This math teaser came up on my facebook feed today.
In true social media style, no solution was given. Nevertheless it roused my curiosity and after thinking for about one full minute, I came up with an answer.
To test myself, I queried Microsoft Copilot and then Chat GPT. I got two very different answers.
From Microsoft Copilot:
And from ChatGPT:
What do you think?
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Posted in Uncategorized
I have seen refrigerators come and go over the years. I guess I have been lucky. In the past, every refrigerator purchase happened due to a move to a new home or occasionally due to a failure that we were able to live with until the new one arrived. Today we face the death of our refrigerator – sudden and unexpected. A total unrevivable shutdown!
Everything was fine and uneventful yesterday. Then it happened. In the evening, we were about to enjoy our evening dose of ice cream when the ice cream revealed its soupy state. Meat was still frozen, refrigerated items still felt cold. The ice cream told the story.
We suspected that perhaps the freezer door had been left ajar accidentally. Unlikely, but we couldn’t rule that out right away. We listened for the compressor to turn on. After one hour: Nothing. Two hours: Nothing. Three hours…
Late last night we ordered a new refrigerator. Slim pickings! Our refrigerator has a built in space to fill. The new one will be delivered on Tuesday sometime (four days away). We haven’t yet heard when it will be installed.
For now, my mind spins with the new reality. What do we do now? What will we eat? What will the cat eat (and he eats all day long!). And when I open the tap for some water, I am surprised that it works! We have water!! And the stove still works!! Why does that surprise me? Because my brain is rattled.
Peanut butter and crackers.
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Astor loves home decorating. From day one, Astor began redesigning our home, making it his. He had established his “Cat Cave” within just minutes of first entering our home (age 9 weeks) in an area in our kitchen behind a curtain. There he hides away his favorite toys and other acquired possessions. If we are missing something – a crochet hook, keys, or who knows what, we look behind that curtain. Sometimes we can’t find Astor until we look there. He plays and naps there. Mostly he hoards stuff.
He has since established a Kitchen Bed on the kitchen counter where he can and does relax while keeping close watch over any and all food-related activities.
Last night at around midnight, we spotted Astor casually walking down the hall with a cardboard tube clenched between his teeth. Trailing behind him was a stream of toilet paper. Piles of shredded toilet paper were everywhere! Since I had just brushed my teeth and washed up for the night, and Astor was not around, all of that paper unrolling and shredding took place in just the one minute or so after i was done there.
Just 12 hours later – lunch time – while I am busy in the kitchen, Astor chose to decorate our entryway:
He managed to move a vase containing artificial flowers of unknown variety onto the floor below. How that vase landed upright, flowers intact, and centered on the doormat, I will never know, but they were fully dismantled in short order.
Astor is just 5 days shy of turning 5 months old. Every day is different as he explores, learns and practices new skills.
About 2 weeks ago, after studying, pondering, and attempting for an intense day or two, Astor mastered leaping onto the kitchen counter from the floor. By the next day, he was jumping up and off each counter, and from counter to another, and all with amazing speed and ease. Preparing food quickly became an impossible task for me.
But then…Astor discovered the roll of paper towels on the counter. Oh, what a mess he made! He shredded a roll of paper towels overnight and I cleaned it up in the morning. After a few days of this, I decided to collect the shreds into a pile, but leave them there for his play. Perhaps that would leave some paper towels on the roll for me to use. To my surprise, he began resting on the shredded pile while I cooked. I was then able to prepare meals while he comfortably and calmly watched close by. Problem solved. But what about the mess that now lived on the counter and even drifted across the floor!
So I placed a rectangular bin where the pile of papers had been and moved the shreds into the bin. Astor immediately chose to make that bin his, a resting place for whenever I am working in the kitchen. And sometimes Astor settles in shortly before dinner prep, just waiting for the activity to begin.
Together we worked it out.
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Wordle has been around for a few years now, and I’ve been playing Wordle from its inception. I try to exceed my winning streak record. That is part of the challenge for me.
I play Wordle every day. In fact, I wait up until midnight when the clock resets and the new game of the day becomes available. I don’t go to sleep until I have played and solved Wordle.
