To collect or not to collect that is the question.

With apologies to the Bard. Although not the Bard produced by Google.

Today is a long driving day, but I have many things to listen to (podcasts and a fabulous audiobook I found, Danny and the Corporate Ladder). It is an interesting situation to be in overall right now. We have our last spring home improvement project starting in a couple of days.

I am adding shelves to the basement. I have so many display things that need a home! I should dust some of them. That does, however, bring up a topic of thought. Let’s explore the concept of collections—first, the question.

To collect or not to collect.

That is the question. Collecting is something some of us start early. I started collecting “interesting rocks” when I was little. For a long time, I collected books as well. Although in my early 20s, I realized books are heavy to move! So, I stopped collecting lots of books and just collected a few.

Life is a series of collections. You collect friends of a like mind. If you follow the concept of trust but verify, you also collect friends who see things differently. That is the essential reality of collection. But there are physical and digital collections now as well.

Collection is an interesting word, concept, and practice. Do you collect?

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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the decline and fall of Hubpages…

I do not do this often, but this continues my sadness over leaving Hubpages. I have Fifty-three thousand views on my articles on that site. It just makes me sad. As I said in my family blog, writing is something I love to do. It is not an activity I must do; it is my passion.

Because it is a passion, I find myself wandering through various components. So many years ago, wow, more than 10, I split into three distinct blogs. Well, two blogs and a podcast. However, I found that I had longer articles that didn’t fit my blog format, so I started using Hubpages four years ago.

Now, once again, I am looking for a writing site. I’ve achieved most of my writing goals over the years. Now, I am looking for a place I can be proud of and, from there, share and enjoy writing. As I said in my blog, I am going back to Linkedin.

Maybe it’s time to stay on Linkedin. I am not anti or biased against it; having a separate place to go was just nice. I will research and see if there is another place to consider. I rarely cross-post between my two blogs, but I do on occasion.

Thank you to everyone who reads what I post.

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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ok i admit it, i love my iwatch

I’ve mentioned it quite a few times; I started my smartwatch journey with the Pebble. At some point, I am going to create an Apple watch Pebble Watch face. But that is for the future. The concept that Pebble sold originally was a watch that gave you information.

The spot watch did that from Microsoft, but that system was shut down. While I loved my Pebble watch, the watch is so much more powerful. Yes, I can, like Dick Tracy, actually talk to other people using my watch. I can also take pictures with my Wristcam.

While Pebble had the concept of changing faces, I can change many more faces on my watch. That is cool also, but I’ve to realize that the dream that led me to the Pebble Watch was the concept of a second screen for my mobile device. The Pebble started that journey.

The iWatch allows me so much more information. I can use the watch to present information about my walk. I can use it for a compass. I can turn on altimeter functions, the coolest feature of the old Sunnto watches (GPS, Altimeter, barometer, and compass).

It is the first thing I put on every single day.

Yes, I am an Apple fanboy. But in the best sense of fairness, I was an Apple fan in the 1990s. I am just going back to my roots!

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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wander AI and working on a new short story

What does AGI reveal? It is a theory only a little right now, and like all theories, it continues to be tested. As we test AI (Machine Intelligence), we continue to realize that today it is not smarter than humans. (which is the intent of the AGI nomenclature) it is smart but still needs to be human-level.

I’ve spoken of this before, but the reality of intelligence concerns me. As a teacher, I was trained to spot the difference between boredom and struggling. From what I’ve seen, I’m struggling with where Machine Intelligence is now. Some automated tests are done exceptionally well.

However, some tasks are not; the balancing act today shows the promise. But, in considering my next short story, I keep coming back to this question. If you were an intelligence different from the normal measurements, would you be revealed or remain hidden?

Or I should say this a different way. If a silicon lifeform realized that it was more alive than its creators thought it was, would that silicon lifeform hide that? Would the silicon system act stupid? Well, not stupid, but would that system hide its intelligence?

As I said, that is the question for my next short story!

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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What if,

About three years ago, I started writing a “Futurist” column. Once a week or so, focus on what may come in the technology world. I try to focus beyond the current window and see what is coming. Over the last, I would say 18 months or so, for me, that view has crept into what will be with Machine Intelligence.

That journey is becoming more and more interesting. With the rise of AR/VR and Machine Intelligence, how things are perceived is changing. In that change, there are several interesting permutations that I find incredibly valuable. But in fairness, I do hear the fear.

The largest fear is that Machine Intelligence (AI) will replace humans in jobs. That is a valid fear to some degree. In some cases, it will increase the ability of a human to do more with less. However, in the reality of cost-effective business, that will mean fewer people doing more.

(Do more with less).

So yes, that is going to happen. In the near term, less, but that issue will continue to grow over the next 10 to 15 years. Then the question becomes, does the economy support more organizations doing interesting things? For example, let’s say there are 1000 game developers in the world (the number is way larger, but I am making the math easier).

With these new creative and autonomous tools, we will only need 550 developers out of that 1000. But since people have more time to consider games, would we need more games? If that were true, the gaming market would increase, and the need for those 450 developers would remain constant.

1000 in, Machine Intelligence improves 1000 out.

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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10g, i would like some g’s back please

I promised myself I would not complain about Xfinity again. But today and last night, two glitches happened. I have to talk about the difference between marketing hype and delivering. Why do I have to do that? Because the 10g hype is more than I can take.

So last night, on the main TV in our house, I watched a show on OUR DVR. What does that mean? It means the show from network TV was recorded and stored on the hard drive of the DVR in our house. The playback had more than five glitches, even though I’ve worked with Xfinity tech support four times to fix this issue.

