I’m confused about this (not sure I’m the only one):
The left parties won the election in France, it seems like, and now Macron needs to work with them – I thought he was on the left as well? Anyone has a 101 on French politics and can explain it in bullet points 😅
Macron, who has vowed to remain in office until his term ends in 2027, now faces the challenge of cobbling together a government from a disparate group of parties that have little in common besides their desire to keep the far-right out of power. That scramble will unfold with less than three weeks to go before Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.
www.wsj.com/world/europe/french-election-results-2024-4fc64d09?mod=hp_lead_pos1 wsj.com
#france #macron #politics
Pacific Drive (2024) - ★★★★
Pacific Drive is what would happen if Herbie and Subnautica had a child. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen this particular blend of survival-suspense-story mix in a game since Subnautica, and that’s saying a lot.
Instead of a submarine, you drive a station wagon. Instead of aliens underwater, you encountered anomalies on the road. The idea is similar: scan objects, research, get materials, and upgrade. But the mechanics of the game revolve heavily around your car, which you can upgrade (and fix), and the sci-fi story is more engaging with good voice acting.
As a person who got his driving license around the same time the game takes place, the long solitary drives bring back memories, especially with the excellent soundtrack, played as stations on the radio. These fun runs can quickly turn into suspenseful moments, especially during the night. The game also messes with your head with all kind of quirks, and I found myself wondering if i was encountering a bug in game or something planned more than once.
For those who seek challenges, there’s plenty here. Too many, in fact, so I had to tune some of them down. For example, the game won’t let you save mid-drive, and if you quit, you lose all of the stuff you collected. I can understand this as a difficulty option, but this is an unfair punishment if you have to quit the game on a long mission, which can take 2 hours or more.
It’s too bad the game doesn’t have official Linux support, as I believe this game was built for a certain kind of Linux geeks, but it seems to work OK with Linux (or Mac) with Proton enabled. If you’re a sci-fi person who likes suspenseful games with a dosage of crafting, don’t pass this one up. You won’t regret it.
Thoughts about AI and art
We sat across each other at a local bar with good beer, good sandwiches and good spirits. I wanted to talk to Nat about AI and how I use it in my more creative endeavors, where I have a choice to matter.
Nat hates AI with passion and “out of principle” (he draws by hand and writes fan fiction) like many other folks out there, but unlike them, he can separate me as a person from what I do and how I do it. Also, his opinion is way more important to me, naturally.
The big argument is that AI destroys the planet (because of the power the servers of big companies have to draw) and that it rips artists off because it creates work like they do without them getting a dime or even credit. Those are true facts and I don’t have answers to those.
Most people who use AI tools today use the Cloud and the big tech that comes with it. The more they use it, the more the big tech behind it grows and draws even more power from the grid, creating more emissions. As well, most AI for imagery creation is based on scraped information from thousands of people and artists, and it’s impossible to give them credit even if we want to, let alone compensation.
In general, AI takes an existing problem we have as a society and puts it on steroids. Many companies not only use AI as a tool, they’re starting to force its usage, directly or indirectly, by preferring it over hiring more human help instead.
These problems are not going away.
Meanwhile, there are good uses for this technology. In my case, it enhances my photos (which I took, meaning they’re my original work) and makes them better.
For example, in one of my recent “doors” photos, one of the doors had a big ugly sign on it. Removing it with Adobe’s AI took me a few seconds, and the picture looks better. The door part in the photo now has a small part (say roughly 10% of it) that is fake, but the work as a whole is still mine. Further, Adobe’s auto-fill uses my photo to “rebuild” the door, so in theory, there’s no theft here since the pixels it uses come from my photo, not someone else’s (at least not the way I understand how this particular tool is used).
In my opinion, this is an ethically acceptable use of AI. I would do it on my own without AI, but because it would take more time and effort, I wouldn’t bother with it every time. So, in this case, AI is an enabler, something that enhances my original work. I still contribute to Adobe’s AI though, and the first two problems I raised are still there.
