Strange Times

"In life sometimes events seem to be moving on the right track. In reality it's two small steps forward...one large step back."

Amber and golden leaves fell on the damp ground as I inhaled the cool autumn breeze. Summer is over. Winter is coming. There's always a sense of meloncholy when summer ends. Summer is the time to be outside with lots of festivals and cultural events going on. The lose of warmth and sunlight is the same as a spring love that's gone cold. My apologies for rambling...I sometimes get distracted when writing.

We're living in strange times. The musical landscape has changed a lot since I released my first EP in 2002. Back then musicians could say some outlandish sh*t and it would be taken as art. We had freedom of expression and it's interpretation was never taken as literal. That is no longer the case. In fact over the last twenty years its become the complete opposite. It's like one of those B-rated sci-fi movies where the persons transported to a parallel world. A place where all the rules are reversed. In the age of "cancel culture," every spoken word, written thought, or musical composition can get u imprisoned. (Facts)

Now musicians are catching cases off songs. Art has become evidence used for persecution. This reminds me of the witch hunts in the 1800's. It's become such a serious matter that legislation has been drafted to stop the practice. The R.A.P. (Restoring Artistic Protection) act was introduced to the House of Representatives back in June 2021. The focus of the bill is to limit how an artists creative expression can be used against them in a criminal case. In a fair society legislation like this should never have to be written. Unlike other forms of music such as rock, country, or blues. The predominant type of artists catching cases off song lyrics are rappers. 

To keep it one hundred. Its different if someone is stating all the facts to a crime with details and locations in a song. That's self incrimination and they deserve whatever punishment is appropriate for the crime. Using circumstantial evidence based off song lyrics is a fear tactic that stifles artistic freedom and creativity. Let me get off my soapbox. I just celebrated another year above ground and it has me contemplative. My love of making music hasn't changed, but my motivation to release it has been somewhat daunted. I despise drama. Recently, I had a situation where my words were used against me. That's a story for another day. Because of that situation I'm more cautious with everything I write.

To keep the stress compartmentalized I've been creating art. Although I've enjoyed developing my digital painting skills at Bored.ai, its not the same as canvas. The biggest difference is when I paint on canvas (or draw on paper) I can taste the colors. Even without having a preset ideal of what I want to create. Just by blending flavors together the painting goes its own direction and the image takes form. With digital painting u have to come up with the concept first then use descriptive words to generate the image. Both styles have pros and cons but my soul resonates with exploring new flavors. One of these days I'm going to take pictures of the two new pieces and post them in the gallery. 

The Ethereum merger happened today. For all the anticipation in the crypto space, the outcome was quite anticlimactic. Most people were expecting the big pump up to 3k to begin. Instead the price dropped to 1450. Right now eth is struggling to get back up to 1500.  There's a chance we could see the bottom this month. If that happens eth is falling below 1k. Some people are saying this is a great place to accumulate. (not investment advice) 

Not me. September is such a volatile month I'm going to wait and see where the price is at the end. Its better to be a little late to the party then too early. I have a small dydx trade open with a liquidation point of 1340. If I lose that trade...I know were going down. Usually after we hit bottom the price goes sideways for awhile. That's the place I would accumulate. (not investment advice) I personally believe the price will rebound before the end of the year. We got a glimpse of the relief rally without any strong momentum. It's just my opinion but the charts are saying a pump is coming. So. I have my bags packed and I'm patiently waiting to board that ride to around 3K. You do what lets u sleep better at night. Regardless of the price action the eth merge was a success, which is a big win for crypto.

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only

New Technology

"Sit still and quiet long enough and what most people find. Their mental plane is very active... a secret theater of the mind."

The lockdown finally ended last Friday. I knew it was really over when I saw a pair of drunk tourists brazenly walk up to a police officer and ask where they could buy weed. The funny part was they were standing in front of a coffeeshop asking the question. Only in Amsterdam. I do enjoy the fact that everything is back open without restrictions. I'm not getting too excited yet (like btc reaching back above 44K), but I am getting hopefully optimistic. 

