, it can be a difficult and frustrating process in some parts of the US. Then I hear criticism for not voting.

Since I moved after the last election in 2020, I started the process to get a ballot at the end of the summer. Anticipating another paper ballot, I started the process in early September. This time I was able to search online for my registration. I couldn’t locate it. This was not entirely surprising because I have a complicated last name. I often find it misspelled or punctuated incorrectly. I located the registrar’s office email and sent a ballot request. Before going on vacation in early October, I repeated the process certain that I would come home to a ballot in my mailbox, or instructions. Nothing.

I logged on to a federal website to try and print out a ballot. Somehow I couldn’t download the form and was unable to get it out in time.

When the stakes are so high and the consequences so dire, why is the basic action of casting a ballot still so difficult? Why are there so many variations? Why is the process a weird hybrid of some electronic elements combined with some very manual ones?

Since that rocky election in 2004 that drove me north over the border, I declared the “Dark and Stormy” as my official election night drink. I’ll be having those (yes, plural) tomorrow night to watch the ruckus.

Uncategorized

Reality Check

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Hanna adjusted her goggles. It had been a rough night. First she lost Bean’s body. Even worse was the way she lost it. She watched it get sucked into the inky ooze that used to be the ocean. The waters now so congested with plastics, filth, and rampant growth of undesirable organisms, even the waves couldn’t break through. Every once in a while something tsunami-like came along. The strength in it enough to dredge up a sticky, viscous sludge from the depths, dumping and spewing on everything in its path.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts. Ater that horrendous “rescue” mission, she needed her recharge time. The lost body, the failed search after in Bean’s house. She knew there hadn’t been anything to find. If there was, she would have found it. Hanna felt sure about this, but her boss didn’t share this confidence. Hanna could still hear the gruff voice barking her ID number along with a few expletives and artful descriptions of her ineptitude. Yes, Hanna decided, they were artful descriptions. Yet, not important in this moment.

After adjusting the goggles Hanna used her feed to review the Augmented Reality options. After being so close to what used to be the ocean she definitely wanted a salt-water theme. She only had a vague recollection of what the beach used to be like. Even as a child the beach always had trash on it, bad smells, and loamy looking sand patches. But at least the waves had been there, lulling her with their relentless shushing.

Honing in on salt water options, Hanna decided she wanted a colder water theme. She whizzed through some of her favorites. Swimming in Antarctica among the ice bergs and penguins. Or the Pacific Northwest among kelp forests, otters, whales, seals, and other marine life. Sometimes she preferred the cold, gray icy waters of the North Sea. Too harsh to visit in person, but just right to work out tension in the Endless Pool.

Tonight, however, she opted for colors and animal activity. Hanna selected Ketchitan, Alaska. She set the pace on her Endless Pool and stepped in. Goggles in place, the pool magically transformed into the Alaskan coast line rife with curious fish and kelp forests swaying gentlly under the dappled sun rays. In the distance she could see humpbacks gliding beneath the surface. She got on her stomach and started swimming.