Human Archives

Garden Fruits

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The weather has definitely been strange and erratic. Somehow, the garden still knows how to trudge along. We’ve been able to start harvesting a few things. This year we planted:

  • tomatoes, peas, beans, jalapenos, red peppers, carrots, pumpkins, sunflowers, kale, cilantro, and basil
  • Chives, tarragon, and raspberries regrew on their own.

From this impressive looking list of options, we already had a few casualties. The squirrels dug up all the sunflower seeds before they even had a chance to sprout. Even after growing the pumpkin seeds inside to healthy looking 6″ sprouts, the squirrels ate all those too. It was too hot for the peas. The plants remained small and scraggly, but we managed to get a few pods. Out of the 10 bean seeds we planted, only 1 grew and it’s tiny. I didn’t care for the raspberry plants last year so we only got about 25 berries.

The rest, however, are doing pretty well. I’m shocked as I’ve had many failures in past years, some nature related and others due to “black-thumb” gardening mishaps. For example, one year none of the tomatoes turned red and I had a massive aphid infestation (see Ferocity). Another year, a friend gifted us a cherry tomato plant. I waited patiently for the small orange tomatoes to turn red. Towards the end of the summer I mentioned this to my friend who informed me they were orange cherry tomatoes.

This year, however, I’ve been enjoying the magic of home gardening. I pick fresh kale for salads. Sprigs of fresh herbs get chopped up with my special herb-cutting scissors (yes! it’s a thing and one of my favorite kitchen gadgets). Perhaps my most favorite is picking fresh tomatoes.

As a child, I grew up spoiled on my grandfather’s greenhouse-grown tomatoes. I would wait all year to eat his tomatoes. Juicy and lush, glistening ruby orbs shining against the greenery of their stalks in the sweltering heat of the greenhouse. I used to pick them and eat them like apples, making a convincing case to put the tomato back in the “fruit” category. When people tell me they don’t like tomatoes, I can’t help but think it’s because they haven’t really tasted a super fresh, locally grown one. This year, I have the good fortune to gorge myself on them for a brief time.

Digital Dilemma, Digital Photos

Digital Age Olympic Viewing Part II

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Aside from all the ways I can now watch the Olympics, there are other changes in viewing. Namely, the amazing camera angles, ability for instant replay, and the play-by-play frame shots. This last one was new to me and can provide detailed views of the athletes in motion, soaring through the air.

During the womens’ 200 IM finals in swimming, Alex Walsh got disqualified due to a technicality on one of her turns between laps. Apparently she turned too much on her stomach and was disqualified after placing third in the race. What felt strange to me was the combination of human and machine power to make this determination.

At both ends of the pool, a human stands to watch the athletes and sometimes to provide a signal towards the end of the longer races. For example, during the 800m race, the person watching the lane rings a bell to signify the last two laps. The person will also note things about touching and pushing off from the wall. Or if the right kick was used at the right time.

To complement the human viewing, or perhaps to enhance it, many cameras are watching from different angles. This includes at both ends of the lane, underwater, and above the pool. All of which work together to initiate, confirm, or contest noted infractions.

When detecting Walsh’s infraction, I don’t know if the initiation of it came from a machine or a human. Certainly to my untrained eye I didn’t notice anything during the race. Even in slow motion playbacks I couldn’t really tell that she had rolled too much on her stomach. Even when the playback circled the moment to highlight the turn, I couldn’t see the difference. Apparently transitioning from backstroke to breaststroke is tricky. It’s a turn requiring technique and precision.

Something about this whole disqualification felt oddly dissatisfying to me. I’m not advocating that athletes who don’t adhere to the rules should still win medals. However, with all the superb camera angles and scrutiny, I felt like maybe it makes it too easy to dissect every imperfection in excruciating detail. It’s neat to see how the athletes accomplish all the amazing feats, but it also detracts a bit from my enjoyment to see so many small, nitpicky things pointed out with the high tech cameras. It’s kind of like exposing a magician’s tricks.

Digital Dilemma, Social Media

Digital Age Olympic Viewing

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I’ve always been a fan of watching the Olympics. I know politics and wealth all influence outcomes, but I still enjoy seeing the athletes perform. My favorite sports to watch include swimming, diving, and gymnastics. The other night I marveled that I could watch 2 hours’ worth of swim events on my own schedule. Even better, I had the ability to fast forward through everything except for the actual competitions. Another bonus, considering I don’t have cable, is being able to still watch the events through an app. I can browse through a collection of options including sporting events and extra coverage. I also appreciate all the enhanced camera views and angles, especially for the swimming. The underwater coverage is pretty awesome.

Although I appreciated the convenience and customized viewing experience, I felt conflicted about it. Growing up watching the Olympics was an event. Most families I knew only had one TV. We were all at the mercy of watching the limited coverage offered by whatever network showing the events. There were no options about what time we wanted to watch an event or even how much of a specific sport was covered. The viewing schedule was the schedule. Only highlights were available at later times. If you were busy during the scheduled showing, the only option was to record it on VHS, or more modern options as the years went by.

Now, we have the option of switching between multiple events at the same time. Or watching one live and viewing the other one at a later time in its entirety. But what we miss out on is the communal aspect of watching. Or knowing that we’re all part of watching the same thing at the same time, comparing notes, and talking about it later. Rather than in person, all of this happens in the digital sphere, exchanging posts, likes, and comments through social media. Even if you have a conversation with someone about an event you watched, it’s likely you may not have even seen the same thing.

Although I appreciate all the customized options available, it can get lonely watching the events by myself. On the other hand, I get to watch all the things I love the most without competing for the remote or which event to view.

