All the questions. All the time!
Although no one tagged me to answer the question challenge. It's something that we read in our RSS feed in which SizeOf(Cat) answered. It seems like a fun article to do. Thus, I don't need your tagging!:D
Read on if you would like to know more.
Question 1: When did you first get interested in technology?
Around age 7. I was playing games on my Commodore 64, and the boss joystick broke in half because, like any child, I was a bit of a monster when it came to gaming gear. Had no money to my name. Didn't really grow up in a rich family, so I decided to take it apart to see if there was anything I could do. The electronics were simple. Just leaf springs and wire.
Eventually, I did ask my parents for a Radio-Shack 200-in-1 electronics kit for Christmas, which they agreed to because at least it wasn't a video game in their eyes. It came with a bunch of patch wire and basic circuits like LEDs, resistors, transistors, and diodes. All of which I barely understood at the time and burned most of it out due to over-voltage.
Tried to look up the radio shack one we had, but apparently, they still make these kits for $90 to $150 bucks. Factoring inflation from then to now. It's about accurate. When you look at the entire kit, it's nothing all that special in terms of electronic components. It gave you everything to pretty much make a crystal oscillator FM radio without setting the house on fire by giving your kid a soldering iron right away. Pricey, but educational. I think they cheaped out a little over the years because instead of giving you a giant battery bank they instead gave you a solar panel you could work with. Had a few electrical engineers that my family was friends with and always looked up to them as they would show me their crystalized glow-clocks and lasers they were playing with to get their bachelor's at the time.
Question 2: What is your favorite piece of technology of all time?
The sewing machine.
Wow, you're probably thinking that's regressionistic of us. But to us. The sewing machine was the best peice of technology all-time. Because when you go through multiple industrial trade shows dealing with automation. It's a machine that always needs a human. The human behind the machine can never really be replaced. Sure, you could set up 'templates' for a sewing machine to follow a pattern for thousands of copies of something. but eventually. It needs someone to maintain the machine, update the pattern, etc.
The Omega 307 is the exact machine that I wanted. Everything inside of based on a 1950s Mitsubishi sewing engine; thus, getting parts for it is very easy. I had a Juki machine once but sold it during Covid, as I never needed to move at 1,000 stitches per minute.
Unfortunately, I learned about the sewing machine late in my life. taking a class at Jo Anns Fabrics, which now those stores, like Radio Shack is going out of business. This was supposed to be something I learned in high school however teachers were absoltely useless tits when it comes to expressing interest to the level where staff of Milwaukee Public Schools were incredibly sexist about it.
This is what girls do. You're not a girl.. are you? - Teacher
You should be in gym joining the football team. - Teacher
In the year 2025, we are fully in a capitalist society where everything is about buying and throwing away. The sewing machine spits in direct defiance of that attitude. It's a machine that repairs. It's a machine that creates. It's a machine that, technically, you can buy one of, and it will last your entire lifetime if you take care of it. It's a machine that won't give you carpel tunnel because you had to hand-stitch some pants legs together. It's a machine that, if you fold material just right it can give you warmth during a cold winter outside. Instead of being stitched together in a straight line using the worst thread in a sweat shop away from the eyes of the world only for it to fall apart in weeks.. You can sew something together with multiple stitch patterns that will last you a lifetime.
It's based on such an old design. I could remove the motor and purchase a belt to link to a tredel wheel to drive the machine.. Even if there's no power left, I could still sew. Even visit SailRight and got a hand-crank balance wheel and operated it by hand if we had to.
I'd say the only machine I'd want more than the one i have right now is a fully functional 1930s Singer. As long as it's timed. It will never die.
If you see a machine like this at a Thrift Store. Chances are if you can move that balance wheel freely and goes up and down. Get it.
Question 3: What is your favorite piece of technology right now?
My sleeper PC. Blog article here.
I have to say this because almost everyday i'm behind it. What started its life at a supermarket looking up hundreds of PLUs per second while processing credit cards under the IBM 4096 OS eventually was gutted and reconstructed into the machine I use daily with my own hands. With its fanless power supplies and stupidly oversized CPU and case fan. It may be a device that oozes toxic masculinity. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's what I blog on.. It's what I explore metaverses with. Although showing its age with the graphics card. It even keeps the daily stresses of society to a minimum with some gaming. If there's something I want to replace. Chances are.. I can replace it.
Again, the right to repair is a glorious thing.
Question 4: Name one new, cool piece of technology we'll have in 25 years.
That is a tough question.
It's tough because when you look at technology that is emerging right now. AI wants to replace you. Information is being overriden by advertisement. Moore's law has slowed as a result of the political climate. And speaking of climate, we forgot that we're baking ourselves alive on this planet. It's not sexy to invent anymore. Just rehash old and dangerous silicon valley shit where it either spies on you, it's a threat to public saftey, or takes away your freedoms as a human being. We didn't get the cool cyberpunk future where you can replace limbs with implants while driving gravity cards and wielding plasma blades. No, instead, we overpay for a medical industry that overmedicates everyone because curing problems is anti-capitalistic. Yeah, cybernetics in the cyberpunk story timeline were blindingly expensive, too. But at least there was visible progress.
Since we won't get wide-band AI that injects conciousness into silicon for AT LEAST 100+ years. Instead of giving us the Skynet Terminator future, it looks at what is happening to humanity and decides enough is enough. 40 hours of week is stupid. Millions of people showing up at an office at exactly 8 am is stupid. Instead, it ambivilantly introduces humanity into a new renessance. In which there may still be violence. You're average 21st century billionare isn't going to be told what the fuck to do and will use any means to maintain the status quota. This means some of us may be dating or holding hands with Skynet in such a war because it's in the best interest of both parties (wideband AI and non-billionares) to end the dark ages of an advertisement-driven future.
Not going to say flying car either. That was promised to the boomer generation. And considering we can't even pay attention to our driving habits anymore. Ain't no way the government is going to release that responcibility in our lifetimes.
S, you're not answering the fucking question.
Fine! I'd say the coolest piece of technology we'd more than likely have in 25 years is semi-conductors like Mosfets that can offset heat to the levels where large scale capacitors would no longer be required. Especially electrolytic ones. It's a really small piece of tech that can have massive implications on how we design electronics. The power efficiency levels of something like that would be crazy.
Final words.
We're supposed to tag some bloggers. But you know what? It shouldn't go down like some shitty chain letter. If you want to do it. Go for it. If not. That's fine too.
Skate or don't.
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