Broken Sword

Occasionally while out walking or passing through high streets I catch brief snippets of conversation. Nothing interesting. Walking by a couple in their 60’s I hear the man say the words “Broken Sword”. I pause, trying to work out if I heard that right and what the context could possibly be.

They continue walking away from me clearly having a conversation about classic point and click graphic adventure games. Cool. Nostalgia triggered from an unlikely source.

As I continue on my walk I thought more on this and realised that we all age and the gamers of yesteryear are now well over 40, like yours truly. I’ve seen people in their 50s sporting Zelda T-shirts, others carrying Atari and SEGA bags. One lady had a Psygnosis T-shirt. Remember them?

So why should I be surprised to hear someone talking about Broken Sword? Anyone can be a gamer in this day and age.

Thinking about Agentic AI

I’ve been thinking about Agentic AI.

Essentially it’s similar to other AI but with a focused knowledge area, capable of making its own decisions based on the knowledge it has and the ability to learn and reason without human intervention. It gathers data, processes it, makes decisions based on that data and its assumptions, then learns from feedback. Try try and try again and mae changes based on your failures.

It is generally tasked towards a specific function such as event planning, task scheduling, predicting something, etc.

It’s used in self-driving cars, supply chain management, cybersecurity, healthcare, financial services, and anything that can be automated.

Concerns range from data handling, privacy, to replacing humans.

Don’t forget the milk

Many moons ago I did a stint at a computer shop building personal computers to customer specifications. Not to show my age but one of the jobs I had to do was to configure the jumpers so that the seven-segment display worked correctly when the turbo button was employed.

Anyway, during this particular period of employment one of the boring jobs that I was tasked with was to take all the cardboard and packaging out to the trash bins down the alley. This alley was shared with one another building, one that was a burned-out shell of a house. It was long abandoned and each day that I had to take the trash out, passing this building, I would wonder what was inside. This was long before urban exploring was a thing or excuse for trespassing.

One day I decided to venture inside. Everything was charred and the upstairs was pretty much gone. But the staircase was intact. On one of the staircase spindles was a note, taped. In neat penmanship was written “Don’t forget the milk”. The building has been uninhabitable for many years and I don’t know what became of its occupants but I often think back to the time I found that note wondering if whomever the note was addressed to remembered the milk.

The dreams you had

Reflection, nostalgia, looking back.

I recall a memory from long ago. I was travelling around New Zealand and I had made some friends, some fellow travellers. We were in a big town somewhere, a park, laying down on the grass staring up at the sky looking at the clouds. We discussed our travels, where we had been and where we were going. We discussed our futures our dreams.

Looking back you remember the dreams you had and compare them to the life you lead. Each decision takes you in a different direction. No matter how small the decision. Your life is what you make it to be.

Regrets are pointless. You can’t change the decisions you’ve already made and how you have lead your life so far. If your dreams didn’t come true then that’s ok. Make new ones. Each new day that you wake up to is full of endless possibilities. When you get older each day where you wake up is a good day. Enjoy it. Make new dreams.

Two people on a date

I’ve been out walking and found a bar that looks inviting. I order a coffee and sit by a window and unpack my gadgets with the intention of getting stuck into some writing. I take a sip of my overpriced beverage knowing what I actually paid for is a place to work for the next thirty or so minutes. The coffee being the price of admission.

I gaze at the other patrons. On the nearest table is a couple clearly out on a date. I’m not sure if it’s going well though as they are both holding their phones in front of them smiling at whatever it is they are reading or typing.

Their food arrives and they eat in silence then resume their phone use. Maybe they are not on a date but are married, or long term partners? Either way I’m bemused by the lack of conversation. They could be saving money by eating at home or in a fast food restaurant. This place isn’t exactly cheap. Yet they are willing to pay to go out somewhere expensive only to sit opposite each other staring into their mobile phones.

I continue with my writing and when I next look up their table is empty. The two possible lovers having moved on. Maybe their phone batteries died and they are now holding hands enjoying the moment as they wander the streets. Or maybe they’ve gone to find their chargers.

Clive the barman

I have this memory from my first holiday abroad. An island off the coast of Spain. On the beach was a tiki bar. A round bar with stools on the outside and Clive the barman on the inside making whatever drink you wanted.

I often think back to that bar thinking if I could just retire to a tropical island I’ll spend all my time at the tiki bar staring out at the cool blue water, over the perfect white sands, feeling the cool breeze while watching customer after customer ordering drinks with all colours of the rainbow, mini umbrellas and fruit being served by Clive the barman.

The price of admission

I was reading an interview one time, with I think Tim Ferriss, and the topic was expensive dining experiences. The gist of the conversation was that he was happy to pay for an expensive drink and food if it guaranteed exclusivity or privacy. The theory was that the higher prices would keep out the general public and therefore the drink and location could be enjoyed in relative peace at a premium price.

I’ve been thinking about this recently. Prices are generally high for everything these days, but there are a few places that seem to charge way more over the average. Discounting those that are obviously fleecing or are in a premium area of real estate and have to cover higher business rates, there are a few places that offer exclusivity and privacy if you are prepared to pay a higher premium for drinks, food, or whatever else it is that they are selling.

In return for a quiet space with ambience (and wifi) I find myself willing to pay the extra as a form of price of admission. Are you?

Owning something expensive

When owning something expensive the expense is not just associated with the purchase price. The cost of use also needs to be taken into consideration.

I learned this the hard way in my youth when purchasing a second-hand sports car. I could just about afford the car and could only see how much fun it would be to drive it and how cool I would look. (The latter turned out not to be true).

The car was indeed fun to drive but when parts failed they were expensive to replace, servicing was costly, and it didn’t do great on fuel, so trips to the fuelling station were frequent.

It was fun while it lasted but when considering owning something expensive, whatever it is, consider the cost of ownership and not just the purchase price.

Passing through cold space

I had a weird thought.

I was thinking about absolute versus relative locations and fixed points and how we are all essentially travelling through space on a giant rotating ball. With each rotation our physical bodies are passing through fixed points in space previously unoccupied. Somewhere right now in deep space is a fixed point that contains nothing but extreme cold, waiting for you to physically pass through on a future rotation, occupying it for a brief moment.

Each day we are passing through cold space.

There’s can and should

There’s can and should.

You can drink as much as you want, but you probably should drink, and eat, healthy.

You can watch as much TV as you want, in theory. But you should probably go outside more and enjoy the world and all it has to offer.

Can and should. The freedom to choose what you do. It’s both liberating and a curse. The state of your health and life in general can be broken down into lots and lots of tiny decisions adding up.

You can do whatever you want, but should you?