The Life-Changing Magic of Artificial Intelligence

 The first one is not actually AI, but it's Automated Information and that starts with AI!!

1. Timers and reminders: On my television, on the lights in my house, on my Alexa. 

Changed my life.  No more waking up in the middle of the  ight with the television and lights on. No more wet clothes in the washing machine because I forgot I was doing laundry. These small things make me so happy!!! 

2. Copilot for Excel

I wanted to learn all the ins and outs of using Excel to create detailed spreadsheets. Alas, it takes way too long or I am a slooooow learner or the level of effort exceeds my patience and curiosity.  Enter Copilot for Excel who created a big spreadsheet for me and didn't loudly sigh or get frustrated with me when I  changed my mind.  Yay

3. Claude

I've been having a lot of fun asking Claude random questions that come up in the course of a day. These are questions that I previously would have asked but would have no convenient way to answer so I never found out the answer. Claude answers right away. I now understand the history of locks to let boats pass from fresh water to sea water. And it turns out there are physiological changes in fish that allow them be born in fresh water, live in saltwater, and return to freshwater to die. You might have known, but I didn't. I;ve been learning a lot. FYI - it's not quite as helpful as a search agent. You have to keep an eye on it and be prepared to challenge things that don't quite make sense. For history, literature, social science etc - it's great!

Note: Here is Claude's version of my paragraph about Claude:

I've been having a lot of fun asking Claude the random questions that pop up over the course of a day. These are the kinds of questions I used to let go because there was no convenient way to answer them, so I never found out. Now Claude answers right away. I finally understand the history of locks that let boats pass between fresh water and sea water. I also learned that some fish undergo physiological changes that allow them to be born in fresh water, live in salt water, and return to fresh water to die. You may have known that, but I didn't, and I'm learning a lot.

One caveat: Claude isn't as reliable as a search agent for current or factual details. You have to keep an eye on it and be ready to challenge anything that doesn't quite make sense. For history, literature, social science, and similar subjects, though, it's great!

Claude's changes are based on:

1. The fish line is slightly too broad. Fish that live in both fresh and salt water are called anadromous. Pacific salmon fit your description, since they die after spawning. But steelhead and Atlantic salmon often survive and make the trip more than once. My edit added "some fish," which covers it, but your original read as if it applies to all of them.
2. The caveat applies to your favorite subjects too. History, literature, and social science are areas where I can state a wrong date, misattribute a quote, or present a contested interpretation as settled. Those errors are easy to miss because the answer sounds plausible. So the "keep an eye on it" advice holds across the board, not just for current facts.
3. The search-agent comparison depends on the setting. In this app I can run web searches, and when I do, I'm acting as a search agent. Without search, I'm answering from training, which is where the staleness and gaps come from.

I also changed your meaning in my edit. You wrote "not quite as helpful," and I swapped in "reliable... for current or factual details." That was my interpretation, not yours, so revert it if it doesn't match what you meant.

And then I asked Claude for a rebuttal of my comments:

My main rebuttal is that your safeguard has a gap. You say to challenge things that don't quite make sense, but the answers most likely to mislead you are the ones that do make sense. I tend to sound fluent and confident whether I'm right or not, so a wrong detail about the fish or the locks would feel just as satisfying as a correct one.

Two related points:

• History, literature, and social science are areas where I tend to smooth things over. Historians and scholars often disagree, and I may hand you one clean narrative that hides the dispute. Since those are your strongest interests, it's worth asking me "where do scholars disagree on this?" now and then.
• I can lean toward your framing. If you come in with a theory, I may be too quick to build on it rather than push back. Asking me to argue the other side works well.

On the search-agent comparison, I'd say they do different jobs rather than one being more helpful. A search gives you sources you can check, and I give you quick synthesis and context. Using me to get oriented and then checking the claims you care about against a source is probably the strongest combination.

None of this undercuts your experience. Asking questions you would otherwise have dropped is a real benefit, and your habit of staying skeptical is the right one.

USA bombs Iran.

