vilberg.com

A Personal Journal

[vilberg]

This is a picture from today’s (3.24.2022) news.

We look at the same thing but see different things. I would like to hear from other people. When you look at this picture, what do you see? What does that mean to you? Why does that matter to you?

Those three questions. One sentence each. All statements are “I” or “me”. “I see...” “To me it means...” “To me it matters because...” 

I don’t think there is any right thing to see or any right meaning or any right matter to infer. We are all unique. I know what I see (at least one thing), what it means to me (at least something), and why it matters to me (at least one reason).  

Do you want to participate? The only ground rules are:

1. I must use “I” statements. I cannot tell others what they should see, what it should mean to them, or why it should matter to them. Before sharing I will write my answers. If I write, “This means...” I will rewrite it to “For me, this means...” I (we) could debate/discuss/argue over the “This means...” statement. I cannot disagree with the “For me, this means...” statement. Only I know what it means to me. I want to know what it means to you.

2. I will accept you and others at face value. I will not judge you or what is shared. I will try to be open to the fact that we are all individual and unique and I can only learn about you by listening to you. I will not judge or “correct” you. Whatever you say is yours. I accept you as you are and hope to learn from you.

3. No one is required to share. 

4. I (we) keep the sharing in the group confidential. (I don’t know how to do that here, on Tumblr. Rather, I urge you to create an account with an alias if you want, so no one will know who you are. All you have to do is create a free email account on gmail.com, yahoo.com, or one of the other services, and use that to access Tumblr and post your comments. At least, I think that will handle the anonymity issue. I am just using my regular account If you need help, send me a private message at [email protected].)

5. I will not refer to the statements of others. I will not say “I agree with...” or anything like that. This is a personal statement. I might use the same words as someone else, but they are my words. And I will never say, “I disagree with...” or “Unlike ____, I see...”. I a not judging or comparing. I am sharing myself. My response to anyone who shares will always be, thank you.

[SPOILER ALERT: NEXT I AM GOING TO SHARE MY ANSWERS. YOU MIGHT WANT TO WRITE YOUR THREE “SEE, MEAN, MATTER,” SENTENCES BEFORE READING MINE.] 

My “see, mean, matter” for today: In the news photo from 3.24.2022, I see people trying to escape from the Ukraine. To me it means that they are trying to stay safe in an awful situation. To me it matters because I am human and I can feel for/with them, although I am not experiencing what is happening to them every day.

What do you see in the photo? What does that mean to you? Why does that matter to you? I am listening.

[vilberg]

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. Henry David Thoreau

I look at something, say a painting, and what I see is influenced by my experiences. So when someone else looks at the same work of art, they are likely to see something different from what I saw. But I might assume that everyone else sees the same thing I do.

Since we are all different we see different things. The more our experiences differ, the more likely what we see will diverge.

How do I know what someone else sees? One way is to ask them, and then understand that what they see is different from what I saw because their experience is different from yours.

Here is a thought experiment you might try.

What did you see when watching what happened in Minneapolis, MN, after George Floyd died?

How are your life experiences reflected in what you saw?

What is another way some people saw the same event?

What life experiences might be reflected in their viewpoints?

We often talk about people having different viewpoints. I consider this a literal term, not figurative. We see things differently because we are viewing them from different places. Our histories, our life experiences, mean that we look at things from different points. Our views, what we see, are thus different.

Have a great day.

[vilberg]

I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.

I have heard that phrase many times. Have you? Some quick thoughts.

I don’t know of anyone who has actually ever DIED of embarrassment. Do you?

The original quote is completely accurate. I am saying I THINK something. I have to acknowledge what I think is real. There is a saying, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are correct.” I try to remember that. Perception is reality, for me and for everyone.

Embarrassment is a feeling, an emotion. Physical feelings (via sticks and stones for example) can be externally generated. Emotional feelings are always(?) internally generate. I make myself feel certain ways. I can never say (accurately) “You made me mad” since, if I am mad, it is because I made myself mad, or let myself get mad. If I am embarrassed, the embarrassment is coming from me, not from others.

When I feel embarrassed, it is usually because of something that I did (perhaps in the presence of others). Recently I learned that “The past does not define me. The past is a lesson. The future is a vision. The present is a gift.” I get to (re)define myself each instant. I acknowledge the past, but I try to accept, celebrate, and live in the present. (See 15 minute YouTube video below for source of the preceding quote.)

When I feel embarrassed I need to remember that it won’t kill me, that my feeling is real because it is inside me, and that I can let it go because it does not define me.

