Coleman lamp vs a USB LED Lamp

Lighting a recalcitrant classical lamp

Roger: You’re pumping it too fast. It likes to be asked, not ordered.

Richard: I’m just trying to get it to stay bright, Dad. It keeps surging like it can’t make up its mind.

Roger: You rushed the preheat. The fuel’s not vaporising properly.

Richard: Which is why I brought the USB lantern as backup. One click, steady light, no drama.

Roger: Backup I’ll accept. Replacement, not so much. That lamp was your grandfather’s. He carried it through storms worse than this.

Richard: I remember. I also remember him swearing at it when the mantle collapsed and turned to powder.

Roger: But he did fix it.

Richard: Mantles are fragile, and fuel’s also harder to get.

Roger: That scarcity is why it matters. When you keep something like this running, you’re pushing back against replacing a breathing entity with something disposable.

Richard: My USB lamp doesn’t breathe. It just does its job. Comforting. And if I drop the Coleman? If the mantle crumbles and it’s the last one?

Roger: Then you’ll remember the light it gave, not the light it lost

Richard: Alright. We’ll run it tonight. But the USB lamp stays nearby — not as an insult, just as insurance.

Roger: Fair enough. Even traditions appreciate a little backup these days.

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Voice-over

The Coleman belongs to a world in which craft was a form of cultural memory. USB lights are reliable, predictable. They are compassionate toward weary people. But there is a cost, and it is subtle. When a USB lamp fails, it does not invite repair; it invites replacement.

The Coleman is difficult because it remembers. It remembers a time when competence was earned slowly, when objects aged alongside their owners who could repair them. We use the Coleman when the light itself is the point. When you want to listen to a flame, how to feel pressure through a pump.

USB lamp maybe has a more general use, when the task is primary and the light is incidental — cooking, reading, getting through the night without fuss. Some lamps are for simply seeing. Others are for remembering that we once learned how to see in the dark.

Elevator Malfunction

A bump, lights flicker and elevator stops…
Lana: (presses the alarm) Hello? We're stuck in the elevator. Can anyone hear us?
Tom: Press the ground floor. I'm Tom, by the way. I live on the 7th floor.
Lana: I'm Lana. I live on the 3rd floor. Dramatic way to meet your neighbors, huh?
Tom: Yeah, definitely. How long have you lived here?
Lana: Oh, the lights just went out. Let's hope this works.
Voice from Speaker: The elevator should be resetting now. Please remain calm.
Tom: There we go! The lights are back.
Lana: And the doors are open! We made it.
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Voice-over
Could have been a power fluctuation, safety malfunction, wiring problem, who knows. Management were concerned and apologized, then called the elevator company. So, stay calm, press alarm or use cell phone, try pressing other floors, or maybe press another floor for a minute or two to reset the system.

Health Trackers 2

Supervision or surveillance…

Leonard: Sometimes I feel like I'm a fossil. All this new technology, it's like a foreign language to me.

Antonio: Well, technology can be a great help. My Apple watch helps me keep track of my health, my schedule, even my messages.

Leonard: Ah, yes, the infamous Apple Watch.
Seems like everyone's got one these days. But tell me, don’t you ever feel like you're too dependent on it?

Antonio: Well, maybe. Sometimes. Lately, I've been noticing that I'm constantly checking my heart rate, monitoring my exercise time... It's like I've become an extension of this thing on my wrist.

Leonard: I always thought those health trackers were meant to be an extension of your body, not the other way around. 

Antonio: There are times that I feel like I'm more concerned about meeting the goals set by my watch than actually listening to my own body. Sometimes I wonder if we're heading towards a future where the technology becomes more essential than the very thing it's supposed to be enhancing.

__________

Voice-over

As Leonard notes, with all the monitoring, it's as if the device has become more important than the body it's supposed to be helping. 

Sonos Arc stalled setup

We have a problem…

Charles: You wouldn't believe the headache. I got this Sonos sound bar for my new TV, but it's been nothing but trouble.

William: Oh? I thought Sonos was supposed to be top-notch. What's been the issue?

Charles: Well, you know how the new TVs are all slim and sleek, but that means they have weak, tinny speakers. So, I thought the Sonos sound bar would be the perfect solution. But, three different techies over three days couldn’t get it to link with the TV.

William: Did you try contacting Sonos for support?

Charles: I did, but when I called, all I got were salespeople. They told me to check the website for technical issues.

William: Yeah, typical. They push sales and then forget you. So, did you find any solutions on their website?

Charles: There were a few suggestions, but none of them worked. The sound bar and my TV just refuse to communicate.

William: I've heard about installation issues with that sound bar, mainly due to WiFi problems. Maybe it's not quite ready for local conditions.

Charles: Ugh, that's what I'm starting to think. It's strange because the reviews for it are really good, but it seems like it hasn't been readied for New Zealand use.

William: Maybe you should consider returning it and waiting until they've sorted out these issues. You don't want to end up with a pricey paperweight.

Charles: Yeah, you might be right. I was really looking forward to improving my TV's sound, but I don't want to deal with this frustration anymore. I'll check out some other options and see if they're more reliable.

William: Good call. Times were simpler back when you just plugged a peripheral device in, and it worked like a charm. Nowadays, there's this extra layer of complexity in the setup, often involving AI and software that isn't always compatible. It's like technology is moving so fast that it's outpacing our ability to make it all work seamlessly.

