Good Clean Geek Fun

I have a few long standing bets with a couple of work buddies. I think I already talked about tech glasses that become ubiquitous and everyone has their own pair that they take everywhere. Glasses that deliver 3D rendering along with Internet connectivity, news feeds, phone access, health monitoring, navigation. We are getting close now. I think I may have lost on the twenty year window so come and get your jug of beer CP.

I think I wrote about how this all started (making technology predictions) with my desperation for a colour TV so I could watch Star Trek TOS as God had intended (circa 1968). When Dad finally broke down and got one, the signal off our rotating TV tower arial was horrific. CBC worked and that was about it. When you are 11 and Yeoman Rand is wearing a skirt so short, you can see her ovaries, it calls for desperate measures. "Dammit Father, I want my porn in colour! The Rogers box is only $4.95 a month! Sell one of Karlan's kidneys if you have to. Sacrifices must be made!" Dad was (as usual) prophetic. "When they have convinced everyone to take their TV towers down and they have networks that don't even broadcast over the airwaves, cable will cost TWENTY DOLLARS A MONTH".
Me: "Come on Dad, you are talking crazy talk"

So, another technology buddy (MG) and I, have been following robotics in military applications. An eight year old can see some new unrelated video and quickly realize what horrifying consequences it could have for the battlefields of 2030, 2035? You are getting a hint of it now in Ukraine. There is a video of a drone chasing a street vendor around the town square before diving and blowing him up! Talk about terrifying a non-combatant population? Have you seen those little tanks that bomb squads use? Instead of a probe or a camera, mount a sniper rifle? When you add AI to the mix, you move from a world where a person sits in a bunker in Arizona and operates a Predator drone over Iran, to something that you just turn loose. Picture a jungle war like Vietnam. Chinese soldiers have micro NFT trackers built into the collar of their uniforms. Our soldiers do not. Now, they release 50,000 robotic beetles the size of half a lime into the jungle. Each is coated with poison or has a chiclet sized piece of plastic explosive inside. It has some smarts. Not nearly as much as your phone but just enough; and they can be turned out cheap. A trained soldier brought from a raw recruit to one standing on the battlefield costs G7 countries approximately $300,000. Now, say the Chinese are turning out these little killers out for $300 each? They can be dropped from aircraft, scattered by soldiers, floated down rivers, it just crawls in a pre-set direction looking for a warm body in a uniform. It snuggles up, doesn't detect a tag and ... KABOOM. How do you stop one? How do you stop 50,000? The other piece that is coming are humanoid robots. Much more complex, but you can pull a pilot from a plane, and put a humanoid robot in that seat for that kamikaze mission. No redesigned interface required. They can hold a standard firearm! They don't need food, or rest. They are bulletproof? How far out is this technology? Closer than you might think. What drove me down this particular rabbit hole was an article I read in The Atlantic last month. China (or course) has introduced an autonomous gas jockey. Pull in the gas station, swipe your card, he does the rest. The fact that he is as scary as hell and looks like ED-209 from Robocop is just an added bonus. I would pay a little extra for gas just to watch him? Cletis on the right there ... not so much.

Our Optimum Week

• Abbreviated content this week, we are on the move
• Apple Gift Cards, get 10% back in points!
• SpecSavers? This is new and they are pushing it hard? Spend $69 on kids glasses and get 50,000 points? There are other deals. Have a peek if you are in the bespeckled camp?

Is this the year you finally make your own tomato sauce. It's just not that hard. Start small year one? 12 x 750 ml jars. 1/2 bushel of roma tomatoes. An afternoon with a glass of wine (or two). Blanch, then peel. Cut them in half and remove a few seeds. It is not a felony if you miss a few. Use the potato masher. Do not add salt, other than that, the sky is the limit. Purists add nothing! For sure, I add, garlic, finely diced onions, grated carrots, black pepper and lemon juice. Simmer for three hours, then fill your jars adding a sprig of basil on top. Process the jars (YouTube is your friend). Just be warned in advance ... it's a slippery, slippery slope. A good tomato (food) processor starts at $500. I have a very expensive ($100) hand crank version. This week, the flyers were good. Offers on groceries were crap. Here is your list:

We Are Watching

His and Hers on Netflix - Script goes right to shit about the third episode. I would say don't bother but there is a nice twist (Oliver Twist) right at the end.
Inspector Ellis on Britbox - Normal UK cop stuff with a twist. She's large. She's black. She has dreads ... and she is a fixer. Sent into precincts (where she is not wanted) to pick up on on high profile or difficult cases. Really good!

Dogs got haircuts.

Mitch & Maddie

3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 eggs beaten
2 tsp olive oil
3 oz bacon diced
2 cups finely diced onion
1/4 cup finely diced bell pepper
1/4 cup seeded and minced jalapeno’s
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp Emeril’s Original Essence (Cajun spice can substitute)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped scallion
2 tbsp chopped Italian Parsley
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
3/4 pound spicy pork sausage (I used my Italian sausage)
1 cup chilli sauce
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:
1. Combine, the bread crumbs, heavy cream and beaten egg in a large bowl. Set aside
2. Add the olive oil and bacon to a skillet and cook on medium to high heat till the bacon starts to crisp.
3. Add the onions, celery, bell pepper and jalapeño and cook until soft and lightly caramelized.
4. Add the garlic, salt, 1 tsp of pepper, essence, thyme and cayenne, Cook for 2 minutes
5. Add the green onions and the parsley and combine. Set aside to cool
6. Fold the chuck and pork into the bread crumb mixture.
7. Fold the vegetable mixture into the meat and bread mixture,
8. Place the mixture into a loaf pan.
9. Combine the chilli sauce, brown sugar, the remaining black pepper and Worcestershire into a small bowl and mix together.
10. Pour the sauce over the meatloaf
11. Bake at 375 for approximately 40 minute or an internal temperature of 160 Fahrenheit.
12. Let rest for 20 minutes and serve.