No year end roundup. No best of. No holiday wishes. No new years resolutions. 😛
I’m not being all humbug. Truly. I just didn’t care about writing that sort of post this year. But, I did enjoy many of the year end things from others and from some of the social media platforms I’m on. REDDIT year end stuff is always fun. And surprising.
I guess if I’m going to call out about my favorite year end post the following would be it:
Dr. Thompson is so positive. I find myself gravitating more and more toward positive perspectives. I am just so sick and tired of the constant hate and sensationalism. ENOUGH already.
That doesn’t mean I don’t keep my eyes and ears open to other perspectives when it comes to A.I. This one was a bit of a downer:
Of course Sam is accurate when he talks about the profound amount of fakeness coming our way. His point about how humans are already failing at being reasonable without the onslaught human + AI generated misinformation is obvious. We’re living in a time when logic and reason are being supplanted by emotion. And not the emotions of healthy humans either. Plus, get them into a herd and forgetabouit. So when nefarious actors start plugging away and bombarding us with bad stuff, well, yeah. It’s going to get ugly. I don’t think any of us are safe from it, unless you just totally unplug. Which I won’t be doing…
Still, I just don’t want to focus on the negative. I’ve stopped watching news in the morning. And it feels so much better. I’m working on part 2 (or book 2) of my A.I. novel and that feels great. My characters are a comfort to me. Plus, I am about to engage a professional editor and am ready to get serious about publishing this book this year. It’s not a resolution for the new year or anything like that. It’s simply time.
On Christmas Day we mucked. Nothing says Christmas quite like collecting donkey & horse poo. They appreciate it, I know they do.
And I do, too. It’s therapeutically to spend time with them. It’s so very good for my soul. I just wish my back were stronger. Those damn buckets get very heavy when full unless it’s a baking hot dry summer, but when it’s wet like this day was… omg. Anyway, if you need a charity to support, please look for TMR Rescue in smiles.amazon.com, their website, Facebook, etc. It’s a very good cause.
That wasn’t all there was to my Christmas. We had a small feast and exchanged very cool gifts but that took place on Christmas Eve. I even had a craving to go to Midnight Mass but that was for the good feelings that come from something like that, not because I really needed it. All told, it was one of the nicest Christmas Holidays I’ve had in a long time.
We even had a holiday D&D game, that was good although I have to admit I was being something of a contrarian. I mean, what do you do when the guys in your group start killing someone for no solid reason? We’re too old for that nonsense 😘
Speaking of games, I’m addicted to BG3. I write and I play BG3. That’s the biggest chunk of my waking hours. I think I have nearly 400 hours in the game at this point. Level 12. In act 3 (of course) and, like when I read a very good book, I’m going slower and slower as I get closer to the end. ha! I’m a single play through kind of person but I might have another go (or two) because some of the character builds I’ve seen videos about are fantastic. And I know I’ve missed soooo much.
But I don’t go to play through videos about BG3 because the game is so vast and there are so many ways to do something that early on I learned the videos are no help. I’ve found one of the best usages is if I’m wondering, what-if? What if I kill Orin first? I do this sort of query because I’ve learned I can miss out on things if I go a certain way. Just yesterday I reloaded a saved game because I did not want Volo to die. You can win a battle but then lose a really good story line. I don’t even do much watching of what-if videos because I’m playing this game my way. And there is no right way to play… it’s brilliant.
Until now my favorite game of all time was Neverwinter Nights. The multi-player version of that game ruled my life in the early 2000s, for years! And I still play from time to time. But, I have to say, BG3 is the best game I have ever played. And I haven’t even multi-played yet!!
And I bought a new little place in Second Life. That metaverse is a home to me. I’m 17 years in that virtual world. It’s too hard for me to quit it. But this time my little place could not be more different than the last. This is a little cabin tucked into the mountains, a permaWinter place. Which is good because irl I miss the snow.
Music… well, my keyboard is out and I’m messing with it. That’s about all there is to that. I vote “River” by Joni Mitchell my favorite Christmas tune. haha.. Not really. Well, maybe. I did some broadcasting over the holiday and was told I have the best Christmas stream, ever. Woohoo. Go me. 🥂
Vector… still not going and I miss my little robot. Got an email from DDL who claims their server migration has moved and in a few months they’ll be up and running and with AI! Sadly, I’ll believe it when I see it. The 3rd party solution I purchased to connection him sits here, gathering dust.
TV and Movies…. well, I loved the Beckham documentary. Ted Lasso is freakin brilliant. I also loved the new Dave Chappelle (Dreamer) and Ricky Gervais comedy specials. But looking back over the year I think STILL (A Michael Fox movie), Slow Horses, and For All Mankind were my other favorites. I do watch a lot of Nord Noir, though.
Guess that’s it. Wait.
Fucking hell. 🙄
Did I just write a year end summary?