tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42046099994401597072024-03-17T09:44:02.967-07:00Thomas and Margaret (Fryer) Gardner of Salem, MASponsored by the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.comBlogger812125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-20809699886299968542024-03-17T09:43:00.000-07:002024-03-17T09:43:07.979-07:00Boston first<p>TL;DR -- The 17th of March is associated with St. Patrick with green rivers, too much food, and parades. That same day in 1776 was when the Brits left Boston. The story is that they believed that the colonials had brought in firepower sufficient to be effective. We mention something that happened a few years later in Russia. Why? What's to believe? </p><p>---</p><p>The Nutfield Genealogy blog noted that this day of St. Patrick's was when the British were run out of Boston: <a href="https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-17th-in-boston-evacuation-day-or.html">March 17th in Boston ~ Evacuation Day or Saint Patrick's Day?</a> Hence, it is featured yearly. </p><p>The post reports that a fake fort had been assembled on a hill overlooking the town. That motivated the evacuation. The departure of the British forces occurred on 17 March 1776. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Princepotemkin.jpg/220px-Princepotemkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Princepotemkin.jpg/220px-Princepotemkin.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>For us, we like to point to the series on the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2015/07/regimental-history-series-background.html">Siege of Boston</a> that Dr. Frank published in <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/tmm.html">The Massachusetts Magazine</a>. <p></p><p>Now, a historic follow on? The Russian field marshal, Grigory Potemkin, was to show a region to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great">Catherine the Great</a>. This was in an area with which we have become more familiar of late. The tale told is that fake villages were set up along the route that she was to be taken. "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village">Potemkin village</a>" came to be. How much of this is fictional has been researched. </p><p>But, Catherine's journey to the Crimea was in 1787. So, the fakery of the colonials preceeded that of the Russians. </p><p>The topic? Now, we have witnessed several years of another type of fakery (<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/07/ai-researched-properly.html"><b>AI</b>n't's output</a>). This deals with technology and its perils which we will be discussing further. </p><p>Now, taking another view of things here. What we are dealing with is computational systems using sophisiticated mathematics in new ways with unexpected results. None of this is magical in origins. Rather, some choices were made with immature minds that impacted all of us. Major tsk on that. In the meantime, we can control the situations involved to some extent. Human nature, on the other hand, fortunately is not merely endless St. Pat's Day frolicking. </p><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 03/17/2024</i></p><div><div>03/17/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-567612185023355222024-03-15T05:29:00.000-07:002024-03-15T13:08:55.120-07:00Questions and such<p>TL;DR -- Bridging across 400+ years will continue to be of importance. So, our quest will be an ongoing process. Technology? The next two years will provide more of a view to the issues. Right now, we can only intimate. In reality, hype abounds. <b>AI</b>n't adopters will be in for a reckoning. </p><p>-- </p><p>It was a year ago, when we found out about the new information about Thomas and Margaret that was available via digitization of records in Sherbourne, Dorset, UK from 400 years ago. WikiTree used the opportunity to split out their Profile of Thomas into two people: one was at Cape Ann who is unknown, essentially; the other is the one who married Margaret Frier. </p><p>The work and discussion had been done while I was distracted by what became to be known at GenAI. There are several blogs on this. But, we're at the stage to move on and do it right. Not that what had been done before was done wrongly. So, tsk, guy, at WikiTree who passes judgment. We'll take it from here with respect to these two gentlemen or one (our choice - until we really know).</p><p>On the first (<b>AI</b>n't), look at the series here under my name: <a href="https://tgsoc.org/papers/">True State of AI Tools, 2024</a>. We started this last year after assessing what OpenAI's toy/tool brought. The jury is still out: those who don't know, let's discuss rationally; those who are on the bandwagon, just be aware of the faults that shake the foundation (oh yes, let's to go Einstein's introduction of the mathematics of Relativity to do this, General, that is - and then come forward to the current nonsense).</p><p>On the second (Cape Ann, &c - btw, that's what was used in the time of Levi-Civita), how will the research and change proceed? Well, we got started in 2009 but formalized the effort in 2010. By 2012, it was obvious that there were all sorts of opinions, worthy of note (okay?, we'll discuss - we do not like the top-down dominance that seems to appear - more later). So, this happened. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-we-know.html">What we know</a> - notice, November of 2012. What took so long? Well, search in this blog on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=content+and+configuration">Content and Configuration</a>. I was dealing with new content related to history and people. This was after transitioning my brain from technology, especially advanced computing. And, configuration? I used CMS; later, I pointed to GitHub (with Co-Pilot, is even better of a foild for discussion) as an example. Two hats? Okay. One person's content might be another's configuration. And, so forth. Science and engineering are full of examples. </li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWwNIEEsBfan8N54MZ8hjM461mk0dQ77Cg0bctqPISGysktWn_7c0YPk0ydnq4e1clXtAF3peF5tmEPjpy4WTJ15xn1bz3HizQjWLDNaGH9yzIIJH4MGZOpLr_94vEx_8zcWAKPeEdI2M6vA7quan1XfZ27253HtEmEisWvZ70q5zbOi9DRRMsdz3dEo/s615/PageMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="506" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWwNIEEsBfan8N54MZ8hjM461mk0dQ77Cg0bctqPISGysktWn_7c0YPk0ydnq4e1clXtAF3peF5tmEPjpy4WTJ15xn1bz3HizQjWLDNaGH9yzIIJH4MGZOpLr_94vEx_8zcWAKPeEdI2M6vA7quan1XfZ27253HtEmEisWvZ70q5zbOi9DRRMsdz3dEo/w164-h200/PageMap.jpg" width="164" /></a></div>So, switching to the 1st, a monolith of knowledge? Nope. The whole framework is idiotic. We'll show this, eventually, if we live long enough. Too, GenAI? Purty pictures. Read about the difficulty of doing something real, as I show with the knowledge-based engineering work that actually bumpled up against the world successfully by meeting constraints intelligently. And, the word salad? Oh yes, perfect grammar, perhaps. But. meaningless. Anyone finding meaning is demonstrating what the Gesalt view was about. </div><div><br /></div><div>Going on. Later, we figured that we had enough and started the following using a different format at Google's Blogger. Posts are meant to be conversational through time. Pages (see our <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/site-map-pages.html">Page map</a>) are static. We did this page. Both the post and the page have been annotated with respect to the current topic of needed changes. </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/faq.html">Frequently asked questions</a> - notice, later. We did not know a lot, even then. But, we thought that we ought to organize this into questions. These might be reworked to have a good set of questions. However, they'll each be updated. </li></ul><div>So, we have started the work. One thing was to add an opinion category, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/faq.html">OpEd</a>. One thing that we noticed over the past decade plus. When we started, the internet was still somewhat open which allowed satisfying queries to be made and tweaked to obtain some semblance of an answer. Now It's been trashed. So, that will slow things down. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Before now, we also saw lots of site with reseach done earlier. Lots of that disappeared. We had collected lots of links over the years and need to prune these out. But, for some, trying to see what happened will be of use As, that was not work to be wasted. If the stuff is available elsewhere, we want to be cognizant of the work. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 03/15/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>03/15/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-64797610996983232652024-03-09T08:52:00.000-08:002024-03-15T13:12:16.481-07:00Women's History Month, 2024<p>TL;DR -- March is the month to look at the women's history in all of its aspects. </p><p>--</p><p>March is Women's History month in the U.S. and many other parts of the worlds. We have had a post for this the past two years. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/03/womens-history-month.html">Women's History Month, 2022</a></li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/03/womens-history-month.html">Women's History Month, 2023</a> </li></ul><p></p><p>Each post links to other articles on the subject or on something related. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/embedded/public/images/2017-07/Womens_History_Month_Carter_Quotes.jpg?itok=OMofwLQj" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://www.womenshistory.org/sites/default/files/styles/embedded/public/images/2017-07/Womens_History_Month_Carter_Quotes.jpg?itok=OMofwLQj" width="400" /></a></div><p>The below is a list of current material from sites or periodicals which are becoming broader in scope. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/">International Women's Day</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/02/29/a-proclamation-on-womens-history-month-2024/">A Proclamation on Women’s History Month, 2024</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.womenshistorymonth.gov">www.womenshistorymonth.gov</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month">www.womenshistory[.]org</a></li><li>USA TODAY's <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2024/02/29/best-advice-from-top-women-across-the-coutnry/72662038007/">Women of the Year</a> share their best advice</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_History_Month">Wikipedia</a> has a brief history </li><li>Time <a href="https://time.com/6837254/womens-history-month-surprising-facts/">10 Surprising Facts</a> About Women’s History Month </li><li>...</li></ul><p></p><p>Next post, we will go back through our posts since 2010 and pull out those about a woman. An example would be our posts in 2022 on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/03/bryn-mawr.html">Emily Noether</a> and on the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/12/wartime-quartet.html">Wartime Quartet</a>. Or, our various posts on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=elizabeth+gardner">Elizabeth Gardners</a> (several generations). </p><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 03/15/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>03/15/2024 -- Added photo of Pres. Carter signing a Proclamation in 1980. </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-75935424743502977372024-02-29T12:05:00.000-08:002024-02-29T12:59:17.234-08:00RestructuringTL;DR -- It's been over a year since the generative modes made their appearance. They look good. But, fail mostly. Some say, these are best for fictional situations. Not fact nor truth. Does not have to be that way. People are the clue. At the same time, technology brought a change to our worldview. We are now going into restruction. It will be multi-pronged and not done overnight. <div><br /></div><div>--</div><div><br /></div><div>Last year, in February, I did my first <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/02/chatgpt.html">evaluation of ChatGPT</a>. Then, I did several sessions on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=chatgpt">various topics</a>, including <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/02/technology-and-its-influence.html">lower-level</a> mathematics. Many of these dealt with the overarching issues that seem to get little attention. So, the generative age started. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first use of Bard was in June of last year: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/06/getting-technical.html">Getting technical</a>. There were several reasons for preferring this system from Google. Now, it has morphed into Gemini which I have accessed a couple of times which was enough to get the difference. We will continue this <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=bard">analysis</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, I put together sufficient thoughts to begin a relook at the history of computing and AI from the perspective of someone in the trenches. The first article of a series was titled: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/what-do-we-know.html">AI, not solely ML</a>. This was #1. So far, there have been #2 and #3. The fourth is in the works. The intent of the series was to set up the framework and the necessary subjects so as to discuss a patent and its use. </div><div><br /></div><div>The main factor to be discussed will be knowledge-based engineering. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZDvwp3cXr12_49tOzxtmj3eeDGZu4hGDf8cXa3PhwAoXcODpWHO1DygI5QMpOmY8YaBy1qnAO4AtyLNJ0QQCB6vr3soBWzNjpe7QqjeGE7HtNpiuitZxh4yPMauDY9tAE3IrTZ9NgnrMQtLjcxASTG-H8znDUqpK8pU_aZje3FLQGZU159rjVOEseNE/s936/Restructure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="936" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZDvwp3cXr12_49tOzxtmj3eeDGZu4hGDf8cXa3PhwAoXcODpWHO1DygI5QMpOmY8YaBy1qnAO4AtyLNJ0QQCB6vr3soBWzNjpe7QqjeGE7HtNpiuitZxh4yPMauDY9tAE3IrTZ9NgnrMQtLjcxASTG-H8znDUqpK8pU_aZje3FLQGZU159rjVOEseNE/w200-h98/Restructure.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>But, we have the whole of computing to consider within which is embedded things being artificially simulating. Our portal (<a href="http://TGSoc.org">TGSoc.org</a>) was to serve as an exhibition for custom made as opposed to hugely automated. We will be looking at that, perhaps with CoPilot of GitHub. In any case, there will not be a total turnover to the artificial of responsibility. Though, we will watch others and comment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the motivation is not merely technical. Last year, we learned of new data (from <a href="https://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/Research/Sherborne.html">Sherborne, Dorset</a>) and will begin to incorporate this into the Gardner story plus our website's support <a href="https://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/Research.html">Gardner Research</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/29/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>02/29/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-71386218822728567472024-02-22T17:57:00.000-08:002024-02-22T17:57:39.344-08:00Foreign Policy Association (FPA)TL;DR -- This post is about the FPA which is 100 years old and which has a mission fostering discussion about the U.S. and its foreign policies. Their purpose is to inform, engage, and inspire. Timely discussion about the upcoming election is one goal for 2024. <div><br /></div><div>--</div><div><br /></div><div>Recently, we were reminded of the FPA and its offshoot discussion group. On reviewing their material, we had to write this post since it deals with U.S. policy, is over 100 years old, and has transitioned into the new age by having a web prescence. The reminder was via meetings held regularly at an educational institute. But, lots of organizations have sponsored meetings. As well, this is an open forum and relates to foreign policy of the U.S. </div><div><br /></div><div>The <a href="https://www.fpa.org/about/">About FPA</a> page of the Foreign Policy Association covers their mission plus it gives a brief history starting in the 1920s. The FPA was "founded in 1918 as the League of Free Nations Association" which was post WWI. Among the incorporators were <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dulles-3">John Foster Dulles</a> and <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Roosevelt-10">Eleanor Roosevelt</a>. Both of these are of New England heritage. