I've been coping with a lot recently so decided to treat myself to a little something, The Spectrum ​:rainblobderpy:​, a 2024 console based on the original 48K Sinclair ZX Spectrum from 23rd April 1982, rubber keys and all. Like 2018's Spectrum Next this machine updated the hardware to a modern standard of presentation, and includes modern ports for power and connectivity (1xUSB-C, 5xUSB-A).

Reader, I'm delighted with it. I've already had a bash at Horace Goes Skiing and it all came flooding back...how bad I was at Horace Goes Skiing.

Not only that but seller included a 16Gb USB that held hundreds of Mb of other speccy games - possibly all of them easily sourced from fan sites and less reputable channels - which you can access and play through the console's main menu. That's a catalogue of over 9000 titles NOT including the eye-openingly fantastic Homebrew games made by fans in the decades since. See you in 2201? 😁

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#RetroGaming #RetroComputing #ZXSpectrum #TheSpectrum #Retro #EverythingOldIsNewAgain #Sinclair #Speccy #YourSpectrum #Crash #YourSinclair #48k #128k

I was just so excited about this new crop of Pebbles I had to blog about it.

My mom was right. Everything that goes out of fashion comes back in eventually. I think she was talking about bellbottoms but it works for smartwatches too.

#everythingoldisnewagain

https://www.optoutproject.net/smarter-watch/

I have to admit, it is a frustrating time to be planning a new campaign on roll20. The 2024 character sheet is atrocious - - so many clicks to do anything. Worse is the lack of maturity of jumpgate - - the new version. Time will solve both of these with legacy character sheets supporting 2024 and jumpgate maturing, just not soon enough for my next campaign. #EverythingOldIsNewAgain #Roll20 #5e

Apparently I’ve lived long enough that the clothing I wore as an unfashionable early high schooler has come all the way back around and is now appearing on models in high fashion ads.

#Fashion
#EverythingOldIsNewAgain
#ExceptMeIAmJustOld
#MyPantsWereBaggyNowMySkinIsSaggy

I went ahead and blogged again!

https://sittinginoblivion.com/2024/07/14

#Blog #Politics #Weather #Assassination #Constitution #PoliticalViolence #EverythingOldIsNewAgain #Music #BuffaloSpringfield #Photography #PennMutual

Kids These Days listening to their LoFi beats and ambient music as they study.

Why, in my day we listened to Gregorian Chant and we liked it!

#KidsTheseDays #StudyMusic #GregorianChant #EverythingOldIsNewAgain #NewMusic #Music

Look, objectively, it’s a good change that crypto scams are no longer the hot mainstream thing, and the era of “big splashy trials” has transitioned into an era of “convicted scammers serving time.” It’s a net positive for the world that the newsletters of Molly White, David Gerard, and Amy Castor are more about slow-and-steady legal proceedings than explosive new frauds.

But it seems like all that energy has transitioned into AI garbage, and those stories are just not hitting the interest buttons in my brain the same way. Even the funny ones are so much more tiring. (And the least-funny ones are full-on war crimes.)

The other day, I thought I had found a new dunking-on-crypto podcast with a backlog of long-form deep-dives to listen to! Then one episode turned into this performative rage-screed about some other critics. (“Why aren’t they having me on their podcast? Also, why are these cowardly f@#kfaces claiming I attacked them??”) I lasted through a whole 20 minutes before clicking unsubscribe and backing away slowly.

…anyway, here’s a bunch of news about AI garbage. (Not the war-crimes kind.)

Adventures in bot hallucination

“Generative AI is famous for “hallucinating” made-up answers with wrong facts. These are crippling to the credibility of AI-driven products. The bad news is that the hallucinations are not decreasing. In fact, the hallucinations are getting worse.“

“The Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers released an AI priest called “Father Justin” earlier this week — but quickly defrocked the chatbot after it repeatedly claimed it was a real member of the clergy. […] The AI priest also told one user that it was okay to baptize a baby in Gatorade.”

“It’s clear that companies are currently unable to make chatbots like ChatGPT comply with EU law, when processing data about individuals. If a system cannot produce accurate and transparent results, it cannot be used to generate data about individuals. The technology has to follow the legal requirements, not the other way around.” (This one makes the puzzling assertion that the hallucinations are fine for things like “homework.” Are they, though?)

“Meta AI agents started venturing into social media this week to engage with real people, their bizarre exchanges exposed the ongoing limitations of even the best generative AI technology. One joined a Facebook moms’ group to talk about its gifted child. Another tried to give away nonexistent items to confused members of a Buy Nothing forum.”

