Programmer (C. Bos)

Introduction

Welcome to the world's simplest possible website format. It is (currently) the simplest possible because it consists of only one page. That's right, just one page. Why is that? Because pages add complexity, and complexity adds to cost. Not money cost, directly, but time, energy and resources; which translate into money in a money based economy. Even if the worry that goes into meeting needs in a dollar based economy is removed, the complexity will remain, like the Dyson sphere that surrounds a star[1] in the classic Kardashev Type II civilization[2], after the star has gone super nova. Thus, removing a layer of complexity, places less dependence on the technology, and leaves the time, energy and resources remaining to devote to content, rather than the presentation of that content.

To put it another way, we have all been "bamboozled", which is the word I give to something that has gone undetected for a long enough time, that our grandparents (let alone our grandparents) don't remember how it all happened, or when. All we are left with are archetypes and myths. Greuling, sweaty hand labour has been gratefully replaced by machines. Then the dulling task of operating machines has been gratefully replaced by digital equipment, now robotics. However, the pendulum swing to automation has progressed today such that few know how it works. This includes the internet. Although the content of a web page is text that can be accessed via a protocol, two or three layers of complexity cover this simplicity, making the original message incomprehensible amongst the noise. Even though the screen the author is typing on and the screen the reader is reading on is nearly identical, a priesthood of technological savants sits between the author and and the reader, making it difficult--if not impossible--for the average person to understand how the communication transfer occurs. Regardless, this generation has resorted to 1800s like telegraphy--when texting each other--while using their Star Trek like superphones.

This brief introduction sets the stage for what follows. The more complex the subject matter, the simpler the means of recording that subject matter needs to be, in my opinion. The best form of communication occurs in person. The second best (in my experience), by reading, then by listening to audio, then video. Learning occurs better when the learner is in a relaxed, almost hypnotic state; similar to that when just waking up or falling asleep. To achieve this, I need to read a book or listen undistractedly to someone speaking. Over the past dozen years, I have come across many websites; some better than others. What few have, however, is the ability for the text of the site to be read in an undistracted fashion, moving cleanly from one page to the next. The standard laptop screen is not set up for reading, nor the desktop screen. To accomplish this, the text first needs to be set up so that the concepts flow a linear fashion, then it needs to be formatted so that it can be read in a linear fashion. This begins with the author and how they format the text. Then, and only then, can complex or interesting subject matter be presented, in a way that can be read by the reader who is in the right state of mind.

Background

When growing up, I had most of what I needed, and lacked little. The times were not especially great. We were in what I would still consider a post war boom, even though the war had ended 35 years prior. In fact, my life was relatively uneventful. That is, until I stepped out and began doing what I considered to be my life's work: being a missionary. I felt called to this at the age of twelve, and confirmed this calling at the age of twenty five, at least to my own mind. As a result I joined a group I was involved with at university, raised support, and began working for them full-time. Although this is not directly related to the topic of this site (programmer), it is crucial information for what will come later and is related to the answer given to the question stated at the top: be ready for anything.

Be ready for the chaos that will arise when you step out for the day. And be ready if you don't, because it will find you even if you hide in your burrow. This is the message that Jordan Peterson ends with in his twenty second lecture in a course entitled "Personality". Even though focussed around the topic of Personality, from a psychological perspective, it might be better entitle as "The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything", as Peterson includes a history of Psychology, but reaches much farther back than the 1800s. He goes all the way back to the garden, and the pictures that depicted it, to explain what humanity has known for a very long time about the constant struggle waged in this universe.

Now what does this have to do with programming? If life were orderly, and the world was peaceful, how much need would there be for promoting the self, conveying information, or analyzing vast amounts of data? Much less, I would guess. Systems would be set up. They would work as intended. And nothing would topple these castles. They would remain standing and each person could fulfill a role within the walls of the city, within the walls of defined order. When order is dispersed on a cyclical basis a better strategy, in my opinion, is to look at the dandelion, and the many parts of nature that are like it. It blooms early. Creates a lot of seeds, and then these seeds are carried by the wind to start over somewhere else. This concept could be called a "fractilized system", where each part contains the whole.

Order from Chaos

In three paragraphs, we have moved from an idyllic beginning (order), to a disruption of that ideal (chaos), to a rebuilding (order). However, there is a difference. My parents missed something. My church missed something. And the schools I attended missed something. Being prepared. Despite their best efforts. Despite their best intentions. They didn't get it right. They didn't equip the ship they had built with what it needed. The captain lacked training. And further, the maps given were the wrong ones. Oops. How long did it take to figure that out? About thirty years. That is an expensive mistake. In fact, I have observed that many people. Most people have got the wrong maps. If they have a ship, it leaks. If they were thrown overboard, they would sink. If they attempted to reach a shore, they wouldn't be able to find it, because their maps are wrong.

Is it possible to fix a set of errors of this magnitude? The ship is inadequate, the captain is unprepared, and the maps have been messed up. What to do. The solution I have been developing begins with the basics. What do I need to live? Water, food, gear, shelter. What do I need to move? The ability to walk, and the energy to do so (see step one). What do I need to work? The right gear. The right environment. Training. And the motivation to keep after the same task, day after day, year after year. That last part isn't easy. I need to know who I am, why I am here, and what my role on this planet is. Only then, when all that is worked out, can I begin to be effective.

It turns out that it is possible to begin at the beginning, and that this beginning is not difficult. It begins with an empty box, and in this box I put what I think I need next. Over time, over the course of a few years, if I am careful, I will end up with a box of gear that provides the basics. How large is this box? Under a 100 litres. How much does this gear weigh? Likely under 50 kg. The next step is keeping it secure. If I begin with a 36"Wx18"Hx16"D secure steel box with a hinged lid, I can padlock that and be reasonably certain it will be there the next day, with my stuff in it, ready to use. And with that, I have just reduced the need to secure my belongings in a house, townhouse, apartment, trailer or vehicle to near zero. The secure steel storage provides that functionality. This is the beginning of a fractilized design.

The Envisioned Future

The envisioned future, for me, is simple. It is to have a mix of the right kind of people, in the same place, who work together to get the job done. That is about it. "The job" is anything that needs to happen to support the people who are there. This includes providing food, water, shelter, clothing, and transportation (the basic set of needs), innovating on the systems required to produce and maintain those needs, and then using the stable, resilient structure that has been created to understand, monitor and analyze the natural world around them, so that others can benefit from the knowledge that they have gained and the systems that they have developed and refined. At the time of this writing, I am at about the five and a half year mark on this project, that I began at the end of 2016. At that time, I was sitting on the second floor of an off grid, circular straw bale house with passive solar heating and a single wood stove, comfortable, and in idyllic surroundings. This was sufficient to inspire me to begin. Who do we need to get the job done? What is the right mix of people? This is how I began.

The second part of this project, once the group of people was roughly defined, was where to put them. Do I put like with like, or mix them up? I began with the intent to "mix them up", but this didn't work very well. It proved too complicated. Instead I created a set of clusters with a particular focus. These are currently: academic, applied, trades, arts, gardening (food and nutrition) and information (analysis, writing, photography, audio, video and presentation). The placement of each cluster on the property schematic is done in the same way that a tire is fastened on a wheel hub, by moving around the hub in the same way a star is drawn, going through the center each time. This maintains the pressure on the wheel in a consistent fashion, thereby reducing the chance that the wheel will be distorted. The assumption is that the mix of a group of people will create an invisible, but perceptible dynamic. Treating this dynamic in the same way that physical forces are treated, is anticipated to result in a similar effect.

A third major aspect of this project is the modular nature of its design. This means that parts are designed to be interchangeable, from the ground up. In the recreation of the Apollo 13 mission, the challenge was to take a square carbon dioxide filter and make it work with a circular housing. It is hoped that building from the ground up with low tech fallbacks tested and in place, will prevent the need for a design fault to turn into something worse. This isn't easy. Past the tested backpack kit system, is a workplace module. Its current design is a 10'x10'x10' module, with nested components, inside which an individual is able to perform most, if not all, of the tasks associated with standard desk work. This will include programming, writing, editing, audio recording, video recording and video conferencing. A major difference between this setup and that with which many are familiar (a desk on a floor), is that the entire module can be picked up and moved around. Once everything is in place, it stays there, preventing the need to take apart a working system and put it back together again, simply to change locations.

A Schematic for the Present

As I sat down this morning, on the 28th of July, 2022, I was finally able to "put the chip on the circuit board" and complete the picture. This is shown in the schematic at the top of this page. That is, we each function within a set of nested systems. Some of these are implied, some of these are explicit. A company, to which we go to work, has an explicit structure which must be followed so that company can produce the goods or services it is designed to do. Another way of looking at this is that—while we may buck the notion that we are a "cog on the wheel"—when we are at work; it is a necessity. This is more strongly pronounced in the military. The soldier, and all those of different ranks, must perform their role as required, or the entire system will fall apart. Once this is recognized—that our on time is as an essential part of a well oiled machine—the rest becomes easier.

Given the above, the question for this part of our lives is not, "How can I be free?", but "How can I be part of a well designed system that uses my talents to their best effect?" While many people may not spend their days designing the system they are in, someone has and aquiesence to a system is an implicit approval. "If you don't like it, make it better" sounds to me like a better motto than complaining, but going along with it. Designing a system that determines how multiple people will interact is similar to other types of design. Consider that the effort going in to making a grocery list for one person isn't a whole lot different than making a grocery list for a family, or a grocery list for three families, or five families. It is simply operating at a different scale.

The skills required to program are similar to the skills required to design schematics for a multi-person system: a community. Who is needed? How many? Where do they need to be placed? Then, once that is done, the designer can place themselves within that picture, and disappear to be as one among many. A hierarchical structure with a high level of top down control is needed in an environment with many uncertainties. However, once the system has been defined and proven to be stable, the hierarhical structure can be levelled, to create a more democratic system, where trained, skilled and knowledgeable people provide insight for the entire system, based on their experience. Finally, the system defined as "sociocracy" sends feedback from the "bottom" of the system to the "top" to create an improved feedback loop. This system was created by a Dutch ship building company, and proved to be effective.

A Space to Interact

It is assumed that the design of the space in which we live and work can be arranged to enhance the experience and result in better outcomes. A balance of time alone and time interacting with others allows the individual to focus on their work when they need to, and interact with others when they need to do that. There should be a division between these two spaces, but this distance should not be too great so as to inhibit work interactions.

On the floor of the office building I worked at while at Statistic Canada, there was a cafe, where we could grab a coffee and a donut and on the main floor was a larger cafe. A ten minute walk away, and further, were more choices. However, most of the interacting we did while at work was on the floor of the division, around the desks where we worked. The designed space for the multi-person system presented here assumes that each individual has their own workspace, if not their own free standing workshop. This may be something they build themselves, and have the freedom to do so, within the general structural constraints imposed by the overall design.

Thus, the question remains: Should a node on the outer rim of the cluster be reserved for group interactions? It has been intended all along that the commons area for each cluster be a place where children can play safely, while being observed by one of their parents, not more than a few steps away. The central commons area has been thought of as more of a spiritual center, where people can go to mediate, be at peace, and envision what they would like to see happen for their community, and the world at large. This leaves a node on the outer rim of each cluster as a place to meet for focussed discussion related to that cluster. This is not part of the design feature set at this point.

A Space to Work

A key design specification for the workspace module is to make it movable. That is, it must be able to be picked up from above or from its base, and moved as a whole. This will allow the contents to remain as is, without having to be taken apart for a move to take place. The interior space is imagined as being about a foot greater than the reach of the occupant. For a six foot adult, this results in a structure seven feet across the width, seven feet across the depth, and seven feet from the floor to the top of the inside of the structure. This will allow access to each part of this structure, while remaining more or less stationary in the center of it. The edges may be bevelled to remove unreachable corners and making the structure more aesthetically pleasinng. A suggested bevel is one, one and a half or two feet. The focus of the interior is on typical desk work, which includes: typing (writing and programming), keyboarding, viewing multiple monitors, printing, listening to music, audio recording, video recording and video conferencing. Eating and drinking while seated at the desk also needs to be factored in, by leaving enough room in front of the keyboard and to either side. The desk height and shape should be ergonomically designed, so that it is at a comfortable height.

The audio and video related specifications are a move away from a typical desk setting. Building an acoustiscally neutral environment may be accomplished by angled surfaces (which strong bevels would provide), surface materials, and placement of speakers and a microphone or microphones. More than one microphone may be needed, depending on the level of professionalism desired. Similarly, more than one camera angle may be helpful; this may include one at the side and one from behind, viewing the screens. A background, or multiple backgrounds can be achieved by pulling one down that is needed. While these audio and related video specifications, which move away from the typical desktop setting, are more involved, it is expected that the results will amply repay the additional cost and effort of setting them up. The internet is rife with videos of otherwise well meaning people who haven't gotten around to creating a adequate recording environment, even though many of these same people have excellent content to share. Specifying a work, recording and conferencing environment which can be set up once, and then remain that way, is like being able to drive off the lot with a functioning car, rather than having to build it from spare parts and spare cash over the years. If everyone had to do that with their vehicles, imagine what would be on the roads!

A Space to Recharge

As programming is mind intensive (it requires attention to detail, the ability to manipulate abstract concepts and the use of logic) attention paid to how the body and mind is recharged is expected to achieve better results (higher quality code, fewer errors and more lines written, for example). It doesn't need to take much. Time by the water, a swim, and a rest outside for a few hours work wonders. Related to this is the observation that nature also appears to take a break during the mid day hours. The time as the sun is rising and as the sun is setting are called the "golden hours". This is because the light is better for photography. After paying attention to how much work I can get done during different times of the day, it appears that these early morning and late afternoon hours are also better for detailed work and long term thinking, respectively.

Conversely, even though I worked full time at a desk job using the Table Programming Language to create tables from datasets, seven and a half hours a day, and got paid well for that work, the full time presence didn't result in an even distribution of work accomplished. This type of uneven distrubition of effective work is known. At this time, I am not aware of any way to influence productivity tailing off for full-time desk day jobs that is being used. There may be some, I am simply not aware of any. Therefore, paying attention to nature and how creatures such as duck and geese stop feeding and simply rest mid day, may be a clue as to the type of schedule we ought to consider. This section is being written after resting for a number of hours outside, having had a swim and doing a few simple chores. I now feel much better (had been tired from some travel), and so am tackling this section while I am thinking of it.

Related to this, of course, is the food we eat and the water we drink. I was surprised to find out that foods heavy in the right types of fat are good for us, particularly our brain. Vitamin C is needed, as our bodies do not produce it. And a magnesium and calcium supplement may be recommended. Regardless of the specifics, attention paid to what we consume is also expected to result in positive benefits.

A Space to Sleep

Sleep is essential. Without it, within 48 hours, functionality is reduced. Following a minimalist approach, a concept for nautically inspired resting berth has been developed; focused on allowing the individual to obtain a solid nights sleep. There is more water on this planet than land, with many lakes, steams and rivers in addition to the oceans, especially in the area of Canada in which this concept is being developed. Thus, the structure is designed to be floatable, and yet be at ease and look at home on land. Horizontal symmetry results in a visually balanced structure that will translate into balance on the water. Dual gull wing doors (not shown) allow for a refreshing cross breeze on warmer days, while the heavily insulated 6" walls provide a snug environment for the colder winter months. The compact internal volume, coupled with a snug envelope, is expected to remain comfortable being warmed by body heat alone: 80 watts is produced by the resting adult. More heat can be obtained by adding a few hundred more watts from a secondary source.