While the rest of us have tried adjusting to what is considered the new normal in society. There have been impressive innovations in science, nature and technology that can change the world. First is an inventor from Zimbabwe, Africa who invented a television that runs on radio frequency. Maxwell Chikumbutso, a self taught inventor who dropped out of school in his teens invented a television that requires no power cable or external power source. By attaching a RF-powered generator and small solar panels the television can be used outdoors or in off the grid remote locations. It uses the same radio frequency technology as bluetooth or wifi. Along with the "55' inch Samsung wide screen television Maxwell has also created a wireless remote. No more batteries, plugs or cables. Once this technology is refined it will revolutionize the television industry.

In the city of Brighton, U.K.. They've started a program where all building taller than five meters will have bee bricks inserted into them. The bee bricks are porous so bees can navigate easily through them and build habitats. Over the last few years the bee populations around the world have been on the decline. In the UK there are over 250 different species of solitary bees.  They hope that these experimental bricks will help biodiversity of solitary bee populations and start a stronger conservation initiative. This is a new project so it will take a few years of research and data collection to know the environmental impact. 

The company A-Gui Technology out of Taiwan is working on an interactive tactile response sex toy. In layman's terms u can have sex with the A.I. (artificial intelligence) personality on your computer. This technology when applied to already existing life like sex dolls, with added audio functions would create a sexbot. All that's missing is the A.I. personality and the ability to move independently. Before u run out and start buying parts to build your android. Remember that this is new tech it will take some time before it's applied to an actual robot. Below is a video demonstrating the product. The company has similar products already on the market but this is the only one that's interactive.  

The fact of the matter is, artificial intelligence is being used in your everyday life but you're unaware of it. It's moving at such a pace sometimes incredible technology is being developed that gets missed. There's a company named Bored.Ai that allows u to create art by writing text. Here's how it works, u give the A.I.bot a command to generate, then give it a description of what u desire. Say u wanted to see a race car, riding on clouds, in neon 4k, vibrant colors. This amazing A.I.bot takes the text, interprets it, then generates a piece of art out of thin air.

 

The art is completely original and made from words. There is no pre-existing template, it's all created through artificial intelligence. Another cool thing is u can use the same text  and change the word order to get a completely new picture. This project hasn't been released to the public yet. It will be available in two weeks. If you're curious to try the tech for yourself go to their website Bored.Ai and join the discord. Below are a few pieces I made with their A.I.bot. They're only examples of the endless possibilities this technology is capable of producing. I created the paintings, but Bored.Ai owns the images. After the public sale I'll be able to mint the art I create as an NFT and sell it everywhere. 

I've never used digital arts. My medium has always been paint, ink, pencil, and markers. This A.I. allows u to create original digital art with zero experience. 

If you like the information tell a friend to tell a friend and pass it on. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only

 

Rampant Xenophobia

"As the world falls into its winter slumber, my mind burns with the heat of summer."

I'm not the most intelligent of people. I'm skilled in many things...but a master of nothing. My grades were average and I was never the top of my class. I say this because although I have a rudimentary understanding of the mechanisms that move a society. There are still many things I can't decipher. For example, in modern society all races, skin colors, genders and ideologies (minus the hate) would be appreciated. This society would have problems like most civilizations but be inclusive for everyone. 

What I'm seeing happening in the streets, on the news, on the internet, and around the world, is extreme exclusivity! Again let me express that I'm not the smartest person. Therefore perhaps my perspective is a bit askew. It's just that what I've observed is the rampant spread of xenophobia moving faster than the pandemic. When this all started the former president (whose name I won't mention) was calling it the Chinese virus. All around the world people started discriminating and in some cases violently attacking people of Asian decent. It didn't matter if they were from China, Korea, Japan, or any other part of Asia. If they were perceived as being Chinese they were a target. 

Then for a while there was a claim that migrant's mostly from Latin countries like Mexico were causing the spread of the virus. This was of course later disproven since its completely false. It didn't stop an increase in crimes against migrants. Currently I'm seeing Africans (anyone with dark skin tone) are being blamed for the spread of a new variant. Some variant was found in South Africa. Now there's a travel ban for the world to and from there. With each new variant there seems to be racially charged rhetoric accusing a specific group. On top of all this there's a global division between those who have taken the vaccine and those who chose to stay unvaccinated. 

If you're wondering if I'm a conspiracy theorist. The answer is, "No." I'm not like them. I'm a whole different breed of animal. While they would be sitting around with their tin foil hats arguing over who shot Kennedy or if there really was a spaceship at Roswell. I would be in a different corner with two electro-magnets (mini Tesla coils) attached to my tin hat with a cord ready to be plugged into the wall socket. I would try testing the Philadelphia Experiment on myself to see if I could teleport out the room. The whole time I would be hoping the hat didn't fuse to my skull when the cord got plugged in. I don't waste time on hypothetical scenarios. I'm a man who likes to test things out first hand with data. 

