After a year of owning an EV…

One of the interesting side effects of owning an EV is the reduced monthly gasoline expense. We are down between 200 and 250 dollars every single month. (Our electric bill is also down, but that is more because we have a much smaller house.)

Our “computed” MPG right now is around 78 mpg. Well, that is one of the EVs. The other EV currently has the front end fixed, so its mileage is much higher .  We are not seeing the wear on the newer synthetic tires that we would have with the older style of tires.

Now, the range argument is an interesting one. Right now, we have one vehicle with a range of around 200 miles and the other nearly 300 miles. Other than driving ½ across the country, we seldom use more than 150 miles of range in a single day. (My wife drives all over the country for her job.)

So, we don’t see the range issue or the tire issue. I know people with EVs who have seen or had issues with both. I suspect the future state of hydrogen cell cars will have greater range, more power, and even less pollution than the current EVs.

Still, an EV today is less than a gasoline-powered car in terms of pollution.

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

.doc

HDMI connections…

I realize it is likely a personal problem, but I am going to talk about it. I have two monitors/TVs in my office space. They are both awesome, and I use them. However, they are both limited in the number of HDMI Ports. One has 3, and one has 1. I ended up buying a second HDMI switch for the second Monitor.

Having multiple HDMI devices seems “de rigor” to me. Now, I have two devices supporting screen sharing plugged into the second Monitor. The third HDMI device for the second Monitor is a VHS/DVD recorder. I still have a couple of VHS tapes to convert.

Anyway, this weekend, I will set up the new switch. I am considering using the Monitor in the back to project my Alienware Laptop when I am working on larger documents. Well, my office is more than just the corner of the basement.

I do have a projection screen, but it is on the other side of the basement. I may have to use that at some point. I used it in March to watch a couple of basketball games. I might have to plug in the projector and watch the Cubs play this summer. It’s not a huge deal, but I still love the Cubs.

The other option that I occasionally use is the Vibe Barod. Now, it is more (for me) of a creation station, but I occasionally broadcast information to that screen.

Extended Review

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9oZu-K7Zdls

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

.doc

Extended review –

This week, I did my extended review (see link below) on a STEAM product. Beaverlabs is a great company. They started as a Kickstarter Campaign. This is their newest product, the M2. Beaverlabs is a connected Microscope. Like connected Telescopes, it is a growing market.

I use the product to evaluate coins. As a long-time coin collector, I need to see proof marks and other small marks on coins. I don’t use the connected telescope for that; I use the Beaverlabs product. The nice thing is the software (for iPhone or Android).

My career began in a public school classroom. I struggled with teaching STEAM to the second graders in my class. I wish I were teaching now. Between Unistellar (Telescope), Dwarf II (telescope), and Beacerlabs (Microscope), it is easier to show the universe large and small now.

Thinking is something that STEAM encourages. STEAM versus STEM offers the additional power of ART. Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math are the components of the acronym. It is important to remember that art is a way to express things you understand.

Why does expression matter in learning? Mastery is the ability to take the information you’ve gathered and share it with another person. If you can teach it, you know it!

Extended Review

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9oZu-K7Zdls

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

.doc

Goodbye Rogan Podcast

I listen to a lot of podcasts. I enjoy them when walking someone, talking, or conducting an interview. I had promised myself to consider both sides of the issue. I also try to be fair and listen to the voices on both sides of the equation.

You can’t; my father always reminded me to understand a problem if you don’t know both sides. So, I committed six months ago to listening to other conservative podcasts to understand both sides. One was the Joe Rogan podcast, which I’ve listened to for six months.

As a comedian and a human being, Rogan feels authentic. I was starting to believe that the criticism of him (Rogan) and his podcast was unfair. Starting is the operative word. I understand that people have the right to speak, to have their opinions, and to express them.

But I unsubscribed from Rogan’s podcast after the Tucker Carlson interview he did. I will not listen to the podcast again. I have always supported the concept of free speech. I have friends with ideas and thoughts that are very different from mine.

But I have never heard a human being spew more disinformation in 20 seconds than Tucker Carlson did. I truly hope the rumor is that Carlson is a performer and doesn’t think what he is saying (he’s reading the prompter). He needs an understanding of science (Darwin’s theory of evolution is no longer valid; I mean, it’s still a theory, to quote Carlson).

I don’t think Rogan cares, but he lost a listener forever in that interview.

Listen to both sides, but that is legitimate conservatives, not conspiracy-spewing people who don’t deserve an audience.

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

.doc

chasing a pen

My introduction to “a pen” was at a video producer’s studio. He had a Wacom tablet and pen in his office area. I waited for the video to be done so I had time to kill. He, the producer, introduced me to two things: Fractal Painter and the Wacom Tablet and pen.

I am not an artist, but I enjoyed playing with the tablet. It was and remains my introduction to the concept. With the rise of touch PCs and pens, I use a pen more and more often now.Why talk about pens all of a sudden? I recently upgraded my Kindle to the Kindle Scribe.

That is the Kindle that includes a pen. I’ve used Remarkable for the last two years. Remarkable is a device designed around editing and note-taking as if it were a paper notebook. I’ve also used a Livescribe pen and the Rocketbbook system. In all cases, it is chasing the pen.

It’s better job-wise when I have a pen in hand, so the Kindle Scribe is a great starting point for testing out new things. What, however, lies on the horizon is the concept of the Smart Pen and the Smart Pad. Livescribe is the first smart pen, but the ones coming include integration with AI.

Oh, to live in interesting times. Smart pens, phones, and watches—maybe even smart people in the future!

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

.doc

learning about AI, oh and cleaning…

I removed a lot of stuff from the storage area. Or, as it has become the crap pile in the basement. Now, I can get rid of much more stuff overall. I realize that, like many people, I do have FONHTRC. It is a fairly common disorder in the modern age.