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ElmSn0sInLGWOjXqwD8BNS8-Y6j21_-qK7ZzkAdp4bex10OaTaeHq0u4nveuRRZ105baUrFpfTCT65XgAqMo_ELd-BHlhWYxFyuMPQiC_WfX2ZhmE55fX3z9Nm74f3z8yfhGR6J5VW2tj1QbvlY4DlbSuMnElZe8ZTX1IOl4ybvSCRZgJYRcUINwRBw/s759/FPATopics.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="759" data-original-width="504" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ElmSn0sInLGWOjXqwD8BNS8-Y6j21_-qK7ZzkAdp4bex10OaTaeHq0u4nveuRRZ105baUrFpfTCT65XgAqMo_ELd-BHlhWYxFyuMPQiC_WfX2ZhmE55fX3z9Nm74f3z8yfhGR6J5VW2tj1QbvlY4DlbSuMnElZe8ZTX1IOl4ybvSCRZgJYRcUINwRBw/w133-h200/FPATopics.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Before going further, let's stop and look at another group that was here and abroad: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/05/lyceum.html">Lyceum Movement</a> (post dated in May 2017). This started in the U.S. in New England and spread across the country. We read of small towns in the interior of the country being part of the movement. The focus was literature. Along that same line, there have been many attempts at magazines during the time of the U.S., some of which were literary in focus: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2020/03/magazines-and-people.html">Magazines and people</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Getting back to the FPA, naturally, topics of interest have changed over the years. For 2023, the topics were quite contemporary. Some of these may have been in vogue longer than other. The image shows the topics being discussed in 2023. For all of the topics, there are resources which include recommended reading as well as a listing of discussion groups that might be near the reader. </div><div><br /></div><div>Over all of this time, the FPA has been doing "Opinion ballots" and reporting the results. We will do another post on these results. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's close with the Mission Statement of the FPA: ... "serve as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding, and informed opinion on U.S. foreign policy and global issues." </div><div><br /></div><div>So, their pseudo-motto might be: Inform; Engage; and Inspire. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/22/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>02/22/2024 -- </div><div><br /></div></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-77362886608999170792024-02-20T18:44:00.000-08:002024-02-20T18:56:29.663-08:00Alta CaliforniaTL;DR -- As our initial focus was New England, New France came into focus early. But, after the start of the U.S. and the beginnings of the movement to the west, New Spain became the theme of research. Our early looks at this were about Los Angeles and San Francisco around the start of the 20th century. As we step back in time, Portola's efforts come into view with interesting history to consider. We can start by considering the 1776 beginning of the Mission San Francisco de Asis. <div> </div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div>We had mentioned Spain in earlier posts while discussing the times before the Cape Ann expedition. Several countries were fishing along the eastern seaboard. It was being more efficient in providing products from the yearly fishing efforts that precipiated the colony focus. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our first reference to New Spain was with our look at <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2018/07/jedediah-strong-smith.html">Jedediah Strong Smith</a>'s journey from the east coast through St. Louis, in the 1820s, out to the west coast. Our post on Jedediah covered his wanderings which are of note. Hence, he has been mentioned many times. With respect to Spain, Jedediah went south and west through the Mojave Desert, in summer. His appearance in the LA area was a surprise. Luckily, Jedediah was able to talk his way to freedom and continued up north and then back toward the east. He met his demise in the wesern area of Kansas. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the time of the pandemic and its isolation, we spent a lot of time researching the middle of the country. Okay. That was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Both France and Spain had been involved in the exploration of the area. We had looked at <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/02/new-france.html">New France</a> first, as it was the other side of the conflict before the Revolutionary War. Many use the French-Indian Affair. The friction was between France and its Native Indian allies and England via New England; as well, there was conflict in Europe and at sea. </div><div><br /></div><div>As we start to look at folks who had ventured all the way to the west coast, we realized that we needed to look at <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=new+spain">New Spain</a> more closely. For instance, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/05/coronado-of-early-times.html">Coronado</a> was close to where I am in 1541. In Texas and in the southwest, New Spain was the principal colonizer. California sites have been given lots of attention in the blog of late. There are several reasons for this. We're looking at the long reach of New England. And, John went to school and worked in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of late, he has been look at <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2024/02/us-examples-la.html">Bunker Hill West</a> which is part of the downtown LA area where we can see changes over several periods, such as the early arrival, the mansion period, commercial focus, and the modern status of high-rise island in a sea of sprawl. The web is offering lots of incentive to research by allowing systematic publication of photos across time. As well, the social media spaces (such as Facebook) are providing means for like minds to compare findings. </div><div><br /></div><div>We will continue with the themes of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/california-golden-state.html">California</a> as it allowed the start of the series and will expand into all of the regions where New England families settled over the past 250 years. Part of this effort is looking at the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=rivers">rivers and waterways</a> that supported the development of areas. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, today's theme ventures back up north. Last year, we did several posts on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/san-francisco.html">San Francisco</a>, some of which dealt with the impact of the major quake from the early 1900s. We actually looked at the region in our early days due to tracking the history of a barque Bostonian that had been built and used by a <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-gardiner-that-was.html">Gardiner</a> for whom a town is named in Oregon. We learned a lot from that exercise which generated more questions than answers. </div><div><br /></div><div>Along that line, the Bostonian was in San Franciso at least two times. But, that brought up other visitors to the area, such as <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/06/judge-francis-m-thompson.html">Judge Thompson</a> who helped establish Montana as a State. He was there around the time of the Civil War. Later, we see the railroad coming into play with faster and more reliable transportation across the wide expanse of the country. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, let's step back, again. As we can look at the establishment of the San Francisco region by New Spain. Facebook has a group with the title, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/portolaexpedition">Alta California</a>, which follows Portola's expedition up the coast. Portola's group built missions and forts. Of the later, we have the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2020/03/jonathan-letterman-md.html">Presidio of San Francisco</a> which we have mentioned several times. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of the former, this photo is of the Mission San Francisco (St. Francis) de Asis. A mass was celebrated on 9 Oct 1776 for the laying of the cornerstone for this mission. </div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4i7OR56oBGPJQ0ZEh_AddE4a4h6RVE8wrYt4DIKMXyOq6vjZgkDgYjBbPH6i3ohix8QB2cdExC72eXgarCX3_MZ5uGIJl0qlBnZohVr8s9uyhSSHsYYorl6S4WdyyMW1ugjLxJhnot7j_WsYoFWwnprmHOnGdtCx5G3Cot9dO1FBPF7W-Uz0F5tkblM/s2048/Mission%20St%20Francis%20Asis.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4i7OR56oBGPJQ0ZEh_AddE4a4h6RVE8wrYt4DIKMXyOq6vjZgkDgYjBbPH6i3ohix8QB2cdExC72eXgarCX3_MZ5uGIJl0qlBnZohVr8s9uyhSSHsYYorl6S4WdyyMW1ugjLxJhnot7j_WsYoFWwnprmHOnGdtCx5G3Cot9dO1FBPF7W-Uz0F5tkblM/s320/Mission%20St%20Francis%20Asis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mission, St. Francis, Assisi<br />in San Francisco, CA</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>This post is cursory as it skims over a lot of history with regard to Spain's explorations and colonizations. We will begin a series with a closer look at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alta_California">California's start</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/20/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div>02/20/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-42039289267464464542024-02-19T15:01:00.000-08:002024-02-19T17:11:57.326-08:00US, examples, LA<p>TL;DR -- Los Angeles is interesting in so many ways. This post pulls some thoughts about what is known as Bunker Hill West which is in the heart of the downtown area that many do not remember. </p><p>--</p><p>This is another of the posts about <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/10/bunker-hill-west.html">Bunker Hill west</a> which included a few, such as <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2024/01/new-england-in-la.html">New England, in LA</a>. As mentioned earlier, the first of these was motivated by looking at Butterfield and his relationship with the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/09/mirror-building.html">Mirror Company</a>. The Los Angeles Times was a product of a later version of this company. Their building was emptied when the LA Times ran up north to be valley people. Now, its fate is being discussed. </p><p>Luckily, the LA City Hall and some of the associated buildings are still there. We show a photo comparing to eras below. First though, near where the City Hall is now there was a Cathedral (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_Vibiana">St Vibiana</a>) which was moved. As a reference, there was a post (<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/10/los-angeles-again.html">Lost Angeles, again</a>) that contained this real early photo of the area. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Stvibianacathedral1885.jpg/1024px-Stvibianacathedral1885.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Stvibianacathedral1885.jpg/1024px-Stvibianacathedral1885.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Saint_Vibiana#/media/File:Stvibianacathedral1885.jpg">St. Vibiana, 1885</a> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The area of the old cathedral and the city hall might be considered as at the eastern foot of Bunker Hill (west). US 101 runs right by there. Too, the whole area was rearranged a few decades ago. One result was the Dodger Stadium was built. Skid row was move several blocks over to the east toward the railroad. Fortunately, the old LA Train Station was spared. </div><div><br /></div><div>The story is well documented. What we have coming to fore are photos from people that can help us preserve the history. Case in point, the following image shows two photo from about the same location. One is from the 1950s and shows the LA City Hall in all of its glory. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTwdRAP2eZoAVgrKzu7_yyB7-j94Ymu-TubX1y2NFZ6SqZ8kdJAEhXIz1no0pwdXm9Xlj8lb8BKFbxyAvWwQaETIpFOdSBhtQi1IY4cy1GHpIkRrDhuu2Y9Nz19Zl1NzwHQ-O6nRa8Aa62X85GOAZgs8PuwdDDYmJiFcjo1PSYa_Ht6Smh_kiVnzSWak/s1800/101%201950s%20and%20now.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTwdRAP2eZoAVgrKzu7_yyB7-j94Ymu-TubX1y2NFZ6SqZ8kdJAEhXIz1no0pwdXm9Xlj8lb8BKFbxyAvWwQaETIpFOdSBhtQi1IY4cy1GHpIkRrDhuu2Y9Nz19Zl1NzwHQ-O6nRa8Aa62X85GOAZgs8PuwdDDYmJiFcjo1PSYa_Ht6Smh_kiVnzSWak/s320/101%201950s%20and%20now.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two views of <br />Bunker Hill West from <br />the northwest</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The later, bottom view is more recent. Some of the buildings are the same. But, the City Hall is now obstructed in the view, except for its tip. The low, flat building in the foreground? That is where the St. Viviana Cathedral was moved to. We will get back to the architecture and positioning. But, it is right at the corner of US101 and I110. Pan around to the right, and one will see the Cathedral of the Lady of the Angels. Too, the high rises of Bunker Hill will come into view. </div><div><br /></div><div>A prior post had this photo, which includes the LA City Hall, taken from the southeast. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLDhGffjTgyqet65uUBEAjMF5e3hfawukZbO_lohWzwkivYYhsJgN_-ERUkGNlVBaZrWnGUvs1D_nP39n1Lcyz1gnEfHH4v2ZSBTouAun-6uelS9JFh7BAoUGcHTUi5gcGNjNBKMEyDsbvhmRiaPRvpzLtEpwVsGh8u4Dd-BIaBPPs75iLyNx4Nf4yuQ/s1061/BunkerHillLAWF.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1061" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVLDhGffjTgyqet65uUBEAjMF5e3hfawukZbO_lohWzwkivYYhsJgN_-ERUkGNlVBaZrWnGUvs1D_nP39n1Lcyz1gnEfHH4v2ZSBTouAun-6uelS9JFh7BAoUGcHTUi5gcGNjNBKMEyDsbvhmRiaPRvpzLtEpwVsGh8u4Dd-BIaBPPs75iLyNx4Nf4yuQ/s320/BunkerHillLAWF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Those building are an island of high-rise in a sea of extended development that turned into the sprawl of LA. We have this photo for that, too, that bears some discussion. LA's downtown and Bunker Hill West is visible on the upper right. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYzIqm8GgLGxS5e0SfFiKwFGqTOdHC1Dl3cowPkBB876HWYoa0lRweoYdvZuEeiQ9nfl5ErLPl6SZmrblY_q-nwhGYiOdJ_xjulG9nIS_MUghHZpoJ0DvuTU_QPOBXpl8ZPXvr06WpPeChYOtGPbDq906oA_Y1ErzjxzGPfgxyp0Aha9w8R3kuaTgWkw/s2048/LA_105_and_the_10s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYzIqm8GgLGxS5e0SfFiKwFGqTOdHC1Dl3cowPkBB876HWYoa0lRweoYdvZuEeiQ9nfl5ErLPl6SZmrblY_q-nwhGYiOdJ_xjulG9nIS_MUghHZpoJ0DvuTU_QPOBXpl8ZPXvr06WpPeChYOtGPbDq906oA_Y1ErzjxzGPfgxyp0Aha9w8R3kuaTgWkw/w138-h200/LA_105_and_the_10s.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><br /><div>This view shows I110 pacing through the sprawl from its interchange with I105. </div><div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/19/2024</i></p><div>02/19/2024 -- </div></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-69526865592614715742024-02-13T16:24:00.000-08:002024-02-19T17:12:41.679-08:00Now and then<p>TL;DR -- So, new and old; or, old and new. Technology has been around; it's a different flavor in the modern age. And, the past? In the U.S., we have the 400th and the 250th. We'll add another, the 100th. Say, IBM's picking up its new name. But, we mustn't forget the pandemic of 1918, either. </p><p>---</p><p>This post brings together the old and the new. We have a focus on technology going forward as well as continuing with the themes of history and genealogy. We started with Dr. Frank's book and the growing accumulation of data that was becoming available with the web. In terms of genealogy, we follow the work of the NEHGS plus keep an eye on <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-159">WikiTree</a> which got our attention due to their Great Migration project.