Scripting News: Sunday, August 6, 2023

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Today's song: Houses in Motion. #

I read somewhere that when you look at someone's eyes, you're looking at their brain. I suppose this is true of every part of the body, but I've been looking at eyes differently ever since I heard this.#

We should retroactively free Americans who were enslaved prior to the 13th Amendment. They should be thought of today as full citizens of the United States to whom unthinkable harm was done. #

A San Diego library had a Pride display. Republican parents checked out all the books and said they would not return them until the library agreed to remove the display. When this became public, the library received replacements, many times over. #

Who's the most famous person you've met who introduced themself to you and you had to stifle a chuckle because of course I know who you are, but still appreciate the respect. For me it was Goldie Hawn. I rode up on an elevator with her twice. We lived in the same building in Manhattan. A real sweetheart. I was so honored. #

Last year around this time I went to a Mets game in Queens, and this year, I'm returning to NYC, in Manhattan, for the whole week, M-F. Going to see friends, get some work done, ride Citibikes up and down the Hudson River bike trail. First stop: Zabars, of course. 💥 #

Miriam is great at summarizing#

I'm having a great time with my new librarian assistant, Miriam. #

Basically she's an AI chatbot that has ingested a lot of the OPML files from my archive. #

I did the writing, the development was done by Automattic. I get to be a user here. Very relaxing.#

So the other day I very casually asked Miriam how the weather was. #

#

Being software, she dutifully answered the question, by referring me to various times I had discussed the weather on Scripting News. #

We don't yet have a way to archive the results of queries, which will, when it's ready allow me to share the actual query with you, so you can take it off in different directions if you're so inclined. #

A surprising take-away: I really like how she summarized my posts. #

Since Automattic also makes WordPress, which is used for blogging I thought this might be an interesting service they could offer. It could also be used to improve their feeds, esp if writers don't want to include full text. I know this is not a popular view, but I like sites that provide descriptions that are not full text, like the NYT. Much easier to skim. #

Miriam's digest of my writing would make a good feed. Maybe this is something we should try. (BTW, I do provide full text in the feed for all my sites.)#

Another thing to like about her summaries -- they are respectful of the reader. No clickbait anywhere in sight. She's a librarian after all. 😄#

Using DALL-E to visualize Miriam#

I asked DALL-E to draw Miriam for me. This is how I described her. #

I have a vast library of information nice people are interested in reading. So I have hired a librarian named Miriam. She has a standing desk, in front of a vast library of books, spreading out all around her. She has glasses and a very friendly but wise look to her. She wants to help. She has gray hair and bright eyes and a very big smile.#

Here are the first images.#

#

I asked Dolly to elaborate.#

Linkblog items for the day.

From the NYT: "Gift articles can only be shared using the Gift button and the gift sharing options available. Articles can not be gifted or shared using non-gift social sharing options, or by copying and pasting the article URL into a web browser." (Seems like all my nopaywall posts are bogus?) nytimes.com

San Diego Library Protest Against Pride Books Draws a Backlash. #nopaywall nytimes.com

2016: get-to-know-your-enemy.net. scripting.com

How Large Language Models Assisted a Website Makeover. thenewstack.io

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