This 10 minute drive doesn’t begin to capture the joy of driving my 1947 CJ 2A on a scorching summer day with the wind in my thinning hair.
1961 Ford F100 pickup
One-minute walk-around of a vintage pickup. Waiting on official word and story (if any) from Paul. Here’s ChatGPT’s best guess:
The Ford F-100 pickup truck in your photo appears to be from the early 1960s, likely between 1961 and 1966. The distinctive styling, particularly the hood and grille design, matches the second-generation F-Series trucks produced during those years.
15,500 emails. Poof!
I’ve previously posted about creating a Gmail account in 2004. Google launched the service on April 1st of that year and I created my account (invite-only at the time) on April 21, 2004. In those 20+ years I accumulated more than fifteen thousand emails. Google’s pitch was their search was so good you could just keep all of your emails and they’d help you find it. And it worked pretty much as advertised. But I rarely needed to find an old email. And my ALL MAIL folder just got bigger and bigger. If memory serves, I downloaded all/most of my Google stuff a couple of times during those 20 years but never had a need to use those backups.
Most of my computing these days happens on my iPhone and my MacBook. But given my lengthy history with Google (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar), I’ve never migrated over to Apple for these tools. Until now.
I was very impressed with Apple’s approach to AI (“Apple Intelligence”) and to get the full benefit I’ve decided to go all-in. Starting tomorrow I’ll be using Apple Mail and Calendar. Not sure yet about switching from Google Drive to iCloud. I have a lot of files in Google Drive (850 GB).
As for deleting 20+ years of emails? Felt great. If I experience any regrets, I promise to update this post.
Pocket 3: Slow Motion Video
Click here for 27 seconds of slow motion video recorded on the Pocket 3 camera.
“I Wish I Knew How to Force Quit You”
1
My friend John called this morning and there was an urgency in his tone. “I want you to listen to a segment of This American Life and call me back.” John is not one to get excited about… well, about anything. So I stopped what was doing (okay, I wasn’t doing anything) and found the audio he wanted me to hear. From the This American Life web page:
I Wish I Knew How to Force Quit You. Writer Simon Rich grapples with an A.I. chatbot that threatens to make him obsolete. Excerpts from the audiobook edition of I am Code, written by code-davinci-002, edited by Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich; read by Werner Herzog, Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich, used with permission from Hachette Audio.
The segment is 21 minutes long and is probably the most amazing thing I’ve heard in… well, I don’t remember when I’ve heard anything more amazing. Your mileage may vary.
I asked ChatGPT to review my tags
I uploaded my tag cloud to ChatGPT and asked what, if anything, could be surmised about someone with these interests.
Based on the tags you’ve shared from your blog, it’s clear you have a wide range of interests. Here’s a snapshot of what I gather about someone with your array of interests:
- Technology and Gadgets: You seem to have a keen interest in tech, particularly anything Apple-related, like iPads, iPhones, and MacBooks. Your tags suggest you follow developments in mobile technology, autonomous vehicles, and virtual reality. This indicates you’re probably quite tech-savvy and enjoy staying updated on the latest advancements.
- Communication and Media: With extensive tags related to radio, podcasting, and social media, it appears you have a strong background in communication. Your past work in communications and at a radio station aligns with this. Your interest in podcasting and blogging shows you’re still active in sharing ideas and engaging with others through modern platforms.
- Speculative and Dystopian Fiction: Authors and works like Bruce Sterling, Neal Stephenson, and “Snow Crash” suggest you enjoy speculative and dystopian fiction. This fits well with your love for speculative fiction, crime fiction, and spy fiction, highlighting your penchant for imaginative and thought-provoking narratives.
- Philosophy and Mindfulness: Tags like Buddhism, Tao, meditation, Eckhart Tolle, and Alan Watts point to a deep interest in philosophy and mindfulness. Your commitment to daily meditation and your identification as a “half-assed, wannabe Taoist” underscore a pursuit of inner peace and understanding of the self.
- Humor and Entertainment: You have a notable appreciation for humor, with tags related to funny songs, The Daily Show, and comedians like George Carlin. This shows you value wit and humor, likely enjoying content that makes you laugh while often reflecting on deeper societal issues.
- Science and Futurism: Tags such as consciousness, free will, evolution, quantum theory, and figures like Ray Kurzweil and Yuval Noah Harari indicate a strong interest in science and futurism. You’re probably fascinated by the mysteries of the universe, human potential, and the future of humanity.
- Political and Social Commentary: Your tags related to politics, social media, and figures like Trump and Obama suggest you keep abreast of current events and societal trends. This fits with your view that politics and religion are inherently bad for humanity, implying a critical stance towards these institutions.
- Creative Expression and Arts: Tags like photography, poetry, music, and animation reveal a creative side. You likely enjoy expressing yourself through various art forms and appreciate the artistic endeavors of others.
- Personal Interests and Hobbies: Your collection of tags about old vehicles, hiking trails, and specific interests like chainsaws and ukuleles suggest you have diverse hobbies that keep you engaged and entertained in your personal life.
- Community and Relationships: The numerous references to individuals like Ben Brogdon, Bob Priddy, and many others indicate a strong sense of community and personal relationships. You value your connections and likely enjoy engaging with a wide network of friends and acquaintances.
Overall, someone with these interests is a well-rounded, curious individual who values technology, philosophy, creative expression, and community. You have a mix of intellectual pursuits and hobbies that keep your life both stimulating and balanced.