I have a system; everybody does, I think. I begin every game with the same two words. I frequently can guess the 3rd word based on the first two guesses. There are only two times I did not guess the word by the 6th and final try: once when I missed that day’s puzzle and didn’t get to even attempt it, and once I just couldn’t figure out the answer. Nevertheless, in all this time, my longest streak is 72 and usually my streak doesn’t exceed 22 or maybe 24.
Every day The New York Times finds a way to nag me to subscribe. Playing Wordle is a major carrot. Subscribing would bring me added benefits, they claim. I haven’t yet figured out what those might be!
Yesterday my streak got reset to 0 once again. Could I possibly have skipped that day? I don’t see how! So I googled the day’s Wordle answer and sure enough I had proof. I had not missed the day. I had, in fact, solved Wordle. It is not my error! It is the great Wordle’s mistake!
Screwing up my streak is ruining the game for me. It is not my idea of how to entice me to pay for a subscription.. Instead, it is convincing me to give it up. No more Wordle!
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I have been made aware that all of my houseplants, with the exception of two African Violets, are toxic to cats. None of them are typically lethal, but are quite distressing, nonetheless. I have toxic plants in my kitchen, dining room, living room, and balcony. Quite a bit for a small apartment. Now knowledgeable, I am compelled to detoxify my home for kitty.
I spent the day removing several coleus plants (that I grew from seed). I moved my treasured snake plant to a hopefully better location – sitting atop a 3-feet or more plant stand that has no surrounding flat surfaces for kitty to linger upon and explore. My 2 golden pothos plants are also on a tall plant stand that, too, has no lounging structure.
For the balcony, I collected a bunch of solar lights that had previously lived with each of the balcony plants and instead created a nontoxic solar light bouquet.
Until I get more suitable plants.
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Posted in Condohood, Garden, New York City, Technology
I had contacted ChatGPT (Artificial Intelligence website) to see if AI could identify and analyze plants with any degree of accuracy and helpfulness. I theorized that this new technology established (so far) as a free app could supplant the many new plant care apps that are springing up with great haste. Most if not all of the plant care apps require paid subscriptions, many with a brief free trial. But plants (indoor and outdoor) require continuing care, and new questions arise, often only occasionally, perhaps rarely.
I had submitted a photo of an African Violet plant that had not flowered. It was under a plant light. The picture I offered did not show the plant light itself, but the emitted light might be detected in a photo. ChatGPT determined the plant to be healthy and gave some tips to help the plant to flower. It recommended that the plant receive fertilizer, and that the plant light be set to distribute more red light waves than the blue light that was observed.
I followed the recommendations. Two weeks later, that same African Violet was in full bloom and has continued to bloom since!
I received similar analyses from other AI apps. No subscriptions required!
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Posted in Uncategorized
When I look in the mirror, I see me at age 5, holding my brother’s hand. He was taking me to the neighborhood movie house to see my first movie – 101 Dalmatians.
When I look in the mirror, I see me at age 17, the girl with the long, silky brown hair that fell past my shoulders. I see an air of confidence, and a a flurry of activities with boyfriends, girlfriends, school, and work.
When I look in the mirror, I see me at age 25, on my wedding day, my Prince Charming at my side.
When I look in the mirror, I see me at age 35, busy with young children, and bursting with love.
When I look in the mirror, I see me at age 57, welcoming my first grandchild into the world, with four more to come.
When I look in the mirror now, in the moment, I see me, but I do not see age. My hair is gray, but I see brown. My face is wrinkled and rounder, my eyebrows pencil-drawn, but I see memories of people and times and places.
And to that doctor who wrote, “74-year-old female who appears her stated age,” I disagree. I am a kaleidoscope of memories, and I am all those ages.
When I look in the mirror, I like what I see.
Posted in Family, Life, Memories, New York City, Poetry
I woke up this morning after a rare good night’s sleep. The Maniac roused immediately, acknowledging my first morning movements. He walked gingerly to me, softly walked across my chest and pressed his sweet furry face against my cheek with a loving cat kiss as he purred excitedly. The perfect cuddly kitten.
