It's said that the internet knows everything about you. So I asked ChatGPT, "Based on what you know of me, create a photograph that depicts how you view me."
This is what I got:
"Here’s a photographic depiction inspired by your interests and personality as I perceive them. It combines a serene atmosphere with thoughtful elements that resonate with your love for history and meaningful storytelling. Let me know how it aligns with your vision!"
Source: ChatGPT
Nailed it! ;-)
2024-11-02: The Lincoln Project asks, "Other than Trump, which Republicans do you REALLY want to lose this November?"
That question drew 3.5K comments.
2024-11-04: This is Texas District 112, represented by Angie Chen Button. To keep her Dallas County district packed with as many reliable GOP voters as the GOP legislature in Austin can find, Angie Chen Button is backed up against the wall (Collin County to the north, Rockwall and Kaufman Counties to the east). She is cornered. This is what they mean by politicians choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their representatives.
2024-11-04: The biggest problem with the US Constitution is due to the Founding Fathers not respecting democratic elections.
2024-11-04: "Moldova's pro-European Union incumbent President Maia Sandu won a tense presidential runoff election Sunday, beating a rival backed by a pro-Russian party in what she called as a 'lesson in democracy.'
'Today, dear Moldovans, you have given a lesson in democracy, worthy of being written in history books.... Freedom, truth, and justice have prevailed," Sandu declared.'"
Let's hope Americans can say the same thing on November 5.
cbsnews.com/news/moldova-elect...
2024-10-01: "The UK Has No Coal-Fired Power Plants for the First Time in 142 Years" | WIRED.
Most of the time, I think our efforts to address climate change amount to too-little, too-late. But every once in a while there's a headline like this that gives me a smidgen of hope.
wired.com/story/uk-no-coal-fir...
2024-10-03: "11 damning details in Jack Smith’s new brief in the Trump election case" | POLITICO.
Damning? These Trump scandals have reached the point of having no effect on public opinion. Maybe they are even counter-productive. With every story, more voters might be moved to support Trump just to get these cases settled than moved to want him to lose to see the cases pursued for another four years. Depressing, but I think that's where we are.
politico.com/news/2024/10/02/j...
2024-10-04: "US economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs last month" | CNN Business.
Those are new jobs, in addition to all the jobs Americans had last month. Even if immigrants are taking some Americans' jobs, there are a "whopping" number of new ones to pick from.
cnn.com/business/live-news/us-...
2024-09-06: You maybe could have seen this day coming fourteen years ago when his son was born and he named him "Colt."
cbsnews.com/news/georgia-scho...
2024-08-01: "Any Westerners who set foot in Russia should always understand that they could be the next bargaining chips for some future deal." - The Atlantic
Why we won't be booking any tour of Russia any time soon.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/...
2024-08-02: On even days, Trumpers are scaring up votes by warning, "She's BLACK!!!" On odd days, they claim, "She's really not Black at all." I remember when campaigns would strive for consisent messaging.
2024-08-02: Headline: "Kamala Harris ‘honored’ after earning enough votes to become Democratic nominee."
Kudos to her...for saying 'honored' instead of 'humbled.'
2024-07-01: "Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for official acts only." -- Texas Standard
Remember when Trump said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" I guess the part about not losing MAGA voters is still true. The only thing left in question is whether this Court would side with Trump that any shootings on Fifth Avenue are "official acts." But with this MAGA Court, is even that in question?
texasstandard.org/stories/supr...
2024-07-13: Headline: "Joe Biden avoids further gaffes at Detroit rally."
It's a low bar.
2024-06-01: Today's example of irony: A news story about elections in India from a news source that uses a fountain pen for a logo and a motto of "Dare to Write" ends with this disclaimer: "This is AI generated news with no Human interference."
greatandhra.com/politics/india...
2024-06-01: MaryAnne Doty's comment: "Maybe it's time for Tree the Town to help replace all the mature trees we lost in Richardson this week."
2024-05-02: Taking down the protestors' encampment at UT-Dallas involved officers from UT-D, Richardson, Allen (SWAT), Collin County Sheriff, and Texas Rangers. That shows impressive coordination...and maybe needless risk, as coordination on that scale doesn't come easily.
