Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Sunday Morning Reading

Chili was on the menu last night and it’s a chlly Autumn Sunday morning. So it’s time to share some Sunday Morning Reading featuring a little poetry, some politics, some not so intelligent moves in the Artificial Intelligence world (is it a world?) and just some damn good writing worth your time.

Let’s start with the poetry. One of my favorite new writing discoveries is NatashaMH on Medium. She popped out a piece of poetry, Pereginations, the other day on Ellemeno and this morning she’s got a terrific piece called The Day I Learned Poetry. Good stuff. Good times. Good fun. Nothing artifcial about the intelligence happening there.

Speaking of AI, it was and still is quite a weekend on that front. OpenAI’s board surprisingly fired poster boy CEO Sam Altman, now he may come back after lots of hueing and crying. Or he may not. Who knows. Om Malik has a great piece called Foundational Risks of OpenAI looking at the story but rightly hitting the bullseye that this is more than about corporate chaos and investment returns. I’m not sure AI, or its champions, is built for looking back with a long view.

Our politics here in the U.S is still a mess with no foreseable correction in the cards. Dan Balz, Clara Ence Morse and Nick Mourtoupalas take a look at some of the foundational biases in the U.S. Senate that, in my belief, need to change before any next card can be revealed. Check out The Hidden Biases at Play in the U.S. Senate.

Sometimes an outside view is needed for perspective. In this case not so much. Even so, The Economist weighing in with Donald Trump Poses The Biggest Danger to the World in 2024 offers good context in its global round up.

Like it or not, much of our life on the Internet is changing. Social Media is a crazy free-for-all and so is the world of entertainment. In How Social Media Is Turning Into Old-Fashioned Broadcast Media, Christopher Mims takes a look at the stew that’s stewing.

And where would we be without critics? Probably better off, but that’s not necessarily the point of Siskel, Ebert, and the Secret of Criticism by Richard Brody. Here’s a quote:

Criticism is a fraught profession because it’s parasitical. It depends on the work of artists, without which criticism couldn’t exist. A critic who acknowledges and accepts the fact of this dependence is trying to salvage the dignity of the activity; critics who don’t are just trying to salvage their own dignity.

David Todd McCarty is starting a daily column entitled A Bit Dodgy. I recommend subscribing, following, but most of all reading. I’m sure it will be quite a ride.

And in case you’re wondering, worried, or concerned about all of the insanity happening in the world that makes it feel like we’re approaching the End Times, Jeannie Ortega Law tells us that Left Behind author, Jerry Jenkins thinks that all of those End Times prophecies have been fulfilled. So check that off your list.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: Lehman Trilogy Diaires

Virtual rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy are zooming along. We’ve gotten together via Zoom a few times to read through this mammoth text and share research, questions and more than a few fears. The three actors, John Maness, Michael Gravois and Kevar Maffit are doing sensational work.

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We’ve got a few days more in small boxes before I head to Memphis to start working on our feet. And already I’m sensing the itch these guys have to get up and get moving out of their small boxes on the screen. That’s when the fun will really begin.

Onward.

Sunday Morning Reading

It’s an Autumn Sunday morning. That means there’s Sunday Morning Reading to share. There’s a real mix this week from con artists to cruelty, from the political and the cultural to famous fart jokesters and a bit of tech thrown in for good measure.

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Con (I hesitate to call them) Artists are thriving in all forms of human endeavors these days. As blatant as some are, you never know who’s conning who. Pick your field and you’ll find them picking your pocket and often celebrated for it. Sean Williams takes a look at the True Story of Maverick Miles Nehemiah and The CONfidence Chroncies. Great story.

What is it about evil? Natasha MH cuts through some of the wonder in The Cost of Knowing and Our Thirst for Cruelty. “We are who we are. The question is can we live with the truth of who we are, and with the things we’ve done?”