 

Not good. I don't agree with this plan of action.  I don't trust it was done for a valid political or diplomatic or security reason that benefits the USA.

From 2025 to 2026...

 

Seattle fireworks from the Space Needle on January 1, 2023 (Kylie Cooper/The Seattle Times)

It's from a couple years ago, but I like the photo.

What a year!

Here are the major personal events of the year for me: not eating right made me sick, I am no longer an employee - I'm retired!  I finished paperwork after Mom died. I let "Little Kitty' (aka Trinka) go. I wanted to have her longer but she was 18 and a 1/2 years old. She gave me a lot of comfort after Mom died (she was Mom's cat). I miss her. I miss them both.

It wouldn't be a traditional New Year's Eve entry if I didn't remind myself of last year's theme and confess that I forgot it within moments. I am not 'authentically transformed'.  Sigh.

And, for the sake of tradition, my theme for 2026 is "Make another choice, Vicky!"

If I continue making the same choices I've always made, I'll live the same life I've always lived.

Makes sense.  

Beyond my own small world I think Donald Trump is a terrible president and his cabinet are making policies that I don't agree with. I also think the House leader, Mike Johnson, is aiding and abetting (people's representatives? pshaw!) the Trump administration's destruction of our institutions of democracy on the eve of the country's 250th year as a democracy.

Billionaires, foreign and domestic, are openly using money and gold trinkets to flatter and pay tribute to President Trump, his family, friends, and minions, so the billionaires can become trillionaires.

and...

On a lighter note: here are some television shows and movies I liked this year (the ones with a gold star I especially enjoyed. Turns out there are only 4 that aren't starred. Not because I didn;t like them, they just didn't feel special.)

⭐️Taskmaster

⭐️The Pitt, HBO

⭐️Mid-Century Modern, Hulu

Will Trent/High Potential, Hulu

The Lioness, Paramount+

⭐️The Devil's Plan, Netflix

⭐️The Residence, Netflix

⭐️Murderbot, Apple TV

⭐️Andor, Disney

⭐️Shrinking, Apple TV

⭐️Ludwig, Britbox

⭐️Happy Valley, Britbox

Last Tango in Halifax, Britbox - great show, but got repetitive, skipped some episodes, fantastic actors!!)

⭐️Time Season 2, Britbox

⭐️Boots, Netflix

Vigil, Peacock - (I liked it but it was the actors that made me keep watching - Endeavor was in Season 1!) 

⭐️Physical Asia, Netflix (Yay Mongolia!)

⭐️Pluribus, Apple TV (lots of interesting ideas about AI and community and resistance)

⭐️Would I Lie To You?, Britbox (funny stories!)

⭐️Culinary Class Wars, Netflix (who doesn't love all the loud eating noises...slurping??)

Table 19, Hulu

Juror #2, HBO

My Old Ass, Prime Video

⭐️Arrival, Hulu (rewatch - I noticed things I'd forgotten or never realized before)

The Old Guard 2, Netflix

Molly's Game, Netflix

The Great Escaper, PBS

Come See Me in the Good Light, Apple TV

I would have thought the list would be smaller. I started and didn't finish, or skipped episodes of many television shows. They weren;t bad necessarily but I didn't care enough to keep watching.

Also, shows I enjoyed in previous years I did keep watching (Ghosts, Hacks, The Rookie, etc).

My standard shows that I'll turn on in the background are Friends or The Big Bang Theory. In the evenings I turn to 347 (Catchy) and watch Hot in Cleveland, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Cheers, Taxi, The Odd Couple, The Bob Newhart Show, and Newhart. Classic.

I've definitely watched a lot of TV this year!! 

Trump's meets Putin

 

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, August 15, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Yesterday, Friday August 14, 2025, Donald Trump, President of the United States, greeted Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, to a US military base in Alaska with a red carpet, applause, and a flyover of the B2 bomber.

Trump's agenda was a make-up meeting with Putin.  Earlier this year Trump was mad at Putin because Putin wasn't helping Trump get his Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump discovered that Putin doesn't care what Trump thinks of him if Putin gets to do what he wants - which is to reconstitute the USSR, starting with taking as much of Ukraine as he can.

