After receiving a new AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU earlier this week, I received the three NVIDIA RTX A4000 16GB VRAM video cards pictured above in antistatic bags today for my new AI workstation. Brand new, these cards run just over $1000, but I got these refurbished ones from an eBay seller for just under $600 each. These three video cards will work alongside my NVIDIA RTX 3090 Founders Edition 24GB VRAM video card for a total of 72GB VRAM, which will allow me to run low-or-no quantized large language models at a much faster output rate than I currently can using the 3090 with system RAM. The limited PCIe lanes on the Gigabyte motherboard that I ordered shouldn’t be too limiting as far as inference work is concerned.
Knowing that tariffs, or a tax ultimately paid by those who buy those imported goods, are coming, I planned out a new workstation for doing LLM and Generative AI work. The first part arrived today: an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU. While I would have certainly loved to build a system around an AMD Threadripper Pro with its 8-channel memory and numerous PCIe slots and plenty of lanes to support maximum throughput, I am just an English professor of simple means, so I opted to build around the least expensive options available to me and using a combination of new and used parts. Therefore, I am upgrading from my current AM4 socket system to an AM5 socket motherboard that supports DDR5 memory and this lower-wattage, non-overclocking CPU. I’m currently waiting on the arrival of a motherboard with 4 PCI slots (spaced to allow the four video cards that I plan to run), three NVIDIA RTX A4000 video cards with 16GB VRAM (used via eBay), 64GB (2 x 32GB) Corsair DDR5 RAM, and an ATX mid-tower case. I’ll use my current drives, 1000 watt power supply, and NVIDIA RTX 3090 Founders Edition video card in the new system. Most of my work focuses on inference, so the slower PCI slots in this build won’t hurt too bad–it should far exceed CPU inference even with faster RAM.
As I’ve documented here, here, and here, I continue searching for the perfect backpack. While there may not be one backpack that checks all of my boxes, I think that the GoRuck GR1 (26L) checks the most.
I purchased the larger 26L version of the GR1 before the fall semester began. It is the most expensive backpack that I’ve ever purchased, but its design, materials, construction, and “Built in the USA” provenance supported the price.
My original intended use for it was to carry my 16″ Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 laptop, charger, water bottle, coffee thermos, and papers to and from the City Tech campus.
Then, after my dad was released from the hospital after a back problem, it became a travel companion for overnight train rides to-and-from NYC (along with a simple barrel duffel bag). It carried my laptop, charger, 8″ Samsung Tab Active3 tablet, its charger, an MRE and snacks, 1 liter of water, overnight clothes, and 1 quart Ziploc bag for toiletries.
So far, it has excelled in both work commuting and long distance train travel. It holds my gear, it’s easy to organize, and it’s constructed tough.
Below are photos of its pockets and their use.
Between the shoulder straps and top hand grab is a pocket that holds my RayBan sunglasses in their case and my reading glasses in a smaller plastic case.
The back of the backpack supports breathing and features a smoother synthetic material than the body of the backpack. It’s advertised as being less aggressive on clothes, which I can confirm.
Flipping the shoulder straps around makes the “bomb proof” laptop sleeve more easily accessible. It is advertised as holding up to a 16″ laptop.
You can see above that the laptop sleeve does indeed hold my 16″ Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 with room to spare on its width (i.e., the height of the pocket in relation to the backpack) and just a hair of extra space for its depth (i.e., the width of the pocket in relation to the backpack).
The front zippered diagonal pocket extends from the zipper to the bottom of the pack. It can hold a lot! I keep an Apple Airtag and pocket knife in there. The top of the pack has a 2″ x 3″ hook-and-loop patch area, which I attached one of my Scouting patches to. I added a 3.5″ x 4.5″ hook-and-loop MOLLE panel to the bottom area of my GR1 where I affixed my “The Dude Abides” patch.
In addition to the MOLLE attachments on the outside of the pack, there is more MOLLE inside for pouches or hook-and-loop panels.
On the back interior of the GR1, there’s an elastic panel that can hold a smaller laptop or tablet. I used it to hold my 8″ Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 in a hard case with plenty of room to spare.
