Blabberbox:Random blog-like posts from pftq.Share on Twitter

Time

June 23rd, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Time by Azuria Sky and AIMM
436 unique view(s)

Stellaria

June 23rd, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Stellaria by Azuria Sky
427 unique view(s)

Natural vs Western Posture

June 21st, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Thought this was a very interesting article, special thanks to Kwelstr at xrptalk for originally sharing.
Why Indigenous Cultures Don't Have Back Pain

It reminds me of the several occasions where I actually stressed my neck and back trying to follow advise for sitting up straight (I'm a short guy and tend to sit with legs folded, which then leads to the usual "sit up straight" advice).  IMO it makes the most sense to stick with what felt most natural/comfortable as a child rather than *think* about what your posture or lifestyle should be like.
391 unique view(s)

Tech vs Film Culture

June 20th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Thought this was pretty hilarious but spot on with the tech culture I've been dealing with for the last three years.
The Real Culture Wars or Hollywood Vs. Silicon Valley

Very typical quantified, tech thinking to want to watch more movies as opposed to actually appreciate movies.
449 unique view(s)

The Perfect Storm for Silicon Valley

June 19th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
"Thoughts on Exuberance in Silicon Valley"

The last few years have been pretty incredible for the San Francisco Bay Area.  You really have to have lived here as I have to see how easily capital has flowed into the area, the effects of it trickling into nearly every industry even remotely tech related.  Just two years ago, there was San Francisco being more expensive than most cities but not quite at the level of New York or other top tier cities.  Now an apartment that once rented for $2500 can command mid-$3000s or higher.  A place the size of a walk-in closet at under 200 sqft can be found at $1700 or more.  When I first graduated college in 2013, the predominant attitude I saw in my peers was still that of caution and skepticism about the job market.  Now I have peers who have literally switched full time tech jobs every 4 months, some who would buy up an armful of snacks at a convenience store only to throw it all away...[More]
483 unique view(s)

Leftovers of Denial

June 13th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Thought of the Day | #
When you deny the existence of the rest of the world, the only things left in your head are facts.
396 unique view(s)

Sony RX100 IV - Pocket Cameras Nearing DSLR

June 11th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
The trend has been pretty clear I think.  We're going to get to the point where DSLR quality cameras can be small enough to carry in your pocket.  Three years ago when I suggested this, even with the release of the first Sony RX100, I'd have to answer to claims that getting that quality in a small camera is physically impossible, but it looks like that's slowly no longer becoming the case.

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/sonys-new-sensors-exciting-new-cameras/

Previously, you always had the tradeoff of more noise with higher megapixels or camera resolution if the sensor wasn't large enough to accomodate, but now it seems Sony has managed to minimize this trade off so that it's no longer a consideration.

Obviously a high-end DSLR today is always going to be better than a pocket camera today, just as it always has been, but the difference is getting much smaller.
295 unique view(s)

Threaded Thinking

May 25th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
     One thing I've come to notice is my thinking style tends to be much different than most when it comes to planning or managing how to pursue multiple tasks.  Some have suggested I think very linearly when much of the world is moving towards nonlinear or multitasking, but I'm not exactly the person one would consider tunnel visioned or laser focused nor is it accurate to say I only do one thing at a time.  Instead, it's more like I plant the seeds of each of my tasks in a way that allows me to shift my focus to other things while each continues in the background.  If you're familiar with business terms, it's like balancing lead time, where one does the things that just need to be started but not tended to for a while so they can be returned to later.  If you're more familiar with engineering terms, it is like pipelining to have multiple things done at the same time, not by having multiple processes but by having one process...[More]
462 unique view(s)

Entering the Stronghold (2015)

May 21st, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Entering the Stronghold (2015) by Denny Schneidemesser
351 unique view(s)

Death of Spring

April 25th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stories | #
This is another idea for a short film or animation (probably better fit) that I woke up with as a dream.  It was extremely vivid, like an actual animated film being watched.  The colors come off very strong, with death and decay being black and red while life is green and blue.  Both share occasional streaks of purple though.
=======================
Two brothers are living in a somewhat burned down or devastated forest/wilderness/village.  One of them is out in the woods one day when they are cutting down a tree and release a water spirit.  The water spirit takes the form of an innocent child-like figure that heals the countryside.  