Did you know that there was a new anarchy? Adrienne La France takes a look in The New Anarchy, arguing that here in this country we don’t know how to stop extermist violence. I’d say she’s spot on.

It’s the end of an era. Jezebel, long a source for great coverage of women’s issues is shutting down. Erin Gloria Ryan takes a good look back in Jezebel Is Dead. Long Live Jezebel.

In How the World’s Most Famous Book Was Made Tanya Kirk lays out a history of how Shakespeare’s First Folio was created and published.

Back to the con game that is life these days, Mike Lofgren takes a look at how Right-Wing Fake History is Making a Big Comeback—But It Never Went Away.

Did you know that an egg laying mammal that shared the planet with the dinosaurs still exists? They’ve been called ‘living fossils’ and are extremely rare. Jordan King takes a look in Echidna: Egg-Laying Mammal ‘Who Roamed the Earth With Dinosaurs’ is Rediscovered.

Technology drives so much of our lives. Always has. Always will. Joan Westenberg argues that 20 Years of Tech Has Made Life Easier, Not Better. I happen to agree with her.

On the other hand (or lapel) is the newly announced AI Pin. I’m not sold on the concept but find the technology cool, even if the announcement left me a bit cold. Om Malik is excited about it and lays out his thoughts in The Real Personal (AI) Personal Computer and also interviews one of the founders, Imran Chaudhri. This will be worth paying attention to as AI becomes more and more a part of our lives. I’m just not sure this product is the fulcrum.

And to round out this week, how about a look at 9 Outlandish Stories Of Court Jesters Throughout History, From the Medieval Flatulist to Lord Minimus from Austin Harvey. Thought you could use a laugh.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

The AI Pin Feels Less Than Humane

It’s tough to do a hot take on the AI Pin from Humane given how creepy cold the launch and the video was. The makers’ chill approach sure didn’t light any fires of enthusiasm. I’ve seen friends in a hangover stupor with more enthusiasm about their prospects of greeting a new day. If that’s the sort of calm, cool, and collected monotone our future AI world promises it sure doesn’t feel like a very Humane one.

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As for the technology, certainly at some point in the future we’re headed to something like this and I’ll give the makers credit for their efforts so far. At this point there’s no way to really judge the product or its future, but you can see a certain promise in this kind of Star Trek type of human to computer interaction.

Even so, whether collated and sorted by AI or generated by apps you still need to somehow get something “on screen” at some point. And I’m thinking that needs to be larger than your palm. I can’t imagine negotiating with a laser image of someone’s face in my palm, and “voice only” only gets you so far.

That’s the big disconnect in my first reaction. The AI Pin feels more like an input accessory than an end point. If I’m out for the day and snap a few pictures or video they need to be viewed before they are of any value other than further training an AI engine or sending location tracking data. And yes, i can imagine a future with some sort of headset or glasses to view those images, but I also imagine whatever that face computer might be, it will also have the same approximate features as the AI Pin.

So, I say kudos for pushing the discussion. Push it with a little more human enthusiasm next time around.

Here’s the video.

Apple Taking Heat for 8GB Base Configs on New M3 Hardware

If you have to a discussion about whether 8GB of memory is enough in Apple’s latest M3 Mac hardware, then 8GB is not enough. And there’s a discussion going on. Apple’s latest Mac hardware comes with 8GB of memory in the starting configurations of the various machines. Quite a few folks think that’s not enough. Especially at the price Apple charges for larger memory capacities. And also in regards to our seemingly unstoppable AI future. I’m in that camp.

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Apple is touting its new GPU Dynamic Caching on the M3 machines as industry leading and why 8GB is enough. But as Jacob Roach says nobody knows exactly how it works. He’s got a pretty plausible theory that’s worth a read.

Jason Cross takes Apple to task in this MacWorld article in a piece that focuses on the marketing and the pricing and less on the tech.

