   | | Discussion involving leisure activities: books, travel, hobbies, sports, Internet fun and more. Please read Msg #1 before posting. |
Msg #37909
3 replies | Deep faking you out, and a freaky AI story? | By Bear900/CA on 11/7/25 6:34pm
Here's an example.
http://youtu.be/wLMqx0xK2rI?si=x59vrX6678hS5U_w
I've passed by this YouTube video a number of times without viewing it. I'll explain later why I finally did. Its about Smart TVs being adaptive and basically tuning into you as much as you're tuning into it. I can't speak to Elon Musk's claims, because they are not from Elon Musk. They are from a channel called Zero To Vision that has over 227k subscribers. I have to say the claims are interesting.
It didn't take more than half a minute for me to notice that Elon's face movements were repetitive and bionic looking. Count the times he shakes his head and the times he nods. Ok, so what?
Now look at the comments and see how many viewers are begging him to save them. But it's not him and the video by itself makes no disclaimer according to YouTubes rules.
So, I went to the main channel and clicked on the 'more' link and found this disclaimer.
"Disclaimer: This is a fan-made channel, and its content is not officially affiliated with Elon Musk or his companies. The videos are inspired by Elon Musk's public statements and ideas for educational and motivational purposes only, using a synthesized voice that does not belong to Elon Musk. Our aim is to share his visionary perspectives in a respectful and inspiring manner without intending to mislead."
I've learned of incidents of famous people popping up in deep fake videos to market products without their knowledge.
I'll leave you to chew on this information for yourself.
So why did I view this video? We all know that YouTube videos insert commercials at the beginning, sometimes in the middle and the end. I don't like it but have to live with it. By the way, I never sign in to YouTube, I watch it as a guest.
Here's what happened. My wife called me during our lunch break. I like to watch YouTube during lunch so had my Samsung smart tv on the channel. I have a Samsung smart phone. My wife briefly tells me about the office and some other employees wanting to put in an order for chicken of some sort for lunch and they invited her to join. She declined but we had about a minute of conversation about this. We hung up and I resumed the YouTube video I had paused. Often, when a video is paused and resumed, a rolling commercial will come on.
Instead of a video commercial, a pop-up ad came on one side of the screen while the video reduced in size on the left side. A first for me. Interested in what it was?
Enter Twilight Zone music...the pop-up ad was for Popeye's Chicken.
|
| Msg #37908
0 replies | We caught the bug | By Bear900/CA on 11/7/25 11:40am
Not Covid, though we are getting our boosters this evening. Another bug....
Imagine waking up in a 50's movie. Life is simple, buildings may be older, but there is a sense of tranquility, safety, and respectfulness. Any of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's can understand those feelings and its senseless nostalgia because you can't go back. Or can you?
Welcome to La Condesa and Roma Norte, two beautiful side-by-side neighborhoods rich in beauty, history, cool cafes, and where there are plenty of people young and old walking and enjoying the lush greenery. There was no trash, no cigarette butts, no dog poop, no homeless or crazed people talking to themselves.
Mrs. Bear and I were fortunate to get a 2 br 2 ba apartment in this neighborhood. We decided on Day 2 to hit the pavement hard before the afternoon rains. We walked the Hippodrome (video below), a couple of beautiful parks, and then decided, "Well, since we made it this far...." Haha! Off we walked down Paseo de la Reforma, modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as the Ringstraße in Vienna and the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paseo_de_la_Reforma
Rain hit us hard walking down the Reforma and we had to hide under cover then finally dropped into a Chinese restaurant where they spoke perfect Spanish. Life is getting weird....lol. I don't know how many miles we walked at this point. We saw a number of large round-abouts with immense fountain statues. Thank you, Google Maps!
We never thought we'd make it this far in a day, but wait a minute, a couple miles ahead is Chapultepec Park. Huge, huge, huge park. The entrance itself was about a half mile walk, then about a mile walk up beautiful road/path lined with trees and flowers surrounded by forest and rock walls with springs of water. Is this heaven? The rain stopped and it was completely dry now. Very similar to Hawaii.
