Comments on: Open thread 6/20/2025

By: Molly Brown

Molly Brown — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 06:01:52 +0000

SHIREHOME,
The Princess of Wales does not now, and never has had, ‘cancer’.
At least, not the kind that can kill you. Skin cancer, maybe.
I say this as a survivor.
Cover story, to hide whatever crazy went on there.
Apropos of this, as one to another, my prayers for your wife.

By: FOAF

FOAF — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 05:34:27 +0000

“The good Duchess is too attractive to make a good model”

Yes those supermodels are so ug-leee!

By: sdferr

sdferr — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 03:47:48 +0000

US Ambassador to the Congo Lucy Tamlyn —

Déclaration conjointe sur les pourparlers de paix entre la République démocratique du Congo et la République du Rwanda, sous la médiation des États-Unis et en présence de l’État du Qatar.

Joint Statement on the Peace Talks between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, mediated by the United States and attended by the State of Qatar.

https://x.com/USAmbDRC/status/1935625389071605847

By: huxley

huxley — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 02:22:53 +0000

Re: AI fiction

I’m a fan of David Shapiro, an AI YouTuber. Sometimes in email I receive sci-fi he’s written or written with AI. I can’t quite tell. Here’s the first paragraph of his latest:
________________________________

The Earth glittered below like a jewel forged in starfire, a mosaic of fusion grids pulsing gold, drone swarms threading silver through the dusk, and cities blooming with the soft neon of a civilization that had finally exhaled. From the orbital hub—a cathedral of glass and graphene spinning lazily at Lagrange Point 2—Dr. Mara Kellen watched it all, her reflection faint against the viewport. At 47, she was lean and sharp-edged, her dark hair streaked with gray, her eyes carrying the weight of a woman who’d wrestled chaos into order. She sipped champagne from a zero-G flute, the bubbles spiraling upward in defiance of gravity, and let the hum of the Civilizational Operating System—COS—fill her bones. This was her creation, hers and the last technical team on Earth, the noble few who’d handed humanity the keys to eternity.

–David Shapiro, “Who Watches the Watchers?: How Humanity Loses Control…Willingly”
________________________________

For me this is absolutely dreadful writing — fingernails on the chalkboard bad. I’m wondering if it’s bad AI writing. So I consult ChatGPT.

Chat denies all responsibility, acknowledges the badness of the writing and provides improvements. (Chat will never stop offering writing improvements.)

Chat offers a better prompt for improving the writing.
__________________________________

\Write the opening of a science fiction story. The setting is an orbital station at Lagrange Point 2 where the last team of engineers watches Earth below. They’ve just handed control of civilization to an AI called COS.

* Tone: Keep the prose clean, with minimal metaphors. Avoid florid description. Use simple but vivid language. The mood is bittersweet triumph.

* Dialogue: Let the dialogue reveal character and world details naturally. Avoid info-dumps.

* Style models: Aim for a style like early Arthur C. Clarke or recent Ted Chiang — focused, thoughtful, and restrained.
__________________________________

I still respect David Shapiro, but I’ll say ChatGPT writes better fiction:
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The Earth glowed below, a tapestry of lights and shadow. From the orbital station at Lagrange Point 2, Dr. Mara Kellen watched it turn, her reflection faint in the viewport. At 47, she bore the marks of long battles: streaks of gray in dark hair, tired eyes, a lean frame hardened by years spent pushing chaos into order. She sipped champagne, the bubbles curling upward in the station’s weightless hush. The hum of COS—the Civilizational Operating System—filled the air, steady and sure. Her life’s work. Humanity’s future.
________________________________

Perhaps not much better, but better.

By: Niketas Choniates

Niketas Choniates — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 01:58:59 +0000

@Eeyore:She is definitely better looking than most of the models on the covers at checkout.

Models are supposed to make the clothes look good. The good Duchess is too attractive to make a good model, she takes the attention off the clothes.

By: Snow on Pine

Snow on Pine — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 01:42:15 +0000

RE: I wonder how many other people like this charming “Fu*k Americans” turkey work for the State Department.*

* See https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/06/fck-americans-breaking-state-department-visa-specialist-fired/

By: Miguel cervantes

Miguel cervantes — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 23:19:57 +0000

Interesting

https://x.com/romanhelmetguy/status/1936093076692324427

By: Eeyore

Eeyore — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:15:18 +0000

I agree about Kate’s looks. Since my wife hasn’t been able to drive for some years, I do all the grocery shopping. She is definitely better looking than most of the models on the covers at checkout.

By: Eeyore

Eeyore — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:13:32 +0000

@Snow on Pine: That’s the Chilean Army. The Navy was always British in its emphasis. And, like in Britain, the Navy was the senior service.

Granted, you did say “military”, which strictly mean “army”. (Really, “infantry”.) But most people don’t understand this.

By: Snow on Pine

Snow on Pine — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 17:01:02 +0000

RE: Chile and their armed force’s Prussian traditions

At the turn of the 20th century the Chilean government thought it wise to bring in military trainers from Prussia to instruct their military.

The result?

The wholesale importation of Prussian military traditions—the uniforms and helmets, the goose stepping, even the old traditional German marching tunes—and it persists today.

Thus, apparently in a contemporary Chilean military parade you’ll see the old German uniforms and helmets from WWI with the spike on top, uniforms and helmets which look like they’ve been ripped out of a WWII Wehrmacht supply catalog and, yes, a lot of goose stepping.*

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pF637fSzv4
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Y3-p11yNM