While in Japan this last week I got the chance to look at a bunch of new technology currently in the research and development phase. Unfortunately I can't go into what innovations I think are exciting, due to non-disclosure agreements, but I can use examples from years ago to help illustrate the point I am trying to make.
There are some inventions that change the world yet can be difficult to understand without a compelling demo. Imagine being at Bell Labs in 1948 when William Shockley invented the bipolar junction transistor. At the time, it served as a replacement to vacuum tubes and some engineers saw it as an inferior replacement. Audiophiles or people who are looking for pure sound from their audio equipment still prefer tube amps to solid-state ones (those that use transistors). Yet look at how many inventions came out of something so small and simple as the transistor: calculators, mobile phones, computers, and pretty much every electronics device being sold today.
I think it took a lot of imagination for the early inventors to realized the importance of their discovery. I remember hearing about Google's acquisition of YouTube and laughed at the huge price they paid. At the time I didn't know how people would use this new online service. Now any time I go to work on a car, I check YouTube first to see if there are any helpful videos. I'm not alone as Thomas Watson, the president of IBM is claimed to have said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." We all can fail to see the greatness of certain innovations.
Going back to my trip to Japan, I got to see some really new technology and one of the things that made the trip so interesting was all of the compelling demos. While an introduction to a particular invention is good, seeing how it can be used really helped me understand how groundbreaking it is. This helped me with some of the projects I am working on as I can see that I need to create some compelling demos so other can catch the same vision I see. Now I just hope that I can write about some of the things in the near future.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Beware of Online Reviews and Comparisons
I spent all day flying home from Japan and ended up here before I left, thanks to the international date line. I thought about creating a travel comparison blog entry. Something with useful information like airlines with the most rude flight attendants or worst on-time performance. Then I realized that while I travel every single week, I often stick to the same airlines and don't experience the full breadth of companies offering services. That is partly because I have had poor experiences on some airlines and refuse to fly them ever again. I've even gone so far as to tell my company that I won't go on a trip because they insist on putting me on a carrier I refuse to fly. The more I thought about my seemingly objective travel blog, the more I realized I wouldn't be doing anyone a service. I just don't branch out and try all of the service providers for the travel industry.
When I got home this evening, I had a ski magazine waiting for me. Every year they publish a resort survey listing out the top ski resorts in North America. In years past they have used results from the survey to rank the ski resorts against each other. This can be misleading because it is really a popularity contests for the resorts and doesn't reflect which ones are actually the best, only the most visited. This year, the magazine just listed the resorts with short blurbs about each of them and left off the rankings. I think this is smart as I don't need a bunch of intermediate skiers raving about how great a place is because of expensive restaurants and raging parties. I want to know how the mountain skis and that had become overshadowed.
So what does all this have to do with technology? Well there are a lot of online reviews of goods and services. Some people are heavily influenced by those reviews. Great care should be taken when reading online recommendations. You have no way of knowing if the person writing the good review works for the company or the person writing the bad review had a poor experience and is trying to retaliate for an anomaly. So when you find yourself looking at reviews and rankings for products or services, ask yourself if the reviewer has valid points or not.
When I got home this evening, I had a ski magazine waiting for me. Every year they publish a resort survey listing out the top ski resorts in North America. In years past they have used results from the survey to rank the ski resorts against each other. This can be misleading because it is really a popularity contests for the resorts and doesn't reflect which ones are actually the best, only the most visited. This year, the magazine just listed the resorts with short blurbs about each of them and left off the rankings. I think this is smart as I don't need a bunch of intermediate skiers raving about how great a place is because of expensive restaurants and raging parties. I want to know how the mountain skis and that had become overshadowed.
So what does all this have to do with technology? Well there are a lot of online reviews of goods and services. Some people are heavily influenced by those reviews. Great care should be taken when reading online recommendations. You have no way of knowing if the person writing the good review works for the company or the person writing the bad review had a poor experience and is trying to retaliate for an anomaly. So when you find yourself looking at reviews and rankings for products or services, ask yourself if the reviewer has valid points or not.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
A Case for Telecommuting
Today is my last one in Japan and I will head back to Salt Lake this evening. This morning I walked from my hotel to my office and noticed the large crowds on the path from the train station to the office buildings in the area. I thought about how much foot traffic could be reduced by simply allowing all of these office workers to work from home one day per week. Unfortunately that is a near impossibility here in Japan.
Japan has a very strong work culture that will take a lot to break down. Employees are expected to arrive at the office before their boss and remain there until after he has left. When people do leave, the literal translation of their goodbye includes an apology for leaving before those still at the office. Interestingly if you look at what all of those workers are doing while waiting around for the boss to go home, there is a lot of social media and non-work being done.
The same is true in the United States. There are a lot of people who could work from home but are not trusted to do so. It is not because of anything they have done, it is just a general mistrust by those in management. Therefore they come into the office each day so someone can supervise their work even though they might not actually be working.
