Apple Blossom

There's a small, scrawny apple tree at the back end of our property. Last fall I saw one apple on it. I did not try it. I don't know if it had more fruit and the deer ate them all or not. But there are a lot of blossoms on it today, so I'll try to keep a closer eye on it. Last week I was thinking about data. Stuff. Well, information anyway. Things too trivial to remember, but too important to forget. I got that phrasing from Thomas Erickson, though I don't think it appears in the paper he wrote about Proteus. Way back in the latter years of the previous century Erickson had a web site, maybe even a blog, I don't remember. But I recalled his description of an electronic notebook he created using Hypercard. To this day, I recall reading about that notebook with excitement and admiration. It was something that appealed to me deeply, and summoned all the optimism and enthusiasm I had back then for how computers could make our lives better. Well, fast forward a generation or so, and I…