All posts by john

04Apr/19

The Stardate format is self-centered

I’m all for conquering the stars. Seriously. At least exploring them. I think if we try to plant our flag everywhere like we did on the planet we’ll get our ass handed to us eventually.

As we travel the stars and meet other species, ala Star Trek, or populate other planets and areas, like The Expanse, here’s what’s going to happen, Earth is going to be in our rear-view mirror.

Like all the way.

So the concept of a day is going to disappear. Which means the concept of the year will also disappear.

So this whole notion of a stardate is really going to be bupkis.

And if we expand it to be a solar system based number, it will again become irrelevant when we leave the solar system.

The only true number will be a universal (or multi-versa) constant that represents change.

Except, change isn’t necessarily constant throughout the universe is it?

Anyone have a solution for this?

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25Dec/18

Circuits.io is dead… RIP

IT’S BLOODY DEED, MATE!

I went to start a new project, something I like using circuits.io for; kind of to prove the concept.

So, I click on the link on my cylon post and it’s gone! It forwards to library.io which appears to be owned by autodesk.

Now, I’m all for buyouts and stuff. Sometimes it saves us; sometimes it makes us wealthy. But this wasn’t a buy out so much as a “screw you and your links to circuits.io”. I would have hoped they maintained the links to the old projects. I’m creating an account there to see if I can hack the url to get my old circuit back, but I’m not hopeful. :-/

Thanks for nothing autodesk.

-john

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03Nov/18

Bitsbox for the next gen

Shout out to . We just got our first box today and now my 8 year old is absolutely addicted to learning to code. She loves water; I mean she’s a fish. And tonight she got out of the hot tub to get back to programming.

She keeps coming to me with bugs and very good questions about functions.

It honestly reminds me of when I was 7 and had a Commodore Vic 20. My mom bought a book of games and I had to type pages and pages of code to get a game to run.

Except this is much easier.

Good job, Bitsbox team!

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03Nov/18

Get into computers: Step 1

I’m going to provide more specific direction for the various aspects of . But not today.

Today, I’m going to show you how to get a whiff of what the various aspects of computers are. 

I say whiff, because it’s not really a taste. I’ll give you specific steps later that will help you actually DO different aspects of computers so you can figure out what really excites you. 

But until we get to that point, I want to point you to something that can at least introduce you to the concept of the various aspects. 

Firstly, and foremostly, get yourself to

Seriously, you can learn almost everything on YouTube. The downside of YouTube is that most of the content is not curated, so if you search, “how to create an AI,” you’ll get a TON of results that run the gamut of AI, from math, to starting AI companies, to coding AI. YouTube has lots of content, but it’s like throwing you into a library without a librarian to give you a path to travel that takes your knowledge from A and deposits it firmly at Z, without taking a side trip of Klingon. (This isn’t far off from learning how to code on your own). 

You’ll spend a lot of time wading through irrelevant bits in YouTube, but at least it’s a place where you can learn something. 

Just make your searches specific. Don’t search “how to do computers”. You’re going to get more cruft than anything. 

If you are interested in coding, try, “how to write code.” If you curious about fixing computers, try “how to fix computers.” 

Do it! And let me know how it goes! 

-john

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03Nov/18

Get yourself into computers

Many times a year I get asked by various people in my circles how to get into

I mean, they don’t actually say, “how do I get into computers,” but that’s the generalization. 

I say that because in the end, it boils down to that. Most of the people that ask me that question aren’t “in” computers. They’re cops, paralegals, construction workers, small business owners, and everything in between.

I shmooz with a lot of different people. 

A lot of them see my posts and are curious about what I do and want to know whether that’s for them. No doubt they see how curious and exciting what I do is. 

So, here’s how the question goes:

Should I go to college or take an online class? 

And I’m like, “slow your roll, G.” 

I say this, because most people not in computers don’t realize how complex “computers” are.

Do you want to code? Do you want to fix desktops? Do you want to network computers together? 

These are a lot of questions to ask, and really, the answer mostly is, “I don’t know.” 

Because they’ve never had a taste of it. 

As one of those people who has had formal a millenia ago, and almost everything he knows is self-taught, because the face of programming looks much different than when I started, I know that the different areas of computers are very different. 

And I know that you can get a healthy taste of what each offers without spending thousands on an irrelevant online class, or tens of thousands on an irrelevant degree. 

I say irrelevant, because if you just want to learn enough to fix someone’s computer and have a little side job doing that, you can learn that without every dropping a dime for a class anywhere. 

However, if you want to get into data science, it’s pretty hard to do if you don’t utilize a significant amount of library time in the math books, or dropping serious cash for a college course. 

Nothing is impossible. 

But you don’t want to drop $100,000 for a health computer science degree if you just want to fix computers on the side. 

I started a super short course for my friends that asked me how to get into computers to help them figure out which branch of computers they want to get into without dropping a lot of money. 

Once they figure out what they want to do, then they can make a better decision on where to spend their money that directly correlates to what they really want to do, rather than spend cash on a security course when they really wanted to design graphics. 

I’ll start posting some of the pieces of the “How to get into computers” as I flesh it out.

Drop me a line if any part of that helps you figure out what you want to do without having to drop a lot of cash first!

-john

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02Nov/18

Site reboot!

In order to streamline my posts, I’ve turned off the aggregate that brought all my blogs here and am starting from scratch! 

No doubt that I’ll probably copy some of my blog posts from other blogs here, but consider this a

This is a Monty approved notification. 
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20Oct/18

Welcome to my AI journey

Short n sweet. No doubt all my posts will be like that, except for the ones that aren’t.

I’m tracking my journey into AI on this blog. I’ll be documenting my steps, training, professional achievements, and internal murmuring about this journey here.

Or, maybe I’ve already succeeded in this journey and it’s an AI that’s posting this.

But probably not.

But that’s not a bad idea.

 

-jtFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

02Apr/17

Non-Profits: It’s all about the people, part 2

In part one I discussed the Membership Marketing Funnel and the concept of, “Do The Do.”

In part 2 I’m going to talk about a mistake that many non-profits make once they get a member to the REGULAR state of the funnel.

If you recall, the Membership Marketing Funnel contained 9 phases. The goal section consisted of 3 phases, each of which can be considered a success with regard to recruitment. Those were REGULAR, ADVOCATE, and RESPONSIBILITY. We didn’t talk much about the 9th phase, because it has it’s own discussion.

And here, we’re going to discuss it.

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