There is something wonderful about the autumn smell of the countryside – the silage and hay being chopped – which often rises in the autumn breezes from farms far below the hillsides far above.
Just a weekend trip as I sing along with the Return of the Grievous Angel 🏕️
That’s what I’m reminding myself as I realize that soon enough I’ll have to take down camp and head back home. But it was good to get away. Last year I camped four days here but I also remote worked two of those days.
Sitting up at the logged area near Beaver Pond at the Prospect Mountain Ski trails. 🎿 Didn’t quite catch the sunrise out here though I did at camp sipping my reheated coffee ☕. Just out for a little walk before breakfast 🍳. Not in a real rush to take down camp and head home though I do want to get home relatively early this evening as I’m thinking about my clothes at the laundromat this evening though Monday after work honestly would be better.
Eyes 👀 were a bit irritated last night which is part of the reason I went to bed 🛏️ around ten o’clock plus I wanted to keep the fire 🔥 small so I could drown it with these bone dry conditions. It’s been weeks since they’ve gotten much rain here in Vermont. ☔ Looks like the coming week will remain dry too. Two weeks from now I should be well on the way to recovery from my eye surgery.
No rush to take down camp. 🚶 Out for a little walk along the ski trails, watching as the sun shines over the land. ☀️ I want to read 📖 for a while today, have some breakfast, and hang out. Thinking about visiting the Bennington Battlefield Monument or other preserves on the way home. I am also considering visiting a preserve or two on the way home, I was originally thinking about heading down to the Petersburg Pass ⛰️ and checking out the views that way but I’d think I would rather spend more time at camp and not be rushing home with darkness approaching. Another option would be to check out the covered bridges in North Bennington. Or there was the Robert Frost Stone House and Lake Paran Trail I’ve been meaning to check out. I was going to do it last year but I was remote working then and I didn’t have the time.
Part of it is anxiety too. 😯 It’s stupid but I swear I heard a new sqweak on my truck driving out here on Friday and Mom and Dad are on vacation 🏖️ and my buddies are down in the city. I want extra time in case Red 🛻 breaks down so I can catch a 🚍 or ride home in an emergency. It’s silly but it’s not like I’m that far from home but I’ve been stressing so randomly for a long time about my old truck. I’m going to miss having that big jacked up truck though come next year and having so much room for gear but a compact truck will be so much easier to drive and park in cities and parking 🅿️ lots.
I’m thinking about buying clams and corn on Thursday and taking Friday off for a long weekend at Rennselaerville State Forest. 🦪 Maybe renew my license and shoot some tree rats. 🐿️ Right now though that’s just a thought – got to check the syllabus and the seasons. I do like myself some good fresh protein. And drinking more beer and weed. I do need to see how much vacation time I have left once my time sheets are approved as I need the following Friday off for LASIK plus I want to go to the St Regis Canoe Area 🛶 to paddle and ride the new Adirondack Rail Trail probably on the leading up to Columbus Day Weekend.
What I don’t like about A. I. 🤖
There is a lot of criticism of Artificial Intelligence on grounds that it uses a lot of electricity or that it will take all of the jobs or that it will lead to the singularity and lead to machines taking over the world. But those aren’t the criticisms I find most persuasive – it’s that AI is highly centralized, controlled by a handful of corporations and easily regulated by the government. It’s expensive and it’s true power can be held in the few, artificial intelligence by definition as it is currently implemented is highly elitist and anti-democratic.
Personal computers are continuing to get much more powerful. Some smaller limited capacity artificial intelligence models can operate on them. Indeed, I have very little fear of AI that is locally run and is open source that anybody can download and use for free. Anybody can study the code, make modifications and use as they please with open source, locally run artificial intelligence. Governments and corporations can’t control that form of AI.
However much of what is AI currently isn’t that form – much AI used locally uses a network to connect to that distant government and corporation controlled data centers. And that’s dangerous as government and corporations can limit access at any time or raise prices dramatically. The reliance on external AI services also feeds the corporate and government surveillance networks. Most of the free AI services just feed your data into advertising networks, if not to police surveillance networks.
Web services and APIs sure are convenient. But also incredibly dangerous. They can disappear at any moment, data altered or censored invisibly. Things you do locally using downloaded data and open source software are not only usually faster, they are far more secure and reliable. Nobody can take away something you have locally, and if the open source software uses common libraries and follows the standards it’s likely very future proof. And it’s not leaking your private information right into the hands of corporate and government surveillance networks.
It’s so beautiful!
Out hiking on Prospect Mountain Ski Slopes in Vermont on this beautiful early autumn day. Listening to Pure Prairie League’s Amie, just soaking in all of the color a fraction that my camera can absorb on this Vermont morning!
No ICE in Vermont 🐮 ☃️ 🏕️
That’s what the protest sign said over the Bennington Bypass Interchange as I drove up to camp before the steep hill and hair pins. I certainly would not want to drive that road when it was really icy out.
Good morning, Happy Saturday from up here in Vermont. Okay, maybe more like barely Vermont, I’m less then 10 miles from New York State border and less then 40 miles from home. 🏕️ Nearly as close to home as Rensselearville State Forest, where I might head up to next weekend depending on the weather. Didn’t want to do a big trip as it’s only two nights in my creaking old truck.
Wasn’t a bad drive out to Vermont, Waze is very good at getting you around Friday night rush hour traffic. 🚙 This campsite is close enough to the valley where the Molly Stark Byway runs so it’s not exactly quiet from road noise and the occasional grunt of ATVs from the ATV trail system down the way, but it is close to home and very centrally located to the trails I want to hike plus excellent cell service.🏍️No remote work this weekend but I wanted to be able to stream tunes, podcasts and books from up at camp.
I haven’t decided fully where I will hike or ride today 🤷. I am thinking potentially a quick mountain hike up Prospect Mountain here in Vermont and then maybe later I’ll ride then hike back from Congdon Camp to Harmon Hill. Got to be careful though as the sun sets earlier and earlier. 🌇 Plus I want some down time at camp to just read 📖 and relax. Been listening to Bill Gates Autobiography since last night 🔊.
Not as much color as I though there would be in Vermont but it’s good things are still fairly green noting how dry it’s been. 🍂No burn ban but the Forest Service is actively discouraging people from having fires outside of developed campgrounds. 🌲 I had a fire last night for a while but I kept it out, smothered the coals before bed and peed over the fire. I also brought extra water – six gallons for two nights – to ensure I could really drown the fire, plus I have a shovel for burying the coals. 🔥 But I mostly burned just burnables plus smaller sticks so it wasn’t quite as much of a worry. Been enjoying some incense and other things maybe to cover up the smell of the other things burnt, lol. 👃
Well I want to get hiking as days are short this time of year. 🚶 Got tidy up camp and lock things up and then I’ll be on my way. Not the nicest day ever – kind of cloudy but more sun ☀️ is expected later. Tomorrow I will probably head home relatively early. Mom and Dad are going to be out tomorrow so no Sunday dinner – but I have some things to do before the coming work week when I get home, 🧼not the least to do some cleaning and potentially run to the laundromat and grocery store for food for the coming week.
Have a good one!! Giggle a bit and note it won’t be long before ICE is in Vermont and the roads are only passable by snow machine. 🤭
