I hate this timeline
I go back and forth with humanity, man. I see people make art and sing and help each other and I’m like “awwww, humans are sweet.”
And then I see shit like this and I’m like “BURN US TO THE GROUND. ALL OF US RIGHT NOW.”
Both of these videos are so disgusting.
A Child’s Thoughts on Future Technology
Yo.
This is something I’ve mentioned in person to people, but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned on here. It has to do with a very specific memory I have from when I was seven(-ish) and was living in Troy with my mom.
One evening, I remember looking at our wall-mounted corded phone. I thought about what phones would be in the far-off future (not sure what I considered the “far-off future” at that age, but whatev). I imagined that one day a phone would not only allow you to talk to the person on the other end, but would also allow you to see them. A video phone, if you will.
And that concept did come to fruition, right? We have FaceTime.
But that’s not the interesting thing to me about this prediction.
The image in my head that I had of this futuristic phone? It was still attached to the wall. It still had the corded handset.
My little 7-year-old mind could conceptualize a video phone, but it couldn’t come up with the additional advancements in phone technology. I couldn’t imagine a phone that you could hold in your hand and take with you; instead, I imagined the current iteration of phone tech with a new shiny video screen in it. It was this weird meld of new tech and old.
I’ve just always thought that was interesting.
Anyway.
What is THIS
And why does it look super fun?
This would actually be really cool way to analyze my running gait and such. Calgary’s drone laws for small ones (< 250 grams) are basically “don’t fly it at the airport or into the blades of the medi-helicopter and you’re good” so that would be fine. I’d just want to do it somewhere where I wouldn’t be bothering anyone else.
It would also, y’know, just be fun to play with, haha.
IT IS SO TEMPTING AAAAA
Criss Cross Be a Boss
It’s Britain, but it’s still interesting!
(I just realized that sounded like the biggest insult to Brits, haha, sorry!)
Dots
Super interesting. I also love his voice.
The Future is Bleak…For Many Reasons
UGH.
I am so glad this crap wasn’t around when I was in school.
But I am so angry that it’s around while I’m teaching.
And in general.
I remember when I first started college I posted a blog post about the “real reason” people go to college. I’m going to guess that was on…August…18th, 2006.
*checks blog archive*
AH I WAS CLOSE it was August 19th, 2006.
The “reasons” are probably the same now, but the big difference is the ease at which people can just fart their way through without learning anything.
Which, if you ask me, is INCREDIBLY DUMB.
Why waste your time? Why waste your (or your parents’) money? You’re going to look back on this time of your life and wish you’d actually taken advantage of the amazing opportunities you had to actually learn stuff instead of coasting your way through by typing misspelled prompts into ChatGPT.
Or maybe not. Maybe nobody really actually cares anymore.
It’s very discouraging either way.
Sorry, WHAT
This is like five different levels of nightmare fuel.
No seriously…this is something you’d see coming at you in an actual nightmare. It’s like those nightmares where something bad is coming toward you and you can’t get out of the way fast enough
Like…it is uncannily horrific looking. Is that just me? Am I unreasonably unsettled by this?
Yikes.
Hey, Adobe?
Why does the newest version of Adobe Acrobat have five – count ‘em, FIVE – AI-related tools available immediately upon opening a PDF?
Is this really necessary? Really?
*angry incoherent screeching*
I hate AI, I loathe generative AI with all my soul, and I weep for the future.
Speak Up!
So I’m sure all two of you readers (and the other random-ass dudes who stumble upon this blog for whatever reason) have already seen this, considering it’s from 2017, but I have NOTHING ELSE TO BLOG ABOUT today, so you get Old News.™
The Worst Volume Control UI In The World
(Note that Old News™ differs from New News™ only by date of creation. Any differences in quality, humor, amusement, or enlightenment are due solely to chance.)
Spherical
In honor of the planetary alignment taking place this month, The Sphere in Las Vegas is putting on a little show of the planets.
I love that Uranus is rotating on its side.
Also, The Sphere is like the most futuristic thing that has been constructed in the past like 20 years.
I hate AI
This is so depressing, yo.
Red Light Green Light
I saw this vid a while back and really enjoyed it, and then it showed up on my main YouTube page again today. I thought I’d blogged about it but I don’t seem to find it anywhere in the archives, so here it is!
Like some people are saying in the comments, this guy would give great TED Talks.
Dear Summer: You Suck
I had to get up at 3:30 this morning so that I could get my run in before it got obnoxiously hot.
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to jam a marathon in there, but I did it anyway because I have issues. The Washington Trust sign said it was 81 degrees as I was finishing up my last mile.
Gross.
Anyway, my mom and I went to Spokane and I got this awesome keyboard that I hope to set up in my office because I already have a badass keyboard at home:
The tippy-tappin’ is snappy.