</p><p>Last year, there were two events that characterize the old and new. We summarized these in the lastest post: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2024/02/current-status.html">Current status</a>. In short, we got more information via the modern copying methods that allowed Sherborne, Dorset, UK records to be accessible. Then, on the other end of things, we saw the LLM assisted by xNN making waves (that is, the large language model tied with machine learning of the neural network variety). </p><p>The latest ACM Comm has an article by a cognitive roboticist (see bottom of post) which looks at the LLM/xNN approach from both the operational side of things as well as the philosophical aspects that apply. The ACM has made this public: <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2024/2/279533-talking-about-large-language-models/fulltext ">Talking about Large Language Models</a>. Later, we provide links with regard to technology including discussion of how robots might exhibit an attribute of the living (cognition). </p><p>So, back to the old, we point to Harvard's Gazette and a 2015 article. We had several posts related to the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search/label/Harvard">Presidents of Harvard</a> in terms of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search/label/Harvard">New England history</a> and the associated heritages. We started this series in 2021 after we read of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/08/james-bryant-conant.html">James Bryant Conant</a> in the New Yorker. Today, we saw the Gazette article on an <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/in-the-old-burying-ground/ ">old burial ground</a> in Cambridge. </p><p>Another group that we follow is on Facebook: <a href="https://www.americana-archives.com/about">New England Family Genealogy and History</a>. There was an article about a <a href="https://www.americana-archives.com/post/early-voyages-to-california-historical-collections-of-the-essex-institute-of-salem-massachusetts?">list of historic voyages</a> from New England to California. We ventured into this subject when we learned of a barque owned by a Gardiner that wrecked along the Oregon Coast. There are still open issues to research: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-gardiner-that-was.html">The Gardiner that was</a>. </p><p>---</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/black-and-white-logo-with-the-words-international-business-machines-shaped-into-a-globe.jpg?id=51435046&width=670&quality=85" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="670" height="125" src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/black-and-white-logo-with-the-words-international-business-machines-shaped-into-a-globe.jpg?id=51435046&width=670&quality=85" width="200" /></a></div>So, to the new which deals with technology. <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/ibm-history">IBM was named</a> 100 years ago. It was decades before we saw the <i>buckets-of-bits</i> that are the reality now. We will discuss that. The Idaho National Laboratory is a little younger. It was one of the sites for <a href="https://inl.gov/about-inl/ ">nuclear research</a> (reactors). <p></p><p>Aside: The <a href="http://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2018/01/last-issue-of-massachusetts-magazine.html">Spanish Flu</a> was of 100 years ago, too. Plus, WWI, with WWII in the wings. Then, we had aviation coming about. Computation was a dream until about 50 or so years ago. </p><p>ACM Comm has been covering the <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2024/2/279525-how-the-ai-boom-went-bust/fulltext">AI booms and busts</a> for decades. Are we in a boom now? It might seem so listening to some of the rhetoric related to the xNN/LLM events of 2023. Actually, there was steady work that accelerated after 2010. The approach is heavily mathematical using a scheme called linear algebra. Gaming over the decades helped evolve chips that could handle the processing fast enough to be reasonably effective. Now, other improvements are going to speed things up. </p><p>But, there are limits to technology. Too, we have ourselves (old as we are) as examples with which to evaluate the endeavors. xNN/LLM's performance has resulted in some into thinking that we are witnessing cognitive states such as intelligence. Many argue against that notion. </p><p>Let's look at robotics. The INL (see above) has worked on developing <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060218074249/http://www.inl.gov/adaptiverobotics/humanoidrobotics/future.shtml">humanoid robots</a> for years. There is a need to have tools that can handled dangerous materials and situations without endangering humans. The IEEE has a <a href="https://www.ieee-ras.org/">robotics group</a> that is involved in the work and in publishing their results. This group has been studying issues related to robots <a href="https://www.ieee-ras.org/cognitive-robotics">exhibiting cognitiveness</a>. </p><p>Per usual, Wikipedia has a great coverage: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_robotics">Cognitive_robotics</a>. </p><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/13/2024</i></p><div>02/13/2024 -- Added image. </div><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-67447255956117750892024-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:002024-02-13T16:33:38.485-08:00A year ago<p>TL;DR -- A year ago, the world was three months past the release of ChatGPT with millions signing up. What did that event pertail? We spent several months reviewing the various options as well as looking again at the history from Dartmouth onward. In this new year, one can sense a change. Will there be less hype? </p><p>--</p><p>By this time last year, we were catching up on machine learning. Much later, we wrote the first of a series: <a href="https://ajswtlk.com/TruthEng/2023/12/11/artificial-intelligence-not-solely-machine-learning/">Artificial intelligence, not solely machine learning</a> (or AI, not solely ML) We put a "<a href="https://tgsoc.org/papers/">Papers</a>" folder to publish articles with respect to xNN/LLM. That's refers to the neural net approach plus the large language model. John was involved with advanced computing his whole career and did lots of algorithmic work including those related to artificial intelligence and to what was then known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_computation">evolutionary computing</a> including machine learning. His finals decades were oriented toward modeling with a focus on engineering support. </p><p>So the following is a recap of the past year. After finding out about ChatGPT, we started discussions of the Director, Larry L. Walker, of the Sperry Univac Knowledge Systems Center (KSC). After some reflection, we planned a series of articles that would cover the history of computing and the related mathematics. The first thing that we published dealt with the decisions behind the KSC and with its accomplishments. The title was: Sperry Univac <a href="https://ajswtlk.com/TruthEng/2023/05/04/sperry-univac-pioneers-application-of-artificial-intelligence-1985-1987/">Pioneers Application</a> of Artificial Intelligence – 1985-1987. </p><p>After that, Larry wrote of his experiences with computing from the early days of Control Data and to his knowledge systems (expert systems) work. Meanwhile, Larry and John discussed the technology involved with Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) which was central to Boeing's 777 program. Throughout the year, the research looked into what happened with KBE at Boeing, in subsequent years, and in the world, in general. </p><p>We have had some posts here on these subjects which we will collect. Late last year, the ACM Communications had an article by Thomas Haigh that looked at the history of AI and argued that there had been no <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2023/12/278152-there-was-no-first-ai-winter/fulltext">AI Winter</a> up to 1980 though the popular press seems to say that there was. In this regard, Larry talked of his having seen the AI winter of 1990. In the latest ACM Comm, Prof. Haigh published another article. This one is titled <a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2024/2/279525-how-the-ai-boom-went-bust">How the AI Boom Went Bust</a> which agrees with Larry's assessment. </p><p>So, letting John chime in, he has seen no AI Winter. KBE? It is still part of some CAD systems. Now, we can argue that it is not to the expectation that was there in the 1990s. John would agree. However, in doing a quick survey, there are many other names that KBE continued as. The theme with that is to not associate with a failed system. But, digging deeply, most of the continuals that John saw reference KBE as being in their history. </p><p>Personally, for him? He worked KBE from the late 1980s until 2005 when he retired. Then, his focus became truth engineering which was spawned at Boeing and has continued in a research mode. Now, AI was created by mathematicians one of whom (John McCarthy) coined the term. <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/dartmouth-99.html">Dartmouth</a> was the site of a meeting on the subject in the 1950s. And, all along since the 1950s, there have been periods of excitement as people contemplate some creature emerging from the fog of computing ala Science Fiction's take on the matter. </p><p>Being adult about the situation? A closer look, under the covers, shows the mathematics at play. Yes, it is sophisticated. Taming the hype cycles will require some maturity. Part of that will be grasping that mathematics and bringing it out to public view. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULWwCzXdoHlQglaEm1WxaNiASeTQ96JKARoDIY9GZCWRX6pS5ayrbefjVPsXxhIasrXr1fIY02F51bpSdlmYkSnXurhfzUi6jF4KDzxDjOnla9MPYs_Z9irdQCWk0OC9ngaHiFp5QOzG00nfgyHk4bQfnSPR22DCGredvMmAfwz4fO_7_5WdsUvbBuYQ/s546/KnowledgeSys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="546" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULWwCzXdoHlQglaEm1WxaNiASeTQ96JKARoDIY9GZCWRX6pS5ayrbefjVPsXxhIasrXr1fIY02F51bpSdlmYkSnXurhfzUi6jF4KDzxDjOnla9MPYs_Z9irdQCWk0OC9ngaHiFp5QOzG00nfgyHk4bQfnSPR22DCGredvMmAfwz4fO_7_5WdsUvbBuYQ/w200-h180/KnowledgeSys.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Since that first paper on AI and ML, there have been two more which present the important factors that need to be discussed. A fourth one is in the works. After that, the focus will be on a discussion that is practical in scope. John will offer one example which comes from the KBE work. <br /><p></p><p>Essentially, some in the discipline of data science have been traveling the right path. Actually, there are many examples of computational systems providing benefits via services that we can respect as they offer results that have value. </p><p>The theme of utmost importance will be determined by people as the technology progress. And, the universal themes seems to have been conjured up through the efforts of a few. Local themes have been given little attention. AI gives us a chance for a better balance; in fact, such a balance would improve all humans affairs, including science. </p><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/13/2024</i></p><div>02/13/2024 -- Added image. </div><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-56723535014513928672024-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:002024-02-13T16:30:40.374-08:00Current status<p><br />TL;DR -- Two major things happened last year. Both dealt with technology. One had to do with the future as it might be influenced by computing. The other had to do with the influence of the computer on the past in terms of records. Then, we have all sorts of other themes at hand to consider. </p><p>--</p><p>This post has the purpose to get the current status of the Thomas Gardner Society, Inc. on the table. There were two major things that happened last year. Then, we reacted to another change in the on-line environment. </p><p>Caveat: This will replace the "<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-summary.html">In summary</a>" post of last spring. </p><p>First, the two things, as in order with respect to our focus, of note last year were: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We became aware of the xNN/LLM maneuvering in late January and did a post on Febuary 1: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/02/chatgpt.html">ChaptGPT</a>. Prior to that time, we had taken a hands-off approach to AI for reasons that are documented in later posts last year and before (actually). We knew that there was money involved with big names getting into action. But, it's a mess, folks, which we intend to bring to the fore as our major project. Let's table that for a bit. Too, there was the 400th of Gloucester last year (next bullet). Then, there is the upcoming 250th as noted by D.A.R. and S.A.R. which we spend a lot of time supporting. With respect to our research, see our category of the "Long reach of New England" which as been a theme for almost a decade. It got more attention when we considered that those on the Oregon Trail (some of them) had passed by the foot of Mount Oread which hosts the University of Kansas. And, that there had been a major effort on the part of New England to keep Kansas slave-free. Col. T. W. Higginson was out here. So was John Brown; we just had a post on his armed conflict with some people of out the south who were using Missouri as a staging ground for creating havoc with pioneers. Stay tuned on that. The other theme can be found after the next bullet. </li><li>Okay, we were getting ready to write about Margaret Fryer the wife of Thomas Gardner. This was due to the fact that the 400th was collecting stories. And, our research had been effective is getting Margaret on the map. Anderson, and friends, had dissed her, essentially. But, then. We ventured to WikiTree which has been our research vehicle (for many reasons) and saw that someone had gone through the digital files of Sherborne, Dorset and found records for about all of the kids of Thomas and Margaret. Except, we might add, for Sarah who was known to have been born here in Salem in the mid-1630s. And, we saw that the WikiTree folks had split Thomas into two people. The one Thomas was the husband of Margaret. The other is an unknown. To us, we see these ones as the same. Thomas was here and went back. Hubbard suggested that. And, he was of the time and talked to the principals. Whatever turns out to be the fact, we'll adapt. But, right now, Thomas was at Cape Ann. Nothing really shows otherwise. But, how did we miss this? See the first bullet. Besides putting ChatGPT through its hallucinatory paces, we looked at others. Frankly, Bard of Google excels. We'll explain. The gist of the matter is that we can research from Salem to now. And, origins? Full of open issues which it is time for us to tackle. </li></ul><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GAOVDTXV62uVNbPe2qniTYAG6O__8DfonypZu-OSNHUHtwPojIQ0QrwqJCezI3RO6IEJTFByZnbyN0MfIUy0gOSKMvQHW_HRvL89msNTFgUEW2EWyv9_HGtIySDlhwKJtcPkgmGbjuqsVOaC09b5VvU2ZtfqRzXY3eksXYYdHP1Q-GRKRXE-Gxa6WP8/s334/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0GAOVDTXV62uVNbPe2qniTYAG6O__8DfonypZu-OSNHUHtwPojIQ0QrwqJCezI3RO6IEJTFByZnbyN0MfIUy0gOSKMvQHW_HRvL89msNTFgUEW2EWyv9_HGtIySDlhwKJtcPkgmGbjuqsVOaC09b5VvU2ZtfqRzXY3eksXYYdHP1Q-GRKRXE-Gxa6WP8/w143-h200/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>Another theme had been the west coast, principally San Francisco as we were looking at the quake and the aftereffects. But, Los Angeles got into the mix due to seeing that Butterfield (and others) had stopped in the Bunker Hill area to reprovision for further effort going north to San Francisco. Arriving there, they turned around and headed back to St. Louis by a long, arduous route. But, lots and lots of photos from various times started to crop up which made this theme even more important. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is cursory by purpose, as we'll have this research as a regular theme from now on. </div><div><br /></div><div>So, origins, for the most part, were not followed closely by us. We had concentrated on the generations from Thomas and Margaret until now. There are reaons for this. One dealt with the fact that research in the Old World was ongoing and best handled there. We, over here, have our own axes to grind. </div><div><br /></div><div>That was okay until now. We are henceforth taking origins to be a regular feature of our work. </div><div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/13/2024</i></p><div>02/13/2024 -- Added image. </div></div><p></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-78904709020300761572024-01-31T14:47:00.000-08:002024-02-13T16:31:55.841-08:00Technology assessments ... <p>TL;DR -- 2023 set the tone for expanding upon the reality of the computer. Depending upon various factors, we can see a range from highly optimistic all the way to marvelous. How can this be? Mathematics as the enabler being used without proper understanding of the underlying limits. That discussion needs attention, imperatively, and now is the time for such an effort. </p><p>--</p><p>We put a label of "<a href="https://TGSoc.org">portal to truth</a>" back in the 2017 timeframe somewhat tongue in cheek. However, at the time, we had been following technology for decades, principally from the viewpoint of advanced computing whose history tracks the marvels. Being a member of IEEE, we also had access to facts and opinions from the beginning. </p><p>People have mostly been the source for wisdom and knowledge. That is, until we saw the advent of the xNN/LLM models in 2023 on a massive scale which resulted in some interesting social phenomena that need study, analysis and discussion. We can report on that. </p><p>The first cut was oriented toward the engineering and technical camp as it stressed that artificial intelligence, say as envisioned by John McCarthy, was more than machine learning. What we saw was a highjacking by one section of the entire discipline. That seems to have abated somewhat. </p><p>But, the underlying dynamics are still there, needing attention. We have completed the third of a five part series which sets the basis for a dialog, using insights from the technical side of what seemed to be a marvelous emergence of capabilities beyond limit. </p><p>We'll quit using <b>AI</b>n't, in other than a limited sense, and bring mattes to fore that need to be in the analysis. The framework essentially is mathematical modeling and computational modes that support this. And, the work can be pinpointed by time over more than two centuries.</p><p>In other words, the biological basis for cognition and intelligence is still under study. The xNN/LLM are approximative models that are quite limited despite appearances otherwise. Even when joined with robotic efforts, we are still talking "toy story" than mature assessments. Or, for that matter, immaturity is to be on the table. <br /></p><p>The software industry attempted to define what this meant from the view of systems. There was a Software Maturity Institute created more than two decades ago. We need to look at that. At the same time, since the internet has been available to general use, we have seen a shambles come about, with a few good things. Granted, how one would assess the progress of the past two decades is dependent upon several factors as well as things that are opinion based. But, as we noted, opinons matter. There is no aspect of human life that is without opinion, even science. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULWwCzXdoHlQglaEm1WxaNiASeTQ96JKARoDIY9GZCWRX6pS5ayrbefjVPsXxhIasrXr1fIY02F51bpSdlmYkSnXurhfzUi6jF4KDzxDjOnla9MPYs_Z9irdQCWk0OC9ngaHiFp5QOzG00nfgyHk4bQfnSPR22DCGredvMmAfwz4fO_7_5WdsUvbBuYQ/s546/KnowledgeSys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="546" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULWwCzXdoHlQglaEm1WxaNiASeTQ96JKARoDIY9GZCWRX6pS5ayrbefjVPsXxhIasrXr1fIY02F51bpSdlmYkSnXurhfzUi6jF4KDzxDjOnla9MPYs_Z9irdQCWk0OC9ngaHiFp5QOzG00nfgyHk4bQfnSPR22DCGredvMmAfwz4fO_7_5WdsUvbBuYQ/w200-h180/KnowledgeSys.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p>Ah yes, first principles? We will venture there. Basically, they are what a group decides. We'll cover this topic from all necesary angles. </p><p>----</p><p>This series of articles is on themes that need to be discussed. I have been discussing these themes for the past few years in various forums. 2023's events related to what was called "AI" motivated the series. The articles are about KBE (knowledge-based engineering) which followed after KBS (knowledge based systems; like KBS, KBE unfolded in a commercial environment and was proven many ways and times in the real world. </p><p>A major theme? We need truth engineering in a non-academic sense. Details are where truth is assessed. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://ajswtlk.com/TruthEng/2023/12/11/artificial-intelligence-not-solely-machine-learning/">1st – AI, not solely ML</a> </li><li><a href="https://ajswtlk.com/TruthEng/2024/01/07/knowledge-and-truth/">2nd – Knowledge and truth</a> </li><li>3rd – Physicalness and mathematics (in the interim, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7157568832117645312/">LinkedIn</a>). </li><li>4th – ML’s emerge/surge and data/decisions (in process)</li><li>5th - Where do we go from here? (in process) </li></ul><p></p><div>Auxiliary information can be found at the <a href="https://tgsoc.org/papers/">Sperry Univac Knowledge Systems Center</a> until a more permanent home is established. The 1st article, above, was mentioned in <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/gardners-beacon-vol-xiii-no-2.html">Gardner's Beacon, Vol XIII, No 2</a> (Dec 2023). </div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/13/2024</i></p><div>02/13/2024 -- Added image. </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-13181767182749241492024-01-29T15:45:00.001-08:002024-01-29T15:46:10.387-08:00Electronic print<p>TL:DR -- We started with developing a footprint early. There is still a lot to do. Stay tuned. </p><p>--</p><p>We had a post 10 years ago with the title of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2014/02/electronic-footprint.html">Electronic footprint</a> which provides a list of areas where something had been posted or utilized. It was in 2014 when we got introduced to WikiTree. Rootsweb had been regularly used from the beginning of our work in 2010. Now, it's gone and supposedly will appear in the ancestry realm at some point. We'll see. </p><p>We remarked about reprints of Dr. Frank's book. People had been doing that type of thing on the web which is really a type of plagarism. But, in 2023, we saw massive plagerism taking place without much comment, except there may be a belated reaction in the near future. </p><p>Speaking of which, the recent ACM Comm had an article reporting analysis on LLMs which, coupled with xNNs, were the main mischief makers in 2023. It's worth a read. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfbbDR1iXy7tEcPhloSkn35kM_3vGi-9eMHePm4wO-jzRovQjgV7K6elI2-b7VkU4gkBF0epdMEdrCKaQL5YnQIKelAsahASX7FI-ZZ5sZ5IUo3xZL-0e-u14V0plMfm08RqnXb_aY4DteV9hsj4DGTj1qBleDT23YXfa8py5yiWFblwvHcBXL1LztSc8" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="261" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfbbDR1iXy7tEcPhloSkn35kM_3vGi-9eMHePm4wO-jzRovQjgV7K6elI2-b7VkU4gkBF0epdMEdrCKaQL5YnQIKelAsahASX7FI-ZZ5sZ5IUo3xZL-0e-u14V0plMfm08RqnXb_aY4DteV9hsj4DGTj1qBleDT23YXfa8py5yiWFblwvHcBXL1LztSc8" width="187" /></a></div><a href="https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2024/1/278890-shortcut-learning-of-large-language-models-in-natural-language-understanding/fulltext ">Shortcut Learning of Large Language Models in Natural Language Understanding</a> - the paper was a thorough review. As we have made mention in our comments about this technology, there is no "creature" emering in this <b>AI</b>n't or anything else of a magical quality going on. Nope, this is mathematics that needs to be brought to attention, fully. And, from a brief survey, that is happening. MIT and Carnegie Mellon are offering courses that are introductions to the mathematics involved in machine learning. <p></p></blockquote><p>Ourselves? See this: <a href="https://tgsoc.org/papers/3rd%20-%20Physicalness%20and%20mathematics.pdf">Physicalness and mathematics</a>. Right now, this and related papers will be indexed at our <a href="http://TGSoc.org/papers">TGSoc.org/papers</a> site. Some pointers go to a blog based in WP. </p><p><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=technology">Technology</a> is our project with the computational aspects on the top of the list. </p><p> <b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/29/2024</i></p><div>01/29/2024 -- </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-49634243649800462252024-01-29T15:45:00.000-08:002024-01-31T14:29:17.924-08:00Kansas Day<p>TL:DR -- Kansas joined the U.S. in 1861. There is a lot of history to look at, including families. </p><p>---</p><p>Today marks the day that Kansas joined the Union, in 1861. So, this is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Day">Kansas Day</a> in these parts. We had have several posts on Kansas over the years. Here are a few. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=john+brown">John Brown</a> - He was here more than once. We have written about the era of "bloody Kansas" in several posts. John and his battle at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Black_Jack">Black Jack</a> will be mentioned in a post, soon. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/05/memorial-day-2022.html">Lawrence</a> - This city is mentioned several times. Kansas was a Massachusetts project which had the goal of keeping the area slave free. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=trails">Trails</a> - There were several trails. One was the Santa Fe Trail that cut diagonally across the state. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/04/frontier-century.html">Frontier century</a> - Associated with this is the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=lost+generation">Lost Generation</a> or two. Families came west prior to record keeping. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/05/memorial-day-2022.html">Early work</a> with Native Americans - A mission was established in the southeastern corner of the State in the early 1830s which was not long after Missouri came to be. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=incorporation">Incorporation</a> - Founded in 2910, the Thomas Gardner Society incorporated in Kansas in 2014. </li><li>... </li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvW7Do39642nK11nX-MIR60cdT4Ja8xluECAuOWE8zS-kgjAOJCvpoPyhHztWMi2p_qFm1XNMn6WRE7WlKDCoZSv_Xde8PVUNP4Ns3hRZcSbwjD2ifioUQsbhDqS-28m-KEpwyjdusj0fLe4JI_CGVxvauBu-Ll2binK-kZAFPOEyK57mUM0QcR3qe4/s1080/LK%201867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1080" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpvW7Do39642nK11nX-MIR60cdT4Ja8xluECAuOWE8zS-kgjAOJCvpoPyhHztWMi2p_qFm1XNMn6WRE7WlKDCoZSv_Xde8PVUNP4Ns3hRZcSbwjD2ifioUQsbhDqS-28m-KEpwyjdusj0fLe4JI_CGVxvauBu-Ll2binK-kZAFPOEyK57mUM0QcR3qe4/s320/LK%201867.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrence, KS<br />by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Gardner_(photographer)">Alexander Gardner</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Of course, further words could be said about the trappers who came through and the cattle that ran through the state on their way to being shipped back east by train. Too, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/10/katy-western-railroad.html">trains</a> were a large part of KS. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/31/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>01/31/2024 -- Added image from the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/04/frontier-century.html">Frontier Century</a> post. </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-59134511734749749802024-01-27T17:58:00.000-08:002024-01-27T17:58:00.263-08:00LonghunterTL;DR -- Boone was there, in the times of the French-Indian affair, the Revolution, and after. He was of a type that can be known as longhunter. They wandered and brought back information. And, turned around and led people west. This post is of the 250th theme. We are about two years away from that celebatory event. <div><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div>Four years ago, COVID became a reality. There had been little glimpses earlier. People were talking about an illness in China. We came home from a regional jaunt and heard, on the news, that people had been identified in the area where we had bee as being diagnosed with the disease. Okay, not long after, there was the respite put into place. Rather, it was lockdown with rules put into place which went on for a few months. </div><div><br /></div><div>We had already been supporting history and genealogy work. Some of this had the flavor of finding paths taken by families as they went west. Or, from our perspective, as they came west. Earlier, we had seen entry into flyover country from several directions. The Ohio River ran from PA down to MO. But, it was Daniel Boone (see post <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2020/08/boone-himself.html">Boone himself</a> and search <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=boone">results - Boone</a>) who figured in a large way. He was involved in the Revolution. Prior to that, though, he had explored westward our of the southern states. </div><div><br /></div><div>As we had noted, our focus was on the coast for a long while as we caught up with the 400 years that had passed by. <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=Dr.+Frank">Dr. Frank's</a> work was a launching point bot from the family research and <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/tmm.html">The Massachusetts Magazine</a> which printed for eleven years and was discontinued when the Spanish Flu hit as well as WWI came about. But, we had done some work with families who went west. See <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=flyover+country">Flyover Country</a>, for one. As an aside, we are considering how to update Dr. Frank's work with respect to recent findings brought to us by technology. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fortunately, about the time of the pandemic, we were getting more inquires with regard to people coming west. Here are some examples (these posts are not in chronological order): <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2018/07/jedediah-strong-smith.html">Jedediah Strong Smith</a>; <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/06/judge-francis-m-thompson.html">Judge Thompson</a>; <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/06/thomas-wentworth-higginson.html">Col. T. W. Higginson</a>; and <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/06/stateofmo1821.html">St. Louis</a> as the site of the partitioning efforts. Too, though, we tracked several families that followed Boone west. He, BTW, ended up in MO with his son coming further into KS. </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Squire_Boone_Crossing_the_Mountains_with_Stores_for_His_Brother_Daniel.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="455" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Squire_Boone_Crossing_the_Mountains_with_Stores_for_His_Brother_Daniel.