Rubenerd

Speaking of interesting YouTube videos, Clara and I especially enjoyed Practical Engineering’s recent discussion of the Oroville Dam Spillway reconstruction. I like when people revisit topics they’ve previously discussed for a status update.

The Oroville Dam in California had a catastrophic failure of its primary spillway in 2017. The concrete structure and the supporting ground collapsed, releasing an uncontrolled water flow and eroding a a deep canyon into the side of the hill.

Grady did a video in May this year explaining the causes for the failure. This follow-up video explained the reconstruction process, including the various options the Californian state government considered. As usual, he included plenty of useful diagrams, as well as some great drone footage with credits.

What I found most interesting was the new concrete laying method that replaces much of the water in the mixture with compressive force, similar to how bitumen is laid on road surfaces. Concrete.org has an interesting FAQ about how it works.

It does leave open the question though about how many other crumbling structures are out there, especially in the West where we’ve bred a political culture of not wanting to spend anything for the public good… even if it’s critical preventative maintenance.

As of system software 13.2.0, current for December 2021:

1. Go to the Home screen, and tap System Settings
2. Scroll to the very bottom, and tap System
3. Scroll to the very bottom, and tap Formatting Options
4. Tap on Format microSD card

Every guide I read was either wrong, or missed steps. Maybe an update rearranged things, or changed menu text.

Also remember that SD cards aren’t plug-and-play on the Switch, probably because there’s no clean way in the UI to unmount them.

A few years ago on one of his shows, Dan Benjamin of 5by5 and Fireside fame posited that nobody really likes using their smartphones, they just happen to be the device we need to perform specific tasks. If and when a new way to communicate, play games, and navigate arrives, we’ll move over to that and relegate smartphones to the same pile as PDAs, pagers, and the Chappe Semaphore Telegraph.

I’m not enough of a futurist to predict if and when such a device will be invented and made commercially available, or what form it will take. Maybe it’s a smartwatch that can project a screen in front of us, or a pair of smart glasses, or something we read off our clothing. Science fiction has had fun with the idea of neural devices that interact directly with our brains. These are all equal parts intriguing and terrifying, but I also suspect the next generation device will be none of these.

People on the fringes like me will likely keep using smartphones in the future when they become a nostalgic relic, much as I do with my fleet of beautiful old Palm PDAs today. But it’s hard to find fault in Dan’s point for rational people, or society at large.

One thing all those hypothetical devices have in common though: they’re closer to us than any other computer has been before. In the case of a neural interface, it’s hard to think of anything closer that doesn’t involve physically installing firmware into our cells.

This is worth thinking about, because the implications could be huge. Within a generation we’ve gone from ENIAC and mainframes, to minicomputers and workstations, to desktops and laptops, to smartphones and tablets. Each leap has come with added capabilities and performance, but more importantly they’ve come to us in smaller packages. Smaller means closer.

(We’re side-stepping cloud computing and remove servers here, and whether a smartphone or tablet today can really be thought of as a cohesive, atomic unit of computing if they require remote servers to operate. I suppose one could draw parallels between this and minicomputers with remote terminals, though they never achieved the amount of public use smartphones have. Either way, you get the gist).

I’m sure people at the turn of last century would be equally fascinated and mortified at the prospect of everyone having tracking devices in their pockets, and would say they draw their comfort line at the ticker tape machine in their office, or their home radio. Maybe someone in the 1980s would say their luggable would be the closest they’d feel safe with, or maybe their pager. At least the former can be used as a weapon for self-defence, and the latter has plausible deniability built in (sorry, there wasn’t a phone nearby)!

Smartphones straddle that edge for me. I either feel that they’re super useful, or an unwanted house guest interrupting my sleep and downtime. Having a separate work phone has helped with this slightly, but the expectations of modern society remain: you must be connected and available at all times. I’ve come to accept and resent this.

I used a smartwatch, and it felt so invasive and anxiety-inducing having notifications physically on my body that I gave it up after a month. That’s clearly a bridge too far for me, though I know people who love theirs.