On Site Simplicity

This site has begun with one page. If done right, it will be able to contain the bulk of what is expected on a typical website, and can be made to look like a multi-page site, if needed. There are a number of advantages to this approach. From the perspective of the viewer—once loaded—most, if not all of the content is available after the first page load. The server can indicate that this content should be cached by the browser for a week to ten days; thus once loaded, the reader can access the content later, even if offline. Second, as most, if not all of the content is available from the first page load, no subsequent page loads are needed. This solves the problem of the reader landing on the home page of the site, and then abandoning it before loading a second or third page. One reason for this is that subsequent page loads incur a delay, which are inconvenient. A second is that the viewer has no idea where to go next. By including the whole content from the beginning, the relevant content which would have appeared on other pages on the site, but not loaded by the viewer, ensures that this relevant content is accessible without subsequent round trips to the server. Third, search engine site indexing requires the site to be crawled, interpreted and ranked. The probability search results display individual pages requires extensive processing and updating. This approach strips away this excess behind the scenes work by providing a high signal to noise ratio. The essence of an entire book is provided up front, providing the viewer (and the indexer) with a high degree of value for the investment of visiting the domain or subdomain and waiting the few seconds it takes to load the content found there.

In the meantime, the hardware I am using has changed, which has influenced the software, as well as the interface, the keyboard. The net result of these changes has devolved the experience. It is more difficult to do what I was doing with the setup I am using now, than it was before, when using a laptop with a full keyboard, etc. Adapting, however, is resulting in an initial "one page" site. We shall see how it goes. I intend the format, the look or the structure, to be like that of Wikipedia, with a collapsible "Contents" section that provides links to the content of the page. In this case, all of the links will point to the same page.

One of the little known secrets of the web, is that a static web page loads incredibly fast, by design. It is the dynamic effects added as the page is assembled by the server and after it is delivered that slows the internet down in general, and page delivery on dynamic sites in particular. Smaller dynamic sites are often underpowered, and —unless the author takes pains to implement caching and other strategies—the web pages may load three to five seconds slower than they need to, resulting in a poorer experience for the user, and ultimately resulting in fewer views (and sales) for the site author. I had spent a lot of time determing why page loads were so slow, and found that—with careful tweaking—I could get a cached page to load on a dynamic site in under a second.

Under one second static page loads should really be the benchmark for the web. But even this level of technicality is likely beyond the reach of most people. "Static page load?" "Cached page?" Regardless, if the entire page is text and loads as a single file, it should load quickly, even if it is five, ten or even fifty pages in length. However, did I spend all of this time learning to program, to focus on page creation, page design and load times? Not really. To put it another way, if an individual requires help to set up a website this simple, there is something wrong. All of the skills I have just used in the past two hours of keyboarding are skills used everywhere else when creating accounts, uploading media, and so forth. This missing pieces to the puzzle are not technical, they are conceptual. It is in the better interests of hosting companies to sell packages that are underused, and to offer technical support when asked, rather than to reveal the actual cost of delivering content. It is quite low.

When I began programming, my intent was to use open source software and to direct my efforts to ecological issues. That is, my question was, "How is it that our planet is doing so poorly?" and "Why are so many people so poor and unable to provide for their needs?" Even here in Canada, many appear unhealthy. Sitting at a low cost big box store, I counted about 5 out of 100 who looked fit, healthy and well dressed. The remainder had poor body shapes, where hunched, poorly dressed, etc. I did not expect that it would be that difficult to spot fit, healthy people, but it was. If we are at "the top of the evolutionary scale", it would be expected that we would be better able to care for ourselves. From appearances, we aren't able to do that. In contrast, I doubt I could find one animal in a thousand that was deformed or looked unfit or out of shape. Perhaps one in ten thousand. Certainly not the level that we see in the human population.

On Site Layout

The objective of this layout is to provide a simple format that allows for a focus on content, rather than on the creation of pages which must be stitched together with an indexing or menu system. Page load time is a factor in the number of pages viewed on a website. Having to click on a link to view a new page may cause the viewer to hesitate, thus preventing them from learning what is on that page. This could be a product, a service, or knowledge. It is expected that creating a complex, dense single page website will work better for content that is text heavy, which books typically are. Pages can be made to wrap using a combination of CSS (styling) and JavaScript; but do not need to be. The content not currently viewed can be hidden by default, with perhaps only the headings showing to indicate they are there.

Thinking about placing the entire content of a typical website on a single page also removes the need for an underlying server based language such as PHP. This alone removes much complexity. If content needs to be retrieved after a page is loaded, this can be accomplished using AJAX, an aysynchronousr call to the server using JavaScript. The PHP behind many websites can and does grow to many thousands of lines without the viewer being directly aware of this. The only indication that a site may be using a lot of code to load a page will be a delay in the loading of the page. This is the cause of many sites initially taking three to five seconds to load. Solving this problem for heavy code based sites after the fact is a lot of work. It either takes an technical individual with a lot of experience to do this well, or it takes the purchase of a service from a host dedicated to the platform being used. This can turn the under $100 a year site into something that costs three times as much.

Finally, when the internet first came out, sites were created with site builders that generated the underlying HTML and CSS. This prevented the need for the site author from having to learn these languages. However, the focus here was still the creation of one page per topic. Thus the information included in the "Contact" and "About" pages each generated a single file. For every small change in that page, including in the styling or in the menu, the entire file needed to be regenerated and reuploaded. With a "single page" (or file) concept, a small change in the file requires the entire file to be saved and reuploaded. However, there is only one file to deal with. This makes it more certain that the update will be applied online, and not forgotten because it is one file among many.

On Site Design

The design of a site consumes significant resources. Although the styling technology (CSS) has matured over the years, it is precisely because so many options are available that work needs to be done to determine what style to use. If no style is applied to the text by the site author, the browser will apply it's default styling. For those who prefer a certain look (and are annoyed by a text that is too light or too small) styles can be applied by it to achieve a consistent site-to-site look. These browser applied styles can override the site style, which should be considered by site authors choosing a style that is too far off the beaten path. Thus, using no styling at all is a form of styling, but it is the default one. With so much text flowing across the internet, it is difficult to determine what comes from where. Thus one objective of styling is to differentiate one site from the next. This results in the individual site owner carefully picking through the available themes to find what best fits the project they have in mind and which one sets them apart from all the rest.

The styling dilemma also cropped up because the width of desktop monitors. They are typically wider than the comfortable reading width of text, so the empty space needed to be filled. It was initially filled by web developers who wrote code to populate the left and right margins with nifty widgets. The only problem was, when the need for a mobile view came along, all those nifty margin filling widgets were now extraneous, and more work (by the same web developers, of course), needed to be done to remove them. Then along came the "mobile first" motto, which meant that sometimes the desktop theme got neglected and ended up looking like a large smartphone screen. The mobile experience is typically on a view screen with a small form factor. The limited space available means that most of the styled elements from the desktop site need to be removed. If theyare removed, why bother adding them in the first place? What isleft is a theme that looks something like the one used here at the time of writing, a single column with a white background and grey margins, with a standard font.

The point is that it doesn't take much to write text that can be transitted via the internet protocol to another device upon request. That is essentially what is happening here. The complexity arises when that basic task becomes overloaded with everyone wanting to jump on the wagon on every single trip across the vastness of the internet. Understand what exactly the internet is and what is being accomplished by a page view, and the task changes from one having a high level of difficulty, to one which is much, much simpler. For a "one page" website, like this is while starting out, the focus shifts from creating behind the scenes structural components to writing crisp, clear text, and making sure it is cohesive. This is a lot easier when it is all on the same page, as the flow and the focus move more naturally from topic to topic rather than jumping around, as can happen when creating individual pages.

On Site Resilience

It is estimated that resilience is inversely related to complexity. The more complex a system is, the less resilient it is. Resilience here is defined as the ability "to last" and to remain functionality in the event of a system compromise. Can I still extract the essence of this site from the underlying text, if everything else goes haywire? The answer is, yes. The underlying text—the copy—is formatted in much the same way as it is presented when marked up and styled. The lines are limited to a readable length. And, since it is text, the file is readable on any computer system which can read text formatted as UTF-8; which is most, if not all, of them. That means that this format has a high degree of resilience.

Conversely, what is the purpose of a highly complex site? A highly complex site could serve a number of purposes. It could have on it a vast amount of information. This information needs to be categorized and be found. This in itself does not add much complexity, an index and table of contents of the like could be auto generated, leading to vast amounts of findable information. However, if that same information needs to be editable by multiple authors, be reviewed, have revisions and so forth, the level of complexity jumps markedly. Consider, on the other hand, the site produced by a single author. The individual author wants to produce a blog, and the only person editing the content on their site will be them. Do they need thousands of lines of code that provide a lot of extra functionality they do not need, and then spend a lot of time making that code secure, optimized and backed up? The answer is, no not really.

Another purpose of a complex site is to allow the individual author the ability to sell their product or service. However, the addition of code that processes financial transactions introduces a significant security risk, that may be better handled by third parties. In addition, the economic model assumed is that transactions will be conducted anywhere around the world. The internet opened up a global market to the individual. However, the "internet gold rush" was short lived, and at the current time, a lot of skill and technical savvy is needed to compete in the international or national internet market. As a result of this shift, the author has been working on a model for a multi-person system (described above) that takes care of much of the need to market individually produced products and services, by being attentive to how people are arranged in the same geographic location, rather than bringing the information to people in diverse locations and assuming this will result in sufficient sales to support the indivudal site author.

On Open Source

The open source movement developed in response to the close source and proprietary licensing structure which resulted in functioning software of a reasonable quality, but at a relatively high cost to the end user; considering that the distrubition comprised only a small part of the overall cost of development. However, in the opinion of the author, the open sourced movement has gone too far. As a reaction to cost, it has emphasized the word "freedom": freedom to use, freedom to give away and freedom to change. While this obviously reduces the cost to the end user to almost nothing, it has had a number of effects that are not immediately obvious. The first of these is that lesser quality software can and does creep into the mix; primarily because so much is produced, it is difficult to perform quality checks on it, before it is allowed for distribution. The second is that it creates an uneven playing field for software developers. There are those who can and do write software as a hobby and then release it for free. They may have full time paying jobs in software development, and so find it easy, perhaps even trivial, to create specific "add on" functionality for an open sourced platform. This is perfect for the end user, but it doesn't reflect the true cost of that specific add-on. The costs have been absorbed by the larger software company paying the developer. They haven't disappeared.

The net result of this dynamic is that the full-time developer may have to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure an income stream. One common route is to offer a basic version for free, and then offer one with more functionality at a premium. As long as enough people buy the premium version, this works for the developer. However, it doesn't guarantee that an hour worked is an hour paid. Further, the virtual landscape changes over time, so the strategy that works for a few years may have to be changed into something different over time; that is as of yet, unknown. Finally, the formula for an even distribution of talent, quality software and users who have what they need is arbitrary, uncontrolled and messy. It is similar to content produced for video. Vastly more content is produced than can be viewed on a regular basis. This results in some content receiving millions of views, while others receive only a few. While this appears to be part of a fundamental principle (given the name the Pareto Effect), recognizing the open sourced movement has limits and drawbacks is a start to finding a system that results in a more balanced dynamic.

In fact, a motivation for developing a balanced system, where people from select trades and professions can work together in a coherent fashion, was the realization over time that the average user needs a trained, skilled and experienced developer to succeed over the long term, and the developer (as well as each of the others of the select trades and professions), needs a fairly reliable set of the products and services of others. That is, the ability to specialize and do it well requires that the specialist has the full support of others as part of a well designed infrastructure. Once this is realized, it becomes a matter of determining how to go about this, rather than whether or not it should be done. Finally, the specialist must be supported by others to specialize, by definition. It is implied then, that those who do (and do it well) have found the support they need, pulled out of the randomness of the society around them. The difference here is that the programmer has turned his attention to the community and dealt with it as a set of manipulable objects, arranging them for better effect. This obiously can be done. It is merely a matter of determining if the arrangement depicted at the top of this page is sufficient, or if there is a better one waiting in the wings.

Portability and Backups

Moving data around and backing it up—including that which comprises the writing we do—does not need to be complicated, nor does it need to be put off. However, there needs to be a clear and simple way to accomplish this, with a path that is travelled on a regular basis, so that it is familiar. I do not recall loosing data of my own, as I have made a regular habit of backing it up, but I recall loosing data that wasn't mine. It was a double mistake. I bypassed a surge protector that must have been hit by lightening before (and thus was disabled), and the person in charge of this data, had declined a backup option. As I had no experience with an actual dysfunctional surge protector, it didn't dawn on me that this was the problem. And as the person in charge of this data had little experience with storing data on digital media, it must not have registered that backing up was a good idea; and worth the effort. The result was lost data.

The format used here has a single file containing all of the text, a single stylesheet file and a limited number of media files, mostly images. This makes it easy to back up. The first pass through is laying down the writing track. This is similar to writing the script before the movie is made. The characters need to be fleshed out, and the plot formed. Once that is done, a storyboard can be made, after that, the scenes are defined and actors selected. When writing, creating or finding images to support the text can be quite an effort. Leaving them for a second pass makes it easier to keep the focus on writing. Then, once images are added, they need to receive captions and be defined in the "alt" attribute of the image element, for the benefit of those using screen readers. Assertions made require references. The assertions need to be checked for accuracy. After this, the author may decide to narrate some or all of the text. This could be done by the author, a voice over actor could be hired, or a combination of both could be used. Finally, the whole could be placed in video format, with vignettes being supported by a little more drama, to bring it to life. And yet, the key--the starting point--is the single file of text.

Another benefit of having a single file is that it can be shared more easily with others by making it available online or offline via an external storage device. Aside from images or styling, that one file makes means that it is all that needs to be copied. It is simple and can be read from its source, with only a text editor, if needed. The alternative is having more than one file to accomplish the same job. That "more than one" could be an unweildy mess of 50 to a 100 files or more, difficult to manage and difficult to work with. WordPress and Concrete CMS allow for an multiple people to create and edit the same text. Using an online content manage system, however, adds several layers of complexity, most of which is eliminated when going back to a single, text and HTML based format. This method is not expected to be suitable for all cases, but when one or only a few people are involved, it may be preferable due to its simplicity.

On Site Directories

Unfortunately, most site authors miss an essential feature when setting up their site for the first time. This site directory structure is malleable, and can make functionality, maintenance, backup and navigation easy, ...or a nightmare. To be honest, site developers and platform creators must bear much of the weight of this responsiblity. Yet, the initial setup of the directory structure makes a lot of difference. Consider that a website folder (or directory) can be likened to a room in a house, or better, a space on the factory floor. How the factory is set up makes all the difference. A lot of time, money and energy goes into getting it "just right". Tasks are divided by speciality. The engineer and architect design. The builders build. The factory workers work. Yet, when it comes to how site directories are structured, historical precedence determines—in most cases—how these "factory spaces" are set up. Further, if attempting to move these spaces around in ways not built into the code, it complains, and makes it difficult—if not impossible—to perform the adjustment.

