Let's roll some dice, watch some movies, or generally just geek out. New posts at 6:30 pm ET but only if I have something to say. Menu at the top. gsllc@chirp.enworld.org on Mastodon and @gsllc on Twitter.
This doesn’t render my Gamma World character generator software useless. That software contains a bunch of GM tools as well, and eventually will be usable for running games via the internet. It certainly doesn’t render my Star Trek character builder software useless. There’s no way publicly-available AI could possibly create a character builder for such a complex system. It took over a week to get the Gamma World prompt to work, and I doubt even it is foolproof.
I’m fully aware of how controversial AI is among gamers, but I’m not going to get into that. It’s an incredible tool, and it represents our future.
I refuse to tell you who. Bet you can’t figure it out.
This is a tough one. My first instinct is 1 hour nap = 8 hours of sleep because I’d get sooooo much done. But if you think about it, that means I’d be doing a lot of “work.” Who wants more work? No one. We want more “play.” How am I supposed to “play” if no one else is on my schedule? What’s the point of being up at 3 am if everything is closed and everyone else is asleep. I think I’d get bored, even in New York City or Las Vegas.
7 weeks from today for my next visit!
My next thought was super speed reading, but I’m worried this is like a genie in a lamp. You make a wish, and it’s manipulated to be a curse. Sure, I’ll be able to speed read, but there’s no guarantee I’ll retain the information. Add retention to the mix, and you have my answer, but as written,I don’t trust it. Most people’s brains can retain only so much, so a lack of retention seems to be a necessary consequence of the power. That severely limits its value.
Doesn’t seem trustworthy.
Telekinetic power limited to only 5 lbs doesn’t help much. It’s a parlor trick that would get old really quickly. Perhaps it’s marketable as a street performer, but I don’t want to be a street performer, not even for a few extra bucks.
Can you tell I now subscribe to ChatGPT?
Invisible every Tuesday is right out because it’s mandatory. My job would be pretty pissed off with me if I showed up to work invisible every Tuesday, but even if it were a weekend, I think it’d still suck. I just don’t even see it as a good thing at all.
ChatGPT is still not perfect. Why are his hands visible?
That leaves my clothes always clean. Useful, which means boring, but it’s the only thing without a downside. Unlike reading, I don’t see any necessary downsides. Sure, a genie could say, “Surprise! You always stink!” Or perhaps, “But you must wear nothing but underwear!” Those would be cheats, though. Stench certainly don’t follow having clean clothes; quite the opposite.
I have to go with A. I don’t like it, but them’s the breaks.
Yesterday, I posted about the death of my cousin, Norma. As I continue to parse out my feelings on the matter, I decided to supplement that post with a couple of other things.
First, with respect to the Frankie Valli story, when Norma and her friend disengaged from Frankie, I told her what almost happened. She reminded me that, while she was (of course) appreciative of my concern, she wasn’t stupid. She was an adult and knew what was going on and would never have gone anywhere with the guy. She understood that I wasn’t upset with her behavior but rather concerned with his, and that leads to point number two.
Everyone fights with everyone else. Everyone gets frustrated with everyone else. This is perfectly normal, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it, even in the unfortunate instance that your anger or frustration is the last thing you experience before losing someone. What isn’t normal? Norma never once made me angry. Or frustrated. I never even surreptitiously rolled my eyes at her. She simply never annoyed me at all, and if I ever annoyed her, she never told me so. This is certainly not a testament to my character; it’s a testament to hers. Plenty of people annoy me, and plenty more are annoyed by me. I’ve never heard anyone speak poorly of anything Norma did or said. She really was someone you couldn’t help but love.
I don’t know if it’s my best memory of my cousin, Norma, but it’s the one that immediately comes to mind. Norma and a friend came to Chicago when I was in law school (1999 IIRC). We were barhopping in the Rush Street district, which was a popular weekend spot back then. Frankie Valli, a singer well-known for his small acting and large musical roles in Grease, was walking the streets, and Norma and her friend caught his eye. He was hitting on them. I was standing close by to make sure they were okay, which almost resulted in a fist fight with one of his security guards. He kept placing his hand on my chest, and I kept swatting it away. Everything worked out, though. That 60+ year old pervert didn’t get laid that night. Well, at least not by my 29/30-year old cousin. I didn’t follow him around. (EDIT: I added more to this story on tomorrow’s post.)
Last Thursday, Norma died of the same cancer that killed a handful of people in our extended family. I found out on Saturday and found her obituary at about noon today. The most difficult part of being estranged from one’s nuclear family is the loss of people who you still love. Norma was wonderful, and I loved her very much. She was only a year younger than I, but I could never imagine outliving her. I wish I could have said goodbye, not only to her but to a couple others who’ve died, but this is a consequence you sometimes must accept to keep yourself safe and sane. Leaving ties gives them a way to sneak in and do damage, and asking the ones you love to make a choice between you and the ones that harm you is not a fair thing to do. As far as I’m concerned, this is just one more thing they’ve taken from me. I’m a far happier and healthier person in general, but not today.
I took a CLE this afternoon on the intersection of what we call artificial intelligence, and in particular ChatGPT, with the law. They mentioned that the engine flatly declined to do so, presumably because Carlin dealt in offensive material. I didn’t buy it, so I logged back on and asked it to, “Explain quantum mechanics in the style of George Carlin.”
Not artificial.
The topic was just the first thing that popped into my head. The answer follows, and I have to say that it’s pretty spot on despite avoiding all profanity.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather ’round, ’cause I’m about to blow your minds with some quantum mechanics. Now, let me tell you, this stuff is like a crazy trip through the Twilight Zone. It’s the weird science that’ll make your brain do somersaults and leave you scratching your head, wondering what the hell just happened.
