@gmckcypress.bsky.social
Watched the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain the other day - it showed me a way forward with humanoid robots. Robot hardware that can stand, walk & reach is a solved problem but household tasks are too hard for current ML algorithms. Teleoperation gives a usable product meanwhile. AI=Actually Indians
December 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Watched the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain the other day - it showed me a way forward with humanoid robots. Robot hardware that can stand, walk & reach is a solved problem but household tasks are too hard for current ML algorithms. Teleoperation gives a usable product meanwhile. AI=Actually Indians
Home Depot and UPS execs need to read Coase's "The nature of the firm" essay. HD's "next day delivery" has so many data gaps. UPS subcontracts to Roadie, but doesn't provide the customer's on-file delivery instructions. Support AVR doesn't forward case details to the human agent. etc.etc. #econsky
November 30, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Home Depot and UPS execs need to read Coase's "The nature of the firm" essay. HD's "next day delivery" has so many data gaps. UPS subcontracts to Roadie, but doesn't provide the customer's on-file delivery instructions. Support AVR doesn't forward case details to the human agent. etc.etc. #econsky
Signs that AI is in a bubble #124: Even bears & short sellers don't mention that GPU chips and the circuit boards hosting them become obsolete every *two* years, not six, due to Moore's law, as their successor designs double in power at the same price.
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/a...
#econsky
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/a...
#econsky
The question everyone in AI is asking: How long before a GPU depreciates?
The useful lifespan of AI infrastructure is a key issue for investors, as tech giants plan $1 trillion in AI spending over the next five years.
www.cnbc.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Signs that AI is in a bubble #124: Even bears & short sellers don't mention that GPU chips and the circuit boards hosting them become obsolete every *two* years, not six, due to Moore's law, as their successor designs double in power at the same price.
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/a...
#econsky
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/14/a...
#econsky
Nobody tell him, but the $2000 Trump Tariff rebate checks are actually a form of socialist Unconditional Bonus Income (UBI). He already did this a couple of times during the Covid-19 pandemic - if he keeps it up, it will become expected, and turn into a real Unconditional Basic Income.
#econsky
#econsky
November 11, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Nobody tell him, but the $2000 Trump Tariff rebate checks are actually a form of socialist Unconditional Bonus Income (UBI). He already did this a couple of times during the Covid-19 pandemic - if he keeps it up, it will become expected, and turn into a real Unconditional Basic Income.
#econsky
#econsky
Tried my first purchase with the help of AI yesterday -- did not go well. Two of the AI's suggestions weren't what I asked for, the third had a conventional error: the description in the catalog entry title was contradicted by the description in the details.
The word for this is "trustworthiness".
The word for this is "trustworthiness".
October 27, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Tried my first purchase with the help of AI yesterday -- did not go well. Two of the AI's suggestions weren't what I asked for, the third had a conventional error: the description in the catalog entry title was contradicted by the description in the details.
The word for this is "trustworthiness".
The word for this is "trustworthiness".
Canada as a 51st state keeps coming up. Canadians should respond to absurdity with absurdity, and demand statehood for each one of their 13 provinces and territories, as a "start of a new America". But that would be spun as "we're negotiating", so it's probably better to just say "never".
October 19, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Canada as a 51st state keeps coming up. Canadians should respond to absurdity with absurdity, and demand statehood for each one of their 13 provinces and territories, as a "start of a new America". But that would be spun as "we're negotiating", so it's probably better to just say "never".
Windows 10 support ended Wednesday. Not giving Microsoft any more of my login & other private data, so extended support is out.
Linux MInt, Ubuntu interim & LTS editions all failed in multiple ways on my HP ProDesk 600 G2. Veracrypt & ProtonVPN support isn't really there.
New Mac Mini should work.
Linux MInt, Ubuntu interim & LTS editions all failed in multiple ways on my HP ProDesk 600 G2. Veracrypt & ProtonVPN support isn't really there.
New Mac Mini should work.
October 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Windows 10 support ended Wednesday. Not giving Microsoft any more of my login & other private data, so extended support is out.
Linux MInt, Ubuntu interim & LTS editions all failed in multiple ways on my HP ProDesk 600 G2. Veracrypt & ProtonVPN support isn't really there.
New Mac Mini should work.
Linux MInt, Ubuntu interim & LTS editions all failed in multiple ways on my HP ProDesk 600 G2. Veracrypt & ProtonVPN support isn't really there.
New Mac Mini should work.