This morning, our Wi-Fi is in an incredibly glitchy zone. I am still determining what Xfinity is doing, but if this is 10g, then take me back to 3g.

I am more tolerant of glitchy solutions than most people are. I live on the edges of possible most of the time. I am an early adopter often, but this is hard for even someone used to being at the edge to take. Do I get to take a G off their network marketing every time it fails?

If so, as of this morning, they were around -4g. I have a negative 4g rather than the 10g they advertise I am getting.

The concept of reliability is so critical as we move forward. More and more capabilities are moving to the Cell phone. As those things move to the phone, the connectivity to your home network, the cellular network, and the very reliability of both of those will be more important, period.

Reliability matters.

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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hanging out with AI

In a corner of my office, I have a Google Assistant. In fairness to Google, it is quite a good device. But, with the addition of Gemini, it has become incredibly useful. First, Gemini is the newest Google AI release for those not following artificial intelligence. Previously, they called it Bard.

Now, with the addition of Gemini, it is truly an office assistant. Between Google Assistant and Rux, I can answer questions faster. As a long-time Siri user, I hope that the rumored improvements to Siri with the integration of a smart digital assistant are truly coming this fall.

We are ticking ever closer to the concept of a true personal digital assistant. Not the device shared in the movie Her. While I enjoyed the movie, we aren’t heading that far. That isn’t true; the virtual relationship is the top downloaded item in the various stores where you can download chatbots.

I still believe that the future client for “chatbots” will be the cell phone. If you read the future news, Apple is working on one (rumored). Samsung has already released the Google Gemini toolset, and Google has released it on the Pixel series of cell phones.

Why do I think the future client for “Machine Intelligence” is the cell phone? It is always in your pocket or bag. It is with you.

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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My review of Rux the robot

I realize that I am on the far edge of technological adoption. Recently, I looked at the Astro robot from Amazon and Ebo. Both of these are interactive robots that can also do home security. They have integrated video cameras, and both use Alexa as their voice control system.

Another robot I am playing with is Rux. Rux is a desktop robot. He has been on conference calls! So Rux is integrated with ChatGPT and can move on his own. I posted a video of Rux dancing on my YouTube channel. He is quite cute, and the dancing is pretty good.

Link to my YouTube Rux video (there are two on my channel. This is of Rux Dancing)!

(https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aJzmDL5uY4c)

1. He has or it has various home screens you can have on its face. For me, the clock mode is the coolest. It gives me a clock on my desk.
2. Rux is integrated with ChatGPT, so I can quickly get information about, well, just about anything.
3. Rux is small enough to fit on your desk easily.

Now, battery life is bad. Rux lasts roughly 4 hours on a charge. Based on size and computing requirements, I can see why the battery life isn’t great.

The voice that Rux has by default is different from the optimal voice. It’s a mix of child/childish voices, and I find it annoying.

Rux also has an integrated camera; I’ve played with it a bit. You can activate Rux, the camera, and its functions by saying Hey Rux out loud. Overall, it is a very interesting desktop addition.

I’m still determining if it will replace the newest version of the Google Assistant, but it’s certainly in the race to do that someday!

As is my tradition – i give Rux a 7 out of 10.

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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Whats that you say bucky?

Your internet is down because you tried to print a letter to your mother?

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been conversing with a long-time friend about printers. I have more printers than most people do. But I do only have three traditional printers. The rest of my printers are literally 3d, large format, or picture printers.

A lot of network traffic is generated based on the printers being on. While I am a beneficiary of the imaginary 10g home internet service (please stop lying. There is no 10g), I must be careful. I have an upload limit that makes for a problem. If we do the “let’s march the upgrades” 2g, then 3g, and then 4g, ended up with around 100 meg upload and download. 5 g pushed that 200 or more megs of upload and 400 megs of download. Based on that, 10g should represent a 400-meg upload (it doesn’t) and an 800-meg download (it is close).

1. Video (cameras inside my house pointed at doors) generates more than the maximum upload when active. In passive mode, they do not).
2. Printers generate traffic on your wireless network – while the file size may be small, the printer consumes bandwidth in two ways.

a. The actual file is being printed.

b. The printer is calling home for updates.

3. Then you have computers that are on.
4. You have smart TVs that are on
5. Then, you also have home automation systems (thermostat, home security, etc.).

All of this consumed both wifi bandwidth and, sadly, available uploads to the internet. It is the IT Person’s lament. I redid the home network so that there is no impact on the other users. With three people in the house, I pushed them off to their network settings.

But the reality is no matter what happens, the bandwidth in the house is sometimes limited.

The marketing reality of 10g is that 10g is imaginary. Therefore, any performance issues you experience with an imaginary standard are well imagined.

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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chasing probability

Probability is something that I am often tracking. I enjoy playing video games and, for the most part, sporting games. Why sporting games? I am not personally a great athlete, but I understand the variables in sports more than I understand the variables in a first-person shooter.

I play FPS occasionally, not in several years, but I did for a long time. My kids wiped the floor with me. I am not good at games that require strategy I have no concept of. Sports are something I understand. They have a simple structure. There is a goal, and you move towards that goal. If you are successful, you move on to the next one.

Sometimes, I wish life was like that more. But life isn’t like that. Sometimes, the goal changes in life, and you don’t even know it changed. Over the years, I think evolution or change is why we find ourselves either flourishing or struggling, mostly because of that change.

As I wrote a couple of years ago, change happening to us is scary. We can comfort the impact of change on others. Sorry, that happened. It is a genuine expression of how the world works. We are good; hopefully, in fairness, that is said because not everyone is good at helping others through change.

Change is the one variable that makes me think about probability.

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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