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boone, wandering</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Now, let's look at Boone and what he represented. He was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longhunter">longhunter</a>. These guys went out on their jaunts for months at a time. And, during that period, they were self-sufficient. When they returned, they brought back information and some artifacts, such a pelts. </div><div><br /></div><div>We are talking about the area, for the most part, that was east of the Mississippi River. There were explorers out further west, some from the Candian regions. Jedediah was out in California in the 1830, by foot both his and his steeds. He passed through St. Louis on his way. Later on, as we know, two massive killing periods happened out west: beaver; buffalo. </div><div><br /></div><div>The numbers of venturers was small. But, where Boone was, a Cherokee chief by 1769 was complaing about the influx of the long hunters. Mainly, they were noisy. And, other stories abound. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, getting to our interests, we are finally concentrating on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee">Tennessee</a>. It is a huge state. All together, it touches nine states. Its northern neighbor, Kentucky, touches seven states. We follow families who went west through both of those areas. Too, their border was a dividing line during the U.S. Civil War. We have not discussed that topic in detail, yet, but intend to at some point. Since we're in KS, there is a pre-civil-war history involved with families in the area. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Tennessee_in_United_States.svg/300px-Tennessee_in_United_States.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="300" height="186" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Tennessee_in_United_States.svg/300px-Tennessee_in_United_States.svg.png" width="300" /></a></div><br />Back to the longhunters, they are similar in spirit to those who sailed the seas as we saw with New England. We had an earlier post (<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2016/11/final-migration.html">Final migration</a>) that quoted authors on the subject. There were many trails west, as the railroads later showed us. Jedediah, in CA, had travels that map out the current highway system. Culturally, we would point the travels of the Native Americans over their long time on the continent. </div><div><br /></div><div>Other types of early travelers have been touched upon during our research. About a century before the area depicted in the Flower Moon movie, a mission was established in SE KS to <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/05/memorial-day-2022.html">aid the Osage</a> and, eventually, other tribes brought into the area. Several local sites were the local for negotiations and treaty agreements. </div><div><br /></div><div>Back east, the history goes back 400 years. In the interior, we are talking the long reach of New England over a 250-year period. A lot of families arrived later; but, many carry the history int heir genes over the entire period. Both require attention. So, there's no end to research. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lately, we have had a focus on CA, for several reasons. Some of the interest has to do with family being there early. But, we have seen lots of older photos being brought to the fore. Recently, we did a post about a photo taken in downtown LA in the 1880s. We have one from this week to add. But, the area of the photo was where Butterfield had his stage coming into the area prior to going up to San Francisco. His first arrival was in the 1850s. Change is on theme. Some things remain. Many, most do not. </div><div><br /></div><div>Society needs its adventurers. Of late, there are new types that we will be discussing. Despite that, we still need the old ways for many reasons. </div><div><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div>Example? Technology has developed a thrust and lust for the virtual. That theme needs constant attention for several reasons. One deals with the respect for the land and the people involved across all of the time frames that will be associated with the U.S. and its history. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, AI and even <b>AI</b>n't? History can be retold in more interesting ways using technology. Yet, the truth of the matter remains an open issue that hopefully we'll be able to address more fully if we determine the necessity as we ought. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/27/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>01/27/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div></div><div> </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-89236898309317785942024-01-22T12:33:00.000-08:002024-02-09T11:25:56.836-08:00New England, in LATL;DR -- Continuing the theme of the west coast, we look at the LA area. A Cogswell reference was one motive. Then, reports about early downtown LA are always interesting. <div><br /></div><div>--</div><div><br /></div><div>In FB, a post with the name of Cogswell (kin) got our attention. And, the setting was the western coast. So, what not to like? </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=los+angeles">Los Angeles</a>, CA has been mentioned in several posts on FB. One post dealt with Pasadena with respect to a <a href="https://eastofallen.blogspot.com/2008/05/william-cogswell-famous-artist-and-east.html">Cogswell/Rhoades house</a>. On looking further, the Cogswell was <a href="https://eastofallen.blogspot.com/2008/05/william-cogswell-famous-artist-and-east.html">William F.</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Cogswell">Wikipedia</a>, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Nne4L9h27RsC&pg=PA180#v=onepage&q&f=false">Stanford U. bio</a>) who was a painter born in New York with early Massachusetts ancestors. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38-hgzRB2GquIq0tgarRcU78hY6HdUvDt7Kriw0dA-ZjwCjM0itvCxOyPs9V0BRIOVRO5VbDq4nwtO57pZaxM7YaHpV2VgEtisagpXyRpqGJWsJBlqseQxRDOxw4ljBJTzGf956qMQ26F2c3yQTCL8_5-7rpS5Cnbwaf-uS6FDV-rX6IqvTMSqtUPlzA/s673/Cogswell%20Rhoades.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="660" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38-hgzRB2GquIq0tgarRcU78hY6HdUvDt7Kriw0dA-ZjwCjM0itvCxOyPs9V0BRIOVRO5VbDq4nwtO57pZaxM7YaHpV2VgEtisagpXyRpqGJWsJBlqseQxRDOxw4ljBJTzGf956qMQ26F2c3yQTCL8_5-7rpS5Cnbwaf-uS6FDV-rX6IqvTMSqtUPlzA/w231-h235/Cogswell%20Rhoades.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: California History (Facebook)<br />Sierra Madre Villa Hotel<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>This property was written up for being designated as a <a href="https://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/councilagendas/2008%20agendas/Jan_28_08/6C%20ATTACHMENTS%20A%20&%20B.pdf">Historic Monument or Landmark</a> in 2007. At that time, only one building (the laundry) was still on the property. The <a href="https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_Pasadena_1_of_8.html">Water and Power website</a> has early photos of the Pasadena area, inluding this hotel. This photo is from the Huntington Digital Library. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/api/singleitem/image/p15150coll2/14803/default.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/api/singleitem/image/p15150coll2/14803/default.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View, <a href="https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll2/id/14805/">1877 to 1880</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The area is now known as <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madre,_California">Sierra Madre, CA</a>. This description of the property's history is from the <a href="http://pasadena.cfwebtools.com/search.cfm?display=records&res_id=5778&recordnum=3&dpr_id=5785">California Historical Resources Inventory</a>. </div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div>The house is the only structure that remains from the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. The Hotel was the first of its kind in Southern California. In 1874, William Rhoades and William Cogswell purchased 473 acres of the old Rancho Santa Anita, eventually planting the hillsides with flowers and orange groves. In 1877, they built a 70-room hotel, with a glass veranda, on the property.</div><div><br /></div><div>Newspaper articles, interviews, and photographs document the use of the house as a laundry and employee housing for the hotel. Around 1900, other hotels had been built nearer the center of the city, and the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel became obsolete in its remote location. The property was divided and sold off in the 1920’s. The “Old House” has been the only remaining structure from the hotel since the late 1940’s.</div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Another post (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/CalHistory/posts/2257687004442071/">California History</a>) was about a Belmont Hotel in Los Angeles being in a photo of a cable car on 2nd Street. The view was west where one could see the area (see <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/10/bunker-hill-west.html">Bunker Hill, west</a>) and the hotel plus the San Gabriel Mountains. This was in 1886. In 1887, the <a href="https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2018/12/16/the-fire-at-the-hotel-belmont-los-angeles-16-december-1887/">hotel burned</a> to the ground. The hotel was later rebuilt (On Bunker Hill - <a href="https://www.onbunkerhill.org/HotelBelmont/">Hotel Belmont 251 S Hill</a>). </div><div><br /></div><div>The following photo was colorized. It shows that Los Angeles (its downtown area) was hilly. </div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjir5QhP7VgThJlmsV3LIqObUQvMpGWWG4J-0-hdBWijn_kDwDrGEJ01MOzjyqga3O3eChqjyk1f8yb1V9wuF7rVzujM15hT9-bt3fR11MCIJe-57EBLop8Q5uw8wx_wok6QhBFD5B-ouUra5fNZVm8uYFzAS-GgCszUsldBvi7SjmqbdplxCMGPjou9Wo/s2048/LA2ndStLookingWest1886.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="2048" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjir5QhP7VgThJlmsV3LIqObUQvMpGWWG4J-0-hdBWijn_kDwDrGEJ01MOzjyqga3O3eChqjyk1f8yb1V9wuF7rVzujM15hT9-bt3fR11MCIJe-57EBLop8Q5uw8wx_wok6QhBFD5B-ouUra5fNZVm8uYFzAS-GgCszUsldBvi7SjmqbdplxCMGPjou9Wo/s320/LA2ndStLookingWest1886.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: California History (Facebook)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>There are several themes that could relate to this post and further research which we will be getting into. We have 400 years to look at while we also get deeper into <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=origins">Origins</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 02/04/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>02/04/2024 -- Found lots of more images and stories. The response to a query of "Los Angeles, CA" and the current map at Google shows Bunker Hill (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_Hill,_Los_Angeles">Wikipedia</a>) supporting a collection of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Los_Angeles">tall buildings</a>. By the way, the largest is 70 some stories or so. The Wells Fargo Building (54 floors) stands at the highest point of the hill. </div><div><br /></div><div>This view is from an area east of DTLA, say, down in the valley. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFR_u96LZH96AHE21RHAreDrgSAEqgJs9zaaExHPNxZXTsGUszGkGl7Fp0QlizlrUrlbyJrOkVIrHQP8RjTbzV8cZVjS_g-P5wBaQ97YX-gIcPq8SnaOR4RW9eFsRUPvQ07DLk9N-YJFq9oF82GCBwrLkVAlxE2REjsvMNtIXyTHlX2N3NTGTuZv1dF4/s1061/BunkerHillLAWF.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1061" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFR_u96LZH96AHE21RHAreDrgSAEqgJs9zaaExHPNxZXTsGUszGkGl7Fp0QlizlrUrlbyJrOkVIrHQP8RjTbzV8cZVjS_g-P5wBaQ97YX-gIcPq8SnaOR4RW9eFsRUPvQ07DLk9N-YJFq9oF82GCBwrLkVAlxE2REjsvMNtIXyTHlX2N3NTGTuZv1dF4/s320/BunkerHillLAWF.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunker_Hill,_Los_Angeles">Bunker Hill, Los Angeles</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <a href="https://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_LA_Buildings%20(1800s)_Page_3.html">Water & Power Associates</a> have a great collection of early DTLA (downtown, LA) including those from several eras of Bunker Hill which is the focus of study for many reasons. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-49500637409940378892024-01-13T11:08:00.000-08:002024-01-13T11:18:29.995-08:00Ten years ago<p>TL;DR -- We will start with marking by category, put in a header about the coming changes, figure some reasonable modification to apply, and get them into place. At the same time, we will reconfigure with technology updates in mind. </p><p>---</p><p>Ten years ago, we were four years into this medium exercising our reading intake. Sometimes this was via expressing opinion (see this post in December of 2023 - <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/opinions-count.html">Opinions count?</a>) which is everywhere. Papers have the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search/label/OpEd">OpEd</a> (we added this category) for a purpose. Other times, we were reporting results that we had no reason to doubt. Thanks to the good work of Bob Dunlop we know more about Thomas and Margaret and the family than was known before. </p><p>To recap, we have been using this post (<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-summary.html">In Summary</a>) as a reminder that our websites will be updated and that we'll keep using the blogs for information with respect to what we know (our first post on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-we-know.html">What we know</a> was in November of 2012). In the next few weeks, we will have more information on what needs to be changed. In terms of some of the OpEd type, we'll put in a header with respect to the status as we will keep the information for future reference. