Meanwhile, in America…

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Spotted online today. I’ve been too busy rewiring an office to have too much to say about these, but:

Honestly, I think we went beyond his expertise many, many years ago. It’s actually his brainworm that’s in charge now.

Honestly, I thought that this was made up. How could anyone be so stupid?

But no, he said that. It’s true.

But if the anti-vaxxers and the grifters ever think that they’ve outwitted the scientists, we need to remember that we’re always (at least) one step ahead.

It’s a great idea. It’s just not very original. A guy called Edward Jenner did it in 1796.

240 years of technological advancement, scientific effort and improvements in education, and Jack comes up with a lightbulb moment that – ironically – was devised 85 years before the light bulb was invented.

When will this madness end?

Ace of Base on a Dutch Street Organ

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I mean, need I really say more?

It was always a happy, poppy song anyway, but the jauntiness of this is weirdly infectious.

Lots more where this came from too: Boney M, Coldplay, Avicci, Phil Collins, Fleetwood Mac… the list goes on.

Just click through here.

Oh, and don’t miss “Wonderwall on James Dundon’s Big Organ”.

Careful now…

I don’t like this…

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…but not just for the reasons that Casey Neistat shares in this video.

Absolutely, I agree that AI is going to kill creative industries. And that’s both scary and sad. Progress is moving so quickly these days that we’re struggling to keep up with it and even worse, we’re struggling to keep up with what its effects might be.

But this particular app is bad news, and not just because of the slop that is replacing decent video-making (beautifully explained by Casey, by the way). Not just because of the bullying aspect that he touches on in the video. Not just because it’s just going to fill up our timelines with yet heaps more utter shite, hiding all the (ever-decreasing) decent stuff.

I’m more concerned by just how good this is at what it does. This is going to fool a lot of people and it will absolutely be used nefariously to fool a lot of people. Whether that’s in politics, in phishing scams or in personal relationships, giving the average voter* access to this sort of technology will not end well.

Tipping point stuff.

* “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” – Winston Churchill

Life is tough sometimes

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I know that this correlates badly with yesterday’s post, but wow.

It’s not like we’re a million miles away. It’s just not quite happening.

As I’ve said before: the teams that win the league are the ones who can play badly and get away with it. We’re playing ok, and we’re losing. And that doesn’t fill me with confidence.

I do think that we’ll turn it around, but it’s difficult to work on fixing stuff when it’s not absolutely clear just what it is that needs fixing.

Onwards and upward (because there’s no other direction in which to go at the moment).

The good stuff

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It’s been a pretty good 24 hours, and when things are good for that long, it’s worth documenting.

Nothing huge, just a run of good things and I’m absolutely here for it.

News that they’re doing up the peas sign back home in Sheffield (more on that this weekend).

Last night was a great night out at the Dias Tavern in Claremont.
Great food, great company, good laughs, nice beer.
What’s not to like?

And then just now, I finally managed to overcome the payment gateway demons and put down a deposit for a trip next month. More of that later, but it’s been BAIE FRUSTRASIE! trying to give this hotel some money, so when things finally went through a few moments ago, we were pretty chuffed.

The gate motor that has been plaguing us with issues is going to be replaced very soon. Geckoes and age were the main two causes of its demise. It was old, and then the geckoes moved in and pushed it, Harold Shipman-like, over the edge.

This sort of picture…

…isn’t something we ever struggled with in the UK.

My blood test results are mostly back (just a few more due at 4pm), and I do appear to have nailed my reference ranges throughout. No issues whatsoever, which – at my sort of age – is about as good as you can hope for.

And I’m off out for dinner again this evening: paid for, nogal! (Last night was lovely and all, but I did have to pay for my tentacles, and Joe’s Special.) (I know, right?!?)

And so – right now – it’s all good.

Long may it continue.