Here's a short video of walking La Condesa with Monica from YouTube's 'In Monica's Shoes'. About Monica: She's cute, huh? (ala My Cousin Vinnie). She and her husband migrated to CDMX from Spain where she taught special education and is probably why she is so animated. I thought she was a bit coo coo at first, but she grew on us.
This walk was part of our 12-mile walk that day. Did we ache from that walk and other long walks? Yes. Do we miss it and ache to return and do more? YES!
Have fun with Monica.
http://youtu.be/UtvrrEC-FHY?si=MAe2_TlxDN2cm2vh
|
| Msg #37905
0 replies | RIP Diane Ladd, our Ojai neighbor and friend | By  Cheryl Elliott on 11/5/25 11:00am
This one hit close to home. Diane and her daughter, Laura Dern, have been our neighbors and friends for many years residing in Ojai where I grew up.
Diane was a wonderful part of the Ojai community. She and Laura were so close. My heart has been heavy since I got the word that Diane passed early Monday am from complications of a heart valve procedure. Diane made movies up until less than a year ago.
All the best to Laura Dern. Diane left an indelible mark on all who had the pleasure to know her and appreciate what a wonderful lady and screen artist she was.
|
| Msg #37892
2 replies | click bait - pennies | By Art_MD on 10/31/25 11:46am
I'm seeing a lot of articles re penny shortages, stores not having change etc.
I think people are using the end of penny production as click bait.
There are an est. 118 BILLION pennies in circulation. That's 350+ for every man, woman and child in the country.
I throw my change in a coffee can daily. Once in a while I sort and roll nickels, dimes and quarters. Not worth my time to do pennies. So, they build up (have 3 cans full now) and eventually will find a Coin Star counter and feed them thru. worth the ~10% charge. I remember when my bank had a free to use coin counter. Been a while.
Have kids, grand kids count and roll em.
If banks would have a "penny day" where they would use their machines to count pennies for free, I bet a lot of people would empty their containers. Or, have an accurate scale and do by weight. 181 pennies per pound.
|
| Msg #37888
11 replies | Over 60? Five exercises as important as walking | By Bear900/CA on 10/29/25 5:10pm
The video says better than walking...but combining the two for cardio and strength training would naturally be better.
I started doing these after knee replacements and have always felt that if I can stand up from a chair without using my arms, chances for balance recovery from a fall are much better. Ever worry about how you're going to land?
I'm going on 74 and last week crawled under the sink to replace a faucet. With metal knees I may as well be performing this routine in outer space. It's just awkward body bending. Focusing on the strength in my core and back muscles helped me from over-relying on arm and shoulder strength which men tend to do. Good way to injure shoulders as I discovered from a previous faucet changeout.
http://youtu.be/Ado6dItMebE?si=KHMEj-MhOuRHfSvI
|
| Msg #37885
2 replies | What's the deal with Ohtani? | By Bear900/CA on 10/28/25 12:46pm
They give the guy 18 innings to do something last night and he puts in a miserable performance of only two doubles and two home runs. He didn't deserve to be pitched to his next five at bats. Just walk the guy. He could only get on base nine times in 18 innings and gets tagged out on 2nd. What a joke.
If I were the Dodgers, I'd make him starting pitcher tonight so the Bluejays who deserve to win can stay alive.
Superman.
|
| Msg #37882
4 replies | On being a morning person - and "healthspan" | By JanetK_CA on 10/25/25 10:01pm
I so envy those of you who are natural morning people! I can manage to drag myself out of bed, but the hardest part for me is shutting down in the evening, which historically has been my most productive time. Maybe I'm part Dracula  , but my head clears the most when the sun goes down. I get a second wind late in the evening, and can get caught up in a multitude of things. BUT... I'm learning that getting up mega early helps me get tired enough to want to get to bed much earlier. I'm also working on re-training my thinking and mindset.