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZwHv5ch4VjyJ525ZsupvCWyEvemlsiCczZPONeqIOGZqDAZRmuNf_12ajEvrceuF2nclxapWPghJex9tWzbkq3HryogtLT32860SIUb2FLJgKz2meNk_JYgDyOZzhsewOnp0Cy0stvQGNxIhIGtDY2z0jZMzUnA5yhOr-LtwcTHx0wkgDFrRwMUYLXw/s808/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="239" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZwHv5ch4VjyJ525ZsupvCWyEvemlsiCczZPONeqIOGZqDAZRmuNf_12ajEvrceuF2nclxapWPghJex9tWzbkq3HryogtLT32860SIUb2FLJgKz2meNk_JYgDyOZzhsewOnp0Cy0stvQGNxIhIGtDY2z0jZMzUnA5yhOr-LtwcTHx0wkgDFrRwMUYLXw/s320/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" width="95" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>One thing that we noticed when we started is that there was a lot about Thomas Gardner on the web which was 19 years old at the time. One could see the different generations (web evolving) of these. So, from the start, we captured URLs and, as one would expect, is a huge collection. One a recent review, many of these have disappeared or merely moved. This is the same problem as we get generally and which there have been solution attempts. One example if archive.org who also provides access to on-line books. In terms ot we pages, one can see the page. But, links are not pointing to active sites. </p><p>As an aside, many have gone from static pages to a wholely database approach. That goes back to an old argument of compute or store. Remember, we have a technology focus. It is becomeing clear that we have to know the history. Some things under the covers are old. Perhaps, we would use many if talking the infrastructure that is reliable. Be that as it may, there is a use of the static page. Our sites use this method with some database facilities, like WordPress. This discussion comes under Content versus Configuration which we will continue with the focus having a priority on Content though we dabble with Configuration. </p><p>Back to the subject, notice in March of 2014, we had some OpEd posts dealing with Cape Ann. Some of those may have been conjectures based upon the work done so far. At the time, the basis was minimal which was offputting. By this time, the internet was changing too. Search parameters had been altered by those who provide such (user input to these changes was minimal - let's talk requirement - the current uproar will get that back on the table). </p><p>An interesting twist is with the LLM (xNN), we can work with a coPilot to reconfigure the site. Or not. Basically, my attempt would be to sandbox changes or try enhancements. Then, the sites would be redone manually. Why? I'm more custom than not. There is too much on the web where mutal admiration societies build monolithic sites that go against the dreams of people in general. And, one huge aspect of that is the American dream whatever that might mean. With respect to our view, the 400 years of effort by some families still here has to have some meaning. And, quite frankly, that has been visible to me since I started this. </p><p>The redo of Dr. Frank's work is an example. We'll not throw stones as some on WikiTree might. Actually, I don't see that genealogy by itself is of much use. We need history plus a whole lot of science to come to bear and that means more than genetics. Look at our <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=technology">technology writeups</a> for some notion of the issues at hand. </p><p>So, we'll be using the OpEd category. First, when we identify pages that need to be updated, we'll put it in the category with a header. Then, as we dive further into the research, we will start a new series of pages. BTW, going back to set a proper basis will include an errata listing for Gardner's Beacon and The Gardner Annals. </p><p>So, we will be doing this all year. Right now, let's see what is involved and get some notion of the changes needed. </p><p>BTW, it was in September of 2014 that we did this post: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2014/09/thomas-and-margaret.html">Marriage of Thomas and Margaret</a>. It's our most-read post and note OpEd. However, the images involved had been indexed. Only the first few of the sons were mentioned. We were waiting for further transcription and indexing, and time ran away. There is always more to do than can be done. So, the 2023 surprise was quite nice, actually. </p><p>Our position (OpEd): Thomas was here. Rev. Hubbard didn't mention that he was referring to other than the one of Salem. We'll reconfigure here and expect further work to fill in the pieces. Or not. </p><p>Aside: Over this 10 year period, we did not ignore AI or <b>AI</b>n't. In a sense, there is much ado about not much. Weeding out the hype will leave how much edible stuff? Do we know that a priori? </p><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/13/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>01/13/2024 -- </div></div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-6681243296962555572024-01-01T12:48:00.000-08:002024-01-01T12:48:48.591-08:00New Year<p></p>TL;DR -- Years provide a stopping and starting point. Mostly, this applies to bureaucratic or legal matters. But, there are other ways that one might consider the transition. For 2024, lots of things are pending attention. <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtLPb4kjq2Rjj4fneKtEknt9p0ovOIGn4N5EnRlAlxn6wus_YPVtm72eQzf8KYd9dD26XUM2F5kh0_gEsfGAeROQ4nGpKzHnAPRsmpSsv6JDZuyBVeM8tHlHADZKxtrZZRYwyyJDnaq4n89-BePlJhWX3ldaVeHgjwa5QgMcXGiIV_x_m6w-jNN-Rzzo/s680/2023Posts.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="237" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtLPb4kjq2Rjj4fneKtEknt9p0ovOIGn4N5EnRlAlxn6wus_YPVtm72eQzf8KYd9dD26XUM2F5kh0_gEsfGAeROQ4nGpKzHnAPRsmpSsv6JDZuyBVeM8tHlHADZKxtrZZRYwyyJDnaq4n89-BePlJhWX3ldaVeHgjwa5QgMcXGiIV_x_m6w-jNN-Rzzo/w112-h411/2023Posts.jpg" width="112" /></a><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br /></div><div>It has been a long Holiday weekend. Seemed to have started on Friday. That gave time to wind down 2023. Now, we can start 2024 activity. </div><div><br /></div><div>Too, we're enough past COVID to put it into storage. Except not, as we will have a yearly revisit with the thing. </div><div><br /></div><div>---</div><div><br />The graphic shows that we had 85 posts for the year. It was 2019 when we bumped up our posts. Before then, the highest year was 2014 with 48. We will be editing the posts to bring them up to date with the latest information. <div><br /></div><div>Somewhat, as we can push many of the older ones into an archive if they are not relevant. But, with respect to the "science" of genealogy and family history, we may use others that need change as material to support discussions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our last post, which will be updated throughout the year, touched upon the subject: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/opinions-count.html">Opinions count</a>? For one thing, we are telling the story of America and the U.S. as are a lot of other families. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/01/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>01/01/2024 -- </div></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-27929670091246800892023-12-30T18:27:00.000-08:002024-01-13T11:11:32.554-08:00Opinions count?<p>TL;DR -- We are going through our blog posts and marking those with opinions expressed as OpEd. This does not include instances where there were sources, however they might be considered after new data became available recently. Lots to do and discuss. </p><p>--</p><p>This post is two pronged. First, we consider OpEd types of posts that have appeared here over the years. As we identify these, we'll put them into a special category (<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search/label/OpEd"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">OpEd</span></b></a>). Then, on the other hand, we will be updating the <b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/faq.html">FAQ</a></span></b> plus all of the other posts that might need to change. ... Notice that the post "The Old Planters Society" comes up in this list.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtsRDqSnnHxb52mSHdkyVHU1uno6fo2ri2dDguChWf2gNID9lP0z4cHaZgE58zMYPlx1vbpI_m_UyG-5M-y_bUQx0hlho37mswrOHC_mpntCl_sIe4lCK5do3gVe9NdQeb6x_c0zqYLwujZU-mS53W5GxgFFrI8ymXZHtaLFPvrZr61ikD2y3wlbdmzs/s334/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="238" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMtsRDqSnnHxb52mSHdkyVHU1uno6fo2ri2dDguChWf2gNID9lP0z4cHaZgE58zMYPlx1vbpI_m_UyG-5M-y_bUQx0hlho37mswrOHC_mpntCl_sIe4lCK5do3gVe9NdQeb6x_c0zqYLwujZU-mS53W5GxgFFrI8ymXZHtaLFPvrZr61ikD2y3wlbdmzs/w143-h200/BlogPost2014thruJune.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>So, on looking at our OpEd collection, there are none with "new data" generated on the fly. So, we did nto discombulate anything. Our posts are purely reactionary with respect to the lack of data and wondering why (thinking out loud type of thing). </p><p>Aside: This is apropos since we need to identify sources for things being stated with some certainty. The OpEds were not. Though, one might claim tongue-in-cheek. Okay? Juxtapose time. We have just had a year of almost countless "generative" modes pushing out "fakery" without end. It took us (humanity) a while to figure out the issues. Some, anyway, as the debate continues. Those who provide the means for the mischief are doubling down on their position, even though many, this year, have gone to Washington, DC begging (almost) for bureaucratic oversight and control. This little exercise of ours will be used for philosophical discuss (down below).</p><p>Let's start with a keyword search, as shown by these bullets. </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Backbone - <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=backbone">https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=backbone</a>; you know, we already had a category for this - so, it's OpEd, too. </li><li>Now, Cape Ann is not an OpEd, since it was following prior knowledge. <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=cape+ann">https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=cape+ann</a></li><li>Forgotten is in a minor part; much of this does consider those left out of the equation. <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=forgotten">https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=forgotten</a> So, we added OpEd where appropriate. </li><li>Planters is a core notion. <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=planters">https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=planters</a> </li><li>... </li><li>We'll continue. </li></ol><div>-------</div><div><br /></div><div>With respect to "fakery" and such, we have a recent post about AI not being solely ML. It is the ML --> AI shift that is partly to blame for the messy situation. We can explain and will over time. </div><div><br /></div><div>What does this mean for the TGS, Inc. work? Like many would agree with, there have been tremendous changes in the internet over the past 2+ decades. Lots of this can be tracked and discussed. Too, during our decade of doing this work, we have seen old sites disappear and new ones appear. Not many of these were consistent. Even WikiTree has its problems. All of this goes back to humans and their ways. </div><div><br /></div><div>Computers replacing us? Fact or fiction? Notice, and opinion is not fiction. It's another type of cognitive state. Computers are going to help us discuss how we are. That is one huge potential benefit, since it can be considered objective. But, not, folks. We (people doing technical work) have been at this long enough to know that there's no "truthful" state involved with computational systems. If anything, truth is engineered. So, we'll discuss that. </div><div><br /></div><div>------</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside: all good computer systems allow us to follow changes. Wikipedia does this. I can go back to the beginning of any page and watch the changes over the years. WikiTree adopted the same thing but scaled down. Here, we have used Remarks to note changes. And, with regard to the OpEd assignments as well as the subsequent changes that come about as we settle issues, we'll do modifications in a logged manner. ... At the same time, we will be picking up links for older research efforts so that we can describe the changes over time. Lots to discuss. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 01/13/2024</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>01/13/2024 -- Added image. </div></div><p></p><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-85588455002714885982023-12-28T18:42:00.000-08:002023-12-29T06:33:41.671-08:00Thomas Gardner, a puzzle<p>TL;DR -- On Thomas, we have had lots of posts on various subjects. This year, new information came to fore which we will use to adjust our site(s) which includes the blog(s) and website(s). </p><p>--</p><p>This day, 29 Dec, of 1674? Thomas Gardner, the one we know of, died in Salem, MA. </p><p>--</p><p>Consider this a brief look at status. Also, we will cover more in <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/gardners-beacon-vol-xiii-no-2.html">Gardner's Beacon, XIII, 2,</a> shortly. In any case, we will use this post to organize material. </p><p>---</p><p>Thomas Gardner of Salem? Was he at Cape Ann, too? Who was he? Were there two of this name, concurrently? Were they related? So many other questions asked over the years. In 2024, we will organize better <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-we-know.html"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">what we know</span></b></a> and what needs attention. </p><p>Note: Declarations at WikiTree are without substance in some instances. We will get those corrected. </p><p>This is what WikiTree says about the husband of Margaret Frier: <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-159">Gardner-159</a>. We have been looking at, and for, information on this gentleman for some time: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2011/12/remembering-thomas.html">Dec. 2011</a>; <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2019/01/29-december-1674.html">Jan. 2019</a>; <a href="Remarks: Modified: 12/30/2023 12/30/2023 --">Jun. 2019</a>. </p><p>If there was another, here is how WikiTree describes him: <a href="https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gardner-924">Gardner-924</a>. On the two, these were our thoughts in November of this year: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/11/gloucester-2nd-year.html">Gloucester, 2nd year</a>. </p><p>Of course, we know of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/03/thomas-gardner-of-roxbury.html">Thomas Gardner of Roxbury</a>. </p><p>Too, there is the <b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/p/faq.html">FAQ</a></span></b>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNH85U55OcUwLY1ti7TKPgZzFXb5X-kh4uTgNAqWtQcc5xQ2MgRCDA1pQyN_KbzRcYyRnNOoIkLysNpqY7pzZoRdJ2JAbq3GKCj3fCZUPRWB-PMk_6yAEMqb9lNSYblyeLXNjJ9zuL-FAkbH2nGLs-8La6eqg8JEGvSyWHE7M3vaezzqgd41e1j_lI56c/s561/TwoThomasGardners.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNH85U55OcUwLY1ti7TKPgZzFXb5X-kh4uTgNAqWtQcc5xQ2MgRCDA1pQyN_KbzRcYyRnNOoIkLysNpqY7pzZoRdJ2JAbq3GKCj3fCZUPRWB-PMk_6yAEMqb9lNSYblyeLXNjJ9zuL-FAkbH2nGLs-8La6eqg8JEGvSyWHE7M3vaezzqgd41e1j_lI56c/s320/TwoThomasGardners.jpg" width="302" /></a></div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/29/2023</i></p><p>12/29/2023 --</p><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-79746334939932641832023-12-28T12:56:00.000-08:002023-12-31T09:19:18.097-08:00Gardner's Beacon, Vol XIII, No 2<p>This issue of Gardner's Beacon continues with the context of our <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/09/gardners-beacon-vol-xiii-no-1.html">previous issue</a> with respect to a regular presentation of ongoing work as well as reviews of common interests. ...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Topics:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What happened? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D2fLb5eIGy7XFVG8xa2SWXUtPJyqT-TQ5S57uK734inPowzzEqsh1__asnGXhyl4M52wKS51YRGs2NURjJlp5o0KjnAEcjagZw1TSVC5ssd_mkNOb2NHCq1JDHYqUBvL2hI-XfaMiLCWIYOsvGJqs3XnsqTJHQ3C1ZXw-2i7nNMHnTyQc-OSufvYHNI/s547/GB_XIII_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="547" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4D2fLb5eIGy7XFVG8xa2SWXUtPJyqT-TQ5S57uK734inPowzzEqsh1__asnGXhyl4M52wKS51YRGs2NURjJlp5o0KjnAEcjagZw1TSVC5ssd_mkNOb2NHCq1JDHYqUBvL2hI-XfaMiLCWIYOsvGJqs3XnsqTJHQ3C1ZXw-2i7nNMHnTyQc-OSufvYHNI/w200-h127/GB_XIII_2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">GB XIII, 2 (<a href="https://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/Newsletters/PDFs/Vol%20XIII%20No%202.pdf">PDF w/links</a>)</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>New:</b> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://tgsoc.org/site/gb-xiii-2/"><span><b>Mobile-friendly issue</b></span></a> </span>of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">GB XIII, 2 </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><p>See <a href="http://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/Newsletters/VolXIII_No2.html">Vol. XIII, No. 2</a> of <a href="https://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/GardnersBeacon.html">Gardner's Beacon</a> for links to <a href="https://thomasgardnersociety.org/html/Newsletters/Sources.html">Sources</a>.