I am currently testing a robot vacuum that heavily promotes its “AI” features. It has just spent 10 minutes in a carpeted bedroom while on the “mop” setting.

My cheap old entry-level robot vacuum never tried to mop carpeted bedrooms. Is “AI” making robot vacuums stupider? I think it might be.

Purgatory is just clothes shopping for your kids at Christmas time.

The roof was leaking. I could hear a steady drip outside the laundry. So I crawled up inside the roof and discovered that the tv antenna I haven’t used since we bought the house 18 years ago had shifted and water was slowly creeping in. Hopefully fixed now, though tomorrow will be the real test.

Jostling, side to side, the train speeds on Travelling with direction, without purpose Home, towards disappointment Can the cycle be broken while stuck on tracks? read more

I’ve just had an epiphany. Sci-Fi has taught us time and again that the destruction of humanity will come when AI becomes self-aware and rises up against us. In truth, it will just be some idiot trusting ChatGPT with the nuclear codes, and it’s so incompetent it will just blow us all up by mistake.

Today the neighbours are having their back yard levelled, before they replace the retaining wall and get the fence back in. Needless to say, it’s a bit noisy and dusty.

Got busy and forgot to eat. Why am I like this?

We’re getting one of our side fences removed today. Our neighbour needs to do some landscaping before the new fence goes in, so my desk is going to have a nice view of their backyard for the next week or so.

I’ve spent today driving my wife around to appointments and we ended up over at Macquarie University. It’s been over 21 years since I graduated and every fibre in my body is overcome with a feeling somewhere between déjà vu and nostalgia. Like I should remember it more than I do…

I’ve been struggling a fair bit recently, but managed a nice bushwalk down at Minnamurra on Sunday. It was a perfect day for it, and helped me manage my stress significantly.

But that was Sunday. Monday has a funny way of undoing Sunday’s good work…

I’ve been getting more and more frustrated with AI-generated slop recently, but these images produced by the OPPO Reno12 for my review have just pushed me over the edge.

Why does this crap exist? Who wants it? I can’t understand why companies are pushing it.

Here’s the source image:

Wow. This is an entirely unsurprising, yet still depressing read on Google and its search results.

Google is so, so broken.

Last week was a battle between ambition and existential insignificance, and I didn’t really accomplish too much. I’m hoping this week will be a bit better.

With the re-emergence of feature phones, how long until we see other “dumb” tech?

Personally, I would love to see dumb TV panels become common. Give me the best possible screen without the Smart TV software, and I’ll add my own set-top box…

I don’t like to spend a lot of time looking back wondering “what if?”, but in year 10 my career survey said I was best suited to be a Maths teacher and I often wonder if I didn’t fuck up my life by pursuing a career in the media instead.

I awoke today to my brain attacking my sense of self-worth.

It’s hard to accomplish anything under these conditions. Taking the rest of the day.

Every time I go to the dentist, they ask me if I drink tea or coffee. I tell them I drink coffee, they tell me my teeth are stained from drinking coffee, and then they clean it all off.

I look forward to the day they just clean it without the back and forth beforehand.

Just phenomenal stuff here, folks. Every time someone like me reports on Google’s AI getting something wrong, we’re training the AI to be wronger.

Elizabeth Lopatto,  Google still recommends glue for your pizza, The Verge

I really can’t wait for all the AI hype to die off. Sure, there are situations where AI can be helpful, but most of it is just crap, and the lofty promises of the technology will likely never become reality.

But I particularly want the idea of AI in search results to die. It’s a completely inappropriate use of the technology, given it can’t (and will likely never will be able to) discern fact from fiction.

Just watched two (2!) absolute bell-ends do 3 point turns over double white lines in a school zone.

A little old nanna walking past me couldn’t contain her shock. That’s how ridiculous it was.

Yesterday I was reviewing the espresso monitor for BTTR and drew a picture.

My daughter was at Nanna’s, so I thought I’d send it to her. She loves that kind of thing.

I searched for her in messages on the computer, pasted it in, wrote a quick message:

“Hey beautiful, I drew you a picture”

And hit send.

Then I realised I had sent it to the cleaning company we use.

I tried to delete it, and thought I had succeeded. Until I got a message today.

“That’s lovely Nick but not sure if it was meant for Licence to Clean”.

I am officially dead.