subspaceinterferents @lemmy.world The shell cracked. I emerged. How it will end is anyone's guess.
OK Boomer has entered the chat. Seems most comments are from those looking forward. I left the paycheck life in 2019. Except for 2020 (catching up on every episode of The Office), I've been having a measured good time. I have lucky stars to thank. Got married in ’85. Adopted a daughter in ’91. Wife and I inherited a home when my mom died. We spent 30 years saving for retirement instead of paying a mortgage/rent. Was self-employed the whole time in marketing communications. Wife was a mid-level manager in health services, retired 2 years before me. We spent decades living below our means. I threw the towel in at 62. I think being self-employed (and a one-man show) prepared me for my after work life. I wasn't going to miss the office life and friends because I didn't have any, in the conventional sense. These days I work in the garden, getting dirt in my fingernails. I teach QiGong and Tai Chi pro-bono to a dedicated senior group at a local park, and I'm getting a similar gig with the city rec services to do the same. I'm a small-time landlord (one-unit granny flat behind the house). I recently transitioned from Mac to Windows (sorry Linux users, I know...) with great success. I drive a 25 year old stick-shift Toyota truck and hope it makes it to 300K. At 66, I exercise almost every day, and while I could be convinced to take a nap in the afternoon, I never do. My wife is a pickleball queen, and we manage to have lives together and apart. We both have pretty good health for oldies. Several of my peers have died recently, and the end of the road looms closer for me than ever before. My life is devoted to staying healthy and paying it forward as long as I can keep it together.
Forcing myself to watch this thing. I think I'm getting a rash.
Looks just like my last AirB&B, TBH.
As long as sovereign debt can be serviced, we're good.
Fucking pinhead for President.
Layman's conjecture: as the spring dissolves, the sulfuric acid's temperature would rise.
The epitome of narcissism and the acme of vulgarity. Graffiti on the walls of the temple. You do you, but no thanks...
I use the spoken voice function in ChatGPT while I am using my Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Specifically, I am using the VR app called Wander, which incorporates Google's street view imagery to produce a 360° experience of street-level reality. As I wander through the virtual world, I interrogate ChatGPT about interesting landmarks, historical artifacts, and geographic features that I encounter. It's like having a knowledgeable travel companion that occasionally makes everything up. It's a blast.
30 word summary via Claude 3 Opus: AI's growing capabilities can have unintended psychological consequences, blurring lines between human and non-human agents, potentially leading to unhealthy relationships and impacting mental wellbeing, especially for teenagers, warns cognitive neuroscientist Joel Pearson, who highlights the need to research AI's psychological implications.
Pro Tip: if you stuff that box with crinkly paper, you have created cat Nirvana.
I like to use the VR app, Wander. Wandering all around the world in virtual reality using Google Street view. I keep the verbal "call and response" version of the ChatGPT app on my phone close by. As I wander around the planet, I ask the bot questions, really obscure ones, about all the weird stuff I see. It's like having a deeply nuanced travel companion with a deep book on tons of minutia. It makes the obscure become visible. And it's a lot of fun...
HMRO
Ask Microsoft Paint CoCreator to draw a "human male reproductive organ" and you'll get something like this.
Watching the Surf
A group watches the surfers in the heavy surf south of Bird Rock. Photo looks south toward Point Loma/Ocean Beach. I asked a surfer returning to the shore how it was out there. He said "exhausting."
Eclipse Plane Fare
Flying out from San Diego to DAL for the total eclipse with family living in Little Elm. Southwest sees us coming... . Airfares around the event are seriously jacked. It's almost like they're in it for the money.
Del Mar Tree Iguana
Sculpted and painted iguana carving, cut into a tree stump, at Del Mar secret spot.
Returning to Harbor- 11 Nov ’23
The "Star of India," the oldest active sailing ship, sails into San Diego Harbor on the occasion of its 160th birthday. After a five-year activity pause, the ship set sail on a small ocean-going expedition, celebrated by the San Diego Maritime Museum.
