Administration – Hazel Purls

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

When I told my teenage daughter that I’d broken my blog her response was that “blogging is dead”! So, before I put the effort in to fix this blog, I investigated (via social media) whether this was true. Is everything now Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and the Fediverse? I’m pleased to say that this isn’t the case. People are still writing blogs and also reading them. So whether or not my blog is useful or interesting, it still has a place on the Internet.

Blogging is in our control and isn’t driven by algorithms or advertising that is controlled by a handful of incredibly rich people. Well designed blogs and websites allow us to look back (try and see my tweets from 2014 or my first photos on Instagram) and read more considered posts (no need for a tweet unroll here). So there’s definitely a place for blogs (hurray)! That’s not to say social media is necessarily bad – Instagram in its early days was glorious. However, on the current popular platforms, we are too open to manipulation and it’s much, much harder to find people with similar interests, but different lives, in different parts of the world.

The world has changed enormously in the 14 years since this blog started. Personally I’d used Ravelry for a few months and chatting online was otherwise based around forums I’d access to via work. Although Facebook and Twitter existed they weren’t so universal and Instagram didn’t start until a couple of years later. Now we have algorithms controlling what we see. Make a post with a link in it on Facebook – and no one will see it (you can try this out for yourself – it won’t be scientific but it is worth thinking about). In addition, algorithms are inserting sponsored and “suggested” posts and click bait – distorting what we see and interrupting what we were hoping to read. Then there’s the content that makes you wonder if a human even wrote it!

And this leads me to the title of this ramble. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” is a novel by Philip K. Dick – which is the inspiration of the film “Blade Runner”. AI, I suspect, has the potential to be brilliant and lead us to the lovely world of computers being an integrated and helpful part of our lives while we explore and flourish (just like Star Trek portrays) or (as many are predicting) down a considerably more dystopian path.

I’m a software engineer, but not an expert on AI, so my knowledge is much the same as any layperson. However, anecdotal reports seem to suggest that AI produced output isn’t particularly accurate and the AI will make things up and give fake sources for the information (I note that I’ve not given any sources for this). My own experiments with ChatGPT resulted in output that was uninspiring at best and on technical subjects very shallow, albeit well written. In conversations I’ve suggested that asking an AI for information is like asking an 8 year old, who can write exceptionally well. We wouldn’t rely on the 8 year old’s response. However, a well written response from a computer appears more trustworthy!

Now I never thought I’d come down on the side of the luddite (ironic for someone with a blog full of spinning, weaving and other textile craft)! However, I personally don’t want to be reading uninspired work generated by an AI. In the same way I don’t want anyone to read my blog and wonder if it’s genuine or produced by AI. It turns out I’m not the only one to think this! Searching for a No AI logo turned up a website dedicated to promoting AI free content. So, in this somewhat serious post, I will include one of their fabulous logos. I’ll also put a logo on my menus and a link to their “no AI pledge”!

Oops!

I broke my site! Please bear with me while I get things working again. Some things may be a bit odd for a while and things do look different – but I think I quite like this new template – maybe (update: I didn’t like the theme and have reinstalled the one I was using – but it’s going to take a while to get back to it looking good). I’ve moved to a different server so https should work (hurray – no more complaining browsers!) and I should have enough space (the start of the downfall). They also have 24/7 technical support and are powered by renewable energy (which makes me happy). Everything’s here – but with a move to another server domain name changes can take a while to filter through – so things may look a little odd for a bit. I will be tinkering until it’s all working.

Goldilocks and the Three WIPs

A long time ago I spun two different dyed tops of Shetland and plied them together. But then I didn’t really like it enough to knit with. At the last Creating Space I took it out and discussed the options: knit it, weave it, over-dye it (I really didn’t like the colour) or spin something else to weave with it. I decided on the last option and grabbed some blended bamboo and merino tops to see if I could spin this using the coreless core spinning technique:

coreless

However, once home I decided I quite liked the variation of colour in the Shetland yarn and didn’t want to lose that by weaving with something else, but I still didn’t fancy knitting it.

yarn

So I worked out how much yarn I had and calculated that this was enough for a woven shawl. I warped the loom with the larger skein and I’m weaving with the shorter skein.

warped

I have a third small skein, which is the result of plying one of the leftover singles with itself. This is proving to be ideal to add a small amount of detail to the weaving in the form of Danish medallions (these look fiendishly complicated but turn out to be delightfully easy and I can see lots of ways to use them in my weaving…)

shuttles

danish

dms

The third WIP is a Bouclé yarn. I’m using BFL for the core and binder with Mohair to form the loops, all dyed with the same colours. I’ve spun the core and I’m working on the mohair single. So far I’m not enjoying spinning the mohair, so I’m having to do this in small doses.

boucle

So where’s Goldilocks? Well, sometime ago I mentioned that I was running out of space on my blog, but that a larger package was too expensive. When my account came up for renewal I emailed the company at about 9:30 one evening and asked them if there was anything they could suggest. About fifteen minutes later I got a reply with an alternative package. When I accepted this offer they sent me an invoice describing it as the “Goldilocks Special” account. A few minutes later I received another invoice with a more sensible name – but I much prefer the original!

Blogging in Space

I’m not really blogging in space, but what a thought:

“I started knitting these socks last night. I asked the replicator to produce some cellulose fibre yarn like the bamboo yarns produced in the 21st century. It manages these types of yarns quite well, but it struggles to produce yarn with the feel and natural bounce of real wool. I’ll have to wait until we get to the next planet with animals that produce a wool like coat before I can get anything like that…”

On the space theme, last night I finally cast on for the shawl using the bowtie yarn I started spinning during the Tour de Fleece. The shawl is growing quickly. I started knitting it on the Lantern Moon needles I bought at Fibre East, as it grew I transferred it to the circulars I have, then transferred it straight back to the straight needles. Though the Lantern Moon needles are very heavy (they are 15mm) the stitches slide over the polished surface really well, and the point is beautifully shaped. So, for the moment I’ll put up with the weight and knit in short sessions.

The shawl will be triangular and I’m knitting it from the neck down (starting with a garter stitch tab), with increases for shape in the middle and at the edges of the rows. The weather has made photography difficult today, but here is progress so far:

And what set me off on the space theme? Well, after my posts on Saturday my web host emailed to say I was getting close to using up the space I’m allocated. Initially I thought that wasn’t a big problem, just upgrade to the next package, but it turns out that costs nearly three times as much! So, I’m going to have to do some serious web and blog management in the near future. Not only do I still need to fix the look and feel of the blog which got broken after I upgraded WordPress, but I now either need to streamline my blogging or find a new affordable home for it! So, if I suddenly go quiet on the spinning and knitting front, that’s a likely reason!

Now, where did I park my TARDIS?

Blog administration!

Oh dear! I’ve updated to the latest version of WordPress, and broken the theme slightly! I will come back and fix it. But it’s getting late to be playing those sorts of games!