I have not had full access to my file server inside the MacBook Mini (aka Minnie)1 since I packed it up for her relocation to Florida. After running an update and backed everything up from my MacBook M1 to Minnie, it was time to find a spot for her, the monitor and keyboard.
The desk is already consumed by the laptop and the iPad so there was no room for a server and its peripherals too. So after making some settings changes, bumped up the file and screen sharing options, I took her head off.
The file server now sits alone, without a monitor or keyboard, patiently, in the corner of the home office waiting for me to remotely access it from the laptop when she is called upon.
It is an elegant, essential and utterly macabre solution but it’ll do for now.
Over the previous years, online search engines have become overwhelmed with advertisements and results that may somewhat be relative to the original query you typed into the search field- it is maddening.
Even Boolean searches with tools such as “and” “or” “not”, plus signs, minus signs, quote, endnotes, etc are rendered useless. I’ve tried advanced library search strategies to no fruition that benefitted my search query.
I suggested awhile back that Apple should build their own search engine but they are content by taking Google’s $1 billion annual payout to make their search engine the default inside the Safari browser instead.
When I read that Apple Intelligence (brilliant marketing, by the way,) was going to be included in the next software update sometime later this year, I signed up for an OpenAI account to feel out how well it’s ChatGPT could help. I’ve been using it as a research assistant to answer the same questions I would ask a standard search engine.
The results are night and day. Instead of providing thousands of websites that may point the way to an eventual answer, ChatGPT provides an answer back to me in the form of a conversation. If I have a follow-up question, or ask for specifics, the reply is lightning quick. Of course, all information has to be verified. I won’t accept answers blindly without a second opinion. 99% of the information I checked and rechecked have been spot on. Nothing is 100% when it comes to research, especially from an LLM (Learned Language Model) such as ChatGPT. You cannot call it A.I. simply because it is not sentient. It is not intelligent on its own. It has retained and provides data based on human data. Everyone knows we are flawed and make mistakes.
ChatGPT will too, but for now, it does a damn better job of providing information better than all the other search engines do. Even though that is why they exist.
Recently, a review for the constellation of Orion’s Belt only gets three stars. Another review says it is a “waist” of space.
Siri told me this joke early this morning and what was the very first constellation I see immediately after? You guessed it. Had to grab a shot of course.
I wonder what the universe is trying to tell me today? Is it written in the stars?
I just finished my 23rd out of 24 books to hit my reading goal for the year 2024.
You can catch up with what I’ve been reading on the Bookshelf page of this website.
I’ve mentioned it previously, but shelved the book called “S.” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst until now. It’s a doozy and requires a lot of time to read/process. Now is the time and I can’t think of a better book to hit my end goal.
Relocating to Florida has introduced me to a wide variety of new sights and sounds. This area is rich with diverse animals and birds from all over the place.
Recently I discovered an app from Cornell called “Merlin Bird ID”, that allows you to record bird calls and helps you identify what you are hearing. You can also upload an image of the bird you just captured to identify as well.
I’ve captured 15 species so far including osprey, burrowing owls, great horned owls, egrets, black-crowned night herons, ibis and more.
Each bird listed in the app will give you a synopsis of the species that includes other user’s audio recordings. I like to play them at full blast for the birds around me by way of communicating. It’s probably gibberish to them, but may be enough to draw them closer just out of their curiosity. I need some binoculars!
Cape Coral is home to a whole parliament of burrowing owls and the community goes out of their way to protect and care for them by placing signs and even wood perches for the owls next to their hollowed out homes in the ground. Eventually, I’ll convince T to do the same here at the house. That way I can set up a remote, wireless trail cam to view them any time and not disturb the owls.
I just received a gift in the form of this fantastic 35mm film camera. I already own its brother, the Pentax K1000, and am familiar with the settings. I’m wondering what differences in the two could be.
It came preloaded with film but I’m not sure what film stock is in it. As always, it will be a treat to discover once it is developed.
For my part, I plan to use for my first stock choice either the lovely Lomography Metrochrome color or the Ilford HP5 black and white film.
After a two hour delay, the Space-X Falcon launched at 5:23am from Kennedy Space Center carrying four civilian crew members into the highest orbit ever. There, they will perform some of the longest EVA tests. Again, as civilians- impressive.
Screenshot from Space-X prior to liftoffCrappy photo I shot from 220 miles away
With my sleep now ruined, I’ll publish this and try to grab a little more.
That’s how many pages I need to print from 24 years worth of writing on this website. Printing them from the library and over time may be my best bet I think. Let them worry about the paper and ink costs.
As a follow-up to my previous post, I realized that my audio file host had removed the embedded code and URL link from my Podcast page here on this site. Not very nice!
So I have uploaded the audio files, all 10.5 episodes, back to the Podcast page for posterity. In addition, I now have the files on my server for safekeeping.
Podcast Page Screenshot
I own my publishing house. This website, my own e-mail, the domain name, file servers, etc. I’ve learned the hard way not to trust third party anything.
What am I doing? Why did I start an online course when my brain is already overwhelmed with these other self-inflicted endeavors?
Fortunately our brains have the ability to change, grow and reorganize its neuron pathways to make new connections and remap from how it previously functioned.
