Enforced Errors

We in my neighborhood have been having massive problems with Amazon deliveries for the last month. Somebody finally stopped the Amazon delivery driver and asked him what changed. Why are so many (nearly all) packages being delivered to the wrong houses?

Back on May first, Amazon rolled out a new delivery app to their drivers. It shows where each package is to be delivered. The drivers are tracked, and their tablets record and report back via the app where each package went.

None of the delivery locations match up with the addresses on the packages. The driver knows this. The app doesn’t care. His boss will fire him if he delivers to the actual address instead of where the app tells him to.

This is what happens when the platform decay of technology interacts with the bureaucratic mindset. Everybody in the field knows the system is broken. Nobody in management cares. Amazon makes its money selling digital services these days. Actually delivering physical goods to customers is a side business relegated to the low performing managers.

Short Suspense

Once upon a time in the Army, our masters at V Corps in Germany would produce a memo every Tuesday, instructing all subordinate units what was expected and required of them the by Friday of following week. This memo would be duplicated, with appropriate numbers of copies placed in each directly subordinate unit’s mailbox cubby.

Our Brigade would pick up their mail on Mondays. (Notice that Monday, in this context, falls nearly a week after Tuesday.) They would then place our memo in our cubby in their mailroom. 40 miles away from us. I picked up our mail on Thursdays, and returned it to our Battalion in the afternoon.

Thursday is Sergeant’s Time, when every unit closed early, by decree of the Corps Commander.

Every Friday morning, the Platoons were told by the Companies what they had to get done before close of business. This normally consisted of a whole series of tasks that were generally expected to take 2 or maybe 3 days to accomplish.

Every week went the same. Every Friday was a madhouse of stress and pulling things from our posteriors to satisfy arbitrary requirements in insanely short timeframes.

We got good at it. We got really good at it.

One year, the Corps held an awards ceremony, inviting every major subunit (Battalion and above) commander. We eventually received our invitation to this gathering, along with our award, a week after it occurred. Go figure.

We received a unique, double-sided award plaque. On one side was an award for being the best unit in the Corps at making things up as we went along. On the other side was an award for being the worst unit in the entire Corps at planning anything in advance.

Random means "We have no idea."

What quantum mechanics leaves out of its "randomness is fundamental" picture is the state of the entire rest of the universe.  Equations for quantum states generally cover only one or a very low number of particles, interacting (or not) with a very limited environment.  The equations leave out the near-infinitude of states required by the generator to create the particles in question.  They completely ignore the near-infinitude of states required for the detector to function.  They ignore as irrelevant the near-infinitude of states of the surrounding apparatus.

Why?  Because the math is much, much too hard, and the measurements are essentially impossible to make to the precision required.  Therefore, "randomness is fundamental to the quantum mechanical process!"

Copenhagen Interpretation delenda est!

Flag Day

You're a grand old flag

You're a high flying flag

And forever in peace may you wave

You're the emblem of

The land I love

The home of the free and the brave

Every heart beats true

'Neath the red, white and blue

Where there's never a boast or brag

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

Keep your eye on the grand old flag!

Home security cameras

I'm going to say this up front - most home security camera systems are a waste of money.  Cameras don't truly deter crime any more - they provide a record of events after the fact.  And most cops don't care enough to actually use the video.  And lots of criminals wear masks these days, after the covidiocy made them acceptable in public.

That being said, if you really want a home video surveillance system, never, ever have indoor cameras.  Remember, in case of an actual event, the entire system will become evidence.  Do you really want video footage of everything you've been doing inside your own home made public record and examined in court?

Never get cameras that automatically record audio, either.  In many states, recording audio without the permission of all parties is a crime.

Never buy a camera system that sends ANYTHING out to the internet.  "The cloud" is just somebody else's computer.

All that being said, there are a few features you want to look for in a home security camera system.

One of the things you want to look for in a camera is an in-unit SD card.  They're not perfect, but local storage always works, even when the network goes down.  You'll want one that accepts UHS rated cards, if you can find one.

Another thing to look for, especially in places like Florida, is a wide dynamic range (WDR).  That means the camera can get decent pictures of a man standing in the shadows on a sunny day.  It also helps at night, when there are other light sources potentially blinding your camera to what's right in front of it.

Pan-Tilt-Zoom cameras are great as backups to the standard fixed view cameras.  Don't make them your primary cameras, because the PTZ features only work when you're actively using them.  Most people will use them once, then forget about them, and leave the camera zoomed in on where the squirrel (or woman in a bikini) was six months ago.

You want a wired system.  Trust me.  Yes, I understand you don't really want to cut more holes in the outside of your house.  No, you really don't want to run all those cables through your walls and across your attic.  But you do want your cameras to keep working for years, and that requires power.  The battery powered ones don't last any time at all, and you're not going to remember (or want) to get up on a ladder and change them out every month.  Did I say month?  I meant week.

Larger than life

Some men's lives seem remarkably improbable.  These "larger than life" figures appear over and over throughout history.  These are the "great men" who change the world, for better or worse.  Leftist historians (the children of Marx) say that there are no great men, only the inevitable, scientific progression of history.

Pfaugh!

Please follow this link and read about Prentiss Ingraham, the man who fought in seven wars before the age of 30, then went on to befriend Wild Bill Cody and invent the Western novel genre.

Post-Modern Education

The modern high school curriculum is misunderstood, even by the teachers. Geometry does not teach math. It teaches logical reasoning. By the same token, science classes don’t really teach science. They teach that the world is understandable, that effects follow from causes.

That being said…  I recommend a completely revamped form of primary education, focused on the 4 R's.  Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic & Reloading.

I really do believe that primary school education should be limited to between the ages of 8 and 13. (Let the younger kids run around and play.  Family time is incredibly important.) You can teach the entire basic curriculum to children during those five years. It should include math (through basic algebra and statistics), English (reading, writing, literature), history & geography (taught together as stories of time and place), science (the basics plus logic), civics (including taxes, banking, and the political & legal processes), media literacy (how to tell when you’re being scammed), the arts (vocal & instrumental music, dance, drawing & painting), and life skills (home economics & child care, wood & metal shop, pottery, crocheting & sewing, laundry, cooking & baking). Daily gym classes for all (they need to move, and they’ll also learn the importance of teamwork and being a good sport.) Then you separate the kids into different groups by talent, interest, and sex for further education to age 16.

The top 20% of boys and 10% of girls (yes, I mean this seriously) go to college prep, formerly known as high school. A third to half should fail out of this process and move on to technical training.

The average middle get apprenticeships.

The bottom 20% get shovels, rakes, hoes, and brooms.

Group activities like sports, band, choir, dance, and theater continue to the age of 16 as well. You can’t do all of them, but you do have to participate in at least one of them. Each community shall create monthly activities to get the young men and women together in a chaperoned but fun environment. Bring back formal dancing (square, line, ballroom, folk, etc.) and roller skating! Add in junior versions of SCA/HEMA and ROTC, along with riflery & archery. Camping, fishing, hunting, gardening, farming, and animal husbandry should be offered as available and appropriate to the region, climate, and time of year. A reformed and restored version of Scouting would be appropriate and encouraged.

In my more perfect world, each school day would begin with recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord’s Prayer.