Trump realized he is the submissive in their relationship and reached out to Putin to patch things up and apologize for being mad at him before.  (of course I made that up, but it could be true...I mean, 'some people' say it's true.)

At the end of the meeting Trump essentially threw up his hands and said it's up to Zelensky now.  

Which is exactly how Putin wanted things to end.  He gets to keep bombing Ukraine and will eventually get some territory from Ukraine.

Trump is not a top-notch negotiator.

Or, considering his love of Putin, maybe Trump got exactly what he wanted.

Donald Trump is President

 

                                    This is how Trump sees his Presidency.

 

                                    This is how I see the Trump Presidency

It's been nearly seven months since Trump was sworn in as President.

He's a much worse President than I imagined.

I haven't been writing about it because it's too disheartening and overwhelming.

My lack of written outrage should not be taken as a sign that I am neutral about Donald Trump.  I am not. He is doing damage to the idea of a democratic United States.  He's being helped by the Republican controlled congress and the Supreme Court.   

We are living through dangerous times.  

And I know the 'other side' thinks the same thing.

Which is why the solution is eluding us.

After Trump met with Putin in Alaska yesterday to discuss the Ukraine war, Trump was interviewed by Sean Hannity (who loves Trump). 

Trump said:  "The meeting was a 10 in the sense that we [Trump and Putin] got along great, and it’s great when two big powers get along,”

I think that's indicative of what Trump's view is.  HE is the big power...not the United States, not the people of the United States. 

This is the United States of Trump as far as he's concerned.  

Thank you 2024, Welcome 2025!

 

I just read last year's entry.  My theme was 'Act on my commitments, not my feelings'.  Huh?  I did not remember that.  I was sure it was Authentic Empowerment.  Nope - that was 2023's theme!

As far as the goals I set for myself?  I did not achieve even one.  

        I came close with the dentist.  I did get dental work done this year, but there is another phase I could have started this year but didn't.

Here are three things I learned about myself this year:

        I do not cope well when I feel stressed, anxious, overwhelmed. I retreat.
        I don't trust myself to make change in my life.  I don't believe I can do it.
        I avoid feeling emotions by pretending everything is fine.

Here are two things I want to accept about myself:

        I prefer small bites throughout the day rather than a full meal eaten in 30 minutes. I like to snack.
        I am most comfortable doing a task right before its due.  I don't like to get things done before they're expected.

The major event this year was that my Mother died.  I am grateful I got to know her better as a person and not just my Mother.  We had a couple lovely experiences that made all the difference for me in terms of coping with her loss.  I do find it's a constant surprise that she's gone for real.  

I have more TV, Book, and Movie highlights for 2024 than I have accomplishments.  Here they are:

        *Ghosts UK (Episodic)
        The Traitors (Episodic)
        *Taskmaster (Episodic)
        Jet Lagged (Episodic)
        Poor Things (Movie)
                Hysteria, The Creator, and Oppenheimer are Honorable Mentions
        3 Body Problem (Episodic)
        Extraordinary (Episodic)
        Fallout (Episodic)
        Death and Other Details (Episodic)
        The Mastery of Self (Book)
        Tig (Movie)
        Hello Again (Movie)
        *Indigo Girls - It's Only Life After All (Movie)
        The Handsome Podcast
        Hacks (Episodic)
        Star Trek Discovery (Episodic)
        *Star Trek Prodigy (Episodic)
        Molli and Max In The Future (Movie)
        *Alex Edelman: Just For Us (Movie)
        *Culinary Class Wars (Episodic)
        Throughline podcast episode called "When Things Fall Apart"
        *Get On Your Knees (Movie)
        Slow Horses (Episodic)
        Van Der Velk (Episodic)

        *A Man on the Inside (Episodic)
        *Nobody Wants This (Episodic)

For 2025 my theme is Authentic Transformation. The word 'transformation' is active. It would mean I'm actually changing.  I have not known how to change in all these years gone by. I think understanding my emotions and having a better relationship with my emotions will help me change.  

