Adult Content Warning

So I decided to share a piece of cyberpunky fiction with some friends who ask for it.  I wrote the whole thing on my spare time, but kept the file on my work laptop for convenience.  I haven't opened the file since before our Holiday break in December nor did I open it today.  I simply attached it and forwarded it.  About a second later I got this automated message...

Your email message RE: Cyberpunk? to "Ben Wilson" has been delivered.

However it was identified by our content filtering processes as containing language that may be considered inappropriate for business-like communication. It is possible that the recipient(s) may not have received it if they run similar filtering processes. You may want to confirm with the recipient(s) that they have received the email correctly.

A copy of this email has been redirected to an administration queue which is randomly scanned for inappropriate mail and objectionable material.

Email that fails to comply with ******* corporate policy may result in disciplinary action being taken.

The ******* corporate email policy can be found at

The content which caused this to happen was

List:Reputation Protection Keywords

Found the expression "porn*" 2 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 4 points.

Found the expression "bitch*" 1 times, at 3 points each, for an expression score of 3 points.

Found the expression "*fuck*" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "Fuck" 4 times, at 9 points each, for an expression score of 36 points.

Found the expression "nasty" 1 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 1 points.

Found the expression "rape" 1 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "sex" 2 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 4 points.

Found the expression "shit" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "naked" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

=============================================================

Total Message Score: 56 points.

Woo! 56 points on the naughty system!

Of course, I didn't know we had a naughty word scanner on the network... I suppose that was money well spent to find all the folks who might be sending naughty words.  I mean if you sent an offensive work message, I bet the recepient would complain to their supervisor.  Then they could lookup the naughtiness point value... maybe they have a threshold where 50 points is a misdemeanor and 100 points is a felony.

Just who sat down and coded which words were naughtiest? How exactly did they accomplish this on their own network without tripping their own alarms...  What about the autoresponder itself... If I fowarded this to my boss, would it get in trouble too?

Anyway folks... The data gods are watching.  A strange irony to be detected in a cyberpunk story...

 

Adult Content Warning

So I decided to share a piece of cyberpunky fiction with some friends who ask for it.  I wrote the whole thing on my spare time, but kept the file on my work laptop for convenience.  I haven't opened the file since before our Holiday break in December nor did I open it today.  I simply attached it and forwarded it.  About a second later I got this automated message...

Your email message RE: Cyberpunk? to "Ben Wilson" has been delivered.

However it was identified by our content filtering processes as containing language that may be considered inappropriate for business-like communication. It is possible that the recipient(s) may not have received it if they run similar filtering processes. You may want to confirm with the recipient(s) that they have received the email correctly.

A copy of this email has been redirected to an administration queue which is randomly scanned for inappropriate mail and objectionable material.

Email that fails to comply with ******* corporate policy may result in disciplinary action being taken.

The ******* corporate email policy can be found at

The content which caused this to happen was

List:Reputation Protection Keywords

Found the expression "porn*" 2 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 4 points.

Found the expression "bitch*" 1 times, at 3 points each, for an expression score of 3 points.

Found the expression "*fuck*" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "Fuck" 4 times, at 9 points each, for an expression score of 36 points.

Found the expression "nasty" 1 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 1 points.

Found the expression "rape" 1 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "sex" 2 times, at 2 points each, for an expression score of 4 points.

Found the expression "shit" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

Found the expression "naked" 2 times, at 1 points each, for an expression score of 2 points.

=============================================================

Total Message Score: 56 points.

Woo! 56 points on the naughty system!

Of course, I didn't know we had a naughty word scanner on the network... I suppose that was money well spent to find all the folks who might be sending naughty words.  I mean if you sent an offensive work message, I bet the recepient would complain to their supervisor.  Then they could lookup the naughtiness point value... maybe they have a threshold where 50 points is a misdemeanor and 100 points is a felony.

Just who sat down and coded which words were naughtiest? How exactly did they accomplish this on their own network without tripping their own alarms...  What about the autoresponder itself... If I fowarded this to my boss, would it get in trouble too?

