Jay Alammar does a reasonably good job describing how AI generated art works. I wouldn’t call it comprehensive, but worth it if you’re interesting in more of how the details work. He also has a decent write up from the video on his github site.
Twitch has some great channels – especially if you like watching things from other countries.
One of my early favorites was Game Center CX ゲームセンターCX. The Game Center CX Twitch channel ran about 19 seasons of the TV show. GameCenter CX was a Japanese TV show that featured comedian Shinya Arino (a member of comedy duo Yowiko). He plays old home console video games from previous decades (his own childhood) and usually attempts to get the game’s ending within a single day. It’s made more entertaining by the fact he’s not a very good player and the attempts consist of marathon sessions in which he is clearly past exhaustion. He picked up quite a following and he would do adventures playing at local game centers (arcades) in different parts of Japan – many in mom and pop candy stores. While the Twitch gccxstream channel is rarely live these days, you can always watch the archived seasons anytime you want.
A more recent favorites is the Midnight Sumo Twitch channel that broadcasts live competitions and replays of the previous matches in the current season. Sumo runs all year, but in several distinct tournaments that happen ever 2 months. They live broadcast (usually late evening US time) whenever there is a tournament.
During the live broadcasts, there is lots of commenting and folks helping the casual viewer know more about the sport, the reason behind the little rituals they use, see the between match vignettes, as well as getting to watch great Japanese commercials that happen during the normal commercial breaks. Excellent and fun way to watch with others.
Other fun tidbits are how people explain things like the ring announcer (yobidashi) in his unique outfit. The outfit is based on an old style Japanese workman’s outfit, with leggings and split-toed tabi-like boots. In keeping with that workman theme, he does many odd jobs around the arena.
If you’ve ever traveled, you’ve probably noticed that pilots, and a lot of seasoned flight attendants, all seem to use the same luggage. LuggageWorks makes the luggage that they use.
You’ve undoubtedly seen this bag, the Executive 22″ Rolling Bag. At $299, they aren’t cheap – but apparently the are THE word in travel bags.
AI is not only for just generating new images, it can also help you enlarge your original images by filtering missing details intelligently while upscaling.
Note that most of these ‘free’ applications will scrape and can use any image you upload for whatever purposes they want – so I wouldn’t upload anything sensitive on them.
This is some feel-good fun Japanese pop music for your day!
Pat Kelly narrates the format of every single TED talk in detail – and demonstrates how painfully easy it is to use form and style to portray yourself as being much smarter and your ideas as more important than they actually are.
It’s pure gold – because he nails all the little tropes exactly right. You’ll never be able to watch a TED talk the same way, or as seriously, again. Which is probably good – because it is a form of emotional and intellectual manipulation. TED talks show that even supposedly smart and sophisticated people are just as susceptible.
Emotional and intellectual manipulation like he demonstrates isn’t new. These exact same kinds of tropes exist everywhere. Paul E.T. shows how easily you can make a $70 Netflix documentary and can get your audience to believe any point you want. Most Hollywood movies use the Save the Cat narrative structure to make audiences believe or feel emotionally connected to whatever theme the narrative structure dictates. All of this without having an honest debate on the facts of the subject.
Today in startup culture we see stealth mode digital nomads iterate passionately and create paradigm shifting disruptive PoC’s that will transform a traditional marketspace with ephemeral apps and portals! They are the Uber for your laundry! We’re the Shapchat for your groceries! Yet, despite all the million and even billion dollar valuations, the majority of these Forbes 30 under 30 disruptors are now in, or facing, very real jail time for basic fraud and lies. It turns out so much was based on buzzy marketing with no substance. It should not have been a surprise either – so many of these ideas promised things that were not economically viable to downright scientifically impossible. Yet VC’s and the smartest people in the room ate them up.
The reality is that we are in an era in which FORM and STYLE are used to convey meaning and manipulate us into taking a side or believing an assertion more than actual facts. This isn’t just about fake news or biased social media posts, the fact this works on TED talk audiences shows that even those that consider themselves educated and refined can easily fall for this kind of emotional and intellectual manipulation.
Flight prices aren’t as cheap as they used to be anymore. In fact, if you’re about to fly your family and friends of 5-7 people somewhere, you might consider picking up a private jet. It might actually be in the same ballpark for price.
How much? Charter companies like XO specialize in these sorts of chartered trips. If you have flexibility, they sometimes even offer discounts and special deals for one-way trips to get their planes back/to the next pickup.
Here’s a list of recent prices
We have a new contender for the worst Christmas song rendition. Anuc has been screaming up the meme charts with his take on a variety of songs. In case you’re curious, yes, he is singing in English.
A total solar eclipse is going to be passing over the United States in 2024, and I found this great site that has a great zoomable map of the path.
Here’s a great article on where to best see the 2024 eclipse.
Solar viewing or watching one of the upcoming solar or annular eclipses requires knowing what you’re doing and getting the right eye protection from reputable sources.
I recommend using the NASA information page, which links to a page with reputable sources to buy viewing glasses and lens protection.