CJ Fearnley's Home Page


Friday, 1 November 2024 EST
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Reading Dante in 2021

Syntropy: CJ Fearnley's Blog

Collaborating for Comprehensivism

BLOG: Managing FOSS for Business Results

Jeannie Moberly Art
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Contents



[CJ Fearnley Photo]Basic Biography

[PDF]Curriculum vitae of CJ Fearnley.

1967
I am born Christopher J. Fearnley in Troy, NY, USA, on the planet Earth to John Albert Fearnley and Marilyn Jean Fearnley.
1984
I teach chess lessons to first graders for my first job.
1985
I graduate from Bethlehem Central High School, Delmar, NY.
Member, V.P., President Math Club, Binghamton University, 1985-1989.
1986
Voting Member Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Math Department, Binghamton University, 1986-1989.
1987
Organizer, President Chess Club, Binghamton University, 1987-1989.
1988
Pipe Dream publishes my Perspective on "Changed Requirements Would Hurt Choices" in the February 16, 1988 issue.
Founder and organizer of the Bucky Fuller Spaceship Earth Club, Binghamton University.
I serve as a Student Intern: System Design in LOTUS 1-2-3, New York State DOT (Department Of Transportation) Engineering R & D Bureau.
1989
I graduate from Binghamton University with a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy.
Begin many in-between jobs: Clerical & Retail Work, Supervisor; Prepare book displays, Cashier, 1989-1991.
I volunteer as a Shop Teacher's Aide (K-6).
1990
I serve as a Substitute Teacher, West Philadelphia Elementary Schools.
1991
My essay Reading Synergetics: Some Tips is published in Trimtab.
1992
I help prepare a FDA (Food and Drug Administration) NDA (New Drug Application) for Tagamet-CR, SmithKline Beecham.
1993
I begin exploring Linux with kernel 0.99.13 and the SLS distribution.
Bookkeeper for WPMF Food Co-op, 1993-2000.
I become the Unix SIG leader at PACS.
I begin writing 29 columnns on Unix/Linux that are published in The Databus (1993 - 1997).
1994
I post the first version of the The R. Buckminster Fuller FAQ to list Geodesic on 20 May 1994.
I serve as Promotion Analysis Administrator (customer and computer service), SmithKline Beecham.
1995
I work on the help desk and as a systems administrator for Netaxs.
I secure my first Linux consulting jobs.
I become a Debian developer.
I initiate the Philadelphia area Linux User Group (PLUG).
1996
My Linux consulting work succeeds to the point where I leave Netaxs to become a full-time, self-employed Linux consultant.
1997
The first version of my essay Integrity: An Essay on God is published on my web site.
Chief of Engineering, Internet21, 1997-1999.
1998
I release version 1.1 of the Buckminster Fuller FAQ (August).
1999
I release version 1.2 of the Buckminster Fuller FAQ (April).
I release version 1.3 of the Buckminster Fuller FAQ (May).
I initiate the formation of the Philadelphia Area Debian Society (PADS).
I help found LinuxForce Inc. and assume the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
Extensive interview published in Dome Magazine (ISSN 1041-1607), Volume 12, Number 2, Winter 1999-2000, pp. 18-25.
2000
Merge Internet consulting business into LinuxForce Inc.
2001
I help found AdminForce Remote LLC and assume the position of President and Chief Technology Officer.
2002
I help found and organize the Synergetics Collaborative.
I give two presentations at the October 6th Synergetics powwow in Falls Church, VA:
I release version 1.4 of the Buckminster Fuller FAQ (November).
2003
I am named President and CEO of LinuxForce Inc.
I present a "10 minute" talk Linux and Synergetics at PLUG's March meeting.
I am profiled in the July-August 2003 issue of BU Alumni Connect.
I start writing out my Business Philosophy.
2004
I publish a compilation, The Triangle: A One-Page Primer.
Jeannie Moberly and I have our work Supercircles: Expanding Buckminster Fuller's Foldable Circle Models published in the peer reviewed Proceedings for the 2004 Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science conference. We presented an early draft of the paper at the Spring 2004 SNEC Symposium on Cosmic Fishing. We prepared slides summarizing our Supercircles work which we used for a seminar on 23 July at Binghamton University and on 30 July at Southwestern College (2004 Bridges Conference).
I launch My 2004 Presidential Campaign Notebook.
I start maintaining a web page Buckminster Fuller In The News.
The Delaware Valley Chapter of the ICCA invited me to give a talk Survey of Linux and Open Source Technologies and their Business Functions: An Introduction to Linux and Open Source for Computer Consultants on 9 December 2004.
2005
My article An Introduction to Linux and Open Source for Computer Consultants is published in the January issue of Consulting Matters.
I gave an invited presentation UNIX/Linux Overview For Law Enforcement Personnel (PDF) as part of an FBI training course "Introduction To Cyber Crime Investigations".
I gave a "lightning" presentation Open Source Software for Higher Mathematics: An Overview of Available Tools to the Philly Linux Users' Group (PLUG)
2006
I am Named to the Philadelphia Business Journal "40 Under 40" List.
I gave a presentation to PANTUG (Philadelphia Area Network Technologies User Group) entitled Survey of Linux and Open Source Technologies and their Business Functions: An Introduction for Information Technology Professionals
