michael-dean-k/

1. Did Jerry Garcia ever comment on the future of robots?” I asked this question to the robot in the Sphere lobby, and it gave me a BS response (effectively, “No, Jerry Garcia, the guitarist of the Grateful Dead, never talked about robots, but people do!”). I really wanted it to infer what Jerry might think about robot chaperons in the lobby of his venues, but I had to ask the human host to ask the robot question, so I couldn’t get too specific.
2. Most people seemed intrigued and revulsed by the micro-expressions in its face, except the guy behind us. He told us that several people have complained to the Sphere management that it makes them uncomfortable. He thinks humanoid robots will be commercially available in 3-4 years. He wants one in his kitchen.
3. Andrew said someone told him that the hardest thing for robots to recreate will be a sense of smell, and so in the future, if androids look identical to humans, they’ll use smell tests as proof of humanity.
4. The outer lobby of the sphere has black reflective floors, glowing hues on the parapets, and tangling installments that if you stare into, will trip you out.
5. The Sphere markets itself as a haven for “22nd century technology,” but the travelators are broken.

After spending a week or two watching a decaying human body, it’s weird to investigate the life of your own hands. Death is the norm, and so you take for granted the miraculous and automatic coordination it takes to make a fist. A death is not just the end of a 78 year life, but a 60 million year chain of evolution. To go back into the ground is to return not to the origin, not to the womb, but to a place your genes have never been, the place where another 10 million year cycle begins. I get the reason for pine caskets.

Most people probably don't put much thought into their own funeral, because why plan an event you won’t experience? This might be a writerly perspective, but a funeral might be the moment in your life where everyone in your life is most curious about what your consciousness was like.

From now, I want to start writing, 1) letters to specific people, 2) my values/virtues, and 3) essays on the nature of dying, death, the afterlife, and legacy.

I also want to design a kill switch. Perhaps my wife or future kids will have access to a page to declare “Mike’s dead” and if I don’t answer within 24 hours, then I’m confirmed dead and a series of processes are automatically triggered (ie: emails, letters posts, music, videos, an invitation, etc.).

It will update a /death slug on my personal website (which will hopefully have 300 year hosting), and my gravestone will have a QR code that points to it.