I can’t make this argument when I create “original” art from scratch using AI. In that case, there’s very little - if at all - of my own work involved. And while I use my own desktop for it (Stable Diffusion is not based on a cloud server), as Nat pointed out, it doesn’t mean that those inspired by what I created will follow suit and use the same tools I use. While this makes it “less” of my problem (I can’t be held responsible for what other people do with their tech), I am part of it because I’m part of a movement that inspires people to do more AI-related work, not less.
This bothers me, so I picked up a “how to draw” book yesterday. It’s not my first attempt to learn to draw, and it probably won’t be the last.
I suck at drawing. I can’t even sketch. AI gave me the option to express what’s on my mind in a way that has been impossible for me before. But perhaps now that I’ve seen what I can create with help, I may have more motivation to bridge this gap, or at least attempt to.
Maybe I can learn to draw the same way I use AI in some of my photos: in small fixes. The drawing as a whole would still be AI, but something like a facial expression or something in the background would be something I draw myself—at least for starters. Approaching it like this in small steps might slowly help. After all, no one knows how to draw at birth; it’s something you got to learn.
Well, we’ll see what happens.
And still more doors of Hudson, from when I was around yesterday without my camera. I took these with my phone. 📷
Our vacation in Hudson is coming to an end. It went by faster than I imagined, and I slept more than I thought I was capable of - more than 7 hours a night so far. Back to noisy NYC tomorrow.
More doors of Hudson 📷
Two more targets of opportunity with the iPhone. Hudson, NY 📷
One of the things that immediately captured my eye were some of the houses and their doors, specifically. Here are some pictures from my first round with my camera. 📷
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/workplace/the-jiggle-is-up-bosses-bust-workers-who-fake-computer-activity-b6374f22?mod=djem10point wsj.com
I don’t know what’s more ridiculous: people’s attempts to fake work or their companies' attempts to crack down on this behavior with various malicious surveillance software. Between these two, something is very wrong with our work culture.
The share of companies using some kind of electronic worker-surveillance system surged during the pandemic, reaching nearly 50% in 2023, according to a survey of nearly 300 medium to large employers by research and advisory firm Gartner.
I’ve been around enough different people to know that abuse exists both ways. I’ve seen people sleeping on the job (literally) or watching YouTube videos for hours when there’s plenty of work. Of course, I also know what spy software looks like on student computers, and the access it has to the students' privacy brings creepy to new levels (I recently refused to take a test on my own computer because of this).
The world we live in…
Nat and I are in Hudson, NY, for our traditional 4th NYC escape. The town is quiet. Very quiet. Not many people around in the street. We are told they don’t really celebrate the 4th here as much as they celebrate Flag Day. Even better. More to (probably) come.
I couldn’t sleep last night, and now I’m about 20% in. I can see this book is going to be tough. Trauma that ties into military service, LGBTQ issues, and a postapocalyptic world with some supernatural elements. Glad I picked it up. The Last Girl Scout by Natalie Ironside 📚#books #scifi
The Expanse: A Telltale Series (2023) - unrated
I’m just finishing episode two, and I am really enjoying myself. The story so far is interesting, the characters are memorable, and if you enjoyed the series, this is definitely a nice perk. The only issue I have with the game so far is the graphics - it could have been much better, especially the textures. Maybe this game was rushed.
I’m exploring options for remote desktop (Mac to Linux) again.
VNC is good once you get it to work fully; I have issues with sound and my VPN and don’t have the time to mess with it right now. I tried Open Box (I think that was the name?) before. Uninstalling it is a pain, as it leaves a lot of configurations deep in your system, which is what I’m worried will happen with RustDesk - a recommendation I got from several folks before.
What do folks use these days?
Trainwell and my exercise routine
Trainwell, formally known as CoPilot (they could have just said Microsoft was planning to sue them; no one likes Microsoft as a company - but I digress), is an investment. It’s also one of the most significant apps I’ve ever purchased.
