Lathe of Dreams "bliki" (Conjoined Blog & Wiki)

Yes, I am a "geek" =)
(and this is my desktop)

• Welcome to the Lathe of Dreams, to get around, check out:
    Lathe of Dreams: Lathe//Blog
    Lathe of Dreams: Lathe//Wiki

• While the Lathe//Blog shows you the last 15 blog entries,
  for more on the LatheWiki, see:
    Recent Changes to Existing Pages,
    Newly Created Pages,
    Recently Uploaded Images,
    Listings: All Articles or All Categories.

• ...If you're looking for something in particular, use Search.

Welcome to the Lathe of Dreams

Ken Foreman, at his office PC

Welcome to Lathe of Dreams: Lathe//Wiki, the companion Wiki to Lathe of Dreams: Lathe//Blog...

NOTE: This website is a work-in-progress, migrating from a "linear blog" to an "organic wiki." Since I'm transitioning from one form to another, it's going to look a little "messy" for a while. I'm adding stuff as I think of it or as I work on it. My goal is to add content first, and add organization or structure later. If you're curious why I'm doing that, I'd rather have "better content but no structure" than "great presentation but no content." This is a Wiki, content matters, but presentation/organization/structure (visualizing content) is almost infinitely variable. For this reason, I'm not going to focus on organization or presentation just yet.

OPEN for DISCUSSION: Do you have a better idea, or know of a better way of presenting/visualizing Wiki content?
I'm still looking into bots, plug-ins, and server-side scripting for MediaWIKI-based Wikis. As a Systems Administrator and a Developer, I tend to look for code-based solutions to problems rather than contextual or presentational solutions. If you know of a better way to present topics, documents, Wiki entries, and to pull all the content together in a way easy for readers, please let me know! =)

I'd love to hear your ideas or to improve upon how this server, site, and wiki all come together. If you'd like credit, a server account, or space, just let me know. If you have ideas but you'd prefer to get paid (ie, you're a web developer or Wiki coder), let me know what your rates are, I might be amenable.

How the Lathe works...

• COMMENTS:

Rather than having comments (as with normal blogs), please use the discussion tab if you'd like to discuss a subject.

• CONTENT:

If you'd like to contribute content, please log in / create account. Anyone can create an account, but legitimate email addresses are required and confirmed before you can post. All IP addresses are logged. In order to edit content, you'll need to log in. As with Wikipedia, content is monitored both by Bots and Administrators.

• COURTESY:

Be courteous: treat others as you would also want to be treated. With an account, you are free to upload files and add content as you see fit. Explicit content, personal attacks, and vandalism will not be tolerated. Anyone engaging in such behavior will have their account deleted and/or their IP blocked.

Why a "Lathe of Dreams" and why as a Wiki?

"Underworld Tea" by H. Koyht Luterman

• "LATHE OF DREAMS"

The domain "Lathe of Dreams" was inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, The Lathe of Heaven. In this novel, George Orr is a man who has difficulty sleeping. When he goes to see a psychiatrist, it is learned that he is dreaming things into being. Like Decarte's "mind in a vat" and the writings of Philip K. Dick, the novel questions the phrase "mind over matter" and suggests that reality might simply be a matter of perception.

The quote "Lathe of Dreams" comes from the writings of Chuang Tzu—specifically a passage from Book XXIII, paragraph 7, quoted as an epigraph to Chapter 3 of the novel:

      "To let understanding stop at what cannot
        be understood is a high attainment.
       Those who cannot do it will be destroyed
        on the lathe of heaven."

The translator used for the quote is uncredited, and may be Le Guin herself, although she doesn't explicitly say so when interviewed. She has published her own translations of the Tao Te Ching, The Book of the Way and its Virtue by Lao Tzu, the traditional founder of Taoism (Daoism).

Translated editions have titled the novel differently. The German title, Die Geißel des Himmels, means literally "the scourge [or whip] of heaven". The French and Swedish titles, L'autre côté du rêve and På andra sidan drömmen, translate as "the other side of the dream". It is from these translations that this domain got its name, for if reality is but the sum of our perceptions, then it is not so different than a dream.

• AS A WIKI

People don't think linearly, but tangentially. The concept of a blog is a limitation of the early Web. HTML was limited in what it could display. Web designers were limited in how they could present information. Blogs and blog entries might be representative of a single-and-isolated event in our lives, but they're not representative of what we thought at the time, how we felt, or what we thought-and-felt in hindsight. Blogs are linear and static. Blogs are a snapshot in time. A wiki is an organic thing, it's dynamic, open to interpretation and growth. Hopefully, this domain will be a more dynamic website than the static blogs which preceded it.

OK... So where do we go from here?

So where would you like to go from here?

• ABOUT ME

As I work on things, think about things, and learn things, I'll add them to the Lathe of Dreams. As a systems administrator, as a geek, and as a gamer, you'll find this initially to be a fairly technical website. As a husband, as a brother, and as a son, you'll find this to be a fairly personal website.

• ABOUT YOU

The Lathe of Dreams doesn't need to be just about me and my life, it can also be about you and yours. If you create an account or log in, you can discuss any subject or add your own. If you decide not to, you're always welcome to search, read, or do as you please. Hopefully you'll decide to comment or contribute, but even if you don't, hopefully you'll find this website to be of some value.