August 29, 2024
April 4, 2023
February 15, 2023
Old Batman Video Game
May 5, 2022
GameStop Is Going Nowhere
- Wrestling Buddies dolls
Cute, but not really a shopping imperative and the store was deserted.
Yet, GameStop stock is still stratospheric, while tech and innovation is in the graveyard depths.
The world is upside down and inside out.
I think a day of reckoning is coming to bring us back to earthly reality. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
GameStop Is Going Nowhere
January 20, 2021
Walking Dead: Can't Wait
24 more episodes of killing the crazy zombies.
Everyone's got to hold on and survive in a world that is in full apocalypse mode.
It doesn't take much for society to revert to biblical Sodom and Gomorrah where the wheels come completely off the proverbial bus.
We should know because aside from advances in technology and medicine, a lot of the world is well on the way there! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Walking Dead: Can't Wait
June 28, 2019
Rubik's Cube On Speed
That's a total of 54 moving squares to order by color on each side.
This Rubik's Cube On Speed is 7x7 by 6 sides.
So this cube has 294 squares to figure out.
(I did find another cube on eBay that was even larger, 15x15, called "Professional Level" selling for $384.40)
I'm sure there are some real whiz kids out there that can do these puzzles.
And probably in under 3 minutes...
For me, I admire the dexterity and spatial skills. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Rubik's Cube On Speed
May 30, 2019
Hungry Pac-Man
Pac-Man eating the dots/pellets and going for the ghost.
The classic arcade video game from 1980s still speaks volumes.
Pac-Man is goal-oriented and hungrily eat the pellet pieces, but if the ghosts touch him first then he's toast (or at least one of his 3 lives are).
Not so different from real life...
We try to reach our goals, by taking one bite at a time until we "eat the elephant."
But if those people who are naysayers, haters, Debbie Downers, and obstructionists, get to us first, then we can not only lose momentum, and but also eventually be forced to divert or miss out on achieving our goals.
Ghosts aren't hollow friendly creatures, but those who want to stop progress, stop you, and maybe even end your pellet-eating life.
You need to eat the super "power pellets" to overcome and eat the ghosts.
Eating all the pellets can be a herculean task requirement strength, resourcefulness, and determination, but that's what takes you to the next level in the game of life. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Hungry Pac-Man
April 14, 2018
Who You Calling Ugly Baby?
Whether or not it's true, it certainly doesn't make the IT folks that develop, run, and support that system feel very good.
Are some of these (legacy) systems ugly?
Well, of course, they are.
Many of them work despite themselves.
What I mean by that is they are awkward to navigate and use.
The functionality is flawed or outdated.
The workflows are unnecessarily complex.
The user interface is inconsistent and sloppy.
The user experience is punishing.
I told someone recently in using a particular system that was so convoluted:
"Is this system what they give to prisoners and make them use over and over again to punish them for hideous violent crimes?"
Seriously, that's how it felt, even as I knew it was still lightyears ahead of what a paper process still used in other organizations looks like.
Generally better than the waterfall methodology for the systems development life cycle, I understand that one dilemma with agile development is that requirements can be spotty from sprint to sprint and instead of doing the hard work and thinking it out upfront, users are made to expect a nearly endless series of enhancements and tinkering, which isn't practical functionally or financially either.
Even an ugly baby is still ours, and we love it and nurture it, and even help it change for the better--that's part of our responsibility.
Whether we parented a real baby or an IT system, we have pride of ownership and a sense of accountability to the person, system, and future.
My father always taught me never to throw out dirty water until you have clean water.
Similarly, we shouldn't throw out the (ugly) baby with the bathwater.
We need to work together--technologists and system users--to make truly functional systems and a user experience more like gaming where the players are so happy, attached (and even addicted) to it that they sometimes don't even get up to eat or go to the bathroom.
We should love what we have and use, and we should, therefore, work hard to make these things great.
And an ugly baby can be made gorgeous again. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Who You Calling Ugly Baby?
October 1, 2017
The Games People Play
People like to play games--the type you have fun at.
We learn to play when we are kids.
We get the attention of our parents and friends--and we have fun just being together, acting silly or even competing with each other.
Whether it's over a game of Life, Monopoly, Risk, or Connect Four, or even these days going online with a game of Minecraft or Crush.
Sports is another type of game--great to play and others like to watch and cheer for their favorite teams or athletes.
This week at work, someone said to come to his meeting because:
"...everyone would have fun."
Have you ever heard that at work--a fun meeting or for that matter anything being fun in an office setting?
The guy is a genius--people actually showed up in droves at the meeting.
They had to choose between various meetings going on at that time--and low and behold, people chose this one that was going to be fun!