2007
I am interviewed by Cameron Reilly of "G'Day World"
I am interviewed by Michael Riversong of The Tesla Academy Podcast Interview Series
2008
Co-organize an AMS Special Session on Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics and Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University (NYU). and give a presentation on Explorations to Define a Theory of Foldable Great Circle Origami at it.
I gave a presentation on Comprehensive Anticipatory Systems Administration: Thoughts About Eternally Regenerative Software Administration to the Philadelphia Linux Users Group.
2009
I gave a presentation on Exploring Foldable Great Circle Geometries to the Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference of the International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture (ISAMA 2009) in Albany, NY. My abstract was published in the ISAMA 2009 Conference Proceedings issue of Hyperseeing.
I participated in, commented upon, and produced a video of a discussion from the Synergetics Collaborative's Workshop at SUNY Oswego on 12 Jul 2009.
LinuxForce launches a new website Remote Responder and a new blog on Managing FOSS for Business Results.
I give two presentations at the LinuxForce seminar "Managing Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for Business Results": "A Survey of FOSS Tools for Business Results" and "Managing FOSS for Business Results".
2010
I launch a new personal blog: Syntropy: CJ Fearnley's Blog.
2011
I agree to lead regular meetups for the Ben Franklin Thinking Society's on Science and Technology.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment from Jennifer Widom for completing the on-line course Introduction to Databases.
2012
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment from Scott E. Page for completing the on-line course Model Thinking.
In collaboration with Jeannie Moberly, I publish a paper on "Harmonic Perspective" in the peer-reviewed proceedings of the Bridges 2012 conference and give a presentation on Harmonic Perspective as part of our joint work on Harmonic Perspective.
I deliver presentations on Education Automation Now and in the Future and Synergetics and Model Thinking at the ReVIEWING Black Mountain College 4: Looking Forward at Buckminster Fuller's Legacy conference.
I become a Co-Organizer for Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction signed by Carol Muller of the University of Pennsylvania for the Coursera course on Listening to World Music.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction signed by Roger D. Peng of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for the Coursera course on Computing for Data Analysis.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment signed by Karl T. Ulrich of the University of Pennsylvania for the Coursera course on Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society.
2013
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment signed by Jeffrey Leek of Johns Hopkins University for completing the on-line course Data Analysis.
I gave a presentation on Data Analysis in Linux to the Philadelphia area Linux Users Group (PLUG).
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction signed by Wendell Porter of the University of Florida for the Coursera course on Global Sustainable Energy: Past, Present and Future.
I become a Co-Organizer for Math Counts.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction signed by Arnold Weinstein of Brown University for the Coursera course on Fiction of Relationship.
I earned a Statement of Accomplishment signed by Jonathan Tomkin of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the Coursera course on Introduction to Sustainability.
I earned a certificate for successfully completing for the UTAustinX course 1.01x: Energy 101 on the edX platform.
2014
I earned an Honor Code Certificate for the UTAustinX course UT.9.01x Effective Thinking Through Mathematics on the edX platform.
I earned an Certificate for the Santa Fe Institute course Introduction to Complexity (Spring, 2014) with Melanie Mitchell on the Complexity Explorer platform.
I am a guest on the TV program Conversations with Harold Channer (Part 1 and Part 2). I write an Addendum to the conversation to expand on several points discussed.
2015
I am a guest on the Internet Radio program Science 2.0: Science for the Rest of Us - Math Counts Meetup with host Joseph Heard. Listen to our 05/09/2015 podcast here.
In collaboration with Jeannie Moberly, I publish Perspectives on Borges' Library of Babel in the peer-reviewed proceedings of the Bridges 2015 conference and give a presentation on Perspectives on Borges' Library of Babel as part of our joint work on Harmonic Perspective.
I earn a Statement of Accomplishment for the course Modern & Contemporary American Poetry, Al Filreis of the University of Pennsylvania on the Coursera platform.
2016
I earn an Honor Code Certificate for the course 8.MechCx: AP® Physics C: Classical Mechanics offerred by MITx on the edX platform.
I gave a lightning presentation on High-performance PHP on Apache using mod proxy fcgi and php-fpm to the Philadelphia area Linux Users Group (PLUG).
2017
Help organize Philadelphia Eco-District Incubator.
2018
I write the essay The Objective, The Subjective, and The Nature of Design Science.