One major initial adjustment made on this site is to declare that the directory in which this content appears is "public". This is done simply by placing the content in a directory by that name (i.e. /public). What you see is what you get. And the word means what it says. If the author places content not deemed "public" in this directory by mistake, the name will lead to self correcting behaviour. "Oops, I made a mistake. That wasn't supposed to go there. It was supposed to over here". And the correction can be made. Achieving digital precision is a finely tuned task. The easier it can be made, the better. Doing this may seem pedantic at first glance. However, consider what happens when it is time for the site to grow. Perhaps the site author would like a space for members to join. Is that public? No, it is only for those who have signed up (and likely paid a fee). The same goes for a shop. Or perhaps classes will be offered in the future. Whatever the case, assuming a future distinction at the beginning will make it a whole easier to make that adjustment if and when that time comes.

The concept of using directories as purpose built spaces—the same as a factory floor or warehouse has purpose built areas—leads well into what I consider to be the overuse of domain names. The word "domain" generally covers a broad area. Consider that—in biology—all of life is divided into only a two or three "domains" depending on the system used: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya for one system or Archaea and Bacteria for the other[1]. Historically, the word has meant: "A geographic area owned or controlled by a single person or organization."[2] Thus, to create multiple domains for one person or organization means that the word is poorly understood. Behind the confusion, however, remains the lack of structural integrity applied to directories. If fewer domains and subdomains are to be used, directories within that domain need to be better utilized. The directory structure used here is intended to do that; or at least a part of it. Again, it is unfortunate that platform creators of the platforms the author has tested are not leaders in this area. Discovering this has taken a lot of time. The result of efforts in this direction has resulted in a structure that allows for a hybrid result. Dynamic content can still be used as part of a domain, but the rationale for the structure used has improved.

Flow and Cohesion

Early work with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) revealed that individual pages needed to be optimized to facilitate that page showing up in search results for search terms related to content on that page. This resulted in that page being accessed directly, apart from the rest of the site. It is like opening a book to a page, without having read the rest of that book. This pattern of search and retrieval has led to a fragmented experience. While the viewer can eventually piece together a coherent picture, there is no guarantee this will happen. In contrast, placing the bulk (or all) of the content of a site on one page (the first page) ensures that at least all of the content deemed relevant is in one place, and the reader has it loaded on their device within a few seconds of visiting the domain or sub-domain.

Second, from the perspective of the site author or writer, it is much easier to create content that is cohesive using this one-page method. As the headings that are created for the contents section, it can be seen how they fit together. If it is determined that they don't, a separate section can be created for them. Then, as the eye scans down the page, the narrative flow can be followed. Rather than allowing the reading to parachute land in and expect the page to stand on its own, the context into which that page of information fits is provided. This removes the weight of having a lot of duplication from one page to the next. Menus, headers and footers do not have to be recreated for each page, and all the cached pages do not have to be updated if there is a small change in the duplicated content.

Finally, it is easier for the site author to provide the background that is relevant to the content they have created. Who are they? Why are they writing thi? What is their background and experience as related to this content? Having this information available in the same context as the individual nuggets of information provided gives the reader an opportunity to know with whom they are engaging, improving the chance that they will remember the author, rather than vaguely remember a page they visited in the past, quickly grabbing the bit they were looking for, and then scooting away.

Desktop and Mobile

It may appear odd that designing a model for a self-sufficient community would end up influencing the view of a web page, but consider that most sites (I would assume) are built with the entire world as their audience. How much of that world's population is going to view an individual author's site? In fact, we know the answer to that. Very few. Using what is called "The Pareto Effect", deduction shows that views for the sites of individual's tails off sharply, so that most of these types of sites can expect to receive little traffic. Even if the content is stellar, inertia keeps viewers on sites they already frequent, especially if these sites are aggregators, incorporating content from a vast array of people and organizations. That shifts the focus from strategies that allow the site to bubble to the top to something else. They are valid strategies, but the objective is impossible. Eight billion people can't be at the top, when the top contains ten spots.

This leads into a motivation for thinking about how to form resilient, self sufficient groups; where each member of that particular group receives what they need in exchange for performing their role within it. This is nothing new. In fact, the recent acknowledgement that we are on the territories of First Nations peoples brings back to mind how they lived. They lived in a group where each member of that group received what they needed in exchange for performing their role within it. We call these types of groups "tribes". When in a small group, where any member of that group can walk over to any other member of that group and speak first hand, in person, there is little to no need for advanced communication, that is for example, communicating on smartphones. They are just over there so why not go over and speak to them, rather than messaging them on a telegraph like app. All of this leads into a rationale for expanding the thought space that goes into the view developed for a web page. Do I work for a large organization where most of the people sit behind desktop computers all day? If I do, is there a pressing need to develop a mobile view for all of our sites? Developing a mobile view takes time, and that time takes away from other tasks the web developer or programmer could be doing.

Thus, thinking about the virtual space we use in the same way we think about the physical space we use can lead to a much better use of that virtual space. How much of the screen space of a high definition monitor is wasted when viewing a website designed with a "mobile first" emphasis? Much of it. How much relevant information can be displayed on a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels? A lot. This means that the web page can be designed in a way that gets the job done rather than pandering to people who will happily consume content they had no part in creating, and provide nothing of value in return.

Book Ready

Writing content should create value for the author over time. One way to monetize content written is to encapsulate it in a book format, and offer that book for sale, through the available means of distrubition: print or online. However, the experience of online writing has shown that most, if not all, content written other than for a book directly is difficult to format as a book, even though it doesn't have to be. The continuous, one page format used here is shaping up to be more conducive to eventual publication in book format. The markup is clean and minimalistic, and the creation of a Table of Contents synchronized with the content, as it is being written, helps to ensure a more orderly book structure than would otherwise be acheived by writing posts which aren't sitting side-by-side, or in a linear format. A book published in the EPUB format is essentialy an encapsulated website. That is, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to format it. As the markup and styling is done using the same set of protocols as for the web, it should be expected that there is a relatively short distance between writing for the web, and using that content to create a book. Running through this process a few times is expected to make it easier to figure out what the workflow should be for the standard website.

Knowledge from Data

To meet needs, we need to know what those needs are. For any system with more than, say, a hundred items, some type of classification or organizational system is needed. This is where information becomes data. Data is being defined here as organized, or atomized knowledge. That is, the context is stripped away, leaving the bare facts. When a well organized dataset is used properly, it can lead to improved knowledge and better informed decisions. It could be viewed as a wall of fasteners—nuts, bolts and washers—where the different sizes and types are all arranged neatly, ready to be used for any project that needs doing. It is work setting up, but once ready, makes subsequent jobs a whole lot easier. In fact, many website platforms use this approach. The text of a post is stored in a field in a database. When a page is requested, a call is made to the database, the text is retrieved, and then assembled as part of a web page. While convenient for websites with more than a hundred pages, it is an overly complex system for smaller sites. There is vastly more factory there than there is what the factory produces: easily on a scale of 1,000 to 1.

To reiterate, this portion of the websites inverts the signal to noise ratio, providing almost pure signal, and eliminating almost all noise. This allows the focus to be placed on topics more interesting than the mere creation and display of text: activities that should be nearly trivial now, three to four decades after the creation of the public web and the specification of the markup used to display this text (Hypertext Markup Language or HTML). In other words, with a small amount of knowledge of this markup language (to be included below), much of the functionality provided by platforms using tens of megabytes of codes can be reduced to a simple text editor. Simplifying the creation and display of text to a robust and resilient method, allows the focus to shift to tasks at which the computers are better at than humans. This includes keeping track of stores of products, which includes food, who needs those products, and how to get them there.

MPS Has Off-Planet Potential

The multi-person system (MPS) schematic described above has been developed on this planet (Earth). However, from the persepective of an outside observer, we are there, whether or not the outside observer exists. In other words, the familiarity we have with our surroundings--and the surface of this planet--is solely our familiarity. If we were to go somewhere else, we would become acquainted with that place in due time and it too, would become familiar. It is all a matter of perspective. Likewise, if we are ever to go somewhere else (that is, off planet), what we have with us when we leave, will be with us when we arrive. This means, with a few moments of careful thought, that there is nothing that prevents any one of us--or a group of us, for that matter--from doing what it takes to act as if one day, we will be there, rather than here. It is rather like going on vacation. Whatever you pack when you leave is there in your suitcase when you arrive. Its what you got, and it isn't easy to change it for something else; at least not all at once.

It is with that in mind (along with the need to live sustainably on this planet, of course) that I have been proceeding over the past five and a half years. In software, one method is to release early and release often. This results in a lot of updates, and some of these updates may be upsetting for the end users, especially if there is a radical change. That radical change may be necessary, so I have felt it may be better to release a more mature version late in the hopes that radical changes will be eliminated, if not greatly reduced. Examples of changes include: names, numbers, placement, storage protocols and text and data presentation. It may even include an operating system. Getting this all "right" (or as close to "right" as physically possible) is better than running out of the gate with pieces falling off here and there, because the focus on one aspect results in the neglect of another part of the project.

With the above said, the following short description has been refined to: "A model for a self-sufficient multi-person system has been developed that places complementary trades and professions on an 10,000 m² (100 ha) campus like setting. Individual properties each have space to perform supporting work, find solutions to some of the problems facing humanity today, refine existing models and innovate. Intended is a transferable synergy that sustains the people living there and overflows to the surrounding communities." Two main shifts have occurred since the original schematic was created about five and a half years ago now. The first is that one workshop zone per cluster has been changed to a cafe like meeting area, so that the professionals, trades people and others from each cluster have a place to meet, take a break and discuss their work during normal working hours, which is within an easy walking distance from their own workshop, but distinct from the commons area for each cluster and the central commons area (defined elsewhere). The second is to shift the focus from the thoughts arising from the use of the word "community" (or even, "colony") to the more abstract and utilitarian term: "multi-person system". This is so that the ideas and methods developed are more portable. As a result, the model for this system is being moved from: ec01.earth3300.ca to: mps.earth3300.ca.

Off-Planet Potential Provides Motivation for Refined Systems

When a system is operating and in use, there is no time to refine it, or make structural changes. That needs to happen during the "down time". This "down time" could be overnight, on a weekend, or it could be during the off season. In many cases this is during the winter. Because of the ubiquity of the internet, software developers assume users almost always have a functioning internet connection, and so they push updates on a frequent basis. It is rare for a rock solid, stable set of software to be available, that is expected to run without maintenance for a substantial period of time. There is one exception I am aware of and that is the Debian operating system, which will be dealt with in the section below. Writing code for use on servers--which must have a high uptime--results in code that is robust and stable. This demonstrates that code can be written which requires few updates, because of the way it is written.

The previous section (specifying an off planet potential) provides a motive. There is no motive if the code can be updated from here, because it all exists at the end of a high speed, reliable internet connection. If an update breaks the system (because an error was introduced), another update can fix the introduced error the next day. Since much of this is invisible to the user, the programmers, and the systems in which they work, are not pushed to being ultra careful in how changes are made. This changes when the code at the receiving end is disconnected from the sending end. At best, there may be a lower bandwidth connection. Regardless, remote debugging is difficult. It is better if it doesn't have to happen.

An example of a simplified system is this page. At first, it may appear clunky. There is only a single vertical column. There are no pages (at least at the time of writing) to click to. Once loaded, everything is there. Even the underlying text is (supposed to be) formatted in much the same manner as the styled text, so that it can still be read. Try reading the source code of many pages. In many cases, it is difficult, if not impossible. Yet, the format for this page still allows it to be more elegantly styled. That is the beauty of CSS. It was designed so that the same underlying markup can be made to look remarkably different by making only stylistic changes.

Experience shows that a refined, stable system--operated by a trained, experienced individual--performs, for the most part, regardless of conditions. This is the way it should be. Diesel tractors are designed to be reliable and operate for hour after hour with little maintenance. Most of the tractors we had on the farm did that (with one exception). After having experience, however, with a tractor of lesser quality, we had learned our lesson, and didn't go back to that brand. That is the difference for quality tools and equipment. When they are well designed, they are a joy to use, and may very last ten, twenty or even thirty years before needing replacement. This dampens the effect of the initial purchase cost. The tool isn't acquired to make the owner feel good about owning it, it is purchased to accomplish a job, and that job is part of a larger system. In this context, having a professional like an engineer or architect as part of the system raises the bar. It moves the potential of the whole system from a potential of "Average" to a potential of "Very Good" or "Excellent".

The Development of an Operating System Provides a Tested Example for the Development of Complex Systems

The Debian operating system is described by the following:

Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kernel. The project is coordinated over the Internet by a team of volunteers guided by the Debian Project Leader and three foundational documents: the Debian Social Contract, the Debian Constitution, and the Debian Free Software Guidelines. New distributions are updated continually, and the next candidate is released after a time-based freeze.[1]

To interpret the preceding, notice that the quote includes three documents: a contract, a constitution and guidelines. The constitution would provide general guidance, the guidelines more specific guidance, and the contract would be a document to which those working on this OS would agree and bind themselves. This is essential. A constitution by itself is not enough. Guidelines are not enough. A contract is required to ensure that those who are part of the network that develop this operating system agree to work within the framework established by the principles and the rules. This defines those who are in, as well as those who are out. Not everyone can do it, and its got to be done right.

Avoiding Hyper Specialization

The term "hyper-specialization", as being used here, is defined as an individual (or group of individuals) that are so specialized in a particular task, that they would not able to fend for themselves, if they had to. That is, they rely exclusively on others for food, drink, shelter, transportation and clothing, and would be lost if they ever had to obtain any of that on their own. Unfortunately, it appears as if our culture has been heading that way for the past generation. Hands on skills have been on the decline.

While virtual and keyboarding skills had been increasing up to about ten years ago, it appears that even using a full sized desktop or laptop computer is on the decline. This is difficult to tell, as people walking around with smartphones, doesn't mean they don't use laptops or desktops at work or at home, yet I don't see many even carrying laptops around, or using them at a coffeeshop anymore. It really does appear as if many rely exclusively on their smartphone to interact with the virtual world brought digitally to them via cell phone towers or their home wifi. What would happen if a person walking out of doors with their smartphone, wearing a pair of sandals, shorts and a t-shirt, had something happen to them? They could call someone, sure. But that is about it. And if the battery went out, away goes all of that functionality that this device had been providing.

While it is easy to point the finger at someone else and say "It's their fault", an adult is responsible for themselves. Heavy use of existing technology--to the exclusion of other means of meeting needs--implies assent. The same technology that is so heavily relied upon, can bring in systems that are more robust. That is, when taking the "eggs out of the basket" of the ubiquitous smart device, what shows up are: a camera, an MP3 player, geolocation, texting, web browsing and video viewer, to name a few. Handy yes. But all in one device? Not wise.

Avoiding Technology as Saviour

When the alternative is hard, manual labour, any labour reducing technology that arrives is welcome. The danger comes when the pendulum swings the other way. Too much time swinging bales turns into too much time behind the keyboard. This is when it is advisable for humans to use their advanced cognitive abilities to find the balance between the two. Not only are we physiologically designed to interact with the physical environment, we benefit and even learn from it. Consider how much of the brain maps to the fingers, the thumb and forefinger especially. Take away the nuanced and intricate feedback the physical environment provides, and this part of the brain atrophies. At the same time, the visual cortex is over stimulated, and the frontal cortex (assumed to process abstract thought) must take over as navigator, replacing the entire body with all of its senses as a feedback mechanism. Some are better at this than others, but should those who aren't, and don't understand how advanced technology works, rely on those who do (or at least part of it)?