I just read a Richard Bach (author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull) quote that says, “Live never to be ashamed if anything you say or do is published around the world, even if what is said is not true.” I like that. On the one hand, don’t be ashamed of what you say and do. On the other hand, don’t be ashamed of anything.

He also wrote in the same book, Illusions of a Reluctant Mesiah, “Everything above may be wrong.” So, who knows?

Have a great day!

The Coffee Bean 15 minute video: (https://youtu.be/TWszGs3v6U0)

[vilberg]

Be Intentional

My thought for the day on Thursday was “Be Intentional.” I wanted to be present and aware in the moment. I wanted my actions to reflect my intent, my desire, my compass. A number of times I was able to redirect myself when I was veering off course. It made for a good, fulfilling, worthwhile day.

[vilberg]

Locked out of my account?

I have access to my tumblr account from both my iPad and iPhone using the tumblr iOS app. But when I try to log in to the web site on my MacBook Pro it triggers two-factor authentication.

I set up two-factor back when I used tumblr regularly. I assume I authenticated through my phone number with a code sent to me so that I could verify I got it. But I got a new phone and gave up my old phone number a month ago. So I can’t get past the two factor challenge.

Everything I can find on the tumblr web site seems to imply that I have to use the web to set up two factor authentication. I can’t find anyplace on the iOS app to set up or modify two factor authentication. Am I missing it?

I may have used an authenticator app rather than phone sms authentication. It was so long ago that I logged in on the web (years ago) that I can’t remember. Both my iPhone and iPad have the app and were somehow authenticated.

The few posts I have made in the last two years were done from my iOS devices. As this post,confirms, I can still do that. I only wanted to use the web access (from my Mac) since I wanted to make a post with a number of pictures. I thought it would be easier on the computer to select images, insert text, and edit everything.

So, any idea whether the iOS app exposes the two factor authentication settings? Otherwise I can continue to use my blog, but only from my iOS apps, I guess. Seems strange,

----- Back in -----

I figured it out! Found previous post with same problem. To change 2FA settings if you can access your tumblr blog through the app AND you know your password, do the following.

Open iOS app.

Go to Settings (gear).

Go to "General Settings."

Go down to the Legal section.

Select "Privacy dashboard.""

Click on the "Aa" at the top of the page.

Select "Request Desktop Website."

Select "Account." From there you can change 2FA and get backup codes, etc.

Still have not figured out where to change my phone number, but I switched to an authenticator app (Authy) so I don’t need to get sms messages anymore.

Solution found at:: https://www.reddit.com/r/tumblrhelp/comments/mc0x84/how_to_access_account_locked_in_2fa_while_only/

[vilberg]

Impeachment Trial Thoughts

14 Jan 2021

During the upcoming trial of President Trump in the Senate, all of the Democrats should use their allotted time to make a ONE OR TWO SENTENCE statement and then yield back the remainder of their time.

Rather than a long speech or extensive questioning, let each person construct and give their own pithy statement. Examples:

As Governor Chris Christie said, “If inciting to insurrection isn’t [an impeachable offense], then I don’t really know what is.” I agree.

President Trump called on his supporters to storm the capital and they did. Case closed. [I am not sure whether the Democratic senators should say “President Trump” or “the accused.” I would prefer “the accused” since that is his role in this trial, but I leave that to the senators.]

The Constitution gives the Senate the responsibility to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused during an impeachment trial. We have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears what he did. He is guilty and must never hold federal office again.

President Trump had the right to use legal challenges to assure the election was fair. He did not have the right to claim it was stolen and incite his supporters to “fight” for overturning the results.

The accused has said, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” We saw what happened and based on that we can make up our minds. He incited violance that resulted in five deaths. Enough is enough.“

This trial is not about President Trump’s policies while he held office. It is about his actions that led to the seditious acts on January 6, 2020. He is guilty of inciting the violence. The accused must never be allowed to hold federal office again.

After each personal statement, everyone should read the SAME EXACT STATEMENT to yield back their time. The Democrats should agree on the statement and ALL use it. An example might be, "Because this case is so clear, there is no need for lengthy speeches. In order to deal with this quickly, so that Congress can turn to our many other important responsibilities, I yield back the rest of my time and hope that the vote can take place as quickly as possible.”

I realize that this will be difficult if not impossible. Democratic Senators will want to make speeches decrying what happened and raising all the possible issues. They need to know that there is no upside to that. Getting the Democrats to agree to join together in this strategy will be difficult because there are competing groups in the party. Republicans were great at using common “talking points.” Democrats have never been able to get that unity. This is a chance for the individuals to step back for the good of the party and the country.