Joe Mungo Reed's Terrestrial History is a puzzler. It sets up to be an epic like Robinson's Mars Trilogy, but then kind of evaporates, as if he got bored with the amount of writing that would need. But he invents a new way to end a time travel story along the way.
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
Terrestrial History
One of <em>Esquire</em>'s Most Anticipated Books of 2025<br /> One of <em>Literary Hub</em>'s Most Anticipated Books of 2025<br /><br /> A family saga following four generations on a time-bending jou...
wwnorton.com
October 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Joe Mungo Reed's Terrestrial History is a puzzler. It sets up to be an epic like Robinson's Mars Trilogy, but then kind of evaporates, as if he got bored with the amount of writing that would need. But he invents a new way to end a time travel story along the way.
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
wwnorton.com/books/978132...
Been looking for this for weeks: Bruhin et al. found that up to 19% of subjects from English Speaking, Protestant, and Confucian cultures will choose a lose-lose outcome, while in Orthodox/Ex-Communist and Arabic speaking cultures up to 53% of subjects will.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Uncovering the heterogeneity behind cross-cultural variation in antisocial punishment
Antisocial punishment in public good games, i.e., punishment of individuals who contributed the same or more than their punisher, varies substantially…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Been looking for this for weeks: Bruhin et al. found that up to 19% of subjects from English Speaking, Protestant, and Confucian cultures will choose a lose-lose outcome, while in Orthodox/Ex-Communist and Arabic speaking cultures up to 53% of subjects will.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Worried about whether to wear a mask against Covid-19 and Flu this season? Too bad there are no certifications for sanitized air that facilities could post on their doors the way they had "Come in, it's Kool inside" in the 1950s. [Kool was a brand of cigarette]
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
The death rays that guard life - Works in Progress Magazine
We disinfect water before we drink it. Why don’t we disinfect the air before we breathe it?
worksinprogress.co
September 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Worried about whether to wear a mask against Covid-19 and Flu this season? Too bad there are no certifications for sanitized air that facilities could post on their doors the way they had "Come in, it's Kool inside" in the 1950s. [Kool was a brand of cigarette]
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
Can alternatives to capitalism avoid causing civilization to collapse?
Alternatives like socialism and communism can't scale. Capitalist finance firms can improve returns, and incidentally sustainability, by aligning stakeholder interests and overcoming irrationalities.
medium.com/@GMcKCypress...
Alternatives like socialism and communism can't scale. Capitalist finance firms can improve returns, and incidentally sustainability, by aligning stakeholder interests and overcoming irrationalities.
medium.com/@GMcKCypress...
Can alternatives to capitalism avoid causing civilization to collapse?
“That trick never works!” — Rocket J. Squirrel
medium.com
September 16, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Can alternatives to capitalism avoid causing civilization to collapse?
Alternatives like socialism and communism can't scale. Capitalist finance firms can improve returns, and incidentally sustainability, by aligning stakeholder interests and overcoming irrationalities.
medium.com/@GMcKCypress...
Alternatives like socialism and communism can't scale. Capitalist finance firms can improve returns, and incidentally sustainability, by aligning stakeholder interests and overcoming irrationalities.
medium.com/@GMcKCypress...
China has 3X the population of the US, so if they have less than 3X the emissions, the US is winning, right?
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
World emissions hit record high, but the EU leads trend reversal
Despite the increase in absolute terms, all major emitters reduced their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) per unit of GDP.
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu
September 14, 2025 at 10:07 PM
China has 3X the population of the US, so if they have less than 3X the emissions, the US is winning, right?
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and...
Somebody in Galveston appears to have a Saronic Corsair self-captaining boat.
www.saronic.com/vessels
www.saronic.com/vessels
September 8, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Somebody in Galveston appears to have a Saronic Corsair self-captaining boat.
www.saronic.com/vessels
www.saronic.com/vessels
What a difference a single characte in a title makes.
“Island in the sky” is an underrated 1953 film with John Wayne about a DC-3 pilot and his crew attempting to survive until they’re rescued in the frozen wilderness of Northern Quebec.
“Island in the sky” is an underrated 1953 film with John Wayne about a DC-3 pilot and his crew attempting to survive until they’re rescued in the frozen wilderness of Northern Quebec.
September 8, 2025 at 4:35 AM
What a difference a single characte in a title makes.
“Island in the sky” is an underrated 1953 film with John Wayne about a DC-3 pilot and his crew attempting to survive until they’re rescued in the frozen wilderness of Northern Quebec.