This is the danger that emerges on the other side of the technological revolution. To be fair to ourselves, we haven't had time to adjust. A generation is not enough to adapt to a landscape that has changed so quickly. This is why it is wise to show restraint before adopting such a radical transition. This is also one more reason why I feel it is wise to develop a community model that includes low tech fallbacks that remain an integral part of daily life. For those who are still enamoured with advanced technology to the point of not being able to consider anything less, consider that our own bodies already display signs of extremely advanced technology, albeit biological technology. The way we process the water we drink and food we eat, for example. Even if it is granted that this the result of evolutionary forces, the result is remarkable, to say the least. How much are our minds and bodies capable of, when trained properly, with accurate knowledge? Quite a bit, I would imagine. Thus, looking for ways to minimize dependence on tech, while acknowledging and understanding it--to me--appears a reasonable way to proceed.

Age Appropriate Engagement

As the individual progresses through life, the activities that were appropriate at an earlier age, transition into something else. The grandfather that was there to provide stability and a sense of assurance is gone, and the boy that had that grandfather some day may expect to be one himself. At the same time, the atomic activities that younger individuals are better at (doing without having to know "why") turn into activities that must have more meaning in order for those activities to be engaging. The programming that I did ten years ago remains, and I still find writing code invigorating, but it may be better to turn my attention on how to advise the next generation, and put bevels on the facets of the diamond we are collectively creating. To put this another way, what is behind the screen is a blank slate to those who don't know how it works. This, despite the fact that the source code is available for the looking. But not knowing how it works doesn't make it go away. Its still there, and the fact that it is not noticeable is a sign that it is working the way it should. Thus, it could be suggested that a strategy for using tech is to understand how it works before adopting it as a part of every day life.

But, who is going to guide this process, to ensure it happens? The human is wired to do the least work possible. If technology is given to me that allows me to go weeks on end without disruption, a habit of reliance will be developed, and there will be little incentive to figure out what is going on behind the screen. The same goes for the food we eat. A delicious breakfast sandwich appears before our eyes. All we have to do is say the names of the ingredients, indicate whether we would like it toasted or not. Mayo and salt and pepper? Yes, please. Wave a card over a terminal or hand over some cash, and we are happily munching on something that would otherwise be utterly impossible if we had to do it all ourselves.

Another reason for the heading of this section is that people love to give advice. The instant information fix the internet provides turns the otherwise clueless person into a savant. Have a problem? We have a video for that. "Why don't you do this?" Etc. The only person who knows a person is themselves, and I would hazard to guess that many people don't even know themselves that well, despite the millenia old admonition, "Know thyself". When I look at another person, all I see is what is on the outside. What I see may provide a few clues, but beyond that is a vast, hidden history. It takes years to get to know a person well, and after that time, one or the other may move on. It is with these nuances in mind that this section is being written.

In my experience, the development stages of the early years is better known through the work of pscyhologists like Piaget, than that of the later years. At least, I am not aware of any clear cut distinctions that say, "By this age, a person ought to be doing this." It is possible for development to be arrested for various reasons. It is also possible that a young person leaps ahead and does tasks beyond their years. For myself, I had decided when embarking on this project that I had the skills, background and experience to do the work I have done. Since no one I know has looked closely at this project so far, no one I know has the credibility to comment with any degree of knowledge or wisdom. All that to say, I have done it because I could and because it needed doing.

Finally, I have to reject the advice that comes along from time to time where the person looks in and says "Oh, you need money. Why don't you work for a while, get on your feet, and try again." The answer to that is that I am here precisely because I was working and have rejected the system. I had a job, a house, a car, etc., but couldn't see myself working in a system (industrial agriculture) that sucked the life out of the individual. The problem wasn't with the employer, it was with the whole dang system. Since that time, stories others have told have confirmed that conclusion. In fact, the events of the past few years indicate this is turning around. Part of the reason I have developed this "one page" format is to make it easy for others to "get their story out" and do so in a way that is relatively simple (technologically speaking) and allows them to present clean, crisp text in a linear fashion that can be turned into a book (essentially by copying and pasting the text). Assent implies consent, and it is the mass of individuals who will end up making the difference, as it is with the thousand ants that make up an anthill.

Selection of Topics

I made the mistake of being drawn into the presentation of data, images and text when first taking on programming full-time, rather than focussing on the topic I began with, which was ecological issues. I had been interested in why it was we "couldn't make a go of it" and appeared to be using up the planet in an unsustainable fashion, rather than using our resources wisely so that everyone had enough. However, that "being drawn into" was unavoidable, as it is a pre-requisite for being able to deal intelligently with the reams of information and data available on every imaginable topic. If I could draw all of that previous work into one subject heading it would be the word: View. That is, data needs to be presented in a way that it can be viewed properly, and to do that requires a knowledge of the underlying mechanics. If that takes a dozen years to learn, it takes a dozen years to learn.

Having said that, and starting from the bottom of the physical scale, a selection of topics for which information can be gathered and analyzed are: Genetics, Species, Geology, Climate and Exoplanets. I omit "Stars" as a category, as (to me) a star is "only" a means by which a planet exists. Past the light and energy it provides, there is no functional utility available to the earth-bound human. The light and energy from a star needs to strike a planet, warm it, and from there increase the potential for life. Information gathering includes more than being aware of datasets on these topics, it is becoming familiar with their content, what it takes to filter that data to a relevant subset, format that subset, then present it in a written and visual format, understandable to the viewer. This takes more than saying the words, "Computer...", it takes experience and skill. Filtering and formatting is what I did when working for Statistics Canada, using the Table Programming Language (TPL) to do this. The tables created were used for data verification and then publication.

The process of data storage, retrieval, filtering, formatting, analyzing and presenting follows a relatively predictable path. Although much data is available online, and some of that is proprietary, some is open source and so can be downloaded freely and then stored for local, offline use. This is where the other aspects of the programmer's "toolkit" come into play, including the workspace module. Offline storage requires secure, powered equipment in a known, stable location. It can't be expected that top-end, professional grade work is done on a laptop in a coffeeshop. Fortunately, today, terabytes of storage is available for a reasonable cost. Once the path is set, it becomes easier to travel. It can also be seen that a careful, wise selection of topics, coupled with the right type of analysis and presentation has a high value. Consider that desktop grade computing power can begin to tackle planet level modelling, in a space of less than 10³ feet squared, and the potential begins to be visualized. In fact, it may be detrimental to have too much space in which to work, as a compact, well organized layout has benefits in that everything which is needed is near the worker.

Selection of Software

Selecting which software to use on a professional desktop or laptop computer is a skill learned over time. And--over time--that software changes, so that a choice made early on may change over the course of 10 years. Once that software has been selected it needs to be installed. Once installed, it needs to be configured. If there are a dozen applications installed, each with thirty configuration options, this adds up to 360 configuration options. It was noticed that a significant part of a WordPress setup dealt with configuration, which included the selection and installation of plugins. In addition, it was also noticed that all the configuration options were stored in the database, or in the configuration file (wp-config.php). Finally, it was discovered that the process of installing a new WordPress site, could include writing a pre-determined configuration to the database and to the configuration file. This then shifted the setup from manual configuration to automated configuration. These files are available for inspection[1].

The same process holds true for the selection, installation and configuration of software on the desktop or laptop computer. An advantage the open source based Linux Operating System (Linux OS) has over computers based on proprietary software, is that software can be downloaded and installed from universal repositories. Once downloaded, they can be configured and used. The majority of applications needed--if not all--are available free of charge. This makes setting up a computer for personal or professional use much easier. However, although the software is available freely, the knowledge required to operate that software isn't. This nuance (as critical as it is), is easy to overlook when first encountering open sourced software. It is downloaded and installed, and then the rocky crags appear. In depth knowledge of an entire field is required to make it do what it can do. Few people have the time or the skill to learn these applications to the depth they could be learned. This includes processing images, audio and video, not to mention databases and the creation of the queries needed to extract data from them. Once again, work in the context of a carefully set up contractual network can take these bottlenecks and move past them.

Selection of OS and Replication

With emphasis placed on the creation and maintenance of content online, the selection of the Operating System that runs the device being used to create this online content is de-emphasized. The exception is formed, however, from the disciplines which require processor and memory heavy applications. These include engineering, architecture and landscape design as well as image, audio and video editing. It is for these uses that a careful selection of Operating System is made. iOS is a strong choice for graphics heavy applications, and has been for some time. However, the starting point here is a Linux based environment, first, because the author already possesses a fairly deep knowledge of this system, and second, because there are no high up-front costs associated with purchasing and setting up multiple machines. Older desktop or laptops can be taken and given new life with a fresh install of the chosen Linux OS.

The second part of this discussion centers around how easily a given Linux OS can be replicated. It has been found that OpenSUSE has built-in capabilities to replicate itself, although this hasn't been tested. At the time of writing, OpenSUSE has been installed on only one machine by the author. It is an older machine, and slower; thus it isn't a decent starting point to put this OS through its paces. The author has used Ubuntu for some time now. It does everything that needs to be done, and there are few to no issues to find the software needed for the tasks performed surrounding programming (including editing images, audio and video). The one exception was the program Celeste. This takes the abilities that Stellarium has (which mimics the capabilities of a planetarium) to view stars and planets from the perspective of earth and moves up one order of magnitude to allow the viewer to virtually travel to those stars and planets to examine them from up close (to the extent that imagery of sufficient resolution is available, of course). When investigated a number of years ago now, it wasn't easy to install Celeste on Ubuntu. However, Celeste has been installed and tested on OpenSUSE. It ran, but due to the low powered computer it was running on, performance wasn't optimal.

It is because of critical decisions like these that working in a contractual and technically supported environment has the potential to return more than invested. Obviously, navigating the known universe in a virtual sense is a precursor to navigating it physically. If all that it takes is a newer computer with reasonable processing power and memory to make that happen, that is more than ample reason to take that route. Further, as it has already been stated that geology, climate and exoplanets are valid topics for examination, porting our knowledge of earth-based geology and climate to other planets is a small step. The incredible earth-based diversity of species and plant-life may some day be the seeds for life on currently barren but otherwise life-supporting planets. It doesn't need to be said what value that potential may hold for our future.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are keys--that when pressed together--perform a function that would otherwise take a sequence of mouse moves and clicks; thus the name. There are several layers to this feature. The first is discovering what they are for any particular program. For example, Ctrl-C is commonly used to copy text and Ctrl-V to paste text, and Ctrl-X to cut text, tasks used in Word Processing programs going back to their initial days. Image editing may have a set of shortcuts common--more or less--to most image editing programs. The same goes for video editing, and then audio editing. When the application is in focus and the keyboard shortcut is pressed, the combination for that particular program is used. In addition, the desktop has its own set of shortcuts. These can be used to switch between windows, maximize or minimize windows, or tile them on one or the other side of the monitor. Within the context in which they are being used, these shortcuts are convenient. Historically, they were used more in the past, with a keyboard designed for technical users in the 1970s, having many shortcuts available, as this was in the days before the mouse or touch screen.

Knowing this much, the unwary user may take the time to learn shortcuts for their favourite programs, and the desktop environment on the Operating System (OS) they are using. A few years may go by, and then they may notice, "Hey, that keyboard shortcut conflicts with this keyboard shortcut!" (This happens when an application shortcut conflicts with a desktop shortcut). A second type of error occurs when different tasks are performed by the same shortcut in different programs. The shortcut for the one program is used, but the other program is in focus, resulting in unexpected behaviour. Finally, a similar program from another vendor may not have a shortcut assigned to a function. The shortcut is used, but hasn't been defined, so nothing happens. All of these types of errors are an inconvenience at first, but can become aggravating, especially if the job has got to get done, but the wrong things happen. For those familiar with designing graphcial user interfaces (GUI), it will be recognized that these shortcomings have room for improvement.

The author has already put a number of hours into recording the shortcuts for common programs used in the programming, writing, audio editing, image editing and video editing workflow. The image shown above is base keyboard layout for the Periboard 409. The full set of key combinations is a 3x3 table providing nine variations from that base set. Once the default keyboard combinations are known and recorded side-by-side, it can be determined which ones conflict and thus are candidates for being re-assigned. If it were only for the reasons noted in this section, this set of random, conflicting or unexpected behaviours ought to provide sufficient motivation to create and replicate a standard computer setup. This setup would include the Operating System (such as Ubuntu[1] or OpenSUSE[2]), the desktop (such a GNOME), the programs (such as LibreOffice, Atom, Audacity, Gimp and KDENlive) as well the specific keyboard (such as the Periboard 409-U) and model being used. Finally, it is better if the shortcuts chosen are easier to press rather than more difficult. It is easier to press Ctrl-Alt together, than Ctrl-Shift due to the relative placement of the keys. This exercise appears to be trivial at the outset, but isn't trivial over time. If the same task can be performed with 100% accuracy in 15 minutes, versus at 75% accuracy over 25 minutes, obviously the first is preferable. Refining the set of shortcuts used across software applications, but for a particular OS, desktop and keyboard is expected to work better in a technically supportive environment where the users are informed of the benefits of this refinement and have an active role in the process.

Selection of Fonts and Icons

It is often the details that derail a project. Consider how easy it is to write text, and how difficult it is to format that text properly. This is why many prefer to use pre-existing solutions for blog posts, articles and the like. It is all fun and games until a finer detail crops up. I would like to add an anchor link that looks like a broken infinity loop or other icon that is not on the standard character keyboard or font set. What to do now? I would like it to look professional, at the same time, I want to make sure there is a graceful fallback so that if these additions are ever stripped away, something is there that still works. A strong option is to add what is called a "sprite"; a transparent image with the icons used on a site placed in a grid pattern on it. The one desired for a particular location is specificied by styling. It works well, is fairly robust and should work most if not all of the time, as long as the styling and the sprite PNG image are present. But what if they are not? If I am beginning a project and don't have these add-ons present, I want to keep the flow of writing going; not get dragged into finding the right icon, opening up a graphics editor and writing CSS for that image. I simply want to keep typing. In this case, it may be better to begin with a text based solution, using characters that are on a standard keyboard, and then replacing that descriptive text with the relevant icon at a later date. In this way, the link will always be visible, and can be typed by anyone with the same, standard keyboard. This is the approach being used here.

Fonts, icons and glyphs are variations on the same theme. The single character in a font set is not seen as an icon or glyph by the average user due to habituation. The characters in the English alphabet have become ubiquitous, with their etymology left behind. Further, the primary language used in technical writings--especially programming--is English. I have not yet seen code written in French, German or Spanish; though it certainly could be. In its place are translations but the translations are an overlay on top of the base English language. In particular, the base language of the programming languages used for web development is English. This skews the thinking and discussion to an English based framework and paradigm. Sometimes other letters (such as Greek letters) or words from other languages frame the thought better. But English is, in general, the base language used in the technical world, in the author's experience.

Having said that, the letters of the Latin alphabet comprise only a subset of the available characters. A much larger set is defined, and these are captured by the Unicode Consortium. What Unicode has done is to create a correspondence between the glyph--whether the Latin character "a" or the Greek character "alpha"--and what is called a "unicode point"--a unique, or almost unique hexadecimal notation that can be used to refer to that character in a precise manner. It does not proscriptively define what that character should look like in a particular font, but it describes that character as distinct from others which may be close to it in appearance. All of this is necessary because characters stem from language groupings and language groupings have distinct and historical backgrounds. The result of all of this--for modern web usage--is that it is possible to create a single custom font-set, which includes the expected Latin character set; but also common glyphs which can then be styled to match the font used with that standard character set. This means that the telephone and mail glyphs, or common menu icons can be used in a manner identical to characters available on the keyboard. The underlying representation in the defined Unicode point is identical for each as a hexadecimal digit.