Current Positions

Memberships


Making the World Work: The Pursuit of Humanity's Option for Success

Blue Marble 2012: Image of Earth from Space: aka Spaceship Earth

Like most of my fellow Earthians, I am concerned about how to make the world work better. There are many issues that I care about such as democracy, energy, the environment, globalization, education, and the problem of violence to name but a few. Here I will document my thinking about what needs to be done for Humanity to achieve its option for success.

The challenge before us is tremendous. Buckminster Fuller argued that our choice is between utopia and oblivion. Fuller documented that Humanity now has sufficient know-how to make good our option to succeed: we can substantially solve our most pressing problems. Recent crises remind us that the option of oblivion is continually before us. The steady stream of religiously- and politically-motivated violence, the widespread availability of the instruments of destruction, and the continuing deterioration of the environment give us pause and remind us that Universe is willing and able to revoke our species' "right" to survive and may do so at any moment. Doomsday clock: Three Minutes to Midnight I think our survival depends and will forever depend on the Integrity of each individual human being to act "in support of eternally regenerative Universe". The balance hangs on the choices that each individual citizen makes to resolve or mitigate the complex of problems (large and small) that threaten the effective operation and regeneration of the life support systems on Spaceship Earth. It is up to each of us individually ... We have the power! Our daily choices determine if Universe will extend its grant to Humanity of the "right" of survival for one more day. Therefore, it is our responsibility as individuals to dare to do what little we can to steer the world closer to omni-success and away from the brink of oblivion. We can make a difference. We can succeed. We must succeed as the alternative is oblivion. But it will be touch-and-go every day.

Please consider what you can do to support eternally regenerative Universe.

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
-- Mahatma Gandhi

My own working assumption of why we are here is that we are here as local-Universe information-gatherers and that we are given access to the divine design principles so that we can therefrom objectively invent instruments and tools -- e.g., the microscope and the telescope -- with which to extend all sensorial inquiring regarding the rest of the to-the-naked-eye-invisible, micro-macro Universe, because human beings, tiny though we are, are here for all the local-Universe information-harvesting and cosmic-principle-discovering, objective tool-inventing, and local-environment-controlling as local Universe problem-solvers in support of the integrity of eternally regenerative Universe.
-- R. Buckminster Fuller

Integrity

Integrity is the most continually important issue in human affairs. We must, each of us, persevere to consider and re-consider our values and the value of our actions. Integrity implies honesty ... honesty with oneself and with others. Integrity implies truth: being true to the facts of experience and true to oneself and true to others including all Humanity, our Earth-Ocean-Air World, Universe, and God. Integrity requires consideration and re-consideration of the whole and all of the parts and their synergetic interrelationships. Total, complete integrity is impossible for finite humans to fully achieve. For human beings, Integrity is a never ending process requiring diligence, discipline, dedication, and continual re-dedication.

The following is a list of web sites that address the issue of Integrity from a number of perspectives that seem to me to be supportive of the success of Humans in Universe:

The Design Science Revolution

The Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science Revolution designates the thread in Buckminster Fuller's philosophy that emphasizes the need to radically re-orient Humanity's problem-solving efforts by the employment of the practice of science in a comprehensive and anticipatory fashion toward the design of effective solutions to better meet the needs of 100% of Humanity. The emphasis is on the design of comprehensive solutions ... ones that work sustainably because they have anticipated comprehensively all factors relevant to the problem space.