“Island in the sky” is an underrated 1953 film with John Wayne about a DC-3 pilot and his crew attempting to survive until they’re rescued in the frozen wilderness of Northern Quebec.
Reporters like Henry Epp who have noticed chargers popping up at convenience stores should visit a Collin Street Bakery (yes, the fruitcake folks) on I-45, I-35, or I-20 in TX to see the concept done right.
--
Big businesses are getting into the EV charging game www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
--
Big businesses are getting into the EV charging game www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
Big businesses are getting into the EV charging game, betting on an electric future
Even as federal support for EVs wanes, big companies, including major automakers and retailers, are building networks of fast chargers, often accompanied by amenities.
www.marketplace.org
September 3, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reporters like Henry Epp who have noticed chargers popping up at convenience stores should visit a Collin Street Bakery (yes, the fruitcake folks) on I-45, I-35, or I-20 in TX to see the concept done right.
--
Big businesses are getting into the EV charging game www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
--
Big businesses are getting into the EV charging game www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
As the AI vibe shift occurs, datacenters full of GPUs will become surplus. What will happen to them?
Using AI to build & operate virtual reality environments has barely begun. AI VR will put text-based chatbots to shame, and consume more resources than you can imagine.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/b...
Using AI to build & operate virtual reality environments has barely begun. AI VR will put text-based chatbots to shame, and consume more resources than you can imagine.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/b...
The AI vibe shift is upon us | CNN Business
Rather suddenly, there’s been a vibe shift around artificial intelligence, the tech that’s hypnotized Wall Street and inspired cultish devotion across Silicon Valley over the past three years.
www.cnn.com
August 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
As the AI vibe shift occurs, datacenters full of GPUs will become surplus. What will happen to them?
Using AI to build & operate virtual reality environments has barely begun. AI VR will put text-based chatbots to shame, and consume more resources than you can imagine.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/b...
Using AI to build & operate virtual reality environments has barely begun. AI VR will put text-based chatbots to shame, and consume more resources than you can imagine.
www.cnn.com/2025/08/22/b...
Wingsuit flying through the top of the Swiss Alps and the Himalayas: This is what virtual reality is for, not boring conferences with silly cartoon avatars.
Getting rid of the goggles and experiencing it in a “VR cave” would be even better.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Getting rid of the goggles and experiencing it in a “VR cave” would be even better.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
A Visit from the V.R. Squad
Jon Griffith, a filmmaker on his third commission from Meta, has been strapping strangers into V.R. headsets in their living rooms and taking them up, up, and away.
www.newyorker.com
August 15, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Wingsuit flying through the top of the Swiss Alps and the Himalayas: This is what virtual reality is for, not boring conferences with silly cartoon avatars.
Getting rid of the goggles and experiencing it in a “VR cave” would be even better.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Getting rid of the goggles and experiencing it in a “VR cave” would be even better.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
When next gen capitalism looks more like socialism, then which is more powerful, money or ideology? In 2022 it was money, but now, ideology seems to be winning.
Modern Capitalism Is Weirder Than You Think It also no longer works as advertised.
nymag.com/intelligence.... (archive.ph/Ysw6k)
#econsky
Modern Capitalism Is Weirder Than You Think It also no longer works as advertised.
nymag.com/intelligence.... (archive.ph/Ysw6k)
#econsky
nymag.com
July 31, 2025 at 5:37 PM
When next gen capitalism looks more like socialism, then which is more powerful, money or ideology? In 2022 it was money, but now, ideology seems to be winning.
Modern Capitalism Is Weirder Than You Think It also no longer works as advertised.
nymag.com/intelligence.... (archive.ph/Ysw6k)
#econsky
Modern Capitalism Is Weirder Than You Think It also no longer works as advertised.
nymag.com/intelligence.... (archive.ph/Ysw6k)
#econsky
Don't tell the climate - BTU for BTU, retail electricity costs 10X more than natural gas.
A good air source heat pump with a Coefficient of Performance of 4 only reduces gas's advantage to 2.5X. You should replace your old furnace anyway - it's probably inefficient even for its fuel type.
A good air source heat pump with a Coefficient of Performance of 4 only reduces gas's advantage to 2.5X. You should replace your old furnace anyway - it's probably inefficient even for its fuel type.
July 29, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Don't tell the climate - BTU for BTU, retail electricity costs 10X more than natural gas.
A good air source heat pump with a Coefficient of Performance of 4 only reduces gas's advantage to 2.5X. You should replace your old furnace anyway - it's probably inefficient even for its fuel type.
