Microphones

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Nothing is more emblematic of the Golden Age of Radio than the microphones of that era. I asked ChatGPT to identify a few that were used at KBOA.

RCA 77-M (early) or RCA 77-A / 77-B variant. This is an earlier RCA 77, before the D / DX refinements. These were extremely common in regional stations transitioning from prewar gear.

Shure 55A or 55B (pre-“Elvis” Unidyne). This is the earlier Shure 55, before the iconic chrome “Elvis” look (the 55S). Radio stations used these constantly in the late ’40s–early ’50s. Key tells:

  • End-address (announcer speaking into the top)
  • Horizontal grille rings
  • Small-diameter cylindrical body
  • Cable exiting low, angled

RCA 44-BX ribbon microphone. The 44-BX was the mic for Groups, Music, Dramatic readings, Anything needing that huge ribbon warmth

LLM’s as job reference?

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“You should be able to provide an LLM as a job reference, just like you would a coworker, manager, or professor. It can form an opinion and represent you without revealing any private data.” — John Carmack on Twitter

I’ve stopped keeping track of how many time’s I’ve interacted with ChatGPT (and other LLMs), or when I enabled the memory feature that allows it to reference prior conversations. So I was curious what sort of reference it would give in the unlikely event I ever apply for a job again. My mother could not have done better. Continue reading →

Life is short—and life is long. But not in that order

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aulasy – n. the sadness that there’s no way to convey a powerful memory to people who weren’t there at the time-driving past your childhood home to show it to a friend, or pointing at a picture of a loved one you lost, only to realize that to them it’s just another house, just another face.

enterhood – n. the set of living people who have known you all your life, all the way back to your infancy, before you had a clue who you were; a group that slowly shrinks as you get older, until the point when all of your closest confidants have only ever seen an abridged version of you, having joined your story somewhere in the middle of things, just as you did.

— The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig

Reading changes the way your brain works

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Watch this video on YouTube. And for those who insist reading on your phone is the same as reading a book. It’s not. “Reading on a phone or tablet is generally passive scrolling, often interrupted by messages and alerts. When we read on screens we tend to skim and when we skim, we’re more susceptible to misinformation.”

A few posts about reading »

A world that’s better for dogs

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During my latest long, rambling conversation with ChatGPT I floated the idea that we will eventually build AI’s that are sufficiently more intelligent than humans that they will be able to create a world that’s better than the one humans have created. Which prompted the following question from ChatGPT:

“Do you hope AI makes a world that is better for humans, or do you hope it makes a world that is better period, even if humans aren’t at the center of it?”

I suppose only a human would be surprised by that question. Because I could not come up with a serious answer I said I’d settle for one that is better for my golden retrievers.
Continue reading →