So, picture this: the world we live in, right? It’s all about cause and effect, right? You do something, and something happens as a result. Simple, right? Well, hold on to your hats, folks, ’cause quantum mechanics says, “Not so fast, buddy!”
In the quantum world, things don’t follow the normal rules. It’s like a wild party where everything goes topsy-turvy. You got particles that can be in two places at once, and they’re dancing around like they just don’t care. They’re like, “Hey, I’m here, and I’m there, and I’m everywhere!” It’s like they’ve got some sort of quantum GPS or something.
But wait, it gets even weirder. These particles, they can be connected in this funky way called entanglement. It’s like they’re doing some sort of quantum tango. You mess with one particle, and the other one, no matter how far away, feels it too. It’s like they’re having a long-distance relationship, but without the heartache. They’re all linked up, and it’s like they’re telepathically communicating. “Hey, buddy, I’m changing over here, so you better get ready for a change too!”
And then there’s this thing called superposition. Now, this ain’t about being super and posing for pictures, folks. It’s about particles being in multiple states at once. They’re like the ultimate multitaskers. They can be spinning up and spinning down at the same time, like they’re breakdancing or something. It’s like they’re saying, “I’m up, I’m down, I’m left, I’m right. You never know where you’ll find me!”
Now, I gotta warn you, this quantum stuff can mess with your head. It’s like trying to juggle a bunch of invisible bowling balls while riding a unicycle blindfolded. But hey, that’s what makes it so damn fascinating. It’s like a cosmic riddle that keeps us scratching our heads and reaching for the stars. So, next time you’re feeling all smug about how you’ve got this whole cause-and-effect thing figured out, just remember: the quantum world is waiting to throw you a curveball. It’s the ultimate reality show, and we’re all just trying to keep up with the mind-bending madness. Thank you, and may your quantum adventures be as wild as a George Carlin rant!
I asked a couple other questions, and it was consistently good. Somehow, it still stayed clean despite me asking for the origin of the word, “fuck,” in the same style, reusing the word and its variants only when backed into a corner. Go figure. Also of note, I asked it to explain string theory in the style of Bill Cosby, and it refused.
I read it in George Carlin’s voice, and so did you.
I used to have a nervous habit of shaking my leg and can’t count the number of times people have complained about it. I recently noticed that I no longer do it and probably haven’t for years. Based on certain changes I’ve made in my life, that’s not surprising, but its absence snuck up on me; I didn’t notice that I had stopped.
Anyway, the internet read my mind (as we know it always does) and placed a Joe Rogan video in my YouTube shorts stream. The health expert being interviewed mentioned that your calf muscles use an inordinate amount of energy relative to similarly sized muscles, and as a result, you can burn a lot of calories because of that nervous tic. I did some internet research and found several articles confirming these findings. Here’s one with six ways to burn calories.
I have a multitude of posts talking about my weight loss, weight gain, gym time, etc., and now I’m forcing myself to shake my legs with the intent to burn between 50 and 400 calories a day. These numbers represent the lowest and highest estimates I could find. Keep in mind, though, that fidgeting isn’t the solution to a slim waistline. It’s like a multivitamin: It won’t give you everything you need, but as a supplement, it can fill in some missing gaps.
Because I was out of the office on my birthday taking a “continuing legal education” course, most of my coworkers didn’t get to celebrate it. So, they decided to decorate my office, which I saw today.
The first thing I noticed was my wall.
That seems normal enough. The window did as well.
Soon thereafter, as I gazed across the room, I found myself asking, “What the shit?!”
Are my coworkers in love with me?
That Post-It note is literally an apology from our receptionist for how over the top the decorations were.
Wait a second. Why all the pink?
For this next one, here’s some context. Everyone has a nameplate that I designed a couple of years ago. We printed them in black and white, so it’s black lettering and imagery on a white background. Recently, I changed mine to white lettering on a black background. It’s looks awesome, and everyone was jealous (even though I copied it from a coworker that sits at the end of the office where no one sees her nameplate). It’s sort of like going from Adam West’s Batman to Christian Bale’s Batman. Well, Patricia apparently asked, “Why don’t we screw with Rob’s nameplate. He thinks it’s great, so let’s ruin it.” (Seriously, she admitted to it.)
What the shit?
Now, anyone that knows me knows I’m not what’s commonly referred to as an alpha male. I’m kind of an asshole, so sure, I have some similarities, but I’m no alpha male as that term is commonly defined. So, why am I an “alpha attorney”? And even if I am, why is there a Hello, Kitty image beneath it. Someone’s confused (besides me).
Of course, I’m not angry. Despite recent societal trends, I remain focused on people’s intent, and in this case that was trying to be funny and nice. Why would I be angry about anything they did or might do? Still . . . .
Here’s something I haven’t done since the late 90s: Baked a cake.
The top layer is French vanilla, the bottom layer is triple chocolate fudge, and the icing is milk chocolate icing. I even did the same thing with a few cupcakes I was able to make with leftover batter. Surprisingly, the layers came out well in the cupcakes.
There might be a cupcake missing.
I don’t really celebrate my birthday, but I knew I’d have to break my diet today anyway, so I went all in. I think is shows how long it’s been since I did this . . .
Last week, I learned about Pluto Time care of VSauce. This is the time of day at which the brightness of the Sun is the brightest it ever appears on Pluto, and that equates to around sunrise and sunset. While the Sun is about 1000x dimmer on Pluto than on Earth, the Sun still brightens Pluto at noon (Pluto time) about 300x more than our Moon brightens Earth.
Play What You Want 