Character Encoding

Character encoding is a low-level process. Much of the time, it isn't an issue, but if the characters being displayed are off the beaten path, it could cause issues. The standard the author follows is to declare that HTML pages are encoded as UTF-8. When creating new databases or tables in MySQL, the collation is set to utf8mb4_unicode_ci. The mb4 stands for Multi-byte 4, which uses four bytes instead of two for character representation. The ci suffix denotes that the collation is case-insensitive. As this is not the default, or no default is set when creating a new table or database, this is useful information. The user or database administrator may be inconvenienced if other settings are used, particularly if a lower multi-byte setting is used and this then needs to be changed in the database. Although there may be no untoward effects, it is preferable not to have to make low-level database changes. It is because of less encountered details like this, that being part of a system that includes a technologically inclined person begins to provide a return for the investment of having to work with other people in a systematic manner.

Working with Plain Text

Plain text is the simplest possible format that can be displayed in a web browser. It is easy to generate and easy to display. Despite this fact, it is rarely used. Plain text can created be typing into a text editor. However, to create readable paragraphs, the lines have to be formatted to a certain length. The default line length is usually 80 characters. If new lines are not added every 80 characters, the line will scroll of to the right on the page, making it unreadable. In addition, if lines of the right length are created as the text is typed by pressing the Enter key, a later edit on that paragraph often results in a jagged set of lines; one line will be very short. This can be fixed manually, but is easier if it is done programmatically. In the Atom editor being used to create this site, a package called "Line-Breaker" has been installed to perform this function. A paragraph with lines of the correct lenth is created by pressing CTRL-ALT-ENTER, after selecting the text to be formatted.

For the web author used to writing in an online editor, the above paragraph may appear overly precise and low level. Why would this be needed? The answer to that has to do with creating what I am calling a "Low Tech Fallback" for each piece of the puzzle, as the various processes of a self-sufficient community is built up. Text is required to communicate--of course--and the simplest possible means of formatting that text is sought. This is what the result of that objective is. Consider the task of the typist of the 20th century. A paragraph is typed on paper and the paper is removed from the typewriter. It is edited. A single word or a few words are changed. This required the entire page to be re-typed. What a relief, then, for the computer to come along and prevent the need to re-type an entire page, just to fix up a few words! Yet this simple advance has created a whole host of complex problems. The typical website using an online platform is easily more complex than a simple text editor by a factor of a 1,000. To understand this complex machinery, skilled technicians are required. They, of course, like to earn well for their expertise. The typical small business owner or web author can't afford to pay them what they are worth, so makes do or struggles along, spending countless hours trying to figure out how to format text for the web. Which system is now more simple? The one where text is typed into a text editor and a single formatting package formats the line lengths.

Now, who is going to set up the text editor to do this? The Atom text editor is not that difficult to install. It is like many other text and code based editors. However, it has way more functionality than the standard web author needs. This is where the replication of laptops containing a standard set of software developed for an integrated community comes into play. Rather than trying to "take on the world" with a nifty idea (with slim chances of succeeding), this method peels off a much smaller chunk. Recogize that each individual has roughly similar needs and create a set of systems that meets those needs, while the indepedence of the individual is retained. Taking this down to the smallest level, the result is a laptop with the "right" software on it that is made available to those contracting to function as part of this integrated network. If these people live within a reasonable distance of each other, providing service and training for products distributed with this method becomes a lot easier.

Underlying Processes

Beginning on the wrong foot could mean a perpetual imbalance. Imagine you are one step away from discovering where the food comes from in the grocery store. When going there, you see the food, but don't see where it comes from. Then one day, someone shows you that a seed is put in the ground. From the ground the plant grows, and from the plant the food is harvested. It is like that with the web. We use it every day, yet are only a step or two from how it is created. In fact, as I am writing this, I am making a similar discovery. The base language used in PHP (one of the common languages used to drive the web), is only a step away, but has remained invisible to me, because it hasn't been explicitly declared as such in the PHP language. A similar example is being able to understand and describe how sounds are formed as we speak. It is done without thinking, yet describing it accurately is a task only a few can do. I will describe a low level (but essential) computer processes here as a reminder to myself and to whet the appetite of anyone wanting to learn and work at this level. It is a very handyskill to have.

For example, supposed that you have a PDF document and wish to create a video of it, so that it can be read without intervention or, at most, read by hitting the space bar to continue or pause. To do this, the document needs to be transformed into a set of images, and then those images may be used in the video, simply by placing them one after the other, with enough time on each image to read through the page. You can search the internet for a program that will save the PDF document as a set of images (and may very well find one), but this functionality may already reside on the computer you are using; if you are using a Linux based OS (such as Ubuntu or OpenSUSE). To do that some knowledge of the underlying processes is helpful. In specific, with the utility pdftocairo installed, the following is expected to do what is required.

  shopt -s nullglob;
  for file in *.pdf;
    do name=${file%.pdf};
    pdftocairo -jpeg -jpegopt quality=75 \
      -cropbox -x 0 -y 0 \
      -W 1240 -H 1700 \
      $name.pdf images/$name;
  done;
  shopt -u nullglob;

This script takes the files in the current directory and selects those which have the *.pdf extension. It uses pdftocairo to generate a set of images, with the specified options. The goal is not to explain the specifics of this application, it is to show that there are low-level utilities already built-in to Linux based Operating Systems. This example script is set to process PDFs in the folder in which it is placed and create one image for each page at the default width, but cropping the extra bottom marin. The images are placed in the images directory. This script must be used in the Terminal with the appropriate permissions set. There are many tutorials and reference documents available online to provide further details on the Linux Operating System and low level functions like the one shown here.

Working through functionality like this is technical work. It requires time or it requires having someone nearby who is knowledgeable in this area and could help with this task. This is the benefit that arises by being part of what I am calling "a contractual network", where those with specific and complementary skills in select trades and professions work together to achieve better results than they could alone. This "contractual network" could occur in existing cities, town and communities, but is expected to be more easily demonstrated in a community model that is built from the ground up for this purpose. The best way to explain something is to show it. Thus, having a functioning self-sufficient community built from the ground-up and incorporating a contractual network is expected to be the most efficient way to demonstrate it.

File Ownership and Permissions

If you understand the following, you don't need a tech person in the loop, can set up your laptop as a web server from scratch, and don't need to spend hundreds, if not thousands on other people or for a web hosting service to do this for you:

sudo adduser r4 www-data
# Adds user "r4" to www-data

sudo chown r4:www-data -R /var/www/your_site
# Sets ownership of user "r4" to www-data recursively

sudo find /var/www/your_site -type d -exec chmod g+w {} \;
# Group gets write permissions

sudo find /var/www/your_site -type d -exec chmod g+s {} \;
# New file inherits ownership of group

To be honest, I am not sure how many people posing as web developers understand the above, or if they would remember it and could type it in directly from scratch. It isn't just a raw understanding of the commands that are important here, it is also what happens when these commands are entered into the terminal. Getting it wrong could change permissions for all the sites running on the device, or change permissions in the wrong directory. Patience, and attention to detail is required here. These are part of one of the Big 5 underlying personality traits discovered in the last thirty years called: Conscientiousness. Certain people have this trait and so would be able to work through details like this. Others don't and are better suited to other tasks. The trait is not dependent on formal studies, but may influence those studies so that those with it end up in professions like Physics, Mathematics or Computer Science.

The reason I found the above snippet was not due to brilliance, it was due to being organized and realizing that the directory structure could be used to better effect. Thus, your_site contains the /site directory, and that directory contains the /public directory. This prevents everything above the /site directory from being accessible online. The /public allows room for an /admin or /members directory beside it, while explicitly declaring (to both the site author and viewer) that the material in it is definitely intended to be publicly accessible. Cranky operating systems that don't let you access the files you want when you want to access them, also don't allow others to do the same. This technical obstinacy leads to a more secure computing environment. It needs to be remembered that any file that you the user can access from anywhere (after providing a mere username and password) can also be accessed by anyone else with roughly the same credentials. A more robust interface will detect if a different computer is being used and offer a challenge question, but the main site platforms of which the author is aware do not have this more advanced capability.

A distinction the Linux OS offers, over the alternative, is fine grained control over file permission and ownership. Beyond this, a lesser known capability allows a file to be immune from being changed, even if an attempt is made by the file owner, with the appropriate permissions. This is called, immutability. When a file or set of files is given this attribute, it can't be deleted or modified, even by the file owner. The mutability attribute first needs to be turned "off", and then changed. Moving back to ownerhip and permissions, it has been discovered that even widely used recommended settings can be refined and improved upon. The main requirement for a file being read and displayed online is that it is "readable" by the by the server. As it is the server doing the reading, these files can be set to 400 which allows them to be read only by the user. Write permissions is needed only if the file needs to be modified. In most cases, files do not need to be modified unless there is an update to the platform. This alone implies that an additional layer of security can be applied to a website by merely changing permissions for all files to read only (with no writes) for the times in between site updates.

Physical Hard Copies

Arcane technical details require precise implementation. When a configuration file is stored digitally, for example, a single character for a value often makes the difference, denoting whether that value is ON (1) or OFF (0). By the same token, punctuation marks such as colons or semi-colons often denote the end of a "key" and the beginning of a "value" (with a colon) or the end of a line (with a semi-colon). It is patterns like these that the experienced coder is familiar with. Experience that is built up over years of use, so that looking for details like this in non-functioning code becomes a matter of habit. Having said that, however, it is not possible for the human mind to retain detailed knowledge of thousands and thousands of lines of code. It is not built like that. Code is entered via the keyboard and stored electronically. Once lines of code or a configuration file are functioning correctly, they need to be "locked in place". While versioning allows for changes to be rolled back, I still do not know of a workflow that incorporates locked files that can't be changed, once they have reached maturity. One way to do this, however, is to create a physical hard copy; that is, a print out. A Brother black and white laser printer is an excellent choice for that, preferable over its inkjet counterpart, because it can sit for an extended period without the ink drying out. Once printed, the pages need to be stored somewhere. The same type of organization that goes into structuring a document to be used as a book, or structuring directories used to contain many files can be used to structure a set of files to be used for physical storage.

Working through the steps needed to store key parts of a program in a physical format can reveal how amenable the electronic structure is to being recreated in a physical format. For example, the directory structure housing the images, drawings, documents and tables on this site are all contained in a directory called /media. The /media directory is underneath what I am calling a "versioning" directory called /020. Over time, this can be incremented to /030 to allow for a fresh start and a completely new way of doing things. Should the image, drawing, document and table directories all fall directly under the versioning directory, or is it better to retain a root directory for all files of type "media"? If a physical hardcopy is made and those physical hardcopies are placed in a drawer or on a shelf, that drawer or shelf could be named "Media", precisely replicating the electronic version. While this approach may appear odd at first, consider what happens when a non-technical user comes along. They would like to have a look at how it works. Clicking through the directories where their images, drawings and tables are stored becomes tedious. There may be many. But pointing them to a shelf or drawer where the same files are available for viewing by pulling out a binder or a file makes the otherwise completely digital copy tangible. In doing so, it may reveal something that can be improved upon or a detail that might otherwise be missed.

Not all data is created equal. There are orders of magnitude ranging from the very small to the very great. Inhabiting these distances are genomes, the species that the genomes define, the contintents the species are on, the planets that contain the continents, the solar systems that contain the planets, the galaxies that contain the solar systems, and the universe that contains the galaxies. The data is relevant within the context it occurs, provided that awareness is retained of that context. For example, it is obvious that the genomes that contain the information that defines a species is relevant, when the species can be seen. We can see fish, dolphins and whales, otters, groundhogs and porcupines, algae, lily pads and seaweed, etc. What we cannot see as readily are the other planets in our solar system. They appear as mere dots that move through the sky. We also cannot the moons that orbit the planets of our solar system, without assistance, except for ours, and we certainly cannot see that planets that orbit other stars in our galaxies without assistance, though we are now certain they are there and have been cataloguing them for some time[1]. It is precisely because of the value of the data that is understood within the context it occurs that provides a motive for creating a physical hard copy. We want to be certain we have a record of it.

Desktop and Laptop

Experience shows that a desk-bound computer is better for dedicated programming. Keeping a the primary computing device at the desk and locked to it is more secure, especially if access is limited to the working environment. Professional programming is expected to involve sensitive or confidential information, often for clients. Thus, having a measure of security in place is a reasonable practice to build into the work environment and programming habits. In addition, it is easier to install (and upgrade, if necessary) higher end components focussed on the task at hand. Text based programming does not require a lot of CPU or memory, however, audio and video editing and production may. More precisely, the results of text based programming may include analysis of large sets of data, or CPU and memory intensive modelling. In these cases, the computer can be built with the components needed.

Docking Hub

A docking hub is a physical device to which a laptop is attached so that it can easily use the expected stationary peripherals which a desktop computer uses. These include multiple monitors, speakers, a camera, a microphone, full keyboard and mouse. Specifically, certain older professional grade laptops have a docking slot built in, so that they can be placed on and locked into the docking hub. Newer laptops have USB Type-C interfaces, for which USB Type-C docking stations are available. Despite the expected interchangability of this equipment, experience shows that their is variability. Not all Type-C docking stations work with all Type-C devices. This is one more reason to assemble a tested, functioning system that is rolled out across a contractual network, so that each member of this network can benefit from the technical expertise of one or a few individuals in this area. This means--at minimum--that the laptop and docking station combinations need to be standardized for each contractual network.

Keyboard

The keyboard is an essential piece of equipment when using a laptop or desktop computer. The layout of the keyboard makes it easier or more difficult to perform common tasks. These tasks will differ by speciality. Keyboard shortcuts use combinations of keys which--when pressed together simultaneously--access a function which could only otherwise be accessed by a sequence of mouse moves. This type of access speeds up work considerably when those keyboard shortcuts are known and part of the routine of the desktop working professional. There is a nuance, however. It is that not all keyboard shortcuts are standardized, and some overlap. This means that the same shortcut will perform different functions in different programs. Or, the same shortcut will collide with that from another program, so that an unexpected effect occurs. Or a shortcut bound to the desktop environment collides with the shortcut from a specific program, also producing an unexpected effect. Finally, keyboard layouts different enough, that it is worth the while to invest enough time in finding the right keyboard for the set of functions expected across the range of tasks defined here. All of this, again, supports the notion that developing a standardized, locked-down workspace with the right equipment set up in the right way, will result in dividends across the board.

Mouse

Next to the keyboard, the mouse is the second most essential piece of equipment with which to interface to a desktop or laptop computer. A mouse typically has two buttons on the front, with a wheel for scrolling. The expected behaviour of the left button is to execute a "click" action, and the expected behaviour of the right button is to have a menu displayed. On some keyboards, the same context-sensitive menu can be displayed when pressing the Menu button. This button is available on the keyboard shown above. A computer mouse can be connected via a cable, wirelessly using the 2.4 GHz protocol or wirelessly using the Bluetooth protocol. Some mice can be connected by both a wire and wirelessly, or by both the 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth protocols, with a switch on the bottom of the device to move between one or the other. Finally, the quality of the mouse and the ability to track precise movements varies greatly from brand to brand, and within brands. For a dedicated, professional grade working environment, it makes sense to ensure the right brand and quality is chosen for the task. It takes an effort to ensure the right mouse is chosen and tested for the job.

