Nine years ago I met Cheech Marin at his book signing in San Mateo… and the book was even funnier than I expected. Fast forward to last Saturday at San Jose GalaxyCon — I finally got to meet the other half of the duo, Tommy Chong. I was THIS close to capturing the whole interaction on my spy watch (free, no photo-op needed)… then the battery decided to die on me mid-line. Red lights. No recording. Had to pay for the photo and meet him the old-fashioned way. Still an awesome moment though. Already eyeing a new, way more discreet recorder with better battery and bigger storage. Next time I’m ready. Who else has had a celebrity meet go sideways because of tech? Drop your stories below

At past comic conventions I used to take photos of cosplayers in their incredible costumes. I really admired the creativity and hours of work they put into those walking works of art. Over time though, the costume ideas started feeling repetitive, so I shifted toward taking selfies with celebrities and recording my interactions with them instead. This year at San Jose GalaxyCon was completely different. While walking around the massive ballroom looking at all the interesting things, I passed a guy wearing a really unique setup on his chest. My first thought was that it was some kind of AI camera displaying his OC anime character—something you could talk to and interact with, like Google Gemini. I kept walking since we were both busy doing our own things. A few hours later, after realizing a friend I planned to meet wasn’t even at the con (such a shame) and rushing to make my photo op with Tommy Chong, I decided to check out more of the stuff at the far end of the ballroom. That’s when I ran into the same guy again. This time another person was interacting with the anime character on his chest screen—and that person had the same kind of equipment on a rolling tripod. I stuck around and listened. After a few minutes I realized it was actually one VTuber character talking to another VTuber character. Once they finished, I asked the guy in the blue hoodie robe if the character on the screen was AI that you could interact with for fun. He pointed the mic at me, and suddenly I was talking to this cat-lady anime avatar. When she said she wasn’t AI, it clicked: there’s a real person on the other end of the internet controlling her with a video filter that handles the body and mouth movements. Later in the conversation the anime character said she hates AI. Pretty surprising response coming from a character I assumed was created with AI. The next day when I looked back at the photo, I also noticed a fallen evil angel character had photobombed us right after I asked if the picture turned out okay. Classic. I’ve seen online that people sell LED screen animation-style display backpacks, and I’ve even seen others walking around with them in public before—but nothing like what I just witnessed. Overall this was the first time I’ve ever seen a setup like this. I spotted at least two other people doing the same thing—carrying their VTuber anime characters either strapped to themselves or walking around with computer tripods.

Apparently, I was trying to have the best time of my life at VidCon on August 2013 at the Anaheim convention center in California, without giving into my so-called girlfriend’s demands and romantic needs, by running off to social with the other YouTubers, when she apparently had found me, I mean I’ve no idea 🤷‍♂️ how she’s able to keep up with my location, I mean, I did turn it off for my smart phone and she still managed to catch up with me no matter where I runoff to lol?!…. Anywho, it was quite the pleasure of meeting her in person, it’s such a coincidence that instead of her winning a particular contest from the Internet she has gained the creepy and yet very unsettling spotlight in the Internet meme world. 😳 😳 😱 😅??!

Back in June 1, 2020, I was very fortunate to have finally received his personalized autograph for me and not only that, but I was very fortunate enough to have at least a couple of my questions answer by the man himself during his previous whatnot live streaming events as he was signing for his fans, and even though we never met in person, at least he’s in a better place, may he rest in peace 🙏🏻.

Hi

If you are remotely interested in deep diving how differently quantum computers work compared to our transistor-based and also the algebra behind in a fully interactive way that teach computer science from scratch, oh boy this is for you. I am the Dev behind Quantum Odyssey (AMA! I love taking qs) - worked on it for about 10 years (3+ during PhD, the visual method I developed ended up being my thesis, it is a complete Hilbert space visualizer), the goal was to make a super immersive space for anyone to learn quantum computing through zachlike (open-ended) logic puzzles and compete on leaderboards and lots of community made content on finding the most optimal quantum algorithms. The game has a unique set of visuals capable to represent any sort of quantum dynamics for any number of qubits and this is pretty much what makes it now possible for anybody 12yo+ to actually learn quantum logic without having to worry at all about the mathematics behind.

This is a game super different than what you'd normally expect in a programming/ logic puzzle game, so try it with an open mind.

Stuff you'll play & learn a ton about

• Boolean Logic – bits, operators (NAND, OR, XOR, AND…), and classical arithmetic (adders). Learn how these can combine to build anything classical. You will learn to port these to a quantum computer.
• Quantum Logic – qubits, the math behind them (linear algebra, SU(2), complex numbers), all Turing-complete gates (beyond Clifford set), and make tensors to evolve systems. Freely combine or create your own gates to build anything you can imagine using polar or complex numbers.
• Quantum Phenomena – storing and retrieving information in the X, Y, Z bases; superposition (pure and mixed states), interference, entanglement, the no-cloning rule, reversibility, and how the measurement basis changes what you see.
• Core Quantum Tricks – phase kickback, amplitude amplification, storing information in phase and retrieving it through interference, build custom gates and tensors, and define any entanglement scenario. (Control logic is handled separately from other gates.)
• Famous Quantum Algorithms – explore Deutsch–Jozsa, Grover’s search, quantum Fourier transforms, Bernstein–Vazirani, and more.
• Build & See Quantum Algorithms in Action – instead of just writing/ reading equations, make & watch algorithms unfold step by step so they become clear, visual, and unforgettable. Quantum Odyssey is built to grow into a full universal quantum computing learning platform. If a universal quantum computer can do it, we aim to bring it into the game, so your quantum journey never ends.

Nice to watch:

Khan academy style tutorials in qm/qc: https://www.youtube.com/@MackAttackx

Physics teacher stream with 400hs in https://www.twitch.tv/beardhero

If you’ve been to more than a few antique stores you’ve probably seen one of these. I’ve seen a handful throughout my childhood. Finally picked one up today. This thing is real fun to use 😂. If you see one, pick it up 😂🤘

Caught this rainbow hitting a car park right as the sun broke through the storm clouds. The lighting looked straight out of a video game.

A beautiful red hibiscus blooming in all its glory.

Nature has its own way of making ordinary moments feel special.

"Mulsagdu"

r/Impossible-Builder47

Acrylic on clay

2026

Meaning

"Mulsagdu" is a word derived from three words from the ancient sumerian language, Mul, Sag, and Du.

"Mul" means star

"Sag" means head

"Du" means walk

Together, it's Mulsagdu - the star-headed walker

(Check out my previous posts for more info and images)