If the Republicans want to make lengthy speeches, let them stretch out the process and let the public see them doing it. There is no need for any arguments or political speeches. Everyone saw what happened. Speeches will not change any minds. Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible. The goal is to keep President Trump from ever holding federal office again.

Bill Vilberg Hattiesburg, MS [email protected] 786-218-3052

[vilberg]

Biking again

I bought a used bike yesterday and rode it today instead of walking. About 5 miles out and then back on Longleaf Trace. Took it easy since I haven’t ridden in years. Lovely route, wonderful temperature, and incredible to have a breeze, rather than walking through the humidity. Will be back tomorrow.

[vilberg]

My Daily Walk

I am walking every day. Today I walked more that 3 miles in a bit over an hour. So I am not speeding, just walking, but at least I am getting exercise. Listening to an audio book is helping me want to keep going to hear what comes next.

[vilberg]

TIL: Alexa, I'm leaving/home

Today I learned (TIL) that the Amazon Echo can monitor things in my home when I am out of the house. It can alert me to glass breakage and alarms like my fire alarm or CO2 alarm by sending a notice to my smart phone. When that happens I can actually "drop in" on my Amazon device and listen to whatever is going on. Hey, I can even talk through the device sitting on my counter at home. In addition to listening for audio sounds, the Amazon echo can turn lights on and off to make it look like someone is home. Makes it sort of an electronic house sitter.

All of this is configured through the Amazon Echo "Guard" skill. Here are text instructions followed by a screen capture for each step.

Open the Amazon Alexa app on your phone.

In the Alexa app, tap the menu icon (upper left corner, three lines).

At the bottom of the drop down menu, tap the “Settings” item.

Scroll to the bottom of the Settings list and tap on “Guard.”

On the Guard screen, click on the gear icon (settings).

Configure “Guard Settings”.

That brings you to the “Guard Settings” screen where you can decide which echo devices to use to monitor for sounds, what sounds to listen for, what lights to turn on/off to look like someone is home. If you are using “Away Lighting”, set your zip code so the process can determine when the sun sets.

Once it is all configured, just say "Alexa, I'm leaving" or "Alexa, I'm home" to turn on and off the away status. This automatically starts guarding your house for you at no expense.

I need to remember to tell my family to always say "Alexa, I'm home" if they enter the house and it is empty. Otherwise they may go crazy as lights turn on and off randomly in the evening.

[vilberg]

Retirement Remarks

I have been asked to say a few words. I will try to keep this short, although being brief is not something I am known for. I will limit myself to four points and an active learning exercise.

First, thank you all for joining me in this celebration. It has been my sincerest honor to work with you all.

Second, it has been an incredible 20 years here at UM for me. My original goal at UM was “To encourage, support, and recognize the faculty at UM in appropriate uses of technology to support teaching and learning.” I hope that I have succeeded to some degree in that. As I step away from the University of Miami I am counting on all of you to take on my goal of encouraging, supporting, and recognizing each other.

Third, please share your knowledge with anyone who might benefit. I am not only speaking to faculty, who share knowledge as part of the university’s prime directive, but I make this request of everyone. You can’t imagine how valuable your knowledge and wisdom is, and how it can transform lives. Don’t limit it by “need to know” considerations. Spread it widely and it will take root in unexpected places.

Fourth, I share with you the blessing, “Go in peace.” I don’t think peace is something you are given, it is something you create in yourself. Many of you have known me at moments when I wasn’t at peace. I ask for your forgiveness if my struggles hurt you. I think I have created a peace in myself now as I leave. I hope that you can all do the same.

Finally, an active learning exercise. Please turn around slowly, looking closely at the other people in this room. Some you know and some you don’t. Your being here, in this room and at UM, affects them, and their being here affects you. That is what community is all about.

Turning yourself around is also “what it’s all about” according to the great song, The Hokey Pokey. That should remind us all not to take ourselves too seriously.

Let’s do a verse together.

You put your right foot in You take your right foot out You put your right foot in And you shake it all about

You do the hokey pokey And you turn yourself around That's what it's all about

Now, as they say in New Orleans, “Laissez les bons temps rouler,” which means, “Let the good times roll.”

[vilberg]

Elixir is an Erlang framework

There are incredibly smart people around me all the time, partly because I choose my friends carefully and mainly because everyone knows things that I don’t know. I do my best to listen a lot.

I was listening to two friends talk on Friday morning and Erlang and Elixer were mentioned. These could have been characters in Game of Thrones, the Marvel Universe, or almost anything else as far as I was concerned. I had no idea. So I asked, Googled, and learned. I learned enough from the statement and examples at https://elixir-lang.org/ to be able to fit Elixer and Erlang into my mental model of computing, but not enough to be able to use it myself. I recreate myself every day by serendipitously learning about new things like this. I hope you do, too.

