The Maroon Vol. 3… No. 22 Tuesday, May 10, 2023
Comments & Suggestions: https://linktr.ee/maroonsonline
“Bringing us all to a place we don't want to lose."
Observer: Is Tech Moving Too Fast for You to Keep Up?
Macky’s New York: Cartagena, Columbia
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame: Made For & Inspired By RHS Alumni
Mark Porro: A Cup Of Tea On The Commode
M + A NYC: Mighty Are We As One
In Honor Of Our Classmates: Photographs & Memories
RHS Band Alumni: 100th Anniversary Celebration Events
Deborah Bryant: Handwoven
Jim Schoneman: Rock Hound
Kathy & Ross Petras: You’re Saying It Wrong
RHS Class of 1968: 55th Reunion October 6-8, 2023
RHS Class of 1993: 30th Reunion October 7, 2023
Observer
Is Tech Moving Too Fast for You to Keep Up?
Yes! No question. Even for the tech nerds like myself. This is ok. Sometimes common sense is just as effective as, for example, automating a repetitive task with software. This kind of automation is one of the many promises of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer). It is also a great example of the fear and loathing even experts can have for technology.
If you take a look under the hood of one of the seven types of Artificial Intelligence, like I did, you will find very expensive software systems needing to be built and one even more expensive to maintain.
If you simply want to play around with it ChatGPT it’s ready today. But if you want to organize, automate, and simplify a small web site the size of the Village of Ridgewood or the Ridgewood Board of Education, you’ll find the task a diverse and complicated one.
The unaccounted for costs of building, training, and maintaining a ChatGPT implementation along the scale of a local government body by themselves are factors which ought to help you sleep better at night. So relax.
Technology is certainly developing rapidly. The computer power of the latest microchips are immensely powerful, and the hype around both of these topics is off the charts.
How will these above mentioned local organizations budget for Artificial Intelligence undertakings they don’t understand? They won’t, at least in the short term.
In the long term it may not even be their problem to decide. I can only suggest to local government officials that they allow their common sense to be their guide and let these “nice to have” technologies mature a bit longer. Artificial Intelligence is not going away but it must be viewed in light of how it will assist people, and not in the dystopian view espoused by alarmists of tremendous job losses. These people are only looking to make the evening news, not help usher in a new era of government efficiencies.
Macky’s New York
Matthew Cortellesi Photography
Cartagena, Columbia seen through the Macky lens.
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
BOOM: Bergen County Nabisco Factory Has Implosion Date: April 15, 2023
RHS Athletic Hall Of Fame
Made For & Inspired By RHS Alumni
Visit the RHS Hall of Fame
Digital Printing for the RHS Hall of Fame provided by Tim Boucher, RHS 1988
Mark Porro
A Cup Of Tea On The Commode
M + A NYC
Mighty Are We As One
M + A is a destination devoted to art, artists, artisans and design. We are inspired by art as it relates to design: the soul, the spark that ignites beautiful ideas. We are equally as motivated by craft traditions passed down from generations.
Shop home décor and wearable accessories at www.mplusanyc.com
In Honor Of Our Classmates
Photographs & Memories
Founding Members of Ridgewood High School Alumni Association
L to R Tom Gorman ‘87, Siobhan Crann Winograd ‘91, Jackie Hennessey ‘87, Steve Correll ‘89, Keith Dawkins ‘88.
RHS Band Alumni
100th Anniversary Celebration Events
Based on the "Tiny Desk Concert" series by NPR, the goal of the In the Studio series is to feature the variety of musicians and ensembles at RHS in all genres of music. The RHS TV Club and RHS Recording Studio Club worked behind the scenes to produce this show. The new television equipment, purchased through the Duffield STEAM Initiative, was utilized during the shoot! New camera angles, HD video and seamless communication between audio and video!
Deborah Bryant
Handwoven
What says Spring more than a lovely handwoven drape-y white shawl. These have great texture too, dress up or down. Goes with everything, super functional and fashionable. Available in my shop update tomorrow at 7 pm with FREE shipping one day only.
Jim Schoneman
Rock Hound
A couple of simple walnut clocks I just finished. Each clock is just two pieces of wood; a walnut clock top, and a cherry base. The one in the background has a clock top made of pure, dark, walnut heartwood. The one in the foreground has a top made of a combination of darker walnut heartwood and lighter colored sapwood. It’s called “sappy” walnut. The lighter colored sapwood comes from the outer part of the log, between the heartwood and the bark, and the lighter color is normally not desirable when working with walnut, but when the light and dark are combined in one piece it can make for some dramatic wood grain patterns.
I was eager to try my new shellac technique on this piece of “sappy” walnut. I’m no longer going to use the pre-mixed Bull’s Eye shellac from the hardware store. It’s good stuff, but it has additives I don't want. For a more pure shellac finish, I’m going to start buying raw, dewaxed, shellac flakes and grind them up and mix it myself with denatured alcohol. Dewaxed shellac works much better if you plan on applying lacquer or poly over the first coat of shellac. Today was my first attempt, and I am very pleased with the results.
The first coat of finish on these clocks was a hand rubbed coat of homemade shellac, then two spray coats of satin lacquer, then a final spray coat of semi-gloss lacquer. There is no stain used on this wood. That first coat of shellac is what brought out the richness of that sappy walnut grain. Just incredible.
The top photo shows the sanded, but unfinished, clocks. The bottom photo shows the clocks finished with the shellac/lacquer combination.
Kathy & Ross Petras
You’re Saying It Wrong
Ross & Kathy’s podcast: You're Saying It Wrong is a podcast that looks at what we get wrong—and what we sometimes get right—when it comes to this English language.
RHS Class Reunions
Class of 1968: 55th Reunion, October 6-8, 2023
Class of 1993: 30th Reunion, October 7, 2023
Thank you!