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And that was #ItsDnDTime! The paladin used goats to terrify aberrations, the bard echolocated using Vicious Mockery, the rogue did incredible psychic-blade damage, the druid barfed fire on a skeleton, and the cleric wedgied opponents from a distance.

Two-day sale! The plains of Wyoming, Baba Yaga, and the perils of growing up--RATTLESNAKE WIND is $1.99USD in ebook, on 7/31 and 8/1.

Rattlesnake WindA teenager must rely on deadly magic taught by an elderly neighbor to protect her family in this coming-of-age story.openroadmedia.com

"Why do you keep yelling about 'AI', I'm tired of hearing about it!" Trust me, I'm tired of yelling. I'd love for the dangerous griftslop bubble to pop so I can go back to natttering on about squirrel stories, my violent little kissing books, and the usual (relatively) gentle lunacy.

"...another reason it’s “entirely valid” for parents to be put off by these books is the lack of transparency as to how “their children’s photos are used and stored on AI platforms,” and potentially shared with third parties or used to train AI models."

Boomers Can’t Stop Gifting Their Grandkids AI-Generated Slop BooksParents are getting fed up with garbled bedtime stories that feature characters based on actual photos of their children.www.wired.com

Time for a spot of fiery chicken curry to fuel me through the upcoming D&D session. I really, really hope to hear the DM sigh in that particular way and say, "...everyone, roll for initiative." It's been a WEEK.

Have hit the "everything is absurd" stage and burst into screechy laughter, so that's settled. Once I start cackling, it's all good.

Well, nothing's leaking, but the Home Plumbing Project may in fact require professional assistance. ...I need moar coffee.

"He also discovered that Google’s safeguards against creating images on harmful topics did not prevent him from doing so."

Google Earth Goes Nano Bananas – The Map RoomIt’s been possible to use 3D models in Google Earth for decades. But Google’s announcement yesterday its AI image generation model, Nano Banana 2, can be used to create custom images and 3D rendering inside Google Earth is getting some pushback, and not necessarily just because it’s AI.www.maproomblog.com

"...but what they should have done and what they did do are two different things, and we have to live in the now. And in the now, “AI” inputs are inherently untrustable, from a copyright perspective."

Another Reason Not to Use “AI” For Your WritingBack in February I did a long post about “AI” and why I wouldn’t use it for my own writing, and one of the reasons I gave was “the fact that ‘AI’-generated text …whatever.scalzi.com

A woman on the run, a lightning storm, an abandoned castle--CHAINED KNIGHT is $3.99USD (and CAD) in ebook, until 8/16. books2read.com/chainedknight

Woke up with Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" playing on the ol' Skull Radio. (Never learned how to roller skate; I'll settle for watching Xanadu clips.)

MagicProvided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupMagic · Olivia Newton-JohnXanadu℗ 1980 Geffen RecordsReleased on: 1980-01-01Composer Lyricist: John FarrarAuto-ge...www.youtube.com

ah, the first of the month, that blessed time when I run the bsky post deleter for anything older than 60 days and it feels so liberating

Nicholas Cage's Fabulous SmileAlt: Nicholas Cage Con Air Mullet "I'm Free As The Air" Smile gifstatic.klipy.com

"Seven out of the eight groups took the conscientious objector option and decided not to use generative AI. The eighth group experimented with it but decided they preferred to work without it."

Students as Conscientious Objectors to Gen AI (opinion)We should listen to them—and treat their objections with respect.www.insidehighered.com

Lovely to go to the mailbox on a hot summer evening and get wonderful news from people who love each other. I may have misted up a bit. There's a lot of good left in this tired ol' world, indeed.

"Throughout history, the concept of poverty has played a political role, and transformations of the concept of poverty have reflected broader socio-economic, political, and ideological transformations."

The Politics of Poverty in the Middle Ages - Medievalists.netExplore how poverty shaped politics, religious authority and social power in the Middle Ages, and why medieval attitudes towards the poor began to change.www.medievalists.net

Two-day sale! The plains of Wyoming, Baba Yaga, and the perils of growing up--RATTLESNAKE WIND is $1.99USD in ebook, on 7/31 and 8/1.

Rattlesnake WindA teenager must rely on deadly magic taught by an elderly neighbor to protect her family in this coming-of-age story.openroadmedia.com

"If Isaiah and Paul and Augustine and Niebuhr and Calvin, etc., are right about human nature, then we should expect to see exactly the kind of pervasive, embedded, institutionalized, structural forms of injustice the “critical theorists” tend to highlight."

History In The Hands Of An Angry GodReformed theology gets an "amen" from the pulpit, but when it gets applied to history, people start to squirm.www.patheos.com

Last call! Grief, growing up, and a singing cult--HARMONY is $2.99USD (and CAD) in ebook until 7/31. books2read.com/saintcrowhar...

For the afternoon crew: Pink and Tremors

Pink and Tremors | Lili SaintcrowOne of the gardens we often pass on walkies is a riot of flowers (not to mention peas, basil, and squash) at the moment. The bees enjoy it mightily, and even Boxnoggin stops to give ... Read morewww.lilithsaintcrow.com

"As Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei Asia found in a recent investigation, just five US tech giants — Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle — are hiding an estimated $1.65 trillion in debt that doesn’t appear on balance sheets."

AI Companies Are Trying to Hide a Staggering Amount of DebtAI companies are pouring tens of billions of dollars into enormous data centers. They're being built on top of a mountain of hidden debt.futurism.com