The Many Shades Of Our Blue Planet

California’s wildflower superbloom

Hit the “thumbs down.” It’s like, what’s wrong??? Was our summary wrong? Were there offensive words? Thank you for helping us improve our AI tools :)

I selected “other.”

Text box popped up. Please elaborate!

Wrote in “I can fucking read” submit comment

Then had to spend several minutes torching all my settings with a flamethrower. Let me be clear: I’m (a lawyer) notoriously picky with my words FOR GOOD REASON (lawyering) so I overwhelmingly reject Gmail’s “helpful” little assistance. My privacy settings were set to “full paranoia” a little less than a year ago when I saw the writing on the wall and knew public defenders could become a target in the future. Better to lock it all down now.

Gemini had crept in there and turned ALL that shit back on. And showed itself by saying “Jane Doe says she’s so sorry for your loss and offers to reschedule for Thursday at 3” over an email from Jane Doe saying “I’m so sorry for your loss. We could reschedule for Thursday at 3?”

Why would I possibly need this. In what universe would I need this. I have eyes and a brain and a reading speed that twenty years ago was measured at 1500 wpm with full comprehension on dense scientific text. Furthermore! If I read a summary, I’m not reading what they actually wrote. If I’m not reading what they actually wrote, I’m not using my own judgment on the words and phrases that they used.

I literally don’t understand why this is helpful at all. This is just avoidance. Using LLMs to write is specifically Not Writing. Using LLMs to summarize is Not Reading. Using them to make art is Avoiding Making Art. Just READ! Just WRITE! I was not put on this fucking planet to not read and not write and not make art! Avoidance is an anxiety symptom and indulging it gives it more power.

If I had an AI to do my most dreaded task, answer the phone for clients, I wouldn’t use it. Because an AI cannot help them. An AI cannot hear the facts of their case, make appropriate noises, be thoughtful and insightful, and then give them a realistic estimate of what could happen in court. I am unique. I cannot be replaced by machine learning. I have style. I have expertise. I don’t hallucinate unless I’m having a really great Friday night and I’m off the clock.

When I need to outsource tasks from my own brain, I give them to people I know can do them and that I trust to do them right.

Happy International Vulture Awareness Day!

It’s about time I got the chance to draw my favorite animal for this account! This is the Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), a scavenger of scavengers, the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70–90% bone! In order to digest bone, the Bearded Vulture’s stomach acid has a pH concentration of 1, about as acidic as battery acid! The Bearded Vulture can swallow bones up to the size of a lamb’s femur whole, or, it will break them into smaller, more manageable pieces. It does this by flying them to a height of 50–150 m (160–490 ft) above rocks and then dropping them so that they fall at a precise angle. They may need to repeat the drop multiple times if the bone does not break sufficiently. This learned skill requires extensive practice, and can take up to 7 years for the bird to master. They can fly with bones up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter and weighing over 4 kg (8.8 lb), nearly equal to their own weight!

Bearded Vultures are also one of the few animals known to use cosmetics. While their head, chest, and leg feathers are naturally a cream color, they will bathe in iron-rich dust or mud to dye them red, orange, rust, or pink! They will also transfer this coloration to their eggs.

The Bearded Vulture has been declining severely in Europe over the past several decades, and has also seen declines in Asia and Africa. Threats include loss of habitat, collisions with powerlines, poisoning (intentional and unintentional), and trophy hunting.

"Friends / Houses" Mug Mates mug (1985)