oddities, observations & ?'s...#14

oddities, observations & ?'s...#14

                                                       

  

  What if DeepSeek is fake and doesn't exist?

   HUH?  What's up with that? 

  The hit song, In the Year 2525, by Zager and Evans, was released in 1969, and, is considered to be one of the most unusual one-hit wonders ever recorded.  The tune was a number one hit for several weeks.  

  The title forecasts the world's culture 500 years from now.  The song came to mind because I was thinking the title was, In the Year 2025, and, I wanted to see if any of the lyrics had come true.  Makes me glad it is still 500 years out. 

  The words predict a dystopian future where mankind may not survive due to technological advancements and how people are reliant on that technology and lose their natural abilities.

  My wife, Regina, is among many who who have said there will be a time when people won't have to think.  She cites AI programs, Grammerly and CHATGPT, as well as future advancements.

  I remember knowing 20-25 telephone numbers I could rattle off at any one time.  Today, I know my own and her number.  My Contact List takes care of the rest of family and friends.  I never have to think about telephone numbers.   

   A telephone call around the first of the new year informed me I had been elected to the Franklin Township Education Foundation Wall of Fame.  The ceremony will be February 8th in Indy at Biltwell Event Center. A plaque will then be placed where I spent my Encore Performance.  I am thrilled!  I will be hanging in the halls of  Franklin Central High School with some great people. 

  Here is the inscription that will be on the plaque along with my mug shot:

  Steve George began his teaching career at Franklin Central High School in 1999 and retired at the end of the 2016 school year.  He served as the manager of radio station, WRFT-FM, owned by Franklin Township Schools.  WRFT is operated by high school students.

  Mr. George’s position with FCHS followed 36 years in radio and television.  His friend and mentor, James Zoch, English Department Chair when Mr. George was hired, called the radio station manager’s teaching career an, Encore Performance.

  Students learned to write feature stories, interview people in the news in Franklin Township, write news, do shows from remote locations, perform creative, live, on-air shows, learn sports play by play, perform game color analysis, and, how to write and perform creative public service announcements. 

  During his tenure, WRFT-FM was judged to be the top high school radio station in the state of Indiana six times by The Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB).

  IASB awarded Mr. George the distinguished, John King Award, in the summer of 2024.  Each year, it is presented to a broadcast teacher, past or present, in recognition of his or her teaching excellence.  

  In other news...

  The most inept and inaccurate surveys have to be presidential campaign polls.  Time after time, from the Dewey-Truman election in 1948 to the present, the supposed leanings of the public have been misrepresented or inaccurate come game day.

  However, NBC's Mark Murray wrote, If there’s a perception the polls were wrong in 2024, it’s due less to the actual level of polling error and more to the mistaken impression that political horse race polls can be precise measurements — for example, that 49%-48% or 50%-48% results can perfectly predict who’s going to win a contest and by how much.

 Sexual orientation is understood until we start dealing with terms like, sexual reassignment. 

  I don't know why I dislike people who coast through a four-way stop without waiting their turn, but, I do.  In a matter of seconds, I paint them as bullies in everyday life.  

  Was Elon Musk elected co-president?  When it comes to his statements about foreign affairs, is he speaking policy or just rambling?    

  I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room and felt something was missing.  It took me a few minutes to realize what wasn't there: magazines.  Not one in sight.  To punctuate the obsolescence of the printed word, the majority of the other patients were scrolling on their phones. I soon joined them. 

  A couple days before this year's presidential inauguration, I was with a couple others discussing the social media billionaires in advisory roles of the newly elected president.  One of the other guys I was chatting with likened the situation to that of Putin and the Russian Oligarchy.  Later that day in one of his final speeches as president, Joe Biden, drew the same analogy.     

  I am at a loss to explain (all these months later) how the New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.  

  I envy wine connoisseurs and record aficionados for their varied expertise and knowledge.  When I do indulge in a glass of wine, it is usually a cheap white Riesling or Prosecco.  

  Which is superior quality?  Vinyl or digital.  As long as the record is not scratchy, I cannot tell the difference.

  High schools and colleges are investing in programs to detect plagiarism by students using AI to write papers and other work. The irony?  All of the programs are AI supported.

  I had major oral surgery a few days ago.  It is my hope the first time is the last time I have to endure such an experience.  

  Coming up:  another POS, and; new year's resolutions.  Are they already forgotten? 

  And, finally.  The subject of plagiarism is an interesting subject in these days of AI.  We will get the opinions of a former English teacher turned school administrator next time.

  HUH?  What's up with that?