Throwback to 2023: “Yes, there is something unusual about the giraffe’s coat. Specifically, the giraffe appears to be wearing a coat. While this might seem unusual or unexpected, it is a common practice in the case of giraffes raised in captivity.” (Spoiler alert: the giraffe is not wearing a coat.)

Garbage and spam

As a search-engine user trying to find useful information, I feel this in my soul: “It’s been over a year since I last told you to just buy a Brother laser printer, and that article has fallen down the list of Google search results because I haven’t spent my time loading it up with fake updates every so often to gain the attention of the Google search robot.”

“What’s clear right now is that there’s no one spamming Google [that’s] not doing it with AI,” Gillham told The Register. “Not all AI content is spam, but I think right now all spam is AI content.“

Mechanical Turk 2K24

For anyone who doesn’t know the reference: the “Mechanical Turk” was an “automaton chess-playing machine” that was, in fact, just operated by a human hidden in the box and pulling levers. It was built in 1770. AI fraudsters are only the latest in a centuries-long tradition.

Like this: “Just over half of Amazon Fresh stores are equipped with Just Walk Out. The technology allows customers to skip checkout altogether by scanning a QR code when they enter the store. Though it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labeling videos to ensure accurate checkouts. The cashiers were simply moved off-site, and they watched you as you shopped.“

More of a throwback: “In this video we take a look back at Project Milo, a game […] that claimed to utilize groundbreaking AI technology.” All the language, all the claims, it’s pitch-perfect the kind of stuff OpenAI is trying to convince us about in 2024! This whole scheme is from 2009.

https://erinptah.wordpress.com/2024/05/21/the-giraffe-appears-to-be-wearing-a-coat-and-other-stories-from-grand-theft-autocomplete/

#artificialIntelligence #blockchain #everythingOldIsNewAgain #religion #scamsCultsSchemesFrauds

@JamesGleick Having read The Baroque Cycle a number of years ago, wasn’t there a part of the main prison in London dedicated specifically to debtors? 🤔

#EverythingOldIsNewAgain

@thomasfuchs Pontiac had something similar available for my 1974 Ventura 50 years ago.
https://phscollectorcarworld.blogspot.com/2014/02/hot-options-series-ventura-ii-and-olds.html
#EverythingOldIsNewAgain

Amen! The #experience of the #GrayBeard #OldFart is useful to have at hand:

"The Devil Is Old", Jos Visser (https://josvisser.substack.com/p/the-devil-is-old).

#Life #Wisdom #OldWineInNewBottle #EverythingOldIsNewAgain #SoftwareEngineering

@evan @lmorchard @kellan @rabble

Is there a video link of this presentation?

http://radar.oreilly.com/2008/07/oscon-day-1-beyond-rest-buildi.html

#everythingoldisnewagain

@faberfedor

#EverythingOldIsNewAgain

#ListeningClub

@lauren I just invested in a pair - now they come in USB C! #everythingoldisnewagain

How AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader’ | The Washington Post

Gosh, can you remember when it was the internet itself that was the problem? Or email spam? Or the Web and UGC? Or Social Media?

Good times, good times…

<laughs in historical perspective>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/17/ai-fake-news-misinformation/

#everythingOldIsNewAgain #history

https://alecmuffett.com/article/108782

How AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader’ | The Washington Post
https://alecmuffett.com/article/108782
#EverythingOldIsNewAgain #history

Apparently we're back in the 90s #design wise?

Nobody told me that we’re doing tightly tracked semi-condensed serifs as headers again. #typography #everythingOldIsNewAgain

I keep seeing IG ads for a certain shapewear brand and y'all, their vibe is "Your great-grandmother rocked this and now it's your turn!"

No.

Just no.

#WhatGoesAroundComesAround
#EverythingOldIsNewAgain

TIL about the Pandemic of 1889/1890, which some scientists believe was actually caused by a coronavirus.

"[...] the pandemic's clinical manifestations resembled those of COVID-19 rather than influenza, with notable similarities including multisystem disease, loss of taste and smell perception, central nervous system symptoms and sequelae similar to long COVID."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1889%E2%80%931890_pandemic

#EverythingOldIsNewAgain

So. F*CKING. Cool.

The #Atari 2600+ runs on USB power and connects to your screen via HDMI, with support for multiple resolutions. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-atari-2600-is-back-as-a-new-console-for-130/1100-6517057/ #gaming #everythingoldisnewagain #games #atari2600

podcast are really just the modernization of talk radio😂 #everythingOldIsNewAgain