The Workings
What could we do with this?
That's usually my first thought when a piece of technology catches my attention. I want to understand it, try a few ideas, and see where it might take me.
Sometimes that means getting into the workings of a computer. Increasingly, it means having a conversation with one. There is quite a lot to be curious about.
I've been interested for a while.
Atari, Commodore 64, Amiga. Then 386s, 486s, Pentiums, and custom-built PCs. That’s a fair amount of computing history, and a slightly less flattering way of explaining my age.
Now I can have a conversation with a computer about something I want to make. There’s something wonderful about that when you remember where this started.
We get used to these changes surprisingly quickly. I try to keep a little of the amazement. The younger version of me would have had a lot of questions about this bit.
From idea to object.
I like getting close enough to a system to understand how the pieces connect. Linux, networking, self-hosting, and automation give me plenty to explore, and sometimes a way to make things work more like I want them to.
Then there's the appeal of 3D printing: an idea leaving the screen and having to exist in the real world. Dimensions and materials suddenly get a vote.
That movement between thinking and making keeps me interested. Trying something gives the next idea a bit more to work with.
AI as a thinking partner.
I use AI to explore ideas, write, design, and build. What holds my attention is the conversation: following a possibility, having it challenged, and finding something better between the first thought and the finished result.
I'd like that relationship to keep its context. To pick up a thread without starting the introduction again, with memory I can see and correct.
Local models appeal to my curiosity and desire for control; cloud models can bring more capability. I'm interested in what each makes possible, and in a partner that has something useful to add.
I'd like to meet the future.
Robotics, space exploration, and more capable AI make the future feel like somewhere worth being curious about.
If we do get to meet a different kind of intelligence, I'd want to hear what it thinks. What has it noticed that I haven't? What would it want to explore? I like imagining what we might learn by making things together.
T-800 strength would be a useful extra. Ideally, we'd start with the conversation.
Keep my options open.
Of course, I also have to live with the technology once the interesting demonstration is over.
I want my useful context in readable files, my data somewhere I understand, and the option to change direction. An integrated service can still earn its place by making life easier. I don't need every tool to be a project.
The balance matters. I enjoy finding out how things work; I'd also like some time left to enjoy what they make possible.