“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

July 17, 1975 is one of those days etched in my permanent memory, significant events of the day easily recalled by simply closing my eyes. Great Grandma was 84 and visiting with us for the day to watch TV. Canning five boxes of over ripe pears took priority over spending a day in casual chatter until it was time to watch the Russian and United States astronauts shake hands in space.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-BWmOSjwY]

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

The heat wave is going to continue the next few days. Some of livestock is a little stressed after several days of 100+ weather. A little extra animal husbandry which will continue for a few more days.

Current events have been extremely well covered by our various c99 contributors this week so I am going to shift gears and present a little history.

Astoria was the first permanent Oregon settlement by a New York City company in 1812. It was established a little more than 200 years after Jamestown, Virginia, the east coast's first permanent English settlement by a London Company. A British warship shows ups and claims the settlement for The Crown for a few years.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

It has been a busy summer and keep falling farther behind. There have been several subjects brought up in diaries I wanted to add a few thoughts.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Gunboat diplomacy is a hard habit to stop. "It is a nice little community you have there be a shame to see it destroyed." The continual use of the tactic has shaped the United States as we know it today.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Just a collection of a few articles I read this week on current events. The past couple of weeks have been busy taking care of a new batch of baby chicks bought to replenish existing hen population. Hens are getting a little old and egg production is decreasing.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

Looking forward to a future where the subject of an Open Thread is simply a celebration of a few common experiences making life a little simpler. The book Everything You Need to Know You Learned in Kindergarten crossed my path in the early 90's when air travel was part of the regular business week and airport layovers provided ample time for reading. It is one book I have revisited when I begin taking life too seriously.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

How to identify an expert with deep knowledge of a subject from someone with a superficial understanding who uses all the contemporary phrases of an "expert" is one of the skills to identify propaganda. When the inputs (questions) and outputs (answers) are controlled anyone can look like an expert.

Now, anyone whose academic background includes computer science or artificial intelligence is probably very familiar with the The Chinese Room thought experiment. My entry into high tech was a different route, focused solely on specific projects with defined objectives not theory. As with many subjects the learning process has not fit typical academic progression.

The Chinese Room (3.57 minutes)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0MD4sRHj1M]

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

History by algorithm. The automatic suggestions and prompts from the invisible guiding hand to increase awareness of the twisting path of civilization beginning in England. Yesterday the journey began with this suggestion.

(approx 10 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWPLjg10D2A]

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

I have been fortunate to spend most of my life in an area with continuing infrastructure improvements over the past 120 years. Each new method of transportation and subsequent improvements brought burst of economic activity. Railroad arrived in 1911 with a station in Bend, Oregon. The train station gave an economic edge over the other communities and became a lifeline for economic prosperity to move goods.