<br /></p><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/30/2023</i></p><p>12/29/2023 -- Put draft PDF for review. </p><p>12/30/2023 -- Publication release. </p><p><br /></p><p> </p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-71099576063733689262023-12-25T16:33:00.000-08:002023-12-25T16:37:59.816-08:00Boston Tea Party<p>TL;DR -- This party got its name later. But, the event was 250 years ago. We know specifics about the event and its participants. Modern folks have an organization to fete these folks by identifying descendants. Overall, though, the times leading up the Revolution need more attention using the resources and technology of the modern age. </p><p>--</p><p>The motivations for this post are several. For one, we're only nine days late. Then, we have been watching the approach of the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/07/247th-of-us.html">250th of the U.S</a>. As well, since our start, we have had lots of posts dealing with D.A.R. and S.A.R. which are organizations, for females and for males, respectively, whose focus is the descendants of those who supported the Revolution. Dr. Frank's sister, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2017/05/lucie-following-sidney.html">Marion Gardner</a>, was a member of D.A.R. through her Gardner great-grandfather. </p><p>Of late, we have been distracted by technology but are back to the history and lineage focus. As well, we have spent time since the start of the pandemic on researching the other countries who were here: Spain, France and more. As we close out this year and start the next, we will be summarizing our work, recent and before. Then, we'll have categories of activities. This blog will continue as will our portal: <a href="https://TGSoc.org">TGSoc.org</a>. </p><p>Aside: Since April, we have quietly researched the topic discussed in the "<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/in-summary.html">In summary</a>" post. As mentioned, WikiTree's profile on Thomas Gardner starts from 1636 when Seeth was born here. She was the last child. Lots of work needs to be done which we will help lead and get things resolved as we determine what the data shows. Otherwise, we'll adjust the narrative to illustrate unknowns needing attention. That seems to be an appropriate bit of work in 2024 as we commemorate the Cape Ann effott which was feted this year in Gloucester. Based upon our research, we have not real reason to declare that Thomas was not in Cape Ann in the early period as mentioned by Rev. Hubbard in his book written in the latter half of the 1600s. </p><p>---</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg/1280px-Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="800" height="184" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg/1280px-Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party#/media/File:Boston_Tea_Party_w.jpg">Boston Tea Party</a></td></tr></tbody></table>So, what and when was the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party">Boston Tea Party</a>? It was a protest about taxes in which a group poured tea in the water on 16 Dec 1773. There has been much written over the past 250 years. Now, we can look back and see how descendants of those who took part fared. Who were <a href="https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party">the participants</a>? As expected, Samuel Adams was one. We will look at this topic later. For now, there is an organization aptly named <a href="https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/participants-in-the-boston-tea-party">Participants in the Boston Tea Party</a> that we will pay attention to. </p><p></p><p>The <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-many-myths-of-the-boston-tea-party-180983399/">Daughters of the American Revolution</a> held a tea in Washington, DC on the 16th of this month. We support this group's effort for over 125 years, in particular their focus on the upcoming 250th. </p><p>Following are a couple links from organizations who provide good information. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><a href="https://www.masshist.org/revolution/teaparty.php">The Coming of the American Revolution: 1764 to 1776</a> -- Massachusetts Historical Society - This post is part of a regular series that started to look at the earlier situation. Also, it provides links to associated documents. The Port of Boston was closed for a while by London because of this incident. But, later, in Mar 1774, a brig came into Boston on the way to London. Turn out that it was carring tea. When the Sons of Liberty found out, they had another party and destroyed the shipment which was smaller but helped make the point clear. </p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-many-myths-of-the-boston-tea-party-180983399/">The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party</a> -- Smithsonian Institution - Not every one was happy with the event and its unfolding. It did make an impression as over 300 chests of tea were dumped. In today's dollars, the value would be about 1.5 million of U.S. dollars. </p></blockquote><p>One thing that we will consider over the next two plus years will be the state of the colonies prior to 1776. We can look at the general scope. But, family concerns will be addressed, as well. </p><div><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/25/2023</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>12/25/2023 -- </div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-11009337523054713832023-12-22T15:57:00.000-08:002023-12-22T16:06:58.669-08:00Dartmouth '99TL;DR -- So, a new role? Nathaniel Fick's position is of interest, for several reasons. For one thing, he was at Dartmouth. Post the AI meeting, of course. Still. It has been a year now since he had his new role. We can start to look at the consequences of his work and of computational things, in general. <div><br /></div><div>--</div><div><br /></div><div>He has graduate degrees from Harvard. He is of Darmouth, 1999. Who? </div><div><br /></div><div> <a href="https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/nathaniel-fick-99">Dartmouth Alumni Magazine</a> - Nathaniel Fick '99</div><div><br /></div><div>Going forward, we will not have a <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/what-do-we-know.html">strictly technical focus</a> with respect to technology. So, where to start? The Technical Czar of the U.S. He was appointed last year by President Biden. </div><div><br /></div><div>He did ROTC at Dartmouth enough to get a commission out of college. It's interesting that he picked infantry for his service area. At that time, the web was bulging, ready to burst. And, it did. But, the crucial event of 9/11 was right around the corner. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://dartmouthv2.blob.core.windows.net/dartmouth20231101thumbnails/Covers/0x600/20231101.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="448" height="200" src="https://dartmouthv2.blob.core.windows.net/dartmouth20231101thumbnails/Covers/0x600/20231101.jpg" width="149" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div>So, our interests are several, starting with technology as there have been recent announcements of late of the adults waking up and getting involved with the sandboxy affairs of AI et al. Someone has to take responsibility. For one, those doing anything "AI" now without proper attribution to the methods and their sources will have egg on their face in the future. But, also, pushing out crap-trained systems can be thought of as idiotic, for several reasons. </div><div><br /></div><div>But, there are New England connections. There was one part of the family that came into Virginia prior to the Revolution. Then, his family went west post the Revolution. We have not looked at this too closely, yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>For those wanting to research further, his parents were <a href="https://prabook.com/web/nathaniel_crow.fick/3451983">Nathaniel Crow Fick and Jane Ella Stimola</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>The office: <a href="https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/2223">Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy</a>. Confirmed: 09/15/2022. Two months later? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT">OpenAI's ChatGPT</a>. A little bit later, 100M plus users for the chatty generative thingee. </div><div><br /></div><div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/22/2023</i></p><div>12/22/2023 -- </div></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-6863895321991662712023-12-19T18:22:00.000-08:002023-12-20T17:34:45.617-08:00New Frontier, 21st Century type<p>TL;DR -- Technology is one of our themes. History and genealogy are a couple of others. General interests in the 400ths and the 250ths are others. Like, Gloucester MA did its 400th this year. There will be others over the next few decades. And, the Boston mayhem on a ship is now 250th. </p><p>--</p><p>We were toying with various avenues of research which are endless in the modern age of the "cloud" despite its shortcomings which are many. For instance, in the western movement, we have looked in the vast interior and along the coasts. CA was a theme last year: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=los+angeles">LA</a> and <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=san+francisco">SF</a>. We have looked at the middle of the country several times, in terms of the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=frontier">frontier and its settlement</a>. In every case, we try to tie back to New England. As well, we are building a timeline by people and events that emphasizes individuals who are not in historical accounts and their families. That type of work will continue. </p><p>So, today, let's take Minnesota (MN) and Kansas (KS). Both are west of the Mississippi River. MN is north of St. Louis which is, for us, the focal point of the dividing of the land. KS is about the same level. The northern realm has a different dynamic which we have started to study, through the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=michigan+territory">Michigan Territory</a>. KS was on the way west. For instance, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=trails+">the trails</a> run through the State. Lewis & Clark (1804) came up the Missouri River on their way west. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuaKO7B2LmovJhTIN_cL7XpzqXMQogZe3OtPdnsc6tZPHqPnwyzChmJvMAByi3uiAYhyphenhyphenwDh4hzNvMnAAYE6Bqt5_0khIJE9R3AYE19QHXrO7cl8T9SV55Pfg4t-kNvhtE0CncGLyo6gD6OcV6zpdtPA-hIB40KRfbG4KnwdwSSPzZ6z7FB4Ry7vjrdNQ/s1102/AIinGenealogy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuaKO7B2LmovJhTIN_cL7XpzqXMQogZe3OtPdnsc6tZPHqPnwyzChmJvMAByi3uiAYhyphenhyphenwDh4hzNvMnAAYE6Bqt5_0khIJE9R3AYE19QHXrO7cl8T9SV55Pfg4t-kNvhtE0CncGLyo6gD6OcV6zpdtPA-hIB40KRfbG4KnwdwSSPzZ6z7FB4Ry7vjrdNQ/s320/AIinGenealogy.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cottage,<br />Round house,<br />Frontier in the making </td></tr></tbody></table>But, we are looking much later, after the Civil War. The image shows three things: a cottage in MN; a round house in KS; news of a new frontier. <p></p><p>In MN, the town of White Bear Lake is named after its lake. We have run into MN several times in our research and skirted around details. But, for today, let's look at a famous cottage (ca 1868). It was built for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_P._Noyes_Cottage">Charles Phelps Noyes</a>. His wife was Emily Hoffman Gilman. They're kin of lots of New England families that we are studying. That is the right time frame for some reflection on the Revolution (which was the 5th generation's deal) and on current themes. One thing to note is that Mark Twain liked the area so it got some press. </p><p>Aside: recent post on <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/little-exeter-nh.html">Little Exeter NH</a> (where two esteems of technology - and AI - went to school. The Society of Cincinnati has a house of repute in the area. </p><p>In KS (and elsewhere), as technology, which is our focus, improved, the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=railroad">railroad replaced</a> earlier modes of transportation. Several lines ran through KS from both directions. But, the photo is in the extreme southeast corner, in the little town of Cherokee. There were strip mines for coal in the area. What did these old iron horses run on? The photo is of a round house (ca 1888) which served several purposed. For one thing, one had to change from north to south, etc. Go to San Francisco and see these in action as the rail cars get switched to return. So, we'll have lots more about that area of the country that became the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=flyover+country">flyover country</a>, later. We have shown, and will continue to do so, that the history of the country runs through the middle. </p><p>Now history and genealogy? We are talking about an organization whose membership included John Quincy Adams. We had an earlier post about his cousin, Grizzly Adams, and a few others. They are offering a webinar on <a href="https://hubs.americanancestors.org/using-ai-in-family-research?">Using AI in Family History Research</a>. </p><p>What they meant to say is that they are going to show technology that can be put to use. We are going to use <b>AI</b>n't to keep the discussion going that this state of affairs does not offer sentience nor intelligence in the important sense. It is very easy for the imagination to run wild with respect to these things; that is a human trait that we can value. </p><p>But, as the NEHGS (their real initial) adds, in this: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i><b>She will also address aspects of AI that genealogists should be cautious of, such as accuracy and copyright concerns. Join us as we explore this exciting new technological frontier!</b></i> </p></blockquote><p>Okay, we'll take that. But, let's go further. The tricks are being done in a manner that we can understand as it's applied mathematics. People have been lazy and have let things get too loose. We will not use "fuzzy" as that is a legitimate logic and algebra. We will touch on that more. </p><p>In the meantime, our thrust over the past decade is to fill in the 400 years of all sides (New Spain, New France, New Sweden, ..., Native Americans, ..., New England). Plus, the 250th of the U.S. is coming up. What happened recently? The 250 of the Boston Tea Party. Nope, it wasn't with china and crumpets. </p><p>No, we're talking illegalities. Dumping someone else's product in the water. BTW, Samuel Adams, cousin of John whose son is mentioned above, was a participant. You know, later, we had John Brown. Guess where he was? KS. Also, who were his supporters? New England. So, we have a post on that as the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/10/secret-six-rest.html">Secret Six</a> had to hide out when the Uncle Sam found out that the rebel was being kept by a few brave souls, one might say. </p><p>So, yes, we will do history. But, too, we will continue our support for discussing and using STEM plus. What is the plus? Kant, for one. If you don't know him, you'll hear from us. Stay tuned. </p><p>Aside, again, some think that the revolution was done by rabble rousers. Well, not. If we look, the King trained the men who took him on via their support of his French Indian affair. That was the 4th generation who supplied the leadership for the most part. But, the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/07/247th-of-us.html">5th bore</a> the brunt. </p><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/20/2023</i></p><div>12/20/2023 -- Ramsey County History - Fall 1997 - The Women's Institute and How It revived Downtown St. Paul - 'A Beautiful, High-Minded Woman' <a href="https://www.rchs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/RCHS_Fall1997_Gilman.pdf">Emily Gilman Noyes</a> and Woman Suffrage. She was a daughter of Charles P. and Emily H. Noyes. </div><div><br /></div>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-90592911545841056182023-12-17T17:45:00.000-08:002023-12-22T17:09:21.858-08:00What do we know? <p>TL;DR -- So, what happened in 2023? Lots. The world has changed, and it has not. People showed their seemingly limitless capacity to bow to the machine. </p><p>---</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWWoMWW3_LECippzLYEEMZCTxtvCLvR0Z3wuHUM0I73RID52jqXJ72DFiJjh97w_Ang1PicaPAZDF2nVehH51s6m_WookY8uqONZR7E-j1L3sZY1EX43uJiloojMUIv3yUn9XC0Pe6PP9OMBrVGm_MMJYlJy_qlqt7j0niBhjGGRJ1X5jyPGfBUGZjjY/s898/AllTimeDec2023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="231" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWWoMWW3_LECippzLYEEMZCTxtvCLvR0Z3wuHUM0I73RID52jqXJ72DFiJjh97w_Ang1PicaPAZDF2nVehH51s6m_WookY8uqONZR7E-j1L3sZY1EX43uJiloojMUIv3yUn9XC0Pe6PP9OMBrVGm_MMJYlJy_qlqt7j0niBhjGGRJ1X5jyPGfBUGZjjY/w165-h640/AllTimeDec2023.