Saturday 20th April, 2024 - Infinite Peace (Issue #160)
Peak AI, alternative git interfaces, Hendrix, tokenised wine, debt & the boomer industrial complex, arguing about archaeology, future of podcasting, Ai eats european languages
Another season 2 instalment…
Another hectic week. Tech marches on. A lot of cool things happening, though I’ve noticed some push back on the whole AI is super mega amazing narrative. It’s good to hear that in order to rebalance a little. There’s quite an obvious macro vibe going on this week. Lots of interesting things happening in crypto and Bitcoin.
Personally it’s been kind of a struggle this week. Forces of evil have been hounding me big time. I discovered I had an infinite peace flag, which is really just a small towel, but it works! But the forces of evil didn’t like it very much. I wrote some notes about it. Check em out, also check out Twitter. Or just ignore all of this and skip to the podcasts :)
https://markjgsmith.com/notes
I’m writing this Saturday morning.
Looks like I won’t have time to add episode descriptions this week. Sorry this issue is a bit haphazard. Imagine that I’m very far out at sea in a small boat, in a storm, typing on a mobile device while wiping the rain from my face. I also might be ill again, but I can’t tell. Food and water is scarce. That’s not too far off what’s it’s like at the minute.
Update: I found time to add episode descriptions!
No development work on my static site generator this week, not enough build minutes. Still about a week until that resets. Then I’ll get back to working on the new interleaved homepage. I’m still really excited about that.
I wrote blog posts! Really trying to get the blogging virtuous circle turning. Signs the engine might be starting, even if it’s in fits and starts at the minute. I think some of you will like them:
Should we re-imagine git interfaces? https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/04/14/should-we-re-imagine-git-interfaces
My current linkblog format https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/04/15/my-current-linkblog-format
Typos and missing urls https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/04/15/typos-and-missing-urls
Promoting your own stuff is okay https://markjgsmith.com/blog/2024/04/18/promoting-your-own-stuff
On with the selection of incredible podcasts!
Podcasts
The AI Bubble in Bursting (Better Offline Podcast) - Ed is pretty pessimistic about the whole AI boom, and he doesn’t hold back, going into all the reasons why reality might be very divergent from the main stream tech narrative. I liked hearing his counter arguments, it’s useful in order to try and remain grounded in such a time of rapid change. Having said that I think AI still shows a lot of promise, but also a lot of potential dangers. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvZTczYzk5OGUtNmU2MC00MzJmLTg2MTAtYWUyMTAxNDBjNWIxL2NmMGMyNWFkLWNmMDEtNGRhNS1hZTFjLWIwZmMwMTVmNzkwZS81M2VkMjcwYi03MTQ3LTRmNzAtODFjMi1iMGZjMDE1ZmU0ZWQvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M/episode/NWQ1ZjkxYjItZjhhNC00MzkxLTg2ODMtYjE0ZjAxN2U2NjAw?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahcKEwjw6YH9uM-FAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQNg
Replacing Bitcoin with Bitcoin Ep#586 (Changelog Interviews Podcast) - Interview with Github co-founder Scott Chacon. I found this very interesting because it approaches some subjects I spend quite a lot of time thinking about. Namely re-interfacing old but very useful software, collaboration in the digital realm and open source licensing. https://changelog.com/podcast/586
Song 173: “All Along the Watch Tower” Part Two, The Hour is Getting Late (A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs Podcast) - Okay this isn’t strictly tech related, but Jimi Hendrix did pioneer radically new sounds using the new technology of his era. I super enjoyed this episode, especially because his Are You Experienced album was the first CD I ouches out myself at a music store. I still vividly remember flicking through all the CDs in the racks, which were chest high at the time, and being struck by how cool the album cover was. What a great choice it was too. I listened to that album thousands of times. I know every chord change, drum beat, pitch shift, every strange sound that he made emanate from his guitar. But there was so much history I had no idea about. Tech creates culture, culture shapes society. https://500songs.com/podcast/song-173-all-along-the-watchtower-part-two-the-hour-is-getting-late
Unlocking the Secret Cellar: Crypto Meets Rare Wine ft. Club dVin (Raoul Pal Podcast) - I’ve been hearing a lot of talk recently about tokenization and how it’s going to become a big thing. But there’s a real lack of good example use cases. This episode has a pretty great use case, accompanied by a very outlandish story. It’s quite something. I’m still not totally into the whole tokenisation of everything narrative, but I can see the landscape a bit better now. It’s certainly an interesting idea. The big issue is adoption, in order to get one of these systems up and running there are a lot of people you have to convince. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vcmVhbHZpc2lvbmNyeXB0b3BvZGNhc3Q/episode/NWI4MWM2YjYtZjg0NC0xMWVlLWE1ZmMtNDNjNDNlMmU3NmVj?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjw6YH9uM-FAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQWA
We Are All Debt Slaves (Raoul Pal Podcast) - Another Raoul Pal episode. I thought this had an interesting thesis that in order to understand the economy you have to understand both demographics and the debt re-financing cycle. He theorises that governments are acting the way they are to hide the spiralling debt from the boomer investment industrial complex. There are simply more people leaving the workforce than joining it since the population is ageing, which inevitably leads to governments taking on debt to pay for the lost productivity. He’s very into alt coins so keep that in mind, but he makes a very strong case that most investments won’t get you over the 12% hurdle rate caused by currency debasement. Kind of depressing but worth facing up to reality and making a plan. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vcmVhbHZpc2lvbmNyeXB0b3BvZGNhc3Q/episode/MzQ5N2VmODYtZGQ4MS0xMWVlLWJlMWYtMTc0OGEwOTViODE4?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwjw6YH9uM-FAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ3gU
Graham Hancock & Flint Dibble Ep#2136 (Joe Rogan Experience Podcast) - I’ve featured Hancock in the newsletter before. I know there are a lot out there that give him a really hard time for his approach, but I have found everytime I’ve listened to him talk, he makes very persuasive arguments backed by data. This was an interesting episode because I think it is an example of a dynamic that happens a lot in society. Flint is also very knowledgeable about his area of expertise, yet somehow these two are at loggerheads constantly. The strange thing is I think these two actually do appreciate each other’s work and effort, but society has programmed them to be at odds with each other. Great job by Rogan mediating this discussion which gets very heated in places. There’s something important in this interaction which is wider than just the archeology sphere. This sort of thing happens everywhere. You might be able to navigate such waters more effectively after listening to this episode. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2Vyb2dhbmV4cC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/ZDI3NDcyYTYtZmJiOC0xMWVlLWE4NmEtMzc1ZjFjYjUyNzdj?sa=X&ved=0CAQQkfYCahgKEwjw6YH9uM-FAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ3go
The Bitcoin Value for Value Thesis with Oscar Merry (What Bitcoin Did Podcast) - The bitcoin value for value model is super interesting. Essentially we now have the tech to enable podcast listeners to directly support podcasters by streaming sats as they listen. There’s lots more features too, but it changes the dynamic a lot, replacing the current advertising model. It’s interesting to hear Peter’s reaction, though he’s interested, he’s obviously concerned about audience capture, and I think he’s right to be concerned. I’m not sure his show would be as ground breaking as it is if it were funded in such a direct way. On the other hand there are shows, where there is a much more interactive dynamic happening where it can be really aligned with the aims of the show. https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/the-bitcoin-value-for-value-thesis
Ciao. Adios. Au revoir. Will AI squash European languages? (Politico Tech Podcast) - Having spent a lot of time immersed in various european language settings, I find this topic really fascinating. Europe really is very different culturally than the US because of the diversity in languages, so they need to make totally different considerations when designing their AI policies. This is a pretty good attempt to shine a light on some of the important topics in the space. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS95MnJxWWJwNA/episode/YjI4MDA1ZGYtMGVlNy00YWJlLWI5NzYtNTk0N2M1YzA1YWM5?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahgKEwiw37yju8-FAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQshU
I wouldn’t be very on brand if I didn’t mention that I thought it was a bit odd that Graham Hancock and Raoul Pal sound so similar. Probably nothing but additionally there were several things that passed through my feeds that used the word PAL very prominently this week. Odd coincidence. Also odd was the fact that my cough has been leaving the taste of vapour from cheap wine. I’m a tea totaler by the way, haven’t drank alcohol in years. I don’t know how to describe all this, and there are many other small things I’m not mentioning here, but there were many strange synchronicities that feel like they are swirling around the same general non specific thing.
Altstore PAL, what are the chances? https://www.theverge.com/24100464/altstore-pal-dma-eu-launch-delta-nintendo-emulator-clip-clipboard-manager
It’s so strange that everytime I discover a new podcast, the very same week, another podcast pops up with a person that sounds identical. This happens again and again for whatever reason. Go back through the newsletter archives if you are curious, I’ve tended to mention this when it has happened in the past.
That’s all from me…
Best regards,
Mark
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