review of the Meta Ray Ban sunglasses

I have played with the Meta Glasses (Ray-Ban) for the past few months. The newest release of the software is impressive. They (Meta and Ray-Ban) released a new version of the Meta Glasses OS, which now enables many more capabilities within the device.

1. Full (better) integration with your phone.
2. Better integration with Spotify and Apple Music
3. The improved ability to look at something and say “Hey Meta” was that
4. The glasses look good, and honestly block the sun extremely well.

This is partly due to the release of Llama 3, which is the open-sourced (mostly) LLM from Meta. This is a future-leaning device. Most people will not consider it a must-have device, but it is a warning of things to come: integrated intelligence in devices.

No, I am not calling for a toaster that screams; you’re burning your bagel. Although, now that I think about it, that would be a hilarious gag to pull. Someone puts something into the toaster, and the toaster then says, “Help, I am burning; get me out. It’s hot in here.”

Anyway, the Ray-Ban part of the package is the Wayfarer, one of my favorite Sunglasses formats. I still love Aviators, but I am happy with the look of these Ray-Ban glasses. The voice command works well. Because your cell phone is connected, you must be onboard to remove information.

That means you have more capability and capacity. I am looking forward to the future releases!

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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still stuck on 3d printing

The reality of Machine Intelligence continues to evolve. I’ve been playing with the new Copilot Studio tool and am amazed. At this point, the agent I’ve built is simple, but it is impressive overall, as when I was playing with Eleven Labs’ voice generation system.

One of the things I am going through is finally 3D printing all the stuff I was waiting to print. A lot of the print jobs are already set up; I just need to start the printer. Time is the one limiter right now for what I am doing. The other thing is I am considering switching the type of PLA I use.

I backed a product launch for Protoplasma, a company that sells several interesting PLA styles. They have electrical or conductive PLA and some really interesting colors. As I said, I am considering switching to their PLA. I’ve used some of their PLA so far.

I am kind of in 3D printing mode now. Things change over time. The other thing I have focused on recently is creating artwork for an upcoming talk. I am using various AI engines to create images for the talk. It is a talk about AI, so I figured having an AI-generated image for an AI talk seems, well, perfect!

Well, that is the case. I may be on an island for this one.

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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3d printing

For the first time, well, ever, I had all three 3D printers up and running. I’ve usually printed two at a time in the past. The first thing I will say is that it does produce some air quality issues. My home coach (air sensor) had a pre-printing reading of good and a post-printing reading of poor.

All three prints turned out, and I shared the initial (2) printer video on YouTube. Overall, the process went smoothly. The two fast printers completed the process in 28 minutes and 43 minutes, respectively. Having a rapid prototype printer was the goal of the Creality; it actually printed in 28 minutes!

(video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SoO45hcPQnU)

The printers were gray, black, and white, although the older printer (which was printing another desktop organizer) does have two colors. My next printing project has nothing to do with 3D. I suggest printing a poster of the cover of Danny and the Corporate Ladder.

Oh, and printing some photos of birds. I have a lot of pictures of birds. It is almost as if I have a daily camera taking pictures of birds!

I have been considering the impact of 3d printers and other tech on the network, with the less than stellar 10g network (Whole home, as long as you have a house with one room) wifi. I must worry because the wifi begins to fade fast on various house edges. So, moving large amounts of data is a growing concern.

There is nothing to share, but it is a future post.

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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thinking about tech

Over the last five days, we’ve had some visitors: two baby bunnies and a dead adult bunny. The two baby bunnies were alive and released back into the yard, while the adult bunny was clearly dead and released into the recycling system. But that is the downside of Labs; they are hunting dogs.

One of the things I have done over the years is evaluate new technologies as they come on the market. The reality of change now, however, is that it is much faster than it was before. What is possible now continues to expand more and more rapidly.

Based on that, I am more selective in what I consider and evaluate. This isn’t from a lack of interest; it is merely a focus on what I am interested in in the short term. For me, this means several very simple projects. I talked to a friend yesterday, and he helped me quickly refine my overall objectives.

Of course, that is the advantage of talking to a friend. They have the advantage of looking in rather than inside looking out. The concept that I took away from the conversation is one I’ve been leaning toward but haven’t codified in my head yet—the concept of simply solving a problem.

Based on that, I am reworking what I am considering and using.

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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Are walled Gardens bad?

After years of Macbooks, the new iMac is impressive. With video, audio, and setup, it is an incredibly easy-to-use system. I’ve used Macs for the last ten years, and before that, I didn’t use a Mac for nearly twenty years. In that interim, the product has improved.

I am not an Apple Fanboy. I do, however, freely admit I live in Apple’s walled garden. The concept of a walled garden has advantages and disadvantages. First, functionality easily moves between devices, which is really good for users.

But you also have the issue of slow entry into the garden. In particular, it is the reality of AI and the lack of integration inside Apple’s walled garden. Google has the same thing with a walled garden around its Pixel devices. Samsung also has one around phones, tablets, and laptops.

In all cases, it is a good and bad situation. We can argue about the value and risks of the gardens. But in the end, the product’s quality impacts the wall more than the wall. Apple does a good job of making the “life” of the product consumer easier.

As I said, I’ve used a Mac off and on for nearly 40 years. The product has evolved very well in that time!

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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Extended review the Vibe Board…

The concept of the smart whiteboard is one I have personally chased for a long time. I chased in the sense that I looked at and considered many different smart board systems over the years. I stopped looking when I found the phenomenal vibe board!

