400ths, in Massachusetts

TL;DR -- As the Siege of Boston continues its slow course, we can look at other areas which need more attention. Such as, the celebrations of the Massachusetts start will go until 2073. 

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Of late, GenAI/LLM has gotten our atttention. That will continue under the theme of technology as we look at the mathematical underpinnings of phenomena (multiple variants) as well as get into the psychology and human interest aspects of the big chimera which we termed by buckets'o'bits (replacing AIn't which was misunderstood). We see a serious map/territory problem. 

But let's get back to history of both a family and regional nature. 

200 years ago, New England was still in the Siege of Boston stage which started back in April. Winter ws setting in. Washington had arrived in July. In September, he sent Arnold north on an attempt to make some headway in Quebec. Knox, in November, took his men to get artillery and supplies from Fort Ticonderoga. We have yet to see the Declaration of Independence.

Some reading material:

• Wikipedia, per usual, has a marvelout collection of information: Siege of Boston. This post has a good overview with secondary material. 
• An example is the post on Knox's effort: Noble train of artillery.  

The 200th of the Siege continues until March of next year. That gives us four more months to learn about the events and to appreciate the efforts of the colonials who got the U.S.A. started.

For instance, once the artillery arrived, in March, Dorchester Heights was fortified. 

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While we have paused to reflect on the 250th, we need to remind about the 400th anniversaries that will go on for a while. This post provides a list of the towns and villages that will be celebration. For instance, Salem is on the list for next year (2026). Cape Ann (Gloucester) had theirs in 2023. Before that, the Mayflower arrival was celebrated in 2020. Here is the timeline for celebrations. 

Timeline of Settlement

These go on until 2073. In 2026, Beverly (one of the places known as the birthplace of the U.S. Navy) shares the same settlement year as Salem. 

 Remarks: Modified: 11/09/2025

11/09/2025 --

King Slayer's Court, I

TL;DR -- King Slayer? That's a huge no-no rule, broken in both England and France. But, on the battlefield, is it allowed? This post looks at research of several decades that has been facilitated recently, in new ways, by computing done right (for the most part - until buckets'o'bits ran amok). 

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We will have a regular series on the King Slayer's Court blog as work continues on that research. The following has links to recent material and other material provided for background and discussion. 

• About - a Gardner family of PA, before and after the venture across the pond. 
• Bosworth - what Ricard III knocked off his throne by a Welshman? Thoughts about the data and more. 

Social media, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI/LLM) and this work. There is a lot more to discuss, but these two post bring attention to the situational aspects. 

•  Eyes of technology - we could use lens, as well; but, we are emphasizing the organic granularity and gauges of knowledge. 
• King Slayer's Court, Redux - here, we touch upon some of the technical aspects that will be expanded upon through time and as the need to know grows. 

(BBC London) A 16th Century
Welsh chronicle charting the history of
England and Wales between
1066 and 1552 is now online

Background. We wrote of this blog earlier in the year. But, we had our first interchange back in the day with our first post in 2016. 

• Introduction - In our searches from 2009 on, we ran into Wyllyam Garydnyr several times, including on Wikipedia. Lots of those pages/sites have disappeared, though we have some posts that we will go back and review and add here. 

We published an ariticle on this in The Gardner Annals (Bosworth and Gardners, Vol III). 

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Adage, moral proposed for the TGS, Inc: there AIn't no critter involved with the buckets'o'bits that people are chasing seemingly mindlessly. That is, phenomena are involved that we can know more; lots of it involves mathematics that got too big for its britches. 

Aside: we had an image link (it disappeard - so, that might represent getting some notice, or not; we will try to find something suitable). 

Remarks: Modified: 10/29/2025

10/29/2025 --

Illumination

TL;DR -- Machine learning, as AI, grates with the increasing hype of three years duration, so far. How  much longer? This post points to work that has plenty of potential to help right the ship that founders. 

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This is a brief technical overview about necessary work. 

Real but unseen. Mostly ignored, for reasons that we can discuss. Basically, the psychology of the modern era that has gone off course. 

The LLM (and their GenAIs associates) can be useful. I wish to introduce them to a big brother they ought to have known. 

https://lnkd.in/gECn-HrX  KBE used ICAD and demonstrated truth engineering 

"For example, at Airbus UK, the design of Wing spars was reduced from 480 man weeks to 12 - a 97.5% lead-time reduction. Similarly, Jaguar Cars saw a 94% lead-time reduction in XK8 body panel development, and their collaborative headlamp program was reduced from 8 weeks to only 2 days."

And, this was precision work. Not mindless pretend by misusing mathemtical computing.

CAD to KBE (ICAD) to ...
(dated but meant to show a point and an
example for saving machine learning

How does machine learning fit in? That was shown decades ago which lessons apply now. To discuss? KBE would have kept AI on track; several themes along this line deserve discussion and experimental attention.

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Wait, was my initial reaction. Kant is key. We can't Kant enough which will be on the table for discussion here (and demonstration). At the time, I started to remind people that there was no "critter" involved. This was applied mathematices which is centuries old. 