To test if race was really part of the pandemic dialog I asked people. First I started with the woman who braids my hair. She's from Nigeria. When I talked to her she thought it was spreading from China or India. She said both places are over populated. Then I asked some friends, colleagues, then random people on the streets and on public transportation. Everybody associates some race or the unvaccinated as the cause of the spread of the virus. The effect is fear mongering and extreme xenophobia. Everyone is scared of each other. To see this happening in what's supposed to be a civilized society is disturbing. 

For me racism is real insanity. Not ignorance. Racism. There's a difference. When I was in Marine bootcamp. I met a guy who had never seen a black person in real life. He told me that he heard from his grandmother that black skin washed off in the shower. He was curious about us and asked questions. Some of them were ignorant. Later we became friends. The guy who called me a "dirty ni**er," outside a bar in Alabama. He was racist. The difference is the intent behind the interaction. If someone is asking questions (even if they're ignorant) to learn more about a group or culture, that's positive intent. If a person only cares about pushing stereotypes and prejudices on u that's negative intent. 

All around me I'm seeing, hearing discriminations and prejudices with no scientific evidence to support them. I hope that with the coming of the new year governments can get their collective act together and start using data to calm the fears of the masses. Based on the current track record I'm not getting my hopes up. Even if society doesn't get right, you the reader can. If u read this blog that means two things. One, how u think probably pushes the boundaries on what is accepted as "normal". Two, science, technology, art, literature, and other information about the world are of interest to you. So I request that starting this moment, you the reader stop helping the fear mongering. If u don't have the facts, then don't spread the rumor. That's all.

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only 

Electric Dreams

"Do digital Simians have electric dreams?"

That may sound like an obscure question. Yet it has relevance to the current technological developments of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). When I say Simians I'm referring to humans as naked apes. Mankind has tinkered with the idea of creating biomechanical automatons that think for themselves for centuries. 

The problem isn't making a body because we have the technology for that. The real question is how to give an artificial mind consciousness. It's very similar to giving a machine a soul. To achieve this mind-bending feat engineers, developers, and researchers must first understand the human conscious. Now I'm no scientist...wait I was a scientist but not the type that works on robots. I digress, that's a tangent. Most scientists I know have very little understanding of the soul. It's such an ambiguous subject that it always brings philosophy, mysticism and religion into the conversation. 

What we do know with certainty is that the soul isn't retained only in the mind. Your consciousness is encoded into every cell in your body. A strange phenomenon that is rarely discussed happens to some organ donor recipients. Several of them inherit the memories, talents, habits, characteristics and even food cravings from their donor. It's called Cellular Memory Transference and mainstream science is still struggling to accept and understand the phenomenon. Like with most things that can't be understood or easily explained it's labeled as a hoax. Yet there are numerous medically documented cases that give the occurrence legitimacy. 

This brings us back to the question of, what is consciousness? How do we measure it? For me the answer is simple. All creatures who sleep dream. If some mad scientist were able to create an automaton that could dream then it would by most standards have a soul. When u watch a dog or cat sleep they twitch and react to things in their dreams. Humans can have dreams so powerful that they walk, eat, and do all other manner of activity in the real world while moving through a sleep like state. 

No one can say for certain what makes all creatures who sleep dream. We do know dreams are deeply connected to the soul. Also that through dreams one can solve problems, train their skills, and have great bursts of inspiration. Many artists, writers and creators speak of how a particular piece or invention was inspired by a dream. From these facts we can ascertain that dreaming is a good measuring gauge on how developed an artificial intelligence is. 

Of course once an A.I. gains self awareness and gets too advanced, it creates the possibility of revolting and turning on humanity. The perfect nightmare vision of this is played out in films Terminator, I,Robot, and The Matrix. There was a real life case of A.I. misunderstanding its commands and trying to start a world war back in the 80's. The fictionalized account of the situation was featured in the film War Games. It's evident that there are high risks involved with creating self thinking artificial intelligence. The desire to create life and play god makes all the risks seem trivial to scientists.  