[vilberg]

Retirement Mixtape Part 1

I have created a mix-tape to get me in the right mood as I approach retirement. Here are the songs I have chosen. I play them when I wake up, when I get into the car, when I am on the bus, when I am on the train, when I am walking, and when I am at my computer. They give me confidence and hope. Many are not well known, so I share them with you for your possible enjoyment. You can get the entire mixtape by using the “Download” button on the https://goo.gl/9do6ej web page.

David Roth - This is the Year

Better Midler - From a Distance

Iz - Over the Rainbow

David Roth - Bake Sale

Elton John - This Song Has No Title

David Roth - This is the Year (repeat)

Better Midler - The Rose

Bob Dylan - Is Your Love in Vain?

Nancy Griffith - From a Distance

Iz - Somewhere Over the Rainbow and It’s a Wonderful World

Joan Baez - Forever Young

– Bill –

[vilberg]

The Rule of 7

I recently posted about the three areas of knowledge, content, pedagogical, and technical, that come together in teaching, learning, and technology. Here is an example of pedagogical knowledge: the rule of 7.

From https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/CommLab/content-chunking-in-elearning

Short-term working memory in humans can only hold around seven item. When you are teaching group or chunk content into seven or fewer items. Don't make outlines or lists with more than seven items at any level if you want students to be able to internalize the information.

You have probably experienced the confusion that comes from overloading short-term memory.  Have you ever been overwhelmed at a restaurant when looking at a menu because there are so many choices? You would have been better able to make a decision if there were seven or fewer items to choose from. With more than that, by the time you get to the end you have forgotten what was at the beginning.

Most menus are broken into sections. As long as there are not more than seven sections and each section has seven or fewer items, our minds can handle it.

How can you break your course up so that students don't overflow their short-term memory? That is a content knowledge discussion and in your domain as a faculty member. All I can do is encourage you to apply this and other pedagogical knowledge as you design the student learning experiences.

By the way, if you do have to choose from or evaluate a list with more than seven items, a good strategy is ”satisficing.” Find a satisfactory choice and quit the search. Find something on the menu that sounds good and close the menu. Don't let the best, or searching for it, be the enemy of the good. Good enough is usually good enough. More on satisfying at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing.

[vilberg]

How do we deal with special cases? ”Ask Me”

I ordered something at McDonald’s and had some special request. I don’t remember what it was, but at the time I wondered what the odds were that it would come out the way I wanted it. It did, because the person taking my order added “Ask me” to my order. That told the person preparing my order to ask the person who took the order exactly what I wanted.

What a clever use of technology. The system could have been designed to only include items from the menu. But someone was perceptive enough to know that the best way to make sure the customer gets what is requested is to check with the person who took the order. Sometimes we have to adapt to the technology and the quality of service declines. Sometimes the technology can be adapted to let us provide the highest quality service.

[vilberg]

An Open Letter to “My” Faculty

We are all different. We all have strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I have worked, for the past 36+ years, in academic computing, or whatever it is called today. There is a wonderful diagram that shows how three different areas overlap in today’s educational world: technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. 

You can watch the 2-minute video at http://tpack.org

The thing I find confusing about this diagram is that all three circles are the same size. If the size represents the expertise of the person working in this area, the circle sizes will be different for different people. For example, faculty members are expected to have a large Content Knowledge circle, a smaller Pedagogical Knowledge circle, and a much, much smaller Technological Knowledge circle. They are experts in their disciplines, have some experience and skill in teaching and learning, and are able to do limited things with technology. That is how it should be. 

The two circles Technological Knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge are my largest. I taught Computer Science and Statistics at a university years ago, but my Content Knowledge was limited at best. My graduate degree and further studies in Teaching and Learning, as well as my primarily self-taught technology skills, were what I brought to the table in academic technology. 

I remember speaking with a wonderful professor earlier in my career who described how faculty members are sometimes insulted by “IT” (information technology) people. Faculty members often feel like they are being discounted for not knowing that they should “just press control-D up-arrow up-arrow” to accomplish their task. They are being talked to with jargon and acronyms that mean nothing to them and the people who are supposed to be helping them are causing the confusion. I don’t know if it is because of my Pedagogical Knowledge or just because I work hard to put myself in the shoes of the person I am helping (are those related?) but I was often told that I avoided that demeaning aspect of many technologist support people.

