Hello my fellow futurists!

I'm not sure if you're a sports fan or not, but regardless the Super Bowl is always fun. I'm glad the LA Rams won.

Interestingly we had a nice juxtaposition of hip hop nostalgia for the halftime show and Meta's vision for a dystopian future.

More on that later.

1 life update 👆

Valentine's day was my birthday. Once again I've made a trip all the way around the sun.

I thought about writing one of those 35 things I've learned since I turned 35 type of posts, but maybe by the time you get to 35 you realize posts like that are cliché.

Somewhere in a list of 35 things I learned though I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to fold a fitted sheet ;)

2 crazy things ✌

​📚 AI generated Sci-Fi book covers

Artist Lewis Hackett displays a mastery of GPT3 in his generation of Sci-Fi novel names and book covers. None of the books are real and an algorithm created the cover art.

​cdm.link​

⚡ Fusion reactor hits a record

JET, the Joint European Taurus, hit a world record output of energy just recently.

To be fair, it still requires more energy input to run than the output, but once fully realized fusion energy completely changes the game for humanity. It's essentially limitless energy.

​Freethink​

3 Metaverse things ✌+👆

🏈 Meta's Super Bowl ad missed the mark

During the Super Bowl Meta ran a depressing ad about a Chuck E Cheese style animatronic dog that ends in a trash heap. But no worries. Even though his life was super shitty, he could just strap on a headset and escape to VR. I wish I was making this up.

I don't know who green lit this ad and what the hell they were thinking but it was horrible. VR isn't a replacement for real life, it's a better alternative to certain digital activities.

🍔 I'll have a McMetaverse meal please

McDonald's is reportedly getting in on the Metaverse game. In news first broken by a patent attorney, McDonald's has filed 10 patents for Metaverse related technologies, including the ability to order a big mac from digital worlds and have a real one delivered to your real house.

Not exactly ground breaking, but interesting in the corporate interest of the Metaverse.

​XR Today​

🌐 NFT avatars?

Ready Player Me, a universal avatar startup, has joined with Crypto Punks to provide a 3D avatar of Crypto Punks, one of the most popular NFTs out there.

I think the concept is heading in a great direction.

Whether you love the idea, or hate NFTs, I'd expect to see more projects like this in the future.

​punks.readyplayer.me​

Happy birthday to me

What do you ask for a birthday once you've gotten past your teens? My wife got me a nice bottle of whiskey.
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Have an awesome week and see you next Tuesday!

Daniel
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Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.
Isaac Asimov