Meet the new U-T Print Edition
Saw this at Vons today. The corporate beancounters at the Union-Tribune's new corporate overlords did the math and decided a fractional percent of expenses could be saved with a new, smaller print edition. Looks like the "Weekly Reader" from my childhood memories. Not sure whether to be amused, embarrassed or horrified. They should just take it out behind the barn and shoot it in the head.
Little Amal visits Balboa Park; 4Nov23
They call her the little girl on a big journey. Little Amal is the 12 foot puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee child. She is a global symbol of human rights, especially those of child refugees. For the last few weeks, she has traveled more than 9,000 miles: 40 cities from coast to coast in the US, and 7 cities in Mexico at over 100 public events. Wherever she goes, she draws a crowd, and San Diego was no exception. Since July 2021, Amal has visited 14 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people on the street, including hundreds of artists and civil society and faith leaders, as well as by tens of millions online. Her journeys are festivals of art, music and hope that draw attention to the huge numbers of children fleeing war, violence and persecution. More at walkwithamal.org
All Electric Woody
The guys next door are driving an all-electric fun car: the Moke. This thing maxes out at about 25 mph. I don't think you'll see it on the freeway, but these guys will be patrolling Mission Beach in what they hope will be a chick magnet, or so they tell me...
Ageism Has a Home on Lemmy
Well, if I ever need to find a place to shower Boomers with derision, this must be the place. Actually, I am 3 months shy of being 66, live in California and love it, retired from an IT-ish job, own my home free and clear, not a friend of FB or Reddit, etc., and was looking for some kindred older (or younger) spirits. This ain't the place...
Balboa Park Mural
Enormous 8' x 18' tile mural on the facade of the Automotive museum in Balboa Park. Artists Richard Keit and Mary Kennedy of RTK Studios in Ojai. Nice work.
U-T Community Almanac
We can argue for hours about the quality of the local news organization of record, the San Diego Union-Tribune. Especially after its recent purchase by a news conglomerate. But put that aside: today the U-T offers its annual Community Almanac. The site is paywalled, so you're not reading it for free online. It's not worth viewing on a mobile screen as it's formatted for print-first. Works pretty well on a big desktop screen, but I'd advise you to pay for the print edition. Get a paper copy today while they're still on the rack. :: The special edition is a stand-alone broadside, featuring detailed info on local Hiking, Camping & Outdoors, Dining, Local Murals, Theaters, Museums, Balboa Park, Beaches, and Birding. What's especially interesting is the inclusion of soft and hard data/photos on 91 local communities. Worth picking up a copy.
SeaWorld's other large lawsuit
SeaWorld is facing two major lawsuits over unpaid bills, including a $12 million suit from the city of San Diego for unpaid rent and a $10 million suit from Sesame Workshop for unpaid licensing fees related to Sesame Street characters at its parks. SeaWorld has struggled financially since the pandemic shut down its parks in 2020. The company argues it shouldn't have to pay full price due to the unprecedented situation. However, the city and Sesame Workshop seem unwilling to cut SeaWorld slack. Considering SeaWorld recently tried to acquire Cedar Fair, it likely has the cash but doesn't want to pay. The outcome of the lawsuits will determine if courts agree the pandemic warrants reduced payments. With over $20 million at stake, the results could significantly impact SeaWorld's finances going forward.
https://www.cinemablend.com/theme-parks/seaworld-financial-trouble-second-lawsuit-unpaid-bills-sesame-street
South Mission VBall Action
Took the bike out to circumnavigate west Mission Bay. Rounding the bend at South Mission Beach there was a riot of volleyball nets and players. Made my way past Belmont Park on the Boardwalk heading north. Caught a super-clear sunset at Lido Ct., with a green flash coda. Life is good.
SeaWorld? Scripps Institute Of Oceanography?
Nope. San Diego Zoo. Early each morning, just after the park opens, a dive team goes into the big tank at the bottom of Africa Rocks and cleans the glass from the inside. The zoo is a big place, and the upkeep is daunting.