Parallel between Mulan and the riots
With all of the riots and protests going on 202006031231, I’ve had a lot of time to think and process everything that’s going on in my life right now. Obviously COVID-19 202006021535 has been the defining
Shouldn’t have done what I did above! I just rambled and didn’t get to the point, and later forgot what I was going to say. 202006050959
Mulan wants to move out 202006050956, because of the argument that she had with her mom 202006011000 that conveyed to her that there was was no way she could repair her relationship with her mom, and there is no way she could ever respect her or look at her the same way again. Even though there are many reasons why she shouldn’t move out right now 202006051006, she still wants to, because she can’t stand it anymore. She just wants to breathe.
I think it’s pretty clear what the parallels to the protests and riots (202006031231) are.
uid: 202006031643 tags: #politics
Examples of privileges I have because I’m not black
- I can go jogging (
#AhmaudArbery). - I can relax in the comfort of my own home (
#BothamJeanand#AtatianaJefferson). - I can ask for help after being in a car crash (
#JonathanFerrelland#RenishaMcBride). - I can have a cellphone (
#StephonClark). - I can leave a party to get to safety (
#JordanEdwards). - I can play loud music (
#JordanDavis). - I can sell CD’s (
#AltonSterling). - I can sleep (
#AiyanaJones) 202006031238 - I can walk from the corner store (
#MichaelBrown). - I can play cops and robbers (
#TamirRice). 202006022349 - I can go to church (
#Charleston9). - I can walk home with Skittles (
#TrayvonMartin). - I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (
#SeanBell). - I can party on New Years (
#OscarGrant). - I can get a normal traffic ticket (
#SandraBland). - I can lawfully carry a weapon (
#PhilandoCastile). - I can break down on a public road with car problems (
#CoreyJones). - I can shop at Walmart (
#JohnCrawford) . - I can have a disabled vehicle (
#TerrenceCrutcher). - I can read a book in my own car (
#KeithScott). - I can be a 10yr old walking with my stepfather (
#CliffordGlover). - I can decorate for a party (
#ClaudeReese). - I can ask a cop a question (
#RandyEvans). I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood). I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo). I can run (#WalterScott). I can breathe (#EricGarner). I can live (#FreddieGray). I can ask someone to put a leash on their dog when it is required in the public park we are in (#ChristianCooper). I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED.#GeorgeFloyd.
uid: 202006022328 tags: #politics #society
COVID-19/Coronavirus
Date of entry: 07/12/2020
COVID-19 has changed the world. It’s had just as significant of an impact on me. I’m going to try to think about all the ways that my life, and the way I think about the world, has changed in the last (almost 4? Jesus) months.
- I’ve definitely focused much more on productivity (in a way that actually works, with my own customized, configured workflow) than I was doing before. I’ve researched and actually put in the work to maintain a specific system (most notably Zettelkasten 202007121547, but also things like RescueTime, Streaks, etc.)
- I’ve taken a lot more deep notes on stuff, and as such have had more interesting insights (or at least recorded them in a collected fashion) than I did before.
- I thought I was independent before, and indeed, after going to Scotland, I learned how to do some things independently, like travel, make friends, and somewhat fend for myself. But after coming back, I realized just how unindependent I was in so many other aspects - driving, cooking, not being a potato when I’m alone in the house, effectively being part of a team, and more. I’ve definitely got better at a lot of those things, whether it’s the cooking and recipes I’ve been making, getting a bit more driving practice, and being much more involved with finances and stocks.
- From a software engineering standpoint - I understand how CI/CD, data pipelines, weekly reviews, Github projects, etc work a lot more than I did before. I’ve gotten the exposure of interning at both a large company and a small company — taken valuable insights from both and grown as an engineer and a team player as a result.
uid: 202006021535 tags: #self-reflection #covid
Hong Kong Flu
The 1968 pandemic was caused by an influenza A (H3N2) virus comprised of two genes from an avian influenza A virus, including a new H3 hemagglutinin, but also contained the N2 neuraminidase from the 1957 H2N2 virus. It was first noted in the United States in September 1968. The estimated number of deaths was 1 million worldwide and about 100,000 in the United States. Most excess deaths were in people 65 years and older. The H3N2 virus continues to circulate worldwide as a seasonal influenza A virus. Seasonal H3N2 viruses, which are associated with severe illness in older people, undergo regular antigenic drift.
One of many things rocking America in 1968 202006011502. The parallel to 2020 with COVID-19 is especially poignant. However, in 1968, the Hong Kong Flu was an afterthought almost, coming at the tail end of the turmoil of the entire year. 2020 started with COVID, and it will forever be known for it.
uid: 202006021523 tags: #history
Massacre at My Lai
So seems like the US Army, led by Lieutenant Calley, were expecting to find Viet Cong soldiers in the village of My Lai, but all they found were women and children. They barely found any weapons. No shots were ever shot against the American soldiers. They killed all of the villagers (all 500 of them) anyway. Absolutely senseless, disgusting, atrocious, one of the worst moments in American history. The massacre ended only when Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson, a helicopter pilot returning from a recon mission, saw what was happening, and planted himself between the soldiers and the women and children. Thompson mentioned that upon his return from Vietnam, he was ostracized and received death threats. Only afterwards did he receive the Soldier’s medal, the highest award in the army for bravery not involving direct contact with the enemy.
Just one of many many American society-shaking things that happened in 1968. 202006011502
uid: 202006021502 tags: #knowledge #history
It’s hard to navigate to unlinked “neighbors” in associative note systems
Evergreen notes should be densely linked, and if you follow the advice in Prefer associative ontologies to hierarchical taxonomies, you’ll find it’s easy to navigate along trails of related ideas. But if several notes are related topically, or related through another note, it’s difficult to navigate between them by the in-note links.
One example: if you have many small notes about techniques for solving problems in cloud systems, it may be helpful to see those “neighbor” notes when viewing a particular note. They’re not directly related, so it doesn’t make sense for them all to link to each other. You could make a “hub” note called “Solving problems in cloud systems” which contains links to all those notes, but you still wouldn’t be able to see those neighbors from a given note. You lose the Peripheral vision of the backlinks section—you’d have to navigate to the “hub” note first.
Two solutions:
“Outline notes” can create pseudo-hierarchies with order and structure by linking to many child notes. Then we need the UI to support navigating between neighbors “through” these outline notes. Tags (especially hierarchical tags) can help, but they lack authored order and structure: Tags are an ineffective association structure.
uid: 202006021257 tags: #literature