shortly after dusk
the trees embracing silence:
birdsong before dawn
Author: Carl Setzer
A blogger blogging from just north of Seattle.
It’s Sigmund Freud’s Birthday….
Today, May 6th, is Sigmund Freud’s birthday. So, call your Mother!
Yeah, I know how wrong this is….
Today’s Haiku, As Well As Some Frustrations With WordPress
flowing over stars
moonlight's gentle grace flows down
caressing my eyes
Though I’ve been writing lately, I’ve been having issues with uploading images in WordPress (I do post to Bluesky and Instagram a fair amount, too). Well, using anything other than the browser. I tried both with my iPad and my Pixel: nope. Sigh…these issues do make me want to explore a WordPress alternative. There are so many options nowadays: Wix, Squarespace, Substack…the list is impressive. For me, these options are all proprietary. As one of my core principles is that I don’t want to hand over that kind of control to a company. I can lose access to my content for any of a number of reasons, from financial to company governance. It’s the same methodology for why I won’t just go solely on a social media platform. In a similar vein, I deeply value using open source tools. WordPress is one, and Joomla is another. I could port everything over to a hand-coded static site as well. The ultimate in freedom, really. That would most likely mean that posting remotely would be impossible. So, here we go.
So, that’s where I am. Are you using WordPress? Or some other tool? And what sort of tools are you using to maintain and build your community?
Tonight’s Haiku: April 28, 2026
night air cooling
quiet breeze moving gently
holding drifting mists
Claude’s Mythos and AI Magnified Fears
I missed the intro of Claude’s Mythos, and only started hearing about them in the ensuing panic. This article has a good rundown of the issues that have the cybersecurity world nervous. I do recognize that this could simply be hyperbole meant to bring extra attention (marketing) to the product, but I thought it worth looking into deeper.
Anthropic just made AI scarier
Update:
The Vox article above is (inconsistently) paywalled. I was able to get back and view it one more time before it locked me out again. So, let me give a quick summary of the concerns here.
“Claude Mythos Preview was designed for general use, Anthropic says, but during testing, the company found it extremely effective at identifying vulnerabilities in the security systems of all types of software, creating potentially massive security concerns.” So, Mythos is the ultimate hacker.
With this in mind, Anthropic has limited Mythos to a handful of tech companies and banks (Project Glasswing), with the hope that those orgs will be able to shore up their defenses before Mythos exposes their vulnerabilities.
“How is Anthropic choosing who to share this technology with?
They’re essentially looking for cyber defenders or companies that a lot of people depend on, and that downstream it would be a huge issue if they got hacked in any way, shape, or form.” It looks like the folks at Anthropic are deciding for themselves, which is all well and good. I think it would be good to slowly roll it out to other orgs, for the same reason. Why is Chase allowed to patch their vulnerabilities while my local credit union is not?
Anyway, these tools are more effective than we think, and in ways we have not imagined. I’m glad that, at least in this instance, we had the ability and wherewithal to be cautious.
A rainy morning haiku
rainfalls lovely sound
pollen’s excess washed away
the air now refreshed
Check Out This Song!
I’ve enjoyed Xavier Rudd for years (I wrote about a different song back in 2020). I love the positive energy he creates. In this time of rage and invective, I appreciate his message of unity and kindness.
This song is not new, but I recently found it, and it clicked. I’ve been playing it a LOT. For me, there are songs that resonate at certain times. Generally, I move along with the semi-obessive quality, but those songs eventually are my connection to the emotions of that part of my life.
So, please check this song out, and I recommend that you give Xavier’s music some of your attention. I think it’s worth it.
Whisper in the wind sent me home
I’d believe there was somethin’ more
Learned so much, fell in love with you
Took my chances with what I knew
With the places that had stained my hands
And the files that I’d stored on my shelf
Spent so long in the world givin’ chase
Thought my place was some other place
That I belong here, I belong with you
And all of our questions belong here, too
‘Cause we been high, darlin’, we been low
And all of it’s helped us grow
We belong here and we deserve to dream
Every wakin’ hour of every wakin’ day
I wake up to the sound of discussions in my brain
I don’t know the answer and I don’t know the truth
And I don’t really know what I been draggin’ since my youth
But I push on, I philosophy
Keep my prophecies by my side
And I hope to meet you at the gates
See that light shinin’ on your face
‘Cause I belong here, I belong with you
And all of our answers reside here, too
‘Cause we been high, darlin’, we been low
And all of it’s helped us grow
We belong here and we deserve to dream
Dream
And every breakin’ hour though a little more would break
And the courage could be summoned to bring about some change
And the plans would form to build a brand new castle
To the sky we’d soar with the wings of an eagle
Stone-cold sober with whiskey on my breath
South America runnin’ through my head
With you, I was taken
It was you, I was not mistaken
You belong here, you belong with me
And all of your secrets are safe with me
‘Cause we been high, darlin’, we been low
And all of it’s helped us grow
We belong here and we deserve to dream
And all we want is runnin’ down the mountains
And all we need is flowin’ through the trees
And all we have is swimmin’ in the ocean
And all we can do is be the best that we can be
All we want is runnin’ down the mountains
And all we need is flowin’ through the trees
And all we have is swimmin’ in the ocean
And all we can do is be the best that we can be
All we want is runnin’ down the mountains
And all we need is flowin’ through the trees
And all we have is swimmin’ in the ocean
And all we can do, is be the best that we can be
And I hope to meet you at the gates
See that light shinin’ on your face
Claustrophobia?
I spent several years of my life in the US Navy on submarines. Now, I had NO issues with the cramped spaces, nor with being many, many feet under water. I even crawled into very tight “void spaces”. Things like tanks. Not a problem! However, that’s not the case anymore. I look at this image above, and I feel claustrophobic. Deeply. And this isn’t that crowded. I’ve seen other images/videos where the train staff are literally pushing people together into the car. People are crushed into each other! Yeah, I’d be hyperventilating big time.
For me, this juxtoposition is striking. Nothing traumatic happened in the decades since. I have simply lost any tolerance for confined spaces. On a related note, I also didn’t have any issues with heights back then, but now I struggle.
Weird, methinks. Have you noticed any evolutions like this in your life?
Power lies not in control, but in connection
I found the above image on Pinterest
In today’s world, so many in power are about controlling and manipulating others in order to get solely what they want. The powerful exploit, and the masses lose. Exploitation is not sustainable. One-sided economic growth is not sustainable. This leads, eventually, to collapse. I’ve long believed there’s another way.
Create a sustainable system, one that does not rely upon exploitation and the poverty of many. One that builds others up, that helps people grow. One that’s creative, not extractive. I’ve often simply called this “long-term focus”.
Leadership within this system would understand how people are motivated and how to use that knowledge to help them be the best people they can be. That’s how I see it, at least.
My hope is found in like-minded people, working towards these goals. And there’s great power in hope, don’t you think?
A rainy night haiku, April 2, 2026
after the nightfall
with the rain rattled rooftops
the darkness consumes