the iMentor

Hints & rants

This weB-LOG is about the musing of a technical consultant. It is the iMentor's thoughts on technology and the human condition.

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Author: Rick Thues

Never Trust a Computer

August 25, 2024 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #813 August 31, 2024 My best advice as a technical consultant has been: “Never trust a computer.”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVF3q5Y68-0 I wondered what a computer would say about its own trustworthiness, so I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about trusting a computer.   Should a Human Trust a Computer? A computer's mind is made of code, In ones and zeros, tales unfold. Its heart is cold, devoid of beat, In logic’s grip, it finds retreat. No warmth of touch, no friendly eye, Its trust is but a lie. The screen, a mirror to its soul, Shows not the heart,...
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Missing You

August 23, 2024 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #812 August 24, 2024 I missed Paula this last week. She was gone, taking care of her sister.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9e157Ner90 The cats kept me company. Friends helped with projects. I accepted invitations to dinner. Some of the time I ran errands into town. Those car trips were lonely.  The radio cuts out half way to town… quiet. I kept asking for help during honey-do projects. There was no answer. Sometimes the cats meowed. Making only half the bed was a sad convenience. My rhythm was off. I slept late and fell asleep on the couch until morning. No...
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Leverage

August 14, 2024 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Episode #811 August 17, 2024 Business, finance, economics and negotiations have all highjacked the term “leverage” to apply to their fields.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SprRX6mSsEg I am fascinated with leverage in physics. The use of pulleys, gears, levers and balance gives me a mechanical advantage over my world. When two people carry an object, such as a coach, it is important to have symmetrical grips. Asymmetrical grips create an imbalance causing twisting and uneven weight distribution. Either of the people can fall out of their safe carrying zone. The object becomes heavier with incorrect leverage. The use of a walking cane is...
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Face Fear

August 7, 2024 Uncategorized No Comments
  Episode #810 August 10, 2024       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." — Lady Jessica Atreides, Bene Gesserit litany, from Frank Herbert, Dune "You've heard of animals chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an animal kind of trick. A human would remain in...
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Explosion

July 31, 2024 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #809 August 3, 2024   Shards of glass exploded and rained down on us.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKPcapHAtA4 My wife and I had just finished our shower. Neither of us noticed that the other was opening the by-pass sliding glass doors. As both doors opened one of the metal rod-shaped handles impacted the edge of a 3/8 thick x 3 foot x 6 foot glass door panel. The deafening explosion of tempered glass shards flowed over us like a crystal waterfall onto the floor of the shower. In the weird silence and the screaming that followed we found ourselves frozen...
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Woke

July 24, 2024 Uncategorized 3 Comments
Episode #808 July 27, 2024 The secret to equality lies in unlimited energy. If energy were free, basic needs would be met, allowing humans the leisure to educate themselves.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwAxmiq1rnI In the world of the Star Trek Federation, peace prevails among its members. The reason? Dilithium Crystals. With Dilithium, food, housing, and goods are produced from pure energy. This enables humans to explore intellectual and artistic pursuits—matters of the soul. Physical needs become irrelevant, rendering envy, sloth, greed, and avarice unnecessary or irrelevant. Is there still conflict in the Star Trek universe? Yes. Some races have ideologies so deeply...
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