Max's Musings (Book) https://www.Writing.Com/main/profile.php/blog/mathguy I've been using Google's AI quite a bit lately. It can be handy, but it can be stupid, too. I've also deduced something interesting. More on that, but first a story with a lesson. This one's true, more or less. We had a smoke detector start chirping yesterday. I went the store, bought a 9V battery, climbed on our handy little stepping-stool, and replaced the battery, taking great care to not fall. I'm 76, and my balance isn't what i...[Read Full Post] Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:24:16 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1121744 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1121744 Monday morning means putting in my contacts (they come out on Sunday night), making my morning coffee, and sitting down at my computer. As happens almost every morning, this morning my computer woke up and completely rearranged all the various windows I'd had open yesterday, randomly piling them on top of one another after randomly distributing them across two of the three monitors attached to my system. This mess isn't bad, but...I use something cal...[Read Full Post] Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:03:31 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1119394 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1119394 I should really get out more. You hear the most interesting things just sitting around listening to people. Like yesterday, when I was getting my haircut. There's always a lot of banter going on between the barbers, and yesterday's was particularly...interesting. Kind of creepy, but kind of funny, too. The topic was bleed out songs. I'd never heard the phrase before, but I instantly got it. Just the phrase itself meets the ...[Read Full Post] Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:16:09 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117572 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117572 I saw an awesome video this morning from Will Wheaton. He tells a wonderful parable involving the Buddha. [Link: 'https://www.facebook.com/reel/619710000732837'] Itâs worth watching. In fact, itâs quite inspiring. But, if you donât want to watch it, there's a summary below the break. But this summary ends, not with Will Wheaton's inpsiring message of hope, but a rather different one that immediately popped into my head. So, if you want insp...[Read Full Post] Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:35:26 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117333 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117333 This is about my evolving relationship with AI. When it comes to technology and art, there are at least two different issues. One is esthetics and the other is ethics. These are related but different issues. Before getting to that, though, I want to clarify some things. To start with, what we call "Artificial Intelligence" isn't about intelligence at all, even though it kind of sounds and looks like it is. That sound and look is marketed ...[Read Full Post] Sun, 07 Jun 2026 11:00:39 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117269 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1117269 In the 1600s, the Dutch had the beginnings of the first modern economy. They had banking, stock exchanges, and, eventually, even a futures market. Then it all came tumbling down in a frenzy over tulip bulbs. You see, tulips were a new thing back then, an import from Turkey. Everyone, but especially rich folks, loved having gardens filled with these new, exotic blooms. The most prized flowers had striped, feathery petals, but these distinctive blossoms result...[Read Full Post] Sun, 31 May 2026 13:54:58 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1116804 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1116804 I made a recent newsfeed post about electric vehicles. That led to a string of comments repeating internet rumors about manufacturers putting hidden kill switches in cars, making them inoperable if the owner doesnât pay a licensing fee. That certainly sounds like something voracious corporations might do. After all, MS charges an annual fee for Office as does Adobe for a whole range of products. It also turns out to be mostly internet rumor, hence this...[Read Full Post] Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:21:31 EDT https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111235 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1111235 Six Things You Don't Know About Me [Link To User hibiscus] challenged me to write a blog listing six things people don't know about me. This is, apparently, part of a group activity. Of course, there are lots of things people don't know about me. The challenge is to find things that (a) I'm willing to reveal; and (b) that are at leastly mildly interesting. This turned out to be harder than I'd expected. Here goes. 1. Some...[Read Full Post] Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:59:08 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1104688 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1104688 Today is a state holiday in Texas when everyone celebrates my Sam Houston's birthday. My ex wrote and asked me what we were doing to celebrate, so responded with what we've been watching onTV lately. In the unlikely event anyone cares, here's my response. Weâve been watching Reacher, on Amazon, recommended by a former co-worker. Itâs not terrible. Weâve also been watching The Pitt...[Read Full Post] Sun, 02 Mar 2025 08:22:12 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1084637 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1084637 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was the lead single by Bonnie Tyler from her 1983 album, Faster Than the Speed of Night . The song was written by Jim Steinman, who also produced the album--more on him in a bit. The single was Tyler's biggest career hit, toping the Billboard charts in the both US and the UK. In fact, it kept another Steinman-written song, Air Supply's "Out of Nothing at All," from reaching the top spot in the US. Th...[Read Full Post] Fri, 28 Feb 2025 08:59:35 EST https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1084490 https://www.Writing.Com/main/books/entry_id/1084490