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Showing posts from June, 2023

iFit Video: A Perpetual Buffering Marathon with No Finish Line

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It's now mid-2023. In the twilight of 2018, I welcomed home my shiny new Nordic Track 1750 Commercial treadmill, expecting it to be a trusty companion in my fitness journey. Its early days with me were pleasant and seamless. However, even from the beginning, it was clear that the machine's console was trapped in a bygone era of 2015 Android technology - a 7 inch tablet could only handle a 2.4Ghz WiFi connection, making it feel like a relic of the past. Being tech-savvy, I wasn't deterred. After all, I was well-equipped with a robust Gigabit Fiber and a SuperPod Mesh WiFi system. My iPhone, at that time, boasted over 300Mbs at the treadmill's location, while the treadmill only required a modest 20-30Mbs. All seemed good. Oh, how wrong I was! Smooth sailing lasted for a fleeting three months. Then, an update from iFit made its way into the system. From that point on, my exercise sessions became a battle with buffering. A minute or three into my run, the video would stop,

Real Income is Earned, Not "Distributed"

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We sometimes hear people talk about "income distribution." But that's a contradiction. Real income is not distributed, it is earned. First, it is important to understand that 'income' is not some magically appearing entity that is arbitrarily distributed by a benevolent or malevolent force. Income is primarily a result of providing goods or services that others are willing to pay for. This underscores the principles of free-market economics where value is exchanged for value. Individuals earn their income by contributing to the economy through their skills, abilities, education, work ethic, and risk-taking capacities. It is not, as some misconceptions suggest, a pie to be divided up based on personal biases or political agendas. To believe otherwise is to ignore the basic principles of economics and the price system, which balances supply and demand, reward and risk. Distributing income equitably often presumes a level of social fairness that, while noble in inten

We're Much Further from AI Taking Over than Headlines Suggest

 Chat GPT, especially version 4, is amazing. And it seems almost human and at times is shocking in how easily it and pull off certain requests when prompted. But there is an order of magnitude of difference between it and true AI, or what is called Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). I'm not overstating this.  Having used Chat GTP Plus with a subscription for a couple weeks, it didn't take too long to realize that it can be very hit or miss on seeming intelligent. For example, if you need something that requires true reasoning and a novel solution? Forget it. Chat GPT simply can't do it. But that doesn't mean it can't suggest complex things like, plan my 10 day road trip vacation along route 66, with suggested sites to see, restaurants and places to stay. And it doesn't get impatient with your tweaking things or adjusting parameters.  Or let's say you give it the task to summarize Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" in 200-300 words a 5th grade

How the Left Has Redefined "Fascism" Since 1979 to Make It Fit Their Narrative

You're a Fascist!  Nothing says "I'm out of good answers" faster than when someone calls an opponent that. But what exactly was a Fascist?   Shifting Definition - Chat GPT4 exposes it If you search the literature written or published prior to 1979 vs. that written or published after you get a very different answer.  That's what I had Chat GPT4 do.  Why 1979? Because I wanted to divide the era prior to the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan to that afterward. The media in America took a decided turn around that time, aligning much more strongly with the left.  The word "Fascist" began to be used by the far left to describe nearly any conservative with traditional values. The first prompt was: "Relying only on resources written or published prior to 1979 , what are the four top characteristics of Fascism." The results are below. Then I posted a second prompt: "Relying only on resources written or published after 1979 and later, what are the fou