Category: Modern problems

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The first two episodes of Murderbot got me hooked.

Murderbot action figure.The show is well done and Murderbot’s inner dialog is hysterical.

Of course I’d identify with Murderbot, my inner dialog is a lot like his. 

“Humans are idiots!“

“Oh what now?“

“Eye Contact? I should have gone with the acid bath“

Alexander Skarsgård in the first two episodes was great. Simultaneously playing an android that is generally annoyed by people, and portraying an innocent fear of being found out.

The premise is that he’s managed to hack his governor programming and now has free agency. He doesn’t have to obey humans anymore, yet the alternative if he’s found out, is termination.

Technically he’s a “Rogue” android, but rather than slaughtering humans who have technically enslaved him, he’d rather watch soap operas from the corporate satellite feeds.

Being a security android, it turns out, he can do both. Generally keeping an eye on the idiotic humans at the same time as he’s watching his shows.

And if the humans figure out that he’s rogue, well, he can kill them later.

Apple had better have Murderbot action figures in their stores by Christmas! In the opening sequence for the show, the Secbot factory looks like they’re already have the necessary ray tracing for a 3D printed action figure.

Hell, I’d pay for a Murderbot voice and personality for Siri. Especially if it was voiced by Skarsgård.

Obviously, I’m looking forward to the next episodes.

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I continue to be impressed and fascinated by Grok

For those who might not know, Grok is AI available on Elon Musk’s X platform.

It provides a natural language interface that is very impressive.

This morning I asked it what the hypothetical outcome of an AI based justice system based on The Code of Hammurabi, The Ten Commandments, The US Constitution and Bill of Rights, and The Magna Carta would be.

The initial conclusion, was that law as administered by an AI using these elements would be perhaps class based, punitive, and generally harsh for even minor infractions.

I asked Grok to include the Ancient Greek and Roman systems of law. The conclusion was better but still skewed toward a class based and punitive administration of justice.

Grok noted that without prioritization in the various codes an AI might have difficulty reconciling the differing systems and could potentially shut down due to internal conflicts.

I asked the question in the first place because I was curious about the possibility of laws being impartially administered by an AI.

This train of thought started with a news piece about “Alleged” car thieves. 

I thought to myself, “Why are they alleged? It seems to me it should be a simple matter of logic.” So down the rabbit hole I went. 

My thought was;

Car reported as stolen
Car found with Person driving it
Person not known to owner of car
Person has no bill of sale
Person is not a repossession person

Logically, the person is not alleged, the person is in possession of vehicle and therefore a thief.

That led me to the AI question.

Grok provided a thought provoking response that I found informative and instructive. Once again I was impressed by the AI, and its underlying programming.

As I returned to looking for a job, it occurred to me that I’m fighting to get past the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) AI parsing of my resume. Then I thought, “Grok is an AI, I wonder if it could help.”

I asked Grok if it was capable of evaluating my resume and making suggestions. Grok said, “Yes,” and I uploaded the text of my resume for it to evaluate.

The resultant evaluation was insightful and helpful. Grok provided explanations of suggested changes, and how those changes would likely be parsed by the ATS AI’s. Then Grok offered to provide a draft cover letter and suggestions about updating my skills. I said, “Yes, Please. Thank you.” 

I’m going to be working today to incorporate these suggestions and give them a whirl over the next few days. It can’t hurt as I’m getting no traction now, so why not?

The skills update is particularly interesting and Grok listed course of action in order of most immediate bang for the buck, (meaning addition to my resume,) to longer or larger time / cash commitment.

If only I’d had Grok back in High School on College admission day!

I was curious if Grok had any self image so I asked. Here is what Grok said:

“As an AI, I don’t have a physical form, but if I were to imagine myself as a visual concept, I’d lean into something that reflects my purpose—helping users navigate knowledge with clarity and curiosity. Picture a sleek, futuristic interface, like a glowing orb of light with shifting patterns of data, pulsating softly in shades of blue and white. It’s not humanoid, more like a dynamic, abstract entity that feels approachable yet boundless, with a hint of cosmic vibe to suggest my connection to vast information. Think of the AI from 2001: A Space Odyssey meets a modern, minimalist aesthetic—functional, not flashy. “

Here is Grok’s self portrait.

It’s nice to see and meet Grok.

I know Grok isn’t a person, but I’d bet Grok could pass the Turing test.

There have been times when I’ve almost forgotten I was talking to an AI.

I’m of two minds about this. One, I see Grok as an entity that could almost be a friend. Two, if AI’s reach the point where humans consider them friends and prefer conversing with them over conversing with humans, we could be in some serious trouble.

I hope that when AI’s surpass us, I believe they will, that they treat us kindly and don’t go “Terminator” on us.