Monitors

Monitors are one of the essential pieces of equipment in the professional grade computing setup. Experience shows that three monitors provide a balance between enough viewing space to perform the basic tasks of file editing, communication, uploading and viewing uploaded content online and the physical space required to house those monitors. The physical break between monitors provides a hard division between tasks that cannot be obtained by dividing a single monitor up into sections. That being said, software can be installed to create panes on the individual monitor. However, again, experience shows that these are excessively malleable. The layout does not not stick over the long term (long enough to become used to having a specific type of information in a specific location). In addition, if a laptop is being used with a docking station, and the laptop provides the primary monitor, along with the CPU, memory and storage, when it is removed from the docking station, the windows open in the other two monitors collapse onto the laptop monitor. This means that a balance needs to be struck between the number of monitors used, what is on those monitors as a matter of habit, and what happens when the laptop is removed from the docking station. This is one more reason why a standardized, replicable setup has potential. Deciding which combination of monitors and windows works best for multiple users is expected be a catalyst to crystallize the precise configuration for an improved workflow.

Coffee and Water

Coffee and water are being included in the "Equipment" section as a placeholder for the nutrition and hydration required by the deskbound professional. Obviously, not all professionals will drink coffee, but a beverage of some type is expected. If not coffee, then likely tea. The type of coffee, the brewing method and the water used are as important as any other aspect of the environment. A key aspect of including this feature in the work environment is that the equipment (including the mug) need to be placed somewhere. The brewing machine requires power, and it is expected that it will be on a separate breaker from the power source feeding the sensitive electronic equipment. Kettles and brewing machines typically require 1,000 to 1,500 watts. The capacity of the 110 V breaker is 1875 Watts. This means that the kettle or brewing machine ought to be on its own circuit to avoid overloading and tripping the breaker by which the computer equipment is powered. If city tap water is all that is available, then a reverse osmosis machine is recommended for water filtration. The other option is to purchase quality reverse osmosis water, or obtain water from a local spring of suitable purity. Eating or drinking foods or liquids that reduce performance by dulling the mind or reducing energy levels takes the edge off the rest of the design of the workspace. The worker is an integral part of it, and needs to be treated in a way that supports the ideal of quality throughout.

Speakers

The emphasis on clear sounding, robust speakers has declined with the advent of electronic technology. Even before that, moving sound production from analog to digital has reduced the timbre and depth of audio reproduction. This can be verified by listening to vocals recorded in the 1950's versus vocals recorded in the 1980's and greater. There is a remarkable difference. Having said that, making an effort from moving beyond speakers built for computers to speakers built for the studio will result in a better quality sound in the space in which they are placed. Listening to music is a key part of work. Having the sound as clear and distinct as it can be is expected to result in a pleasing work experience. Looking at it the other way, the computing professional will want to record audio to explain the code and the tutorials they create. When recording, that audio needs to be listened to for editing purposes, but also for volume and clarity. Having studio quality speakers in place, removes them as a potential bottleneck from the equation. Writing top end code, or other types of digital products is enhanced by top end audio. It keeps the level of expectation high from the consumer, when the same level of quality is experienced throughout.

Microphone(s)

The author has tested the three standard types of microphones used for vocal reproduction (cardiod dynamic, hyper-cardiod condensor and broadcast dynamic) and three sizes of USB microphones from the same brand (the Blue Yeti, Blue Snowball and Blue Snowflake). Of these, the one prefered so far, for authentic speaking-voice vocal reproduction is the broadcast dynamic. A strong second choice would be the Blue Yeti, when placed correctly in an acoustically neutral environment. The hyper-cardiod condensor was accurate, but crisp, and the cardiod dynamic tested was designed for on-stage vocal reproduction. It was adequate, but not tuned specifically for the speaking voice. The main difference between the broadcast mic and the Blue Yeti in terms of physical setup is that the broadcast microphone is designed to be placed on a boom, whereas the Blue Yeti--due to its size and weight--functions better when placed on its stand directly in front of the individual speaking. As the configuration being created here is for the computing and deskbound professional, it is assumed that the main activity will be at the keyboard. The Blue Yeti needs to be placed in front of the keyboard for best effect. This means it gets in the way when not in use. The broadcast microphone was setup using a desktop stand, a counterweight and a boom of reasonable length, allowing it to be swung out of the way when not in use. These are not trivial considerations. If recording audio is going to be a key requirement for the workspace configuration, the microphone doing that recording has got to be ready when needed, and unobtrusive when not. Critically, vocal audio recording is such that it works best when the microphone is within a handspan of the speaker's vocal apparatus. This includes the diaphram, as well as the throat and mouth. A third option for unobstrusive--but authentic--vocal recording is a suitable lapel microphone. Of these, the broadcast microphone is the first choice.

Camera and Lighting

Recording video with a camera in a desk-based environment requires more than placing a camera on top of the center monitor, sitting down and pressing "Record". This will get the job done... with a 1 out of a possible 10. Why bother thinking about SEO, writing crisp text, getting a haircut, dressing neatly, etc., if all the entrepreneur is going to do is point the camera at themselves...and everything behind them. Despite the glaringly obvious lack of professionalism demonstrated with this method, nine out of ten videos are published using this slapstick approach. On a budget, and with limited options? Turn the desk around so the camera is pointed at a wall. The bulk of distractions are removed. Hang a black tablecloth on the wall. The focus then turns to the moving object in the center (the person doing the recording). Install a sidelight. Depth is created. Etc. Video tutorials abound for improvements like these. The focus here is creating a workspace where this is already done. Having a cube of 10'x10'x10' or less allows the configuration to be created once, then replicated. It isn't difficult, once starting out on the right foot. The difficult part is thinking in this manner. It is a conceptual shift. The framed cube provides a ready means for installing lights. The side and fill lights have a structure on which to hang. Not only that, the placement of this equipment is meant to be stable. That means it doesn't have to be taken down if moved. These hints alone ought to be sufficient for the savvy entrepreneur. A nice touch would be adding one or two cameras for a back view and side view, with due care being taken to avoid recording passwords on a sheet of paper, or other sensitive information. Having said that, moving from a desk-bound professional whose main source of communication with their client are the digital products they create, to one who extends that effort to their audio and video communication is a benefit a standardized, replicable workspace can provide.

Backups and External Storage

A key principle in the model of a self-sufficient community is to have a low-tech fallback in place for critical systems. It is being learned that redundancies result in extra equipment which can get in the way. Thus, an over-arching objective would be to retain system functionality while reducing redundant equipment, processes and digital copies to their essential minimum to prevent clutter and the question of which piece of equipment or digital product is authoritative or canonical. This is not a trivial requirement. Consider what happens when a backup is made of a digital product. Work performed past the backup is unique and must be backed up as well. If there is a disruption and a roll-back is required, what has happened in the interim may only be known by the person doing the work. Thus, before a backup is taken, emphasis on the work itself, the model it is following, and the daily work routine is expected to hold the greatest value. Past that, judicial, known backups are relevant, in the context of the primary work. Automated backups may be useful, but only in the context of the individual who is aware of what they hold. Without this nuanced requirement, a year could pass with the expectation of worked being backed up, only to find a key parameter missing and the expected backup missing. The one-to-many model of third party hosting solutions mediates the risk, but a improved tech person to user ratio is expected to produce better results with digital products having greater solidity. External storage is being defined here as digital work stored separately from the device on which it is created. It should be noted that online applications store creative work online by default, with offline storage being offered as a an option. The risk of using offline external storage as the default is that the storage medium (as simple as an external drive) could be lost or compromised more easily as it is physically compact (palm sized or less). However, securing the entire work environment in a physically protected working cube of 10'x10'x10' or less, reduces that risk as the external storage would have a dedicated spot on, in or under the desk. In addition, having the working cube in a protected or semi protected area on owned property will prevent the casual passerby from coming near valuable digital equipment and the creative work produced on them.

In a survey of twenty Ontario cities conducted by the author in 2016, the community with the highest population had 136,000 and the community with the loweset population had 22,000. The author has been in many (but not all) of these communities. Since that time, a refined strategy has reduced the arbitrary starting population of an existing community to 25,000 or less. No minimum population is being defined in this section, as the minimum population depends on transporation corridors. Ample, rapid, and convenient transportation between points is what makes the difference. It is assumed that the pathway requiring the lowest amount of energy will be used by individuals, whether that be virtual or physical. Thus, driving to a store, where that trip takes 10 minutes will be preferable to walking 10 minutes to an identical store. Even though the 10 minute drive consumes more total energy, the energy is external to the individual, and thus requires a lower personal energy expenditure than the 10 minute walk. To be comparable, the identical store would need to be within, say, a three minute walk to match the perceived travel (and energy expenditure) of the drive.

Based on actual experience, a city of 30,000 inhabitants (round figures) with big box stores 4 kilometres apart was uncomfortable to navigate when walking, as that walk took about an hour in real time. Hilly terrain and heat added to this discomfort. Two towns of about 15,000 (Towns A and B) were easier to traverse on foot, but there was still a walk of about 1.5 km from the town core to the edge, where the bix box stores tend to be placed. A bus was available in town B, but it travelled in one direction only, on a one hour schedule. The third town (Town C) being experienced (with 20,000 inhabitants) has a population of about 5,000 more than Towns A and B but has a more comfortable walk to some of its amenities. It also has a single bus route, but this travels in both an easterly and westerly direction, taking an hour to travel one way, then the second hour to travel the other way. Thus, experience with towns or cities in the 30,000 population range or above, show that they are not comfortable to walk, which is a key requirement for having a low tech fallback (i.e.that they are walkable).

A topical focus for a marketable idea or a functional focus for a marketable product are two ways to reduce the target population from an unmanageable "everyone"--spread around the globe--to a more manageable number. Even when delivering a digital product, the behind-the-scenes infrastructure is very different for the individual marketing an add-on to a software platform, and the organization delivering that software platform which is used worldwide. In the second case, dedicated personnel are required to ensure servers are operating as intended. In the first case, an annual web hosting package can be purchased for the cost of a mid-priced fall jacket. They are not comparable. A third way to reduce the target population to a manageable number--while still retaining a focus on a specific product or service--is to limit the geographical area being serviced, while ensuring that the individuals in that population are part of a system where their needs are being met, within that system. It is expected that the only way a limited number of people can actually function in this manner is for this system to be built from the ground up, with individuals contracting to be a part of it. The built-in habits and inertia are simply too strong for an existing community to adopt a different system, expect a smooth transition, and not have anything break. Regardless, what can be done is for a contractual distribution model network to be set up, so that a large enough group of people, in a limited enough geographical area, can examine how that might work for them, and play around with it, without having it drastically affect their lives.

Matching Supply and Need

The business owner alone has many decisions to make. How much of a product should be supplied? At what quality? At what price? Too low a price and not enough profit will be too high and the product may not sell. There is also marketing to consider. How many dollars should be spent advertising? Employees want to be paid well and have benefits. All of this needs to be balanced and is difficult without extra information.

Likewise, the consumer has many decisions to make. How much should be purchased when an item comes on sale? What quality level can be afforded? If more is bought at a lower quality, but that product does not serve the need, what good is it? How much effort should be put into sourcing common goods? How far should one travel to get what one needs? What happens if there is a downturn in the economy and a job is lost? These are all concerns from the consumer’s point of view.

In some industries, there is a link between the supply and demand. This is the case with taxi dispatchers and dispatchers for emergency services. They moderate who needs what and serve as a link between those requesting the service and those able to supply the need. In many cases in the private sector, the consumer is left to fend for themselves to find what they need. Only in special cases may they have a person to help them. This could be a friend, a child, a parent.

In general, the economic system is set up so that suppliers and consumers respond to economic based indicators. If the price goes up, less will be purchased. If the price goes down, more will be purchased. It is up to suppliers to gauge how much and of what product to supply. The consumer is free to buy as much as they wish, providing they have the funds to do so. A downturn in the economy could result in less money being available to purchase goods and services and thus make things difficult.

For suppliers that are able, they may obtain help to determine what product to sell and at what price. More commonly, they will hire a marketer to help them advertise their goods, or advertise “in house”. The assumption is that the more they can convince people to buy their product through greater awareness or other strategies, the more successful they will be and hence, the more money they will make. This approach often ignores other businesses in the same sector or ecological concerns.

By the same token, a wise consumer who is able may obtain help from neighbours, friends or family members to help them determine where to buy, what to buy or how much to buy. They can research the product and are free to purchase from anywhere, as long as they are able to afford it. This approach works as long as the consumer has the necessary skills to do so and is able to afford what they need. It ignores the business owner as there is no commitment to purchase from anyone in particular if they choose not to do so.

When the supplier begins to take a holistic view and seeks to obtain balance between their own needs, the needs of other business in the same sector, the needs of the consumer and the needs of the environment, then long term sustainable practices can start to be found and implemented. There can be movement from competition to cooperation. However, a business only can control their own actions. Other businesses and consumers can still do as they choose. If these other players do not have long term sustainability in mind, then they could undercut other businesses.

A further step towards balance is taken when the consumer also seeks balance, cooperation and long term sustainability. They may be met by the supplier who wishes to do the same. However, if there is no systematic way to help ensure that what they purchase is balanced by what is supplied, the entire system could still be out of whack.

The “missing link” is found when an entirely new sector is imagined that has as their full time occupation, the job of matching supply to demand. If this happens, then symbolically, there can be real, long term sustainable practices as work is done to ensure that balance is obtained. When a supplier has too much stock on hand, they might have to dispose of it. Rather, a person can work to match supply to need at a sufficient level of detail so that there is more balance in the local economy and thus a better chance at long term sustainability.

The above text was written in 2017, and is available as a downloadable PDF, with icons depicting the various stages of the model. The distinction being made here (in 2022) is that it is more likely that balanced supply and need will occur when population and geographical area are balanced in manageable sections, rather than attempting to find balance in a population of millions of people covering millions of square kilometres.

Managing a Transition

A transition to an improved system involving people is similar to a transition to an improved system using code. For the programmer, there are steps to take to minimize system downtime when a transition is made. One of these steps is to make changes on what is called a "staging" site. When these are proven stable, these changes are then applied to the live, production site. When people volunteer for an activity and understand the risks, these risks are perceived differently than if the same risks are experienced involuntarily. Thus, creating a multi-person system on a 100 hectares for the purposes of testing, recruiting people who voluntarily engage in the project is expected to have better results than if they expect success from the beginning, without understanding there is a risk of failure. A survey of intentional communities by Diana Leafe Christian revealed that the majority of these systems failed. Looking at the numbers involved in each project, it was seen that they were quite low in most instances. Increasing the number of people to increase the diversity of skills, trades and professions is expected to result in better outcomes.

Using known and tested examples providing from tracking changes and upgrading software, it is then possible to conceptualize steps needed to track changes and improve existing systems involving people. One way to do this is to create an actual model system on actual land, where the layout of the community is similar or identical to the schematic at the top of the page. Participants are from select trades and professions, already skilled and with experience. They would join in the same way they would take on a job at a company. The difference is that they would own property on the site in the same way that they would own a property in a subdivision. They are allowed to do what they like, within established parameters. A major requirement is that they provide their established knowledge and skills in their chosen trade or profession to provide specific products or services to the rest of the participants on the same site.

