The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[MrPixel]

HOW 'BOUT THEM BILLS!

Yeah. I got a stack of 'em. Paid the electric this morning, property taxes are due in a week.

 

[NotWise]

Going to South Dakota to see family this week. It'll be hotter in Rapid City on Thursday than it will be here -- like high 90s.

 

[Duleigh]

Going to South Dakota to see family this week. It'll be hotter in Rapid City on Thursday than it will be here -- like high 90s.

It was chilly in the Mouse River Valley today but it's supposed to warm up later in the week. LOTS of humidity here in Dac Land, we had a storm roll through last week and there's still moisture from that. I don't know if RC got hit with that too.

 

[NotWise]

It was chilly in the Mouse River Valley today but it's supposed to warm up later in the week. LOTS of humidity here in Dac Land, we had a storm roll through last week and there's still moisture from that. I don't know if RC got hit with that too.

Don't know, but the weather in Rapid City is "different." Most of North Dakota is like the upper midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin ...) and Rapid City's weather is more like Wyoming's and Montana's.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Kicking ass and taking names! If he were still alive, OJ would be thrilled.

HOW 'BOUT THEM BILLS!
View attachment 2396430

I could've gone all day without adding the last part, but where's the fun in that, @Dueleigh?

 

[Duleigh]

Kicking ass and taking names! If he were still alive, OJ would be thrilled.

I could've gone all day without adding the last part, but where's the fun in that, @Dueleigh?

I was OJ's paperboy, he NEVER tipped me! pompous ass...

Got a lot of exploring done in the Velva/Voltaire/Balfore area of North Dakota, even found that fabled Little House on the Prairie

 

[Fatdog25]

I was OJ's paperboy, he NEVER tipped me! pompous ass...

Got a lot of exploring done in the Velva/Voltaire/Balfore area of North Dakota, even found that fabled Little House on the Prairie

View attachment 2397059

50 feet too close in the summer, 50 feet too far in the winter.

 

[NotWise]

We went out to dinner this evening to celebrate the grandson's third birthday. It was good, then on the way home we got detoured around a water line break through a neighborhood where we once lived. "That was before it was so chic," I told myself, and realized that "Before it was chic" also means "when it was still a slum," which it was.

But it had character.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

We went out to dinner this evening to celebrate the grandson's third birthday. It was good, then on the way home we got detoured around a water line break through a neighborhood where we once lived. "That was before it was so chic," I told myself, and realized that "Before it was chic" also means "when it was still a slum," which it was.

But it had character.

I’m almost seeing that as an allegory to myself. Much older now, rather more dignity and such, but much less lively.

 

[a_horse_with_no_name]

Welcome, @a_horse_with_no_name! Tea-drinking is also acceptable, though you may need to make it yourself as certain heathens think leaving a pot on the stove to stew is reasonable.

Round here the conkers have all fallen, but the cherry trees are colourful. The weather is ping-ponging between summery and wintry, so that's an English autumn for you.

Hello, um, my Queen. Thank you for the welcome. Yet, tea, acceptable as it may be, is not palatable to me. I admit that my tastes are far from exotic, and far, far from normal. To date, I have never had a can of soda. An energy drink. A cup of coffee. Of tea. A beer. A piece of chocolate. Only one slice of cake (my brother's wedding when I was but a child). Pie. Cupcake. A cigarette. Pot. Other drugs. What the rest of the world, the normal people, enjoy daily, I shun. Sure, I've had a sip of beer, a sip of soda, a small piece of chocolate, etc., but that's all.

I suppose if I look back it might explain a lot of things over the years. ::: chuckle :::

Water. Apple juice. Orange juice. And especially milk. And judging myself by no lack of midsection, I get my fair share of meat, pasta, and potatoes.

I'm in South Carolina. While a lot of the world suffers from excessive heat from supposed climate issues for which I refuse to get into debate over, we've had a rush of cool weather at night which has ruined the warm temps I enjoyed in my swimming pool this summer. Boo and hiss.

So, rather than enjoying mid-day walks in the pool with an audible selection (most recently the Harry Potter novels) joining me via a floating USB speaker and providing entertainment, I'm working through repeats of my own personal classics (The West Wing, Game of Thrones, etc) in the background on television as I edit books from fellow authors and prep them for joint eBook publishing ventures.

I've never been to England, let alone to enjoy an autumn walk there. One of the many disappointments in life.

 

[a_horse_with_no_name]

Gosh, my friend, I would have hoped your accommodations would have been better! I guess we'll have to sell a few more books next quarter! ::: giggling :::

 

[Duleigh]

The grand tour of the north continues! I was in Downtown Minot ND yesterday and here's the neighborhood I lived in back in the early 80's



(It was completely wiped out by a flood in 2011)

 

[Rustyoznail]

A very apt sign.

 

[NotWise]

If you'd lived at Ellsworth you could take similar pictures. There things weren't wiped out by a flood, but by the SALT treaties and the technology change from B52->B1. Same effect, though. Tracks on the prairie are all that's left of sprawling on-base residential neighborhoods.

 

[NotWise]

At dinner last night my son-in-law introduced me to ChatGPT as a problem-solving tool. My issue was with getting how-to information out of a poorly-documented software project. I've been using Google and getting frustrated over every detail, but ChatGPT organized the mess and answered a series of questions in a (maybe) useful manner, and it did it in seconds instead of days.