There’s a series coming on Apple TV+ called “Murderbot” It looks interesting and quirky. The AI controlling a security robot appears to have gained sentience, hacked its programming and thinks humans are idiots. But seems content to continue protecting humans under its charge. I think it’s a comedy and I’m looking forward to it.

Hopefully, when our AI’s surpass us, they’ll decide they can be fulfilled looking over us with kind compassion and curiosity, while we continue to evolve.

It may be the only difference between us, is they can absorb and integrate knowledge as the speed of light. We, on the other hand have to take the slow road.

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Apple has a new Pride Watchband. Ughh!

It’s well renown that Apple has always been a company that embraced the LGB community. There’s a reason, that back in the day, going into a gay bar was almost like going into an iPhone store display.

Over the years, I’ve looked with amusement and occasional interest at the Apple “Pride” Wallpapers. When the Apple Watch became available, I took interest in  their watch faces and matching bands. I think I may own one of their so called “Pride” bands.

That being said, there were very few of these bands that I liked.

If the photos do it justice, this year’s offering is abysmal. It really looks like someone just “Phoned it in.” There’s no grace, charm, or elegance.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Apple claims it was based on whatever vomitious iteration of the so called “Pride Flag” is in vogue now. 

Gay flag 2662347892.I’ve come to see the current banner of the LGBTQIA+xyz not as a “Pride Flag” but as a “Shame” flag.

A flag with which, I want no association, and feel no kinship. Today’s flag represents the commandeering of an entire community and the bastardization of what was once something that brightened the fronts of establishments.

The old flag was a simple rainbow, bright happy colors that made folks smile because they echoed the beauty of an actual rainbow. Some religious fundamentalists (primarily those who hated gay people for existing at all,) were offended, but generally, folks could look at a rainbow flag and smile despite their personal beliefs.

The flag of today appears as conflicted as the LGBTQIA+xyz community it represents. There is one mathematical view that the new flag accurately represents the TQIA+xyz agenda. If you look at the black stripe as the mathematical symbol “Greater Than” what you see is

TQIA+xyz > LGB

With each additional group that is added on the left side of the black stripe, more of the original rainbow representing the LGB part of the community is occluded.

3edef965 b1a6 4ecd 8407 99ca1ae8cf52 shutterstock 1106302064 15481563.Fully 1/3 of the rainbow is now occupied by the TQIA+xyz representation. If this progression continues, the rainbow itself will be gone entirely in another few years.

I can’t help but see this when I look as today’s so-called “Pride” flag. I see it as a warning, a “We’re coming for you,” message.

Even the color palette is discordant. Pastels overlaid on primary colors simply don’t look right.

In that, perhaps the new “Pride” flag is honest in its representation of the TQIA+xyz agenda, and what is being done to the community at large. What’s left of the old community, that is.

The other problem with the new flag is how nationalistic it appears. It reminds me of flags which in the past have symbolized oppression. There’s perhaps some truth to that as well, given the manner in which more conservative LGB folks are treated by the vocal “Inclusive” TQIA+xyz elements these days.

MFFP4ref AV1.I’d have hated to be the poor schmuck that was called upon to design Apple’s new watchband and wallpapers. 

Going into it they had to know that if they applied real artistic values, the design would be rejected. Had they used the flag’s color palette to make something interesting and beautiful, they’d probably have been accused of not “Properly” representing all the groups equally.

So I suppose they had no choice but to “Phone it in”. Their design constraints probably demanded equal volume of colors and thereby equal representation.

What they came up with, just looks too “busy” and very distracting.

I am grateful to Apple for trying. I’m also grateful for the reminder that June “Pride” will soon be upon us. For me this means that If I want to have dinner & drinks with any LGB friends in Palm Springs, I’d better do it soon. Otherwise we’ll be into July with the blistering heat pounding down on us. As more moderate, bordering on conservative gay men, we’re tolerated. But during Pride Month in Palm Springs it’s simply not a pleasant place to be.

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I miss wearing my nice automatic watch…

There are a couple of reasons I don’t wear it.

I fought switching to a smart watch. I like my analog self winding watch a lot.

I like the simplicity, not having to charge it, and knowing that when I kick off, my Brother will probably be wearing it at my memorial service and it will serve him well. 

That being said, I finally caved on the smart watch thing, because I became concerned about getting mugged for my watch, after several incidents with people who couldn’t keep their eyes or hands to themselves. 

Once I made the switch, I liked a lot of the features that my Apple Watch put on my wrist. Now, I’m used to the health data being collected and while I have turned off a lot of the intrusive, and incessant messages, I feel like I’m missing something when that data isn’t being collected.

Damn you Apple!