2024-05-02: Maybe they all have experience taking down homeless encampments. If so, you'd think any one of them was probably up to the task at hand. From reports, everything was peaceful before (and during and after) the police move.
2024-04-06: I don't recall any conspiracy theories about the eclipse circulating on social media. Am I missing them?
2024-04-09: Great view of the eclipse in McKinney. Diamond ring, 3 minutes of totality, then another diamond ring. Awesome.
2024-04-09: I always tell people that partial eclipses are interesting, but just can't compare to a total eclipse. A 99% partial eclipse sounds good, but totality is something else entirely. We would have been chasing the 2017 eclipse if we didn't know that the 2024 eclipse was coming right to us.
2024-03-03: Column: "As measles spreads, 'herd stupidity' grips Florida's government."
Pretty much. Conservative government is harmful to public health. Add that warning to others: Conservative government is harmful to democracy. Conservative government is harmful to the climate. How about just the catch-all warning: "Conservative government is harmful."
sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/colu...
2024-02-08: Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) deserves a place in a "Profiles in Courage" for the 21st century. "A Princeton and Georgetown-educated PhD, a Marine veteran and a committee chairman, he had warned his GOP colleagues not to “pry open the Pandora’s box of perpetual impeachment.”" For that he was encircled and screamed at by his Republican colleagues.
2024-01-01: "At age 20, we worry about what others think of us.
At age 40, we don't care what they think of us.
At age 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all."
-- Ann Landers (1918-2002).
At age 20, we thought Ann Landers was embarrassing.
At age 40, we conceded that she sometimes knew what she was talking about.
At age 60, we missed her dearly.
2023-12-03: Five schools have a strong argument. Only four can make the playoffs. I can't wait for the 12 team format that we should've had two decades ago.
2023-11-02: What's the over/under for how much Texas Rangers' ticket prices will jump next season?
2023-11-10: I just received an email from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson that begins, "Thank you for supporting the Republican Mayors Association (RMA), an organization I launched less than three weeks ago." The mayor of Dallas is officially a non-partisan office. Recently, Mayor Johnson announced he was switching political parties. Now he's turning the office partisan. I have no idea where he got the impression that I support the Republican Mayors Association. I definitely don't.
2023-10-04: Headline: "THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH IS BREAKING APART." In fact, the church has been breaking apart since Martin Luther. Or since 1054. Take your pick. It's like Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there will be a schism." (Matthew 18:20).
"Every religion is crazy, by definition, to a nonbeliever." — Jeffrey Weiss
I miss Jeffrey Weiss. He wore multiple hats at The Dallas Morning News. For a while, he covered the Richardson ISD. Remember the days when The Dallas Morning News assigned reporters to Richardson? I do. For a while, he wrote for the Religion section of the newspaper. Remember when The Dallas Morning News even had a Religion section? I do. Writing for "Politics Daily" way back in 2010 (see, I told you Weiss wore many hats), Weiss called for a movement against “political nastiness,” coining the term "civilogue" for more civil speech in the public square. I do miss Jeffrey Weiss.
2023-09-01: "Dan Patrick says he won't accept donations during impeachment trial." He wants to remove the appearance of "the trial being wide open to outside political influence."
Logically, doesn't this mean he should quit accepting campaign contributions during regular sessions, too, to remove the appearance of legislation being wide open to outside political influence? Which it is, of course.
2023-08-02: Today's NextDoor top post:
"I am trying to understand why people say climate change isn't real.
It's 107 degrees."
The post was promptly deleted.
Because, of course it was.
2023-08-03: She asked, "I need WOWZA headshots. Who do you recommend?"
Without thinking, I answered, "Charlize Theron. No contest."
And that's how I got canceled.
2023-08-10: A person I was with, seeing a car's license plate bracket: "Dickinson State University. Where is that?"
Me, shrugging: "Dunno. But my guess would be it's now in the Big Ten."
2023-08-22: I ate in a fast-food restaurant today. At the POS machine the woman who waited on me told me to press "No tip" when it asked. I hesitated. She explained, "We don't get the tips. The manager does, and he's not here."
More random thoughts can be found on Mastodon.