I use whiteboards for thinking. It comes, for me, from my roots. I started life as a school teacher. Many years ago, I had five large chalkboards in my first classroom. (our elementary school was formerly a middle school, and I was in the old science wing of the middle school).

The vibe improves my ability to think. Plus, you can use it as an external monitor for your computer (or other devices with HDMI or support for Screencasting). You can also use the Eshare application to convert the Vibe Whiteboard into editable images on your computer.

Vibe is Android-based so you can head to Google Play and download applications.

It is a great tool for creating. You can also use the device to log into your web meetings and have an interactive whiteboard. If this is something you need in your office, the link below will give you 150 dollars off the purchase of the Vibe board. It is a great tool for brainstorming!

Extended review video

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TELWsY_wF0E

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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tech hodge-podge

There are lots of things going on. The first is that I am finally into April with Bird Buddy videos. I am less than a month behind. I will go back to sharing the videos chronologically sometime this week. Right now, I only share videos that are 35 seconds or less.

The next thing going on was the broad final push to finish the basement. We have things in the basement (two boxes) that are the last two unpacked boxes from our move. Our internal time clock was to finish the unpacking process in less than a year. We are well underway for that!

Last but not least, we are going through a number of things. We had more than 15 lifejackets for our boat.  We went through and kept the ones that still worked. The rest are going either to our community or Goodwill. We did keep the dog lifevests, though, so we can take dogs on the Kayak!

The last focus for me now is one box of pictures. We have a few wall spots left, so we are just calling for pictures!

Moving is painful. Hopefully, we will move one more time, and that will be the last time. We’ve moved between three states so far (we both lived in other states before we met). Moving does hurt a little, even if you do take a year!

I also need to figure out how to improve Comcast’s whole-home Wi-Fi setup. Since the router is far from the whole home, I will likely have to use wired extenders. Advertising should have repercussions. If you don’t live up to your 10g promise, you should offer refunds.

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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how come i am always 1 cable short?

Yesterday was my long delay in finalizing the basement storage area. Half of the space in the basement still needs to be completed. We are storing things there that we will probably let go of over the next couple of years, but for now, we are keeping them.  It is a longer process.

That said, I did start going through things yesterday and before that. I am getting rid of stuff that I should have gotten rid of a year ago before we moved (honestly). I only sometimes have time to do things like going through everything. I should have before we moved, but I ran out of time.

In fairness, it is easier to do that now. I have more time, and seeing, viewing, and deciding I don’t need things is much easier. The new system I set up for myself was to move everything. It is on the cut block if I still need to set it up, use it, or even think about it in the past ten months.

That makes it so much easier. I don’t have to think, consider, evaluate, or argue with myself. I don’t need it if I haven’t needed it for ten months.  Other than cables, cables don’t count. Well, they do in the sense that I won’t keep cables for devices I don’t own anymore.

But USB cables I keep. For charging and connecting, I always have one cable short!

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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LAM, LLM all in one?

My recent explorations have led me to delve into various AI models, with a particular focus on Microsoft’s latest offering, Phi-3. This intriguing release introduces a compact, potentially embedded AI or language model designed for IoT devices, particularly those with memory capabilities. Naturally, this also opens up possibilities for edge computing.

That is where things become interesting: the ability to have a local LLM for a device with integrated intelligence. I find the concept of a large action model, an LLM, or a large language model interesting. An LAM is trained against information.

Consider the Actions, which are typically responses to information. A locally embedded LLM, when equipped with the power of the LAM models, could potentially learn and execute a multitude of actions. This begs the question: how many actions are you aware of, and how many do you think can be learned?

The concept of LAMs came from the company that produced the Rabbit. While the Rabbit isn’t getting great reviews today, the real power of that device is in the LAM model. Consider equipping various devices with actions and reactions based on the LAM.

(ok, I just released the prepositional phrase on the LAM that has other connotations).

Now, you can store repeatable and learnable actions on the small device.

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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Getting close to being unpacked!

Today is one of those days when let’s get projects done. I am taking a ½ off of work. I shouldn’t because there is much to do, but I have much to do.

1. Take the RV to get solar panels installed
2. Get shelves in the basement installed
3. Finish the last two decorative boxes in the basement (the last two unpacking boxes from last year’s move)
4. Organize final areas in the basement
5. Move the last things from the basement (office) to the basement (storage)

The other thing I need to do is get the 3D printing projects going. I have seven lined up and need to set up the printer. So, as I said, I’m working a ½ day today to get all my projects underway; it will be nice to get the last boxes done so we can finalize the basement.

The basement is the last repository of stuff that has remained unpacked.

The other thing I need to do is finalize my AI book. I am nearly done with the first draft, and then there is the editing process. Overall, the book needs some work yet. In particular, I need to stitch some of the content together. AI, or as I call it, Machine Intelligence, continues to evolve rapidly.

Last but not least, as part of that book and my personal development, I am diving deeper and deeper into what Machine Intelligence can do. The reality of the art of the possible is so interesting.

Oh, and TGIF!

Vibe is the best whiteboard on the market!

https://vibe.refr.cc/scottandersen?t=kl

All three versions of Danny and the Corporate Ladder are now on Amazon

(audio, ebook, and paperback)

https://www.amazon.com/Danny-Corporate-Ladder-Story-Choice/dp/B0CNSBNSBT/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=danny+and+the+corporate+ladder&qid=1701775427&sr=8-1

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