Author Archives: sameer

Mt Shasta juxtaposed with our consumerist selves

Mountains can be teachers. They can show us our place, help keep our ego in check, and give us the dose of awe we need to stay grounded. We were driving back from Mt Lassen when we stopped for a coffee and from the parking lot of a Starbucks I caught this view of MtContinue reading “Mt Shasta juxtaposed with our consumerist selves”

Why I now believe that Bitcoin introduces catastrophic systemic risk rather than mitigating it

I have been a very strong believer in Bitcoin. First for transactions. I even sold a robomop to someone on Craigslist back in 2014 and got paid in Bitcoin for it. I used the first Bitcoin ATMs in Belgium and Amsterdam to withdraw my BTC in Euros in 2015 and really believed BTC was goingContinue reading “Why I now believe that Bitcoin introduces catastrophic systemic risk rather than mitigating it”

People swimming inside an energy reactor: Stable Diffusion AI to

I had tried a similar prompt to evaluate Dall-E earlier. So wanted to see how Stable Diffusion worked for it. The difference here is that all these images were created locally on my machine (not in the cloud). It’s getting easier and easier to run advanced AI models with limited technical knowledge thanks to workContinue reading “People swimming inside an energy reactor: Stable Diffusion AI to”

Testing how DALL-E layers on to prior art

DALL-E is quite impressive and it’s been fun to see all the different images it has been conjuring up. I am still on the waitlist but a few friends have access to it. One of them helped run a couple of queries on my behalf and it was quite interesting to see the result. SoContinue reading “Testing how DALL-E layers on to prior art”

Using a mirror effect on drone footage

I was out on a hike recently with my folks and took some drone footage of the area. I decided to try out a mirror effect on the drone footage and it came out rather nice. This is a first rough cut at it on a low resolution version of the footage. The entire thingContinue reading “Using a mirror effect on drone footage”

Experiencing Macchu Picchu in National Geographic’s VR

So I have been to Macchu Picchu in person, doing the whole 4 day Inca Trail hike. But I just revisited it via VR using National Geographic’s experience and it felt more intimate. Maybe the fact that it was just me and no one else there. And that I was able to experience a digitalContinue reading “Experiencing Macchu Picchu in National Geographic’s VR”

Theory: Musk interest in Twitter is about crypto

Update 28th Apr 2022: Balaji also sees this angle and here’s his suggestion to Elon to do a coin drop to all users Musk is one of the smartest people alive. His ability to see long term and execute towards it is inspiring. Which is why I have been baffled by his interest in TwitterContinue reading “Theory: Musk interest in Twitter is about crypto”

Drone pics of beyond grid solar from the early days of SunFunder

While spring cleaning, found these picture from the SunFunder early days! These were all shot with a drone (or a series of drones 😂) to document the beyond grid solar opportunity. The one on the top-left was used by the Associated Press and also made it into a USAID calendar. SunFunder

Flying a drone from a moving truck on the Oregon Coast

I’d never flown a drone from a moving car. So when we were on the Oregon coast a few months ago, Jenna was driving slowly while I was standing on the bed of the truck trying to fly the drone. We did a few takes, driving forward and backwards. Here’s a cut from the footage.