Being in my thirties now, the World Wide Web, affordable laptops, and smartphones all happened within my lifetime. Kids today are being brought up in a world of ubiquitous connectivity and remote social interaction that I think would have terrified me as a kid! Gen Z will likely have an entirely different relationship and attitude when it comes to tech, and will have their own opinions and ideas about what constitutes acceptable distance. Maybe they won’t find the idea of smart glasses creepy, or whatever else comes along. Maybe they’ll be able to add distance where thus far I’ve failed.

As much as I love to hate on my modern smartphones, they seem to be the the closest I’m comfortable letting tech get to me… and even then, I wish they’d shut up sometimes! Maybe then I do want to use a smartphone; if only because the alternatives worry me more.

This was a great post in The Guardian:

My physical appearance, accent and class might suggest machismo, but I’m anything but macho. I’m very much the son of my mother. I’m often cast in tough, gritty roles, but I’m nothing of the sort. We’re all forced to put that armour on, but I move through life gently.

Caring for my kids has transformed me. I wish my dad had shown his vulnerability more – I’ve never wanted to appear tough to my two. I cried when I was with them last weekend, their love makes me emotional. My daughter often says she feels like she has a girl for a dad. I take that as the greatest compliment.

Everyone has “their Doctor”, and Christopher Eccleston is mine. He had a lot riding on his shoulders when they restarted Doctor Who, and he delivered a superb performance. He had the perfect mix of offbeat, somewhat aloof, but compassionate. His success with the character paved the way for the heavy hitters of the modern era, for which I don’t think he garners enough credit.

Now I like him even more. I need to check out some of his other stuff.

tl;dr: It’s awesome, if you want a personal device!

I’m a bit weird when it comes to Nintendo gear, and consoles in general. I don’t play that many games, and the ones I do tend to be on PC. But Pokémon is such a nostalgia trip, even if I don’t play it all that often.

Some of my fondest childhood memories were of sitting up late at school camp, trading Pokémon between my friends who had Red and Yellow. Then coming home and exploring those worlds with my sister with hers, too. The Pokémon world is really, really weird, but damn if it isn’t engaging. The kids today don’t know what they’re missing with their backlights and wireless syncing and lithium ion batteries! But this old man digresses.

My last Nintendo device was the 2DS, a stripped-down version of the previous-generation 3DS. I didn’t care for the 3D effect of the original, so I would have left it turned off. The flat, if ugly form-factor fit in my backpack with my laptop better than it’s chunkier bretherin. It had decent battery life, was compatible with the same 3DS and DS games, and was much cheaper… even if at times I felt like the only person in the universe who liked and preferred his.

(Unfortunately, I’ll bet there were kids who were picked on for having “the wrong one”, because some kids are special. Being a grownup on a train with the uncool console is a breeze by comparison)!

The Nintendo Switch Lite follows in this same vein. It’s everything I want in a portal game console, with none of the extras. Clara joked that when she was buying it for me for Christmas, the person serving her at the store said she’d “like to have a word” with someone who’d go out of their way to prefer a Lite. I’m sure it was said in jest, but it is surprising how hardwired we are to always want the best of something.

A huge part of the Switch’s brand messaging (to the point where it’s part of the console’s logo) is its detachable JoyCons. The Switch Lite doesn’t have these, nor can it be attached to a TV. I can see where more social gamers would feel like this loses a big part of the Switch’s appeal, but I liken it to an introvert’s console! It’s to be played on the couch, or the train.

For me, these tradeoffs come with some big upsides. The Lite is noticeably lighter and thinner than its bigger cousins, yet feels more rigid and solid without those extra parts. It can play almost all the same games, and its lack of OLED means photosensitive people can use it in mid-to-low light without migraine-induced nausea.

Colours are another important consideration. I don’t know when companies decided that colour choices were to be given to budget options, and that premium users would want the Model T special, but having a teal console is fun. The 2DS’s translucent blue case was equally cool. Why does everything always have to be boring?