It’s an exercise app that connects you with a personal coach that builds a workout program for you. You and the coach keep chatting and meeting virtually to discuss progress and adjust exercises, which keep increasing in difficulty by predetermined “cycles.” The coach can also show you how to do certain exercises, watch your recordings to do your own routine and give you tips, etc.
I’ve been exercising with Trainwell for almost a year, 4-5 times a week, for about 30-40 minutes each time. My training sessions include weight lifting, flexibility, yoga, running, and even meditation, which I asked my coach to include. The Apple watch has been a great addition as well; the phone shows me a video of the exercise I’m doing and plays instructions using my coach’s voice while the watch “boosts” the app’s intelligence and so it knows to slow me down or speed me up, automatically detect when I’m done a set, and remind me to send feedback to my coach.
At 100$ a month, the app is not cheap, but that’s about the price you’d pay for a personal coach to work with you for an hour at a gym. It’s not the same, true, but for me, it strikes the right balance I need to exercise independently and have the motivation to keep going. It also records what I do. Seeing the progress month to month is critical when you try to get back into a lifestyle like this.
This is easily the best exercise routine I’ve had in a long time. It inspired me to try a meditation app as well (meditation is another area I need to move forward in), but so far, Headspace is not exactly working out. A bit more exploration is needed in this area.
From a couple of days ago: a night out with drinks. It was fun. 📷
How my writing outlets balance out
I have several writing outlets, and each one has its own benefits and disadvantages.
There’s this blog, where I slowly become more comfortable writing about more personal things. It’s a good outlet because writing to someone else (you—and thank you, by the way) affects not just what I write but also how I write. Things tend to be clearer and to the point. Usually.
There’s my handwritten journal(s), where I write my feelings and conclusions about certain things as well as notes that I want to keep private. This is a good place to let out thoughts because it allows me the freedom to write whatever I want without explaining myself. At the same time, it limits how much I can write and for how long, as writing by hand is much slower and also starts hurting my hand after a while (I think it’s the pen). It’s also not a good place to find specific information, like names and addresses, which leads me to my new-old addition, the events.org file.
my events file is written in Emacs org-mode. Without getting technical as I usually do when I talk about org-mode, this file contains exactly what the handwritten journal does not: precise locations (with map snippets and links to coordinates), names of people, and exact times. For example, the events file would mention I was out with friends (their names would be captured as tags in the entry) last weekend at a certain pub (map snipper to show it) at a certain date and time. Then, in my handwritten journal, I would expand on our conversation and my opinions if I have more to add.
That last bit above, “if I have more to add,” is different from how I used to capture events in the past completely in Emacs org-mode. I would write down every day in my old journal.org file, making it a habit to try and write every morning or every night, sometimes more in between. I was writing a lot in my journal.org file, leaving little time and energy to write on my blog, let alone a handwritten journal. Too much was invested in one place.
I write on my blog much more often than I write in my written journal. Even if I don’t write a full-length post, I will comment about something I read or a quick photo with an explanation. The more I write these little “nuggets,” the easier and more streamlined writing those become. The “nuggets” workflow is completely mobile with the micro.blog app; most of my photos are taken on the iPhone anyway, and I can edit them with Lightroom or Snapspeed on my phone. I also have Grammarly turned on as a keyboard for proofreading. With these short posts, I skip writing in org-mode anyway.
As you can see, there’s a sort of a cycle going on here. My Events file would describe events along with meta information, while notes about these events would go to my blog and/or my written journal for private comments later when I mentally digest things. There’s another thing I started doing because of the influence of my events file: I started taking more pictures of every place I go to, even if it’s as boring as the sidewalk next to a place.