But Apple is defending its choices with an interesting statement sure to keep the discussion fires burning. MacRumors quotes a recent interview with Chinese ML enginner and content creator Lin YilYi in which Apple’s VP of worldwide product marketing Bob Borchers says this:

Comparing our memory to other system’s memory actually isn’t equivalent, because of the fact that we have such an efficient use of memory, and we use memory compression, and we have a unified memory architecture.

Actually, 8GB on an M3 MacBook Pro is probably analogous to 16GB on other systems. We just happen to be able to use it much more efficiently. And so what I would say is I would have people come in and try what they want to do on their systems, and they will I think see incredible performance. If you look at the raw data and capabilities of these systems, it really is phenomenal. And this is the place where I think people need to see beyond the specs, and actually go and look beyond the capabilities, and listen to trusted people like you who have actually used the systems.

People need to look beyond the specifications and actually go and understand how that technology is being used. That’s the true test.

That may well be true on some levels and for some users. I’m not buying it big picture though. We can talk about smaller memory allocations clogging up with browser tabs and heavy duty, poorly coded applications all we want today. That’s still real. Tomorrow’s memory migraines are all about AI as its going to be the culprit gobbling up GPU cycles going forward.

From a PR perspective it’s a dropped ball by Apple. It’s like that old saying in politics, if you’re defending you’re not winning.

We’ve Fallen and I Don’t Think We’ll Ever Get Back Up

I saw this Economist headline fly by today on one social media network or the other. It’s from the end of last month. In more ways than I care or want to count it sort of sums up exactly what’s happening on this planet.

Set aside the editorial judgment that went into the article and the headline. Instead focus in on the surreal, but very real reality, that for far too many most of the problems we’re facing don’t matter as long as the quarterly results and bank balances are positive.

And you have to love this quote:

Could financial markets once again be underpricing the risk of a global conflict?

We’ve fallen and I don’t think we’ll ever get back up.

Here’s the link to the article.

Sunday Morning Reading

Big week and a traveling weekend. A new granddaughter has made her entrance. Rehearsals have kicked off for The Lehman Trilogy, and as usual most things surrounding us feel unresolved and unsettling in ways that can color good news in ways that make you think. Here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share.

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Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner seek to remind us that viewed through the wider of arc of human history moments of peril do get resolved, but at a high cost in human suffering. Check out All These Emotions.I get the context. Just not thrilled with what seems like an easy way to shrug off the moment.

Doing Less, Extraordinary Well by David Todd McCarty takes a look at how standards shouldn’t shift even when our circumstances do.

Do You Know What Time It Is? I’m not talking about the switch of the clocks between daylight and standard time that happened this weekend. Jonathan Chait looks at that question as a warning we should all be aware of in The Authoritarian Right’s Code-Phrase: ‘Do You Know What Time It Is?’Highly recommend you read and be aware of this.

Almost a companion piece to the previous entry, Mike Lofgren pens Right-Wing Fake History Is Making a Big Comeback—But It Never Went Away. Myths are always grounded in some fact and some fiction. This is a lengthy read and is perhaps as guility as it thesis. The take away is the more things change the more they remain the same.

Artificial Intelligence hasn’t been featured in awhile here on Sunday Morning Reading, but this caught my eye. Polly Thompson tells us about how an AI Bot Performed Insider Trading And Lied About It’s Actions, Study Shows. Don’t tell me you didn’t see this coming.

And speaking of the Internet and bad folks doing bad things because they can, Amanda Chicago Lewis takes a look at The People Who Runied The Internet. Same type of folks who’ve ruined most things throughout history.

And closing things out on a totally different note, one of my favorite writers of the moment, NatashaMH, penned Excuse Me, I’m Heterosexual.I’m saving this piece to share with my new granddaughter one day. Maybe the note isn’t actually all that different.

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.

Starting Rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy

We’re starting rehearsals for The Lehman Trilogy at Playhouse on the Square tomorrow evening with a Zoom session. Big play. Big story. Big anxiety. I wrote a bit about that for the publication Ellemeno on Medium. Hope you check it out.

