About to let the hounds outside before the rain the other day, Hugo was gazing at something he wanted to get to that was sitting right by the front door. It was some wild kind of sorcery I’d never seen before in my life!
ChatGPT said it’s a click beetle.
More precisely, it’s a Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus), and is one of the most distinctive beetles in North America.
They’re usually found in deciduous forests, woodlands, and sometimes around homes or on tree trunks. The larvae live in rotting wood and are predatory — they eat other insect larvae — but they’re harmless to humans. They don’t bite or sting, and they’re not a pest of homes or gardens.
If it gets flipped onto its back, it can snap a spine on its underside to launch itself into the air with a loud “click” and right itself — hence the name.
I sprayed it with the water hose.
Before letting Hugo outside, I sprayed it off the deck with the water hose. Not gonna lie, I thought about killing the scary critter. I’m pretty sure I’m glad I didn’t. The wicked looking dude will find lots to snack on under the deck, I’m sure.
And, I saved it from being mauled by dogs.
Now you know: The son of the man who welcomed the puritans and fed them when they were starving had his head cut off and put on a spike. It stayed there for 20 years at the same location as the first Thanksgiving.
There’s a photo of my Momma when she was a kid in a bathing suit. We’ve always made fun of the size of her feet. It’s a black and white photo that’s not only crooked, but also fuzzy.
I asked ChatGPT to straighten, colorize, and clarify the features.
It did a GREAT job!
While ChatGPT is great for images, Grok excels in video.
I head over to Grok to have AI create a video of my Momma from that colorized photo that was taken when she was maybe 8 or 9 years old in the 1930’s. Grok kicked it back saying it was rejected because of their content policy, and added something about suitable for ages 18+. 🙄
I tried uploading the black and white image and it was just fine. When I asked Grok to do the same thing ChatGPT did before the animation, it was awful. It was so bad that I didn’t even ask Grok to animate it. It does ok on cartoonish images (like the one from our recent family gathering), just not “real” photos.
But video clips are a different story if you start with a decent photo to begin with. The results can be pretty darned good… or at least funny. 😉
How often do you fall into the AI rabbit hole insofar as images & video?
I don’t fall in that often, but when I do it sure takes a long time for me to get out. 🙂
Now you know: 1940s–1950s — Color photography became more available to regular consumers, though black-and-white was still cheaper and more common. 1960s–1970s — Color photos largely overtook black-and-white for family snapshots and everyday use.
I’ve had a tanning bed for 25+ years. There’s nothing better for an aching back on the planet — and I love how it seems to not only warm you up, but also boost your mood.
When you get to be my age; however, being tan is no longer important, and I can think of a whole lot more things I like better than having cancer spots removed.
Goodbye… it’s been fun…
This was one of the first items loaded into the dumpster… right after 2 toilets we replaced.
It’s a fact that as you get older, things just change.
Except for my Mom… who doesn’t seem to ever age. The only thing that changes is that she adds more clothes the older she gets. It can be 90° in the shade and she’ll be wearing a jacket. 🙂
Now you know: Casey Kasem was the original voice actor of Scooby Doo’s Shaggy. He was a vegan and outspoken critic of factory farming. He quit the show in 1995 after being asked to voice Shaggy for a Burger King commercial, and came back after negotiating that Shaggy would become a vegetarian.
For nearly 100 years old, I feel great. For my actual age, I’m still pretty ok. That’s not the case for so many of my family and friends.
Everyone seems to have something going on. 🙁
Perry’s sister is having gallbladder surgery today.
My cousin, Debra, is at St. Vincent’s awaiting heart surgery next week.
Perry’s almost nephew — partner to his 8 month along pregnant niece — was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He’s only 24.
Mom is at OrthoIndy today for her neck… her recent fall has lingering consequences.
And my nephew (one of Tammy’s sons) was recently admitted to the hospital for testing.
If you’re not on that list above, please do your best to stay off of it. Ok?
I don’t have time to get sick.
I must maintain the lifestyle that Master Hugo has become accustomed to.
Now you know: Eating a high amount of garlic (~12g or more) can make men’s body odor (armpit sweat) smell more attractive and less intense — oddly enough, no garlicky odor.
Dharma is the g’ma of the barndo bunch. She’s the lab that loves water. Sadly, she’s too hard to get OUT of the pool for us to allow her to get in. She loves the bathtub and wants in every single day when I’m in there. The water hose is her best friend, and I can’t water flowers without her ending up soaking wet.
Dharma’s quirks and high points:
Floors and steps are lava so she requires an escort outside — rain, sleet, snow, etc. — and the house is comprised of a rug maze. If you can’t see the floor, it isn’t there. (She’s overcome her fear of doorways in the past year.)
Her medications cost right at $200/month.
She loves any food that’s red — spaghetti and chili are her favorites, but she likes manwich and tacos too.
Dharma’s not the smartest dog in the pack — she doesn’t even know what “sit” means.
She talks — seriously, she chews me out to get whatever she wants when she wants it.
She’s perfected the elephant head move — the side to side swaying is her refusing to do what she doesn’t want to do.
A photo suitable for framing…
I asked AI to create a photo of Dharma worthy of framing. This was the result:
