’Twas the night before Christmas, and how cheerful the sight,
As the grid fed the glow of each home’s twinkling lights.
The meters spun softly, their telemetry flowed,
In hopes of no surge in the holiday load.
But the planners lay restless, awake in their beds,
While visions of queue requests danced in their heads.
And I cautiously turned, trying not to despair,
To the PJM forecast, for the solace found there.
Posts
From Seed to Silicon: The Metaphors We Think With
I was reminded of an interesting idea recently—though I can’t remember where or by whom (another great example of the intellectual sloppiness that writing in a blog affords me). The idea is this: we tend to perceive the world, and ourselves, through the metaphorical lens of the dominant technology of our time. I think that’s exactly right. Just as artists teach us to see the world by guiding us through one-way doors of perception, revealing novel ways of seeing that can’t be unseen, each technological paradigm reshapes how we understand the world and our place in it. This new understanding then embeds itself deeply in our language and culture.
Continue reading “From Seed to Silicon: The Metaphors We Think With”The Cognitive Effectiveness Stack
In a previous post, I asked the question:
“How do I not waste my mind?”
To begin answering this question, I first abandoned the narrow performance metric of “intelligence” and took inspiration from Ian Banks’ Consider Phlebas for how we can understand cognitive effectiveness more holistically. This post unpacks the architecture of what I am calling The Cognitive Effectiveness Stack, breaking effectiveness down into three interdependent layers:
Continue reading “The Cognitive Effectiveness Stack”Cognitive Effectiveness; Or How to Not Waste a Mind
In a world increasingly saturated with artificial intelligence, the perceived value of a human mind isn’t what it used to be. As information accelerates and leverage shifts, the most important question becomes not how smart you are, but how effectively your mind is deployed. This five-part series explores a layered, systems-oriented mental model for cognitive effectiveness. It moves up from the biological to the strategic in an attempt to offer a blueprint for staying relevant in the era of ubiquitous intelligence.
Continue reading “Cognitive Effectiveness; Or How to Not Waste a Mind”Codec Debug Session 4: One Byte at a Time
Understanding itself. That’s where things always seem to get complicated.
Carl paused, then leaned back in his chair. It occurred to him—almost sheepishly—that he hadn’t reviewed the Codec’s command documentation since his early onboarding days. He pulled it up, scrolling through the dense, dry index until a buried feature caught his eye:
Continue reading “Codec Debug Session 4: One Byte at a Time”Codec Debug Session 3: Breakpoint
The previous night had been a necessary rejuvenation for Carl. He had granted himself the nostalgic indulgence of some time in the Mushroom Kingdom—a perfect antidote to the cognitive wear and tear of the prior days’ challenges. This was more than escapism. It was an intentional part of his active recovery strategy. It was a way to counterbalance the rigors of his responsibilities and prepare for another period of peak performance. He firmly believed it was possible to love what you do and excel at it, but acknowledged that even the most fulfilling work required moments of deliberate detachment.
Continue reading “Codec Debug Session 3: Breakpoint”Switch It Up: Want a Game, Buy a Game
For years I carried around a fear that I would “spend too much money” on video games and as such I would him-haw around for months before buying a game that I wanted. This is probably related to the long-since-overcome fear of buying the highest quality paper towels. However, a few years into my Nintendo Switch ownership (circa ’21 or ’22), I came to an important realization: I needed to stop agonizing over the number and cost of games I wanted to buy and instead let myself buy whatever caught my interest.
Continue reading “Switch It Up: Want a Game, Buy a Game”On the Grid We Depend: From Sparks to Substance
Right after Thanksgiving, I published a super fun electric-utility themed version of a classic 19th century holiday poem. Creating it was so energizing! Pun intended. I’m no poet, so you may be wondering how I brought it to life – so here’s the backstory:
It all started in November, sometime before Thanksgiving. My wife came home from work with news that she and her colleagues needed to record a holiday message for their entire business unit—which just so happens to be my entire business unit as well. Naturally, I encouraged her to “have fun with it!” But as I encouraged her, I couldn’t shake the feeling of missing out. Why should she have all the fun? I, too, wanted to create a holiday message to my team and to “have fun with it”!
Continue reading “On the Grid We Depend: From Sparks to Substance”On the Grid We Depend
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the grid,
Not a relay was tripping, not even a bit.
The transformers hummed in steady refrain,
In hopes that no storm would disrupt the domain.
The linemen were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of conductors danced in their heads.
And dispatch at their consoles, and I at my screen,
Kept watch on the system — steadfast and keen.
Beyond the White Box: AI for GI
Recently, I found myself in a position where I had to present an intelligent perspective on “using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the (generation) interconnection (GI) queue” from the vantage point of an electric transmission utility. Admittedly, this topic initially gave me pause; it just seemed like another instance of hype-fueled innovation theater that distracts us from addressing the real, underlying problems. However, as with any assignment, I approached it with the professional diligence I would apply to any request from a respected superior or customer. Ultimately, my investigation led me to identify four areas of impact of AI for GI. I’ll begin with some necessary cultural and philosophical framing and finish with a description of each of these four areas of impact. Skip ahead to the impact analysis if that’s your style.
Continue reading “Beyond the White Box: AI for GI”
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