And then the wilding began – the jumping, hopping, climbing, lurching, running. Our own little whirling dervish complete with needles for claws and spikes for teeth.
We have taken to full clothing protection – long sleeves and heavy jeans, as summer reaches peak temperatures. At night we wrap ourselves under a quilt tucked carefully around and under us to keep The Maniac from clawing his way inside.
We’ve homed kittens before. The last time was 17 years ago. We adopted 2 at that time. Littermates. Sixteen years before that, we adopted another kitten. How could we have forgotten what it is like!
There are a dozen or more ping pong balls scattered around our home and at least as many small catnip filled mice. He swats the ping pong balls with the skill of a seasoned hockey player, and tortures the mice mercilessly – playtimes for kitty. Yet when you want to find one toy, just one, to distract him from climbing up our backs or stealing our dinner, there is not one to be found.
And then there’s the cherished quiet times…
He will grow up. He will grow up. He will grow up…
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Posted in Uncategorized
I live in an apartment building. The hall just outside my entry door measures five feet across and extends far down to the opposite end of the building, outside 15 apartments, 3 elevators, and 2 compactor rooms. It is long and narrow.
A few months ago, a ruckus erupted in the hall just outside our apartment. It was the sound of a crowd in rapid movement and with lots of exhilaration accompanied by thuds to the floor and loud pounding against my walls and door. After more than an hour of nonstop noise, I opened my entry door to find 6 children of elementary school ages and one grownup, the man who lives next door. I scanned the commotion; every kid was in motion and a ball was flying through the air. I exclaimed, “What a racket!” The only adult replied with apparent joy, “We’re playing football!”
I didn’t know how to respond. My only thought was that it never happened before and so it probably will end soon. A one time thing. The noise continued for the duration of the afternoon and well into the evening.
The very next weekend, it happened again. This time Dad was not involved, just a bunch of kids running, jumping, throwing things, shouting and laughing. One rammed into me while still moving backwards down the hall. “Sorry,” he said without stopping.
And again the following weekend, and the next, and the next. It has been going on for a few months now, every Saturday afternoon for hours, and into the evening. The crowd varies but it is always a crowd.
This past Saturday I had had enough. I opened my door and calmly told the children that they cannot play here. “Let’s play in my hall,” one of the bigger boys announced, and off they all went.
They weren’t gone long though. So I went right back out there. I told them it is against building rules to play in the hall. They argued with me. Soon only 2 boys remained. I explained to the boy who actually lives next door that they are annoying me and it is against building rules to play in the hall. He responded that they play in all the halls and it is okay. I reiterated that they may not play here and finally said, “Would you like me to talk to you mother?” “Yes,” he responded and got his mother.
Mom said “They have to play in the hall. It’s cold. It’s raining. It’s late. It’s allowed.” “Be patient;” she told me, “bedtime is 8 o’clock.” I suggested they play in her apartment, to which she flatly responded, “Oh no. They can play in the hall!”
So the child is between a rock and a hard place. His mother tells him to go play in the hall, and the mean old neighbor lady is going to tell him not to.
Why?
I like plants. I have a few houseplants right now, and I want more. I also want to learn more about plants, especially how to keep them happy and healthy. So I am always in search of a great houseplant guide.
Most of the newest and more interesting houseplant guides are apps for the computer, tablet, and/or phone. More recently they include AI (artificial intelligence). Snap a picture and an app will identify the plant and even tell you how to better care for that specific plant. So I download every new app that comes my way.
But I am picky. I do not want any app that is not free. I don’t want a free trial either; I don’t want to forget to cancel my paid subscription and later learn I am paying on a monthly or yearly basis for something I probably rarely, if ever, use and worse – have forgotten I have. So I download the “free” app, find out immediately it is a free trial only, and promptly delete.
The other day a new “free” plant app grabbed my attention. It boasted its AI capabilities and it’s ability to do all the things I want from a plant care app. Sadly, it too, proved to be only a free trial after which a $40 per year automatic charge is applied. Nope! But it gave me an idea…
AI. Hmm. I wonder what information I will get if I snap a picture of my plant and send it to ChatGPT.
