📡 Signals: Sagan

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.” 

Carl Sagan

All Things

“All things are impermanent.”

Taste and Discernment

Jerry Seinfeld identifies as the ultimate skill of the artist: “taste and discernment.” 

“It’s one thing to create,” Seinfeld says. It’s one thing to have ideas.

“The other is you have to choose. ‘What are we going to do, and what are we not going to do?’” What are we going to add to the product line, and what are we not going to add?

“This is a gigantic aspect of [artistic] survival,” Seinfeld continues. 

“It’s kind of unseen—what’s picked and what is discarded—but mastering that is how you stay alive.”

The A.I. Dillema

Father’s Day

One day he may read this, and I would want him to know that being his Dad is the best thing that has ever happened to me and that he makes me proud every day. 

Other things I would want him to know:

1. Finding the right person to partner with in life might be the most important thing you ever do. You gotta get this part right. And like most things that matter, you have to listen deeply and follow intuition above all else. Your heart knows what to do.

2. Don’t try to plan everything. There is so much that is completely out of your control. Be prepared, of course. But don’t spend a lot of trying to analyze and chartering your path. There is no path. Wander around a bit. Try different things. It will all connect later on.

3. Whatever you do, do it fully. Don’t rest. Burn yourself out. It’s the only way you will get where you are going. Oh, the places you will go! You can’t fail. There is only learning. If something doesn’t work, who cares? Just keep going.

Season 1 Chateau Donver

 

Dad Sport™ Report

I wrote about Dad Sport™ back in 2021. 

Below you will find an updated 2023 report and visual exploration of the phenomenon soon:

Out of The Blue

"a return to don.earth."

So, there I was, scrolling through my social media feed, when suddenly, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of blogospheric obscurity, came the triumphant return of don.earth. It had been months since their last post, and nobody noticed. At all. But lo and behold, there it was—a new blog entry, bursting with all the melodrama and self-importance one could hope for. 

The writing, albeit bad, was also hard to follow too. The chaotically crafted opening paragraph was brimming with inflated rhetoric and pseudo-intellectual musings, setting the stage for what was to come. Completely random internet links...

Farewell, Kendall Roy
In a role that forms the emotional center of “Succession,” the actor Jeremy Strong never lost sight of Kendall’s undertow of pain.

The Security Hole at the Heart of ChatGPT and Bing
Indirect prompt-injection attacks can leave people vulnerable to scams and data theft when they use the AI chatbots.

Adidas After Yeezy

The partnership with Ye was the stuff of sneakerhead legend—and its demise has the shoe company scrambling to replace nearly half of its profits.

and a few songs he had been listening to:

🎶 Julian Casablancas – Out of The Blue

🎶 Wednesday – Quarry

🎶 Adrianne Lenker – Steamboat

🎶 Wednesday – TV in the Gas Pump

🎶 Brooks & Dunn – Neon Moon

Yet, as I read the post, I realized how much I missed the blog. The links, the music, all of it!

Amidst the overblown prose and exaggerated self-importance, there were glimmers of genuine insight, universal truths, and shared personal anecdotes that resonated with me DEEPLY. It was in these moments that one could remember why this blog had gained such a following in the first place. 

I couldn't help but wonder—was this grand return a true renaissance of the blogger's creative genius, or simply a calculated attempt to reclaim their fading online presence? Had their hiatus been a genuine period of self-reflection and growth, or merely a strategic move to generate anticipation and maintain a sense of mystique? Or was it maybe just like a long weekend, and there wasn't a lot going on?

What Happened to The Metaverse?

Remember the metaverse?

A year ago, it was all anyone was talking about. How it was going to change everything. People were buying virtual real estate. What a scam!

"What's our metaverse strategy?" 

Or what about all those nerds on Twitter who were talking about NFTs?

What happened?