User:Encyclom

In the delightful tale Farmer Giles of Ham the lead character Aegidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo (Farmer Giles in the vulgar form) was rousted by his dog Garm, who warned of a giant in the farmer's fields. As the main character goes for his blunderbuss Tolkien puckishly states:

"Indeed, this very question, it is said, was put to the Four Wise Clerks of Oxenford, and after thought they replied: 'A blunderbuss is a short gun with a large bore firing many balls or slugs, and capable of doing execution within a limited range without exact aim. (Now superseded in civilized countries by other firearms.)'"

I can't help but think it's a gentle thrust at the gentlemen compiling the OED.^[1]

After much soul searching and discussion with my medical support, I have realized that I will need to step away from active development of the Encyclomundi wiki for the forseeable future.

As my condition continues it has taken a devastating toll on my mental acuity, focus, and ability to articulate my thoughts.

I have tried to coast on my internal knowledge of what I used to be able to accomplish, a hope that these impairments were temporary, and the need to fight and fight and fight as a form of control over what is happening in my body's self-war.

However, the guilt and anxiety of the unaccomplished now outweigh the satisfaction of what get's done.

I will continue to patch here and there, but the big projects and ideas are off the table.

I am announcing this publicly in order to help take the pressure (all self-applied) from myself to "do great things" on the wiki.

I need to focus on enjoying and not worry about toiling (or not toiling) all the time.

Thank you all for your support.

From LibriVox:

François-Dominique Toussaint L’Ouverture (1743-1803) rose to fame in 1791 during the Haitian struggle for independence. In this revolt, he led thousands of slaves on the island of Hispañola to fight against the colonial European powers of France, Spain and England. The former slaves ultimately established the independent state of Haiti and expelled the Europeans. L’Ouverture eventually became the governor and Commander-In-Chief of Haiti before recognizing and submitting to French rule in 1801. In June of 1802, L’Ouverture was arrested by French forces and taken to France where he was imprisoned at Joux. There he penned his autobiography “. . . to render to the French government an exact account of my conduct.” L’Ouverture died in prison on April 7, 1803 from pneumonia. Although L’Ouverture died a captive of the French, the revolution he led was historically perhaps the most significant world event opposing slavery. It precipitated a re-examination--among the major European powers as well as those in the new world--of the right of all mankind to be free and self-governing. John Relly Beard, an English minister, wrote The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture and published it in London in 1853. Ten years later, the biography was re-published and augmented to include L’Ouverture’s 35-page translated autobiography--along with other documents and contributions by public officials--and was re-published in Boston. This reconstituted edition was titled, Toussaint L’Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography.

Download the free audiobook

For some reason, now obscure, I came across this name when I was researching Morse Code. It struck me at the time as a perfectly charming name, and also an ideal name for a website/computer services business neatly re-purposing "code." Also, given my concerns over data security and privacy the "cypher" fit as well.

While the specific industries mentioned by Sandburg in the poem maybe gone or on the wane, the physical evidence of the wealth and power they created in this city are everywhere.

   CHICAGO

         HOG Butcher for the World,
         Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
         Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
         Stormy, husky, brawling,
         City of the Big Shoulders:

    They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
         have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
         luring the farm boys.
    And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
         is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
         kill again.
    And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
         faces of women and children I have seen the marks
         of wanton hunger.
    And having answered so I turn once more to those who
         sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
         and say to them:
    Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
         so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
    Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
         job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
         little soft cities;

    Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
         as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
              Bareheaded,
              Shoveling,
              Wrecking,
              Planning,
              Building, breaking, rebuilding,
    Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
         white teeth,
    Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
         man laughs,
    Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
         never lost a battle,
    Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
         and under his ribs the heart of the people,
                   Laughing!
    Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
         Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
         Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
         Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

a view of Chicago

Field Museum