Anecdotl: Checking “Startup” off the Bucket List

Posted on May 6, 2021     Leave a Comment

“Anecdotl is where stories belong.” That was the tagline of my joint side project/startup, conceived when I realized that I was forgetting some of the funny things that my son said and did because I hadn’t recorded them. “If this is a problem for me,” I thought, “then it’s a problem for lots of parents.” After convincing two former co-workers of the basic premise, we started work on “Anecdotl” and eventually launched a website of the same name (the proper spelling of the word was taken by then). Here’s the pitch:

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“Finding Bigfoot” and Cultivating Conspiracy

Posted on April 22, 2021     Leave a Comment

Originally published in July, 2017 at The What and the Why

Have you ever watched “Finding Bigfoot” on Animal Planet, a TV channel once focused on educational programming about real animals?

If you haven’t, here’s what happens in almost every episode of the show’s nine seasons [spoiler alert]: a motley team of researchers visits a location purported to be “squatchy”, interviews various local eye-witnesses, recreates a sighting by having the tallest team member stand next to a tree, “calls” for Bigfoot in the local wilderness at night, and, predictably, FAILS to find Bigfoot. “We didn’t find Bigfoot this time, but based on testimonials and other physical evidence, I’m convinced that there could be several living in these woods,” Matt Moneymaker, team leader, might say in any episode’s concluding monologue [end spoiler alert].

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Will the Machines Take Over?

Posted on April 22, 2021     Leave a Comment

Originally published in June, 2017 at The What and the Why

The first R-rated movie I saw was 1984’s The Terminator.  To a 12-year old, it was as enlightening as you’d expect, but I’m beginning to believe it instilled in me a fear of the future with respect to artificial intelligence and robots, a fear that is surfacing more lately as articles like this gem, Experts Predict When A.I. Will Beat Humans In Everything, become more numerous.  Apparently, in just three years, artificial intelligence might beat humans at Angry Birds.  A few years later, it might be able to create a pretty catchy pop song.  About a century after that, it may be better than us at everything.

Egads!

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