I try to find the good in bad situations. It’s a terrible character flaw for one who is supposed to be Nihilistic and intimidating, but I deal with it as best I can. I propose that if these are in fact, the End of Days, and from here on out to our racial demise we are going to be bombarded with an endless cavalcade of catastrophes, that at least until the electricity goes away, I can watch it all unfold in real time. I don’t have to wait for news from a courier, or for a telegram. I’ve got broadband and a ridiculous array of channels on the television to keep me supplied with up to the second updates on the demise of humanity, should that ever come to pass. It’s good to live in the future.
Observations on fringe culture, science, epistemology, and the occult
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
True randomness
They won't be available until next January, but Psyleron will be putting out a key-chain random event generator: Psyleron
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Synaptic seepage detected!
So I'm browsing alternate ULC titles. A friend of mine is a "Universal Philosopher of Absolute Reality", and I've just got "Reverend." I'm mentioning a few of these to my roommate. We pick up the conversation there.
Me: "you can get Gothi as a title. I used to be a Gothi" (in the Troth)
G: "I've seen a Goatse."
Me: "Gothi, not Goatse, dammit. You can't semantically confuse those words. It causes synaptic seepage!"
G: "Oooh."
Me: "But maybe that's why it echos so much when we call 'Ooooooooodinnnnn!'"
G: Rofls. Almost literally, 'cause he almost fell out of his chair.
Me: "you can get Gothi as a title. I used to be a Gothi" (in the Troth)
G: "I've seen a Goatse."
Me: "Gothi, not Goatse, dammit. You can't semantically confuse those words. It causes synaptic seepage!"
G: "Oooh."
Me: "But maybe that's why it echos so much when we call 'Ooooooooodinnnnn!'"
G: Rofls. Almost literally, 'cause he almost fell out of his chair.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Can one opt out of the eschaton?
So, if humanity is in fact heading toward the singularity, or the Omega Point, or whatever term one wishes to use for the apparently impending emergence of a post-human or technological interconnectedness, can one choose to opt out? Or must we all go along for the ride. In a related idle speculation, do individual neurons ever wish that their neighbors would just leave them alone for a while?
I like the idea of Vinge's singularity, of McKenna's time wave zero, of all of the various takes on where we might be going. I enjoy connectivity, and the exchange of information, but I wonder what the fallout will be from such an event. How much individuality must be sacrificed to become a part of the whole? I can readily think of a number of myths, both ancient and modern that address what happens when one of the nodes wants to leave the network. It never seems to end well for one party or the other.
I like the idea of Vinge's singularity, of McKenna's time wave zero, of all of the various takes on where we might be going. I enjoy connectivity, and the exchange of information, but I wonder what the fallout will be from such an event. How much individuality must be sacrificed to become a part of the whole? I can readily think of a number of myths, both ancient and modern that address what happens when one of the nodes wants to leave the network. It never seems to end well for one party or the other.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
I need cyberware
This is a request to the researchers and engineers who are working in the fields of prosthetics and cybernetics, and to those who provide funding for such work. Get on with it! I'm aging here. I'm not as old as the Boomers, but I'm a Gen-Xer who can only accurately say that I am 30-something for 3 1/2 more weeks. I want cyberware options! I'm going to need some wetware soon. The vision is there, crack open some William Gibson or Bruce Sterling, dammit! I'm not sure if I want to go full Lobster or not, but I certainly have Mechanist leanings. Too, where are my Zeiss cyber eyes with full micro to macro capabilities, infrared, and a HUD? I definitely need a HUD. Augmented reality is in its infancy. We need to prod it along. I don't want it to seem as if I don't think that there has been any progress. There has been. Reality is in some cases outpacing the fiction. Remember, Johnny could only carry a few hundred MB in his head in Gibson's original story, updated to 80 GB in the film. The Micro-SD XC specification calls for a capacity of 2 TB. I wouldn't even have to dump my memories to get that stuffed into my head.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Daft Punk on image
If we have to create an image, it must be an artificial image. That combination hides our physicality and also shows our view of the star system. It is not a compromise. - Thomas Bangalter.
I just discovered this quote, and it very much appeals to me. It strikes me as being analogous to the way that we craft our identities in virtual spaces. If only were as flawless in the meat world as the avatars that we create for ourselves are. Crafting an image internally seems much easier than instantiating it is.
I just discovered this quote, and it very much appeals to me. It strikes me as being analogous to the way that we craft our identities in virtual spaces. If only were as flawless in the meat world as the avatars that we create for ourselves are. Crafting an image internally seems much easier than instantiating it is.
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