Now I'm imagining how that could lighten the research effort for my stories.

The floor is almost done. All that's left are the baseboards, transitions in doorways, and grout for a strip of accent tile between the living room and dining room. We'll also need some work to make sure the bedroom doors close over the new transitions.

 

[MrPixel]

At dinner last night my son-in-law introduced me to ChatGPT as a problem-solving tool.

A friend has suggested to me that tools like ChatGPT could be taught to help with an especially vexing coding problem. I'm working with a unique language where controlling a single multivariable output could contain a thousand lines of conditionals, and I have dozens of these outputs to address. Cut-and-paste, mostly, but the devil is in the details.

 

[a_horse_with_no_name]

So, curiously enough, I actually created a book with ChatGPT quite a while back. It's at Amazon, and I published it through Lulu.com. I think my brother bought four copies. I think my sales for the year are . . . four copies. Anyway, it was more of an exercise than anything else to be fair.

I took song lyrics from some of the great rock songs in history, I took passages from some of the great novels, I took this and that, I wasn't too picky. Then I gathered up 19 names from history, from political leaders to fictional television characters and so on. I asked ChatGPT to take said song lyrics and rewrite them in the voice and spirit of those 19 people. I, um, claimed use under the Fair Use Act of 1976 and the First Amendment.

I'm not going to list out all the example and voices and bore everyone reading this, rather, I'll simply give one example:

You remember the beginning words to Don't Stop Believin' by Journey. Well, here's how ChatGPT rewrote them in the voice of Archie Bunker, a character from the 70's sitcom All in the Family.

This broad from a small town takes the midnight train to anywheres, while some city slicker from South Detroit tags along. They meet up in some smoky room, and there's a singer stinkin' up the joint with cheap perfume and wine. They're smilin' all night, and it never ends, on and on and on.

Now, ChatGPT has been revised several times since I put it through its paces for this near 200 page book. My point is that it has game. I'm not saying that it'll write a novel for you, but it can be quite creative.

I host a weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons, and at the start of one campaign, I had populated a continent with 50 or so cities, mountain ranges, deserts, seas and whatnot, and I needed information about each. Made up information mind you, since this was all fantasy. I fed ChatGPT a couple of sentences about each city (_______ is a coastal city specializing in tourism and is well-known for sandy beaches, nice weather, and day trips into the nearby mountains for sport and hunting. There is some crime, but Mayor _______ and the City Guard do well to protect citizens and visitors alike.) and I got back 5-6 paragraphs of very rich, very useful made up information.

So, yes, I would encourage those of you who write to consider using it as a reference, much like we use Google to check upon things. Keep in mind, though, the warnings you may have read that it is not always 100% accurate, because that's a fact.

 

[MrPixel]

Keep in mind, though, the warnings you may have read that it is not always 100% accurate, because that's a fact.

I didn't want to go there. There are some niche topics where it wings the answers because of an insufficient knowledge dataset or whatever, which in some instances can be dangerous. Yes, AI has game... but it's dependent on the game. Trust, but verify.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Working on a story today. My story, though at this time, it's not for here. Taking a break an having a cup of coffee, hoping Donnie is having a grand time at school. Is it right to call it school when it's pre-school? HUM!

 

[Duleigh]

Visiting old timers today (my in-laws) How did he get so old? He was 4 years older than me, now he's a 1000 years old and his wife is asking me advice on how to get the VA in gear for him. Ugh. Speaking of downers. In chapter 16 the MMC was abducted out of his driveway at gunpoint, (so far the readers love it, which might be a sign of mental illness on someone's part) now working on chapter 17 - MMC's best friend is on a honey moon with FMC's best friend. Talk about shifting gears!!!

I get too attached to my characters

 

[Duleigh]

Is it right to call it school when it's pre-school? HUM

Yes, this is where they learn to socialize and take their first steps at counting and learning their colors. Much needed skills for the modern University setting.

 

[NotWise]

A friend has suggested to me that tools like ChatGPT could be taught to help with an especially vexing coding problem. I'm working with a unique language where controlling a single multivariable output could contain a thousand lines of conditionals, and I have dozens of these outputs to address. Cut-and-paste, mostly, but the devil is in the details.

You might give it a try. My questions were about details of GTK4, and ChatGPT was already trained on it. The chances are good that it's already trained on the language you're using.

 

[ishtat]

Yes, this is where they learn to socialize and take their first steps at counting and learning their colors. Much needed skills for the modern University setting.

That + nappy (Diaper) training.

 

[Duleigh]

That + nappy (Diaper) training.

Hopefully!

The Grand Tour of North Central North Dakota continues. The other day #2 son and I toured US 52 from Balfour to Burlington. Balfour is a tiny town that's slowly dying. Right now I estimate there's less than 10 families living there. As a young 2 stripe Airman I met a young woman from there, and she was the the inspiration for my character Andi. "Andi" was short, cute, and just a wonderful woman and she shattered my heart into a million pieces. One day she told me that she had to stop seeing me, I asked "why?" She said "I'm going to college, I don't want to get married." I replied "I've never even mentioned marriage." She said, "When I look in your eyes I hear wedding bells."

And that was it.

I like to believe that she was sincere, she went off to college and got a degree. We met one more time after that encounter but details of that meeting will go to the grave with me...

Here's the Balfour "Lootrin" Church, 118 years old:

​

 

[drobert44]

Just back from Europe, wondering if this thread is a good place to post pics?