“A palentir is a dangerous tool, Saruman,” Gandalf said. “We do not know who may be watching.”
Beware if you gaze into a palentir long…
March 23, 2026
Hacker finds he can control 7000 vacuum cleaners..
March 5, 2026
Incredible! What did he do with such power? As I said, he took his findings to the Verge. One of its reporters gave Azdoufal the serial number of a DJI Romo vacuum he’d just been testing for review; within minutes Azdoufal could see it cleaning the reporter’s living room, that it had 80% battery life remaining, and had it generate and transmit a floor plan of the house.
And the Internet of Things seemed like such a good idea…
Who wants to train AI for free, hands up! 🙌
July 10, 2024
Post a comment on Reddit, answer coding questions on Stack Overflow, edit a Wikipedia entry or share a baby photo on your public Facebook or Instagram feed and you are also helping to trainthe next generation of artificial intelligence.
Well, if they’re scrubbing my public FB page for data,
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
I’ll take up my vorpal sword and
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
O frabjous day!
PS I hope this helps hapless mindless office workers compose emails.
Short sharp shocks, please
March 27, 2024
How NOT to look at their smartphone while zombie walking on a train platform or stairs.
Smartphones should be programmed to send tiny electrical shocks into your hand when you walk while reading them. Put the thing in your pocket until you clear the field.
Techie here! (Aka geek)
March 26, 2024
How has technology changed your job?
How has it not?
I’m a TESOL teacher. Learning to use technology — appropriately — has always been a part of my job.
It’s the “appropriate” part that has difficult to deal with the past few years.
Yeah. Hi, Chat.
Forget about Zoom, LMS, video editing software, and all sorts of online sites that don’t need any knowledge of programming language.
I was making my own web pages in basic HTML and JavaScript back when people still though InternetExplorer was a good browser.
But tech is nothing more than a tool. And tools can be used well and badly.
And often the simple tech of a piece of paper and a pencil are all you need. No bandwagon mentality here.
So if anything I would say that, although I have always used technology to some degree for my job, I have had the luxury of experience (and a lot of mistakes!) to figure out when technology can help my job, and when it just gets in the way.
(FWIW I also teach a one-semester class about language, identity, and technology. And yes, we do analyze our selfies.)
Trolling trolls rarely works
March 21, 2024
On March 13th, someone on Goodreads shelved Bringer of Light, and on March 14th gave it a one-star rating, the lowest possible.
On March 15th, Bringer of Light was finally published online.
I flagged the “review” as violating Goodreads policy, and received an email saying the company would deal with it appropriately.
Six days later, the one-star “review” still stands.
It’s been very tempting to post a comment. But for the moment, I have resisted.
If you don’t like my work, that’s fine. But it is simply mean-spirited to try to judge it without even bothering to read it.
There are lots of trolls out there. They must be starving for attention.
Poor buggers. You’ll have to find food elsewhere.
March 2024 Goodreads giveaway for Bringer of Light has ended
March 14, 2024
Thanks to all who asked for a copy of Bringer of Light in the recent Goodreads giveaway!
Congratulations if you were a winner, and if you were not chosen by the system, take heart: there will be another giveaway in the near future. Thank you for your interest in my science fiction! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!
Another…uh, milestone, I guess?
March 2, 2024
I’m not sure why 1,337 is a magical number, but if my readers are happy, then I’m happy.
Thank you, all! I hope to continue to like your posts as well, and hope I can continue to write more ✍️ 💻 📱
Dear Diary – January 4, 2019
August 31, 2023
It’s a lie. It’s all a lie.
When you believe in a lie, you fool yourself. When you say it with conviction, you fool others.
Get enough people fooled, and you got yourself a new religion.
And no, I have no idea why Jetpack/WordPress did that
July 5, 2023
M Thomas Apple Author Page 