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Smeltdown at the 11th annual Brockway Truck show/parade here in my little part of central New York. Was actually a class from the university doing a live demo of iron casting. Though it could be the landing of some alien space vehicle, or some pre-apocalyptic hoedown?

They set up on Main street and it was quite cool, made me want to dash out and sign up for the class….more and more I am developing a profound respect for craft, in all forms – which isn’t to say I didn’t respect craft previously, just that I’ve been thinking a lot the last year about a possible future that includes a regionalism built on local crafts and production and the relationship that would have in an interconnected world.

There’s a balancing that could be achieved that could broaden perspective, market reach (if you will) and communication arriving at a just functioning of cultures.

The public smelting – exposing people to something so tangible and with a long history yet usually hidden or obscured – seems also to serve a purpose in creating a place for shared experience among all of us observers, bringing something to the fore that somehow ties us together in (however temporary) a sort of bond.

Kinda just thinking out loud here….

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Posted via email from pt36′s posterous

Another report with reasonably well know conclusions about broadband adoption. The enlivening thing about this report, though, is the inclusion of the field reports which excerpts conversations from focus groups and interviews. Talking about QoS isn’t necessarily the most stimulating choice of topic but by including the voice of Anna and having the dialog occur as a conversation – not some abstract academic finding – it becomes more concretely grounded in daily life.

There is also emphasis on the necessity of “third places” as access providers. This interests me particularly because it goes back to a post I did a few days ago (http://bit.ly/d6NzSf) talking about the benefits of computing together. 

Stories, once again, prove to be the key which unlocks reality. Socio-economic inclusion means something real and with real impacts, with events which alter the flow of someones life, when the story is evoked. 

Link to the report : http://bit.ly/crU5lP 

Social Science Research Council

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One of the inherent tensions of our focus on online social networking is that, by and large, it is done alone. In other words – I sit here at my computer, you walk down the street focused on your cell phone, and we tap away at our keyboards – “connecting” to each other. Our social activity is mediated and mediated by devices which are, in many ways, a- or anti-social.

Which leads me to ask the question: “are we really better off wishing a computer in every home and on every desk?”. 

Back in the old days, why I was a spry and sprightly youth, video games were a novelty and video arcades were a fairly “big thing”. And most of us didn’t go to the arcade soley to play the games. That may have been a primary focus, but I would say it was one among several foci of generally equal weight. It was a social scene, with kibitzers, friends and total strangers (who might become friends. shared interests and all) interacting around the games.

I’ve noted a similar feel in the cibers I’ve used in Nicaragua. Computer use is not especially a solitary activity there. So I sometimes fantasize a world of neighborhood computer centers, where people are together, doing what they need to do online, but in the living breathing presence of others. 

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Why does a small country in Central America matter? Why bother focusing ones energy and efforts there, when there are ample opportunities to expend efffort pretty much wherever one is currently standing? And why does IT matter in one of the poorest countries in Latin America? 

I’ve devoted a lot of thought to these questions. And while I claim not definitive answers I do know what I think and feel. Some of it is not black and white, not an either or opposition. Fundamentally, we start strat from where we are, and so can all offer unique perspective and responses to any range of questions.

And from where I am, Nicaragua occupies a large part of my free thought and time because it had a revolution 31 years ago, because there was a large dose of aspiration in that revolution and even now the aspirations still live on – maybe not so brightly or so loftily but nonetheless alive. Critques have been made of the events in Nicaragua- the purity of the orignial revolution, mistakes that were made, et al. But none of that can, for me, take away from the window that was opened by the triumph of the Sandinistas. So, I begin from there – a rosy, utopian foundation which still believes that socialism, that peoples movements for freedom and equity, for bread and life and country, are possible and worth asipring to, worth confirming and supporting.

A long time ago, before the revolution in Nicaragua I was very tangentially involved with some Salvadoran’s and Nicaraguan’s living in New York City.It was not an extended period of my life, but the impact was profound. The spirit and openess I felt touched me deeply, though it has taken long for me to even begin to pick up the banner again, if you will, and seek to work with them again. And I find myself struggling, even now, after clarity. I wish I could better convey what I feel now, and felt then, that moves me to value and cherish my time spent in Nicaragua. Best to leave it for  now, I suppose. Perhaps someday it will come rushing out – but not today.

Aplifying those somewhat ill defined sentiments are the fact of my friend and her not for profit working actively in Nicaragua. This coincidence has contributed, of course. The pathway and connections have been eased by an already established organization that I know and trust.Finding my way intially has benefitted greatly. And not having to find my own way, to have a foundation from which to begin, allows me greater freedom to expereince and interact and ask the questions I have.

The more challenging question, for me, is the relevance of IT in this context. And the answer is layered, because that’s just the nature of life- for some segments of the population things like the web are irrelevant, at this point- for others (the students participating in the Tec-Nica Learning Exchange, for instance) it is a career path that leads forward, to stability and a decent income and increased access to information. And for many it is out there, just on the edge – the benefits could be massive, if it is understood and deployed in a context that is consistent with life, daily life. Youtube and Lady Gaga are note especially relevant for this articular discussion – at least not as a starting point.

The image above is of Don Teofilo – a smallholder with an vibrant family and no electricity. I first met him as dusk was approaching. We went into his house, light by a gas lamp and talked for a short time – I would return early next morning to take pictures – and I was struck by how intact or whole the world felt right there, right then. His wife, daughter and sons, a grandchild all gathered in the main room, gas light flickering a bit. I am, at heart, a romantic and when it comes to Nicaragua this tendency rises in full force quite obviously. But romanticism aside, it’s going to be a while before IT becomes relevant to Don Teofilo. His grandchildren, even children, yes…change is coming.

I don’t mean to offer any of this as a “Truth”, just my thoughts which shift and re-clarify on a fairly regular basis. But for me, it is necessary to think these things out, to think through them time and again – especially with others.

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