With all of the advances in virtual and augmented reality, I don't see why we can't create effective remote work environments. I would love the option of putting on a virtual reality headset and save myself a commute. If it could be accomplished for 20% of the workforce, think of how much traffic that would remove from our crowded roads, trains, and buses. We could also reduce the amount of office space and replace it with larger living spaces, especially in places like Japan where there is not a lot of space to begin with. Furthermore we could probably reduce the crowded cities as it would give some the option of moving out to less populated areas.
While telecommuting is something that could help solve a lot of problems, there are a lot of fears associated with it. That is too bad as I think it would result in an overall improvement in quality of life. Isn't that something we are all looking for?
Japan has a very strong work culture that will take a lot to break down. Employees are expected to arrive at the office before their boss and remain there until after he has left. When people do leave, the literal translation of their goodbye includes an apology for leaving before those still at the office. Interestingly if you look at what all of those workers are doing while waiting around for the boss to go home, there is a lot of social media and non-work being done.
The same is true in the United States. There are a lot of people who could work from home but are not trusted to do so. It is not because of anything they have done, it is just a general mistrust by those in management. Therefore they come into the office each day so someone can supervise their work even though they might not actually be working.
With all of the advances in virtual and augmented reality, I don't see why we can't create effective remote work environments. I would love the option of putting on a virtual reality headset and save myself a commute. If it could be accomplished for 20% of the workforce, think of how much traffic that would remove from our crowded roads, trains, and buses. We could also reduce the amount of office space and replace it with larger living spaces, especially in places like Japan where there is not a lot of space to begin with. Furthermore we could probably reduce the crowded cities as it would give some the option of moving out to less populated areas.
While telecommuting is something that could help solve a lot of problems, there are a lot of fears associated with it. That is too bad as I think it would result in an overall improvement in quality of life. Isn't that something we are all looking for?
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Time Magazine's Top 10 Video Games of 2018
Yesterday I posted about Time Magazine's best inventions of 2018. The 2nd to last article in my copy of the magazine lists the top 10 video games of 2018. I couldn't help but comment on it today.
Once again I disagree with some titles on the list and agree with others. I do have to admit that they did a pretty good job of spreading the list across all different platforms. There are games for the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, iPhone, Android, and PC. If I were to create a list, it would probably be just games for the PlayStation console as that is the only place I play new games. Furthermore I have a tendency to play games a little bit after they have been released and want to make sure I have played them all the way through before recommending them or not.
As there are only 10 games, I can list them here (remember that this is Time Magazine's list and not mine):
I have a copy of God of War as well as Spider-Man but have yet to play them. Seeing that they are both 1 and 2 on Time's list has me wanting to play them as soon as I finish Red Dead Redemption 2, which is number 5. Judging by comments made by coworkers, both of those games deserve to be on the list.
One surprise for me is Assassin's Creed Odyssey. One of my coworkers is in the middle of the game and speaks very highly of it. I am a fan of Ubisoft games but have never played any of the Assassin' Creed games. I may have to give this one a try. It will have to be after Spider-Man and God of War though.
It is the end of the year and so I am sure there will be plenty of lists like this one. If you don't see your favorite game in this group, don't fret as it probably appears on someone else's list.
Once again I disagree with some titles on the list and agree with others. I do have to admit that they did a pretty good job of spreading the list across all different platforms. There are games for the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, iPhone, Android, and PC. If I were to create a list, it would probably be just games for the PlayStation console as that is the only place I play new games. Furthermore I have a tendency to play games a little bit after they have been released and want to make sure I have played them all the way through before recommending them or not.
As there are only 10 games, I can list them here (remember that this is Time Magazine's list and not mine):
- God of War (PS4)
- Spider-Man (PS4)
- Into the Breach (PC, Switch)
- Subnautica (Xbox One, PC)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One)
- Florence (iPhone, Android)
- Super Mario Party (Switch)
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)
- Dandara (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, iPhone, Android)
- Donut County (PS4, iPhone, PC)
I have a copy of God of War as well as Spider-Man but have yet to play them. Seeing that they are both 1 and 2 on Time's list has me wanting to play them as soon as I finish Red Dead Redemption 2, which is number 5. Judging by comments made by coworkers, both of those games deserve to be on the list.
One surprise for me is Assassin's Creed Odyssey. One of my coworkers is in the middle of the game and speaks very highly of it. I am a fan of Ubisoft games but have never played any of the Assassin' Creed games. I may have to give this one a try. It will have to be after Spider-Man and God of War though.
It is the end of the year and so I am sure there will be plenty of lists like this one. If you don't see your favorite game in this group, don't fret as it probably appears on someone else's list.
Monday, November 26, 2018
Best Inventions of 2018
One thing about being in Tokyo is my hotel room always has the latest copy of the Asian version of Time Magazine. I used to read it in my youth but stopped as an adult as I didn't see the need to pay for a subscription. When I do see a copy in my hotel, I will go through it and this time found a number of interesting articles. The one that made me stop browsing and focus on the entire article is the one on the 50 best inventions of 2018.