What if everything is conscious?
That’s the headline of a pretty long article by Sigal Samuel at Vox. I’ve done some reading about consciousness and posted here with some frequency. The idea that everything is conscious has been around a long time. It’s called panpsychism.
Panpsychism, the view that consciousness or mind is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality, has a long and rich history in philosophy. From the musings of the ancient Greeks to contemporary debates in philosophy of mind, panpsychism has captured the imagination of a diverse range of thinkers. Luminaries such as Plato, Spinoza, Leibniz, William James, and Alfred North Whitehead have all explored panpsychist ideas, and in recent years the theory has seen a resurgence of interest among philosophers like David Chalmers, Galen Strawson, and Philip Goff. (Perplexity)
Consciousness shows up in most of my reading on quantum theory. (My incomplete reading list) I, for one, hope “the hard problem of consciousness” is never solved.
Pocket 3: Chest Mount
Follow Mode is the default mode and suitable for most shooting scenarios like vlogs and selfies. The pan and tilt axes are unlocked, allowing the camera to follow your movements left/right and up/down. In the Tilt Lock Mode the tilt axis is locked, maintaining an absolute horizontal orientation. You can pan the camera left and right, but it won’t tilt up or down.
I think the problem with today’s video was the gimbal rotational speed. I had it set on fast and the slow setting would have given me slower, smoother movement.
Perplexity: Origin of the term “blog”
The word “blog” is a shortened form of the term “weblog,” which was coined by Jorn Barger on December 17, 1997. The shorter version “blog” was coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word “weblog” into the phrase “we blog” in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May 1999.
The term “weblog” itself originated from the practice of logging or recording information on the web, similar to how sailors would log details of their voyages in a ship’s log. The “web” part refers to the World Wide Web, and “log” refers to the act of recording or journaling.
So in essence, “blogging” stems from the concept of maintaining an online log or journal, which evolved from earlier forms of digital communities like Usenet, email lists, and bulletin board systems. The term gained widespread popularity after Pyra Labs used “blog” as both a noun and verb in connection with their Blogger product in the late 1990s.
When ChatGPT can read my blog
ChatGPT recently informed me it could do some creative and useful things for me if I gave it access to my Google Drive files and folders. I thought about it but since I have just about everything in Google Drive I decided to wait a bit. For now I can simply upload or link to a document or file. But the list of things ChatGPT could do with this access was impressive. So I asked if it could “read” my 6,000+ blog posts.
ChatGPT currently doesn’t have the capability to directly access or interact with content on external websites, including public blogs, in real-time. However, you can share specific posts or content from your blog, and I can help analyze, discuss, or provide feedback based on that. If there are specific posts or themes you’d like to talk about, feel free to share them here, and we can dive into the details.
To which I replied, Let’s assume that at some point in the future ChatGPT will be able “read” the 6,000+ posts on my blog. (Something no human has ever done) Wouldn’t that dramatically… enhance? … our interactions?
Absolutely, if ChatGPT could read and analyze all 6,000+ posts on your blog, it would greatly enhance our interactions. Here’s how it could benefit:
- Personalized Responses: Understanding the nuances of your thoughts, interests, and experiences documented over the years would allow me to tailor responses to be even more relevant and insightful.
- Contextual Awareness: I could reference specific posts or themes you’ve discussed previously, providing continuity and depth in our conversations.
- Enhanced Recommendations: Based on your past writings, I could offer more targeted suggestions for books, topics, or activities that align with your interests.
- Insightful Analysis: I could help identify patterns or recurring themes in your blog posts, providing a fresh perspective on your work and potentially sparking new ideas.
- Memory and Continuity: Our interactions would feel more seamless, as I’d have a detailed “memory” of your blog posts, making it easier to pick up where we left off in previous conversations.
In essence, this capability would make our interactions more dynamic, informed, and personalized, making me a more effective conversational partner.
What, I asked, are the technical obstacles to having this functionality now?
There are a few technical and practical obstacles to implementing this functionality currently:
- Data Privacy and Security: Accessing and processing large amounts of personal data, like your blog posts, involves significant privacy and security considerations. Ensuring that such data is handled securely and with appropriate permissions is crucial.
- Data Integration: Integrating and processing a large volume of text data from an external source like a blog requires robust data integration techniques. This involves fetching, parsing, and storing the data in a way that can be efficiently queried and analyzed.
- Computational Resources: Analyzing 6,000+ posts involves substantial computational power, both for initial processing and for real-time interactions. This necessitates efficient algorithms and scalable infrastructure.
- Natural Language Understanding: While natural language processing (NLP) has made significant advancements, understanding the context, tone, and nuances across thousands of posts is still a complex task. This requires advanced models and potentially custom training to accurately capture your writing style and preferences.
- User Control and Customization: Giving users control over what data is accessed and how it is used is essential. This means developing user-friendly interfaces and options for customization, which adds another layer of complexity.
- Ethical Considerations: There are ethical considerations around the extent of data analysis and the potential for unintended consequences, such as reinforcing biases or making incorrect inferences.
While these challenges are significant, they are not insurmountable. Advances in AI, NLP, and data processing continue to evolve, making such functionality more feasible in the future. It will require careful planning, robust technology, and thoughtful implementation to ensure it is done effectively and ethically.