We have an old Windows 10 machine. Seems it CPU is one generation too old to update to Windows 11. No matter that all we do is email and web browsing and similar light tasks. With support for Windows 10 going away I went and bought a new PC. Spent the morning getting set up for a file transfer using their Backup tools. Had no idea the real problem would be getting the new Windows 11 machine to start. Went into “update” more and sat at 6% for a half and hour. Did a restart and now it’s stuck at 0%. Reddit says it’s a common problem. People say wait anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours. Really? For a product I was forced to buy?

Update:  had both old and new PCs on the same network and tried to use the Microsoft supplied backup tool to move files over.  It didn’t work.  After an hour or so, I gave up and moved everything manually with a 1 TB USB SSD drive.  Old style.  Pretty much a full day later, a job that should have taken 10 minutes is done. I think.

Went to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta today. A pretty amazing experience. Hundreds of balloons launched. Took maybe 200 photos, but here are a few of the better ones.

Watching First Nations Experience (FNX) TV. They have a Shark Tank-like show called Bear’s Lair. A little different, in that its more of a contest with a prize at the end to be used for business investment.

Bear’s Lair TV

Its Balloon Fiesta week here in Albuquerque. Woke up before 7am and saw some balloons in the distance. Decided to drive through Bernalillo down the 313 and see how close we could get. Got some great views from the road. We plan to go Tuesday morning so we drove back home and figured we’d watch it on TV.

Within a few minutes I saw a balloon go by the window. Seemed sort of low, but what do I know? I ran out to get a photo of this beautiful balloon with the Sandias in the background. I stood in the middle of the street taking pictures and waving. But they didn’t wave back. They got lower and lower. Then the landed in the lot right in front of me.

I went over to see if I could help (Yes! Hold us down until the crew gets here!). So I hung on and chatted with the pilots, who were from Katy, TX. Soon the chase crew arrived and they took the balloon down and took it away. Talked to a few neighbors who had gathered and it seems this has happened before, but not often. Amazing experience.

Yet another AI article.  Actually an interview with AI and Robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks.  I met Rodney Brooks in the 1980s and his work was a big influence on me.  Whenever I see anything by Brooks, even an interview, I read it.  His opinions are always informed and grounded in reality.  A good update, and a very long term view, or where we are and where we might be going.  From Crazy Stupid Tech.

iRobot Founder: Don’t Believe The (AI & Robotics) Hype!

I ditched social media a long time ago and I don’t use AI if I can avoid it.  There is a large concentration of power in a small handful of companies that should disturb anyone paying attention.  It isn’t only about your personal privacy, but a sort of censorship in what you are allowed to see on-line.  And it’s all in the control of a small handful of people whose goals are primarily to enrich themselves. 

An article from Jacobin covers lots of territory.  I’m more concerned about media concentration.  These platforms pretty much decide what news stories we all read and view.  That should bother everyone. A lot.

The Algorithms That Dictate Our Lives Are Not Neutral

from Smithsonian Magazine.

Two Years After Cormac McCarthy’s Death, Rare Access to His Personal Library Reveals the Man Behind the Myth

In November 2021 I bought a mini PC from Amazon. Been using it as a TV media server. I decided to upgrade it and bought a 1 GB m.2 SSD. Took the little box apart to swap the m.2 but nothing looked right. The board was small, something called mSATA. I looked at the label on the back and it isn’t the PC I paid for back in 2021. Half the disk and half the memory. Checked my old Amazon buys and for sure, it’s a lesser model than the one I paid for.

I’m usually a pretty sophisticated buyer of computer hardware, but I expected better from Amazon. I suppose I should have checked closer. Maybe it’s time to buy another. Won’t be buying from Amazon and won’t be buying a Kamrui. Photos of my Amazon purchase, the SSD and the label on the bottom of the PC.

Money circulates. Meaning it goes in circles. But I can’t recall seeing a circle this small with so much money circulating. From Reddit (with illustration).

OpenAI pays Oracle, who pays NVIDIA, who invests in OpenAI

One of the giveaways that there is something wrong with nuclear energy (besides Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima) is that these facilities are uninsurable. Unlike just about any other business, they have no liability for accidents.

Counterpunch describes a new plan (or is it a scheme?) involving former Texas Governor Rick Perry, one of the Three Amigos.  It involves building several nuclear power plants in the Texas panhandle to power AI data centers.  I’m hard pressed to think of a worse idea.  At least it’s in the panhandle.

AI is a Dangerous Billionaire Boondoggle