Lucas

You think YouTube bad?
Amateurs next to Twitter.
Cleanse it all with fire.

Eyes pop open 5.37am. First waking thought is formatted as a query.

SELECT * FROM breakfast WHERE contents = 'coffee' AND brew ILIKE '%strong%';

i don't think that's a good sign.

Banff valley from the Cosmic Rays Station.

The 3 Sisters in Banff.

Looking at a gondola from the Sulphur Mtn. Trail in Banff.

About 6,000 ft up on the Sulphur Mtn Trail.

Banff. One of the most beautiful places I know. A great few days away from The Crazy. Snow, Mountains, Hiking, Rest.

2FA - pull up the Auth app.

3 seconds left. Tension mounts. The green light flashes, the flags go up...

<< insert mission impossible theme >>

...boom... Intuit login... accomplished.

I'm Tom Cruise hanging from a rope, man.

YouTube video by Silicon Valley Video SVVS 2025: Decentralized Production At Scale. Real-World Application

"Work me." For 20+ years, I've worked at the bleeding edge of technology and media. This is about the latest "big shift" in live production - on-prem to decentralized. It's huge, and will fundamentally change how a lot of productions happen. Fifteen minutes of pure geek! youtu.be/qvheqlf54ro?...

As far as great art that speaks to me which is either partially or wholly AI-driven... I think Sougwen Chung's work is amazing, and it speaks to me. She is someone thinking deeply about the intersection of man and machine, and making art that resonates (for me anyway). sougwen.com

I'm not an artist. I started with Midjourney, but since have moved to Bria and Firefly - which are ethically trained.

I use them primarily for idea generation for storyboards and for imagery for music videos and marketing videos.

...and I am *not* an artist. But, I built this website as a self-test. Could I create AI images that *I* liked, and resonated with me, from an ethical dataset. Every image here is 100% AI, with some minor Photoshop/Illustrator tweaks. I think some of them are pretty cool. ymmv.

defynow.smugmug.com

Fairly Trained Fairly Trained is a non-profit that certifies AI companies for fairer training data sourcing.

Growing corpus of ethically trained, properly licensed models. Adobe Firefly, Getty, Shutterstock, Bria - train on 100% licensed data. (and check FairlyTrained)

Many firms respect IP, and do the right thing.

AI genie not going back in the bottle. I choose to work to make it better and fairer.

It's a powerful tool, and like most powerful tools... needs to be treated with respect and caution.

I don't hand a 10-yr old a chainsaw and say, "climb that tree and cut it down."

I wouldn't let any kid supplant AI in formative years for learning to think, and to communicate that thought.

"Use of AI" is not a binary. Most arguments treat AI's creative use as either "all AI" or "all organic." It's not like that... or it shouldn't be.

Midjourney helps spark ideas to build from. I've played classical piano since 5, and I *love* using Suno to tease out ideas.

It's a tool.

I am "if you stretch too hard in the morning you pull something and it feels like you broke a rib" years old.

goddamit.

Meanwhile in Canada...

Podcast guest... "when we got pregnant."

I've never been comfortable with that phrase. My wife gave birth to two kids. We raised them. But we were not pregnant. She was.

Pregnancy is an awesome power and responsibility. And it is not mine. Parenting - yes. Pregnancy - no.

Waffle House is placing a surcharge on every egg it sells | CNN Business The soaring price of eggs has forced Waffle House to add a temporary surcharge on customers’ orders.

This will be more effective in peeling MAGA votes away than anything Dems have done in the past several years... www.cnn.com/2025/02/04/f...

DEI is a concept that evolves, not disappears.

The logical outcome of the US administration's language is that any job failure not by a straight, white man will be blamed on gender, race, or sexuality. It's justification for saying everyone is inferior to the white man.

Dangerous times.

HIS NUTS ARE CINCHED TIGHT ENOUGH. IT'S NOT SAFE YET!!!

Of all the things we need to know when exiting under emergency conditions...

Beware becoming deflated at bottom of slide.

Come on dude. You're not Jack Lemmon in glengarry. Fix the tie. Life vests are for closers.

"She's got David Boooowie eyes..."

I have questions, United.

1. What's up with the man-baby?

First time landing in SFO for about a year.

Holy shit. Y'all need to settle down on the AI ads.

Trump is a rapist.

For Trump voters, either...
1. Your *opinion* is right, and a grand jury, jury, two judges, and a federal appeals court is wrong.
2. You're ok with a sexual predator being President.

It's a binary. I just don't get it, and I can't get past that.

USA/CANADA - Tension

Strange times as a fairly recent emigrée to Canada.

I know and love so many in the USA. And the government is becoming less human. A cold, dispassionate view of suffering, briefly alleviated only when profits align. Don't know what to say. Hard times ahead.

Afternoon walk on a beautiful day in Victoria...

The Overton Wormhole.

NYTimes, 2023: "Trump is a fascist, a liar, and fundamentally dangerous for the USA."

NYTimes, 2025: "Six Flags Panama Canal: Flume Zooms for America."

What the actual f**k.

Christmas lights in a shopping cart

I've turned into the guy who buys Christmas lights on clearance for next year.

I was off most socials for most of the holidays. Just saw this. Thanks!!!

Coup D'état Artist · 1.1K monthly listeners.

Greetings all! My kid's band just released their first EP - record release party/concert, and the works. Follow and like their album on the streamers - even if Screamo isn't your thing. :) Help all musical youths!! open.spotify.com/artist/4Ih6S...