_________

Voice-over

Seems the company is now taking steps to address the issues with the New Zealand rollout. Hopefully, a website revamp and dedicated tech teams on the case, they can iron out the problems and provide a better setup experience.

Nagging vs Encouraging

A message comes in…

Alec: What’s that message on your watch?

Stanley: It says “Stand up.” After I walk around for a minute it will praise me and say “Well done.”

Alec: Is that nagware?

Stanley: Not really. Nagware is usually used as a marketing technique to encourage users to buy a product or upgrade. Sometimes it’s regarded as pushy or a negative experience. This is a health tracker so the messaging is more encouraging than nagging.

Alec: Uh huh. So It’s supposed to support the watch wearer’s exertions?

Stanley: It’s supposed to be motivational, prompting users to track their progress, stay hydrated, get enough sleep.

__________

Voice-over

What might be seen as encouragement by one person might be regarded as nagging by another. People have different thresholds for what they regard as encouraging or intrusive.

Beginning Treatment

A follow-up…

Paul: I followed your advice to get it over with. Saw the doctor and told him I’m ready. 

Dr Samuelson: How long does it last?

Paul: Seven weeks, for a total of 32 sessions. I’ve talked to the doctors, nurses, technicians and administrative staff. They’re all very friendly and supportive. Treatment starts tomorrow.

Dr Samuelson: Are you prepared?

Paul: I know my way around now the radiology department. Signage is generally good, though locations can be puzzling. I asked whether I should go right or left and the receptionist checked my record and replied, “In your case, you can go left if want to speed up treatment.”

________

Voice-over

Putting one’s trust in technology to treat a cancer requires considerable research. Weeks. Then one can elect not to take treatment, and try some life changes. Or one can try life changes and undergo treatment. As the man was told who fell into the sea: Pray, yes, but swim too.

Is an e-bike a monstrosity?

At the bicycle rack…

Simplicity itself

Matthew: Ian Bogost writing in The Atlantic calls an e-bike a monstrosity.

Joseph: And is it?

Matthew: Well, it is a hybrid machine. It is neither a bicycle, nor a motorcycle.

Joseph: But surely it sometimes achieves the best of both worlds?

Matthew: Yes, an e-bike can take you further, go faster, and carry more than a regular bicycle. But electric assistance moves one level of engagement between human and machine.

Saddled with clutter

Joseph: I see you like green bikes.

Mathew: Sure. It’s one of the ways to support Zelensky. And the planet.

_______

Voice-over

Sometimes an article is written to provoke, others are written tongue-in-cheek. But Ian’s piece seems serious. The automation of machines that move us is separating us from them. And it may be so. Perhaps that’s why I like to alternate between a bicycle and an e-bike. It’s the schizophrenia of my generation.

The cleverness of things and the abilities of humans

Objects which do one thing well…

Malcolm: I’m surrounded by things which do a better job than I can. The stove, the bicycle, the computer.

Muriel: True. Even the teapot. I can’t hold hot water or hardly any water.

Malcolm: But I’m the boss. Not much good at anything but as a human being, as the conductor, I coordinate them.

__________

Voice-over

No contention here. Malcolm and Muriel agree. Objects execute specific tasks well. Humans orchestrate.

Hamamatsu: One thing lead to another...

A visit to a piano factory…

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Guy: Iyeyasu lived for 17 years in the castle. There was a lot of water around, one plant which survived the annual floods was cotton.

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Louise: So a textile industry began?

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Shodo Yukawa: Weaving

Guy: Looms were built which required carpenters, along came Yamaha who built organs needing pedals like those on the looms, then the pianos which needed properly dried timber from nearby forests. The curved sides on grand pianos are laminated of a dozen layers and clamped into curved molds.

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Louise: But there was technology too.

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Guy: In the 30s a flying school was founded, planes needed propellers, strongest if constructed from laminated timber like the layers of wood in grand pianos, but metal propellors were better and that technology lead to metal musical instrument.

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1887 Fashion

Louise: Like hammering out trumpets and bugles? From cotton to carpentry, from pianos to propellors.

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Guy: One thing lead to another.

___________

Voice-over

One thing leads to another… meaning not filling in a lot detail about how events were linked. Maybe there were multiple causes. Wheels within wheels. Maybe there was a need to keep the narrative uncomplicated. Simple and straightforward.

...

Yabusame: An arrow shooting metaphor for Hayabusa

Yoritomo time travels...

Chiyoda Onomoto: Yabusame

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Yoritomo: Is your “Hayabusa” a peregrine falcon?

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JAXA Scientist: It’s a metaphor. Hayabusa will pass Ryugu and then fire an arrow at it like samurai used to do in yabusame in your times

JAXA: Shooting an arrow,
galloping to safety

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Yoritomo: Is Ryugu a country?

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JAXA Scientist: It’s a small asteroid, a rock spinning in space.

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Yoritomo: And you will attack it? For what purpose?

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JAXA Scientist: For knowledge. Not to conquer. When the device detonates, the Hayabusa will have moved around to the safe side of the asteroid, away from debris fallout.

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Yoritomo: Aha. Like the samurai who galloped on by to safety.

____________

Voice-over

Nice use of metaphor using samurai skills to explain modern Japanese science and technology feats.

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