Author Archives: skierpage

music: Trevor Horn and the Buggles in 1979

Posted on 2020-06-29 by skierpage

I revere producers as much as musicians and songwriters. I was dimly aware of producers, starting with the mysterious “produced by Bones Howe” in big letters on the back of some record… I thought it was the Carpenters but now … Continue reading →

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computers generating art

Posted on 2020-06-19 by skierpage

First came text GPT-2 and other AI Transformer models are impressive. After you hand the AI an enormous corpus of text, you give it some text and it continues, generating character after character that make up recognizable, even creative, language … Continue reading →

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house heating without natural gas

Posted on 2020-06-06 by skierpage

Some California cities are moving to ban natural gas connections in new construction! Burning gas creates CO2 that causes global warming, so just avoid burning fossil fuel by eliminating the gas connection. (Methane recovered from manure and garbage dumps could … Continue reading →

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social web: not so friendly

Posted on 2020-05-25 by skierpage

I’m incredulous that people have more than 100 “friends” on Facebook, let alone 1000+. I used to regularly unfriend people, prompted by Jimmy Kimmel Live’s “National Unfriend Day.” Simply people I didn’t know well, didn’t interact with any more, or … Continue reading →

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web: book reviews again

Posted on 2020-05-11 by skierpage

I have a substantial pile of books I’ve read that will injure me in an earthquake. I ought to write perspicacious pithy reviews of them. I could write them on Amazon, but why should Amazon own and profit from my … Continue reading →

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Nikola Motors and its hydrogen truck story

Posted on 2020-04-18 by skierpage

In the current pandemic crisis this is like kicking a man when he’s down, but I still read uncritical stories on Nikola Motor Corporation, a Tesla wannabe since Tesla was still called “Tesla Motor Corporation.” Nikola Motor has the attention … Continue reading →

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skiing: technical wear as fashion

Posted on 2020-03-13 by skierpage

Keegan Brady wrote an article in GQ about the rise of “technical outerwear” in fashion. I wear and love this stuff while skiing, but once I’m off the mountain it goes in a storage tub. He mentions the rise of … Continue reading →

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music: relationship advice or Cocteau Twins?

Posted on 2020-02-26 by skierpage

Quick quiz: who wrote “Intimacy is when we’re in the same place at the same time. Dealing honestly with how we feel, and who we really are. That’s what grown-ups do; that is mature thinking” ? A: noted relationship philosopher … Continue reading →

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making movies surrounded by real virtual environments

Posted on 2020-02-26 by skierpage

I’ve never seen it, but this in-depth article on filming “The Mandalorian” is fascinating. Instead of filming actors in front of an enormous green screen and later replacing it with CGI background and special effects, as you see in Game … Continue reading →

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music: Billie Eilish = Nina Persson of The Cardigans

Posted on 2020-02-16 by skierpage

On a lot of songs (“myboy,” “idontwannabeyouanymore,” etc.) Billie Eilish sounds like Nina Persson of The Cardigans! “everything i wanted” is “Sick & Tired,” while the vaguely “up” songs are channeling “Celia Inside” and other gems from The Cardigans’ “Life” … Continue reading →

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