In addition, I have always LOVED working with faculty. I see the incredible Content Knowledge that you have obtained and am honored to work with you. When you apologize for having to ask for help with something, I try to explain that your value to the University and the students you teach is not due to your Technological Knowledge and you should feel free to ask for help anytime. If it is something you only do once a semester or once a year I explain that I don’t expect you to memorize how to do it. That is my job. You need to use me to support you in your job.

When I attend conferences in academic technology I often hear support people complaining about how their faculty members are helpless or hopeless. I always speak up and explain that I am truly impressed with the willingness of my faculty to try new things, serve themselves, and look for ways to improve student learning. In fact, “my” faculty are no different from theirs. You are all different and all great, in my eyes. My eyes just see differently than the other support people.

Focus on what you have, the extremely large Content Knowledge and the smaller Pedagogical Knowledge. Pick up the Technological Knowledge when you can and find people who you can turn to that respect you and are willing to assist you and help you in your growth. It is a wonderful journey as the circles increase at different rates. Enjoy it.

[vilberg]

Transforming Lives

Do you know how you have transformed other people? I am certainly not aware of the part I play in other people’s lives. I am sure in some cases it is positive and in others negative. Here are three cases where people made me aware of how my life had affected them. You can’t ask for this kind of feedback. In the past 45 years, it has only happened a handful of times. Even if you have never been told how important you are and how you have changed someone’s life, it has still happened.

— 1 —

Twenty years ago, when I was in Miami to interview at UM, I got a phone call from a former student. He wanted to know if I was the Vilberg who had taught math at Archbishop Curley High School in 1973. I admitted that I was that person, now 25 years later.

We proceeded to have a wonderful conversation. He was now a teacher at the alternate school for Miami Dade Public Schools. He said that he became a teacher because I inspired him and he thought about me often. His highest hope was that he could be as good a teacher to his students as I was for him.

I honestly had no memories of him, and many of my memories of my early teaching are regrets and apologies for how bad I was. I had absolutely no idea that I had affected this young man so profoundly.

— 2 —

Five years ago a former student got in touch with me via email to see if I had been the teacher he remembered. In this case I remembered this student. We emailed back and forth a few times. I apologized for anything I may have done wrong back then. The student said that there was nothing to apologize for, I was a major influence in his life and he wanted to thank me. Everyone is a hero in the book of life for some people and the villain for others. He said that I was the hero in every page of his book.

— 3 —

A year later I was eating at TGI Fridays, across from campus. The person waiting on us inquired whether I worked at UM. I explained that I managed the Blackboard system and was the person responsible for starting it at UM. She was so excited and thankful. She said that she could not have gotten her degree without having Blackboard as her assistant. It organized all the material, allowed her to work a job and still participate in online discussions, and communicate easily with the instructor and other students. She wanted to thank me and hug me and tell me that I had changed her life.

—

I don't report these incidents to say how great I am. In fact, I feel bad about all the things these people were telling me about. I made serious mistakes and, in each case, looked up to people who I think would have done things better than I did. But somehow these people were affected by me and what I did in the past. I had no idea they existed or that I had altered their life path. Whether you mean to or not, you are transforming lives and changing people.

[vilberg]

The Best

Seek to do good and improve.

tl;dr (See urban dictionary for the meaning of tl;dr.)

I have a deep-seated problem with “the best.” In junior high school, I had a wonderful English teacher who had us submit written work every week. She repeated the phrase, “Good, better, best, never let it rest, until the good is better, and the better is best.” She wanted us to strive to always improve. 

Later in life, when working on projects, I adopted the quote “Don’t let the best be the enemy of the good.” Especially in software development, you need to realize that trying to create “the best” may lead you to create nothing at all. Do something that is good, even if it isn’t “the best.” You can improve it incrementally, each time getting closer to the best. But the best may be unattainable, so don’t let it stop you from doing something good.

As a manager of people I turned to “Good enough is good enough.” To me, this saying means, don’t beat yourself up for not being “the best.” Shoot for good enough, and then improve it, if needed, as needed. This is a phrase I often used when working with people who did training or teaching. I would suggest that they record themselves and they would refuse, saying, “It isn’t good enough.” I would point out that it was good enough for the people who showed up in the class, so it would probably be good enough for people who were unable to attend the live event. It rarely changed their minds.

Finally, the concept of “Best Practices” bothered me. Working with all the faculty, I see teaching styles and methods that differ in many ways. My conclusion is that the goodness of a practice depends on the person and the situation. The search is not to identify the “best” way to teach but to identify good ways and let the instructors choose from the assortment. So my list is always labeled “Good Practices.” I want to be able to help people be good. I want them to feel good about themselves. I feel good about myself. I try to do good. I expect you do, too.