history pragmatic historian technology writing

My Websites Are Being Used to Train AI – Is That a Good Thing?

If you spend any amount of time online these days, you’ll hear about two things ad nauseum: The meltdown of Twitter and the wonders of AI (artificial intelligence), specifically text generated by tools like ChatGPT or Google’s Bard. I haven’t had a chance to use ChatGPT because it’s always overloaded with users when I try and I’m not inclined to pay a subscription for a service that I want to test. Google’s Bard has a…

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Writing: Using Health Intake Forms for Character Development

Forms are on my mind recently, partially because I finished filing our taxes and partially due to a project at work. I have filled out a LOT of forms in my life. From tax forms to social services forms to grant applications to healthcare forms, all ask for some intensive and often highly personal information. After you’ve filled out the same information (name, address, phone, email … etc., etc., etc.) for the twelfth dozen time,…

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The Game’s Afoot at the Sherlock Holmes Exhibit

When I heard the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) was launching a special exhibit on Sherlock Holmes last fall, I knew I had to go. I grew up reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries and have watched a number of the screen versions. For those of us who are Holmes fans, we mentally like to put ourselves in his shoes, thinking we could use our powers of observations to solve crimes. Hubby and I…

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The Work in the House Continues

Busy, busy, busy. Now that the tearing apart phase of our dining room renovation is finished, we’ve been spending the past couple of weeks on the putting together phase. After the building inspector okayed the tear-down and framing part of the job, which had us inserting a few extra two-by-fours in corners so we’d have something to attach sheetrock to, we got right on putting up insulation. We also used spray foam around the windows,…

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family health history pragmatic historian

2022 Alzheimer’s Ride for the Mind

Erik and I went for a benefit motorcycle ride yesterday, before today’s blistering heat (thank goodness!). It was the Alzheimer’s Ride for the Mind and, in my rough estimate, about 100 motorcycles showed up at the Buckman Bank Tavern to take part. Hubby recently purchased a new-to-him Harley Davidson, having gone many years without riding due to a back injury. Prior to that, he had a Honda Shadow Ace 1100 Tourer and we used to…

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