e525 – See Thru Wooden Pixels

e525 – See Thru Wooden Pixels

Author: Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, Andy Piper August 18, 2025 Duration: 29:02

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

The Michaels take some time to talk about AI, Apple and Gaming this week, while Andy is out.

While we are not an all Michael podcast, we did see a few Mike posts on Mastodon from Mike Elgan. We start with one of our favorite topics Lego Bricks! Robots are able to create using BrickGPT, creating new builds from a prompt. Speaking of prompting we then look at what may be behind Perplexity’s offer to buy the Chrome browser from Google.

The day before we recorded, Apple re-enabled the blood oxygen sensor on newer models of Apple Watch, while we look back with nostalgia on VCR tapes. Well, at least using the VCR tape metaphor as a means for rediscovering videos in our ever growing Photo libraries. Michael R confesses to having been on the TestFlight for the new Cassette application.

We spend some time marveling at a newly created translucent Game Boy from Natalie the Nerd. We also take a deeper dive at a 1000 Wooden Pixel creation from Ben Holman.

We wrap up with a review about the Scott Pilgrim verses the World video game from a few years back, and decide we should re-watch the movie. Has it really been 15 years!

Selected Links

The all Michael show section:

From Mike Elgan’s Toots:

Direct links:

Apple news:

Cool Makers:

Gaming Nostalgia:


The weekly conversation hosted by Michael Rowe, Michael Martine, and Andy Piper, Games At Work dot Biz, explores the intersection where our digital play and professional lives collide. This isn't just a review show; it's a deep dive into the technology that powers our hobbies, the business behind the leisure, and the cultural news shaping both worlds. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair with three friends who are as passionate about the craft of game development and the evolution of hardware as they are about the pure joy of finding a great new title. You'll hear specific discussions on everything from the latest graphics card impacting performance to the narrative design of an indie darling, all filtered through the lens of professionals who live in the tech space. The Games At Work dot Biz podcast operates on the belief that the games we play and the tools we use are inextricably linked, offering listeners a consistently thoughtful and engaging analysis that goes far beyond a simple score. Tune in for a regular dose of insightful commentary where the serious business of technology meets the serious fun of games.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Games At Work dot Biz
Podcast Episodes
e531 – Games and Such [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:02
Epredator created AI Generated image Michael R and Ian “Epredator” Hughes get together for a chat about #gaming, #VR, and #technology. We talk about some of our favorite comfort games, how they are procedurally generated…
e530 — Vibe It! - Ready Player Chum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:47
Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-robot-toy-on-gray-concrete-floor-9026299/ Published 29 September 2025 e530 with Michael and Michael – an AI extravaganza with vibe coding, AI gaming c…
e529 — Shake, Shake, Shake Your iPhone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:12
Photo by Ravi Sharma on Unsplash Published 15 September 2025 e529 with Michael, Andy and Michael – stories about AR glasses & snarky AI wearables, Carrot Weather, Rabbit OS2, shaking to summarize, Doomscrolling and a who…
e528 — Monstrous Mice & Nano Bananas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:59
ChatGPT 5 generated image of a banana in the midst of an atom cloudgenerated 31 August 2025 Published 8 September 2025 e528 with Michael, Andy and Michael – stories about AI image editing with Nano Banana, GAN enabled LL…
e527 — AI Taco Trolls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:06
Photo by Daniel Hooper 🌊 on Unsplash Published 1 September 2025 e527 with Andy, Michael and Michael – stories about AI restaurant experiences, historical LLMs, zoetropes and a whole lot more. After Michael R gives his im…
e526 — Beans and Bricks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:24
Photo by Michael Martine, Chapel Hill, NC August 2025 Published 25 August 2025 e526 with Andy and Michael M – stories about focus – finding things that are missing, reducing distractions with apps like Focus Friend and B…
e524 — Googlenight, AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:14
Googlenight, AI virtual book cover Published 11 August 2025 e524 with Andy and Michael M – stories about AI generated goodnight stories, Med-Gemini, GPT-5, skeuomorphism, scrobbling, seeing through doors and a whole lot…
e523 — Two hundred and sixty six starlings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:42
Photo by Pete Godfrey on Unsplash Published 4 August 2025 e523 with Michael R and Andy, possibly arriving via carefully-arranged starlings? – stories about AI again, obviously; iPadOS 26; games, old and new; and, an inno…
e522 — Pointing at Doomed Fish [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:58
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash Published 28 July 2025 e522 with Michael M and Andy – stories about AI in multiple forms: bees that listen, a cat that chats, and then some fun with animating fish you draw, a GameBoy you…
e521 — We Like Big Drives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:35
Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash Published 21 July 2025 e521 with Andy, Michael and Michael – stories about expressive robots (Shoggoth Mini, Apple ELEGNT, SpiRob & facehugger), newly reengineered Commodore & Sinclai…