The success of all humanity can be accomplished only by a terrestrially comprehensive, technologically competent, design revolution. This revolution must develop artifacts where energy-use efficiency not only occasions the artifacts' spontaneous adoption by humanity, but also occasions the inadvertent, unregretted abandonment and permanent obsolescence of socially and economically undesirable viewpoints, customs and practices.
-- Buckminster Fuller

The essential message of Fuller's design science is that human beings have access to the design laws of Universe, and a responsibility to use the extraordinary phenomenon of mind to discover and apply such principles. Our function is problem-solving. Synergetics, the discipline behind Fuller's more-with-less philosophy, above all encourages us to experiment. This material is superbly suited to nurture and enhance creativity, demanding both numerical rigor and intuitive leaps. ...

A design science revolution is imperative.
-- Amy Edmondson

I maintain a references and resource page for the Design Science Revolution.

Girls' Education

According to UNICEF's State of World's Children 2004 "Girls' education: There can be no excuses. Education is the most effective tool available to promote global development".

A list of resources on Girls' Education

The Problem of Security (Public Safety)

Right now, the crisis in public safety is the most critical issue facing all Earthians (the human capability to destroy is tremendous and difficult but necessary to control). In my view the problem with both the "war on terror" and the terrorists themselves is that violence is seen as an effective means to their ends. Experience since September 11th corroborates the observation, that violence generally begets more violence. The recent calls to war of the leaders of India, Israel, the USA, and North Korea serve to further jeopardize the security of the planet as a whole. We need a sound, incisive, effective, comprehensively considerate path toward security.

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature ... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
-- Helen Keller

War is obsolete.
-- R. Buckminster Fuller

"There can be no political stability and no assured peace without economic security. ... [US policy must therefore] be directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos."
-- General George Marshall

My nascent plan for addressing the global security problem.

Here is a list of sites advocating peaceful means for improving security:


[Tux, the Linux Penguin] Linux -- An Operating System for Business and Humanity

Linux has tremendous stability, power, and flexibility; it is ideal for business applications. I knew that Linux would become a winning system as early as 1994 and worked hard to master it thoroughly. I think Linux's most important strengths are its open source licensing and its world-around, Internet-connected, cooperative, community-based development approach. This vibrant community from which Linux emerged and to which it gives strength and support is unique for an industrial tool. I have supported the Philadelphia Area Linux community in several ways. First, with my stint as UNIX SIG leader at The Philadelphia Area Computer Society (PACS). Then with the organization of Philadelphia Linux Users Group (PLUG). Finally, with the formation of Philadelphia Area Debian Society (PADS).

The Linux consulting practice which I started in 1995 has expanded to tackle ever more ambitious projects via a pioneering company formed in 1999 and named LinuxForce Inc. LinuxForce is a leading technology services provider specializing in the development, implementation, management and support of Linux-based systems, with a particular expertise in Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu. In 2009, LinuxForce launched a new website Remote Responder to explain its services to provide systems maintenance & monitoring with support & emergency coverage. In conjunction with the educational effort in support of our the Remote Responder services, we launched a new blog on Managing FOSS for Business Results (where FOSS is the acronym for Free and Open Source Software.

Statement on the Use of Linux in Small Business

I advocate using Linux in enterprising small businesses. I contend that Linux provides tools for small businesses to build competitive advantage in their niche markets. Since Linux and it's main distributions are freely available in source form, the motivated entrepreneur can launch her business without the overhead of evaluating illions of commercial offerings (many of which won't do exactly what will be required anyway). Instead one can focus on integrating (and, if necessary, modifying) pre-existing Linux "tools" to meet needs. This is the power of the Unix "toolkit" approach to software: each software "tool" is designed to work synergetically with other "tools". Once one learns how to use software as a tool, one will be frustrated by systems that try to do everything in one big application (one of the more extreme ideas along this line being the web browser as an operating system). Open source software allows the businessperson the ability to make custom software relatively easily and relatively inexpensively. Moreover, when one shares their improvements with the rest of the Linux community, they will get helpful feedback about how to improve the system further in a mutually cooperative feedback loop. For more information on unexpected occurrences of cooperation see Robert Axelrod's The Evolution of Cooperation.

