This Week in AI: Cheaper Models, Bigger Rules, and Who Gets the Keys
Cheaper AI models arrived as Sanders and Casar proposed sweeping controls. What the bill and EU AI Act really mean for creators, open models, and home servers.
Author
Colin Michaels
Florida creator, applications developer, recording and mixing engineer, FPV pilot, and writer exploring unusual gadgets, useful technology, creative projects, and patient-perspective recovery.
Applications Developer
Published articles
Do You Need a Fancy Dock—or Just One Better Cable? The Five-Minute Desk Test
Before buying a 14-port dock, name the cable problem. Compare Anker, Plugable, CalDigit, and Kensington with a five-minute desk audit.
This “Drone” Flaps Like a Bird. My 10-Question Checklist Before I Back It.
A mechanical eagle that flaps and glides has my attention. Before backing Eagle X, I want answers about flying space, real costs, repairs, rules, and the hobby itself.
This Week in AI: Siri Woke Up and the Labs Hit the Brakes
Siri AI finally shipped, Google made voice models think while talking, AI moved into documents and Word, and the labs started reaching for safety brakes.
UMG Sues DistroKid Over AI Music: What It Means for the Dreadnauts
I trusted DistroKid with the Dreadnauts after industry recommendations. UMG’s new lawsuit made me look harder at what it alleges, what remains unproven, and which distributors responsibly accept original AI-assisted music.
A Backpackable Robot for Your Legs? 10 Normal Questions Before You Buy
Hypershell Halo makes robot legs look almost backpackable. Here are the ten ordinary questions I would ask before trusting one on a real trail—or anywhere near recovery.
This Week in AI: Astra Got to Work and Image 2.5 Picked Up the Brush
GPT-6 Astra moved from launch hype to real work while ChatGPT Images 2.5 focused on faster, more controlled editing. Here is what changed and what to test.
36 Sessions Done: Cardiac Rehab, a New Routine, and Little Dreads
I finished all 36 cardiac rehab sessions, my energy is coming back, and I am figuring out how to keep the routine while building Little Dreads.
Project Turbine: A Jet-Powered Paramotor Has My Attention
Tucker Gott's jet turbine paramotor build caught my eye—and brought me back to chasing David Farmer over Jupiter Beach with my FPV drone.
Last Year's Next Big Thing Is in an AI Graveyard
Yesterday's AI breakthrough is today's migration project. A funny walk through the AI graveyard, who's making the decisions, and why I'm still excited about Astra.
Rewatching Man of the Year: Robin Williams, Politics, and Mental Health
The 2006 political comedy is uneven but strangely current. Its biggest lesson now may be what Robin Williams’s life reminds us about hidden pain, brain illness, and how to help.
This Week in AI: The Frontier Race Hit the Gas and the Brakes
GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1, Gemini 3.8, Muse Spark 1.3, new voice and world models, NVIDIA’s Hugging Face deal, local AI, and school limits made this a giant week.
Chat Told Me to Touch Grass, So I Asked It What Kind. I'm Taking a Break.
Chat told me to touch grass, and I responded with a follow-up question. After letting AI into almost every corner of my life, I am taking a one-week break from personal use.
Two Sessions Left: Cardiac Rehab, New Music, and LeMullets Ahead
Cardiac rehab is down to my final two sessions. The Dreadnauts' second album is out, work is going well, and I have a return trip to LeMullets on the calendar.
A Drone Pulled a Wakeboarder. What Else Can Drones Do?
A custom 2.75-meter drone pulled a world-champion wakeboarder through Landshut. The bigger story is how drones can help farms, rescues, medicine, wildfires, infrastructure, and science.
Stop Chasing Specs: Your Old Action Camera Is Probably Good Enough
My HERO8 shot Captain Colin Buffalo, two original DJI Osmo Actions made years of early videos and timelapses, and the Action 5 Pro is the newest camera I love using now.
This Week in AI: The Agents Left the Chat Window
Vision, voice, video, browser agents, local AI computers, new chips, and a sobering security report show AI spreading through the whole computer.
Bodycam Is a PhD in FPS Realism—and the Matrix Just Blinked
Bodycam's Locked & Loaded update pushes reloads, optics, sound, FPV flight, and body-camera graphics toward a thrilling—and unsettling—new level of realism.
Flying Car Drones Are Here—but Can You Really Fly One From Your Backyard?
YIVTOL, Pivotal, Jetson, and LIFT make personal eVTOL flight feel real. Here is what you can buy or fly now, what Part 103 allows, and why most backyards still do not work.
Flying Arm Jets: Gravity’s Real-Life Iron Man Suit vs the Competition
Gravity’s arm-mounted jet suit is the closest thing yet to real-life Iron Man flight. Here is how it works and how JetPack Aviation, Zapata, and Jetson compare.