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Here’s the link to I Have No Idea What’s Going to Come Out of My Mouth...

Why and How I Use Mastodon

We’ve just marked the anniversary of Elon Musk purchasing Twitter. You could call it the beginning of the end. Many see it as a dark day. I’m just the opposite. Musk buying Twitter and then selfishly and sadistically delighting in destroying it will probably go down in history as one of the best things that could have happened to and on the Internet. And perhaps civilization. Maybe not. Regardless, Musk jolted folks out of complacency and into a self-reexamination that in my opinion tilts the scale of humanity to the better side.

We’re a year into whatever this moment is or will be and it’s been a bumpy ride. Like many of those who saw what was coming I began looking for a new social media home. I’ve tried out most of the social media alternatives that have sprung up. Currently I’m on Mastodon , Bluesky and Threads. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and a few other places. Regardless of the digs, my shingle is my real name. But where I feel the most comfortable, most informed, most entertained, and most aligned is Mastodon.

Welcome to the land where Mastodons roam. Here’s why and here’s how I use Mastodon.

Of the many things I’m interested in I like to keep current with events. I like to discover new things. News, yes, but not just news. Every day I learn something new is a good day is not only my mantra but it’s why my two great passions in life, making theatre and playing with technology, keep me going. I also love to share discoveries. I’m a theatre director. I share stories that others write. I write the occasional one myself. So, yes I’m a storyteller but also a story sharer. Combine all of that into a mix and I think that’s why the Internet should exist. And for me, that’s why social media as a construct works. Here’s the bio I use on social media websites:

Gadfly. Flying through life as a gadget geek and theatre artist…commenting along the way. Every day I learn something new is a good day. Boosts offered without endorsement. Comments on the other hand…

When it comes to comments and opinions I’m an opinionated SOB. I’ve got enough mileage on me to not give a damn if you disagree with mine, but to respect that you have one. Even if you’re wrong. I find humor and sadness to be two sides of the same coin. Pain and joy the same. I wish we lived on the edge of those coins more than we’re able or comfortable with. Because the highs and lows of life really are on the edges. Not on flat surfaces lying on flat surfaces held down by gravity.

Mastodon was and is a reaction to the evolution and destruction of Twitter. I first opened a Mastodon account long before Musk mucked up his new joint. But I didn’t really start using it until I was a part of the first big wave of Twitter refugees looking for a new place to do the things social media does for me. Mastodon, a year into regular usage does that.

Now let me be clear. In my view the success or lack thereof of any congregation depends on the users and those who own or control it working in tandem. Users are like having employees. The minute you have one employee you have an employee problem. Given Mastodon’s place in the larger Fediverse and the large number of federated servers, many with different rules of the road, I’m amazed things seem to have settled in they way they feel to me. There have been some hiccups, and moments of angst, but the folks I’m following and who follow me seem to be the sort of characters I’d like to hang out with in a bar. I’m constantly exposed to new thoughts, new things, new people and I feel like what I share is generally welcomed, agreed with or not. There are very few days when I feel I haven’t learned something new.

Is it a place just for like-minds? Maybe. Time will tell. But I think not exclusively. Witness the discussions currently as the world is experiecing the trauma in the Middle East. There’s tension. And it’s real. There’s divergent views. How could there not be? If there’s common ground it’s one that feels grounded somewhat in respect. I could be wrong, that could change, but that’s how I feel it at the moment.

Do I think that will last forever? Not on your life. As far as Internet gathering places, and I’ve gathered at a bunch from BBS’s to forums to chatrooms to where we are today, they always end up changing. Typically for the worse. Users and waves of users come and go. Things change. Such is life.

So that’s the WHY. Here’s the HOW.

