Jokes and Pain

cartoon self-portrait, face only: bald guy, glasses and a smile

AI x Creativity

In planning and design theory, a 'wicked problem' is a problem with no definitive formulation, no clear stopping rule and no objectively correct solution Most math problems would be the opposite of a 'wicked problem'. You see the question, the stopping rule is arriving at the

Cartoon self-portrait with a thought bubble containing a 'No AI' sign.

I don’t use AI for any creative now

I don’t use AI for any creative endeavour any more. I’m not a hater, it just doesn’t work for me in that space these days. YMMV. However, it is perfect for work. The AI’s distillation of the Internet into a smooth, even, flavourless slop maps exactly

A red clown nose that has been thrown into a bin

So I Quit Clown Class

I always wanted to do physical comedy. I took a clown class to push my body to explore its capacity and capability for comedy. Instead, it pushed me into a space where I don’t fit. A box so uncomfortable that its fiendish design opened my psyche up like it

Portrait photo of the author. Si is smiling, with his arms crossed. He's wearing a black t-shirt.

What 50-Something Looks Like

So this is what being 50something looks like. But I only know that from looking in a mirror. When I go out, I do not know what 50something looks like. I don't much go to the pub, alcohol takes more than it gives. I look after myself, I

three cyborg figures, 2 female, one male. They have badass robotic enhancements to their flesh and blood bodies.

Everyone's a Maker Now

Everyone’s a maker now. Everyone’s a maker, everyone’s a project manager. If you’ve ever worked in an engineering team then you might recognise this trope: engineers only respect other engineers. Everyone else is just in the way of them writing their beautiful code. Designers add unnecessary

Manga-style image of a kid riding a bike with no hands on a road composed of binary ones and zeroes. The kid has their hands above their head and a carefree smile on their face,

First Steps in Vibe Coding - "look Ma! No hands!"

Here's what I know about vibe coding. There's a lot more to know but here's what I'm confident in right now. First, what do I mean by vibe coding? I mean the process of describing what you want to a coding agent

Kramer on the subway looking askance at another passenger

New Goal: Connect Like Kramer

This 30-second sequence from the 90s TV show Seinfeld brings me back to life every time I watch it. The clip follows Seinfeld's neighbour Kramer (actor Michael Richards) as he fails to get a seat on the subway. It's got a lot to say about being

a tin can labelled 'Scraps'

Scraps #2

This is the second edition of Scraps. It features a question, a reminder and a release valve. A Question. “In a world where both zombies and ghosts exist, is it possible for someone to become both?” If you go with “yes because ghosts are the consciousness/ mind and zombies are

A Life Beyond Shadows

What if everything you believed about the world was just an illusion? That unsettling question led me to rethink my relationship with Big Tech. I haven’t posted here for a while because I’ve been struggling with something. I’m increasingly uncomfortable with Big Tech and how it defines

a robot vacuum cleaner with a thought bubble containing 3 question marks

Can Machines Have Souls?

“It’s OK to eat fish cos they don’t have any feelings” Nirvana: Something In The Way (Citation needed there, Kurt). Whatever you call the ‘soul’: whether it’s a way of being, a personality attribute, or an inner consciousness separate from the body, it’s not only an

A stylised manga-style minotaur's face. The image conveys rising energy or power. The background is a clean, repeating grid of monospace words: "error", "void", and "null".

You Too Are Untranslatable

“How render back into light world language the speech defying pronouncements of the dark? How represent on a two-dimensional surface, a three-dimensional form? Or in a three dimensional image, a multi-dimensional meaning? How translate into terms of ‘yes’ and ‘no’, revelations that shatter into meaninglessness every attempt to define the

Covers of ebooks written by Si Cobb. "Is Juice Worth The Squeeze?" with its distinctive pop art slice of lemon

Back To School eBooks Offer

To help you get back to work after the summer break my eBooks: "Is The Juice Worth the Squeeze?" and "The TL;DR: Guide to AI" are available as a bundle at the incredible low price of $2.99 on Gumroad - that's 2

a photorealistic monochrome image of a screw-cap pill bottle. The label has the word 'Scraps' on it.

Scraps #1

mining for gold in the junkpile of my mind