An Open Call for Pragmatic Meliorism

Meliorism (Latin melior, better): the idea that progress is a real concept and humans can interfere with natural processes to improve the world.

What would it look like to embrace pragmatic meliorism instead of cynicism?

• Acknowledging problems while focusing on solutions
• Learning from history without being imprisoned by it
• Maintaining high standards while accepting incremental progress
• Combining skeptical analysis with constructive action

This is harder than cynicism by orders of magnitude. It takes nuance, effort, and (critically) emotional risk. But it’s also more likely to actually improve things.

From Joan Westerberg We Don’t Need More Cynics. We Need More Builders.

I was very happy with the way that Numbers handled the playlist export from Music. It inferred a delimited file and presented the contents formatted in a very easily understood fashion. It was super easy to copy the two columns I wanted to share, and Nova helped me make markdown fast.

Yesterday I found about 8 Twitter accounts that I follow mentioned or listed a Mastodon address. Did a quick Twitter search for “mastodon” on followed accounts. Today I learned of Debirdify, which helped me to find about 100 more accounts I could follow directly from Micro.blog.

LinkedIn is testing a new ‘no politics’ setting

Wishing more large services offered similar. At least some offer filtering.

Inoreader has a special for the next few days: 18 months of Pro for the price of 12.

I just renewed, carrying me into 2024. I must have done something similar last year?

Was just introduced to the ideas of Ken Wilbur’s Integral Theory via the SLOWW Sunday newsletter.

There’s a lot to unpack, here.

What if you took the opportunity to turn your secure pass-phrase into a positive affirmation?

Or a goal? A mission statement? Your intent?

TIL The Trashmen were from Minneapolis.

I am very pleasantly surprised with the most current release of the iOS Bullet Journal application. It is in no way designed to take the place of your paper journal. But allows you to photo your pages and assign them to a calendar day and page number inside of a journal. Another nice feature is the ability to assign a page to a Collection.

Most importantly, it backs up to the iOS Files application. I can use my iCloud Drive to store the backup file. No new account is required. No new subscription is needed.

The application fully supports the Bullet Journal methodology, but gives you a way to review your notes even if you are away from the physical copy.

Lastly, in a pinch, there is an ephemeral 72-hour Log for Tasks, Notes and Events. This provides a way to continue to capture until you can return to your paper Journal.

Lovely.

“The major effect of testosterone is to make effort feel good.” — “The problem is the frequency with which we reward agression."

Between the apps I use and my browser history, I can’t figure out who had the link to the “Beautiful Bubble”–however I fully support and endorse this. I had already taken several of the steps outlined and this is a great framework for improvement.

META:

To render a blockquote correctly in the Micro.blog Timeline and in the Marfa template, the blockquote must be preceded by a blank line. The Post Preview function shows what I expected, but the timeline and the published content did not until I added the blank line.

@help

I will say this about social media: It is what I make it. I have stolen a strategy from Mr. Rogers, which is to find the helpers. In this case? I subcribe to or follow the helpers. There are so many people who are trying to make a difference. I am so grateful.

Primary Concern theory versus Worst Damage theory at Daniel Messler.

I change my Micro.blog theme frequently. I’d like to thank @roelwillems for the quick tip on the CSS to change the link color for the Marfa theme.

Today, I learned that evapotranspiration, also called Corn Sweat (in the parlance of our times), is capable of influencing humidity over large areas. Ex: the Corn Belt

Sobering statistic:

The rate of death from COVID-19 for people with Type 2 Diabetes is 12 times higher than in the general population.

I have Type 2 Diabetes.

At a minimum I am at a significantly higher risk for Severe Illness.

I wear mask and I am grateful when you do, too.

I did not know, or I forgot, that the Newton was powered by an ARM processor

Dave Chappelle: 8:46

Noted:

It’s a privilege to learn about racism rather than to experience it.

So, yeah. I’m on the east side of St. Paul and I’m lucky not much has come close to me. But I started to cry when I saw this advice on screen.

Here is the full list

• Be off the streets at 8:00 p.m.
• Be aware of suspicious activities/groups
• Be aware of large gatherings
• Call 911 if you are witnessing suspicious activity
• Remove anything from your lawn that could be flammable or a projectile through a window
• Store dumpsters in your garage or move to hidden area in back yard. Consider wetting down the inside contents if they have to be left outside in view.
• Keep LIGHTS ON and some windows open to hear noises that may be approaching. (use caution with windows that may be easily asked from the ground)
• Have an escape plan and a to-go bag (remember to take along any medicines you may need)
• If you need to be outside wear headlamp, bright colors and reflective clothing
• Charge cell phones. Cell towers might go out
• Have alternative ways to communicate with your neighbors and help them to make a plan in case things do get bad.
• Have garden hoses ready and untangled for possible use.
• Check your flood lights; door lights; KEEP THEM ON.
• Soak down wood fences and surfaces
• If you have a Little Free Library-empty it.
• If you have a fire extinguisher-get it ready
• Check on each other-especially older neighbors, and the vulnerable.
• For those who choose to stand outside, watching homes or businesses, do not confront anyone. Call 911, call another neighbor to be with you.

Along the same lines, Jason Kottke wrote an excellent article explaining why, in a pandemic like COVID-19, appropriate actions to “flatten the curve” often seem like overkill both at the time they are taken, and in retrospect. He quotes physician Dr. James Hamblin:

“The thing is if shutdowns and social distancing work perfectly and are extremely effective it will seem in retrospect like they were totally unnecessary overreactions.”

and epidemiologist Mari Armstrong-Hough:

“You won’t ever know if what you did personally helped. That’s the nature of public health. When the best way to save lives is to prevent a disease rather than treat it, success often looks like an overreaction.”

From an email newsletter from Chris Kresser

Poring over blood test results this afternoon. I got the raw data and terse summary in today’s mail.

I found that Lab Tests Online has a Tests Index that is a great tool for translating acronyms or medical terms into terms I understand.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Tron Legacy character Zuse is probably not a reference to the Hellenistic pantheon as much as a nod to Konrad Zuse. I had wondered why the character was so vulnerable.

I have been using Foursquare (now Swarm) for location check-ins for 10 years, now. I’m not consistent with lots of technology tools, but this one has stuck.

It’s fun to look back at where I have been. When I look at a sequence of check-ins, remembering where and why, it helps me to reconstruct a day. It’s a fun tool that has helped me personally and professionally.