I use ChatGPT all the time. I mean, I query ChatGPT multiple times a day. Why not for houseplant identification and care. Would I get the information I desire? Would I get all the information those money-making apps claim to provide?
So I snapped a picture of my African Violet and asked Chat:
In summary, Chat agreed that mine is a healthy-appearing plant. So I continued my query:
Then why hasn’t it flowered? Well, Chat gave a very informative analysis and then provided some simple tips to help it flower:
As suggested elsewhere in its response (not captured above), I changed my grow light setting to the warmer red setting for flower optimization.
Thank you Chat, My Bud. (Get it? – My buddy a/k/a Chat?/my flower bud?)
Someday we won’t need to charge our devices. Someday there will be a new way to keep our devices alive and well – without charging cables!
I can dream.
I have a charging station in the kitchen and another in the bedroom. So many devices! So many cords. Oh what tangled webs we have!
I have cordless phones, tablets, electronic magnifiers, hair trimmers, motion sensors (in every closet), table lamps – all requiring charging and recharging, and every one of those cordless devices and gizmos has a dedicated cord with its specialized plug, sitting in a twisted jumble somewhere else.
I wish I had a closet designed just for charging: a closet wired to receive plugs of all kinds, with shelves to hold devices in a neat and organized way; a place for all those tangled cords that all our cordless devices require! I think every new home should come equipped with such a charging closet tucked away, with door to hide even the most organized jungle, at least until we have figured out a better way to keep our electronics functional. Of course, once we all have such a place, it will all become obsolete – the devices, the cables, the methods and processes, only to have the entire system revamped in some new fantastical way.
Today I ordered a cordless vacuum cleaner to add to my confusion.
Cordless! Ha!
Posted in Devices, Technology, Uncategorized
Bert was so excited! Bert was so proud!
After 16 years of living the good life – loved, pampered, protected, Bert had the best day ever! For 15 of those years, he had his brother always nearby, and together they romped and explored. Naps were sometimes disrupted by the gentle movements of a multi-legged or winged visitor, as the brothers woke with excitement, their attention unwavering. With wide-eyed fascination they kept their eyes glued to the event unfolding before them. Occasionally one of them would playfully swat at the new visitor but the visitors were always free to depart. Bert and his brother remained still, alert, and unblinking until the visitor leisurely crept or flew away.
Three nights ago something changed. In the darkness of night, Bert was aroused by a new visitor, the likes of which he had never seen before. His senses were aroused. We knew only that in the darkness he called continuously with a loud deep voice, sounds unlike any we had heard before. We lay quietly, listening, still, pretending to be asleep, trying to make sense of what was happening. We felt him hop onto the foot of our bed, still calling to us as he moved jerkily about.
Bert caught his first mouse. He called and called and then brought its lifeless body to us to share his joy. Triumph! Victory. He purred and danced and rubbed excitedly against us..
Congratulations, Bert! May it be your one and only.
Posted in Uncategorized
Really, really new to this. This is my second ever painted rock. It, and the others shown below, will be used to hold table napkins in place, keeping the napkins from blowing in the breezes of air conditioners and fans. The collection of painted rocks includes those of daughter and granddaughters. How nice to have their creativity on my dinner table every night.
Posted in Uncategorized
by MAL
August 1, 2024
Since meeting the traveler Martinelli
Things have not been going so swelli.
A mouse moved in to mom and pop’s place;
Took up all the pantry space
Emilia fell ill; Sidrah got sassy;
The cat got a little more than gassy.
The car overheated and the TV broke.
The neighbors blew up second-hand smoke.
My cousin lost her job; my brother got COVID;
My co-workers became feeble and horrid.
So Martinelli, please cross off your curse
Before things go from bad to worse.
Posted in Uncategorized
COVID hit and blood pressure machines disappeared from pharmacies. For years – decades actually – I had stopped at blood pressure machines in pharmacies about once or twice a year just for a routine check. My blood pressure has always been around 110/70, give or take just a very few points – by pharmacy machines, doctor visits, and even by friends testing out new blood pressure monitors. Just the facts; no bragging. Due to COVID I stopped testing and assumed all was well.
