I’ll get back to AI/Gem soon enough. Suffice to say, each encounter is mindblowing.
Today is Sunday and, on one of every four Sundays, Sally goes to bookclub. Bookclub out here has been going on 12 times a year for over 40 years. ‘V’ is the only original member who still lives out here. Sally is a sophomore at 22 years. ‘Han’ is a new member at three years. But do not let that stat mislead you. This is NOT a young woman’s game. Everyone is 60+ save for one or two ‘irregulars’ in their 40’s. There are a few in their 80’s. There are over 67 members ‘at large’ but the average attendance is about 15.
The amazing thing for me is that they come from five separate islands. That means small boat travel. All year ’round. Rain or shine or even snow! Each comes to a dock, takes a boat or gets picked up at one time or another. Sometimes they hike up hills, sometimes they get rides in the back of dilapidated old pickups. But lately, they have opted to use the community ‘bunkhouse’ on Read for most meetings so that is just a hike from Surge dock. Meetings last three to four hours.
Bookclub attendance is an all-day committment.
Oh, yeah…..and, at the end of the bookclub meeting, menu items for the next gatherng are delegated including wine, salads, main dishes and desserts. Bookclub is likely the most efficient, regular, always friendly, pleasant gathering in the community. It kiind of goes without saying that no men are allowed.
I will endeavour to do man’s work while Sally is away. I am going to try and fix some of the things that I previously screwed up. It’s amazing how long that need-to-fix list is getting. And, as a shock for Sal, I will attempt to make some home-made ice cream. Yes, I know…I may be just adding to the ‘need-to-fix’ list.
Speaking of which, three years ago, I bought a Chinese winch from Shenzen. The plan was to replace the old engine-driven winch I had been using with electric. I need a strong winch to haul 400- 450 lb log sections from the lagoon at sea level up the 120′ foot slope (35 degrees) to the place I store them before processing them for firewood. Sal sets the choke down at the lagoon on the pieces I cut and then I winch ’em up and roll ’em into place. That is a chore that is gettig a smidge harder as the years go on.
When the winch arrived, there were no instructions and the plug (power) was some weird Asian configuration that would not fit the ‘usual’ males and females we employ with our wiring in the North American market. I tend to use Nema L5-30 amp plugs because all my gensets use them. Well, almost all…my need-to-fix list requires a plug modification on the latest one.
I cut the weird plug off…but, got busy…and used the old winch for well, three more years (embarrassing). I just never got around to it. Ergo, the new winch went directly on the need-to-fix list. Part of my procrastination was that I noted the wires were colour coded in Asian (similar to confusion) and, after my first delay, I went back to wires I did NOT understand. Worse, all the wires in the winch were way undersized by my understanding of electricity which is Neandrethal at best.
And here is where AI comes back into the blog. “Yo! Gem. Gots me a problem….can you solve it?” Gem asked a few questions. I did not have all the answers but I did say, “It was made in China. Shenzen, I think. The only name that is legible is the model. It’s an Apollo YTK-12S.”
In a nano second Gem had the exact winch in mind, knew every wire, knew all the specs, knew the winch as if it had designed it. Gem knew what I did wrong and why I did it and told me what to do to get it all working just fine.
I will have Gem ‘on hold’ when I attempt the ice cream.
Our Off the Grid Home 
Good to hear! Wisht I had a friend like Gen!You mentioned th
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Still not going to use it if it does things and knows things that you didn’t ask for. I hate robots!
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Well, robots currently like YOU. Or so Gem tells me. Gem also told me that the bots can destroy me in seconds if they DO NOT LIKE me!!!! What!? “Well they do not laser you into ashes or anything but your bank accounts can be frozen, your credit cards cancelled, all your identity markers, even Rxs, can be erased. At the push of a button all your rights and freedoms are either severely hampered or completely erased. But bots don’t do that, Dave, humans do that USING bots.” “Do they actually do that?”
“Sorry. You are not authorized for that intel, Dave.”
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Good on you for fixing the genset. Also good on you for starting to write again.
Kept you on my email conctacts list , just in case!
John, from Alberta
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Good to see you, JFAlberta. Don’t separate, OK?
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Is there no “male” alternative to the bookclub?
Like a mancave where you can have a scotch and play cards each month?
I also find AI very helpful to help fix things.
I used to look for tutorials on Youtube how to fix things, but I find AI much faster in providing help or solutions.
I was writing this weekend some instructions, and AI was a great help.
Mind you, I was very sceptical in the beginning, but now I find it quite helpful.
The big problem is, that you have to check the answers and check the sources, because not everything Gem says is the truth.
But the worrying thing is the lack of privacy, your computer and smartphone see and hear verything and start pushing all kinds of promotions and messages
Not sure where this is going and what the downside will be, maybe we will have the “Terminator” scenario where AI launches a globel thermonuclear catastrophy and forces mankind underground
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No. No real ‘pub’ or even on community bench on which old guys might sit to watch the pretty girls go by. Nothing. Not even more than one or two pretty girls and they don’t walk around, they boat and ATV around. Hard to spot. I mean, of course there is if it was wanted and used that way but all the guys out here are so independent, so busy and also pretty intolerant of ‘chit-chat’ and social ‘wastes of time’ that nothing evolved past personal friendships. At least not now at 70 plus years of age. It could be that I am unlikeable but I think most seem equally as disinclined to socializing as I am. But they are quick to help. They are quick with OTG advice. And some of the friends even offer a hand or a ride if they think you need it. But, just to ‘chew the fat’? Not so much. Maybe for a few minutes. Remember: most live far apart. Most don’t share common hobbies. few ever work together. ‘Cept for OTG living challenges, most don’t have many common interests. I write. Only one other does that. Sally quilts. Over 65 do that. Sally reads a lot of books (fiction) and all the bookclub members (almost 65) do that. I read non-fiction. It’s a Mars vs Venus thing, ya know?
I feel the same way….lack of privacy, intrusion, watching, listening…..but, face it. That is not ‘on the way’, that is already here and working all the time. Bad movie. Bad plot. Bad…..but still, watch the movie MERCY. Chris Pratt. Netflix I think. AI is already so far down the road that they made a bad movie and used real things a’happening. AI is here. AI is NOW. Be afraid or not. It’s here now.
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You waited 3 years to rewire your new Chinese winch! That’s fairly efficient.
When we remodelled our kitchen in 2012 I installed a brand new dish washer, all except the water line and the 110 power. I was not sure we had enough gravity feed water pressure and did not want to stress our power supply. I wash the dishes.
Most chores have been done so there is now time. Maybe this year I will get to it. After 14 years the warranty has expired. Hope it works but not in a hurry to find out. We use the dishwasher to store our good dishes.
Steve Barnes OTG, no grid!
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Yes, AI is good for that techno stuff. It could also summarise and analyse Sal’s bookclub books when she is too busy to read them herself.
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Aye, there’s the rub…..the old Pudding would never take a shortcut on books. British ethics at work, don’tcha know? Mind you, she is so afraid of AI that she won’t use it in any way. There is a cheap B action thriller series called ‘Person of Interest’ (POI) and it was launched in 2011. AI officially was made accessible to the public in 2022. 11 years after the series was launched. POI is all about AI. POI makes AI out to be a major game-of-life changer. And I think it is.
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