I think Time has a tough job trying to come up with the top inventions for any given year. What may seem groundbreaking to some is ordinary to others. Therefore it is not surprising that I disagree with some of their winners. For instance, they awarded a bicycling helmet with built-in headlights and turn signals. While that is a cool-sounding idea, it is actually a bad one. Bicycling helmets are disposable items that are not meant to be kept for more than a year or two, depending upon frequency of use. Embedding lights in the helmet double the cost. That means people are going to be reluctant to replace their helmet at proper intervals. Now if the helmet lights could be removed and put in a new helmet shell, that would be an innovative idea and deserving of an invention-of-the-year award.
While I disagree with some, there are a few inventions that I agree should be listed in this year's awards. I think my favorite is the roofing from 3M that fights smog pollution. This is probably important to me because of the recent fires in California reducing air quality to extremely unhealthy levels. I also know that I create a lot of pollution driving my car and flying all over the world. Doing something to right that wrong should be high on my priority list. When it comes time to put a new roof on my house, I will definitely look into pollution reducing shingles.
Going through Time's list of inventions for 2018 has been insightful. There are a lot of good ideas out there. Reading about them may spark new ideas. I know I came away with some thoughts on how to improve some of the things I use every day. You may too.
I think Time has a tough job trying to come up with the top inventions for any given year. What may seem groundbreaking to some is ordinary to others. Therefore it is not surprising that I disagree with some of their winners. For instance, they awarded a bicycling helmet with built-in headlights and turn signals. While that is a cool-sounding idea, it is actually a bad one. Bicycling helmets are disposable items that are not meant to be kept for more than a year or two, depending upon frequency of use. Embedding lights in the helmet double the cost. That means people are going to be reluctant to replace their helmet at proper intervals. Now if the helmet lights could be removed and put in a new helmet shell, that would be an innovative idea and deserving of an invention-of-the-year award.
While I disagree with some, there are a few inventions that I agree should be listed in this year's awards. I think my favorite is the roofing from 3M that fights smog pollution. This is probably important to me because of the recent fires in California reducing air quality to extremely unhealthy levels. I also know that I create a lot of pollution driving my car and flying all over the world. Doing something to right that wrong should be high on my priority list. When it comes time to put a new roof on my house, I will definitely look into pollution reducing shingles.
Going through Time's list of inventions for 2018 has been insightful. There are a lot of good ideas out there. Reading about them may spark new ideas. I know I came away with some thoughts on how to improve some of the things I use every day. You may too.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
OptOutside
This morning I find myself at the Salt Lake airport waiting to catch a flight to Tokyo, Japan. I take this trip every year and have to fly out on a Saturday so I can be there on Monday for a conference I host. The thing that makes the trip difficult is that I have to cut my Thanksgiving break short by 2 days. I wish I could schedule this for a different weekend but it coincides with another company-wide event and so I don't get to dictate the dates of the conference.
Every year before Thanksgiving we are bombarded with ads for "Black Friday Sales." Several years ago, a number of outdoor suppliers and retailers like Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) created a movement to give up a day of fighting shopping lines and spend the day outside. They call the event #OptOutside. REI even went so far as to keep their stores closed on Black Friday. As someone with a daughter that used to work in retail, I can support that. This year it helped that Alta's opening day happened yesterday and so I had something fun to do outside. I got to spend it with my daughter, wife, and son. We had a great time.
While it may be too late to buck the usual shopping trend and spend the day after Thanksgiving outside, it is not too late to think about how you can spend part of this Christmas season enjoying the outdoors. While computers and technology are great, sometimes it takes a walk outside on a crisp December morning to realized how wonderful the outdoors can be. I highly encourage it.
Every year before Thanksgiving we are bombarded with ads for "Black Friday Sales." Several years ago, a number of outdoor suppliers and retailers like Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI) created a movement to give up a day of fighting shopping lines and spend the day outside. They call the event #OptOutside. REI even went so far as to keep their stores closed on Black Friday. As someone with a daughter that used to work in retail, I can support that. This year it helped that Alta's opening day happened yesterday and so I had something fun to do outside. I got to spend it with my daughter, wife, and son. We had a great time.
While it may be too late to buck the usual shopping trend and spend the day after Thanksgiving outside, it is not too late to think about how you can spend part of this Christmas season enjoying the outdoors. While computers and technology are great, sometimes it takes a walk outside on a crisp December morning to realized how wonderful the outdoors can be. I highly encourage it.
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Which Flavor of Linux
This week I have been working from home and been doing some playing around with machine learning (ML) in Python. My home Linux box is using an old version of Fedora Core while my machine at work uses Ubuntu Linux. I am having problems getting Python updates to work correctly because some of my system libraries are so old. It is time to update my Linux and I am wondering which version to select.
I started using Red Hat Linux a long time ago. I don't feel the need to pay for Linux as I don't use it as a production server and so I have been running Fedora Core, which is based on Red Hat. If I want to continue using a Red Hat flavor of Linux, I could also install CentOS. So should I stay with Fedora Core or change to CentOS?