In the meeting, there was a big bowl of candy and chocolate in the center of the conference table.
And the mood was relaxed as we got down to some business.
While we did the business, people felt free to be a little silly and laugh with each other too.
The tone had been set for some fun.
The person who hosted the meeting explained that he wanted people to have a good time coming to the meeting (and to work).
He called it "gamification."
The idea is why not make things into a type of game and have some fun with it instead of everything being so stuck up and nasty all the time.
Listen, it was still a meeting and work had to get done, but it was nice to see a different lighter perspective put on it.
People want to enjoy what they do--whether it's time with their family, friends, or why not even their work.
If we can make more things in life into a game of sorts and put "fun" into the equation of what we do--people smile, laugh, and let down their guards a little.
Why shouldn't adult play games and have fun too? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
The Games People Play
February 26, 2017
Entering The Oculus Rift Matrix
Using Oculus Rift and climbing this mountain...
I've got to say how incredibly fabulioso this was!
It is absolutely an immersive and real experience.
When I looked over the side of the mountain and down at the water and "realized" how far up I was, I was freakin out.
My feet were grabbing the floor like I was about to fall off the mountain and then I eventually did.
This is the next big thing!
You can literally be anywhere and doing anything with this technology.
The real world is not there.
And now I believe more than ever, that just like we enter the virtual reality body and start to move around and interact in that make-believe world, so too our soul enters our human bodies and we are present in this material existence to experience the worldly wonders all around us.
But like the virtual world, this earthly world is the playground for our earthly bodies are just a temporary vessel for us to face challenges, learn, and grow.
When the time is up, our souls depart our bodies and return to its maker, just like when the virtual reality game is over and we are back here.
G-d is the greatest game-maker of them all, and we are copycats in every sense of the word.
The body is the vessel, and the soul is the essence. ;-)
(Source Video: Dannielle Blumenthal)
Entering The Oculus Rift Matrix
August 11, 2016
Transitioning To Virtual Ease and Triviality
As we abandon department stores and the Mall for online shopping,
movie theaters and playhouses for home theaters and video streaming,
physical activities for gaming and virtual reality,
and even factories and office work for telework and robots,
soon we will have no real place to go and nothing to physically do.
Transitioning To Virtual Ease and Triviality
August 7, 2016
Playing The Work Game Can End In More Ways Than One
This game takes working to a whole new level of absurdity.
It's called "Don't Get Fired!
And it's by a 29-year old South Korean programmer who found a way to vent his own frustration with the crazy working world by making it into a mobile game.
The goal is to "rise through the ranks of a nameless corporation by performing an endless string of mind-numbing tasks, while avoiding a long list of fireable offenses."
I did a screenshot here after I passed the interview and did the tasks that the various levels of management told me to by yelling at me with exclamation marks.
The more exclamation marks means the more yelling and critical the tasks are from the seniors in the organization.
Here the added stressor is everyone is in "fever mode," because the president is in town, so now you are getting work from everyone and have to manage all the competing priorities.
See me, the intern in the lower right corner with the work piled up on my desk.
You have to tap furiously on each task to turn them green and eventually make them disappear as completed.
In the game, you basically "get fired again and again in a cycle of humiliation and false hope."
There are no less than "29 ways to get fired, including opening a box of donuts that doesn't belong to you,...addressing colleagues with the wrong level of formality, or failing to laugh hard enough at the jokes of a company vice president."
One game player said, "sometimes you just have to laugh at the futility of life" or in this case I think he is referring to meaningless work tasks.
Mind-numbing tasks and yelling in the office are not what decent work life is about.
Then why get fired, when instead you can get promoted. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Playing The Work Game Can End In More Ways Than One
July 16, 2016
Look Who I Found In Synagogue
I captured this amazing Pokemon.
I can't say that I actually saw him davening (praying) in shule.
But he was on the way down to the kiddush (blessing and meal) after services.
No virtual apps needed for this Pokemon.
He was right there over the chulent (bean and meat stew)--Oh, that must've been another week.
Anyway, this Pokemon is ready to defend in the next battle of good and evil.
Thanks to Nintendo, Pokemon goes these days where the rest of our leaders are afraid to endeavor.
Hence the search for Pokemon far and wide...it's a true craze. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Look Who I Found In Synagogue
February 12, 2016
Oculus Rift Has My Attention
Zuckerberg's Facebook announced the purchase of Oculus virtual reality (VR) in March 2014.
I can't think of another piece of consumer technology that I want to try out more than this.
Initially for immersive 3-D experiences in all sorts of entertainment, including gaming, movies, television, and more.
