Less Human Than Human We found ourselves in November 2021, and the Covid Madness that had started in March 2020 showed no signs of ever returning to normal. As such, Vox and I started the Vaxx Trax project in order to record a few songs about the insane overreaction to a somewhat worse-than-normal flu season….
Chapter 13, Part 1 – Of Lore and Lineage
by Silent Draco Sam walked up to the guards at the heavy door of the Lore-Smith forges and Second Armory. He bowed to the curious guards, and displayed the small plaque of Tree and Fountain. “Enter, Young Ones. The High Lord awaits you within.” One guard opened the heavy, steel-lined doors, while another rang a…
The Future of Big AI Companies is Bleak
by Tor The Future of Big AI Companies is Bleak Data-Center Capacity How much claimed capacity is actually getting built and put into operation? From Ed Zitron’s deep dive[1], it looks like actual operational data centers by electrical consumption are somewhere between a tenth to twentieth of the capacity corporate press releases would have people…
Chapter 12 – A Walking Song
by Silent Draco Two weeks after they accepted King Fingolfin’s gift, after second breakfast, the Halflings heard a mellow tenor voice chanting songs of praise for Yavannah. A quiet tapping came at their main door; Frodo was closest, and opened the door to greet a wonder. A visitor, one of the Maiar from the almost…
Chapter 11, Part 4 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco Frodo, in his turn, was welcomed and walked to another small cottage. “Lady Estë asked us to walk about the gardens, and chant or sing, as is your wont,” spoke Mardur. “Come, let me sing some verses of the Voyage of Fendlas the Unprepared. Though his was not quite the time, yet…
Chapter 11, Part 3 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco Bilbo and Frodo were both healed of all hurt, injury, and spiritual ill they took from bearing and resisting the Master-Ring. All shadows were cleansed from mind and heart, and sorrow replaced with understanding, wisdom, and regret. For among those sorrows and regret was the knowledge that they would never return to…
Booster Patrol Retrospective #3
Where Have All The Pillows Gone? The seventh Boomer Patrol track was a parody version of The Kingston Trio’s Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Not a great song, but one of our very few (only?) attempts at folk music, so that’s a thing. Recorded & released in October 2021, with Vox writing the lyrics…
Booster Patrol Retrospective #2
My Studio Setup My studio is contained entirely on a 5′ desk plus a 2′ × 2′ corner piece connecting to an another desk running at a 90° angle. (There’s a third 5′ desk running at a 90° angle to that, forming a ‘U’ shape. That’s where my design PC lives, for Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere,…
Booster Patrol Retrospective #1
Introduction Greetings! My name is John Bradley (@jhb on SocialGalactic, bradley@trilon.com everywhere else), music producer, guitar player, singer, lyricist, artist/designer, video editor, and all-purpose gadabout. In the coming months I’ll be documenting all of the various songs and videos released as part of the Booster Patrol/Boomer Patrol/Vaxx Trax musical projects, and hopefully convince you to…
Chapter 11, Part 2 – The Healing of Lórien
by Silent Draco “Namarith, foxglove tincture, six drops, and a small spoon of fevers-bane. Mix with the arrow’s root.” She sang a rhythm-song to steady mind and heart; taking the proffered soft cake, she deftly placed half under Sam’s tongue. Cradling his head on her lap, she sang on. Sun and Sky and star shall…