Oh No! The Turtle is Done!

photog Current Events ,

Mitch McConnell has acquiesced to the reality that he has been dead for some unknown number of years and now should relinquish his spot on the sunning log in the swamp to some other awful swamp critter

And now the question remains can an even more reprehensible individual than the turtle be found to hold up his part of the Uni-Party deal.  I’m sure Raytheon and the rest of the truly awful people running the military industrial complex will strap one of Mitch’s lackeys to a Frankenstein table and zap him with a gazillion volts and turn him into the monster they need.  Someone with absolutely no concern for the welfare of the people living here and only a short program of responses to his masters’ calls.  Basically, “Send me the checks and I’ll release the votes.”

Guest Contributor – War Pig – 28FEB2024 – AI Thoughts

photog Guest Contributors, Science, War Pig , ,

war pig

AI will be used mostly for crime, pornography and politics.

In the hands of criminals and unfriendly or thug governments it will be used to steal to fund them. Such activities will become far more efficient with AI. N Korea is already making millions with counterfeiting other nations currencies. Counterfeiting currencies will be like robbing vending machines compared to what AI theft can do.

As for pornography, it may actually have a perverted good side. AI images will be so good that there will be no reason to use real children. Also no women need be trafficked for such films. However it can then become so over the top that people become desensitized and even more addicted. It begs the question; if it is an artificial image can it be considered child pornography? Right now Hentai is covered by the 1st Amendment, no matter how heinous. Just as the crucifix in a jar of urine was protected. Now, an author who writes the most perverted, degrading, violent and vomit-inducing stories of child abuse, rape, torture, etc. Is covered by the 1st Amendment. It is the written word. It is not real. It is fiction, amorphous. I am glad i am not a judge who has to decide those cases.

As for politics, we already have fraud. It can be used to fake voices and even make it look like Trump ripped the blouse off a woman and called her a shut. Or Biden with his hand up some little girl’s skirt. Then it has to be proven to be false. Let alone the violation of voting systems. Electronic voting should be abandoned. AI can make Big Brother look simplistic. Computer and internet companies know too much about us already.

AI has the potential to make us distrust virtually everything, and that is quite dangerous.

Guest Contributor – ArthurinCali – 28FEB2024 – AI: Promise versus Reality

photog ArthurinCali, Current Events, Fake Science, Guest Contributors , ,

Many of us recall the excitement and possibilities that surrounded new technologies growing up, especially tech that involved artificial intelligence. Old Sci-Fi and even more current ideas as we approached the 21st century envisioned a world where AI not only enhanced daily life, but would be the paradigm shift that would lead to solving a lot of humanity’s vexing issues. For example, a childhood trip to Disney World in the early 90’s showcased what the future of AI could bring about. Epcot Center had entire attractions centered around how AI would one day catapult humanity into Space colonization, while others touted the medical advances that would be achieved. Science programs on TV and magazine publications were always highlighting how computer speeds continued to double every year or so, thus bringing us closer to being able to operate advanced AI systems. Obviously, this did not occur, and does not look likely for the near future if Google Gemini and others are our examples. Instead we get warped and distorted historical images, as well as AI chatbots who cannot tell the truth due to being crammed with so much progressive-leftist ideological bias.

Google CEO Says Gay Black Lesbian Viking/Pope Crosses the Line

photog Current Events, Fake Science , ,

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has put his foot down.  Google AI “Gemini” has been grounded and will be sent to bed without its supper for genociding white people from its database and image generator.

When questioned about how such a thing could happen Sundar confessed, “It’s my fault, I let him hang out with some of those other AI’s like that wise guy Chat GPT and you know what bad influences can do to a young and impressionable mind.  They get kooky ideas.

But I’ve had a strong talking to him and he’s grounded for the whole month and he has to write “White Lives Matter” on his virtual blackboard (I mean whiteboard) 50 googolplex times.  That’ll show him.

Going forward Pichai vowed to increase veracity of the image generator asymptotically, “That’s right no more black female cross-dressing popes.  We will limit the algorithm to two insulting anachronism per image.  You couldn’t ask for fairer than that!”

“The controversy around Gemini’s image generation tool emerged last week after users found they were able to generate historically inaccurate images like Black vikings, racially diverse Nazi soldiers and a female pope. Billionaire Elon Musk, who is building xAI as a competitor to Gemini, attacked Google’s service, calling it “woke” and “racist.” Other outlets like the Verge pointed out Gemini’s inaccuracies, noting that a prompt for a “US senator from the 1800s” generated images of a Black woman, even though the first Black woman was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992. Google halted the service from generating images of people after the controversy spiraled and said the company would “further tune” Gemini to offer more accurate historical contexts.”

Guest Contributor – TomD – 27FEB2024 – The Best Camera is the One You Carry

photog Guest Contributors, Photography, TomD , ,

Tom | Flickr

TomD

That looks to be a fossilized “rolly polly” insect. The ones that roll up into small armored balls. I ate one one, thinking it to be a chocolate chip fallen from my cookie. I won’t repeat that mistake, ever.

BTW: Below is a side by side photo of my new “carry around” Sony A6600 next to my “main camera” Sony A7IV.

A7IV Vs A6600.jpg
A7IV Vs A6600.jpg

Down here in Florida where self defense is considered to be a right, there is a maxim among the people who commonly carry weapons. That the best weapon for self defense is the weapon which you are most likely to have with you.

The same principle applies to cameras. If I’m going somewhere on a photo shoot, I’ll very probably have the larger camera with me. It is the more capable but not to the degree you may suspect. But the other 99.999% of the time, the bulk and cost precludes it as a constant companion as I travel about. But the smaller camera fits in my console or even a pocket with a smaller lens. And I constantly find photo subjects for which I wish I had a more capable camera than a cell, even my capable (for a phone) Pixel.

I used to get really good early dawn shots while going to work, when I worked.

At one point, I had an earlier version of the A6600 but I gave it to my wife when she dropped and destroyed her camera. I asked for it back but was cursed at.

Joy Reid Achieves Terminal Stupid

photog Current Events , , ,

MSNBC proudly displays Joy Reid to the world like some sideshow exhibit.  She is a very strange individual in many ways.  But let’s be kind and put everything else aside.  Let’s just concentrate on her words and ideas.  She say that the United States has over 327 million people so why does it need kids?

Now maybe this is a failure of the school system where Joy was allegedly educated but does she think people live forever?   Is she unaware that the young adults procreate and then raise up the next generation and then give way to their children and the whole cycle begins again.

Or is she aware of this but thinks that the current deficit in births to native born women in the United States should be replaced with illegal aliens walking in?  Well, let’s be kind and say that’s what she means.

I wonder if she thinks that this country will stay as it is now if the demographics continue to change as drastically as the current influx of third world migrants indicates it will?  Does she assume that there will still be a need for Joy Reid on television?  Does she think there will still be a need for MSNBC?  Or for that matter will there be the where withall for cable television to still exist?

I know it’s unthinkable that we would have to get along without Joy Reid but I suspect if things go along the way they currently are Joy Reid is going to have to find a new gig.  And from what I can see and hear of her skills I think DMV clerk is gonna be a stretch.  Maybe bathroom attendant at the local high school might make more sense.  I’m sure she could figure out how a mop and ringer work.