I’ve always been fascinated by past visions of the future. Science fiction uses the future to tell us something about ourselves, so looking back on past visions of the future, we can learn something about that age and the values, myopia, optimism and fears of the time. It’s also healthy to […]
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Now that I’m knee-deep in machine learning models, I’m finding there are several times where I need to let my CPU/GPU crank away on a long-running “training” task for hours at a time, and I’d like to be able to check their status from afar. The handy, free and cleverly-named […]
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In 2015, a research paper by Gatys, Ecker and Bethge posited that you could use a deep neural network to apply the artistic style of a painting to an existing image and get amazing results, as though the artist had rendered the image in question. Soon after, a terrific and fun […]
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In WWII, researcher Abraham Wald was assigned the task of figuring out where to place more reinforcing armor on bombers. Since every extra pound meant reduced range and agility, optimizing these decisions was crucial. So he and his team looked at a ton of data from returning bombers, noting the […]
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I’m on a parent advisory committee at my daughter’s school. The committee is taking a look at the school’s existing Computational Thinking curriculum and where it might want to head in the future. Luckily for us, the faculty is already doing a very good job with the curriculum. So our role as […]
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“Steve, the wifi is down.” As the go-to guy in the house for all tech issues, I’ve been hearing that call, and reading that SMS text from family members for more than a decade. I’ve come to dread those words. In recent years, it’s been all-too-frequent. And since the longest-running […]
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Here’s how to update Plex Media Server on a server running Ubuntu. Make sure you replace the URLs and packages with the latest release. Find the URL for the latest Plex Media Server package here. SSH into your server. Download the latest package (replace filename with the latest), then install it: Following […]
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I’ve just discovered an incredibly cool project on Github: DeOldify, which uses deep learning to automatically colorize old black & white photos. It’s not perfect, but what it’s able to do is pretty amazing, and improving rapidly. In addition to ninja-level coding, author Jason Antic (@citnaj on Twitter) does a […]
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I met John Warrilow in 2010, when we were both living in France. John’s an experienced entrepreneur, a published author (his own book, columns for Inc. and other business publications.) He runs Built to Sell Inc. and the informative business podcast “Built to Sell Radio,” which talks about the steps involved […]
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Part 1 of this article covers the basic parts list, code, and assembly. UPDATE (January 2023): I’ve built a version 2.0 of this prop. See “Enchanted Rose 2.0: Raspberry Pi Prop with Falling Petals” for updated instructions. UPDATE (April 2021): The Bluetooth shield used in this Arduino-based project is apparently […]
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