Weird Things

AT: Easier-Than-Ever!

Weird Things ·

2023/03/19

Bryce has an update on how his Blind Corners project went from 0 to 1 with a Substack. How do you break down barriers or build excitement? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Arduboy Justin: ChatGPT-4 Brian: Ted Lasso season 3 Bryce: DALL-E

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WT: Giving Powerful Topology 4

Weird Things ·

2023/03/19

The episode is largely a discussion of ChatGPT/GPT-4 and how the hosts are using it in practice. Brian describes a hands-on experience role-playing as Blaine the Mono in GPT-4 and being impressed by how well it stayed in character, while Andrew explains the progression from GPT to GPT-2, GPT-3.5, ChatGPT, and GPT-4, emphasizing reinforcement learning with human feedback, instruction following, and stronger contextual understanding (L53-L61, L67-L69, L83-L85, L107-L118). The conversation also covers

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AT: Our-val Office

Weird Things ·

2023/03/05

Bryce has an idea, but not much more than that? What can a F1 pickem league turn into and how do you plus it? Plus, ChatGPT and a pitch for a presidential TV show. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

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WT: Little House in the Privy

Weird Things ·

2023/03/04

The episode opens with a long discussion of the Department of Energy report and other government assessments about COVID origins. The hosts say they do not know where COVID came from, but argue that lab-leak possibilities should not have been dismissed, and they criticize the shutdown of discussion on social media and within parts of the scientific community. The conversation widens into concerns about polarization, conflicts of interest, undisclosed funding, and the need for a serious investigation

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AT: Angry Users 2

Weird Things ·

2023/02/26

Rovio announced a surprising change to one of their flagship games: they’re trying to remove it! Value propositions and how difficult it is to change directions once your project is out. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Justin: TV Funhouse – Disney Vault Brian: The Ur-Quan Masters Bryce: Schafpudel’s guide to Petz

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WT: Thumb Rub

Weird Things ·

2023/02/25

The episode opens with a discussion of an Embraer patent application for an aircraft-seat system that scans passengers' faces, analyzes facial expressions, and may offer non-invasive transcranial stimulation. The hosts first frame it as a possible customer-satisfaction or unruly-passenger tool, then gradually settle on the idea that it could function as a passenger amenity for calming or helping people relax during flights, while also joking about the broader discomfort of air travel and the fantasy

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AT: Junk-In Junk-Out?

Weird Things ·

2023/02/19

Adapting and adaptability. How do you balance quality and quantity while taking advantage of new spaces? Effort in a world where effort gets more and more efficient. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Super Mario Odyssey Brian: Cunk on Earth Bryce: Poker Face

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WT: Last-Minute Massage

Weird Things ·

2023/02/18

The episode opens with Andrew talking about how his work at OpenAI makes him more cautious about commenting on outside stories, then moves into a run of stories about elaborate pranks and public misdirection. Andrew recounts two balloon-based stunts from his past: putting a motorcycle inside a balloon for an A&E segment and, earlier, faking a UFO over a Florida school field with a lit balloon, which drew curious bystanders, radio calls, and a sheriff's helicopter before they fled and hid. The

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AT: Self-Reinforcing

Weird Things ·

2023/02/05

Health talk today! Apps we like and handling cravings. Diet and exercise stories from *not-professionals* about getting started and staying regular. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Apple Watch Ultra Bryce: JEFIT and Lose It!

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WT: Ready Your Weaselhole

Weird Things ·

2023/02/04

The episode opens with a long discussion of Nothing Forever, the AI-generated Twitch stream that riffs on Seinfeld with continuous, blocky, machine-generated sitcom scenes. The hosts treat it as a proof-of-concept for generative entertainment, debating how Twitch, rough visual quality, and the novelty of endless content help the project work, while also speculating about future AI media that could be personalized, passive, or built for background viewing. Later, the conversation shifts to the

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AT: Halo Emoji

Weird Things ·

2023/01/29

A simple way to add some color to any to-do workflow and the thorny(?) side of the emoji-emoticon war. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Andrew: Slow Horses Brian: You Have the Right to Remain Innocent from James Duane Bryce: Things app

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WT: Podcast-Shaped Data

Weird Things ·

2023/01/28

The episode opens with casual banter and then moves into a long discussion of robots, starting with Transformers versus GoBots, the history of the toy lines, and what made Transformers feel more iconic. The hosts connect that idea to broader robot history, including Gundam, Robotech, the golem, and the origin of the word robot, while also joking about childhood fantasies of building robot companions and robot girls. Later segments cover a shape-shifting magnetic robot demo from the Chinese

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AT: We’re Back!

Weird Things ·

2023/01/22

How moving can affect the creative process. Brian and Justin talk about the newly-revealed topic of World’s Greatest Con season 3 and how they’ve got an exclusive new look at the story that’s never been told before. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” PICKS: Andrew: Coffeezilla on YouTube Justin: The Last of Us Brian: Marvel Snap Bryce: The Last of Us

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WT: Going Weird Mode

Weird Things ·

2023/01/21

The episode centers on Andrew Mayne explaining his role at OpenAI and the sudden breakout of ChatGPT. He says he works on the communications team helping explain the company’s technology, and the panel discusses how ChatGPT started as a research preview, gained huge adoption quickly, and changed AI from a theoretical or magical idea into a practical tool people can try for themselves (L25, L69, L73, L81, L97, L125). A substantial portion of the conversation is technical and reflective: they cover

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WT Mini: Lasers, Riffing, and Wasp Wangs

Weird Things ·

2022/12/20

Bryce opens with a short update episode covering a science story about male wasps: researchers at Kobe University found that males of a specific species can use spikes near their genitalia to defend themselves, even though they do not have stingers like female wasps. He compares survival rates in predator tests and notes that male wasps with removed genitalia did not survive, while pond frogs ate all wasps tested. The episode also features Refusion, a machine-learning music system that generates

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AT: We Be On That Phone

Weird Things ·

2022/12/07

A new app has been making waves in the image generation space with “magic avatars.” We talk about the experience of a pay AI art bot and what we think it could do to impact human artists and art. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

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WT: Going Weird Mode

Weird Things ·

2022/12/06

The episode opens with a joke-heavy run of stories, including Bryce recounting a TikTok about Waffle House grill cooks earning shirts for hitting profit milestones, then a segment about Steve Jobs' pre-worn Birkenstock sandals selling at auction for about $218,750. The hosts riff on the sandals' smell, rarity, and the value of Steve Jobs memorabilia, and briefly detour into jokes about Steve Wozniak, Segway scooters, and what kinds of Jobs-related items might command higher prices. The middle of the

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AT: Doodle-Doo

Weird Things ·

2022/11/23

We’re in holiday mode as we talk about roosters, the etymology of adages, and where we think the future of social networks will go. Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.”

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WT: Lunar Looper

Weird Things ·

2022/11/22

The episode opens with a long discussion of the Artemis launch. The hosts joke about the mission's cost, but also credit the engineers and acknowledge that the rocket successfully reached space. They criticize the program as a politically shaped, expensive system, while still treating the launch as an accomplishment for the people who built it. A major portion of the episode is devoted to Twitter and the current wave of people leaving the platform. The panel debates whether the departures are

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AT: Lightswitch

Weird Things ·

2022/11/16

The Modern Rogue and Scam Nation short-form video experiment continues on and to rousing success. What lessons have we learned from over a month of making Tiktoks and YouTube Shorts? Alphabet basically owns the internet, but is it being a good steward? Send your project questions/ideas to neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “After Things.” Picks: Brian: Twitter Bryce: Things app

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