A good air source heat pump with a Coefficient of Performance of 4 only reduces gas's advantage to 2.5X. You should replace your old furnace anyway - it's probably inefficient even for its fuel type.
Finally broke thru the bestseller logjam at my local public library, ongoing 5 years later, for Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future. Sort of a sequel to John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up. Can you call it an "optimistic" roadmap with tens of millions of deaths, super-depressions, etc?
July 27, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Finally broke thru the bestseller logjam at my local public library, ongoing 5 years later, for Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future. Sort of a sequel to John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up. Can you call it an "optimistic" roadmap with tens of millions of deaths, super-depressions, etc?
When physicists’ models blow up with infinities, they admit that their model is broken and enthusiastically search for New Physics. When economists’ models blow up, they insist that their model is correct, reality is wrong, and demand new politicians.
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
#econsky
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
#econsky
Economists made a model of the U.S. economy. Our debt crashed the model
Under current debt projections, economists cannot even model out a functioning long-term economy.
www.marketplace.org
July 17, 2025 at 5:59 PM
When physicists’ models blow up with infinities, they admit that their model is broken and enthusiastically search for New Physics. When economists’ models blow up, they insist that their model is correct, reality is wrong, and demand new politicians.
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
#econsky
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...
#econsky
In the Blade Runner film, Deckard used a computer to take a picture and "enhance" its view to look around corners. That might not be totally unrealistic after all.
Use the surface of a relay wall as a 2nd camera & model the light from the hidden scene. EZ!
Optica (2025) doi.org/10.1364/OPTI...
Use the surface of a relay wall as a 2nd camera & model the light from the hidden scene. EZ!
Optica (2025) doi.org/10.1364/OPTI...
Optica Publishing Group
doi.org
July 12, 2025 at 6:16 PM
In the Blade Runner film, Deckard used a computer to take a picture and "enhance" its view to look around corners. That might not be totally unrealistic after all.
Use the surface of a relay wall as a 2nd camera & model the light from the hidden scene. EZ!
Optica (2025) doi.org/10.1364/OPTI...
Use the surface of a relay wall as a 2nd camera & model the light from the hidden scene. EZ!
Optica (2025) doi.org/10.1364/OPTI...
Today's doom: If the asperger's'd AI techbros have their way, succession of Western Civilization by China is an optimistic outcome. AGI's won't kill humans, they won't care. Empathy-free oligarchs let everyone else starve, then buy out each other: losers starve, too
cup.columbia.edu/book/the-col...
cup.columbia.edu/book/the-col...
The Collapse of Western Civilization | Columbia University Press
The year is 2393, and the world is almost unrecognizable. Clear warnings of climate catastrophe went ignored for decades, leading to soaring temperatures, ri... | CUP
cup.columbia.edu
July 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Today's doom: If the asperger's'd AI techbros have their way, succession of Western Civilization by China is an optimistic outcome. AGI's won't kill humans, they won't care. Empathy-free oligarchs let everyone else starve, then buy out each other: losers starve, too
cup.columbia.edu/book/the-col...
cup.columbia.edu/book/the-col...
Are we ready for a Central Dogma of neuropsychology? Like
genotype: DNA --> Protein --> cell development --> organism development --> perception & behavior dynamics --> modified by experience (at large scale:associative learning) --> behavioral phenotype
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
genotype: DNA --> Protein --> cell development --> organism development --> perception & behavior dynamics --> modified by experience (at large scale:associative learning) --> behavioral phenotype
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
Schizophrenia Is the Price We Pay for Minds Poised Near the Edge of a Cliff
Cliff-edged fitness functions and the evolution of schizophrenia
www.psychiatrymargins.com
June 29, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Are we ready for a Central Dogma of neuropsychology? Like
genotype: DNA --> Protein --> cell development --> organism development --> perception & behavior dynamics --> modified by experience (at large scale:associative learning) --> behavioral phenotype
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
genotype: DNA --> Protein --> cell development --> organism development --> perception & behavior dynamics --> modified by experience (at large scale:associative learning) --> behavioral phenotype
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/schizophre...
Why has it been 72 years since center-surround receptive fields were seen, & textbooks still don't explain how a ganglion cell decides to become on-center or off-center, and how it finds which photoreceptors to connect to? Are there specific experimental techniques that are missing? #neuroskyence
June 23, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Why has it been 72 years since center-surround receptive fields were seen, & textbooks still don't explain how a ganglion cell decides to become on-center or off-center, and how it finds which photoreceptors to connect to? Are there specific experimental techniques that are missing? #neuroskyence