As mentioned, my machine at work uses Ubuntu which is based on the Debian distribution of Linux. I like it and it stays updated fairly easily. There are several other options as well but most of the world has settled on Debian or Red Hat. Suse used to be an option but Novell did a pretty good job of killing it in the early 2000's.
So what is the difference between them all? Mostly it has to do with system administration. PC users don't really want to do a lot of system administration work but they do like to install new versions of software. Red Hat uses "yum" to install software while Debian uses "apt-get". The programs are very similar. I have never had a problem finding updates for either flavor of Linux.
One problem I have noticed with Fedora Core is they are constantly changing versions. You may be on version 22 only to have version 23 come out a few months later. Updating your operating system can be a bit of a time sync as you have to make backup copies of your files and then spend hours making sure everything got moved to the same version without any problems. Ubuntu doesn't have that problem and so I think I will make that change over the Christmas break when I have more time. Until then I will have to remote login to my machine at work when running through my ML exercises. You may disagree and I would love to hear why. Feel free to send me a comment.
I started using Red Hat Linux a long time ago. I don't feel the need to pay for Linux as I don't use it as a production server and so I have been running Fedora Core, which is based on Red Hat. If I want to continue using a Red Hat flavor of Linux, I could also install CentOS. So should I stay with Fedora Core or change to CentOS?
As mentioned, my machine at work uses Ubuntu which is based on the Debian distribution of Linux. I like it and it stays updated fairly easily. There are several other options as well but most of the world has settled on Debian or Red Hat. Suse used to be an option but Novell did a pretty good job of killing it in the early 2000's.
So what is the difference between them all? Mostly it has to do with system administration. PC users don't really want to do a lot of system administration work but they do like to install new versions of software. Red Hat uses "yum" to install software while Debian uses "apt-get". The programs are very similar. I have never had a problem finding updates for either flavor of Linux.
One problem I have noticed with Fedora Core is they are constantly changing versions. You may be on version 22 only to have version 23 come out a few months later. Updating your operating system can be a bit of a time sync as you have to make backup copies of your files and then spend hours making sure everything got moved to the same version without any problems. Ubuntu doesn't have that problem and so I think I will make that change over the Christmas break when I have more time. Until then I will have to remote login to my machine at work when running through my ML exercises. You may disagree and I would love to hear why. Feel free to send me a comment.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Video Game Review: Detroit Become Human
This evening I finished the game Detroit: Become Human on the PlayStation 4 and have to say that I enjoyed it. It is from Quantic Dream, the same studio that created Heavy Rain. I have to say that I enjoyed Detroit a lot more even though they are very similar. If you are looking to play a game that is more like a movie where you can make choices that effect the outcome, then I suggest taking a look at Detroit: Become Human.
The game starts out with you controlling an android that tries to keep another android from killing someone. You then go through the story playing as several different android while they all become self-aware. Unlike any of the Telltale games, your choices really do effect the story and you are shown how through a nice flowchart at the end of each chapter. This is something new to this game that didn't exist in Heavy Rain and is a welcome addition.
Detroit: Become Human is one of those games where someone can watch you play and still enjoy the story line. My wife came and joined me on several occasions. She would ask if it was the "robot game" and then sit down until I finished the chapter before going to do something together. Each chapter only takes between 15 to 30 minutes to complete. The final one takes a bit longer.
The game has an ESRB rating of M for Mature due to partial nudity, violence, and strong language. I wish the game had a setting to dial back the language as I think it didn't add that much to the story. As for the nudity, there are several scenes where you see androids without any skin, but they are more mechanical than human. During the course of play, you enter an android strip club but everyone is wearing rather modest swimsuits as opposed to being nude. That is one of the scenes my wife watched and had it been risque, I might have lost my game-playing privileges at home.
If you are a late teen or older looking for a fun interactive movie that runs about 20 hours in length, then I can recommend Detroit: Become Human. I picked up the game at a huge discount using my industry discount but you can find it right now for about $40 at places like Best Buy.
The game starts out with you controlling an android that tries to keep another android from killing someone. You then go through the story playing as several different android while they all become self-aware. Unlike any of the Telltale games, your choices really do effect the story and you are shown how through a nice flowchart at the end of each chapter. This is something new to this game that didn't exist in Heavy Rain and is a welcome addition.
Detroit: Become Human is one of those games where someone can watch you play and still enjoy the story line. My wife came and joined me on several occasions. She would ask if it was the "robot game" and then sit down until I finished the chapter before going to do something together. Each chapter only takes between 15 to 30 minutes to complete. The final one takes a bit longer.
The game has an ESRB rating of M for Mature due to partial nudity, violence, and strong language. I wish the game had a setting to dial back the language as I think it didn't add that much to the story. As for the nudity, there are several scenes where you see androids without any skin, but they are more mechanical than human. During the course of play, you enter an android strip club but everyone is wearing rather modest swimsuits as opposed to being nude. That is one of the scenes my wife watched and had it been risque, I might have lost my game-playing privileges at home.