Okay, I will now back that up. We'll focus on Cambridge for a bit, but in general consider that Lagrange was a cohort of Kant. The former ran down perturbations of diff eqs; the latter ran down perturbing our brains with his "classical" summary of the western way. 

Right now, here are links that will kick things off. 

1 - Littlewood on the 1st Wrangler guantlet - quoting him: Preparation; Incubation; Illumination; Verification. https://lnkd.in/grC5tnNz Littlewood's take on the Tripos challenge 

... https://lnkd.in/gk5BShm7 What is Enlightenment? 

2 - Kant's answer to what is enlightenment - https://lnkd.in/gJzUNjVS 

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Hint: normalization gone mad (it's not spring break, yet). And, this applies in a few other areas, too. Not just the wannabe intelligence. 

Remarks: Modified: 11/09/2025

11/09/2025 - A few typos fixed. 

Siege of Boston, I

TL;DR -- We will do a series on the Siege in the next few months. It dragged on for almost a year. 

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For those who have not heard of the 250th of the U.S., we are in the first year of the Revolution as it started in the Boston area in Spring of 1775. Usually, people talk of 1776, but that is for the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July which is when the 250th year will end and when we start the 251st year. 

Of the remembrance of a long war. It started before 1775. Then, Cornwallis surrendered in the fall of 1781. However, hostilities continued and the treaty was not signed until 1783. We have lots of material to cover, related to families personally. 

For this post, we will do a few looks at the Siege of Boston. Today, let's look at a few past posts on the subject. These are in order that they appeared in the blog with the year of posting noted. 

• Regimental History, Seige of Boston (2015) -- Last Issue, Massassachusetts Magazine (2018) -- the first and last of 4 articles per year for over a decade. 
• Elizabeth (Gardner) Blanchard (2019) - look at families and their contribution. 
• Boston first (2024) - on the evacuation that ended the Siege of Boston.
• George Washington in Boston (2025) - he was up there for several months, long enough for Martha to visit. 
• Southern Campaign (2025) - after the British left Boston, they were in PA and NY. At some point, there was a choice to get the southern colonies on their side.
• General Nathanael Greene (2025) - he was at Boston, under Washington. More on him later. 
• ...
• Bunker Hill West, 1873 (2025) - we have had a lot of posts on this hill in DTLA which can be used to watch the changes in the U.S. over the time of the area post New Spain's rule. 

At this time, in late October, we have five months before the Siege ended. April was a long while ago. People were coping and organizing. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/23/2025

10/23/2025 - 

Hopes of simulation

TL;DR -- We pause to refresh the technology focus for the future. Simulation will be a recurring theme for many reasons. 

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Given that we are now into the age where everyone has heard of "AI" and have three years of data on both sides of the argument, the future will be more interesting from several angles. Technology is great, when it works. It can be expensive. 

Saw this image today and had to show the particulars. It's a robot that went through millions of simulated miles with no problems. But, then stumbled on something unexpected when let out into the real world. On LinkedIn, see the article: The Simulation Myth. 

Spot, of Boston Dynamics

Now, it's not just robotics. The question of how well advanced simulation can mimic Nature has been on the table for decades. Some are more inclined to think that a good simulation can be used instead of something natural. We will be discussing that. 

Rodney Brooks of Boston Dynamics has been at this for a long while and has demonstrated remarkable results. For instance, he got to where his robots (of a bipedal type) could somersault without a tether. That is remarkable mathematics and computing. 

It was interesting watching this development. Last year, Rodney was quoted as noting that the advancement was not quite as remarkable as he would like. He wants his bipedal robots to dance. And, after that comment, plenty have tried to show this. With varying amounts of success. 

Dexterity? Like humans have? Rodney's site (Robots, AI, and other stuff) goes over that topic, quite thoroughly. 

Post: Why Today’s Humanoids Won’t Learn Dexterity  

It is great to see industry leaders take the thoughtful approach rather than harp with marketing or PR messages. Science needs to be involved as we try to cope with technology of the newer types. 

AI isn't new. It dates back to the 1950s in the current mode. But, people have grappled with the related ideas for a very long time. 

Simulation goes back further and was part of the earliest computing. 

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Note: Control can be improved with sensor/activator coupling with good simulation software. But, even then, the theory of control and of the domains involved have to be the prime focus with careful attention to the details of experience and experiment. How far can simulation be pushed? Don't expect that to be a closed issue anytime soon; if anything, we will get wiser about what's involved with the limits that lurk. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/11/2025

10/11/2025 -

Bunker Hill West - 1873

TL;DR -- Today we saw an old photo of a sketch which shows part of Bunker Hill West in the 1870s. That's early enough to be before lots of the changes introduced over the long span of US history. The English culture took over in 1847 from that of New Spain. And so, the area has lots of offer with respect to our interest in the long reach of New England. 