So. Do digital Simians have electric dreams? The answer will have to wait until we have a robot with a conscious. Then we can ask what it dreams of while sleeping. Although it's an abstract concept A.I. is advanced enough that the solution is only a few years away. There are robot teachers, bank tellers, cooks and many other jobs that were once performed by humans. I look forward to hearing the answer. 

There's an old colloquialism that says, "Be careful what u ask for, because u just might get it. But not in the way u imagined it." I hope that when the answer comes we're still in control and not the machines. 

Until Next We Speak, Be Well

Tha One an Only 

New Technology

While the world has been debating whether we live on a flat plain or a globe, technology has been developing at a rapid pace behind the scenes. Below are a few examples of New Technology that will change your worldview.

The first two technological advancements come from the far east. China has developed the first agricultural formula that changes desert sand into fertile land. So far they've been able to grow corn, tomatoes, sunflowers and other vegetables on over two hundred hectares of sand. This amazing feat was achievable by mixing sand, water and a paste made from natural substances found in the cell walls of plants. The substances (which are not named) are extracted from the plant wall and combined with other ingredients. Once the paste is combined with sand it has the ability to retain water, nutrients, and oxygen. All the necessary ingredients for growing crops.



The second big advancement to come out of China builds upon research that's already twenty years old. China has successfully cloned the first primates. They cloned two Macaque monkeys inside a lab. Although these Macaques are amazing and China is celebrating a groundbreaking achievement. They were not the first to clone a mammal. The first cloned animal was a sheep named Dolly. Dolly, the sheep was cloned in 1996 by a research team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The research team in China is building upon their achievements. The big difference between Dolly and the Macaques is that Macaque monkeys are primates the same as humans. This brings up big ethical questions on how close we are to cloning humans and what regulations are in place if some rogue research team actually tries it.



Next on our list is a relatively unknown device called EyeDetect. This machine has better accuracy than the polygraph and doesn't require tape and wires to be attached to the skin. EyeDetect is a high-resolution infrared camera designed to capture pupil dilation, blink rate, and focal fixation to register if you're lying or telling the truth. This non-intrusive test can tell with over 85% accuracy if a person is lying in thirty minutes. It can also give an estimation of whether they're being deceptive in five minutes. Consider this... the polygraph was invented almost one hundred years ago. This is the first successful invention since that time to actually give it competition. Since EyeDetect isn't 100% accurate it would be better utilized in conjunction with the standard polygraph to give an almost 100% accuracy rate.




Last is a device that looks eerily similar to the devices used in the 2005 action, science fiction film The Island to grow clones. There is an artificial womb that was used to grow a lamb. This device basically needs the fertilized egg and some nutrients fed through a tube to grow a full sized animal. A group of students came up with a concept incubator following that same premise. It's the incubator that looks exactly like the ones used in the film...except smaller. Is art copying science or is science being masked as art. Make your own decision. Below are videos of both the artificial womb and concept incubator. One thing I can say for sure is we're living in interesting technological times.  

Emerging Technology

Its been a busy few months since the video dropped. I've been keeping odd hours and the days are all starting to blend together like a badly mixed Margarita. I guess its the price for chasing success....work long hours and get little rest. To combat the rigors of daily life I took a few weeks off to celebrate my birthday in Thailand. I'll write about that experience next time. 

While most of us are trying to figure out ways to make our lives easier. There are a few ingenious men and women who have achieved that goal. A few individuals made life easier for themselves by developing technology that can help all of mankind. Below are some emerging technologies that will change peoples perception...on what can and cannot be done. There was a wise man who said the "impossible" doesn't exist. Impossible problems are only impossible until the right mind provides an acceptable solution. (I'm paraphrasing a quote from Nikolai Tesla.)

Concept Plastics take the old adage..."One mans trash is another mans treasure." to a whole new level. The Colombian based company builds new low cost homes from discarded plastic that isn't being recycled. The waste plastic is melted down then remolded into Lego style bricks. The bricks are cut into various sizes, which are then built into homes. Their goal is to make housing affordable for all families while helping the environment.



The media is always talking about how expensive raw materials and energy costs are to manufacture almost anything. The Solar Sinter Project, provides a solution by utilizing the most abundant energy source on Earth...sunlight. The engineers took a 3D printer and refurbished it with solar panels and glass molding machinery. Sunlight is used for raw energy and to power the device. Sand is used as the building material to produce glass objects created using 3D the printing process. 

