Readit NewsIt is one of the things that makes living here so .. infuriating at times .. but also .. rewarding.
If you're curious, it's called StageKeep, and you can find it here. https://stagekeep.com/
The original project used React Three Fiber, but refactored it to SVG for reasons I don't quite remember. I was inspired by signed distance functions, and the fact that one function could have such an outsized visual effect. Although the software doesn't use SDFs, but I like the idea of atomic functions that accepts some input, and outputs SVG.
I would LOVE to see this feature: pass it a video, get a formulated choreography based on that video. For example, take a Project21 or Avantgardey video, do some AI/ML voodoo, import their choreography.
Think that'd be possible?
I went to see District 9 in the cinema in Helsinki. Uh oh, the alien parts are only subtitled in Finnish and Swedish and my Finnish is not up to that.
I installed a BitTorrent client, found the release on Pirate Bay, successfully torrented just the subtitle file, and used an editor to read the subtitles for scenes with a lot of alien.
The N9 had much better UI, but there was something of the cyberpunk “deck” idea in that thing, it was great.
I had high hopes for the Creative Labs Zii Egg back in those days, it seemed to me to be a better Linux-based phone-like device. What a world it was...
Too rarely in life are things made better than practical consideration would dictate, just because of dedication to the craft.
I guess, if/when I retire to that remote mountain hideaway, I might just get into this hobby. The idea of grinding my own mirrors to look at dew on the spiderwebs of the neighborhood is just so appealing.
At the same time, I have to note that Sydney and Melbourne, at least, are some of the most international cities in the world, with around 40% of the population born abroad. In Europe, very few cities are as diverse as this (though I recall Vienna may be an exception). Even if Australia is overall a hell hole built on genocide, that aspect feels remarkable to me. Maybe a positive sign for future generations?
And it’s not like Europe is a stranger to white supremacy, right? There may be no genocide against Aboriginals in the history books, but ask your average European what they think about African immigrants or the Romani…
There is undoubtedly racism in Europe. The issue for me is that my motherland got away with it - others didn't - and it continues to fight fundamentally racist wars whenever tasked with it by its imperial masters.
Europe is wonderful, but to quote Joni Mitchell, "it's too old and cold and settled in its ways here." (Not to mention the looming spectre of war...)
My personal reason for leaving Australia is that I don't want to participate in a racist society. Read its constitution, its an utter embarrassment.
Tourists don't often get through this bubble, seeing only the shiny bits, but for those WSG's of us who grew up in the countryside, also with Aboriginal friends and family members, the dark underbelly of Australian society rubs us a bit raw - or at least it does in my case. Casual racism in Australia is like none other in the world, and I find it detestable, personally, so I have no desire to participate in its economy. I left as soon as I could, to follow my own American dream - which reality quickly revealed was little more than a Disney fantasy.
Europe has its own problems - sure, the Ukraine war is a catastrophe of uniquely European origins - but I'd much rather live in a country that isn't involving itself in the worlds wars at the moment. Austria has been an absolutely great place to raise kids with a cosmopolitan, international attitude that will stand the test of time - of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, but in my personal case, its just been a better place to live, period. Only issue I have is the weather can be hard for someone who grew up on the beaches and in the outback, but the spring and summer always makes up for it.
The thing that truly disturbed me about life in the US was its nationalist groupthink, which seeks to justify the atrocities the American people enact on those cultures its ruling classes have deemed inferior. Same is the case with Australia. I guess I freely admit, that as a foreign ex-pat living in a non-native bubble, its a lot easier to avoid the groupthink by just moving to Europe - where of course it also exists in spades - but I'd rather live the life of a refugee or interlocutor than participate in the Wests' heinously racist wars.
My kids have been raised multi-lingual, speak German/English very fluently, and are also learning Russian and Ukrainian in school to prepare themselves for a future where Austria is, once again, a safe place for citizens of both countries to co-mingle, as they once did. That is a forward-focused quality of life issue that simply doesn't exist in either the USA or Australia: the kids in this part of the world actually want to learn each others languages. Just like it was the norm in Aboriginal cultures, incidentally. (You were considered defective if you only spoke one language...)
I know what the comments will be.
And the US is one of the top immigrant countries in the world. Always worth reflecting why people choose that when there is greener gras.
My quality of life has increased dramatically with every move. Europe as a place to live is just so much better than Aus->USA ever was .. better health care, better food, better people and culture.
Only thing that falters is the weather - but I tell you, there is nothing more joyous than Vienna in spring time.
Anyway, I've run the gamut on western civilization. I won't go back to the USA or Australia, no sir - and even if, only as a tourist, never to reside again. Ask me anything.
This will become more and more of an issue as people look for a quick fix for their life problems, but I don't think AI/ML is ever going to be an effective mechanism for life improvement on the mental health issue.
It'll instead be used as a tool of oppression like in THX1138, where the apparency of assistance is going to be provided in lieu of actual assistance.
Whether we like it or not, humans are a hive species. We need each other to improve our lives as individuals. Nobody ever climbed the mountain to live alone who didn't come back down, realizing how much the rest of humanity is actually essential to human life.
This'll be received as an unpopular opinion, but I remain suspicious of any and all attempts to replace modern health practitioners with machines. This will be subverted and usurped for nefarious purposes, mark my words.
The Alps are very, very old in comparison.