If you are a late teen or older looking for a fun interactive movie that runs about 20 hours in length, then I can recommend Detroit: Become Human. I picked up the game at a huge discount using my industry discount but you can find it right now for about $40 at places like Best Buy.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Relearning C++
I have a project at work that requires some C++ coding. For those that don't know, C++ (pronounced see-plus-plus) is a computer programming language. I learned it back in college but then never really did much with it. I spent part of my professional career writing C programs but it is slightly different and so I have been spending some of my spare time going through some old C++ books I have. Those that compare C to C++ have been most helpful.
It is fun to go back and relearn something I used to enjoy. While some software developers hate C++, I actually appreciate the language and prefer it to many others including Java. As I had a background in the language, it is much easier to pick it up again.
I had hoped when I started the project that I would simply be able to look at some example source code and remember everything I had forgotten. Unfortunately that is not the case. It has been helpful to run through my book and play with the examples.
Learning technology no longer requires a book to go through. You can use any number of tutorials and explanations found on websites. Once you get a basic understanding of the technology you are trying to learn, you may opt to supplement your learning with a book, but it is not necessary. The necessary thing to do when learning (or relearning) something new is to go through the examples. After all, we learn by doing.
It is fun to go back and relearn something I used to enjoy. While some software developers hate C++, I actually appreciate the language and prefer it to many others including Java. As I had a background in the language, it is much easier to pick it up again.
I had hoped when I started the project that I would simply be able to look at some example source code and remember everything I had forgotten. Unfortunately that is not the case. It has been helpful to run through my book and play with the examples.
Learning technology no longer requires a book to go through. You can use any number of tutorials and explanations found on websites. Once you get a basic understanding of the technology you are trying to learn, you may opt to supplement your learning with a book, but it is not necessary. The necessary thing to do when learning (or relearning) something new is to go through the examples. After all, we learn by doing.
Friday, November 16, 2018
Who Says Men Can't Multitask
This afternoon I am currently working on 5 different projects all at the same time. This got me thinking about how men are not known for being able to multitask, yet I seem to be doing it quite well. I don't think I am that special either. It just takes a bit of technology and anyone can do multiple things all at the same time.
The way that computers multitask is by working on a project for a bit, saving the state of the work, moving to the next project, and so on until tasks are completed. Newer computers have multiple central processing units (CPU's) that work independently from each other. However the process is relatively similar. One CPU will start a task, then the next CPU, and so on until they are all busy. If there are more tasks to do, one CPU will save the state of the work, and start the new task. The reason computers do this well is that they are built to save the state of the current process very efficiently and then start the next one. Humans are a bit less efficient when it comes to switching tasks. I find it very difficult to put one project down and start another when the first one is not yet completed.
Fortunately this afternoon, I am using modern technology to do some of my work for me. The first thing I started is laundry. I don't have to sit and watch the washing machine do its thing and so I moved onto my next task. Last weekend I started printing something on my 3D printer only to have it stop because of a jammed nozzle. After starting laundry, I spent 5 minutes, cleaned the nozzle and restarted the print. So now I have 2 things going at the same time.
Thursday evening I picked up my copy of Red Dead Redemption 2 and loaded it up on my PS4 on the boat. That took about 2 hours before I could start playing. I will be home for the Thanksgiving week and want to play the game as well. After getting the 3D printer started, I started loading the game on my PS4 at home. So now I have 3 things going: laundry, 3D printing, and video game loading.
Next I noticed that the dishwasher had a bunch of dirty dishes and so I finished loading all of the dirty dishes out of the sink. Then I started the dishwasher. That brings me up to 4 things going simultaneously: laundry, 3D printing, video game loading, and washing dishes.
Recognizing that I am doing so much all at the same time, I had to write about it and so that is the 5th thing. I'm feeling pretty productive. The only downside is when everything is finished. Then I will have to fold the laundry, put away the dishes, and clean my 3D print. On the plus side, I can forget all of that and just go play my game. With my blog entry done, I am now down to 4 tasks.
The way that computers multitask is by working on a project for a bit, saving the state of the work, moving to the next project, and so on until tasks are completed. Newer computers have multiple central processing units (CPU's) that work independently from each other. However the process is relatively similar. One CPU will start a task, then the next CPU, and so on until they are all busy. If there are more tasks to do, one CPU will save the state of the work, and start the new task. The reason computers do this well is that they are built to save the state of the current process very efficiently and then start the next one. Humans are a bit less efficient when it comes to switching tasks. I find it very difficult to put one project down and start another when the first one is not yet completed.
Fortunately this afternoon, I am using modern technology to do some of my work for me. The first thing I started is laundry. I don't have to sit and watch the washing machine do its thing and so I moved onto my next task. Last weekend I started printing something on my 3D printer only to have it stop because of a jammed nozzle. After starting laundry, I spent 5 minutes, cleaned the nozzle and restarted the print. So now I have 2 things going at the same time.
