It used to be easy to tell when you were talking on the phone to a robot or recording. The choppy, sloppy wording—or the monotonous voice telling you to listen carefully because the menu has changed—was a dead giveaway that it wasn’t a live person on the other end of the line. But no more. Although AI—artificial intelligence—has been around and in use for longer than most of us realize, it seems that it’s only recently that it’s become a big deal—and found virtually (no [...]
It’s time for a summer break, and I’ll be taking a few weeks off from writing my blog. I hope you are able to stay cool in the sweltering heat of this summer. Have a wonderful 4th of July holiday, and please stay safe!
I’ve never studied astrophysics or quantum mechanics, but I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the subject of time travel. After all, plenty of sci-fi books, movies, and television shows have explored and explained multiple means and methods of traveling through time, whether by racing past the speed of light in a powerful spaceship, folding and stepping through the time-space continuum, or hitting the gas pedal in a plutonium-powered DeLorean—or in any number of basement-built time machines. My husband and I just finished watching Bodies, a [...]
There’s a fine line between cautious and paranoid, and I’m not sure which side of the line I’m on. Case in point: The phone rang a little while ago. When I answered it, the caller identified herself as being from an official and important-sounding government healthcare organization, and said she was updating my Medicare records. At that point I said, “No, thank you,” and hung up. I could hear her saying something as I was putting the phone down, but she got cut off before [...]
Our son was seven years old when Jurassic Park – the first one – came out in 1993. Like many seven-year-old boys – and girls, too, probably – he was fascinated by anything to do with dinosaurs, and of course wanted to go see the movie. We weren’t sure that was a good idea, so my husband and I decided to see the movie ourselves first, and then decide if it was okay for our son to see it. I still remember sitting in the [...]
“What world events have played defining roles in your life? What memories do you have of them? How have they influenced you?” These were among the discussion questions at my last Book Club meeting. The book we read was When We Left Cuba, an historical novel set in the early ’60s. Among the events in the novel were the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassination of JFK – events that many members of our Book Club remembered [...]
I’m out of town, but will be back in time for next week’s blog. Stay safe, and have a great weekend!
I always sleep well after a night out. By “night out,” I don’t mean an evening of wining and dining and dancing. Those days are long gone. Instead, I’m talking about setting my alarm for the middle of the night, slipping out the back door, and sitting out on the deck, wrapped up in a blanket, and staring at the sky. It’s that time of year again, when the Perseid Meteor Shower makes its annual August appearance. This year was promised to be a grand [...]
I’m taking a few weeks off, to take care of some business and do a bit of traveling. My blog will be back online sometime after the 4th of July. Whatever you’re doing this summer, whether venturing off to places near and far, or staying closer to home, I hope you have a safe and wonderful summer! June 18, 2021 ©Betty Liedtke, 2021 I welcome your comments, but please be aware that all comments will be moderated and approved before appearing on this blog. This [...]
“Okay, I’m leaving now,” I told my husband. He glanced up, with a momentarily confused look on his face. “Oh, you’re going there. I thought it was here,” he said, nodding toward the room where I usually “attend” meetings and events, sitting in front of the computer and logging in via Zoom. An understandable mistake, even though I had told him I would be going to the Writers Museum for a workshop. For a second, an old television commercial popped into my head, the one [...]