The front flat interior has two zippered pouches. The top one is smaller but opaque. The bottom one is larger but its contents viewable thanks to the netting.
To help with organizing my gear, I dropped the larger half of the yellow, padded Ape Case Cubeze Duo (ACQB 41) with one divider in the bottom of the pack. This creates four areas in the bottom of the pack to keep things from banging around–a thermos, two water bottles, and charging brick for the Lenovo laptop.
The GR1 doesn’t come with a sternum strap, but I haven’t found that it needs one while walking or climbing stairs. Having one less strap to undo or get caught while dangling is okay with me. It’s also easy to put on and take off. However, depending on my load–specifically with the 16″ Lenovo, I bend over to put on my shoes before donning the pack so that I don’t put too much pressure on the laptop within the pack against my arched back.
I’m very happy with the GR1 and look forward to carrying it in the days ahead.
Before we knew about Hurricane Helene, I had planned to visit my folks for two weeks to help out after my dad got out of the hospital for a back ailment. I took Amtrak’s 97 Silver Meteor from NYC to Jesup, Georgia (Sept. 24-25, 2024), and returned via the 98 Silver Meteor from Jesup to NYC (Oct. 8-9, 2024). Here are some pictures of the trains, sleeper car rooms, and meals.
97 Silver Meteor (NYP to JSP)
The 97 Silver Meteor sleeper cars didn’t have a toilet in the room as my previous Amtrak ride from JSP to NYC. Otherwise, the car seemed of newer construction. However, the room door rattled constantly. I should have asked for something to wedge into the door to eliminate that noise (and sleep better as a result). I liked how the in-car sink had turn knobs, which work much better than the push button faucets (either too little water or an explosion of water). Because the dining car was full, I asked for dinner in my room. It came with all the trimmings and was delicious! The worst part of the trip was someone in my car was going to bridge between cars to smoke. They left the door open, smoke entered the car, and set off the smoke alarms in unoccupied rooms and mine when I went to investigate. The culprit did not reveal him or herself.
98 Silver Meteor (JSP to NYP)
The Silver Meteor from JSP to NYP was much like my previous ride from SAV to NYP. The roomette was very similar–toilet in the room, push-button sink controls, older construction, and less vibration noise. I had breakfast in the dining car close to 7:00am. The omelet and fixings hit the spot! The downsides to this ride was that the water pressure was far too high on the sink faucet and the air conditioning was warm despite changing the thermostat.
Skeleton professor. Image created with Stable Diffusion.
Taking my “Chrome and Punishment” experiment a step further, I tasked the LLM to analyze the completed story with the following prompt that included the text of the story indicated by the ellipsis:
You are an English professor and cyberpunk science fiction expert with over 20 years of experience as a scholar and teacher. Write a critical essay for a prestigious journal such as Extrapolation or Science-Fiction Studies about the story below titled, "Chrome and Punishment." Establish what the story is about, discuss how successful it is as a work of science fiction and as a example of the subgenre known as cyberpunk, and its qualities and deficiencies. As part of your analysis, consider how it relates to Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel *Crime and Punishment*. You are a critic who knows science fiction and cyberpunk literature better than anyone, so it is okay to be harsh but fair in your observations. Backup your points with evidence drawn from the story. You are free to make an honest appraisal based on your expertise applied to your reading of the story.
[...]
Write your essay analyzing "Chrome and Punishment" below.
Neon Nightmares and Cyberpunk Redemption in a World of Chromatic Consequences: A Critical Analysis of ‘Chrome and Punishment’ as a 21st Century Adaptation of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment
In the cyberpunk noir “Chrome and Punishment,” we witness a narrative that is both a homage to the classic tale of crime and morality, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and a scathing critique of a society obsessed with power, wealth, and the blurring of humanity’s boundaries with technology. This story, with its vivid depiction of a dystopian city and complex characters, serves as a poignant example of the cyberpunk subgenre’s ability to explore deep existential and social questions.