Photos on the iPhone (or an Android) contain important information I could use later. The time the photo was taken would tell me when the event started. The coordinates, which are captured automatically, will tell me where it was if I don’t remember the name (or if it’s just a spot somewhere without a name) later when I want to find it on a map1. A photo can also include other information, like a menu of a nice restaurant, or it can be aesthetically pleasing, like the view from a nice spot overlooking a river. Such photos can decorate the entry in the events file, be printed and included in the journal, or be posted here with an explanation. Photos are really great for all of the outlets I mentioned.
1 - I used to use Swarm for this, and I even have a feature on this blog which posts locations from it automatically, but I stopped. For one, Swarm is a private company and my location data belongs to them before it belongs to me. For another, getting this information out and use it is tricky.
One of the things I like about living in NYC is that Pride is everywhere. Even though it’s somewhat over the top (more of a brand and marketing thing than what it is supposed to be), the fact that it’s important enough to be a brand is important in itself. 📷
A walk the streets of New York. Nearby NYU, heading east, captured on the move with an iPhone 📷
Why I end up using Photoshop over GIMP
Adobe sucks, so why do I keep getting back to Photoshop?
I like GIMP. It’s an amazing piece of free software. It comes with tools like Intelligent Scissors that allow you to easily draw a selection around your subject, much like the Quick Selection tool in Photoshop. GIMP also has Foreground Select, which roughly compares to Object Selection in Photoshop. Even the useful Content-Aware fill in Photoshop exists as a plugin in GIMP.
The problem is that all of these come with a learning gap.
Intelligent Scissors only works with good contrast, and even then, the official documentation suggests using masking tools. You need to have a good concept of these two terms first. The Foreground Select tool is a confusing multi-step process that’s hard to follow and requires me to follow a video explanation somewhere else several times. The Content-Aware plugin for GIMP is an abandoned project that hasn’t been updated to work with the more recent versions of the software, and its installation documentation on Linux requires more research on installing old libraries and Python.
Meanwhile, Photoshop’s help is very effective: short videos whenever you hover over a tool to tell you what it does, complete with the keyboard shortcut if you have one set up. There are video tutorials from the company, not to mention many professional folks who create tutorials. GIMP has one or two people worth following on YouTube, which couldn’t supply the help I needed. It’s a complaint I had before about Darktable, which eventually got me to switch to Lightroom.
As a technical writer who needs to explain tech stuff to people daily, I believe documentation is one of the areas free software suffers from the most. There’s usually a small crew of basement geniuses who write out an amazing tool, but their documentation amounts to technical jargon on Github which means nothing to others. These people write tools for themselves, not for others to use.
I understand the problem. A person who writes a program for free doesn’t have the time and resources (or the experience necessarily) to also write instructions. The same is true at my job: the techies tech, the communicators communicate. The importance of the latter is not often obvious. But if you invent a time machine, and you’re the only person who knows how to use it, does it really matter? If a tree falls in the forest…
And yet there would be that person who would read this post and think help is just a Google Duck Duck Go search away. They will find five or six results and link them to this post, suggesting help is just a quick search away. It is not, not for me. Think about it: what is more likely, that I searched and still couldn’t figure it out, or that I didn’t bother to search to begin with?
The gap exists. Those in the know are so used to jumping over it they don’t even notice it’s there anymore. I know because I do the same thing to others all the time.
I’m grumpy and tired, and when I sit down to work on something, I don’t always want to invest a couple of days' worth of research just to get a certain thing to work. When it has to do with free software, there are a few places things work, and that’s because there’s a community around those who can explain and document things to others. Take Emacs for example. When I started, it was this video by an ordinary guy who explained what the software does in an ordinary way that got me hooked. This dude spoke a language I could understand.
This is why Adobe wins me over time and time again. Their software is good but far from amazing. The company, as an entity, is shit. The privacy factor, which I care for, does not exist. But I can learn it and use it without investing a week’s worth of research on old posts in forums, Github, and Linux chat rooms.
Started reading: The Last Girl Scout by Natalie Ironside 📚 Decided to get this after reading a sample. Good, solid writing and an interesting story so far.