One of the friends get obsessed in dark magic upon realizing magic exists in the world and eventually starts becoming some sort of electricity or energy spirit, spreading smoke/decay and mutation but overall kept in a small corner of the woods because the water spirit would find out and destroy him.  He also doesn't...[More]
371 unique view(s)

Building the Ship

April 6th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Thought of the Day | #
I'm trying to build the ship and take sail, yet I can only find people wanting to debate the existence of the water.
536 unique view(s)

Summer Cover

April 2nd, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Summer Cover by Kyle Landry and Josh Chiu
486 unique view(s)

Interstellar Piano Cover

March 31st, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
496 unique view(s)

Breaking People to Their Core

March 29th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Society | #
     Where do I find people like myself? That question has consumed me for as long as I can remember.  Over the past few years after college, I've managed to only come across maybe a handful of people out of the thousands I met who I can really relate to or consider like-minded.  In the eighteen years of school before that, there were maybe three, each at different times of my life.  What do I consider as being like-minded or similar to myself? For me, understanding a person is all about understanding the person's motivations - seeing through their actions, breaking them down and figuring out what really drives them deep within, what would cause them to crumble if they lost it but what would also make them truly happy.  This is a hard topic to discuss simply because it can easily be misconstrued as arrogance or prejudging others, but I am not referring to first impressions or character judgment.  This is being able to actually focus on why a...[More]
782 unique view(s)

Sun and Stars

March 26th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Stuck in My Head | #
Sun and Stars by Really Slow Motion
511 unique view(s)

Talking with an Engineer in Silicon Valley

March 17th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Society | #
A memoirs of sorts reflecting the talks I've had with most engineers that I met in SF the last few years.  It's funny to encounter at first, but when you're living it everyday, it really drains one's patience.  Maybe I'm having the worst of luck meeting people here, but this has been the bulk of my experience.  All responses are based on real conversations I've had; many are actually toned down from the original statements while others are pretty much direct quotes (besides obvious name changes, etc).  
======================
Sam: Hi, I'm Sam. Nice to meet you.
Engineer: Hi.
Sam and the engineer shake hands.
Engineer: Sorry....[More]
1068 unique view(s)

Creating Sentient Artificial Intelligence

March 10th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Ideas | #
Much of what people refer to as machine learning today is what's considered "weak AI", in that it is not actually thinking, hypothesizing, or behaving with a sense of self.  The latter is what some would call "strong AI," "artificial general intelligence" (AGI), "artificial life," or just plainly "artificial intelligence" (as opposed to "machine learning").  Below is an approach I've been rummaging for a while on how to create an intelligence that behaves like a person would in any circumstance.  It's something that I've loosely applied to my own projects, but I've not managed to fully explore it in the general sense due to time and resource constraints.  This approach to AI is intended to behave more like a creature or child than anything mechanical or data-driven.  If one reflects on intelligence in biological life, it really doesn't make sense that a truly sentient AI would...[More]
6453 unique view(s)

GDC VR Mixer

March 8th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Attended the GDC VR Mixer last Thursday, which was ironically more impressive in VR than the GDC event itself.




457 unique view(s)

Star Wars Modern Lightsabers

February 11th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
Thought this was hilarious - just making fun of how ridiculous the lightsabers in Star Wars 7 are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgSylgBFi-I
423 unique view(s)

Observer Article on Bitcoin, Ripple, and Stellar

February 5th, 2015 | Posted by pftq in Blabberbox | #
This is a very interesting read detailing Bitcoin, Ripple,and other aspects of the FinTech industry before the drama with Jed McCaleb last year. It’s like the Dark Pools book of the cryptocurrency industry. I recommend reading it in full.

Wells Fargo, for example, actually had a dedicated 20 person team researching bitcoin last year and was ready to dive into cryptocurrencies before MtGox went bust.
http://observer.com/2015/02/the-race-to-replace-bitcoin/
435 unique view(s)