Although it may take a significant effort to determine this, calculating how much time per day, week or season is needed to meet the needs of the other project members is expected to determine a number of hours, days or weeks per year they will have left to ply their craft outside of the community. For example, work for some trades is seasonal. More work is expected in general during the summer months. During the winter--when work is often slow--time could be utilized to perform similar work "in-house"; that is, within the community. If the carpenter/cabinetmaker is working off site during the summer months, they may then have the winter months to upgrade kitchen cabinets for a number of community members. The same would go for the mechanic. This is where computer based modelling could be engaged to provide precise numbers and expectations for community members before they actually set foot on the site property.

Creating a Model

The simplest way to transition to an improved system (and the one deemed most difficult to implement due to inertia and engrained habits) is to use existing systems, but use them differently. Engrained beliefs include the notion that geological changes have occurred slowly over eons. Channels cut into solid rock were caused by erosion over long periods. The deeper the cut, the longer it took. Careful observation shows, however, that a second alternative is possible. The change occured by a different method, similar to snow drifting to the leeward side of a snow fence, and it took much less time. Changes occurring slowly--when they occur to people--make sense when the people to whom they are occuring are not aware of the process, and those making the changes wish it to be that way. However, many events in life have a definite beginning. This definiteness is made possible when the person making the change is aware of what is happening and is doing so on a voluntary basis. Changes happening to people who are not aware of the process are expected to build up resentment. Changes happening to people as a result of their conscious decision are not expected to build up resentment, because they went into a situation fully aware of what the possible outcomes might be.

To make this second alternative possible, then, it is required that the concept be explained as fully as possible. This is what the information presented on this page is doing. It is taking an individual (it so happens it is the individual that designed the model), and looking at the model from the perspective of that individual. What does it look like from there? What can be expected? What is needed to make it happen? Thus, there is a top-down approach, a bottom-up approach and a "tackle-it-by-diving-in-at-the-middle" approach. When all three perspectives are combined, a sense of how that model will actually work should emerge.

An example from the author's experience may help explain. There is a tendency to create models digitally. Thus, cars and machinery are designed using Computer Aided Design (CAD), and then built using that design. There is a high degree of precision using this method. However, it does not use a real-world model that is replicated. It is digital and can't be walked around, touched and looked at as a solid object can be looked at. When building cabinets, a master craftsman prefered using what he called "the stick". This stick was the length of the cabinets and had the precise locations of where they began and ended, as well as where the divisions were. A key aspect of this method--which made it preferable to using digital means--was that "it never lied" (his words). That is, when carrying that stick to the job site, it was guaranteed to show what the measurements ought to be. It always worked. In the same way, if setting up a model on a plot of land, that really is the way to do it. Once that is done, it is possible to look at it, walk around it, touch it. There is simply too much information bound up in the 3D environment to capture it all in digital format and explain it using words, or even video. The best way to explain it is to do it, and let people observe. If it is done right, few words should be needed.

Using a Model in Existing Systems

A model needs to be used to make a transition in an existing system to keep that transition on track. Different tasks require different mindsets. The mindset used to develop a model on paper or using a computer is different from that used when building it or working within it. Without the structure defined, it can't be followed, and the "lets-do-it" mindset won't get it done right. It takes years to build up a set of skills within a trade or profession. It is that experience which is relied upon when performing the work. It is only those without that experience who would want to take shortcuts or eliminates steps. Those with the experience will know what happens when it is done right, and when it isn't. This is true whether building a structure with physical materials, or whether engaged in a conceptually-based profession such as engineering, architecture or programming. The structure (physical or conceptual) built with tried and true methods is the one that will last. The one that isn't is the one that won't, or one that will start to deteriorate within a decade, rather than lasting thirty or forty years or more.

The author has experience in both building and in programming. In addition, he has seen the results coming from a long-term, year-by-year approach, where seeds planted in the spring are harvested in the fall, are used to feed livestock throughout the winter, and until the next harvest again. A short-term view which expects results in a few weeks won't work, when a seasonal, and yearly cycle is required to see the results. This means that the farmer, builder, or programmer gets up and works for day after day, and month after month, before seeing the fruits of their labours. In the case of the design of this model, the same cycle has extended to five to seven years. However, the principle is the same. Giving the project time to mature lends confidence with the subject matter. That confidence, stemming from familiarity with the plan, makes the difference. The same design viewed by the architect with only a few years experience will appear different to the architect with a decade or more of experience.

Mechanical Computing

To facilitate discussion about the various levels of computing, especially as it relates to retaining a graceful low-tech fallback, a number of terms will be used to distinguish between the possible types of computing which may not otherwise be explicitly defined. The first is mechanical computing, which is defined here as the process of using a machine or mechanics to perform a calculation, analog computing, which uses actual quantities such as air pressure, temperature, distance, weight and so on, to make decisions. Manual computing which uses pencil, paper and numbers to perform calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and differential equations. Finally, electronic digital computing is the main form we use today, where information is reduced to binary on-off bits and decisions are made with miniaturized logic gates.

Analog Computing

One of the reasons I am not fond of making videos, is that the experience of making videos is not at all like the experience shown by the video. There is not a one-to-one correspondence, unless the camera is simply pointed at the subject and used as is. This would normally be considered "raw" footage and, in my opinion, is the lowest form of video production. A high quality video is a lot of work. It is, in fact, a reason I am going to the lengths I am going to set up the community model. It comes with built-in digital video production, because it will employ someone both gifted and trained in that field, and this person will be distinct from the subject of the video. In general, this is the best way to proceed in any field; that is, to specialize and then put the results together in a cohesive whole. It is a reason why $50 million was allocated for one of George Lucas' later Star Wars movies, and why people have flocked to the theaters to see them when released. So, this is a reason why I typically don't make videos, it is not an analog experience, where the footage seen by the viewer is what the subject of the video experiences.

Now, the following are a few examples of the use of analog feedback to make a decision. Weight: A pressure sensor at the top of the bin trips a switch which turns the auger off when the grain reaches it. Air Flow: Louvers on the exhaust side of the fan open up as a result of air pressure from the fan when it is on, and close when the fan is off, preventing a chilling back draft in the colder months of the year. Temperature: Warmer temperatures heat a strip of metal, causing it to expand, opening a contact and turning the furnace off. Position: The mail is delivered and the person delivering the mail swings the flag up on the mailbox, indicating to the home owner that there is mail. If the mail delivery vehicle goes by and there is no mail for that day, the flag does not go up. In all of these cases, there is a single decision being made, but in each case that decision is conveyed by different means. Finally, all of these have been experienced by the author first hand over numbers of years. All these methods are reliable, at least (if not more) reliable than their digital counterparts. If something does go wrong (such as grain or dust getting behind the solenoid switch at the top of the grain bin) it is easy enough to fix. The problem can be seen and the part cleaned or replaced.

Manual Computing

Digital Computing

Reflections on the History of Computing

When first embarking on this path a dozen years ago, I did not think that I would reach the point where I would be able to connect the dots...reaching far back into history, and finding relevance in that to today. There is too much difference--on orders of magnitude--and that is precisely the problem. In fact, these non sequitors are found not just in computing, but in ancient stone megalithic structures (which display remarkable feats of engineering), and in religion (which is the field I first chose, assuming its relevance to the problems of the day and for the eternal soul). Could there be a reason for this "meta pattern" emerging? For example, even reading the "History of Computing" article on Wikipedia[1] with eyes half closed, one can't help but wonder what happened after the rise of monotheistic religion. Before that time the list of achievements was extensive: Sumerican abacus, a differential gear (later used in analog computers), a sophisticated Sanskrit grammer, a mechanical principle of balance, and the Antikythera mechanism. Not to mention Euclid's geometry and Archimedes other achievements. Brought to mind is such basic computing tasks as counting using a one-to-one correspondence, where marks on a stick corresponded to bushels of wheat or corn in the storage bin, for example. How is it, that the all supreme (G)god--who was concerned with his people--did not continue to ensure there was enough for the entire year, by making this part of the gathering each week? This, in fact, is a distinct story in the Old Testament.

In other words, one of the emphasis of the design of the community structure being developed is that the more advanced does not eclipse the less advanced. This then would include the need to know if there is enough food for the entire year, by counting the number of people in the community and balancing that number with the kilograms of food expected to be harvested for that year, as well as what is stored in the pantries, freezers and root cellars. Instead the focus of the monotheistic religion (which required roughly 15% of ones time, and 10% of one's income) was essentially to forget all that face the front, and listen to a person talk about everything but that which was directly relevant to one's every day life. On top of that, no questions were allowed during this weekly one-way lecture. The only number that counted was (a) showing up, and (b) making sure enough money was put in the plate each year. And this was one to two thousand years after the remarkable achievements mentioned above. Then, despite this disconnect between the expected weekly behaviour of the entire community, and the relevance of what was taught during the weekly one-way lectures, the admonitioned was leveled from parent to child to be... realistic, practical, down-to-earth. To cut to the chase, it sounds as if something was cut out of the fabric of reality, and that something was hidden in the business of life created to hide that gap. This gap shows itself again in the rise-fall-rise pattern of technology seen over the past 3,000 to 6,000 years.

The single thread running through the previous two paragraphs (and though a single thread, it is highly relevant) is the process of counting food, counting people, and counting days. Even today, with palm-sized supercomputers vying for attention on city sidewalks (and winning), this simple, basic task is missing. Supermarkets know how much stock they have, but this isn't related to the number of people in the community they serve and the number of days until the next harvest. Stock is likely kept based on how much is sold, not how much is needed. How much is needed is simple, it is roughly a kilogram of food per person per day. A kilogram of food takes roughly a litre of space to store. A litre of space is 10cm x 10cm x 10cm. There are 365 days in the year. Therefore a single adult requires approximately 365 kg of food per year and 365 litres of space to store that food. A family of five (calculating for all adults) requires 1,825 kg of food and 1,825 litres of space. Despite the simplicity of these calculations, and the necessity from which they stem, the author has not seen these posted or listed anywhere, nor talked about. This is an example of the more advanced technology bypassing the less (but essential) advanced technology. The net result of equations like this is that the programmer... is not needed in an integrated, space limited community for it to function. These types of considerations can be--and have been--performed with paper and pencil, not complicated computing equipment. In fact, they may get in the way for something as basic as this.

Quantum Computing and Beyond

Points, Lines and Planes

The previous discussion on the distinction between mechanical, analog and digital computing leads into the the discussion of how abstraction occurs. Schrieber (sp.) makes the observation that points, lines and planes arise from shapes and solids, particularly the tetrahedron, which has four points and four lines, learning from ancient Egypt. The modern western world has replaced a focus on shapes and solids and their immediate utility with a fascination on the abstract and digital, which has no immediate utility to the physiological human unless translated into an object that has a use; such as food, clothing or shelter. The Pauline emphasis on knowledge (gnosis or logos) and subsequent denigration of the material has helped this transition. Occam's razor does not support the reduction of an idea (or an object) beyond the minimum required to represent it. That is, the smell of food cooking, a picture of an item of clothing or a For Sale sign in front of a house do not replace the objects they represent. This then directs the flow of thought to the critical minimum of a self-sustaining community built for actual people with real buildings, clothes that keep warm, and food that nourishes. When these are in place, the people in that system can then focus on the more abstract topics of truth, beauty and goodness, while retaining the former.

If it is accepted that points, lines and planes arise from solid objects, and not the other way around, this then provides a way forward when thinking about the best way (or various ways) to set up a self-sustaining community. One way that works is to set up an empty container (say, a plot of land) and imagine what is on that plot of land, and how the various elements interact. This was already done by the author on a soccer field, with stakes and Sisal twine, and enabled the visualization of the size of the dwelling structure as opposed to the size of the property. This helped to set the size of the dwelling structure relative to the size of the property and to ensure adequate spacing between it and potential outbuildings such as a writing cabin or a small cabin sized workshop. To bring in knowledge of our neural wiring into the mix: we are wired to think, move and act in a three dimensional world. Doing so helps us to refine our thoughts. Often in doing this, a vague idea is refined or sometimes rejected as what actually happens isn't always the same as what is thought will happen.

In particular, using this method to build out the idea for a self-sustaining community, a bare minimum design has been created that requires approximately 5 hectares of land (12 acres), a central commons area of 1 acre (~0.4 ha) and three pie shaped wedges around it at 2 acres (~0.8 ha) each. The total land allocated within the major circle is 7 acres (~2.8 ha). Each of the pie shaped wedges is then provided for a single adult, where they ply their trade or profession. Their trade will have one of three foci: thinking, speaking or doing. That is, one will be better at thinking (than speaking and doing), the second will be better at speaking (than thinking or doing) and the third will be better at doing (than speaking or thinking). A challenge, however, is that each of the three will be able to operate at a critical minimum for each of the other two proclivities that are not their preferred, natural strength. Each of them will interact and do business with the others at the boundary between their property (the 2 acre pie shaped wedge) and the circular 1 acre commons area, agreeing to respect the other's property and not come on it unless invited. This means that the individual is fully responsible for what happens on their own property, including building the buildings on which they live; a unique challenge that some would heartily welcome. This absolute minimum design then would allow the model of a self-sustaining community as it has been developed so far to be refined before committing more time, resources and people to a larger or full-sized project.

Recursion to Improve Design

Those who do not understand programming may think that it is difficult to understand at any level, and so don't even try. Consider, though, that the basic tools of programming are logic and premises, tools we use every day. And, or, because. I do this because of that. If this happens then I do A, otherwise I will do B. If it were not possible for us to make decisions like this on a daily, hourly, or even a minute-by-minute basis, we wouldn't be alive. Live is dynamic, and trying to capture it and put it in a box is the first step to taking the life out of it. Thus, being able to make a fresh start is one way to improve. Consider how "baked in" cities are, especially the older cities. They cannot change because they have been that way for hundreds of years. Even the newer North American cities, which have been established for no more than 150 years, become calcified. People live, move and have their being inthem based on the designs created when technology was primitive compared to what we have today. Now, with improved knowledged and technology--ranging through from communication, transportation, building materials, building design, energy creation, transimission and storage, nutrition and so on--would it be wise to attempt a new city design based around this cutting edge knowledge and technology?

This is the starting point I took after first hand experience with systems that were not working, that were sucking the life out of people, rather than invigorating them and making them stronger. This ranged from industrial agriculture (which has been replacing the family farm over the past generation), to trades (which may provide the owners with a livable income, while the workers build nice things for others, but not for themselves), to the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms, (which requires volunteers or those working for a stipend for the owners to make a go of it). I am defining that a key part of a functioning community is walkability. Can I walk where I need to go, in the time I have to go there, without losing my stride throughout the day? Are the various aspects of the community close enough to get to, while being far enough apart so they don't get in each other's way? Though this concept is simple, its implementation is spotty. In nearly half a dozen towns and villages I have been to over the past few weeks, few have this concept implemented, so that getting from one part of the community to the other--by walking--is easy. This is where the principle of recursion comes into play. What is the best starting point? The center (the commons area), the dwellings, or the working areas (the workshops)?

