A Hodgepodge of Non-Activity

Just because I don't have anything publishing-related going on, that doesn't mean I'm completely inactive. As you will see, my time has been spent productively.

Scrolling X

I've been on X since 2014 (I'm told), and it's become my go-to for news and gossip and anything else bored people like. At first I was seeing posts from people I rather detested, so I created my own list of accounts that I named, "Best". These were the folks who consistently posted interesting stuff, and there were just enough arguments to keep things interesting.  

But then along came a news item that my old faithfuls weren't talking about much, so I went back to "For You". And that's when I got hooked. 

Now I still see the arguments and more of them, but those get tiresome quickly, so I've gotten into musical performances, especially from the eighties, which seems to be a popular decade; and now kitchen hacks. These are little videos that are sometimes mind-boggling and always fascinating, even though I'm never going to try any of the things they demonstrate, especially the cooking/baking stuff. Because those never work out like they do in the videos. But the party preparation hacks are pretty cool---prettying up regular household items to hold various appetizers and party decor. Again, I don't have parties and I don't like parties. I do like viewing their preparations from a distance, though. 

I also always view the dog videos---love the dog videos. I miss my dog. 

I know that Instagram has tons of reels, but sometimes I just want to watch quick videos without being hassled by scammers, which is why I've pretty much abandoned Instagram.

Something I've noticed on X that needs to be called out are the lengthy "anecdotes" that were clearly written by AI. Somebody subscribed to premium in order to post these long made-up scenarios, and they're making bucks from X anytime they lure some fool in. I don't normally care, but I feel bad for the folks who fall for it. So, every once in a while, I'll type a response, such as, "So tired of this AI slop."

On the other hand, there's an account from a woman who's self-effacing and just writes about regular, everyday stuff. The other day she posted about the solar fairy lights she got from Amazon. I've loved fairy lights ever since I found them while doing research on rustic wedding decor for Inn Dreams. So, I followed the Amazon link and added them to my wishlist. Then I remembered---I don't have a garden or any outdoor space, so what in the world would I do with solar fairy lights? (Well, a girl can dream.)

Arguing With Google's AI

I don't entirely hate AI. When I'm Googling a topic, AI is generally the top page result. I like it for statistics and for allowing follow-up questions. It's better when it provides links so I can verify its answers, but on the whole, it's pretty good.

However...the other day I had a question about a new med I'm taking. Well, it claimed there was no such drug, and in fact, it mocked me by putting scare quotes around the drug name. It went on to tell me I must be taking some other drug. (I've got the bottle right in front of me!)

So, I opened a new window, asked Google if the drug existed, and it (of course) said it did. I then pasted the response into AI's snarky reply and said, "I don't know why you used scare quotes for the drug. You yourself are telling me it exists."

"Oh, sorry, my mistake."

Ya think?

Damn, it's bad enough to be mocked by a real person, but by a machine?

This is hardly the first time I've had to upbraid AI. I don't need some snot-nosed robot trying to tell me what's what. However, it does seem to know a lot about my novel. The other day, I ended up asking it about the story's themes (it offered to tell me), because I don't know, really. I didn't write it with a theme in mind. Then it asked me if I wanted to learn more about Paula or Caleb or Burt. Sure! I think it was just trying to make it up to me for being such a jerk.

I Joined Authors Guild

I don't know why. Seriously, for the life of me, I don't know why. I receive its newsletter, and maybe something within the latest one spurred my impulsive decision. I found out I could pay $9.00 a month, so I filled out everything and submitted. But it immediately told me that the membership committee has to review my application---which should take 3 to 5 business days. I'm trying to think, what red flags could an application contain that would cause a rejection? Not that I have any red flags myself, but I guess it must happen from time to time. Maybe I should be impressed by their caution. I do love that they have a "committee". In my work life, I always hated those weekly meetings...every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Nothing much ever got accomplished, as opposed to what I could have accomplished without attending the stupid meeting. I guess at least this committee has applications to inspect.

 

And there you have it---my wholly non-productive week. Lots of wasted time; no money earned. I think I need to check into becoming a paid partner on X.