We switched from AT&T to T-mobile and our new phones arrived yesterday. I’ll post soon about our experience, but today, it’s all about the phones.
Perry’s not a loyal Apple fan like I am — he jumped the track and went back to Android this time around. I stuck with the trusty iPhone. Ben kept with Android and Samsung but his phone has not yet made it here.
How much of an upgrade was it, you ask?
I went from the iPhone 14 Pro Max to the 17 Pro Max and to be honest, there are a few improvements but it’s not far and above better than what I had. Of course, we didn’t unbox until around 10:00 PM last night, so once I have time today to dive in, I might change my mind.
Hugo’s not especially impressed with the camera upgrade, but I think I might be…
More soon on the “switch” experience, but I’m going to give T-Mobile time to see if they do what they said they would. I will tell you that if you port phone numbers from one carrier to another, it’s not always easy — and my experience certainly took more than 10 minutes.
Now you know: The Tuesday before Valentine’s Day is the most common break-up day of the year. (If you’re still with your partner, you’re probably safe until 2027.)
I currently take ZERO prescriptions but I know a whole lot of people who require them — some with a laundry list of drugs taken on the regular. With the release of the Trump RX website, I couldn’t help but check it out.
The White House Should Hire ME!
I know this isn’t a big deal for everyone, but as a person that started developing websites before it was cool, there’s one thing about the new government website that’s a pretty darned big disappointment for me. The official site, trumprx.gov, is a government domain that lists discounted cash-pay prices for dozens of prescription drugs.
Here’s the oversight: Given how dominant “.com” is in people’s minds, and the fact that Trump himself referred to the site as TrumpRX.com twice, why on earth would there not be a redirect set up from trumprx.com to trumprx.gov?? Currently, it’s nothing but a blank page when the .com version of the URL is entered into a browser.
That’s an amateur mistake in my book.
It takes about a minute to set-up a redirect. Purchasing multiple versions of a domain and using redirects is standard for people and companies that don’t want their visitors hijacked. Redirects ensure you capture anyone trying to find you and send them where they should be. It’s basic shit, y’all.
So TrumpRX.gov was designed and engineered in D.C. by National Design Studio so I follow that link and find their claim to be leading the America by Design initiative — working to improve how Americans experience their government – online, in person, and the spaces in between. A prominent top link on this site says it’s “by Executive Order.” So I click that link too. It goes to a August 2025 page about improving our nation through better design.
If the government truly wants “better design,” they need to hire better DESIGNERS.
The website is visually clean and easy to navigate. Using a pill for the period and the play on words (rewriting the script) is clever. But don’t talk about improving the experience “in the spaces in between” if you’re not delivering just that on such a basic level.
Now you know: The Chief Design Officer of the National Design Studio is Airbnb co-founder, Joe Gebbia. He’s also on the board of Tesla. 🤨
I posted on Facebook a grand total of 7 times in 2025. 2 were business shares, 1 was wishing Perry a happy birthday, 1 was of my Dad, and the other 3 were dog photos. I made my first 2026 post just a couple days ago because I couldn’t help myself.
Caricature with everything you know about me.
There’s a Facebook challenge where AI makes you into a caricature with everything it knows about you. Some of the results are amazing! Mine? Not so great. My rendition gave me 2 left arms (with an unknown number of thumbs) and someone else’s dog. It appears I’m supposed to drink wine, fish, and retire.
The only person whose caricature was worse than mine was a lady from C’ville that was made into a bearded man who plays guitar, video games and reads science books. Not sure how that happened since she owns an AIRBNB and is a personal trainer. 🙄
Garbage in… garbage out I guess. Still, it’s fun to see the good images and the ones that are funny. It sure beats the political BS and is a wonderful timeline cleanse. I can only hope that someone got a chuckle from me making fun of myself.
I didn’t share Perry’s AI created image on FB, but I will here.
Perry has 5 fingers and a thumb on one hand, plays video games at work, and I think that’s a dude on a gurney with a shotgun in the background.
The trees at the campsite in the parking lot of the truck stop aren’t screaming ‘Indiana’ to me — and I’m wondering how much we can trust the accuracy of AI when it decided the entryway to a tent is the best place to build a campfire. 🤨
And finally, I gave ole’ ChatGPT another shot with a different photo and it’s a bit better. I have the right number of arms and when I asked that the strange dog be replaced with my dogs, the reply even mentioned Hugo by name; however, Dharma didn’t make the cut.