I had a doctor visit about 6 weeks ago and learned to my great surprise that my blood pressure is now running high. Not to jump to conclusions (this could be temporary), I am now keeping track. Sadly, my readings are not changing.
What to do, what to do.
I started immediately reducing my calorie intake with hopes of losing about 30 pounds. Although I have lost about 5 pounds so far, that has been the only very slow progress I have made. That, and reduced grocery bills. Blood pressure readings have not changed.
Today I added beet juice to my diet. Beet juice is said to lower blood pressure. It is widely reported that beet juice is not always well received, that it has an “earthy” taste – facts that I find rather intimidating. Many people mix in a little fruit juice to help. Eight ounces per day. Eight ounces per day! That’s more than a teaspoonful!
So I bought my first ever bottle of beet juice today. First whiff was far from enticing. I took a tiny sip. To my relief, it is swallowable. Not good, but swallowable. That’s one small sip. How will eight ounces go?
I poured about 4 ounces into a juice cup and added about an ounce of pineapple juice. (Widely recommended in Internet searches.) To my pleasant surprise, the pineapple juice, even that small amount, seems to take over. The cup of juice was not bad. I wouldn’t crave it, but it is easily drinkable.
We’ll see how it goes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted in Uncategorized
I have been putting it off for years. I want it, I need it, but…
A video magnifier. A video magnifier is a high powered magnifier that requires electrical power, usually by battery to allow for portability, or a plug-in source for large screen magnification. Where dime store hand-held magnifiers provide 2-3 times magnification, a video magnifier can deliver up to even 50 times the magnification. Obviously there is going to be a huge difference in price between a handheld magnifying glass and a video magnifier.
I have been studying the field of video magnifiers for years. They are very attractive to me with their high-powered magnification and all the extras that come with that – like OCR (optical character recognition) which provides for the device to read printed text to me! A video magnifier can display a photo in fantastic clear detail, it can help with all that fine print that has become a modern fact of life, and it does so much more.
The time has come for me to select one and make a purchase. I picked the Snow 12 by Zoomax.
This magnifier is about the size of an iPad Pro (the big iPad) – about as thin, and only slightly heavier. It also has a stand to serve as a desktop device. It can magnify up to 19 times – far from the most powerful video magnifiers out there, but more affordable and more than I even need.
So I went to the Zoomax website and was greeted by the offering of a 10% off coupon off my next purchase over $100, which would be delivered to my email inbox, and, in fact, it was promptly delivered. The Snow 12 was discounted, and offered free delivery. So I attempted to check out.
The check out process did not go smoothly. The software would not accept my 10% coupon. I contacted customer service. I received the following response:
“Regarding the coupon code you received for 10% off your first purchase over $100, I understand the confusion. While you did receive the coupon, please note that our website is currently running a Mother’s Day promotion offering 10% off and free shipping. Unfortunately, coupons cannot be combined with other promotions. Therefore, you may save the coupon for your next purchase.“
Please note that there was no mention of Mother’s Day on the website. There was no mention of the discounted price being tied to a coupon. There was no mention on the coupon about its use or non-use with other promotions. And presumably the coupon was sent to me to encourage a purchase!
In response, I found that this very device was also available on amazon, also free delivery, and the price was also discounted although at a slightly higher selling price. On amazon, however, I would use my amazon credit card and with it receive 5% back ($64.75), which made the amazon price about $25 less for me. It made sense in every way to buy through amazon.
In summary:
Was it worth it, Zoomax?
Posted in Coupons, Devices, Technology
Be My Eyes is a free app that has been developed for blind and visually impaired users to help them see what they otherwise cannot see. It is an app that has been around for several years. It has relied heavily on contacting human volunteers to read or describe or help locate what the user’s cellphone or tablet camera captures. It is a marvelous tool. Honestly, I have never used this app before, until today when I tested out a new feature: AI (artificial intelligence).
The process is simple. Using the app, take a picture of something you would like to see. The app will process the image which takes a few seconds. Then text covers the screen to report in detail what the camera has captured. For those who have difficulty reading text, Voiceover or other screen reader can be turned on to have the text read aloud.