Thursday evening I picked up my copy of Red Dead Redemption 2 and loaded it up on my PS4 on the boat. That took about 2 hours before I could start playing. I will be home for the Thanksgiving week and want to play the game as well. After getting the 3D printer started, I started loading the game on my PS4 at home. So now I have 3 things going: laundry, 3D printing, and video game loading.
Next I noticed that the dishwasher had a bunch of dirty dishes and so I finished loading all of the dirty dishes out of the sink. Then I started the dishwasher. That brings me up to 4 things going simultaneously: laundry, 3D printing, video game loading, and washing dishes.
Recognizing that I am doing so much all at the same time, I had to write about it and so that is the 5th thing. I'm feeling pretty productive. The only downside is when everything is finished. Then I will have to fold the laundry, put away the dishes, and clean my 3D print. On the plus side, I can forget all of that and just go play my game. With my blog entry done, I am now down to 4 tasks.
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Bay Area Air Quality
I just got to the airport to catch my weekly flight home back to Salt Lake and got an interesting e-mail from my employer. The air quality in the Bay Area is so bad that they are giving us the option of working from home tomorrow. While it is nothing extra special for me, I am sure a lot of my fellow employees are happy that they don't have to try and come in tomorrow.
The wildfire in Paradise, California is really wreaking havoc for the state. While it has a very negative effect on the Bay Area air quality, it has killed many people and destroyed countless homes. Compared to that, I can put up with a some bad air without complaining.
I arrived in the Bay Area this week knowing the air quality would not be healthy. My son who lives in San Jose spent Saturday running around to various stores looking for air purifiers. On his 5th store, he found one and immediately purchased it. By the time I arrived on Monday, all of the stores were completely sold out of air purifiers. I almost bought a few filters, some duct tape, and cardboard so I could make my own (I already have a fan on my sailboat). Knowing I only would be here for 3 nights, I didn't worry about it.
Today at work I passed quite a few of my coworkers wearing masks as they walked between buildings on our campus. Here is a good link about what the government recommends for masks. It is good advice and should be followed.
If you don't have the luxury of being able to skip town and get away from the bad air quality, do what you can to protect your lungs. The best advice I can give is to avoid heavy exercise. Use this as an excuse to play video games. That is what I would do if I had to stick around.
The wildfire in Paradise, California is really wreaking havoc for the state. While it has a very negative effect on the Bay Area air quality, it has killed many people and destroyed countless homes. Compared to that, I can put up with a some bad air without complaining.
I arrived in the Bay Area this week knowing the air quality would not be healthy. My son who lives in San Jose spent Saturday running around to various stores looking for air purifiers. On his 5th store, he found one and immediately purchased it. By the time I arrived on Monday, all of the stores were completely sold out of air purifiers. I almost bought a few filters, some duct tape, and cardboard so I could make my own (I already have a fan on my sailboat). Knowing I only would be here for 3 nights, I didn't worry about it.
Today at work I passed quite a few of my coworkers wearing masks as they walked between buildings on our campus. Here is a good link about what the government recommends for masks. It is good advice and should be followed.
If you don't have the luxury of being able to skip town and get away from the bad air quality, do what you can to protect your lungs. The best advice I can give is to avoid heavy exercise. Use this as an excuse to play video games. That is what I would do if I had to stick around.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Video Games for Christmas
Yesterday I posted my Christmas list for 2018 and so I thought I would follow it up with a list of games that might make good gifts. Normally I include video games that I would like to play during the Christmas break and have done so at the end of October. Now I am a bit more realistic. I won't be trying to play a lot of games. Instead I will probably just play Red Dead Redemption II. I loved the first one and know that this one will be equally awesome. At least that is what all my coworkers are telling me as they play the game. If you have someone on your Christmas list that loves playing video games and they don't yet have this one, get it. They will love you for it.
There are a number of other video games that I can also recommend should your video game junkie be a bit to young for a game with an ESRB rating of M for Mature. In case you missed one of my earlier blog posts, Horizon Zero Dawn is a great game that can be picked up for $20. That includes the extra DLC.
At the end of October, I recommended Fallout 76. When I made that recommendation, I thought it was an open-world-action-adventure-campaign game. Now I discovered it is a multi-player-online game. While that would have interested me a decade ago, it is not the type of game I play now. It does have me thinking about picking up a copy of Fallout 4 though. I can get a digital download of that for around $22 and so I may do that as soon as I am done with my current game.
One more game I would recommend is the remastered version of The Last of Us. It started out as a PS3 game and then Naughty Dog remastered it for the PS4. I have yet to play it and so my recommendation comes from coworkers telling me I need to play it as well as an hour or two of watching my son play. I am told it has one of the best stories of any video game. You can pick up a copy for only $20. Part 2 will be released in the near future and so I want to be ready to play that when it becomes available.