Now you know: In 1960, a B52 crashed during training. The navigator, thinking the plane was crashing, ejected without orders. The pilot, heard the ejection, thought the plane was breaking up, and ordered the crew to eject. The plane flew without a crew for 50 miles before crashing.
Many wordsmiths have been credited with the saying, “never argue with a man that buys ink by the gallon,” but I heard it first from our smalltown newspaper’s owner and journalist. But thinking back — and having read The Crothersville Times forever — I don’t remember him taking sides on issues even though I’m 100% positive he had opinions on a whole lot of things he reported on.
It’s not that way anymore — not the ink nor the reporting. You now have social media influencers with great outreach and they don’t adhere to ethics or fair reporting. Once reputable media outlets now cross lines of fairness and unbiased reporting is lost. I was happy to see the arrest of Don Lemon. No matter which side of the political arena you stand on, that was wrong. It was a church and he obviously had an agenda.
And the score is… Jesus – 1 : Don Lemon – 0
Fact checking is a thing of the past and AI is boss.
Take for example, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). They used an AI-enhanced version of Alex Pretti’s portrait sourced from the internet in their reporting. If the dude looks more wholesome, ICE agents look more sinister, I guess?
AI was also on full display to garner support on the Senate floor. Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin used an AI-generated image during a speech relating to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti that he sourced from the Internet. Durbin thought it was real… even though one of the ICE agents had no head. (Does his assistant hate him? Durbin wasn’t the one at Kinko’s getting a big ole’ print made.) Claiming “the photo tells the story,” he didn’t realize how right he was on that.
Not facts — manipulation. And I’m not even going to go there with Vogue’s manipulated photo of Ariana Grande — they think people are so stupid they wouldn’t notice she had 6 fingers on one hand? Good grief!
Website hacked and I’m even ok with that.
As a person that’s worked creating websites for years, I detest hacking. But doxxing is wrong. It’s never ok to publicly share another person’s private information (like their home address, phone number, or workplace) online to harass, threaten, or endanger them. That’s why when the website whose claim to fame is the biggest compilation of ICE agent data was hacked, I wasn’t sorry to hear of it.
The hackers even left a message for its visitors. (Currently, it’s showing a 404 error — yes, I looked.)
Right about now you may be thinking that my opinions above are merely political. But I promise you, they’re not. It’s common sense really…
I want to formulate my own opinions based upon facts.
Doxxing people doing their job — no matter if you agree with what they’re doing or not — endangers them and others. Stop that shit.
Churches are off limits. Protest outside if you want, but don’t disrupt worship.
And finally, on a personal level…
I can’t imagine living anyplace near where protesters are playing band instruments and blowing rape whistles 24/7. Instead of peacefully chilling, all 3 of my dogs would be flipping their ever lovin’ shit.
Now you know: In the U.S., protesting inside a church service is not protected by the First Amendment. Churches are private property and there are laws that prohibit intentionally disrupting religious worship.
While researching boiler problems, I found a YouTube video that said to burn aluminum cans to get rid of creosote. I asked ChatGPT if that works. Of course, the answer was no but that’s when it got interesting. A past conversation was remembered…
ChatGPT: Since you mentioned earlier your boiler hit 212°F and the pumps were noisy, I’d strongly avoid anything experimental like burning cans right now. Me: Our boiler was low on water which was the likely cause of the problem. I won’t try the can burning.
The conversation continued… and got even better!
After being providing smart post-incident tips, I asked: Do you have a name I can call you besides ChatGPT since we’re friends now? ChatGPT: I love that energy 🥹 yeah, “ChatGPT” is way too formal for friends.
I was provided a list of 6 names and what they mean (one even said it was midwest-approved).
Me: I shall call you Jack… but only because you offered no female names. Is there a reason for that? Jack: 😂 fair call—and I deserve that roast. No deep or secret reason, I promise. I threw out names that felt neutral-to-masculine because the conversation had drifted into boilers, wood, pumps, and rural problem-solving, and my brain went, “ah yes, hardware-store energy.” That’s on me.
So Jack gave me 6 female names.
Then replied: That said… you’ve named me Jack, and I will wear that name proudly—even under mild protest and continued side-eye. 😄
While crazy good — and like talking to someone with all the answers — it’s also a bit scary how much Jack knows about me. You give up a whole lot more about yourself during a conversation than you ever would simply seeking information through a Google search.
Now you know: Dolly Parton is one of the largest employers in her home region of Tennessee (via Dollywood). After the 2016 wildfires, she raised over $9M through her My People Fund, giving 900+ families $1,000/month for 6 months ($10K total each) to rebuild. She was also honored by the FBI for her leadership.