Below is an example. I snapped a picture through the app Be My Eyes of my view of the outdoors. So first, read the text and imagine what AI is describing. It is pretty darn impressive! When done, look at the second picture, if you can, to compare with the image the app is describing.
Posted in Condohood, Devices, Free Stuff, New York City, Technology
I wanted a hula hoop, plain and simple. I want gentle exercise that gets me moving, is fun, and burns up a few calories in the process. I thought it would be great sport to twirl a hula hoop, move my hips and feet, and dance to music. I was always good at hula hooping. Dancing to my old favorite songs while hula hooping sounded like a great exercise plan. So I started with a 2-lb weighted hula hoop. Two pounds did not sound nearly as heavy as it proved to be. I do not want to cause bruising, soreness, or aching, as the experts recommend (no pain, no gain, blah, blah, blah) – just some gentle and fun activity. So next I turned to this hula hoop.
This hula hoop is advertised as adjustable. The listing states:
“Hoola hoop features 8 pieces that snap together and pull apart so you can adjust the size, The installation steps are simple.”
NOT TRUE. It is one long piece of tubing.
I did not care about the lights, although that could be fun. Frankly, too many reviewers said the lights do not work. So I was not in it for the lights.
To get started, first you have to uncoil a tightly coiled strip of rather thick tubing. That alone proved to be a very difficult task. The hoop came in a small box and the one long tube had three coils twisted together. Uncoiling was difficult, but ultimately doable. Then instructions say to leave the uncoiled hoop alone for 8 hours before completing the assembly process. And I did. The hula hoop rested overnight under my sofa where I felt it would be safe from suddenly flying from tension, spring action or reaction, or something. I was afraid for my windows, TV, etc.
In the morning, the hula hoop was round, but still unassembled. All I had left to do was to push in the little silver-colored button (probably stainless steel) and squeeze the two ends together. The little button, however, would not budge. The two ends could not merge. I tried until exhaustion took over and my fingers were red and deformed with a deep indentation in my finger from pressing on that button. Then there were two of us working on this “easy-to-assemble” thing — one to press the button and the other to move the two ends together. After an hour of torture we gave up.
I just wanted a plain and simple, unweighted, full-size hula hoop. Instead I got a useless piece of junk.
I have an Amazon Prime credit card through Chase Bank. Thanks to a promotion a number of years ago, I earn rewards points on all my amazon purchases that I pay for with this card. I get 5% back — points converted to cash to spend on amazon. It has worked very well – flawlessly, in fact. Until now, that is.
When my last Chase credit card bill came in a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I had not received any rewards points. So I called Chase Bank. I was told by the customer service agent that the points would be added to my account within the next 5-7 days. She confirmed that I will be receiving 15,351 points. That is equivalent to over $150 in spending money on amazon.
A week later I called again. So where are my rewards points? This customer service agent knew nothing and saw nothing. He found no notes about the previous week’s call. He stated he would “escalate” the situation and I should expect my rewards points in the next 7-10 days.
Both of these interactions made no sense to me. Why am I waiting for rewards points I had already earned? Why does each customer service agent know nothing about the previous conversations?
So I called a third time. This guy also knew nothing. In fact, he claimed I was owed nothing because, according to him, I had spent my points. How could I spend points I did not receive:? We had the following conversation:
Him: Did you use some rewards points on January 2 and January 4th?
Me: Possibly. But those would be points from the previous statement, the statement issued in December.
Me: When exactly are my monthly points made available to me?
Him: Rewards points are posted to your account on the statement date.
Me: When was the last statement date?
Him: January 10.
Me: And I paid that statement, correct?
Him. Correct.
Me. I spent points on January 2nd and on January 4th. Those points were spent BEFORE January 10th, BEFORE the latest points were to be added.
Him: Correct.
Me: And I spent no rewards points since January 4th.
Him: Correct.
Me: How many points did I receive on January 10?
Him: (No answer. Long pause.) You spent those points.
I asked for a screenshot of my points history. He could not provide this.
I asked to speak to a supervisor. ”No point,” he said, and he denied me that access.
Him: Somebody else must have used your rewards points.
Posted in Uncategorized
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As I See It 