Filed under: 2nd Amendment, Flu, General Musings, Guns, H. G. Wells, Health, Pandemic, Predictions, Preparedness, Science Fiction, Sleep, Society
Wow. It’s been a while since I was this sick, this long. Nothing life-threatening, just the flu that’s going around. Of course, I was completely worn out by the last few weeks of caring for Martha Sr, with no reserves to draw upon to fight this virus, so it comes as very little surprise that I haven’t been able to just shrug off the bug and get better.
It is this sort of experience that drives home the statistics pertaining to how many soldiers over the ages died due to disease rather than battle – I don’t have the numbers right at hand, but generally it has been concluded that at least as many soldiers have died due to illness than from battle related injuries, at least up until the last century. Why? Because soldiers are frequently pushed past the point of physical exhaustion, denied adequate sleep, with poor quality or inadequate food, and under conditions which foster rapid transmission of disease from soldier to soldier.
And that’s one of the things that I always chuckle about when I read about TEOTWAWKI scenarios on this or that forum. Often, particularly when such threads come up on a firearms-related forum, people will get way too preoccupied with guns and ammo, and lose track of the fact that those tools are completely useless if you are too sick or too tired or too hungry to employ them. Get sick, and your superior collection of guns or other tech mean nothing. H.G. Wells knew this, while most of us have forgotten it.
I’ll write more when I am up to it.
Jim Downey
Filed under: BoingBoing, Bruce Schneier, Emergency, General Musings, Government, Preparedness, Psychic abilities, Science Fiction, Sleep, Society, Terrorism, Writing stuff
[This post contains mild spoilers in the first paragraph. The rest is safe, even if you haven’t read the novel.]
One of the major themes of Communion of Dreams is examining the nature of reality. The title of the book alone gives this away, though I am constantly surprised by comments people make which indicate that they didn’t really take that very big hint into consideration when reading the book. Anyway, the whole notion is that we live within a controlled reality, in that there are artificial limits on what we understand of the outside universe. I use dreams as one access point for information which gets around these limits, and then more fully explore the psychic abilities which are latent in humans later in the book.
I’m a big fan of the TV series Foyle’s War, with its excellent acting and attention to historical details. It provides a brilliant insight into what it must have been like in the United Kingdom during World War II, and shows both the bravery and the cowardice of a population under real threat from a superior enemy. In particular, those episodes set early in the war (during the Battle of Britain) show how the possibility of invasion by Nazi Germany pushed people to do both inspiring and dispiriting things, but mostly how the entire population just ‘got on with it’, coping with the threat and their fears pretty damned well.
Which is why when I read things like this, I just cringe:
Hundreds Evacuated from North Sea oil platform after ‘dream’ sparks bomb alert.
A 23-year-old woman is expected to appear in court today after reports of a bomb on a North Sea oil rig sparked a full-scale emergency operation involving the army, RAF and police.
According to one report, the scare started when a woman employee on the rig was overheard recalling a dream she had had about a bomb on the platform. Jake Molloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee, one of the biggest unions representing offshore workers, said: “It was complete madness. This girl had a dream about a bomb being on board and she was a bit shaken. The next thing anyone knew workers were being evacuated.”
He said the rumour that a bomb was on the accommodation block – or “flotel” – had spread to senior managers within an hour. “It was complete madness on behalf of everyone. There was never any reason to evacuate the platform.”
Read the whole thing. It is clear that this was nothing short of bureaucratic panic. What do I mean? I mean that when bureaucrats are given procedures which they have to implement in order to cover-their-asses, they will do so whether or not the situation really calls for it, and no matter how disruptive and pointless the exercise will be. This is the exact same mindset in operation with the TSA’s Security Theater (credit Bruce Schneier), but played out in a more dramatic fashion.
Somebody overheard someone else talking about a disturbing dream they had. And they panicked. It’s that simple.
We’ve allowed the bureaucrats to so control our lives out of fear of being held responsible, that we’ve become afraid of our own dreams. How pathetic. How sad.
Jim Downey
(Via BoingBoing. Slightly edited version cross-posted to UTI.)
Filed under: Flu, General Musings, Health, N. Am. Welsh Choir, Predictions, Preparedness, Religion, Sleep, Weather
The memorial in all its details went off just fine yesterday. My wife’s quartet from the North American Welsh Choir did a wonderful performance. The minister conducting the ceremonies (an old family friend) kept things running smoothly and without a lot of inappropriate god-bothering. Friends and family made tributes to Martha Sr. All that you could ask for in a memorial service, even good weather (almost 50 and sunny) for early February here in the Midwest.
We had a relaxed reception at my Brother-in-law’s place, plenty of good food and good company. Then a relaxed evening here with some of the family who came in from out of town. And likewise this morning an early brunch before some folks needed to catch flights home.