END!
SEGMENT YO LIFE
This is awesome.
That’s all I got today, sorry.
I See Your Point(er)
You know what I’m totally used to now that would probably shock anyone else who looked at my computer screen?
My big-ass cursor.
If you recall, I (somewhat jokingly) made my cursor the size of Andre the Giant when I got my new big monitor. I’ve since scaled it down a bit, but it’s still much bigger than a normal cursor. Behold:
Cursor next to the Google logo.
Pointer finger pointing aggressively at Gmail.
I love it.
Hahaha, I remember these!
My mom? A PC person.
My dad? A Mac person.
I remember going to his office on campus and he’d have one or two of those original iMac computers (the ones with the big backs and transparent color cases) in there for his grad students to use. He also had one at his condo and we had a tangerine iBook clamshell.
Lotsa Mac, is what I’m saying.
Back in…junior high?…he gave me one of the old iMacs and I would set up a little cushion fort in the living room around the coffee table (where the iMac was) and just play and type and do random stuff on that computer.
One of the things I’d do was play with the MacInTalk voices because they were fun and I was 12.
Anyone else remember these?
That “Hey you! Yeah, you! Who do you think I’m talking to, the mouse?” whispered phrase still lives in my head today.
Hey, Chrome?
Can someone tell me the purpose of this? Why would anyone ever need this option?
“Man, I’m bored. I wish I knew which internet thingy to look at today. PFFT SCREW IT LET’S LOOK AT ‘EM ALL!”
What’s even worse is that it’s easier than it should be to accidentally click this option. You get to that drop-down menu by right-clicking on the “Bookmarks” button. So if you accidentally right click and then move your mouse down slightly while correcting your mistake to left click, you’re screwed.
At least I would be. 200+ suddenly opened tabs?
…
[intrusive thoughts intensify]
…
Okay, I guess there is an “oops, did you really mean to click that option, you stupid fart?” failsafe.
BUT STILL. WHY IS THIS A THING.
[Chrome just froze on me. It didn’t do anything else, haha.]
AI is Terrifying
This is frightening, y’all.
Is it perfect? No. But that’s because it’s really just beginning. It’ll get better and better and it’ll get harder and harder to distinguish this stuff from reality.
As I’ve said before, the future is bleak.
So apparently this isn’t a super new iPhone feature…
…but I just discovered it today!
You can do animated stickers, too.
That’s…that’s pretty cool. Now I can spam my mom with even more Pepper pics, haha.
This is the most FRUSTRATING SEMESTER
Which means seeing JerryRigEverything assess the durability of expensive electronics via scratching, bending, and burning is very satisfying.
Font Face
I don’t feel like this happened.
*checks word*
Nope, still freaking Calibri. But let’s compare, shall we?
Calibri on top, Aptos on bottom.
I don’t like the way the lowercase “L” looks in the Aptos font and I don’t like the shorter ascenders/descenders in Aptos, but I do appreciate that Aptos keeps the double-storey font type consistent when you make the text italicized. That was something that really bugged me with Calibri.
Also, I like that Aptos is…blockier? I don’t know if that’s the right way to describe it, but it’s a bit more “in your face,” which I like.
So eh.
RGuides Redux
So remember in August like two years ago when I put all my R stuff on a Google Sites page?
Turns out you can only view a Google Sites page if you have a Google account and are signed into it.
Which pretty much sucks.
So GoDaddy it is, then.
(In case anyone cares.)
iPad?
So I’m looking to get an iPad. I have an iPad, but it’s an old boy. Like…iPad 2 old (which was discontinued in 2014 just to give you an idea of age). He’s so old that YouTube won’t even work on him anymore because the app requires a software update in order to run and…well…2014.
I’d also like to get an Apple Pencil because DEAR GOD anytime I see a video of someone tippy-tapping with one it’s so wonderfully satisfying that I want to tippy-tappy as well.
I’m thinking an iPad Air. In purple. With Apple Pencil and a Magic Keyboard for typing.
What the hell, let’s go all out.
TACTICAL GARMIN
Are you a spy?
Are you a sniper?
Do you want to pull an Ocean’s 11 but still want to be able to look at your wrist and see what time it is?
This thing is intense. Weather reports. A ton of navigation stuff and maps. A ballistics calculator. Golf. Green and white flashlights. Night vision. Stealth mode. Ways to save geo positions to find your way in future situations. Some doohickey to help you jump out of a plane without dying. A way to track something (someone?????) you’re hunting. A freaking kill switch in case you get caught and need to mind-erase the data from your Garmin.
ALL FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $1600!
(That actually doesn’t sound too bad for all you’re getting.)
I had no idea Garmin made such serious gear. Kinda dig it.
Eigenblogger 