A perfect storm.There will be no escape from what is comi...
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Maybe the very last post about Star Wars that I ever make
To: Star Wars producers and fandom
Re: The Acolyte and social media insanity
I can't even anymore. I feel like I've officially become an old man who can't keep up with the youngsters. I went through enough of this crap twenty-five years ago. God only knows what it would have been like if there had been Twitter and YouTube back in the day. To paraphrase the...
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Power or Wisdom? Stop asking God to interfere with politics
In searching around for churches in this area, obviously I'm looking at their websites. I'm studying a few things, particularly their various statements of belief. In that regard I'll simply say this: there are already a number of places of worship which I regrettably cannot enter. It would be like bringing a blowtorch aboard the Hindenburg.No disrespect...
About the Murthy vs Missouri decision...
Regarding Murthy v. Missouri: the Supreme Court decision yesterday about government coercing social media companies to censor users' activity based on political content. SCOTUS decided that the plaintiffs had no standing and dismissed the lawsuit.This seems like a colossal victory for the government and social media companies. HOWEVER...The case was *not* dismissed....
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Baptism: It should be more than just water
The church I visited today had a baptismal ceremony.And as I've thought for a very long time now about the sacrament and is often the case, it was WAY too brief.It was three people being baptised (I prefer that word with a lovely "s" rather than a jagged "z") and the entire ceremony lasted less than a minute and a half.Were I a stranger to seeing such things... and there are...
Monday, June 10, 2024
The announcement trailer for Gears of War: E-Day
I very rarely play video or computer games anymore. Mostly it's because of a lack of time. And there are other amusements too, like having a miniature dachshund. But that doesn't mean I don't have an active interest in the industry...(I am currently trying to finish Fallout: New Vegas at last, whenever I'm having some downtime. It's only...
Saturday, June 08, 2024
Dear Pat Sajak
Thanks for forty-one years of Wheel of Fortune. You've been an awesome host and I've also enjoyed your writing whenever you've published something.Anyone else feeling like the Eighties are finally over?We'll miss you Pat. Enjoy your retirement (and your new acting career I'm hearing abou...
Thursday, June 06, 2024
"To remember": June 6th, 1944
Company A, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Divisionwading onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach(Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France)on the morning of June 6, 1944.Photo credit: Chief Photographer's Mate Robert F. SargentToday is the eightieth anniversary of the single greatest military maneuver in recorded history: the invasion of the Normandy coast by the Allied Forces.No...
Monday, June 03, 2024
In memory of a good man
The sad word came late yesterday evening that Dav Gerrells, who owned and operated Cafe 99 in Reidsville, North Carolina for many years, passed away after a brief illness over the weekend. I used to eat at Cafe 99 when I still lived in Reidsville and Dav always made me feel welcome. The man was a thoroughly great guy and he was an amazing cook.Early in 2007 I entered...
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Last batch of AI-generated pictures that I'm posting
Here's that previous collection of artificial intelligence-created images that I prodded a computer to produce. But it's time to move on. ChatGPT has its fun uses but it's a tool, not a toy.I would be lying if I said that I haven't had fun though.So, here is the final bunch of artificial intelligence generated "art" that I'm putting on this blog. Be sure...
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
First images I'm generating with ChatGPT
Still playing around with AI, for the first real time ever. Consider it research. I'm getting professionally involved with an endeavor that is heavy on artificial intelligence so I'm having to see what the thing is capable of doing, exactly.(I'm adamantly sticking to my policy of NO writing blog posts with AI. If you see something written here and it's not...
Sunday, May 19, 2024
My first foray into using an AI chatbot
No, I am still not going to "write" a blog post using artificial intelligence. I'm sitting in front of a keyboard composing these words. If you ever do see a product of AI being displayed, it's going to state as much. Which is what I'm doing now. What you are about to read is definitely the product of artificial intelligence. It also represents...
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Happy 80th Birthday George Lucas!
It was on May 14th, 1944 that a little boy was born in Modesto, California. Growing up he was a restless young man, with no clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life. He finally settled on being a race car driver. But a near-fatal car crash a few days before graduating high school put a damper on that idea.Our hero eventually decided he wanted...
Monday, May 13, 2024
Ever wonder what BioShock's Big Daddy looks like without the helmet? Ehhhh...
I've been a massive fan of the BioShock games (admission: I've never played BioShock Infinite) almost since the beginning of the series. From the first moments of the original BioShock I was swallowed whole by this tale of sub-Atlantic horror. To me the story of the city of Rapture is a fable, a morality play. It is about what mankind is reduced to after...
Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Boy Scouts of America: 1910 - 2024
Those are the words that I first spoke as an eleven-year-old in the fall of 1985. And I have done my very best to live up to them, every day since.That is how I choose to remember what it is to be a Boy Scout. They are the words that I made a lifetime commitment to uphold.As of today the Boy Scouts of America is no more. It is now "Scouting America". ...
Friday, May 03, 2024
"Weird Al" Yankovic and me!
Earlier today I was going through a bunch of photos and came upon one showing me with "Weird Al" Yankovic: arguably the most successful recording artist in the history of pop culture. I say that because not only has Al earned multiple gold albums and several Grammy awards for his work, he has also been part of many other endeavors throughout a career now going back more...