The plot is intricate and fast-paced, following Rodion Romanovich “Raskol” Raskolnikov, a disgraced cybersecurity prodigy, as he embarks on a dangerous heist to free his sister Dasha from the clutches of the corporate elite and their digital brothels. The setting of New Eden, a neon-infused, sprawling cityscape of chrome, cybernetic enhancements, and omnipresent surveillance, is a vibrant backdrop for the unfolding narrative, effectively capturing the oppressive atmosphere of the original Dostoyevsky novel.
Raskol’s character is a modern Raskolnikov, a man whose moral compass is skewed by the desperation of his circumstances and his belief in the superiority of his own intellect. The cybernetic enhancements and digital world of “Chrome and Punishment” serve as metaphors for the internal turmoil of the protagonist, whose own identity and humanity become increasingly fragmented as the story progresses.
The relationship between Raskol and his sister Dasha parallels the bond between Raskolnikov and his sister Dunya in Dostoyevsky’s work. Both brothers seek to save their sisters from a life of misery and exploitation, driven by a sense of familial duty and love, yet ultimately entangling themselves in a web of crime and deceit.
The cyberpunk elements are integrated seamlessly into the narrative, enhancing the story without overpowering it. The digital underworld, the chrome-plated agents, and the omnipresence of SynthCorp all serve to underscore the theme of powerlessness and the struggle for autonomy in a society where human beings have become commodities.
However, the story does stumble at times. The heavy-handed symbolism, such as the recurring imagery of chrome, can feel forced. Moreover, the character development of some of the supporting characters, particularly Svidrigailov and Sonya, could have been more nuanced. Svidrigailov’s villainy is almost cartoonish, lacking the depth and humanity of the best cyberpunk antagonists. Sonya, while a compelling figure, is often reduced to a symbol of purity and innocence, a stark contrast to the corrupted world around her. The potential for a more complex portrayal of her character, especially her resilience in the face of adversity, goes unexplored.
The narrative structure, with its interwoven plotlines and flashbacks, can be disorienting. This is a deliberate choice, mirroring the chaotic digital landscape of New Eden, but it may be too disjointed for some readers, making it difficult to fully engage with the story’s emotional and thematic depths.
The dialogue, while often engaging and reflective of the cyberpunk vernacular, sometimes veers into cliché and fails to capture the poetic intensity of Dostoyevsky’s original. Nonetheless, the author’s command of language and the rhythm of their prose effectively convey the tension and desperation that drive the characters.
“Chrome and Punishment” is most successful when it delves into the psychological and moral implications of a life lived in a world where the self is as malleable as a digital avatar. The themes of guilt, redemption, and the quest for meaning resonate strongly, particularly in the scenes set within the digital prison, where Raskol is forced to confront the reality of his actions.
The story’s climax, with Raskol’s decision to turn himself in and face the consequences of his crimes, echoes the climax of “Crime and Punishment.” Yet, unlike Dostoyevsky’s Raskolnikov, who is ultimately redeemed through confession and suffering, “Chrome and Punishment’s” Raskol finds his atonement through his commitment to protecting the digital underclasses and fighting for a more just world. This divergence from the source material is a refreshing update that underscores the cyberpunk theme of the individual’s power to effect change within a corrupt system.
The conclusion, with Raskol and Sonya standing together, ready to face an uncertain future filled with hope and purpose, is a powerful one, leaving the reader with a sense of optimism amidst the bleakness of New Eden. It is in this final scene that the story truly excels, encapsulating the essence of cyberpunk: the struggle against overwhelming odds to preserve humanity in a world that seeks to erase it.
In summary, “Chrome and Punishment” is a compelling and often successful work of cyberpunk fiction that uses its futuristic setting to explore timeless themes of crime, punishment, and the quest for redemption. Its vivid imagery, complex protagonist, and thought-provoking questions about the nature of existence in a digital world make it a valuable addition to the genre. Despite its flaws, the story’s emotional resonance and thematic richness make it a worthwhile read for fans of cyberpunk and those intrigued by the darker side of human nature.