Anyway folks... The data gods are watching.  A strange irony to be detected in a cyberpunk story...

 

Various Things

Many things have floated through my blog-mind lately.  I have been putting up mental sticky notes to remember to say this or that.  This may be a bit rambling.

First, the Aus bushfires.  You have probably seen some of the news stories.  I have seen a lot of news stories.  While New Zealand is keen to be understood to be not Australia, they have a deep kinship with Australians.  The news is heartbreaking and horrific.  Whole towns have burned to the ground.  Whole. Towns.  In Nebraska you can count on a tornado to wipe some small community off the dirt, but real human damage is light.  These terrible fires killed some family members while passing by others.  Many husbands lost their wives and children at home while they were at work.  Some of those trapped wives called to say they were surrounded by flames.  I can not imagine anything more terrible.

Some days I like to imagine that life has a balance.  I try to see how tragedies give way to triumphs.  That in death there must be new life.  But on the third day of these horrid stories, I begged God to let it end.  No sense of balance was possible.  Words fail.

On more light-hearted news.  NZer's don't really go for Valentine's Day.  They see it as mostly pointly commercialism.  You can still find an end-cap display of chocolates and a few cards, but this is a far cry short of the 3 seasonal isles of red and pink offerings in the US stores!  Valentine's Day came and went with little flourish.

My parents had to return home on the 10th.  It was a great month having them here.  I am so glad they came and somewhat proud too.  It was a big deal for them to decide to fly down.  It certainly wasn't very cheap.  I was very happy to show them around and we got lots of great pictures.  Most of my photo albums have at least a few more snaps in them.  I also posted more pictures on my facebook site.

Speaking of facebook... I started a profile there mostly to experience it first hand as research.  Since I work in the mobile data industry, I wanted to see the capabilities of social networking.  While I wouldn't consider it a replacement for blogs, chat, or email, it still fills a communication niche.  If you like finding folks you may have lost, this app may beat out the rest.  Something like 250,000 new facebook users a month are signing up.  It is already changing the world and how we communicate.  Also consider Twitter--another widget that may alter the world.

We have an increasing pile of things to take care of in the next month or two.  We need to get our official NZ driver licenses.  I need to work out how to file a court petition in Kansas so reflect that my income has been halved.  We need to pin down the exact steps we need to follow to stay in NZ beyond 2010 (just in case).  Work is really picking up with things to do.  And somewhere in there I need to plan exactly how I'm going to see my kiddos in 2009.

Miles to go before I sleep.

 

 

Everyday

Summer 2009

Sunset at Abel-Tasman with Gabe playing in the tide pools.

Just a few random shots of the Wellington Rugby Sevens, the Martinborough Faire, and a sculpture show in CBD.

Phenylketonuria

Hmmm… I just noticed something odd today.  In all the 200+ blogs I have done, I don’t seem to have written one about PKU.  I won’t bother to dig in to the psychological looking glass and will instead rectify that situation.  For you see, my son has PKU which is short for Phenylketonuria (Fee Nil Kee Toe Nur eeyah).  As you all hysterically attempt to mouth that, just remember PKU, it’s much easier.

PKU is a genetically inherited metabolic condition affecting 1 in 100,000 births that inhibits the bodies processing of the amino acid phenylalanine.  If left untreated, the resulting build up of this amino acid becomes a chronic neurotoxin affecting brain development and motor function.

Did I lose you yet?  I got lost at about the second syllable the first time I heard it when Chandler was only 2 days old.  I’ll give you the short form.  Chandler can’t eat anything that we don’t look at first.  That’s the impact statement.  Of course it is more complex than that for us, but that’s what it means to most of the world.

PKU is genetic—it doesn’t go away and has no cure.  It basically means Chandler has an abnormal liver.  But the good news is that while he stays on a well controlled diet he is absolutely normal—nothing odd about him.  He reads great.  He plays video games.  He rides a bike and plays with legos—all the normal things kids do.  If doesn’t stay on diet, then over the course of several months to years the acid build up in his blood will attack nerve tissue and slowly wear away at his brain.  I suppose you could compare this to severe long term drug use.  It was especially bad for developing children prior to its discovery.  This resulted in what was then called mental retardation.