The key for me is Lists. I follow a ton of folks and interests. Trying to keep up in my Home feed is almost, but not quite impossible so I rely on separating areas of interests into Lists. I break my key Lists down this way:
Favorites: People and interests I want to keep up with in general
VIP: Folks I want to see every thing they toot.
Apple: Apple (and other) tech journalists, geeks, and developers I want to keep an eye on what they’re working or reporting on.
Chicago: Folks and topics from where I live.
Old People of Mastodon: Folks like myself that have accumulated some mileage. That list is generated via a hashtag.
Lisa Melton: This prolific booster has her own list and it’s through her generous sharing I discover so many new folks and ideas. I can’t imagine Mastodon without her.
Laffy: The best person to follow for up to date poltiical news, especially during our current lifetime of legal linguini. If I need a quck catch up on the day I can without fail catch up by viewing this List of her toots.

I also have lists for Science, Photography, Theatre, and the Arts. These I follow as hashtags. I create others as I discover things of interest I want to follow.

Within that VIP List I have a select few folks I’ve set up Notifications for. Meaning if they toot I’m going to see it on my iPhone or my Apple Watch.

On the Mac via the web I use the Advanced Web Interface mostly because it constantly updates the number of columns I’ve chosen. Occasionally I’ll use Ivory. I’d use it more if it updated continuosly. (Can you tell I miss Tweetdeck?)

On iPhones and iPads I’m using a combination of the apps Ivory, IceCubes and Mona. I like to vary things up a bit. Ivory is my go to on the iPhone but there are things I like about IceCubes and Mona as well. Mona is my go to on the iPad. I like its handling of columns the best on that device. With Ivory on any of those devices I can also keep track of and post to my acounts on Bluesky and Pixelfed.

I have an older Android phone for testing some things out and I use the app Trunks on that device.

On my Apple Watch I use the excellent app Stomp. I don’t spend much time with it (or any app for that matter) on the Apple Watch, but if I’m out and about and I get a notification from someone on my VIP list, it’s a handy way to quickly glance at what they’re tooting about.

I use Hashtags a lot and find them handy if I need to search for something. Being able to follow a Hashtag and pin it to a column in the Advanced Web Interface is a real plus. I also use Favorites and Bookmarks to keep track of toots I may want to refer back to. Favorites is also a great way to acknowledge someone else’s toot. I try to do a #FollowFriday toot each week sharing new folks I stumble across.

And yes I refer to what people put on Mastodon as a “toot.” I understand some despise the use of “toot.” Get over yourselves and welcome some whimsy into your life. (Told you I was opinionated.)

So there it is. The Why and How of why I enjoy Mastodon and spend the overwhelmingly majority of my social media life on that website. As I said, I’m also on Bluesky and Threads. I’m not sure Bluesky knows what it wants to be any longer, which is probably why I can’t figure it out either. I’ve still got some invites for Bluesky if you want to try and figure it out. And Threads is having a bit of of a social media moment, currently gaining traction among a new wave of refugees from Musk’s mayhem. What’s funny to have witnessed on both sites is the exact same series of new user reactions as I witnessed on Mastodon.

Here’s the script:

This place feels so much nicer.

There’s no nazis here.

Where is this feature?

I’m having a hard time getting my followers to move here.

I miss my “whatever number of followers” from Twitter but the engagement is better here.

Block liberally. We don’t want this here.

I’ve replaced Twitter with this app on my Home Screen.

I’m not contributing on Twitter any more except to tell my followers I’m here.

I’m not contributing on Twitter any more except to check in now and then. Boy has it gotten worse.

I’m not contributing to Twitter any more and I’m thinking of deleting my acount.

This is why I deleted my account on Twitter.

Which in the end points out that the only thing that separates social media interaction from the local bar or diner, the church recreation hall, or any place humans gather is use of the Internet. To each his/her own. At the moment I feel like Mastodon is the place I want to hang out for a few drinks and enjoy some fellowship. I’ll continue to visit others and participate there as well. Because you never know when someone’s going to come in and wreck the joint.

Oh, and you can find me at Mastodon here.