It’s Time To Stop Hiding From The Obvious

Too many ostriches among us

During these extended grand-parenting trips to help my daughter and her family move one of the favorite games Grandpa plays with the little ones is Hide and Seek. My granddaughter is very good at the hiding part. She plays for keeps. There were a couple of times we worried we’d lost her.

My grandson on the other hand likes to change the rules mid-game, always to his benefit whether he’s hiding or seeking.

It’s not easy to hide. Especially in plain sight. But that’s what so many have been doing in our country for far too long, pretending that they are as good at hiding as my granddaughter, but hiding the way my grandson does by shifting the rules and lowering the bar to avoid being caught.

Hiding from the reality of what’s happening bears no fruit. Hiding from what needs to happen to bring it to an end yields even less.

There are too many ostriches among us and that needs to change.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Shadow Dancing

The moving adventure nears its end

Everyone and everything is now in the new house for my daughter’s family after more twists and turns in the journey than I have energy to describe right now.

Moving is never easy. But when you see the kids discover that they can shadow dance at a certain time of day in the sun room, and then laugh themselves silly doing it, it makes the journey worthwhile.

Back to unpacking…

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

“Then No Line Exists”

Musk’s Grok has erased them all

I recently linked to Eizabeth Lopatto’s excellent and scathing article pointing fingers at Apple and Google for continuing to allow Elon Musk’s Grok AI to undress without consent adults and children. Calling Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai cowards in the headline on this issue is, in my opinion, table stakes and will be until they take public action and actually apologize for violating their own rules and the privacy of the users that pump money into their bank accounts.

1001 PandorasBox.

Following that up I’m linking to another excellent article on the topic from Charlie Warzel and Matteo Wong, published in the Atlantic. The headline is strong, saying Elon Musk Cannot Get Away With This. The article is stronger still. Yet, the sad reality is that he already has, and even if Cook and Pichai suddenly change direction, the damage has already been done. Like the political figures they have bent knees to, they won’t be able to find a mirror to look in that won’t reflect their cowardice back at them.

Hiding under their respective rocks, both Cook and Pichai have let Musk turn this from a ruinous troubling feature into a paid premium feature, which is not only ridiculous but makes a mockery of both Apple and Google. I’ve already said that any X users who still hang onto that platform are just as culpable.

But then that’s the world we live in. We ignore the horrible nature of what’s unfolding in front of our faces. So many demons have flown out of this era’s Pandora’s Box we find ourselves it is impossible to count them, much less have any hope of banishing them. But then, that’s what the demons are counting on. As the article says:

This crisis is an outgrowth of a breakneck information ecosystem in which few stories have staying power. No one person or group has to flood the zone with shit, because the zone is overflowing constantly. People with power have learned to exploit this—to weather scandals by hunkering down and letting them pass, or by refusing to apologize and turning any problem into a culture-war issue.

As Warzel and Wong also say, “the silence says everything.”

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Apple’s New Siri Will Be Google’s Gemini

Giving Up The Chase

In news you wouldn’t need AI to hallucinate, Apple and Google  in a joint statement to CNBC announced that Apple will be using Google’s Gemini to power Apple’s long anticipated and delayed New Siri in a multi-year deal.

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You can call it a surrender. It is. You can call it an admission of failure. It is. Even if Apple rarely admits mistakes.

Stating that the new models will continue to run on Apple’s private cloud compute in a joint statement, (published on Google’s news blog and to my knowledge not in any Apple press release), the statement said,

Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.

After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.

Given the delay in releasing the promised and once heralded update to Siri, this isn’t really news and  has been thought to be the path Apple would adopt for quite some time. Speculation is that users might see this as early as this spring, but I’m still thinking it won’t roll out until WWDC 2026 this summer.

For what it’s worth, the statement to business network CNBC tells everyone who the audience is for this news that isn’t news and I’m guessing the complete retrenchment from Apple’s initial endeavors to try and create a AI powered Siri is quite a blow and the fallout won’t blow over soon.

Saying “Apple determined…” is quite some shade from Google, even in a joint statement.