There are a lot of really great video games available for this version of consoles (PS4 or XBox One) and so you should not have a shortage of ideas. Simply figure out what kind of games the person on your Christmas list likes to play and do a bit of searching. It shouldn't take long to find something with good reviews. Just be sure to stay away from the bad games as there are a lot of those as well.
There are a number of other video games that I can also recommend should your video game junkie be a bit to young for a game with an ESRB rating of M for Mature. In case you missed one of my earlier blog posts, Horizon Zero Dawn is a great game that can be picked up for $20. That includes the extra DLC.
At the end of October, I recommended Fallout 76. When I made that recommendation, I thought it was an open-world-action-adventure-campaign game. Now I discovered it is a multi-player-online game. While that would have interested me a decade ago, it is not the type of game I play now. It does have me thinking about picking up a copy of Fallout 4 though. I can get a digital download of that for around $22 and so I may do that as soon as I am done with my current game.
One more game I would recommend is the remastered version of The Last of Us. It started out as a PS3 game and then Naughty Dog remastered it for the PS4. I have yet to play it and so my recommendation comes from coworkers telling me I need to play it as well as an hour or two of watching my son play. I am told it has one of the best stories of any video game. You can pick up a copy for only $20. Part 2 will be released in the near future and so I want to be ready to play that when it becomes available.
There are a lot of really great video games available for this version of consoles (PS4 or XBox One) and so you should not have a shortage of ideas. Simply figure out what kind of games the person on your Christmas list likes to play and do a bit of searching. It shouldn't take long to find something with good reviews. Just be sure to stay away from the bad games as there are a lot of those as well.
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Early Christmas Gift Ideas
Normally I wait a bit before trying to post my Christmas Gift ideas but my wife and I have been trying to come up with lists for each other. I thought it might be a good idea to write my list a bit early this year. That gives you time to stalk the Black Friday deals.
Early in my adult life I felt a good Christmas gift is something that you wouldn't get yourself and that you played with for several hours on Christmas morning only to never use it again. Then my wife and I matured and decided to only get things that our children would use for a long time. Since then we have always tried to get gifts that would get used for more than just a few hours.
Recently I have flown a lot with children. Not my own but other peoples. While I have nothing against flying with someone else's children, I do notice that they make a lot more noise than the adults around them. One of the most important pieces of high-tech equipment I bring on the plane is a good set of earphones. I have one set of ear buds that act better then most earplugs, even when they are not connected to anything. So if you have someone on your Christmas list that spends a lot of time on airplanes, make sure they have a good set of earphones.
This year I have noticed that while I have some great electronic gadgets, some of them are a bit dated and could be replaced. I think everyone can sympathize with this situation. I have made a number of videos recently and while I have a perfectly capable video camera, I could always use a new one with higher resolution and more features. My personal computer is also quite old and could use a replacement. Even my monitors are getting old. With Walmart and other budget stores selling 43-inch 4K televisions for less than $200, one can get a screaming deal on computer monitors with a lot of screen real estate. So take a look at those on your Christmas list and see if they need a newer version of something they use frequently.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas before the Black Friday deals get announced. That way you can take advantage of them. If you come up with some really good ideas, please share as others may benefit from your suggestions.
Early in my adult life I felt a good Christmas gift is something that you wouldn't get yourself and that you played with for several hours on Christmas morning only to never use it again. Then my wife and I matured and decided to only get things that our children would use for a long time. Since then we have always tried to get gifts that would get used for more than just a few hours.
Recently I have flown a lot with children. Not my own but other peoples. While I have nothing against flying with someone else's children, I do notice that they make a lot more noise than the adults around them. One of the most important pieces of high-tech equipment I bring on the plane is a good set of earphones. I have one set of ear buds that act better then most earplugs, even when they are not connected to anything. So if you have someone on your Christmas list that spends a lot of time on airplanes, make sure they have a good set of earphones.
This year I have noticed that while I have some great electronic gadgets, some of them are a bit dated and could be replaced. I think everyone can sympathize with this situation. I have made a number of videos recently and while I have a perfectly capable video camera, I could always use a new one with higher resolution and more features. My personal computer is also quite old and could use a replacement. Even my monitors are getting old. With Walmart and other budget stores selling 43-inch 4K televisions for less than $200, one can get a screaming deal on computer monitors with a lot of screen real estate. So take a look at those on your Christmas list and see if they need a newer version of something they use frequently.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas before the Black Friday deals get announced. That way you can take advantage of them. If you come up with some really good ideas, please share as others may benefit from your suggestions.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Video Game Review: Far Cry 5
I am a big fan of the Far Cry series of games from Ubisoft. I have played Far Cry 3 on the PS3 and really enjoyed Far Cry 4 on the PS4. Last night I finished up Far Cry 5 and so I thought I would write a review.
I enjoyed the other Far Cry games and so I paid full-price for the game. That means I didn't wait for one of my contacts in the video game industry to get me a deal. It is one of the only games I have ever done that with and that should show how excited I was to play the game. Now that I have finished the game, I can say the price is worth it.