But soon to follow are use cases for virtual meetings, classrooms, doctor's appointments, and anything requiring our interaction and communication.
Hush-hush is the more intimate use for things like virtual sex.
Also, there are opportunities for augmented reality where physical reality is supplemented with computer sensory input making your real-experience that much richer and informed.
With the Oculus Rift, I imagine myself immersed on a safari in Africa, flying into the reaches of space, relaxing at the most beautiful beaches, praying at the Western Wall, fighting my way through first person shooter and action adventures, and reliving biblical and other major historical events.
I don't see VR for myself as an escape from reality, so much as being able to experience many more of life's realities and possibilities out there.
My only fear is that as VR gets better and better, it becomes easier and easier to fall away from our challenges in the real world, and just live inside a mask with a controlled environment where our virtual choices and experiences seem all too convenient and real. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Weston High School Library)
Oculus Rift Has My Attention
January 24, 2014
Addictions R Us
He said something fascinating to me--which is that everyone is addicted to something.
Think about it--some are addicted to the hard stuff...drugs, alcohol, smoking.
Others are addicted to sex, work, shopping, exercise, even religion.
In modern times, there are new addictions to technology, gaming, and social media.
My friend is smart and we discussed or alluded to a number of reasons for the addictive nature of all people.
1) Meaning - Many people have a tough time dealing with the seemingly meaningless, mortal nature of their lives. Without a strong purpose and meaning, we can sort of float through every day looking for some anchor, stability, or rhythm. Addictions, for better or worse, can provide that habit or repetition compulsion. While not very meaningful itself, these addictions help people forget--temporarily, during their high or while they are being kept busy--that they are perhaps lost amidst it all.
2) Pain - Everyone has pain--emotional, physical, mental--these cause stress on people and their ability to deal or cope can be stretched thin, and they turn to some sort of addiction as a "crutch" to help them get through the day. It reminds me of a very crude song that I overheard years ago, called "F*ck the pain away" (excuse the language here, please). Anyway, simply replace the first word, with "work, shop, drink, and so on and poof, you have opiates (i.e. pain relief) for the masses.
3) Fear - People are afraid--afraid of living, afraid of dying--and addictions take us away from having the time to stop, think, and have to deal with our fears. If every minute, I am running around doing a million things--then I don't have the time to shut it all down and out, and deal with what's really going on inside. In fact, some people credit the Holy Sabbath day, as being beneficial to us to just stopping all that daily stuff at least for one day a week!
We are all human, and there is no one who is immune to looking for meaning, avoiding pain, and dealing with their fears.
The question is do we just throw ourselves into something to keep going or do we take more of a Buddhist approach, accept that life is suffering and try to raise ourselves above it through healthy balance, contemplative meditation, compassion and thinking about others, doing good deeds, and so on.
Keeping busy is good too--but going through life in a drug or otherwise induced fugue is not--then we've lost ourselves, which is maybe the point for our crazy world where addictions abound and we are all too happy to dive right in. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Miles Cave)
Addictions R Us
October 5, 2013
The Tron Cycle
Decked out to look like the cycle in Tron.
Green neon lights under the wheels and engine made this a true sight to see.
When it zoomed down the street, it was really like a science fiction vehicle.
Awesome sight tonight. ;-)
(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)
The Tron Cycle
September 6, 2013
They Aren't Smartwatches...they Are Dumbwatches
With the arrival of the first generation of smartwatches--Samsung Galaxy Gear, Pebble, and Sony Smartwatch--we have hit the rock bottom in innovate and design thinking.
These watches look cheap--flimsy plastic or ultra-thin aluminum or even stainless doesn't cut it as a fashion statement when larger and substantial is in.
The screens are too small to be user-centric--let along there being any room for a physical or soft keyboard.
You can't really read on it and you can't type on it (any significant form of email, texting)--except by voice command. Ah, let me talk into my wrist, no!
Also, for videos or gaming, the small rectangular screens aren't of any useful function--how much of Madonna's new wild getup can you see or how far can you fling that angry bird on your wrist?
Downloading music on the Gear, uh, also no.
Taking photos with a 1.9 megapixel camera on the Galaxy Gear at a time when the 8 megapixels on the iPhone is running way short is good for maybe a James Bond, but not anyone else.
Plus for smartwatches like the Gear, you still need to pair it with a companion smartphone for it to work, so you now have added expense (between about $150 for the Pebble and $299 for the Gear smartwatch) with no significant added benefit.
For the Gear, you also have a separate charger because the watch only has a battery life of about a day, while for the Pebble and Sony Smartwatch 2, you have between half a week to a week.