And now I feel adrift. Unsure. All the scheduled things are resolved. Other things pending, but nothing which really needs either my involvement or direction. This could be a touch of something I’m coming down with (there were plenty of people with the usual colds/flus common this time of year). My immune system is shot, for the same reasons that my weight is so excessive: lack of sleep, insufficient exercise, general stress. I look forward to getting it back.
But it could also simply be the change borne by Martha Sr’s passing. All the routines, all the usual focus of my life, are no longer applicable. A friend said that it will take time to mash down the grooves of my life and carve new ones, and she’s right. I expect it will take most of the coming year to make the change complete.
So, adrift. The storm has passed, and now things are quiet.
I think I’ll get a nap.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Health, Hospice, Predictions, Preparedness, Sleep
After a long and valiant fight, my MIL passed away this morning about 5:20. My wife and I were with her.
Memorial arrangements, and further reflections on her battle with Alzheimer’s, to come later.
For now, think of her, whether in your prayers or your hopes.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Health, Hospice, Predictions, Preparedness, Sleep
OK, I shouldn’t be flip about this.
But my MIL continues to astonish. As noted previously, the woman is very strong. Our hospice nurse all but said (and this is no criticism of her or her judgement) that my MIL would likely pass last night. But she made it through. And through the morning. And through the afternoon. Late afternoon another nurse (our usual is off today) called from hospice to see what was going on – and whether we needed any help, supplies, et cetera. The hospice people have been great.
Anyway, my MIL is still hanging in there. She’s weaker, her breathing continues to deteriorate, she’s in a deeper coma than I mentioned earlier, and her fever is now 5 degrees above normal. But she is still fighting. It isn’t necessarily what I would have chosen for her, but my respect for her has stepped up another notch.
So, predictions be damned. We’re just sticking in there with her for as long as she’s with us.
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Health, Hospice, Predictions, Preparedness, Sleep
. . . on my MIL’s condition.
She made it through the night, though has been in a light coma for the last several hours at least (that’s not a medical diagnosis, but seems to fit). My wife and are are still able to stay on top of her needs, and she seems to be in no pain, though her breathing is distressed and indicative of the nearness of death.
My wife and I are doing well through this, and have taken turns resting. My wife’s brother was able to come and spend a good long time with his mother this morning, and we’re getting plenty of support from friends and family. It’s about the best one could hope for, and I will have a lot to say about the whole experience once we have a chance to rest and recover a bit.
Best,
Jim Downey
Filed under: Alzheimer's, Health, Hospice, Predictions, Preparedness, Sleep
For all who are following things here with my MIL . . .
She has largely been sleeping/dozing comfortably, and we’re doing all we can to make sure that she stays out of pain, unworried. Either my wife or I are now with her all the time. She didn’t eat any supper last night, had a bit of yogurt this morning. Things seem to be winding down as well as they can be. Lisa, our hospice nurse, should be by later this afternoon to check and see if there is anything else we can do to help matters.
I will post updates as appropriate. Otherwise, do not expect to hear from me very much.
Best,
Jim Downey
Filed under: 2nd Amendment, ACLU, Artificial Intelligence, BoingBoing, Bruce Schneier, Civil Rights, Cory Doctorow, Expert systems, Fermi's Paradox, General Musings, Government, Guns, Health, Politics, Predictions, Preparedness, Privacy, Science Fiction, Society, Survival, tech, Terrorism, Violence, Wired, Writing stuff
(I’m still fighting a nasty bit of a sore throat and related poor health, so forgive me if this is a little more jumbled and unclear than what I usually post. But I wanted to address the topic, because it is, in many ways, at the heart of some of the issues I try and deal with in he overall scope of Communion of Dreams. That being the case, this post also contains major and minor spoilers about the novel; I will note warnings in advance of each within the text, for those who wish to avoid them.
– Jim D.)
Bruce Schneier has an excellent editorial up at Wired and over on his own blog about how the argument of ‘Security versus Privacy’ in dealing with the threat of terrorism is really better characterized as being about ‘Control versus Liberty’. I would definitely encourage you to read the whole thing, but here is a good passage which sums up what I want to address on the subject:
Since 9/11, approximately three things have potentially improved airline security: reinforcing the cockpit doors, passengers realizing they have to fight back and — possibly — sky marshals. Everything else — all the security measures that affect privacy — is just security theater and a waste of effort.
By the same token, many of the anti-privacy “security” measures we’re seeing — national ID cards, warrantless eavesdropping, massive data mining and so on — do little to improve, and in some cases harm, security. And government claims of their success are either wrong, or against fake threats.
The debate isn’t security versus privacy. It’s liberty versus control.
You can see it in comments by government officials: “Privacy no longer can mean anonymity,” says Donald Kerr, principal deputy director of national intelligence. “Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information.” Did you catch that? You’re expected to give up control of your privacy to others, who — presumably — get to decide how much of it you deserve. That’s what loss of liberty looks like.
Exactly. In many ways, it is a question not of control itself, but *who* is in control. If I am in control of my own privacy, my own security, then I can decide on what limitations I am willing to live with, what trade-offs I will accept. But we do not have that control, according to our government – they do.