So why am I doing this? I decided to join a group focused on wellness. (Several of you have helped inspire me!  ) One of the goals is to get in 5000 steps before breakfast, which at first, sounded ridiculous to me, but I've been coming pretty close to doing just that lately. A few times a week, the group gets together via Zoom while doing their morning walks, and we keep each other inspired and from getting bored. I'd initially dismissed it as impossible for me because it's at 6:00 am my time, but I'm managing... Shocking, I know!  (Being part of a group makes a huge difference.) I haven't been doing it long, but I can already tell a difference in my strength and energy level.
THEN, yesterday I came across this short video on Facebook, which r e a l l y caught my attention: http://www.soapcentral.com/pop-culture/news-who-dr-peter-attia-all-author-physician-talks-life-expectancy.
This isn't a usual source of info for me, but I saw a short preview of an interview of Dr. Peter Attia, a guru on longevity and 'healthspan', who I'd heard of. He talks about what happens to men and women when they reach 75 (which isn't too far off for me...) He says "The way I explain it to my patients is that last 10 to 15 of your years, if you don’t do anything about it, you will fall to a level of about 50% of your total capacity cognitively, physically." Wow!! Like I said, that caught my attention!!
Apparently, "60 Minutes" is airing an interview with him tomorrow (Sunday) evening. My coach for the early am walking group is a big fan of his. BTW, here's an interesting link I found to a talk by Dr. Attia about preventing dementia and Alzheimer's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uR61BDKxV4. I think he also has a TED talk out there.
Really fascinating stuff!
|
| Msg #37878
2 replies | Tribal people trying Berria for the first time | By Bear900/CA on 10/24/25 7:40pm
As did I. (Yes, I live under a rock).
http://youtu.be/6akxSV2LfCQ?si=JMq02rHHktAJcnue
I have a story...
We returned Monday after two full weeks mostly in Queretaro, Mexico, but first a few days in Mexico City itself. Wow!!
After checking in we were in a hurry to hit the streets in search of a quick dinner. We were starving and it was getting late. The neighborhood of Roma is famous for its Bohemian atmosphere and sidewalk cafes. We found just such a place right around the corner.
Two lovely young ladies greeted us with such great enthusiasm we decided this place must be worth a try. The fun starts...
They caught on quickly that I speak no Spanish so the younger of the two, hurried to the corner where there was an indoor restaurant to pick up two menus in English. While odd, I was trying to grasp the conversation my wife was having with the other waitress so didn't pay too much attention.
I watch YouTube a lot and stumbled across something called birria, not realizing it's been around for a hundred years and made its way to America some years ago. It was on the menu. My wife heard that it takes a long time to cook so asked if they had some available. Before we knew it the younger one trots off again to the corner, returns with a huge smile and said yes, they do.
We ordered it, and my wife asked for a cup of coffee while I ordered their recommended Victoria beer. Just after I poured my beer the younger lady walks back from the corner with the coffee in a cup and saucer very proudly. She had a big smile and was very proud of herself and very cute.
Okay, I asked, what's going on? They explained that the sidewalk cafe and the corner cafe are one and the same, share the same kitchen, but their side is mostly a bar come nighttime. We talked and talked, with me mostly gesturing, and before we knew it, we saw the younger lady walking up the sidewalk towards us carrying our complete dinner in a tray with one hand just like a pro. She seemed to think nothing of it, while the two of us were drowning in this moment.
That wasn't even day one yet. By the end of our two weeks, we wanted to pack up the last waitress and bring her home with us. She was ten times the first waitress. We laughed and laughed to ourselves about all the things we experienced. I think I broke my face smiling and laughing.
