Amen, change is Forthcoming

Happy Saturday, ours is a tame one weather wise. Early next week it’ll do a flip with below 0 temperatures. We’re brave at this end. Yesterday I made note that we were running short on coffee; couple that with a shopping trip to Aldi’s. Not ready for creating a Costco event I purchased coffee at Aldi’s – a pound each of two differing brands. Should I remember, I’ll give you a full report in a week.

OK – The other night I lost too much sleep with worry. I couldn’t remember if I inserted QWERTY or if I mistakenly inserted LTQBITSENUF in a document. Should I worry? Is this something major? Or is just a minor faux pax that should be glossed over? Thanks.

’41 La France at work – Jay leno at the wheel of his 1941 American LaFrance fire engine leaving a trail of Chicken and Ribs as he delivers food to first responders at the Los Angeles fire disaster. Good to see positivity such as his efforts during such a stunning disaster.

When I was – much, much younger I spent way, way too much time with craziness (i.e. Science fiction) material. Stuff such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But before that, in the ‘60s, there was Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Buried in Heinlein’s book there was a new name introduced, ‘Grok’ meaning, “to know intimately.”

Now it’s 2025 and Elon Musk just introduced via ‘X’ his X Ai Grok vs2 a chatbot. I downloaded it! And I am having a blast. In fact, it’s quickly coming to the point where Marcia is done with anything chatbot related and my enthusing over same; “Don’t Panic.”

Ai Exploration – Part of my exploration and testing of Ai Grok Vs.2 had me ask Grok the following question: “write a 200 word article on the status of Ai generated content”, After about 2 seconds the system answered; here is Grok’s answer – zero input on my part. Pretty cool huh?

“The landscape of AI-generated content has evolved significantly in recent years, transforming how digital content is created and consumed. By 2025, experts estimate that up to 90% of online content could be AI-generated, highlighting a dramatic shift in digital media production. This growth is fueled by advancements in generative AI technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E, which can produce everything from text articles to visual art and even music. These tools are not only improving in quality but also becoming more accessible, allowing even non-technical users to create content that was once the domain of skilled professionals…………”

Then I tweaked it a bit: Grok, “write a 100 word lighthearted and funny article on the status of Ai generated content”, and before I could take another sip of coffee, here is what I received:

“In the ever-evolving world of tech, AI-generated content has become the new jester in town. Picture this: robots penning poetry that rhymes “byte” with “might,” and AI chefs creating recipes with a dash of “data” and a pinch of “pixels.” From tweets that sound like they’ve had too much coffee to blogs that seem penned by Shakespeare’s distant, digital cousin, AI content is a wild ride. Sure, you might get a news article where the hero is a glitch, or a love letter that’s all code. But hey, at least it’s keeping us on our toes, laughing all the way!”

I think we’d stunned were we to see just how much content, visual, music, and written, already is being pumped out right now by Ai.

The Big something – As long as I’ve been around, I’ve made note that people with (I think) much more intellectual capacity than me have spent their whole life thinking “Big”. Never certain on the correctness of what seemingly was a naming consensus, the idea was given a name even a kindergartener could visualize – the Big Bang theory.

However, there were still many gaps which were best filled with other “Big” ideas, like really BIG. So now, bolstering the Big Bang, they’ve added the following Biggies: The Big Rip, The Big Freeze, The Quantum Tunnel, The Big Crunch, and The Big Bounce.

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, I’m still stuck on Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams convinced me that at the end of the Universe there’ll be a Restaurant. Once there it’d be interesting to reach my hand through that final end ‘curtain’ only to find that Restaurant’s short-order cook shake it. Mind you, this last bit, the handshake, is purely conjecture.

It’s about getting wet – really, really, wet. As a six- or seven-year-old my family was on vacation on the shore. Long story (for another time) but I fell into an underwater trench that was being dug to free a stranded ocean freighter. None of that three-bobs-and-under-you-go business – I went straight down. Apparently, a guy close by scraped me off the bottom and dragged me to shore. All went well.

Back from our vacation adventure my parental units signed me up for swim lessons at a nearby pool. I did learn and have always enjoyed water. However, little to no remembering of my lessons, except for one bit. The pool had a walking bridge across the middle. I remember a wide belt being put around my middle. The belt connected to a line, which went to a ‘fishing’ pole. On that bridge was my instructor full of motivational speeches – back and forth.

Our kids (and others) look at me with one of the “here’s another tale” looks whenever I describe my lessons. This week I ran across this old photo. It was taken in the 1920s so it’s quite a bit prior to my lessons. But it’s the technique people!

And let’s not forget that this weekend, finally, it’s the end of Bidenomics! The end of fiscal maladministration. Now best prepare for the Polar Vortex quickly charging towards us.

Life is AMAZING!

Adeus e boa saúde (Portuguese: Goodbye and good health)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which two of these actual town names do have an exclamation (!) mark in the name? By the way, these are the only two towns to end with an ‘!’ in the world, the other 4 named towns do not!

1) “Hamilton!” Ohio
2) “Westward Ho!” England
3) “Humpybong!” Australia
4) “Orgy!” France
5) “Cyców!” Poland
6) “Saint Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!” Quebec, CA