ChatGPT and my existential crisis

Last week I discovered that ChatGPT can write “In the style of Rob Miles”. I’m not sure if it will do this for everyone. The internet creates bubbles of personalisation so that our searches find the kinds of things that we like, and perhaps ChatGPT does that too. Perhaps if you ask for something “in the style of Rob Miles” you’ll get the version that fits with your interests. Even so, ChatGPT knows about a version of me.

ChatGPT knows me because I’ve been blogging and posting stuff for over 20 years. There’s a lot of Rob on the internet. Although I must admit that all those years ago when I decided to put up a blog post every day I didn’t think that it would be a step on the road to creating a computerised copy.

It is a tiny bit worrying. Do I need to exist any more, now that there is a freely available version online? People have been known to pay me to write things “in the style of Rob Miles” but now anyone can do it. Where will this lead? Folks might get ChatGPT to write horrible things in my style. Even worse, they might get paid instead of me. When I put my blog up I don’t remember ticking a box that said “I allow companies obsessed with shareholder value to mine this data and use it to create machines that can imitate me.” Oh well. Welcome to the modern world. It is a form of immortality I suppose. At least until ChatGPT finds a better Rob Miles

Double Covid

Number one wife has just tested positive for Covid. Now there’s even more of it about. But at least we can now sit together and compare symptoms.

Meet Thursday Next

Today all I’ve felt like doing is sitting and reading. I’m revisiting a series of books I first read years ago, and I’m enjoying them just as much second time round. They are by Jasper Fforde. They are about a time travelling crime fighter who can also go and live in books. She’s called Thursday Next (all the character names are fantastic) and she lives in a parallel reality (I probably should have mentioned that first).

Anyhoo, the books are a riot and incredibly clever. If you are missing Douglas Adams or Harry Harrison you really should take a look. You can find the first episode here. Jasper Fford also has a splendid website (all hand coded by the author in HTML - respect) which you can find here.

Coding with Covid

I had lots of plans for the next week or so. None of which included catching Covid. But there you are. Apparently there is a lot of it about at the moment. I’m the only person in the family who has tested positive so far, which means that I’m confined to upstairs and can only eat things which can be slid under the door. Fortunately I like pizza. The good news is that I’m getting a lot of code written at the moment.

Spintronics and Tagjousts in HackSpace Magazine

This month’s edition of HackSpace magazine is now out. It’s in the shops, or you can find it here. It’s contains a review wot I wrote of Spintronics. I’ve also made it into their Toys & Games item with TagJousts.

The magazine is, as always, a great read. There is nothing else on the market which has such a broad coverage of interesting stuff, from detailed descriptions of hardware and software projects to 3D printed guitars.

Adventures in windowsill photography

Yesterday I took my 3D printed camera around to see Ian and attempted to take his portrait. As you do. I’m still working on my focussing technique, and so what I ended up with was a slightly blurred Ian but a remarkably sharp windowsill behind him. Look at the detail on that M&Ms bag…

Duck photo success

I don’t know what kind of a day you’ve had. Me, I’m just happy that my picture of a duck came out.

Meta Make Something Happen Video for Begin to Code Cloud

I’ve made a tiny video about the videos I’ve made about Begin to Code: Building Apps and Games for the Cloud. This one gives you a look at the kind of things that we do.

Chat-GPT Me

Good grief. That is truly scary. I’ll get my coat…..

3D Printing at an angle

Followers of my blog (yes, that’s both of you) will have been observing the fun and games I’ve been having trying to print a handle for my 3D printed camera. The problem is that if you print the handle vertically there is only a small surface in contact with the print bed. As the printing gets higher the print head becomes more and more likely to push the workpiece off the print bed. When it does you get a tree.

I tried printing with the handle flat on the print bed, but that caused other problems. There is a large open gap for the cable release that runs the length of the handle. This can’t be printed without extra support and the support material proved impossible to remove. I ended up with a handle that was solid all the way through So, in the end I tried something I’ve not done before. I tipped the whole workpiece by 45 degrees. This removed the need for any internal support.

Above you can see how it works. The gap in the middle of the handle doesn’t need support and there is now a huge area of the workpiece in contact with the print bed so it grips really well. It worked a treat. The support came off very easily and left a surprisingly smooth finish all over the handle

If you’ve got something that needs internal support you might like to try the same thing. I used Cura to slice the model and the print preview (you can see it above) to check for any overhangs.

This might be a good technique for printing very small things, as it provides a larger base. It also removes any problems with the workpiece lifting up from the bed on the corners, which can be an issue when you try to print large objects.

Now available in white...

I seem to have found something which is impossible to print. And I really though that I’d cracked it after my last attempt.

That could have gone better..

Use your skill and judgement to work out the exact point in the print where the object being printed came off the printer bed…..

Street Photography at the Humber Bridge

I took this picture on Sunday. And yesterday I developed it myself at home. Go me.

Good Old Adobe

I’m doing some editing work on the pages of the book today. So, against my better judgement I installed Adobe Acrobat Reader to work on the files. I’m not particularly pleased to report that it behaved exactly as I expected it would.

Red Nose Day Video now Live

Thanks to the efforts of Mike the video of my Red Nose Day lecture in Rhyme is now on YouTube. Watch it and then donate.

On second thoughts, donate and then watch it…

Using Bolt Inserts in 3D printed objects

I assembled the 3D printed camera today. I used the fittings I got last week. It turned out to be quite straightforward. I popped the special tip on the iron and set the temperature as low as possible (200 degrees). Then I picked up the fitting with a pair of pliers, popped it on the end of the tip and pushed the fitting into the hole in the 3D printed camera body.

Above you can see the result. I can now screw a bolt into this fitting to hold the lens in place. This is a really great way to screw things together. I’ve had a lot of success just using bolts in 3d printed holes, but this should be stronger and won’t wear out if I need to remove and replace the bolts.

This is the finished fitting in place with the lens attached. It turns out to look quite tidy. Next thing to do is make the handle and then take some pictures.

First Page Ready

This is the first page of chapter 1 of Begin to Code Cloud. I know this because I’m presently making the final author pass through the text before it goes off for printing. Rather excited.

Red Nose Day Fun and Games

These are the obligatory cheese puns for the night..

Well, that was fun. And we raised a couple of hundred quid too. The video for the talk will be up soon. Thanks so much to the crew from Dot Net North who hosted the event and to everyone who turned up. There is still time to donate.

Lego Ghetto Blaster

It’s become a kind of ritual. When we go up town in Leeds we visit the Lego store and fill a plastic cup with bricks from their “pick and mix”. I like doing this because you can get a huge number of one particular Lego piece. On a previous visit I got an enormous number of Lego gear levers and we used them to make a brush, among other things. This time we got some funky angled pieces and I used them to make a Lego Ghetto Blaster with six speakers and a sub-woofer. Great fun.

Mudfall

Today was going great right up to the point where I fell on my back in the mud. I was just about to shout “Careful, it might be slippy” to our six year old charge when I illustrated this fact to great effect by falling over. Fortunately no lasting damage was done, although I did have to spend the rest of the trip walking round in a slowly solidifying coat and jeans.