Weekly Report: March 18th - March 24th 2024
The Week in Summary:
- Work was fairly varied this week. There was some regular programming, a day working at a local school for our climate program, and a couple days prepping for spring break camps (I’ll be doing a camp with my buddy focused on city planning for ages 5-7).
- We decided to do our taxes for the year this week and we went to H&R Block to prepare and file them. The last thing I want to do is paperwork when I could be doing anything else, that being said, once we received the $600 bill for their services, I was absolutely floored.
- Taylor and I finished Succession on Tuesday. It’s always nerve-racking approaching the end of an incredible television series. You wonder if they can stick the landing or if they will botch it in the last episode. Succession nailed it (more about it in recommendations).
- Though I played a few hours when it was initially released, this week I came back to Elden Ring to give it another go and it has absolutely consumed my leisure time. Something has finally clicked with the magnificently distorted world of the Lands-Between and brutal combat system. It is exhilarating to be nothing here.
- At the start of the week, Calgarians like myself were enjoying some nice spring weather on our balconies, but by mid-week, we were hit by a classic spring snowstorm and we are back to trudging through snow again. It might be disappointing for some folks, but this is to be expected and we should be grateful considering the looming drought in the region.
Recommendations:
- Conscious AI Is the Second-Scariest Kind by Peter Watts (Essay): Peter Watts, author of Blindsight (which has long been on my ever-growing reading list), discusses the diverse theories of what consciousness is, how it relates to artificial intelligence, and most notably, the “free-energy minimization principle” and DishBrain.
- Succession (Television Series): If you mixed dysfunctional family dynamics, a complex cast of deeply-flawed characters, corporate skulduggery and intrigue, and a heavy serving of deep cynicism about power, you would find Succession. This show exposes the rot that weakens American society at large. Throughout the series, you follow the Roy family as they attempt to “manage” a legacy media and entertainment corporation under threat by the emergence of disruptive big-tech interlopers and progressive busybodies. The Roys will do anything to keep their power and it is stunning to see the depths of depravity that entails.
- Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party (Album): Polished glam rock with strong feminine energy. Sometimes I feel like I am listening to Queen. Personal highlights from the album include songs like: Nothing Matters, Burn Alive, and Caesar on the TV Screen.
The Week in Images
