Carter's Notes - Life Updates, Deep Thoughts, and Old Games
Hey friends,
It's been a minute! Let's get into it and, as always, I enjoy hearing from you. You can reply directly to this email.
What's happening with me
I moved to Juneau, AK last September. It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited to be exploring a new part of Alaska as a local.
I've also been getting tattooed from a couple artists in Portland – David from Fare Well Tattoo and Charlie from Last Match Tattoo. I'm looking for more top notch artists. Got any favorites?
What's happening with my band
Last year, Big Chimney Barn Dance toured England, Wales and Ireland for nearly a month. Highlight: playing at the legendary (and tiny) Green Note in London.
We also recorded and released our second album, Morning Blues. It's available on all streaming services (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music) and folks can order Vinyl/CDs from our shop. Digital downloads available on Bandcamp.
We've got some upcoming gigs too:
- Jul 24th - Brewerks - Anchorage, AK
- Jul 25th - The Seaview - Hope, AK
- Aug 7th, 8th, 9th - Subdued - Bellingham, WA
- Aug 11th - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
New newsletter I'm starting
I have a second newsletter focused on Old Time music – tune resources, playing tips and more. Very niche but if that's your thing, just reply and I'll add you. Expect 1-2 emails a month. Unsubscribe any time. No pressure.
Philosophy I'm exploring
Steven Zapata on philosophy and art:
- You Are Not Inside Your Visual Field
- You Have Never Seen Your Body
- Philosophy of Life Drawing (my personal favorite)
- There Is No One Who Sees & The Illusions of Insides, Perspective, Space, and Scale
- The Mystery of Color
They build on each other, but you can watch in any order.
AI resources shaping my thinking
Rick Rubin interviews Jack Clark (co-founder of Anthropic). The adage "never ask a barber if you need a haircut" applies here – but it's still a great layman's discussion of AI optimism and risk.
AI 2027. A very dark – but informed – work of fiction predicting how AI will change the world in the near term. The way this thing went viral and the writing style raises my skeptics hackles a bit but it's interesting nonetheless.
François Chollet on Deep Learning and the Meaning of Intelligence. More technical. How do these tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) work? What are they capable of? Can AI agents be creative or make novel discoveries? This interview really pulled back the curtain on this tech for me.
The ARC Prize. A competition to gauge progress on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). From the website...
Pure LLMs score 0%, AI reasoning systems score only single-digit percentages, yet extensive testing shows that humans can solve every task.
Can you create a system that can reach 85% accuracy?
What I'm curious about: How is AI affecting you?
What I'm reading
Tangle. I first heard about Tangle on This American Life. This is the only news publication I've ever paid for. It's refreshingly non-partisan and challenges my thinking, even when I disagree.
Retro gaming I'm fired up about
The Game Engine Black Books. Doom and Wolfenstein 3D shaped my childhood, and learning to code only deepened their mystique.
An amazing resource on how old computers and old games worked. The PDFs are free but you gotta get to them from the link above.
The Miyoo Mini+. I didn't know retro gaming handheld emulation like this existed. I love this device and it works great with everything from PS1 down. Getting to play the coveted NeoGeo and SegaCD library is a particular treat. TechDweeb on YouTube has a lot of great resources.
Music I'm listening to
My nostalgia music Spotify playlist. I made this for my partner's daughter but find myself listening constantly. Mostly Grunge/Punk/Metal. Movin' to the country, I'm gonna eat me a lotta peaches...
That's all for now. Thanks for being here and I'll talk to you again soon.
-Carter 🍻