Fear of not having the right cable

A good friend asked me for a list of all the AI podcasts and resources I’ve been listening to/using over the last couple of months.

1. AI For Humans (this is the best mix of technical and simply hilarious) (Podcast and their YouTube are simply amazing)
2. Last week in AI – two great AI thinkers discussing the news
3. Super Data Scientists (in-depth awesome interviews)

Those three will consume 2- or more hours per week. AI for Humans is the one I will never miss. That podcast is just funny, and honestly, it is also extremely informative.

AI, or Machine Intelligence, is a growth area for many systems over the next 2-4 years. In the short term, it will mostly improve automation. In the long term, it will potentially help people be productive in ways they couldn’t in the past.

Machine Intelligence is, as many call it, the 4th industrial revolution. 5g and Machine Intelligence are the starting points. When we reach the point where reliable, highly available bandwidth is available for all (anytime and anyplace), we will commence the 4th industrial revolution.

New Extended Review – Kindle Scribe

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mId_Z8AlVYY

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

.doc

The joys of 3d printing

I started using a Kindle more than 15 years ago. The new Kindle Scribe may be the best new Kindle in a LONG time. My unboxing review or extended review link is below. I am enjoying doing the extended reviews and, so far, getting good feedback on them!

One of the projects I use the 3D printer for is creating and repairing things in the house. We have a shelf brace in the kitchen that broke. Based on that, I am going to print a new brace. It is the value of a 3D printer, at least for me, to be able to easily replace broken plastic parts.

It prints parts, which is the reason for a good 3D scanner.

However, one thing I do consider is the reality of my home network. Honestly, since moving to Xfinity, I have found a number of issues.

1. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS `10g
2. At best, the router provided by Xfinity is a ½ hour wireless router. They advertise a whole home, but it really isn’t true.
3. I have a smaller house now, and it can’t cover the house.
4. The network needs to be fixed. We had an outage yesterday that they nicely let us know about after the fact.

In the future, two components of the networks will be critical. The first is growing more and more critical: the concept of reliability. Reliability is the future of the network and the biggest issue going forward. The remainder of the reality of the network is continuing to grow.

With Machine Intelligence on the horizon, reliable expanding networks will be critical!

New Extended Review – Kindle Scribe

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mId_Z8AlVYY

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

.doc

so many projects…

One of the solutions I am playing with is White Rabbit (it is a Mac-only tool). I must say that it runs a lot faster with the new iMac and the M3 chipset. However, I do have to note that the old Macbook I had only had 16 gigs of RAM and was also running on the Intel chip.

I’ve also been experimenting with Sonu, the AI (Machine Intelligence) system for song creation. I wrote a song many years ago and put that into the system; the output was pretty cool. I shared the output (Mp4) on my YouTube channel yesterday; the link is below. Please note that the words are the ones I wrote; AI created everything else!

(link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnJDCHLVBPw)

There are other projects I am partway through and will share later. I am also working on two books right now. Writing relaxes me; even writing for work is relaxing. That is a part of me! One of the things I enjoy writing about is restaurant and other service reviews.

I finally caught up on Yelp reviews yesterday at lunch. Taking a trip to Indiana brought several reviews to complete. As I said, writing relaxes me, so doing reviews is fun. I finally caught up with the reviews I was behind. If I can only catch up at work, things will be awesome.

One last project is coming; I will talk about it tomorrow.

Extended review

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hhp4RHq27I8

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

.doc

on connected telescopes

These are useful in the expanding world of connected or smart telescopes. Of course, the concept of what is connected is important. I can connect anything via wifi or Bluetooth to my computer or cell phone in my model.

The two solutions are Dwarf II and Unistellar. Dwarf II is smaller (more portable) and does more than simply stargaze. You can use Dwarf as a wifi camera if you want, although I haven’t. It would be fun to video a bird landing on a bird video system!

I should set it up to video the bird, buddy! The other system is a more traditional telescope, Unistellar. It has a traditional telescope mount and allows you to capture images via connected software. By traditional it also has more automation, and that is important!

Dwarf II does the same thing. I like Unistellar’s “bite-sized application better than the two. But they are both quite usable. I haven’t shared some of my new images but plan to do so on my Instagram and thread accounts.

Last but not least, I figured out a way to continue sharing Bird Buddy videos while staying caught up. I share those on my TikTok and YouTube channels.

Extended review

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hhp4RHq27I8

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

.doc

My tech review is live, oh and wandering Machine Intelligence market value

It’s Tuesday, so I am sharing my extended review video.

One of the things I have been reviewing is the reality of Machine Intelligence as it begins to change the market. I talked with a friend yesterday, and the “eventual market size” topic came up. I’ve seen many bandied about for the “total market” of Machine Intelligence.

As in numbers, that would be larger than the total GDP of the two largest economies in the world. 8-10 trillion dollars in total market value.

I am trying to figure out what to make of that potential. There is a massive market for what is coming.  The issue with “projecting” the economic impact of Machine Intelligence for me is the reality of what that market will be. Do we go and review only pure machine intelligence solutions?

These questions about market segmentation are crucial. Should we view the market through the lens of pure machine intelligence solutions, or should we consider it based on the reality of cars? (Many cars sold in 2022 and beyond have self-driving capabilities that are an iteration of MI.) These considerations will help us better understand and predict the market value of Machine Intelligence.

But the market is going to be big. I would encompass the vast majority of what is now the technology market. Marketed printing, cameras, smartphones, smartwatches, and smart automobiles will be connected using Machine Intelligence here.

These are indeed interesting times, with the rapid advancements in Machine Intelligence. I, for one, am excited to see how this technology will continue to shape our world.

Extended review

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hhp4RHq27I8

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

.doc