Human Archives

Old Friend

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I had covid, again, several weeks ago. I figured it was just another round of summertime congestion, likely caused from bouncing between AC and heat. The dramatic fluctuating temperatures don’t help either. Then one morning… I couldn’t smell anything. This new symptom appeared after I had been sick for almost a week. Strangely enough, my taste remained mostly in tact. It was slightly impacted, but I was also super congested so figured that was the underlying reason.

I felt off and weird without my sense of smell, as though I was moving through a world suddenly void of color. Everything felt like an outline. My daily “smellscape” gone. Vanished. The ritualistic smells of toothpaste, coffee, bread toasting, morning dew, and even my own human body funk, all missing. The discovery of my new scentless state felt unsettling. I misted a room spray and felt puzzled that I couldn’t smell it. First shock and then panicked registered as I searched for something strongly scented. Grabbing mouthwash, I inhaled deeply, expecting my nose hairs to feel singed from the medicated, minty vapors. I registered only a faint shimmer of something different in the air, but no real distinction.

Next stop, the kitchen. I desperately opened coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, and crushed fresh basil leaves. Instead of the sensory stimulation I normally feel, everything fell flat. Again, I could feel, more than smell, a slight disturbance in the air, but no real distinctions.

For context, I’ve always been a bit of a super sniffer. Though at times I’ve cursed this secret super power, mostly when I’m somewhere surround by stink, I’m grateful to have a great sense of smell. I rely on it for many things. My nose helps me fine tune cooking without even tasting or to alert me when food is spoiled. I’ve even used my sniffer to guide me towards love, or steer me away when the olfactory chemistry felt off. Not having my sense of smell would be akin to abruptly losing an old friend, one whom I’d relied on my whole life! Even worse would be regaining my sense of smell miswired. I read this happened to some people after covid where everything smelled like garbage or feces.

Fortunately, my sense of smell came back a few days later. Once again I reveled in the joy of moving through my day in a colored “smellscape.”

Digital Dilemma

The Plight of Online Applications

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I’m a fan of online forms… when they’re done properly. A well designed online form makes the application process easy, seamless, and smooth. Typically this would include being able to use the form on any kind of device. Documents and photos could be uploaded easily, sometimes even directly from the phone’s camera app.

This was not how my last experience went applying for a visa online. The whole process was fraught with frustration and annoyance at how poorly everything happened. First of all, I read through the documents to make sure I had all the right paperwork assembled. This required me to create some self-declarations and scan a whole bunch of documents. I had to pay for physical passport photos, then scan the printed copies to attach to the application.

Once I had everything ready, I started filling out the forms. The application erased the first page of information when I selected the “save and continue” option. Everytime I saved the application and returned to it later, one of the questions reverted from “no” to “yes”. Other questions I found blank, even though I had already entered in responses. When I finally reached the end, to upload the passport photo and passport scan, more trouble started. The application would only accept the photo in jpeg and the passport in PDF, but not more than 300kb. This is an extremely small file. Even compressed, my passport scan was around 500kbs. I eventually figured out how to make the file small enough. It was a complicated process of cropping, taking screenshots, pasting to a Word document, resizing the image, then exporting as a PDF. Basically, a LOT of effort.

The payment page also caused challenges requiring me to wait 13 minutes to try again. It was a very specific amount of time. In the end, the application never asked me to supply any documents beyond the photo and passport scan. This was also extremely frustrating as I had spent a lot of time creating, collecting, scanning, and saving all the other documents on the checklist.

At more than one point in the process, I seriously considered taking a vacation day to go to the consulate and submit everything personally, in paper. Though equally frustrating, it may have ended up being an easier submission process. Now there’s nothing left to do except wait and hope I submitted everything correctly.

Digital Dilemma, Social Media

The Digital Mob Takes Shape

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When I blogged about the Decree of the Digital Mob, How the Internet Makes or Breaks You, I didn’t fully realize the potential. This past week I felt disheartened reading about the actions of a group of teenagers. The group created over 20 accounts impersonating teachers. Then posted incriminating and false information. Some of the accounts included photos of the teachers taken from other social media accounts and reposted.

Growing up we had a limited number of options available for expressing anger or annoyance towards a teacher. Maybe somebody played a prank, drew a mean picture, or wrote a nasty note. Once delivered, the reach of the offensive action was contained. Existing in analog meant the information couldn’t travel very fast or very far. Though people could talk about something, it was just talk. There were no instant photos, hoards of followers, written commentary, or AI to fabricate deepfakes.

Digitally harassing over 20 teachers likely took mere minutes. Unlike in my time, the reach was far, the pace was fast, and the damage far more lasting. It’s bad enough people can create fake images and deepfakes on their own accounts of other people. Having a group of teenagers create many fake accounts, populated with fake content feels shocking, but sadly very believable.

In complex scenarios, such as this one, it’s hard to even know where to place blame and accountability. Obviously some of both reside with the teenagers themselves. But Tik Tok also has some of the share for making it so easy for others to create fake accounts, a policy violation. Additionally, the consequences for both teenagers, Tik Tok, and maybe the parents, are not clear. Though for the teachers, it’s evident their lives are marked forever.

All of this amplifies a growing unease about the power, extent, and inability to put guardrails on social media. Or if it is even still possible to have more controls. People have grown accustomed to the freedoms online personas afford them. This could include impersonation, cyberbullying, posting falsehoods about others, and in general, not having to take accountability for their actions. If controls are possible, who is responsible for defining, implementing, and enforcing them?