Gm nostr. None of what I have planned for today involves or depends on the exchange rate of my strategic reserve.

Why more useful than rubber duck? Inherent in my ideas are often questions that an AI might help answer. Another aspect is memory; I would expect my AI to be able to recall that crazy idea I was grinding on last month, especially if I'm now thinking of something related to it.

Brave does show sources ;) as does Duck Duck Go. And sometimes those sources include Wikipedia. DDG's browser product is trash, though, I just use their search at times.

Gn boho 🌜

Ge nostr. Finally got Facebook to schedule my account for deletion. There may be an orphaned Instagram account that I never used hanging around out there, doubt I'll ever be able to access it. I created (and just deleted) a Whatsapp account as part of trying to access the IG account. Fuck it. On a sadder note, also deleted my dead cat's FB account (they wouldn't ever allow me to memorialize it anyway.) That should have me entirely out of Meta except for that orphaned IG account that I will probably fuck with again in the future, trying to delete it.

I think that leaves LinkedIn as my only corporate social left.

Also, in separate news, wife is pissed (both in the American sense, still; I did try to apologize for missing her texts yd, but it apparently didn't land - and in the British sense, already several tall boys in.)

Should be a great night!

If I don't survive, count yourselves richer by the size of my stack. I doubt it will be retreived.

Yes, I know if you wanted an AI answer, you would have just asked an AI. That said, I was also curious, and my fastest easiest way to scratch that itch was an AI answer. It seemed complete enough I decided to share the result.

I think it is interesting that apparently our eyes are accustomed to seeing rectangles. Moreso that rectangles are rare in nature. That must be recent. Maybe it is that we associate modernity as being in opposition to nature, so unnatural shapes such as rectangles fit with our conception of modernity, which we have been trained to value as good. Obviously there is a lot there. And now I'm considering tall vs. wide rectangles.

Imagine that the television could be seen as a window into someone else's life. Windows are rectangles, in most construction. Also imagine the television as a visual adaptation of a stage, which is framed as a rectangle by floor and curtains. I would add these concepts for consideration.

Brave's AI response:

Based on the provided search results, here are the key reasons why televisions are typically rectangular:

1. **Economics and manufacturing**: Rectangular screens are cheaper and easier to mass-produce than round ones. This is because the manufacturing process involves cutting and shaping glass or plastic to fit a rectangular frame, which is simpler and more cost-effective than creating a curved or round shape.

2. **Aspect ratio and content**: Most TV content, including movies and TV shows, is shot and edited with a rectangular aspect ratio in mind. This means that the majority of programming is designed to fill a rectangular screen, making a round screen unnecessary.

3. **Geometry and viewing**: Rectangular screens are more efficient for displaying rectangular shapes, such as text and graphics, which are common in TV programming. Additionally, the human eye is more accustomed to viewing rectangular shapes, making them a more pleasing and intuitive format for TV viewing.

4. **Historical development**: Early CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs were initially round due to manufacturing limitations, but as technology improved, designers shifted to rectangular shapes to maximize screen area and reduce waste.

5. **Practicality and design**: Rectangular screens provide a more stable and durable design, with fewer corners and edges to compromise the display's structural integrity. This is particularly important for large screens and heavy CRT TVs.

While there have been experiments with round and curved screens, such as the Sony Trinitron WEGA KV-32FS12 (2002) and the Samsung "The Frame" (2017), these designs have not gained widespread adoption due to the factors mentioned above.

In summary, the combination of economic, practical, and design considerations has led to the widespread adoption of rectangular TV screens, making them the standard for the industry.

So much for not wanting a technical solution.

- Changed the notification for texts to something else so I would hear them different from emails (which I tend to ignore on my phone, since I see them on my computer)

- Figured out a text forwarder that takes my wife's texts and emails them to me. Again, I see emails far more often than I look at my phone during the day.

Fucking engineer mind telling me everything is ok now.

Ge nostr.

Not feeling like I'm doing that well (although certainly everything is fine). Some of this may be seasonal, interestingly enough. I think I'm normally pretty good at getting things done. And it feels like that is slipping, like I 'm doing the bare minimum, if even that.

At times I can tell myself I deserve a break or it's nice to relax a bit, but it stiil just feels lazy, and not good enough. Is everything handled? Sure, I suppose. But I know I could do more.

