
SideshoViD

Happy Easter everybody. Good luck out there searching for eggs (?) made of chocolate (?) that came out the butt (?) of a rabbit (?). I'm not 100% sure about the mechanics of that, but nonetheless, have fun. I'm just hoping this means that the gym will be close to empty.
Speaking of, there is this new scourge at the gym. It only started recently, but it is spreading. Grown men with ear buds in listening to music at full volume -- SINGING ALONG. WTF. Like OUT LOUD. And as annoying as singing would be to people around you, when you can't hear yourself at all, it's a special kind of horrible. I know of at least 5 people off the top of my head that I will not get on the treadmill next to or sit next to on the stretching mat because I know they'll break out into winching, breathy, high pitched song the second I do. I wish I was more confrontational, so I could just tap them on the shoulder and ask, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" but instead I just shoot dirty looks that are not understood.
Normally for Easter lately we get together with my parents and have a smorgasbord of food from Honey Baked Hams. I even have a rewards number on honeybaked.com. But between you and me, all of their food is garbage. I mean, the ham is okay, but they also have these boxed sides and everything is just horrible. My dad had a little procedure on Friday and wasn't sure if he'd be up for it, so I was more than happy to accept their decline of getting together. Daniel did ask me what he should buy at the store as a special treat and I said he could buy some eggs and I'll make deviled eggs with salmon roe. That will be our homage to Easter.
I can’t think of anything more effeminate than being a picky eater.
Another successful Febrehab is done. Though I must admit this one was really easy. I only gave up sugar and caffeine in addition to alcohol. Caffeine is pretty easy for me. I really like the caffeine free teas from Whole Foods. A little fruity beginning to the day isn't half bad. And while we do devolve into the habit of having one brown butter chocolate chip cookie after dinner 3 days per week, it wasn't that big of a deal to give it up. That's pretty much the only dedicated source of sugar in my life.
Nevertheless, it is always good to take a little break. I was telling people this year though that it's not even really the alcohol I miss. It's the ritual. The habit. There's no physical addiction, it's just such a nice punctuation on the week. Like, it's Friday, the work week is over, let's go out and have a glass of champagne with dinner to celebrate living life. And I guess we should be doing a bit more of that while we can, before we all get drafted into WWIII....
In other news, after having just poo-pooed AI in my last post, I have used it more and more in my personal life. I used to sit around and wonder about stuff. Now I just ask AI. And maybe it's good to sometimes just have unanswered thought experiments, but I really like discussing ridiculous things with Gemini.
I had an idea for a mouth piece you could wear and every, say, 5 seconds it would drip one drop of water into your mouth. That would be an unnoticeable amount, mix with your saliva, and you'd just swallow it without noticing and thus stay hydrated. I asked Gemini what it thought of my idea and it said it was bad and gave me all the reasons why. 1) It would change the chemistry of your saliva and make it less effective. 2) Even though it's just a drop, you could still choke on it if you were heavily exerting yourself or sleeping. 3) Your body has adapted to expect and process a large influx of water all at once. It triggers the stomach to do something and a little drop here and there wouldn't be enough to set it off. And 4) It did the math on how much water that would be in a 24 hour period and it was like around 1 liter and you need more like 3 liters to stay hydrated so it wouldn't even work. Like ... how could you Google that and come up with that answer? Only AI could have that dumb of a conversation about one of my new million dollar ideas. Saved me a lot in R&D costs right there.
I've also used it twice now for shopping. The ball "fell" out of my right earring and getting it back in is basically impossible without a pair of surgical forceps. And even if I could do it, once you've priced the hoop open and closed more than about once, it is never quite circular ever again. So I thought, given that I've had earrings now for like 27 years, maybe it was time to invest in something a little more substantial than the $16 piercing jewelry that's been in there forever. So I asked Gemini what I should do and it found exactly what I wanted. Visually kind of identical, but nicer metal, and no ball. These have a clicker mechanism so I can take them out for things like MRIs and surgeries. And I didn't know what size to get so I measured my existing, but I measured the outer diameter in inches and the website was selling sizes measured by the inner diameter in millimeters. So I told Gemini to do the math given the gauge and size and it did it all flawlessly.
Just this morning I woke up with a crick in my neck again, so I decided to ask Gemini for a suitable replacement for my beloved Indulgence by Isotonic side sleeper that Bed, Bath & Beyond used to sell before they went out of business. And it was like, replacement? Why, they're still sold at major retailers like Macy's and Wal-Mart. WHAT?!? I assure you I scoured the internet for information on the manufacturer and alternate retailers and found nothing. I even posted about it back in 2022. So I guess my prayers have been answered.
It occurred to me though. They're GOING to find a way to monetize this (if they haven't already). You pay them some money and they suggest your product for any related queries above all else and eventually you won't be able to trust it. It'll devolve into a purely for-profit ad-bot and everyone will stop using it just like literally every other tool or platform before it. So I guess use it now while you still can!
I thought today I might talk about the topic du jour, mostly for posterity's sake more than anything else. Maybe in the future I'll read this blog and think, damn what an idiot I was. I'm speaking of course about our overlord and savior, A.I.
I'm kind of a late adopter. I liken it a little bit to when Amazon first came out and people were flabbergasted that I didn't have an Amazon account and I literally never ordered anything from there. I went to the grocery store once a week and I bought everything I needed. Amazon was never going to replace that so the fact that I COULD buy paper towels or aluminum foil online, just didn't really provide me with any benefit, so I never did it. Now I buy things on Amazon like a bad habit. If I haven't received a package in the garage in a few days I start to get sad and look for a little present to cheer myself up.
I'm kind of the same way with AI. People are like, "You don't use AI?!" and I say, "For ... what?" Like literally anything AI can do I can do myself only better. Perhaps not faster. Don't get me wrong, I have started to dabble. Like the blog on my side company's website. I no longer write those. I still come up with the idea for the blog, but then AI cranks it out in 2 seconds because I couldn't care less about the quality there. And I've vibe coded some tools for genealogical purposes for my extended family's organization. But sometimes it's more annoying to vibe code, and takes longer to iron out, than just doing it myself.
I can see how some people use it for emails and shit. Because they don't know how to type. So that could be a major time saver. Just not for me. And also, guys, when you use AI to write an email or a congratulatory message on an ecard or something, it is glaringly obvious that you've used AI and that is a huge insult. So let's resolve to keep interpersonal communications interpersonal.
The bubble around AI is probably prone to pop soon. Not that it won't continue to be amazing and do all kinds of cool shit, but I think the hype is overdone and the financial ROI just won't be there. And then the stock market will come crashing down from its current record heights. Then we'll pick up the pieces and stop trying to shoe horn this shit into every nook and cranny of daily life where it doesn't below.
In the ever-evolving landscape of today’s modern digital era, it is crucial to remember that by fostering a proactive synergy and unlocking your hidden potential, we can truly delve into the heart of the matter—so, without further ado, that’s my two cents, folks! 🚀🌟✨ #Innovation #GrowthMindset
(I asked AI to write my conclusion.)