And believe it or not, the Galaxy Gear is not compatible with their own Galaxy S4 smartphone--oh, so very smart.
My 16-year old daughter said, "If they had this 10 years ago maybe, but now, who needs it!"
No, Google Glass has it right--concept yes, fashion still to be worked out--and the smartwatches for now, have it wrong, wrong, wrong.
If you buy it, you've bought yourself a very dumb watch.
Maybe the iWatch can save the day? ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Nathan Chantrell)
They Aren't Smartwatches...they Are Dumbwatches
July 3, 2013
Magic Computer Displays
This is some awesome technology from Tactus Technology.
It is called a dynamic tactile touchscreen.
Here's how it works:
When you want to type with a tablet or other touchscreen display, not only do you see a QWERTY keyboard, but also the buttons actually rise out of of the flatscreen display--for a tactile typing experience.
Using microfluidics, the fluids in the screen actually change shape--and form buttons.
When your done typing, the keyboard buttons melt away back down into the screen.
It all happens in a split second and has negligible impact on power consumption (i.e. less than 1%).
This type of tactile experience with computer displays can be used for tablets, smartphones, gaming devices, and I would imagine even SCADA devices (e.g. for turning a dial, pulling a level, etc. all virtually on a monitor).
Goodbye physical controls and hello magic touchscreen--presto chango. ;-)
Magic Computer Displays
June 9, 2013
Turnkey Cyberwar
It's called Plan X and it's being pursued by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The idea is for cyber warfare to be conducted like traditional kinetic warfare--where "munitions made of 1s and 0s [are] to be as a simple to launch as ones made of metal and explosives."
Cyberspace is considered a domain of warfare similar to land, sea, air, and space, and it is necessary to be able to craft offensive capabilities where "a military operator can design and deploy a cyber effect, know what it's going to accomplish...and take the appropriate level of action."
We can't fly by the seat of our pants in cyberspace any longer; we've got to have turnkey solutions ready to launch in order to defend our people and interests.
To accomplish this, we need:
1) Surveillance: A good map of cyberspace detailing enemy cyber outposts and threats akin to the geographical maps we have identifying physical targets and dangerous movements.
2) Weapons: Reliable cyber weapons ready to take on and take out enemy networks similar to kinetic weapons ready to destroy their military hardware and infrastructure.
3) Launch protocols: The rules of engagement for attack and counterattack and the ability to intuitively and securely unleash those even faster then the turnkey capabilities with which we can respond with traditional military might.
Whether, the cyber weapon looks like Angry Birds or some other point (at the target) and swipe (to launch at them) interface is almost beside the point--what is key is that we are ready to fight like hell in cyberspace, win uncontested, and keep the peace again. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to Great Beyond)
Turnkey Cyberwar
May 8, 2013
Fun, The Good 'ol Fashion Way
This guy was getting a cheap ride down the thoroughfare in a bin.
She was pushing and he had his arm raised as the winner of the big race.
It reminded me of when we were kids and used to ride go-karts down the hill--and only after we picked up some speed did we realize that the breaks didn't work that good.
Oh well, a little flip and some chuckles and no worse for the wear.
Those were the days, young and carefree--nothing to worry about except whose house we were going over to, next, to wreck some havoc.
I remember, one day we were having a huge wet paper towel fight and one kid ran into the garage to escape the barrage, I gave chase and unwittingly pushed against the glass in the door to follow and oops my hand went right through.
Not a pretty sight, but I thank G-d lived to tell my kids about it, and now they got one up on me when they do something a little out of bounds and fun--actually they are a lot better than I was at that age.
And it wasn't that I was a bad kid, I was actually one the good ones--or so I was told--but before we all had computers, the Internet, social media, and smartphones, we had each other.
It wasn't the technology that drove us, but rather the evolving web of interactions (today my new best friend is...), the challenges we made up (let's bike up to Tarrytown in 100+ degree heat), the fun we found ourselves in (from the board game Risk to early gaming on the Atari, or just cleaning out a friends garage for a few bucks)--times were simpler, more innocent, and in a way better.
When we went home at night from work or for the weekend, our time was our own--were weren't glued to email and always on call.
When we attended an event, we didn't check our Facebook and Twitter, but paid attention to the company we were in.
When we ate dinner together, maybe the one rabbit-ear TV was going in the background with one of the 3 networks stations, but everyone wasn't being pulled away for gaming, blogging, or some Internet shopping.
Don't get me wrong, I love my technology as much or maybe more than the next guy, but I also miss just being me in the physical world with my family and gang of friends, and not just so much TheTotalCIO in the office and in cyberspace. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Fun, The Good 'ol Fashion Way