Yeah that scared the hell out of me too.  Again… we know how to 100% treat PKU today.  Quite simply you just absolutely control the amount of protein he eats.  Thus you prevent ever having toxic levels and all is good and normal.  There are a number of specialty medical foods made for folks with PKU to eat.  Mostly they get all their real nutrition from a formula like a protein shake—only with just the right amount of phenylalanine in it.  If you are pretty hip on your nutrition you’ll know that everybody has to have “full proteins” in their diet so Chandler has to get a bit of phe (what all the parents of PKU kids call it)—just not too much.  This amount is measured in milligrams… :-/  So Chandler can have 350 mg of phe each day.  That is about ¼ of one paperclips worth. 

Needless to say, the diet is quite highly monitored.  We measure everything on a gram scale.  But this has turned out to be so easy that I often barely register it any more.  It’s the same as measuring out cups or tablespoons… just happens to be 500 g of this or 30 g of that.  Cooking by weight is pretty darn easy.

All children in the US are tested for PKU at birth.  It is part of the tests they run as part of that heel stick you kid had to endure in the hospital.  They test for it early because PKU is so easy to treat early and so detrimental to a growing kid.  It may surprise you to know that there are about 25 other metabolic conditions (many that cause death) that hospitals do NOT test for.  The kit to test for these costs about $20.  Many deaths attributed to SIDS are now thought to be undiagnosed metabolic disorders.  Not to hard to imagine if think of something like a severe peanut allergy.  How do you know your infant is allergic to a peanut? What if the little bugger gummed up a crumb of nut while you weren’t looking? I am not trying to make anyone paranoid just showing an example of how something undiagnosed can sneak up on you and be a mystery.

PKU is more common in Irish populations or other Northern European descendents.  It is well understood in Europe and North America.  It seems to be well understood in New Zealand as well.  I am still in the process of researching it in hopes Chandler will get to visit here some day.

Obviously, PKU became a very huge part of my life at the same time Chandler became part of mine.  But after the first year the treatment (diet) became so routine that I barely think of it as unusual now.  It seems very normal to me.  It is still a big deal.  Something we always have to think about and plan for.  It has hidden in it worrisome issues about insurance and long term outlook.  The specialty food is very expensive (so is the formula).  But the condition is so rare that many insurance companies won’t cover it.  They often reject our claims forcing us to petition them and fight for coverage.  So far we have been pretty lucky.  But it sure is hard some days. 

It may never be an issue, but in the back of my mind I have considered that NZ (with national health care) may be a safe haven for Chandler if medical coverage in the US collapses.  I don’t know if that could happen, but I like to think of it as a safety net.  It would be better if PKU could simply be covered like all medical care should be.  I don’t know why I have to fight to convince my health insurance company so that my son who needs health care should be covered.  What do I pay taxes for? What did I pay premiums for? Why are other liver conditions treated, but his not?  Why are multi-thousand dollar prescriptions for impotence covered, but not his formula?  I could go on and on, but the ludicrousness of the situation has no answer.  There is only my son, Chandler, his mother, and me, his dad, trying to provide all that he needs.  I am lucky enough to have a lot of support from my wife and family.  Still I'm angry at the system.  It isn't right.

New Zealand History

Part of my vacation included a trip to a New Zealand museum of history.  The Tawhiti Museum covered a wide range of NZ histories, but one of the most fascinating was the topic of the Maori and the New Zealand Wars.  I have since been reading more and watching other historical documentaries.  The story of the conflict between the Maori and the British is unique unto this Earth.  The realities of the NZ landscape, people, and remoteness made what I see as one of the most important histories to be told.