SideshoViD

SideshoViD

SideshoViD
April 7, 2009
I really wanted to lay out today like I did last weekend. My goal is to lay out every weekend before Mexico so I won't reflect all of the sunlight away from the beach. But I was especially excited to use my new cooler that I got from Target. It's super cute and holds 24 beers. Unfortunately, I can't realistically go lay out ... because it's fucking snowing. Like not a little bit, but really actually snowing. It's April for xrist's sake. I think this cycle of the earth warming and cooling is on like a 4 year cycle.
Anywho, so I find myself layin around with nothing to do, which is why I'm here talking to you losers. Daniel and I went to look at an apartment today but since it went on the market yesterday and is still occupied, it can only be viewed during specific times on weekdays. So Daniel's going to look at it on Monday. It's got a fireplace, a balcony, a pool view, a large mezzanine, a spiral staircase, two bedrooms, two baths, and a view of the circle out the other side. Online it looks perfect and the girl at the leasing office said it was a really cool apartment and would probably go fast. Which means our original plan of moving in together in December, and our revised plan of moving in together in June, has just been moved forward to as soon as we can get into this new apartment.
It makes a lot of sense. For one it's the next logical step in our relationship. That's the main reason. But also because it's way more square footage for less money. And while living across the street from each other has been wonderful, realistically, we practically live together already.
If things go well we might move in at the end of May. Which would be crazy but fun. I just hope we have some sort of overlap in our leases so we can just get a couple dollys and cart our furniture through the park to the circle. If anybody has a truck maybe that would make more sense. I'll be sure to keep you all post-ed on if we get it or not. Later, bulges.
I am going to officially change the spelling of my name from Deighvyd to Dävid. Not only does it look cooler but it would be grammatically correct here. They have all kinds of vowels that we don't have: ä, ö, ü, å, ø. We have all the vowel sounds, but our vowels can completely change their pronunciation based on the letters before and after them. Theirs are always the same, which is why they needed a few extras. The only one I've figured out is the å which actually has a long 'O' sound. If I get lucky later, I may be showin' my å face. å! å! å!
I spent a lot of money today on plane tickets. I'm really leaving Malmö next Friday and heading right for Paris. Then to Berlin. Then back to Copenhagen. I am so nervously excited. It's still a ways away though and I've gotten a lot of great advice on how to travel. It should be really sexcellent to get around a little bit. Although I spent a lot, it was a lot less than I thought I was going to have to spend. My ticket from Berlin to Copenhagen was €16, which is under 20 bucks. Score! I am flying on the Southwest Airlines of Europe. Should be interesting. I gotta find hotels now. Money, money, money. Speaking of, I FINALLY heard some ABBA at the hockey game last night. I had assumed it would be the only music they played here and was sorely disappointed to find out I was wrong.
I'm about to head out to a Biljard hall now with Keith and Paul, and the little douchebag that it is here with us. I'll have to tell you all about the douchebag later, he's a blog unto himself. He is the dark cloud on the this silver lining of a vacation. Anyway, so I gotta run, just wanted to fill you in on a couple more things. Läääääääääääääääte.