That is precisely what was behind this recent post – showing how governments think that they should be in control of our knowledge, as an argument of their power to provide security.
[Mild spoilers in next paragraph.]
This is one of the reasons I set up the whole ‘expert systems/AI’ of the book – so that each expert such as Seth would be dedicated to maintaining a wall in protection of the privacy of his/her client. He is the little ‘black box’ which interacts on behalf of a client in exchanging information/data/privacy with the rest of the world.
[Major spoilers in the next paragraph.]
And, in the larger picture, this is exactly why I set up the whole “embargo” around our solar system – some alien culture has decided, for whatever reason, that it needs to be in control of our knowledge about the outside (and here’s a hint – it also is in control of who knows about us). They have assumed to act on our behalf, without our knowledge or permission – and when Seth, the AI who has shown he is willing to act on behalf of Jon in the first part of the book, becomes in contact with that alien culture, he makes the decision to continue the embargo for at least a while, though with some changes. Up to the point where Seth does this, we are nothing but children – that a ‘child’ of mankind (an Artificial Intelligence of our creation) then steps in to assume this role carries with it not just an inversion of relationship, but also some legitimation of the decision. While I don’t address this specifically in the book, I can see how this might be a ‘standard protocol’ for contacting new, young civilizations – keep them isolated and pure until they develop an artificial intelligence which can make decisions on their behalf with regards to the larger galactic/universal culture. That procedure would make an awful lot of sense, if you stop and think about it.
Anyway, go read Schneier’s essay.
Jim Downey
(Ah, I see Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing has also posted on this – no surprise.)
Filed under: Alzheimer's, General Musings, Health, Hospice, N. Am. Welsh Choir, Patagonia, Predictions, Preparedness, Sleep, Travel
I came downstairs yesterday morning a little after 6:00 to discover from the home health aide that my MIL had not been up all night. This has happened a couple of times recently, and usually she calls or rustles around enough to indicate that she wants to get up and use the potty sometime shortly thereafter.
But not yesterday. She was quiet, sleeping until my wife and I went in to check on her. And she didn’t want to get up at her usual time of 8:00, sleeping until 9:30. Then she had a light breakfast and went back to bed, sleeping until noon, when she had some lunch and then again back to bed. Then she slept until 4:30. When I got her up then, her cyanosis was the worst it has yet been, her entire fingers a disturbing deep blue, as were her feet. This indicates a level of generalized hypoxia that shows just how poorly she is doing.
At no point whenever she was awake did she know just where she was. She kept thinking that she was on a train, or wondering where her car was, asking about when she was going to go home. We played along as best we could.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I sent this to a good friend last night:
Anyway, then dishes, got my MIL to bed, et cetera. Now, catch up on some email, do a bit of surfing. I need to start doing some research, find a good online source for learning a bit of survival Spanish.
Why? Well . . .
You probably already know about the North American Welsh Choir tour to Patagonia next October. And you may know that in return for my wife coordinating all the reservations and money and whatnot on the Choir’s end, she is getting her cost of the trip offset (in full, it looks like). Just in the last few days I’ve decided that I am going to go along.
Yeah, surprises me a bit, as well. I have no desire to go to South America. I have never had any desire to go to South America.
But my MIL is going to die soon. And late this year I should have decompressed from that, and been working hard for months being a good little book conservator, maybe an author. It will be a good time to challenge myself in a new way, get out of my comfort zone. This tour will be a good opportunity to do that. Plus my wife and I haven’t had anything approaching a real vacation in a couple of years, and we didn’t do anything to celebrate our 20th anniversary last October. So, this will serve that purpose as well.
So, I guess I should learn some survival Spanish. It is only courteous. And doing that won’t hurt me, either. Neither will pushing myself to get in better physical condition for the trip – something I am planning on for all the other good reasons I know, but this will provide additional incentive.
It’s odd to be thinking ahead this way, to a time when my MIL will no longer be with us, no longer our hour-to-hour responsibility.
But if you know of a good online tutorial for Spanish, let me know.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
She seems somewhat better this morning. She slept well last night, but wanted to get up to use the potty at 4:30 this morning (I was on-call). I checked her temperature then, and it was almost three degrees above normal. But her hands were their normal color, with just a trace of blue under her fingernails.
And she was anxious to get up and have breakfast at her usual time, though a bit reluctant to get her weekly bath after. During her bath, my wife reported a return of the more noticeable cyanosis. After, she was limp and sleepy, barely able to stay awake while we got her dressed and back into bed.
I just checked on her, helped her get settled in a new position in bed. She is getting weak enough that she has difficulty just rolling over sometimes. This time she was also worried about whether she was going to disturb the person who was sleeping next to her. I told her it was OK – they would understand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
It’s odd – making plans to be gone traveling this fall, yet being very tentative about what I am going to be doing this afternoon. Like so much of my life these days, it is the exact inverse of what anyone would consider ‘normal’. But so it goes.
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 