This country is far, far away from the European world.  In the 1800’s NZ might as well have been the moon.  The Queen of England was a long way from these shores.  The Pakeha (non-Maori colonists and those born in NZ) therefore could not depend on much support from the Crown.  They became self-sufficient, tenacious, and surprisingly resourceful.  While their numbers exceeded that of the Maori population by ratios often 10 to 1, they never possessed the overwhelming numbers of the North American colonisation.  Ultimately, the steady flow of European settlers did win out—but only just barely.  Strangely though what is left today lacks much cultural distinction.  Pakeha do not consider themselves part of the UK Commonwealth, not part of the Crown, not part of West or the US Allies, and in no way part of Australia.  They are Kiwi and that is about as far as you get.  The Maori on the other hand, have a vibrant history that is a juxtaposition of brutality and respect—warfare and yet pacifism.  They appear as “savage” tribes in pictures, but they contained a brilliance and vision at levels that I have not seen matched in any other culture.  What is most important is that they have survived very much intact—and this fact is stunning.  It is the only example of real cultural survival I have encountered in European / “Native” interaction.  Perhaps it resonates more strongly with me as an American as a counterpoint to the tragic history of the Native American nations of my home.

The landscape of New Zealand is world renown.  This island is large, yet comparably small to most nations.  But its topography is dramatic.  Dominated in the North by steep rocky ranges, even modern day navigation is difficult.  A journey on the State Motorway of only 200 km (124 miles) will easily take over 4 hours due to mountainous terrain.  Think now of non-mechanical travel on the rough hewn tracks of the 1800’s.  Also think about how goods from the “modern” world were months of boat travel away.  When things did not go well, you had to work with what you had.  When the Maori / Pakeha conflicts began resources were extremely limited.  This worked in the favour of the Maori who were much better adapted to warfare in the New Zealand environment.  What is most surprising are the masterful innovations the Maori made with the introduction of European military technology.  The Maori quickly adapted to using muskets and avidly worked to acquire them.  Virtually overnight they adapted their fortresses (or Pa) to withstand artillery barrages!  In 1843 the Maori had already developed defensive trenching as a means to provide cover to their warriors.  The Colonial Militia / Military were confounded by enemies they could not shoot nor dislodge with canon.  They were forced to charge well defended and brilliantly designed Pa at heavy losses.  Often these attacks simply failed.  When they did succeed the Maori would escape through tunnels to the bush leaving the British born generals with nothing but a meaningless field victory.  New Pa’s would appear overnight just a few miles away and the process would begin again.  The bush itself was impenetrable to a conventional army.

In spite of the successes in fighting, the most influential Maori leaders could see that eventually the Crown would win a military conflict.  The King Movement was a mostly passive resistance to Pakeha.  It survived in parallel to the military confrontations lead by other Maori springing up around it.  This movement I find most interesting.  They did not fight the Pakeha in combat.  These Maori negotiated and resisted politically.  What is also noteworthy here is that the colonists listened and also negotiated.  The concept of complex land sovereignty, courts, and deed filing were not known to the Maori prior to the arrival of the Pakeha.  The Maori again demonstrated their keen intuition and intelligence to learn these systems and concepts to challenge the Crown by its own rules.  Sometimes this conflict turned out as it had in North America where agreements were simply ignored, but more frequently they were honoured.  But most important of all they were remembered with documented proof of these agreements.  While these may have been ignored in the 1800’s, they are still considered valid today.  Today the people of New Zealand would see these treaties followed. 

The Maori have survived.  This story is unbelievable, but true.  The Maori are far from perfect.  Their history is quite violent.  The tribes (or iwi) of the Maori were still very independent of each other (and fought each other) much like the North American tribes.  But the iwi did eventually join together and even when separated they knew to defend the land.  The Maori language is still alive, spoken and taught.  This year the Maori flag will fly during Waitangi Day—that’s a big deal.  The Maori control 4 seats in the NZ parliament as a result of efforts of the King Movement negotiations.  That’s like 4 seats in the US Senate for Native Americans.  In fact, the very ground parliament is built on is owned by the Maori and leased to the government.  While not guaranteed, I am elated to believe that this culture may survive well in to this modern age.  From what I see, New Zealand is place where things survive that have died out elsewhere and that is good.