AI and the Narrator’s Journey
I have used Chat GPT, the artificial intelligence program that came on like a thundering herd of wild horses last year. But I’m not a fan of incorporating AI into my work, and I’ll tell you why.
…Internet
It’s Not Just the Outage, It’s the Communication
It didn’t take long to realize we wouldn’t get any work done on Friday.
…
Country Miscalculation
A salesman for one of the big cable conglomerates came to our door. We don’t live in the typical door-to-door type of neighbourhood, so this was unusual. It certainly is unusual, he said – your area finally has in-home high-speed Internet available!
…Who’s Allowed to Criticize Patton Oswalt and a Neighbourly Update
If you don’t know Patton Oswalt, please allow me to introduce you. I’ve been a fan so long, I used to have to order his stand-up comedy CDs (CDs!) from the US. He’s funny, smart, original and thinky without being Dennis-Miller-over-my-head thinky. He also played Spence on King of Queens and a computer geek/genius on Two-and-a-Half Men, among other things. …
Who’s Allowed to Criticize Patton Oswalt and a Neighbourly UpdateRead More »
Things Got A Little Nuts
I never claimed I was up on my Lou Diamond Phillips news. I remember things about him from years ago, like how his first ex-wife Julie became Melissa Etheridge’s first “out” partner and that he loves to play poker. …
Twitter Twits and Worse
My Twitter rule is that I will follow anyone who follows me unless they are:
- A spammer.
- Too lazy to change their profile picture from the default egg.
- These guys.
…
My Outrage Button is Stuck
You could be forgiven if you thought this was an April Fool’s Day hoax, but the Internet is the last safe haven for political incorrectness that borders on offensive. …
The Trolls We Attract
I try not to read the comments section of our major local newspaper, The London Free Press, because it’s a depressing look at humanity. People with half their facts straight and ignorant, rude and mean opinions spew off behind pseudonyms. It doesn’t enhance my life in any way. Â …
Sorry For the Outage
It feels like I’ve been in Websites 101 and I still know very little about them. Â I’d like to apologize for my site being unavailable this past week …
Brandt’s Randt – No More Technology
I’ll surf the web on my smartphone, read a book on my Kobo, pay my bills on my desktop but there’s one technological advancement I won’t accept. I’m drawing the line! And so I randt. …
Brandt’s Randt – Hiding and Tossing Darts
This week’s randt has nothing to do with this website and everything to do with those that specialize in news coverage. Â As one of the administrators of our site at work I am privy to the unapproved comments and they make you give your head a shake. Â …
Girls, Guns and Gimmicks
What a world we’re living in.  Teenage girls by the hundreds are gathering in online groups to support Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in an attempt to get him freed. (Good luck with that, kids.)  As The New York Post reports, the Free Jahar (his nickname) movement includes writing the slogan on their flesh with magic marker and one particularly smitten kid opting for a tattoo. …
Anonymous, You’re Not
Kids who have grown up never knowing a world without the Internet are getting an education in what it means to post mean or false things about other people while trying to hide behind a nickname: there’s no anonymity in cyberspace. …
Brandt’s Randt – Anonymous Online Cowards!
I was targeted by someone on Twitter this week who called me a racist and one of the “sheeple”.  He’s one of those guys who disbelieves everything he hears, including whether the two brothers from Chechnya had anything to do with the Boston bombings, and he inspired this week’s randt. …
Variety is Back!
The best publication about the entertainment business is free online again. …
New News Hub
Many weeks of intense effort have culminated in the launch of the new Blackburn News website. Â It’s a regional hub combining the news-gathering efforts of all of the radio stations in the Blackburn chain; London, Windsor, Chatham, Sarnia, Leamington and Wingham. Â If you follow one of those stations’ news departments on Twitter you’ve noticed the logo and name have changed to Blackburn (market). Â …
This is the Complaints Department. Please Hold.
You don’t have to be a Facebook user to appreciate this. Â Somehow, I was selected as one of the users who would test a new Scrabble board on Facebook. Â I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t even want it to change. Â But there it is, in all of its annoying glory. Â …
Losing Pinterest
Oh boy. Â People keep finding and following me on Pinterest and I’m afraid I’m going to be a big disappointment. …