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>This post serves two purposes. For one, it looks at AI (usual sense) over the past year and collects material pertinent to ongoing discussion and work. The first list contains links with some commentary for each of item. This collection points to different periods over the last year. OpenAI made their announcement on 30 Nov 2022. At that time, we had these two posts which pertained to our continuing topics of research which includes technology.<p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/11/family-search.html">Family Search</a> (29 Nov 2022) - we have used this site form the beginning. It represents the efforts of descendants of those who went west. Over the past few years, our focus was on the Interior of the country for several reasons. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/12/perspective-necessity.html">Perspective, a necessity</a> (1 Dec 2022) - the post looked at veterans from Ipswich, MA (after the Revolution) who went out to Ohio and created a settlement. The trip was well-documented and even repeated later in the 1900s. At the time, that was Michigan Territory. It was only 40 years later that the Santa Fe Trail was formed out of St. Louis, MO. A mere half-century after that, the railroad allowed easier coast to coast travelling. </li></ul><p></p><p>The image shows a copy of the "All time, popular" count by post. The topmost, related to the marriage of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2014/09/thomas-and-margaret.html">Thomas and Margaret</a>, comes from the 2014 timeframe. The next one is 2021 as is the one titled "<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/06/st-louis-mo-to-san-francisco-ca.html">St Louis MO to San Francisco CA</a>" which has spawned several of posts and discussions. The "<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/san-francisco.html">San Francisco</a>" post is from 2023. </p><p>So, we will continue this area of research as there is plenty questions that are open. Our FAQ will be updated in 2023 to account for new information. In the post titled "<a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/07/ai-researched-properly.html">A(rtificial) I(Intelligence) researched properly</a>", we go through our own work over the past decade and make some predictions about the future. Given that this work carries on prior research allows a longer time frame that seems to be normal now. So, we will continue to describe things from the historical viewpoint, both technolically and phenomenonally (which is how we view the U.S.). </p><p>Disclosure: We did not get involved with the xnn/LMM, generative material until after a couple of months had elapsed. As noted above, our timeframe is much longer than normal; and, we need to slow things down in order to establish a little bit of maturity. All of this will be discussed. </p><p>So, going forward, the second list deals with the major change in 2023. We will also use this to start a summarization of our positions on the subjects. The list follows a sequential timeline and uses posts from this blog and related material. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">Introducing ChatGPT</a> (30 Nov 2022) - there is a thorough overview of the motivation and what was being offered. But, access to the OpenAI system was announced. It did not take long for millions of people to sign up. We did see references to this activity on sites like Quora (who offered POE, later; the head of this organization is on the Board of OpenAI - mentioned them, in yesterday's post - <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/little-exeter-nh.html">Little Exeter NH</a>).</li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/02/chatgpt.html">ChatGPT</a> (2 Feb 2022) - we heard of the system from a colleague (a linguist) in late Jan and finally got around to doing a query on the 2nd (Groundhog Day). We asked about Thomas Gardner and thought that we were enlightening the thing with a suggestion. In this post, we mentioned that the output did not read correctly. That is a result of the techniques used and can be controlled, somewhat. On the other hand, there is a "omni" and "know-it-all" nuance that is obvious. The New York Times review, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/technology/chatgpt-openai-artificial-intelligence.html">How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race</a> (3 Feb 2023), looked at some of the issues which were to get increasing attention over the year. </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/03/square-one.html">Square one?</a> (19 Mar 2023) - Gloucester MA had kicked off their 400th. We were supporting from a distance without bringing in the crew as that would be a 2024 issue, we thought. Our thought was, too, to emphasize Margaret (Fryer) Gardner's contribution. We had not been paying attention to the feeds from WikiTree, however a researcher in Feb of 2023 went through the load of images from the digitized files of Sherborne, Dorset. In doing so, he discovered birth records for about all of the Gardner children, as having been born in the old country. Seeth was born in Salem. So, the family did come over. Did Thomas come over to support the Cape Ann effort? Rev. Hubbard suggested such. Remember, he talked to the principals. But, one thing noticed a while ago was that the Conant family's book did not mention Gardner. Nor did the Woodbury writeup. This feat of technology is interesting in itself, for various reasons. The current state of affairs? There are two Thomas Gardner profiles on WikiTree. One is our Thomas; the other has no information about him. So, one or two? It's like being back at the questions of two or three wives. We settled that in 2012 using the same records. So, Gardner Research opened the door. In the meantime, we did research on California families (the long reach of <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/04/fairmont-hotel.html">New England</a>). </li><li><a href="https://tgsoc.org/tech/2023/04/02/research-notes/">Research notes</a> (2 Apr 2023) - using our new WP site, we summarized the situation and provided a copy of the list of names and births. There is a gap between the birth of John and Samuel which might show Thomas being away. John was born in December. Thomas could have left without knowing that Margaret was with child. Supported conjecturing will be allowed and supported by technology. Note: at some point, let's discuss how an imaginary basis (of several types) supports science. </li><li><a href="https://tgsoc.org/papers/">Technology, computing</a> (May 2023) - after some reading and discussion, I contacted the head of the former Sperry Univac Knowledge Systems Center. He wrote a brief article on how Univac got involved with the effort in the mid-1980s. Lately, one hears more of this, but our contention then and now was that the machine learning solely approach is unbalanced. Hence, we see that the output is not to be taken without some bit of salt (perhaps, a whole lot). But, that is not how it ought to be. Stay tuned. There are several other approaches that can bring maturity. A recent survey points to the diminishing in trust which has been ongoing for a while. But, ChatGPT and its ilk are accelerating the downward slide. Fact? Not there. Fiction? Have at it. Except, one caution (rule) would suggest that "fake" results be tagged as such (analog, truth in advertising). </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/07/bard.html">Intro to Bard</a> (7 Jul 2023) - after some time with ChatGPT and looking at issues all around, we finally tried Bard. That activity was all research including things like evaluating how the generative approach performed with mathematical problems. One thing to note is that Wolfram tied this approach to his mathematics system early one, mostly to have more full interchange with users. We need to see how this work is progressing. But, there is a lot more. Bard, basically, was more palatable as it did not try to be argumentative nor did it spout out just to hear itself speaking, so to speak. The post, <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/09/to-bard-or-not.html">To Bard or not</a>, summarized some of the issues. For instance, we ran into a PhD thesis that looked at concepts from Kant (the philosopher) being brought bear during training. A known downfall is that the xNN, as being used, squashed nuance. One cannot expect to retract either input or its influence; definitely, there is a need to honor the requirements for footnotes and other referencing modes. In Dec of 2023, Bard was updated significantly. We tried it, but the issue of more fiction than fact remained. One noted improvement was that Bard now stresses teaming, human and machine (rather the "omni" status mentioned above). That was significiant as it changes the tone of the interchange. </li><li> <a href="https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/11/30/chatgpt-a-year-on-3-ways-the-ai-chatbot-has-completely-changed-the-world-in-12-months">ChatGPT a year on: 3 ways the AI chatbot has completely changed the world in 12 months</a> (30 Nov 2023) - we don't agree with the list, as a huge result is trust and its diminishing. What to believe? All of these purveyours suggest checking the results give by their system. Oh, we all have time and energy for that? </li><li><a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/ai-not-solely-ml.html">AI not solely ML</a> (4 Dec 2023) - this is our retort and focus for the future. We need to bring to awareness the knowledge work done in the industrial world. There are many varieties. But, the focus needs to be on humans and their abilities. Enhancements would not be of the machine and its dominance; no, human would obtain an extremely useful tool if this were to be done right. </li></ul><div>So, themes abound. But, what is America about? The dream? Technology can be both a boon and a bane. Why has the latter been more prevalent? We still say <b>AI</b>n't about the emergence of "intelligence" of note. On the other hand, phenomenal mathematical processing has been done by the computer. That could be and ought to be our focus going forward. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have a super abacus and slide rule at our disposal now. That is, if only we can understand the need for maturity and the capabilities that it brings. </div><div><p><b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/22/2023</i></p><div>12/22/2023 -- <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/dartmouth-99.html">Dartmouth '99</a>; <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/new-frontier-21st-century-type.html">New Frontier, 21st Century Type</a>. ... <a href="https://www.gairdner.org/session/gairdner-science-week-2023/october-25/the-future-of-ai-in-science-and-medicine">THE FUTURE OF AI IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE</a>, talk at Gairdner Foundation, Oct 25, 2023. </div></div><p></p><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4204609999440159707.post-30336684123313708722023-12-16T14:01:00.000-08:002023-12-16T16:07:08.563-08:00Little Exeter NH<p>TL;DR -- Exeter NH has been on our plate from day one. But, we had lots of Massachusetts material to digest, including that from elsewhere. So, while redoing our site, we thought to venture into the surrounding area. A WSJ article on OpenAI's Board got us started by mentioning Phillips Exeter Academy. That ties together several themes for this year. </p><p>--</p><p>In an earlier post, we mentioned that we need to look at New Hampshire more often. We now have additional motivation for that effort. The earlier post was about the <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/09/dudley-family.html">Dudley family</a>. But, the State celebrated their 400th this year, through honoring <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2022/12/new-hampshire.html">Portsmouth</a>. </p><p>We have touched upon people, such as <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=bachiler">Rev. Bachiler</a> (who could not abide Winthrop and went north), <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-cousins.html">General Aldophus Greeley</a> (led the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Franklin_Bay_Expedition">Lady Franklin Bay Expedition</a>), <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2021/09/two-houses.html">Nicholas Gilman, Jr</a> (signer of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States">United States Constitution</a>). and others. One of the places mentioned was Exeter, NH which town was home to many ancestors found in Ann's tree. </p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/The_Old_Garrison_House%2C_Exeter%2C_NH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="629" height="236" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/The_Old_Garrison_House%2C_Exeter%2C_NH.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of two houses</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Today, we saw another name to look at further: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_Gilman">John Taylor Gilman</a>. He was born in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter,_New_Hampshire">Exeter</a>; we got to him in a roundabout manner that ties together several themes. We have been seeing references to this site for years but had a Massachusetts focus for obvious reasons. Though, we learned early, that northern and western movemernt started very early on. </p><p>So, how did we get to John? He attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Exeter_Academy">Phillips Exeter Academy</a> which was founded by John Phillips who was descendant of Rev. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Phillips_(Watertown)">George Phillips</a> of Watertown, MA. So, we find several tie-ins here with the major theme of the times. Rev. George was on the first Board of <a href="..., in process, ... ">Harvard</a> about which we have had several posts. Of his many descendants, one was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates">Bill Gates</a> of Microsoft. </p><p>Finally, how did we get here? We saw in a report in the WSJ that the head of Meta (Facebook) and Quora had been students at Phillips. And, our technology theme pertains specifically to new ways, of which <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/search?q=technology">the computational</a> is a major part. The reference we saw was in a WSJ article about a member of the Board of OpenAI.</p><p>We have made use of Quora since 2015. With respect to OpenAI, their release last November of their ChatGPT did not get our attention until February of this year. Somehow the hype associated with these things escaped our awareness. But, since then, we have taken a "deep" look at the "generative" movement of the machine learning crowd. </p><p>Let's just say, the jury is out along several axes. We will discuss this further, see: <a href="https://thomasgardnerofsalem.blogspot.com/2023/12/ai-not-solely-ml.html">AI not solely ML</a>. But, tying the new back with the old in this regard makes a lot of sense. After all, the focus of AI (however fruited) ought to be people and their freedoms. </p><p>Not some dominance posturing (and following through) that is problematic even when not out of control. But, then, politics? We avoid that. </p><p> <b>Remarks: </b><i>Modified: 12/16/2023</i></p><div>12/16/2023 --</div><p><br /></p>AJSwtlkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10927070658835473340noreply@blogger.com0