[Debian Logo]  The Debian Project

Debian is a Linux distribution, i.e., a collection of software based around the Linux kernel pre-configured for ease of installation, administration, and use. I have found Debian to be relatively easy to configure and upgrade (upgradeability is the biggest strength of Debian over other Linux distributions including Red Hat which is IMO much inferior in this regard). Hence Debian has become the cornerstone of my Linux use.

Debian is a volunteer run project (there are presently some 1000 people working on Debian). Debian's open development make it very valuable to small business. First, since all of the Debian software comes with full source code, one can relatively easily fix any bugs that are important to your business (no need to wait around for the vendor to fix them!). Secondly, if a package is crucial to your business and the current maintainer is too busy to fix a bug, someone on staff can volunteer to make an interim release or perhaps take over maintenance of said package. In this way all of the important software gradually gravitates to developers whose business depends on the reliability of that software. I think this process of gravitation to the competent, concerned developers is one of the reasons Debian has become so stable. Finally, one can monitor the progress of development and contribute to the direction of the system by participating in some of Debian's numerous mailing lists. In sum, Debian gives small businesses the software leverage they need to be extra competitive.

My contributions to the Linux community


[Bucky
Picture]  Buckminster Fuller -- an Inspirational Voice in my life!

I have read almost everything Bucky ever published as well as much that has been written about him in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I have built many geometrical models to investigate his synergetics (a mathematical/physical/philosophical system about the shape of thinking and the nature of Universe). Fuller's philosophy and values have strongly influenced my own. Fundamentally, I think one needs to puzzle things out for oneself. So I mostly stopped reading the Fuller literature in the mid-1990s. Instead, I've immersed myself in the complexity of life's problems: How to make the world better? How to eat? And so on. "Philosophy if not mechanically applied is worthless" -- to rephrase something I remember Fuller once wrote.

I maintain the Buckminster Fuller FAQ which I started compiling in the early 1990s. The source is written in SGML and has been converted to plain text, PDF, LaTeX, postscript, and lyx by the SGML-Tools package. The following older versions of the FAQ are available in SGML source format only: v.1.1, 1 August 1998, v.1.2, 1 April 1999, and v.1.3.0, 10 May 1999.

I maintain a list of Buckminster Fuller Resources on the Internet that are relevant to his work.

In 2002, I begin work to form the Synergetics Collaborative a new organization to build the Synergetics field of study as developed by R. Buckminster Fuller.

On 5 March 2003, I presented a "10 minute" talk Linux and Synergetics at the PLUG meeting.

On 6 October 2002, I presented these two papers to a gathering on Synergetics in Falls Church, VA.

In 1994, I generated the following images of basic polyhedra using POV-Ray: Tetrahedron, Octahedron, Icosahedron (vertex view), Icosahedron (face view), Cube or Hexahedron, Cube Tetrahedron, Cube in Rhombic Dodecahedron, Icosahedron in Cube, Rhombic Dodecahedron, Star Tetrahedron, Octahedron in a Tetrahedron, Truncated Ocatahedra, Vector Equilibrium.

In 1995, I make these Geodesic Spheres using dome.

In 1991, My essay Reading Synergetics: Some Tips was published in Trimtab.


Open Question On The Events Of 11 September 2001

I've been thinking about how 19 human beings could so severely hate that they would so coldly give their lives. An American, Nathan Hale, said "I regret that I have but one life to give to my country." The 19 attackers of September 11th were so convinced of their case against the USA that they took Hale's patriotic sentiment to a new and ghastly level. Why?

Why do they hate the USA so much? This question pains me more than any other.

As conscientious citizens of Spaceship Earth we need to address the deeper issues of hatred, violence and its causes, because the level of hatred on display in New York and Washington on September 11th will not go away with military and police actions alone.

What will it take to rid the world of the type of hatred that from time-to-time leads to abhorrent violence?


[Rhombic
         Dodecahedron]  My Favorite Quotes and Poems

It is not for me to change you.  The question is, how can I be of service to
you without diminishing your degrees of freedom?
-- Buckminster Fuller
Select this link to see one of my favorite quotes

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[Star
         Tetrahedron] Other Information


[Icosahedron]  Contact Information


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