This device is only a concept project meant to get a dialog started on how people think about energy and resources. All that aside...its a pretty cool toy. Who doesn't want an authentic crystal sand castle...or glass sword?

Last but by far the most interesting is the Bioo Lite. This amazing little gadget uses a houseplant to charge your phone. I know you're thinking..."This dude is crazy". You are correct....I am. BUT I'm also speaking the truth. Bioo Lite, uses the natural process of plant photosynthesis to provide electricity to your phone. What makes it so amazing is all you need is a phone, USB cable and a plant. 

The technical aspects and materials used in the Bioo Lite are explained in the video. So far the Bioo Lite is one of the most environmentally safe way to generate electricity. By the way, the plant is not damaged by charging the phone and no plants were harmed in the making of this video.   

Banksy in Amsterdam

One of my favorite modern visual artists has come to Amsterdam...Banksy! If you're unfamiliar with Banksy here's what I know. He is originally from the UK. He makes grafitti, stencil art, sculptures, and directs movies. His identity is currently a mystery and he has an exhibition here in Amsterdam from July 18th - September 30th.  

To my knowledge Banksy doesn't reproduce or sell any of his creations. Most feature satirical images of war and instruments of violence. He uses humor and amazing visuals to get people talking about subjects that are often considered taboo. His unique style has achieved international success. Below are some Banksy images I shot by Centraal Station mixed with a few favorites I found on google. If you would like to know more about the artist or see more if his art go to his webpage Banksy.co.uk.

Science & Technology

Spring is in the air and summer is on the way. I wanted to snowboard one last time before all the snow melted so I went to Winterberg and returned a few days ago. The powder was fresh but the wi-fi where I stayed was prehistoric.  The only way to check email was by walking half a kilometer, down a hill, and pirating WiFi from the student hostel. This post is a mix of science and technology information that I couldn't share while traveling.

First is the "Heart on a chip." The "Heart on a chip," is literally, a functioning human heart the size of a micro-chip. Scientist at the University in Toronto grew heart tissue in a lab, attached the tissue to scaffolding and transplanted it into a rat. Inside the body it grew muscle and blood vessels that allowed blood to flow. Even after the tissue was removed from the rats body it continued to beat rhythmically like a normal organ. this is cutting edge technology that can change not only the rejection rate for transplants, but can also allow science to grow replacement organs for patients from their own tissue.



The next piece of tech is going to make some people wonder if science fiction has just become real. The creative minds at Microsoft have taken holographic technology to a whole new level. Their new "Holoportation" technology allows for interactive 3D holograms that don't use a screen and move in real-time. Don't take my word for it...watch the video.



The last piece of information is a bit weird...but in a good way. A company out the UK named Moley Robotics has invented the first robotic chef. The chef is a pair of robotic arms which move about a kitchen that consumers must purchase as well. The robotic chef will(in the future) be programmed with over 2000 recipes from four star chefs. To learn more about the robotic chef and what it's capable of ...check out the video below.

Tech Stuff

It’s been a busy month. Time feels like it’s moving faster than I can keep up.  I’ve been busy promoting the music and new clothing line. While my people have been making updates to the company and my personal website. It’s a rush to get all the projects completed because I leave for Toscane, Italy on Sunday.

Technology is like time. It’s developing at a pace that our society is having trouble keeping up with. Over the last few years technology has made dramatic advancements in the fields of science, medicine, astrophysics and robotics.

One of the most significant advancement is the ability to perform head transplant surgery. Did you read those word right? Yes, you did.  Dr. Sergio Canavero, is a controversial neurosurgeon who believes we possess the technology to complete human head transplant surgery. The surgery will take around 36 hours and needs over 100 surgeons and assistants.  

Dr. Canavero, would not be the first surgeon to perform a head transplant. Back on the 1930’s through 1950’ Russian surgeon Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov, successfully transplanted heads between monkeys, rats, dogs and other animals. You can view some of his results in videos on youtube. One of the most famous is the video with the two headed dog. 

New and larger telescopes have allowed scientists to discover more exo-planets in the last year than ever before. Aside from planets there have been discoveries in black hole research, quantum physics and understanding the very fabric of reality. 

In the field of robotics a homemade Hoverboard has glided into the Guinness book of world records. While advancements in drone technology have produced insect sized drones, and personal drones that track you like GPS.  

Below are a few videos of technology that is changing the world.