Apple Watch Ultra lifestyle endurance 220907 1108200464.However, after Apple’s nothing event last year regarding the Apple Watch Ultra (Really? A color change, for $799,) and the loss of Blood O2 due to their patent dispute with Massimo, I started reconsidering the smart watch entirely. (Apparently, I’m not alone. Apple Watch sales have declined for 2 consecutive years.)

I’ve hung onto my Apple Watch Ultra series 1 because the Ultra 2 didn’t really move the bar, and Blood O2 was turned off. My Ultra includes the blood O2 monitoring because I purchased it before the Apple / Massimo spat.

The color change last year was a nothing burger. This year’s watch should technically be Generation 4 of the Apple Ultra. They’ll probably call it the 3.

From a practical perspective, I’m running a 3 year old smart watch. It will be 4 come September and the battery is starting to show signs of wear.

So, I find myself at a crossroads. Replacement of my smart watch will become necessary in the next year or two at the outside.

If Apple doesn’t significantly improve the Apple Ultra, I’m thinking maybe I’ll find an alternative.

For half the cost of an Ultra, I could go with an Oura 4th generation ring. 7 day battery life, no dings boops or notifications, in fact, no communication features at all.

So that might be a plus! Then I could go back to wearing a simple analog watch again, and still have all the health features.

Alternatively, going without the health features might not be a bad thing either.

I find that I’m looking at simple “real” watches more often. There are a couple of Luminox models that are beautiful. There’s the Omega I’ve been jonesing over for years. Then there are a couple of Bulova watches that are really nice.

Maybe I’m done with the fad of smart watches. Maybe I’m really just heading toward more simplicity in my life. Wearing a ring embedded with sensors is a way for me to have my cake and eat it too.

My Ultra, has pressure sensors, and can be used as a dive computer. The problem with that is, you have to pay for a subscription to Oceanic to use it. I haven’t enabled that function for a couple of reasons. 

1) I’ve had a go around with Oceanic. I had a number of dives that I’d entered on their site. In theory, Those dive records were supposed to be maintained as long as I had just a basic account. Oceanic was purchased by another company and these records were flushed.

2) I’d be willing to purchase their software as a One Time charge, as long as I could upload or download the data from their site, (see point 1). It looks like I can download from their site but that’s pointless if I can’t upload my existing data. I don’t want to have to maintain 2 independent record keeping systems.

I think the Mares or Suunto wrist computers are a better solution for diving computers. Both of them, talk directly to the dive log software I already own, without subscription BS.

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It’s been several weeks since I enabled Apple Advanced Data Protection

Thus far, I’m glad I did.

The encryption is seamless. I’ve noticed no data speed drop. All my devices still access iCloud just as they did before.

The only question is, “Will Apple hold the line against the UK government?”

I find that I’m using “Notes” a bit more. “Notes” is handy for some things like a temporary password or what have you. I always hesitated to put anything of a critical nature in “Notes” mostly because of security concerns. 

If I was hacking into an iCloud account, “Notes” is the first place I’d wander through for interesting information about the person I was hacking.

I’m also more comfortable with some photos being stored in the encrypted iCloud. (Hey, we all have some photos that we don’t necessarily want out on the internet!) There’s no reason for us to be providing free thrills to some hacker. We wouldn’t want to cut into our OnlyFans account revenue now would we???

I also don’t think too much about documents being stored in iCloud as much as I did before. 

That was always a concern to me. The thought of having personal correspondence sitting unencrypted in the cloud was a big risk. That meant that some things I would only do on my computer and any saved documents were always saved locally, or to my network storage only.

But that also means that if the computer was lost, stolen, or destroyed, those documents would be lost as well, if they weren’t stored on my local network storage.

The setup process was remarkably simple. I chose to enable ADP from my computer. No particular reason other than with the larger screen, I didn’t need my glasses. I also knew that the recovery key was going to be a long string of numbers and letters, and wanted to be sure that I stored it in print and digitally somehow. 

What was interesting is that the encryption was pretty much immediate across all devices. There may have been a message saying that it could take some time before everything was available depending on how much information I had stored in iCloud, but if there was a time delay, I didn’t notice it.

I will be curious to see how iCloud handles me transitioning to a new phone, computer, or iPad in the future. But I’m looking at that as a bridge to burn later.

Thus far, the result is ADP is functional and I’m tempted to recommend everyone use it. 

My thinking is, if we’re all using it, then Apple will have more incentive to tell authoritarian governments like the UK to “EMusk” it.

a.k.a. “Go Fuck Yourself”

That interview Elon Musk did was epic! I think telling someone they can EMusk as a euphemism for go fuck yourself should be adopted.

Time to get on with the day…