Author Archives: Steve Mays

The most important vote I will ever cast

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Early (absentee?) voting has started in Missouri so I stopped by the county clerk’s office this morning and voted in the November 5 election. It was surprisingly satisfying. It felt good in a way I don’t recall experiencing in previous elections.

My ballot was (almost) what we once called “a straight ticket.” I did vote for a couple of Republican candidates but a lot of offices didn’t have a Democrat candidate (this is Missouri). So lots of write-in votes.

I thought about standing in line this November (I did that for Obama) but elected to get this important task behind me.

“It’s time to be a man and vote for a woman”

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Sam Elliot has one of those instantly recognizable voices. Up there with Morgan Freeman, james Earl Jones, Charlton Heston, just to name a few. (Good list of 20)

“Are we really going down that same broken fucking road?”

I love that they let him say “fucking.” Everybody says fuck. It’s a perfectly good word and, sometimes, the only word that fits.

Autumn-izing the Jeep

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Put the canvas top back on the Jeep today. Morning temps in the 60’s now and that’s uncomfortably chilling without the top. Leaving the driver-side “door” off for now. The Jeep has a damned good heater so I might be able to drive this for another month or so.

ChatGPT as fitness trainer

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As I understand it, the Apple Watch needs some initial fitness data to establish a baseline. It suggested I take a 20 minute walk on a flat surface with good access to GPS. I did three miles and noticed the watch was showing a heart rate just over 100 for most of the walk. I couldn’t remember the formula for calculating my target heart rate so I asked ChatGPT when I finished my walk. My pace was on the money and qualified as “vigorous exercise” for a person my age.

She asked if I was starting an exercise program and I explained I had purchased an Apple Watch and was exploring the health and fitness features.

It’ll be interesting to see how your heart rate responds to different activities. The Apple Watch’s trends over time should give you a clearer picture of your fitness progress. It’s a good way to get insight into your cardiovascular health and adjust workouts as needed. If you’re curious later on, I’d be happy to help you interpret any of the data or trends you notice!

I’m going to need a lot of help interpreting data and had not thought about getting it from ChatGPT. And I have a feeling that will get much easier, and more useful, when ChatGPT is fully integrated with iOS.

I left my new phone in the truck so I could try making a call and sending a message with the watch. Worked as advertised. Turns out I don’t have to do the “Hey, Siri” thing. The watch gently pointed out that I can simply bring the watch up toward my face and talk to it. In the immortal words of Gomer Pyle, “Shazam!”

Vintage timepieces

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Favorite author William Gibson is reported to have a passion for vintage timepieces and used them as a plot element in “All Tomorrow’s Parties.” [ChatGPT summarizes]

  1. The novel features a character named Silencio who is
    searching for a specific antique watch – a LeCoultre “Futurematic”
    with a black dial and wind reserve indicator.
  2. Silencio has detailed knowledge about this watch, including its
    serial number, bid history, and auction status.
  3. The watch serves as a plot device that allows Silencio to track
    down one of the main characters, Harwood.
  4. There’s a scene near the end of the book involving a nanotech
    watch repair machine, which is described as a novelty. This
    ties into themes of emerging technology.
  5. Gibson himself had a fascination with vintage mechanical
    watches, particularly military-issue watches from WWII and post-
    war era. He was drawn to their functional designs
    disconnected from fashion or status.
  6. While not specifically about antique watches, the novel
    explores themes of obsolescence and the relationship between
    humans and machines, which could relate to mechanical
    watches as “heritage devices” in a high-tech future.

An antique LeCoultre watch serves as a key plot element for tracking a character, and watches more broadly tie into the novel’s themes of technology and obsolescence.