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That was awkward

We have a young mother who walks in front of our house with her stroller several times a day. Annie, the golden retriever, always barks at her.

This morning I let the dog out for a walk, off leash, and just happened to go out in the yard with her. I see stroller mom approaching so I begin to place myself between stroller mom and Annie. And I say, “Don’t you do it.” I see a gleam in Annie’s eye and assume she is about to bolt so I quicken my step, slip on the grass, land palm down on our gravel driveway and roll onto my back as I complete my fall. Then a sweet voice says, “Are you okay?” And I reply, “Yup. She’s going to come visit you.”

Annie instead of running in a scary charge as normal hesitantly walks toward stroller mom while glancing my way then comes back to me.

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Plans? Who makes plans?

Well, I’d planned on doing 8 hours of work between 8pm and midnight. I also had 2-4 hours of a personal project to do in that time. And cook dinner. And there were about 3 hours of other things I’m not even listing. But of course, a client site decided to just quit working so instead of doing anything I planned for this evening, I’ve been scratching my head of a very unusual problem. But I think I’ve gotten to the bottom of it. Now to actually fix it.

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Today’s Letter to Tim Burchett

Every time Tim Burchett sends a tweet, I email him a response. Ok, not every time, but as frequently as time permits.

I am a constituent of Tim Burchett and want him to stop embarrassing Tennessee. On March 31, 2023 at 12:12pm Mr. Burchett tweeted “Americans of any political party should be scared. The rule of law doesn’t exist when a former President is indicted like this. Bragg made his intentions clear before he was in the DA’s office- and this will take a toll on our country.”

Mr. Burchett is wrong! The rule of law exists because no one person stands above the law and a criminal like Donald Trump must be held accountable for his illegal activities. The reason we should be scared is that people such as Mr. Burchett work in positions of power within our government while clearly not understanding his own responsibilities. What is scary is that Mr. Burchett lacks the moral integrity to see to it that the criminals of the previous administration are prosecuted including the January insurrectionists which includes Mr. Burchett.

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I live in your future!

When time and money have permitted, I’ve been early adopter of technology. I’ve been toying around with the GPT-3 AI (artificial intelligence). Today I’m stepping up into GPT-4 and basically replacing search engines with AI. Instead of defaulting to Google or DuckDuckGo, I’m going straight to GPT-4. I will be using GPT-4 as a tool instead of a toy. My plan is to document the journey when appropriate. For instance, I’ll use it not to write blog entries but to create writing prompts. I’ll use it not to make my meals for me (obviously we aren’t quite there yet) but to help me plan my menus (“I have this that and the other thing in the pantry. Please plan a breakfast lunch and dinner menu for the next 3 days using only the available ingredients. In addition to the menu, create the step by step recipe for each meal. Be sure to adhere to current nutritional recommendation for 4 people of ages ___, __, __, and ___. Each meal should include an entree and at least one side dish.”). I’ll use it not to do my work for me but as a peer programmer to minimize the research needed for my job. For example, the other evening I had an error in one of my side projects. The AI found the error and offered a correction in 30 seconds. On the other hand, I asked the AI for an Excel spreadsheet formula and it completely botched the formula. You still need to have skills and know what your are doing. AI is a tool to assist in your life and work. It will give you a leg up and an advantage over those not adopting it. You do not have to worry about being replaced by AI…yet.

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Drag Time Story Hours are about acceptance which is why Republicans hate it

Saw this comment on Reddit and thought it may help people who may be wondering why drag time story hours exist. Once you understand this you may question why the GOP wants to attack such a thing.

“[Drag time story hours] are times when local drag queens will read stories to children while in costume. As one would guess, these stories tend to be focused on accepting people who are different and promoting positive self-image for people who don’t fit the standard mold. They started for just this reason – to help children see that there is nothing to be ashamed of if you are different than other kids.

Keep in mind that drag is not inherently sexual – it is just men dressing in flamboyant female costumes. There is nothing sexual going on at these story hours.”

Also
“That last bit is important to remember. They’re performers and they do a different act for a different audience. Bob Saget, for example was super wholesome on Full House, but his standup act was absolutely filthy. Drag queens are the same way: they’re entertainers who can do a different act for different audiences.”
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/11wkjtw/what_is_the_deal_with_drag_time_story_hours/