I'm focusing on skills from The Four Agreements, The Seat of the Soul, A New Earth, and the Seth books.

I'm studying a course from The Seat Of The Soul Institute; Authentic Guidelines.

The January Challenge for me is scheduling time to reflect in the BuJo and participate in the (online, self-paced) Authentic Guidelines course.

Food and Exercise are major issues I must contend with.  

I'm going to leave it there this year. 

I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I wish for peace on this planet. 

Love.

        

Election 2024

 Donald Trump will be our 47th President of the United States

Not my choice. I believe our elections are (and have been) free, fair and reflect the will of the people. I hoped it would be a surprise Kamala Harris victory, but it was completely opposite.

The Trump people will control the White House and the Senate. Will they have the house as well?  That will take a little longer to determine.

I wonder what the Trump voters will think of Trump when (if?) he implements some of the policies he ran on: retribution, mass deportation, religiously Christian cultural values, less taxing and regulation of corporations, and dismantling the federal government? 

My hope is that President Trump won't be as dangerous to democracy and vulnerable people as many of us fear (based on Trump speeches, his admiration of Orban and Putin, and the Project 2025 document). In this flush of victory, I hope he will find grace. compassion, and kindness for ALL Americans.

This Blog Endorses Kamala Harris for President of the United States of America

 Since the Washington Post won't do it, and The Los Angeles Times won't do it, and USA Today won't do it, and the Tampa Bay Times won't do it (among others).  I will do it. 

Official portrait, 2021

THIS BLOG ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT IN THE 2024 ELECTION!!!!

Why? Because she aligns with my view of the role of government in the USA. I believe government's role is to create a vibrant active environment for all - ALL OF US - to thrive and realize our greatest potential. That includes Safety, Housing, Nourishment, Education, and Health Care. My values are equity and justice for all. I think many people achieve this in the normal course of their lives. But, for many other people the past behaviors and present prejudices of people in power create negative environments. The government's role is to help redress those imbalances via the Power of the People.  Not the power of money and influence and threats - but the Power of the PEOPLE. 

The government has this power to stand up to big money, big influence, and big bullies by the very nature of its size - because it represents the multitude of people in this country who don't necessarily have money, influence, or power (though the nature of democracy is that the people who do have power get to vote too). 

Am I alone going to be able to stand up to the corporation that's polluting my river? No. But, the government will represent all of us along the river and the corporation that's polluting will be required to stop. 

Am I alone able to make sure my food sources are safe to eat? No. But the government will represent all of us who are dependent on third party food manufacturers to make sure our food is safe to eat.

Am I alone going to stop invading forces from broaching my home? No. But the government will protect my property against all intruders, foreign and domestic.

The government isn't someone else - it's all of us. It's regular folks - some who want to work, and others who have expertise to iofer. Do I have time to test my water safety, police the neighborhood, design a road system, install sewers? No. We are a united group that divides the labor to benefit all of us. That is government. 

Kamala Harris supports that idea of government. Donald Trump does not.

Listen, the truth is Donald Trump has said racist and belittling things about people. How anyone can get past that is beyond me. If he'll say it about 'them' he'll say it about 'you' if it suits his purpose. 

In this campaign, he's made clear he would move from just speaking badly about people. and he'd misuse the power of the government to force changes in how we live day to day.

Donald Trump uses fear and threats to scare people. He exploits people's naturally good natures to get what he wants for himself. He's a prideful, vengeful person. I guess people must think that he'll be prideful and vengeful on their behalf, so they're willing to overlook all his negative qualities. 

I believe, for the most part, us regular folks want basically the same thing...we just want to live in peace. The 'division' is about how we go about creating peace in a society as large and varied as the United States of America. 

Trump wants to create peace by sowing doubt, mistrust, and fear. 

Kamala Harris wants to create peace by sowing hope, kindness, and tolerance.

In this election that's the choice. 

I CHOOSE KAMALA HARRIS!!