Clara jokes that I’ve already inadvertedly called my Lite a DS a few times, but that speaks to its specific appeal. The Lite is my childhood Game Boy with a widescreen and modern takes on my classic games. Exactly what I was looking for :). Thank you Clara for the present!

I overheard Ol’ Blue Eyes at a coffee shop singing a Christmas song yesterday, so I had to go home and buy the album it came from. I buy commercial music from ZDigital, but I’m sure the other usual suspects have it.

I was expecting it to be a swinging affair with lots of brass and that fat, big band sound that I’ve always loved. There were a few tracks like that, but the rest was more soulful, intimate, and chill than I thought. It was a side of Frank I’m not as familiar with, and both Clara and I liked it a lot.

I might need to look out for the original vinyl if I can get my hands on it.

I’ve noticed a revival of social media profiles and accounts that call people out or publicise their failings at something, and I’m ethically torn.

Two of the biggest right now are Crypto Bros Taking Ls, and the Herman Cain Awards. The former screenshots those duped into crypto-“currencies” and NFTs who have either lost their money, encourage others to do so, or are on the cusp of an epiphany. The latter documents the timeline of anti-vaxxers as they start with shrill memes and angry posts about masks, to their eventual hospitalisation and death.

Even if we (generously) assume a tenth of the stories submitted to these accounts are legitimate and not embellished or completely made up to earn ephemeral Internet points, they paint a grim picture. People are always being duped, but seeing the tip of the proverbial iceberg documented in such stark terms, with real-world consequences, offers a glimpse into a world that rational people like you and I may otherwise never see.

I’m wary of those who see them as a form of entertainment, or take glee in it. The blockchain stuff I’m more forgiving of, given how incessant and exhausting its misguided proponents are. Maybe there’s a dose of schadenfreude, or its a form of reassurance for those who’ve made it out of those cesspools of thought. I find the idea of deluded people losing their lives or money to be sad and a waste of human life, regardless.

But in a utilitarian sense, these accounts might be necessary.

All the information in the world about how pointless crypto-“currencies” are, or how necessary and vital vaccines are, won’t stop vast swaths of the population from being duped. The idea that the Internet and ubiquitous information would save people from ignorance has proven to be overly optimistic, if not entirely false. I’m sure it’s helped a lot of people, such as those in repressive families or in parts of the world where information is strictly controlled. But in other cases, it’s only served to reinforce existing views, biases, and opinions. I’m as guilty of falling for this as anyone.

In that environment, maybe we need something more overt. Maybe we do need to regularly post about those who’ve lost what’s important to them. If we can reduce the chance of someone dying, or losing a loved one, or pissing their hard-earned money away on a Ponzi scheme designed to enrich con artists, it might be worth it.

I guess I just wish it wasn’t necessary. As 2021 draws to a close, we’re still witnessing electronic tulip mania, and people pushing back again on the wonders of modern medicine without any good reason. What is it they say about history not repeating, but rhyming?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I’m a morning person, so I’m letting Clara sleep in while I sit on our balcony and do some reading.

The human body is weird. One thing I learned from working at home over the last few years is how important changes in scenery are; even if it amounts to sitting on the balcony a few metres away from my desk. I also need to be outside as soon as I wake up, or I never do.

But in doing so I made a bizarre observation: I’m willing to tolerate winter chills, and the scorching summer weather I’m enduring right now, if I’m outside. If it was this hot inside, I’d be moaning at how oppressive it is, and smashing the buttons on our aircon remote like there’s no tomorrow.

(Let’s also acknowledge though that there are limits. I don’t think I’d much enjoy doing this in Dubai, or the middle of Greenland)!

Is it proof that so much of our perception comes down to expectations? That’s almost certainly simplistic, but I’ve got to think there’s something to it.

I suppose its the same phenomena at play when I get that bitter taste from a black coffee as opposed to a fruit. The former is satisfying and wakes me up; the latter makes my face shrivel.

This VR stream was so much fun. Myth have grown so much in the last year, and IRyS and Council have been such a great fit.

Happy holidays!