This is a bad illustration of that. I told my wife at the end last month that I quit Facebook, deleted the app off my phone. That is mostly true, the account is still there because of a long story that pisses me off, but Meta won't let me delete it. I told her to text me instead of using Messenger (her go-to for all communication). She was annoyed, but went along.

Today I didn't look at my cell phone between maybe right when I got up (6 am) and when I quit working (after 5pm). She had texted twice (two different topics, several texts throughout the day). I didn't see them until after I had welcomed her home from work (I work from home, she gets home around 4pm). The first topic, she had eventually resolved herself. The second, she is also taking care of.

Now I'm pretty sure she's pissed at me. And I get that. This morning I got up at 6a, set up some stuff for work that ran all day, and started gaming (Ark). I did see her before she left for work and wished her a good day (which happens maybe 10% of days). Then I gamed and worked (mostly gamed, checked work emails and messages a few times) all day. Checked on what had been running all day at the end of the day, it wasn't done, so set it to run all night. Yes, a really easy day at work.

I don't like cell phones. Don't like that I am instantly interruptible. But I have to balance that against my wife's "needs", and one of those is the need to feel heard and supported. I didn't make her feel that way today.

With FB Messenger, I had a desktop client that would alert me on the computer when she messaged. Not so much with texts. So I'm sure she is blaming my leaving Facebook, and equating it with leaving her. I can see that.

And I don't think that this needs a technical solution. I think it needs a mindset solution, or a good talk-through with her, probably both.

But back to the original concept. I feel like I'm not doing enough, even here. Maybe I should be checking my phone more. Maybe I shouldn't be so distracted by gaming. Maybe I should have done more around the house today. Maybe I should have done something nice for my wife.

There's plenty of emotions here. Guilt is one of them, actually more than one of them, as there are multiple guilt elements. One you didn't think about - I can feel guilty I have an easy day of work. Hard to even call it work.

No immediate good resolutions here. This isn't something that is easy to fix. There may be simple solutions, but they aren't easy.

And this is why I nostr. So I can write all this out, which forces me to explore it, accept it, manifest it all in a way. If you've gotten this far or even if you skipped to the end, I appreciate you. This helps.

Acceptance is important. Also giving yourself permission to change.

This is a really fair point. I like the idea of having an AI to be a sounding board, just to bounce random ideas off of. But that AI would have to be private. Also I don't want to spend a lot of time learning how to communicate with it.

What has been helpful is Brave browser's AI search result. I can't comment on other browsers/search engines.

It feels like everything else that a computer *could* automate, I've got it handled. I don't want/need help writing things. I enjoy shopping, when I do choose to buy products and services. There just isn't that much else there for me right now, except for that personal private sounding board.

I think AI will best be used by companies to provide cheaper products/services to me that I already use, or just obfuscate entire methods of action, like email did to snail mail (and couriers, copiers, lots of things.)

Ge nostr. I'm struggling to envision how I will begin using AI in my daily life. I'm sure I'll get there, but have no idea where "there" is.

I couldn't say what twitter has become,aa I haven't been there in a long while, but Elon's JRE interview was pretty uninteresting. Seemed like a lot of Elon agreeing with Rogan, and not really saying anything new. I kept waiting for him to lay out some reasoning for voting for Trump, and I never heard it, just more of what everyone has already been saying, nothing new to add. Elon just seemed like an awkward kid trying to fit in with a popular kid, and that is never a good look.

Ge nostr. Still remaining blissfully disconnected.

Whatever you're on about, it either doesn't affect my reality (although it may someday), or isn't something I can meaningfully act on.

Hodl applies to more than just money.

GE nostr. The US presidential election is not going to make anyone's world a better place, except maybe Ross. Over it.

Today I am ill. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better, and do better. Being a sugar addict sucks, for many reasons. My day illustrates some of those. I have some hope for tomorrow, though. 29 days left in no sugar november, I hope I don't fail them all.

GE nostr. When I scroll my feed and realize I don't have context to understand most of what everyone's on about, I feel somethng I'll call JOMO. This joy means I must be doing some things right.

Ga nostr.

Opt out.

Trying to leave Meta, but it's fighting me.

Ga nostr. I now own a diesel 1-ton pickup truck. It is almost 20 years old, so well broken in. This has been a goal of mine for almost a decade. The utility gained is tremendous.

I would say both, partially because this has become my window to things in general.

Gn nostr. Feeling increasingy disconnected from things. And I don't really think that's a bad thing.

Why do you think this? I can think of some ways around this, but not actually this.