As with the other games in the series, there are a number of areas to liberate and each one helps segment the game so you know how much is left to do. Once you have completed all of the main story missions in one area, you have the option of moving on to the next area or continuing to finish all of the side missions. These missions include looking for objects, hunting special animals, and clearing out bad-guy strongholds. The last story mission for each of the areas is a boss battle. In Far Cry 5 there are 3 areas with an additional boss battle at the end.
I enjoyed the game but with so many new games coming out, I opted to finish the game quickly instead of trying to do every single thing. Towards the end, things got a bit repetitive and I stopped enjoying it as much as the other games in the series. If I was to rank all 3 Far Cry games I have played, I would say that 4 is my favorite with 5 being a solid second place and 3 being last. That being said, I enjoyed them all and recommend them to anyone looking for a solid action-adventure game that runs between 30 to 40 hours. Far Cry 5 has a lot of downloadable content (DLC) should you enjoy it and want to spend more time playing.
Far Cry 5 has an ESRB rating of M for mature. There is no nudity in the game and so the rating is due to strong language and violence. There are a lot of torture-death images and some parents might not want their teenagers to see such graphic depictions. I would probably let those 16 or older play it, but you may disagree.
I enjoyed the other Far Cry games and so I paid full-price for the game. That means I didn't wait for one of my contacts in the video game industry to get me a deal. It is one of the only games I have ever done that with and that should show how excited I was to play the game. Now that I have finished the game, I can say the price is worth it.
As with the other games in the series, there are a number of areas to liberate and each one helps segment the game so you know how much is left to do. Once you have completed all of the main story missions in one area, you have the option of moving on to the next area or continuing to finish all of the side missions. These missions include looking for objects, hunting special animals, and clearing out bad-guy strongholds. The last story mission for each of the areas is a boss battle. In Far Cry 5 there are 3 areas with an additional boss battle at the end.
I enjoyed the game but with so many new games coming out, I opted to finish the game quickly instead of trying to do every single thing. Towards the end, things got a bit repetitive and I stopped enjoying it as much as the other games in the series. If I was to rank all 3 Far Cry games I have played, I would say that 4 is my favorite with 5 being a solid second place and 3 being last. That being said, I enjoyed them all and recommend them to anyone looking for a solid action-adventure game that runs between 30 to 40 hours. Far Cry 5 has a lot of downloadable content (DLC) should you enjoy it and want to spend more time playing.
Far Cry 5 has an ESRB rating of M for mature. There is no nudity in the game and so the rating is due to strong language and violence. There are a lot of torture-death images and some parents might not want their teenagers to see such graphic depictions. I would probably let those 16 or older play it, but you may disagree.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
A Morality Setting for Artificial Intelligence
Many of us interact with artificial intelligence (AI) on a daily basis without realizing it. If you look at the recommendations provided by Netflix or Amazon, then you are being served results from some sort of AI. Most of the time, those recommendations are based on previous purchases or actions. If you watched one of the Marvel superhero movies, you might get recommended another one that you may not have seen.
Now imagine that you want to change your behavior. Perhaps you have decided that smoking is bad for your health and want to quit or that you want to stop watching violent movies. At first you may have a firm resolve to not do those things any more, then you get an e-mail telling you about a sale on violent movies or smoking products. While you may not immediately give in, you may find it difficult to resist the temptation to give in and go back to your old ways.
So how do you tell online retailers and service providers that you would like to change your behavior and to please stop sending you recommendations for products you are no longer interested in purchasing? Right now, you can't without doing something drastic like changing your phone number, e-mail address, and creating all new accounts.
This also leads to the question of if service providers should build in some sort of morality. When you go to watch the latest superhero movie, how would you feel if you received the message, "Violent crimes are up, perhaps you should watch a romantic comedy." Or you go to purchase cigarettes online (I don't even know if that is possible) and see, "Smoking is bad for you, how about some nicotine gum instead?" My instinct says nobody would be happy even though we would all be better off with such suggestions.
Now imagine that you want to change your behavior. Perhaps you have decided that smoking is bad for your health and want to quit or that you want to stop watching violent movies. At first you may have a firm resolve to not do those things any more, then you get an e-mail telling you about a sale on violent movies or smoking products. While you may not immediately give in, you may find it difficult to resist the temptation to give in and go back to your old ways.
So how do you tell online retailers and service providers that you would like to change your behavior and to please stop sending you recommendations for products you are no longer interested in purchasing? Right now, you can't without doing something drastic like changing your phone number, e-mail address, and creating all new accounts.
This also leads to the question of if service providers should build in some sort of morality. When you go to watch the latest superhero movie, how would you feel if you received the message, "Violent crimes are up, perhaps you should watch a romantic comedy." Or you go to purchase cigarettes online (I don't even know if that is possible) and see, "Smoking is bad for you, how about some nicotine gum instead?" My instinct says nobody would be happy even though we would all be better off with such suggestions.
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