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Here we go with a post on LA, again. Yesterday, as we looked at New France and New Spain, we mentioned Bunker Hill West. In the early days, the hill overlooked bustling LA. Then, people built upon the hill. They tunneled under it to start to build on the other side. It was partly lowered starting in the 1960s. Now long after, the skyscrapers started to appear with the first one right by the Library which is about as old as the LA City Hall. 

This pointer is to a search on Los Angeles within our blog. There may be Bunker Hill posts that did not come up on the list. In any case, the below photo which is courtesy of the Water and Power Organization of Los Angeles, CA is from a sketch near what is now 9th Street looking north. To orient the view, the well-known City Hall is between Spring and Main Streets (shown converging here) eight blocks north above 1st Street. 

To the middle below the foothills is where one would find The Cathedral of the Angeles, not built yet. The train station is north of that. 

Of interest today are the hills on the left. If one follows the Fort Street line (left of Spring Street) up toward the hills to north, there is a building standing above the city. That was Fort Moore. Going to the left, one can see parts of Bunker Hill West. 

Prior posts had some information about the history of development of the hill. Today, we wanted to show a view indicating that there was a hill of size. According to Wikipedia, the elevation was up to 200 feet above Los Angeles. Naturally, there are higher hills including the massive 14k-foot  mountain within a morning's drive seen on the upper right. 

The Bunker Hill represents history, pre-US and post the events of 250 years ago. In this area, the culture changed several times in a manner that is representative of the changes in the US. The current stature of Bunker Hill is obvious in the photos of LA. The majority of the skyscrapers have their footing on the scraped down and leveled heights of the hill. 

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Caption of the photo: (ca. 1873)* – Panoramic sketch looking north toward downtown Los Angeles showing mostly undeveloped land.  At lower-right can be seen the junction of Main and Spring streets at a point where 9th Street will one day intersect.  Hill Street and Fort Street (later Broadway) are on the left.  The Verdugo Hills and snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains can be seen in the distance. Photo of a lithograph, courtesy of the California Historical Society. 

DTLA, 1873 

We are fortunate to have original photos, sketches, and paintings of the area. One hopes that these photos with provenance continue to be available in the age of mimic and copy in a manner that does not preserve the truth of the matter. 

But, that's a technology matter to be discussed further with an actionable focus. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/11/2025

10/11/2025 - Water and Power has a whole page of photos from Bunker Hill West from the 1930s onward, including many areas compared with photos from then and now. 

States and watersheds

TL;DR -- We have lots of themes to research. Rivers will be a constant. Today, we look at watersheds, again. Too, we consider a map showing the findings of Powell as he explored the west. American would not be the same without its rivers. 

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We saw a map today that got our interest. Perhaps, at some point, we'll link to all of our posts that present a map as we continue our look at the history of the U.S. and its first colony of New England (mainly north) being respectful of the Native American culture as well as the incursions of New Spaiin and New France both of which left placenames in their language. 

Rivers are the focus today. We have many posts in on rivers and some on watersheds. And, we mentioned the Arkansas River in an earlier post today. Before making a few more remarks, here is a map related to the discussion. 

The United Watershed States of America

On the page providing this map, one can click on the map and get an enlarged view. The Arkansas River goes from Colorado, through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas before it flows into the Mississippi. It was this location where explorers out of New France (north of New York) saw artifacts from New Spain. 

It's worth mentioning that New Spain explorers were in the northern Kansas area in the middle of the 1500s. This trek was to find the cities of gold. We have a town El Dorado not far from the route taken by the Spaniards. 

Back to the map, it shows the route taken by John Wesley Powell in 1869. This was post-Civil War when the traffic to the west increased. 

Another reminder, Jedediah Strong Smith was in some of these areas in the 1820s. Having gone from New England to St. Louis, he went west and ventured into the moutains near Gardner River. He went south into the desert of Nevada and crossed the Mohave in the summer (first European to do so) ending up in LA where he was the "guest" of the Spanish Governor. Once released, he went north and east. He met his demise in Kansas at a site along the Cimarron River. 

Later, Judge Francis M. Thompson toured the area. Tour, of course, meaning on foot and horseback. Like Jedediah, he got to the left coast. On the way back, he spent time in Montana and helped the State get is legal footing. 

In all of these journeys on the land, we talked of rivers as means for transportation (Lewis & Clark) or barriers to progress. An, example might be the Lawrence, Kansas-bound group that founded the University of Kansas - they had to cross the Wakarusa having come from Massachusetts. That meant, breaking down the wagon, lowering it, getting across, raising it back up to high ground, putting it back together and then continuing. The Wakarusa was fairy tame compared to the wild western rivers that those of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails coped with. 

We can now consider another aspect of rivers. There are many more aspects, but the watershed aspect is important. An example are the irrigation canals of the west, such as those in Utah and Idaho which supported agriculture. Of course, we learned to tame rivers for milling and transportation of goods. Our post on the Gardner mill of Salem, MA is an example of a multi-purpose mill. The canal laid out by George Washington and his crew along the Potamac is another early example. General George Washington was at the Siege of Boston and became the first President. Even Betsy made it up to see him. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/02/2025

10/02/2025 -