jazzsequence

Hi, I’m Chris

I make websites and things. Lately, I’ve been experimenting a lot with Large Language Models (colloquially known as AI) to test their capabilities and to help make my job and D&D Dungeon Mastering life easier. Feel free to click around to learn more about stuff I like to do and/or am working on.

  • Humble Oil (now Exxon) Predicts the Future in 1962 Ad

    “EACH DAY HUMBLE SUPPLIES ENOUGH ENERGY TO MELT 7 MILLION TONS OF GLACIER!” “This giant glacier has remained unmelted for centuries. Yet, the petroleum energy Humble supplies – if converted into heat – could melt it at the rate of 80 tons each second! To meet the nation’s growing needs for energy, Humble has supplied…

  • Empire Avenue: The timesuck that capitalizes on your social media empire

    You are a Twitter addict.  You maintain multiple blogs, connect with friends and classmates on Facebook, are never far from your iPhone to check in to Foursquare and are a frequent reviewer on Yelp.  In short, you are a social networking junkie. In that case, probably you don’t need to read this post, because probably…

  • graduation!

    today was gavin’s graduation from preschool!  we thought we’d take this opportunity to let gavin know just how happy we are: gavin– we are so very proud of all you’ve done this year in your very first year in school.  we were nervous; we didn’t know what to expect or how good (or bad) your…

  • Street Art by BEST | EVER

    BEST | EVER is a street art duo from Bournemouth, England.  Their work combines surrealism with photorealism and addresses issues of human frailty, weakness, disease and death.  As you can imagine, the art of BEST | EVER transcends simple graffiti with their hauntingly beautiful images.  The subversive act of applying paint to public surfaces forces…

  • lala.com closes their doors: a case study in how to alienate your core userbase

    Once upon a time there was a website called Lala.  I think I first heard about them in an issue of Wired as an alternative to filesharing.  Because, when Lala got started, it was all about cd trading — put the cd’s you don’t really care for anymore up in the pool, create a wishlist…

  • odds & ends

    we found a neat hike up the mountains a few weeks back.  it was beautiful, but of course we left the camera at home.  we went back over the weekend, this time bringing the camera.  gavin, of course, was busily hunting for new additions for his rock collection. you can see more pics from our…

  • James Cameron invited to a brainstorming session on stopping the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico

    Federal officials are hoping film director James Cameron can help them come up with ideas on how to stop the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. via Obama launches criminal investigation of oil leak – Salt Lake Tribune. Wait…what?? First Kevin Costner generously donates his glorified vacuum cleaners that he’s been developing secretly…

  • amano chocolate: guess the country of origin

    My absolute favorite chocolate maker in the world (and I mean that literally) is getting a new bar ready for production.  To celebrate, they’re offering up a year’s supply of chocolate for someone who can guess the country of origin.  Amano does amazing things with single-origin chocolate that really bring out the flavor of the…