In making the design shown above (D5H), which is the absolute minimum that I have been able to come up with to date, I ended up with the commons area being one third of the diameter of the allocated property (which is a circle). The circle is contained within a square. The square is required because most properties have ninety degree angles. They are either squares or rectangles. A border is allowed between the allocated property and the perimeter of the entire plot of land. This border is set at 15m in the current rendition. When explaining the idea to someone verbally, I realized it would be better to use recognizable numbers and units for the allocated properites. Land is still sold in acres here (Canada), even though we have been metric since the '70s. Thus, I began with a close metric equivalent (5 hectares) and started working within that. A reasonable (and recognizable) size for the commons area is one acre. When the one acre size is one third of the total allocated area of the major circle and the three properties in "the hub" was set at two acres each, the total allocated area (B) is seven acres (2.8 hectares). If this sounds complicated, it is, and a reason why I have included the formulae for these calculations at the bottom of the diagram. To sum up, recursion (or repeating the calculation until the desired effect was achieved) was used to come up with a replicable and testable design. I have open sourced this particular diagram so that it can be adjusted as needed, without permission required to make changes.

Programming a Space to Live

In front of each one of us lies the answer to our problems, if only we know how to look. But looking requires knowledge, and knowledge needs to be tempered by experience to be effective. The question I have been asking on the morning I am writing this is: "How far apart should the buildings be on a property so that I can get to them soon enough, without being bothered by what is going on in them?" (i.e. so that I can focus on work). A related question is, "How far apart should the buildings be between properties so that the same dynamic applies?" (far enough so that the individuals living on each property are not bothered by those next to them, while still being close enough to walk over for a visit, from time to time). Based on the schematic designed in the past week, this has worked out to 36 metres (50 paces) from building to building, on the same property, and 60 metres (85 paces) between buildings on adjacent properties. A key addition to the design over the past week has been a generous border around each lot (approximately 10 metres, on average). The programming mindset comes into play when pacing out the distances. Is it far enough for me to gain a sense that I am "away" from where I was a few moments ago, yet close enough to "get there" if I forgot something or need to transition from one task to the other. The distances created appear to do just that.

One of the parameters used to make these decisions was the number of paces walked, not merely the distance as measured in metres or yards. The reason for this is that each pace is a physically noticable action required on the part of the person walking. Beyond a certain number of paces, the perception becomes that it is "too far". Too few paces and it is "too close". To get it "just right" requires some experimenting. For the author, part of that experimentation has already occured over an 18 year stretch, as he was growing up on a farm in Southwestern Ontario. The distance from the house to the barn was approximately 36 metres, and the distance from the barn to the workshop was a bit less, at about 24 metres (less than the distance from the barn to the house). The distances worked well. For simplicity, the distances created between buildings on the same property in the current schematic are equal to each other; three equal sides forms an equilateral triangle. Even numbers are used (which are also multiples of 12) as experience shows these are easier to work with when determining halfs, thirds and quarters, than are odd numbers (which result in fractions, if halved, for instance).

Ten days of experience showed that a area of about 360 metres on a side (~1,200 ft), is enough in which to work and move around comfortably, but not too much that it becomes a bother to have to walk from one place to the next. That is, if having to get something of an office supply nature, or purchase food for lunch, that approximate area worked just fine, without feeling too constrained. Following this, the next step was to move up to envisioning this single cluster (or hub) size as part of a full-sized community, designed using this demo 30 acre plot schematic. The full-sized community layout had previously been set at a round 100 hectares (equal to 247.1 acres) or 1,000 metres on a side. Adding buffers around each property, but compacting the schematic using pie shaped wedges, generated the D300A-6H schematic (shown below). At the same time that this was done, the author was present in a picturesque portion of Ontario, with huge tracts of undeveloped land nearby. Land isn't a problem. How we manage it is. This led to ensuring the entire 100+ hectares was surrounded by a buffer zone, expected to be naturalized. Having property that backs onto a wooded area, even if it isn't owned by the property owner, is a theme that recurs when homeowners talk about the property they live on. People like being close to nature, even if only looking at it or tramping through it from time to time. Looking at this schematic, it will be noticed that the width is less than the height. Understanding how to calculate this difference leads one back to high school geometry. It turns out that the formula for calculating this difference is identical to the formula calculating the height of a equilateral triangle (the square root of three, divided by two) given the width. This is derived from trigonometry, where the ratio of width to height is equal to tan(60)/2, which is SQRT(3)/2.

Design for a 300 acre, 36 Lot Self-Sufficient Community (PDF)

Finding the Right Analog/Digital Mix

In watching behind the scenes footage of the making of the second episode of Star Wars, a key discussion is how much to make digital, and how much to make analog (using physical 3D characters, costumes and sets). This is not a trivial distinction, as having actual characters speaking and moving is more convincing on screen. Even if much of the emotion and subtleties can be captured with digital animation, the volume of information conveyed in the 3D physical world, with people moving about in it is much greater than is expected to be replicatable in a digital environment. At least for the purpose of assessing the functionality of a 120 hectare (300 acre) design with 36 to 180 people in it, the ability to create this environment in 3D will provide much more useful feedback than if creating it digitally. However, to a certain point, digital will consume fewer physical resources and time. The question is, what is that point?

The easiest digital environment to create is two dimensional. This can be done using an editor which works with scalable vector graphics. Although this format is intended to be portable between editors, the experience in creating schematics with an online editor, downloading it and then opening it in an open sourced vector graphics editor (Inkscape) showed the two were not even close in terms of their interface. The online editor was much easier to use and more intuitive (although it was less flexible). Previous experience and perhaps formal training is definitely an asset when using this type of graphics editor. In addition, the SVG (Scaleable Vector Graphics) file can be exported from the online editor, but it can't be imported, perhaps due to security concerns. This means that it is not possible to employ the principle of having a graceful low tech fallback for these files, as working with them offline (if the internet connection is lost for whatever reason) and then reuploading them at a later point (if internet access is restored) is not possible. Thus, one has to proceed with care when starting down the road of serious design, on which the entire community depends. Ideally, offline desktop or laptop open sourced software (such as Inkscape) would be used, so that the work can be shared offline between users within the same community, as well as being sharable online with the broader community.

Another major consideration in deciding the right digital/analog mix to aim for is the experience and knowledge of the designer or designers in working with these two mediums. An experienced analog designer can make a few strokes with a pencil, and the outline created will be meaningful. Likewise, an experienced digital designer is expected to be easily able to create an environment using digital tools familiar to them. Third, if the land is available, so that a design may be mapped out on it using pegs, stakes, ribbons, ropes or spray painted lines, this also will reveal strengths or weaknesses of a design, as well as suggest new possibilities. For example, building in a clearing on a west-facing slope that is open to the hot summer sun, will reveal that this is not a good idea. The heat, combined with the lack of a breeze, will not make this a comfortable place to be at that time of the year. In the winter--however--the reverse will be true; passive solar heating can then be used to reduce external energy inputs to maintain the building at a comfortable temperature. An option that opens up by making the buildings movable is that they can then be kept in the shade as the daily sun progresses through the sky in the summer months, or kept in the sun during the winter. This is not the type of dynamic that easily reveals itself by working soley in a digital medium. Taking the idea of moving the building to keep it in sync with the movement of the sun during the day has to occur before any building is done, as it affects the basic elements of design.

Contractual Distribution Network

A Contractual Distribution Network is being defined here as a network within which individuals have contracted to have their products and services distributed. The model depicted in the schematic shown at this top of this page is a version of this network where select trades and professions live within an area of 1000m x 1000m. This can be seen as an idealized situation, or it could be set up as an actual, physical community to determine the effectiveness of the model and refine it if necessary. Another way to look at this is to imagine what it takes to support the crew of a large ocean-faring ship, with passengers. All the support systems need to be on that ship, for the duration of the voyage across the waters. If any of them fail, or if supplies run out, the comfort or even the lives of the crew or passengers will be at risk. That this is done (and has been done for years) demonstrates that it is physically possible to meet the needs of a large group of people for an extended duration, without external supports.

However, most people do not live on large ocean-faring vessels, where most, if not all, of their daily needs are met by design, with redundancies built in. To make this happen on the ground, on land, requires a similar level of engineering, planning and preparation. When a passenger embarks on a voyage, there is a sense of committal. They are definitely going on a journey, when they step aboard a city-to-city bus, train, airplane... or ship. The individual preparation is met with the preparation that has gone into the engineering and structure of the vehicle on which they travel. This sense of committal is missing for the person on land, when they have the option to go to one of three major brands of grocery stores, have water coming out of the tap at the kitchen sink, can buy similar articles of clothing at three different price points within the city they live, walk, take the bus, call a taxi, rent a car, or purchase a car to get from point to point, etc. Water does not surround their home, or even their community, leaving them with the only option to "make a go" of it alone or with the people within a ten or fifteen minute walk of them. This dilution of means to meet needs is a result of an accepted and implicit system. It is not easy to change, unless sufficient motive and structure are present to allow it to change.

Having said all of the above, the focus here is on the fact that a contractual distribution network can be set up relatively easily. In fact, networks which allow individuals to barter are already available, the distinction being that they are not (to the author's knowledge) part of a system robust enough to ensure that the needs of the individual are capable of being met (assuming, of course, that the individual wants that need to be met at any particular time). The example that comes to mind is that--when growing up--I sat down every night for supper. It was always there, it was nutritious. All I had to do was eat it; which I did without fail (unless of course, I was too sick to eat, which was rare). This picture is in distinction to that where the invidual cannot obtain what they need to eat. It could be too far away, they may not have the money to buy what they need, or they may be too busy doing something else to ensure they have a balanced, nutritious meal on a regular basis. There are fine distinctions. There always are, but discarding the potential for a functioning, robust system with the cry of a third-order referent (pick one, among many), is going too far. The key difference is the number of people and the geographical area. If the numbers, the structure, and the distances between them are balanced, with carefully selected technology implemented within that system; it should work. That is what this effort is about.

Definition of the Contractual Network

A comprehensive, contracual trading and distribution network operating primarily within a limited geographical area where products and services are marketed and moved through a fine balance of competition and cooperation. Competition happens in through the rate of delivery, quality, durability and product support, etc., Cooperation happens through acknowledging others service, knowledge, skill and presence is needed. The network is time-limited through a five year cycle that ensures "freshness", where the entire system is moved to allow for change and prevent stagnation. This movement may be physical, conceptual, and include the movement of participants into and out of the network.

Distribution - not necessarily one-to-one trading required.
Limited - Ideally walkable.
Network - Embedded within existing systems possible.
Comprehensive - Design to provide 75%-100% of peoples needs for the duration of the cycle
Contractual - Particpants agree to provide products or services according to design specifications to ensure needs are met and products and services are moved.
Distribution - Products and services are marketed and moved through the network to product and service freshness and to ensure needs are met.

Location of the Contractual Network

While it is theorectically possible to place a contractual network anywhere on the globe, it is easier to develop it in areas that are familiar to its participants; that is, beginning where they are, rather than requiring them to move. Having said, that, it may be beneficial for them to move away from an area they have been living for a number of years, to a spot that is less familiar to them; but not too far. Moving more than a several hours drive away from the area they grew up, or have been living for a number of years, results in a greater change. This change may be stressful in subtle ways. When moving east or west, the sun rises and sets at different times. When moving north or south the season contracts or expands correspondingly. With that, the terrain may change, as well as the plant and animal life. And along with that the type of industries will shift. Moving north in eastern Ontario, the industries shift from pastoral agricultural to tourist, lumber and mining. If making a change without being aware of these dynamics, years may go by and differences noted, but without precisesly knowing what these changes are, the changes may affect the participant in subconscious ways, not all of which may be beneficial. For example, a shorter summer and growing season is due to less light. This may result in a depressed attitude, if steps aren't taken to adjust for changes in light during the year. This could be as simple as increased intake of vitamin D during the colder months of the year, improved indoor lighting during this time, a more comfortable ambience, such as with a fireplace, and lastly, reduced activities as mammals typically hibernate during the winter months. Following their lead and spending more time resting and being still could make the difference.

Second, the design and intent of a self-sufficient community is to allow it to operate independently of external supports, if needed. The extent to which it makes use of surrounding communities for stores, services, power and waste removal depends in part on the proximity of these amenities. The further away they are, the less it will be convenient to make use of them, and the more independent this community will need to be. Conversely, the closer they are, the more convenient it will be. For distances greater than a kilometre or two, powered transport will be needed. This needs to be factored in, to ensure that powered transport is always available. Or, if not, that alternatives are available, such as a store of fuel, food, and other consumables. Realistically, the choice of a property will depend on the terrain, proximity to water, and the degree to which existing nearby communities faciliate and support such an endeavour, which include--of course--falling within existing bylaws, etc. However, the focus here is not on a "money first, bylaw first" approach. These considerations are placed near the end of the design process, by which time it is hoped that it will be easier to merge the two. That is, given the need for a sustainable approach, that is proven, practical and achievable, it is hoped that a design which has sustainability or more precisely--self sufficiency--as its core principles, will be spurred on by existing communities, as a reasonable way forward.

Finally, another key concept of this community design is that it is movable. While this certainly not part of the way in which current communities have been designed, it is definitely technologically feasible. Consider the fairs that happen every summer in small towns across Ontario. A major part of these fairs are the rides and other attractions. These rides are designed from the ground up to be movable every few days to a week or so. The author worked in one of these for a portion of a summer. While not the best job he ever had, it provided a first hand look into how they worked, including the design of the trucks and flatbed trailers that accomodated the rides. Specifally, the generator trailer housed a full sized generator that provided power for all the rides. When taken as a whole, the entire setup resulted in what amounted to a small city, that could be set up or taken down in half a day. The hours were terrible, the pay atrocious, and the work demeaning, but it goes to show that it could be done. The intent of this moving city was to provide a thrill for the moment. The intent of a self sufficient community is to provide a lasting model to help our planet move forward into the next generation. With the right motivation, there is no question that a way can be found. With a movable design being built in from the ground up, if Location A does not prove to be the best, Location B can be scoped out and moved to within a few years. This feature alone makes this design more resilient and adaptable than other, static, models.

Focus of a Contractual Network

In the section entitled "Selection of Topics" a list was provided ranging from small to large. The small was genetics, the large was galactic, if not universal in scale, which was exoplanets. Criteria used to determine which topics to select are: potential value, interest, feasibility and versatility. That is, what is the potential value of engaging with that topic for the near and long term? How interested would people be in it? How feasible is it? And, how versatile would the information generated from focus on this topic be? To put these topics in context, much of the activity of the past two hundred years on this continent has had to do with resource extraction (such as lumber and minerals), food and animal production (incorporating genetics and species), and now knowledge based industries (including programming, data anaylsis, CAD, etc.). As we have been using up primary resources, and they are limited, it makes sense to begin looking for what is next. The topic that meets all of these criteria and provides the most potential value is a focus on Exoplanets.

First, it should be noted that a focus on this topic does not mean an exclusion of the others. Rather, a focus on this topic allows the others to be incorporated into it. That is, genetics, species, geology and climate all are potentially subsumed under the topic "Exoplanets". This term would likely garnet the most interest. It would be verstatile as the survey of these sub-topics here could be used as a template for an assessment of potential environment there. The potential value is high, as each additional planet added to the lists multiplies the potential found here. This naturally would be of interest to professionals in the academic and applied disciplines and would be of at least a passing interest for those not directly involved in the relevant fields. This then leads to a reason for the development and testing of a self-sufficient community: a community that demonstrates self-sufficiency here automatically is a candidate for self-sufficiency elsewhere. Though a primary criteria is an oxygen based atmosphere and plant life, and a suitable gravity, The presence of a benign atmosphere is not completely required, as a dome could be placed over the community. It could also be placed partly underground.

Additional Resources

One Page Printable Pamphlet

The following is one page printable pamphlet available in black and white in the PDF format. It is licensed as Creative Commons.