I doubt this is the end of this saga, but in the end, does this really matter? Who knows. But given the C-suite shakeups at Apple, whatever happened with Apple Intelligence and New Siri has changed how iPhone users, investors, and probably a bot or two view Apple going forward.

For future curiosity purposes it will be interesting to see how Apple’s New Siri/Gemini will respond if someone prompts it to generate a summary of this news.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

The Grandkids Fill The New Digs With Laughter

When you move into a new place one of the things you notice is how sound echoes around an empty house. Especially when there are little ones who love to run at what seems the speed of light, laughing at levels that set off Apple Watch loud enviornment warnings.

Today the movers arrive at my daughter and her famiiy’s new digs. As the place fills up with furniture and the stuff of living, the echoes will diminish, but the volume won’t as the new digs will still be overflowing with the sounds of laughter and life. We’re still mostly on babysitting duty, thus the grandkids first coloring session with Grandma waiting for the movers to do their thing.

Everyone’s excited.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Sunday Morning Reading

Go Bears!

Sunday Morning Reading is on hiatus this week as we’re helping my daughter and her family with the second phase of moving into a new house by watching the grandchildren.

Oh, and watching the Chicago Bears pull off an improbably win in the wildcard. My granddaughter’s concern mirrored mine for most of the game, but the Bears pulled off another miracle comeback. Go Bears!

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. If you’d like more click on the Sunday Morning Reading link in the category column to check out what’s been shared on Sunday’s past. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.

The Taint of X

Elizabeth Lopatto calls out Apple and Google

With the pretense, facades, and myths we’ve all lived with for some time being stripped away in most areas of our lives, we’re also beginning to see more and more folks finally calling things like they actually see them.

Just a quick post here to highlight Elizabeth Lopatto’s epic Verge post called Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai Are Cowards. She’s talking about the fact that Elon Musk’s X social network is still up on both app stores as of this writing, given that he’s not only allowing deepfake porn, which violates guidelines on both app store platforms, but in some bizarre twist of reality, somehow paying to post that kind of heinous crap apparently should ameliorate any concerns.

The bottom line has always been the bottom line and knows no morality when it comes to shoring it up. There’s no new bottom here, just the same old greedy capitalistic depravity.

Just remember allowing this to continue is essentially working as a pimp. I don’t care what your business model is, that’s the business you’re in.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Why It’s Worth Being Angry

The laughter of innocents

Settling in for another out of town stay to help my daughter and her husband with phase two of moving into their new house. Grandma and I got right into watching the kids as their parents are working at the new digs to prep for the movers.

It’s been a rough week. All of the news has hit me hard. Harder than I would have imagined. But I listen to the laughter of these kids (I provoke a lot of it), and I relish the cuddles, and I imagine a better time ahead, yet feel a tightening resolve to make sure that’s possible for these precious innocents. I’d sacrifice anything for this bunch.

I cringe when I think this feels selfish or cocoonish, when I know others are closer to the fire than we currently are. But I hope all across this country that those who are as blessed as our family are also taking stock of what level of sacrifice they are willing to make.

The time has come to stand and be measured accountable.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Words Fail

Word

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Words fail.

Not just me.

All of us.

It’s a world of words.

A mean world of mean words devoid of meaning.

We’re trying to wield them like weapons.

Like shields.

To strike back.

To defend.

They fail.

The. Words. Are. Not. Working.

Ineffectual. Insufficient. Inadequate. Impotent.

They don’t cut.

They don’t deflect.

There has to be another solution.

Another remedy.

Another word.

Words should matter.

Words fail.

(Image from Alexandra on Unsplash)

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

At some point the rock breaks

Not many words to share. Sad. Beyond angry about the tragic events in Minneapolis today. Yet another death, yet more of the same tired lies justifying it. This isn’t the first death at the hands of this abhorrent administration. It is another. There have been several since ICE was unleashed on this country. There will be more.

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The administration is saying what you expect them to. It’s a litany we’re all too familiar with. Leaders in Minneapolis and around the country are saying what you expect them to also, another litany trying to prevent what I maintain is all but inevitable.

There is no way out of this but through it. Through it is perilous. So is standing put.

When you’re caught between a rock and hard place, at some point the rock breaks and the hard place gets harder.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.