the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

GO TO ARCHIVE

Category: Uncategorized

Dissociation

February 19, 2026 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Episode #890 February 21, 2026 Evan is twenty-four, Gen Z. That’s what his driver’s license says. Some days he has to check.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JhSAqkIeTE&list=RD0JhSAqkIeTE&start_radio=1  Mornings begin the same way: phone alarm, thumb swipe to turn it off, stare at the ceiling. The ceiling feels like a loading video screen—familiar but not informative. Evan waits for the room to assemble itself. Fan humming. Light through blinds. A car door slamming somewhere outside. By the time he’s brushing his teeth, he’s already slipped into what he calls glass mode. Everything is visible. Nothing quite touches him. His reflection moves when he moves,...
[Continue Reading...]

Virtue

February 12, 2026 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #889 February 14, 2026 I’ve come to see morality as the set of rules and expectations we’re taught to follow —laws, social norms, workplace policies, family values.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evnLPNyEM8c&list=RDevnLPNyEM8c&start_radio=1 Virtue, though, feels different. It’s more about what’s going on inside me: whether I show patience when I’m tired, honesty when it would be easier to dodge the truth, or courage when I’m unsure of the outcome. When I lean on those inner qualities, the rules stop feeling like boxes to check. For example, I can follow a workplace policy to the letter, but virtue shows up when I treat...
[Continue Reading...]

Caruso

February 4, 2026 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #888 February 7, 2026 Caruso loved everyone he met. His interest in you was genuine and focused.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WezvUd2ksOE&list=RDWezvUd2ksOE&start_radio=1 Sometimes it was hard to learn about Caruso, so understated his ego, so intent his interest. When Caruso questioned himself, he often knew the answer. He was like losing a twin brother at birth and acquiring both the dominant and the deferential personalities of both. In conversation, you never knew who was in control. Was it you as the center of attention or Caruso as the puppeteer? I met Caruso at a local bar. He walked up to the...
[Continue Reading...]

Wisdom

January 28, 2026 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #887 January 31, 2026 I have lived for 72 years and experienced every moment of it.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ocnkxhuJ0&list=RDF2ocnkxhuJ0&start_radio=1 There have been difficult and challenging moments. There have been easy and obvious revelations. Reflection on those experiences has turned events into insight. Wisdom grows by learning from others. So much is taught by others… the teachers, partners, friends, and family. Self-awareness is cultivated by staying curious and open to new perspectives. I have allowed time to reveal patterns that inform my perspective. This living has developed a compassion that widens understanding beyond myself. Wisdom is the ability to understand...
[Continue Reading...]

Can’t Win for Losing

January 22, 2026 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Episode #886 January 24, 2026 If you can’t win for losing  you may be trapped by your own constructs.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdTin4Ibj-c&list=RDZdTin4Ibj-c&start_radio=1   If losing is a defeating result, winning becomes exponentially more difficult. You will become trapped by circumstance, bad luck, or the unintended consequences of your own efforts. Start by thinking through a project to determine the risks. Unintended consequences are simply unforeseen risks.  Shape the parameters of your environment. Clear work surfaces. Determine and acquire the necessary parts - lay them out logically. Know where the tools are that you will use. Conscript help for those tasks...
[Continue Reading...]

High-Level Programming

January 15, 2026 Uncategorized No Comments
Episode #885 January 17, 2026 Programming has evolved from configured toggle switches to natural language programming.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbOTkDn49qI&list=RDwbOTkDn49qI&start_radio=1 The simplest (low-level) programming was the setting of banks of toggle switches. Each toggle switch in banks of four (nibbles) on the front panel of a MITS Altair 680 computer represented one bit. Across the bottom where sixteen switches representing a 16-bit memory address. This address, combined with eight switches representing an 8-bit piece of data (byte), gave the computer one line of machine code. The results of such toggle switch programming configuration were the data stored at a given address. If...
[Continue Reading...]