It rained hard on us off and on in Mexico City. Somehow, we managed to walk 8 miles one day, then 10, and 12 miles another. It must have been the birria.
|
| | | | | | Msg #37858
6 replies | Happy Fri-yay! :) | By Bear900/CA on 9/26/25 11:01am
Yay! And a Happy Friday song to get started. Click and listen along if you wish:
http://youtu.be/ACdwCIld3kE?si=UHPrQEIH3KMupXdC
Had to get in the mood there a little bit, cause...just booked our next trip! More later.
Almost couldn't make it though, as my feet were killin' me! A little planter fasciitis from a misstep while walking turned into full blown peripheral neurotrophy in both feet Ouch! Burning sensation up the right leg got my attention to look into everything I could. New walking shoes (Brooks - Good Feet Store) helped but just had to stop walking for a while. Grr...
Rolled a frozen bottle of water under my feet as well as a hard rubber ball. Foot stretches and massages helped a lil' bit. Man, getting this stuff sucks. Gradually healed but since I could no longer take Tylenol....bought a foot massager off Amazon. Bob and Brad model. They are a couple of well-known physical therapists on YouTube. Anytime we get a pain...it's Bob and Brad time.
So, if your feet hurt from walking, or golfing, or just need a feel-good foot massage after a long day of signings,
it does a great job. Back to normal and walking great again.
Good thing 'cause we will be staying in the Bohemian Colonias (neighborhoods) of Roma Norte and La Condesa, in CDMX and that will be a lot of walking. Maybe a pyramid or two. Museums galore. Can only pick a few great sites to see but will be on the move so need good feet! Then heading out to Santiago de Queretaro. We never heard of these places but after a lot of searching and YouTubing we are feeling the draw. We fell in love with San Miguel de Allende on our last trip. I just mention the name and hear gasps from people familiar with it or on their bucket list.
I think sometime, in the future, we might even check out this little town in Tuscany, Italy. Or, is it?
A truly, mystical, mysterious, legendary place. To think, this is just next door.
http://youtu.be/scVKqdUdPTI?si=-C8mtrm26MR-b5bx
|
| Msg #37854
3 replies | Robert Redford (89) - may he rest in peace | By Yoli/CA on 9/16/25 7:28am
Goodbye and thank you for all those wonderful films:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Way We Were
All the President's Men
The Sting
Out of Africa
and so many more .....
|
| | | Msg #37847
0 replies | Lost another one | By Mike Goodey on 9/6/25 7:37pm
Sad news that Davey Johnson, premiere second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles way back when, has died today. He also managed the Orioles, Reds, Dodgers and Washington Nationals.
He was a four time all star.
|
| Msg #37846
0 replies | "Dr. Sanjay Gupta: All pain lies in the brain, and here’s | By SC/CA on 9/6/25 1:12pm
what you can do about it."
Pain is such a fascinating subject. We all deal with it. We all don’t want to deal with it. But, short of becoming the robots that are soon to invade our lives, how do we deal with it? How much does it affect our ability to conduct our daily lives, as we would like to, after an injury or as we age?
It’s fascinating to me that you could hit your finger with a hammer on Tuesday and have a different experience than hitting your finger on Wednesday. Why is that? What are the factors in the body – the chemicals running through the body at a given time, or any number of other factors – that all come into play, like a chemical a reaction almost, between our body composition at the time, and the external experience?
Dr. Gupta doesn’t touch on the subject in the article, though he may in his book, the different techniques using the vagus nerve (autonomic nervous system) - and how trying to just tell yourself to “calm down” or ”not feel pain” for example, doesn’t necessarily work well for most people. However, there are techniques to reduce our nervous system’s response to trauma. Activating the vagus nerve, as one example, can automatically lower your blood pressure (among other things) which can reduce heightened response to pain. When practiced overtime, some techniques, and activities like going for walk, can affect how the brain reacts to pain when it hits. At least that’s my understanding (and anecdotal experience). It’s an interesting subject matter and I’m curious to learn more.
http://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/health/sanjay-gupta-it-doesnt-have-to-hurt-pain
|
| |
|
