Karmic-Dragonfly

Been playing with Apple's Image Playground -- part of their AI offering in the latest OS. I am on the beta, so I've had it for a while.

It's not bad -- it's somewhat fun to add a picture, some description and get an image. The images really do resemble the person.

What I find amusing is the differences I see. I have a friend who seldom really smiles. And even less often does he show teeth. And when he does show his teeth, it looks awkward and forced. But Image Playground was bound and determined to give him a broad smile! So weird.

So I typed 'no smile' -- nothing. Then 'no teeth' -- nothing. Finally I typed 'frown' and it reduced his gigantic dragon sized, toothy smile to just a normal smile.

So I thought - 'let me try this on me'. I smile broadly a lot -- it's sort of my natural place. I typed 'frown' for myself, and it actually made me frown! So for me who smiles a lot, 'frown' created a frown. But for someone who hardly smiles at all, it gave him a broad smile, which was only reduced to a slight smile when I said 'frown'.

Just interesting to me!

This is one of the images. It does resemble me, although perhaps not the Athens Acropolis in the background that I specified. But scarf, sunset, etc. I'm good with it.


This is the friend that I indicated Coliseum for, and added 'frown' to get rid of the odd Leviathan-esque teeth set it gave him.


It's not a bad app. And yea, I'll use it. I'm not sure if it will be a high frequency thing though.

I tend to use Apple Maps since it is default on the iPhone....and because Apple has a male Brazilian voice, whereas it seems Google only has a female..and I find the Google female voice a bit grating. All of that is really nothing of importance, but I noted some differences.

When Apple Maps first came out, it was a shoddy piece of work.. But Apple Maps has improved a lot since then, and I have no issues with it now.

Things I noted...First, Google's ability to download offline maps ahead of time really matters. If you're going to a place where you know you'll probably have a weak signal, being able to download offline maps ahead of time really matters. +100 to Google on this.

Second...for Apple Maps, I was able to look up 'Mule Canyon', but in Google Maps, I was able to look up 'Mule Canyon Trailhead' -- it's the 2nd one that I needed. +50 to Google.

Third...Apple's maps showed me the speed limit, which was really nice when I was driving a candle-apple-ticket-magnet! Sometimes, I wondered how fast could I drive, and Apple Maps noted the speed limit nicely. At least on the highways in New Mexico, it was pretty much on the money! +25 to Apple

I like Apple's voices better...+10 to Apple.

User interface? +10 to Apple.
Showing me road congestion earlier? +10 to Google!

Sometimes, they used different vocabulary to refer to the same thing. Apple used pista for lane, and I feel like Google used a different word (faixa?), although I can't remember which. Not important -- it's kind of a vocabulary building exercise for me to use both of them.

Nice thing...Apple's CarPlay used whichever map you were using to display on screen. +5 to Apple.

End result Google has a better product, but I like the UI better on Apple. So I tend to use Apple until I need to look up a trailhead or use offline maps, when I switch to Google.

I had a 6 year old Apple Extreme Basestation -- great device -- had given me trouble-free service for 6 years! Best router I had ever had, and I would have bought an updated one!

And it was still kicking....but sadly Apple is getting out of the router business. So I decided to try a mesh network because the front porch was a bit weak and so was the glider out back under the Mulberry.

I set up a Linksys Velop mesh network today with 2 devices. I'm still testing -- this is not a recommendation yet, but so far so good!

The setup took a few steps but was pretty easy. You start by downloading the app for your phone, and then the app takes you step by step through setup.

First you create your network name and password - I didn't take any screen prints at that point. Since I used the same name and password, and the same security protocol, after I finished, all my devices re-connected with no manual intervention from me!

All this is in Portuguese, of course because applications obey your language preference on iOS...so I have to be 'on top of my game' with my Portuguese when I am doing any new setup! I really have to read slowly to make sure I'm answering the questions correctly!

Several steps (not sure if these are the right order or not!) -- "Verifying an internet connection"...."Accessing the cloud"..."Success! You configured a node!"..."Sending configurations to the node"...."Configuring your remote access"...



On the very first node -- the one that actually connects to the wired broadband network...there was a failure -- a sad cloud face...I ended up resetting the node and going through the process again.



After setting up both nodes, it told me there was a firmware update, so I let it download it.



It gives you some instruction on where to position the nodes -- where you want coverage, but within reach of the first node. It's NOT personal to your situation, but just suggestions.



You pick the location of the node -- and that is how it is referred to in the application from then on. In this case, it was the node in the kitchen (cozinha)



It decided that I had a picked a good spot for node 2 --



Your WIFI is ready. The configuration was finished.



I am still testing whether this is better or not. I noticed my Macbook getting hot when I was sitting on the porch (sign of weak connection), so I used the 'device prioritization' to make it one of the top devices. It has cooled off. Not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.

It was an easy setup...although it took a few minutes....I'll keep an eye on it and post an update to this article in a few days.

After Republicans in House and Senate voted to allow ISPs to sell your personal browsing history (and I imagine that Jabba will sign the bill), I began to look at how I could surf using a VPN -- to protect my browsing history.

I have no desire to share browsing history with advertisers -- do they really need to know about that personal 'thing' I might have had, lol? And how exactly would advertisers make use of my interest in Old French to sell me something?

It already annoys me when I look at, say, underwear online, only to see that same underwear offered as an ad in a website. Not only is it intrusive, it's the VERY SAME FRICKEN UNDERWEAR that I just looked at! I didn't buy it the first time -- why would I want to see it again???

As I get older, I have less need to buy shit. (I also am cursing more.) And I have no need for advertisers to come find me -- i'll find them when I need something!

Anyways...I digress...

Opera comes with a free built in VPN. I figure 'free' means maybe not as robust as it could be. But free is always good, and it probably serves my purpose. So, I have switched to Opera!